The objective of this study is to relationship between the somatic cell count (SCC), milk production and the morphologic traits of udder in the herds of Black-and-White cattle. The data included the test day records of milk and SCC, type evaluation of 2012 Black-and-White cows of the first lactation in 143 Lithuanian herds. The findings of the study are consistent with the results of similar previous studies concerning a negative relationship between SCC and milk yield during lactation. According to the results of the study, the increase in SCC from 100,000 to 800,000 cells/ml and above decreased the milk yield of Black-and-White cows to 658 kg (14.4%), fat content - to 28.9 kg (14.7%), and milk protein content - to 13.3 kg (9.1%). The udder and teat morphology significantly (P < 0.001) affected log2 SCC, hence the cows selection based on the udder morphology can serve to improve the milk quality reducing SCC in milk. The findings of this study are consistent with the data concerning the negative relationship between SCC and milk yield during lactation and the relationship between somatic cell count and udder, or teat morphology. Reducing milk SCC the selection of Black-and-White cows based on the udder and teat morphology can improve milk quality.


Objectives: Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is one of the subclinical markers for detection of cerebrovascular disease. CIMT can be measured through noninvasive carotid artery Doppler ultrasonography. It has been observed that average CIMT of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) patients are significantly high as compared to non-NAFLD patients which may lead to cerebrovascular complications in these patients. So, this study was conducted to compare CIMT in NAFLD with and without transaminitis. Methods: This was a comparative cross sectional study, conducted in Mayo Hospital. 236 NAFLD patients were included in the study in accordance with a pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. All the patients underwent abdominal ultrasonography for diagnosis of NAFLD & carotid doppler to measure CIMT. Liver function tests were performed in all the patients and results of carotid intimal media thickness CIMT in NAFLD with and without deranged transaminases were compared. Results: Mean age of the patients was 46.56 ± 11.60 years with 117(50%) female and 119(50%) male patients. Except Alkaline phosphates (p-value = 0.008), all other parameters of liver function test {ALT (pvalue=0.618), AST (p-value=0.551), Albumin (p-value=0.385) & Protein (p-value=0.823)} were statistically similar in patients whose CIMT was >0.8 and <0.8 mm. Among the patients whose CIMT was >0.8, 17(45.9%) patients had deranged liver function test. Similarly among those patients whose CIMT value was <0.8, 95(47.7%) patients had abnormal LFTs. Statistically speaking no significant association was seen between LFTs of patients and CIMT value (> 0.8 & <0.8) p-value= 0.841. Conclusion: It is concluded that there is no significant correlation between CIMT and transaminitis in NAFLD patients. Received | 20-03-2018: Accepted | 15-12-2018 Corresponding Author | Dr. Ali Asad Khan, Assistant Professor, Department of North Medicine, KEMU/ Mayo Hosp i t a l ,


This book deals with boundary value problems for analytic functions with applications to singular integral equations. New and simpler proofs of certain classical results such as the Plemelj formula, the Privalov theorem and the Poincare-Bertrand formula are given. Nearly one third of this book contains the author's original works, most of which were not published in English and, hence, were previously unknown to most readers in the world. This book consists of seven chapters together with an appendix: chapter 1 describes the basic knowledge on Cauchy-type integrals and Cauchy principal value integrals, chapters II and III study respectively fundamental boundary value problems and their applications to singular integral equations for closed contours, chapters IV and V discuss the same problems for curves with nodes (including open arcs), chapter VI deals with similar problems for systems of functions, chapter VII is concerned with some miscellaneous problems and the Appendix contains some basic results on Fredholm integral equations. In most sections, there are carefully selected sets of exercises, some of which supplement the text of the sections; answers/hints are also given for some of those exercises.


The ccpA gene was inactivated in the polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)-producing strain Bacillus sp. MA3.3 in order to reduce glucose catabolite repression over pentoses and develop improved bacterial strains for the production of PHB from lignocellulosic hydrolysates. Mutant Bacillus sp. MSL7 ΔCcpA are unable to grow on glucose and ammonia as sole carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. Supplementation of glutamate as the nitrogen source or the substitution of the carbon source by xylose allowed the mutant to partially recover its growth performance. RT-PCR showed that CcpA stimulates the expression of the operon ( gltAB) ,responsible for ammonia assimilation via glutamate in Bacillus sp. MA3.3. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the supplementation of xylose or glutamate was capable of stimulating gltAB operon expression independently of CcpA. In PHB production experiments in mineral media, it has been observed that the glucose catabolite repression over the pentoses was partially released in MSL7. Although the carbohydrate consumption is faster in the ccpA mutant, the biomass and PHB biosynthesis are lower, even with supplementation of glutamate. This is attributed to an increase of acetyl-CoA flux towards the tricarboxylic acid cycle observed in the mutant.


Neural networks and especially convolutional neural networks are of great interest in current computer vision research. However, many techniques, extensions, and modifications have been published in the past, which are not yet used by current approaches. In this paper, we study the application of a method called QuickProp for training of deep neural networks. In particular, we apply QuickProp during learning and testing of fully convolutional networks for the task of semantic segmentation. We compare QuickProp empirically with gradient descent, which is the current standard method. Experiments suggest that QuickProp can not compete with standard gradient descent techniques for complex computer vision tasks like semantic segmentation.


We propose a method for identifying early warning signs of transformative progress in artificial intelligence (AI), and discuss how these can support the anticipatory and democratic governance of AI. We call these early warning signs 'canaries', based on the use of canaries to provide early warnings of unsafe air pollution in coal mines. Our method combines expert elicitation and collaborative causal graphs to identify key milestones and identify the relationships between them. We present two illustrations of how this method could be used: to identify early warnings of harmful impacts of language models; and of progress towards high-level machine intelligence. Identifying early warning signs of transformative applications can support more efficient monitoring and timely regulation of progress in AI: as AI advances, its impacts on society may be too great to be governed retrospectively. It is essential that those impacted by AI have a say in how it is governed. Early warnings can give the public time and focus to influence emerging technologies using democratic, participatory technology assessments. We discuss the challenges in identifying early warning signals and propose directions for future work.


We are proposing the CALET (CALorimetric Electron Telescope) instrument for the observation of high-energy electrons and gamma rays at the Exposed Facility of the Japanese Experiment Module on the International Space Station (ISS). CALET has a capability to observe electrons (+positrons) in 1 GeV-10 TeV and gamma rays in 20 MeV-10 TeV with a high energy resolution of 2 % at 100 GeV, a good angular resolution of 0.06 deg at 100 GeV, and a high proton rejection power of 10. CALET has the geometrical factor of nearly 0.8 msr and three-years observation is expected. Thus, CALET is a complementary gamma-ray detector with GLAST, HESS and so on. In particular, the excellent energy resolution of CALET, which is much better than GLAST or air Cherenkov telescopes over 10 GeV, is ideal for detection of gamma-ray lines in the GeV-TeV region from WIMP dark matter annihilations. The high precise observations of electrons(+positrons) also enable us to detect distinctive positron features from WIMP annihilations. In this paper, we present prospects of gamma-ray observations and dark matter search by the hybrid observations of gamma rays and electrons with CALET.


Workers' well-being appears to be strongly influenced by fairness concerns. A key question is how such a relationship could be dissected in order to get a picture where different dimensions of the Job Satisfaction (JS) ( Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Overall) are connected to each of the main fairness facets. Using a comprehensive Italian social cooperatives workers dataset, we try to give a statistical answer to this question. To do this, we first construct some JS and Work Intensity measures, using the Rasch Rating Scale Model, in order to divide the subjects within three homogeneous clusters. Second, for each group we select the most important items in terms of their impact on the different dimensions of the JS evaluated with a Variable Importance Indicator, constructed using the Random Forests. The main findings with our sample are that non-monetary components of fairness play a key role on the JS measure and that the importance attributed to different fairness items varies depending on the Work Intensity, then producing a non-trivial dependence of the JS measures from the fairness drivers.


Author(s): Jimenez, Jorge | Advisor(s): Mascharak, Pradip K | Abstract: Carbon monoxide (CO) has recently been shown to display various salutary effects in mammalian physiology. CO displays antiflammation, vasoregulatory, and anti-apoptotic properties toward normal cells. Interestingly, CO displays pro-apoptotic properties against cancer cells while showing minimum effects toward normal cells at similar concentrations. This has increased the interest in the design and synthesis of molecules capable of delivering CO to specific targets (CORMs). The effective application of these complexes is limited for the lack of controlled CO release from many of these CORMs. We have designed and synthesized CORMs able to release CO exclusively upon light exposure (photoCORMs). We have also utilized different ligands to impart specific chemical and physical properties to these complexes. Chapter 2 describes the design and synthesis of Mn(I) tricarbonyl complexes capable of releasing CO upon visible light illumination. We also describe the utilization of 1,3,5-triazaadamant-7-amine derived ligands that impart water-solubility to the Mn(I) complexes. The Mn(I) complexes in these studies release the three CO ligands upon exposure to visible light. Chapter 3 describes the desing and synthesis of six luminescent Re(I) tricarbonyl complexes. The highly luminescent properties of these complexes allow one to track their internalization in cellular systems. All complexes utilized in these studies are readily internalized in MDA-MB-231 cancer cells despite their lipophilicity or charge. One complex in particular was covalently attached to carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) forming a composite (ReCMC). ReCMC internalizes in both MDA-MB-231 and HT-29 cancer cells and displays eradication in these cells in a concentration dependent manner. Chapter 4 descibes the desing and synthesis of a luminescent Mn(I) tricarbonyl complex. The luminescent properties of this complex allows one to track its internalization in HT-29 cells. This is the first example of a Mn(I) tricarbonyl complex that is luminescent and can be tracked inside cells. This complex releases all three CO ligands upon exposure to visible light. It also displays eradication of the HT-29 cells upon exposure to visible light but no under dark conditions. However, this complex does not affect the viability of HEK-293 normal cells upon visible light exposure or under dark conditions.


Objective: To determine the relationship between iron depletion and self-perceived health, well-being, and fatigue in a female university student population living in New Zealand. Methods: A total of 233 women aged 18–44 years studying at Massey University, Auckland, were included in this cross-sectional analysis. Serum ferritin (SF), hemoglobin (Hb), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were analyzed from a venipuncture blood sample. Participants completed the SF-36v2 General Health Survey (SF-36) and the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory–Short Form (MFSI-SF) questionnaire, and anthropometric measurements (height and weight) and data on demographics, lifestyle, and medical history were obtained. Characteristics of iron-sufficient (SF ≥ 20 μg/L, Hb ≥ 120 g/L) and iron-depleted (SF < 20 μg/L, Hb ≥ 120 g/L) participants were compared, and multiple regression analyses were carried out to determine predictors of health, well-being, and fatigue using a p value of <0.01 to indicate statistical significance because multiple comparisons were being made. Results: There were no significant differences in self-perceived health and well-being determined using the SF-36 questionnaire between women who were iron sufficient and women who were iron depleted. Although MFSI-SF physical fatigue was significantly lower in those with iron depletion (p = 0.008), it was not predicted by current iron status in a multivariate model controlling for factors expected to be associated with iron status and fatigue (p = 0.037). However, smoking, a history of suboptimal iron status, and having a current medical condition were significant (negative) predictors of MFSI-SF physical fatigue, explaining 22.5% of the variance (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in the other measures of fatigue determined using the MFSI-SF between women who were iron sufficient and those who were iron depleted. Conclusions: Women with iron depletion did not differ significantly from women who were iron sufficient with regard to self-perceived health, well-being, or fatigue. Future studies investigating fatigue should control for previous diagnosis of suboptimal iron status, smoking, and presence of a medical condition.


Population information is nowadays available at fine scales and almost always missing from classical choropleth maps. We implemented five techniques to overlay fine-scaled population information on choropleth maps and present the results of an evaluation of three of them. Our results suggest that such overlays do not hinder the understanding of choropleth maps and can help understand the distribution of population on maps, thus possibly avoiding the common pitfalls of choropleth maps.


Optimality conditions are derived for the robust optimal design of beams subject to a combination of uncertain and deterministic transverse and boundary loads using a variational min-max approach. The potential energy of the beam is maximized to compute the worst case loading and minimized to determine the optimal cross-sectional shape which results in coupled nonlinear differential equations for the unknown functions except for the case of a variable width beam. The uncertain component of the transverse load acting on the beam is not known a priori resulting in load uncertainty subject only to an norm constraint. Similarly the optimal area function is subject to a volume constraint leading to an isoperimetric variational problem. The min-max approach leads to robust optimal designs which are not susceptible to unexpected load variations as it occurs under operational conditions. The solution methodology is illustrated for the variable width beam by obtaining analytical results for several cases. The efficiency of the optimal designs is computed with respect to a uniform beam under worst case loading taking the maximum deflection as the quantity for comparison. It is observed that the optimal shapes are more than 70% efficient for the examples given in this study.


The clinical trial industry has encountered challenging circumstances in which the increasing number of trials outpaces the number of trial specialists. For instance, there has been an unprecedented demand for clinical trials following the Covid-19 pandemic, which has worsened the global shortage of qualified personnel. It is therefore imperative to produce more qualified clinical trial professionals. An adaptive and collaborative training model was implemented by the National Center for Global Health and Medicine through the Department of International Trials. This aimed at building capacity among health workers in developing countries and providing them with the skills to be able to conduct all phases of the clinical trial from protocol design to publication of results. It also seeks to foster collaboration and partnership between local health workers and international experts. Since 2016, we have implemented a Japan-led training program, and since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a shift from a single Train-the-trainer model (ToT) to a mixed model, the Evolving Partnership Training (ePT). In this model, we applied four different methods: train-the-trainer, needs-oriented training, open symposiums, and advanced learning. The total number of training participants increased exponentially from a total of 41 between 2016-2020 to 2,810 in 2021. Our experience has proven that despite the constraint of the pandemic, the ePT is a viable approach compared to a single method for providing quality training and increasing the number of participants.


A retrospective study of liver lesions was made in 13 armadillos infected intracutaneously with 10(7) M. leprae from the same inoculum, to evaluate the pathogenesis of the experimental disease. Survival times ranged from 13 to 55 months. In seven armadillos the liver lesions were markedly less severe than in six of these animals. The extent of the lesions was unrelated to the duration of the infection and was interpreted as reflecting individual differences in resistance. In contrast to man, leprosy bacilli were found in the liver cells of both groups of armadillos but to a lesser extent in those of the more resistant armadillos. The latter also had no obvious changes in the liver tissue except for round cell infiltration and prominent Kupffer's cells which contained M. leprae. These lesions can be compared to indeterminate leprosy in humans. The lesions in the more susceptible (lepromatoid) armadillos were initiated in Kupffer's cells. Later, large collections of bacillated macrophages infiltrated the liver lobules. The liver cells heavily loaded with M. leprae developed a pale granular cytoplasm which became foamy in the late lesions. In three of the lepromatoid livers, lesions compatible with erythema nodosum leprosum were seen.


A study of parents of 50 allergic children has been presented. A history of personal or family allergy was elicited in 20 mothers and 23 fathers, but bilateral histories were found in only 11. Scratch tests were performed on these parents and on a group of 44 adults free of allergy. The children themselves were scratch-positive in 46 (92%) of the cases. The parents were scratch-positive in 70% (mothers) and 72% (fathers) of the cases. The presumably nonallergic comparison group of adults was positive in one (2.2%) case. Of the parents as individuals, both history and scratch test indicated allergy in 56 (56%) of the cases (36 allergic subjects were positive and 20 "nonallergic" subjects were negative). Disagreement occurred in 44 cases, of which 37 were scratch-positive although clinically "nonallergic." In the remaining seven, verification of clinical allergy was lacking. This 7% compares favorably with the 8% of children known to be allergic in whom verification by scratch test was not demonstrated. Using history and scratch tests as criteria for the presence of allergy, the results indicate that in 50 allergic children, 66% possessed evidence for familial allergy in both parents, 28% in one parent, and 6% in neither parent.


Mobile GIS has developed into a popular and important research direction of GIS. The system implements the browse query of mobile GIS on the mobile terminal applications, using Mobile Widget and Mobile Maps Widget as Technology platform. Taking school and Jiuzhai Valley for example, in this system platform users can easily locate and browse digital map in the mobile terminal, and can carry out real-time query on school and tourist attractions. Analysis on instance and running results show that: mobile users can achieve fast and convenient location and demand for real-time viewing digital maps via mobile terminal, and has changed the traditional, location-based service mechanism and achieve the interaction free of time and space constraints.


The paper presents the results of the study on a muscle tension in patients with parkinsonism. The great role in the maintenance of the motor tonic activity in parkinsonism is played by an increased excitability (of a static type) of the receptors of the muscle length. The assumption is made that an increased sensitivity in these receptors is the result of the increased fusiomotor activity. The author discusses a possibility of changes in the structure of intrafusal fibres in spindles of the muscle due to which these receptors can preserve an excited state for a long time.


To determine if postextrasystolic changes in systolic time intervals can be used to estimate the severity of resting or provocable left ventricular outflow pressure gradient, we studied the cardiac catheterisation records of 42 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy looking for instances of a single premature beat preceded by a control sinus beat and followed by a postpremature sinus beat. There were 75 such instances in 25 patients. In comparison to the control beat, the pre-ejection period in the postpremature beat was shorter by deltaPEP = -20 +/- 11 ms in 73 of 75 instances, and remained unchanged in two. The ejection time in the postpremature beat was invariably longer by deltaET = 37 +/- 20 ms (range: 10 to 85 ms) and the pre-ejection period/ejection time ratio lower than control by delta(PEP/ET) = -0 . 10 +/- 0 . 05 (range: -0 . 01 to -0 . 25). Total electromechanical systole in the postpremature beat was shorter (11/75), the same (10/75), or longer (53/75) than in the control beat, the overall change being deltaEMS = -18 +/- 22 ms. Both deltaPEP and delta(PEP/ET) correlated poorly with the systolic peak left ventricular-aortic pressure gradient in either the control beat (Gc) or the postpremature beat (Gx), and also with the change in gradient (delta G) from the control to the postpremature beat. In contrast, significant linear correlations were found between delta EMS and either Gc, Gx, or delta G; and also between deltaET and either Gc, Gx, or deltaG. Since internal and external measurements of ejection time are known to be almost identical, the regression equation (deltaG = 1 . 65 delgaET -9) relating deltaET and deltaG should be useful for the non-invasive assessment of the magnitude of provocable left ventricular outflow pressure gradient in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with spontaneous or externally-induced premature beats.


of a dissertation at the University of Miami Dissertation supervised by Professor Chidong Zhang No. of pages in text (170) Tropical and subtropical clouds have a large influence in shaping the observed patterns of wind, temperature, and moisture in many time scales and different regions of the world. While shallow clouds have been traditionally investigated in trade wind regimes, shallow clouds in the deep tropics have recently gained attention because of their possible importance in the development of deep convection. Shallow clouds are ubiquitous in the tropics and connect the boundary layer and the lower troposphere. Difficulties to observe and model shallow clouds have resulted in unclear aspects about their interactions with the other elements of the tropical variability. It is a challenging task to address such interactions, but the objective is well worth to pursue. This study takes a three-pronged approach to advance the understanding of the role of shallow convection in the variability of the deep tropics. The first part of this study investigates the variability and feedbacks of shallow clouds in their large-scale environment from more than ten years of observations of a vertically pointing cloud radar and soundings over Manus Island, in the tropical western Pacific. To do so, it is developed a method to estimate bulk shallow cloud moistening due evaporation of cloud condensed water from observations of liquid water content, precipitation, and temporal cloud fractions. The second part of this study combines the Manus and reanalysis data to investigate the role of shallow convection in the evolution of large-scale convective events associated and not associated to Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). The third part of this work concerns the role of shallow convection in driving large-scale circulation. To investigate this problem, the region of study is focused on the tropical Atlantic. Surface equatorial winds over the equatorial Atlantic in models are notorious for their westerly biases and their association to Amazonian rainfall. This part of the study investigates the connection between the westerly biases and shallow convection over the Amazonia using simulations of several atmospheric global climate models. Our results indicate that shallow clouds provide a non-negligible amount of moisture to the lower troposphere. They, however, lack coherency with perturbations in low-tropospheric moisture, temperature, and wind circulation in synoptic time scales. In longer time scales, anomalies in their depth, occurrence, and estimated moistening can be, to a certain degree, related to those in lower tropospheric stability. Consistently, during the five to tend days prior to the rainfall peaks of MJO and non-MJO large-scale convective events at Manus, anomalous increases in low-level moisture are evident, but they cannot be attributed to moistening by shallow clouds. During this period, shallow clouds provide background moistening. The characteristic low-level moistening prior the rainfall peaks of MJO events is mainly caused by anomalous nonlinear zonal advection. The analysis about the role of shallow convection in the MJO revealed MJO signals that have not been observed before. They include an ultra slow (2.8 m s) structure in mid to upper tropospheric temperature and geopotential height anomalies that propagates eastward over the central and eastern Pacific with no discernable anomalies in precipitation associated to it. These results suggest the existence of a intrinsic structure of the MJO governed by dry dynamics. Different process might act to energize this structure. Moist convection, including shallow convection, can be an effective one. The importance of shallow convection in the tropical variability and circulation seems to be case-dependent and subject to the interaction with other factors. This is the case in the equatorial Atlantic. Our results indicate that westerly biases over this region can be associated to weak or absent Amazonian shallow convection, but they can also be associated to weak boundary layer entrainment.


We produced an exhibition "Digital Public Art in HANEDA AIRPORT 'AIR HARBOR' - Technology Meets Air: A Sensation of a New World" in October, 2009 at the Haneda Airport which is public space and is the biggest airport in Japan. This exhibition aims to show the new concept "Digital Public Art" which tries to evolve media art to public art. This exhibition is also an experiment to bring information technology into public spaces as an interactive art works. In this exhibition, we combined virtual reality technologies, human interface methods, and signal processing techniques with art for developing public art artworks. From the view point of technology, we have developed display technologies such as projecting to real objects display, sensing technologies for large area such as carbon dioxide (CO2) sensing for people's congestion, interface technologies such as public interface, especially for the public spaces. We have solved problems that occur when we set information technologies in to the public space. In this paper, we propose the "Digital Public Art" and introduce the exhibition "AIR HARBOR" and its technologies that are suitable in the public space.


For many years, the issue of the legal form of the new climate agreement has hovered over the international negotiations. Countries have insisted on first discussing substance. Indeed, it is here that the main divergences remain. However, one year out from the Paris climate conference, it is time to open the discussion on the legal form of the final agreement. The issue of legal form is often reduced to the negotiation of a 'binding' or 'non-binding' agreement. The bindingness of an international environmental agreement however depends on multiple parameters. We propose four parameters to be considered: the form of the core agreement; the 'anchoring' of commitments; mechanisms for transparency, accountability and facilitation; and mechanisms for compliance. Parties should assess pros and cons of these options, and the agreement should be optimised across all four, combining flexibility and credibility.


In this contribution two solutions for the management of cellular intranet, based on the mobile IP and cellular IP protocols integration are investigated. The first solution adopts a centralized architecture built over the gateway and the home agent. It is most suited for security needs and client/server traffic. The second solution utilizes the mobile IP with routing optimization for macro mobility management. It offers optimized routing, speeds-up the handoff procedures, supports real time traffic and is therefore oriented toward the quality of service.


As that which ought not to be said, taboo speech involves the moral life of language. Efforts to proscribe speech may be justified variously, by appeal to religious dictates, state policy, or etiquette. They may be conventionalized and institutionalized, policed and punished in myriad ways. But a familiar irony haunts all these efforts: proscription is, in a word, productive (cf. Foucault 1978, Butler 1997). The more intense the interdiction, the more power seems to accrue to the transgressive act. From Freud's theory of subconscious repression to the laments over the failure and futility of civility campaigns, this irony is a familiar one. The more that taboo acts are prohibited, the more their power seems to grow. The same is true for language use. Under proscriptive regimes, like the FCCban on obscenities on broadcast television and radio, or the edicts of the royal court in Tahiti prohibiting the utterances of the king's name (Simons 1982), one can't even innocently "mention" a taboo expression, by embedding the wayward curse in a quote, for instance, without the utterance counting as a taboo "use." Verbal taboos are, properly speaking, unmentionable. Ironically, proscriptions and even the appropriate substitutes these regimes recommend (e.g., euphemisms, circumlocutions, special citational forms like "the F-word") make taboo utterances more salient. And rather than fix or stabilize a speaker's relation to the taboo object- by ensuring a safe, respectful "distance," for instance-proscription and efforts at containment seem to make such relations less stable. As conventions, they may now be flouted, parodied, played upon, or otherwise altered for strategic and interactional effect. These essays on the moral life of language thus explore the dynamic affordances and instabilities of verbal taboo, with cases that draw on diverse languages from sites and populations across the globe. In addressing the manifold ways in which proscription is productive, we push past an earlier literature that saw verbal taboo as a matter strictly of "avoidance" and "control," and as involving the mechanical reproduction of cultural norms and values. 1. Unmentionables as Performatives. A core irony explored in this issue is the way proscriptions can intensify the performativity of would-be taboos items, investing the prohibited forms with a seemingly inherent power and efficacy, to the extent that the expressions are seen to have inescapable, indefeasible effects. John Austin (1962), it may be recalled, argued that speech-act performativity depends in part on features of context, which he formulated in terms of "felicity conditions." For a wedding to be successful, the individual who says "I now pronounce you man and wife" must be an ordained minister, the couple willing, and a witness present. Such felicity conditions precede, condition, and otherwise constrain the performativity of language; without them the performative utterance wouldn't count as an act. But taboo utterances (e.g., saying the F-word on FCC-regulated broadcasts or uttering the Tahitian king's name) rest on few, if any, such conditions. Like pragmatic "prefabs" or "readymades," these expressions seem to have their context coiled tight inside. Utter them, and they count as a social act (as profanity, blasphemy, social injury, etc.) irrespective of felicity conditions like the intentions of speech participants or the institutional authority of the speaker to engage in the act. Quote a verbal taboo in a reported speech construction and you risk replicating the offense. Unmentionables may become so essentialized that their performativity comes to rest on few if any felicity conditions, demonstrating a seldom appreciated point: performativity is gradient, a matter of degree.1 The strong indexicals-from curse words to stigmatized dialects-that the authors in this volume discuss represent points at the far end of this continuum. 2. Hazards of Addressivity. Strong performatives usher into existence not just actions, like 'blasphemy,' but addressees. …


Clinical notes contain information not present elsewhere, including drug response and symptoms, all of which are highly important when predicting key outcomes in acute care patients. We propose the automatic annotation of phenotypes from clinical notes as a method to capture essential information to predict outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This information is complementary to typically used vital signs and laboratory test results. We demonstrate and validate our approach conducting experiments on the prediction of in-hospital mortality, physiological decompensation and length of stay in the ICU setting for over 24,000 patients. The prediction models incorporating phenotypic information consistently outperform the baseline models leveraging only vital signs and laboratory test results. Moreover, we conduct a thorough interpretability study, showing that phenotypes provide valuable insights at the patient and cohort levels. Our approach illustrates the viability of using phenotypes to determine outcomes in the ICU.


Background Smoking is the major known environmental risk factor for RA, and notably this risk factor is exclusively seen in ACPA-positive RA. Whether this increased risk is due to nicotine or other substances of inhaled tobacco smoke is unclear. Smokeless tobacco contains nicotine and is often used as an alternative to smoking. The role of smokeless tobaccoin the etiology of RA has to date only been reported from a Swedish study based on male construction workers, where no association was observed between the use of moist snuff and the risk of RA. However, whether smokeless tobacco is related to the ACPA-positive or ACPA-negative RA remains to be elucidated. Objectives In this report we aimed at investigating the association between the use of moist snuff and the risk of RA, and if this exposure has different impact on ACPA-positive and ACPA-negative disease. Methods Data from EIRA (Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis), a population-based case-control study from Sweden, was used. In total, information from1962 incident cases and 2247 randomly selected controls (matched on age, sex and residency), aged 18-70 years, was analysed. Ever, current and past moist snuff users were compared with never users. We calculated odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for RA overall and the ACPA-positive and ACPA-negative subsets, by means of unconditional logistic regression models. All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, residency, pack-years of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption. Results In total, 254 (13%) cases were ever moist snuff users compared with 290 (13%) controls, resulting in an odds ratio of 1.0 (95% CI 0.8-1.2). When exposure to moist snuff was analysed in relation to the incidence of ACPA-positive and ACPA-negative disease, no associations were observed. Furthermore, neither current nor past moist snuff use was related to the risk of RA, or the two sub-groups of the disease. Conclusions The use of moist snuff was not associated with RA risk, neither with regard to ACPA-positive nor ACPA-negative RA. The increased risk of RA associated with smoking may thus not be due to nicotine. References Carlens C, et al: Smoking, Use of Moist Snuff, and risk of chronic inflammatory diseases. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2010;181:1217-22 Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine gender differences in lifetime substance use and non-substance use (non-SUD) psychiatric disorders among illicit drug users and determine factors associated with non-SUD psychiatric disorders independently for males and for females.

Design/methodology/approach

Secondary analysis of five cross-sectional studies conducted in Barcelona, Spain during 2000-2006. Lifetime DSM-IV substance use and non-SUD psychiatric diagnoses were assessed using the Spanish Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental disorders (PRISM) among 629 people who use substances (68 per cent male) recruited from treatment (n=304) and out of treatment (n=325) settings. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using binary logistic regression.

Findings

The prevalence of any lifetime psychiatric (non-SUD) disorder was 41.8 per cent, with major depression (17 per cent) and antisocial personality disorder (17 per cent) being the most prevalent disorders. After adjusting for age and study, the odds of having any lifetime non-SUD (OR 2.10; 95%CI 1.48, 2.96); any mood disorder (OR 2.13; 95%CI 1.46, 3.11); any anxiety disorder (OR 1.86; 95%CI 1.19; 2.92); any eating disorder (OR 3.09; 95%CI 1.47, 6.47); or borderline personality disorder (OR 2.30; 95%CI 1.36, 3.84) were greater for females than males. Females were less likely than males to meet criteria for antisocial personality disorder (OR 0.59; 95%CI 0.36, 0.96) and attention deficit disorder (OR 0.37; 95%CI 0.17, 0.78).

Research limitations/implications

Psychiatric disorders are common among people who use substances, with gender differences reported for specific disorders. Gender-sensitive integrated treatment approaches are required to prevent and to address comorbidity psychiatric disorders among this population.

Originality/value

This secondary analysis of five cross-sectional studies included a large sample size allowing sufficient power to examine the differences between men and women. An additional strength of the methodology is the use of the gold standard PRISM which was used to assess disorders.


The aim of the present study was to analyze the mortality trend due to ischemic heart disease (IHD) among older adults, identify changes in the trend and determine the correlation with influenza vaccine coverage (2000 to 2012) in the state of São Paulo between 1980 and 2012. An ecological time series study was conducted involving secondary data from Brazilian information systems. Linear and polynomial regression models as well as joinpoint regression were used to estimate the trends. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the correlation between age-standardized mortality coefficients and vaccine coverage. A decreasing tendency in mortality due to IHD occurred in both sexes, higher mortality rates were found for males and greater reductions were found in the period after the vaccination campaigns. However, no statistically significant changes occurred in the year coinciding with or near the onset of the campaigns. In the overall sample, no evidence of a linear correlation was found between the mortality coefficients and vaccination coverage. Other factors directly associated with morbidity and mortality due to ischemic heart disease may have influenced the trend.


This study has examined the incidence of biliary tract disease in the general medical and surgical wards of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital as well as the prevalence of the disease in patients attending the Sickle-cell Clinic. There were 72 confirmed cases of biliary tract disease (0.5 percent hospital admissions) of which 17 or 23.9 percent had a positive sickling (AS, SS, SC). When SS and SC patients only were considered the incidence of biliary tract disease was significantly higher than the rest of the population. The incidence in biliary tract disease among patients attending the Sickle-cell Clinic was in this semiprospective study found to be 14.6 per cent; analysis of several clinical variables indicated that haemolysis was an important causative factor. There were however several other unexplained factors which emphasize the need for a more detailed prospective study in this area.


The X10 programming language offers a simple but expressive model of concurrency and distribution. Domain Specific Languages embedded in X10 (eDSL) can build upon this model to offer scheduling and placement facilities tailored to particular patterns of applications, e.g. stencils or graph traversals. They exploit X10's rich type system and closures to offer flexible and precise functional interfaces, however, they are restricted by X10's rigid syntax. In this work, we propose an overloading mechanism enabling eDSLs to redefine or extend the behavior of X10 control structures. Loops can be parallelized or distributed. Exception handlers can triage and process exceptions arising from concurrent tasks. While our overloading mechanism requires augmenting the X10 syntax with new forms, the change to the syntax is small and intuitive. Overall, the combination of syntax and semantics we propose improves code readability over traditional X10 at no cost in run time performance.


Background: Cutaneous human papillomavirus (HPV) types have been associated with non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), including a previous nested case–control study using HPV serology with bacterially derived fusion proteins with the major HPV capsid protein L1 (GST-L1). However, HPV serology using conformationally intact pseudovirions has been shown to correlate better with natural infection. Prospective studies using a more valid marker of infection are therefore warranted. Methods: Cancer registry follow-up of large Nordic biobanks identified prediagnostic serum samples from 633 subjects who later developed SCC, 1,990 subjects who developed basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The samples from cases and matched controls were tested for IgG to pseudovirions to 16 different HPV types (3, 5, 6, 11, 15, 16, 18, 31, 32, 33, 38, 45, 52, 58, 68, and 76) and two polyomaviruses (MCPyV and JCPyV). Results: Baseline seropositivity was not associated with SCC risk, and there were only weak associations with BCC risk [HPV-5 (OR, 1.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0–1.3), HPV-15 (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.0–1.4), HPV-38 (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.0–1.3), and MCPyV (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0–1.3)]. Acquisition of HPV-5 seropositivity during follow-up was associated with SCC risk (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.3–7.6). Persistent seropositivity for HPV-15 was weakly associated with BCC (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.0–1.9) and HPV-6 antibody persistence was weakly associated with SCC (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.0–4.8). Conclusion: Considering the large number of viruses tested, the weak associations found do not support any strong links between studied HPV and NMSC, with the possible exception of HPV-5 seroconversion and SCC. Impact: Known alpha and beta papillomaviruses do not appear to be risk factors for NMSC. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(4); 721–4. ©2016 AACR.


Background: Lithium has numerous biochemical effects but it is difficult to dissect which of these is responsible for its therapeutic action in bipolar disorder. In the current study we aimed to address one of the major hypotheses, the inositol depletion hypothesis. This hypothesis postulates that lithium's mood-stabilizing effect is mediated by the depletion of brain inositol levels and the subsequent effect on cellular signaling. Methods: We studied whether acute intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of myo-inositol could reverse the antidepressant-like effect of chronic lithium treatment in the forced swim test (FST). Results: In contrast with our prediction, acute myo-inositol administration did not reverse the effect of chronic lithium to decrease immobility in the FST. Conclusions: The results of the present study are limited due to the following: (1) inositol was given acutely while possible events downstream of inositol depletion might require a longer period and (2) ICV inositol may not have reached those areas of the brain involved in the FST.


A post contrast magnetic resonance imaging study has been performed in a wide population of low back pain patients to investigate which radiological and phenotypic characteristics influence the penetration of the contrast agent in lumbar discs in vivo. 37 patients affected by different pathologies (disc herniation, spondylolisthesis, foraminal stenosis, central canal stenosis) were enrolled in the study. The selected population included 26 male and 11 female subjects, with a mean age of 42.4±9.3 years (range 18–60). Magnetic resonance images of the lumbar spine were obtained with a 1.5 T scanner (Avanto, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) with a phased-array back coil. A paramagnetic non–ionic contrast agent was injected with a dose of 0.4 ml/kg. T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were subsequently acquired at 5 time points, 5 and 10 minutes, 2, 4 and 6 hours after injection. Endplates presented clear enhancement already 5 minutes after injection, and showed an increase in the next 2 hours followed by a decrease. At 5 and 10 minutes, virtually no contrast medium was present inside the intervertebral disc; afterwards, enhancement significantly increased. Highly degenerated discs showed higher enhancement in comparison with low and medium degenerated discs. Discs classified as Pfirrmann 5 showed a statistically significant higher enhancement than Pfirrmann 1, 2 and 3 at all time points but the first one, possibly due to vascularization. Disc height collapse and Modic changes significantly increased enhancement. Presence of endplate defects did not show any significant influence on post contrast enhancement, but the lack of a clear classification of endplate defects as seen on magnetic resonance scans may be shadowing some effects. In conclusion, disc height, high level of degeneration and presence of Modic changes are factors which increase post contrast enhancement in the intervertebral disc. The effect of age could not be demonstrated.


Cell migration is an important process occurring during normal animal development but also in the early stages of metastatic cancer when cells invasively migrate out of the primary tumor. It is therefore likely that some of the same genes function in both migrations. Although transcriptional profiling has identified many genes differentially expressed between metastases and primary tumors, we do not understand the function of most of these genes in either normal or disease states. Our goal has been to identify conserved genes used in migration of mammalian metastasis and normal C. elegans development to further characterize their function in both systems. From two published transcriptional profile datasets1,2, we selected genes that were upregulated in metastases compared to primary tumors, and then identified the C. elegans orthologs of those genes to generate a list of 107 genes. We further narrowed our selection to 87 genes based on the gene9s expression in the linker cell, a migratory C. elegans cell that we had previously transcriptionally profiled3. We used RNAi by feeding to reduce the function of these genes in three migratory cell types in C. elegans. The male linker cell and hermaphrodite distal tip cell are both somatic gonadal cells that migrate long distances while pulling along attached, non-motile gonadal cells, yet differ in their gender and in their migratory path. The sex myoblast migrates individually and for a short distance. We scored defects in migratory path, cell shape, and speed. 19 genes affected the migration of the linker cell and 16 genes that of the distal tip cell. Six genes overlapped between these two cell migrations, including SNTB2/syntrophin, an adaptor protein in the dystrophin pathway, and ATP6V0A1, a vacuolar proton-translocating ATPase. The sex myoblast screen is still ongoing, but only one of 25 genes affects its migration, showing even fewer overlapping genes with the other two cells. Among the genes that have penetrant but cell-specific defects are UTRN/utrophin, CAP1/ adenylate cyclase-associated protein, STXBP2/syntaxin binding protein, and MYL12A/myosin light chain regulatory subunit. Our results indicate that different cells use different genes for their migration, and suggest that different cancer cell types may also. This underscores the importance of characterizing the function of diverse genes to both understand their role in metastasis and identify cell type-specific drug targets. 1. Alonso, S.R. et al. (2007) A high-throughput study in melanoma identifies epithelial-mesenchymal transition as a major determinant of metastasis. Cancer Res. 67:3450-3460. 2. Patsialou, A. et al. (2012) Selective gene-expression profiling of migratory tumor cells in vivo predicts clinical outcome in breast cancer patients. Breast Cancer Res. 14:R139. 3. Schwarz, E.M.*, Kato, M*. Sternberg, P.W. (2012) Functional transcriptomics of a migrating cell in Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.109: 16246-51. Citation Format: Mihoko Kato, Jonathan Liu, Olivia Box Power, Anand Upadhyaya, John Yim, Paul Sternberg. Comparison of genes upregulated in metastasis with three C. elegans cell migrations. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: The Translational Impact of Model Organisms in Cancer; Nov 5-8, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2014;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A46.


Two methods of evaluating (the net social benefits of the dairy herd-improvement scheme operated by the New South Wales Department of Agriculture are described. The first involves derivation of 'an input demand' function for the herd-recording aspect of the scheme and use of this function to estimate the economic surplus (net of both private and public costs) provided by the service. The second approach involves deriving a production function for milk from which it is possible to estimate the contribution herd-recording and artificial breeding have made to increasing milk yields per cow. Social benefits are shown to have been less than social costs for herd-recording, however dairy farmers have made net private gains. The herd-recording scheme has contained a regressive subsidy element. The production function approach show that artificial breeding and herd-recording were profitable complements in production.


Instantaneous velocity of pulmonary artery blood was measured using a thin-film resistance anemometer mounted on a hypodermic needle. Studies were performed, at thoracotomy, in five dogs and five patients. Instantaneous blood velocity was recorded at several sites across the transverse axis of the main pulmonary artery to determine the shape of the velocity profile. We found the velocity profile, in both man and dog, to be approximately flat. In dog, the mean velocity, normalized to that at the center line, ranged from 1.18 (SD ± 0.03) to 0.81 (SD ± 0.27). In man, mean velocity of pulmonary artery blood, normalized in a similar fashion, ranged from 1.08 (SD ± 0.03) to 0.84 (SD ±0.07), while the normalized peak systolic velocity ranged from 1.04 (SD ± 0.07) to 0.95 (SD ± 0.16). The results, in dogs, suggest that there is little asymmetry of the velocity profile and therefore these have been taken as evidence that the use of cuff electromagnetic flowmeters on the pulmonary artery of dogs is not subject to significant inaccuracies associated with a nonsymmetrical flow profile. The finding of a relatively flat velocity profile in patients, moreover, will make it easier for catheter-tip flowmeters to measure bulk velocity in the pulmonary artery.


Background: The lacking healthcare system services in conflict areas and the emergence of infection with a pandemic of coronavirus disease may exacerbate the humanitarian crisis among the camp residents in the central Dafur region of Sudan. Adequate knowledge and practices are vital to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the knowledge and practice regarding COVID-19 among internally displaced persons in Sudan.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected through an online survey using a self-administered questionnaire. Convenience sampling method was used for the internally displaced persons in two camps of Zalingei town, central Darfur region, Sudan.
Results: In total, 143 participants responded; 75 (52.4%) of them were female, while 68 (47.6%) were male; 49 (34.3%) were between the age of 50 and 60 years; 78 (54.5%) were formally uneducated; 126 (88.1%) did not have a chronic disease; and 56 (39.2%) knew about COVID-19 from their relatives and friends. The overall mean of participants' knowledge toward COVID-19 was 3.68 (SD ± 0.60(, denoting good with a rate of 73.6% and that of the practice was 2.65 (SD ±1.08), denoting moderate with a rate of 53%. A positive correlation was seen between knowledge and practice (r = 0.700, p < 0.000). Statistically significant differences were observed between the mean score of knowledge and practice with age, education, and information sources (p < 0.0001). While graduates showed a higher knowledge (116.29, p = 0.000), secondary respondents showed a higher practice (115.04, p = 0.000) than others.
Conclusion: This study suggests educational intervention and awareness programs for uneducated and older people.


Hardware acceleration of deep learning using analog non-volatile memory (NVM) requires large arrays with high device yield, high accuracy Multiply-ACcumulate (MAC) operations, and routing frameworks for implementing arbitrary deep neural network (DNN) topologies. In this article, we present a 14-nm test-chip for Analog AI inference—it contains multiple arrays of phase change memory (PCM)-devices, each array capable of storing 512 $\times $ 512 unique DNN weights and executing massively parallel MAC operations at the location of the data. DNN excitations are transported across the chip using a duration representation on a parallel and reconfigurable 2-D mesh. To accurately transfer inference models to the chip, we describe a closed-loop tuning (CLT) algorithm that programs the four PCM conductances in each weight, achieving <3% average weight-error. A row-wise programming scheme and associated circuitry allow us to execute CLT on up to 512 weights concurrently. We show that the test chip can achieve near-software-equivalent accuracy on two different DNNs. We demonstrate tile-to-tile transport with a fully-on-chip two-layer network for MNIST (accuracy degradation ~0.6%) and show resilience to error propagation across long sequences (up to 10 000 characters) with a recurrent long short-term memory (LSTM) network, implementing off-chip activation and vector-vector operations to generate recurrent inputs used in the next on- chip MAC.


Abstract Our objective was to determine if chronic treatment with the non-competitive AMPA antagonist talampanel is efficacious and safe in subjects with ALS. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, randomized clinical trial of nine months treatment duration was conducted in 59 subjects with ALS, with 40 subjects receiving talampanel 50 mg p.o. t.i.d, and 19 subjects receiving placebo. Primary outcome measure was rate of decline in isometric arm strength (as measured by change in arm strength megaslope of the Tufts Quantitative Neuromuscular Exam (TQNE)). Other efficacy endpoints included rate of decline in respiratory function, isometric leg strength, bulbar function, fine motor function, the ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS), and survival. Secondary safety outcome measures were frequency of adverse events, neurological status, plasma concentration of talampanel, vital signs, routine laboratory tests, and electrocardiograms. Decline in muscle strength was 15% less in talampanel treated subjects, and decline in ALSFRS was 30% slower in talampanel treated subjects. Talampanel was safe in subjects with ALS. Mortality rates (8% talampanel, 5% placebo) and drug discontinuation rates (25% talampanel, 16% placebo) were similar in active treatment and placebo groups. Dizziness and somnolence occurred significantly more often in talampanel treated subjects. Although no efficacy measure reached statistical significance, there was a repeated trend toward slower decline in ALSFRS and isometric muscle strength in talampanel treated subjects. Talampanel was well tolerated in subjects with ALS. Although certain adverse events occurred more frequently in the active treatment group, the rate of subject drop-out after nine months did not exceed that seen in other trials. These findings provide strong support for a phase III trial to determine the efficacy of talampanel in subjects with ALS.


In 1962 when John B. Josimovich, MD, was a postdoctoral fellow, he published a fundamental paper on human placental lactogen. Interest in the function and characterization of the peptide grew rapidly. More recently, it was established that human pituitary prolactin (P) exists apart from pituitary growth hormone (GH), and elucidation of its role is progressing. According to our current understanding, the placentally produced placental lactogen, now termed "chorionic somatomammotropin" (CS), directs maternal metabolism to ensure fetal nutrition. Postpartum P production is required for lactation, and thereby plays an integral role in nutrition of the neonate. Because nutrition of the fetus and neonate commands the attention of both pediatric investigators and practicing pediatricians, the volume Lactogenic Hormones, Fetal Nutrition, and Lactation deserves the attention of both groups. The book successfully presents recent discoveries in the basic biology of CS and P and their clinical applications. The chapters are by eminent basic


Large 3D model lightweight is a practical need in CAD developments and applications. In this paper, a lightweight algorithm through intelligent geometrical information reduction for large assembly is proposed to generate simple model by using the assembly structure. This algorithm aims at reducing the size of 3D CAD model from three levels: components, feature and surfacing geometry. Key strategies such as components suppression, surface treatments based on hollow suturation and shell extraction, were used in the processing. Later experiments show that our lightweight algorithm can get satisfactory results with preferable computing performance. The lightweight technology can be widely used in many areas such as collaborative design and movement simulation, etc.


Oestrus patterns and serum progesterone profiles of 10 adult and 10 yearling Yankasa ewes were investigated in the late hot-dry and late-wet seasons in the subhumid tropical climate of Zaria, Nigeria. The proportions of ewes which came on heat once, twice or thrice within the experimental periods in the late hot-dry and late-wet seasons were 25, 15 and 0%, and 5, 10 and 85% respectively, while mean oestrous cycle length was significantly longer (P<0.001) in the hot-dry season than in the late-wet season (30.9 vs 18.4 days) due to the higher incidence of anoestrus in the former. However, the mean duration of oestrus was not affected by season. Mean serum progesterone levels were significantly (P<0.05) higher in the late-wet season than in the late hot-dry season (1.57 vs 0.52 ng/ml). However, there was a highly significant (P<0.001) interaction between season and age group in mean serum progesterone levels due to a relatively greater depression in progesterone levels in yearling ewes during the hot-dry season compared with adult ewes. The observed disruptions in the oestrus cycle and serum progesterone levels of the ewes in the hot-dry season confirm the adverse effect of heat stress on the reproductive behaviour of ewes. Keywords: Oestrus, Yankasa, Progesterone, Season, Subhumid, Tropics.


Background: Atrial fibrillation is the most common persistent arrhythmia. It is associated with increased mortality and morbidity such as stroke. The early detection of atrial fibrillation can significantly reduce the risk of stroke through preventive anticoagulation. Smartwatches offer the opportunity to screen for atrial fibrillation in the general population. This paper aims to analyze the ethical challenges associated with screening for atrial fibrillation using smartwatches. Methods: This is an ethical analysis. The methodology is based on the principle-orientated approach of Beauchamp and Childress. The principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and autonomy have to be guaranteed given the influence of private companies, privacy protection, liability and doctor-patient-relationship. The work is based on a systematic literature research. Results: There is currently no evidence that screening for atrial fibrillation with smartwatches improves the outcome and reduces the number of adverse events. The high number of false-positive results can lead to harm. The principle of non-maleficence is violated. The over-reliance on and the lack of adequate education by smartwatches can worsen the doctor-patient relationship. However, the relationship can also be improved by the proactive participation of the patient, which leads to greater autonomy, compliance and in the end beneficence. Since smartwatches are consumer goods, there is a risk for greater disparities in the poor and rich population. There is also a risk of discrimination against ethnic minorities due to underrepresentation in training data and study cohorts. The principle of justice is violated. The storage of sensitive medical data by private companies also raises many ethical and legal concerns. Conclusion: This analysis has shown that the use of smartwatches to detect atrial fibrillation is currently in an ethical perspective problematic. The lack of evidence and the high number of false-positive results can lead to harm. As smartwatches provide only little information about the possible consequences, informed consent cannot be assumed. Ethical implementation could be archived if doctors provide smartwatches to patients who have been shown to benefit from them. The implementation and education should be managed by the doctor.


Between 1980 and the mid-1990's, the earnings of American women and men became more equal. The narrowing of the earnings gap reflects a number of changes in women's life experiences (delayed marriage and childbearing, increased labor force participation, greater educational equity with men), as well as lower wages for men. This study presents a review and an appraisal of the advancement of women, especially nonmetropolitan women, during the 1980's and mid-1990's. High poverty rates among nonmetro women are cause for public policy concern. This report originated from a request to review the Draft Platform for Action for the Fourth U.N. World Conference on Women held in September 1995 in Beijing, China.


Switzerland's overarching agricultural policy objectives reflect societal concerns about various production aspects of agriculture, such as environmental sustainability and animal welfare, and the expectation that agriculture will provide public goods demanded by society. Among the various policy instruments used by Switzerland to achieve these objectives, border protection represents a significant component of support. This study assesses the relevance of border protection for agriculture in Switzerland. It finds that border protection is not relevant for achieving the overarching objectives of Swiss agricultural policy, with one exception. By stimulating domestic production, high levels of border protection ensure that Switzerland meets its target rate of gross food production. But border protection is unlikely to deliver the other outcomes and public goods desired by Swiss society. This is because support provided through border protection is not conditional on delivery of the outcomes and public goods demanded by Swiss society, and is untargeted towards the activities, inputs and regions most strongly related to those outcomes and public goods. Moreover, border protection imposes significant costs on the Swiss economy. The study concludes by proposing alternative policies in place of border protection.


For machine reading comprehension, the capacity of effectively modeling the linguistic knowledge from the detail-riddled and lengthy passages and getting ride of the noises is essential to improve its performance. Traditional attentive models attend to all words without explicit constraint, which results in inaccurate concentration on some dispensable words. In this work, we propose using syntax to guide the text modeling by incorporating explicit syntactic constraints into attention mechanism for better linguistically motivated word representations. In detail, for self-attention network (SAN) sponsored Transformer-based encoder, we introduce syntactic dependency of interest (SDOI) design into the SAN to form an SDOI-SAN with syntax-guided self-attention. Syntax-guided network (SG-Net) is then composed of this extra SDOI-SAN and the SAN from the original Transformer encoder through a dual contextual architecture for better linguistics inspired representation. To verify its effectiveness, the proposed SG-Net is applied to typical pre-trained language model BERT which is right based on a Transformer encoder. Extensive experiments on popular benchmarks including SQuAD 2.0 and RACE show that the proposed SG-Net design helps achieve substantial performance improvement over strong baselines.


Silver nanoparticles were prepared adopting microwave synthesizing method and coated on the optical fiber lateral utilizing a self-assembling technology. An optical fiber sensor based on localized surface plasmon resonant (LSPR) was developed. UV-vis extinction spectrum of the optical fiber modified nanoparticles was investigated with a fiber spectrometer. The results show that LSPR extinction peak locates at 426.57 nm in pure water. LSPR peak produces a red shift with the increase of the refractive index of sample solution. The peak wavelength bears a linear relationship to the refractive index of sucrose solution over a range of 6%-30% (mass percentage), with a sensitivity of 178 nm/RIU. Although silver nanoparticles aggregated fractionally, the optical sensor still can distinguish the difference of dielectric constant of the sample solution. But the sensitivity is lowered to 120 nm/RIU. And, there is a linear relationship between the extinction peak intensity of LSPR and the refractive index of the solution, with a sensitivity of 1.612 AU/RIU.


Mechanical ventilation is a part of the most frequently used technological treatments in Intensive Care Units (ICU) which facilitates the gas exchange to the lung in impaired breathing situations. However, it is a stressful and frustrating experience for patients. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the experiences of mechanical ventilation of patients admitted to ICUs in the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, the Teaching Hospital in Peradeniya and the District General Hospital in Nuwara-Eliya. The purposive sample of 15 mechanically ventilated patients was recruited for this phenomenological study to collect the data during one month by using semi structured interviews. Data was analyzed by thematic analysis method. A total of 11 sub themes and three main themes were identified. All these themes are reflections of intra personal, extra personal and interpersonal experiences of the patients. The feeling of inner suffering such as pain, dependency, fear and anxiety, thirst, noise level, cold environment and nightmares were identified while on mechanical ventilation. Further, the body intolerances such as feelings of congested secretions, experiences of suctioning, inspiration by ambu and chest physiotherapy were reported. Patients further noted that an inability to speak, diverse way of communication and inability to express feelings as being more stressful and frustrating. Mechanically ventilated patients tolerate many stressors during mechanical ventilation at moderate to high levels of distress. Hence exploring experiences of mechanical ventilated patients can be used to provide them with better care that will reduce their stressors when they are on a ventilator. OUSL Journal Vol.9 2015: 83-96


1,2-Dicarbonyl compounds, formed from carbohydrates during thermal processing in the course of caramelization and Maillard reactions, are intensively discussed as precursors for advanced glycation endproducts in foods and in vivo. To obtain information about the uptake of individual compounds with commonly consumed foods, a comprehensive analysis of the content of 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG), 3-deoxygalactosone (3-DGal), and methylglyoxal (MGO) together with 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in 173 food items like bakery products, pasta, nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages, sweet spreads, and condiments was performed. Following suitable cleanup procedures, 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds were quantitated after derivatization with o-phenylenediamine via RP-HPLC with UV detection. 3-DG proved to be the predominant 1,2-dicarbonyl compound with concentrations up to 410 mg/L in fruit juices, 2622 mg/L in balsamic vinegars, and 385 mg/kg in cookies, thus exceeding the corresponding concentrations of HMF. 3-DGal was found to be of relevance in many foods even in the absence of galactose. MGO was only of minor quantitative importance in all foods studied, except for manuka honey. Dietary intake was estimated to range between 20 and 160 mg/day for 3-DG and 5 and 20 mg/day for MGO, respectively.


In this work, the Raman spectrophotometer (HG.2S Jobin Yvon) was interfaced with labVIEW card to act as data acquisition system instead of the chart recorder. The interface of the Raman (HG.2S Jobin Yvon) with the labVIEW card require some modifications to the setup ,the main parts of the original setup of the systems were replaced by an air-cooled photomultiplier tube type (RCA IP28), log amplifier, handscanning and labVIEW card, all these components were assembled and the whole devices was tested successfully the new setup after interfacing by labVIEW was checked and calibrated by generating experiments with known standard solutions , which showed perfect consistency with literature in the references and published papers.


Due to the massive penetration of alternative renewable energies, hydropower is a key energy conversion technology for stabilizing the electrical power network by using hydraulic machines at off design operating conditions. At full load, the axisymmetric cavitation vortex rope developing in Francis turbines acts as an internal source of energy, leading to an instability commonly referred to as selfexcited surge. 1-D models are developed to predict this phenomenon and to define the range of safe operating points for a hydropower plant. These models involve several parameters that have to be calibrated using experimental and numerical data. The present work aims to identify these parameters with URANS computations with a particular focus on the fluid damping rising when the cavitation volume oscillates. Two test cases have been investigated: a cavitation flow in a Venturi geometry without inlet swirl and a reduced scale model of a Francis turbine operating at full load conditions. The cavitation volume oscillation is forced by imposing an unsteady outlet pressure conditions. By varying the frequency of the outlet pressure, the resonance frequency is determined. Then, the pressure amplitude and the resonance frequency are used as two objectives functions for the optimization process aiming to derive the 1-D model parameters.


Different hybrid composite pipe solutions have been proposed and evaluated for use in ultra-deepwater applications. This includes composite and hybrid composite/metallic pipe designs made from both a thermoplastic and thermosetting matrix. Each of these designs target a proportion of the future deep sea market and will require a leveraging of present logistics and infrastructure or new developments for deployment. These design concepts primarily focus on deepwater (hence, a higher collapse load) in combination with higher pressure and/or sour service requirements. A section of this hybrid composite pipe design targets the larger diameter high through-put (low or high pressure) FLNG market.GE Oil & Gas has proposed hybrid metallic/composite pipelines which use composite layers for both hoop and tensile loads. This paper discusses and compares several different design concepts i.e. bonded composite pressure armor, composite tensile armor and both. Although the use of composite pipe will reduce the overall weight, consideration should be given to the buoyancy versus drag requirements of each composite pipe design. Further, consideration needs to be given to manufacturing, reeling, transportation and installation for each of these different design concepts. Acceptability of these individual designs by the end customer requires detailed FMECA, qualification and testing. This paper therefore compares detailed advantages of each composite pipe design for ultra-deepwater applications, presents the latest developments and compares future applications.Considerations have been given to development of continuous quality control procedures for the manufacture of these composite pipelines and working prototypes. In addition, the latest results are discussed. The possibilities of defects correction and repair mechanism are also explored. This paper aims to show an appreciation of various composite pipe design concepts and addresses key concerns from both a manufacturing and customer acceptability point of view.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


Tabling has been acknowledged as a useful technique in the logic pro- gramming arena for enhancing both performance and declarative properties of pro- grams. As well, deductive database implementations benefit from this technique for implementing query solving engines. In this paper, we show how unusual opera- tions in deductive systems can be integrated with tabling. Such operations come from relational database systems in the form of null-related (outer) joins, duplicate support and duplicate elimination. The proposal has been implemented as a proof of concept rather than an efficient system in the Datalog Educational System (DES) using Prolog as a development language and its dynamic database.


This thesis is divided into eight main chapters and makes contributions to the area of financial crises and international finance. The first chapter provides a general introduction to the thesis and highlights the main contributions of our work. The second chapter is a literature review which provides a well-defined structure to organise our thoughts about the literature on micro-systemic risks and Central Bank policy. The chapter initially reviews the literature for single-bank crises. It then proceeds on to provide a succinct account of multiple-bank crises and of financial crises that result from the interaction between banks and financial markets. The main value-added of this chapter is that it helps us identify those areas in the literature in which research work is missing. This provides legitimate foundation for building new models to address these issues. The subsequent chapters of this thesis have emerged to bridge these missing gaps identified in our literature review.

Chapters 3, 4 and 5 deal with banking panic transmission in two-bank scenario. With common investments affected by the same macroeconomic fundamental, a crisis that spreads from one bank to another has contagious and correlated elements. The purpose of these chapters is to provide a robust theoretical account that can enable us distinguish between these two elements in probability terms. We embed a two-bank model within a dynamic Bayesian setting and use the global games approach to derive the existence of trigger equilibrium in each bank. Chapter 3 provides an overview of our banking environment. Chapter 4 makes a contribution to derivation of the equilibrium concept and shows the equivalence between Perfect Bayesian Equilibrium (PBE) of our game and trigger equilibrium. Chapter 5 encapsulates all results. We show the existence of contagion as one of `excess correlation' between banks. This allows us to depart from existing theoretical papers which explain contagion as interdependence. Furthermore, we show that whether contagion or correlation occurs is a function of the relative importance depositors attach to private vs public signals. The chapter ends by identifying some puzzles (zero-link, clustering and avoidance) which our paradigm can explain and throws light on ways (which are not captured by single-bank models) Central Banks should implement prudential policy measures.

Chapters 6, 7 and 8 deal with financial crises in open economies. An important limit of existing bank run models is that they are developed without taking into account the level of economic development of the economy in which they occur. We are interested in studying how financial crises occur in an Emerging Market Economy (EME) and, most importantly, how the nature of their occurrence differs when the exogenous macroeconomic constraints of an EME are duly accounted for. Chapter 6 introduces the main banking environment we study in the subsequent two chapters. Important among the assumptions are that all depositors in the banking system are foreign investors (the economy is fully liberalised) and that banks have balance sheets characterised by liability dollarisation. We use the mechanism design approach to show the existence of a pecking order in allocation of resources and liquidity. In particular, we show that a banking allocation is weakly Pareto- inferior to that of a Planner who observes all structures of the economy but its stochastic fundamentals and who achieves second-best allocation. Once this banking allocation is derived, Chapter 7 studies the nature of the transmission mechanism from a banking crisis to a currency crisis. We show that under certain parametric restrictions, Lender-of-Last Resort (LOLR) policies may be a conduit that generates a currency crisis. In a multi-bank setting, LOLR may even be sub-optimal since it may induce devaluation-based bank runs at other banks. Chapter 8 studies the reverse causation from a currency crisis to a banking crisis. Both chapters 7 and 8 offer useful guidance to policy. The success of a policy measure depends on its ability to restore the Planner's second-best. A number of policy options (e.g state-contingent controls) are studied and suggestions for design of exchange rate regimes, based on ability to ward off the twin crises, are offered as well.


Objectives: Because the mechanical behavior of the implant-abutment system is critical for the longevity of implant-supported reconstructions, this study evaluated the fatigue reliability of different implant-abutment systems used as single-unit crowns and their failure modes. Methods and Materials: Sixty-three Ti-6Al-4V implants were divided in 3 groups: Replace Select (RS); IC-IMP Osseotite; and Unitite were restored with their respective abutments. Anatomically correct central incisor metal crowns were cemented and subjected to separate single load to failure tests and step-stress accelerated life testing (n = 18). A master Weibull curve and reliability for a mission of 50,000 cycles at 200 N were calculated. Polarized-light and scanning electron microscopes were used for failure analyses. Results: The load at failure mean values during step-stress accelerated life testing were 348.14 N for RS, 324.07 N for Osseotite, and 321.29 N for the Unitite systems. No differences in reliability levels were detected between systems, and only the RS system mechanical failures were shown to be accelerated by damage accumulation. Failure modes differed between systems. Conclusions: The 3 evaluated systems did not present significantly different reliability; however, failure modes were different.


This study was conducted in Muk-Lami town located at 498 km from Addis Ababa and 54 km far from the Western Wollega zonal city, Ghimbi. The study was concerned with reproductive health and contraception where females in the study area have less exposure to contraceptives, choice and proper utilization of methods. This study attempted to investigate major determinants of contraceptive choice, use and side effects on female clients attending family planning services at Muk-Lami Governmental Health Center. The data was collected from women clients selected by simple random method for further information concerning choice and side effects of contraceptives among women attending family planning services. The data had been collected from 182 women between age categories of 20-49 years. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Among contraceptive clients, 39.56% of women have not been informed about contraceptives. Obtained results showed that each contraception method had its own side effects that ranged from mild to severe health complications and reproductive risks on mothers. The majority (61.54%) of clients responded that they feel at least a minimum discomfort whenever using one of the modern birth control methods. Findings of this study also revealed that educated and non-educated women did not have similar and adequate knowledge on contraception. Therefore, educational experts, medical sectors and other concerned bodies including NGOs should empower women through special sex education for successful implementation of family planning programs.

 Key words: Birth control, contraceptive, clients, pregnancy, side effect, women


We present a catalog of 182 galaxy clusters detected through the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich (SZ) effect by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope in a contiguous 987.5 deg2 field. The clusters were detected as SZ decrements by applying a matched filter to 148 GHz maps that combine the original ACT equatorial survey with data from the first two observing seasons using the ACTPol receiver. Optical/IR confirmation and redshift measurements come from a combination of large public surveys and our own follow-up observations. Where necessary, we measured photometric redshifts for clusters using a pipeline that achieves accuracy Δz/(1 + z) = 0.015 when tested on Sloan Digital Sky Survey data. Under the assumption that clusters can be described by the so-called universal pressure profile (UPP) and its associated mass scaling law, the full signal-to-noise ratio > 4 sample spans the mass range , with median . The sample covers the redshift range 0.1 < z < 1.4 (median z = 0.49), and 28 clusters are new discoveries (median z = 0.80). We compare our catalog with other overlapping cluster samples selected using the SZ, optical, and X-ray wavelengths. We find that the ratio of the UPP-based SZ mass to richness-based weak-lensing mass is . After applying this calibration, the mass distribution for clusters with M500c > 4 × 1014 M⊙ is consistent with the number of such clusters found in the South Pole Telescope SZ survey.


This paper considers the estimation of the steady wind component around small fixedwing unmanned aerial vehicles using measurements from a Pitot-static tube and velocity over ground information. A three-stage filter is proposed, which yields globally exponentially stable estimation of the wind velocity and a correction factor on the dynamic pressure measurements from the Pitot-static tube. The suggested filter is compared with an extended Kalman filter and shown to yield identical steady state performance in both simulations and experiments. Additionally, the improved stability with respect to the extended Kalman filter is demonstrated with a choice of suboptimal tuning, for which the extended Kalman filter failed to converge whereas the suggested filter did not.


This study aimed to develop and evaluate the ECO-friendly Mg-5Zn-0.5Zr (ECO505) alloy for application in dental-guided bone regeneration (GBR). The microstructure and surface properties of biomedical Mg materials greatly influence anti-corrosion performance and biocompatibility. Accordingly, for the purpose of microstructure and surface modification, heat treatments and surface coatings were chosen to provide varied functional characteristics. We developed and integrated both an optimized solution heat-treatment condition and surface fluoride coating technique to fabricate a Mg-based regeneration membrane. The heat-treated Mg regeneration membrane (ARRm-H380) and duplex-treated regeneration membrane group (ARRm-H380-F24 h) were thoroughly investigated to characterize the mechanical properties, as well as the in vitro corrosion and in vivo degradation behaviors. Significant enhancement in ductility and corrosion resistance for the ARRm-H380 was obtained through the optimized solid-solution heat treatment; meanwhile, the corrosion resistance of ARRm-H380-F24 h showed further improvement, resulting in superior substrate integrity. In addition, the ARRm-H380 provided the proper amount of Mg-ion concentration to accelerate bone growth in the early stage (more than 80% new bone formation). From a specific biomedical application point of view, these research results point out a successful manufacturing route and suggest that the heat treatment and duplex treatment could be employed to offer custom functional regeneration membranes for different clinical patients.


STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is one of the subject areas which are being taught in Japan by employing CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning). Within the framework of teaching methodology, output tasks are considered to be effective in helping learners' cognition with the target language. UBM (Usage-based model) supports this idea as learners can use the language more in the output tasks to explain and illustrate what they are paying attention to. In this study, the hypothesis is examined by teaching English in CLIL methodology to technology majors at a Japanese university. Throughout the semester, the output-focused group (N=54) is oriented to output tasks, while the input-focused group (N=24) is focused on reading material. Both groups are taught by the same English teacher in Soft CLIL. Their improvement of understanding of English involved with logical thinking can be measured by pre- and post-GJTs (Grammaticality Judgement Tests) which contain causal relationship with conjunctions. A t-test of the results shows that both groups shows significant differences between pre- and post-tests (input: t=1.7633, p=0.04181; output: t=1.9017, p=0.03491). However, no significant differences between the input group and output group are observed in both pre- and post-tests.


Abstract In this paper, limiting tensile strain method (LTSM) is reviewed, and advantages and disadvantages resulted from the simplicity of this method are examined in the light of the findings of the existing experimental and numerical studies. Using the viewpoint of the transfer functions for the LTSM, a more independent sight for the interpretation of the relationships between deflection ratio, structure's geometry, longitudinal/shear stiffness ratio and the limiting tensile strain is provided. In addition, the effect of average horizontal strain is included simply in the modified deep beam equations. Using reported data and observed damage classes of real and simulated case studies available in the literature, back-calculations for the coefficients of the transfer function are made. After comparing the back-calculated coefficients to the original coefficients of the LTSM, it is shown that observed damage and measured crack widths are reasonably compatible with the proposed limiting tensile strain boundaries. Also, it is shown that for the cases in which moderate or higher damage was observed, the original deep beam equations tend to underestimate the resultant damage.


The aim of this study was to determine the effects of vasopressin V1 receptor antagonism on regional hemodynamics in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR/Izm). Changes in blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery or terminal aorta were measured in rats with a chronically implanted electromagnetic flowmeter. The combination of a non-hypotensive hemorrhage (0.3 ml/100 g weight) and ganglionic blockade with hexamethonium bromide (C6; 25 mg/kg weight) had no effect on mesenteric resistance. On the other hand, subsequent intravenous administration of a peptide vasopressin V1 receptor antagonist (V1A; 10 microg/kg:[d(CH2)5(1)-O Methyl-Tyr(2)-Arg8]-vasopressin) significantly reduced mesenteric resistance in SHR/Izm but had no effect on hindquarter resistance. Furthermore, the infusion of C6 (after pretreatment with hemorrhage plus V1A) induced a marked reduction of blood pressure and a significant decrease in superior mesenteric resistance only in SHR/Izm. Thus, we showed an altered reactivity to V1A in the superior mesenteric and/or hindquarter vascular regions of SHR/Izm, suggesting that maintenance of elevated resistance in the mesenteric vascular bed mainly relates to a potential vasopressin-mediated vasoconstriction and that a new sympathetic vasoconstrictor tone is generated within the superior mesenteric vascular bed to compensate for hypotensive intervention (minor hemorrhage plus V1A) in conscious SHR/Izm.


1458 students were surveyed by using the method of anonymous questionnaires. It was found that 35.3 percent of students consumed alcohol, and the incidence of alcohol abuse was increasing with years of study. The majority of students (62 percent) started to drink at the age of 15-18. Notwithstanding, only one-fourth of students received information on harmful effects of alcohol abuse at school, from teachers. All this necessitated to search for effective methods of early identification of alcoholization, and also more effective forms of anti-alcoholic education, more active involvement of students in these activities, in the struggle for healthy lifestyle.


Tumorigenesis is maintained through a complex interplay of multiple cellular biological processes and is regulated to some extent by epigenetic control of gene expression. Targeting one signaling pathway or biological function in cancer treatment often results in compensatory modulation of others, such as off-target drivers of cell survival. As a result, overall survival of cancer patients is still far from satisfactory. Epigenetic-modulating agents can concurrently target multiple aberrant or compensatory signaling pathways found in cancer cells. However, existing epigenetic-modulating agents in cancer treatment have not yet fully translated into survival benefits beyond hematological tumors. In this article, we present a historical rationale for use of chidamide (CS055/Epidaza), an orally active and subtype-selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor of the benzamide chemical class. This compound was discovered and successfully developed as mono-therapy for relapsed and refractory peripheral T cell lymphoma (PTCL) in China. We discuss the evidence supporting chidamide as a durable epigenetic modulator that allows cellular reprogramming with little cytotoxicity in cancer treatments.


BACKGROUND
HCV infection is a major complication among patients undergoing dialysis therapy throughout the world. In the years prior to the use of human recombinant erythropoietin (rHuEpo), patients undergoing haemodialysis were subjected to an excessive iron load as a consequence of frequent blood transfusions. Recent data in the non-dialysis population have shown a positive correlation between iron deposits and the severity of HCV hepatitis and between iron deposition and an impaired response to interferon therapy.

METHODS
One hundred and five haemodialysis patients were studied. Every patient was screened for HCV infection by ELISA II and HCV RNA. Serum biochemistries were analysed by SMAC20. Ferritin was measured by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTS
The aminotransferase levels for the HCV positive (n = 39) and negative patients (n = 66) were below the normal levels for the general population. The mean values of aminotransferases and plasma ferritin were, however, higher in the HCV-positive patients than in the HCV-negative patients. A positive correlation between aminotransferases and plasma ferritin was evident in HCV-positive patients, which was absent in the HCV-negative individuals. The histological severity of liver disease (n = 7) was, however, not statistically related with the levels of either ferritin or aminotransferases.

CONCLUSION
HCV infection is a relevant variable when estimating iron deposits by measuring plasma ferritin. Accordingly, a misinterpretation of the actual amount of iron deposits may occur in HCV-positive patients, which should be taken into account at the time of planning their iron reposition therapy. On the other hand, the level of iron deposits might have a significant role in the evolution of HCV-related liver disease.


This article examines one object emerging from the field of the Artificial Immune System (AIS), namely the CLONALG algorithm, from a feminist materialist perspective. It traces the naturecultures of this object by asking how the computational technique of the CLONALG implements immunological principles in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how, through this, the CLONALG operates as a discursive-material agent in negotiating the boundary between artifice and nature. This involves mapping the politics of, firstly, algorithms as sorting techniques and secondly, immunity as an organizing principle. The suggested approach of entangled naturecultures allows "us" to develop an account of the politics of the CLONALG that traces the normative dimensions of the knowledge exchange between computational techniques and immunological theory that follows from bringing the concepts and practices of immunological principles into use within AI. It also encompasses a consideration of the mutual inspiration between biology and AI as a process of materializing—that is, as world-making practices. Thus, this article illustrates the entangled politics of the CLONALG as they figure in the naturecultures of immunological computational techniques.


SUMMARY. This article reports a series of three case studies where the author carried out a spinal mobilization treatment concurrent with the patient's attempt to contract a chronically weakened muscle or muscle group. All of the cases describe enhancement of the contraction of the posterior crural muscles post trauma. A brief discussion of the results and potential mechanisms by which the results may have been achieved is presented. This involves reference to proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF), muscle energy techniques and to spinal mobilizations with limb movements. Copyright 1997 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.


Abstract. Relative sea-level variations during the late Pleistocene can only be reconstructed with the knowledge of ice-sheet history. On the other hand, the knowledge of regional and global relative sea-level variations is necessary to learn about the changes in ice volume. Overcoming this problem of circularity demands a fully coupled system where ice sheets and sea level vary consistently in space and time and dynamically affect each other. Here we present results for the past 410 000 years (410 kyr) from the coupling of a set of 3-D ice-sheet-shelf models to a global sea-level model, which is based on the solution of the gravitationally self-consistent sea-level equation. The sea-level model incorporates the glacial isostatic adjustment feedbacks for a Maxwell viscoelastic and rotating Earth model with coastal migration. Ice volume is computed with four 3-D ice-sheet-shelf models for North America, Eurasia, Greenland and Antarctica. Using an inverse approach, ice volume and temperature are derived from a benthic δ18O stacked record. The derived surface-air temperature anomaly is added to the present-day climatology to simulate glacial–interglacial changes in temperature and hence ice volume. The ice-sheet thickness variations are then forwarded to the sea-level model to compute the bedrock deformation, the change in sea-surface height and thus the relative sea-level change. The latter is then forwarded to the ice-sheet models. To quantify the impact of relative sea-level variations on ice-volume evolution, we have performed coupled and uncoupled simulations. The largest differences of ice-sheet thickness change occur at the edges of the ice sheets, where relative sea-level change significantly departs from the ocean-averaged sea-level variations.


The effects of crude protein (CP) concentration in feed using soybean meal as its source in the early fattening period on the levels of free amino acids (FAAs) and dipeptides in the blood, and the levels in the M. longissimus thoracis after slaughter were studied in Japanese Black steers. Sixteen steers were divided into four groups and given feed with a CP content of 12, 14, 16, or 18% of dry matter (DM) from 10 to 20 months old, and they were fed with the same level of CP (13.5-13.9% of DM) until slaughter at 30 months of age. There was no significant difference in the weight gain, carcass weight or marbling score between the groups. Concerning the serum FAA and dipeptide contents at 20 months of age, the alanine, tyrosine and tryptophan levels decreased, while the carnosine (Car) level increased, with increases in the CP level in the feed. Although there were no significant differences in the FAA contents of the Longissimus thoracis muscle between the groups, the Car content decreased with increases in the feed protein level.