The landscape of the Attappady Hills in the Nilgiri range of Kerala, South India, is home to several Adivasis or indigenous peoples and settler communities, and has had intermittent cycles of agrarian crisis and sufficiency, according to colonial accounts from the early 20th century. Since the 1970s, rapid sedentarization of hunting-gathering communities, expanding capitalist markets, conservation projects, and sizable development interventions have contributed to agrarian and nutritional distress. There is a simultaneous process of adopting capitalist market forms and holding on to communal structures, along with manifestations of patriarchy, and resistance through gender struggles within the household and through community mobilization. Adivasis in the region seem to be undergoing processes of being simultaneously alienated from the forest and rediscovering connections to their land and the non-human world. By highlighting the material aspects with relational ecological ties and patriarchal manifestations with rural women's movements, this article proposes the relevance of nomadic movement in interpreting gender and environment subjectivities that have a bearing on these communities' future foodscapes and the rest of their landscape. We point to a continuous process of becoming, a 'feminist politics of the earth' in this landscape and extend the gender-nature debate beyond dualisms and liminality by highlighting fluid dialectical processes within a feminist political ecology framework. Keywords : Agrarian transitions; sedentarization ; feminist political ecology; nomadic theory


BACKGROUND
Over the past 10 years, the use of saliva as a diagnostic fluid has gained attention and has become a translational research success story. Some of the current nanotechnologies have been demonstrated to have the analytical sensitivity required for the use of saliva as a diagnostic medium to detect and predict disease progression. However, these technologies have not yet been integrated into current clinical practice and work flow.

CONTENT
As a diagnostic fluid, saliva offers advantages over serum because it can be collected noninvasively by individuals with modest training, and it offers a cost-effective approach for the screening of large populations. Gland-specific saliva can also be used for diagnosis of pathology specific to one of the major salivary glands. There is minimal risk of contracting infections during saliva collection, and saliva can be used in clinically challenging situations, such as obtaining samples from children or handicapped or anxious patients, in whom blood sampling could be a difficult act to perform. In this review we highlight the production of and secretion of saliva, the salivary proteome, transportation of biomolecules from blood capillaries to salivary glands, and the diagnostic potential of saliva for use in detection of cardiovascular disease and oral and breast cancers. We also highlight the barriers to application of saliva testing and its advancement in clinical settings.

SUMMARY
Saliva has the potential to become a first-line diagnostic sample of choice owing to the advancements in detection technologies coupled with combinations of biomolecules with clinical relevance.


Music is widely used to accompany moving images, in films, advertising, television programmes and computer games. The process of choosing and using a piece of pre-existing commercial music for this purpose is known as synchronisation. The addition of music to a piece of film enhances the final work with cultural meaning, and generates additional income for the rights holders. This research examines the information needs of professionals involved in the selection of music, including Users from the advertising and film communities and Owners from the recording and publishing industries. A tentative communications model is developed and proposed from musicological, semiotic and communications literature. Interviews, knowledge organisation systems, queries and observations are identified as rich potential sources of textual data relating to the communications process around satisfying the Users' information needs. The content of these texts is analysed to identify key musical facets. Mood is found to be an important factor when searching for unknown musical items. Using a Discourse Analytic approach to the interview texts, four discourses, or interpretive repertoires, are identified. These repertoires carry conflicting meanings of music and are employed throughout the community, although relative emphases vary according to the viewpoint of the stakeholder. This is supported by an analysis of the written texts of both the Owners (music search engines) and the Users (written queries, or briefs). A comparison is drawn between the emphasis of the repertoires and the precision of the search engines. The repertoires are applied to the theoretical communications model, which is revised to reflect the findings of the analyses. This is used to make recommendations on how to improve the disintermediated communications process, by emphasising the repertoires employed by the Users rather than those of the Owners.


Genome evolution is driven by the activity of transposable elements (TEs). The spread of TEs can have deleterious effects including the destabilization of genome integrity and expansions. However, the precise triggers of genome expansions remain poorly understood because genome size evolution is typically investigated only among deeply divergent lineages. Here, we use a large population genomics dataset of 284 individuals from populations across the globe of Zymoseptoria tritici, a major fungal wheat pathogen. We built a robust map of genome-wide TE insertions and deletions to track a total of 2,456 polymorphic loci within the species. We show that purifying selection substantially depressed TE frequencies in most populations but some rare TEs have recently risen in frequency and likely confer benefits. We found that specific TE families have undergone a substantial genome-wide expansion from the pathogen's center of origin to more recently founded populations. The most dramatic increase in TE insertions occurred between a pair of North American populations collected in the same field at an interval of 25 years. We find that both genome-wide counts of TE insertions and genome size have increased with colonization bottlenecks. Hence, the demographic history likely played a major role in shaping genome evolution within the species. We show that both the activation of specific TEs and relaxed purifying selection underpin this incipient expansion of the genome. Our study establishes a model to recapitulate TE-driven genome evolution over deeper evolutionary timescales.


To design and deploy their supply chains, companies must naturally take quite different decisions, some being strategic or tactical, and others of an operational nature. This work resulted in a decision support system for optimising a biomass supply chain in Portugal, allowing a more efficient operations management, and enhancing the design process. Uncertainty and variability in the biomass supply chain is a critical issue that needs to be considered in the production planning of bioenergy plants. A simulation/optimisation framework was developed to support decision-making, by combining plans generated by a resource allocation optimisation model with the simulation of disruptive wildfire scenarios in the forest biomass supply chain. Different scenarios have been generated to address uncertainty and variability in the quantity and quality of raw materials in the different supply nodes. Computational results show that this simulation/optimisation approach can have a significant impact in the operations efficiency, particularly when disruptions occur closer to the end of the planning horizon. The approach seems to be easily scalable and easy to extend to other sectors.


The increasing pollution loads and types of pollutants constituents in sewage treatment plant (STPs) as compared to the original design requirement urge for a demand in upgrading of the old STPs. Land acquisition will become a major issue in upgrading the new STPs since conventional biological STPs requires a large footprint for the installation of reactors that accommodate different conversions and sludge stabilisation process. Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) technology offers a possibility in designing a compact STPs based on simultaneous organics and nutrient removal and settling process in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The research trend on AGS has been integrated from factors affecting the formation process and chemical characteristic towards the stability for a long term operation. Thus, this study is aimed to determine the formation and stability of AGS system in achieving stable conditions and after being tested with a series of constrained conditions will be a critical factor to highlight the environmental biotechnology novelty of AGS. In this research, a series of AGS Batches were developed in SBRs with different height/diameter (H/D) ratios at a similar working volume of 4.5 L and an aeration rate of 4 L/min. The performance of each Batch was assessed based on the biomass production, effluent quality and AGS characteristics, with the determination to correlate the operational conditions with AGS formation and stability. The results are divided into 5 major sections: 1) the effects of low organic loading rate (OLR), 2) the effects of differences in reactor H/D ratio, 3) the increase of formation and stability of AGS developed in a low reactor H/D ratio by adding divided draft tubes, 4) the reformation process of long term stored AGS and 5) the biokinetics parameters. First, AGS (Control Batch) was successfully attained after 55 days of a formation period although the applied OLR was exceptionally low, which were in range of 0.2 and 0.48 kg COD/m3 d. Second, although the periods to attain AGS (Batch1) in high H/D ratio reactor was shorter, AGS (Batch2) produced in a low H/D ratio reactor appeared to be more resistant towards fluctuated and low OLR by providing a short settling distance for biomass in facing the unfavorable circumstances. Third, the uses of divided draft tubes proved to be beneficial in shortening the time period setup for AGS (Batch3) development. Fourth, the result proved that the stability and ability of AGS (Batch4) were to be reformed after long term storing and under a fluctuated OLR and a low COD/N ratio. Fifth, the biokinetics parameters attained during the steady state further proved the result and the conclusion given from the first result until the fourth result. Thus, the present thesis is enlightened and being overcome with a much promising new insight in AGS formation and stability by preparing the development medium of AGS similar to real site. Research results also help to enlighten the limitations experienced by AGS technology and further endorsed for the full-scale application.


Cimetidine, an H 2 receptor antagonist, is currently widely used to block gastric acid secretions in adult patients with peptic ulcers and to prevent stress ulceration and subsequent bleeding in critically ill or traumatized patients. 1 It has also been used in newborns, 2 despite lack of information on the pharmacologic effects and kinetic disposition of this drug in this age group. We, therefore, report the plasma elimination of this drug and its effect on gastric acid secretions in a premature neonate. Report of a Case .—A 660-g female infant was born at 25 weeks' gestation. The first three weeks of life were complicated by severe apnea, bradycardia, and respiratory distress requiring mechanical ventilation. Congestive heart failure caused by a patent ductus arteriosus was also noted; it responded to diuretics and two courses of indomethacin and chloroquine phosphate. She received total parenteral nutrition. Impaired renal function was noted, presumably caused


Introduction With the recent merger of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) a heightened pressure for publication may become evident. Our objective was to determine whether there was a gap in the type of both medical degree designation and advanced degree designation among authorship in three United States-based academic emergency medicine journals. Methods We reviewed the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Academic Emergency Medicine and Annals of Emergency Medicine for the type of degree designation that the first and senior authors had obtained for the years 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014. Results A total of 2.48% of all authors held a degree in osteopathic medicine. Osteopathic physician first authors contributed to 3.26% of all publications while osteopathic physician senior authors contributed 1.53%. No statistical trend could be established for the years studied for osteopathic physicians. However, we noted an overall trend for increased publication for allopathic senior authors (p=0.001), allopathic first authors with a dual degree (p=0.003) and allopathic senior authors with a dual degree (p=0.005). For each journal studied, no statistical trend could be established for osteopathic first or senior authors but a trend was noted for allopathic first and senior authors in the Journal of Emergency Medicine (p-value=0.020 and 0.006). Of those with dual degrees, osteopathic physicians were in the minority with 1.85% of osteopathic first authors and 0.60% of osteopathic senior authors attaining a dual degree. No statistical trend could be established for increased dual degree publications for osteopathic physicians over the study period, nor could a statistical trend be established for any of the journals studied. Conclusion Very few osteopathic physicians have published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Academic Emergency Medicine or Annals of Emergency Medicine over the last two decades. Despite a trend for increased publication by allopathic physicians in certain journals, there appears to be no trend for increased publication of osteopathic physicians in emergency medicine.


Objective: To assess whether hereditary myopathy with early respiratory failure (HMERF) due to the c.951434T>C; (p.Cys31712Arg) TTN missense mutation also includes a cardiac phenotype. Method: Clinical cohort study of our HMERF cohort using ECG, 2D echocardiogram, and cross-sectional cardiac imaging with MRI or CT. Results: We studied 22 participants with the c.951434T>C; (p.Cys31712Arg) TTN missense mutation. Three were deceased. Cardiac conduction abnormalities were identified in 7/22 (32%): sustained atrioventricular tachycardia (n = 2), atrial fibrillation (n = 2), nonsustained atrial tachycardia (n = 1), premature supraventricular complexes (n = 1), and unexplained sinus bradycardia (n = 1). In addition, 4/22 (18%) had imaging evidence of otherwise unexplained cardiomyopathy. These findings are supported by histopathologic correlation suggestive of myocardial cytoskeletal remodeling. Conclusions: Coexisting cardiac and skeletal muscle involvement is not uncommon in patients with HMERF arising due to the c.951434T>C; (p.Cys31712Arg) TTN mutation. All patients with pathogenic or putative pathogenic TTN mutations should be offered periodic cardiac surveillance.


Studies examining song functioning in childhood are of particular importance when devising developmentally appropriate evidence-based Music Therapy (MT) interventions during recovery from brain injury. In comparison to adult studies where neural organization may be well defined, the neural organization of song in the developing brain has been under-researched. This includes functional consequences following neurological insult. This case study documents a 5 year-old female with typically developing language and verbal memory that suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. Despite extensive right hemisphere damage, her recognition and memory of previously well-learned (familiar) songs was preserved. New learning and retention of unfamiliar songs with lyrics was also observed and was not predicted based on adult models of melodic learning. Findings suggest that the song system in childhood is a neurologically significant, robust system not easily disrupted following extensive brain injury, and caution against assuming adult models of music organisation in the developing brain.


The idea of representative bureaucracy has provoked an important series of debates in the literature about police personnel management and representation of women and racial minorities. The critical questions in this study are: (a.) Does the sworn police force reasonably reflect a cross section of the groups being policed? and (b.) What factors are considered in representation of women and minority police officers in law-enforcement agencies? Black and Hispanic representation on police forces is closely associated with its presence in community populations. Regions vary in the degree of female and minority representation, blacks being better represented in southern police forces than elsewhere; women are better represented in the northwest. However, findings reveal that men, mostly whites, continue to hold disproportionately more sworn positions in most law-enforcement agencies. The models of female and minority representation also illustrate the degree of female and minority hiring by analyzing four major contributing factors: economic, organizational, demographic, and legal.


This study develops a model to predict customer lifetime value for hypermarket private label products. It examines the relationships among store awareness, store image variables (i.e., service quality, price/value, convenience, and product quality), private label image, repurchase intention, and customer lifetime value and investigates the moderating role of image fit. The originality of this study lies in filling the gap of previous research on antecedents of private label customers' behavior by considering store awareness, image fit, and customer lifetime value. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze data. The results indicate the following. Store image variables (except product quality) and store awareness affect repurchase intention directly or indirectly through private label image. Image fit moderates the relationships between store image variables (except product quality) and private label image. Private label image facilitates customer lifetime value. This study provides several theoretical and practical implications for hypermarket private label product developments.


Economic load dispatch is an important optimization problem in power system. Economic dispatch is the short-term determination of the optimal output of a number of electricity generation facilities, to meet the system load, at the lowest possible cost, subject to transmission and operational constraints. The Economic Dispatch Problem is solved by specialized computer software which should honor the operational and system constraints of the available resources and corresponding transmission capabilities This paper presents a review on evolutionary methods for solving economic load dispatch problem which mainly include Genetic Algorithm based approach, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Differential Evolution (DE) which will encourage the researches for providing better solution for economic load dispatch problem.


Skin lesions frequently present in adult lizards may be due to a variety of causes, both physical and infectious, including excessively high humidity and environmental temperature, malnutrition, concurrent disease etc. On the other hand, skin lesions in lizards could be simple evidence of various behavioural patterns and biotic interactions. However, studies on frequencies of dermal lesions and their anatomical and environmental correlates in lacertid lizards are rare. Here, we use Podarcis muralis to analyse the relations between occurrence of ectodermal lesions and three possible indicators of environmental stress (body condition index – BCI, infestation by ticks and tail condition) by evaluating differences among local populations at uni- and multivariate level. Our results showed that BCI, together with body size and sexual size dimorphism, varied between populations but had no direct influence on the presence of lesions. Males had higher frequencies of lesions and ticks but lower frequencies of broken tails than females. All three parameters varied between sites likely due to differences in predation/parasite exposures and agonistic interactions with conspecifics between sexes and populations. Results of multivariate analyses suggested that the occurrence of lesions is decoupled from the other morphological stress indicators. Detected associations indicated that relations between presence of lesions and other analysed variables are rather complex. Directions for further research on ectodermal lesions in lacertid lizards are provided.


We report a rare case of an extreme preterm infant with De Barsy syndrome characterized by severe mental retardation, cutis laxa, cloudy corneas, muscular hypotonia, and lax joints. The etiology of this syndrome is unknown but it is probably heterogeneous. Recently a autosomal recessive glycosylation disorder (ATP6V0A2-CDG) has been associated with De Barsy syndrome.


Benefiting from the advancement of algorithms in massive data and powerful computing resources, deep learning has been explored in a wide variety of fields and produced unparalleled performance results. It plays a vital role in daily applications and is also subtly changing the rules, habits, and behaviors of society. However, inevitably, data-based learning strategies are bound to cause potential security and privacy threats, and arouse public as well as government concerns about its promotion to the real world. In this article, we mainly focus on data security issues in deep learning. We first investigate the potential threats of deep learning in this area, and then present the latest countermeasures based on various underlying technologies, where the challenges and research opportunities on offense and defense are also discussed. Then, we propose SecureNet, the first verifiable and privacy-preserving prediction protocol to protect model integrity and user privacy in DNNs. It can significantly resist various security and privacy threats during the prediction process. We simulate SecureNet under a real dataset, and the experimental results show the superior performance of SecureNet for detecting various integrity attacks against DNN models.


Electoral accountability depends on citizens making informed choices at the voting booth. We explore whether the gender of U.S. Senators influences what people know about their senators. We also examine whether people's level of information about men and women senators affects their participation in politics. We develop theoretical expectations to explain why a senator's gender may influence citizens' knowledge and behaviors. We rely on the 2006 Congressional Cooperative Election Survey and examine the population of U.S. Senators serving in the 109th Congress. We find that women know far less about their senators than men. Second, the gap in political knowledge closes sharply when women senators represent women citizens. Third, perhaps most importantly, women citizens are more active in politics when represented by women senators. These findings suggest the confluence of more women senators and additional women voters may produce important changes in the policy outcomes of the U.S. Congress


Infectious complications after renal transplantation remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Mucormycosis is a rare infection in renal transplant recipients; however, mortality is exceedingly high. Risk factors predisposing to this disease include prolonged neutropenia, diabetes, and patients who are immunosuppressed (Singh N, Gayowski T, Singh J, Yu LV. Invasive gastrointestinal zygomycosis in a liver transplant recipient: case report and review of zygomycosis in solid‐organ transplant recipients, Clin Infect Dis 1995: 20: 617). Life‐threatening infections can occur, as this fungus has the propensity to invade blood vessel endothelium, resulting in hematological dissemination. We report a case of cavitary Rhizopus lung infection, 2 months after renal transplantation, where the patient was treated successfully with Amphotericin B and surgical resection of the lesions with preservation of his allograft function. In this era of intensified immunosuppression, we may see an increased incidence of mucormycosis in transplant population. Invasive diagnostic work‐up is mandatory in case of suspicion; Amphotericin B and, in selected cases, surgical resection are the mainstays of therapy.


The high Power Amplifier (PA) dominates the power consumption in DVB transceiver systems and requests focusing the power efficiency improvements on this device; especially when multi-carrier modulations are used which is characterized by high Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR). In this paper, first, we provide analytical expression of the Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) of the amplified signal when polynomial predistortion and clipping techniques are activated. Secondly, a theoretical analysis of the trade-off between the power amplifier linearity and efficiency is investigated considering the performance of the clipping and predistortion techniques. Therefore, an analytical expression which gives the optimal Input Back-Off (IBO) maximizing the PA efficiency, with respect to an EVM constraint, is provided. It is demonstrated that significant power efficiency improvement can be achieved using our analytical expressions.


A generic capillary zone electrophoresis method was developed for the analysis of four proton pump inhibitors: omeprazole, pantoprazole, lansoprazole and rabeprazole. During preliminary analysis screening of phosphate buffers at different pH levels was performed, in order to determine the optimum pH domain suitable for the simultaneous determination of all studied compounds. A face centered central composite design was employed for the optimization of separation conditions. The effect of buffer concentration, pH and applied voltage was studied; resolution between peaks and migration time of the last compound were considered as responses. Other factors as system temperature, injection parameters, capillary length, were held constant during the optimization process. The optimized conditions consisted of 40mM phosphate background electrolyte at pH 5.0, +25 kV applied voltage and 20 °C temperature. The migration order of the analytes was as follows: rabeprazole, omeprazole, lansoprazole and pantoprazole. Full resolution of all analytes was achieved within 9 minutes. The method was validated and proved to be suitable in terms of repeatability, sensitivity, linearity, accuracy and robustness. Determinations from commercially available pharmaceutical formulation were performed for omeprazole; good reproducibility and recovery were obtained.


A viscoplastic constitutive model, the Anand model, in which plasticity and creep are unified and described by the same set of flow and evolutionary relations, was applied to represent the inelastic deformation behavior for solder alloys. After conducting creep tests and constant strain rate tests, the material parameters for the Anand model of the Pb‐rich content solder 92.5Pb5Sn2.5Ag were determined from the experimental data using a nonlinear fitting method. The material parameters for 60Sn40Pb, 62Sn36Pb2Ag and 96.5Sn3.5Ag solders were fitted from the conventional model in the literature where plasticity and creep are artificially separated. Model simulations and verifications reveal that there is good agreement between the model predictions and experimental data. Some discussion on this unified model is also presented. This viscoplastic constitutive model for solder alloys possesses some advantages over the separated model. The achieved Anand model has been applied in finite element simulation of stress/strain responses in solder joints for chip component, thin quad flat pack and flip‐chip assembly. The simulation results are in good agreement with the results in the literature. It is concluded that the Anand model could be recommended as a useful material model for solder alloys and can be used in the finite element simulation of solder joint reliability in electronic packaging and surface mount technology.


The prevalence of OSAHS (obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome) is high in developed countries and it is estimated that the vast majority of patients remain undiagnosed. On the basis of physiological evidence, we evaluated the frequency component of HRI (heart rate increment) as a simple and inexpensive screening tool for OSAHS detection in a first group of patients (group 1) and validated their discriminant capacity in a second group (group 2). The predictive accuracy of hourly %VLFI (frequency-domain HRI variable obtained from nocturnal ECG Holter monitoring) was analysed by comparison with an hour-by-hour respiratory disturbances index assessed by complete polysomnography in 28 consecutive clinically suspected OSAHS patients for group 1 and in 35 patients for group 2. OSAHS was present in 20 patients according to a mean hourly apnoea plus hypopnoea index >10 in group 1, and prevalence reached 77.1% in group 2. Sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive accuracy were calculated and an ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve was constructed for several polysomnographic threshold values. In group 1, hourly %VLFI appeared as an evident predictor of the apnoea/hypopnoea index (W=0.848, P<0.0001; where W is the area under the curve obtained using ROC curve analysis). Using an appropriate threshold (value > or =3.2%), %VLFI demonstrated a sensitivity of 78.1% and a specificity of 70.4%. These thresholds applied to group 2 yielded a sensitivity of 73.9% and a specificity of 76.6%. Frequency-domain analysis of the HRI appears to be a powerful tool for OSAHS prediction. The simplicity of its analysis and use makes of it a particularly well-suited variable for routine mass screening in high-risk populations undergoing ECG Holter monitoring.


ABSTRACT Relief inversion (or terrain reversal) effect is a well-known phenomenon in cartography that occurs when shadow is the main depth cue for three-dimensional shape perception. Light direction has been suggested as the main cause of this effect. However, the prevalence of relief inversion effect with regard to the changing light direction is currently not established, and there is little empirical evidence on this subject. This article systematically assesses the influence of light direction on the accuracy of landform perception in shaded relief maps (SRM). In a controlled experiment, 27 participants were asked to identify concave and convex landforms in 128 SRMs using a 5-point Likert scale where answers varied from clearly a valley to clearly a ridge. Eight different scenes were illuminated from 16 light directions to obtain the 128 SRMs. Our findings clearly demonstrate that incident light at 337.5° north-northwest (NNW) yields the highest accuracy and confidence ratings in landform identification among the investigated light directions; and leads to higher accuracy scores than at the 315° (NW) which is conventionally used in SRMs. Thus, we propose an update to this convention and recommend the light source to be placed at 337.5° when creating SRMs.


Cloud computing has recently emerged as a new technology for hosting and supplying services over the Internet. This technology has brought many benefits, such as eliminating the need for maintaining expensive computing hardware and allowing business owners to start from small and increase resources only when there is a rise in service demand. With an increasing demand for cloud computing, providing performance guarantees for applications that run over cloud become important. Applications can be abstracted into a set of virtual machines with certain guarantees depicting the quality of service of the application. In this paper, we consider the placement of these virtual machines across multiple data centers, meeting the quality of service requirements while minimizing the bandwidth cost of the data centers. This problem is a generalization of the NP-hard Generalized Quadratic Assignment Problem (GQAP). We formalize the problem and propose a novel algorithm based on a biased random-key genetic algorithm (BRKGA) to find near-optimal solutions for the problem. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is effective in quickly finding feasible solutions and it produces better results than a baseline aproach provided by a commercial solver and a multi-start algorithm.


This paper attempts an empirical assessment of the incentive effects of plant variety protection regimes in the generation of crop variety innovations. A duration model of plant variety protection certificates is used to infer the private appropriability of returns from agricultural crop variety innovations in the UK over the period 1965-2000. The results suggest that plant variety protection provides only modest appropriability of returns to innovators of agricultural crop varieties. The value distribution of plant variety protection certificates is highly skewed with a large proportion of innovations providing virtually no returns to innovators. Increasing competition from newer varieties appears to have accelerated the turnover of varieties reducing appropriability further. Plant variety protection emerges as a relatively weak instrument of protection.


Mythologies and narratives of victimization pervade contemporary Croatia, set against the backdrop of militarized notions of masculinity and the political mobilization of religion and nationhood. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork in rural Dalmatia in the Croatian-Bosnian border region, this book provides a unique account of the politics of ambiguous Europeanness from the perspective of those living at Europe's margins. Examining phenomena such as Marian apparitions, a historic knights tournament, the symbolic re-signification of a massacre site, and the desolate social situation of Croatian war veterans, Narrating Victimhood traces the complex mechanisms of political radicalization in a post-war scenario. This book provides a new perspective for understanding the ongoing processes of transformation in Southeastern Europe and the Balkans.


Hemoglobin HbA1c (A1c) has been used clinically since the 1980s as a test of glycemic control in individuals with diabetes. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) demonstrated that tight glycemic control, quantified by lower blood glucose and A1c levels, reduced the risk of the development of complications from diabetes. Subsequently, standardization of A1c measurement was introduced in different countries to ensure accuracy in A1c results. Recently, the International Federation of Clinical Chemists (IFCC) introduced a more precise measurement of A1c, which has gained international acceptance. However, if the IFCC A1c result is expressed as a percentage, it is lower than the current DCCT‐aligned A1c result, which may lead to confusion and deterioration in diabetic control. Alternative methods of reporting have been proposed, including A1c‐derived average glucose (ADAG), which derives an average glucose from the A1c result. Herein, we review A1c, the components involved in A1c formation, and the interindividual and assay variations that can lead to differences in A1c results, despite comparable glycemic control. We discuss the proposed introduction of ADAG as a surrogate for A1c reporting, review imprecisions that may result, and suggest alternative clinical approaches.


The underlying mechanisms responsible for ecological plasticity and consequent invasive character of non-native freshwater fish species, variations in growth and life history traits in gibel carp Carassius gibelio (Bloch) were compared in natural and artificial water bodies of Turkey. Females significantly outnumbered males in all natural and most artificial waters. Discriminate function analysis differentiated gibel populations into three separate groups (natural lakes, artificial water bodies and running waters), with significant differences among separated groups in growth index, standard length and age at maturity, relative fecundity and gonado-somatic index, but not in egg diameter and both generalised and relative condition. Growth features (e.g. growth index and relative condition) and reproductive features (e.g. relative and absolute fecundity) positively correlated with water body area. No correlations were found for any growth or life history trait with depth, latitude and altitude. With the exception of smaller size at maturity, all traits were higher in populations from artificial water bodies than those inhabiting running waters, suggesting gibel carp is required to exert more reproductive effort to invade natural ecosystems than artificial waters.


Students of Higher Education Institutions are assets of the society and change agents in filling the gap in the past and on whom the future generation is based. Neglecting their sexual and reproductive health can lead to high social and economic costs, both immediately and in the years ahead. This study tried to assess the determinants of risky sexual behavior, relation between HIV risk perception and condom utilization among University students in Western Ethiopia. The study was applied institution based cross-sectional study design triangulated with qualitative study. Multivariate logistic regression analysis with crude odds ratio was used. Partial correlation and linear regression was used to assess the applicability of Theory of Planned Behavior model in predicting intention to use condom and other variables. A pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data. About 49.1% of students ever had sexual intercourse. Of these, 50.7% had their first sex before joining the university. Almost half (50.2%) had two and more than two life time sexual partners. Having multiple sexual partners was significantly associated with consistent condom use [AOR=1.98; 95%CI: 1.63, 2.94]. About 46.1% thought that, they were at high risk of getting HIV infection and 61.3% reported consistent condom use with non-regular partner. In this study, Theory of Planned Behavior explained 39.3% of variances in intention to consistent condom use. This study has shown that, a substantial proportion of the students engaged in risky sexual. Information, education and communication/ behavioral change communication on risk perception, life, assertive and communication skills training and promotion of peer-education should be strengthened. Keywords: Condom Utilization Risk Perception Risky Sexual Behaviors Theory of Planned Behavior Wollega University


The present work describes a reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic method without use of buffer in mobile phase for the simultaneous estimation of Lornoxicam and Paracetamol in combined tablet dosage form. Chromatography was performed on Chromasil C18 (250 × 4.6 mm i.d. and particle size 5 μm) column in isocratic mode with mobile phase containing acetonitrile: 0.2% triethylamine aqueous solution (adjusted to pH 6.54 using 1 % ortho phosphoric acid) in the ratio of 62:38 v/v. The flow rate was 0.8 ml/min and effluents were monitored at 310 nm. The selected chromatographic conditions were found to be useful in separating Lornoxicam (run time 4.00 min) and Paracetamol (run time 3.05 min). Linearity for Lornoxicam and Paracetamol was found to be in the range of 214 μg/ml and 250-875 μg/ml with correlation coefficient of 0.9995 and 0.9991 respectively. Percent recovery of the drugs was found to lie between 99.06-99.64 % and 99.58-100.65 % for Lornoxicam and Paracetamol respectively. The proposed method was validated by different parameters. It was found to be accurate, precise, reproducible and specific and hence can be used for simultaneous analysis of these drugs in combined tablet dosage forms.


This exploratory research identified kayakers participating at urban whitewater kayaking parks as a specific recreational user group that had yet to be examined socially and recreationally from a managerial and theoretical standpoint. To examine the social world of whitewater kayakers, twelve participants were interviewed at whitewater kayaking parks in Colorado and Utah. The interviewer utilized naturalistic methods with a concentration on grounded theory techniques. Constant Comparative Methodology (CCM) was used during the data collection and analysis process. Triangulation permitted the identification of thematic findings across participants and sites to determine the relevant meanings and practical applications associated with kayaking participation, social aspects, motivations, and perceived benefits. The implications from this study suggest natural resource managers may attract non-participating user groups by taking advantage of the social nature and pre-established mores found in the whitewater kayaking community. Recommendations suggest other adventure-based outdoor recreational user groups may be examined using a similar social-based lens. __________________________________________________________________________________________________


A woman in her 20s was seen with a widespread, intensely pruritic eruption that had started 4 days postpartum. The patient had had an uneventful pregnancy and did not have pruritus during her third trimester. Her child was born full-term, with no cutaneous lesions. Physical examinationof thepatient revealedanextensive cutaneous eruption involving all 4 extremities andmost of her trunk, including the periumbilical area. There was no involvement of the ocular, oral, or external genitalmucousmembranes.Her skin lesions had multiple morphologies, including polycyclic vesicles overlying erythematous plaques on the lateral chest (Figure, A) and targetoid erythematous plaques with dusky centers on the abdomen (Figure, B). Punch biopsy specimens were obtained from a vesicle and perilesional skin and were submitted for histologic examination with routine hematoxylin-eosin staining (Figure, C) and direct immunofluorescence, respectively. What is your diagnosis?


Background: Pregnant women are more prone to vulvovaginitis which is a great challenge for obstetricians today. In Ayurveda, Upapluta Yonivyapad described by Acharya Charaka, Sharangadhara, and both Vagbhata can be compared to vulvovaginitis during pregnancy. Aims: The present study aimed to evaluate efficacy of Dhatakyadi Varti in the management of Upapluta Yonivyapad (vulvovaginitis during pregnancy). Materials and Methods: A total of 80 female patients in the age group of 19–40 years were registered and divided into two groups. In Group A (n = 46), Dhatakyadi Varti was inserted intravaginally, and in Group B (n = 34), Clingen vaginal suppository was inserted intravaginally once at bed time for 14 days. The effect of therapy was assessed on the basis of relief in subjective and objective criteria, i.e., vaginal smear test. Results: In subjective parameters, such as Yoni Srava, Yoni Kandu, Yoni Vedana, Yoni Daha and Yoni Daurgandhya, better result was observed in trial Group A receiving Dhatakyadi Varti. Highly significant relief (P < 0.001) was observed in fungal infection, and significant relief (P = 0.005) was observed in Gram - negative bacterial infection and pus cells in Group A. In Group A, 34.88* patients had complete remission, marked improvement was found in 34.88* cases, and only 2.32* patients remained unchanged, while in Group B, 33.33* patients reported complete remission, marked improvement was found in 10* cases, and 20* patients remained unchanged. Conclusion: It was concluded from the clinical trial that Dhatakyadi Varti is highly effective in reducing subjective and objective variables of Upapluta Yonivyapad and can be introduced as a safe herbal therapy of vaginal discharge during pregnancy.


Pregnancy and parturition offer an interesting field of observation, quite apart from purely obstetric considerations, because of the pronounced differences that occur in resistance to certain infectious diseases as well as other clinical conditions during the period of gestation and the puerperium. The change in the resistance to tuberculosis illustrates this very well. That menstruation in itself is detrimental in tuberculosis is well known. The statement that the tuberculous woman "is killed by her menstruation" has often been repeated, and while mere repetition by no means carries conviction, there seems little doubt that careful clinical observation gives a firm basis for the belief. The biologic changes of the menstrual cycle, endocrine in origin, involve a profound alteration of the autonomic status of the organism and are associated, seemingly, with a definite ionic rearrangement. These metabolic changes are likewise associated with an increase in permeability of the vascular endothelium (observed in


The present study was aimed to develop a liposomal formulation of thymoquinone (Lip-TQ) to treat Candida albicans infection in diabetic mice. Streptozotocin (STZ) was injected to induce hyperglycemia and on day 3 post STZ administration, mice were intravenously infected with C. albicans. Various doses (2, 5 and 10 mg/kg) of Free or Lip-TQ were administered in C. albicans infected diabetic mice. The effect of Lip-TQ was also determined on the organ indices, liver and kidney function parameters. Lip-TQ at a dose of 10 mg/kg significantly reduced the level of the blood glucose and alleviated the systemic C. albicans infection in diabetic mice. C. albicans infected diabetic mice treated with Lip-TQ at a dose of 10 mg/kg showed the survival rate of 70% as compared to that of 20% in the group treated with free TQ. The treatment with Lip-TQ resulted in the recovery of the organ indices, liver inflammation, kidney functioning and pancreas regeneration in diabetic mice. Moreover, TQ formulations also showed the direct therapeutic effect against candidiasis in the untreated or metformin-treated diabetic mice. Therefore, the findings of the present study support the use of Lip-TQ in the treatment of candidiasis in the diabetic patients.


Abstract Objective: The aim of the present work was to study the serial multiple mediating role of optimism, perceived social support and subjective burden in the relationship between objective burden and psychological distress in caregivers of people with Alzheimer´s Disease (AD). Method: One hundred and forty family caregivers of people living with AD were recruited from randomly selected Alzheimer Association Centres. They answered the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), the Functional Social Support Questionnaire (DUKE.UNC), the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) and questions relating to gender, age and the amount of time spent on daily caregiving. Results: Results indicated that objective burden and subjective burden were both high in these caregivers. Optimism mediated on psychological distress through social support and through subjective burden with a full mediation role. When comparisons between indirect effects were performed, optimism was the mediator with the greatest effect between objective burden and psychological distress. Conclusion: This study highlights the indirect role of optimism and the advantages that interventions in optimism training in the early stages of the person with AD could produce. Thus, alleviating subjective burden and increasing perceived social support, which would lead to an improvement in the mental health of family caregivers of people with AD.


In this paper, we propose several finite-sample specification tests for multivariate linear regressions (MLR). We focus on tests for serial dependence and ARCH effects with possibly non-Gaussian errors. The tests are based on properly standardized multivariate residuals to ensure invariance to error covariances. The procedures proposed provide: (i) exact variants of standard multivariate portmanteau tests for serial correlation as well as ARCH effects, and (ii) exact versions of the diagnostics presented by Shanken (1990) which are based on combining univariate specification tests. Specifically, we combine tests across equations using a Monte Carlo (MC) test method so that Bonferroni-type bounds can be avoided. The procedures considered are evaluated in a simulation experiment: the latter shows that standard asymptotic procedures suffer from serious size problems, while the MC tests suggested display excellent size and power properties, even when the sample size is small relative to the number of equations, with normal or Student-t errors. The tests proposed are applied to the Fama-French three-factor model. Our findings suggest that the i.i.d. error assumption provides an acceptable working framework once we allow for non-Gaussian errors within 5-year sub-periods, whereas temporal instabilities clearly plague the full-sample dataset. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Spatial distribution of the visual evoked potentials in the midbrain reticular formation of the guinea pig in response to flashes revealed polyphasic primarily positive evoked potentials with shorter latency than in visual cortex. The area with maximum amplitude of evoked potentials was found in rostro-medial and middle part of the dorsal midbrain reticular formation.


Background: β2-adrenergic receptor Thr164Ile (threonine (Thr) is replaced by an isoleucine (Ile) at codon 164) polymorphism was postulated to contribute to lower exercise tolerance and poor prognosis in patients with congestive heart failure. However, heart failure is associated with several abnormalities of β receptor signalling, and underlying mechanisms are not clear. Objectives: To investigate whether Thr164Ile polymorphism negatively modulates myocardial contractile performance and is associated with adverse long-term prognosis of patients with congestive heart failure. Methods: Among 55 subjects, cardiac contractile response to the β2-adrenergic receptor agonist terbutaline was assessed from the peak myocardial velocity of systolic shortening (Sm) in 18 subjects with the Ile-164 variant and 37 matched controls. In total, 24 subjects had normal left ventricular (LV) function and 31 presented with congestive heart failure due to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Results: In patients with normal LV function, peak terbutaline-induced increase (Δ) in Sm was lower in subjects with the Ile-164 variant than in controls (Δ33% (4%) vs Δ56% (4%), p<0.01). In patients with heart failure, subjects with Ile-164 showed further severe reduction of β2-adrenergic-mediated increase in Sm as compared with controls with heart failure (Δ20% (5%) vs Δ39% (4%), p<0.05). Patients with heart failure with Ile-164 showed a severely blunted force–frequency relationship in response to agonist stimulation. At 2-years of follow-up, patients with heart failure with the Ile-164 variant showed higher incidence of adverse events than controls with heart failure (75% (6/8)] vs 30% (7/23), p<0.05). Conclusions: The β2-adrenergic Thr164Ile polymorphism directly modulates adrenergic-mediated cardiac responses in patients with normal and failing myocardium. Furthermore, blunted β2 adrenergic-mediated myocardial contractile response in patients with Ile-164 variant seems to adversely modulate the course of congestive heart failure.


Gene expression is modulated by both physiological signals (hormones, cytokines, etc.) and environmental stimuli (physical parameters, xenobiotics, etc.). Oxidative stress appears to be a key pleiotropic modulator which may be involved in either pathway. Indeed, reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been described as second messengers for several growth factors and cytokines, but have also been shown to rise following cellular insults such as xenobiotic metabolism or enzymic deficiency. Extensive studies on the induction of stress-response genes by oxidative stress have been reported. In contrast, owing to the historical focus on gene induction, less attention has been paid to gene repression by ROS. However, a growing number of studies have shown that moderate (i.e. non-cytotoxic) oxidative stress specifically down-regulates the expression of various genes. In this review, we describe the alteration of several physiological functions resulting from oxidative-stress-mediated inhibition of gene transcription. We will then focus on the repressive oxidative modulation of various transcription factors elicited by ROS.


Recent advances in low-power technologies have resulted in the proliferation of inexpensive handheld mobile computing devices. Soon, just like the Internet empowered a whole new world of applications for personal computers, the development and deployment of robust ubiquitous wireless networks will enable many new and exciting futuristic applications. Certain to be an important part of this future is a class of networks known as "mobile ad hoc networks." Mobile ad hoc networks (or simply "ad hoc networks") are local-area networks formed "on the spot" between collocated wireless devices. These devices self-organize by sharing information with their neighbors to establish communication pathways whenever and wherever they are. For ad hoc networks to succeed, however, new protocols must be developed that are capable of adapting to their dynamic nature.
In this dissertation, we present a number of adaptive protocols that are designed for this purpose. We investigate new link layer mechanisms that dynamically monitor and adapt to changes in link quality, including a protocol that uses common control messages to form a tight feedback control loop for adaptation of the link data rate to best match the channel conditions perceived by the receiver. We also investigate routing protocols that adapt route selection according to network characteristics. In particular, we present two on-demand routing protocols that are designed to take advantage of the presence of multirate links. We then investigate the performance of TCP, showing how communication outages caused by link failures and routing delays can be very detrimental to its performance. In response, we present a solution to this problem that uses explicit feedback messages from the link layer about link failures to adapt TCP's behavior. Finally, we show how link failures in heterogeneous networks containing links with widely varying bandwidth and delay can cause repeated "modal" changes in capacity that TCP is slow to detect. We then present a modified version of TCP that is capable of more rapidly detecting and adapting to these changes.


Solidarity and equal access are twin principles in the Dutch health care system: solidarity between the rich and poor and among people with high and low risks formally guarantees equal access to health care services. However, in the past few years government policies, guided by the ideology of market reform and free choice, have resulted in patterns of inequality that favour privately insured over sickness fund insured. In the meantime, the level of public support for the principles of solidarity and equal access is dropping. A significantly larger portion of the Dutch people now believes that it would be too costly to grant everyone the right to all medical treatments possible. An important reason for the decline of solidarity and equal accessibility is the scarcity of resources. The scarcity of resources and the waiting lists resulting from it will reduce the extent of the benefits package and the access to the care services of the health system. The better-off will have the resources to receive care services that are not part of the basic package. Moreover, the scarcity of resources will affect the readiness in society to provide informal care. Opposed to the compulsory macro solidarity of the health insurance system, informal care is based on a voluntary kind of solidarity in which personal choice plays an important role. Waiting lists and diminishing professional support weaken this readiness, as such support is a necessary condition for informal carers to keep caring for their relatives and friends. Because the informal care system is a necessary supplement to the formal system of care, the lack of help offered by the latter will in the end endanger the solidarity not only in informal care, but in the institutional care system as well.


Finite element mode analysis and structure optimization of several multitude holes structure diamond saw blades are conducted to study vibration and noise of saw blade. Result shows multitude holes structure saw blade has lower natural frequency than conventional saw blade, which conduces decreasing of noise radiant efficiency. Through configuration optimization, it is clear that hole diameter, hole arrange group number and average displacement DMX of Z axes have great effects on saw blade vibration target function. Finally, the analysis to characters of sawing force and vibration by experiment helps to find out optimum structure of diamond saw blade with multitude holes, more rational sawing parameter and its adaptability to work piece material.


The bamboo fiber preforming is an important process in the liquid composite molding for fabricating fiber reinforced composites with non-planar geometric shapes. This study investigated the deformation and spring back behaviors of the single bamboo fiber and bamboo fiber mat under a simple bending preforming test. The effects of the heating temperature and moisture content of bamboo fibers were studied during the tests. The result showed that the [0/90] bamboo fiber mats could be perfectly preformed without spring back after bending under the conditions of a wet and high temperature conditions. The internal structure of bamboo fiber with moisture tends to expand and soften, which makes the fibers to deform plastically under external stresses. The single bamboo fiber preforming test and stress relaxation test were conducted to study its formability. Higher heating temperature and moisture content for the bamboo fibers during preforming process can reduce the spring back effect after preforming.


ABSTRACT Based on a PhD study, this article explores the experiences of students living in Cumbria and North East England who were undertaking one of two work-based learning social work degrees, one at a local face-to-face university the other at a national distance learning university. Whilst there is a long history of universities in England providing work-based learning routes in social work education, 2010 witnessed a revitalisation with the introduction of graduate schemes followed by apprenticeships in 2018, all situated within local authorities. The article focuses in particular on the significance of identity for work-based learners during their educational journey of 'becoming' and 'being' a student. By drawing on identity theory, the article analyses how identity is an important concept in understanding the challenges and opportunities for this group of students on their educational journeys into and through higher education. This includes learning for social work education providers about understanding the particular experiences of work-based learners and how to deliver social work education effectively for this group of students. The findings are relevant beyond England particularly as universities move to a more socially distanced mode of delivery as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.


The study of sensitivity to some antibiotics and chemotherapeutics of 250 cultures of the main causative agents of the inflammatory diseases of the bile secretion system, i. e. Coli bacteria, Proteus, Ps. aeruginosa and Staphylococcus showed that the above microorganisms were in most cases highly resistant to the antibacterial drugs widely used in the clinical practice. The exclusion presented the drugs of the aminoglycoside group and especially gentamycin which had the highest activity. The analysis of multiple resistance showed that 96 per cent of the strains were resistant to 5 and more antibacterial drugs.


While insights into the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on formal schooling are still patchy, even less is known about the pandemic's impact on nonformal education systems, including institutions of Islamic learning. In this paper, we explore the nexus between pandemic control and the securitization of Qur'anic education in northern Nigeria; that is, the framing of Qur'anic schools, teachers, and students as security threats that necessitate tough responses. Security concerns have long dominated perceptions of Qur'anic schools in this region, which has been plagued by sectarian and interreligious violence. Qur'anic students often have been cast as future hoodlums and easy recruits for radical groups and depicted as vectors of disease, even as epidemiological evidence remains scarce. In this paper, we argue that security framings have proven highly adaptable in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine how perceptions of Qur'anic students as dangerous legitimized the forced clearance of schools and student deportations. Drastic interventions have also bolstered perceptions of COVID-19 as a hoax and a plot by politicians to further their own agendas. Data for this paper come from 14 verbal diaries recorded in Kano, Nigeria, from April to June 2020, nine interviews with Qur'anic teachers and students affected by school clearances, and our analysis of Nigerian newspaper reporting.


Second-harmonic generation using the type-II polarization configuration is demonstrated in quasi-phase-matched GaAs radicalAlGaAs superlattice waveguides. Phase-matching wavelengths and conversion efficiencies were determined for several quasi-phase-matching periods using 1.9 ps pulses. Saturation effects at high input power were concluded to be the result of third-order nonlinear effects.


Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technology, based on noble metal nanostructures as substrate, is a highly sensitive method for the detected substance. When the surface of noble metal with special nanostructure is irradiated by laser, the free electrons on the metal surface will be greatly oscillated. While the frequency of the incident light is close to that of the oscillation, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) will occur around the noble metal nanostructures material, greatly enhancing the local electric field intensity of the metal surface. The intensity of incident light and the scattering light will be also multiplied. As a result, the Raman scattering signals of molecules adsorbed on the surface of noble metal nanostructures will be effectively enhanced. In this paper, the octahedral Au/Ag composite nanocages were prepared by using NaBH4 reduction-acid etching template method. The prepared octahedral Au/Ag composite nanocages are uniform in shape, with the size of about 600 nm, and there is no residual cuprous oxide template. The Au element is uniformly distributed on the Ag nanocages with the mass fraction about 16.8%. Compared with that of Ag nanocages, the UV-vis absorption peak of the Au/Ag composite nanocages is red-shifted. More importantly, the synergistical action of Au and Ag element endow the Au/Ag composite nanocages with ultra-high SERS sensitivity and reproducibility. The trace detection of R6G at an ultralow concentration of 5×10 mol/L can be attributed to the high electromagnetic field intensity generated by the surface plasmon resonance, which was certificated by the finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation method. Besides, the addition of the Au element provided the Au/Ag composite nanocages with excellent oxidation resistance and chemical stability. The excellent SERS performance can be kept even after soaking in 1% H2O2 solution for 3 h. The octahedral Au/Ag composite nanocages are a promising SERS substrate with high sensitivity and stability.


We present the largest and most homogeneous catalog of H ii regions and associations compiled so far. The catalog comprises more than 7000 ionized regions, extracted from 306 galaxies observed by the CALIFA survey. We describe the procedures used to detect, select, and analyze the spectroscopic properties of these ionized regions. In the current study we focus on characterizing of the radial gradient of the oxygen abundance in the ionized gas, based on the study of the deprojecteddistribution of H ii regions. We found that all galaxies without clear evidence of an interaction present a common gradient in the oxygen abundance, with a characteristic slope of α_O/H = −0.1 dex/r_e between 0.3 and 2 disk effective radii (r_e), and a scatter compatible with random fluctuations around this value, when the gradient is normalized to the disk effective radius. The slope is independent of morphology, the incidence of bars, absolute magnitude, or mass. Only those galaxies with evidence of interactions and/or clear merging systems present a significantly shallower gradient, consistent with previous results. The majority of the 94 galaxies with H ii regions detected beyond two disk effective radii present a flattening in the oxygen abundance. The flattening is statistically significant. We cannot provide a conclusive answer regarding the origin of this flattening. However, our results indicate that its origin is most probably related to the secular evolution of galaxies. Finally, we find a drop/truncation of the oxygen abundance in the inner regions for 26 of the galaxies. All of them are non-interacting, mostly unbarred Sb/Sbc galaxies. This feature is associated with a central star-forming ring, which suggests that both features are produced by radial gas flows induced by resonance processes. Our result suggests that galaxy disks grow inside-out, with metal enrichment driven by the local star formation history and with a small variation galaxy-by-galaxy. At a certain galactocentric distance, the oxygen abundance seems to be correlated well with the stellar mass density and total stellar mass of the galaxies, independently of other properties of the galaxies. Other processes, such as radial mixing and inflows/outflows seem to have a limited effect on shaping of the radial distribution of oxygen abundances, although they are not ruled out.


The use of biodegradable polymers is spreading in agriculture to replace those materials derived from petroleum, thus reducing the environmental concerns. However, to issue a significant assessment, biodegradation rate must be measured in case-specific standardized conditions. In accordance with ISO 14855-1, we designed and used an experimental apparatus to evaluate the biodegradation rate of three biopolymers based on renewable resources, two poly(-caprolactone) (PCL) composites, and a compatibilized polylactic acid and polybutyrate (PLA/PBAT) blend. Biodegradation tests were carried out under composting condition using mature olive-mill waste (OMW) compost as inoculum. Carbon dioxide emissions were automatically recorded by infrared gas detectors and also trapped in saturated Ba(OH)2 solution and evaluated via a standard titration method to check the results. Some of the samples reached more than 80% biodegradation in less than 20 days. Both the experimental apparatus and the OMW compost showed to be suitable for the cases studied.


The dependence of the reaction rate on substrate concentrations at pH 8.0--7.5 does not submit the Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The dependence of v on Mg-ATP is described with a curve having an intermediate plateau. The dependence of v on the creatine concentration is expressed by a curve, which is not hyperbolic. In this case the index of the substrate concentration, (q), is variable, and it increases with the increase of creatine concentration from 1 to 2 (at the presence of effectors, PEP and ADP,--from 1 to 3.5). The specific creatine kinase activity increases 3--4-fold with protein dilution, but this effect is not observed in the presence of inhibitors to FDP and PEP. Creatine kinase is desensibilized with respect to FDP and PEP after a prolonged storage. The data obtained and the presence of an effector set indicate, that muscle creatine kinase is a regulated allosteric enzyme.


Objective: The main objective of this paper is to improve the intrusion detection accuracy of neural networks by hybridized with Jordan network, applying novel Lyapunov function and changing input values as fuzzy values using fuzzy logic. Methods: In this research, the intrusion detection of NSL KDD dataset is carry out by neural network first . The performance of neural networks mainly depends on the parameters like number of hidden layer, no of node in the hidden layer and the no of epoch. Selecting the proper parameters values and weight initialization are the main difficulty in neural network. To overcome this issue a hybrid network by combining neural network with Jordan network is proposed which is highly sensitive to weight convergence. In hybrid network Lyapunov function is used to achieve the stability of equilibrium between two networks. But in this work a novel Lyapunov function is proposed to achieve global robust stability in hybrid network. A novel Lyapunov function uses a class of general activation functions which are not to be diff erentiable, bounded or monotonically nondecreasing. A set of criteria are derived to guarantee the existence, uniqueness and global robust stability of the equilibrium of hybrid networks with time delays. Then the learning ability of hybrid network is improved by using fuzzy logic. The hybrid network improved by a novel Lyapunov and fuzzy logic is called as Improved Fuzzy Hybrid Jordan network and Artificial Neural Network (IHFJANN). Findings: Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Hybrid Jordan network and Artificial Neural Network (HJANN) and Improved Hybrid Fuzzy Jordan network and Artificial Neural Network (IHFJ ANN) are applied on NSL KDD training dataset to lean the type of available attacks. NSL training dataset contains 2500 instances and 38 attributes where as testing dataset contains 995 instances and 38 attributes. The learned model of three classifiers is used to predict the classes in test dataset. The performance measures are evaluated in terms of accuracy, precision, recall and f-measure values. Improvement: The classification accuracy of Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Hybrid Jordan network and Artificial Neural Network (HJANN) and Improved Hybrid Fuzzy Jordan network and Artificial Neural Network (IHFJANN) are 72%, 80% and 84% respectively. Accuracy is increased by 12% in IHFJANN than the ANN and 4% than the HJANN. The precision value of ANN, HJANN and IHFJANN are 0.46, 0.54 and 0.57 respectively. Precision value is increased by 0.9 in IHFJANN than the ANN and 0.3 than the HJANN. The recall value of ANN, HJANN and IHFJANN are 0.73, 0.81 and 0.84 respectively. Recall value is increased by 0.9 in IHFJANN than the ANN and 0.3 than the HJANN. The F-measure value of ANN, HJANN and IHFJANN are 0.58, 0.65 and 0.68 respectively. F-measure value is increased by 0.10 in IHFJANN than the ANN and 0.3 than the HJANN. The results proved that the proposed IHFJANN provides better performance than ANN and HJANN.


This thesis is concerned with the question of management and leadership with respect to concepts of shared and distributed leadership. The thesis critically discusses these concepts and what appear to be similar notions of leadership, since on the one hand they are difficult to define, while on the other considerable claims have been made as to the benefits of shared leadership. From this discussion key research questions are formulated. A key feature of this study is that it seeks to raise the question of shared leadership with all the stakeholders in a school to see how they understand the concept and what effects, if any, such leadership has in terms of their own practice: this has not been undertaken before in the literature. A further issue addressed is whether, as some papers in the literature suggest, shared leadership is necessary for school performance. The research was undertaken in two private primary schools in Cyprus, school "A" and school "B", and explores with teachers, students, parents, Council members (in school "A") the owner (in school "B"), the head teacher (in school "A") the deputy head (in school "B") their understanding of the concept of shared leadership. This was done by asking each stakeholder group about how they perceive his or her role, and the roles of other stakeholders in the school organization and how they perceive the school leadership. The thesis contributes to the fields of leadership, shared/distributed leadership and stakeholder involvement. Key factors that underpin the concept are highlighted and the constraints on implementing shared leadership in a practical sense discussed.


Background Environmental toxicants are allegedly involved in decreasing semen quality in recent decades; however, definitive proof is not yet available. In 1976 an accident exposed residents in Seveso, Italy, to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate reproductive hormones and sperm quality in exposed males. Methods We studied 135 males exposed to TCDD at three age groups, infancy/prepuberty (1–9 years), puberty (10–17 years), and adulthood (18–26 years), and 184 healthy male comparisons using 1976 serum TCDD levels and semen quality and reproductive hormones from samples collected 22 years later. Results Relative to comparisons, 71 men (mean age at exposure, 6.2 years; median serum TCDD, 210 ppt) at 22–31 years of age showed reductions in sperm concentration (53.6 vs. 72.5 million/mL; p = 0.025); percent progressive motility (33.2% vs. 40.8%; p < 0.001); total motile sperm count (44.2 vs. 77.5 × 106; p = 0.018); estradiol (76.2 vs. 95.9 pmol/L; p = 0.001); and an increase in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH; 3.58 vs. 2.98 IU/L; p = 0.055). Forty-four men (mean age at exposure, 13.2 years; median serum TCDD, 164 ppt) at 32–39 years of age showed increased total sperm count (272 vs. 191.9 × 106; p = 0.042), total motile sperm count (105 vs. 64.9 ×106; p = 0.036), FSH (4.1 vs. 3.2 UI/L; p = 0.038), and reduced estradiol (74.4 vs. 92.9 pmol/L; p < 0.001). No effects were observed in 20 men, 40–47 years of age, who were exposed to TCDD (median, 123 ppt) as adults (mean age at exposure, 21.5 years). Conclusions Exposure to TCDD in infancy reduces sperm concentration and motility, and an opposite effect is seen with exposure during puberty. Exposure in either period leads to permanent reduction of estradiol and increased FSH. These effects are permanent and occur at TCDD concentrations < 68 ppt, which is within one order of magnitude of those in the industrialized world in the 1970s and 1980s and may be responsible at least in part for the reported decrease in sperm quality, especially in younger men.


: The axoneme of a cilium or a sperm tail is a machinery of great complexity. The mechano-chemical work is exerted by the dynein arms and brings about a sliding of the microtubular doublets relative to each other. Nexin links hold the doublets together and restrict the sliding; this makes the cilium bend rather than slide apart. The spokes have several functions and one is to prevent the cilium from becoming buckled when bending. There is a structure called the ciliary necklace in the proximal region of the cilium; this is believed to influence the activity of the cilium by regulating the calcium influx. The two principal pathways, which can be used to explore the ciliary machinery and its many components are (a) "chemical dissection" of the cilium by selectively dissolving the various parts of the machinery and (b) examination of ciliary mutants which can be obtained from experiments with protists or at the investigation of the population attending lung clinics or male fertility clinics as patients. Such human ciliary mutants usually belong to the immotile-cilia syndrome.


Turbofan engine starting is one of the most important procedures during the whole process of job, but also very complicated due to its nonlinear dynamic working procedure. Recognizing the weaknesses of predict model and traditional algorithm for rolling optimization to deal with strong nonlinear systems, this paper presents neural network model predictive control method with genetic algorithm optimization, and uses this method to devise an optimal controller for turbofan engine starting. Experiment results show that under the premise of accurate limits, we can obtain the optimal fuel supply rate with enough precision.


We report malfunction of a Medtronic Marquis implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) (Marquis VR Model 7230CX, Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA). In 2005, Medtronic reported the possibility of a short circuit causing fast battery depletion in this ICD series, resulting in a sensation of heat or pain in the area of the pulse generator.1 In this 81-year-old man, the consequence was a skin burn at the site of the ICD pulse generator surgical incision (Fig. 1). After explantation, destructive analysis by the


Web sites are public representations of corporations, businesses and governmental bodies. As such they require proper maintenance to ensure that accurate and updated information is presented adequately. Dynamically created Web sites sometimes are not an option: they add a computational overhead on the server and make the automatic indexing of pages difficult. Static Web sites may grow to an extent that manually performing maintenance operations becomes unfeasible: (semi)automatic means ought to be put in place. In this paper we explain one such approach, using software agents to look after large data-intensive Web sites. Our maintenance operations are performed by a team of autonomous agents that communicate with each other as well as with Web masters or other human agents. Our approach can be naturally incorporated into existing Web sites and its use can be gradually extended to encompass larger portions of the site. Because our agents are independent, their individual malfunctioning should not stop the maintenance


Purpose The accurate and timely diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion (MPE) in lung cancer patients is important because MPE has a poor prognosis and is classified as stage IV disease. Molecular biomarkers for pleural effusion, such as circulating extracellular microRNAs (miRNAs) isolated from pleural fluid, may help in the diagnosis of MPE. The present study examined whether miRNAs that are deregulated in lung cancer (miR-134, miR-185, and miR-22) can serve as diagnostic markers for lung adenocarcinoma-associated MPE (LA-MPE). Materials and Methods Real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to measure the expression of the three miRNAs in samples from 87 patients with pleural effusion comprising 45 LA-MPEs and 42 benign pleural effusions (BPEs). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was then used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of each of the three miRNAs and compare it with that of the common tumor marker, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Results The expression of all three miRNAs was significantly lower in LA-MPE than in BPE (p <0.001). The AUCs for miR-134, miR-185, miR-22, and CEA were 0.721, 0.882, 0.832, and 0.898, respectively. Combining CEA with the three miRNAs increased the diagnostic performance, yielding an AUC of 0.942 (95% confidence interval, 0.864 to 0.982), with a sensitivity of 91.9% and a specificity of 92.5%. Conclusion The present study suggests that the expression levels of circulating extracellular miR-134, miR-185, and miR-22 in patients with pleural effusion may have diagnostic value when differentiating between LA-MPE and BPE.


Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules have been shown to influence the immune response to HIV infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome progression. Polymorphisms within the HLA-B35 molecules divide the family into two groups, namely, Px and PY. The Px group is associated with deleterious effects and accelerated disease progression in HIV+ patients, whereas the PY group is not. The classification is based on the preferential binding of a tyrosine at the C-terminal part of the peptide in the PY group, and a nontyrosine residue in the Px group. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the molecular differences between the two groups. Here, we have investigated three HLA-B35 molecules, namely, HLA-B*35:01 (PY), HLA-B*35:03 (Px) and HLA-B*35:05 (unclassified). We selected an HIV-derived peptide, NY9, and demonstrated that it can trigger a polyfunctional CD8+ T-cell response in HLA-B*35:01+ /HIV+ patients. We determined that in the complex with the NY9 peptide, the PY molecule was more stable than the Px molecule. We solved the crystal structures of the three HLA molecules in complex with the NY9 peptide, and structural similarities with HLA-B*35:01 would classify the HLA-B*35:05 within the PY group. Interestingly, we found that HLA-B*35:05 can also bind a small molecule in its cleft, suggesting that small drugs could bind as well.


ABSTRACT In December 1994, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) initiated a comprehensive program, the PM10 Technical Enhancement Program (PTEP), to characterize fine PM in the South Coast Air Basin (SCAB). A 1-year special particulate monitoring project was conducted from January 1995 to February 1996 as part of the PTEP. Under this enhanced monitoring, HNO3, NH3, and speciated PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were measured at five stations (Anaheim, downtown Los Angeles, Diamond Bar, Fontana, and Rubidoux) in the SCAB and at one background station at San Nicolas Island. PM2.5 and PM10 mass and 43 individual species were analyzed for a full chemical speciation of the particle data. The PTEP data indicate that the most abundant chemical components of PM10 and PM25 in the SCAB are NH4+ (8-9% of PM10 and 14-17% of PM25), NO3 - (23-26% of PM10 and 28-41% of PM25), SO4= (6-11% of PM10 and 9-18% of PM2 5), organic carbon (OC) (15-19% of PM10 and 18-26% of PM2.5), and elemental carbon (EC) (5-8% of PM10 and 8-13% of PM25). On an annual average basis, PM25 comprises 52-59% of the SCAB PM10. Annual average PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations showed strong spatial variations, low at coastal sites and high at inland sites. Annual average PM10 concentrations varied from 40.8 ug/m3 at Anaheim to 76.8 ug/m3 at Rubidoux, while annual average PM2.5 concentrations varied from 21.7 ug/m3 at Anaheim to 39.8 ug/m3 at Rubidoux. The chemical characterizations of the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations, as well as their spatial variations, were examined; the important findings are summarized in this paper, and the temporal variations are discussed in the companion paper.1


Oleic acid which is one of the palm oil derivatives is known to effectively stabilize dispersions of nanomagnetite in nonpolar solvent. Stabilization occurs because the carboxylic acid group covalently reacts with the surface of the magnetite and the aliphatic chain extends out into the nonpolar solvent, preventing aggregation of the particles by a steric (entropic) mechanism. One goal of this work has been to develop a generalized methodology for stabilizing nanomagnetite dispersions using a series of novel surfactants which had been synthesized from palm oil derivatives so that the resultant modified magnetite nanoparticles can be used in a range of applications. The specialty of the surfactants which have thiol compounds attached to the long chain fatty acids have been succesfully coated with magnetite iron oxide as shown on the FTIR spectrum and exhibited a particle size in the range of 25-30 nm as shown on the FT-SEM. These nanoparticles have been characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering, Zeta-potential to examine their stabilities after coating. In addition to that, the X-ray diffraction pattern showed that the modified nanoparticles corresponds to the spinal phase of the bare magnetite iron oxide.


Background and characteristics of various ways of cohabitation in the Netherlands. R's nr. of marriages / having lived together with partner before marriage / nr. of times of having lived together with a partner / having an intimate relationship without living together / plans about going to live together or marriage / preferred way of cohabitation / nr. of own and or adopted children / nr. of children living with r at present and in the past / fertility and ( reasons of ) infertility / preferred nr. of children / used birth control methods at present and in the past / preferred age for men as well as for women to get the first child / age at which a man or a woman are considered too old to get a child / discussions with partner ( before or after marriage ) about having children / residence where r spent childhood / profession of father / whether r's mother had a ( part-time ) job during r's childhood / profession of mother / being raised according to christian or ideological principles / r's religious or ideological denomination at present / whether r joined the forces / temporarily leaving of parental home during childhood / age at which r left parental home for the first time / living conditions after having left the parental home / marital status, household composition and its changes / reasons for changes in way of cohabitation / r's education, work- experiences and source( s ) of income / education, work-situation and source( s ) of income of partner / housing situation and reasons for changes in housing situation / importance of religion in personal life / evaluation of personal and social consequences of an intimate relationship / various aspects of an intimate relationship: emotional meaning, anticipation of a divorce, financial responsibilities, responsibilities for housekeeping, meaning and aspects of parenthood / remarriage / having children and not being married / chances for lesbian couples to have children / sterilization / working outdoors of married women with children / homosexual life-style / extra-marital affairs / calling parents by their first name / being a virgin before marriage / being voluntarily childless / abortion / reasons for going to marry in the near future / whether getting children is a reason for marriage / important reasons for starting to live together or for marriage / causes of tensions in relationship / "quality" of relationship / thinking about separating from present partner / most important reasons for divorce or leaving the partner with which r was living together / favourite type of ( intimate ) relationship, lifestyle. Background variables: basic characteristics/ residence/ housing situation/ household characteristics/ occupation/employment/ income/capital assets/ education/ religion


Soil aquifer treatment (SAT) is a promising technique for wastewater reclamation and reuse. This treatment strategy takes advantage of physicochemical and biological processes in the subsurface. The model employed in this study is based on MODFLOW-SURFACT (HydroGeoLogic, Inc.), a threedimensional model for variably saturated flow and reactive mass transport. The model accounts for reactions including the nitrification of ammonium, the denitrification of nitrate, and the oxidation of organic carbon. Concentration of dissolved oxygen and biomasses involved in aerobic and anaerobic biological reactions forms the basis for estimates of nonlinear reaction rates formulated using a multiple-Monod expression. Illustrative simulations were conducted in a two-dimensional cross-sectional domain, with unsaturated and saturated zones. They examine the effects that site and operational conditions have on the performance of a SAT system. The parameters and conditions of concern included length of the wet/dry cycle, ground surface condition, and infiltration rate. From the simulations, we found that organic carbon was effectively removed in all cases. The availability of oxygen was a key factor in predicting the production and removal of nitrate. Overall, the model successfully described the fate and transport of the key constituents during the wet/dry operational periods in both unsaturated and saturated subsurface.


Abstract The ornithosuchids were a group of archosaurs with body lengths ranging from 2 to 4 m recorded from Upper Triassic beds in Argentina and Scotland. The group was defined as a node-based clade including Ornithosuchus longidens, Riojasuchus tenuisceps, Venaticosuchus rusconii and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor. The ornithosuchids are diagnosed by the following apomorphies observed in the three known species of the clade: downturned premaxilla; premaxilla–maxilla contact with a diastema in the alveolar margin equal in length to two teeth; palatine–pterygoid fenestra; and orbit with a distinct ventral point surrounded by 'V'-shaped dorsal processes of the jugal. The most remarkable postcranial apomorphy of the group is the presence of the so-called crocodile reversed ankle joint, a condition that seems to be unique for the ornithosuchids among amniotans. The systematic history of Ornithosuchidae is complex and Ornithosuchus was allied with dinosaurs or phytosaurs prior to the implementation of numerical phylogenetic analyses. Currently, there is consensus that Ornithosuchidae is positioned within Pseudosuchia, but their phylogenetic position within the group remains strongly debated. Nevertheless, all hypotheses agree in inferring an extremely long ghost lineage at the base of the clade. The presence of derived pseudosuchians in the late Olenekian produces a ghost lineage of c. 16–18 millions of years for Ornithosuchidae, indicating that only the late evolutionary history of the clade is currently sampled in the fossil record.


Irregular applications, which rely on pointer-based data structures, are often difficult to parallelize. The input-dependent nature of their execution means that traditional parallelization techniques are unable to exploit any latent parallelism in these algorithms. Instead, we turn to optimistic parallelism, where regions of code are speculatively run in parallel while runtime mechanisms ensure proper execution. The performance of such optimistically parallelized algorithms is often dependent on the schedule for parallel execution; improper choices can prevent successful parallel execution. We demonstrate this through the motivating example of Delaunay mesh refinement, an irregular algorithm, which we have parallelized optimistically using the Galois system. We apply several scheduling policies to this algorithm and investigate their performance, showing that careful consideration of scheduling is necessary to maximize parallel performance.


We present RealitySketch, an augmented reality interface for sketching interactive graphics and visualizations. In recent years, an increasing number of AR sketching tools enable users to draw and embed sketches in the real world. However, with the current tools, sketched contents are inherently static, floating in mid air without responding to the real world. This paper introduces a new way to embed dynamic and responsive graphics in the real world. In RealitySketch, the user draws graphical elements on a mobile AR screen and binds them with physical objects in real-time and improvisational ways, so that the sketched elements dynamically move with the corresponding physical motion. The user can also quickly visualize and analyze real-world phenomena through responsive graph plots or interactive visualizations. This paper contributes to a set of interaction techniques that enable capturing, parameterizing, and visualizing real-world motion without pre-defined programs and configurations. Finally, we demonstrate our tool with several application scenarios, including physics education, sports training, and in-situ tangible interfaces.


After Taiwan becomes the 144th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 2002, it also becomes a part of the global economic system. Therefore, when the financial tsunami influenced the global economy in 2007, it was inevitable that all transactions and professions in Taiwan could hardly survive, and the securities industry, of course, bore the brunt. Based on the exchange data of a Taiwan K-broker's orders, this research conducts an empirical case study by means of Data Mining. We adopt RFM (Recency, Frequency, and Monetary) modeling index to get the data, and then group the customers by Cluster Analysis of K-means and find out the transaction behaviors of indicative customers in each group around the financial tsunami. Finally, we summarize those users behavior of the hedging operations to be the reference models Taiwan stock market during the financial tsunami.


"The Bible According to Spike Milligan" is an irreverent but very funny spoof of The Old Testament in which, in his own inimitable fashion, Spike Milligan gives his version of the best known biblical stories. In the Bible, according to Spike Milligan: "In the beginning God created the Heaven and Earth and darkness was upon the face of the deep; this was due to a malfunction at Lots Road Power Station...And God said 'Let there be light'." "Desperately funny, vivid, vulgar". ("Sunday Times"). "Milligan is the Great God to all of us". (John Cleese). "The Godfather of Alternative Comedy". (Eddie Izzard). "That absolutely glorious way of looking at things differently. A great man". (Stephen Fry). Spike Milligan was one of the greatest and most influential comedians of the twentieth century. Born in India in 1918, he served in the Royal Artillery during WWII in North Africa and Italy. At the end of the war, he forged a career as a jazz musician, sketch-show writer and performer, before joining forces with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe to form the legendary "Goon Show". Until his death in 2002, he had success as on stage and screen and as the author of over eighty books of fiction, memoir, poetry, plays, cartoons and children's stories.


The limited field of view (FOV) associated with fan beam collimators can lead to truncation of reconstructed attenuation maps in transmission imaging. The authors investigated through simulations, a few simple approaches for reducing the truncation of attenuation maps with simultaneous transmission-emission SPECT imaging. These include: (1) the use of longer focal length collimators (65 vs. 104 cm); (2) using a 4 cm lateral table offset to bring the heart closer to the center of the fully sampled region (FSR); (3) using body contouring orbits instead of circular orbits to bring the camera closer to the body; (4) using a larger camera to increase the FSR; and (5) use of asymmetric fan beam collimators to enlarge the FSR. The three dimensional mathematical cardiac torso phantom was used to simulate the activity and attenuation maps. Simulations were carried out for two configurations with the heart located within as well as extending beyond the edge of the FSR. As expected, results indicate that employing a larger camera effectively removes the truncation seen in normal sized patients. With a standard camera size of 40 cm, the asymmetric fan beam collimator gives results comparable to that obtained using a 104 cm symmetric fan beam collimator. Body contour orbits generally provided better cardiac uniformity at the shorter focal lengths than a circular orbit. If any portion of the heart walls lie beyond the FSR for a 65 cm focal length collimator, a judicious combination of using longer focal length collimators along with table offset greatly reduces the amount of truncation in the attenuation maps, improving cardiac uniformity.


Nicorandil, a potent coronary vasorelaxant used in the treatment of angina, has differential effects on arteries and veins in vivo. To explain this phenomenon, experiments were designed to characterize the relaxant and inhibitory actions of this compound on canine isolated arteries and veins. Paired rings of canine coronary, femoral, and saphenous arteries and saphenous veins were suspended at optimal length for isometric tension recording in organ chambers containing physiologic salt solution at 37°C and gassed with 95% 02-5% CO2. In certain experiments, one ring of each pair was denuded of the endothelium. Removal of the endothelium did not affect nicorandil-induced relaxations of contracted blood vessels. Nicorandil exerted a differential relaxant effect on arteries and veins contracted with KC1 (order of potency: saphenous vein > coronary artery > femoral artery). No difference in sensitivity to nicorandil was observed in arteries and veins contracted with prostaglandin F2α. Contractions of saphenous arteries and veins to nor-epinephrine (NE) were equally sensitive to the inhibitory action of nicorandil. However, contractions of saphenous veins induced by sympathetic nerve stimulation were more sensitive to nicorandil than were contractions of saphenous arteries. Furthermore, nicorandil did not affect contractions to phenylephrine in saphenous veins, although contractions to B-HT 920 were virtually abolished by the compound. Saphenous veins contracted with St 587 were more sensitive to the relaxant action of nicorandil than when contracted with phenylephrine. These results suggest that nicorandil inhibits preferentially con-tractions of canine arteries and veins mediated by α2 rather than α-adrenoceptors. This selectivity of action may be conferred by a differential receptor reserve and/or receptor coupling efficiency between the a-adrenoceptor subtypes for contractile agonists.


Context is important situational details, yet poorly utilized in interactive computing. The fact is that it can have impact on the trust decision to make. Motivated by that, we discuss and formalize functions of dynamic trust computation model based on context-aware in P2P environments. We firstly present the definition of context-aware and trust, and then give the trust computation including directed and undirected trustworthiness depending on context. Through our model, the system architecture can offer enhanced and more flexible security access control.


The Walking Assistant Robots(WARs) developed by our institute are introduced in this paper. First, three prototypes with different mechanical and control structures are introduced and compared. Then as for the prototypes Ⅲ, its main framework and three important function modules including force sensor based human-machine interaction, Omni-directional vision based tracking and guiding system, and web-based monitoring system are described in detail. The WAR can recognize the user's intents and execute different assistant functions, such as seating or standing-up assistant, walking assistant, human tracking, location, obstacle detection and avoidance. The application in an elderly care center shows WAR has a perfect and stable performance.