We used a morphometric and autoradiographic approach to analyze changes in specific cytoplasmic granules and cytoplasmic lipid bodies associated with human lung mast cell degranulation. Mast cells were dissociated from lung tissue by enzymatic digestion and were then enriched to purities of up to 99% by countercurrent centrifugation elutriation and recovery from columns containing specific antigen bound to Sepharose 6 MB. Degranulation was induced by goat anti-IgE. At various intervals after stimulation, parallel aliquots of cells were recovered for determination of histamine release or were fixed for transmission electron microscopy. We found that lipid bodies, electron- dense structures that lack unit membranes, were present in both control and stimulated mast cells. Autoradiographic analysis showed that lipid bodies represented the major repository of 3H-label derived from [3H]arachidonic acid taken up from the external milieu. By contrast, the specific cytoplasmic granules contained no detectable 3H-label. In addition, lipid bodies occurred in intimate association with degranulation channels during mast cell activation, but the total volume of lipid bodies did not change during the 20 min after stimulation with anti-IgE. This result stands in striking contrast to the behavior of specific cytoplasmic granules, the great majority of which (77% according to aggregate volume) exhibited ultrastructural alterations during the first 20 min of mast cell activation. These observations establish that mast cell cytoplasmic granules and cytoplasmic lipid bodies are distinct organelles that differ in ultrastructure, biochemistry, and behavior during mast cell activation.


To achieve the tracing control of a three-links spatial robot, a backstepping fuzzy sliding mode controller based on variable rate reaching law is proposed in this paper. The sliding mode controller is designed by means of backstepping way. To reduce the adjustment time, a fuzzy controller is designed to adjust the slope of sliding mode surface. To diminish the chattering of traditional sliding mode control, the variable rate reaching law is proposed. The variable rate reaching law is composed of the distance from current point to sliding mode surface in phase plane. The simulation studies for the tracking control of a three-links spatial robot have been carried out. Simulation results show the validity of the proposed control scheme.


Introduction The insertion of self-expanding metal mesh stents (SEMS) is often employed in the palliation of upper GI malignancy or in patients with benign disease who are unfit for more aggressive intervention. Technical and clinical outcomes are usually predictable and good. It is more difficult to predict patient survival; this audit was undertaken to address this outcome. Method Patients undergoing upper GI SEMS insertion between 1st January and 31st December 2016 were identified from an endoscopy software system (Unisoft). Patients' demographic data and outcome was obtained by interrogation of the hospital computerised laboratory records system (ICE), Somerset Cancer Registry (SCR) and pathological records. Results 76 upper GI SEMS were inserted in 59 patients between 1st January and 31st December 2016. There were 42 men and 17 women. The mean age of the group was 68.5 (range 41–89) years. SEMS insertion – This was undertaken by experienced endoscopists utilising fluoroscopy in all cases. Oesophageal SEMS used were all fully covered, either Wallflex Oesophageal (Boston Scientific) or Niti-S Double (Taewoong) and inserted using the over-the-wire technique. Gastric outflow SEMS were either Evolution Duodenal uncovered (Cook Medical) or Niti-S S pyloric/duodenal fully covered (Taewoong). These were inserted using the through-the-scope method. Oesophageal SEMS insertion – This was undertaken in 49 patients; 46 had oesophageal or oesophago-gastric junctional cancer, 2 extrinsic compression from lung cancer and 1 benign post-operative anastomotic stricture. 1 or more repeat interventions were required in a total of 17 (35%) patients. This included 17 repeat SEMS insertions, 5 reposition of SEMS, 1 removal for pain and 1 argon plasma coagulation recanalisation of hyperplastic overgrowth. 37 patients (75%) died after a median follow up of 99 (range 3–485) days. The median survival was 89 (range 3–485) days. Gastric outflow SEMS insertion – This was performed in 10 patients; 5 had pancreatic cancer, 2 post-operative recurrence of oesophago-gastric cancer, 1 gastric cancer, 1 post-operative anastomotic stricture (Whipple's procedure) and 1 chronic pancreatitis. 2 patients (20%) had repeat intervention; 1 removal (benign disease) and 1 stent dilatation. 7 patients (70%) died after a median follow up of 80 (range 8–232) days. The median survival was 56 (range 8–110) days. Conclusion We know that upper GI SEMS insertion produces palliation of distressing symptoms in patients with advanced disease. In this audit we have defined that between 20%–35% of patients require an endoscopic re-intervention to their SEMS. Survival in both patient groups is limited, with a median survival of between 2 and 3 months. This data should inform discussion in patients regarding end of life planning. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Purpose:
 Submaximal exercise testing can be an attractive alternative to peak testing especially in clinical environments where a metabolic cart and adequately trained medical staff may not be readily available. We examined the relationship between peak oxygen consumption (VO2 peak) and a predicted VO2 peak value obtained from a submaximal exercise test that we developed for a total body recumbent stepper (TBRS). We hypothesized that in people with subacute stroke, the actual VO2 peak and predicted VO2 peak would have a moderate (r > 0.75) relationship.

 Methods:
 Ten individuals in the subacute stage of stroke recovery (68.6+40.1 days post-stroke) and 61.2+ 5.0 years of age participated in the study. Exercise testing using a metabolic cart and the TBRS for the exercise modality was performed on the first day to obtain VO2 peak. We used the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) protocol for the TBRS. The step rate was maintained between 95-100 steps per minute (spm). Participants started the test at 30 watts and resistance was increased every 3 minutes according to the protocol until volitional fatigue, or 85% of age-predicted HR max was achieved. HR was recorded ten seconds prior to the end of the second and third minute of each stage. If the two HR measures were within 5 bpm of each other, participants progressed to the next stage. However, if the difference was greater than 5 bpm, an additional minute was performed to ensure a steady-state. The participants completed the submaximal exercise test within one to two days after the peak exercise test. The workload in watts and HR at the end of the submaximal exercise test along with age, sex and weight (kg) were used in the equation to predict VO2 peak.

 Results:
 We found that predicted VO2 peak generated from the submaximal exercise test equation had a strong correlation to the actual VO2 peak (r = 0.80, p = 0.006). Mean peakVO2 (ml*kg-1*min-1) from the exercise test was 22.9 + 7.3 ml*kg-1*min-1 and the predicted mean value was 17.6 + 6.1 ml*kg-1*min-1. Paired t-test revealed a statistically significant difference between these two values (p = 0.005).

 Conclusion:
 This preliminary data demonstrates the TBRS submaximal exercise test shows promise for assessing VO2 peak in sub-acute stroke.


This paper argues for the application of authorship analysis to technology design. It extends techniques used in Science Studies to investigate scientific authorship in order to define a concept of technical authorship. To illustrate the potential of this approach, authorship analysis is applied to particular prescriptive software design methodologies including Participatory Design and Agile Software Development. The results of this analysis are the recognition that: a) design methodologies are rhetorics of authorship, b) the designer-user relationship can be seen as a conflict of contested authorship, and c) this conflict can be seen within the tensions in the figuration of the user and the designer along a subject-object continuum. "Figuration," a technique used by Donna Haraway, brings about a new understanding of the centrality of the user in the design process as well as the role of the designer as the contested author technical futures. The implications suggest that design researchers might use authorship as a new approach to the politics of design by re-figuring the designer and user rather than collapsing the distinction between these roles.


The introduction of software-defined networking (SDN) has emerged as a new network paradigm for network innovations. By decoupling the control plane from the data plane in traditional networks, SDN provides high programmability to control and manage networks. However, the communication between the two planes can be a bottleneck of the whole network. SDN-aimed DoS attacks can cause long packet delay and high packet loss rate by using massive table-miss packets to jam links between the two planes. To detect and mitigate SDN-aimed DoS attacks, this paper presents FloodDefender, an efficient and protocol-independent defense framework for SDN/OpenFlow networks. FloodDefender stands between the controller platform and other controller apps, and conforms to the OpenFlow policy without additional devices. The detection module in FloodDefender utilizes new frequency features to precisely identify SDN-aimed DoS attacks. The mitigation module uses three new techniques to efficiently mitigate attack traffic: table-miss engineering to prevent the communication bandwidth from being exhausted; packet filter to filter out attack traffic and save computational resources of the control plane; and flow rule management to eliminate most of useless flow entries in the switch flow table. Our evaluation on a prototype implementation of FloodDefender shows that the defense framework can precisely identify and efficiently mitigate the SDN-aimed DoS attacks with very little overhead.


48 patients with biopsy-proven coeliac disease are examined by means of intestinal intubation (enteroclysis). The radiological findings are discussed and these signs seems to be more specific for coeliac disease than the results of a conventional barium study of the small intestine.


Abstract Background Diphenhydramine is frequently misused and ingested recreationally for its antihistaminergic and antimuscarinic effects and is often involved in both serious and fatal poisonings, either in isolation or in combination with other xenobiotics. Objective This analysis sought to determine which patient and encounter characteristics were associated with severe outcome after diphenhydramine overdose. Methods This is an analysis of the multi-center ToxIC registry (2010–2016). Descriptive analysis of all cases with diphenhydramine listed as the "primary agent" contributing to toxicity were included. Analysis sought to determine which patient and encounter characteristics were associated with severe outcome, defined as occurrence of seizure, ventricular dysrhythmia, or intubation. To determine which patient and encounter characteristics were individually associated with severe outcome, we performed chi-square tests. Fisher's exact tests were used in the case of sparse data. We also performed multivariable logistic regression to further determine independent risk factors for severe outcome in diphenhydramine overdose. Results Eight hundred and sixty-three cases remained after exclusion with 15.6% (n = 135) of all patients having one or more severe outcome. The most common severe outcome was seizures which occurred in 98 (11.6%) of all ingestions. Females comprised 59.1% (n = 510) of all ingestions. Most ingestions were intentional (86.0%, n = 742) with the most common known reason for an intentional ingestion being self-harm, accounting for 37.5% (n = 324) of all ingestions. Self-harm ingestions and ingestions in males were more commonly associated with intubation. When examining outcomes by age, there were no significant differences overall or in any individual outcome except intubation in which children 0–12 were less likely to be intubated as compared to teens and adults. Signs and symptoms most strongly associated with a severe outcome included acidemia (pH < 7.2), QRS prolongation (QRS > 120 ms), and elevated anion gap (AG > 20). Discussion Acidemia, QRS prolongation, and elevated anion gap are associated with severe outcomes in diphenhydramine toxicity. Further research is warranted to determine their predictive characteristics.


In this work we proposed MementoMap, a flexible and adaptive framework to summarize holdings of a web archive efficiently. We described a simple, yet extensible, file format suitable for MementoMap. We used the complete index of the Arquivo.pt comprising 5B mementos (archived web pages/files) to understand the nature and shape of its holdings. We generated MementoMaps with varying amount of detail from its HTML pages that have an HTTP status code of 200 OK. Additionally, we designed a single-pass, memory-efficient, and parallelization-friendly algorithm to compact a large MementoMap into a small one and an in-file binary search method for efficient lookup. We analyzed more than three years of MemGator (a Memento aggregator) logs to understand the response behavior of 14 public web archives. We evaluated MementoMaps by measuring their Accuracy using 3.3M unique URIs from MemGator logs. We found that a MementoMap of less than 1.5% Relative Cost (as compared to the comprehensive listing of all the unique original URIs) can correctly identify the presence or absence of 60% of the lookup URIs in the corresponding archive while maintaining 100% Recall (i.e., zero false negatives).


Millennial students and workers are high-achieving, have a strong desire for ongoing personal and professional development, and tend to be invested in making a sustainable impact on society and in the communities in which they live and work. One avenue to engage these students is community-engaged experiential learning (or service learning). While service learning is not new, this "civically-engaged" pedagogy has increased in popularity and usage. It provides meaningful community-service opportunities that simultaneously teach civic responsibility and encourage life-long civic engagement, while also providing significant real-life, hands-on learning of important skills and vital social understanding. This quantitative study examines the connections between students' motivations for enrolling in service-learning courses and their perceived likelihood for course and program completion. It also connects student motivations for enrolling in service-learning courses to the literature on millennial students and preparing students for the future workforce. Findings not only identify gains in service-learning motivations overall, but also specific volunteerism motivations that contribute to students' expressions of intent for course and program completion. The findings also demonstrate that study participants exhibited typical characteristics associated with the millennial generation and that these are strengthened through service-learning participation


We describe, explain, and "predict" dispersal and ecosystem impacts of six Ponto-Caspian endemic species that recently invaded the Great Lakes via ballast water. The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, and quagga mussel, Dreissena bugensis, continue to colonize hard and soft substrates of the Great Lakes and are changing ecosystem function through mechanisms of ecosystem engineering (increased water clarity and reef building), fouling native mussels, high particle filtration rate with selective rejection of colonial cyanobacteria in pseudofeces, alteration of nutrient ratios, and facilitation of the rapid spread of their Ponto-Caspian associates, the benthic amphipod Echinogammarus ischnusand the round goby, Neogobius melanostomus , which feeds on zebra mussels. The tubenose goby, Proterorhinus marmoratus , which does not feed on zebra mussels, has not spread rapidly. Impacts of these benthic invaders vary with site: in some shallow areas, habitat changes and the Dreissena → round goby → piscivore food chain have improved conditions for certain native game fishes and waterfowl; in offshore waters, Dreissena is competing for settling algae with the native amphipod Diporeia spp., which are disappearing to the detriment of the native deep-water fish community. The predatory cladoceran Cercopagis pengoi may compete with small fishes for zooplankton and increase food-chain length.


This paper presented an expandable grid-connected power quality compensator with distribution generation interface for three-phase three-wire system. The proposed system not only can control the active power flow, but also mitigate load unbalance, harmonics, and manage reactive power. The power quality compensator can simultaneously perform the two functions of power control station and active power filter or either one. To make the system more flexible, the grid current, instead of output current of the converter, is shaped to be a sinusoidal current in phase with the grid voltage. The reference currents are generated by multiplying the voltage loop controller output by the corresponding grid voltage waveforms. Consequently, harmonic analysis or dq transformation, as required in the conventional design, is not necessary. In this manner, controlling the dc voltage level is equivalent to performing an active power balance for the whole system. As a result, no additional hardware and interface are required. Experimental results verified the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Each of the sensory patches in the epithelium of the inner ear is a mosaic of hair cells and supporting cells. Notch signalling is thought to govern this pattern of differentiation through lateral inhibition. Recent experiments in the chick suggest, however, that Notch signalling also has a prior function - inductive rather than inhibitory - in defining the prosensory patches from which the differentiated cells arise. Several Notch ligands are expressed in each patch, but their individual roles in relation to the two functions of Notch signalling are unclear. We have used a Cre-LoxP approach to knock out two of these ligands, Delta1 (Dll1) and Jagged1 (Jag1), in the mouse ear. In the absence of Dll1, auditory hair cells develop early and in excess, in agreement with the lateral inhibition hypothesis. In the absence of Jag1, by contrast, the total number of these cells is strongly reduced, with complete loss of cochlear outer hair cells and some groups of vestibular hair cells, indicating that Jag1 is required for the prosensory inductive function of Notch. The number of cochlear inner hair cells, however, is almost doubled. This correlates with loss of expression of the cell cycle inhibitor p27Kip1 (Cdkn1b), suggesting that signalling by Jag1 is also needed to limit proliferation of prosensory cells, and that there is a core part of this population whose prosensory character is established independently of Jag1-Notch signalling. Our findings confirm that Notch signalling in the ear has distinct prosensory and lateral-inhibitory functions, for which different ligands are primarily responsible.


The objective of this research has been to examine whether and how the image of the Icelandic horse has developed through the years, especially during the last 20-30 years, and whether the image of a high-stepping competitive toelter horse has become the artistic image of the Icelandic horse. In other words, has the Icelandic horse, intentionally or unintentionally, been designed? The impetus for the research is based on the repeated worries expressed in scholarly and magazine articles and which point to the goal in breeding and presenting the image of the Icelandic horse, and that the emphasis on specific characteristics of their features can conceivably make Icelandic horse stocks look too much alike and possibly that the ancient characteristics can disappear, which could affect general horsemanship.. In addition to studying the bibliography, 10 interviews were held with horsemen, both those interested, those working in the field and scholars, and a special search was made for pictures of horses demonstrating the toelt in the Eiðfaxi periodical which has been published monthly since its founding 35 years ago and the percentage of toelt pictures calculated for each issue. The results of the research indicate that there is a discrepancy between the image of the Icelandic horse itself and the expectations of it. The toelter stance is obvious from about 1960 and seems to have its roots in the promotion of the American saddle horses. Photographs of horses in the typical toelter stance became later the main standard for the respect shown the horses and the ability of the horses as well as the ability of the trainers and jockies. After reviewing the references and taking into account the results of this research it can be debated whether the promotion by Gunnar Bjarnarson of the Icelandic family horse on foreign soil about 1950 brought about a transformation in the development of the image of the Icelandic horse. It is hoped that the results of this project will lead people to think about the important inheritance that the Icelandic horse represents: the results show clearly that more research is needed as well as a general review of the objectives in breeding and the basis of assessment. The research material will at the same time be used to publish a scholarly book about the Icelandic horse and its development which will take more account of the preservation of its nature and its role in the nation's inheritance, and will include pictures showing its characteristics and its nature.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Current classifications of cerebral cavernous malformations focus solely on morphologic aspects. Our aim was to provide a morphologic classification that reflects hemorrhage rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively categorized 355 cavernous malformations of 70 children and adolescents according to their morphologic appearance on MR imaging and calculated prospective hemorrhage rates on the basis of survival functions for 255 lesions in 25 patients with a radiologic observation period of >180 days. RESULTS: Overall, there were 199 MR imaging examinations with 1558 distinct cavernous malformation observations during a cumulative observation period of 1094.2 lesion-years. The mean hemorrhage rate of all 355 cavernous malformations was 4.5% per lesion-year. According to Kaplan-Meier survival models, Zabramski type I and II cavernous malformations had a significantly higher hemorrhage rate than type III and IV lesions. The presence of acute or subacute blood-degradation products was the strongest indicator for an increased hemorrhage risk (P = .036, Cox regression): The mean annual hemorrhage rate and mean hemorrhage-free interval for cavernous malformations with and without signs of acute or subacute blood degradation products were 23.4% and 22.6 months and 3.4% and 27.9 months, respectively. Dot-sized cavernous malformations, visible in T2* and not or barely visible in T1WI and T2WI sequences, had a mean annual hemorrhage rate of 1.3% and a mean hemorrhage-free interval of 37.8 months. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to predict hemorrhage rates based on the Zabramski classification. Our findings imply a tripartite classification distinguishing lesions with and without acute or subacute blood degradation products and dot-sized cavernous malformations.


There has been an increasing world interest in clean renewable energies (mainly
solar radiation and wind energies) due to the minimal environmental problems
resulting from their uses. The continuous depletion of traditional and conventional
energy resources and the growing world concern about the environment have led to
an extensive research and development efforts in order to improve the energy
conversion efficiencies and economics of utilization solar energy devices.
However, it is important to identify the potential of available energy resources on
the site where renewable energy is to be utilized.
Meteorological information is critical to the assessment of the energy resources
available and to the performance of many different types of renewable energy
systems. Potential of the renewable energy available is strongly influenced by
climatic factors such as air temperature, relative humidity, sunshine duration and
natural energy supply. Solar radiation is strongly weather dependent. In the United
Arab Emirates weather conditions are monitored by meteorological stations across the country and weather data are collected by various meteorological agencies.


Hearing loss is a genetically heterogeneous disorder affecting approximately 360 million people worldwide and is among the most common sensorineural disorders. Here, we report a genetic analysis of seven large consanguineous families segregating prelingual sensorineural hearing loss. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) revealed seven different pathogenic variants segregating with hearing loss in these families, three novel variants (c.1204G>A, c.322G>T, and c.5587C>T) in TMPRSS3, ESRRB, and OTOF, and four previously reported variants (c.208C>T, c.6371G>A, c.226G>A, and c.494C>T) in LRTOMT, MYO15A, KCNE1, and LHFPL5, respectively. All identified variants had very low frequencies in the control databases and were predicted to have pathogenic effects on the encoded proteins. In addition to being familial, we also found intersibship locus heterogeneity in the evaluated families. The known pathogenic c.226C>T variant identified in KCNE1 only segregates with the hearing loss phenotype in a subset of affected members of the family GCNF21. This study further highlights the challenges of identifying disease-causing variants for highly heterogeneous disorders and reports the identification of three novel and four previously reported variants in seven known deafness genes.


A total of 40% of the world's energy produced is utilized to maintain thermal comfort for the occupants of the building. Governments are taking measures collectively to regulate energy efficient buildings to reduce carbon emissions globally. Windows account for more than half of total energy losses in the buildings. The employment of energy efficient glazing in the construction industry is not common in Australia. This paper investigates several types of commercially available windows and their effectiveness in the hot and humid climate of Darwin. Although extensive literature is available for cold regions, these windows have not been studied in hot and humid climates such as the climate in Darwin. Building cooling loads of an academic building were calculated using Autodesk Revit Architecture and Carrier HAP. Double glazed variants offered approximately a 5% reduction in cooling loads and had a payback period of nearly 7 to 9 years, depending on the type of gas used to fill the pane cavity. The results indicate that triple glazed, or aerogel-based windows will provide about 11–12 % of energy saving in cooling loads. These can be a viable alternative and have a payback period of 11 years, while their average service life expectancy is 30 years. It was found that the feasibility of efficient glazing depends on market price, building usage, and energy efficiency of an overall building envelope.


When adding new markers to existing prediction models, it is necessary to evaluate the models to determine whether the additional markers are useful. The net reclassification improvement (NRI) has gained popularity in this role because of its simplicity, ease of estimation, and understandability. Although the NRI provides a single-number summary describing the improvement new markers bring to a model, it also has several potential disadvantages. Any improved classification by the new model is weighted equally, regardless of the direction of reclassification. In prediction models that already identify the high- and low-risk groups well, a positive NRI may not mean better classification of those with medium risk, where it could make the most difference. Also, overfitting, or otherwise misspecified training models, produce overly positive NRI results. Because of the unaccounted for uncertainty in the model coefficient estimation, investigators should rely on bootstrapped confidence intervals rather than on tests of significance. Keeping in mind the limitations and drawbacks, the NRI can be helpful when used correctly.


Introduction: Prediction of a child behavior and interaction with the practitioner, particularly a dentist, is an important factor in successful diagnosis and treatment specially at the first and generally at subsequent appointments. In this study, the major contributing factors which are important for the prediction of a childs' behavior and way of preparation of the practitioner were studied. Materials & Methods: In this descriptive-cross sectional study which was done during the second semester of 2001-2002 at Mashhad dental school, one hundred 3-6 year old children (50 girls and 50 boys) with normal physical, psychological and intelligence stata were selected randomly and classified according to a history through interviewing with parents and state behavior, comparing with franckles behavioral rating scale during three different dental visits. Results: The result revealed that 10.4 of children had difficult behavioral characteristics, 40.1 had easy behavioral characteristics and the remaining were placed in difficult-easy interval. These results were consistent with other studies according to franckles behavioral rating scale, but there were no relationships between easy-difficult behaviors and any of the factors age, occupation of parents or birth order of children. Conclusion: According to signs and factors achieved through observation, examination and interview with parents and children, it is possible to predict the childs' behavior during examination and treatment (specially dental treatments which are stressful for most of patients) and take appropriate actions according to childs' behavior without reaching the irritation threshold of child as well as the practitioner.


PURPOSE
To transect intraocular lenses (IOLs) using a femtosecond laser in cadaveric human eyes. To determine the optimal in vitro settings, to detect and characterize gasses or particles generated during this process.

METHODS
A femtosecond laser was used to transect hydrophobic and hydrophilic acrylic lenses. The settings required to enable easy separation of the lens fragment were determined. The gasses and particles generated were analysed using gas chromatography mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and total organic carbon analyzer (TOC), respectively.

RESULTS
In vitro the IOL fragments easily separated at the lowest commercially available energy setting of 1 μJ, 8-μm spot, and 2-μm line separation. No particles were detected in the 0.5- to 900-μm range. No significant gasses or other organic breakdown by products were detected at this setting. At much higher energy levels 12 μJ (4 × 6 μm spot and line separation) significant pyrolytic products were detected, which could be harmful to the eye. In cadaveric explanted IOL capsule complex the laser pulses could be applied through the capsule to the IOL and successfully fragment the IOL.

CONCLUSION
IOL transection is feasible with femtosecond lasers. Further in vivo animal studies are required to confirm safety.

TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE
In clinical practice there are a number of large intraocular lenses that can be difficult to explant. This in-vitro study examines the possibility of transecting the lasers quickly using femtosecond lasers. If in-vivo studies are successful, then this innovation could help ophthalmic surgeons in IOL explantation.


In this paper, the determination of the relative vulnerability of selected Caribbean states to changes in their food security status because of the incidence of tropical storms and hurricanes required the aggregation of a composite indicator of the stability of food security and a risk indicator. Linear aggregation was utilized to derive the composite indicator of the stability of food security and this approach and Pareto ranking were used to aggregate this composite indicator and the risk indicator (Annual Frequency of Hurricanes and Storms) to assess relative vulnerability. The most vulnerable states were the small island developing states (SIDS): St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Dominica, Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda, supporting the position that SIDS are in a most precarious position. The least vulnerable states were Belize, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. Pareto rankings and linear aggregation produced similar relative vulnerability orderings. However, Pareto rankings had the advantage of imposing fewer restrictions, such as the continuity and linearity of aggregation functions and they were able to show graphically that several countries may have the same relative vulnerability status because of the impact of different vulnerability factors, a situation that is lost in the numerical values of linear aggregation.


The estimation of interference plus noise covariance (INC) matrix for beamforming applications is considered from a Riemannian space perspective. A new INC estimation technique based on regularized Burg algorithm (RBA), Riemannian mean and Riemannian distance is proposed to maintain a stable performance in presence of angle of arrival mismatch and small sample size with high and low signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR). The RBA is exploited to generate Toeplitz Hermitian positive definite (THPD) covariance matrices from the estimates of the reflection coefficients for each radar snapshot. The estimated INC is formulated as a linear combination of THPD covariance matrices of the interference plus noise excluding potential target snapshots. The weights of the linear combination operation are based on the Riemannian distance between the Riemannian mean and each THPD covariance matrix. The largest distance (potential target) will have zero weight and the smallest distance will have maximum weight. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the proposed technique in comparison with sample covariance and Riemannian mean covariance under steering vector mismatch and small sample size in presence of high and low SINR.


The aim of this study was to explore the reactions of children aged 10–11 years towards being weighed and measured and subsequently told their correct weight as part of the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). The study was undertaken in primary schools in a Primary Care Trust (PCT) in the North East of England, UK. One-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted post-NCMP measurement (and the feedback) with a sample of 21 children, aged 10–11 years, conveniently sampled from the primary schools in the PCT. Findings from the study indicate that the NCMP, especially the weight feedback letter caused annoyance, panic and worry among children who were indicated to have weight problems and oversensitised all children about weight issues, regardless of their weight category. The NCMP is a potentially useful 'wake-up call' to the fact that something needs to be done for children identified to be overweight or obese but needs to be delivered with a sensitivity to the impact of the news on the child.


This study evaluated antibacterial activity of Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium (pyrethrum) flower dichloromethane crude extract, fractions and isolated compounds; pyrethrin II, jasmolin I and cinerolone against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella sonnei. The isolated compounds were obtained by carrying out column chromatography on dichloromethane extract and purifying the fractions using preparative High Perfomance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated using 1D and 2D NMR. The bioactivity of crude extract, fractions and isolated compounds were determined using disc diffusion assay at a concentration of 100 mg/mL. The MIC and MBC were determined using microdilution method. The bioassay results showed that individually isolated compounds were not active on all the micro-organisms except Jasmolin I which showed slight activity on P. aeruginosa with 7.7±0.6 mm. There was significant difference in the activity of the isolated compounds as a mixture and the activity of individual compounds on MRSA, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, with P= 0.01, P= 0.0002, P= 0.0007 respectively (α =0.05, Tukey's test). Isolated compounds and isolated compounds as a mixture in a ratio of (1:1:1) were not active on S. sonnie. Those fractions and isolated compounds which caused inhibition zones of above 10 mm were subjected to MIC and MBC. The lowest MIC and MBC observed was for fraction 3 against MRSA which were 6.5 and 12.5 mg/mL respectively. The compound mixture had MIC and MBC of 25 and 50 mg/ml respectively against P. aeruginosa.

 Key words: MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration), MBC (minimum bacteriostatic concentration), bioassay, Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium, Jasmolin, Pyrethrin II, Cinerolone.


BACKGROUND
Pancreatic cancer is considered to have the worst prognosis of the periampullary carcinomas. This retrospective study was to determine prognostic factors for survival after pancreaticoduodenectomy in patients had pancreatic carcinoma.

METHODS
We retrospectively studied all patients who underwent PD for pancreatic adenocarcinoma originating from the head, neck or uncinate process from January 1996 to January 2011 in our center. Preoperative variables, intraoperative variables and postoperative variables were collected.

RESULTS
The study included 480 patients (282 males and 198 females with a median age of 53 years. At the time of analysis, 180 (37.5%) patients were still alive. The median survival was 19 months. This corresponded to a 1-, 3-, and 5-year actuarial survival of 44 %, 20%, and 15% respectively. Mass size less than 2 cm (P=0.0001), lymph node ratio (P=0.0001), safety margin (P=0.0001), perineural, perivascular infiltration, age above 60 years (P=0.03), gender, preoperative bilirubin, SGPT, liver status, pre and postoperative CEA, CA19- 9 (P=0.0001) were significant predictors of survival.

CONCLUSION
Mass size less than 2 cm, lymph node ratio, safety margin, perineural, perivascular infiltration, age above 60 years, gender, liver status, pre and postoperative CEA, CA19-9 are important predictors of survival in patients undergoing PD for pancreatic cancer.


Objectives. This study aims to analysis the relationship between c.-492T>C polymorphism in APOA2 gene and the risk for obesity in a sample of Egyptian adolescents and investigates its effect on body fat distribution and lipid metabolism. Material and Methods. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on 303 adolescents. They were 196 obese and 107 nonobese, aged 16–19 years old. Variables examined included body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist to hip ratio (WHR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), body fat percentage (BF%), abdominal visceral fat layer, and dietary intake. Abdominal visceral fat thickness was determined by ultrasonography. The polymorphism in the APOA2 c.-492T>C was analyzed by PCR amplification. Results. Genotype frequencies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The frequency of the mutant C allele was significantly higher in obese cases compared to nonobese. After multivariate adjustment, waist, BF% and visceral adipose layer, food consumption, and HDL-C were significantly higher in homozygous allele CC carriers than TT+TC carriers. Conclusions. Homozygous individuals for the C allele had higher obesity risk than carriers of the T allele and had elevated levels of visceral adipose tissue and serum HDL-C. Moreover, the study shows association between the APOA2 c.-492T>C polymorphism and food consumption.


Joint uncertainty decoding (JUD) is an effective model-based noise compensation technique for conventional Gaussian mixture model (GMM) based speech recognition systems. In this paper, we apply JUD to subspace Gaussian mixture model (SGMM) based acoustic models. The total number of Gaussians in the SGMM acoustic model is usually much larger than for conventional GMMs, which limits the application of approaches which explicitly compensate each Gaussian, such as vector Taylor series (VTS). However, by clustering the Gaussian components into a number of regression classes, JUD-based noise compensation can be successfully applied to SGMM systems. We evaluate the JUD/SGMM technique using the Aurora 4 corpus, and the experimental results indicated that it is more accurate than conventional GMM-based systems using either VTS or JUD noise compensation.


In order to cope with the increasing complexity of embedded applications as well as their fast evolution, flexible systems with high-performance are mandatory. In this context, reconfigurable system-on-chip solutions that meet application needs have become common. However, the innovation race shrinks time-to-market and puts high pressure on designers. Therefore designers need appropriate methodologies and tools to efficiently perform design space exploration of reconfigurable units. This paper addresses this issue with an ADL-based toolsuite for fast prototyping of reconfigurable units. Starting from a high-level model it supports design space exploration for different architectural solutions, to produce an hardware prototype and to generate the applicative tools for exploitation. Benefits and feasability of the approach are demonstrated by the complete prototyping and implementation of a reconfigurable unit supporting ressources virtualization.


PURPOSE
To determine whether activation of P2Y receptors may increase the DNA synthesis rate of cultured Müller cells and to investigate whether adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP)-induced Müller cell proliferation is mediated by an intracellular calcium increase.

METHODS
Primary cultures of Müller cells of the guinea pig were treated with test substances for 16 hours. The DNA synthesis rate was assessed by a bromodeoxyuridine immunoassay, and ATP-induced elevations of the intracellular calcium concentration were recorded by fura-2 imaging.

RESULTS
ATP or uridine triphosphate (UTP) increased the DNA synthesis rate whereas alpha,beta-methylene-ATP, 2-methyl-thio-ATP, and adenosine were ineffective, indicating that the action of ATP was through P2Y receptors. The effect of ATP was dose dependent, with an EC(50) of 5.9 microM. The mitogenic effect of ATP required an elevation of the intracellular calcium and a calcium influx into Müller cells. Blockers of calcium-permeable channels (nickel ions) or of calcium-dependent potassium (BK) channels (iberiotoxin, charybdotoxin) inhibited the ATP-stimulated DNA synthesis. In calcium-imaging experiments, ATP-evoked intracellular calcium transients were significantly shortened in the presence of extracellular nickel ions or of iberiotoxin. A correlation was found between the duration of the ATP-evoked calcium transients and the basal proliferation rate of the cultures.

CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that the ATP-induced elevation of Müller glial DNA synthesis is dependent on an influx of calcium ions from the extracellular space and that the inhibiting effect of BK channel blockers on ATP-evoked DNA synthesis is caused by an inhibition of this influx. The amount of the calcium influx seems to be directly correlated to the strength of the ATP-evoked proliferation.


The main objective of this study was to investigate the contribution of MfM Foundation in increasing access to primary education in Iliubabor Zone. To conduct this study, a descriptive survey was employed. For this purpose samples were taken from 6 primary schools that were supported by MfM in 6 Weredas. The research study involved four categories of sample population: teachers, students, school principals, Zone Education Department, and Wereda Education Officials and MfM Office officials. Questionnaire, interview and personal observation were the main instruments used to collect the data. Besides to support the study, documents and reports in the MfM Office and Zone Education Department were consulted. Data analysis was made by using statistical tools such as percentage and t-test to identify whether there are differences and agreements in the judgment of the respondents regarding the questions posed on the activities performed by MfM education project. The results of the findings revealed that MfM has provided support to primary education in three major areas; construction of new schools, renovation and expansion of the existing ones. It was found that the community was involved in the education project carried out by MfM by contributing money, site selection for the schools constructed and in the protection of the projects during and after its foundation. In addition to this, it was observed from the findings that support provided to primary education in lIIubabor by MfM, alleviated the problems of about 11.4 per cent of the children's of the community to get schools near to their villages, chairs and desks and school facilities. On the other hand, it was found out that the major complaint of the community about the out come of the project was, most of the schools constructed, and renovated by MfM do not have fence. Finally, based on the major findings and conclusions drawn, the following major recommendations were for warded to meet the problem under the study.


In order to achieve the climate protection goals in the building sector, a higher rate of building refurbishment is necessary to improve the energy standard of residential building stock in the European Union. Although subsidisation seems to be necessary, optimal measures concerning cost effectiveness are unclear. Using a stylised model of the German residential building stock, we analyse different refurbishment measures by simulating every relevant investment until 2030. In particular, we compare two different options that are relevant for political measures: first, comprehensive refurbishments that are expensive but achieve the greatest reductions in energy consumption and GHG emissions and second, partial refurbishments which include only low-cost improvements but can be achieved on a wide scale. We conclude that comprehensive refurbishments will require the least amount of investment costs per ton GHG emissions and provide the highest reductions in energy consumption in 2030. Hence, partial refurbishments are never optimal. However, in terms of cumulated GHG emissions in the period considered, the difference between both options is very small. This is due to their different dynamics: comprehensive refurbishments achieve fewer results in the first years but catch up quickly, which means that the higher the refurbishment rate the higher the advantage of comprehensive refurbishments.


The scale and complexity of global forced displacement has created enormous humanitarian, social, economic and political challenges across the globe. The Australian Government responded by putting in place a range of policies designed to deter people from seeking asylum in Australia through irregular maritime migration. A core feature of these policies is the highly contentious practice of offshore or 'regional' processing of asylum seekers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. From August 2013 to October 2015, Save the Children was contracted by the Australian Government to provide welfare, education and recreation services to asylum seekers in Nauru. This paper explores the dilemmas facing organisations engaged in refugee issues using Save the Children's experience in relation to Nauru as a case study. It argues that without a clearly articulated decision-making framework based on a realistic view about what can be achieved, and underpinned by a pragmatic, but ultimately principled, ethical position, the daunting humanitarian conundrums faced in such circumstances will overwhelm even the best intentioned humanitarian.


The instability mechanisms for self‐organized kilometer‐scale shoreline sand waves have been extensively explored by modeling. However, while the assumed bathymetric perturbation associated with the sand wave controls the feedback between morphology and waves, its effect on the instability onset has not been explored. In addition, no systematic investigation of the effect of the physical parameters has been done yet. Using a linear stability model, we investigate the effect of wave conditions, cross‐shore profile, closure depth, and two perturbation shapes (P1: cross‐shore bathymetric profile shift, and P2: bed level perturbation linearly decreasing offshore). For a P1 perturbation, no instability occurs below an absolute critical angle θc0≈ 40–50°. For a P2 perturbation, there is no absolute critical angle: sand waves can develop also for low‐angle waves. In fact, the bathymetric perturbation shape plays a key role in low‐angle wave instability: such instability only develops if the curvature of the depth contours offshore the breaking zone is larger than the shoreline one. This can occur for the P2 perturbation but not for P1. The analysis of bathymetric data suggests that both curvature configurations could exist in nature. For both perturbation types, large wave angle, small wave period, and large closure depth strongly favor instability. The cross‐shore profile has almost no effect with a P1 perturbation, whereas large surf zone slope and gently sloping shoreface strongly enhance instability under low‐angle waves for a P2 perturbation. Finally, predictive statistical models are set up to identify sites prone to exhibit either a critical angle close to θc0 or low‐angle wave instability.


Injection of inositol 1, 3, 4, 5-tetrakisphosphate (Ins(1, 3, 4, 5)P4) into voltage-clamped oocytes of Xenopus laevis elicited an oscillatory chloride membrane current. This response did not depend upon extracellular calcium, because it could be produced in calcium-free solution and after addition of cobalt to block calcium channels in the surface membrane. However, it was abolished after intracellular loading with the calcium chelating agent EGTA, indicating a dependence upon intracellular calcium. The mean dose of Ins(1, 3, 4, 5)P4 required to elicit a threshold current was 4 x 10-14 mol. In comparison, inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate (Ins(1, 4, 5)P3) gave a similar oscillatory current with doses of about one twentieth as big. Hyperpolarization of the oocyte membrane during activation by Ins(1, 3, 4, 5)P4 elicited a transient inward current, as a result of the opening of calcium-dependent chloride channels subsequent to the entry of external calcium. In some oocytes the injection of Ins(1, 3, 4, 5)P4 was itself sufficient to allow the generation of the transient inward current, whereas in others a prior injection of Ins(1, 4, 5)P3 was required. We conclude that Ins(1, 3, 4, 5)P4 causes the release of intracellular calcium from stores in the oocyte, albeit with less potency than Ins(1, 4, 5)P3. In addition, Ins(1, 3, 4, 5)P4 activates voltage-sensitive calcium channels in the surface membrane, via a process that may require 'priming' by Ins(1, 4, 5)P3.


We analyzed 20 years of AVISO data set to detect and characterize long-lived eddies, which stay coherent more than 6 months, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. In order to process the coarse gridded (1=8) AVISO geostrophic velocity fields, we optimized a geometrical eddy detection algorithm. Our main contribution was to implement a new procedure based on the computation of the Local and Normalized Angular Momentum (LNAM) to identify the positions of the eddy centers and to follow their Lagrangian tra-jectories. We verify on two mesoscale anticyclones, sampled during the EGYPT campaign in 2006, that our methodology provides a correct estimation of the eddy centers and their characteristic radius corresponding to the maximal tangential velocity. Our analysis reveals the dominance of anticyclones among the long-lived eddies. This cyclone-anticyclone asymmetry appears to be much more pronounced in eastern Mediter-ranean Sea than in the global ocean. Then we focus our study on the formation areas of long-lived eddies. We confirm that the generations of the Ierapetra and the Pelops anticyclones are recurrent and correlated to the Etesian wind forcing. We also provide some evidence that the smaller cyclonic eddies formed at the southwest of Crete may also be induced by the same wind forcing. On the other hand, the generation of long-lived eddies along the Libyo-Egyptian coast are not correlated to the local wind-stress curl but surprisingly , their initial formation points follow the Herodotus Trough bathymetry. Moreover, we identify a new formation area, not discussed before, along the curved shelf off Benghazi.


Knowledge management systems (KMSs) facilitate the efficient and effective sharing of a firm's intellectual resources. However, sifting through the myriad of content available through KMSs can be challenging, and knowledge workers may be overwhelmed when trying to find the content most relevant for completing a new task. To address this problem, KMS designers often include content rating schemes (i.e., users of the KMS submit ratings to indicate the quality of specific content used) and credibility indicators (indicators describing the validity of the content and/or the ratings) to improve users' search and evaluation of KMS content. This study examines how content ratings and credibility indicators affect KMS users' search and evaluation processes and decision performance (how well and how quickly users selected alternatives offered by the KMS). Four interrelated laboratory experiments provide evidence that ratings have a strong influence on KMS search and evaluation processes, which in turn affects decision performance. Finally, this study demonstrates that certain credibility indicators can moderate the relationship between rating validity and KMS content search and evaluation processes.


SIR,-In their paper "Changes in Gut Flora after Cephalexin Treatment" (12 September, p. 624) Dr. H. Gaya and colleagues confirm earlier reports from the same hospital of a high faecal carriage rate of Ps. aeruginosa in patients who swallow it in food or other substances.' They attempt to relate this to treatment with cephalexin and to compare cephalexin with other antibiotics as a factor in the acquisition of Ps. aeruginosa and colonization of the bowel. In support of their opinion they say it has been found that colonization is aided by ampicillin, but in the paper to which they refer as a source of this statement the authors, who studied the effects of ampicillin in a single volunteer fed measured doses of Ps. aeruginosa, conclude that antibiotics (not only ampicillin) may be of importance in establishing colonization. They continue "However, it is known that colonization may occur in the absence of antibiotics. Whether the establishment of colonization is due to a particular property of the strain of organisms or to some unidentified characteristic of the carrier is unknown."2 On the basis of this work and their own data Dr. Gaya and his colleagues speculate not only on the influence but the comparative influence of cephalexin and ampicillin on colonization. We question whether they are justified in their conclusions. In an earlier publication Dr. Gaya and others report in a study, apparently carried out in patients from the same medical wards as those involved in their recent trial, that 440 of patients fed from the diet kitchen and 23%/ fed from the main kitchen became carriers of Ps. aeruginosa. They also state that Ps. aeruginosa was "irregularly and inconstantly present in particular situations" and discuss the role of the patients' disease and antibiotic therapy in acquisition of the organism.1 In the light of this experience it would seem to be essential to have patients matched not only for length but also dates of stay in hospital, for disease states, and source of food in order to make a comparison between different groups. The numbers of patients in their comparative groups are unequal and so it would appear that this was not done. It is also difficult to understand why the data on acquisition are reported in only 12 of the original group of 18 patients, although the authors suggest that stool specimens were collected from all of them. It would also be of interest to know how many of their patients acquired pseudomonas or proteus at some time during their hospital stay-for example, before starting treatment with cephalexin-and what were the three unspecified "other antibiotics" in one of the control groups. Their statement that "a less marked trend [that is, acquisition rate] was seen with proteus" is surely misleading in view of a P value of 0.08. With regard to the assay results carried out in our laboratories, we would not feel justified from our considerable experience of antibiotic assays in comparing them with data from a much better controlled study3 as Dr. Gaya .and his colleagues have done. Some of the specimens were kept for as long as four weeks before we received and assayed them and arrived in an unfrozen state. The stability of cephalexin, especially in urine samples from patients suffering from a number of different diseases, perhaps on other drugs, and kept for that length of time is uncertain, and could account for misleading results. Some of the results are difficult to explain except on grounds of stability, unless there was a failure to administer the dose or collect urine specimens. For example, a patient with one of the highest peak levels (43.6 jig./ml.) at one hour after a 1 g. dose showed nil at the same interval after a second dose and only 29 % of the dose administered was recovered in a 24-hour specimen of urine. Finally, there are some errors in the paper according to information given to us by the authors at the time of the assays. The figures for serum samples are incorrect. Only 13 patients were studied, not 18 (at 1 hour) and 15 (at 4 hours). Some of the samples were repeats from the same patients. One of the curves in Figure 1A is also wrong, both for the number of samples and their timing. The statement in the text "Peak blood levels occurred at half hour to two hours" should read "Peak blood levels occurred at one to three hours (Fig. 1A)". The strain of Sarcina lutea used as test organism in the assay was N.C.I.B. 8553, and not 8533 as stated.-We are, etc.,


This paper presents a new type of fuzzy sets, called "hierarchical fuzzy sets", that apply when the considered domain of values is not "flat," but contains values that are more specific than others according to the "kind of" relation. We study the properties of such fuzzy sets, that can be defined in a short way on a part of the hierarchy, or exhaustively (by their "closure") on the whole hierarchy. We show that hierarchical fuzzy sets form equivalence classes in regard to their closures and that each class has a particular representative called "minimal fuzzy set". We propose a use of this minimal fuzzy set for query enlargement purposes and, thus, present a methodology for hierarchical fuzzy set generalization. We finally present an experimental evaluation of the theoretical results described in the paper, in a practical application


The success of a reintroduction program is determined by the ability of individuals to reproduce and thrive. Hence, an understanding of the mating system and breeding strategies of reintroduced species can be critical to the success, evaluation and effective management of reintroduction programs. As one of the most threatened crocodile species in the world, the Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius) has been reduced to only a few wild populations in the Llanos of Venezuela and Colombia. One of these populations was founded by reintroduction at Caño Macanillal and La Ramera lagoon within the El Frío Biological Station, Venezuela. Twenty egg clutches of C. intermedius were collected at the El Frío Biological Station for incubation in the lab and release of juveniles after one year. Analyzing 17 polymorphic microsatellite loci from 335 hatchlings we found multiple paternity in C. intermedius, with half of the 20 clutches fathered by two or three males. Sixteen mothers and 14 fathers were inferred by reconstruction of multilocus parental genotypes. Our findings showed skewed paternal contributions to multiple-sired clutches in four of the clutches (40%), leading to an overall unequal contribution of offspring among fathers with six of the 14 inferred males fathering 90% of the total offspring, and three of those six males fathering more than 70% of the total offspring. Our results provide the first evidence of multiple paternity occurring in the Orinoco crocodile and confirm the success of reintroduction efforts of this critically endangered species in the El Frío Biological Station, Venezuela.


Every community has one or more celebration day that it traditionally celebrates in certain way. One of Muslims' most impressive celebration day is the birthday of Muhammad (mawlid) , the last massenger of God. To Muslims Muhammad is considered the gloriest and the leader of all massenger sent by Allah to human being. He preached Islam and got success in his mission in a relatively short period, 23 years. His 23-year mission period was considered the turning point in the history of Muslims (Arabs) civilization from the age of pagan ignorance (jâhiliyah) toward a new, enlightened, and civilized era. His very hard strugle and great succesful-end mission took special place in the heart of Muslims all over the world and inspired them to do their best in commemorating his piety and heroic life. All he had done dan gained in preaching Islam rose great proudness and admiration to the Muslim communities all over the world, so that they are always very eager to commemorate his birthday in various ways of celebration in accordance with their own culture and traditions. The Sasak community in Lombok island traditionally named celebration of Muhammad birthday mulud —derivated from Arabic word mawlid —and held constantly every year. The historical, philosophical, and sociological aspects of Sasak tradition simutanously colored mulud celebration. It has lasted for a long time, and the community has endured it through the process of tradition and regeneration but some changes have been in one or more aspects of the commemoration rituals.


Breast cancer is the most lethal form of cancer that can strike women anywhere in the world. The most complex and tough undertaking in order to lower the death rate is the process of predicting a patient's likelihood of survival following breast cancer surgery. Due to the fact that this survival prediction is linked to the life of a woman, effective algorithms are required for the purpose of making the prognosis. It is of the utmost importance to accurately predict the survival status of patients who will have breast cancer surgery since this shows whether or not doing surgery is the actual approach for the specific medical scenario. Given the gravity of the situation, it is impossible to overstate how important it is to investigate new and improved methods of prediction in order to guarantee an accurate assessment of the patient's chances of survival. In this paper, we collect data and examine some models based on the survival of patients who underwent breast cancer surgery. The goal of this research is to evaluate the forecasting performance of various classification models, including the Linear regression model, logistic regression analysis, LDA, QDA, KNN, ANN, and Decision Tree. The results of the experiment on this dataset demonstrate the better performance of the came up with ANN approach, with an accuracy of 82.98 percent.


A method is described for calculating the extent of short-range order (SRO) in the paramagnetic state of magnetic transition metals. An energy V is calculated for a set of configurations of the exchange field. An entropy S is attached to each configuration; this is the logarithm of the number of configurations with the same degree of long- and short-range magnetic order. The SRO is then found by minimising the resulting free energy V-TS with respect to a near-neighbour correlation. The resulting Curie temperature TC and the magnetic entropy are in good agreement with experiment. The corresponding nearest-neighbour correlation is small (approximately cos 74 degrees ) at TC.


Standardization has the potential to shape, expand, and create markets. Information technology has undergone a rapid transformation in the application of standards in practice, and recent developments have augmented the need for the divulgence of supplementary research. Standardization Research in Information Technology: New Perspectives amasses cutting-edge research on the application of standards in the market, covering topics such as corporate standardization, linguistic qualities of international standards, the role of individuals in standardization, and the development, use, application, and influence of information technology in standardization techniques.


This paper is mainly about Boolean combinations of Σ-formulas (B(Σ)-formulas) in
HA. We prove a theorem guaranteeing that if a B(Σ)-formula is provable in HA, then a simpler one is also provable. Our theorem yields a characterization of the derived rules of HA for Σ-substitutions. Another application is a decision procedure for the closed fragment of the provability logic of HA. The proof of our theorem leads us to such varied subjects as NNIL-formulas, robust formulas and preservativity notions.


A proposed method of suppressing the effect of background noise in an optical communication system would exploit the transmission and reception of correlated photons at the receiver. The method would not afford any advantage in a system in which performance is limited by shot noise. However, if the performance of the system is limited by background noise (e.g., sunlight in the case of a free-space optical communication system or incoherently scattered in-band photons in the case of a fiber-optic communication system), then the proposed method could offer an advantage: the proposed method would make it possible to achieve a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) significantly greater than that of an otherwise equivalent background- noise-limited optical communication system based on the classical transmission and reception of uncorrelated photons. The figure schematically depicts a classical optical-communication system and a system according to the proposed method. In the classical system, a modulated laser beam is transmitted along an optical path to a receiver, the optics of which include a narrow-band-pass filter that suppresses some of the background noise. A photodetector in the receiver detects the laser-beam and background photons, most or all of which are uncorrelated. In the proposed system, correlated photons would be generated at the transmitter by making a modulated laser beam pass through a nonlinear parametric down-conversion crystal. The sum of frequencies of the correlated photons in each pair would equal the frequency of the incident photon from which they were generated. As in the classical system, the correlated photons would travel along an optical path to a receiver, where they would be band-pass filtered and detected. Unlike in the classical system, the photodetector in the receiver in this system would be one that intrinsically favors the detection of pairs of correlated photons over the detection of uncorrelated photons. Even though there would be no way of knowing the precise location and time of creation of a given pair of correlated signal photons in the nonlinear down-conversion crystal, the fact that the photons are necessarily created at the same time and place makes it possible to utilize conventional geometrical imaging optics to reunite the photons in coincidence in the receiving photodetector. Because most or all of the signal photons would be correlated while most or all of the noise photons would be uncorrelated, the S/N would be correspondingly enhanced in the photodetector output. An additional advantage to be gained by use of a correlated-photon detector is that it could be capable of recovering the signal even in the presence of background light so bright that a classical uncorrelated-photon detector would be saturated. A blocked-impurity-band (BIB) photodetector that preferentially detects pairs of correlated photons over uncorrelated ones and that operates at a quantum efficiency of 88 percent is commercially available. This detector must be cooled to the temperature of liquid helium to obtain the desired low-noise performance. It is planned to use this detector in a proof-of-principle demonstration. In addition, it may be possible to develop GaN-based photodetectors that could offer the desired low-noise performance at room temperature.


Consider a regression problem where the learner is given a large collection of d-dimensional data points, but can only query a small subset of the real-valued labels. How many queries are needed to obtain a 1 + ǫ relative error approximation of the optimum? While this problem has been extensively studied for least squares regression, little is known for other losses. An important example is least absolute deviation regression (l1 regression) which enjoys superior robustness to outliers compared to least squares. We develop a new framework for analyzing importance sampling methods in regression problems, which enables us to show that the query complexity of least absolute deviation regression is Θ(d/ǫ) up to logarithmic factors. We further extend our techniques to show the first bounds on the query complexity for any lp loss with p ∈ (1, 2). As a key novelty in our analysis, we introduce the notion of robust uniform convergence, which is a new approximation guarantee for the empirical loss. While it is inspired by uniform convergence in statistical learning, our approach additionally incorporates a correction term to avoid unnecessary variance due to outliers. This can be viewed as a new connection between statistical learning theory and variance reduction techniques in stochastic optimization, which should be of independent interest.


The gastric shunting (GSH) method, permitting to control the patients body mass more effectively and promoting complete remission of diabetes mellitus type II, was elaborated. In 2008 - 2009 yrs 29 patients (9 men, 20 women) were operated on for morbid obesity, using shunting interventions. In 21 patients (the first group) a standard GSH was performed, in 8 (second group)--a modified operation. In 18-24 mo the excessive patient's body mass in patients of the first group have reduced by 62.8%, of the second group--by 89.3%. Complete compensation of diabetes mellitus type II with rejection from insulin and other antidiabetic preparations was achieved in 4 patients of the first group and in all--in the second group. Resistence for insulin have had lowered in patients of both groups, including in the first group--in 1,4 times, in the second group--in 3.2 times. Thus, preliminary results accurately demonstrate, that application of a modified GSH method is more effective, concerning the patients body mass reduction and achievement of complete compensation of diabetes mellitus type II.


Peptide YY (PYY) is a 36-amino-acid peptide known to inhibit pancreatic and gastrointestinal secretion. Immediately following small bowel resection, intestinal PYY mRNA and plasma PYY levels rise. The purpose of this study was to determine whether PYY expression changes in the pancreas during the adaptive period after extensive small bowel resection. Female Sprague-Dawley rats (250 g) underwent 70% small intestinal resection or transection alone as control. Animals were sacrificed at 6 hr, 24 hr, 1 week, or 2 weeks following operation (N = 5/time group). Pancreatic tissue was harvested and RNA was isolated by the guanididium-thiocyanate method. PYY mRNA was analyzed by reverse transcriptase PCR, standardized to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and semiquantitated by Southern blotting and 32P cpm. Ribonuclease protection assay was used to confirm PCR results. PYY mRNA expression was increased 9 1/2-fold beginning 6 hr after resection compared to transection (P < 0.05). PYY mRNA levels remain elevated, 2 1/4-fold greater than control after 2 weeks (P < 0.05) as analyzed by reverse transcriptase PCR and ribonuclease protection assay. Quantitation by ribonuclease protection assay reveals a gradual elevation of PYY mRNA levels in transected animals compared to a nonoperated rat starting at 1 and 2 weeks. Pancreatic PYY mRNA levels increase rapidly after extensive intestinal resection and remain elevated 2 weeks postoperatively. These results confirm for the first time that the increase in PYY seen after extensive intestinal resection also occurs in extraintestinal sites. In the pancreas, elevated PYY levels may inhibit exocrine secretion, reducing luminal volume, and thereby facilitating intestinal adaptation.


Spatial co-location patterns represent the subsets of features whose instances are frequently located together in geographic space. Co-location pattern discovery presents challenges since the instances of spatial features are embedded in a continuous space and share a variety of spatial relationships. A large fraction of the computation time is devoted to identifying the instances of co-location patterns. We propose a novel join-less approach for co-location pattern mining, which materializes spatial neighbor relationships with no loss of co-location instances and reduces the computational cost of identifying the instances. The join-less co-location mining algorithm is efficient since it uses an instance-lookup scheme instead of an expensive spatial or instance join operation for identifying co-location instances. The experimental evaluations show the join-less algorithm performs more efficiently than a current join-based algorithm and is scalable in dense spatial datasets.


What might an anthropology of the internet look like? It require a combination of introspection, personal judgment and world history to explore the universe of cyberspace. This world is not sufficient to itself, nor is it 'the world'. People bring their offline circumstances to behaviour online. The virtual and the real constitute a dialectic in which neither can be reduced to the other and 'virtual reality' is their temporary synthesis. Heidegger's metaphysics are drawn on to illuminate this dialectic. Before this, the internet is examines in the light of the history of communications, from speech and writing to books and the radio. The digital revolution of our time is marked by the convergence of telephones, television and computing. It is the third stage in a machine revolution lasting just 200 years. The paper analyses the political economy of the internet in terms of the original three classes controlling respectively increase in the environment (land), money (capital) and human creativity (labour). It ends with a consideration of Kant's great example for a future anthropology capable of placing human subjectivity in world history.


The intensity and prevalence of viral infections are typically higher in males, whereas disease outcome can be worse for females. Females mount higher innate and adaptive immune responses than males, which can result in faster clearance of viruses, but also contributes to increased development of immunopathology. In response to viral vaccines, females mount higher antibody responses and experience more adverse reactions than males. The efficacy of antiviral drugs at reducing viral load differs between the sexes, and the adverse reactions to antiviral drugs are typically greater in females than males. Several variables should be considered when evaluating male/female differences in responses to viral infection and treatment: these include hormones, genes, and gender‐specific factors related to access to, and compliance with, treatment. Knowledge that the sexes differ in their responses to viruses and to treatments for viral diseases should influence the recommended course of action differently for males and females.


: Glaucoma is diagnosed frequently in dogs and cats. A review of case records at the University of Utrecht Small Animal Clinic revealed that during a 4-year period glaucoma accounted for 8.6% of all ophthalmological diagnoses. Glaucoma is defined as an increased intraocular pressure, which sooner or later leads to loss of function of the eye. Primary and secondary types can be distinguished. In primary glaucoma an increased intraocular pressure exists in the absence of other primary eye disorders. By gonioscopy a discrimination can be made between open and narrow or closed anterior chamber angle forms of primary glaucoma. This requires a clear distinction between the definitions of chamber angle and filtration angle. In the Netherlands primary glaucoma is seen especially in the American Cocker Spaniel, Bouvier and Basset breeds. In secondary glaucoma an increased intraocular pressure occurs as a consequence of another primary eye disorder. Dislocation of the lens is the main cause for secondary glaucoma. Several-mainly small-terrier breeds are predisposed to this entity.


The formylation of the ring nitrogen atom of the tryptophan residue in cytochrome c was carried out and consequent changes in the kinetic properties of the protein were investigated. The reduction of formylated cytochrome c by Cr2+ was studied by stopped-flow techniques. At pH6.5 the reduction process shows the presence of two phases. One phase (k= 4 x 10'M-1 S-1) is dependent on Cr2+ concentration and one phase (k = 5.0s-1) is not. A study ofthe temperature dependence of the two phases yields values for their activation energies of 38.6kJ mol'I and 42.4kJ-mol-1 respectively. The reaction of the reduced formylated cytochrome c with CO was followed by means of both stopped-flow techniques and flash photolysis. The combination with CO at pH 6.8 measured in stopped-flow experiments shows two phases, both dependent on the concentration of CO (k1=1.8x102M-' s-' and k2=1.6x103M-1 s-'). If CO was dissociated from the protein by photolysis and then allowed to recombine with it, it was found to do so in a simple manner, at a rate which depended on the concentration of CO (k = 1.9 x 102M-1 s-'). A tentative model which can accommodate these findings is proposed. The reaction of the oxidized form of formylated cytochrome c with NO was followed by means of stopped-flow techniques. The reaction was found to be biphasic with one phase dependent on the concentration of NO (k = 2.8 x 103M-1 s -1) and one phase (k = 0.2s-1) independent of the concentration of NO. This behaviour is compared with that of the native molecule. A comparison of these kinetic observations


To investigate the mechanism(s) responsible for the depletion of corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) activity in serum in septic shock, we developed a radioimmunoassay (RIA) for human CBG, using a monospecific antiserum to human CBG raised in rabbits. CBG was purified from pooled human serum by precipitation with ammonium sulfate and successive affinity chromatography treatments on corticosterone-Sepharose and concanavalin A-Sepharose. Final purification was achieved by HPLC on a diethylaminoethyl-PW (polymer matrix) ion-exchange column. Typical standard curves established for the CBG immunoassay showed parallelism for pure CBG and serial dilutions of sera from patients with septic or nonseptic shock and from healthy controls. Measurements of CBG by RIA showed a significantly (P less than 0.001) lower CBG concentration in patients with septic shock (22.9 +/- 5.9 mg/L, mean +/- SD; n = 23) than in controls (39.9 +/- 6.5 mg/L, n = 21) or in patients with nonseptic shock (33.3 +/- 6.5 mg/L, n = 12). The correlation between the concentrations determined by RIA and the CBG binding capacity was significant (r = 0.619, P less than 0.001, n = 33). The electrophoretic mobility of CBG was similar in sera from septic shock patients and normal subjects (Rf = 0.52-0.56). This suggests that the depletion of the corticosteroid-binding activity in serum during septic shock is associated with a decreased amount of CBG.


Abstract The Runt domain family of transcription factors play key roles in transcriptional regulation of definitive hematopoiesis and osteogenesis. This transcription factor family is characterized by a DNA-binding α-subunit harboring the Runt domain and a secondary subunit, β, which binds to the Runt domain and enhances its interaction with DNA. Missense mutations in the Runt domain from either the blood or bone-related gene product are associated with the onset of acute human leukemia as well as a disease of skeletal patterning known as cleidocranial dysplasia. NMR "footprinting" analysis of Runt domain/β/DNA ternary complexes in solution previously identified the likely residues that form the heterodimerization and DNA-binding surfaces of the Runt domain. Functional mutagenesis at 37 positions in the Runt domain or β confirms the original identification of these interaction surfaces and reveals that the heterodimerization and DNA-binding surfaces of the Runt domain occur at distinct, non-overlapping sites within the domain. The analysis of an additional 21 disease-related missense mutations identified from patients with either blood or bone disease demonstrates that the primary defect in these patients is a failure in DNA-recognition by the Runt domain. The molecular basis for the DNA-binding defect is analyzed in the context of the three-dimensional structure of the Runt domain in binary and ternary protein/DNA complexes.


FROM THE BACK COVER: How might an objective observer conceive of what humans have accomplished as a species over its brief history? Benjamin argues that history can be judged as one giant catastrophe. Liberals suggest that this is to sombre an assessment and that human history can be read as a story of greater and greater progress in human rights, prosperity and the decrease of arbitrary and extra-judicial violence. But is there a third reading of history, one that neither interprets human history as a giant catastrophe or endless progress? Could we not say that human development has been a tragedy?

This book explores the idea of human development as a tragedy from the perspective of capitalist power. Although the argument of this book draws heavily on critical political economy, the analysis considers interdisciplinary literature in an effort to explore how major revolutions have transformed human social relations of power and created certain path dependencies that may ultimately lead to our downfall as a species. Intellectually sophisticated and readable, this book offers a provocative genealogy of capitalist power and the tragedy of human development.


Abstract Photobiont diversity within populations of Xanthoria parietina was studied at the species level by means of ITS analyses and at the subspecific level with fingerprinting techniques (RAPD-PCR) applied to sterile cultured algal isolates. Populations from coastal, rural and urban sites from NW, SW and central France and from NE Switzerland were investigated. Between 8 and 63 samples per population, altogether 150 isolates, were subjected to phenetic and ordination analyses. Epiphytic samples of X. parietina associated with different genotypes of Trebouxia decolorans but saxicolous samples contained T. arboricola. For comparison the T. gelatinosa photobiont of a small population of Teloschistes chrysophthalmus (4 samples) was investigated. ITS sequences of T. decolorans isolates from different geographic locations were largely similar. In all populations a surprisingly high diversity of genotypes was observed in Trebouxia isolated from lichen thalli growing side by side. As Trebouxia spp. are assumed to be asexually reproducing haplonts, the genetic background of this diversity is discussed. Fingerprinting techniques are a powerful tool for obtaining valuable insights into the genetic diversity within the algal partner of lichen-forming fungi at the population level, provided that sterile cultured isolates are available.


The relation between water and sugarcane is a topic that has been greatly discussed, but on which there are few theoretical writings. To try to help with the small existing literature, this work presents a series of four studies. The first study researches the beginnings of the activity of sugarcane in Brazil and its dependence on water resources, for, without water, the plant could not live, neither the wheels of the royal mills, the first units of sugar production in the country, moved byhydraulic power, could work. The second study describes the effects of changes in the industrial production system of sugarcane byproducts on the banks of the rivers where the first plants were installed, which followed the trends of the Industrial Revolution. The third study examines the technical changes that took place in the agricultural techniques of the sugarcane agribusiness as a result of the industrialization of agriculture, and its impacts on the bodies of water. The fourth study discusses the problems related to water availability and water use by the sugarcane agribusiness in São Paulo, currently the largest State producer of sugarcane and its byproducts in Brazil. The objective of the work is to study the way in which water resources are being used by the sugarcane agribusiness over the years and to evaluate the quality of the relationship between water and sugarcane. The conclusion of the study indicates that water is being used carelesly by the sector, being consumed excessively in the stages of industrial processes and contaminated by effluents and agricultural waste.


 Abstract — Bacterial Cellulose (BC) is a structural organic compound produced in the anaerobic process. This material can be a useful eco-friendly substitute for commercial textiles that are used in industries today. BC is easily and sustainably produced and has the capabilities to be used as a replacement in textiles. However, BC is extremely fragile when it completely dries. This research was conducted to improve the mechanical properties of the BC by reinforcing with an organic polymer and exfoliated graphite (EG). The BC films were grown over a period of weeks in a green tea and kombucha solution at 30 °C, then cleaned and added to an enhancing solution. The enhancing solutions were a mixture of 2.5 wt% polymer and 2.5 wt% latex solution, a 5 wt% polymer solution, a 0.20 wt% graphite solution and were each allowed to sit in a furnace for 48 h at 50 °C. Tensile test samples were prepared and tested until fracture at a strain rate of 8 mm/min. From the research with the addition of a 5 wt% polymer solution, the flexibility of the BC has significantly improved with the maximum strain significantly larger than that of the base sample. The addition of EG has also increased the modulus of elasticity of the BC by about 25%.


In this paper we describe the gender activities of VHTO, the Dutch National Expert Organisation on Girls/Women and STEM ( www.vhto.nl ), within the context of the Dutch national Universe and Sprint Program, which was designed to encourage more students to opt for STEM subjects in secondary education and advanced STEM programs in higher education (2004-2011). In this context, VHTO organised speed-dates for girls, teacher training and consultations with school managers in secondary education, and gender scan trajectories in higher STEM education. Statistics show that in the course of the Universe and Sprint Programs more girls (and boys) opted for STEM subjects and higher STEM education, especially in pre-university secondary schools. In secondary schools that participated in VHTO gender activities, significantly more girls opted for STEM subjects and advanced STEM programs.


OBJECTIVE
We undertook this project to outline a methodology for quantifying aggregate health care utilization of medical "technologies" that could be rank ordered by volume. The identification of specific high-volume technologies could guide future efforts for quality initiatives such as program planning, preventive services implementation, quality improvement activities, and innovative and cost-effective technology development.

DESIGN
This study utilized a retrospective cross-sectional study design.

METHODS
We generated combined ranks for the top 200 high-volume procedures from three data sources that incorporated in- and outpatient procedures. Data were collected using primarily ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes; all codes were translated into CPT-4 codes and collapsed into categories using truncated three-digit CPT-4 codes. Frequencies for each collapsed code were determined with each dataset; procedures were reranked based on the mean rank of the three sources.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
We itemized the individual procedure codes making up each of the top 20 categories and reported the unique codes making up at least 80% of the procedure code category.

RESULTS
The top five procedure categories identified in this study were patient visits (inpatient and outpatient), chest x-rays, mammograms, ophthalmological services, and electrocardiograms.

CONCLUSION
The methodology described provides a new way to combine and concisely report on utilization of procedures that is relevant to data obtained from different sources. This methodology may be of potential benefit to health care administrators, technology developers, and other planners as they contemplate ways to identify quality and technology development initiatives that can have a broad impact on populations served by health care organizations.


Most reports on refugees deal with the immediate needs of displaced people. This paper seeks to go beyond the emergency phase and explore the challenges surrounding protracted refugee situations. The paper examines the refugee situation in Sub-Saharan Africa from a long-term angle, from the perspective of refugees' own agency as well as from the perspective of the host community. The paper aims to shed light on the economic lives of refugees in their host communities. Starting with an overview of the situation of refugees in Sub-Saharan Africa, the paper draws on findings from the literature to debunk some entrenched beliefs about refugees. The discussion of refugee crises in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda draws some lessons. The decision to return is discussed and it is argued that the decision depends on the socioeconomic condition in the host country versus the country of refuge, integration versus return policies in place, the individual set of skills of each refugee, and his or her subjective perception of the political climate in both countries.


This paper contributes to the research on non-reporting effects in mixed-method household travel surveys (HTS) in two ways: Firstly, we compare travel activities reported in the established Austrian National HTS (ANTS) with an innovative survey approach, the so-called "MobilityActivity-Expenditure Diary" (MAED), and secondly we extend the analysis to (i) additional travel estimates and to (ii) non-travel activities. The analysis addresses three main goals: (i) identification of non-reporting effects in the HTS for travel estimates, (ii) analysis of speed-ofresponse effects on travel estimates, (iii) assessment of the completeness and accuracy of nontravel activities inferred from the trip purposes in the HTS. Underreporting in HTS occurs both on person level and on the trip level, and mainly for peak-hour trips with either short distances or short durations of the subsequent non-travel activity. No significant underreporting was found on the tour level. Speed-of-response effects are small in both surveys but significant for the ANTS. The duration of non-travel activities per activity type corresponds well in the MAEDsurvey and in the ANTS but the information in the MAED-survey is much richer. The results can be used threefold: (i) to develop correction factors that account for systematic biases in HTS, (ii) to identify omitted items (trip frequency, duration, distance etc.) if HTS data are used without correction factors, and (iii) to demonstrate the importance of high quality field work and validation.


Mass spectrometry (MS) advances in recent years have revolutionized the biochemical analysis of lipids in plants, and made possible new theories about the structural diversity and functional complexity of lipids in plant cells. Approaches have been developed to profile the lipidome of plants with increasing chemical and spatial resolution. Here we highlight a variety of methods for lipidomics analysis at the tissue, cellular and subcellular levels. These procedures allow the simultaneous identification and quantification of hundreds of lipids species in tissue extracts by direct-infusion MS, localization of lipids in tissues and cells by laser desorption/ionization MS, and even profiling of lipids in individual subcellular compartments by direct-organelle MS. Applications of these approaches to achieve improved understanding of plant lipid metabolism, compartmentation and function are discussed.


PREMISES: Romanian and foreign students of the six Cluj universities are increasing in number, spending five and six years respectively in Cluj Napoca to complete their studies. University medical offices have an important role in providing preventive and curative medical assistance to students aged 18-26 during their study years (bachelor's, master's, doctorate level). The medical staff ensures both the management of acute illness situations, the provision of first aid, primary prevention, health education and the dispensary of chronic diseases. OBJECTIVES: evaluation of the activity of university medical units during an academic year MATERIAL AND METHOD: the activity report consisted in analyzing and comparing the monthly statistical data completed by the medical staff regarding the activity of the Cluj university medical units during the academic year 2021-2022 (hybrid education, online and on site) RESULTS: In the academic year 2021-2022, a number of 24406 consultations were carried out at the medical units, of which 4053 foreign students, 3144 treatments, 24577 triages (4221 triages for accommodation in dormitories and 20356 triages in special epidemiological conditions), 2193 COVID tests, 549 vaccinations, 4478 simple and electronic prescriptions were prescribed, 3576 referral tickets for specialist consultations were issued, 3767 preventive health examinations were carried out, 934 hygienic-sanitary checks were carried out in dormitories and student canteens, 5530 medical certificates were issued; 469 SARS-COV2 positive students were also monitored, of which 418 were detected and confirmed at the student medical units through rapid antigenic tests. The distribution of these activities on student medical units was different considering the type of education (online, hybrid or on site), the specifics of the universities and the number of students enrolled. CONCLUSIONS: As it emerges from the evaluation of the activity of medical units, their role is an important and imperative one to ensure preventive and curative medical assistance during the years of study, both in the educational units where the didactic activity is carried out and and in the accommodation spaces. The activity of medical units in the collectives of children and young people is complex, combining hygienic-sanitary, epidemiological, legislative, preventive and curative medicine aspects.


Error detection in memory applications was proposed to accelerate the majority logic decoding of difference set low density parity check codes. This is useful as majority logic decoding can be implemented serially with simple hardware but requires a large decoding time. For memory applications, this increases the memory access time. The method detects whether a word has errors in the first iterations of majority logic decoding, and when there are no errors the decoding ends without completing the rest of the iterations. Since most words in a memory will be error free, the average decoding time is greatly reduced. In this brief, the application of a similar technique to a class of Euclidean geometry low density parity check (EG-LDPC) codes that are one step majority logic decodable. The results obtained show that the method is also effective for EG-LDPC codes. Extensive simulation results are given to accurately estimate the probability of error detection for different code sizes and numbers of errors.


The still-growing US opioid epidemic lies at the intersection of two major public health challenges: reducing suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of harms associated with the use of opioids medications. Responding successfully to these challenges requires a substantial investment in surveillance and research on many fronts and a coordinated policy response by federal and state agencies and stakeholder organizations.A 2017 report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) called for improved methods of measuring pain and the effects of alternative modalities of treatment as well as intensive surveillance of opioid-related harms; urged a long-term cultural transformation of how pain is perceived, assessed and treated; and outlined a comprehensive and balanced public health framework to guide Food and Drug Administration approval, monitoring, and review of opioids.We, authors of the NASEM report, use the articles published in this special section of AJPH as a platform for commenting on the public health burden of pain, the role of opioids in managing pain, global disparities in access to opioids for pain management, divergent approaches to opioid regulation, and the challenge of striking a reasonable balance between the needs of patients in pain and the prevention of opioid-related harms.