The following analysis seeks to demonstrate how the Obama administration,
through its rhetoric, is attempting to build public support for a potential military
conflict with Iran. Further, the study seeks to show how the language of the
Obama administration rhetorically creates the reality of the foreign policy
relationship between Iran and the United States. The study begins with a brief
overview of the US-Iran foreign policy relationship over the course of President
Obama's first term. The analysis then focuses on three primary areas: the
political myth of the inevitability of military conflict with Iran, the Just War rhetoric
of the Obama administration, and the relationship between official-level rhetoric,
the media, and public opinion. Finally, future possibilities of peace and military
conflict are considered. The study analyzes official-level speeches, addresses,
debates, and press briefings delivered between January 2012 and March 2013.
The study of political rhetoric exposes the ways in which language informs
foreign and military policy. Understanding the rhetorical construction of foreign
policy relationships and exploring how public support for military conflict is
acquired may offer insights into how military conflict could be prevented in the
future.


Volcanic eruptions have a significant impact on climate when they inject sulfur gases into the stratosphere. The dynamics of eruption plumes is also affected by climate itself, as atmospheric stratification impacts plumes' height. We use an integral plume model to assess changes in volcanic plume maximum rise heights as a consequence of global warming, with atmospheric conditions from an ensemble of global climate models, using three representative concentration pathways (RCP) scenarios. Predicted changes in atmospheric temperature profiles decrease the heights of tropospheric and lowermost stratospheric volcanic plumes and increase the tropopause height, for the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios in the coming three centuries. Consequently, the critical mass eruption rate required to cross the tropopause increases by up to a factor of 3 for tropical regions and up to 2 for high‐latitude regions. A number of recent lower stratospheric plumes, mostly in the tropics (e.g., Merapi, 2010), would be expected to not cross the tropopause starting from the late 21st century, under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. This effect could result in a ≃5–25% decrease in the average SO2 flux into the stratosphere carried by small plumes, the frequency of which is larger than the rate of decay of volcanic stratospheric aerosol, and a ≃2–12% decrease of the total flux. Our results suggest the existence of a positive feedback between climate and volcanic aerosol forcing. Such feedback may have minor implications for global warming rate but can prove to be important to understand the long‐term evolution of volcanic atmospheric inputs.


In this paper, we investigate the ground state of two-dimensional disordered cylinders which contain spinless, interacting electrons using the Hartree-Fock approximation. Calculations of the deviation of the polarization from uniformity reveal a tendency of the charge to rearrange towards the ends of the system. The presence of disorder results in fluctuations of the deviation around its mean value, which are more pronounced when the disorder strength is of the order of the interaction between the electrons.


The increasing prevalence of obesity is one of the problems of today's society. Man needs food to continue living, activities, and even the metabolism of food and appetite plays an important role in receiving foods, Appetite and weight reducing synthetic drugs are recommended for some patients with high prices and significant side effects, and limited effectiveness in the treatment of obesity. Given the epidemic of obesity and the lack of satisfaction with synthetic drugs these days, people are more likely to use herbal medicines. complementary medicine has always been considered for the choice of new treatment. This medicine has a long history. Persian Medicine is one of traditional medicine systems This study was a qualitative study on the Books of Canon and the Makhzan Al-Aladvia. Saffron has been introduced in both modern medicine and in Iranian medicine to reduce appetite In the case of Purslane seed and Chio nut ,Figs, Sesame seeds, Camphor, and Solomon's seal, and Opium poppy, which have been appetite suppressant in traditional medicine books, in the books and articles of modern medicine, they have not reduced appetite. Modern medicine has known Gourd as a weight reducing food with the effects on the fat but there is no talk about its appetite effects. According to traditional Iranian medicine, Chio nut causes anorexia due to creating weakness in the stomach. Therefore, it is not advisable for weight loss. More clinical studies to prove the effects of appetite suppressant and weight loss effects of these herbal medicines seem logical.


After several generations of neglect, movies are finally receiving belated recognition and status in academic and literary circles. A dozen or more periodicals, many of them published by universities, are dedicated to film, and campuses across the country are offering courses in film history, appreciation, and technique. National Educational Television has provided a real bonanza by running two series of classics. The Silent Years and Film Odyssey, the latter screening 26 sound classics, mostly of foreign language films, followed by interviews with still living directors. Thanks to campus and community series of film revivals, plus television reruns, a large audience of film enthusiasts and historians is developing, and the motion picture is being hailed as possibly the most potent art medium of the century, combining as it does elements of literature, music, acting and other performing arts, and all the resources of cinematography, to grip the audience with an immediacy and verisimilitude that no other medium can match. Yet during the 58 years since Birth of a Nation, only a comparative handful of screenplays have been published, and the cinema journals are inclined to consider every aspect of film making before the script. The dogmatic cinema cultist, as contrasted to the movie fan, generally wants to discuss films as "film" - meaning what is on the celluloid - and is far more concerned with shot analysis than with story and scenario. "Auteur" criticism canonizes the director and celebrates the cinematographer but seems to consider the script a vulgar ingredient, especially when so many directors in vogue tend to work with improvisation. Yet the completed film has a meaning; and even with repeated viewings, analysis still requires a text. Most foreign art films are conceived by the director, who is the main or sole author of the script, whereas American movies are apt to be a team effort and to be directed by someone other than the author. Among eminent Hollywood directors, John Huston. Stanley Kubrick, Orson Welles, Sam Peckinpah, and Billy Wilder usually collaborate in writing their films; but such notable directors as William Wyler, George Stevens, John Ford, Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, and Alfred Hitchcock have no hand in the script except perhaps to suggest minor changes during shooting. Accordingly, "purist" cinema critics are apt to dismiss most American films as lacking a single, unified vision and control. This may be an additional reason why film criticism is likely to scant the role of the script in the completed production. At last this is beginning to change; Orson Welles, introducing The Silent Years, noted that critics have finally gotten around to the authors of the scripts. The fact that scripts have so long been ignored and unavailable may be partly the responsibility, in America, of the authors themselves, for prestigious writers were apt to consider their Hollywood work a kind of whoring; many of them complained loudly and bitterly about the vulgarity of Hollywood and the way in which their literary efforts were ripped and mangled by committees, cutters, and studio bosses. Many of the most talented novelists and playwrights have done extensive work for the screen, but their belittlement of such work has kept it from being considered part of their canon. The frustrations of Scott Fitzgerald. Nathanael West, and William Faulkner are well known. Pauline Kael in Raising Kane and John Schultheiss in "The 'Eastern' Writer in Hollywood" 1 have discussed in detail both the contributions and the corruption of the serious writer who goes West. Nevertheless, such writers not only created some of their more important fiction while working for Hollywood but did distinguished work for the screen as well. To ignore the script writing of such notable authors as Faulkner, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Nathanael West, Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood. Dylan Thomas, William Saroyan. Raymond Chandler, John O' Hara. …


Transient execution attacks are critical security threats since those attacks exploit speculative execution which is an essential architectural solution that can improve the performance of out-of-order processors significantly. Such attacks change cache state by accessing secret data during speculative executions, then the attackers leak the secret information exploiting cache timing side-channels. Even though software patches against transient execution attacks have been proposed, the software solutions significantly slow down the performance of a system. In this paper, we propose CacheRewinder, an efficient hardware-based defense mechanism against transient execution attacks. CacheRewinder prevents leakage of secret information by revoking the cache updates done by speculative executions. To restore the cache state efficiently, CacheRewinder exploits the underutilized write-back buffer space as the temporary storage for victimized cache blocks evicted during speculative executions. Hence, when speculation fails CacheRewinder can quickly restore the cache state using the victim blocks held in the write-back buffer. Our evaluation exhibits CacheRewinder can effectively defend against transient execution attacks. The performance overhead by CacheRewinder is only 0.6%, which is negligible compared to the unprotected baseline processor. CacheRewinder also requires minimal storage cost since it exploits unused write-back buffer entries as storage for evicted cache blocks.


Collapse and drying stresses are currently induced during the drying of Eucalyptus nitens in solid wood products. The purpose of this study was to investigate these drying stresses by measuring hygromechanical strains during the drying of Eucalyptus nitens boards. Small samples of Eucalyptus nitens wood were oriented in the radial and tangential directions and tested to determine the hygromechanical strains during the drying process. This experimental work consisted of cantilevered bending tests conducted under variable relative humidity conditions. Tests were performed in a conditioning chamber at 30 °C with an equilibrium moisture content ranging from 22 to 12% under four levels of stress: 0, 10, 20 and 30% of the rupture load. The strains were determined using strain gauges, and the total deflection was measured with a linear variable differential transformer. The results show that in hygromechanical strains during the drying of Eucalyptus nitens, both the surface deformation and mechano-sorption strain were found to be proportional to the applied stress and reached their maximum values in the tangential direction. The total deflection increased 0,18 mm/mm with a surface deformation of 0,20 mm/mm, and the mechano-sorptive strain provides a greater contribution with a value of 0,11 mm/mm, thus corresponding to 59% of the total deformation. In attempts to improve the drying schedules of Eucalyptus nitens to develop solid wood products, mechano-sorptive behavior may be applied to relieve collapse and drying stress.


The cells of the gastrointestinal (GI) epithelium are the first to contact the microbiota and food components. As a direct consequence of this, these cells are the first line of defence and key players in priming the immune response. One of the first responses against GI insults is the formation of the inflammasome, a multiprotein complex assembled in response to environmental threats. The formation of the inflammasome regulates caspase-1 by cleaving it into its active form. Once activated, caspase-1 can cleave interleukin-1β (IL-1β), which promotes adaptive and humoral immunity. Some strains, like Lactobacillus johnsonii N6.2, are able to modulate the biosynthesis of important host metabolites mediating inflammation. Of these metabolites are the pro-inflammatory kynurenines. L. johnsonii N6.2 is able to downregulate kynurenines biosynthesis via a redox active mechanism negatively affecting indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase activity. In this study, we evaluated the effects of L. johnsonii N6.2 combined with the natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecule rosmarinic acid (RA). Inflammasome assembly and the kynurenine pathway were evaluated in GI samples of BioBreeding diabetes-prone (BB-DP) rats. In this work, BB-DP rats were fed daily with RA, L. johnsonii N6.2; or both combined. The transcriptional rate and proteins levels of inflammasome and kynurenine pathway components in ileum tissue were evaluated. Elevated levels of pro-caspase-1 were observed in rats fed with L. johnsonii, while RA had no effect on pro-caspase-1 expression. Western blot assays demonstrated that L. johnsonii fed rats showed lower levels of mature caspase-1, when compared to the other treatments. Furthermore, IL-1β maturation followed a similar pattern across the treatments. Differences were also observed between treatments in expression levels of key enzymes in the kynurenine pathway. These findings support the role of L. johnsonii in modulating the assembly of the inflammasome as well as some steps of the pro-inflammatory kynurenine pathway.


This Application Note will highlight the design considerations incurred in a high frequency power supply using the Phase Shifted Resonant PWM control technique. An overview of this switching technique including comparisons to existing fixed frequency non-resonant and variable frequency Zero Voltage Switching is included. Numerous design equations and associated voltage, current and timing waveforms supporting this technique will be highlighted. A general purpose Phase Shifted converter design guide and procedure will be introduced to assist in weighing the various design tradeoffs. An experimental 500 Watt, 48 volt at 10.5 amp power supply design operating from a preregulated 400 volt DC input will be presented as an example. Considerations will be given to the details of the magnetic, power switching and control circuitry areas. A summary of comparative advantages, differences and tradeoffs to other conversion alternatives is included. UC3875 CONTROL CIRCUIT SCHEMATIC


The evolution of a novel form of single-phase switched reluctance motor, suitable for example for high-speed fans is described. The motor has four stator and four rotor poles, but only two coils. The new motor is derived by simple analysis from the basic 2-pole machine using sweeping assumptions. It is predicted to have only half the core length, less copper loss, but significantly more iron loss than the 2-pole form. These conclusions are tested using computer-based analysis, and test results from a prototype motor are presented which confirm the attractiveness of the design. Attention then turns to the starting problem of all such machines, and a method using permanent magnets is shown to be particularly appropriate for the new motor. The operation of this method is analysed, and simulated starting responses are compared with experimental results.


The product of the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) gag gene, Pr76gag, is a polyprotein precursor which is cleaved by the viral protease to yield the major structural proteins of the virion during particle assembly in avian host cells. We have recently shown that myristylated forms of the RSV Gag protein can induce particle formation with very high efficiency when expressed in mammalian cells (J. W. Wills, R. C. Craven, and J. A. Achacoso, J. Virol. 63:4331-4343, 1989). We made use of this mammalian system to examine the abilities of foreign antigens to be incorporated into particles when fused directly to the myristylated Gag protein. Our initial experiments showed that removal of various portions of the viral protease located at the carboxy terminus of the RSV Gag protein did not disrupt particle formation. We therefore chose this region for coupling of iso-1-cytochrome c from Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Gag. This was accomplished by constructing an in-frame fusion of the CYC1 and gag coding sequences at a common restriction endonuclease site. Expression of the chimeric gene resulted in synthesis of the Gag-cytochrome fusion protein and its release into the cell culture medium. The chimeric particles were readily purified by simple centrifugation, and transmission electron microscopy of cells that produced them revealed a morphology similar to that of immature type C retrovirions.


Towards an identification of "Linguistic Unease". This paper argues that the assessment of sociolinguistic justice should pass through the promotion of linguistic ease, analysed through a number of sociolinguistic parameters already in use for the repertoires of multilingual communities. Their consideration makes it possible to focus on complexity of globalising and localising forces, beyond the West phalian model of nation-state. In particular, three axes of analysis should be taken into account: the formality of situations; the sense of belonging; special domains, like school and writing.

KEYWORDS: Sociolinguistics, linguistic repertoire, linguistic justice, linguistic unease


This paper has three major objectives: (1) to analyse whether the gender of politicians in India is relevant to the educational achievements of the residents of the districts in which they were elected; (2) to test whether politicians are more sensitive to the needs of the people of same gender and (3) to explore the potential channels through which the above relationships operate. By applying econometric techniques to a dataset obtained by merging individual with district-level political data, we concluded that an increase by 10 percentage points in women's political representation produces an increase by 6 percentage points in the probability of children completing primary school. We then found gender-differentiated results: women's political representation affects significantly more girls' than boys' education. This relationship works partly through the improvement of women's access to educational programmes like the Mid-Day Meal scheme, while an increase in school infrastructures does not appear to be an important mediating factor. While an in-depth understanding of the pathways through which women's representation in politics impacts on children's education is hindered by data constraints, our findings seem to point to the importance of the 'role model' effect.


The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the activity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) during sleep in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), in order to detect a precocious imbalance of ANS. Materials and methods: A total of 43 subjects between 4 to 15 years of age (7.26 ± 2.8 years), undergoing a diagnostic assessment for OSA in our Paediatric Sleep Centre (Rome, Italy), for habitual snoring and apnea were enrolled.A time domain index (the R-apnea index) was developed to evaluate heart rate variability (HRV) strictly related to obstructive events during sleep. Moreover Poincare plot of RR intervals during the whole night was calculated. Results: The R-apnea index was negatively correlated with apnea hypopnea index (AHI) (r = -0.360, p = 0.028). Furthermore AHI and the duration of the disease have been identified as the only variables that were significantly correlated with the R-apnea index. Three groups were subsequently created on the basis of polysomnographic findings according to AHI. The R-apnea index resulted significantly lower in patient with severe OSA compared to primary snoring/mild OSA subjects (p Looking at Poincare plot, SD1 (short term variability) showed a diminishing trend with severity of OSA, although not reaching statistical significance. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that an early autonomic impairment was present in children with OSA since HRV was altered in the very short term (R-apnea index) and in short term (SD1).


A stable method of calculation of the electromagnetic response of planar anisotropic laminates to an active source with limited distribution along the strata direction is developed. The laminates can be sandwiched between isotropic, anisotropic, or perfectly conducting covers/substrates. The source is either inside the laminates or in the cover or substrate. Based on the propagator matrix method, the proposed method relies on downward- and upward-going recurrence relations which transfer the tangential electromagnetic fields from one interface to the next in accord with the boundary conditions, even when a distributed active source is embedded between the two interfaces. The response of general anisotropic laminates to active sources within or above them can thus be efficiently and accurately computed without concerning numerical instability. Some focus is put also onto electrically uniaxial materials with anisotropy axes parallel with the strata (fiber-reinforced composite panels). The method works for conductive and dielectric materials, from eddy-currents to microwaves, without specific tuning, as illustrated by a number of examples in comparison to the literature.


Included in the Convention on the Rights of the Child , 1989 ( UN Children's Convention ) is the right of children to the highest attainable standard of health. In terms of article 4 of the UN Children's Convention , in implementing the UN Children's Convention state parties must "undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognised in the present Convention". South Africa showed its commitment to protecting and promoting children's health when it ratified the UN Children's Convention and subsequently adopted the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa , 1996, which includes provisions guaranteeing the health rights of children. South Africa also showed commitment to giving legislative effect to the protection and promotion of children's health by promulgating the National Health Act 61 of 2003, the Children's Act 38 of 2005 and the Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002. The article evaluates existing policy and legislation affecting child health in order to assess how well South African legislation addresses the issue of children's healthcare rights and whether or not it complies with its international law and constitutional obligations in this regard. The article concludes that although much legislation exists, none provides comprehensively for children's healthcare rights, and there are many gaps in existing legislation. Most importantly, there is no reference to the core minimum requirements for the state in providing for the health of children, particularly in the way of healthcare services and nutrition. Further, there is a complete lack of legislation which protects the health needs of children with disabilities. In order to ensure that the health rights of children are protected and promoted, we propose more comprehensive legislative protection. KEYWORDS : Children; basic healthcare; UN Children's Convention ; Convention on the Rights of the Child ; South African legislation; responsibilities; socio-economic rights; section 28 of the Constitution


The case of a 23 years old woman, affected by the Cohen syndrome, who underwent general anesthesia for extensive dental surgery, is reported. The Cohen syndrome is an autosomal recessive syndrome that causes mental retardation, obesity, short stature as well as oral, ocular, and limb anomalies. The problems the anesthesiologist could deal with include the capacity of the patient to cooperate; difficult intubation because of maxillary hypoplasia, micrognathia, narrow and high-arched palate, and prominent maxillary central incisors; generalized muscular hypotonia; moderate leukopenia, that could theoretically increase the risk of infection: and, finally, possible associated mitral valve prolapse or hiatus hernia. In the case reported the presence of mitral valve prolapse or hiatus hernia was ruled out echographically. The patient was premedicated with diazepam and atropine i.m.; general anesthesia was carried out by propofol-fentanyl association and myorelaxation was obtained with atracurium. Nasotracheal intubation was performed easily in spite of oral anomalies so that the usefulness of thyromental distance, which was 7 cm long, as a clinical test to evaluate a potentially difficult intubation was confirmed. Noteworthy, the thyromental distance was the only test which was suitable for the uncooperative patient. At the end of surgery muscular tone recovered promptly and the endotracheal tube could be regularly removed. No complication was registered postoperatively.


Copyright © 2021 Korean Continence Society This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Corresponding author: Kang Su Cho https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3500-8833 Department of Urology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 211 Eonju-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06273, Korea Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Submitted: January 12, 2021 / Accepted after revision: January 19, 2021 To the editor, We appreciate receiving these comments on our research. We read the opinions of the reader with great interest. One reader commented that the drug prescription pattern might be different between the northern and southern regions because of the temperature difference between these regions. This is a very reasonable opinion. Indeed, Yoshimura et al. [1] performed a study on this topic in Japan, which was conducted in 3 towns that included Tobetsu that was located at a higher latitude (43° N), Kumiyama at a middle latitude (35° N), and Sashiki at a lower latitude (26° N). They found that even though the overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms differed significantly between summer and winter, such a difference was more pronounced in the areas at relatively lower latitudes but not in the areas at higher latitudes. We believe that this result was observes due to the existence of changes in the climate depending on the latitude. However, Korea, along with all of its islands, lies between the latitudes 33° and 39° N, and the changes in the climate in this region according to the latitudes are not clear. Therefore, even if there is a difference in latitude, it is estimated that the relationship between season and OAB symptoms may be similar in Korea. However, this is just an inference. Therefore, we agree that it is necessary to check whether there is a change in the drug prescription pattern according to the regional characteristics. In addition, this reader mentioned that it would have been better if a history of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) or its drug history were also investigated. We agree with this opinion. BPH is the main cause of lower urinary tract symptoms in men. In our previous study, cold weather worsened the lower urinary tract symptoms in BPH patients [2]. In fact, the number of patients visiting the hospital was higher in winter than in summer in the BPH/LUTS patient-based dataset of 5 years (2008–2012) according to the National Health Insurance records in Korea [3]. Unfortunately, a history of BPH and the drug prescription for this condition were not investigated because we focused on the association between the seasonal variation and the OAB drug prescription rate. In the present study, the OAB drug prescription rate was found to be higher in cold weather, and this persisted in the subgroup analysis by age groups. This suggests that OAB symptoms may be associated with the seasonal variation in young men without BPH, as well as in old men with BPH. However, this is only a conjecture, and further research is needed to determine the exact correlation. Therefore, we agree that a history of BPH and its prescribed medication should be investigated in future studies. We would like to express our gratitude for this reader's comments that can supplement our research, and we will reflect on these opinions when conducting further research.


The approach to development policy that is illustrated in this volume has emerged from two parallel lines of research. The first consists in developing models that incorporate basic features of the resource endowments, productive structure, and policy constraints on a particular country. Studies based on structural characteristics of Japan, Chile, Israel, and Pakistan illustrate this procedure. These models are used either to analyze the sources of growth and structural change in the past or to simulate the effects of alternative policies in the future. The second line of research consists in comparative econometric studies that seek to identify uniform patterns of change in the structure of demand, production, and trade, as well as the effects on these patterns of size and other country characteristics.


Avalanche photodiodes (APDs) based on 4H-SiC are excellent candidates to replace PMTs in the UV, particularly for harsh environment applications. Here, we report on dark current analysis of 4H-SiC APDs with separate absorption and multiplication regions. Detailed analysis of the leakage current as a function of device size showed that for a given device design, the bulk leakage component is dominant at U>600V, while surface leakage is dominant at U<600V. Electron beam induced current was also used to establish a correlation between leakage current and major types of defects in the substrate. There were two types of dislocations that could be easily distinguished in the images, including threading (spots) and basal plane (comet-like) dislocations. Using image processing software, densities of threading dislocations as well as basal plane dislocations were obtained and correlated with leakage currents of the corresponding APDs. The results suggest a strong effect of threading dislocations on dark current. Densities of basal plane dislocations were very similar in all devices tested suggesting that a role of basal plane dislocations was not dominant in leakage current of the APDs.


This narration gives a brief account of a British Physician John Vetch (1783–1835) who battled against trachoma largely contracted in the battlefield and had to fight a personal battle in the process.

The word 'ophthalmia' is used to describe inflammation of the eye especially of the conjunctiva, and is used interchangeably with the word 'ophthalmitis'. A book entitled An Account of the Ophthalmia , written by John Vetch and published in 1807 (figure 1) established Vetch's reputation as an expert in the ophthalmias, and made him famous. This report is a fundamental part of the history of purulent ocular inflammation. In 1820 he published another book entitled A Practical Treatise on Diseases of the Eye (Cover image of this issue of the BJO and figure 2). The legend for the colour plate on the cover reads "represents a case of purulent Ophthalmia, in which the external oedema has …


The aseptic loosening of artificial joints with associated periprosthetic bone resorption may be partly due to the suppression of osteoblast function to form new bone by wear debris derived from the joint. To assess the effect of wear debris on osteoblasts, we cultured normal human osteoblasts (NHOst) in contact with several kinds of microspheres as models of wear debris. The NHOst in contact with polystyrene, polyethylene, and alumina microspheres showed a lower differentiation level than NHOst alone as estimated from the amounts of deposited calcium. On the other hand, hydroxyapatite particles enhanced the differentiation of NHOst. In addition, sintered hydroxyapatite enhanced expression of osteocalcin mRNA and gap junctional communication of NHOst. This study suggests that polystyrene, polyethylene, and alumina microspheres have the potential to disorder not only the differentiation but also the homeostasis of NHOst in contact with them. However, hydroxyapatite enhanced the differentiation as well as the homeostasis of NHOst, even in microsphere form, suggesting its good biocompatibility as biomaterials for bone tissues.


Several antiplatelet agents with different mechanisms of action are currently available for secondary prevention of ischemic stroke. When used as a single agent, the efficacy of antiplatelet therapy is modest. Aspirin is the best-studied and most widely used antiplatelet agent for stroke prevention; however, it provides only an approximately 15% relative risk reduction for secondary prevention of stroke or other major vascular events.1 Combining 2 antiplatelet agents with different mechanisms of action was demonstrated to provide a substantial increase in efficacy in the ESPS II study.2 In this trial, the relative risk reduction for secondary stroke prevention was 37% with use of a combination of extended-release dipyridamole and aspirin. Importantly, the risk of major bleeding attributable to the combination therapy was no greater than that seen with aspirin alone.

Clopidogrel was shown to be a safe and efficacious medication for secondary prevention of vascular events in the CAPRIE study.3 In this trial, the benefit of clopidogrel over aspirin for the prevention of vascular events was a relative risk reduction of 8.7%. In addition, there was less major bleeding in the clopidogrel group, yielding a relative net benefit of about 10%. It has been assumed by many physicians that the combination of clopidogrel with aspirin may be substantially more effective than either agent alone. In fact, many patients with cerebrovascular disease are currently treated with this combination despite the absence of any substantial safety or efficacy data regarding the use of this combination in stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients. Recently, the results of the Clopidogrel in Unstable Angina to Prevent Recurrent Events (CURE) trial were published.4 This study assessed the safety and efficacy of the combination of clopidogrel and aspirin in patients with acute coronary syndromes without ST-segment elevation. Can the CURE results be extrapolated …


Serotonin is a neurotransmitter synthesized by the amino acid tryptophan (Trp) that has the potential to impact the behaviour and activity of dogs. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of supplemental Trp and a 12-week incremental training regimen on the voluntary activity and behaviour of client-owned Siberian Huskies. Sixteen dogs were blocked for age, BW and sex and then randomly allocated to either the control or treatment group. Both groups were fed the same dry extruded diet; however, the treatment group were supplemented with Trp to achieve a Trp: large neutral amino acid ratio of 0.075:1. Once a week, a 5-minute video recording was taken immediately pre- and post- exercise to evaluate dogs' behaviours. Activity monitors were used to record voluntary activity on both training and rest days. Linear regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between training week and time spent performing each behaviour. Additionally, a repeated measure mixed model was used to test differences between diet groups and training week for both behavioural and activity count data. The time spent performing agonistic behaviours prior to exercise was negatively associated with week for treatment dogs (β = −0.32, 95% CI [−0.55, −0.10], P < 0.05) and no change was observed for control dogs (β = −0.13, 95% CI [−0.41, 0.15], P > 0.10). Treatment did not have any effect on activity levels (P > 0.10). For all dogs, locomotive behaviours decreased prior to exercise as weeks progressed (P < 0.05), while run day voluntary activity depended on the distance run that day (P < 0.05). These data suggest that sled dogs experience an exercise-induced reduction in voluntary locomotion in response to both single bouts and repetitive bouts of exercise. Additionally, tryptophan supplementation may decrease agonistic behaviours, without having any effect on voluntary activity.


Abstract
The concept of risk has been interpreted, defined and researched overtime in many different ways. This research uses semi-structured interviews to explore the perception of risk through the views of UK bank managers. Although different risks are identified and discussed in this thesis, the main risk that these interviews are concerned with is credit risk. It builds on previous work from Mikes (2009, 2011) and Wahlstrom (2009) and uses structuration theory to understand how human beings interact with social systems to produce organizational outcomes.

Twenty five (25) interviews were conducted among banking managers and executives over a period of close to two years. There were five (5) banks that participated in this research but the largest two banks (Glass bank and Penny bank) were analysed and presented separately because of the significant differences in their approaches to risk management despite their similarities in size and international operations. The other three (3) banks were much smaller in operations with no global operations and not much overall differences in their approach to risk management.

 The research finds three distinct approaches to risk management, based on perception. The first approach is based on a perception of risk as a measureable and quantitative construct. Managers and risk executives from Glass bank are strong believers of this risk philosophy and hence, the social subject (agent) is consciously separated from the object (the system) and the rule and procedures are viewed as being separate and distinct from the agents that implement and reproduce them. This approach mirrors what Layder (1987) refers to as "structural dualism" where the subject and the object are independent of each other but work together to produce organizational outcome. The emphasis in this approach is on the structure.

 The second approach to risk is situated in the belief that risk should be explored as a social variable, where the emphasis is not exclusive to measurement and calculation but rather on understanding risk by examining customer needs and building relationships through communication in an effort to better serve risk needs. This approach was mostly evident in Penny bank where risk is operationalized, as opposed to being centralized as in Glass bank and the focus is on customer satisfaction and a moderate risk-return philosophy. The emphasis on this approach is on the agent.

The third approach to risk, views risk as a mixture of both system or structure and agent. This approach was most common among the other three (3) smaller banks. Fairly equal weight was ascribed to understanding risk as a social force and measuring it as a wealth creator.

In each case, the role of the agent was recognised but the importance of the agent in reproducing organizational outcome is different. This study also finds that the changes made to the risk management system after the financial crisis reflects an intensification of the old procedures in all of the banks. This, is a mostly because bank managers do not believe that the system is inherently flawed (as argued by McGoun 1995) but rather needs to be improved and perfected.


Sunlight is a clean, cheap, and abundant reagent. Many light-initiated reactions can be carried out in water, making photochemistry an ideal tool for pollution abatement and/or elimination. We studied the photoreactivity of different families of common organic micropollutants: light-initiated processes in the absence or presence of co-oxidants, and photocatalyzed reactions using different photocatalysts and composites. Based on the experimental evidences found, detailed transformation mechanisms have been proposed that help understand the reactivity of organic micropollutants and predict their environmental fate. Our approach includes the study of the photophysics for each family of compounds, its reactivity upon direct photolysis, adsorption onto photocatalysts, photocatalytic reactivity, thermodynamics, and kinetics of the processes involved (pKa, Eº, rate constants, etc.), product analysis, and ecotoxicological assessment. Different commonly overlooked problems, related to the kinetics of the process, are reported, and a model is proposed that includes the possibility of adsorption on different types of active sites, leading to different reactivities.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate conduction of acupuncture effect and the influence of mechanical pressing meridians on it.

METHODS
In twenty healthy volunteers (8 males and 12 females, aged 29 years on average), by using a Frewil Q. F. apparatus, transcutaneous CO2 emission (TCE) was measured before, during and after acupuncture at Neiguan (PC 6), respectively. The locations being measured were Quze (PC 3) and four points including two non-acupoints along the Pricardium Meridian (Point A and B) and two non-acupoints apart from the Pericardium Meridian (Point C and D). Point A was located at the lower one fourth of the line connecting Tianquan (PC 2) and Quze (PC 3), and Point B located at the middle of the line connecting Ximen (PC 4) and Quze (PC 3). Point C was located 2 cm lateral on the ulnar side to Point A, and Point D located 2 cm lateral on the ulnar side to Point B. The above results were compared with those obtained after mechanical pressure of 1 kg (area 1 cm X 2 cm) applied on Ximen (PC 4) and Daling (PC 7), respectively, to observe their effect on TCE.

RESULTS
During and after acupuncture at Neiguan (PC 6) without mechanical pressure, TCE at Quze (PC 3), point A and B increased significantly (P < 0.05), but not at point C and D (P > 0.05). While applying mechanical pressure at Ximen (PC 4), no significant increase was found on the three points during and after acupuncture. When applying pressure at Daling (PC 7), significant increases of TCE were also found at Quze (PC 3) and point A during acupuncture (P < 0.05), and a significant increase of TCE was found at point B after acupuncture with pressure keeping (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Acupuncture can enhance energy metabolism along meridians, and this effect can be blocked by mechanical pressure.


Groups of ten cattle were exposed to 0, 40 and 400 adult Rhipicephalus appendiculatus feeding once a week for 24 weeks. Although no differences in cumulative percentage weight gain were found at the end of the experiment, animals free of ticks performed better during the first 12 weeks. A marked recovery of the 400-tick group was recorded during weeks 13–24 and after ticks were removed. Haemoglobin and packed cell volume values were lowered in tick-infested animals but no clear trends were observed in red and white blood cells. No differences between the percentages of ticks feeding in the 2 tick-infested groups on day 2 were observed but higher numbers of females were feeding on the 40-tick group on day 5. More ticks were found on day 5 after tick application to the cattle during weeks 1–6 than in the rest of the experiment. Significant correlations were found between lymph node enlargement and ear damage when they were tested against tick load. R. appendiculatus nymphs feeding on the formerly tick-infested cattle were fewer, lighter and engorged in a shorter time than those on the control animals. The possible causes for the reduction in ticks feeding, the changes in cattle weights, blood composition and development of host resistance are discussed.


The author has used the term 'biocultural semiotics' in her previous work, but has never defined this field. She presents twelve propositions that describe and motivate a biocultural semiotics. The author draws on thirty years of field work in Belize and her previous research in cultural and bio-semiotics in support of each of the propositions. Propositions include: biology and culture are so bound as to make a discussion of either without inclusion of the other impossible; both umwelt and the sign are central; every sign is an act of communication; every sign has many interpretant(s); perception is influenced by our physical and cultural umwelt; self is critical to our vision of our place in this umwelt; epigenetic phenomena influence how genes are expressed and effect/affect both phenotype and behaviour; body boundaries are cultural and political creations; the body is a political body and its ownership is always contested; disease and its congeners are cultural constructs; sickness and its signs are created as part of an ongoing personal, social, and political narrative; today we face both uncertainty and opportunity in the natural and cultural sciences. She argues that semiotics possesses the language and methodologies to achieve an understanding of the biological/cultural relationship.


Metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc-dependent endopeptidases that play essential roles as the mediator of matrix degradation and remodeling during organogenesis, wound healing and angiogenesis. Although MMPs were originally identified as matrixin proteases that act in the extracellular matrix, more recent research has identified members of the MMP family in unusual locations within the cells, exerting distinct functions in addition to their established role as extracellular proteases. During thrombopoiesis, megakaryocytes (Mks) sort MMPs to nascent platelets through pseudopodial-like structure known as proplatelets. Previous studies identified gelatinases, MMP-2 and MMP-9, as a novel regulator system of Mks and the platelet function. In this work we have exploited a sensitive immunoassay to detect and quantify multiple MMP proteins and their localization, in conditioned medium and sub-cellular fractions of primary human CD34+-derived Mks. We provide evidence that Mks express other MMPs in addition to gelatinases MMP-2 and MMP-9, peculiar isoforms of MMP-9 and MMPs with a novel nuclear compartmentalization.


This paper presents a Collocated Ad-hoc Collaboration (CAC) application -the MobiTop system which is a multi-mobile system that allows users to come together with their mobile devices in an ad-hoc manner, and integrates together as one seamless display surface with multi-touch capabilities. It has transformed the society into a more hands-on environment with the innovation of this system. Our findings show that users tend to settle and compromise when working collaboratively, for instance setting with an inverted orientation of the screen rather than dynamically positioning themselves around the MobiTop system. Consequently, users tend to draw an 'upside-down' object orientated towards other users rather than towards themselves. Several reasons contributed towards this form of interaction are such as the complexity of the objects, the bezel on the tablet and group-like behavior. With this understanding, we believe that MobiTop system can provide the next step in the evolution of collaboration beyond the expensive tabletops systems for the society.


: This study aimed to examine the effect of cooling Reciproc endodontic files prior to preparation on their cyclic fatigue life at simulated body temperature. Methods: Sixty-four Reciproc R40 files were randomly split into 4 groups (n = 16), as follows: control, cooling at −50°C, cooling at −16°C, and cooling at −80°C groups. The files were used in a simulated metal canal with a curvature of 90° and a radius of 3-mm. The metal block was submerged in a water tank adjusted to a temperature of 37°C. The time to file fracture and the length of the broken fragment were measured and recorded. The data were analyzed using a Kruskal–Wallis H test. Results: The time to fracture was significantly lower in the control group compared to the cooling groups (p< 0.05). No differences in the time to fracture (p> 0.05) were observed between the cooling groups, and all groups exhibited similar length of the fractured fragments (p> 0.05). Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that cooling Reciproc R40 files us-ing different methods prior to preparation improves its cyclic fatigue resistance.


Appraisal of the results of surgical treatment of 7 patients with arterial aneurysms of the carotid channel convinced the authors of the useful applicability of extra-intracranial anastomosis in occlusion of the cerebral arteries. The anastomosis provides for adequate compensation of circulation in the brain in occlusion of not only the internal carotid artery but also the middle cerebral artery. Depending on the surgical situation, extra-intracranial anastomosis can be performed both as a planned procedure and as an emergency measure. Emergency establishment of the anastomosis is useful in all cases of complications of the operations terminating in occlusion of the internal carotid or middle cerebral artery.


textabstractThe paper is an attempt to analyse the likely effects of compensatory social programmes such as Misiones Bolivarianas on community organisations in barrios and their participation in the planning and implementation of barrio upgrading projects, based on the case of the CAMEBA project in Caracas, Venezuela.
The low level of community (target group) participation in Project CAMEBA has been compounded by a profoundly paternalistic approach of the national government that promised immediate relief and benefits in the form of compensatory programmes thus reinforcing habitual dependency amongst the poor people. These immediate-benefit programmes seem to have had an inhibiting effect on the community organisation and participation in the upgrading project, which had long term objectives and had aspired to create sustainable self-reliant communities in the project's intervention areas. Such conclusion is reinforced by the results of the survey, which clearly shows that the awareness of the community regarding compensatory programmes is by and large greater than that of the upgrading project, even though project CAMEBA implementation started about four years before the apperance of the Misiones Bolivarianas.
This situation has somehow hindered the process of community organisation which in any case involves training of communities to be legitimate and autonomous by getting rid of their chronic dependency syndrome.
IHS Working


We obtained the Eu(TTA)3phen•H2O-PVP composite film by rare earth complexes Eu(TTA)3 phen•H2O was doped intentionally in polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP), and the factors of effect it's luminous intensity were investigated. The results indicate that the luminous effect of sample was best when the water and the alcohol proportion is 1: 4 in the resolver, the aggregation-time reached 12 h and the doping concentration of europioun ion reached 0.6%. The infrared spectrum analyses of sample indicate that there is an interaction between Eu(TTA)3phen•H2O and PVP. In addition, the fluorescence spectra and ultraviolet spectrum analyses of sample indicate that polymer materials can not only fix rare earth ions to enhance its luminescence intensity, but also avoid the quenching effect to rare earth caused by water molecule, through the replacement of PVP ligand to water molecule in the complex. The luminous intensity of the rare earth complexes can be greatly enhanced, and the composite film contained high amount of rare earth complexes is obtained, which laid a foundations for further study the film formation properties of rare earth complexes luminous materials.


Author(s): Patihis, Lawrence | Advisor(s): Loftus, Elizabeth F | Abstract: This dissertation addresses two basic questions: 1. Are people with highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) susceptible to memory distortions? 2. What is different about them that might offer clues that would help explain their ability? To answer the first question thoroughly, HSAM individuals and age match controls participated in a number of memory distortion tasks. In the DRM memory distortion word list paradigm we found that HSAM participants had comparably high rates of critical lure endorsement, indicating a vulnerability to false memories brought about by associations. They also participated in a classic misinformation experiment with photographic slides as the original event, and text narratives containing some pieces of misinformation. At the subsequent memory test HSAM individuals indicated more false memories than control participants, a finding that became non-significant when adjusting for individual differences in absorption. After a subsequent source test, HSAM and control participants had comparable numbers of false memories from misinformation. In semi-autobiographical memory distortion tasks, HSAM and control participants had fairly similar rates overall. For example, in a nonexistent news footage task using suggestion (also known as the "crashing memory" paradigm) 10% of HSAM individuals said they had seen the footage (a further 10% indicated maybe/unsure), whilst 18% of controls did (5% maybe; ns). A guided imagery task, with the same nonexistent footage as the target event, produced similarly increased rates of false report in HSAM (17% changed from "no" to "yes") and control (10% from "no" to "yes") participants. Memory for their emotions in the week after 9/11 was similarly inconsistent in HSAM and control participants. These results suggest that, relative to controls, HSAM individuals are as susceptible to both misinformation and reappraisals when the target events are semi-autobiographical.The second main research question asked what is different about HSAM individuals that might give us clues as to why they have their ability? To answer this we measured HSAM participants' and age/gender matched controls' on a number of behavioral measures to test three main hypotheses: imaginative absorption, emotional arousal, and sleep. HSAM participants were significantly higher than controls on two dispositions--absorption and fantasy proneness. These two dispositions were associated with a measure of HSAM ability within the superior memory participants. The emotional arousal hypothesis yielded only weak support. The sleep hypothesis was not supported in terms of quantity, but sleep quality may be a small factor worthy of further research. Other individual differences are also documented. Speculative pathways describing how absorption and fantasizing could lead to enhanced autobiographical memory are discussed.


The synthesis and mesomorphism of new chiral imine compounds incorporating a fluorocarbon chain which have calamitic molecular shape and their complexes with copper(II) are reported. The liquid crystalline properties were investigated using polarised optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. Imine compounds with a semifluorinated chain and a short chiral chain show chiral smectic mesophases with dramatically enhanced mesophase stabilities compared to the related hydrocarbon derivatives. In addition, the first examples of mesogenic chiral salicylaldiminate copper(II) complexes carrying semifluorinated alkyl chains at their peripheries have been synthesized and their liquid crystalline properties were investigated.


A data collection terminal for performance testing of non-continuous signal of the automotive camshaft sensor is designed, Using NI-6259 data acquisition card to connect the data of collection terminal with pc, and composed of a complete monitoring system of performance testing of automotive sensor. The system can display the maximum, minimum, average, duty cycle, frequency and frequency multiplication or not of the high level and low level in real-time. And the frequency range of the measured signal is between 1Hz and 8KHz. Compare measured data with standard data, determine automatically whether it is reasonable and save them according to their classification. The test personnel are avoided to test continuously and monitor in real-time, offsetting the lack of single function of the display of test platform and running short of features of analysis and judgment.


Chronic inflammation is a risk factor for many different diseases. It is clear that inflammation is associated with degenerative brain diseases, obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Throughout the past 100 years, changes in the causes of death in the US have been dramatic. The most recent data indicate that cardiovascular disease and cancer are now responsible for 63% of mortality in the US population. Although progression of these diseases is related to diet, lifestyle, and genetic factors, a common but often unrecognized link is the presence of underlying chronic inflammation. As of 2014, 83.6 million people were living with some form of cardiovascular disease, 29.1 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes, 14 million people carried the diagnosis of cancer, and 5.2 million people were living with Alzheimer disease. These diseases are a huge burden on our health care system and all have been associated with chronic inflammation.


DDR memory is becoming increasingly popular in satellite and space applications. Currently, however, no power solution can survive the harsh environments of space while meeting the power requirements of the VTT rail. This paper introduces the ISL70003SEH, a radiation hardened sync buck regulator, as a solution to the VTT termination regulator. It explains the modifications needed to generate the VREF voltage and track the VDDQ rail. Performance of Intersil's rad hard switching regulator ISL70003SEH is also demonstrated.


We explored changes in growth, phenology, net CO2 assimilation rate, water use efficiency, secondary defense compounds, substrate and foliage nutrient concentration of a degraded urban horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) site restored for three years using mulching (tree branches including foliage) and fertilization (primarily nitrogen addition). Prior to restoration, this site was characterized by high pH (ca. 8), low foliage and substrate N, and high Na and Cl concentration. Our data indicated that in untreated plots NaCl used for road deicing is the decisive factors that may be responsible for the decrease of foliar N concentration (via a reduction in NO3 uptake), for the decrease in photosynthesis (through high concentrations of Na and Cl in the leaves) and for increased senescence of the leaves. After three years of treatment, total nitrogen concentration in substrate increased by 3to 4-fold and calcium concentration decreased by more than 50% in relation to pretreatment levels. Treatment significantly increased seed production (from less than 12 to more than 100 seeds per tree), individual leaf mass (from 1.8 to 3.3 g/leaf), CO2 assimilation rate (by 21 to 30 %), improved leaf C:N ratio, and increased foliage life span by as much as six weeks. The beginning of leaf fall in untreated control trees started in midJuly and those of mulched and fertilized trees in late October. Applied treatment also eliminated visible symptoms of leaf damage due to high sodium and chlorine levels, indicating the possible role of other factors in the development of necroses. After three years of treatment, pH of most degraded plots declined from 8.2 to 7.8. That decline was accompanied by an increase in foliar Zn, Cu, and Pb concentration in the mulched and fertilized plants. In addition, treatment lowered foliage phenolics making these plants potentially more vulnerable to insect herbivory. Our study indicates that stable carbon isotope discrimination is of little value as an indicator of cumulative salinity and urban environment stress in A. hippocastanum due to pronounced differences in leaf phenology and ontogeny. The results of our study show that street tree recovery can take as little as two to three years after application of fertilization and mulching.


BACKGROUND
Epidemiologic studies examining preconception risk factors on perinatal outcomes are typically restricted to livebirths. By including only non-terminated pregnancies, estimates for the underlying pregnancy cohort may be subject to selection bias. We examined if potential selection bias due to induced termination by maternal race may result in different estimates of the non-Hispanic black - non-Hispanic white risk ratio (RR) for preterm delivery (PTD) among a reconstructed pregnancy cohort ('pseudo-pregnancy cohort').

METHODS
Using New York City registries of 1.6 million livebirths, spontaneous terminations, and induced terminations among non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white women (2000-12), we multiply imputed PTD (<37 weeks) and early PTD (<32 weeks) outcomes for induced terminations based on maternal race, age, parity, marital status, nativity, and medical care payer to construct the pseudo-pregnancy cohort.

RESULTS
Among non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white women, 55% and 19% of pregnancies ended in induced termination and 13% and 8% resulted in PTD, respectively. Although several factors were associated with both PTD and induced termination, PTD RRs in the birth (RR 1.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.62, 1.66) and pseudo-pregnancy (RR 1.63, 95% CI 1.56, 1.71) cohorts were similar. However, early PTD RR was somewhat larger in the birth (RR 2.80, 95% CI 2.71, 2.89) than pseudo-pregnancy (RR 2.47, 95% CI 2.23, 2.73) cohort.

CONCLUSIONS
Using birth certificate data - thereby excluding induced terminations - to estimate the PTD racial disparity did not produce biased estimates. Our data suggest observed PTD disparities likely are not artefacts of selection bias due to induced termination.


Firms active in OTC derivative markets increasingly use margin agreements to reduce counterparty credit risk. Making several simplifying assumptions, I use both a quasi- analytic approach and a simulation approach to quantify how margining reduces counterparty credit exposure. Margining reduces counterparty credit exposure by over 80 percent, using baseline parameter assumptions. I show how expected positive exposure (EPE) depends on key terms of the margin agreement and the current mark-to-market value of the portfolio of contracts with the counterparty. I also discuss a possible shortcut that could be used by firms that can model EPE without margin but cannot achieve the higher level of sophistication needed to model EPE with margin.


In this paper we present a novel unactuated mechanism that utilizes gravity to jump. The passive jumper is a hoop whose center of mass does not coincide with its geometric center. When the hoop rolls down an inclined plane, the center of mass of the hoop moves along a cycloid. As the hoop gains speed moving down the inclined plane, the normal reaction between the hoop and the plane becomes insufficient to ensure contact between the hoop and the plane. This allows the hoop to 'jump'. Experiments and analysis show that such a jump can be significant, with the jump height from the plane being as high as one body length (diameter) of the hoop. The mechanics of the passive jumping hoop powered by gravity investigated in this paper can inspire the design of actuated jumping robots that can both roll and jump.


In the last years both minimally-invasive therapy approaches as well as intramyocardial cell therapy have entered clinical practice in cardiac surgery. Stem cell therapy has been combined in most cases with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for chronic ischemic heart disease. Here, we report the first case of a patient with ischemic mitral regurgitation treated by videoscopic, transvalvular, intramyocardial bone marrow stem cell injection, while undergoing minimally-invasive mitral valve repair. 2010 Published by European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.


Patients suffering from anxiety and depression are often seen in clinical practice. In accordance with the diagnostic criteria of DSM-III/IV and ICD-10, respectively, there may be various combinations of symptoms and degrees of severity. The symptoms of these patients may range from subthreshold anxiety or depression to a combination of anxiety and depressive disorders. Besides giving an extensive survey of diagnostic problems and the epidemiological incidence of such combinations, pharmacotherapeutic approaches are critically reviewed. Metaanalyses have shown that various serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are equivalent, if not superior, to tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) in their anti-anxiety effectiveness. Hence, SSRI may be considered a therapy of choice, not least on account of very few adverse effects and good tolerance. More recent antidepressants are under scrutiny for their anti-anxiety efficacy. Citalopram, venlafaxine and, because of its established sedative action, nefazodone seem to be particularly suited to fill a possible therapeutic gap and to provide agitated patients with an alternative to TCA.


The need for collection and dissemination of information about the currently applied techniques for analytical screening of chemical pollutants in water has been recognized at European level. These techniques are identified as promising tools for the identification of the pollutants of concern at river basin or local level (river basin specific pollutants) under the Water Framework Directive WFD (2000/60/EC)). They should allow a cost effective overview of the pollutants in the aquatic environment, in preparation of dedicated monitoring programmes. The Italian Institute for Water Research IRSA, the EC Joint Research Centre and the NORMAN Association (Network of reference laboratories and research centres for emerging pollutants www.norman-network.net) for emerging pollutants have launched a survey for identification of currently available and used screening methods for the identification and quantification of chemical contaminants in water. A questionnaire was sent to the delegates of the chemical monitoring group under the Water Framework Directive Common Implementation Strategy (WFD - CIS) and through the NORMAN network. 20 compiled questionnaires were received. The response covered a wide geographical spread, including UK, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The survey included questions about the scope of currently employed screening techniques, the instrumental approach and the validation scheme as well as method performance information and target compounds or compound classes. The reported methodologies include multiresidue methods with a defined target compound list, suspect screening techniques without reference standards (i.e. methods which are based on a mass spectra library with a large set of compounds or compound groups) and non-target screening approaches which include the identification of unknown compounds. A wide range and number of chemical pollutants can be covered by the use of liquid chromatography and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer detectors. Methods are in most cases developed and validated in-house. Some of the methodologies are currently in use for monitoring programmes related to the implementation of the WFD. The survey shows that a common understanding of definitions and scopes is essential in exchanging information about most efficient approaches for target, suspect and non-target screening.


This work aims to provide an extensive evaluation on the use of polylactic acid (PLA) as a green, biodegradable thermal insulation material. The PLA was processed by melt extrusion followed by compression molding and then subjected to different annealing conditions. Afterwards, the thermal insulation properties and structural capacity of the PLA were characterized. Increasing the annealing time of PLA in the range of 0–24 h led to a considerable increase in the degree of crystallization, which had a direct impact on the thermal conductivity, density, and glass transition temperature. The thermal conductivity of PLA increased from 0.0643 W/(m·K) for quickly-cooled samples to 0.0904 W/(m·K) for the samples annealed for 24 h, while the glass transition temperature increased by approximately 11.33% to reach 59.0 °C. Moreover, the annealing process substantially improved the compressive strength and rigidity of the PLA and reduced its ductility. The results revealed that annealing PLA for 1–3 h at 90 °C produces an optimum thermal insulation material. The low thermal conductivity (0.0798–0.0865 W/(m·K)), low density (~1233 kg/m3), very low water retention (<0.19%) and high compressive strength (97.2–98.7 MPa) in this annealing time range are very promising to introduce PLA as a green insulation material.


Changes in global gene expression patterns in tumor cells following in vivo therapy may vary by treatment and provide added or synergistic prognostic power over pretherapy gene expression profiles (GEP). This molecular readout of drug-cell interaction may also point to mechanisms of action/resistance. In newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma (MM), microarray data were obtained on tumor cells prior to and 48 hours after in vivo treatment using dexamethasone (n = 45) or thalidomide (n = 42); in the case of relapsed MM, microarray data were obtained prior to (n = 36) and after (n = 19) lenalidomide administration. Dexamethasone and thalidomide induced both common and unique GEP changes in tumor cells. Combined baseline and 48-hour changes in GEP in a subset of genes, many related to oxidative stress and cytoskeletal dynamics, were predictive of outcome in newly diagnosed MM patients receiving tandem transplants. Thalidomide-altered genes also changed following lenalidomide exposure and predicted event-free and overall survival in relapsed patients receiving lenalidomide as a single agent. Combined with baseline molecular features, changes in GEP following short-term single-agent exposure may help guide treatment decisions for patients with MM. Genes whose drug-altered expression were found to be related to survival may point to molecular switches related to response and/or resistance to different classes of drugs.


Background: the impact of renal function and its changes and the occurrence of cardiovascular events on changes in N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels (NT-proBNP) is unknown in very old age. Objective: to assess whether increase in NT-proBNP levels over time is still associated with cardiac disease and mortality in very old age, independent of renal function. Methods: changes in NT-proBNP levels between age 85 and 90 years and their associations with incident cardiac disease, (cardiovascular) mortality and renal function were assessed in 252 nonagenarian participants from a population-based sample of the Leiden 85-plus Study. Results: median NT-proBNP increase over 5 years was 154 pg/ml (inter-quartile range: 29–549), while in the same period estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decreased by 5.8 ml/min/1.73 m (standard deviation 7.5). Participants with increasing NT-proBNP levels more frequently developed heart failure and atrial fibrillation (odds ratio 2.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11–7.02 and 2.63, 95% CI 1.02–6.79, respectively, adjusted for eGFR at age 85 and change in eGFR) between age 85 and 90 years. Increasing NT-proBNP levels between age 85 and 90 years were associated with an increased cardiovascular mortality risk after age 90 years compared with not-increasing NT-proBNP levels (hazard ratio 1.62, 95% CI 1.04–2.51, adjusted for eGFR at age 90 years and change in eGFR). Conclusion: in the oldest old, increase in NT-proBNP is associated with incident heart failure and atrial fibrillation and risk for cardiovascular mortality, independent of decreasing renal function.


The formation of CO2 in quiescent regions of molecular clouds is not yet fully understood, despite CO2 having an abundance of around 10%–34% H2O. We present a study of the formation of CO2 via the nonenergetic route CO + OH on nonporous H2O and amorphous silicate surfaces. Our results are in the form of temperature-programmed desorption spectra of CO2 produced via two experimental routes: O2 + CO + H and O3 + CO + H. The maximum yield of CO2 is around 8% with respect to the starting quantity of CO, suggesting a barrier to CO + OH. The rate of reaction, based on modeling results, is 24 times slower than O2 + H. Our model suggests that competition between CO2 formation via CO + OH and other surface reactions of OH is a key factor in the low yields of CO2 obtained experimentally, with relative reaction rates of . Astrophysically, the presence of CO2 in low AV regions of molecular clouds could be explained by the reaction CO + OH occurring concurrently with the formation of H2O via the route OH + H.


Life history trade-offs are a key notion in evolutionary biology, notably for understanding how selection shapes the diversity of traits among species. Despite the frequent study of such trade-offs, few studies synchronously investigate the effects of multiple factors, such as niche specialization and adaptation to harsh environments. We compared reproduction (fecundity and egg quality) in two sympatric couples (one habitat generalist and one specialist) of congeneric wolf spider species, in both Arctic and temperate habitats. We found that specialist species at both latitudes invested more in clutch size than did generalist species. We interpret this result as an optimization of clutch production. In the Arctic, the specialist was able to invest in fecundity with increasing body size at a much higher rate than the generalist species. In the temperate habitat, both species showed similar strategies: they increased quantity and quality of offspring relative to body size at the same rate. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that Arctic species must develop distinct strategies in order not to overlap each other's ecological niches as a consequence of limited food resources or niche space. We emphasize the need to test the role of plasticity and environmentally mediated effects of competition on arthropod fitness.


Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, a small nematode parasite of the gastrointestinal tract of rodents, secretes an enzyme that cleaves the proinflammatory molecule platelet-activating factor to its inactive lyso-form. The enzyme activity of Ca(2+)-dependent and does not exhibit interfacial activation. It does not require the addition of reducing agents for maximal activity, and is not inhibited by thiol-active reagents. Sensitivity of inhibitors suggests the involvement of serine and histidine residues in the enzyme activity. As described for other platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolases, it cannot cleave, nor is it inhibited by, long-chain diacyl phospholipids that are typical substrates for phospholipases A2. The purified enzyme was resolved by SDS/PAGE as a heterodimer composed of two protein subunits with apparent molecular masses of 38 and 25 kDa. The properties of the nematode enzyme thus differ from those described for the mammalian enzymes, but are more closely related to those of an acetylhydrolase than a phospholipase.


Two novel cholesterol-based cytofectins containing primary amino head groups, glycylcholesteryl formylhydrazide (MS10) and β-alanylcholesterylformylhydrazide (MS11), have been prepared and incorporated into unilamellar cationic liposomes in equimolar amounts with dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) as colipid. Stable lipoplexes were formed with pGL3 DNA which afforded protection to the DNA from serum nuclease digestion. Packing of the DNA was shown by ethidium displacement to be more effective in MS11 lipoplexes. High transfection levels in three human transformed epithelial cell lines HeLa (cervical), SNO (esophageal), HepG2 (hepatocyte-derived), and the murine fibroblast line NIH-3T3 were achieved by both lipoplexes at liposome:DNA ratios of 6:1 and 7:1 (w/w) corresponding to +/− charge ratios of 1.6:1 and 1.9:1. MS11 lipoplexes, in particular, afforded high transfection activities in the presence of fetal bovine serum.


Abstract
The Book " Dala'il al-Khayrat." Is compiled by Abu Abdullah Muhammad Bin Suleman Al-Jazuli. Muhammad Bin Suleman lived from Jazula. He wrote the Arabic book "Dala'il al-Khayrat" which is containing to (Durood), this book is very popular in Arab and Non Arab. In this connection, this book is read as a "wazifa"in different spiritual scholars and all the Islamic religious sects are translated " Dala'il al-Khayrat " into Arabic to Urdu.Various publishers are made for the citation. Some publishers published this book with translations, but they don't mention the translator's name.And some publishers published books are not mentioned their complete address and the publishing years.Some publishers published this book's translations  very carefully. In this article, the Researcher is trying to highlight on "Dala'il al-Khayrat's" some Urdu transitions which are studied by the researcher,and those translators translations, publishers and some related information about this book precise on one place. Furthermore, the researcher also pointed out that the publisher who published non-moral and illegal translations without mentions translators'name.One advantage of  this may be obvious of these anonymous translators
Keywords: very popular, transitions, Arabic book, Non Arab, wazifa, information, publisher.


Multimedia quality assessment has become an important issue for both monitoring and control of multimedia networks and for the optimization of the new algorithms for audiovisual enhancement. In this paper we evaluate various objective video quality metrics in respect to their match to the subjective assessment represented as mean opinion score (MOS). The proposed framework is aimed for low bit-rate MPEG-2 sequences in SD and HD format. We consider 29 objective measures for no-reference video quality assessment and rank them according to their match to the MOS independently and based on the cross-correlation between the objective measures. The selected set of ranked measures are incorporated into the proposed neural network scheme for estimating the overall visual perception. The selection of measures is done using the proposed linear model which aims at maximizing measure correlation to MOS and at the same time minimizing mutual correlation between the selected set of measures. The proposed VQA model is intended for (i) estimation of the overall visual quality and (ii) the evaluation of the objective video quality metrics for particular applications defined by the test sequences and corresponding visual perception results. We present the results of the proposed method on SD and HD sequences for different number of selected measures and provide comparison results (to the state-of-the-art methods) of the overall estimated quality.


A wide bandwidth continuous-time sigma-delta ADC, operating between 20 and 40 MS/s output data rate, is implemented in 130-nm CMOS. The circuit is targeted for applications that demand high bandwidth, high resolution, and low power, such as wireless and wireline communications, medical imaging, video, and instrumentation. The third-order continuous-time SigmaDelta modulator comprises a third-order RC operational-amplifier-based loop filter and 4-bit internal quantizer operating at 640 MHz. A 400-fs rms jitter LC PLL with 450-kHz bandwidth is integrated, generating the low-jitter clock for the jitter-sensitive continuous-time SigmaDelta ADC from a single-ended input clock between 13.5 and 40 MHz. To reduce clock jitter sensitivity, nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) DAC pulse shaping is used. The excess loop delay is set to half the sampling period of the quantizer and the degradation of modulator stability due to excess loop delay is avoided with a new architecture. The SigmaDelta ADC achieves 76-dB SNR, -78-dB THD, and a 74-dB SNDR or 12 ENOB over a 20-MHz signal band at an OSR of 16. The power consumption of the CT SigmaDelta modulator itself is 20 mW and in total the ADC dissipates 58 mW from the 1.2-V supply


Satisfaction of employees with their job is considered one of the key factors for the success of an organization. The job satisfaction has got tremendous attention in organizational research. The focus of this study is to determine the impact of various human resource management practices like job autonomy, team work environment and leadership behavior on job satisfaction. It also investigates the major determinants of job satisfaction in Bangladeshi banking sector. This study further evaluates the level of difference in job satisfaction among male and female employees. The sample of the study consisted of 450 employees working in different branches of bank in Bangladesh through the questionnaire, of which 295 were returned and processed. SPSS was used to analyze the data, using independent sample T test, Correlation and regression analysis. There is a positive and significant link between job satisfaction and human recourse management practices like team work environment, job autonomy and behavior of leadership. From the findings of the study, it is also inferred that male and female workers have significantly different level of job satisfaction.


Natural products are an important source of novel investigational compounds in drug discovery. Especially in the field of antibiotics, Actinobacteria have been proven to be a reliable source for lead structures. The discovery of these natural products with activity- and structure-guided screenings has been impeded by the constant rediscovery of previously identified compounds. Additionally, a large discrepancy between produced natural products and biosynthetic potential in Actinobacteria, including representatives of the order Pseudonocardiales, has been revealed using genome sequencing. To turn this genomic potential into novel natural products, we used an approach including the in-silico pre-selection of unique biosynthetic gene clusters followed by their systematic heterologous expression. As a proof of concept, fifteen Saccharothrix espanaensis genomic library clones covering predicted biosynthetic gene clusters were chosen for expression in two heterologous hosts, Streptomyces lividans and Streptomyces albus. As a result, two novel natural products, an unusual angucyclinone pentangumycin and a new type II polyketide synthase shunt product SEK90, were identified. After purification and structure elucidation, the biosynthetic pathways leading to the formation of pentangumycin and SEK90 were deduced using mutational analysis of the biosynthetic gene cluster and feeding experiments with 13C-labelled precursors.


RFID middleware often has to process enormous amounts of data, possibly causing overloading and leading to data errors. Therefore, RFID middleware applications require load-balancing mechanisms. This work proposes a grid-based load-balancing mechanism for RFID middleware applications. The proposed mechanism incorporates functional modules Buffer Management and Load Balancing Management over a grid networking platform, to buffer the read data and share the middleware loading, thereby solving the overloading issues in RFID applications. Performance analysis results show that the proposed mechanism is more efficient than existing mechanisms. The mechanism has the average improvement of 29.15% for the processing time and improvement of 88.75% for the packet lost ratio, while the number of middleware hosts is fixed. The proposed RFID load-balancing mechanism is indicated to be very reliable.


The effects of acidic metabolites of A. vera and C. cajan extracts on the sickling and gelation times of human HbSS erythrocytes were investigated to obtain a better understanding of the anti-sickling compounds contained in them for use in the management of sickle cell disease. The results obtained showed that the acidic metabolites of A. vera extract exhibited a greater ability to revert already sickled erythrocytes to their normal morphology. The number of unsickled erythrocytes increased remarkably with metabolite concentration from 565 to 800 (x 10 6 /ne) A. vera extract as against 127 to 380 (x 10 6 /ne) for C. cajan . A similar trend was observed in the gelation times, which also increased with metabolite concentration. In all, the A. vera metabolite showed a complete absence of sickled erythrocytes, the highest number of unsickled erythrocytes and best gelation times at all concentrations. Therefore, it was concluded that the acidic metabolite of A. vera was a better gelation inhibitor and erythrocytes reverser. The active principle in the anti-sickling and reversal processes probably involves flavonoids, simple phenols and/or tannins. Keywords: Aloe vera, Cajanus cajan, sickle cell disease, erythrocytes, gelation times International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences , 7(1): 104 - 108, 2011


Evaluating the mechanical integrity of pipelines involves a variety of tools and skill sets. Over the past several years there has been an increased interest in assessing the performance of vintage pipeline systems and specifically evaluating the effects of existing defects on future performance. Examples of defects include girth and seam welds, corrosion, dents, and wrinkle bends. While lessons learned from prior experience and analysis are critical, the role of testing in the evaluation process is receiving focused attention. This paper includes detailed discussions on how testing has been used over the past decade to help pipeline companies assess the integrity of their pipeline systems. Specific emphasis is placed on helping the reader better understand what testing techniques are most appropriate and determining how to interpret and correlate the results into useful information for operating safe pipelines. Case studies are presented that include studies on seam welds subject to cyclic pressures, wrinkle bends, girth welds, and corrosion in dents. A well-designed test program can be used to validate numerical modeling efforts and provide engineers with insights regarding in situ behavior of pipeline systems.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


hardest tasks that enterprises are facing nowadays. In particular the biggest challenge is to design an agile, self-adaptable and innovative distributed infrastructure that can scale up globally according to the growth of user demand and that can keep low the overall costs.In the last years the Service Oriented Architecture paradigm has clearly become the most used approach to design distributed systems. The reasons of its popularity are connected to the benefits that SOA brings, the most relevant are: loosely coupled architecture, seamless connectivity and interoperability of components, reuse of existing assets and applications, appropriate for integrating legacy systems, parallel and independent service development and easy and effective system maintenance.The Swedish startup True Software Scandinavia AB built the world's largest collaborative phone directory, Truecaller. It counts over 23 million of users that perform more than half a billion searches each month. The current infrastructure of Truecaller was not designed to hold this demand, therefore a re-engineering of the system architecture is required in order to provide a high quality user experience.This research project presents the benefits that Truecaller would gain by migrating towards SOA and suggests new designs for both the internal system and the REST API that aim to cover all challenges previously mentioned. An important part of this project is also the definition of a structure and rigorous pipeline based on the concept of the Continuous Integration that guides the service lifecycle from development to production.In conclusion, this thesis contributes by designing and developing Truecaller Cluster Management Service, a cluster management service that supports software engineers and administrator with all tasks related to the management of services and their configurations that is planned to be released as an open-source project.The research also provides a roadmap that gives indications of how the current system should evolve and be extended.


Terpenoids are the largest, most diverse class of plant natural products and they play numerous functional roles in primary metabolism and in ecological interactions. The first committed step in the formation of the various terpenoid classes is the transformation of the prenyl diphosphate precursors, geranyl diphosphate, farnesyl diphosphate, and geranylgeranyl diphosphate, to the parent structures of each type catalyzed by the respective monoterpene (C(10)), sesquiterpene (C(15)), and diterpene synthases (C(20)). Over 30 cDNAs encoding plant terpenoid synthases involved in primary and secondary metabolism have been cloned and characterized. Here we describe the isolation and analysis of six genomic clones encoding terpene synthases of conifers, [(-)-pinene (C(10)), (-)-limonene (C(10)), (E)-alpha-bisabolene (C(15)), delta-selinene (C(15)), and abietadiene synthase (C(20)) from Abies grandis and taxadiene synthase (C(20)) from Taxus brevifolia], all of which are involved in natural products biosynthesis. Genome organization (intron number, size, placement and phase, and exon size) of these gymnosperm terpene synthases was compared to eight previously characterized angiosperm terpene synthase genes and to six putative terpene synthase genomic sequences from Arabidopsis thaliana. Three distinct classes of terpene synthase genes were discerned, from which assumed patterns of sequential intron loss and the loss of an unusual internal sequence element suggest that the ancestral terpenoid synthase gene resembled a contemporary conifer diterpene synthase gene in containing at least 12 introns and 13 exons of conserved size. A model presented for the evolutionary history of plant terpene synthases suggests that this superfamily of genes responsible for natural products biosynthesis derived from terpene synthase genes involved in primary metabolism by duplication and divergence in structural and functional specialization. This novel molecular evolutionary approach focused on genes of secondary metabolism may have broad implications for the origins of natural products and for plant phylogenetics in general.


The functional crystal material Potassium dihydrogen phosphate KH2PO4 (KDP for short) is widely used in navigate, spaceflight, national defenses, energy sources and information technology fields because of its excellent non-linear optical property. However, KDP crystal has some disadvantages such as soft, fragile, hygroscopic, anisotropy, thermally sensitive and low rigidity, which make it a most difficult processing material. In this paper, KDP crystal was machined by the wheel grinding. Some equipment, such as Optic microscope, SEM, ZYGO and Raman spectroscope were used to observe and analysis the KDP crystal surface which was damaged during grinding. The results shows that serious nicks, crashes and the press stress appeared on the surface of the KDP crystal after grinding.


The buckling strength of a rectangular frame subjected to loads that produce primary bending moments in the members is examined. Both the symmetrical and antisymmetrical modes are considered in the investigation. The results indicate that the critical load associated with the symmetrical mode is appreciably reduced by primary moment effects, whereas the critical load for antisymmetrical buckling is only slightly affected. The presence of axial thrust in the cross beam is found to be responsible for the major part of the reductions. The theoretical buckling loads are checked by experiments conducted on model steel frames. It is noted that the elastic buckling strength of portal frames can be closely predicted by the existing methods. A method for analyzing the stability of frames with partial base fixity is also presented.


The firm stipulation of sunnah qabliyah prayer is not found in the hadith of the Prophet, but among the scholars of the Shafi'yah, such practice is still carried out by likening it to other fardhu prayers. The practice has been studied extensively by Shafi'yah scholars, and one of them is Imâm al-Nawawî. The question asked in this discussion is the rationale of Imâm al-Nawawî in establishing the law of sunnah law for the prayer and when its execution time. According to Imâm al-Nawawî, the argumentis the generality of hadith announcement about sunnah rawatib prayer and the use of qiyas between Zuhr prayer and Jumat prayer. The general argument is more valid and strong compared with other postulates. As for the time of its implementation, sunnah qabliyyah prayerfor Jumat prayer may be done if there is the first azan when zawâl. Whereas if only one azan, may pray two rak'ah with the intention of sunnah qabliyyahbefore Jum'ah prayer together with tahiyyatul masjid prayer for the new arrival at khutbah. As for those who have sat before the khutbah, it is enough with sunnah muthlaq prayer.


A different range of vancomycin was incorporated into a poly dl-lactide-co-glycolide) [PLGA] disc matrix using the hot compression method. The disc was placed in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and incubated at 37oC. The PBS was changed periodically, and the removed solution was analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography. The sensitivity of the antibiotic-polymer matrix was evaluated using cultured-human-ear methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The MRSA growth was inhibited proportionally to the incorporated vancomycin concentration in the disc matrix. A disc incorporating 400 µg of antibiotics inhibited the growth of MRSA 10 times longer than the disc containing 30 µg as a control. It was found that the biodegradable polymer matrix enabled the control-release of an antibiotic, and the release profile was observed as zero order.


Results: Themeanagewas49.0years and themale: female ratio was76:151.Themean followupperiodwas26.3months (6–94 months). Patients were divided into two groups according to whether or not gelfoam packing was performed in the middle ear cavity; the gelfoam (GG, N= 105) and no-gelfoam groups (NG, N= 122). Graft uptake rates, postoperative hearing levels, and complication rates were compared as the measures of surgical outcomes. The graft uptake rates of each group were up to 99.1% in GG (104/105) and 99.2% in NG (121/122). The air-bone gap significantly decreased after surgery without statistical difference between the groups. Postoperative complications such as epithelial cyst and lateralization occurred very rarely in both groups, and the rates showed no significant differences between two groups.


Abstract Although some studies have reported substantial correlations between clinical depression and hypoactive sexual desire, thus far only a few studies have addressed the association between depressed mood and different facets of sexuality (such as sexual satisfaction, sexual activity and level of sexual problems) in close relationships. This study sought to fill this gap by examining 198 couples recruited through advertisement. The associations between depressed mood measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and sexuality within one person (actor effects) and between partners (partner effects) were analyzed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model by Kenny and Cook (1999). Our findings show that actor effects of the BDI score on sexual experiences are somewhat higher than partner effects, and that depressed mood is mainly associated with one's own hyposexual desire, sexual aversion and sexual arousal problems. However, there were no substantial partner effects between depressed mood and sexual arousal problems.


Abstract-Tracking, monitoring and management of moving objects become increasingly important in modern geospatial application. An important example of such applications is monitoring and management of a dynamic scene captured bya network of videos or sensors for ensuring for example the security of the people during a public event, or for leading emergency or rescue teams in real environment. While current GIS are widely used to represent and manage spatiotemporal phenomena, their applications for 3D dynamic environments are very limited due to the 2D static nature of most of existing spatial data structures. In this paper, we first present a review of important requirements for efficient management of a dynamic scene. Next, we present a 3D kinetic data structure based on Delaunay tetrahedralization and Voronoi diagram that allows representation of static and moving objects and their interactions in a 3D dynamic environment, simultaneous tracking of a large number of moving objects, detection of the important events and collisions and other interesting analysis of a dynamic scene. Finally, we discuss other potentials and limitations of the proposed model and suggest some new research avenues regarding the improvement of the proposed model.


The increase of house condominiums in the Brazilian cities is gradually increasing due to problems concerning traffic tie-up, air pollution level, amongst others. In these condominiums, large green areas for leisure, comfort and better life quality for the joint owners are reserved. The large house gardens need hard maintenance, which raises the water demand in the condominiums. The use of the rainwater is an alternative that could be used in Brazil and other countries to minimize the use of potable water in non- potable water needs, such as car wash, garden irrigation, etc. This paper evaluates the precipitation in Joao Pessoa city (capital of Paraiba state, Brazil), according to the frequency analysis and significance test. Thus, it was applied a robust tool to analyze signal frequency, named wavelet transform, which is appropriated to analyze irregular events and non-stationary series. It was analyzed two precipitation series of Joao Pessoa city, 1937-1970 and 1980-1996, when it was observed a significant annual signal at level 10%, which revealed the existence of an annual rainy season, which is very convenient for the water storage for further using during the dry season. Finally, the reservoir is an important item in the rainwater system and it has to be correctly design in order to make the system economically practicable. The Rippl method was used for the reservoir sizing analysis.