In the quantification of burdens of diseases, QALY (quality-adjusted life year) or DALY (disability-adjusted life year) have been used for comparative assessment of population health. By adjusting the survival function with the mean of quality of life (QOL) at every time point t and summing up yearly throughout lifetime, we obtained the quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) with the unit of QALY: QALE = oE[Qol(tuxi)]S(tuxi)dt Three environmental health issues were empirically assessed as examples: the contamination of underground water by chlorinated hydrocarbons from an electronics factory; the enforcement of helmet law in Taipei city; and occupational policies for protection of offspring of female lead workers. The likelihoods and expected numbers of new cases with liver cancer, head injury, or mentally impaired offspring born to mothers of lead workers were estimated, and these were then multiplied by the quality-adjusted life expectancy lost per case. The results showed that the ground water pollution produced a potential loss of 78 QALM (quality-adjusted life month) for the 1000 people in the downstream community. The enforcement of helmet law in Taipei would save 6240 QALY annually. The expected utility loss of the babies born to female lead workers was about 216 QALY. If the QOL was measured by psychometry, it could be applied in clinical outcome evaluation. If it was extended to consider the cost of illness, the financial burden to the National Health Insurance could be estimated. We conclude that this is a feasible method for comparative health risk/impact assessment for public health and clinical policy decisions.


Walter Benjamin's distinction of truth from knowledge in his "Epistemo-Critical Prologue" marks a fundamental break with the truth claims of the empirical sciences, as well as those of any system of philosophy—phenomenological, neo-Kantian, or otherwise— that would be based on conscious cognition. Instead he renders the truth of philosophy as a question of presentation, beginning with one of the most famous propositions of his oeuvre: "It is proper to philosophical writing to stand, with every turn, before the question of presentation anew." Many commentators have cited this passage, yet few pursue the way Benjamin situates philosophical writing before the question of presentation, thereby suggesting that this question cannot be asked. In this essay, I elaborate the epistemological and ontological consequences of the displacements Benjamin stages between presentation and writing, through an attentive reading to the idioms of his own writerly presentation.


A b s t r A c t Two of the tales mentioned in the title are in many ways typical of the great collections of stories (The Canterbury Tales and Il Decamerone) to which they belong. What makes them conspicuous is no doubt the intensity of the erotic desire presented as the ultimate law which justifies even the most outrageous actions. The cult of eroticism is combined there with a cult of youth, which means disaster for the protagonists, who try to combine eroticism with advanced age. And yet the stories in question have roots in a very different tradition in which overt eroticism is punished and can only reassert itself in a chastened form, its transformation being due to sacrifices made by the lover to become reunited with the object of his love. A medieval example of the latter tradition is here the Middle English romance, Sir Orfeo. All of the three narratives are conspicuously connected by the motif of the enchanted tree. The Middle Ages are associated with a tendency to moralize ancient literature, the most obvious example of which is the French anonymous work Ovide moralise (Moralized Ovid), and its Latin version Ovidius Moralizatus by Pierre Bersuire. In the case of The Merchant's Tale and The Tale of the Enchanted Pear-Tree, we seem to meet with the opposite process, that is with a medieval demoralization of an essentially didactic tradition. The present article deals with the problem of how this transformation could happen and the extent of the resulting un-morality. Some use has also been made of the possible biblical parallels with the tales in question. A b s t r A c t


Aim: To determine the clinical changes occurred in chronic periodontitis patients presenting uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus after a supragingival plaque control period. Methods: Subjects presenting generalized chronic periodontitis were divided into two groups: Non-diabetics (n=20) – healthy subjects presenting chronic periodontitis; and Diabetics (n=14) – subjects with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus presenting chronic periodontitis. All subjects went through 28 days of supragingival plaque control - ST - (including prophylaxis, calculus removal, extraction of hopeless teeth and oral hygiene instructions) and were evaluated at baseline and after 28 days by the following parameters: Full-Mouth Plaque Score (FMPS) and Full-Mouth Bleeding Scores (FMBS), Periodontal Probing Depth (PPD), Gingival Recession (GR) and Clinical Attachment Level (CAL). ANOVA/Tukey's test and Student's t test were used for data analysis. Results: No statistically significant differences (p>0.05) between groups were observed at baseline for any parameter. Both groups presented a significant reduction in FMPS and FMBS after 28 days (p 0.05) between groups. Clinically, only the Non-diabetic group showed a significant improvement after ST, in PPD of initially deep pockets (p 0.05). Conclusions: It may be concluded that uncontrolled diabetes mellitus reduces periodontal changes in the supragingival plaque control regimen of subjects presenting with chronic periodontitis.


This paper adds to the relatively scant developing country perspective in the economic literature on happiness by investigating the relationship between income and happiness in the context of Koronadal, a low-income city in Mindanao, Philippines. Subjective happiness and potential contributory factors to happiness (demographic, economic, and social capital variables) are elicited through a survey and analyzed using descriptive and regression analyses. The study provides empirical evidence for the "happy poor" image of the Filipinos, with its survey data revealing that despite high poverty incidence and generally low-income levels, people in Koronadal are pretty happy with a mean self-reported happiness score of 6.75 on a scale of 0–10. The study also lends some empirical support to the modified Easterlin hypothesis: an increase in income increases happiness marginally, but there exists a threshold level – a monthly income of about PHP 20,000 – beyond which further increase in income ceases to increase happiness. Further, survey data reveal that happier people are younger, female, possessing a mobile phone, living in houses with more bedrooms, with savings and no outstanding loans, and are members of credit cooperatives. In so far as these findings reveal some socially favorable economic and institutional conditions, they serve to provide inputs and directions to government officials and policymakers in terms of social programs formulation and implementation.


Top-down fabrication of nanostructures with high throughput is still a challenge. We demonstrate the fast (>10 m/min) and continuous fabrication of multilength scale structures by roll-to-roll UV-nanoimprint lithography on a 250 mm wide web. The large-area nanopatterning is enabled by a multicomponent UV-curable resist system (JRcure) with viscous, mechanical, and surface properties that are tunable over a wide range to either allow for usage as polymer stamp material or as imprint resist. The adjustable elasticity and surface chemistry of the resist system enable multistep self-replication of structured resist layers. Decisive for defect-free UV-nanoimprinting in roll-to-roll is the minimization of the surface energies of stamp and resist, and the stepwise reduction of the stiffness from one layer to the next is essential for optimizing the reproduction fidelity especially for nanoscale features. Accordingly, we demonstrate the continuous replication of 3D nanostructures and the high-throughput fabrication of multilength scale resist structures resulting in flexible polyethylenetherephtalate film rolls with superhydrophobic properties. Moreover, a water-soluble UV-imprint resist (JRlift) is introduced that enables residue-free nanoimprinting in roll-to-roll. Thereby we could demonstrate high-throughput fabrication of metallic patterns with only 200 nm line width.


Many anesthesiologists are reluctant to depart from their traditional long fasting periods, even though many guidelines recommend that oral intake of clear fluids administered up to 2-3 hours prior to general anesthesia does not adversely affect the gastric contents. It also indicates that the application of these guidelines does not affect the incidence of pulmonary aspiration. One of the reasons why they have not changed their practices is that they wonder whether it is safe to administer clear fluids as recommended in the guidelines. In this review, we emphasize that oral rehydration therapy using clear fluids (such as OS-1, water and carbohydrate-rich beverage) is safe based on the non-invasive gastric echo examinations as many guidelines have already indicated. Oral rehydration therapy should be considered not only as an alternative to intravenous therapy for preoperative fluid and electrolyte management but also as one of the important modalities which can enhance the recovery of surgical patients.


Pulse exports from Myanmar have grown into a $1 billion export industry in the 25 years since liberalization (Table 1). As the first major agricultural sector to be liberalized, in 1988, pulses offered uniquely attractive returns to both farmers and traders. Farmers and traders responded with alacrity to these new opportunities, propelling pulse production and exports rapidly upwards for several decades (Figure 1).


This paper deals with spatial scaleable vector quantization of images by using two layers. At the base layer the small dimensional full search vector quantization of an image of block means is carried out. After subtracting it from the input image at the enhancement layer the difference of full spatial resolution is quantized by large dimensional weighted pyramid vector quantizer in transform domain. Experimental results demonstrate acceptable quality of the downscaled image from the output of base layer at very low bit rate and possibility of next increasing its quality by the upscaled difference image from the output of enhancement layer.


Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration (IVDD) initiates in the nucleus pulposus (NP) and is marked by elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and matrix-degrading proteases, leading to structural and functional disruption. IVDD therapeutics are currently being investigated; however, such approaches require validation using large animal models that recapitulate clinical, biochemical, and biomechanical hallmarks of the human pathology. Others have previously utilized intradiscal administration of chondroitinase-ABC (C-ABC) to initiate IVDD in the NP of sheep lumbar IVDs. While these studies examined changes in IVD height, hydration, and tissue micro-architecture, changes in biochemical content and mechanical properties were not assessed. Thus, the objective herein was to comprehensively characterize this ovine model IVDD for salient features reported in human degenerate IVDs by evaluating biochemical, biomechanical, and histological changes. Briefly, C-ABC (1U) was administered via intradiscal injection into the L1/2, L2/3, and L3/4 IVDs, and degeneration was assessed at 6- and 10-weeks via longitudinal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. After 6 weeks, degenerative samples showed significant reductions in IVD heights (p=0.048) and MR imaging index (p=0.048), which worsened at 10 weeks. Post-mortem degenerate and controls IVDs were evaluated for differences in interleukin-1β concentration, axial and torsional functional spinal unit kinematics, and histological microarchitecture. Degenerate IVDs demonstrated significantly elevated concentrations of interleukin-1β (p=0.002). Additionally, degenerative samples showed increased creep displacement (p=0.022) and compressive stiffness's (p=0.007) concurrent with decreased long-term elastic (p=0.007) and viscous dampening coefficients (p=0.002). Histological analysis of degenerative IVDs showed changes in microarchitecture, including derangement of the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus tissue as well as cartilaginous end-plate irregularities. This pilot study demonstrated that intradiscal injection of 1U C-ABC induces significant and progressive degeneration of sheep lumbar IVDs over the time course investigated. The changes observed in this pilot's study small sample size resemble the hallmarks of moderate to severe IVD degeneration observed in humans. Further study is warranted on a larger sample size to further validate these findings.


Under the time variant and fading HF channel, an improved Multicarrier CDMA System using Frequent Domain Differential Detection (MC-FDDD-CDMA) for low SNR links is proposed. With synchronization errors, including frequent offset and timing offset, we analyze the system BER performance under the fast fading HF channel, where the adjacent subcarriers have different channel responses. The results show that the synchronization errors reduce the desired signal amplitude, and introduce ICI. In addition, a Common Phase Error is generated by differential detection, which causes the rotation of signal constellation and limits the system BER performance. Therefore, we exploit a novel phase estimation method applicable to the MC-FDDD-CDMA system. Finally, computer simulations prove that the improved system can effectively reduce the CPE and considerably promote the BER performance under the low SNR HF channels.


This paper aims to access the lived reality of consumption and brands through the subjective meanings and interpretative processes of consumers, exploring how they perceive the journey from the first experience to a strong meaningful emotional bond with a brand. We follow the logic of the experience pyramid model in analysing qualitative interviews with brand evangelists, starting with the motivational level, moving on to the physical level where the evangelist meets the brand, and further to the level of experience where, if appropriate, the emotional bond with the brand manifests itself: for the customer, the brand has become experiential with a singular meaning. The experience model proved a useful research tool for understanding the consumer-brand relationship in depth. The study complements experience marketing with insights regarding the meaning of brand-related experiences for consumers, and enables marketers to understand the development of a strong emotional bond between a brand and a consumer. In addition, the results of the study shed further light on recognizing brand evangelists.


To achieve a successful grasp, gripper attributes such as its geometry and kinematics play a role as important as the object geometry. The majority of previous work has focused on developing grasp methods that generalize over novel object geometry but are specific to a certain robot hand. We propose UniGrasp, an efficient data-driven grasp synthesis method that considers both the object geometry and gripper attributes as inputs. UniGrasp is based on a novel deep neural network architecture that selects sets of contact points from the input point cloud of the object. The proposed model is trained on a large dataset to produce contact points that are in force closure and reachable by the robot hand. By using contact points as output, we can transfer between a diverse set of multifingered robotic hands. Our model produces over 90% valid contact points in Top10 predictions in simulation and more than 90% successful grasps in real world experiments for various known two-fingered and three-fingered grippers. Our model also achieves 93%, 83% and 90% successful grasps in real world experiments for an unseen two-fingered gripper and two unseen multi-fingered anthropomorphic robotic hands.


Interferometers are normally operated in environment-controlled optical laboratories because vibrations will induce errors in measurement results. In order to extend the application of interferometry to shop floor inspection, two methods are adapted: one method is to introduce a reference interferometer and vibration compensation system to the main interferometer, to compensate for the environmental disturbance; and the other method is to realize the data sample in just one image shot. Each method has its own applications. With the advances of these technologies, the use of interferometry as a highly accurate and fast measurement method will become more common in shop floor measurements and inspections.

Keywords: online/in-process measurement, surface measurement, environmental disturbance, vibration compensation, reference interferometer, common path


The paper considers the problem of demand forecasting for slow-moving items in case of reporting errors. A general- ization of the beta-binomial demand model is proposed that takes into account possible distortions in the learning sample. Prop- erties of the underlying probability distribution are derived. For this new model, algorithms that provide consistent estimators of the model parameters as well as mean square error optimal forecasts when used for historical demand data with reporting errors are developed. An example for slow-moving car parts is given to illustrate the proposed demand forecasting approach.


Soil transmitted helminthiasis (STH) represents a major public health problem in tropical regions. In many countries including Senegal, STH control strategies usually involve mass deworming campaigns. This study was carried out to assess the prevalence and distribution of intestinal parasites among children, several years after the initiation of mass deworming campaigns with mebendazole in Senegal. A cross sectional survey was conducted in 8 villages located in the Southeastern part of Senegal. Children younger than 10 years old were sampled using a two level random sampling technique. Stool samples were collected from each participant after clinical assessment. Parasites detection was done by light microscopy using a modified Ritchie technique. Among the 1,163 surveyed children, 353 were found with at least one intestinal parasite species representing an overall prevalence of 30.4% (IC95%: 27.3 to 33.7). Proportion of children with protozoan infections was 29.6% (95%CI: 26.9 to 32.3); a small fraction of children were found with helminthic infestations (0.8%) (95%CI: 0.3 to 1.4). The identified parasites were represented by Giardia intestinalis (17.7%), Entameoba coli (14%), Endolimax nana (0.86%), Hookworm (0.52%), Ascaris lumbricoides (0.17%), and Hymenolepis nana (0.34%). This study revealed a low prevalence of helminthic infestations while protozoan infections remained high. This changing profile in the epidemiology of intestinal parasitic infections among children may require revision of the current deworming policy programme. However, extensive data at the national level are needed to support modification of strategy.

 Key words: Helminths, protozoan, children, Senegal.


The paper presents the results of the electrochemical and surface study concerning the binder influence on protective properties of paint coatings. The protective films realized with various binders were applied on carbon steel substrate. The experiments carried out in a 3% NaCl solution, normal aerated at the room temperature. The experimental results show that the paint films containing binders with three-dimensional (3D) structure provide good protective properties. The best performance is exhibited by the paint films with the alkyd binder, due to their 3D structure formed as a result of chemical reactions of the binder with the oxygen from atmosphere during the curing process.


OBJECTIVES
To assess whether using a needle-locking device in combined spinal-epidural analgesia leads to better quality of pain relief for advanced stages of obstetric labor than can be achieved with conventional materials.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A total of 230 women in advanced labor were randomized to 2 groups. In both groups the needle-through-needle technique was used. In group N we used a new technique with a Tuohy needle and a system for locking the spinal needle (27-gauge, pencil-point design). The conventional technique (group C) made use of the same Tuohy needle and spinal needle without the needle-locking device. The variables considered were patient characteristics, anesthesiologist, number of attempts and level of difficulty in carrying out the procedure, pain on a simple verbal visual analog scale before the procedure and 5 minutes later, latency, motor block, duration of spinal analgesia, complications, type of expulsion, and maternal satisfaction.

RESULTS
The 2 groups were similar with respect to all studied variables except duration of spinal analgesia (longer in group N, P<0.001); VAS after 5 minutes (lower in group N, P<0.010); latency (shorter in group N, P<0.001); lateralization (less in group N, P=0.034), and maternal satisfaction (greater in group N, P=0.037).

CONCLUSIONS
The use of devices specifically designed for administering combined spinal-epidural analgesia in advanced stages of labor provides faster pain relief, longer duration of analgesia, and greater maternal satisfaction without increasing the incidence of complications.


The paper challenges the view that the fall of France in June 1940 is attributed to military errors of the French High Command and with the brilliant German offense in the Ardennes. The paper highlights that the French security strategy after the end of World War I failed because the country lacked the economic basis to implement its strategy. Thus the paper argues that the French endorsed an internal and external balancing strategy against Germany. The internal balancing strategy was associated with the ability of France to sustain powerful armed forces and obviously this was associated with high defense spending and a strong economy. The second part was associated with external balancing which was associated with the creation of alliances in Eastern Europe in order to block any German expansion. Again this was associated with strong economic relations between France and these states. This strategy was implemented during the 1919-1929 period however after the global economic crisis erupted the deterioration of the French economy made the continuation of this strategy impossible. Thus France was forced to follow a defensive strategy at the military level and the privileged bilateral economic relations with Eastern European countries were abolished and Germany replaced France as the major economic and trading partner of these states.


This progress report describes current activities and technical progress in the programs at Brookhaven National Laboratory sponsored by the Division of Regulatory Applications, Division of Engineering, Division of Safety Issue Resolution, and Division of Systems of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research following the reorganization in July 1988. The previous reports have covered the period October 1, 1976 through June 30, 1988. 71 figs., 24 tabs.


Caffeine is commonly used as a model hydrophilic compound in skin research, and it also has pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. Several topical products containing caffeine are currently being marketed, including anti-cellulite creams and gels, moisturizers, serums and shampoos. As the skin permeation of this compound is expected to be low, the aim of this work is to investigate how the topical delivery of caffeine may be optimized using chemical penetration enhancers. A range of penetration enhancers for caffeine were selected, namely ethanol (EtOH), propylene glycol (PG), isopropyl myristate (IPM), propylene glycol dipelargonate (DPPG), oleic acid (OA), dimethyl isosorbide (DMI), 1,2-pentanediol (1,2-PENT), propylene glycol monocaprylate (PGMC), propylene glycol monolaurate (PGML), Transcutol-P (TRANS), isostearylisostearate (ISIS), isopropyl isostearate (IPIS), geraniol (GER), d-limonene (LIM) and 1,8-cineole (CIN). Solubility and miscibility studies were conducted using these solvents. Based on the miscibility and solubility data, caffeine permeation using infinite dose studies in human skin was evaluated. The studies were performed for caffeine in simple single solvents namely, PG, DMI, 1,2-PENT and IPM. The effects of using more complex binary solvent systems and ternary solvent systems of these solvents were also studied. The highest flux values were observed from the ternary solvent system PG:1,2-PENT:IPM (50:45:5 v/v), which enhanced caffeine permeation up to 24 times, 43 times and 7 times compared with the single solvents PG, 1,2-PENT and IPM, respectively. Following infinite dose studies in human skin, caffeine permeation was evaluated in finite dose studies. Because of the high number of experiments required, this section of the work was conducted with porcine skin, which was easier to source compared to human skin. Porcine skin was chosen over other skin models because from the literature it has been shown that this skin model is the closest animal model to human skin. The enhancement effects on caffeine permeation by binary and ternary solvent systems were also evaluated in this study. Following the finite dose studies, mass balance studies were conducted in order to understand the distribution of the actives in the skin. After 24 hours of finite dose studies, the permeation profiles did not reach a plateau. However, the studies could not be prolonged to 48 hours with porcine skin since the solvents damaged the skin barrier, as shown by a sudden increase in permeation. Therefore, the two best ternary solvent systems were selected. It was found that the same trend of caffeine permeation was observed (PG:DMI:IPM> PG:1,2-PENT:IPM) from the finite dose studies using porcine skin and that obtained from human skin. These formulations were further evaluated in in vivo studies. The formulations were applied on human volunteers in order to investigate the effect of the formulations on the skin barrier in vivo. These studies were carried out by analysing the trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared(ATR-FTIR) scans and protein content. The TEWL measurements from the PG:1,2-PENT:IPM treated site showedsignificantly higher TEWL values up to the removal of 15 tape strips (p<0.05). It was speculated that this may be due to irritation caused by the formulation, which results in damage to the skin barrier as shown by the high TEWL values. However, no further macroscopic changes in the skin barrier were observed using the ATR-FTIR. Further evaluations of the effects of the formulations on caffeine permeation were assessed by using the tape-stripping technique. A general trend of higher protein content was observedin the stratum corneum removed from the PG:1,2-PENT:IPM treated site, compared with the PG:DMI:IPM treated site and the control site. It was noted from this study that a higher caffeine amount was detected from the PG:1,2-PENT:IPM treated site compared tothe PG:DMI:IPM treated site. In conclusion, this thesis presents evidence that caffeine permeation can be enhanced by using combinations of chemical permeation enhancers in increasingly complex combinations. The effects of the formulation on the skin barrier in vitro were successfully elucidated by modelling the permeationdata. Furthermore, in vivo data provides further insight into the effects of the formulations on caffeine permeation and on the skin barrier, which will be useful in taking forward these formulations for use in cosmetic or pharmaceutical preparations.


Show Case is the space for letting people take a glance of the work of about a hundred remarkable artists and engineers in Asia. Each participating artist/engineer is asked to summarize (using images rather than words) her/his work in two pages, and those hard copies are installed in a room within The Invitation section. Show Case is intended to solicit collaboration between Art and Technology. The Show Case works will be published into a volume and will be handed out to the visitors during the conference.


In this paper, we consider the oxymora as a confrontation between contradictory points of view which are built by the co (n) text and related with different enunciative origins. We definite two kinds of oxymora : a polemic one and a more consensual one. In the polemic oxymora, the speaker assumes responsibility for only one of the points of view and gives the antithetic one as untrue or limited. In the second kind of oxymora, the speaker assumes responsibility for a point of view which results from the synthesis of two contradictory ones. The paper, studying literary examples belonging to different genres and oral contemporary uses, deals with oxymora textual and pragmatic interests. Oxymora appears as an argumentative weapon in which the speaker's point of view can prevail, but also as a tool for textual cohesion, keeping in an easy-to-remember formula the whole discursive process. Key words : oxymora, point of view, enunciation, textual cohesion, pragmatics


Antiviral treatment for hepatitis C constitutes a considerable physical and psycho-social challenge without guarantee of treatment success. Using semi-structured in-depth interviews, this article investigates the experiences of people on hepatitis C treatment and the experiences of physicians who care for people with hepatitis C. Given the importance of the interpersonal dimension of the patient—physician relationship for patients accessing treatment, adhering to treatment, dealing with treatment side-effects and completing treatment, the article focuses on the interpersonal dimension of patients' and physicians' accounts. The theoretical foundation is 'appraisal' theory from systemic functional linguistics, which is grounded in Bakhtin's notions of heteroglossia and dialogism. The article describes the intersubjective stances that patients and physicians adopt in accounts of their interactions about hepatitis C treatment, the values they construct and the semantic backdrop against which these meanings are constructed. The article traces the semantic patterns of intersubjective alignment and disalignment between patients and physicians, as well as the semantics of patients' challenging the intersubjective stances taken by their physicians. While the biomedical discourse was intersubjectively at odds with the experiences of some patients, others aligned with it. In fact, understanding and speaking the language of biomedicine enabled some patients to challenge the traditional doctor—patient relationship and to reconfigure it into a partnership approach.


AIMS AND OBJECTIVE
Redundant information of microarray gene expression data makes it difficult for cancer classification. Hence, it is very important for researchers to find appropriate ways to select informative genes for better identification of cancer. This study was undertaken to present a hybrid feature selection method mRMR-ICA which combines minimum redundancy maximum relevance (mRMR) with imperialist competition algorithm (ICA) for cancer classification in this paper.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The presented algorithm mRMR-ICA utilizes mRMR to delete redundant genes as preprocessing and provide the small datasets for ICA for feature selection. It will use support vector machine (SVM) to evaluate the classification accuracy for feature genes. The fitness function includes classification accuracy and the number of selected genes.

RESULTS
Ten benchmark microarray gene expression datasets are used to test the performance of mRMR-ICA. Experimental results including the accuracy of cancer classification and the number of informative genes are improved for mRMR-ICA compared with the original ICA and other evolutionary algorithms.

CONCLUSION
The comparison results demonstrate that mRMR-ICA can effectively delete redundant genes to ensure that the algorithm selects fewer informative genes to get better classification results. It also can shorten calculation time and improve efficiency.


Spatial concerns of Web Geographical Information Systems (Web-GIS) are inherently crosscutting and volatile: crosscutting because they affect multiple functionalities of Web-GIS systems, such as visualization of a route in a map, volatile because their status may change often (e.g., in a map, a route can be obstructed temporarily due to a car accident or festivity, so alternative routes should be provided dynamically). The quality of Web-GIS services, in particular the efficiency required for their adaptation and evolution, can be compromised if volatility and the crosscutting nature of spatial concerns are not taken into consideration during modularization. This paper presents an aspect-oriented approach for Web-GIS applications. This approach models crosscutting spatial concerns and handles the volatile nature of some spatial concerns as if these were crosscutting. Thus, both types of concerns, crosscutting and volatile, are modeled as candidate aspects. By modularizing volatile concerns as aspects, it is simple to add and remove them at runtime from an application by using dynamic weaving. The approach starts with the identification and specification of crosscutting concerns and follows by composing them using MATA, an aspect-oriented modeling technique. GIS crosscutting concerns are stored and documented in a concern catalogue for promoting their reuse. Conflicts regarding the ordering of composition are also taken into account.


This paper presents the simultaneous application of Minkowski fractal geometry and EBG structures for mutual coupling reduction in microstrip array antennas for the first time. In this approach, a modified version of Minkowski fractal geometry is applied on the patch elements, and at the same time 1D electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures, composed of 4 EBG elements, are placed between the array elements in a very close distance. Unlike many other coupling reduction methods, which have at least one of the issues of gain reduction or complex fabrication, the proposed method does need any via or double-sided etching and slightly increases the gain of the antenna, while an excellent reduction level of 22.7 dB has been achieved. To verify the concept, 2 array antennas with the spacing of λ0 and λ0/3 were fabricated and tested, showing very good agreement between predicted and measured results.


An advanced approach to design a fault coverage test pattern generator by utilizing linear feedback shift register called Bit Swap-LFSR. This could perform fault analysis and also minimize the power utilization at circuit level during tests, by generating three intermediate patterns between random patterns by decreasing the hardware components usage. The main purpose of having intermediate patterns is to minimize the transitional processing at initial inputs; this could minimize the switching activities at circuit under test. By this the power consumption is decreased without any lose or damage in the hardware components. This experiment results by efficient multipliers circuits in proposed system, with and without fault confirm of fault coverage when the circuit has been tested.


In this thesis, we investigate reliable modelling within a stochastic process algebra framework. Primarily, we consider issues of variance in stochastic process algebras as a measure of model reliability. This is in contrast to previous research in the eld which has tended to centre around mean behaviour and steady-state solutions. We present a method of stochastic aggregation for analysing generally-distributed processes. This allows us more descriptive power in representing stochastic systems and thus gives us the ability to create more accurate models. We improve upon two well-developed Markovian process algebras and show how their simpler paradigm can be brought to bear on more realistic synchronisation models. Now, reliable performance gures can be obtained for systems, where previously only approximations of unknown accuracy were possible. Finally, we describe reliability de nitions and variance metrics in stochastic models and demonstrate how systems can be made more reliable through careful combination under stochastic process algebra operators. iii


The Socrates café at 'Cuan' day centre is a nonformal educational initiative. The café is loosely based on the Socratic method of seeking the truth through questioning and dialogue. The participants include people who attend the day centre, staff and students on placement. The Socrates café aims to treat older people as 'elders', providing intellectual challenge and opportunity for learning. Based on participant observation and interviews with participants and organisers, the paper will examine the purposes, benefits and use of community philosophy as an empowering tool. Social justice demands that we seek to create the conditions for people to flourish. Yet, our elder care services often treat older people as passive and incapable. Services for older people have traditionally adopted a care and health focus and there has been little emphasis on adult learning especially for people in the 'fourth' age. The findings suggest that the café provides an important forum for learning in a convivial environment with positive impacts for participants and benefits for the organisation itself. The café succeeded in integrating and linking participants with wider communities and promoting further learning opportunities. Located at the intersection of social care work and adult education, the paper argues that the Socrates café helps the participants to be self-advocates and to create the conditions for their own social inclusion. Drawing on the experiences of participants at the Socrates café the paper considers the potential of Community Philosophy to promote greater social engagement in an elder care setting.


This study was an attempt to determine the impact of interaction between teaching media and vocabulary mastery towards students' learning achievement in colleges of education at Jambi University. This is a quasi-experimental study with nonequivalent control and experimental group design. Based on the test for normality, homogeneity, and analysis of variance to the data students' achievement score of experiment class can be concluded that, there are significant differences of learners' achievement between before and after treatment in experimental class using audio-visual media. Then, there are significant differences between the learners' vocabulary mastery on their learning achievement. The result of this study showed; 1. There is a significant effect between teaching media toward learners' achievement. Test result obtained that p-value 0,015 (<0,05) 2. Vocabulary mastery gave the significant effect to the learners' achievement. Test result obtained that p-value for vocabulary mastery is 0,000 (<0,05). 3. There is no interaction influence between the teaching media and vocabulary mastery towards learners' achievement. Test result retrieved that p-value is 0,948 (>0,05).


Although most encryption algorithms are theoretically secure and remain impervious to even the most sophisticated cryptanalytic techniques, new attacks like the timing attack exploit the engineering side of network security. A timing attack is basically a way of deciphering a user's private key information by measuring the time it takes to carry out cryptographic operations. Factors such as branching and conditional statements, RAM cache hits, processor instructions that run in nonfixed time, as well as performance optimizations to bypass unnecessary operations, all contribute to predictability and therefore to the probability of key decryption.


This paper focuses on the simulation of nonlocal wave propagations in unbounded multi-scale mediums. To this end, we consider two issues: (a) the design of artificial/absorbing boundary conditions; and (b) the construction of an asymptotically compatible (AC) scheme for the nonlocal operator with general kernels. The design of ABCs facilitates us to reformulate unbounded domain problems into bounded domain problems. The construction of AC scheme facilitates us to simulate nonlocal wave propagations in multi-scale mediums. By applying the proposed ABCs and the proposed AC scheme, we investigate different wave propagation behaviors in the "local" and nonlocal mediums through numerical examples. AMS subject classifications: 49M25, 65N22, 65N06, 65R20, 82C21, 46N40, 45A05


Abstract. This case study explores the potential for chemical state analysis at extratropical upper tropospheric – lower stratospheric (Ex-UTLS) height levels with airborne limb-images, assimilated into an advanced spatio-temporal system. The investigation is motivated by the limited capability of both, nadir- and limb-viewing satellite sensors to resolve highly filamented structures, delineated by sharp trace gas gradients on small horizontal and vertical scales. The EURAD-IM (EURopean Air pollution Dispersion – Inverse Model) is applied as assimilation system and designed to extend the flight path confined retrievals from GLORIA (Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere) to both, larger areas and detailed vertical structures by a tomographic flight pattern. Related potential and limitations of the method are studied with the following features applied: (i) airborne limb-imaging observations of the Ex-UTLS, (ii) spatio-temporal extension by 4-dimensional variational data assimilation, (iii) correlation between ozone and potential vorticity (PV) as an indicator of airmasses and (iv) anisotropic and inhomogeneous horizontal background error correlations in the Ex-UTLS, spreading information towards unobserved regions along PV isopleths. This setup demonstrated substantial improvements to basic approaches in exploring new data on the spatial extend and alignment of airmasses down to small-scale filaments in the Ex-UTLS. Tomographic observations provide detailed insight for reconstructing filamentary foldings along airmass boundaries above the tropopause during this case study.


The widespread use of Web applications, in conjunction with large number of vulnerabilities, makes them very attractive targets for malicious attackers. The increasing popularity of Web 2.0 applications, such as blogs, wikis, and social sites, makes Web servers even more attractive targets. In this paper we present empirical analysis of attackers activities based on data collected by two high-interaction honeypots which have typical three-tier architectures and include Web 2.0 applications. The contributions of our work include in-depth characterization of different types of malicious activities aimed at Web servers that deploy blog and wiki applications, as well as formal inferential statistical analysis of the malicious Web sessions.


The inverse of an irreducible sparse matrix is structurally full, so that it is impractical to think of computing or storing it. However, there are several applications where a subset of the entries of the inverse is required. Given a factorization of the sparse matrix held in out-of-core storage, we show how to compute such a subset e ciently, by accessing only parts of the factors. When there are many inverse entries to compute, we need to guarantee that the overall computation scheme has reasonable memory requirements, while minimizing the cost of loading the factors. This leads to a partitioning problem that we prove is NP-complete. We also show that we cannot get a close approximation to the optimal solution in polynomial time. We thus need to develop heuristic algorithms, and we propose: (i) a lower bound on the cost of an optimum solution; (ii) an exact algorithm for a particular case; (iii) two other heuristics for a more general case; and (iv) hypergraph partitioning models for the most general setting. We illustrate the performance of our algorithms in practice using the MUMPS software package on a set of real-life problems as well as some standard test matrices. We show that our techniques can improve the execution time by a factor of 50. Key words. Sparse matrices, direct methods for linear systems and matrix inversion, multifrontal method, graphs and hypergraphs.


This paper researches the theory of multi-probes EST (Error Separation Technique) further. The computer simulation on the three-probes EST is also carried out. Several contrastive experiments of the on-line measurement are carried out in a grinding machine (MB1332A). The workpieces used in the experiments had been measured by TALYROND 262 Geometrical Error Measurement Instrument. The results of these experiments successfully verify that the theory and mathematical models of this paper are correct. The contrast of the measuring results in these experiments proves that the three-probes method can realize the complete separation of all kinds of errors basically and this method is applicable to on-line measurement of a workpiece and it can also make the measurement accuracy very high.


Morphologically diverse organo-sedimentary structures (including microbial mats and stromatolites) provide a palaeobiological record through more than three billion years of Earth history. Since understanding much of the Archaean fossil record is contingent upon proving the biogenicity of such structures, mechanistic interpretations of well-preserved fossil microbialites can reinforce our understanding of their biogeochemistry and distinguish unambiguous biological characteristics in these structures, which represent some of the earliest records of life. Mechanistic morphogenetic understanding relies upon the analysis of geomicrobiological experiments. Herein, we report morphological-biogeochemical comparisons between micromorphologies observed in growth experiments using photosynthetic mats built by the cyanobacterium Coleofasciculus chthonoplastes (formerly Microcoleus) and green anoxygenic phototrophic Chloroflexus spp. (i.e., Coleofasciculus–Chloroflexus mats), and Precambrian organo-sedimentary structures, demonstrating parallels between them. In elevated ambient concentrations of Cu (toxic to Coleofasciculus), Coleofasciculus–Chloroflexus mats respond by forming centimetre-scale pinnacle-like structures (supra-lamina complexities) associated with large quantities of EPS at their surfaces. µPIXE mapping shows that Cu and other metals become concentrated within surficial sheath-EPS-Chloroflexus-rich layers, producing density-differential micromorphologies with distinct fabric orientations that are detectable using X-ray computed micro-tomography (X-ray µCT). Similar micromorphologies are also detectable in stromatolites from the 3.481 Ga Dresser Formation (Pilbara, Western Australia). The cause and response link between the presence of toxic elements (geochemical stress) and the development of multi-layered topographical complexities in organo-sedimentary structures may thus be considered an indicator of biogenicity, being an indisputably biological and predictable morphogenetic response reflecting, in this case, the differential responses of Coleofasciculus and Chloroflexus to Cu. Growth models for microbialite morphogenesis rely upon linking morphology to intrinsic (biological) and extrinsic (environmental) influences. Since the pinnacles of Coleofasciculus–Chloroflexus mats have an unambiguously biological origin linked to extrinsic geochemistry, we suggest that similar micromorphologies observed in ancient organo-sedimentary structures are indicative of biogenesis. An identical Coleofasciculus–Chloroflexus community subjected to salinity stress also produced supra-lamina complexities (tufts) but did not produce identifiable micromorphologies in three dimensions since salinity seems not to negatively impact either organism, and therefore cannot be used as a morphogenetic tool for the interpretation of density-homogeneous micro-tufted mats—for example, those of the 3.472 Ga Middle Marker horizon. Thus, although correlative microscopy is the keystone to confirming the biogenicity of certain Precambrian stromatolites, it remains crucial to separately interrogate each putative trace of ancient life, ideally using three-dimensional analyses, to determine, where possible, palaeoenvironmental influences on morphologies. Widespread volcanism and hydrothermal effusion into the early oceans likely concentrated toxic elements in early biomes. Morphological diversity in fossil microbialites could, therefore, reflect either (or both of) differential exposure to ambient fluids enriched in toxic elements and/or changing ecosystem structure and tolerance to elements through evolutionary time—for example, after incorporation into enzymes. Proof of biogenicity by deducing morphogenesis (i.e., a process preserved in the fossil record) overcomes many of the shortcomings inherent to the proof of biogenicity by descriptions of morphology alone.


Background: Evidence is mounting that the standard triple therapy against H. pylori infections has been losing clinical effectiveness, but triple therapy with levofl oxacin, amoxicillin, and a proton pump inhibitor is effective and well tolerated. This scheme has been suggested as an alternative for standard fi rst-line therapy. The purpose of this randomized, multicenter, controlled study is to compare rates of successful eradication of standard triple therapy using clarithromycin, amoxicillin and omeprazole (CAO) and triple therapy using levofl oxacin, amoxicillin and omeprazole (LAO). Materials and Methods: A total of 317 patients who had been diagnosed with H. pylori infections through biopsies were randomized into two groups. One group of 160 patients was assigned a 10 day CAO treatment regimen and the other group of 157 patients was assigned a 10 day LAO treatment regimen. Eradication was assessed by optimized breath test. Adverse effects and toleration were also assessed. Results: Intention to treat analysis gave the following results: CAO, 68.8% (110/160) and LAO, 84.1% (132/157) with p = 0.0021. The CAO eradication rates was 71.9% (105/146) and the LAO eradication rate was 89.3% (125/140) with p = 0.0004. There were signifi cant statistical differences in effectiveness between the two treatment groups, but there were no signifi cant differences in toleration and adverse effects between the two groups. Conclusions: Treatment of H. pylori infections with triple therapy based on levofl oxacin was a better alternative than clarithromycin-based triple therapy in this study.


Gabaculine, a potent suicide inhibitor of ornithine aminotransferase (OAT), at a dose of 50 mg/kg inhibited this enzyme in mouse tissues and dramatically increased tissue ornithine concentrations, whether or not arginine was present in the diet. Thus even under arginine deprivation there is catabolism of ornithine which involves OAT. This was confirmed by administration of [14C]ornithine to arginine-deprived mice. Gabaculine (3-amino-2,3-dihydrobenzoic acid) drastically decreased the release of 14CO2 and increased the radioactivity in the basic amino acids in the tissues. When [1-14C]glutamate was injected into mice deprived of arginine, a significant amount of radioactivity was recovered in tissue ornithine and arginine, and gabaculine decreased this labelling by about two-thirds, indicating that ornithine was synthesized in vivo from glutamate via OAT. In addition, we failed to detect in liver and small intestine alpha-N-acetylornithine, N-acetylglutamate kinase or N-acetylornithine aminotransferase, which are obligatory components of a potential route of ornithine synthesis from N-acetylglutamate. Our results indicate that at least 45 mumol of ornithine was synthesized and catabolized daily via OAT in the mouse deprived of arginine.


This paper introduces the general linear magnetic circuit model of a novel 5-phase segment type switched reluctance motor (ST-SRM) of which rotor cores are embedded in an aluminum block as well as to improve the performance characteristics under simultaneous two-phase (bipolar) excitation of windings. The developed model implements the magneto motor force (mmf) that is necessary to produce short and exclusive magnetic flux paths minimizing the commutation switching and eddy current losses in the laminations. For this purpose, an equivalent magnetic circuit for newly developed ST-SRM and the underlying assumptions are given. The concept of apparent inductance and torque equations of two-phase simultaneously excited ST-SRM is introduced and the effectiveness and deficiencies of the linear model are given. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eee.20.1.6159


In a world-class teaching-led university, the quality of the student learning experience is paramount. There are, however, many different ways of making learning happen effectively, efficiently and enjoyably. So what is 'excellent' teaching? What do such teachers do with their students? What are the professional and personal characteristics which hallmark excellent teachers? How do such teachers keep track of how their students are learning? How do students know when they're on the receiving end of excellent teaching?

In this interactive lecture, I will propose that smarter teaching is about tuning in everything we do when we teach to five factors underpinning successful student learning. We need to:

1. Strive to enhance our students' want to learn.

2. Help our students to develop ownership of the targets represented by intended learning outcomes in our provision, and of their need to work towards these targets;

3. Keep our students learning by doing - and give them plenty of opportunity for practice, learning through mistakes, and repetition where appropriate;

4. Ensure our students get quick and useful feedback on their learning - from us, from each other, and from learning resources;

5. Help our students to make sense of what they learn - to get their heads round ideas, concepts, theories and models.

In this lecture, we will share our experience to explore how we can focus teaching on making learning happen, paving the way towards our students' success, and on how we can 'teach smarter': causing optimum learning payoff as efficiently as we can.


Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are mainstay therapeutics for HIV that block retrovirus replication. Alu (an endogenous retroelement that also requires reverse transcriptase for its life cycle)–derived RNAs activate P2X7 and the NLRP3 inflammasome to cause cell death of the retinal pigment epithelium in geographic atrophy, a type of age-related macular degeneration. We found that NRTIs inhibit P2X7-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation independent of reverse transcriptase inhibition. Multiple approved and clinically relevant NRTIs prevented caspase-1 activation, the effector of the NLRP3 inflammasome, induced by Alu RNA. NRTIs were efficacious in mouse models of geographic atrophy, choroidal neovascularization, graft-versus-host disease, and sterile liver inflammation. Our findings suggest that NRTIs are ripe for drug repurposing in P2X7-driven diseases. Anti-HIV nucleoside analogs treat retinal degeneration and graft-versus-host disease in mice. HIV drugs can dampen inflammation, too Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) stop HIV in its tracks by blocking reverse transcription, a process critical for HIV to replicate its genome. Fowler et al. found that in mice, these drugs also block inflammation caused by a large protein complex called the NLRP3 inflammasome. This activity is independent of the drugs' ability to block reverse transcription. Instead, the drugs block the activity of the ion channel P2X7, which activates the NLRP3 inflammasome. NRTIs improved outcomes in several NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent mouse models of inflammation, including age-related macular degeneration and graft-versus-host disease. Science, this issue p. 1000


outcome, a feature characteristic of koro, is not clear. In any case, such a koro pattern of depersonalization experience (better described as a body image distur bance) as the common basic phemomenon may be universal in its distribution, with different interpreta tions in different cultures (Edwards, 1970; Yap, 1967). In a recent study of 40 patients with neurotic disorders related to semen loss, we found that 20 (50 per cent) had such an experience attributed to fear of loss of vitality (Machado et a!, 1981). In Thailand, noxious food seems to get blamed. Interestingly, an epidemic of koro reactions has been reported from Singapore following ingestion of the flesh of recently vaccinated pigs (Mun, 1965). Clearly, subjective experiences of bodily change are a concomitant of anxiety among suggestible individ uals with self-scrutiny and overconcern about their genitalia. Their irrational beliefs, being shared by the others in their culture, are not delusions and the label psychoses is unlikely to be appropriate.


Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) has been widely utilized in scientific research and the manufacturing industry for its unique piezoelectric properties. In the past few decades, the vibrational spectra of PVDF polymorphic polymers via FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) have been extensively investigated and documented. However, reports on the analysis of α, β and γ phases often have conflicting views based on measured data. In this work, we analyze the FTIR vibrational bands of PVDF materials fabricated by different processes with detailed XRD (X-ray diffraction) characterization to identify the structural α, β and γ phases. By examining the results in this work and extensively reviewing published research reports in the literature, a universal phase identification procedure using only the FTIR results is proposed and validated. Specifically, this procedure can differentiate the three phases by checking the bands around 763 and/or 614, 1275, and 1234 cm−1 for the α, β and γ phases, respectively. The rule for assignment of the 840* and 510* cm−1 bands is provided for the first time and an integrated quantification methodology for individual β and γ phase in mixed systems is also demonstrated.


The Maillard reaction between reducing sugars and free amino acids and proteins occurs readily during the preparation and storage of foods. This reaction, which evolves through several steps, leads to irreversible modification of the molecules involved. The subsequent nutritional and physiologic effects are due to both the loss of the availability of essential amino acids and to the presence of the new molecules formed. In food proteins, the reaction involving lysine is the most important nutritionally. The deoxyketosyl-lysine molecule formed in the "early" stage of the reaction is not available biologically. In the "advanced" stage of the reaction, which produces browning, the digestibility of the protein is decreased and other amino acids are destroyed. The metabolic transit and the nutritional and physiologic effects of the different groups of substances produced are described. The deoxyketosyl derivatives are partly absorbed and excreted in the urine without biochemical modification. The premelanoidins also are partly absorbed but are metabolized in the organism; the most representative groups of derivatives are biochemically transformed into acids (hydroxymethyl furfural, reductones) or glucurono or sulfo conjugates (pyrazines, maltol) before excretion in the urine; they have antiphysiologic effects. The melanoidins (molecules of high molecular weight) are not absorbed and their effects are negligible. The possible occurrence of Maillard-type reactions in living organisms is also discussed.


Objective. To evaluate the improvement in self-care behaviors after a nursing educational intervention in patients with heart failure.
Methodology. The study had the participation of 29 patients over 30 years of age, who attended in 2010 the cardiovascular healthcare program of a hospital institution in Medellín (Colombia) and who signed the informed consent and received for nine months a nursing educational intervention consisting of group educational meetings, telenursing sessions, home visits, and support leaflet. The study applied Artinian's Self-care scale validated in the field, composed of 28 items distributed in four dimensions (request for help, adaptation to disease, and adherence to pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments). To evaluate changes in these behaviors, the scale was applied at the beginning and end of the study.
Results. Bearing in mind that the maximum possible score in the scale is 84, the patients had initial and final median scores of 40 and 53 (p < 0.05). The dimensions in which the most positive changes were observed were: request for help, adaptation to the disease, and adherence to the pharmacological treatment; regarding adherence to the non-pharmacological treatment, two behaviors did not obtain favorable changes (reduction in salt intake and measurement of the amount of urine eliminated).
Conclusion. The nursing educational intervention conducted in our study had beneficial effects on most of the self-care behaviors assessed in individuals with HF.


In wireless sensor network is deployed to monitor certain events and pinpoint their locations, the location information is intended only for legitimate users. However, an eavesdropper can monitor the traffic and deduce the approximate location of monitored objects in certain situations. We first describe a successful attack against the flooding-based phantom routing, proposed in the seminal work by Celal Ozturk, Yanyong Zhang, and Wade Trappe. Then, we propose Random Walk, a two-way random walk, i.e., from both source and sink, to reduce the chance an eavesdropper can collect the location information. We improve the delivery rate by using local broadcasting and greedy forwarding. Privacy protection is verified under a backtracking attack model. The message delivery time is a little longer than that of the broadcasting-based approach, but it is still acceptable if we consider the enhanced privacy preserving capability of this new approach. At the same time, the energy consumption is less than half the energy consumption of floodingbase phantom routing, which is preferred in a low duty cycle, environmental monitoring sensor network. The results show that our system provides high quality location monitoring services for system users and guarantees the location privacy of the monitored


Objectives: Target volume delineation (TVD) has been identified as a weakness in the accuracy of radiotherapy, both within and outside of clinical trials due to the intra/interobserver variations affecting the TVD quality. Sources of variations such as poor compliance or protocol violation may have adverse effect on treatment outcomes. In this paper, we present and describe the FIELDRT software developed for the ARENA project to improve the quality of TVD through qualitative and quantitative feedbacks and individual and personalized summary of trainee"s performance. Methods: For each site-specific clinical case included in the FIELDRT software, reference volumes, minimum and maximum "acceptable" volumes and organ at risk were derived by outlines of consultants and senior trainees. The software components currently developed include: (a) user-friendly importing interface (b) analysis toolbox to compute quantitative and qualitative (c) visualiser and (d) structured report generator for personalised feedback. The FIELDRT software was validated by comparing the performance of 63 trainees and by measuring performance over time. In addition, a trainee evaluation day was held in 2019 to collect feedback on FIELDRT. Results: Results show the trainees' improvement when reoutlining a case after reviewing the feedback generated from the FIELDRT software. Comments and feedback received after evaluation day were positive and confirmed that FIELDRT can be a useful application for training purposes. Conclusion: We presented a new open-source software to support education in TVD and ongoing continuous professional development for clinical oncology trainees and consultants. ARENA in combination with FIELDRT implements site-specific modules with reference target and organs at risk volumes and automatically evaluates individual performance using several quantitative and qualitative feedbacks. Pilot results suggests this software could be used as an education tool to reduce variation in TVD so to guarantee high quality in radiotherapy. Advances in knowledge: FIELDRT is a new easy and free to use software aiming at supporting education in TVD and ongoing continuous professional development. The software provides quantitative/qualitative feedback and an exportable report with an individual and personalised summary of trainee's performance.


There has been increased interest in trade policy following the UK's EU membership referendum. However, relatively little scholarly analysis has been produced on how Brexit will affect EU trade policy. Instead, the received wisdom has been that Brexit will shift the EU's trade policy position in a less liberal direction. This is based on a 'static' analysis where the UK variable is simply removed from the figurative 'function' determining EU trade policy. We argue that this neglects the potential role of more 'dynamic' effects. First, the negotiations to determine the nature of the EU–UK future economic partnership are likely to involve a lengthy process with a still uncertain, and possibly evolving, destination. The outcome and process of arriving there will influence how economic operators and policymakers adapt their preferences and behaviour, including through possible relocation and the formation of new alliances. This will shape EU trade policy in potentially counterintuitive ways. Second, the absence of clear material structures from which actors can 'read' their interests highlights the importance of considering the role of ideas and political framing. How the vote for and consequences of Brexit are interpreted will likely shape what is considered an appropriate policy response. Examining EU trade policy since the Brexit vote, the article finds that rather than push the EU in a more illiberal direction, the referendum result has been used to reinforce the European Commission's external liberalisation agenda. The Commission's discursive response to Brexit and Donald Trump has been to portray the EU as a champion of free trade in an era of global populism.


Background: Cervical cancer is the leading female cancer in Nepal. Fortunately, it is preventable by detectingprecancerous lesions and by various screening tools for early invasive cancers. Screening can be possible if women are aware of the problem. Despite the existence of effective screening using Pap smear, the uptake of screening is poor.Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the awareness and practice regarding cervical cancer screening among women visiting tertiary hospital.Methodology: A descriptive cross – sectional study was conducted to assess the awareness and practice regarding cervical cancer screening among women attending in gynaecological outpatient department of Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital. A total of one hundred and fifty two women were selected purposively for the study. Structured questionnaire was designed and data collection was done through face to face interview technique during the period of September to November 2018. The collected data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science version 20.Results: Among 152 respondents, majority of the respondents (59.2%) were aware that multiple sexual partners is one of the risk factors of cervical cancer. 38.8% were aware that cervical cancer can be prevented by regular cervical screening. Majority of the respondents: 152 (44.7%) had given correct response regarding meaning of cervical cancer screening and 42.8% were aware of Pap smear test for cervical screening. Only 31.6% had performed cervical cancer screening at least once. Overall mean percentage knowledge was 3.08 with SD 0.96.There was weak correlation between knowledge and practice.Conclusion: This study concluded that majority of respondents had inadequate knowledge and practice regarding cervical cancer screening. Thus, cervical cancer screening health camps and awareness program should be conducted at community to national level for women, to increase the level of knowledge and practice regarding cervical cancer screening.


The current study investigated the effect of genotype, growth regulators and type of carbohydrates on callus induction and indirect shoot regeneration in ovary culture of 8 linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) cultivars. Callogenic response varied from 9.17% to 100% depending on the cultivars and medium composition interaction. The replacement of sucrose with a combination of sucrose + maltose significantly improved the callogenesis in 3 or 4 investigated cultivars, depending on growth regulators in the induction medium. The frequency of shoot formation from ovaryderived callus in 5 responsive cultivars ranged from 4.17% to 75.00%, whereas the other three cultivars tested did not exhibit any shoots. The replacement of sucrose with a sucrose + maltose combination in induction medium reduced or completely inhibited shoot formation frequency of responsive cultivars. The significantly highest mean shoot formation frequency (52.50%) was obtained from ovary-derived callus of the cultivar ʻMikael'. The analysis of variance revealed that cultivar (C), combination of growth regulators (GR), type of carbohydrates (CH) and their interaction significantly influenced callus induction and shoot formation frequency. In most cases, a higher shoot regeneration frequency was obtained when callus was from induction medium supplemented with 2 mg l-1 thidiazuron (TDZ) + 1 mg l-1 α-naphthylacetic acid (NAA) with 6% sucrose. Cytological analysis of root tips showed that 21.88% of the regenerated plants were haploids, while another group of regenerants (78.12%) were diploid and mixoploid.


Conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) fibers with high electrical conductivity, flexibility, and robustness are urgently needed for constructing wearable fiber-based electronics. In this study, the highly conductive (4288 S/cm), ultrastrong (a high tensile strength of 956 MPa), and flexible (a low Young's modulus of 3.8 GPa) PEDOT:PSS/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide (EMIM:DCA) (P/ED) fiber was prepared by wet-spinning and a subsequent H2SO4-immersion-drawing process. As far as we know, this is the best performance of the PEDOT:PSS fiber reported so far. The structure and conformation of the P/ED fiber were characterized by FESEM, XPS, Raman spectroscopy, UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, and WAXS. The results show that the high performances of the P/ED fiber are mainly attributed to the massive removal of PSS and high degree of crystallinity (87.9%) and orientation (0.71) of PEDOT caused by the synergistic effect of the ionic liquid, concentrated sulfuric acid, and high stretching. Besides, the P/ED fiber shows a small bending radius of 0.1 mm, and the conductivity of the P/ED fiber is nearly unchanged after 1000 repeated cycles of bending and humidity changes within 50-90%. Based on this, various P/ED fiber-based devices including the circuit connection wire, thermoelectric power generator, and temperature sensor were constructed, demonstrating its wide applications for constructing flexible and wearable electronics.


Abstract. For the first time, continuous vertically resolved aerosol measurements were performed by lidar in Tajikistan, Central Asia. Observations with the multiwavelength polarization Raman lidar PollyXT were conducted during CADEX (Central Asian Dust EXperiment) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, from March 2015 to August 2016. Co-located with the lidar, a sun photometer was also operated. The goal of CADEX is to provide an unprecedented data set on vertically resolved aerosol optical properties in Central Asia, an area highly affected by climate change but largely missing vertically resolved aerosol measurements. During the 18-month measurement campaign, mineral dust was detected frequently from ground to the cirrus level height. In this study, an overview of the measurement period is given and four typical but different example measurement cases are discussed in detail. Three of them are dust cases and one is a contrasting pollution aerosol case. Vertical profiles of the measured optical properties and the calculated dust and non-dust mass concentrations are presented. Dust source regions were identified by means of backward trajectory analyses. A lofted layer of Middle Eastern dust with an aerosol optical thickness (AOT) of 0.4 and an extinction-related Angstrom exponent of 0.41 was measured. In comparison, two near-ground dust cases have Central Asian sources. One is an extreme dust event with an AOT of 1.5 and Angstrom exponent of 0.12 and the other one is a most extreme dust event with an AOT of above 4 (measured by sun photometer) and an Angstrom exponent of −0.08. The observed lidar ratios (and particle linear depolarization ratios) in the presented dust cases range from 40.3 to 46.9 sr (and 0.18–0.29) at 355 nm and from 35.7 to 42.9 sr (0.31–0.35) at 532 nm wavelength. The particle linear depolarization ratios indicate almost unpolluted dust in the case of a lofted dust layer and pure dust in the near-ground dust cases. The lidar ratio values are lower than typical lidar ratio values for Saharan dust (50–60 sr) and comparable to Middle Eastern or west-Asian dust lidar ratios (35–45 sr). In contrast, the presented case of pollution aerosol of local origin has an Angstrom exponent of 2.07 and a lidar ratio (particle linear depolarization ratio) of 55.8 sr (0.03) at 355 nm and 32.8 sr (0.08) at 532 nm wavelength.


Directional sensors in wireless visual sensor networks attract growing attention as a promising tool for monitoring the real world; directional sensors consume energy for two main tasks: sensing and communication. Since a VSN contains a number of configurable visual sensors with changeable spherical sectors of restricted angle known as a field of view that is intended to monitor a number of targets located in a random manner over a given area. Therefore maximizing the network lifetime through minimizing power consumption while covering the targets remains a challenge. In this paper, the problem of obtaining a disjoint set cover includes a minimum number of camera sensors is solved. The problem is known to be NP-complete. The sustainable design is improving an existing Iterative Target Oriented Algorithm (ITOA) to cover moving targets move randomly over a given area of deployment starting from entry points reaching to exit ones in a realistic simulation. To evaluate the performance of the modified algorithm, a comparison is provided with three existing algorithms (Iterative centralized Greedy Algorithm (ICGA), Iterative Centralized Forced-directed Algorithm ICFA, and Iterative Target Oriented Algorithm ITOA). Simulation results revealed that the sustainable scheme can find a disjoint set with a minimum number of sensors covers the maximum number of moving targets in an energy-efficient way and extended network lifetime.


Abstract Distributary-mouth bars are important morphological units of deltas which develop under a wide range of wave, tidal, and riverine conditions, and are known to form highly productive subsurface oil and gas reservoirs. This paper extends previous work on purely fluvial mouth bars, to mixed systems where tides are also present. Under these conditions mouth bars can display alternate layers of mud and sand that can ultimately determine their vertical permeability. Herein we propose an analytical, process-based model to explain characteristics of tidal bedding and quantify their extent in mouth bars. Findings from our analytical model are compared with results from the numerical model Delft3D. From landward to seaward and in the absence of tides, our analysis shows that a sand-dominated zone is followed by a depositional environment made of sand and mud mixtures, and finally by mud-dominated areas. With increasing tidal amplitude, the sand–mud mixture zone is gradually replaced by a lamination zone characterized by alternate tidal bedding. Bedding characteristics in mouth bars are defined using the extension of the lamination area and the difference in mud content between coarse and fine sediment layers. Both quantities tend to increase with increasing tidal amplitude. The lamination zone grows while the difference in mud content decreases for small ratios of mud to sand settling velocity and mud to sand concentration. Bottom friction strongly affects tidal bedding by reducing the length of the zone where lamination occurs and increasing differences in mud content between successive layers.


The present descriptive retrospective study was conducted to determine the prevalence of sinusitis and its relationship with bronchial asthma among asthmatic patients between 2 to 16 years of age. Sinusitis was observed in 52 out of 71 patients (73.2%) and the maxillary sinus was the most common involved sinus. The most common finding in Waters X-ray was mucosal wall thickening greater than 6mm. 38.5% of patients with sinusitis had no symptoms or signs of bacterial sinusitis. The most common symptom in asthmatic patients with bacterial sinusitis was constant purulent nasal discharge (40.7%). No statistical difference was found between asthmatic patients with or without sinusitis with regard to severity of asthma and the number of hospital admissions (P>0.05). It is suggested that antibiotic therapy for sinusitis should be administered only to asthmatic patients who do not respond to usual treatment for asthma and have obvious signs of bacterial sinusitis, since the abnormal finding in the Waters X-ray in asthmatic patients may be due to chronic hyperplastic eosinophilic sinusitis (CHS).


Background The Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) synovial tissue is heterogenous with a mix of stromal and immune cells. Macrophages and T cells are the most abundant immune cells, while B cells are more rare and often found within ectopic lymphoid structures. Much of our understanding of the synovial inflammation is based on different immunostainings approaches. Here we have utilised the recently described Spatial Transcriptomics (ST) method to explore the RNA profile of tissue sections from RA synovial biopsies.1 Materials and methods Two snap frozen synovial biopsies from ACPA+ HLA shared epitope+ RA patients undergoing joint replacement surgery was used. Sections of 7 µm representing a single layer of cells were cut and placed on a barcoded ST slide, fixated and stained using Hematoxylin and Eosin. Thereafter permeabilization of the cells and cDNA synthesis of the captured mRNA were conducted on chip, removal of the tissue and the DNA from the surface was released for library preparation. Sequencing was performed using Next-generation sequencing. The RNA-Seq data was de-convoluted back to its original position in the section based on the barcoded information, using the ST pipeline (https://github.com/jfnavarro/st_pipeline). Data analysis was performed using the R packages DESeq and EdgeR.2–3 Results Extracted RNA from the synovial biopsies had RIN values of 8.6 and 9.2 respectively. On average 1 M reads per sample was generated with 17 800 numbers of detected genes from each tissue section. When focusing on the lymphocyte aggregates within the tissue, some displayed features of fully developed ectopic lymphnode stuctures including expression of T cell, B cell and APC specific and related genes such as CD2, CD52, CD20 and CXCL13. Differential expression analysis revealed clusters corresponding to fibrotic areas with high expression of genes involved in protein synthesis and protein-protein interactions, areas of infiltrates with high numbers of inflammation markers and areas surrounding infiltrates with genes involved in wound repair, tissue remodelling, motility and invasion. Conclusion The spatial transcriptomic method allows for both unbiased analysis of the transcriptional activity in tissue biopsies as well as hypothesis driven investigation of cell subsets defined by combinations of markers not easily captured by 2–3 parameters. References 1. Ståhl PL, et al.:Visualisation and analysis of gene expression in tissue sections by spatial transcriptomics. Science. 2016;353(6294):78–82 2. Love MI, Huber W, Anders S: Moderated estimation of fold change and dispersion for RNA-seq data with DESeq2. Genome Biology. 2014;15:550. 3. Robinson MD, McCarthy DJ, Smith GK: edgeR: a Bioconductor package for differential expression analysis of digital gene expression data. Bioinformatics. 2010;26(1):139–140.


Cenozoic volcanism within Mongolia forms part of a large central Asian province of intra-plate magmatism. Numerous small-volume volcanic cones and alkali basalt lava flows have been formed since c. 30 Ma; from c. 12 Ma activity has been focused on the uplifted Hangai dome. A mechanism for melting beneath the dome has, however, thus far remained enigmatic. Some of the oldest basalts on the Hangai dome erupted at its centre at ∼6 Ma and their geochemistry suggests a garnet lherzolite source region at 90–100 km depth. These lavas have Pb isotope compositions similar to those of depleted Indian mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 17·822, 207 Pb/ 204 Pb = 15·482, 208 Pb/ 204 Pb = 37·767), which may be indicative of the involvement of ambient asthenospheric mantle in their petrogenesis. Younger basalts exhibit a gradual shift in isotopic composition towards a source that has less radiogenic Pb and more radiogenic Sr, evidenced by the eruption of lavas with 206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 16·991 and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr = 0·704704. The youngest lavas, dated as younger than ∼8 ka, have the highest K 2 O contents (up to 5·2 wt %) and are characterized by the most enriched trace-element signatures; they are interpreted to represent melting of a metasomatically altered sub-continental lithospheric mantle containing phlogopite. Concurrent with progressive melting of the lithosphere, melting appears to propagate outwards from the centre of the dome to its margins; by 0·7 Ma the marginal magmatism is interpreted to result from melting of a depleted MORB-source mantle component with a smaller contribution from the lithospheric mantle. The spatial and temporal variations in melting beneath the Hangai dome may be explained by either lithospheric delamination or the presence of a small-scale thermal anomaly in the upper mantle. Although it is not possible to distinguish between these models on the basis of geochemistry alone, the lack of a viable mechanism to generate small-scale upwelling lends support to a model involving delamination of the lithospheric mantle beneath the Hangai dome.


It is common knowledge among Greek information and communication technology professionals and business people that despite the considerable growth of internet users' population to levels comparable to the rest of the digitally developed European Union counties, eCommerce activity is at a standstill at almost just over the 0 level. The results of the various surveys conducted locally are quite interesting statistically but do not explain the reasons Greece is not progressing towards the digital economy through the growth of eCommerce activity. This research is an attempt to break the norm in an effort to provide some insightful information about what is going wrong in Greece in relation not to internet penetration but to eCommerce activity. For this purpose on one hand business, marketing and technology executives were asked to share their understanding on certain qualitative issues related to the utilization of the technology and their strategic approach towards it through structured interviews with them. Additionally the web sites of a quite significant number of local medium and large size companies were evaluated based on a certain template designed for this purpose in an effort to compare executives' thoughts with actual deeds. On the other hand, everyday consumers, not particularly internet users, were conveniently sampled to express their concerns about eCommerce practice and reveal the reasons behind their hesitation to actively get involved with it. The results point to disappointing low investments in technology and poor organization of eCommerce strategies or completely lack of it despite the fact that professionals are fully aware and appreciative of the benefits such an undertaking would have if done properly. This was also verified by a number of the local web site designers interviewed during the study. As of the consumers, it verified their negative attitude towards eCommerce and provided the reasons behind this reality. There is a certain gap to be bridged between business people and the consumers which the study identifies while suggesting possible solutions to the problem.


This paper presents the results of a research where the phenomenon of indiscipline was problematized approaching its possible relationship with the production of gender identities, in and through school. By means of interviews and direct observation, in classes of the 8th grade of a school was carried out a study about the (male and female) teachers? attitudes towards what they consider their pupils? indiscipline (which are teenagers, about 13 / 14 years old). At the same time it was made an analysis about the practices of school punishment, threreby a listing of the punishments imposed to "desobedient" students? behavior. This listing came out from consultation to the " book of disciplinary records of the students". So it was possible to bring about, among others, some important aspects of this process: a) the coherence (or incoherence) between what teachers consider "indiscipline" and their actual practices and attitudes towards students? behavior; b) The diferences and analogies among (male and female) teachers?practices and attitudes c) The different ways in which teachers deal with the manifestations of gender and sexuality of the (male and female) students, at the same time associate them to the practices of insubordination and indiscipline; d) the production of identities, distinctions and inequalities of gender and sexuality, thru school practices.


In this post we present a discussion between Kevin Deegan-Krause, Tim Haughton, Stephen Whitefield and Jan Rovný on the current state of knowledge on political parties in Eastern Europe, what we still needs to learned and how researchers can get there. The discussion had its origins in the Whither Eastern Europe conference held at the University of Florida in January 2014 and accompanies a special section on parties in the forthcoming issue of East European Politics and Societies.


Echolocation is the process of building an acoustic image of the environment by sensing the ultrasonic echoes that are bounced off objects in the environment. It is naturally observed in bats and dolphins, who use it for navigation and orientation. The Finite Element Method is one of several numerical techniques that simplify the abstract equations of calculus and obtain approximate solutions for real-world physical problems. This thesis evaluates the suitability of various numerical 'Element Methods' for the modelling and design of ultrasonic transducers and the study of their radiated and scattered sound fields. To achieve this, it determines the selection criteria to choose between the alternate methods and identifies the essential set of elements that are required to model the problem. Further, it studies various commercial FEM software packages and identifies software language features necessary to implement the software package. It arrives at conclusions regarding the basic requirements to develop a minimal software package capable of modelling ultrasonic transducers. On the basis of this thesis, software can be developed to provide a structure upon which future researchers can build and develop more complex models, such as those involving transducers and their interaction with the environment.


Tactical networks are highly constrained in communication and computation resources, particularly at the edge. This limitation can be effectively addressed by the emerging technology of mobile micro-clouds (MMCs) that is aimed at providing seamless computing/data access at the edge of such networks. Deployment of MMCs can enable the delivery of critical, timely, and mission relevant situational awareness to end users in highly dynamic environments. Different from traditional clouds, an MMC is smaller and deployed closer to users, typically attached to a fixed or mobile basestation that is deployed in the field. Due to the relatively small coverage area of each basestation, a mobile user may frequently switch across areas covered by different basestations. An important issue therefore is where to place the service so that acceptable service performance can be maintained, while coping with the user and network dynamics. Existing work has considered this problem mainly from a theoretical angle. In this paper, with the aim of pushing the theoretical results one step closer to practice, we study the performance of dynamic service placement using an emulation framework, namely the Common Open Research Emulator (CORE) which embeds the Extendable Mobile Ad-hoc Network Emulator (EMANE). We first present the system architecture used in the emulation. Then, we present the message exchange and control process between different network entities, as well as methods of deciding where to place the services. Finally, we perform emulation using real-world user mobility traces of San Francisco taxis and present the results. The results show several insightful observations in a realistic network setting, such as the impact of randomness and delay on the service placement performance.


The Mediterranean diet is known to be one of the healthiest dietary patterns in the world due to its relation with a low morbidity and mortality for some chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to review literature regarding the relationship between Mediterranean diet and healthy aging. A MEDLINE search was conducted looking for literature regarding the relationship between Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular disease (or risk factors for cardiovascular disease), cancer, mental health and longevity and quality of life in the elderly population (65 years or older). A selection of 36 articles met the criteria of selection. Twenty of the studies were about Mediterranean diets and cardiovascular disease, 2 about Mediterranean diets and cancer, 3 about Mediterranean diets and mental health and 11 about longevity (overall survival) or mental health. The results showed that Mediterranean diets had benefits on risks factors for cardiovascular disease such as lipoprotein levels, endothelium vasodilatation, insulin resistance, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, antioxidant capacity, the incidence of acute myocardial infarction, and cardiovascular mortality. Some positive associations with quality of life and inverse associations with the risk of certain cancers and with overall mortality were also reported.


This paper is a contribution to formal ontology study. Some entities belong more or less to a class. In particular, some individual entities are attached to classes whereas they do not check all the properties of the class. To specify whether an individual entity belonging to a class is typical or not, we borrow the topological concepts of interior, border, closure, and exterior. We define a system of relations by adapting these topological operators. A scale of typicality, based on topology, is introduced. It enables to define levels of typicality where individual entities are more or less typical elements of a concept.


The relationship of B cell hyperactivity and retrovirus expression to other autoimmune traits were examined in recombinant inbred (N X 8 RI) lines derived from NZB and C58 progenitor strains. Although both NZB and C58 mice expressed high levels of xenotropic virus, the RI lines segregated in virologic phenotype, as high or low expressors of the endogenous virus. The expression of the C58-derived ecotropic virus occurred in only one-half of the RI lines, and its expression in the remaining lines of mice appeared to be suppressed by the NZB-derived allele at the Fv-1 locus. The inheritance of B lymphocyte abnormalities of the NZB progenitor strain was investigated by studying spontaneous and SRBC-induced production of IgM by the spleen cells of the RI lines. These two phenotypes of B cell hyperactivity were found to be determined by independently segregating genes and they were not linked to immunoglobulin structural gene loci. The strain distribution patterns of virus expression and B cell hyperactivity in the RI lines did not match with each other or with the inheritance patterns of other immunologic abnormalities, such as defective AMLR and production of autoantibodies.


Background:Pregnancy-limited antiretroviral therapy (PLAT) drastically reduces HIV-1 transmission to the newborn, but may select for antiretroviral drug resistance mutations in mothers. Methods:We evaluated antiretroviral-naive, HIV-1-infected pregnant women who received PLAT between 1998 and 2005, and had 2-month or 6-month postpartum plasma samples available with HIV-1 RNA levels more than 500 copies/ml. Postpartum drug resistance mutation rates were assessed blindly using population sequencing and allele-specific PCR (ASPCR) of the M184V, K103N and D30N mutations. Factors associated with selection of drug resistance mutations were investigated. Results:One hundred and forty-six women were included. All women received zidovudine and lamivudine during pregnancy; 76% also received nelfinavir and 8.2% nevirapine. Resistance data were available from 114 women (78%). Postpartum rates of single-class, dual-class, and triple-class resistance were, respectively, 43, 6.1 and 0% (63.2, 10.5 and 1.7% by ASPCR). In women receiving dual or triple PLAT, respectively, postpartum M184V/I rates were 65% (95% by ASPCR) and 28.7% (51.6% by ASPCR), respectively (P < 0.01). Postpartum nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) resistance rates among women receiving nevirapine were 25% for K103N (37.5% by ASPCR) and 12.5% for Y188C. Protease inhibitor resistance rates in women receiving nelfinavir were 1.1% for D30N (1.1% by ASPCR) and 1.1% for L90M. Dual versus triple PLAT and prolonged zidovudine exposure were associated with selection of M184V. Nevirapine use and length of zidovudine and lamivudine exposure were associated with selection of K103N. Conclusion:PLAT is associated with frequent selection of resistance to drugs with low-genetic barrier. Triple-drug PLAT decreases the odds for M184V selection. Routine postpartum genotypic resistance testing may be useful to guide future treatment decisions in mothers.


Abstract Mineral assemblages and microstructures of a newly identified (retrogressed) eclogite (sensu lato) in the North Dabie Complex (NDC), central-eastern China, indicate early very high-pressure metamorphic relics preserved in a dominant amphibolite-facies host, where no eclogite (sensu stricto) has been positively identified before. The investigated eclogitic rock shows distinct multistage recrystallization, with granulite- and amphibolite-facies assemblages overprinting eclogite-facies relics. The minimum temperature for the eclogite-facies metamorphism is estimated to be ~800-820 °C. A spectacular microstructure of oriented quartz needles (~2-20 μm wide, ~5-200 μm long) in matrix Ca-Na clinopyroxene implies the prior existence of a non-stoichiometric "supersilicic" omphacite stabilized at ultrahigh-pressure (UHP, ³25 kbar) conditions, although no coesite or coesite pseudomorphs have been found in the samples. The absence of coesite may be due to the lack of free silica at UHP conditions or the consumption of silica during retrograde reactions. The inferred UHP conditions metamorphism is further supported by Sm-Nd ages that are equivalent to Triassic metamorphic ages from UHP eclogites in the southeastern Dabie Mountains. This finding expands the UHP terrane northward about 50 km; spatial distribution of subduction/collision-related UHP rocks includes parts of the NDC.


OF THE THESIS Holes-in-the-Wall? Mobility through Individually-Owned Foreign Restaurants in China by Steven Allison Master of Arts in Geography San Diego State University, 2014 Beyond sustenance, culinary tastes and traditions come to represent place-based identities, and changing foodways indicate shifts in dominant ideas and the (re)definition of social barriers. This study investigates how food practices in Suzhou, China, can influence class identities and access to opportunity in the divided and globalizing city. China, with one of the most ancient culinary traditions in the world, and a complex system of cultural conventions surrounding food, represents an ideal site for investigating the relationship between food practices, social and class inclusion, and mobility. Suzhou, just east of Shanghai, is a growing city divided into districts increasingly defined along socioeconomic lines, with Western restaurants proliferating in the wealthier areas. Restaurants serving Western food appeared only 20 years ago, and are novel sites of transnational contact. They offer different ideas, interactions, and opportunities for both restaurant customers and staff alike. Their experiences in these spaces speak to the ways people can contend with class differences and unequal access to opportunity through food. For some of the diners, servers, and owners interviewed, navigating the socioeconomic pressures and barriers presented by an unequal urban environment involves frequenting Western restaurants. These unique spaces can facilitate the development of culinary or social practices and the production of new identities associated with desired social positions, both locally and globally.