For over a century epileptic seizures have been known to cluster at specific times of the day. Recent studies have suggested that the circadian regulatory system may become permanently altered in epilepsy, but little is known about how this affects neural activity and the daily patterns of seizure recurrence. To investigate, we tracked long-term changes in the rate of spontaneous hippocampal EEG spikes (SPKs) in a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy. In healthy animals, SPKs oscillated with near 24-hour period; however, following injury by status epilepticus (SE), a persistent phase shift of approximately 12 hours emerged in animals that later went on to develop chronic spontaneous seizures. Additional measurements showed that this phase shift affected other features of hippocampal activity, including 24-hour modulation of gamma- and beta-frequency rhythms, but did not affect global 24-hour rhythms, including core body temperature and theta state transitions. Based on this, we hypothesized that the phase shift might be due to locally impaired circadian input to the hippocampus. This was investigated using a biophysical computer model in which we showed that subtle changes in the relative strengths of circadian inputs could produce a phase shift in hippocampal neural activity. Additional EEG analysis provided evidence for altered circadian input strengths by showing that the amplitude of 24-hour modulation of certain EEG rhythms, particularly hippocampal theta, was attenuated following SE injury. Furthermore, MRI provided evidence that the medial septum, a putative circadian relay center, exhibited signs of damage and therefore could contribute to local circadian impairment. Our results suggest that balanced circadian input is critical to maintaining natural circadian phase in the hippocampus, and that damage to the medial septum may disrupt this balance. ( en )


One hundred fifty patients were included in a double-blind study to evaluate whether they were more comfortable being sterilized by fulguration or by Falope-Ring banding. They were also studied to see if 4% Xylocaine applied to the tubes was helpful in decreasing the discomfort with banding as it has been shown to be with fulguration. The results confirmed the clinical impression that banding is very painful to the patient at the time of application and for the ensuing 24 hours. Although 4% Xylocaine is very helpful in reducing this discomfort at first, the effect is not lasting. Blood levels of Xylocaine were determined and shown to be well below the accepted toxic level. Fulguration remains the most comfortable form of laparoscopic tubal interruption.


The method of measuring the diameter in the picture of the Brass Steel Tire Cord with Pixel Distance and Sliding Window, produces an average value of 0.241 obtained by measuring Pixel Distance, when using a sliding window, the average measurement result is 0.238, the accuracy of both methods of measuring the diameter of Cord Steel Tire Brass is considered quite good, the average results obtained from 29 Steel Tire Brass Cord data set samples (April Lia Hananto et al., 2020). The problem obtained in the conventional measurement phase of Wave Amount, on the Brass Cord Tire Cord is that the resulting accuracy still requires an observation process from an officer who is considered an expert, there is a possibility of error in his observation (Bouchet et al., 2003). In this study will change the measurement process using computer vision techniques using image processing (Tateno et al., 2020). The method used in the measurement of the Number of Waves uses Local Minima and Maxima with three approaches to the Wave Amount method. The results obtained by the average measurement can be recognized as its level of accuracy and close to the standard value of the measurement company.


The dynamical model of manipulator robot is represented by equations systems which are nonlinear and strongly coupled. Furthermore, the inertial parameters of manipulator depend on the payload which is often unknown and variable. The sliding mode controller (SMC) provides an effective and robust means of controlling nonlinear plants. The performance of SMC depends on control parameter selection of gain switching (k) and sliding surface constant (s). It is very difficult to obtain the optimal control parameters. In this paper, a control parameter selection algorithm is proposed by genetic algorithm to select the gain switching (k) and sliding surface constant parameter (s) so that the controlled system can achieve a good overall performance in the sliding mode controller design. Testing is done by giving a reference position for joint 1 and joint 2 of the robot manipulator of 45O (degree) with the controller performance indicator is settling time <2 seconds, and the tracking error tolerance is 1%. Simulation results demonstrate better performance of the PML with a genetic algorithm with a small response time by 1.03 seconds to 1.05 seconds joint 1 and 2 as well as for tracking error of the output state by 0.0015 degree for joint 1 and 0.0004 degree for joint 2.


Background. arterial hypertension is an essential, often underestimated medical problem among school youth. Maintaining a low blood pressure (BP) in children should be an important point of pediatric preventive healthcare. Objectives. In our study, we considered the influence of physiotherapy on the blood pressure level in a group of 233 children aged from 8 to 15 years taking part in a rehabilitation camp for children in the szklarska Poreba mountain resort (95 children in 2014 and 138 children in 2015). Material and methods. the children selected for the study suffered from asthma or recurrent respiratory infections. Measurements were made before and after physiotherapy. During the camp, the children were examined two times in 2014 and three times in 2015. the database created contained 1,208 scores of systolic and diastolic BP. the control group consisted of 50 children whose BP was measured in the same hours, but during the weekend, which was free of physiotherapy. Moreover, the values of heart rate (hr) during the first measurement were recorded, both in 2014 and 2015. Results. systolic BP after physiotherapy was significantly lower than before. this result was achieved in every five measuring sessions. In the control group, BP measured in the afternoon was higher than in the morning. the values of hr were not significantly different. the values of BP before and after physiotherapy between children treated with inhaled glucocorticoids and treated without glucocorticoid were not statistically significant. Conclusions. our studies showed that morning exercise can significantly reduce blood pressure in children throughout the day, even in those who were treated with inhaled glucocorticoids.


This study describes a method for establishing primary cultures in 24‐well culture vessels and evaluating the effects of serum, hormones, and other factors on cell growth using densitometry. Primary cultures of rat ventral prostate epithelial cells were grown in 24‐well culture vessels containing F12K culture medium supplemented with various concentrations of the following substances: fetal bovine serum (FBS), horse serum (HS), testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), hydrocortisone (HC), zinc (Zn), transferrin (TR), cysteine (CYS), glutamine (GLT), selenium (SEL), and ascorbic acid (AC). The effect of each supplement on cell growth was evaluated on fixed and stained cultures using a photovoltaic cell densitometer designed to read the total culture surface of a 16‐mm well. Increasing concentrations of both HS and FBS resulted in an increase in cell growth. T, Zn, HC, TR, and AC each had a stimulatory effect on cell growth. CYS, GLT, and DHT had little effect on cell growth, while SEL was inhibitory to cell growth. This data compares favorably with that obtained by other methods, such as morphometric analysis and ornithine decarboxylase production. These results indicate that densitometry is a useful method for determining the effect of supplements on cell growth in primary culture.


Saffron (Crocus sativus, Iridaceae), a crop widely grown in Iran, was checked in 2011-2015 for the presence of potyviruses collecting a total of 890 leaf tissue samples. DAS- or ACP-ELISA were performed using a Potyvirus genus-specific and other commercial kits (DSMZ, Germany) against 16 different viruses, including three potyviruses, i.e. bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV), turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) and soybean mosaic virus (SMV), previously reported from C. sativus (Grilli Caiola and Faoro, 2011). The results showed that 641 samples (> 70%) reacted positively only with Potyvirus genus-specific and bean common mosaic virus (BCMV)-specific antibodies. The coat protein (CP) gene and 3'-terminal sequence of the saffron potyvirus was amplified using generic potyvirus primers PV21/T7 and PV1/SP6 (Mackenzie et al., 1998). The deduced CP sequence shared only 69% amino acid identity to BCMV. The complete 9693 nt genome sequence [excluding poly(A)tail] of isolate Ir-Kh1 was obtained by primer walking and deposited in GenBank (accession No. KY562565). Whole genome nucleotide sequence analysis showed highest identity value of 69% with East Asian passiflora virus (EAPV, KP114137) and 68% with SMV (AJ310200), bean common mosaic necrosis virus (BCMNV, HG792063) and wisteria vein mosaic virus (WVMV, AY656816). Based on the current species demarcation criteria for Potyviridae 2 (Adams et al., 2005), the saffron-infecting virus is a new species in the Potyvirus genus tentatively named saffron latent virus (SaLV), grouping into the BCMV subgroup of the genus. The presence of SaLV was verified in all 70 ELISA-positive samples by RT-PCR using SaLV-specific primer pair For/Rev (5'-ACCATACATTGCAGAGACAGC-3'/ 5'- CGAAAGGTGGTAGAACCACTC-3'), designed on the CP gene. The high prevalence of SaLV may be due to vegetative propagation of saffron, which cannot undergo an effective selection becaue of the latencey of infections.


In this study, phosphorus (P) strength [(full strength: 1×-P, half strength: 0.5×-P and zero strength: 0×-P)] and root zone temperature (10 and 15 °C RZT) were investigated in red romaine lettuce to determine their effects on anthocyanin content. This experiment was conducted using a deep-flow technique (DFT) hydroponic system in a greenhouse during the winter in Gangwon province in the Korea Republic. The treatments were 1×-P (15 and 10 °C RZT), 0.5×-P (15 and 10 °C RZT) and 0×-P (15 and 10 °C RZT). The results showed that the P (phosphorus), K (potassium) and Ca (calcium) accumulation contents were lower in the 0×-P -treated red romaine lettuce leaves than in the other treatments. The maximum red romaine lettuce yields per plant, leaf number and leaf length were exhibited during the 1×-P at 15 °C RZT treatment. In 0×-P at 10 °C, RZT treatment showed lower leaf color values of L*, b*, chrome, ºh and higher leaf color a* values. Moreover, in the 0×-P treatment at 10 °C RZT, the leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD), chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and chlorophyll total were the lowest. Anthocyanin content was the highest in the 0×-P treatment, followed by 0.5×-P and 1×-P treatments at both 15 and 10 °C RZT. Regardless of the P intensity treatment, anthocyanin content was higher at 10 °C RZT than at 15 °C RZT. In summary, the 1×-P at 15 °C RZT treatment is the best for red romaine lettuce leaf yield, and the 0×-P at 10 °C RZT treatment is the best for lettuce leaf anthocyanin content.


The clinical efficacy of diflucortolone valerate as a fatty ointment was investigated in 65 patients with very dry dermatoses. The results were very positive, being excellent in atopic eczema, neurodermatitis and atopic cheilitis. No side effects were observed.


Furazolidone (0.4% w/w in the feed, 10 days) reduced the feed intake and growth in 9 week old chickens, and increased the amount of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in the brain. The drug also increased the stimulation of transketolase activity by thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) in lysed blood cells (TPP effect), and the concentrations of pyruvate and lactate in the blood. Experiments with pair-fed birds showed that the reduction in feed intake in furazolidone-treated chickens could account for the reduced growth. The drug also produced anorexia in ducklings and turkey poults. In chickens, the anorectic action of furazolidone was unaffected by methergoline (1 mg/kg, twice daily, I.M), and in ducklings furazolidone did not consistently produce anorexia, although it always inhibited monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity in the brain. These observations suggest that the anorectic action of the drug was not tryptaminergic in nature. The increase in the TPP effect found in preparations from furazolidone-treated chickens was absent in preparations from pair-fed birds on unmedicated feed. Thus the TPP effect could be used as an indicator of the effect of the drug on the thiamine status of chickens. However, the increase in the concentrations of pyruvate and lactate in blood was found both in furazolidone-treated birds and pair-fed birds on unmedicated feed, showing that they were attributable to the reduction in feed intake. The TPP effect in furazolidone-treated chickens, 14-49 +/- 2.33% (n = 10), was sufficient to suggest a mild deficiency of thiamin pyrophosphate. Thiamin, given at a dosage above the requirement of the vitamin for chickens, did not reduce the anorexia or the TPP effect of furazolidone-treated birds, although it stimulated the feed intake and growth of birds on unmedicated feed. It is proposed that furazolidone antagonized the utilization of thiamin, perhaps by inhibiting its phosphorylation. Following the withdrawal of furazolidone, the TPP effect returned to the control value and the rate of growth of the birds increased and matched that the controls. Thus the effect of the drug was reversible. Addition of furazolidone to the feed at a concentration of 0.01% w/w for 28 days did not produce anorexia in chickens or affect the amount of 5-HT in the brain. Thus at this level, it is unlikely that the drug would produce adverse effects in poultry.


Languages are powerful tools for change and have ceased to be only national symbols. In this focus paper, the overall question to be tackled is why and how the multilingual paradigm challenges nation-states and its institutions with a special focus on the domain of state education. While the former ideal monolingual citizen of the nation-state has been substituted by a multilingual intercultural speaker, top-down language education policies remain heavily influenced by monolingual ideologies and a preference for English as a foreign /global language. Departing from fresh approaches to linguistic diversity, this paper will analyze how a pluralistic society like Germany has dealt with the gusts of change through immigration, mobility and increasing linguistic, social, and cultural diversity in the past decades. It will furthermore be argued, that despite the official paradigm shift from regarding multilingualism as a problem to looking at (linguistic) diversity as a resource and potential for individuals and society, plurilingual children who grow up in families with a history of migration still do not have the same chances to succeed in the selective German educational system. Against this backdrop of institutional discrimination, the importance of alternative change agents will be highlighted who initiate valuable changes in language policy and educational settings in a bottom-up grassroots fashion. This ground-up push for pluralism will be illustrated by empirical evidence from an ongoing ethnographic monitoring study at an elementary school in urban Hanover. A number of key stakeholders like principals, parents and pupils will be identified and the impact of an alternative bilingual Turkish-German language program will be discussed.


This study examined the relationship between Bandura' s theory of self-efficacy and the rehabilitation outcome of spinal cord injured persons. The study elicited selfefficacy expectations from fifteen subjects on three occasions: admission and two and four weeks later. Patients rated how they expected to perform six weeks after admission on fifteen rehabilitation behaviors. Patients' ratings were compared to actual performance ratings made by the medical staff on the Barthel Index. Results reveal that subjects' predictions two weeks and four weeks after admission were accurate (r = .74, < .01; r = .89, p < .001, respectively). Findings support the limited applicability of Bandura's theory of spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Recommendations for future research include examining variables which enhance self-efficacy and using a larger, more homogeneous sample.


Generation Y is starting to build a significant proportion of labor force and adds to the diversity challenges faced by companies, especially those operating in a global market. Although many characteristics of the generation Y with regard to work and employment have been identified through research, most comes from developed Western countries. We explored the employment expectations of business students in Poland, Slovenia, UK and South Korea through the psychological contract perspective. We aimed to identify and explain differences between anticipated employee and employer obligations of future entrants to labor market. Overall, the students expect more relational and balanced dimensions of a psychological contract than transactional ones. However, there are significant differences in the elements, dimensions and types of psychological contract between the countries. The Polish and Slovenian responses show more elements of a transactional contract than the UK and Korean. The differences can be explained by taking into account characteristics of the socio-economic context and national culture characteristics. The implications of results for employers' approach to managing young talents are also discussed.


Background and Purpose—Few studies are available that have addressed the prevalence of early-onset dementia (EOD), including early-onset Alzheimer disease and other forms of dementia in Japan. Methods—A 2-step postal survey was sent to all of the 2475 institutions providing medical or care services for individuals with dementia in Japan's Ibaraki prefecture (population, 2 966 000) requesting information on EOD cases. Data were then reviewed and collated. Results—We identified 617 subjects with EOD. The estimated prevalence of EOD in the target population was 42.3 per 100 000 (95% CI, 39.4 to 45.4). Of the illnesses that cause EOD, vascular dementia was the most frequent (42.5%) followed by Alzheimer disease (25.6%), head trauma (7.1%), dementia with Lewy bodies/Parkinson disease with dementia (6.2%), frontotemporal lobar degeneration (2.6%), and other causes (16.0%). Conclusions—The prevalence of EOD in Japan appeared to be similar to that in Western countries with the notable exception that vascular deme...


The pharmacokinetic characteristics of iodamide, a contrast agent for excretion urography, were studied in seven normal subjects and in 15 patients with various degrees of renal impairment. Two different formulations were administered, namely, a 65% solution (iodamide 300) by slow intravenous injection and a 24% solution by slow intravenous (drip) infusion. Both preparations of iodamide exhibited characteristics of an open two-compartment model. In both normal subjects and patients, the contrast agent was excreted almost exlusively in urine. In normal subjects, the pharmacokinetic parameters of both formulations were similar, with a distribution half-life (1/2alpha) of about 3 minutes and a disposition half-life (t1/2beta) of about 69 minutes. An average of 84 per cent of the dose was excreted in urine within 4 hours after administration of iodamide with net renal tubular secretion of about 38 per cent. The binding of iodamide to plasma proteins was negligible, and the extent of biotransformation of iodamide was minimal. In patients with renal impairment, the disposition half-life (t1/2beta) of iodamide ranged from 4.1 to 16.4 hours. Other changes in pharmacokinetic parameters were also seen in patients with renal impairment.


The traditional researches for cartographic lettering and display focus on conflict among labels and overlap between labels and features. But these two issues are not significant in web maps. It is worthwhile to concern about how to improve labels' readability considering user locating habits for enhancing user experience. This paper has established a new method for place name display called "the gravitational field". This method is appropriate for the display of dotted place names from the national level (approximately 1:20 million) to city level (approximately 1:250 thousand) in web maps. We have conducted a usability test which used all nationwide provincial capitals, autonomous regions, municipalities, prefecture-level cities, municipal districts, countries and part of the townships dotted names. The results show that this rule improves web map's legibility, and can significantly enhance the user experience.


This article presents an exploratory study on the implementation of project based learning in starting-up Information Technology based new venture at Ciputra University. The vision from its founding father, Dr. Ir. Ciputra is to give great impact to the nation by being a university that creates entrepreneurs with excellent characters. The Informatics Engineering Department in Ciputra University inherits this vision to create graduates that has strong IT skills as well as Entrepreneurial spirit with excellent character. To ensure the creation of such graduate profile, a specific Entrepreneurship focused curriculum model is needed. Entrepreneurship basic requirement is the understanding of interdisciplinary field of study, which has to be understood by students who are planning to be entrepreneurs led to a classroom with interdisciplinary studies. Technopreneurship subjects which span across semester 6 to 8 provides student with opportunity to transform ideas into business. Using the right curriculum structure, teaching learning methods and powerful mentors, Ciputra University is confident in its approach to increase the success rate of its graduates to become Entrepreneurs particularly in Information Technology related fields.


Abstract One prominent theory has proposed that rejection and other negative parenting practices prompt children's emotional sensitivity to the threat of rejection, often referred to as rejection sensitivity (RS). This emotional sensitivity is thought to result in social and emotional maladjustment. In the present study, we tested this model of parenting, emotional sensitivity, and maladjustment with 659 early adolescents (aged 9–13 years). The findings confirmed that adolescents who reported more negative parenting practices had elevated depression and social anxiety symptoms, heightened levels of RS, and more elevated sadness and withdrawal responses to rejection threat. In a final structural equation model, RS and withdrawal were uniquely associated with depressive symptoms, and RS, sadness, and withdrawal were uniquely associated with social anxiety. Moreover, negative parenting had significant associations with symptoms both directly and indirectly via RS, sadness, and/or withdrawal, with the effects mostly direct for depressive symptoms and mostly indirect for social anxiety symptoms. Interparental conflict was also implicated in adolescents' RS, reactions to rejection threat, and symptoms, but these correlational effects were almost entirely indirect via parenting practices. An alternate model of depression and anxiety predicting sensitivity to rejection threat was tested and found to be equally viable. The findings provide a more nuanced understanding of the links between rejection and adolescent emotional adjustment.


Monte Carlo (MC) is a well known method for quantifying uncertainty arising for example in subsurface flow problems. Although robust and easy to implement, MC suffers from slow convergence. Extending MC by means of multigrid techniques yields the multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) method. MLMC has proven to greatly accelerate MC for several applications including stochastic ordinary equations in finance, elliptic stochastic partial differential equations and also hyperbolic problems. In this study, MLMC is combined with a streamlinebased solver to assess uncertain two phase flow and transport in random heterogeneous porous media. The performance of MLMC is compared to MC for a two dimensional reservoir with multi-point Gaussian logarithmic permeability fields. The influence of the variance and the correlation length of the logarithmic permeability on the MLMC performance is studied.


Financial market imperfections can have significant impact on employment decisions of firms. We illustrate the economic importance of this channel by showing that employment decisions are constrained by firms' financial health and liquidity. Our main analysis uses a collage of three "quasi-experiments" to trace the effects of finance on employment. The results suggest that financial constraints and the availability of credit play an important role in firm-level employment decisions, as well as aggregate unemployment outcomes.


Background. Complete mesocolic excision (CME) is a surgical technique introduced with the aim of ameliorating the oncologic results of colectomy. Various experiences have demonstrated favorable oncologic results of CME in comparison with standard colectomy, in which the principles of CME are not respected. The majority of the literature refers to open or laparoscopic CME. This review analyses current evidence regarding robotic CME for right colectomy. Methods. An extensive Medline (Pub Med) search for relevant case series, restricted to papers published in English, was performed, censoring video vignettes and case reports. Results. Fourteen studies (ten retrospective, four comparative series of robotic versus laparoscopic CME) were included, with patient numbers ranging from 20 to 202. Four different approaches to CME are described, which also depend on the robotic platform utilized. Intraoperative and early clinical results were good, with a low conversion and anastomotic leak rate and a majority of Clavien–Dindo complications being Grades I and II. Oncologic adequacy of the surgical specimens was found to be good, although a homogeneous histopathologic evaluation was not provided. Conclusions. Further large studies are warranted to define long-term oncologic results of robotic right colectomy with CME and its eventual benefits in comparison to laparoscopy.


A Low-rank Spectral Optimization Problem (LSOP) minimizes a linear objective subject to multiple two-sided linear matrix inequalities intersected with a low-rank and spectral constrained domain set. Although solving LSOP is, in general, NP-hard, its partial convexification (i.e., replacing the domain set by its convex hull) termed"LSOP-R,"is often tractable and yields a high-quality solution. This motivates us to study the strength of LSOP-R. Specifically, we derive rank bounds for any extreme point of the feasible set of LSOP-R and prove their tightness for the domain sets with different matrix spaces. The proposed rank bounds recover two well-known results in the literature from a fresh angle and also allow us to derive sufficient conditions under which the relaxation LSOP-R is equivalent to the original LSOP. To effectively solve LSOP-R, we develop a column generation algorithm with a vector-based convex pricing oracle, coupled with a rank-reduction algorithm, which ensures the output solution satisfies the theoretical rank bound. Finally, we numerically verify the strength of the LSOP-R and the efficacy of the proposed algorithms.


In light of contemporary climate change it is more important than ever to understand past shifts in climate, especially past warm phases, and their effects on ecosystems and societies. From compilations of global climate reconstructions, several periods have been identified that might have been warmer than today, the two most recent of which are the Holocene Thermal Maximum (~11 – 5 kyr BP) and the Last Interglacial (~129 – 116 kyr BP). However, spatio-temporal complexities are typically smoothed out in global climate reconstructions and we do not have a good understanding of the regional differences in past climate. The southern mid-latitudes especially are underrepresented in palaeoclimate research.  For this thesis I analyse the sediments from two maars within the Auckland Volcanic Field: Orakei Basin, which erupted ~126.0 kyr BP and accumulated sediments until ~9 – 8.5 kyr BP; and Lake Pupuke, which still contains a lake today and therefore covers the Holocene. Quantitative climate reconstructions are necessary to put the Orakei Basin and Lake Pupuke records in a broad context and to enable comparisons of past and future climates. For this study I focus on biological proxies preserved by lake sediments, namely pollen, which primarily responds to mean annual air temperatures (MAAT), and chironomids, a surrogate for summer air temperatures (SmT). Together, MAAT and SmT reconstructions from the same site can provide insight into changing seasonality over time, an underexplored dimension of proxy-based reconstructions. The chironomid record covers just the last ~14 cal kyr BP however, because of low head capsule abundances in older sediment sections.  The Orakei Basin pollen record and associated MAAT reconstruction cover ~85 to 9 cal kyr BP and show five distinct phases comparable to Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 5 to 1. This association is confirmed by the preliminary tephrochronology of the core. The broad similarity of the Orakei MAAT trend to the MIS and other records from New Zealand implies all were driven by northern high-latitude summer insolation, consistent with the Milankovitch orbital forcing hypothesis. Several patterns superimposed on the general trend stand out: first, MIS 4 is a brief cool period, which is inconsistent with the observation that glacier advances equivalent to those of the late last glacial maximum occurred ~65 kyr BP in the Southern Alps, possibly due to the seasonal distribution of energy from solar insolation. Second, MIS 3 displays an earlier warm phase followed by a progressive cooling trend which might be correlated to decreasing local summer insolation intensity. Third, glacial conditions of MIS 2 appear consistent with the early onset of the last glacial maximum in the southern mid latitudes, which was likely driven by regional insolation intensity.  The Lake Pupuke pollen and chironomid records, covering the last ~14 cal kyr BP, show no evidence of a past warm period equivalent to the Holocene Thermal Maximum. MAAT is stable throughout the Holocene, whereas SmT increases between 10 and 3 cal kyr BP. The latter shows a strong relationship with integrated local summer insolation. The temperature reconstructions lead to the conclusion, first, that seasonality was low during the Early Holocene (12 to 9.3 cal kyr BP), and second, that during mid-to-late Holocene (after ~7 cal kyr BP) summers were hot and dry, allowing the tall conifer kauri to expand throughout northern New Zealand.  The Lake Pupuke chironomid-SmT reconstruction highlighted an issue with the transfer function model, namely, that it was not able to reconstruct values close to modern day (18.9°C). Therefore, I explore an extended training set which encompasses a longer temperature gradient. New models are fitted using both traditional techniques and modern machine learning methods. The new model improves the SmT reconstruction from Lake Pupuke, in the sense that reconstructed temperatures now reach modern day values. However, the SmT trend is the same as the original trend, substantiating the previously drawn conclusions.  During the course of this research, I discovered that density separation during pollen preparation can lead to varying relative abundances, depending on the specific gravity used. After some experimentation I found that using a low specific gravity (2.0; recommended value in the literature) can result in the overrepresentation of buoyant pollen grains, leading to erroneous interpretations.  Together, these results point out the importance of considering regional-to-local drivers of climate changes superimposed on global reconstructions. Multi-proxy records can help disentangle the different aspects of the climate system, where especially chironomids can be helpful to elucidate the role of SmT and local summer insolation. Finally, this thesis shows the importance of questioning the appropriateness of conventional methodologies and where possible, addressing their limitations.


Background: Femoral component offset influences the torque forces exerted on a femoral stem and may therefore adversely affect femoral component survival. This study investigated the influence of femoral component offset on revision rates for primary total hip replacements (THR) registered on the New Zealand Joint Registry (NZJR). Methods: There were 106,139 primary THRs registered, resulting in 4960 revisions for any cause. There were 46,242 THRs performed using the five commonest femoral components listed on the NZJR. A total of 41,100 were done for primary osteoarthritis of which 40,548 had all the offset information available for analysis. We defined low offset as < 42 mm, standard as 42–48 mm and high offset as > 48 mm offset and examined revision rates according to the reasons for revision. We performed survival analyses for both cemented and uncemented femoral components grouped by the different offsets. Results: The all-cause revision rate was 0.54/100 component years (cys). Stems with < 42 mm offset had a revision rate of 0.58/100 cys (mean 0.58; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53–0.63), 42–48 mm offset 0.47 (95% CI 0.43–0.52) and > 48 mm offset 0.67 (95% CI 0.57–0.79). There was no significant difference in all-cause revision rates between varying stem offsets in uncemented stems adjusting for age and gender. In cemented stems both high and low offset stems were more likely to be revised. Uncemented stems of all offsets were more likely to undergo revision for femoral fracture. Conclusions: Femoral component offset affects the overall all-cause revision rate of the most commonly used cemented stem, but not uncemented stem designs. In cemented stems offset influences the rate of revision for loosening and periprosthetic fractures.


Hiroshima, or Rethinking the Unthinkable&dquo; (Physics Today, July 1975); &dquo;Scientists in Politics&dquo; (Talk delivered at the University of Washington, 11 I May 1965); &dquo;On Legitimizing Public-Service Science in the University&dquo; (Daedalus, Winter 1974); &dquo;Human Values and the Technology of Weapons&dquo; (Zygon, March 1973); and &dquo;The Nagasaki Binge&dquo; (February 1966).


We present an efficient algorithm and theory for Geometric Multi-Resolution Analysis (GMRA), a procedure for dictionary learning. Sparse dictionary learning provides the necessary complexity reduction for the critical applications of compression, regression, and classification in high-dimensional data analysis. As such, it is a critical technique in data science and it is important to have techniques that admit both efficient implementation and strong theory for large classes of theoretical models. By construction, GMRA is computationally efficient and in this paper we describe how the GMRA correctly approximates a large class of plausible models (namely, the noisy manifolds).


With an increasing number of robots are employed in manufacturing, a human-robot interaction method that can teach robots in a natural, accurate, and rapid manner is needed. In this paper, we propose a novel human-robot interface based on the combination of static hand gestures and hand poses. In our proposed interface, the pointing direction of the index finger and the orientation of the whole hand are extracted to indicate the moving direction and orientation of the robot in a fast-teaching mode. A set of hand gestures are designed according to their usage in humans' daily life and recognized to control the position and orientation of the robot in a fine-teaching mode. We employ the feature extraction ability of the hand pose estimation network via transfer learning and utilize attention mechanisms to improve the performance of the hand gesture recognition network. The inputs of hand pose estimation and hand gesture recognition networks are monocular RGB images, making our method independent of depth information input and applicable to more scenarios. In the regular shape reconstruction experiments on the UR3 robot, the mean error of the reconstructed shape is less than 1 mm, which demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of our method.


As a new topic in security area, Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) have many advantages against traditional techniques. They can be employed to generate unique signature of Integrated Circuit(IC) for identification and authentication, which is so called DNA of ICs. In this paper we introduce some basic knowledge of PUFs, as well as the structure and implementation details of Ring-oscillator PUFs. Then we propose an improvement of RO PUF, which is called Multiple Bits Output Ring-Oscillator PUF. The Multiple Bits Output RO PUF helps to generate more challenge-response pairs with very little extra area cost. Moreover, some methods for enhancing the reliability and uniqueness are used. The experiment results are showed at last.


Rapid detection of compact binary coalescence (CBC) with a network of advanced gravitational-wave detectors will offer a unique opportunity for multi-messenger astronomy. Prompt detection alerts for the astronomical community might make it possible to observe the onset of electromagnetic emission from CBC. We demonstrate a computationally practical filtering strategy that could produce early-warning triggers before gravitational radiation from the final merger has arrived at the detectors.


Given the results of experimental studies, occupational or environmental exposures to manufactured nanoparticles or to unintentionally produced ultrafine particles may result in health effects or diseases in humans. In this review, we synthesize published data of experimental studies on the distribution of inhaled nanoparticles and the first case reports to discuss the potential usefulness of their biological monitoring for clinical purposes. Toxicokinetic studies suggest that nanoparticles may be absorbed predominantly by respiratory and oral routes with possible systemic translocation, leading to accumulation in the peripheral organs or excretion in feces or urine. Some methods used in these studies may be applied successfully in retrospective evaluation of exposure or in follow-up of occupational exposure in the workplace. Biological monitoring of nanoparticles should be based on imaging methods that are essential to confirm their presence and to characterize them in tissue associated with analytical quantitative methods. The first case reports reviewed emphasize the urgent need for the development of standardized procedures for the preparation and analysis of biological samples with a view to characterizing and quantifying nanoparticles.


Abstract.
 Regular surveys of waterbird colonies are needed to identify changes in abundance and distribution. Consistent surveys have been maintained in some regions, but one area where updated surveys were needed was southern Manitoba, where Lakes Winnipeg, Winnipegosis and Manitoba had not been jointly surveyed since 1979. In mid-June, 2012, an aerial survey of the region was conducted using digital photography to estimate abundance of six colonial waterbird species that are regular breeders on these lakes. Breeding by at least one of the six species was confirmed at 131 locations. Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) was the most abundant breeder (43,388 pairs, 47 colonies), followed by Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis, 41,819 pairs, 67 colonies), American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, 12,680 pairs, 20 colonies), Common Tern (Sterna hirundo, 7,950 pairs, 31 colonies), Herring Gull (L. argentatus, 4,013 pairs, 90 colonies) and Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia, 3,207 pairs, 14 colonies). Comparisons with earlier surveys in this region suggest that all six species have increased in abundance from the 1970s when populations were still recovering from earlier threats. However, Double-crested Cormorants, Caspian Terns and Common Terns show evidence of declines since the early 1990s. Standardized surveys of colonial waterbirds on these lakes should be maintained at 10-year intervals similar to the Great Lakes Monitoring Program.


BACKGROUND: Many researches have proven that there exists a complex association between progressive renal damage and hypercholesterolemia. However, there was little information about the early effect of hypercholesterolemia on the kidney. Additionally, although there is a growing insight into the causes and mechanisms of these diseases, preventive and therapeutic measures are still few. Hence, the aim of this study is to determine the acute and sub-acute effects of high cholesterol diet on the kidney, and to examine the protective role of tualang honey against these disease. METHODOLOGY: Fifteen female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: control group, fed with commercial rat pellet; high cholesterol diet group (HCD), fed with 12% cholesterol diet with 0.3% cholic acid, and HCD with tualang honey supplements at 1.4 g/kg/day orally group (HCD+TH). Biochemical analyses for lipid profile and renal function test were performed at completed 48 hours (day 3), day 7, and day 42 of the experiment. The rats were sacrificed at completed day 42 and the kidneys were harvested and subjected to histopathological examination. The data were analysed using ANOVA and LSD Post-Hoc test. RESULTS: Consumption of 12% cholesterol diet for six weeks resulted in an increment of the mean serum creatinine level of HCD and HCD+TH groups to 1.5 times the control level at the completed day 7. Also overall both the mean serum creatinine and blood urea levels were higher in HCD group than the control group. The mean TC showed an increasing trend throughout the experiment with the level being significantly higher than the control group at the completed day 42. A significantly higher mean serum LDL-c in the HCD group as compared to the control at the completed day 42 was also documented. The mean serum TG levels were higher than that of the control group at the completed 48 hours and day 7. The mean serum HDL-c showed a significant reduction in HCD group than the control group at the completed day 42. With tualang honey supplementation, the mean serum creatinine level showed significant reduction at 48 hours in the HCD+TH group as compared to the HCD group. There was also a reduction in the mean serum creatinine level at the completed day 42. As for the lipid profile, honey supplementation significantly reduced the mean TG and vLDL-c at the completed day 7 as compared to HCD group. Histopathologically the kidneys exhibited segmental mesangial hypercellularity and mesangial matrix expansion of almost all the glomeruli in both HCD and HCD+TH groups. CONCLUSION: The 12% cholesterol diet utilized in this study caused acute and sub-acute kidney injuries in the animal model while tualang honey at 1.4 g/kg/day orally exhibited lipid lowering activities and some degree of renoprotective effect against high cholesterol diet induced kidney injury.


For power system online dynamic security analysis (DSA), preventive control or remedial action should be an integral part of the function if instability for a contingency is detected. Research done so far in online remedial action has been in rescheduling generation and most of the suggested methods for determining such preventive control use the sensitivities of the stability energy margin to the generator power injections. For any approach using the energy margin, computation time is a concern and a somewhat different approach was suggested that determines control action by maximizing coherency of the generators without the use of sensitivities. In this paper, a new coherency based sensitivity method is proposed for generation rescheduling. Different coherency indices have been defined and then compared by ranking the contingencies according to these indices as well as the energy margin index. Since the coherency indices are always functions of the rotor angles, the sensitivity trajectories of a coherency index, such as the most critical rotor angle, with respect to changes of generation can be calculated at every time step of the integration process. This paper suggests that these sensitivities calculated shortly after fault clearing be used for rescheduling the generation. The calculation of these sensitivities are obviously faster than the calculation of the energy margin sensitivities. This paper also shows, with test results using several different systems, that the rescheduling achieved by this method provides the necessary remedial action. It is also noted that this method is intuitively more direct as it uses the sensitivities of the worst affected generator angles for rescheduling.


We present a case of a 2-year-old boy who underwent thoracoscopic resection of a left paraspinal mediastinal mass and developed Harlequin syndrome postoperatively. Harlequin syndrome is a rare neurological condition characterized by unilateral hyperhidrosis and erythema of the head and neck. Our discussion highlights this condition and other differential diagnoses that may present similarly in the postoperative period.


In this chapter, the connection between general linear interpolation and initial, bound- ary and multipoint value problems is explained. First, a result of a theoretical nature is given, which highlights the relationship between the interpolation problem and the Fredholm integral equation for high-order differential problems. After observing that the given problem is equivalent to a Fredholm integral equation, this relation is used in order to determine a general procedure for the numerical solution of high-order differential problems by means of appropriate collocation methods based on the integration of the Fredholm integral equation. The classical analysis of the class of the obtained methods is carried out. Some particular cases are illustrated. Numerical examples are given in order to illustrate the efficiency of the method.


Objective:To describe the imaging findings of patients treated with subchondroplasty (SCP) of the ankle and hindfoot. Materials and Methods: Eighteen patients (10 men, 8 women; age mean 43.1 years [range 20.1-67.7 years]) underwent ankle and hindfoot SCP at a single center over a 14-month period. Imaging data were reviewed retrospectively by 2 radiologists by consensus interpretation, including preoperative radiography (18), computed tomography (CT) (11), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (13) and postoperative radiography (10), CT (4), and MRI (6). Follow-up imaging was acquired 1 month to 1.6 years following SCP. Results: Indications for SCP included symptomatic bone marrow lesions (BMLs) secondary to an osteochondral lesion (OCL) (16/18) or stress fracture (2/18). While focal radiodensity related to the SCP procedure was retrospectively identifiable on postoperative radiography in all except 1 case (10/11), postprocedural findings were not described by the interpreting radiologist in 6/11 cases. On CT, the average injected synthetic calcium phosphate (CaP) volume was 1.15 cm3 (SD = 0.33 cm3); mean CT attenuation of the injectate was 1220 HU (range 1058-1465 HU). In all patients who had pre- and postoperative MRI (5/18), BML size decreased on follow-up MRI. Extra-osseous extrusion of CaP was not seen on postoperative radiography, CT, or MRI. Conclusion: Physicians should be aware of the expanding preoperative indications and postoperative imaging findings of SCP, which is being performed with increasing frequency in the ankle and hindfoot. Levels of Evidence: Diagnostic, Level III: Retrospective cohort study


The approach that deals with compressed and packed image data transmitted from satellite to the ground is too slow for real-time application occasion, it also has huge image, multi-processing step and complexity recovery arithmetic synchronously, so it is urgent to build accurate and fast data processing platform for real-time processing. For the moment, the platform for data recovery and error correction is much less, the so-called successful platform may directly affect the effect of target detection and identification because of processing speed, precision, flexibility, configuration and upgrade. The platform we build is to set spatial modulation spectrometer as the research goal, We design and implement a hardware platform based on Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA, It is combined with ISE IP soft-core resources which is configurable, high-precision and flexible by focusing on analyzing key aspects of the hardware platform. And the relevant test data were drawn, then a good way for spectrum recovery and error correction was explored.


In this paper we share our reflections regarding the role of ethnomathematics in providing direction for leadership in mathematics education. Our arguments are grounded in an analysis of the world today, characterized by inequities and injustices, clamoring for a new social order. We contemplate the role of mathematics and mathematics education in improving the world for the benefit of future generations. In our vision, the Program Ethnomathematics is positioned as a theoretical framework capable of guiding practice and curriculum for a very different educational project, one that centers the children in a world of social equity and justice as well as a world in which humanity achieves equilibrium with and respect for nature and its resources. We end our reflections with some thoughts on the preparation of teachers and leaders for this alternate educational project.


While a large proportion of the sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) population winters in northern Mexico, little information is available regarding conservation status of wetlands and human dimension issues. We conducted preliminary interviews of rural inhabitants living near wetlands used by cranes in 3 Mexican estates. One hundred percent of interviewees affirmed to know cranes, see them regularly (100%), and were capable of describing cranes. Winter is the time most have seen cranes (78%) with fall being second (20%). Most cranes were observed in lakes (56%), agriculture fields (35%), and cattle troughs (2%). Most responded to have seen 0-100 cranes (41%), while larger numbers were reported by smaller percentages. Most interviewees believed cranes eat corn (66%), oats (21%), sorghum (5%), and others items including wheat, insects, and cow droppings (2% each). Foraging was observed in agriculture fields (83%) with less in lakes (15%). Most did not know where cranes came from (71%), while smaller percentages said Canada (24%) and the United States (2%). A majority (58%) said they were not affected by the arrival of cranes, but 43% said they were. The negative effects were described as destroyed crops (31%), eating corn (23%), and diminished production. Those affected said they could implement scare tactics (70%), while others suggested harvesting on time (5%), checking crops regularly (5%), and hunting as possible solutions. Most (90%) said they did not hunt the cranes, 5% mentioned they used to and 3% said they still hunt them. These results offer a glimpse of the attitudes of rural inhabitants in northern Mexico towards cranes. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN CRANE WORKSHOP 11:196


In this study we characterized acid, ammonium and total urate excretion in the faecal pellets of unfed locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) and examined the effect of haemolymph acidosis (HC1 injections into the haemocoel) on net acid and nitrogen excretion. In unfed, uninjected locusts, the pH of the urinary pellets was less than 5, and ammonium was excreted at three times the rate of total urate. Ammonium was present primarily as a precipitate, indicating that ammonium excretion is compatible with water conservation in this desert locust. Ammonium excretion was increased by HC1 injections, theoretically accounting for 15 % of the acid equivalents removed from the haemolymph during recovery from acute acid loads. Luminal pH in the hindgut was affected by feeding state but not by haemolymph acidosis. HC1 injections did not affect faecal pellet pH or the excretion rates of bicarbonate, titratable acid, pellet buffer compounds (urate, inorganic phosphate), Na, K, Ca, Mg or CP . In unfed locusts, the low rate of excretion and low pH of faecal pellets may limit the capacity to increase titratable acid excretion after acid-loading.


Densification of materials through pelletisation, briquetting and cubing to form strong and durable bonding products with greater structural homogeneity, better handling and durability properties has attracted the attention of researchers in recent past. The present work focused on conversion of residues of some tropical wood species to energy fuel through pelletisation. The woody-biomass species studied were Apa (Afzelia Africana, AA), Iya (Daniella oliveri, DO) and Arira (Detarium microcarpum, DM) which were sourced in Nigeria. The samples were prepared in different sizes of less than 0.50 mm, 0.50 1.00 mm and 1.00 1.70 mm after drying in a laboratory environment. The different particle sizes were forced into a prepared die using gelatinised starch as binder. Higher heating value (HHV), impact resistance index (IRI) and water resistance test were obtained for all samples with and without binder. The average HHV of pellets produced from DM was found to be 26.53 MJ/kg without binder, which is the highest among the three samples, showing that DM may have higher lignin content. However, pellet samples AA produced with binder has average HHV of 25.41 MJ/kg which is highest among the three samples. Result showed that IRI increases as particle size decreases for pellets produced without binder, while for pellet with binder, IRI increases as the particle size increases. Result of water resistance test showed that the disintegration time increases as particle size decreases. The basic physical properties that enhance handling and transportation operations of wood pellets have been achieved when compared with standard.


Introduction The advent of small bowel capsule endoscopy (CE) has greatly improved the diagnosis of small bowel tumours. Double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) is the interventional counterpart to CE and has the advantage of direct visualisation of small bowel pathology, biopsy and therapeutic capability. There is however a paucity of data on the use of DBE for small bowel tumours. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of DBE for small bowel tumours and to assess its impact on the diagnostic pathway in this cohort. Methods Data was collected prospectively on all DBE procedures performed routinely between July 2006 and December 2013 particularly for the indication of small bowel tumours. Patient demographics, clinical presentation, findings at DBE and subsequent follow up data were recorded. The majority of patients had a number of investigations, including radiology, prior to DBE without a firm diagnosis. 83.3% had CE prior to DBE. SPSS V18 was used to analyse the data. Results A total of 358 DBE procedures were carried out during the stated time period. Of these procedures, 18 (5.0%) were for the indication of suspected small bowel tumour. The majority (57.1%) of these patients were female and the average age at the time of diagnosis was 58 years (SD±12 y). Indications for performing DBE included iron deficiency anaemia 44.4%, overt bleeding 27.8%, abnormal radiology 22.2% and abdominal pain 5.6%. Of those who had prior CE, CE was positive in 93.3% (14/15) of patients with the presence of a mass lesion (50%), stricture or ulceration (35.7%) or the presence of blood alone (14.3%). Anterograde DBE was performed in 88.9% whilst the remaining number had DBE via the retrograde route. Tumour was successfully identified at DBE in 78% (n = 14) of patients, where tattoos were placed and histology obtained. Of the 4 patients where DBE failed to reach the lesion, the diagnosis was confirmed by laparotomy in 3 patients and intra-operative endoscopy in 1 patient. The final histological diagnosis of tumours identified is shown in Figure 1, UK. 61.1% tumours were located in the jejunum, 27.8% in the ileum and 11.1% in the distal duodenum. DBE influenced ongoing management in all patients that achieved a diagnosis from the procedure. Abstract PTH-142 Figure 1 Diagnosis Number of patients Adenocarcinoma 4 Gastrointestinal stromal tumour 4 Carcinoid 3 Lymphoma (mantle and follicular) 3 Metastatic (melanoma and transitional cell bladder) 3 Glomus tumour 1 Conclusion DBE plays a valuable role in the investigation pathway of patients with suspected small bowel tumours. The step wise approach of CE followed by DBE allows efficient use of small bowel resources. Disclosure of Interest None Declared.


Existing deep methods produce highly accurate 3D reconstructions in stereo and multiview stereo settings, i.e., when cameras are both internally and externally calibrated. Nevertheless, the challenge of simultaneous recovery of camera poses and 3D scene structure in multiview settings with deep networks is still outstanding. Inspired by projective factorization for Structure from Motion (SFM) and by deep matrix completion techniques, we propose a neural network architecture that, given a set of point tracks in multiple images of a static scene, recovers both the camera parameters and a (sparse) scene structure by minimizing an unsupervised reprojection loss. Our network architecture is designed to respect the structure of the problem: the sought output is equivariant to permutations of both cameras and scene points. Notably, our method does not require initialization of camera parameters or 3D point locations. We test our architecture in two setups: (1) single scene reconstruction and (2) learning from multiple scenes. Our experiments, conducted on a variety of datasets in both internally calibrated and uncalibrated settings, indicate that our method accurately recovers pose and structure, on par with classical state of the art methods. Additionally, we show that a pre-trained network can be used to reconstruct novel scenes using inexpensive fine-tuning with no loss of accuracy.


Abstract Achillea pachycephala Rech.f. is an endemic species of Iran which grows mostly in Central and North-Eastern regions of the country. Essential oils of dried flowers and leaves of A. pachycephalla collected from four localities were analyzed by GC-MS. Total phenolics compounds were also determined in the leaves of samples. Essential oil yield ranged from 0.11 % (Ap4) to 0.57 % (Ap2) in leaves and 0.19 (Ap3) to 0.86 % (Ap2) in flowers. Fifty one components were detected by GC-MS in leaves and flowers of samples. Results indicated a significant variation in oil composition. The main constituents of Ap1 (Northern region) were camphor (43.3 % in flowers and 38.2 % in leaves), borneol (2.7 % in flowers and in 11 leaves), germacrene-D and β-fenchyl alcohol in leaves. The main compounds of Ap2 (Central region) were piperitone (55.6 % in flowers and 46.6 % in leaves), camphor (11.8 % in flowers and 8 % in leaves) and germacrene-D (31.1 % in leaves and 3.8 % in flowers). Ap3 (Central-west region) contained piperitone (58.3 in flowers) while, Ap4 (North-eastern region) had 28.8 % trans-pinane and 22.5 % germacrene-D in leaves. β-eudesmol, 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid bis (2-methylpropyl) ester and carvacrol were abundant in shoots of this genotype. Total phenolic compounds ranged from 3.3 mg in Ap1 to 4.1 mg/g DM in Ap4. In general, essential oil composition of the plant was more affected than total phenolic compounds in different geographical regions.


The word "picture" occurs pervasively in Wittgenstein's later philosophy. Not only does Wittgenstein often use literal pictures or the notion of mental pictures in his investigations, but he also frequently uses "picture" to speak about a way of conceiving of a matter (e.g. "A picture held us captive" at Philosophical Investigations§115). I argue that "picture" used in this conceptual sense is not a shorthand for an assumption or a set of propositions but is rather an expression of conceptual bedrock on the model of an organising myth. This reading builds primarily on work by Gordon Baker and Stanley Cavell.


In this thesis the maintenance scheduling optimization problem of a multi-component system is formulated as a multi-objective stochastic dynamic problem, which is solved by first transforming the multi-objective formulation into a single-objective one via the weighted-sum method, and then using an iterated two-stage stochastic linear programming approach to solve the stochastic problem.
The main application is the maintenance of a commercial gas turbine aero-engine. The model determines optimal opportunistic replacement schedules considering both deterministic and stochastic engine configurations. The proposed methodology provides maintenance planners with a decision tool that simultaneously minimizes the expected total cost of providing the maintenance service, and the expected total number of service interruptions due to maintenance during a finite horizon. The analysis presented in this thesis considers the indentured configuration of a modular aero-engine and investigates the sensitivity of the solutions to variations in a number of critical parameters.


The establishment of the International GPS Service for Geodynamics (IGS) in
1994 and the rapid development of its high quality products have opened promising,
new capabilities for the global GPS positioning community. Two important products
of the IGS are the precise satellite ephemerides and the precisely-determined
locations of many permanent tracking sites distributed over the entire globe. In
addition, we can obtain high quality RINEX data from the global tracking network
on a daily basis.
The combination of a multi-purpose regional GPS network and the nearby IGS
fiducial stations, along with the use of IGS precise ephemerides, can provide results
in a well-defined global reference frame with maximum accuracy and minimum
computational burden. We are fast moving towards the situation of having multi
purpose GPS networks containing medium length baselines (up to 1000 km), which
require the highest accuracy level of positioning. As a general rule of thumb, the
common-mode errors due to ionospheric, tropospheric and orbital uncertainties
increase with baseline distance. This therefore introduces a range of problems in the
processing of medium length baselines, such as ambiguity resolution, vertical
precision associated with the treatment of the tropospheric delay, etc.
The results from GPS processing can be used for many different applications,
such as in the fields of glaciology, volcanology, oceanography, meteorology, etc.,
and so we increasingly require a high degree of flexibility and innovation in our GPS
processing techniques.
The aim of this thesis is to improve our processing techniques over medium
length baselines making use of permanent stations, such as the IGS fiducial stations
and the IGS precise ephemerides. A processing technique is required that exploits the
continuity of the GPS data and that is able to satisfy various high precision GPS
applications (at the 1 part in 107 level or better). We suggest a new approach for GPS
processing, the so-called continuous processing approach, rather than the classical
processing that pertains to batch least squares adjustment.
For a continuous processing methodology, we have to resolve a number of related
matters, such as cycle slip detection and repair; outlier detection; the use of
sequential least squares adjustment, incorporating between-epoch correlation and the
necessary modification of the unknown vector and cofactor matrix to maintain the
continuity of data processing under the influence of a satellite combination change;
ambiguity resolution, and estimation strategies of tropospheric delay.
We demonstrate the efficiency of the new technique using several different high
precision GPS applications in geodynamics. Three studies were undertaken using
data from a tide gauge network within Australia, the Northridge earthquake event in
North America, and a study of the motion of the Amery Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
The results from using the continuous processing approach developed in this
thesis are in good agreement with previous studies but yield additional insight into
some of the physical processes, such as the motion of the Amery Ice Shelf. The
utilisation of improved stochastic modelling of measurements and the continuous
nature of the processing increases the effectiveness and reliability of outlier detection
and ambiguity resolution. The posteriori variance factor is also improved by up to
30%. With greater flexibility in the monitoring of complicated movements of
stations, the new technique will prove to be a very promising tool for high precision
applications involving regional GPS networks.


The article discusses the structure of the slag in the liquid state, the properties and interactions within the slag. The analysis of structures occurring in slag suspension were presented with regard to differences in chemical composition in micro-areas. Two different mechanisms for formation of precipitates in Cu-Fe-Pb alloys during extraction were showed.


Background. Recent years have seen an increasing interest in cross-project defect prediction (CPDP), which aims to apply defect prediction models built on source projects to a target project. Currently, a variety of (complex) CPDP models have been proposed with a promising prediction performance. Problem. Most, if not all, of the existing CPDP models are not compared against those simple module size models that are easy to implement and have shown a good performance in defect prediction in the literature. Objective. We aim to investigate how far we have really progressed in the journey by comparing the performance in defect prediction between the existing CPDP models and simple module size models. Method. We first use module size in the target project to build two simple defect prediction models, ManualDown and ManualUp, which do not require any training data from source projects. ManualDown considers a larger module as more defect-prone, while ManualUp considers a smaller module as more defect-prone. Then, we take the following measures to ensure a fair comparison on the performance in defect prediction between the existing CPDP models and the simple module size models: using the same publicly available data sets, using the same performance indicators, and using the prediction performance reported in the original cross-project defect prediction studies. Result. The simple module size models have a prediction performance comparable or even superior to most of the existing CPDP models in the literature, including many newly proposed models. Conclusion. The results caution us that, if the prediction performance is the goal, the real progress in CPDP is not being achieved as it might have been envisaged. We hence recommend that future studies should include ManualDown/ManualUp as the baseline models for comparison when developing new CPDP models to predict defects in a complete target project.


Abstract. Radiative cooling and heating impact the liquid water balance of fog and therefore play an important role in determining their persistence or dissipation. We demonstrate that a quantitative analysis of the radiation-driven condensation and evaporation is possible in real time using ground-based remote sensing observations (cloud radar, ceilometer, microwave radiometer). Seven continental fog events in midlatitude winter are studied, and the radiative processes are further explored through sensitivity studies. The longwave (LW) radiative cooling of the fog is able to produce 40–70 g m−2 h−1 of liquid water by condensation when the fog liquid water path exceeds 30 g m−2 and there are no clouds above the fog, which corresponds to renewing the fog water in 0.5–2 h. The variability is related to fog temperature and atmospheric humidity, with warmer fog below a drier atmosphere producing more liquid water. The appearance of a cloud layer above the fog strongly reduces the LW cooling relative to a situation with no cloud above; the effect is strongest for a low cloud, when the reduction can reach 100 %. Consequently, the appearance of clouds above will perturb the liquid water balance in the fog and may therefore induce fog dissipation. Shortwave (SW) radiative heating by absorption by fog droplets is smaller than the LW cooling, but it can contribute significantly, inducing 10–15 g m−2 h−1 of evaporation in thick fog at (winter) midday. The absorption of SW radiation by unactivated aerosols inside the fog is likely less than 30 % of the SW absorption by the water droplets, in most cases. However, the aerosols may contribute more significantly if the air mass contains a high concentration of absorbing aerosols. The absorbed radiation at the surface can reach 40–120 W m−2 during the daytime depending on the fog thickness. As in situ measurements indicate that 20–40 % of this energy is transferred to the fog as sensible heat, this surface absorption can contribute significantly to heating and evaporation of the fog, up to 30 g m−2 h−1 for thin fog, even without correcting for the typical underestimation of turbulent heat fluxes by the eddy covariance method. Since the radiative processes depend mainly on the profiles of temperature, humidity and clouds, the results of this paper are not site specific and can be generalised to fog under different dynamic conditions and formation mechanisms, and the methodology should be applicable to warmer and moister climates as well. The retrieval of approximate emissivity of clouds above fog from cloud radar should be further developed.


For many years now, there is a growing interest around ROC curve for characterizing machine learning performances. This is particularly due to the fact that in real-world problems misclassification costs are not known and thus, ROC curve and related metrics such as the Area Under ROC curve (AUC) can be a more meaningful performance measures. In this paper, we propose a SVMs based algorithm for AUC maximization and show that under certain conditions this algorithm is related to 2-norm soft margin Support Vector Machines. We present experiments that compare SVMs performances to those of other AUC maximization based algorithms and provide empirical analysis of SVMs behavior with regards to ROCbased metrics. Our main conclusion is that SVMs can maximize both AUC and accuracy. keywords : Support vector machines, quadratic programming, AUC, ROC curve.


Theoretical and experimental results of mid-infrared (mid-IR) gratings for coupling between transverse-electric (TE)/transverse-magnetic (TM) mode silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) waveguides and zirconium, barium, lanthanum, aluminum, and sodium fluoride (ZBLAN) fibers are presented. The shallow-etched uniform grating, full-etched subwavelength grating, and apodized grating are analyzed theoretically. TE mode shallow-etched apodized gratings with coupling efficiency of 80.6% and TM mode full-etched apodized subwavelength gratings with coupling efficiency of 39.6% are predicted at the wavelength of 2.75 by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation. An co-doped ZBLAN fiber laser is set up to be used as a mid-IR light source at 2.75 . Coupling efficiencies of 32.6% and 11.6% to TE mode and TM mode SOS waveguides, respectively, were obtained experimentally with uniform grating couplers. The dependence of coupling efficiency on etch depth, grating period, fill factor, and incident angle are also studied.


Background The selection of presentations at orthopedic meetings is an important process. If the peer reviewers do not consistently agree on the quality score, the review process is arbitrary and open to bias. The aim of this study was: (1) to describe the inter-reviewer agreement of a previously designed scoring scheme to rate abstracts submitted for presentation at meetings arranged by the Dutch Orthopedic Association; (2) to test whether the quality of reporting of submitted abstracts increased in the years after the introduction of the scoring scheme; and (3) to examine whether a review process with a larger workload had lower interrater agreement. Methods We calculated intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) to measure the level of agreement among reviewers using the International Society of the Knee (ISK) quality-of-reporting system for abstracts. Acceptance rate and quality of the abstracts are described. Results Of 419 abstracts, 229 (55%) were accepted. Inter-reviewer agreement to rate abstracts was substantial (0.68; 95% CI: 0.47–0.83) to almost perfect (0.95; 95% CI: 0.92–0.97) and did not change over the eligible time period. A smaller proportion of abstracts were accepted after 2004. The mean ISK abstract score (with a maximum of 100 points) for accepted abstracts ranged from 60 (95% CI: 58–63) to 64 (95% CI: 62–66). The mean ISK abstract score for rejected abstracts varied from 46 (95% CI: 40–51) to 51 (95% CI: 47–55). Average scores for accepted and rejected abstracts did not change with time. The degree of workload of the reviewers did not influence their level of agreement. Interpretation The ISK abstract rating system has an excellent interobserver agreement. Other scientific orthopedic meetings should consider adopting this ISK rating system for further evaluation in a local or international setting.


The mantis shrimp Squilla mantis shows a graded series of avoidance/escape responses to visual and mechanical (vibration and touch) rostral stimuli. A low-threshold response is mediated by the simultaneous protraction of the thoracic walking legs and abdominal swimmerets and telson, producing a backwards 'lurch' or jump that can displace the animal by up to one-third of its body length, but leaves it facing in the same direction. A stronger response starts with similar limb protraction, but is followed by partial abdominal flexion. The maximal response also consists of limb protraction followed by abdominal flexion, but in this case the abdominal flexion is sufficiently vigorous to pull the animal into a tight vertical loop, which leaves it inverted and facing away from the stimulus. The animal then swims forward (away from the stimulus) and rights itself by executing a half-roll. A bilaterally paired, large-diameter, rapidly conducting axon in the dorsal region of the ventral nerve excites swimmeret protractor motoneurons in several ganglia and is likely to be the driver neuron for the limb-protraction response. The same neuron also excites unidentified abdominal trunk motoneurons, but less reliably. The escape response is a key feature of the malacostracan caridoid facies, and we provide the first detailed description of this response in a group that diverged early in malacostracan evolution. We show that the components of the escape response contrast strongly with those of the full caridoid reaction, and we provide physiological and behavioural evidence for the biological plausibility of a limb-before-tail thesis for the evolution of the escape response.


Abstract This article explores a novel cross-national phenomenon: the emergence of a new judicial review model that merges procedural judicial review with substantive judicial review. While this model is not yet fully defined, it has already spurred much controversy. The article explicates this emerging model, which it terms 'semiprocedural review', and provides a theoretical exploration of both its justifications and its objectionable aspects. It concludes by evaluating semiprocedural review's overall justifiability and suggesting guiding principles for a more legitimate model of semiprocedural review. The article pursues these goals through the unique perspective of juxtaposing semiprocedural review with 'pure procedural judicial review' and 'pure substantive judicial review'.


This research was conducted to compare the two research areas NaiGaj, Pakistan and WadiDhahban, Saudi Arabia having Ground Water Potential (GWR). The main objectives of the research was to determine the different parameters that support the ground water availability such as vegetation, nature of slope, Rain Water Rills(RWR), climatic data and land cover area with help of modern techniques. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia emanates under as Arid or Semi-Arid category of land. Both research area have almost same topography, where ground and river water is not found. Growers irrigate land by saline water of different drain canals (in Pakistan) and Rain Water Rills coming from the uplands. A 61 km wide and 326 km long belt is found in slope of Khirthar Mountain in Sindh, Pakistan, this belt is rain shadowarea. Similarly, WadiDhahban has same geographical features, located near the coastal belt of RedSea, where dozens of RWRs are presents and trembled in the Sea.The maps of groundwater potential of both study areas were designed with the help of RS and GIS software.GIS and RS havesignificant role in mapping of ground-water quality and quantity for assessment and monitoring purposes.It was observed through the maps that both areas have ground water potential. Furthermore, the results indicated that NaiGaj has 30.3 % ground water potential and WadiDhahban has 15.8% ground water potential.


The properties of lignocellulose materials from the trunk and bark of trees, and from agricultural sources were investigated by thermogravimetry (TG) and pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). The goal was to learn which of the phytomass sources is the most accessible to dehydration and aldol reactions, and in this way could be considered suitable for composite preparation by the thermal pressing treatment. The bagasse second differential thermal analysis peak in air is at the highest temperature acceptable for intermolecular dehydration/crosslinking, and therefore we consider bagasse to be the most suitable candidate for composite preparation. From the TG results in air at 250°C, it follows that willow wood and bagasse are the most thermally resistant sources. The data obtained by Py-GC/MS analysis showed glycolaldehyde and acetic acid as dominant markers related to adhesion properties via aldol condensation. The detected sum amount of glyceraldehyde and acetic acid decreases in the order: beech wood > bagasse > acacia wood > sugar beet pulp, whereas the remaining species produced much less of it. By comparing results run at above conditions with composite preparation using the pressing thermal treatment at a temperature of 150°C and pressures up to 800 kPa, the suggested evaluation was examined for application on sugar beet residue. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013


An intense discussion of the nature and purpose of theological education has insufficiently regarded the vital importance of the missionary perspective. This article reviews the contemporary debate about theological education with special reference to the contributions of Edward Farley and David Kelsey. The prevailing paradigms of "Berlin" and "Athens" need to be complemented through the perspective of "Tranquebar." Through a critical appreciation of the work of Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg (1682‐1719), the retrieval of a fresh and urgently needed missionary paradigm can be facilitated for the contemporary work of theological education. Ziegenbalg demonstrated attentiveness to local culture, collected and cataloged perspectives on South Indian deities, respected the dignity of the Tamil people, and embodied a vibrant theology of mission. The implications of his contribution are translated into an agenda for theological education today and are illustrated through the example of one particular theological school.


The American criminal justice system is often envisioned as one in which public prosecutors pursue public prosecutions on behalf of the public — leaving no room for crime victims' involvement. However, state and federal statutes and state constitutional amendments have challenged this vision. Perhaps the best example of such a challenge comes from the Crime Victims' Rights Act ("CVRA"), a federal statute passed by Congress in 2004 that guarantees victims a series of rights in federal criminal proceedings.Although the CVRA has received broad bipartisan support, it also has its critics. One recent example of such criticism comes from Danielle Levine's thoughtful piece, published in the Northwestern University Law Review, entitled "Public Wrongs and Private Rights: Limiting the Victim's Role in a System of Public Prosecution." In her article, Levine advances both a procedural and substantive challenge to the rights granted to crime victims by the CVRA. First, in her procedural challenge — a position that a minority of federal circuit courts have adopted — Levine argues that victims should be able to challenge denials of their rights by district courts only in the rare circumstance of a "clear and indisputable" error. From a substantive perspective, Levine contends that giving victims ordinary appellate review when their rights are denied would interfere with the discretion that American prosecutors regularly exercise in criminal cases, and could even "threaten the fair and just adjudication of a criminal case."These arguments are typical of attacks on the CVRA. In this brief rejoinder, we respond to both of Levine's claims — a response that we hope will illustrate more generally how attacks on crime victims' rights are misguided. Part I begins by providing a quick review of the CVRA and the charges advanced by its critics. Part II then turns to the question of the appropriate standard of review for crime victims' appeals brought under the CVRA. In contrast to the position staked out by its critics, including Levine, crime victims should receive ordinary appellate review, because such review is both consistent with Congressional intent and, more importantly, such review is dictated by common sense. Finally, Part III addresses the substantive argument that rights granted to crime victims may somehow interfere with the administration of justice. Part IV concludes that victims' rights do not impair the just adjudication of criminal cases, but rather improve it.


The spoIIA locus of Bacillus licheniformis was cloned into the phage vector phi 105J9; selection was based on the ability of the clone to complement mutations in both the first and the last of the spoIIA genes of B. subtilis. The B. licheniformis DNA was subcloned into M13 and sequenced; it includes three genes of identical lengths to those of B. subtilis. The average interspecies difference in nucleotide sequence is 24%; C occurs at the third position of codons 55% more often in the B. licheniformis than in the B. subtilis sequence. The average difference in predicted amino acid sequence is 11%, but the distribution of these differences is far from random, and there are several long stretches of amino acid sequence that are identical in the two organisms. The distribution of non-conservative amino acid changes between the species is also strikingly non-random; no such changes are found in those regions in which missense mutations are known in B. subtilis. Each species has an open reading frame 5' of the spoIIAA gene, but the predicted amino acid sequence, and the distribution of differences between the two species in both nucleotides and predicted amino acids, suggest that these open reading frames are not expressed. Both species have regions 3' of the open reading frames which resemble rho-independent terminators of transcription, but that in B. licheniformis is longer and could form a more elaborate secondary structure than that in B. subtilis.


: A perspective ultrasonographic study on 10 cases of achalasia showed characteristic ultrasonographic features: dilation and persistent water retention of the gastroesophageal vestibule, symmetrical parietal thickening, and delayed or intermittent opening of the cardiac orifice after drinking. We suggest that ultrasonography should play an important role in clinical management of achalasia. If the ultrasonographic features of achalasia were known, the misdiagnosis of achalasia for cardiac carcinoma could be avoided. When an infiltrating cardiac carcinoma found to be smoothly narrowing and difficult to distinguish from achalasia radiologically, an ultrasonogram may be helpful to make a correct diagnosis.


Purpose. Ten libraries across the UK are participating in the first phase of an initiative to assess the impact of higher education libraries on learning, teaching, and research. The initiative is being undertaken under the auspices of the Library and Information Research Group and the Society of College, National, and University Libraries. This interim report provides an overview of the initiative and describes participation by two of the libraries: Glasgow Caledonian University and University College Chester. Design/methodology/approach. Each of the libraries has chosen an area of their activity where they wish to assess their impact. The ten participating institutions have then followed a common approach to assessing impact which involves specifying objectives for what the library is trying to achieve, determining success criteria, establishing impact measures, identifying what evidence is needed, and choosing methods for gathering evidence. Findings. Assessing a library's impact is not easy but the potential benefits can be considerable. Issues identified in the first phase include the time/resources needed, the importance of having good research skills, the difficulties of getting the evidence, and separating out the library's contribution. Benefits illustrated in the case studies include demonstrating that the library is supporting university strategy, building closer links with academics, and enabling staff to gain a better understanding of academic processes. Originality/value. The paper will interest library managers and staff who are concerned about the impact of their services and are seeking ways to demonstrate the difference that they make to their host organisations.


Background: An early differentiation of Alzheimer's disease (AD) from frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is important, since these conditions are essentially different regarding prognosis and therapeutical approach. Until now, no single test is available which allows a reliable differentiation. The Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) has been found to have good reliability in identifying an executive deficit in frontal syndromes and in extrapyramidal disorders. The ability of the FAB to distinguish AD from FTD in mildly demented patients is less clearly assessed. Methods: We compared FAB scores in a consecutive series of 33 FTD (frontal variant) and 85 AD patients. Results: FAB global scores in the two groups were very similar, also when considering only mildly demented subgroups [Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≧20; 20 FTD and 38 AD patients]. Considering FAB subscores, only the 'go-no go' subtest showed a significant difference, reflecting a poorer inhibitory motor control in AD patients. FAB scores in the two groups of patients correlated with global cognitive decline (MMSE), and with executive and visuospatial test scores, showing good concurrent validity. Conclusion: The FAB does not differentiate patients with AD from those with FTD, like all other executive tests. However, it may be useful in the examination of executive function in AD, FTD and several other pathological conditions.


This paper presents a spreadsheet based simulation game for teaching and learning production management concepts of forecasting, material requirements planning, order review and release. In this game the student plays the role of a production planner managing two products, for which customer orders are placed in variable quantities throughout the week. The student builds forecasting and material requirement planning systems to help in the tasks of production and vendor order release. In parallel with this, we have run a small learning awareness program, to test and stimulate the skill of reflection. Initial student responses to the game have been favourable, but the proportion of time spent on reflection is low. Contemplated refinements are presented.


Jon Bentley wrote his thesis on divide-and-conquer algorithms and came to greatly admire C.A.R. Hoare's original quicksort algorithm. Yet for years, Bentley "tiptoed around its innermost loop" because he didn't understand it (Beautiful Code, O'Reilly, 2007). It was only after he implemented his own quicksort based on an elegant partitioning scheme for programming Pearls (Addison-Wesley, 1999) that he truly understood the reason for that inner loop. He also trimmed the original bulkier algorithm to a mere dozen tight lines of code. Code clutter and unnecessary complexity can obscure a design. However, connecting design decisions to code won't happen unless developers embrace the practice of writing code as if expressing design intent matters.


In the present study, a comparative compression investigation of anti-tetrachiral and modified re-entrant lattices was conducted in-plane direction using experimental and numerical analyses. Lattice structures were manufactured using fused deposition modelling 3D printing technology and crushed at quasi-static condition. Nonlinear finite element (FE) models of both structures were established, and the FE results were systematically compared with the experimental results. The onset of densification phases of both structures was determined numerically. Results indicate that deformation modes strongly affect the force-deflection response of both designs. In this manner, failure locations and buckling deformation in the tests were identified to find a relation with theory and to modify geometries. The anti-tetrachiral design exhibits higher specific energy absorption than modified re-entrant hexagonal lattices. Beyond the auxetic characteristics, deformation mechanism of the anti-tetrachiral lattices provides an opportunity to construct excellent crush absorption in-plane direction thanks to its high shear strength stem from its unique deformation mechanism.


Virtual enterprises (VEs) provide a novel solution to potentially enhance global competitiveness via collaboration on product design, production, assembly and marketing. Efficient and secure information resource sharing is one of the key factors to a successful VE. This study presents the architecture of a virtual enterprise access control (VEAC) system with a VEAC model to handle access control for information sharing across enterprises, thus enabling VEs to change dynamically. To improve current access control models to be adapted to VEs, the requirements for the access control system and model are first specified by the results of analysis on the characteristics of dynamic VEs. According to the requirements, this study designs the architecture of VEAC system and presents a VEAC model based on the concept of role-based access control (RBAC). The VEAC model, modelled in unified modeling Language (UML), is composed of a project-based access control (PBAC) model and RBAC models to manage resources related to VE activities and to solve problems in distributed authorization management and security access control across organizations that may both compete and cooperate with each other. Moreover, algorithms to generate user authorization are developed based on the model. Finally, the prototype of the VEAC system is implemented. The results of this study can provide VE workers with efficient and easy access to relevant resources with up-to-date information, thus averting information delay and increase information transparency.


The high-density siliciclastic minerals (e.g. zircon) in the coarse fractions (>44 mm, informally known as grit) of the mined Georgia kaolins are potential and significant sources of the rare-earth elements (REE). The abundances and provenance of the REE signature have not been studied extensively for the Georgia kaolins. The objective of the present study was, therefore, to define the contribution of these heavy minerals (e.g. zircon) to the REE inventory of the coarse fractions of Georgia kaolins. Heavy-mineral subfractions separated from the coarse fractions contained 1647 mg/kg REE from the Jeffersonville Member of the Lower Tertiary Huber Formation and 5012 mg/kg REE from the Buffalo Creek Kaolin Member of the Upper Cretaceous Galliard Formation, respectively. These heavy-mineral subfractions were enriched 10–100 times in the heavy rare-earth elements (HREE, Gd—Lu,), Hf, and Zr relative to the concentrations of these elements in Upper Continental Crust. The heavy-mineral subfractions comprised 5% of the coarse fractions (grit) of these two kaolin-producing formations. The heavy-mineral subfractions consisted of zircon, anatase, rutile, kaolinite, and minor amounts of muscovite, trace ilmenite, and staurolite. The large concentrations of REE were obtained by separating the dense heavy minerals from the coarse fraction (grit) obtained during the typical production of kaolin-group minerals (kaolinite) from kaolin ore. The amount of zircon (estimated from the 6–11 wt.% Zr) and the absence of monazite did not explain the high concentrations of REE in the heavy-mineral subfractions. The large amounts of REE could have resulted from the sorption of REE released during weathering reactions, or from the presence of small amounts (0.025 wt.%) each of monazite and xenotime in addition to the presence of zircon. This heavymineral subfraction represented a novel domestic resource of extractable REE, especially the HREE, of a grade as high as 0.50 wt.% total REE.


Perspective on the paper by Verity et al (see page608)

Dr Verity and his colleagues publish the results of their continuing study of progressive intellectual and neurological deterioration (PIND) in childhood1. The most surprising aspect of this study is the low rate of necropsies in this carefully followed group of children; only four of the 46 deaths were examined after death. This is an obstacle to detection of variant CJD (vCJD). Although most of this group of children had undergone investigations in life that allow a "probable" diagnosis to be made in the adult population, detailed neuropathological study remains the only way to confirm this diagnosis. Although the annual incidence of new cases of variant CJD has declined overall since 1999, more onsets have been observed in 2004 than in 2003, suggesting that it is premature to assume that this disease will soon disappear.2 Furthermore, the age specific incidence of variant CJD has remained essentially unchanged since the disorder was first described in 1996, reinforcing the need for continued paediatric surveillance.

While this low necropsy rate has serious implications for public health and for understanding of the epidemiology of vCJD, there are far wider implications. PIND is heterogeneous and 92 children (almost 10% of the study group) had no diagnosis; half of these died. They never will have a diagnosis. How will we begin to understand the nature of their disease? How can we prevent it?

Surely any parent who has watched their child succumb to such a slow and distressing syndrome must want a diagnosis in its own right, as well as to know any risks to siblings and their offspring. The authors did not have contact with the families so we do not know how often necropsy was requested or how the approach …


ABSTRACT Recent research has suggested that understanding and addressing the high prevalence of sleep difficulties in older women requires going beyond a purely physiological focus to address the role of social contextual pressures and demands. We take a gendered lifecourse approach to explore how sleep difficulties have evolved and how their management might reflect the position of older women in society more broadly. We conducted in-depth interviews with 12 oldest-old (average age 86) community-dwelling women who currently experienced sleep difficulties. Five themes emerged from the analysis: significant life stages; contingent lives; daily concerns in relation to ageing; attitudes and responses of women and general practitioners; and stigma and sleeping pills, which provided a conceptual framework through which to explain the reality of sleep difficulties for these women. For all women, sleep difficulties were not related to physical aspects such as pain or discomfort, but were largely shaped by demands associated with family relationships at different times in the lifecourse. Furthermore, our findings suggest that responses by women themselves, and health professionals, reflect a sense of stigma around sleep difficulties and use of sleeping pills. More emphasis on the social contextual explanations underpinning sleep difficulties might lead to better prevention and treatment of such problems, and increase quality of life.