Vitamin D deficiency is a major health concern & prevalence rates in preterm neonates is still not well
defined. Role of Vitamin D deficiency in critically ill patients with sepsis has been reported in the adult
population. This study aims at studying Vitamin D levels in late preterm neonates and its association with
sepsis.
Objectives : To estimate & identify Vitamin D deficiency in late Pre-termers, in turn studying their levels in
late onset sepsis and estimating the change in Vitamin D levels with the onset of sepsis.
Methodology: A total of 120 late pre-termers were included in the study. Gestation age calculated by New
Ballard's score. Structured pro-forma recorded birth details. Baseline vitamin D levels of all babies were
obtained on day 4).Those 67 neonates with features of late onset sepsis either clinically/haematological/
culture were sub-grouped as cases & remaining 53 were controls. Subsequent vitamin D level was estimated
in septic cases after 48 hours of onset
Results: Mean value of vitamin D on day 4 was 18.9 indicating vitamin D deficiency (p<0.001). There was
no difference in baseline vitamin D levels in those who developed sepsis and those who did not. Amongst
cases, mean value of Vitamin D before onset of sepsis was 26.27ng/ml and 19.29ng/ml after 48 hours of
onset; indicating a highly significant drop in vitamin D within 48 hours of onset of sepsis(p<0.001).There
was no significant association between culture proven sepsis & vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency
does not predispose to sepsis.
Conclusions: There is need to establish normal Vitamin D levels in our population. There is no evidence in
this study to say Vitamin D deficiency predisposes to sepsis. However there is significant drop in vitamin D
levels with onset of sepsis.


In this fourth edition of his celebrated study of Faulkner, Irving Howe analyzes all of the great author's works, emphasizing the themes that run throughout the novels and stories. "The scheme of my book is simple," Mr. Howe writes. "First, I have tried to say what Faulkner's work is 'about,' to report on the social and moral themes in his books; and then I have tried to analyze and evaluate the more important novels." Anyone who has enjoyed the special flavor of Faulkner's writing will appreciate Mr. Howe's careful analysis, and the student of twentieth-century American literature will gain new perspective and insight. Mr.Howe successfully portrays the intimate connection between Faulkner's fiction and the emotional and psychic history of the South without slighting the universality that makes him one of America's greatest writers. "Mr. Howe is a shrewd critic, and he writes of Faulkner's achievements as a practicing novelist with a wary respect. He has a good many observations to make that should help readers in going through the novels."-Alfred Kazin, New York Times.


Currently, there is a need for precise motion control of industrial machines. For precise motion, it is important to keep the motion robust against disturbances such as gravity or reaction force from the environment. Industrial machines include flexible components such as gears and couplings, and they are modeled as a resonant system. Models expressing resonant systems are classified into lumped-parameter model and distributed-parameter model. Conventionally, the control theory based on the lumped-parameter model has been widely researched because that model is easy to deal with. However, the position which a disturbance acts on is limited to the generator or the lumped inertia of the load in these methods. Therefore, there is a danger that the disturbance suppression performance may deteriorate in the case that a distributed disturbance acts on the load. Here, the distributed-parameter model considering the position which a disturbance acts on, is proposed based on the wave equation. Wave-based modeling can consider the spatial dynamics of a disturbance. As a result, conventional disturbance suppression control is extended for the spatial dynamics.


Helicobacter species can be found in a wide variety of animals and remain common contaminants of laboratory rodents. Fostering of neonatal pups has been used to eliminate Helicobacter spp. from various laboratory rodents, including laboratory mice and gerbils. Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) from a captive colony enzootic for at least one Helicobacter species were mated, and the pups produced were fostered on laboratory mice 24 h after birth. After 2 rounds of fostering, both foster dams and pups were free of Helicobacter spp. as determined by fecal PCR analysis. Removal of Helicobacter infection through neonatal fostering has not been described previously for Peromyscus maniculatus.


In the United States, terminally ill patients and their physicians often avoid discussing the inevitability of death and planning for it. As a result, these patients miss opportunities to make choices that comport with their values and preferences. In the absence of such decisions, the default model is to "err on the side of life," which often results in overtreatment, inappropriate prolongation of life, and avoidable suffering. This Article discusses trends in end-of-life care in the the United States and compares these trends with the the U.K.'s Liverpool Care Pathway and its approach to end-of-life care. Although the Liverpool Care Pathway generated clearly superior outcomes compared with the United States' model in all dimensions - care availability, quality, and cost - it nevertheless generated controversy. Poor physician-patient communication represents the shared barrier to high quality end-of-life care in both countries. Although the United States' medical community and other interested groups have begun serious work into methods to improve the quality of communication and care at the end of life, they are a long way from understanding how best to bridge the gap between theory and practice across a vast and diffuse health care system.


A peer mediation program in a midwestern, suburban school was examined to determine the types of conflicts that occurred, the strategies students used to resolve their conflicts, and the types of resolutions in both school and home settings. The impact of the peer mediation program on the strategies used to manage conflicts and the resolutions of conflicts was also examined. Six classes (one combination second/third grade, one third grade, two fourth grades, and two fifth grades) containing 144 students received 9 hours of training in how to negotiate integrative agreements to their conflicts and how to mediate the conflicts of their classmates. A random sample of 83 students was selected from the untrained students in the third, fourth, and fifth grades as a control group. A peer mediation program was implemented. The role of mediator was rotated equally among all class members. Data were gathered over a 9-week period before, during, and after the peer mediation training. Seven hundred eighty-three conflicts were reported (209 at school, 574 at home). A significant difference between the types of conflict occurring in the school and in the home was found. The training had significant impact on the strategies students used and the resulting resolutions.


Visible optical radiation in the housing sector accounts for 17% of the total energy consumed in the USA. Recommendations encourage the use of sustainable lighting to reduce energy consumption, but all stakeholders have not complied. Some existing installations provide high light levels, use inefficient lighting, and waste resources. Over-illuminated sites create light pollution and "light trespass," which may upset circadian rhythms and damage health. Some housing sites utilize short-lived light sources, which must be replaced often, sending solid waste to landfills. The invisible effects of artificial optical radiation, such as those from ultraviolet light (UV), may have adverse environmental and health impacts. In this study, researchers explored the quantitative aspects of artificial optical radiation found at five university student housing sites. They integrated technical literature and lighting industry recommendations with previous studies and new field measurements to raise awareness of environmental impacts and to ultimately encourage informed choices of sustainable lighting at student housing sites. The researchers led undergraduate students in night-time field studies to measure and document existing lighting conditions. They utilized various hand-held devices to measure and analyze visible light, UV light, and sky quality. Artificial optical radiation from various sources was in evidence at all sites. A review of the published standards revealed some of sites' artificial light levels exceeded recommendations. Light pollution and light trespass were found. Sky quality was fair to poor. The environmental impact of UV radiation in the current study was found to be negligible. However, other measurable impacts produced by nonsustainable lighting sources, including wasted light, light pollution, and light trespass, are of concern to the environment and to housing stakeholders.


Abstract When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived on the scene, the near-universal imposition of lockdowns and public health restrictions prompted many human rights advocates to sound the alarm regarding freedoms of assembly, expression, privacy, and movement. Even though they have not yet appeared to reduce the occurrence of protests in many countries, such restrictions may nevertheless diminish the ability of mass movements to effectively organize and win key concessions. In this article, I present new descriptive data on the outcomes of people-power movements, which suggest that, despite their heightened popularity, maximalist nonviolent campaigns are seeing their lowest success rates in more than a century. I describe how the diffusion of restrictions on peaceful assembly and expression accompanies a broader toolkit of authoritarian strategies that have become standardized over the past 15 years in response to people-power movements. I then turn to three tensions that present dilemmas for movements emerging from the pandemic and its associated lockdowns. I conclude by laying out key research questions that emerge from these trends and dilemmas that require sustained attention from scholars and practitioners of nonviolent resistance.


It has been suggested that acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) is associated with cigarette smoking because in Japan, the patients with AEP are young and have a high incidence of short-term smoking history. However, there has been no direct evidence to support that cigarette smoke causes AEP. Herein is reported the first case showing the direct evidence and a long-term clinical course of cigarette smoking-induced AEP, in which tolerance to repeated resumption of smoking cigarettes might have occurred. We should pay attention to the history of cigarette smoking in seeing patients with AEP, especially in young patients.


Positive experiences, such as social interaction, cognitive training and physical exercise, have been shown to ameliorate some of the harms to cognition associated with ageing. Animal models of positive interventions, commonly known as environmental enrichment, strongly influence neuronal morphology and synaptic function and enhance cognitive performance. While the profound structural and functional benefits of enrichment have been appreciated for decades, little is known as to how the environment influences neurons to respond and adapt to these positive sensory experiences. We show that adult and aged male wild-type mice that underwent a 10-week environmental enrichment protocol demonstrated improved performance in a variety of behavioural tasks, including those testing spatial working and spatial reference memory, and an enhancement in hippocampal LTP. Aged animals in particular benefitted from enrichment, performing spatial memory tasks at levels similar to healthy adult mice. Many of these benefits, including in gene expression, were absent in mice with a mutation in an enzyme, MSK1, which is activated by BDNF, a growth factor implicated in rodent and human cognition. We conclude that enrichment is beneficial across the lifespan and that MSK1 is required for the full extent of these experience-induced improvements of cognitive abilities, synaptic plasticity and gene expression.


Abstract Thallium-activated sodium iodide (NaI(Tl)) detectors can be used in gamma cameras, environmental radiation assessments, including radiation emission levels from nuclear reactors, and radiation analysis equipment. This three-phase investigation aimed to model a standard NaI(Tl) detector using the Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) general-purpose Monte Carlo simulation techniques. Accordingly, a standard NaI(Tl) detector was designed along with the required properties. Next a validation study of the modelled NaI(Tl) detector has been performed based on the experimental results for absolute detector efficiency values obtained from 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K radioisotopes. Our findings indicate that the obtained absolute detector efficiency values are quite close to used experimental values. Finally, we used the modelled detector for determination of mass attenuation coefficients of Ordinary concrete, Lead, Hematite-serpentine concrete, and Steel-scrap concrete at 186.1, 295.22, 351.93, 609.31, 1120.29, 1764.49, 238.63, 911.2, 2614, and 1460.83 keV gamma-ray energies. Additionally, according to our findings, mass attenuation coefficients obtained from the newly designed detector are compatible with the standard NIST (XCOM) data. To conclude, continuous optimisation procedures are strongly suggested for sophisticated Monte Carlo simulations in order to maintain a high degree of simulation reliability. As a result, it can be concluded that the validation of the simulation model is necessary using measured data. Finally, it can also be concluded that the validated detector models are effective instruments for obtaining basic gamma-ray shielding parameters such as mass attenuation coefficients.


Introduction I. Deconstructing Medicaid A. The History and Development of Medicaid B. The Operation of Medicaid: A Federal and State Partnership 1. State Medicaid Plans 2. Provider Payment Rates a. The Equal Access Provision b. Enforcing the Equal Access Provision II. Assessing the Administrative Enforcement Scheme with Respect to the Equal Access Provision A. SPA Process B. Compliance Action III. Strengthening CMS' Oversight of States' Medicaid Provider Payment Rates A. Require and Enforce Prior Approval of Medicaid Rate Cuts B. Benchmark Medicaid Rates to Medicare Conclusion INTRODUCTION After enrolling in the Illinois Medicaid program, the public health insurance program for poor and disabled Americans, Tessinia Rodriguez and Elissa Bassler both sought a physician referral from the Medicaid hotline. (1) The hotline gave Rodriguez the names of approximately ten doctors, all of whom practiced more than thirty miles from her home; not one accepted Medicaid. (2) Bassler received the names of eight doctors, none of whom accepted Medicaid. (3) Benita Branch had difficulty finding a doctor to treat her children on Medicaid, and when she finally did, the doctor did not schedule appointments. (4) Branch had to bring her children into the doctor's office and take a number, often waiting more than an hour--and sometimes several hours--before being seen. (5) Sara Mauk was able to find a doctor that would see her daughter; however, the doctor required Medicaid patients to wait until after all privately insured patients had been seen. (6) Over sixty million low-income individuals rely on Medicaid for their health insurance coverage. (7) The majority of Medicaid beneficiaries are parents and children. (8) The most medically needy and costly are the elderly and disabled. (9) For both groups, however, Medicaid is intended to be a lifeline to essential health and medical care. (10) Although Medicaid patients have freedom of choice to select among participating providers, (11) physicians also have freedom of choice to participate in Medicaid. (12) Congress has recognized that "without adequate payment levels, it is simply unrealistic to expect physicians to participate in the [Medicaid] program." (13) In fact, low reimbursement rates have led many physicians and particularly specialists to stop treating Medicaid patients. (14) Despite the well-established correlation between Medicaid provider payments and physicians' willingness to treat Medicaid recipients, states continue to make budget-driven cuts to their Medicaid provider reimbursement rates. (15) Although the economy is improving slowly, states still face a dire fiscal situation and growing Medicaid costs are a key contributor to state budget gaps. (16) As a result, nearly every state has proposed or implemented cuts to Medicaid in their 2011-2012 budget year, reducing payments to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers that treat Medicaid patients. (17) As the stories of Tessinia Rodriguez, Elissa Bassler, Benita Branch, and Sara Mauk exemplify, cuts to state Medicaid programs can make it difficult, and sometimes impossible, for Medicaid patients to find a doctor who will see them. (18) Cuts in reimbursement rates for providers can and have resulted in dramatic consequences for Medicaid patients. (19) For example, in a highly publicized case, a hospital in Clare, Michigan closed its obstetrical unit in direct response to the state's inadequate Medicaid payments. (20) Congress enacted Medicaid in 1965 to ensure that poor and disabled Americans had access to "mainstream" and often life-saving medical services. (21) The goal was to provide beneficiaries with meaningful access to medical services, not merely a Medicaid card. (22) Title XIX of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. [section] 1396 (Medicaid Act) gives individuals who meet Medicaid eligibility requirements a legal right to have payments made to their providers for their needed medical services. …


The purpose of this case report is to describe a physical therapy approach designed to reduce the mechanical pressure at the site of a diabetic plantar ulcer. The patient was a 69-year-old man with diabetes mellitus for 24 years, insensitive feet, and a right plantar ulcer at the first metatarsal head for 21 months. He had a fixed equinus and rear-foot varus deformity, which seemed to place increased pressure on his forefoot. The patient was treated with total contact casting and showed progressive healing until he refused additional casting. One week later, the ulcer was considerably larger. He consented to resume casting, and the ulcer was completely healed in 85 days from the initial treatment. We provided the patient with extra-depth shoes with rigid rocker-bottom soles and a polyethylene-lined ankle-foot orthosis. The ulcer remained healed at one-week and six-month follow-up visits. The primary cause of diabetic plantar ulcers is often excessive pressure on an insensitive foot, and physical therapists should utilize biomechanical principles to reduce these excessive plantar pressures.


This contribution aimed at developing an understanding of student teachers' conceptions of guided discovery teaching approaches. A cross-sectional survey design involving eleven secondary mathematics teachers who had enrolled for an in-service mathematics education degree was used to address the research question: What are undergraduate student teachers' conceptions of deductive and inductive teaching approaches? Task-based interviews were used in conjunction with oral interviews as settings for unravelling students' conceptions of the two teaching approaches. Drawing in part from Ausbel's learning theory and Tall's notion of a met-before, the study also aimed at assessing the students' level of grasp of fundamental limitation of empirical explorations despite many benefits associated with them such as helping in identifying patterns, use in formulation and communicating of conjecture, and providing insights on what needs to be solved. Verbatim transcriptions from follow up interviews and textual data from task based interviews were subjected to directed content analysis to infer meaning about students' conceptions of guided teaching approaches. Qualitative data analysis using in part Robert Moore's notion of concept usage uncovered conceptual limitations that include inconsistencies in student teachers' definitions of the teaching approaches, use of specific examples instead of arbitrary mathematical objects in illustrating analytic teaching. Limitations identified should be given attention by mathematics educators in order to increase understanding of the approaches among teachers. Research studies into factors contributing to limitations identified can go a long way in improving the teaching and learning of school mathematics.


A city's landfill is an exhaustible resource; recycling is a backstop method of waste disposal. We formulate an optimal control model that maximizes the total utility of a representative consumer by choosing the appropriate levels of the two disposal techniques. The model is simple enough that some general conclusions can be drawn, and yet specific solutions will require some computations that show a few of the possibilities in optimal control problems. Among the primary results is that once recycling begins, it will increase. It is also likely that the level of recycling will assume the values at the endpoints of its domain as well as the more standard values in the interior.


Abstract : This data report presents hydrographic (CTD) and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data collected during a pair of cruises one during May and June the other during July of 1996. The study area encompasses a region from Pigeon Point south to Cape San Martin (35 deg 53'N) extending from the coast to approximately 90 km offshore. A total of 163 CTD casts (61 during the first cruise) were completed. The CTD data are presented primarily in tabular form for selected pressures. ADCP data are shown as a set of horizontal contour plots. Some T/S plots are also presented.


Combat operations are often high tempo, resulting in undesirable levels of operator workload and stress. Adaptive automation has been suggested as a solution to these issues. However, this augmentation approach is predicated on operator consent to monitoring. Acceptance of such systems may be influenced by concerns regarding the use of monitor data and mistrust of automation technology. The purpose of the current investigation was to examine operator acceptance of physiological monitoring and future augmentation strategies after limited exposure to one device. During a simulated exercise, eleven command and control operators were equipped with a physiological monitor prior to each mission. Following the exercise, operators were surveyed regarding their acceptance of monitoring and several potential augmentation strategies. The results of the survey suggested that the operators were generally open to both monitoring and augmentation, but that they may also be insensitive to the limitations of current technology.


: The last two decades have seen some significant advances made in the recognition of infection problems in the immunocompromised host and in their prevention in a rapidly expanding population. Many areas urgently await much-needed improvements, particularly anti-bacterial decontamination and fungal and viral prophylaxis. Despite interesting pilot studies there has been a failure to fully evaluate potential strategies in properly designed trials. Now is the time for large studies which control for the multitudinous variables of patient population such as disease status, protective environment, degree of diet sterility, and types of GI and mucocutaneous decontamination. Meanwhile, it is impossible to make hard and fast rules for prophylaxis for all circumstances. Clearly, most of the measures which we have discussed are applicable only where there is profound immunosuppression. Practice should be based on a careful evaluation of the local flora and fauna. Table 6 details an outline of the Royal Free prophylaxis schedule concurrently used during the treatment of acute non-lymphoblastic leukaemia and following marrow transplantation. This type of protocol is an attempt at short-term 'total' decontamination which appears justifiable in this very high-risk group where the invading organisms are a greater immediate risk than the disease under treatment. Our hope is that the scientific foundations for such regimens will rest on firmer ground in the future.


A good random number generator is essential for many graphics applications. As more such applications move onto parallel processing, it is vital that a good parallel random number generator be used. Unfortunately, most random number generators today are still sequential, exposing performance bottlenecks and denying random accessibility for parallel computations. Furthermore, popular parallel random number generators are still based off sequential methods and can exhibit statistical bias.
 In this paper, we propose a random number generator that maps well onto a parallel processor while possessing white noise distribution. Our generator is based on cryptographic hash functions whose statistical robustness has been examined under heavy scrutiny by cryptologists. We implement our generator as a GPU pixel program, allowing us to compute random numbers in parallel just like ordinary texture fetches: given a texture coordinate per pixel, instead of returning a texel as in ordinary texture fetches, our pixel program computes a random noise value based on this given texture coordinate. We demonstrate that our approach features the best quality, speed, and random accessibility for graphics applications.


An Intelligent Home (I-Home) System is envisioned as the by-product of pervasive computing and the availability of smart computer technology which making human interaction with the system a better home life experience. By the year 2020, home activities in Malaysia will be heavily influenced by interactive information and smart control systems. I-Home can provide homeowner a smart environment that monitor and control household functions. It can provide a gateway to communicate with the outside world through web-based system incorporated into the home. Using a web based control system, homeowner can quickly look into home to see live video and control lighting. It anticipates forecasted weather, thief prevention and utility costs. Therefore the objectives of Intelligent Home System are comprises to two main objectives. The first objective is to develop master software based on Artificial Intelligent (AI) technique which is capable of integrating remote control and monitoring appliances and devices via the internet and the second objective is to design an intelligent sensor system using fuzzy logic and neural network to overcome false alarms occurrence as well as to provide home automation. The major phases of the research involves the development of intelligent sensoring system using AI techniques, development of home automation control, design and development of intelligent master list software, develop the control and communication protocols and development of integration module. The final phase is design and implementation of a prototype of the intelligent home system. The prototype develops in CAIRO premises shows the ability of computer and communication technology in building the automated home system that function autonomously by using artificial intelligent engine. Results proof that combination of fuzzy logic and neural network can improve the controller performance with less human dependence.


Locally produced ceramic pot filters have been shown to improve the microbiological quality of household drinking water and reduce the burden of diarrheal disease in users. They are considered one of the most promising household water treatment methods. However, overarching manufacturing and quality control guidelines do not exist for the 35 decentralized filter factories in 18 countries that currently produce filters. In this study, we conducted manufacturing process surveys with 25 filter factories worldwide to document production methods and identify areas where manufacturing and quality control guidelines are needed. Our results show that manufacturing processes vary widely both between and within factories, including the consistency of materials, manufacturing methods, and quality control practices. These variations pose concerns about the consistency and quality of locally produced filters in the absence of standardized quality control procedures. We propose areas where manufacturing guidelines are needed to assist factories in producing consistently high quality filters, and identify topics where further research is needed to refine manufacturing recommendations. These results guided the development of a best practice manual that described consensus-based recommendations to advance consistent, quality-controlled filter production world-wide.


A pathway for achieving intense green light emitting LiGdF4:Yb,Er upconversion nanophosphors (UCNPs) via Y(3+) doping is demonstrated. It was revealed that Y(3+) doping initiated the formation of a tetragonal phase and affected the particle size. Single tetragonal-phase LiGd0.4Y0.4F4:Yb(18%),Er(2%) (LGY0.4F:Yb,Er) UCNPs exhibited strong upconversion (UC) green luminescence and tetragonal bipyramidal morphologies. They showed 1325 and 325-fold higher photoluminescence intensity than the 0 and 80 mol% Y(3+)-doped LiGdF4:Yb,Er UCNPs, respectively. Additionally the particle size (edge length) of LiGdF4:Yb,Er-based upconversion tetragonal bipyramids (UCTBs) was controlled from 60.5 nm to an ultrasmall size of 9.3 nm with varying Y(3+) doping concentration. In an LGY0.4F:Yb,Er UCTB, uniform distribution of all constituent elements was directly confirmed by using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) image analyses. In particular, existence of activator Er(3+) ions with extremely small quantity was clearly seen over a particle on the EFTEM image. Moreover, the LGY0.4F:Yb,Er UCTBs were successfully incorporated into the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer and the highly transparent UCTB-PDMS composites showed bright green light under the excitation of 980 nm infrared light.


This clinical investigation was undertaken to compare the antibacterial activity of two mouth rinses (chlorhexidine digluconate 0.2% and phenolic compounds) with salty water (0.9% NaCl) to assess their ability to control plaque and gingival inflammation in conjunction with a normal daily home care in patients with fixed orthodontic appliance. In this clinical trial, 45 patients were randomly divided into three groups; each containing 15 per-sons matched in age and gender, they were instructed to use rinses twice daily for 30 seconds after breakfast and before the bedtime. The gingival and plaque indices were measured according to Silness and Löe for the six teeth at the baseline and two mon-ths after rinses. The results of the study revealed that there is a significant reduction at p < 0.05 after rinsing with phenol and chlorhexidine digluconate for gingival index, while non significant change for salty mouthwash, and only significant reduction in plaque index for chlorhexidine digluconate mouth rinse and non significant one for phenol and salty mouthwashes. These results support previous published results on the superiority of 0.2% chlorhexidine digluconate when used in conjunction with professional care as an adjunct to routine oral hygiene practice in orthodontic patients.


Emotion recognition has been studied in recent past with great interest, out of various modalities from which emotions can be extracted, speech is the most natural and fastest of all the modalities. The major challenges for making a Speech emotion recognition system are finding and preparing database, selecting the most suitable features and designing appropriate classification scheme. The common approach is to extract a very large set of features over a generally long analysis time window and perform machine learning methods for classification. Speech emotion recognition increases the naturalness in Human Computer Interaction and can be used in wide variety of application in our day to day life. This paper surveys the three main building blocks of speech emotion recognition system, first part is survey of existing databases, the second part surveys most widely used features and the third part discuss various classification techniques.


EXTENDING THE REACH OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH: APPLYING PRODUCT COMMERCIALIZATION PROCESSES TO COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE Richard E. Culatta Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology Master of Science The ability to extend educational research beyond the research community could have a great impact on end-users such as teachers, students, or educational administrators. One way to extend the use of educational research is to create tangible educational products; such as virtual simulations, instructional videos, and printed materials; which can be easily and widely distributed. In order to transform research into products, members of the research community must adopt and implement certain product commercialization processes. Effective processes, if not recognized by members of the community, are not helpful for ensuring that quality end products are reached. Likewise, a supportive community would not be able to create successful products without clear processes for doing so. For this reason, this study relied on research on communities of practice and product commercialization to set the foundation for discovering how a product commercialization community could be established. Interviews with faculty and administrators of the McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University were conducted. Qualitative methodology was used in the analysis of the interview data to allow themes to emerge that were important to the researchers. These themes included issues of project funding, human support, time, marketing experience, interaction with existing products, faculty reward system, and community structure and communication practices. Based on analysis of the interviews, the researcher identified several guidelines that would assist administrators in strengthening a community of educational product development among the members of the research community. These guidelines included focusing on motivators other than money, improving communication among members of the community and administrators, adding structure to the existing community, and conducting "quick-win" pilot programs. While this study did not attempt to implement any of these suggestions, it is anticipated that the results will provide a useful foundation for future studies addressing the issue in greater depth. Research-Based Products vii


Our transportation networks are the basic infrastructure supporting our daily life and economic activities and are in constant need of improvement and maintenance - but who should pay for their improvement? The state through direct and indirect taxes? The user through tolls and fares? The transport operator? And who should pay for the environmental impact? This book discusses the basic concept and practical conditions of financial resources for transportation systems. After describing the theoretical basis of burden, the book introduces the policies and financial systems established for transportation in some developed countries (Germany, France, UK, USA, Japan) and compares them from an analysis viewpoint. The book then offers a methodology for comparing the structure of financial resources and presents calculations based on the investment amounts the different groups (e.g. transport operators, the state) must contribute to sustain and improve the transport system. In the first half of the book, the focus is on what positions each country takes in regard to: the responsibility of the public sector and the range of participation by the private sector; the balance of burden covered by general funds and that covered by users; and, the balance of burden covered by present financial resources and that as set aside for the future as debt. The second half clarifies how such national policies are reflected in the actual financial resources. Here, after a detailed review of the financial systems related to transportation in various countries, a methodology for an international comparison of financial resources for the improvements of transportation systems is shown.


INTEREST in the possible causal relationship of disorders of lipid metabolism to development of atherosclerosis, particularly coronary artery disease, has stimulated the search for agents which can normalize serum lipid levels with few undesirable symptoms and no toxic effects. A mixture of clofibrate (ethyl p-chlorophenoxyisobutyrate) and androsterone (Atromid) was synthesized in 1962 by Thorp and Waring 1 and made available for oral administration in the form of 250 mg capsules each containing 2.5 mg clofibrate and 5.5 mg of androsterone. The mode of action of this mixture has not been established. Thorp 2 suggested that the chlorophenoxyisobutyrate anion displaces serum albumin-bound acidic substrates, coenzymes, or hormones and that the effects of the displaced acids are predominantly localized in the liver, causing a reduction in lipid synthesis. Further investigation has demonstrated that the effective compound is clofibrate unaided by the addition of androsterone in combination. 3-5 This compound has been


Objective: Irrational use of antimicrobials is a major driver of antimicrobial resistance, exacerbated by dispensing antibiotics without a prescription. Our previous study suggested this was a problem in the Republic of Srpska despite legislation. Since then, a number of activities have been initiated. Consequently, the study aimed to ascertain whether these multiple initiatives had reduced this. Methods: Patients visiting all community pharmacies in the Republic from October 2014 to July 2015 presenting with symptoms typical of an acute, viral, and mostly uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infection, with results compared to the previous study. If an antibiotic was suggested, the maximum allowance was €3/pack. Findings: Self-medication with antibiotics significantly decreased from 58% to 18.5% of pharmacies. In both studies, most patients were offered over-the-counter medication. The most common reason for not dispensing an antibiotic was "antibiotics can be dispensed with a prescription only." The penicillins were the most dispensed antibiotic. Fewer patients than the previous study were given instructions about antibiotic use and no discussion on their side effects. Conclusion: While encouraging that self-medication decreased significantly, 18.5% were disappointing given recent initiatives. Fewer instructions about antibiotics if an antibiotic was dispensed were also disappointing. This suggests the need for even stronger enforcement of the laws as well as further training of pharmacy personnel to ensure the future appropriate use of medicines.


In the first part of this paper, we re-examine the historical and psychological case for 'the banality of evil'– the idea that people commit extreme acts of inhumanity, and more particularly genocides, in a state where they lack awareness or else control over what they are doing. Instead, we provide evidence that those who commit great wrongs knowingly choose to act as they do because they believe that what they are doing is right. In the second part of the paper, we then outline an integrative five-step social identity model that details the processes through which inhumane acts against other groups can come to be celebrated as right. The five steps are: (i) Identification, the construction of an ingroup; (ii) Exclusion, the definition of targets as external to the ingroup; (iii) Threat, the representation of these targets as endangering ingroup identity; (iv) Virtue, the championing of the ingroup as (uniquely) good; and (v) Celebration, embracing the eradication of the outgroup as necessary to the defence of virtue.


Being a Noongar maaman (man and father) involved in raising koorlangka (children) brings lots of happiness and excitement, along with many challenges. Noongar maaman have always helped one another learn about the fathering role and how to be effective in the rol e. Indeed one of the key features about Noongar traditions is that our moort (family) help out so that men are not alone when it comes to looking after kids. Many changes imposed on us by Wedjela (non - Aboriginal people) have made it hard for Aboriginal men to bring up their kids with good support. Our old people had kids taken from them, were punished for speaking language and practicing culture and had their authority to be maaman as fathers, uncles, brothers and pops stripped by governments. Despite this, our history is also full of maaman who have quietly maintained their status as boordier (leaders and bosses) and who have been inspirational as maaman (fathers, uncles and pops). They have allowed the old karla mia (home fires) to continue to burn for man y moorditj maaman (strong men). Today this karl (fire) for kaarnya maaman (respectful fathering) is heating up again and many Noongar maaman (fathers) are getting together to support young men as they step into roles that involve looking after koorlangka ( children).

The Aboriginal Fathering workshop series has been designed by Noongar men for Noongar men. It has been set up to provide maaman (father) with a chance to get together and try some new and old activities with their koorlangka (children). The goal is to support Noongar men as they work at katatjiny bidi (go along to become learned and do good) for their koorlangka (children).

This short report describes the development of a set of workshop resources to support Noongar maaman (fathering). It desc ribes the project objectives and plan and sets out some of the themes about Aboriginal fathering identified in the literature. It also explains the process used in meeting and working with Noongar men, outlines the workshop structure, describes the Noongar cultural framework adopted, and reports on the evaluation of the work.


At the beginning of summer, Momma had abandoned them and them later been traced to an asylum where she lay unrecognizing, unknowing. So Dicey Tillerman, her brothers James and Sammy, and her sister Maybeth had spent the summer on their own on a long and difficult journey to find a home with the grandmother they'd never met before. Now that they'd moved in with Gram, their troubles, Dicey hoped, would be over.Dicey had watched over the younger kids and brought them through--now she wanted to be just a little bit selfish, to refinish the old sailboat she'd found in Gram's barn, to earn a little spending money, to adjust to Gram and to her new life in the Chesapeake Bay country that had once been her momma's childhood home.Yet even with the building of new ties and a new life, old problems and sorrows did not go away by themselves. None of the Tillermans, and especially not Dicey, could forget about Momma. Nor could Dicey easily relinquish her need to watch and worry over the three younger children. Though she felt a growing bond with feisty, seemingly eccentric Gram, who talked of reaching out...and letting go, it took a crisis to help Dicey understand what such things might mean.This story is a sequel to "Homecoming."


Background and aim: Educating of students that have the ability to solve society problems, is considered as the most important task of universities. This important issue is achieved through effective education in a safe and stress free environment. Proper design of classroom seats proportional to anthropometric characteristics of students not only can improve academic quality but also prevent musculoskeletal disorders. In addition it may encourage students to practice correct sitting habits. This study was conducted to check the correlation of physical dimensions of students and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorder with educational chair dimensions that provided by companies. Method: This descriptive - analytical study was performed on 115 students of 18 to 27 years. 15 anthropometric parameters correlated with sitting on the chair were measured by anthropometry page and anthropometric caliper gauge. Dimensions of two Types of seats provided in the classrooms were compared with the standard seat dimensions. Results: comparison of dimensions confirmed that seat dimension and students dimensions correspond with one another only in elbow length parameter and other parameters were not correspondent with each other. T-Test showed that there are significant differences between girl and boy parameters. Conclusion: Comparison of the results of measurement of physical dimensions and chair dimensions with results of emotional dissatisfaction questionnaire and body map chart showed that plastic chair is better than wooden type in term of comfort, chair kind and slope of back rest, and in using plastic chairs students do not have to change their sitting postures; however, due to incorrect design of foot rest and high effective depth of sea, ، discomfort and pain in lower limbs is higher in plastic chairs when compared with wooden chairs.


Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of the skin carcinomas and ultraviolet radiation is the major risk factor in the etiopathogenesis. However, reports of unusual sites for BCC are increased in the literature. Authors draw attention to possibility of other etiological agents for BCC like local trauma, ageing, ionizing radiation, arsenic, chronic inflammation, and immune deficiency. Here, we reported a 74-year-old male patient with nodular BCC on groin. We thought that ageing or local trauma may have a role in its formation.


Cancer is diagnosed in about 70 000 Canadians each year and is the leading cause of the loss of potential years of life before age 75 among women. Life-threatening forms of cancer will develop in at least one of every three Canadian newborns during their lifetimes if current cancer risks are not reduced. Lung and breast cancers are, respectively, the leading causes of premature death due to cancer among men and women. Compared with other countries Canada has low death rates for stomach cancer but high rates for certain smoking-related cancers (those of the lung and of the mouth and throat), leukemia and cancers of the colon, breast and lymphatic tissues. Newfoundland has the highest rates of death from stomach cancer and the lowest rates of death from prostatic cancer, whereas the western provinces have the opposite pattern. The rates of death from lung cancer among men are highest in Quebec, the province with the highest prevalence of smoking. In Canada the overall rates of death from cancer increased by 32% among men from 1951 to 1983. However, among women they declined by 12% from 1951 to 1976 and increased from 1976 to 1983, particularly among those aged 55 to 74. The rising rates of death due to lung cancer were primarily responsible for these increases. Lung cancer will likely displace breast cancer as the leading cancer killer of Canadian women by 1990. Given the relatively low survival rates for cancers caused by smoking and the lack of substantial improvement in rates for the most frequent types of cancer, preventive strategies that include effective measures to reduce tobacco consumption are urgently required.


Endothelins (ETs) act through two receptors, namely ET(A) and ET(B). In the cardiovascular system, the activation of both receptors leads to vasoconstriction. However, ET(B) receptors also mediate endothelium-dependent vasodilatation and clearance of plasma ET-1. With regard to these latter properties, we wanted to assess the contribution of ET(B) receptors and the effects of selective and mixed ET receptor blockade on vascular tone in control Syrian Golden hamsters and in Bio 14.6 cardiomyopathic hamsters after bolus injection of ET-1 and IRL-1620, a selective ET(B) agonist. In 12-week-old anaesthetized control hamsters, ET-1 (0.5 nmol/kg) induced a sustained pressor response which was only partly reduced by the selective ET(A) receptor antagonist BQ-123, suggesting a contribution of ET(B) receptor activation to the vasoconstrictive effects of ET-1. This was confirmed by injection of the selective ET(B) receptor agonist IRL-1620 (1 nmol/kg). However, the pressor response to this agonist was always preceded by a transient vasodilatation, indicating activation of endothelium-located ET(B) receptors. When the selective ET(B) receptor antagonist BQ-788 was administered, the hypotensive phase following IRL-1620 injection was abolished. Interestingly, BQ-788 or a mixture of BQ-788 and BQ-123 significantly potentiated the pressor responses to ET-1. In 12-week-old Bio 14.6 cardiomyopathic hamsters, ET-1 and IRL-1620 induced haemodynamic responses similar to those observed in control hamsters, although the IRL-1620-induced pressor increase was lower. No difference in cardiac prepro ET-1 mRNA expression was observed between the two strains of hamsters. In conclusion, we suggest that endothelium-located ET(B) receptors are involved in the physiological antagonism of ET-dependent protracted pressor effects, and thus may play a protective role in both normal hamsters and those with cardiomyopathy.


Background Nocturnal leg cramps (NLC) are common and poorly understood. Objective To determine the prevalence of NLC and associations with cardiometabolic, sleep, and behavioral risk factors in the US population. Design Cross-sectional epidemiology. Participants National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005–2006 and 2007–2008 waves. Main outcome(s) and measure(s) NLC were assessed with, "In the past month, how often did you have leg cramps while trying to sleep?" Responses were categorized as None, Mild, or Moderate-Severe. Demographics, medical history, sleep disturbances, and cardiometabolic risk factors were evaluated using the 2005–2006 dataset. Variables that demonstrated significant relationships to NLC after adjusting for age, sex, education, and BMI were assessed in the 2007–2008 dataset. Variables that were still significant were entered into a forward stepwise regression model combining both waves, to determine which variables best explained the variance in NLC. Results Prevalence was 24–25% reporting mild and 6% reporting moderate-severe NLC. NLC increased with age, lower education, unemployment, shorter sleep duration, all assessed sleep symptoms (nocturnal "leg jerks", snoring, snorting/gasping, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, non-restorative sleep, sleepiness, use of sleep medications), higher BMI, smoking, medical history (hypertension, heart failure, angina, stroke, arthritis, respiratory disease, and cancer), depression symptoms, and biomarkers (CRP, HbA1c, calcium, cadmium, red blood cells). Stepwise analysis showed that moderate-severe nocturnal leg cramps were associated with (in decreasing order of partial R2): leg jerks, poor overall health, arthritis, difficulty falling asleep, age, nonrestorative sleep, red blood cell count, lower education, angina, and difficulty maintaining sleep. Conclusions and relevance Based on this first large, representative study, NLC occurring >5x per month are reported by 6% of the adult US population. Sleep disturbance symptoms and health conditions are associated with higher frequency of NLC, suggesting that NLC is a marker, and possibly contributor, to poor sleep and general health.


Background Statistical simulations have consistently demonstrated that new dose-escalation designs such as accelerated titration design (ATD) and continual reassessment method (CRM)-type designs outperform the standard "3+3" design in phase I cancer clinical trials. Methods We evaluated the actual efficiency of different dose escalation methods employed in first-in-human phase I clinical trials of targeted agents administered as single agents published over the last decade. Results Forty-nine per cent of the 84 retrieved trials used the standard "3+3" design. Newer designs used included ATD in 42%, modified CRM [mCRM] in 7%, and pharmacologically guided dose escalation in 1%. The median numbers of dose levels explored in trials using "3+3", ATD and mCRM designs were 6, 8 and 10, respectively. More strikingly, the mean MTD to starting dose ratio appeared to be at least twice as high for trials using mCRM or ATD designs as for trials using a standard "3+3" design. Despite this, the mean number of patients exposed to a dose below the MTD was similar in trials using "3+3", ATD and mCRM designs. Conclusion Our results support a more extensive implementation of innovative dose escalation designs such as mCRM and ATD in phase I cancer clinical trials of molecularly targeted agents.


Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been widely applied to active learning. Despite of its effectiveness, the generalization ability of the discriminative classifier (the softmax classifier) is questionable when there is a significant distribution bias between the labeled set and the unlabeled set. In this paper, we attempt to replace the softmax classifier in deep neural network with a nearest neighbor classifier, considering its progressive generalization ability within the unknown sub-space. Our proposed active learning approach, termed nearest Neighbor Classifier Embedded network (NCE-Net), targets at reducing the risk of over-estimating unlabeled samples while improving the opportunity to query informative samples. NCE-Net is conceptually simple but surprisingly powerful, as justified from the perspective of the subset information, which defines a metric to quantify model generalization ability in active learning. Experimental results show that, with simple selection based on rejection or confusion confidence, NCE-Net improves state-of-the-arts on image classification and object detection tasks with significant margins.


The business simulation (also called economic simulation) genre has been around since 1983, with early titles such as M.U.L.E and Oil Barons being the first to exhibit gameplay mechanics such as the implementation of supply and demand. The genre's rise in popularity led to the production of well received titles such as Rollercoaster Tycoon, Anno 1602 and SimCity. Item Shop Tycoon is a business simulation game that puts you in the shoes of Pedro Buenaventura, a business owner who crashed his family's business after a string of incompetent and questionable decisions. He receives a second chance when a goddess reincarnated him into a new world with a shop to run. It is now up to the player to lead the shop's path to success using investments, good managing skills and a little bit of luck. The gameplay consists of point-and-click segments where the user would have to simply click certain elements in the game in order to interact. The game progresses each day of the month and ends when the day of the deadline arrives. One of the game's core features is the ability for the player to invest in various business and opportunities that allows them to gain return of investment after a specific amount of time with bonuses such as special item that could delay the time, attract more customers, or discounts on certain items. This depends on the amount invested. However, these present various amounts of risks because these businesses and enterprises can fail. The Iterative Development Model is used for this project since it is focused on simplified implementation that repeats some tasks to improve and polish the result.


There is little information on the reproductive biology of the male Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii). In this study, we characterized the ejaculate traits and evaluated the efficacy of 2 cryodiluents on sperm cryosurvival. Ejaculates were assessed for volume, pH, sperm motility, forward progression, osmolality, sperm concentration, sperm morphology, and acrosomal integrity. For cryopreservation, ejaculates with >50% total sperm motility were washed, and sperm pellets were resuspended in either Botu-Crio (CryoVital, Grandau, Germany) or INRA 96 containing 2% egg yolk and 2.5% each of methyl- and dimethylformamide (INRA 96), and they were cryopreserved over liquid nitrogen vapor. Thawed samples were incubated in vitro (25 °C) and evaluated for percent total sperm motility, forward progression, and acrosomal integrity at hourly intervals for 4 hours. Spermic ejaculates were obtained from all males, and the mean seminal volume, sperm concentration per milliliter, percent sperm motility, progressive status, and percent morphologically normal cells were 20.4 ± 4.3 mL, 101.2 ± 24.0 × 10(6)/mL, 46.1% ± 5.0%, 2.9 ± 0.1, and 6.9% ± 1.4%, respectively. There was a positive significant correlation between percent normal sperm and animal age (r = 0.66; P < .004). Cryopreservation in either Botu-Crio or INRA 96 resulted in a decline (P < .05) in percent sperm motility and acrosomal integrity. Sperm forward progression remained unaffected immediately after thawing in INRA 96 but continued to decline over time. These results characterize, for the first time, the ejaculate traits of the tapir; demonstrate that tapir spermatozoa can be cryopreserved in diluents containing amides alone or in combination with glycerol; and provide fundamental information critical for development of assisted reproductive technologies for the Baird's tapir.


INTRODUCTION
Augmentation of the glans penis may be indicated for cosmetic reasons, lack of glans tumescence following implantation of a penile prosthesis, or asymmetry following girth augmentation of the shaft. Many augmentation techniques have been offered to increase the length and girth of penile shaft, but not the glans penis, with the exception of hyaluronic acid gel injection that is known to decrease sensitivity of the glans and is restricted for cases with premature ejaculation.

AIM
This work is the first report on glans augmentation by grafting.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Maximum circumference of the glans, self-reported impression of the augmented volume and glans sensitivity.

METHODS
Ten males requesting augmentation of the glans were selected for the study after failing counseling, with normal erectile function and ejaculatory control. Two ventral incisions were cut along the ventral aspects of the coronal sulcus, one on either side of the frenulum. Lateral glans flaps were dissected on either side. The urethra was circumvented, creating a plane all around it. A dermal fat graft was inserted into the space created. The flaps were closed by simple absorbable sutures.

RESULTS
Maximum circumference of the glans increased by 16.6%, declining to 14.2% by the last follow-up visit (10-12 months), a 2.3% decline. Self-reported impression of the augmented volume was high and well maintained over the follow-up period. Glans sensation, engorgement, erectile function, and ejaculatory control were preserved.

CONCLUSION
This pilot study on glans augmentation by grafting reports promising results with retention of the added volume at 1-year follow-up, preservation sensitivity and engorgement, and no adverse effects on erectile function or ejaculatory control.


Purpose The combination of chemotherapy and trastuzumab is the standard of care for adjuvant treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer. Two regimens have been widely adopted in the United States: doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, paclitaxel, and trastuzumab (ACTH) and docetaxel, carboplatin, and trastuzumab (TCH). No head-to-head comparison of these regimens has been conducted in a clinical trial, and existing trial data have limited generalizability to older patients. Methods We used SEER-Medicare data from 2005 to 2013 to compare outcomes of ACTH versus TCH among patients age older than 65 years. Propensity score matching was used to balance cohort characteristics between treatment arms. Outcomes included toxicity-related hospitalization, survival, and trastuzumab completion. Data from 1,077 patients receiving ACTH or TCH were analyzed, and the propensity-matched subsample included 416 women. Results There was a significant shift toward TCH over time, with 88% of patients receiving ACTH in 2005 compared with 15% by 2011. Among propensity score-matched patients, we found no difference between regimens in health care use overall or for chemotherapy-related adverse events (ACTH, 34% v TCH, 36.5%; P = .46). Patients receiving TCH were significantly more likely to complete trastuzumab (89% v 77%; P = .001). There was no difference in 5-year breast cancer-specific survival (ACTH, 92% v TCH, 96%; hazard ratio, 2.08; 95% CI, 0.90 to 4.82) or overall survival. Conclusion Among a matched sample of older patients, ACTH compared with TCH was not associated with a higher rate of serious adverse events or hospitalizations, but it was associated with less completion of adjuvant trastuzumab. We did not detect a difference in 5-year survival outcomes for ACTH compared with TCH. In the context of limited evidence in older patients, selection between these two regimens on the basis of concerns about differential toxicity or efficacy may not be appropriate.


Techniques for cleaning and conditioning the vacuum vessel of the Advanced Toroidal Facility (ATF) and its internal components are described. The vacuum vessel cleaning technique combines baking to 150 °C and glow discharges with hydrogen gas. Chromium gettering is used to further condition the system. The major internal components are the anodized aluminum baffles in the Thomson scattering system, a graphite‐shielded ICRF antenna, two graphite limiters, and a diagnostic graphite plate. Three independent heating systems are used to bake some of the major components of the system. The major characteristics used for assessing cleanliness and conditioning progress are the maximum pressure attained during bakeout, the results of gas analysis, and revelant plasma parameters (e.g., time to radiative decay). Details of the various cleaning and conditioning procedures and results are presented.


Distributed systems are notoriously difficult to implement and debug. One important tool for understanding the behavior of distributed systems is tracing. Unfortunately, effective tracing for modern distributed systems faces several challenges. First, many interesting behaviors in distributed systems only occur rarely, or at full production scale. Hence we need tracing mechanisms which impose minimal overhead, in order to allow always-on tracing of production instances. Second, for high-speed systems, messages can be delivered in significantly less time than the error of traditional time synchronization techniques such as network time protocol (NTP), necessitating time adjustment techniques with much higher precision. Third, distributed systems today may generate millions of events per second systemwide, resulting in traces consisting of billions of events. Such large traces can overwhelm existing trace analysis tools. These challenges make effective tracing difficult. We present techniques that address these three challenges. Our contributions include 1) a low-overhead tracing mechanism, which allows tracing of large systems without impacting their behavior or performance (0.14 μs/event), 2) a post hoc technique for producing highly accurate time synchronization across hosts (within 10 /ts, compared to between 100 μs to 2 ms for NTP), and 3) incremental data processing techniques which facilitate analyzing traces containing billions of trace points on desktop systems. We have successfully applied these techniques to two distributed systems, a cooperative caching system and a distributed storage system, and from our experience, we believe our techniques are applicable to other distributed systems.


Yellowhorn, Eldon and Kathy Lowinger. Turtle Island: The Story of North America's First People. Annick Press, 2017.With this team effort, Eldon Yellowhorn, an archeologist and member of the Piikani First Nation, and Kathy Lowinger, a children's author and former publisher, try, in part, to rectify a situation facing North America's Indigenous peoples:                "…generations unsure of their culture and disconnected from their identity" (102).Addressing this issue in ways appropriate for children is challenging; that the authors succeed to such a high degree is remarkable. At the outset, they reveal their strategy: Indigenous cultures can be understood through both myth and science. They explain their methods: historical timelines are established by means of carbon dating, archeological evidence, and documentation. They allow that "writing and paper making were not traditions among the peoples of North America," but point out that before the arrival of the Spaniards in 1519, the people of Mesoamerica wrote "…thousands and thousands of books…The Spanish invaders burned whole libraries down."Because both the geographic scope (the entire continent) and the chronological scope (possibly 19,000 years) of the book are vast, the authors are necessarily selective about the specific cultures they discuss. Their choices give a clear sense of Indigenous intelligence and inventiveness. For example, we learn how the Haida Gwaii built cedar canoes and harvested the sea; how the Plains People of Alberta used buffalo jumps such as the one at Head-Smashed-In to ensure their supply of meat, bone, hide and sinew; and how the Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes region cultivated wild rice. We also learn how the Olmec people of San Lorenzo, Mexico combined latex from the rubber trees with sap from morning glory plants to create rubber; how the Anasazi of Colorado built "apartment buildings" of sandstone; and the Hohokam of Arizona constructed canals to irrigate corn and cotton crops.Interspersed with historical evidence realities gleaned from archeological sources, are myths that give a sense of the storytelling voice of each culture. In fact, the title of the book, "Turtle Island" is derived from the "Sky Woman" creation myth of the Haudenosaunee. For the most part, interspersing fact and story works well; however, on page 68 it becomes problematic. Here, an Aztec myth prophesying the arrival of "pale strangers with beards" is immediately followed—without a subheading or page break—by the sentence, "The Arctic is a place that tests anyone who lives there."  A six-page discussion of the Thule, Inuit, Tuniit, and Vikings ensues. Adults will grasp the connection of the Aztec prophecy to the arrival of the Vikings; children might—because of the juxtaposition of texts—associate the Aztecs themselves with the Arctic. Teacher or parent intervention here may be required.The book concludes with a discussion of laws, proclamations, wars, and institutions that affected Indigenous lives. Examples include: The Royal Proclamation of 1763 that declared British authority over the "Indian Territories;" the American War of Independence and the subsequent drive westward of settlers; the brutal slaughter at Wounded Knee; and, in both the U.S. and Canada, the residential schools.Apart from the one flaw mentioned above, the book is nicely designed, colourful, and clearly illustrated. Elementary school students should find it readable, enjoying its combination of myth and fact. In sum, Turtle Island is an excellent choice for both school and public libraries.Reviewer: Leslie AitkenHighly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsLeslie Aitken's long career in librarianship involved selection of children's literature for school, public, special, and university collections.  She is a former Curriculum Librarian at the University of Alberta.


Liquid metal batteries (LMBs) offer a new opportunity for large-scale electrical energy storage. The three liquid layer self-segregated structure of the battery provides a number of advantages in comparison to classical batteries: fast kinetics, long lifetime, large current densities, easy recycling. Liquid metal batteries bear a close similarity to aluminium electrolysis cells.

In this work the mathematical model for three density-stratified electrically conducting liquid layers is developed starting with the full 3D formulation, afterwards introducing the shallow layer approximation in order to account for specific MHD effects during periods of battery charge/discharge.

The linear stability model for the interface wave analysis is developed and applied to study the multiple mode interaction. It is found that for the selection of liquid materials most suitable for practical implementation, the interface between the lower (heavy) metal and the electrolyte is significantly more stable than the interface between the electrolyte and the top (lighter) metal. The simplified 2-layer approximation is sufficient in the most of the considered cases for stability prediction of the batteries.

An analytical stability criterion including the dissipation rate is derived for different interaction cases accounting for the cell aspect ratio, the liquid layer electrical conductivities and thicknesses. The criterion is equally applicable to the aluminium electrolysis cells.

A fully coupled 3-layer numerical model based on the spectral function representation has been developed. It is well suited for analysis of the following situations: interaction of the background melt flow and the interface deformations, for the spatially complex, time-dependent distribution of the base electric current and the magnetic field. It was found that for the case when the density difference at the upper interface is much smaller than the density difference at the lower interface, only the upper interface is significantly deformed in the course of the perturbation growth. The instability onset matches very well with the linear stability model results both for the 2-layer and 3-layer models. This behaviour is similar to the aluminium electrolysis cells. In the case where the density differences at the two interfaces are comparable, both interfaces are significantly deformed, and the behaviour of the system is very different from that of a Hall-Heroult cell. The interfacial waves at the top and bottom interfaces can be coupled either symmetrically or antisymmetrically depending on the initial conditions. The presence of the second deformable interface has a stabilizing effect.

The study covers two LMB design cases for a possible practical implementation: the single collector cell, and the multiple collector cell. The numerical model demonstrates that it is possible to design a stable to dynamic perturbations operating cell if using an optimized bus bar configuration.


Recently, the importance of conformational changes in actin filaments induced by mechanical stimulation of a cell has been increasingly recognized, especially in terms of mechanobiology. Despite its fundamental importance, however, long-term observation of a single actin filament by fluorescent microscopy has been difficult because of the low photostability of traditional fluorescent molecules. This paper reports a novel molecular labeling system for actin filaments using fluorescent nanodiamond (ND) particles harboring nitrogen-vacancy centers; ND has flexible chemical modifiability, extremely high photostability and biocompatibility, and provides a variety of physical information quantitatively via optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) measurements. We performed the chemical surface modification of an ND with the actin filament-specific binding peptide Lifeact and observed colocalization of pure Lifeact-modified ND and actin filaments by the ODMR selective imaging protocol, suggesting the capability of long-term observation and quantitative analysis of a single molecule by using an ND particle.


Chlorobenzene (CB) inhibits SCR activity of V-based catalysts at low temperature, though the adsorption amount is small. NH3 adsorption increases due to the break in the C-Cl bond during CB oxidation. The dissociated Cl- ions provide extra Brønsted acid sites, leading to the formation of inactive NH4Cl. Ce and Mn improve dechlorination, forming more NH4Cl on the catalyst surface.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://rsc.li/journals-terms-of-use


Microseismic monitoring by downhole geophones, surface seismic, fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), and distributed temperature sensing (DTS) observations were made during the hydraulic fracture stimulation of the MIP-3H well in the Marcellus Shale in northern West Virginia. DAS and DTS data measure the fiber strain and temperature, respectively, along a fiber-optic cable cemented behind the casing of the well. The presence of long-period long-duration (LPLD) events is evaluated in the borehole geophones, DAS data, and surface seismic data of one of the MIP-3H stimulated stages. LPLD events are generally overlooked during the conventional processing of microseismic data, but they represent significant nonbrittle deformation produced during hydraulic fracture stimulation. In a single stage that was examined, 160 preexisting fractures and two faults of suboptimal orientation are noted in the image logs. We identified two low-frequency ([Formula: see text]) events of large temporal duration (tens of seconds) by comparing the surface seismic data, borehole geophone data, and DAS amplitude spectra of one of the MIP-3H stages. Spectrograms of DAS traces in time and depth reveal that the first low-frequency event might be an injection noise that has footprints on all DAS channels above the stimulated stage. However, the surface seismic array indicates an LPLD event concurrent with the first low-frequency event on DAS. The second LPLD event on DAS data and surface seismic data is related to a local deformation and does not have footprints on all DAS channels. The interpreted events have duration less than 100 s with frequencies concentrated below 10 Hz, and are accompanied by microseismic events.


High-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction is a novel and powerful tool for bulk studies of materials. In this study, it is applied for the investigation of an intermetallic γ-TiAl based alloy. Not only the diffraction angles, but also the morphology of reflections on the Debye-Scherrer rings are evaluated in order to approach lattice parameters and grain sizes as well as crystallographic relationships. An in-situ heating cycle from room temperature to 1362 °C has been conducted starting from massively transformed γ-TiAl which exhibits high internal stresses. With increasing temperature the occurrence of strain relaxation, chemical and phase separation, domain orientations, phase transitions, recrystallization processes, and subsequent grain growth can be observed. The data obtained by high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction, extremely rich in information, are interpreted step by step.


The growth rate of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices sold globally is constantly lower than the forecast. This deceleration is caused in part by the need for batteries and the scalability cost for their replacement. Backscatter has attracted significant interest over the past couple of years to enable sustainable sensing devices by eliminating batteries. IoT devices have been designed for transmitting sensed data with backscatter, but the question of efficient reception of data with battery-free devices is still open. As shown in this paper, classical low-power Radio Frequency (RF) envelope detectors are affected by low sensitivity, false detection alarms, and low energy efficiency. We argue that Light Fidelity (LiFi) can provide downlink and harvesting medium as LED lights are becoming pervasively deployed for illumination. We show, for the first time, that the advantages of LiFi and RF backscatter can be combined for battery-free communication. We design a low-power platform that leverages the complementary nature of these two mediums. We demonstrate that our platform removes energy-inefficiency in the downlink reception typical of RF backscatter, and significantly expands the deployment scenarios for battery-free tags when compared to conventional single-technology designs.


Immature male albino rats (70-80 g), eating a diet furnishing all nutrients for optimal growth and containing 84.6 mumoles of leucine/g, gained weight at an average rate of 5.9 g/day. Removal of leucine caused an average daily weight loss of 1.3 g. Addition of leucine to the diet in graduated amounts corrected this weight loss, the improvement in body weight (BW) being proportional to the dietary content of leucine. Addition of alpha-ketoisocaproic acid in place of leucine to the leucine-free diet also prevented loss of BW. Percentage efficiency of alpha-ketoisocaproic acid as a dietary substitute for leucine was calculated as: (see article). Efficiency of such substitution varied from 27% for a diet containing 84.6 mumoles of alpha-ketoisocaproic acid/g to 20% for a diet containing 169.2 alpha-ketoisocaproic acid/g.


In the early 1980s historical figures in general – and writers from the past in particular – entered a kind of Golden Age thanks to fiction. Through various forms of semi-biographical novels and other narratives, they have, from that time forward, been enjoying a pampered life in a new genre called "the author-as-character" (Franssen and Hoenselaars 1999) or "author fictions" (Savu 2009) that reanimate them or conjure them up in a present that constantly seeks to reassert its link with the past. This is particularly true of Oscar Wilde's life, for his disparate and colourful personality has been time and again re-appropriated in recent fiction. This article focuses on three of these contemporary fictional depictions: an epistolary novel, an epistolary website and a fictional interview, all three dealing with a fictionalised Oscar Wilde conversing with a contemporary author who is also an interviewer in his or her own way and right. Because they are very close to each other in terms of narration (i.e. impersonation and pastiche) and subject, putting words in Wilde's mouth as though they were his own, The Unauthorized Letters of Oscar Wilde, the website Dialogus, and Coffee with Oscar Wilde, represent three fascinating means of exploring how Oscar's rebirth as a man and author actually takes place. Among the numerous fictional portraits of Oscar Wilde, I have thus chosen to pay particular attention to the depictions that are well anchored in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and which do not, therefore, display a narrative that would merely take place during the fin de siecle, with only period-style people in period costume. By contrast, the three portraits are literal time-travelling narratives that endeavour to bridge the gap between past, present and future.


The congenital H-type fistula between the anorectum and genital tract besides a normal anus is a rare entity in the spectrum of anorectal anomalies. We described a girl with an anovestibuler H-type fistula and left vulvar abscess. A 40-day-old girl presented symptoms after her parents noted the presence of stool at the vestibulum. On the physical examination, anus was in normal location and size, and had normal sphincter tone. A vestibuler opening was seen in the midline just below of the hymen. A fistulous communication was found between the vestibuler opening and the anus, just above the dentate line. There was a vulvar abscess which had a left lateral vulvar drainage opening 15 mm left lateral to the perineum. After the management of local inflammation and abscess, the patient was operated for primary repair of the fistula. A protective colostomy wasn't performed prior the operation. A profuse diarrhea started after 5 hours of postoperation. After the diarrhea, a recurrent fistula was occurred on the second postoperative day. A divided sigmoid colostomy was performed. 2 months later, and anterior sagital anorectoplasty was reconstructed and colostomy was closed 1 month later. Various surgical techniques with or without protective colostomy have been described for double termination repair. But there is no consensus regarding surgical management of double termination.


This article analyses how urban authorities manage goals of sustainable development in decentralized planning contexts when faced with economic growth opportunities offered by a powerful development actor. This challenge is described and analysed in a comparative case study of how two Swedish cities handled the issue of new IKEA stores in decision-making and planning. The analysis centres on how power relations affected planning and decision-making, and is complemented by an evaluation of the choices and actions of the two municipalities in sustainable mobility terms, and an indication of the potential environmental consequences of the decisions. The results show how the two municipalities locked their cities into car-dependent development paths by accepting IKEA's retail concept, due to perceived fierce competition for retail trade between neighbouring cities, and a belief that IKEA development would boost economic growth. The municipalities conducted considerable parts of the planning processes under secrecy, which constrained criticism of the IKEA developments, and left environmental and traffic impacts not fully assessed or debated. The cases show how, while attempting to put in place strategies for sustainable urban development, the municipalities handled difficult choices in ways which compromised their own and wider environmental goals for economic gains.


Plants display considerable developmental plasticity in response to changing environmental conditions. The adaptations of the root system to variations in N supply are an excellent example of such developmental plasticity. In Arabidopsis, four morphological adaptations to the N supply have been characterized: (i) a localized stimulatory effect of external nitrate on lateral root elongation; (ii) a systemic inhibitory effect of high tissue nitrate concentrations on the activation of lateral root meristems; (iii) a suppression of lateral root initiation by high C:N ratios, and (iv) an inhibition of primary root growth and stimulation of root branching by external L-glutamate. These responses have provided valuable experimental systems for the study of N signalling in plants. This article will highlight some recent progress made in this direction from studies using the Arabidopsis root system. One recent development of note has been the emerging evidence of a regulatory role of nitrate transporters in some of the responses. It has been reported that the AtNRT1.1 (CHL1) dual-affinity nitrate transporter acts upstream of the ANR1 MADS box gene in mediating the stimulatory effect of a localized nitrate supply on lateral root proliferation. The AtNRT2.1 high-affinity nitrate transporter seems to be involved in the repression of lateral root initiation by high C:N ratios. The systemic inhibitory effect of high nitrate supply on lateral root development, which is mediated by abscisic acid (ABA), may be linked to the recently identified ABA receptor, FCA. The newly discovered root architectural response to external L-glutamate potentially offers a valuable experimental tool for studying the biological function of plant glutamate receptors and amino acid signalling.


Growth performance of the hybrid catfish Heteroclarias reared in concrete and earthen pond systems were investigated in a 92-day experiment. Experiment was conducted using four rectangular ponds (2 concrete and 2 earthen) each measuring 14 × 6 × 1.5 metres in duplicates. The ponds were uniformly limed, fertilized and stocked with 1,000 fingerlings each averaging 10cm and 40g (±2.0). Fish were fed at 5% body weight (BW) daily and randomly sampled monthly. Results indicated that the mean length gain, mean weight gain, relative growth rate, specific growth rate and mean condition factor were 20.59cm, 283.8g, 946%, 8.5%/day and 0.8 respectively for fishes reared in concrete ponds and 28.72cm, 623.4g, 2178%, 11.5%/day and 1.75 respectively for fishes reared in earthen ponds. All the indices of growth analysed showed a higher significant value (P Keywords : Concrete, earthen pond, growth, performance, Heteroclarias


Training and education in physiotherapy should consider technical and ethical aspects so that professionals can make prudent and resolutive decisions. The present paper aims to investigate and synthesize scientific production about the interface between physiotherapy, bioethics and education. An exploratory and descriptive study in the form of an integrative review was performed. Data was collected through a survey of original scientific articles in the following databases: Virtual Health Library, PubMed, Scopus and Scientific Electronic Library Online. To analyze and exhibit the data the content analysis and thematic categorization methods were used. There is a shortage of both Brazilian and non-Brazilian studies. Many of these studies are descriptive and only a few include applied contributions from the field of bioethics in health decision making, with interpretations that contextualize Brazilian society and culture especially lacking. There are many deontological references in physiotherapy, which is reflected in training and education programs and lacks deeper bioethical reflections.


Phenomenology offers a conceptual framework that connects and strengthens the architect' s intuitive understanding of the human experience of space with the theorist's more critical approach. Phenomenology is an ideal vehicle for architectural theorists to avoid the friction between first-hand or subjective experience and generalised or abstracted accounts of experience. In this thesis I extract an account of the human experience of space that is implicit in the Philosopher Maurice Merleau-Pontys work. I consider how this understanding has been employed in architectural scholarship and practice. In particular, I argue that the human body renders the richness of space through deliberate engagement with the indeterminate and independent possibilities of the world. In other words, as the body intentionally engages with the world, it synthesises objects that create determinate spatial situations. I account for Merleau-Ponty's depiction of the body' s non-rule governed, non-reflective, normative directiveness towards spaces and elements, and label it the thinking body. Furthermore I examine how the philosophical theory of Merleau-Ponty is represented in the explicitly theoretical works of Juhani Pallasmaa. In turn I then consider how the thinking body is physically and conceptually realised in the buildings of Carlo Scarpa. Finally I find that Juhani Pallasmaa's description of the phenomenological experience of space is incompatible with Merleau-Ponty's. The strategic importance of these different accounts emerges when projecting their implications for designed space. Pallasmaa' s account points towards an architecture that prioritises sensory experiences synthesised by the mind. The design focus of Merleau-Ponty's philosophy leads to spatial practices in line with Carlo Scarpa, that are sympathetic to the causal qualities of an intentional bodily engagement with spatial situations. In accord with Merleau-Ponty I argue that human body is our medium for the world and as such creates the spatial situation we engage with from a formless manifold of possibilities.


Background: The advent of ovarian stimulation within an in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle has resulted in modifying the physiology of stimulated cycles and has helped optimize pregnancy outcomes. In this regard, the importance of progesterone (P4) elevation at time of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) administration within an IVF cycle has been studied over several decades. Our study aimed to evaluate the association of P4 levels at time of hCG trigger with live birth rate (LBR), clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and miscarriage rate (MR) in fresh IVF or IVF-ICSI cycles. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study (n=170) involving patients attending the Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health (CRGH) in London. The study cohort consisted of women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation using GnRH antagonist or GnRH agonist protocols. Univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association of clinical outcomes. Differences were considered statistically significant if p≤0.05. Results: As serum progesterone increased, a decrease in LBR was observed. Following multivariate logistical analyses, LBR significantly decreased with P4 thresholds of 4.0 ng/ml (OR 0.42, 95% CI:0.17–1.0) and 4.5 ng/ml (OR 0.35, 95% CI:0.12–0.96). Conclusion: P4 levels are important in specific groups and the findings were statistically significant with a P4 threshold value between 4.0–4.5 ng/ml. Therefore, it seems logical to selectively measure serum P4 levels for patients who have ovarian dysfunction or an ovulatory cycles and accordingly prepare the individualized management packages for such patients.


Farm level capital formation by farmers is largely for the creation of productive assets. An understanding of pattern of investment on capital assets and the source of funds for investment at farm level has greater significance in the present context from the point of view of agricultural development. With this background, the study aims at analysing the farm level agricultural investment in Southern Karnataka specifically focusing on progressive (Tumakuru) and less progressive (Ramanagara) agriculture districts with an objective understanding the pattern of investment and source of funds at farm level. The study revealed that, a lion share was accounted by investment on irrigation structures, livestock and farm machinery and implements, across all type of farms in both progressive and less progressive regions. However, magnitude of investment was different across the region. On an average, in both progressive area and less progressive area, large farmers invested greater amount on farm assets per farm followed by irrigated farmers, small farmers and rainfed farmers. In the progressive area, the irrigation development was the preferred area of investment, where as in less progressive area, it was the livestock. The small and rainfed farmers depended on borrowed funds for investing in assets. In progressive area, institution source of funds played a major role than the noninstitutional source of funds and vice versa in less progressive area. On the other hand, the large and irrigated farmers, because of their resource base, made investment from their own sources.


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Pretreatment with L-histidine, precursor of histamine, was found to potentiate haloperido1 induced catalepsy and to antagonise methamphetamine stereotypy while pretreatment with chlorcyclizine, a H1-receptor blocker, was found to antagonise haloperidol catalepsy and to potentiate methamphetamine stereotypy: Further, chlorcyclizine was found to antagonise the potentiating effect of L-histidine on haloparidol catalepsy and also the inhibitory effect of L histidine on methamphetamine stereotypy. Our results indicate that the central histaminergic system by exerting a modulatory influence on the striatal dopaminergic system may influence the functioning of the extrapyramidal motor system.


Purpose. Recently, the request of patients is changed in terms of not only esthetic but also previsualization therapy planning. The aim of this study is to evaluate a new 3D-CAD-CAM digital planning technique that uses a total digital smile process. Materials and Methods. Study participants included 28 adult dental patients, aged 19 to 53 years, with no oral, periodontal, or systemic diseases. For each patient, 3 intra- and extraoral pictures and intraoral digital impressions were taken. The digital images improved from the 2D Digital Smile System software and the scanner stereolithographic (STL) file was matched into the 3D-Digital Smile System to obtain a virtual previsualization of teeth and smile design. Then, the mockups were milled using a CAM system. Minimally invasive preparation was carried out on the enamel surface with the mockups as position guides. Results. The patients found both the digital smile design previsualization (64.3%) and the milling mockup test (85.7%) very effective. Conclusions. The new total 3D digital planning technique is a predictably and minimally invasive technique, allows easy diagnosis, and improves the communication with the patient and helps to reduce the working time and the errors usually associated with the classical prosthodontic manual step.


ABSTRACT Environmental contamination with compounds containing oxyanions of chlorine, such as perchlorate or chlorate [(per)chlorate] or chlorine dioxide, has been a constantly growing problem over the last 100 years. Although the fact that microbes reduce these compounds has been recognized for more than 50 years, only six organisms which can obtain energy for growth by this metabolic process have been described. As part of a study to investigate the diversity and ubiquity of microorganisms involved in the microbial reduction of (per)chlorate, we enumerated the (per)chlorate-reducing bacteria (ClRB) in very diverse environments, including pristine and hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, aquatic sediments, paper mill waste sludges, and farm animal waste lagoons. In all of the environments tested, the acetate-oxidizing ClRB represented a significant population, whose size ranged from 2.31 × 103 to 2.4 × 106 cells per g of sample. In addition, we isolated 13 ClRB from these environments. All of these organisms could grow anaerobically by coupling complete oxidation of acetate to reduction of (per)chlorate. Chloride was the sole end product of this reductive metabolism. All of the isolates could also use oxygen as a sole electron acceptor, and most, but not all, could use nitrate. The alternative electron donors included simple volatile fatty acids, such as propionate, butyrate, or valerate, as well as simple organic acids, such as lactate or pyruvate. Oxidized-minus-reduced difference spectra of washed whole-cell suspensions of the isolates had absorbance maxima close to 425, 525, and 550 nm, which are characteristic of type c cytochromes. In addition, washed cell suspensions of all of the ClRB isolates could dismutate chlorite, an intermediate in the reductive metabolism of (per)chlorate, into chloride and molecular oxygen. Chlorite dismutation was a result of the activity of a single enzyme which in pure form had a specific activity of approximately 1,928 μmol of chlorite per mg of protein per min. Analyses of the 16S ribosomal DNA sequences of the organisms indicated that they all belonged to the alpha, beta, or gamma subclass of the Proteobacteria. Several were closely related to members of previously described genera that are not recognized for the ability to reduce (per)chlorate, such as the generaPseudomonas and Azospirllum. However, many were not closely related to any previously described organism and represented new genera within the Proteobacteria. The results of this study significantly increase the limited number of microbial isolates that are known to be capable of dissimilatory (per)chlorate reduction and demonstrate the hitherto unrecognized phylogenetic diversity and ubiquity of the microorganisms that exhibit this type of metabolism.


Software video decoders for mobile devices are now a reality thanks to recent advances in Systems-on-Chip (SoC). The challenge has now moved to designing energy efficient systems. In this paper, we propose a light Dynamic Voltage Frequency Scaling (DVFS)-enabled software adapted to the much varying processing load of High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) real-time decoding. We analyze a practical evaluation of a HEVC decoder using our proposal on a Samsung Exynos low-power SoC widely used in portable devices. Experimental results show more than 50% of power savings on a real-time decoding when compared to the same software managed by the OnDemand Linux power management. For mobile applications, the proposed method can achieve 720p video HEVC decoding at 60 frames per second consuming approximately 1.1W with pure software decoding on a general purpose processor.


The mammalian muscularized diaphragm is essential for respiration and defects in the developing diaphragm cause a common and frequently lethal birth defect, congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Human genetic studies have implicated more than 150 genes and multiple molecular pathways in CDH, but few of these have been validated because of the expense and time to generate mouse mutants. The pleuroperitoneal folds (PPFs) are transient embryonic structures in diaphragm development and a critical cellular source of CDH. We have developed a system to culture PPF fibroblasts from E12.5 mouse embryos and show that these fibroblasts, in contrast to the commonly used NIH 3T3 fibroblasts, maintain expression of key genes in normal diaphragm development. Using pharmacological and genetic manipulations that result in CDH in vivo, we also demonstrate that differences in proliferation provide a rapid means of distinguishing healthy and impaired PPF fibroblasts. Thus, the PPF fibroblast cell culture system is an efficient tool for testing the functional significance of CDH candidate genes and molecular pathways and will be an important resource for elucidating the complex etiology of CDH. SUMMARY STATEMENT Multiple candidate genes and molecular pathways have been identified as potentially contributing to the etiology of congenital diaphragmatic hernias. We describe a cell culture system to efficiently functionally test these candidates.


Integration of CT imaging data into the electronic health record (EHR) resulting in shared 'private medical clouds' accessible throughout larger health care systems has become reality. These data clouds have potential impact on clinical decision making as exemplified in the context of acute aortic syndromes (AAS) and transcatheter valve procedures. Modern systems allow additional semi-automated data analysis for computerized decision support.