Abstract Plasmodium falciparum malaria is a major global health problem, responsible for up to 1 million deaths each year. Major efforts have been made to develop an effective vaccine against this disease, to reduce the associated morbidity and mortality. There has already been considerable progress, with the first vaccine against the pre-erythrocytic stages of P. falciparum now en route to licensure. There remains, however, a strong scientific rationale for the development of a highly effective additional vaccine component against the blood stages of the parasite, which could be deployed in conjunction with partially effective control measures against the pre-erythrocytic stages. Here, recent progress in the clinical development of blood-stage vaccines is reviewed, including methods of antigen selection, the limitations of in-vitro assays for selecting vaccines for clinical development, and the results of recently published clinical trials. This review seeks to summarize recent developments in our understanding of immunity to blood-stage parasites, as well as the relevant key advances made in vaccine technologies over the last decade. The future challenges that face this field of vaccine research are also described.


This article aimed to describe citizen jurnalism has been used in the fight for civil and political rights. Then, describe the fulfillment civil and political rights of shemale in Yogyakarta. The results that citizen jurnalism can used as a tool in fight for civil and political rights. And the fulfillment civil rights of shemale is unfulfilled overall.


Suppurative thrombophlebitisis a very infrequent complication of the central venous catheterization. The majority of the cases are produced by species of staphylococci. A 22-year-old colombian-woman, student, without toxic habits was admitted because of temporary left astrocytoma (grade II). Nine days after implementing a catheter in the right subclavian vein she presented high fever (39.5 degrees C), shivers, progressive right side neck swelling and odinofagia. She had leukocytosis (26,300 cells/microl) and normal cerebrospinal fluid. After withdrawing the catheter, Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in the tip of the catheter and in four bottles of blood cultures. A neck CT demonstrated expansion and absence of contrast in the right internal jugular vein. The patient evolved satisfactorily with cloxacillin, gentamycin and low molecular weight heparin.


Tidal currents and ranges in the Mediterranean basin are generally low from a tidal energy perspective. The narrows through the Strait of Messina are an exception, exhibiting intensive tidal currents that have the potential for the economic exploitation. Maximum current velocities at spring peak tides through the Strait vary between 1.8m/s to more than 3m/s. Selection of suitable locations for tidal energy extraction for the exploitation of these natural tidal phenomenon is not, however, a simple process. Constraints must be satisfied, subject to basic criteria dependent upon local factors, technology limitation and economic consideration. In addition, the impact of large scale extraction on the underlying hydrodynamics, environment and ecology within the Strait has to be assessed and evaluated. This paper is a desk-based case study to show how a tidal resource may be environmentally assessed for energy extraction, using the Strait of Messina as an exemplar case


This paper aims to analyse the performance of Hidden Markov Model (HMM) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) for anomaly intrusion detection. These techniques discriminate between normal and abnormal behaviour of network traffic. The specific focus of this study is to investigate and identify distinguishable TCP services that comprise of both normal and abnormal types of TCP packets, using J48 decision tree algorithm. The publicly available KDD Cup 1999 dataset has been used in training and evaluation of such techniques. Experimental results demonstrate that the HMM is able to classify network traffic with approximately 76% to 99% accuracy while SVM classifies it with approximately 80% to 99% accuracy.


The genera of the superfamily Pterophoroidea are redescribed. Three new genera are described: Dejongia, Stockophorus and Shafferia. The characters of the genera and their states are translated into a data matrix. A majority rule consensus tree composed with PAUP serves as a basis for a phylogenetic analysis. A cladogram, representing the views of the author, based on the data acquired, is presented with argumentation. The evaluation of the characters is discussed. A new subfamily is erected, the Deuterocopinae. The Pterophorinae are redefined. The Platyptiliinae are synonymized with the Pterophorinae. The Macropiratidae, considered by Minet (1991) a subfamily or a genus of the Pterophoridae, has been raised to family rank, and is placed as the sister group of the Pterophoridae in the superfamily Pterophoroidea. A discussion is given on the biogeographical data. The only known Pterophorid fossil is discussed and placed in a time scale. A checklist is produced of all known species of Pterophoroidea arranged according to the definition of the genera as (re)described in this publication.


Objective: To review published literature related to potential interactions between warfarin and common dietary supplement products. Data Sources: Tertiary databases including Micromedex, LexiComp, and Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database were used to assess drug interactions with warfarin. Searches of literature from database inception through July 2010 were conducted in MEDLINE, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, and Iowa Drug Information Service and were restricted to the English language. The following search terms were used: warfarin, ginkgo biloba, St. John's wort, garlic, coenzyme Q10, ginger, ginseng, red clover, fish oil, dong quai, cranberry, green tea, saw palmetto, bilberry, soy, chamomile, glucosamine, chondroitin, echinacea, interactions, anticoagulation/antiplatelet, bleeding, herbals, and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Thirty-two English language publications were identified and analyzed. Reference lists of each of the included articles were reviewed to obtain related articles for further analysis. Data Synthesis: Quality of existing data for interactions between warfarin and commonly available dietary supplements varies greatly. The majority of information available is derived from case reports, although for some products pharmacokinetic studies have been performed to assess the effect of supplement use in patients concurrently using warfarin. Some of the data that suggest interactions with warfarin were gleaned from case reports or from an understanding of supplement mechanisms of action that would indicate such an interaction. The strength of evidence for the majority of the herbal products studied seems to be lacking and therefore it is difficult to draw firm conclusions. Conclusions: Based on the narrow therapeutic window of warfarin therapy, practitioners should be encouraged to document any potential drug interaction. However, it seems inappropriate to suggest absolute avoidance of all dietary supplements in all patients using warfarin therapy. Instead, diligent monitoring and reporting should be implemented to detect such events.


Rapid growth and increasing demands for near-ubiquitous high-quality high-data-rate services present the most challenges for wireless system design. As an effective method to provide such services, space-time (ST) coding is gaining more and more attention. The paper extends ST coding, originally designed for known frequency-nonselective fading channels, to unknown frequency-selective channels. An ST transmit diversity wireless time-division multiple-access system, that is equipped with multiple antennas at both transmit and receive sides, is considered. In this system, a novel scheme is presented to suppress intersymbol interference and to demodulate coherently the information symbols with estimated channel state information. The proposed algorithm is powerful and computationally efficient. In addition to the discussion of system identifiability, both theoretical analysis and numerical simulation are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed estimator and receiver in multipath fading channels.


Steering documents for school, i.e. curricula, syllabi, subject plans and the Education Act, are not generally available in a digitally usable format. That complicates, for example, the process of building advanced curriculum-based services for schools in which individual elements are traceable. To address this problem, Swedish subject syllabi incorporating knowledge requirements for compulsory school were analyzed in terms of their structure, content type and relationship to the subject, year, and grade level. Markup describing the documents was added using Semantic Web technologies such as RDF and Linked Data to make the documents digitally usable. This paper presents a method for analyzing and marking up national steering documents. Digitally usable steering documents open up for services in which digital learning resources are connected to specific parts of the steering documents or in which steering documents from various countries can be compared, for example concerning PISA results.


Introduction: Tooth loss can disrupt masticatory ability and often impacts a patient's general health and quality of life. Among the variety of means to classify tooth loss, the Kennedy's classification is perhaps the most popular. The use of removable partial denture made of acrylic, based on Kennedy's classification of tooth loss may restore oral function and is therefore expected to increase patient's masticatory ability. However, not all patients wearing a denture show improved masticatory ability after using removable partial denture. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 30 patients at the Rumah Sakit Khusus Gigi dan Mulut, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Indonesia (subjects aged 20 years and over), who used only a removable partial denture. Subjects' data were obtained, and an interview to assess masticatory ability was conducted. Results: There was a significant impact (p = 0.00) of using a removable partial denture on tooth loss based on Kennedy's classification of masticatory ability. Kennedy classes 1 and 2, classes 2 and 3, and classes 2 and 4 removable partial dentures had a significant impact on masticatory ability. There was no significant difference between sociodemographic factors (age, gender, educational level, and income level) on tooth loss and masticatory ability. Conclusion: The use of removable partial dentures based on Kennedy's classification may increase patient's masticatory ability.


In the Caribbean Sea, mesoscale anticyclonic ocean eddies impact the local ecosystem by mixing of low salinity river outflow with the nutrient-rich waters upwelling along the Venezuelan and Colombian coast. To gain insight into the physics and the ecological impact of these anticyclones, we performed a combined hydrographic and biological survey of one Caribbean anticyclone in February 2018. We found that the anticyclone had a radius of 90 km and was surface intensified with the strongest velocities (0.72 m/s) in the upper 150 m of the water column. Below, isopycnal displacements were found down to 700 dbar. The core of the anticyclone entrained waters from the Orinoco River plume and contained slightly elevated chlorophyll concentrations compared to the surroundings. At the edge of the anticyclone we observed higher densities of flying fish but not higher densities of predators like seabirds and cetaceans. Below the surface, a strong temperature inversion (0.98 °C) was present within a barrier layer. In addition, we found thermohaline staircases that originated from double diffusion processes within Tropical Atlantic Central Water.


In this paper, an efficient optimization algorithm for solving the inverse problem of a two-dimensional homogeneous dielectric object is investigated. A homogeneous dielectric cylinder of unknown permittivity scatters the incident wave in free space and the scattered fields are recorded. Based on the boundary condition and the incident field, a set of nonlinear surface integral equation is derived. The imaging problem is reformulated into optimization problem and the genetic algorithm is employed to reconstruct the shape and the dielectric constant of the object. Numerical results show that the permittivity of the cylinders can be successfully reconstructed even when the permittivity is fairly large. The effect of random noise on imaging reconstruction is also investigated.


Different designs of multichannel resonant microwave pulse compression systems operating in X- and S-bands are described. The output pulsed microwave power of these systems is expected to be severalfold greater than that of compression systems with a single output channel. These compression systems can be used as compact sources of high-power nanosecond-duration microwave pulses, sources of synchronized sequences of microwave pulses, and sources for development of phased arrays of compressed microwave pulses. In particular, the authors describe the characteristics of a two-channel S-band resonant microwave pulse compression system with nanosecond-duration output pulse and an output pulsed microwave power of 1 GW. The operation of a four-channel X-band compression system with a possible eightfold output pulsed microwave power increase, relatively to the microwave power in the cavity, is also described. The design of an eight-channel system with a 16-fold output pulsed microwave power increase is reviewed. The parameters of an X-band compression system with multichannel output unit formed as a set of interference microwave switches extracting the energy in synchronism are presented.


We study the links between star formation history and structure for a large mass-selected galaxy sample at 0.05 ≤ zphot ≤ 0.30. The galaxies inhabit a very broad range of environments, from cluster cores to the field. Using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images, we quantify their structure following Hoyos et al., and divide them into disturbed and undisturbed. We also visually identify mergers. Additionally, we provide a quantitative measure of the degree of disturbance for each galaxy ('roughness'). The majority of elliptical and lenticular galaxies have relaxed structure, showing no signs of ongoing star formation. Structurally disturbed galaxies, which tend to avoid the lowest density regions, have higher star formation activity and younger stellar populations than undisturbed systems. Cluster spirals with reduced/quenched star formation have somewhat less disturbed morphologies than spirals with 'normal' star formation activity, suggesting that these 'passive' spirals have started their morphological transformation into S0s. Visually identified mergers and galaxies not identified as mergers but with similar roughness have similar specific star formation rates and stellar ages. The degree of enhanced star formation is thus linked to the degree of structural disturbance, regardless of whether it is caused by major mergers or not. This suggests that merging galaxies are not special in terms of their higher-than-normal star formation activity. Any physical process that produces 'roughness', or regions of enhanced luminosity density, will increase the star formation activity in a galaxy with similar efficiency. An alternative explanation is that star formation episodes increase the galaxies' roughness similarly, regardless of whether they are merger induced or not.


For the density operator (mixed state) describing squeezed chaotic light (SCL) we search for its thermal vacuum state (a pure state) in the real-fictitious space. Using the method of integration within ordered product (IWOP) of operators we find that it is a kind of one- and two-mode combinatorial squeezed state. Its application in evaluating the quantum fluctuation of photon number reveals: the stronger the squeezing is, the larger a fluctuation appears. The second-order degree of coherence of SCL is also deduced which shows that SCL is classic. The new thermal vacuum state also helps to derive the Wigner function of SCL.


Since time immemorial people have made promises to leave something by will to another person. Quite often such testamentary promises are made in exchange for some type of service and thus relied upon by the promisee. But sometimes, the promise is not fulfilled. As a consequence, a clash arises between the need to protect the freedom of the testator to change his or her will and the need to safeguard the interests of those relying on the promise. Law-makers on both sides of the Channel have always struggled with the enforcement of testamentary promises, which represent an unsettled area of the law. This article compares German and English law in the area of formal and informal testamentary promises. It looks at how both legal systems regard promises to make wills, be they contractual or not, and compares the remedies they currently award to those who, in reliance on a promise or assurance, assist or provide a service for the testator. In doing so, it not only investigates the rationale and scope of §2302 BGB, and the reasons why German law does not enforce contracts to make wills, but also outlines potential difficulties in the ways in which legislatures and courts tackle especially informal testamentary promises both in Germany and in England.


The purpose of the study is to design a lesson plan model for character education in primary education, and to elicit the related stakeholders' opinions and suggestions on the proposed lesson plan model. As a qualitative design research, the data in this study were collected through written document analysis and interview. Criterion sampling method was used to determine the participants of the study. The participants were five primary education teachers, two experts from the field of psychological counseling and guidance, and two academicians from the department of elementary education. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The study has two phases: (1) developing lesson plan model on the basis of the affective domain grounded by Krathwohl, Bloom and Masia and eleven principles of effective character education proposed by the Character Education Partnership, and (2) piloting the model. Up till now, the 1st stage has been completed. The results indicated that the participants mostly gave positive feedbacks in terms of fundamentals, parts and steps of the model. Moreover, the assessment and evaluation part of the model might be a weakness. Finally, the results indicated that the suggested model will be a pathway in the application of character education in primary schools. The lesson plan model will be piloted as a follow-up research.

 Key words: Character education, lesson plan model, primary education.


Studies were conducted in 1997 and 1999 at the University of Arizona Maricopa Agricultural Center to evaluate the added nitrogen (N) interaction or 'priming effect' on the determination of N recovery efficiencies (NRE) in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Overall growth patterns of the crop were significantly different between the two years. In 1997, the crop experienced a favorable balance between reproductive and vegetative growth. The NRE estimates were 34.7% and 34.7% for Treatment 1 (recommended fertilizer N rate, 168 kg N ha−1 (RecN)) and 25.2% and 26.0% for Treatment 2 (twice recommended fertilizer N rate, 336 kg N ha−1 (RecN 2×)) for the difference and isotopic dilution technique, respectively. In 1999, however, the crop experienced very poor fruit load and vigorous vegetative growth. This resulted in a crop that produced much more vegetative dry matter at the expense of reproductive dry matter (yield). Higher NRE estimates were observed using the difference technique (50.8% and 40.5% for RecN and RecN 2×, respectively) when compared with the isotopic dilution technique (32.3% and 35.2% for RecN and RecN 2×, respectively). Higher amounts of soil N taken up by the plant were also observed in 1999 when compared with those in 1997. The results presented from these studies indicate that plant uptake of indigenous soil N was much higher in 1999 than in 1997, which is evidence of an added N interaction. However, this increase does not seem to have been stimulated by the addition of fertilizer N but rather the increased vegetative growth and root exploration that occurred in 1999.


The Web MIDI API is intended to connect a browser app with Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) devices and make them interact. Such an interface deals with exchanging MIDI messages between a browser app and an external MIDI system, either physical or virtual. The standardization by the World Wide Web (W3C) Consortium started about 10 years ago, with a first public draft published on October 2012, and the process is not over yet. Because this technology can pave the way for innovative applications in musical and extra-musical fields, the present paper aims to unveil the main features of the API, remarking its advantages and drawbacks and discussing several applications that could take benefit from its adoption.


The recent rise in Eurozone long-term interest rates could jeopardize the on-going recovery if interest rates went beyond what the fundamentals require. We investigate possible overshooting after identifying the main determinants of long-term interest rates in the Eurozone and in some of its Member States since 1999. We include four categories of fundamentals (macroeconomic, financial, expectations, international). We find that monetary variables, spillovers from US financial markets, expectations and sovereign risks are the main determinants of long-term interest rates in the Eurozone. The empirical model has a very good fit and does not identify recent overshooting. The observed rise since August 2016 is attributed to two factors. The first one is the increase in US long-term interest rates after the reversal in the Fed's monetary stance. The second factor stems from the political tensions in France, Italy or Spain which generated higher perceived political risk. While the former factor might continue to drive Eurozone interest rates up, the second one might have receded with the results of the French presidential elections and drive interest rates down.


Campylobacter jejuni in fresh chilled chicken meat is known to be a major risk factor for human gastrointestinal disease. In the present study, the survival under chilled conditions of different C. jejuni strains exposed to different gas mixtures usually used for gas packaging of food was examined. Bolton broth and fresh, skinless chicken fillets were inoculated with six and four strains, respectively, and exposed to the gas mixtures 70/30% O2/CO2, 70/30% N2/CO2, and 100% N2 (the latter only investigated in broth) at refrigeration temperature (4–5 1C). In broth culture, the strains survived significantly longer when exposed to 100% N2 and 70/30% N2/CO2 than in the oxygen-containing gas mixture, 70/30% O2/CO2 (Po 0.0001). For the two anaerobic gas mixtures, the reductions only reached 0.3–0.8 log10 CFU mL 1 within the same period. In the presence of oxygen, the numbers of C. jejuni were reduced by a minimum of 4.6 log10 CFU mL 1 over 21 days. When inoculated onto chicken fillets, the C. jejuni strains also died significantly faster in the oxygen-containing gas mixture, 70/30% O2/CO2 (Po 0.0001), reaching reductions of 2.0–2.6 log10 CFU g 1 after 8 days. In the gas mixture without oxygen (70/30% N2/CO2), no reductions were observed.


Introduction Arterial Spin Labelling (ASL) is a readily available MR scanning technique and may provide similar information to conventional bolus-tracking dynamic susceptibility MR sequences. However, there is little comparative data in acute stroke. Methods: Patients with an acute ischemic stroke were imaged within 6 hours of ischeamic stroke onset with perfusion CT (CTP) and at 24 hours with MRI, including diffusion weighted MR (DWI),ASL and Perfusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PWI). Patient neurological status was determined using the National institutes of stroke score acutely and at 24 hours, as well as a modified Rankin score at 90 days. The ASL baseline perfusion value was defined as the mean value of the healthy, non ischeamic stroke hemisphere of the patient. Values 20% higher or lower than the mean healthy hemisphere were considered abnormal. A pixel based analysis was also undertaken to compare the perfusion lesion on ASL to the perfusion lesion on the baseline CTP and concurrent PWI maps of CBV, CBF, MTT and Tmax. Results Of the 80 patients in this study there were 32 patients with hyperperfusion in the ischaemic region and 48 with persistent hypoperfusion on follow-up ASL imaging. Hyperperfusion was linked to greater penumbral salvage (defined by the acute CTP and 24 hour DWI) and an improved early clinical outcome (mean improvement in between acute and 24 hour NIHSS = 9) as well as better 3 month outcome (mRS mean = 2, p=0.15). Patients with persistent ASL hypoperfusion showed less improvement in NIHSS (mean improvement 3) and had a poorer 90 day outcome (mean mRS 4). Interestingly, The ASL hypoperfusion lesion was closest to the Tmax PWI map (AUC=0.85) rather than CBF(AUC=0.66) or MTT(AUC=0.73). Discussion. At 24 hours, hyper- or hypo-perfusion on ASL was strongly correlated to clinical outcome. ASL may have clinical utility in the prediction of stroke prognosis based on the difference in clinical outcome (mRS) between the patient groups with hyper- or hypo- perfusion.


Samples of multifilamentary Bi-2223/Ag/alloy twisted filament tapes and Z stack round wires, consisting of untwisted and twisted stacks (or z-arrays) of flat filaments have been prepared. It was found that twist pitches of less than 10 mm may be incorporated into multifilament tapes while maintaining the Jc at 20 kA/cm/sup 2/. The self-field AC loss has been investigated at low frequencies up to 100 Hz. The round wire was found to exhibit isotropic electromagnetic properties.


This study examines the effects of Big 4 audit firm tenure on audit committee member support for the auditor in an auditor/management dispute over a subjective accounting issue. One hundred eighteen U.S. public company audit committee members participated in an experiment with audit firm tenure (short/long) manipulated randomly between subjects. The results indicate that participants in the long audit firm tenure group provide more support for the auditor in the dispute than participants in the short tenure group. Audit committee support for the auditor is positively related to audit committee member experience and CPA status, as well as perceived management pressure to meet analyst expectations, but negatively related to perceived management experience in financial reporting. Finally, audit committee members' perceptions of audit firm reliability (i.e., credibility and dependability) mediate the audit firm tenure-auditor support relation. Overall, our results suggest enhanced audit committee support for longer-tenured auditors.


Despite the widespread success of self-supervised learning via masked language models (MLM), accurately capturing fine-grained semantic relationships in the biomedical domain remains a challenge. This is of paramount importance for entity-level tasks such as entity linking where the ability to model entity relations (especially synonymy) is pivotal. To address this challenge, we propose SapBERT, a pretraining scheme that self-aligns the representation space of biomedical entities. We design a scalable metric learning framework that can leverage UMLS, a massive collection of biomedical ontologies with 4M+ concepts. In contrast with previous pipeline-based hybrid systems, SapBERT offers an elegant one-model-for-all solution to the problem of medical entity linking (MEL), achieving a new state-of-the-art (SOTA) on six MEL benchmarking datasets. In the scientific domain, we achieve SOTA even without task-specific supervision. With substantial improvement over various domain-specific pretrained MLMs such as BioBERT, SciBERTand and PubMedBERT, our pretraining scheme proves to be both effective and robust.


Background and Objectives Plasma is an important product for the preparation of coagulation factor concentrates. FVIII is one of the labile coagulation factors in plasma and its activity is used as a quality marker of plasma; therefore, it is important to optimize plasma production in order to avoid a reduction of FVIII activity. In this study, the effect of the delayed interval from plasma production to freezing on factor VIII activity in FFP in Iran was evaluated Materials and Methods Thirty whole blood units in pediatric bags were collected and their plasma aliquotes were separated. The plasma was then divided into three parts equally. The first, second, and third parts were frozen within 1 hour, 2 hours and 6 hours of separation, respectively. FVIII activity was then measured by the one-stage clotting assays Results The average rates of factor VIII activity in the first, second, and third groups were 1.78 ± 0.4 IU/mL, 1.72 ± 0.4 IU/mL, and 1.5 ± 0.3 IU/mL, respectively Conclusions To provide fresh frozen plasma, it is necessary to freeze plasma within 2 hours after whole blood separation. Although any increase in this time to 6 hours is associated with the significant decline in factor VIII activity compared to 1 and 2 hours, it remains within the acceptable level.


A number of recent studies have indicated that T cells can be stimulated to attack transplanted brain tumors in rodent models. As IL-12 has been shown to activate cytotoxic T cell responses, we tested the idea that it might stimulate a T cell response against endogenous brain tumors that arise in SV40 large T Ag transgenic mice (SV11). SV11 mice develop tumors of the choroid plexus, a specialization of the ependymal lining of the brain ventricles. They are a particularly relevant model of human disease, because they are immunocompetent but immunologically tolerant of the tumors. SV11 mice were treated with recombinant murine IL-12 for 10 days. Tumors grew more slowly than in control treated mice, and in some cases were reduced in size, as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging before and after treatment. At the end of treatment, tumors, but not brain parenchyma, exhibited extensive infiltration of activated CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. Tumors also showed a reduction in vascular density. Mice treated with IL-12 lived significantly longer than control mice. Tumors that progressed were nearly devoid of T cells, indicating that the T cell response was not sustained. In addition, some mice that had a substantial tumor burden at the beginning of treatment displayed evidence of immunosuppression, which might be related to TGF-β2 detected in tumors. We conclude that IL-12 treatment can initiate an anti-tumor response even against endogenously arising brain tumors, but factors that will allow a sustained and more effective anti-tumor response need to be determined.


Based on Geant4 particle transfer simulation, the internal current density, dose rate and charge deposition profiles of Teflon are acquired, and then the electric field under high energy and low density e-beam radiation is calculated with radiation-induced conductivity model of charging dynamics, which includes the continuity equation, Poisson equation and deep trap equation. According to Geant4 package, the charging model of dielectric is simplified as a compound structure consisting of shielding aluminum and multiple-layer plates radiated by 1.0MeV energy and 0.1 pA/cm 2 flux density surface source. With statistical method, the distributions of internal current density, dose rate and charge deposition are obtained and normalized with the above flux density. Substituting these results into RIC model, the distributions of electric field in Teflon are calculated under various grounding conditions. It shows that the charge density, electric field and potential for the back side grounding are higher than these for the front side grounding, which tends to induce internal discharging. The electric field calculated for the critical internal discharging conditions in space is also consistent with the threshold field of dielectric Teflon(1e7V/m).


: The diagnosis of a carpal tunnel syndrome constitutes a frequent indication for surgery. The need for the operation should be underscored by a neurological investigation with measurement of distal motor latency and the sensory conduction rate in the median nerve. According to an evaluation of 3,816 cases treated surgically, the main cause of the carpal tunnel syndrome is a histologically demonstrated fibrous hyperplasia of the flexor tendon sheaths.


Electrical cortical stimulation (CS) of the auditory cortices has been shown to reduce the severity of debilitating tinnitus in some patients. In this study, we performed MEG source imaging of spontaneous brain activity during concurrent CS of the left secondary auditory cortex of a volunteer suffering from right unilateral tinnitus. CS produced MEG artifacts which were successfully sorted and removed using a combination of sensor and source level signal separation and classification techniques. This contribution provides the first proof of concept reporting on analysis of MEG data with concurrent CS. Effects of CS on ongoing brain activity were revealed at the MEG sensor and source levels and indicate CS significantly reduced ongoing brain activity in the lower frequency range (<40Hz), and emphasized its higher (>40Hz), gamma range components. Further, our results show that CS increased the spectral correlation across multiple frequency bands in the low and high gamma ranges, and between the alpha and beta bands of the MEG. Finally, MEG sources localized in the auditory cortices and nearby regions exhibited abnormal spectral activity that was suppressed by CS. These results provide promising evidence in favor of the Thalamocortical Dysrhytmia (TCD) hypothesis of tinnitus, and suggest that CS may prove to be an effective treatment of tinnitus when targeted to brain regions exhibiting abnormal spontaneous activity.


Background:  In head and neck cancer (HNC) patients, the side effects of radiotherapy (RT) often lead to patients being unable to consume adequate nutrition and fluid (Chencharick and Mossman, 1983). Gastrostomy tube placement prior to RT can reduce incidence of severe weight loss and hospitalization during treatment (Beaver et al., 2001). However, gastrostomy tube usage is dependant upon HNC site and area of RT. The aims of the study were to identify the characteristics of those HNC patients who will require gastrostomy tube feeding during RT and utilize these data to target future patients for prophylactic tube placement prior to commencing RT and to write guidelines for the placement of feeding tubes.

Method:  Data were collected retrospectively regarding diagnosis, surgery and area of RT on all HNC patients who had had a prophylactic gastrostomy placed prior to RT between April 2000 and April 2002. Outcome measurements in terms of utilization of gastrostomy, body weight and nutrition related emergency admissions were recorded.

Results:  Thirty-five patients had a prophylactic gastrostomy placed [26 male, nine female; mean age 62 (range 26–84) years]. Of these, 26 utilized their tube for feeding or fluids during RT. The sites of radiotherapy were: bilateral RT to the oro- or nasopharynx and neck (20 patients), bilateral RT to the neck (five) and RT to the left oropharynx and neck (one). The mean weight loss during RT in patients who utilized their prophylactic gastrostomy was 3.3 (range 0–11.5%) compared to 8 (5.5–12.0%) in patients who did not have a prophylactic gastrostomy. Only one of the patients with a prophylactic gastrostomy had a hospital admission (length of stay 11 days) compared to four patients who did not [mean length of stay 21 days (range 14–29)]. Six of the nine patients who did not utilize their gastrostomy for feeding and were able to maintain their nutrition orally, received bilateral RT to the neck only.

Discussion:  Most of the patients who received bilateral RT to the oro- or nasopharynx required gastrostomy feeding during RT, which is consistent with findings of Beaver et al. (2001) who reported the highest incidence of weight loss in patients receiving RT to the nasopharynx or base of the tongue.

Conclusion:  In view of the association between the site of RT and gastrostomy utilization, hospital admissions, length of stay and weight loss, HNC patients with planned bilateral RT to the oro- or nasopharynx or with existing dysphagia should be targeted for gastrostomy tube placement prior to starting treatment.

References:  Beaver, M.E., Matheny, K.E., Roberts, D.B. & Myers, J.N.(2001) Predictors of weight loss during radiation therapy. Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg. 125, 645–648.

Chencharick, J.D. & Mossman, K.L. (1983) Nutritionalconsequences of the radiotherapy of head and neck cancer. Cancer 51, 811–815.


A model of peritoneal macrophages was used to study the effect of fucoidans from brown seaweeds on the adsorption of Hantaan virus. Fucoidans were found to have antiviral activity, but to differ in the inhibition of hantavirus adsorption, which was associated with their structural features. The mechanism of their action is assumed to be shown via ligand-receptor interaction with certain cell membrane receptors and via blockage of hantavirus glycoproteins (G1 and G2), resulting in adsorption inhibition and preventing viral penetration into the macrophages.


Abstract Statistical measures of fidelity, i.e. the concentration of species occurrences in vegetation units, are reviewed and compared. The focus is on measures suitable for categorical data which are based on observed species frequencies within a vegetation unit compared with the frequencies expected under random distribution. Particular attention is paid to Bruelheide's u value. It is shown that its original form, based on binomial distribution, is an asymmetric measure of fidelity of a species to a vegetation unit which tends to assign comparatively high fidelity values to rare species. Here, a hypergeometric form of u is introduced which is a symmetric measure of the joint fidelity of species to a vegetation unit and vice versa. It is also shown that another form of the binomial u value may be defined which measures the asymmetric fidelity of a vegetation unit to a species. These u values are compared with phi coefficient, chi‐square, G statistic and Fisher's exact test. Contrary to the other measures, phi coefficient is independent of the number of relevés in the data set, and like the hypergeometric form of u and the chi‐square it is little affected by the relative size of the vegetation unit. It is therefore particularly useful when comparing species fidelity values among differently sized data sets and vegetation units. However, unlike the other measures it does not measure any statistical significance and may produce unreliable results for small vegetation units and small data sets. The above measures, all based on the comparison of observed/expected frequencies, are compared with the categorical form of the Dufrêne‐Legendre Indicator Value Index, an index strongly underweighting the fidelity of rare species. These fidelity measures are applied to a data set of 15 989 relevés of Czech herbaceous vegetation. In a small subset of this data set which simulates a phytosociological table, we demonstrate that traditional table analysis fails to determine diagnostic species of general validity in different habitats and large areas. On the other hand, we show that fidelity calculations used in conjunction with large data sets can replace expert knowledge in the determination of generally valid diagnostic species. Averaging positive fidelity values for all species within a vegetation unit is a useful approach to measure quality of delimination of the vegetation unit. We propose a new way of ordering species in synoptic species‐by‐relevé tables, using fidelity calculations. Nomenclature:Ehrendorfer (1973).


One of the potential problems with the "map-and-encapsulate"
approaches to routing architecture is that there is a significant
chance of packets being dropped while a mapping is being retrieved.
Some approaches pre-load ingress tunnel routers with at least part of
the mapping database. Some approaches try to solve this by providing
intermediate "default" routers which have a great deal more knowledge
than a typical ingress tunnel router. This document proposes a scheme
which does not drop packets yet does not require a great deal of
knowledge in any router. However, there are still some issues that
need to be worked out.


Abstract: This study provided a model for calculating the aquifer transmissibility, the CO2 injection rate, the inner diameter of the injection well, and the number of wells for liquid CO2 disposal in the aquifer. The possibility of disposing liquid CO2 in an aquifer just beneath the sea floor was shown, based on the equilibrium lines in the pressure and temperature map. Our study focused on the feasibility of liquid CO2 disposal below the critical temperature because CO2 can be denser in the low‐pressure range (below the critical temperature) than above the critical temperature. An aquifer about 200 m under the sea floor, at a water depth of around 500 m (700 m below the sea surface), will serve for liquid CO2 disposal. In the aquifer the absolute pressure is approximately 7.3 MPa, sea‐floor temperature is about 4–6°C, and aquifer temperature is about 15–20°C. Therefore, it can be assumed that CO2 dissolves in the aquifer water, and liquid CO2 replaces the water. This means that under the previous conditions, more CO2 can be injected into the aquifer compared to supercritical conditions. Furthermore, by forming a cap of CO2 hydrates, the sediment between the sea floor and the aquifer, prevents CO2 leakage to the sea. Even without the cap, liquid CO2 and CO2 hydrates form at the sea floor, so the CO2 exerts no large environmental impact.


The purpose of this evaluation is to examine the results obtained in the portfolio of alternative commercial dispute resolution (ADR) projects of the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF). As conceived by the MIF, ADR projects are intended to promote the use of arbitration and mediation as alternative mechanisms for settling disputes (mainly disputes of a commercial nature). The ADR portfolio was established to mitigate the shortfall in justice services and to improve the conditions for private sector development. The strategy consisted of setting up arbitration and mediation centers to offer entrepreneurs an alternative for the settlement of their commercial disputes. On the basis of the analysis of the 18 projects, eight of which were visited for the purposes of this evaluation, despite some problems, this report concludes that the ADR portfolio had very positive results.


Modern seismology has been able to take advantage of several technological advances. These include feedback loops in the seismometer, specialized digitizers with absolute timing, and compression formats for storing data. While all of these advances have helped improve the field, they can also leave newcomers a bit confused. Our goal here is to give a brief overview of how recordings of seismic ground motion originate. We discuss the chain of events that are required to obtain digital data plus how these steps can be reversed to recover units of ground motion such as acceleration, velocity, or displacement. Finally, we show a few examples of data that have become compromised because of various non-ground-motion signals. We hope this brief overview provides a quick practical introduction to allow the reader to become familiar with the various jargon used in observational seismology.


The US House of Representatives has just passed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act. The tax provisions of this bill will hurt American workers, reduce American exports, and make American companies less competitive in the international marketplace. Since the US Senate has already passed companion legislation, these ill-considered bills could soon be reconciled in conference and become the law of the land. If so, American firms and workers will pay a substantial price. The tax measures would cost $14 billion over 10 years for the foreign operations of US-based multinational corporations (MNCs), say Hufbauer and Moran. They illustrate an unfortunate direction of US tax policy under the Obama administration and its congressional allies: the eagerness to tax the foreign income of US-based MNCs as if they competed only with firms that are subject to US tax rules. MNCs based in Europe, China, India, or Brazil pay far less than the US tax rate when they compete head-to-head with US firms in world markets. Studies show that plants of US multinationals are the most productive in the United States, most technology-intensive, and pay the highest wages. If US tax policy is changed so as to hinder outward investment by US MNCs, the result will be fewer US exports, and fewer exports will spell fewer US jobs. The best bottom line for American workers--and the American economy as a whole--is to make the United States a more favorable location for American multinationals to do business. Instead of raising taxes on the foreign income of US-based MNCs, Congress should be lowering the US corporate rate to 20 percent. Other countries understand the competitive realities well enough, but Congress seems determined to turn the United States into a loser.


Quality is considered to be mainly related to protein and oil concentration in maize kernel. Great effort has been made through the elevation of oil and protein concentrations; however, studies to enhance the composition quality of oil have been limited. Maize genotypes with special fatty acid composition may confer different end uses and added value. We investigated eight maize inbreds for kernel quality and fatty acid composition. Kernel samples from a two-year experiment were analyzed for oil, protein, moisture and ash, as well as several fatty acids, including oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids. Results indicated differences among the genotypes for all traits, except for behenic acid. A680 appeared to be a promising parent to elevate oleic acid, while N194 and RSSSC were the genotypes with the highest oil and protein levels, respectively. A new statistical approach, Canonical Discriminant Analysis with Hypothesis-Error plot technique was utilized to evaluate the data. It showed a good level of agreement with linear tests, and show similar results with those of multi comparison test. With the easily understandable graphical outputs that can interpret the interaction of variables and cases, it offers a good alternative way in analyzing data.


We study the impact of local taxation on the location and growth of firms. Our empirical methodology pairs establishments across jurisdictional boundaries to estimate the impact of taxation. Our approach improves on existing work as it corrects for unobserved establishment heterogeneity, for unobserved time-varying site specific effects, and for the endogeneity of local taxation. Applied to data for English manufacturing establishments we find that local taxation has a negative impact on employment growth, but no effect on entry.


Traditional machining techniques limit the flow channel and fin wall dimensions of high thermal conductivity metallic cold plates. Even though the thermal conductivity of silicon is lower compared to copper or aluminum, silicon micromachining techniques allow smaller flow channel and fin wall dimensions to enhance the heat transfer. However, the silicon fin height is limited by the standard wafer thickness. In this study, we develop stacked silicon microcoolers to increase the fin heights. An analytical method is used to identify the optimal fin wall and flow channel dimensions. A method of fabricating the stacked silicon microcoolers is then described.Stacked silicon microcoolers of various flow channel and fin wall dimensions are fabricated and integrated into thermal test packages. Experimental results of thermal resistance and pressure, spanning a wide range of chip power and fluid flow rates, are presented. The results demonstrate the high-performance envelope of the stacked silicon microcoolers. Directions for further thermal performance enhancement are also identified.


In complex and automated technological processes the effects of a fault can quickly propagate and lead to degradation of process performance or even worse to a catastrophic failure. This means that faults have to be found as quickly as possible and decisions have to be made to stop the propagation of their effects and to minimize process performance degradation. The behavior of the process is affected in different ways by different faults and the fault can be found by ruling out faults for which the expected behavior of the process is not consistent with the observed behavior. In model-based diagnosis, a model describes the expected behavior of the process for the different faults. A device for finding faults is called a diagnosis system. In the diagnosis systems considered here, a number of tests check the consistency of different parts of the model, by using observations of the process. To be able to identify which fault that has occurred, the set of tests that is used must be carefully selected. Furthermore, to reduce the on-line computational cost of running the diagnosis system and to minimize the in general difficult and time-consuming work of tests construction, it is also desirable to use few tests. A two step design procedure for construction of a diagnosis systems is proposed and it provides the means for selecting which tests to use implicitly by selecting which parts of the model that should be tested with each test. Then, the test design for each part can be done with any existing technique for model-based diagnosis. Two different types of design goals concerning the capability of distinguishing faults is proposed. The first goal is to design a sound and complete diagnosis system, i.e., a diagnosis system with the following property. For any observation, the diagnosis system computes exactly the faults that together with the observation are consistent with the model. The second goal is specified by which faults that should be distinguished from other faults, and this is called the desired isolability. Given any of these two design goals, theory and algorithms for selecting a minimum cardinality set of parts of the model are presented. Only parts with redundancy can be used for test construction and a key result is that there exists a sound and complete diagnosis system based on the set of all minimal parts with redundancy in the model. In differentialalgebraic models, it is in general difficult to analytically identify parts with redundancy, because it corresponds to variable elimination or projection. It is formally shown that redundant parts can be found by using a structural approach, i.e., to use only which variables that are included in each equation. In the structural approach, parts with more equations than unknowns are identified with efficient graph-theoretical tools. A key contribution is a new algorithm for finding all minimal parts with redundancy of the model. The efficiency of the algorithm is demonstrated on a truck engine model and compared to the computational complexity of previous algorithms. In conclusion, tools for test selection have been developed. The selection is based on intuitive requirements such as soundness or isolability requirements specified by the diagnosis system designer. This leads to a more straightforward design of diagnosis systems, valuable engineering time can be saved, and the resulting diagnosis systems use minimum number of tests, i.e., the on-line computational complexity of the resulting diagnosis systems become low.


Celiac sprue is a chronic disease characterized by a typical lesion in the small intestine and nutrient malabsorption that improves on withdrawal of dietary gluten. Adult celiac disease (or gluten enteropathy) is a common and under-diagnosed disease since presentation varies among a) symptomatic or clinically active forms (including mono- or oligosymptomatic forms), b) asymptomatic, subclinical or silent forms, and c) latent forms. We present a descriptive study of a retrospective series of patients diagnosed with symptomatic or clinically active adult celiac disease who required hospitalization between January 1993 and June 2000. The form of symptomatic expression, biological alterations, investigations that confirm the diagnosis, associated diseases, complications and response to treatment are described.


This paper examines the influence of gender in adoption of biomass energy conservation in Eastern Kenya. The region suffers deforestation, environmental degradation and threatened species as result of overexploitation of tree resources for woodfuel production. The government of Kenya and development partners has developed and promoted energy conservation technologies in the region for increased access to sustainable energy resources in rural areas geared towards achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs) relating to increased access to clean and affordable energy, the eradication of poverty and environmental sustainability, climate action as well as gender equality and the empowerment of women. Despite these efforts, adoption and continued use of improved bioenergy technologies has been low. The objective of the study was to determine gender aspects influencing adoption of biomass energy conservation technologies at household and community levels. The study was carried out in selected sub-counties of Kitui County using a survey design. Structured questionnaire and thematic guidelinesfor group discussions were used to collect data from 192 respondents. SPSS and Excel were used for data analysis. Results revealed that, at 0.05% level of significance, adoption of improved technologies were positively correlated to income and awareness levels. Inadequate awareness on benefits of improved bioenergy technologies among men, biased resource ownership, cultural roles and responsibilities, lack of inclusive decision making and over dependence on men and subsistence farming for financial support by women were indicated as key factors influencing adoption of improved technologies. The study concludes that though women are culturally responsible for provision of food and cooking energy, high poverty among women, and lack of awareness on the socio-economic benefits among men affects adoption of improved bioenergy technologies. The study recommends financial empowerment of women, inclusive decision making and mainstreaming gender at all levels of project implementation for increased adoption of new technologies.


Evidence remains inconclusive about the association of systemic inflammatory markers with colorectal neoplasia. We investigated whether circulating inflammatory markers were associated with risk of advanced colorectal adenoma. We measured plasma macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL6), and soluble TNF receptor 2 (sTNFR-2) in blood samples drawn from 32,826 women in 1989 to 1990 in the Nurses' Health Study. Through 2008, we documented 757 cases of advanced colorectal adenomas (≥1 cm or any size with advanced histology); each case was matched by age and time of blood draw with one control randomly selected from participants who underwent lower endoscopy and did not have neoplasia. Plasma MIC-1 was associated with higher risk of advanced adenoma (Ptrend = 0.04), with an OR of 1.55 (95% confidence interval, 1.03–2.32) comparing extreme quintiles of MIC-1 after adjusting for colorectal cancer–risk factors and other inflammatory markers. Among cases, MIC-1 level was positively associated with the number of adenomas (P < 0.001) and gradually increased from adenomas located in the rectum, distal colon, and up to the proximal colon. There was a strong positive association between MIC-1 and risk of adenomas with multiplicity, ≥1 cm size and location in the proximal colon (all Ptrend < 0.05). CRP, IL6, or sTNFR-2 was not associated with adenoma risk. In conclusion, plasma MIC-1 was associated with higher risk of colorectal adenoma, especially multiple, large, and proximal adenomas. Our results provide further support for a role for MIC-1 in carcinogenesis and the potential for MIC-1 as an adjunctive biomarker for detection of advanced colorectal adenoma. Cancer Prev Res; 9(1); 27–34. ©2015 AACR.


Abstract Studies have been made of the adsorption of water vapor on photolyzed silver iodide. Adsorption isotherms, run at +20 and −20C, have been compared with the isotherms of water vapor on unphotolyzed silver iodide at the same temperatures. It has been found that, while water on silver iodide gives a type III isotherm characterized by extremely high multilayer adsorption, as the silver iodide is photolyzed and its nucleating ability destroyed, water adsorption is greatly diminished.


The case records of 120 children older than 4 years with rotavirus infection have been studied. In this group, 22 patients received basic therapy and 98 received complex therapy with cycloferon. Appropriate therapy resulted in rapid positive dynamics of clinical symptoms, the disease outcomes have been improved. Cytokine reaction has been studied as dependent on the treatment method. Positive dynamics of clinical symptoms and cytokine level has been revealed in a group of children having received cycloferon. It is recommended to include cycloferon in the basic therapy of rotavirus diarrhea in children.


The absolutely continuous spectrum of an ergodic family of one-dimensional Schr\"odinger operators is completely determined by the Lyapunov exponent as shown by Ishii, Kotani and Pastur.
Moreover, the part of the theory developed by Kotani gives powerful tools for proving the absence of absolutely continuous spectrum, the presence of absolutely continuous spectrum, and even the presence of purely absolutely continuous spectrum.
We review these results and their recent applications to a number of problems: the absence of absolutely continuous spectrum for rough potentials, the absence of absolutely continuous spectrum for potentials defined by the doubling map on the circle, and the absence of singular spectrum for the subcritical almost Mathieu operator.


The nature of the climate–carbon cycle feedback depends critically on the response of soil carbon to climate, including changes in moisture. However, soil moisture–carbon feedback responses have not been investigated thoroughly. Uncertainty in the response of soil carbon to soil moisture changes could arise from uncertainty in the relationship between soil moisture and heterotrophic respiration. We used twelve soil moisture–respiration functions (SMRFs) with a soil carbon model (RothC) and data from a coupled climate–carbon cycle general circulation model to investigate the impact of direct heterotrophic respiration dependence on soil moisture on the climate–carbon cycle feedback. Global changes in soil moisture acted to oppose temperature‐driven decreases in soil carbon and hence tended to increase soil carbon storage. We found considerable uncertainty in soil carbon changes due to the response of soil respiration to soil moisture. The use of different SMRFs resulted in both large losses and small gains in future global soil carbon stocks, whether considering all climate forcings or only moisture changes. Regionally, the greatest range in soil carbon changes across SMRFs was found where the largest soil carbon changes occurred. Further research is needed to constrain the soil moisture–respiration relationship and thus reduce uncertainty in climate–carbon cycle feedbacks. There may also be considerable uncertainty in the regional responses of soil carbon to soil moisture changes since climate model predictions of regional soil moisture changes are less coherent than temperature changes.


Power electronic circuits, in particular AC-DC converters are complex systems, many different parameters and objectives have to be taken into account during the design process. Implementation of Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO) seems to be attractive idea, which used as designer supporting tool gives possibility for better analysis of the designed system. This paper presents a short introduction to the MOO applied in the field of power electronics. Short introduction to the subject is given in section I. Then, optimization process and its elements are briefly described in section II. Design procedure with proposed optimization parameters and performance indices for AC-DC Grid Connected Converter (GCC) interfacing distributed systems is introduced in section III. Some preliminary optimization results, achieved on the basis of analytical and simulation study, are shown at each stage of designing process. Described optimization parameters and performance indices are part of developed global optimization method dedicated for ACDC GCC introduced in section IV. Described optimization method is under development and only short introduction and basic assumptions are presented. In section V laboratory prototype of high efficient and compact 14 kVA AC-DC converter is introduced. The converter is elaborated based on performed designing and optimization procedure with the use of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors. Finally, the paper is summarized and concluded in section VI. In presented work theoretical research are conducted in parallel with laboratory prototyping e.g. all theoretical ideas are verified in laboratory using modern DSP microcontrollers and prototypes of the ACDC GCC.


This article explores how the government balances hybridization of public libraries and private companies based on a study in Japan. This research makes three important contributions to the research arena of hybridization by conducting in-depth case study and ethnography. First, through research into the management model of hybridization, we shed a light on public governance. Second, since the Japanese government fosters cooperation between private companies and public institutions by conducting social trials in hybridization, we can use the lessons learned from these trials and offer them not just to Japanese society but to the entire world. Finally, this research also contributes to creating new research methods in the area of public governance by utilizing in-depth case studies and ethnography developed by researchers in the field of anthropology. In conclusion, we describe a model of the hybridization of public libraries and private companies. It is important for public libraries and private companies that 1) public libraries should create the mission, philosophy and strategies, 2) both parties should adhere to their detailed contracts which clearly define their distinct roles, and 3) ensure that the detailed plans and descriptions for private companies can be executed successfully within the private company's limited engagement.


In a retrospective study of CT examinations of liver tumours in 37 patients intra- and extrahepatic tumour growth was estimated in order to see if resectability could be predicted. The findings were compared with the evaluation at laparatomy. Four out of 15 tumours, resectable according to CT, turned out to be unresectable and 9 out of 37 CT examinations did not reveal the total extent of tumour growth. A more reliable preoperative radiologic assessment may be obtained by improvement of current CT techniques, by computed tomographic angiography, intraoperative ultrasound or MR imaging.


ABSTRACT With the establishment of dual degree programmes between Turkish universities and the State University of New York (SUNY), the number of Turkish students studying in the US has increased substantially. The aim of this qualitative study is to shed light on the impact of the year abroad on student development by focusing on the perspectives of both the teachers and students through the use of questionnaires and interviews. The study focused on the impact of the year abroad on students' personal, linguistic, intercultural and academic development. Overall, the results of the study pointed to a positive impact of the year abroad on students in all four areas. However, especially in terms of students' language development, students and faculty gave conflicting reports. While all students believed that they improved their language skills, the faculty indicated that students had not benefited from the programme as much as they could.


The southeastern and southwestern parts of Bangladesh are naturally contaminated with arsenic exposing more than 30 million people to unsafe levels of this element in drinking water and potentially threatening rice production. A study was undertaken in three arsenic contaminated upazilas namely Kachua, Bhanga and Faridpur, aiming at understanding the possible negative effects of arsenic contamination on crop production. Sample survey was carried out to generate primary data. Two-stage sampling technique was followed in selecting the sample farms. Using Cobb-douglas yield function, productivity variability and the factors influencing level of productivity were identified. Analysis reveals that the share of agriculture income was higher for the farms under Bhanga (48%) compared to that under Kachua (46%). More than 70% of the sample households faced various arsenic related problems in rice production. Arsenic contamination resulted in less tillering, shorter plants, uneven plant growth and finally, decreased yield. Rice farmers adopted few practices for overcoming the problem, such as draining out of water from the rice fields, applying adequate fertilizers to the rice fields. Land degradation due to continued use of arsenic contaminated irrigation was reported. Due to the application of extra fertilizer and labour, the cost of modern Boro rice production in the more arsenic contaminated plots was 5% higher compared to that in less contaminated plots. Yields of MV (Modern variety) boro rice in more contaminated plots were significantly low resulting in lower gross return and profitability. Power tiller cost (a proxy for use of tiller), distance of plot from the STW, labour use, frequency of irrigation etc were the dominant determinants of MV Boro rice production in the sample arsenic prone areas.


We report on a study of affective states of learners in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and the interplay of Affect, Behavior and Cognition at various stages of the course. Affect is measured through a series of self-reports from learners at strategic time posts during the period of study. Behavior is characterized in terms of a learners' engagement, interactivity, impatience and reflectivity, which constitute a set of novel high-level features derived from the clickstream of learner interactions. Cognition is evaluated from the performance of learners on assessments that are part of the course. We discover that learners in the MOOC experience multiple as well as mixed emotions as they go through the course, which we handle using the psychological dimensions of arousal and valence. This results in a set of emotional quadrants, whose co-occurrence analysis reveals a strong association with cognition and specific behavioral characteristics demonstrated by the learner. These results advance our understanding of the experience of MOOC learners to a more holistic level across the key dimensions of affect, behavior and cognition. They also have important implications for the design of the next generation MOOCs that can potentially leverage affect and behavior-aware interventions to drive greater personalization and eventually, improved learning outcomes.


This paper examines methods frequently used by agricultural economists to measure the cost of farm labor, including operator and other unpaid, and to provide insights for improving them. The tradition is broken of treating labor and management separately, and labor is defined as encompassing all the productive activities of individuals or human agents used in a business, including farming. Conceptual issues are first addressed: (1) the nature of economic cost and the cost of unpaid labor and (2) time allocation in agricultural household models where an individual's annual time endowment is allocated potentially to leisure, farm work, and off- farm work. Measurement issues are addressed second: (1) specific methods for improving the measurement of the cost of farm labor and (2) specific procedures for estimating the opportunity cost of operator and unpaid farm labor. The overall goal is to obtain better farm cost and return estimates.


During meiosis, axis formation and synapsis of homologous chromosomes are tightly co-ordinated with meiotic recombination. This study investigates the influence of chromosome axis and synaptonemal complex proteins on meiotic crossover formation.

The study involved the characterization of a novel protein, AtASY3, required for normal meiosis in Arabidopsis. Analysis of Atasy3 mutants revealed that loss AtASY3 compromises chromosome axis formation, synapsis and normal levels of crossover formation. Further analysis revealed that loss of AtASY3 disrupts the axial organization of AtASY1. In separate studies, colleagues found that AtASY3 and AtASY1 are able to interact. Together, these results suggest that AtASY3 is a functional homologue of the budding yeast axis protein, Red1. Since studies in budding yeast indicate that Red1 and Hop1 (homologue of AtASY1) play a key role in establishing a bias to favour inter-homologue recombination, this study suggests that AtASY3 and AtASY1 may have a similar role in Arabidopsis.

The study also involved the analysis of the putative phosphorylation site, residue T295, on AtASY1. This revealed that T295 is essential for AtASY1-mediated crossover formation during meiosis. Additionally, a potential meiotic role for the RECQ DNA helicase, AtRECQ4B was investigated, however, the protein does not appear to be essential for Arabidopsis meiosis.


○ Pteris vittata was the first identified arsenic (As) hyperaccumulator. Our aim was to test whether As hyperaccumulation occurs in other fern species, and whether P. vittata collected from both contaminated and uncontaminated environments accumulates As similarly. ○ Three accessions of P. vittata, two cultivars of Pteris cretica, Pteris longifolia and Pteris umbrosa were grown with 0-500 mg As kg -1 added to the substrate. A second experiment compared As uptake by five common ferns obtained from commercial suppliers. ○ The results show that, in addition to P. vittata, P. cretica, P. longifolia and P. umbrosa also hyperaccumulate As to a similar extent. There was little difference between different Pteris species, or between different accessions of P. vittata. By contrast, Asplenium nidus, Davallia canarensis, Polypodium aureum, Polystichum tsussimense do not hyperaccumulate As. ○ This study identified three new species of As hyperaccumulators in the Pteris genus and suggests that As hyperaccumulation is a constitutive property in P. vittata.


Concerns about the safety of endoscopist-directed propofol (EDP) have been voiced that propofol should be given only by healthcare professionals trained in the administration of general anesthesia. Here we discuss the safety and drawbacks of EDP for routine endoscopic procedures. Currently, both diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy are well tolerated and accepted by both patients and endoscopists due to the application of sedation in most clinics worldwide. Accordingly, propofol use is increasing in many countries. It is crucial for endoscopists to be very familiar with the use of propofol or a combination of drugs. However, the controversy regarding the administration of sedation by an endoscopist or an anesthesiologist continues. Until now, there have been no randomized control trials comparing sedation induced by propofol administered by an endoscopist or by an anesthesiologist. It might be difficult to perform this kind of study. For the convenience and safety of sedative endoscopy, it would be important that EDP be generally applied to endoscopic procedures, and for more safety, an anesthesiologist may automatically take care of particular patients at high risk of suffering from propofol side effects.


The Eleventh Circuit's en banc decision in Wollschlaeger v. Florida is remarkable for embracing content neutrality as a tenet of First Amendment doctrine in the realm of professional speech. A new form of aggressive content neutrality is on the rise in First Amendment jurisprudence. Reed v. Town of Gilbert, a seemingly innocuous case about a municipal sign ordinance, ushered in what may turn out to be a dramatic shift in the way courts employ content neutrality as a core principle of the First Amendment. But content neutrality should not be thought of as axiomatic across the First Amendment. This Essay illustrates the dangers of falling into the content-neutrality trap in the context of professional speech. Professional speech communicates the profession's insights to the client for the purpose of providing professional advice. The value of professional advice critically depends on its content. The First Amendment therefore may not require regulation to be blind to the content of professional speech.


Multiverse scenarios are common place in contemporary high energy physics and cosmology, although many consider them simply as bold speculations. In any case there is nothing like a single theory or a unified model of the multiverse. Instead, there are innumerable theoretical proposals often reciprocally incompatible. What is common to all these scenarios is the postulated existence of many causally disjointed regions of space/time (if not completely separated space-times) and the consideration of the observable universe as atypical in a global perspective. This paper examines the history of modern cosmology focusing on the forerunners of current ideas, and shows how some fundamental issues tend to present themselves on increasingly deeper levels of physical knowledge.


BACKGROUND
The incidence of continuous deep sedation (CDS) has more than doubled over the last decade in The Netherlands, while reasons for this increase are not fully understood. Patients and relatives have an essential role in deciding on CDS. We hypothesize that the increase in CDS practice is related to the changing role of patients and relatives in deciding on CDS.

OBJECTIVE
To describe perceptions and experiences of patients and relatives with regard to CDS. This insight may help professionals and policymakers to better understand and respond to the evolving practice of CDS.

METHODS
Qualitative interviews were held with patients and relatives who had either personal experience with CDS as a relative or had contemplated CDS for themselves.

RESULTS
The vast majority of respondents appreciated CDS as a palliative care option, and none of the respondents reported (moral) objections to CDS. The majority of respondents prioritized avoiding suffering at the end of life. The patients and families generally considered CDS a palliative care option for which they can choose. Likewise, according to our respondents, the decision to start CDS was made by them, instead of the physician. Negative experiences with CDS care were mostly related to loss of sense of agency, due to insufficient communication or information provision by healthcare professionals. Lack of continuity of care was also a source of distress. We observed a variety in the respondents' understanding of the distinction between CDS and other end-of-life care decisions, including euthanasia. Some perceived CDS as hastening death.

CONCLUSION
The traditional view of CDS as a last resort option for a physician to relieve a patient's suffering at the end of life is not explicit among patients and relatives. Instead, our results show that they perceive CDS as a regular palliative care option. Along with this normalization of CDS, patients and relatives claim a substantial say in the decision-making and are mainly motivated by a wish to avoid suffering and exercise control at the end of life. These distinct views on CDS of patients, their relatives and healthcare providers should be reconciled in guidelines and protocols for CDS.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION
One of the authors in our team (G. H.) has experience with CDS as a relative and ensured that the patient/relative viewpoint was adequately reflected in the design and conduct of our study. In the preliminary phase of our study, G. H. adjusted the topic list so it was better adapted to the current practice of CDS. During the data analysis, G. H. read several interviews and took part in the open and critical discussion on central themes and core concepts as an important member of the author team, thereby guaranteeing the central position of the patient/relative perspective in our final research outcome.


A spectrophotometric method for the estimation of N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase in serum has been devised. Sera from normal adult males and females showed similar levels of activity. The activity in serum rose progressively during pregnancy and fell rapidly after parturition to normal levels. This change resembled closely that which occurs in serum β-glucuronidase. Placenta showed a moderate and chorion a high level of N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase. High N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase activity was demonstrated histochemically in decidual cells. The functions of N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase and β-glucuronidase and factors influencing their activity are discussed.


A new kind of a deterministic pushdown automaton, called a Tree Compression Automaton, is presented. The tree compression automaton represents a complete compressed index of a set of trees for subtrees and accepts all subtrees of given trees. The algorithm for constructing our pushdown automaton is incremental. For a single tree with $n$ nodes, the automaton has at most $n+1$ states, its transition function cardinality is at most $4n$ and there are $2n+1$ pushdown store symbols. If hashing is used for storing automaton's transitions, thus removing a factor of $log n$, the construction of the automaton takes linear time and space with respect to the length $n$ of the input tree(s). Our pushdown automaton construction can also be used for finding all subtree repeats without augmenting the overall complexity.


The present study describes the effect of indenter materials on Hertzian cracking behavior of alumina ceramics in sphere indentation. Numerical analysis (FEM) was carried out to investigate the influence of the frictional resistance at the interface due to the elastic mismatch between the indenter and the flat specimen on the stress distribution near the contact area. Two kinds of alumina ceramics with different mechanical properties were used for the flat specimen. Materials of the sphere indenter were cemented carbide, silicon nitride, alumina and hardened steel. The indenter was penetrated into the specimen with an electro-mechanical testing apparatus at a constant cross-head-speed in air. The indentation fracture was monitored with the acoustic emission signal. The numerical analysis revealed that the frictional resistance had influenced on the stress distribution. The experimental data showed that the ring crack radius, the crack pass below the contact zone and the indentation strength were different depending on the indenter material. From the comparison between the numerical analysis and the experimental data, it was found that the minimum value of the ring crack radius of the low density alumina flat specimen corresponds to the position of the maximum tensile stress.


Proposed in this paper is an analyzing model for the slope reliability taking the random effects of the seepage field of groundwater and the dependent factors into consideration. Taking the Circle Slice Method as its base of mechanical analyses for the stability of a slope, the model can analyze the movement of groundwater by using BEM and calculate the slope reliability index, β ,and probability of failure, P, by means of Monte Carlo Method (FOSM). The way sampling on the failure surface adopted in the paper incorporates the strong points of Monte Carlo Method and First Order Second Moment Method, and its calculating efficiency is remarkably higher than that of traditional Monte Carlo Method. Employing the model proposed, the reliability indexes and probabilities of failure of a real slope are estimated. The tendencies and extents of influence of rainfall supply and the uncertainty of anisotropic character of media in permeability on the slope reliability are studied for the first time.


The extent of Arctic sea ice has decreased over the years and the importance of sea ice monitoring is expected to increase. Remote sensing change detection compares images acquired over the same geographic area at different times in order to identify changes that might have occurred in the area of interest. Change detection methods have been developed for cryospheric topics. The Kittler-Illingworth thresholding algorithm has proven to be an effective change detection tool, but has not been used for sea ice. Here it is applied to Arctic sea ice data. The objective is to investigate the unsupervised detection of changes in Arctic sea ice using multi-temporal SAR images. The well-known Kittler-Illingworth algorithm is tested using two density function models, i.e., the generalized Gaussian and the log-normal model. The difference image is obtained using the modified ratio operator. The histogram of the change image, which approximates its probability distribution, is considered to be a combination of two classes, i.e., the changed and unchanged classes. Histogram fitting techniques are used to estimate the unknown density functions and the prior probabilities. The optimum threshold is selected using a criterion function directly related to classification error. In this thesis three datasets were used covering parts of the Beaufort Sea from the years 1992, 2002, 2007 and 2009. The SAR and ASAR C-band data came from satellites ERS and ENVISAT respectively. All three were interpreted visually. For all three datasets, the generalized Gaussian detected a lot of change, whereas the log-normal detected less. Only one small subset of a dataset was validated against reference data. The log-normal distribution then obtained 0% false alarm rate through all trials. The generalized Gaussian obtained false alarm rates around 4% for most of the trials. The generalized Gaussian achieved detection accuracies around 95%, whereas the log-normal achieved detection accuracies around 70%. The overall accuracies for the generalized Gaussian were about 95% in most trials. The log-normal achieved overall accuracies at around 85%. The KHAT for the generalized Gaussian was in the range of 0.66-0.93. The KHAT for log-normal was in the range of 0.68-0.77. Using one additional speckle filter iteration increased the accuracy for the log-normal distribution. Generally, the detection of positive change has been accomplished with higher level of accuracy compared with negative change detection. A visual inspection shows that the generalized Gaussian distribution probably over-estimates the change. The log-normal distribution consistently detects less change than the generalized Gaussian. Lack of validation data made validation of the results difficult. The performed validation might not be reliable since the available validation data was only SAR imagery and differentiating change and no-change is difficult in the area. Further due to the lack of reference data it could not be decided, with certainty, which distribution…


The aim of this chapter is to sketch the shape of civil societies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) regarding the relationship between citizens and civil society organizations (CSOs). The established notions of a vibrant civil society often stress the connection between citizens and CSOs and build upon the vision of social movement societies where CSOs mediate the interests and identities of their mass social base and thus drive social change. On the other hand, both classic philosophical traditions of civil society thought,and contemporary social research suggests that a different – and not necessarily defective or inferior – model of civil society also exists that performs similar societal and political functions. Here the two key modes of civil society engagement – the individual and the collective – are detached and largely independent of each other.


Nanotechnology is often said to be the industry of the 21st century. With the advent of nanostructured materials has emerged a new kind of nanostructured particles with different sizes, shapes and chemical compositions referred to as NOAA (Nano Object, their Aggregates and their Agglomerates). Either when being synthesized or accidentally released in the course of the manufacturing process, adapted metrology tools allowing their detection / characterization in situ and in real time (if possible) are to be developed for applications such as process control and workplace surveillance. LIBS was deemed as a promising technique to deal with such issue [1-3]. With the final aim in view to enhance detection of these objects, preliminary experiments were carried out coupling a LIBS analyzer with a low pressure RF (Radio Frequency) plasma discharge (instead of the usual flow cell) acting as a particle trap [4]. Agglomerates of composite nanoparticles of SiC and Al2O3 were injected into the RF plasma discharge where they were trapped and remained in levitation. Nanosecond laser pulses were then focused on the trapped particles, thereby producing the LIBS signal. LIBS detection was therefore achieved with a satisfying signal to noise ratio at a reduced pressure of 0.25 mBar instead of the atmospheric pressure. Thus, this coupling presents several advantages. All injected particles are trapped and can potentially be analyzed, thereby improving sampling. Organic particle analysis is made possible without interferences with the C, H, N, O, elements already present in the air when using an inert gas such as argon or helium for RF plasma generation. In addition, the signal-to-noise ratio may be higher at reduced pressure than at atmospheric pressure. The obtained results, though qualitative so far, have demonstrated the potentialities of such coupling for elemental identification of the elements composite nanoparticle agglomerates are made of. Future experiments are intended to optimize the LIBS detection, to assess the detection limits and to obtain quantitative results when tackling issues such as process control or ambient air monitoring. The use of other laser diagnostics could be envisaged as well for size and morphology measurements.


Schiff base ligand HL has been utilized to build up a new family of five [Ni2] complexes, [Ni2(μ-L)(μ-OH)](ClO4)2 [1(ClO4)2], [Ni2(μ-L)(μ-CF3CO2)2(C3H7NO)(H2O)]CF3CO2·H2O [2a(CF3CO2)·H2O], [Ni2(μ-L)(μ-CH3CH2CO2)2(C3H7NO)(H2O)]ClO4·C3H7NO [2b(ClO4)·C3H7NO], [Ni2(μ-L)(μ-CH3CO2)(μ-NCS)(NCS)(C3H7NO)] (3a) and [Ni2(μ-L)(μ-CH3CO2)(μ-N3)(N3)(C3H7NO)] (3b), in varying co-ligand environments. All the complexes have been characterized by elemental analyses, X-ray structure analysis and spectroscopic measurements. Three distinct types, dicationic, monocationic and neutral complexes, are synthesized using one pentadentate ligand HL. The NiII centers are bridged by three sets of bridging groups resulting in a wide variation in Ni⋯Ni separations from 2.897 to 3.475 A. Doubly bridged NiII centers in the edge-shared square planar environment provide the shortest Ni⋯Ni separation in 12+. Whereas combination of other bridges from carboxylate, azide and isothiocyanate ancillary ligands results in cationic and neutral [Ni2] complexes 2+ and 3 having longer intermetallic separations. Modulation of Ni⋯Ni separation in synthetic complexes is fascinating in relation to the involvement and stabilization of the dinickel motif in the catalytic transition state of urease. Interaction and binding of cationic complexes (1–2b) with human serum albumin (HSA) and calf thymus-DNA have been examined using spectroscopic techniques. Tryptophan fluorescence quenching of HSA by cationic bimetallic complexes (1, 2a and 2b) featuring a hydrophobic ligand environment shows spontaneous and favorable interactions in the order of 2a > 2b > 1. For the interaction study with CT-DNA, nearly planar complex 1 binds more efficiently than 2a and 2b in octahedral coordination geometry.


Almost all forecasting of the magnitude of the next earthquake has assumed the same independent probability distribution, such as the Gutenberg–Richter law, with the same b-value (b = 0.9 in Japan region standard), throughout an earthquake sequence. Identifying a broadened forecasting procedure for general models of space-time magnitude sequences may enhance the information gain of earthquake forecasts. This manuscript explores and evaluates three such models for earthquake magnitude forecasting. The first model forecasts magnitudes by location-dependent b-values; the second model forecasts magnitudes by space-time weighted moving average of the short-term past and neighboring magnitude sequence; and the third forecasts based on short-term tightness of clustering among earthquakes. The forecasting performances of these models estimated in a learning periods are shown at each time in the CSEP Japan testing period, from November 1, 2008 till October 31, 2017. Except for the last example, the forecasts do not outperform the baseline G–R law with the b value of 0.9. We discuss the reasons by some residual analysis.


Through his work on the social and cultural politics of landscape and representation Denis Cosgrove has established an approach to cultural geography that is firmly rooted within the tradition of the humanities. Studying the historical and symbolic meanings of landscape in a Western European tradition that stretches from early Renaissance Italy to the modern world, his main books include 'Social Formation and Symbolic Landscape' (1984), 'The Iconography of Landscape' (1988) and 'The Palladian Landscape' (1993). More recently, he has explored the workings of mapping and cartography in 'Mappings' (1999) and 'Apollo's Eye: A Cartographic Genealogy of the Earth in the Western Imagination' (2001). The following interview conversation, conducted during the Hettner Lecture in Heidelberg on 30th June 2005, aims at offering insights into the interrelations of Denis Cosgrove's biography and his scholarly work. Drawing upon Livingstone's approach of considering the interplay between biography, place and scientific practice in order to achieve a deeper understanding of his oeuvre (Livingstone 2002), we hope that our interview contributes to ongoing discussions on Cosgrove's approach to cultural geography and stimulates an interest in rethinking different ways of practising cultural geography.


Solid solution of the two spin gap systems (CH3)2CHNH3CuX3 (X=Cl, Br) was reported from results of macroscopic measurements to be gapless when fraction of Cl content x is in between 0.44 and 0.87, and otherwise remains gapped. We have investigated by μSR the ground state of Cl-rich gapped region x=0.95 and 0.88 to find that they are microscopically phase separated into two components, magnetic tiny islands and singlet sea surrounding them. With decreasing temperature, the characteristic frequency of spin fluctuation in islands showed a significant slow down. However, the slow down ceased around 1 K, below which the spin fluctuation spectrum did not change down to 15 mK. These results indicate that unlike the Br-rich system x < 0.44 where appearance of an exotic ground state has been argued, the Cl-rich system x > 0.87 persists to be paramagnetic without showing a long-range order. This difference is considered to be originated in the robustness of Haldane gap against disorder.


Over the last two decades the management of patellofemoral instability has changed with the advent of the ability to define the variation in the anatomy of the patellofemoral joint and to put a number onto that variation. From this we are able to agree what is "normal" and what is pathological. The review by Dietrich et al. (1) looks at the key method for doing this, namely imaging. The problem with the patellofemoral joint is that there is little consensus internationally on terminology, details of the history, the relevant examination techniques (which to do, how to do them, and how to report them) (2), but there is consensus on which are the important anatomical abnormalities, how to image and what to measure (1,3). As a consequence there is a better understanding about the surgical interventions needed to correct the abnormalities, although not necessarily which patients require an operation and the timing of it (4).


© 2018 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Data science has recently gained much attention for a number of reasons, and among them is Big Data. Scientists (from almost all disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology, sociology, among others) and engineers (from all fields including civil, environmental, chemical, mechanical, among others) are faced with challenges posed by data volume, variety, and velocity, or Big Data. This book is designed to highlight the unique characteristics of geospatial data, demonstrate the need to different approaches and techniques for obtaining new knowledge from raw geospatial data, and present select state-of-the-art geospatial data science techniques and how they are applied to various geoscience problems.


The effect of intravenous administration of baclofen, a GABA(B) receptor agonist, on gastric acid secretion from perfused stomach was studied in vagotomized rats anesthetized with urethane. Baclofen did not stimulate acid secretion by itself. In contrast, baclofen dose-dependently potentiated acid secretion induced by pentagastrin, bethanechol and direct vagal stimulation, but not by histamine. Baclofen-potentiated acid secretion induced by pentagastrin and bethanechol was not influenced by pretreatment with atropine or cimetidine, respectively. Baclofen-potentiated acid secretion evoked by direct vagal stimulation was prevented by pretreatment with proglumide which is a gastrin receptor antagonist. Baclofen-potentiated acid secretion evoked by bethanechol was partly prevented by bicuculline methiodide which is a GABA(A) receptor antagonist, but not by phaclofen which is a GABA(B) receptor antagonist, suggesting an involvement of peripheral GABA(A) receptors. Baclofen-potentiated acid secretion induced by direct vagal stimulation was not affected by the change of body temperature. These results suggest that baclofen stimulates acid secretion under certain conditions, and that two mechanisms are involved in this effect. The effects of baclofen on acid secretion may be mediated by increasing the release of histamine by pentagastrin, bethanechol and direct vagal stimulation. In addition, baclofen would also be effective if muscarinic agents were already occupying muscarinic acetylcholine receptors on parietal cells.


Dynamics of intraabdominal pressure (IAP) on stages of preparation for abdominoplasy was studied intraoperatively and postoperatively with the objective to avoid the abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) occurrence. Main attention was drawn to preparation for the operation, using gradual rising of IAP in patients with relaxation of musculoaponeurotic carcass and correction of its changes under IAP control. Analysis of the results have witnessed, that abdominoplasty conduction after a certain preoperative preparation and the IAP level control intraoperatively permits to avoid ACS.


Tumours develop in an evolutionary process, in which the accumulation of mutations produces subpopulations of cells with distinct mutational profiles, called clones. This process leads to the genetic heterogeneity widely observed in tumour sequencing data, but identifying the genotypes and frequencies of the different clones is still a major challenge. Here, we present Cloe, a phylogenetic latent feature model to deconvolute tumour sequencing data into a set of related genotypes. Our approach extends latent feature models by placing the features as nodes in a latent tree. The resulting model can capture both the acquisition and the loss of mutations, as well as episodes of convergent evolution. We establish the validity of Cloe on synthetic data and assess its performance on controlled biological data, comparing our reconstructions to those of several published state-of-the-art methods. We show that our method provides highly accurate reconstructions and identifies the number of clones, their genotypes and frequencies even at a modest sequencing depth. As a proof of concept we apply our model to clinical data from three cases with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, and one case with acute myeloid leukaemia.


In automated driving, the user interface plays an essential role in guiding transitions between automated and manual driving. This literature review identified 25 studies that explicitly studied the effectiveness of user interfaces in automated driving. Our main selection criterion was how the user interface (UI) affected take-over performance in higher automation levels allowing drivers to take their eyes off the road (SAE3 and SAE4). We categorized user interface (UI) factors from an automated vehicle-related information perspective. Short take-over times are consistently associated with take-over requests (TORs) initiated by the auditory modality with high urgency levels. On the other hand, take-over requests directly displayed on non-driving-related task devices and augmented reality do not affect take-over time. Additional explanations of take-over situation, surrounding and vehicle information while driving, and take-over guiding information were found to improve situational awareness. Hence, we conclude that advanced user interfaces can enhance the safety and acceptance of automated driving. Most studies showed positive effects of advanced UI, but a number of studies showed no significant benefits, and a few studies showed negative effects of advanced UI, which may be associated with information overload. The occurrence of positive and negative results of similar UI concepts in different studies highlights the need for systematic UI testing across driving conditions and driver characteristics. Our findings propose future UI studies of automated vehicle focusing on trust calibration and enhancing situation awareness in various scenarios.