OBJECTIVE--To determine the feasibility and benefit of developing guidelines for managing dyspepsia by consensus between general practitioners (GPs) and specialists and to evaluate their introduction on GPs' prescribing, use of investigations, and referrals. DESIGN--Randomised controlled trial of effect of consensus guidelines agreed between GPs and specialists on GPs' behaviour. SETTING--Southampton and South West Hampshire Health District, United Kingdom. SUBJECTS--179 GPs working in 45 practices in Southampton district out of 254 eligible GPs, 107 in the control group and 78 in the study group. MAIN MEASURES--Rates of referral and investigation and costs of prescribing for dyspepsia in the six months before and after introduction of the guidelines. RESULTS--Consensus guidelines were produced relatively easily. After their introduction referral rates for upper gastrointestinal symptoms fell significantly in both study and control groups, but no significant change occurred in either group in the use of endoscopy or radiology, either in terms of referral rates, patient selection, or findings on investigation. No difference was observed between the control and study group in the number of items prescribed, but prescribing costs rose by 25% (from 2634 pounds to 3215 pounds per GP) in the study group, almost entirely due to an increased rate of prescription of ulcer-healing agents. CONCLUSION--Developing district guidelines for managing dyspepsia by consensus between GPs and specialists was feasible. However, their acceptance and adoption was variable and their measured effects on some aspects of clinical behaviour were relatively weak and not necessarily associated with either decreased costs or improved quality of care.


The present study investigated the dating experiences of single women living with multiple sclerosis (MS). The present research used a mixed methods approach, with the quantitative component examining the role of disability severity, insecure attachment (avoidant and anxious), age, illness duration, depression, body esteem, sexual esteem, and attractiveness on dating experiences among 99 single women living with MS. Participants were recruited through MS societies in Canada and the United States. Regression analyses showed that overall, greater disability severity, longer illness duration, greater insecure attachment, lower sexual esteem and lower perceived attractiveness were predictive of worse dating experiences and more barriers to dating. Dating experiences were similar across ages. The second component of the study consisted of qualitative interviews with 12 women (half in a younger and half in an older age group), which were completed individually by telephone. The qualitative approach borrowed from a phenomenological lens and interviews were coded to explore the dating experiences of the women. Across the younger and older age groups, participants identified barriers to dating, coping strategies, negative cognitions about dating with MS, concerns regarding disclosure of MS, and impact of MS on body and sexual esteem. Some age related differences in dating were noted, such as concerns about pregnancy. The current research highlights the importance of conducting further research into the impact of MS on dating and in exploring potential interventions to help support women many of whom endorsed encountering various barriers to dating when living with MS.


In the face of rapid global change it is imperative to preserve geodiversity for the overall conservation of biodiversity. Geodiversity is important for understanding complex biogeochemical and physical processes and is directly and indirectly linked to biodiversity on all scales of ecosystem organization. Despite the great importance of geodiversity, there is a lack of suitable monitoring methods. Compared to conventional in-situ techniques, remote sensing (RS) techniques provide a pathway towards cost-effective, increasingly more available, comprehensive, and repeatable, as well as standardized monitoring of continuous geodiversity on the local to global scale. This paper gives an overview of the state-of-the-art approaches for monitoring soil characteristics and soil moisture with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and air- and spaceborne remote sensing techniques. Initially, the definitions for geodiversity along with its five essential characteristics are provided, with an explanation for the latter. Then, the approaches of spectral traits (ST) and spectral trait variations (STV) to record geodiversity using RS are defined. LiDAR (light detection and ranging), thermal and microwave sensors, multispectral, and hyperspectral RS technologies to monitor soil characteristics and soil moisture are also presented. Furthermore, the paper discusses current and future satellite-borne sensors and missions as well as existing data products. Due to the prospects and limitations of the characteristics of different RS sensors, only specific geotraits and geodiversity characteristics can be recorded. The paper provides an overview of those geotraits.


INTRODUCTION
Dermatoglyphics is a collective term for all the integumentary features (skin patterning of the fingers, toes, palms and soles) and it applies to the division of the anatomy which embraces their study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to examine the predominant finger tip patterns in the patients of carcinoma breast. An attempt is also being made to devise a score to assess the risk variables.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The fingerprints of 100 carcinoma breast patients were obtained and they were compared with those of 100 females who were not suffering from any malignancy till date. The different quantitative parameters of each hand of both the cancer patients and the controls were studied. The parameters which were included were the fingertip ridge pattern, the ridge count in the individual fingers, the Total Finger Ridge Count (TFRC) and the Absolute Finger Ridge Count (AFRC).

RESULTS
There was a significant increase in the arch pattern and a decrease in the radial loops in the right thumb (p<0.001), the left thumb (p<0.001), the left index finger (p<0.001) and the left middle finger (p<0.001). A comparison of all the five fingers of both the left and right hands of the cancer patients with the controls showed an arch pattern (p<0.001) with the highest frequency. The lower values of the TFRC (below 50) were associated with carcinoma breast .The lower values of the AFRC (below 100) were associated with the cancer patients.

CONCLUSION
This study was able to establish a specific finger tip predominance in the Carcinoma breast patients.


Wind, wave and current measurements were carried in the nearshore zone of the Canadian Beaufort Sea at two coastal sites having distinct morphologies. The first site is a sandy beach backed by a low bluff, while the second site consists of low-lying barriers. Computation of potential sediment transport using a numerical model for combined flow conditions (LI and AMOS, 1993) suggests that coastal morphology may play a significant role on circulation and sediment transport on the shoreface during storm events. Downwelling near-bottom currents and offshore sediment transport were observed at all sites during storm surges, but with some variations in the shoreface current patterns and sediment transport. According to the numerical model used in this study, offshore sediment transport is more significant where the beach is backed by a bluff acting as a natural barrier. Such condition appears to be favorable to the development of strong seaward-directed horizontal pressure gradients that drive offshore bottom currents. Along low barriers that are easily submerged and overwashed, sediment transport is mainly directed obliquely offshore due to more limited set-up of sea level at the coast during storm surges. These results suggest that coastal morphology may be responsible for variable offshore sediment dispersal on the shoreface during storms. Our results show that sediment may be transported offshore to depths from which fairweather waves may not be capable of returning the material onshore. Consequently, a loss of material to the offshore may be greater where overwashing is restricted due to the presence of a coastal feature that acts as a boundary for onshore-driven surface waters.


Proper conceptual instruments and operative tools are now needed to support the design of database models in the production of digital detailed geological maps by GIS applications. In these activities, problems related to uncertainty, usefulness and quality of geological data should be taken into account, while use-constraints of web-disseminated data are to be determined. In this paper, an analysis is carried out on the phases that characterize the acquisition of structural-geological knowledge and related different levels of uncertainty. Methodologies to represent geological uncertainty in GIS databases are then proposed: tools (ontologies, metadata, relational database tools) implemented in DBMS (Database Management Systems) are planned to help users to understand the origin and representativity of data, as well as the interpretations that lie beneath the geological conceptualization. In this view, geological database models should be flexible enough to describe the plurality of actual geological situations, other than consistent with sharing and interoperability needs. The representation of geological uncertainty, and the possibility to re-trace the knowledge path of data makers, allows evaluation of the quality of input-data with respect to a given purpose. Since these processes of giving information in an explicit format require more objectivity in producing input-data, an improvement of original data quality is expected.


This review provides an overview of polysaccharides as a multifaceted group of biologically active compounds; they are discussed in the framework of modern pharmacognostic analysis. Data on chemical classification, component composition, physicochemical properties, and the content of polysaccharides in crude herbal drugs in the Russian Federation are consistently presented and analyzed. Some general groups and major compounds are characterized taking into account the use in pharmaceutical practice. Polysaccharides are the products of secondary metabolism; some of them can be used in pharmacy as excipients, while others have pronounced pharmacological effects and are active pharmaceutical ingredients. Improvement and development of procedures for the pharmacopoeial.analysis of crude herbal drugs containing polysaccharides and preparations based on are important tasks of modern pharmacognosy


A technique for orthotopic liver transplantation was used in 13 pigs, with 9 survivors. It incorporated rapid hepatic cooling at the time of donor death, continuous perfusion of the liver during hepatectomy and transplantation, rewarming of the allograft with oxygenated solution before revascularization with arterial blood shunted to the portal vein, early reestablishment of inferior vena caval flow and completion, and securing and release of each of the vascular anastomoses in turn. By these maneuvers the allograft was maintained cold and oxygenated for the entire ischemic interval, the anhepatic interval for the recipient and ischemic interval for the allograft were reduced, hypotension at the time of revascularization was prevented, and the threat of serious blood loss when multiple anastomoses are released simulatneously was eliminated.


BACKGROUND Isoflurane and pentobarbital can reduce alpha-amino-d-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate (AMPA) receptor-mediated toxicity in vitro. However, their effect on AMPA toxicity in vivo is not known. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of isoflurane and pentobarbital on the in vivo neurotoxicity produced by AMPA. METHODS Wistar-Kyoto rats were allocated to one of seven groups (n = 8 per group): isoflurane 1 minimum alveolar concentration, isoflurane electroencephalogram burst suppression (EEG-BS), low-dose pentobarbital, pentobarbital EEG-BS, NBQX, conscious, and sham groups. AMPA 30 nm was injected into the cortex. An equivalent volume of cerebrospinal fluid was injected into the cortex in the sham group. In the NBQX group, 200 nm NBQX was injected into the cortex with the AMPA. In the isoflurane and pentobarbital groups, anesthesia was maintained for a period of 5 h. Animals in the conscious, NBQX, and sham groups were allowed to awaken immediately after the AMPA injection. Injury to the cortex was evaluated 48 h later. RESULTS Isoflurane reduced AMPA-induced cortical injury (4.5 +/- 1.9 mm3 and 1.7 +/- 0.8 mm3 in the 1 minimum alveolar concentration and EEG-BS groups, respectively) in comparison to the conscious group (7.2 +/- 0.8 mm3). Pentobarbital reduced cortical injury when administered in EEG-BS doses (2.2 +/- 0.7 mm3) but not when administered in sedative doses (8.6 +/- 0.9 mm3). NBQX reduced AMPA-induced cortical injury (1.2 +/- 0.5 mm3). CONCLUSIONS Isoflurane and pentobarbital reduced cortical AMPA excitotoxicity. The magnitude of injury reduction was similar to that produced by NBQX when the anesthetics were administered in EEG-BS doses. These results are consistent with the previously demonstrated ability of isoflurane and pentobarbital to inhibit AMPA receptor responses.


A research study was conducted during the 1990 Farm Costs and Returns Survey (FCRS) to identify and classify the reasons given to field enumerators by respondents for refusing to participate in the survey. The reasons given by field enumerators for coding a sampled unit as "inaccessible" during the survey were also identified and classified. The research was conducted in six states, including two states that average high nonresponse rates, two states that average mid-level nonresponse rates, and two states that average low nonresponse rates on the FCRS. Results of the refusal classification indicate that one reason given by respondents for refusing to participate in the survey was the first or second most frequent response in all six states. However, only four reasons for refusing made the top ten list in all six states, and the relative frequency of the respondents' reasons for refusing varied considerably among the six states. In classifying the reasons given by enumerators for coding a sampled unit inaccessible, no one reason was given most frequently across the six states. There were only three reasons common to all six states, with fewer reasons provided and less variation within state when compared to the refusal identification. It is recommended that this study be expanded to include all FCRS states, and that the information gathered be used to prepare enumerators for situations common to their state.


The aim of the present work was to study the effect of hypothyroidism on the expression of the beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) in interscapular brown adipose tissue and heart. The total density of plasma membrane beta-AR per tissue is decreased by 44% in hypothyroid rat interscapular brown adipose tissue and by 55% in hypothyroid rat heart compared with euthyroid controls. The effects of hypothyroidism on the density of both beta 1- and beta 2-AR subtypes were also determined in competition displacement experiments. The densities of beta 1- and beta 2-AR per tissue are decreased by 50% and 48% respectively in interscapular brown adipose tissue and by 52% and 54% in the heart. Northern blot analysis of poly(A)+ RNA from hypothyroid rat interscapular brown adipose tissue demonstrated that the levels of beta 1- and beta 2-AR mRNA per tissue are decreased by 73% and 58% respectively, whereas in hypothyroid heart, only the beta 1-AR mRNA is decreased, by 43%. The effect of hypothyroidism on the beta 1-AR mRNA is significantly more marked in the interscapular brown adipose tissue than in the heart. These results indicate that beta-AR mRNA levels are differentially regulated in rat interscapular brown adipose tissue and heart, and suggest that the decrease in beta-AR number in interscapular brown adipose tissue and heart of hypothyroid animals may in part be explained by a decreased steady-state level of beta-AR mRNA.


Dead and dying oak (Quercus) and numerous other woody ornamental trees and shrubs showing signs and symptoms of Armillaria root rot were identified in the Company Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa, which were established in the mid‐1600s by the Dutch East Indies Trading Company. Nineteen isolates from dying trees or from mushrooms were collected and analysed to identify and characterize the Armillaria sp. responsible for the disease. The AluI digestion of the amplified product of the first intergenic spacer region (IGS‐1) of the rRNA operon of 19 isolates from the Company Gardens was identical to that of some of the European isolates of A. mellea s. s. The IGS‐1 region and the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) were sequenced for some of the Cape Town isolates. Phylogenetic analyses placed the Cape Town isolates in the European clade of A. mellea, which is distinct from the Asian and North American clades of this species. Identification based on sexual compatibility was conducted using A. mellea tester strains in diploid–haploid pairings, which showed some compatibility between the Cape Town isolates and testers from Europe. Somatic compatibility tests (diploid–diploid pairings) and DNA fingerprinting with multilocus, microsatellite probes indicated that the Cape Town isolates were genetically identical and may have resulted from vegetative (clonal) spread from a single focus in the centre of the original Company Gardens (c. 1652). The colonized area is at least 345 m in diameter. Assuming a linear spread rate underground of 0.3 m/year to 1.6 m/year, the genet (clone) was estimated to be between 108 and 575 years old. These data suggest that A. mellea was introduced into Cape Town from Europe, perhaps on potted plants, such as grapes or citrus, planted in the Company Gardens more than 300 years ago.


9Thompson Seedless9 table grapes were tasted as single-berry samples by 1374 customers in six supermarkets in the Sacramento, California, area. Each participant tasted six samples, each of a different Brix/acid ratio from 13.1:1 to 27.3:1. There were two samples at each of three levels of soluble solids: 14, 16, and 18° Brix (∓ 0.5°B). Used was a 9-point hedonic scale with flavor ratings from "like extremely" to "dislike extremely." The correlation between Brix/acid ratio and flavor preference was highly significant. Preference ratings at each degree Brix differed widely, being consistently higher for the sample with the lower acid content. Acid content varied so widely that degree Brix alone was a poor index with which to predict palatability. The number of tasters that rated samples "like very much" and "like extremely" increased rapidly for samples with ratios above 20:1. The number that rated samples "dislike very much" and "dislike extremely" increased rapidly for samples with ratios below 18:1. Blacks and Mexican-Americans as one group differed significantly in flavor preference from Caucasians and Orientals as the other group. This difference is probably because Blacks generally used the "like extremely" rating most freely, especially for the high-ratio samples, and MexicanAmericans used the "dislike extremely" rating most freely, especially for the low-ratio samples. There was no significant difference between the two ethnic divisions within each group. Men differed significantly from women in flavor preference, largely because women used the "dislike very much" and "dislike extremely" ratings more than did men. The number of "like extremely" or "dislike extremely" ratings was affected markedly by the position of the highest-and lowest-ratio samples in the tasting sequence. The number of ratings "like extremely" and "dislike extremely" increased consistently as the sample so rated was shifted from first to sixth position in the tasting sequence. Discussed is the desirability and feasibility of conducting a consumer flavor study of table grapes in supermarkets. The index of preference for samples of different levels of maturity could be the relative amounts of fruit purchased. Suggested are methods of handling the grape samples and maturity levels to use.


OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of local thermal therapy with far-infrared rays (FIR) on menopausal symptoms and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
A prospective randomized, controlled trial was conducted in female volunteers from communities in Northern Taiwan. The intervention group (n=22) received local thermal therapy with the help of FIR from an FIR emitter, for approximately 20 minutes per day, twice a week, for 20 sessions. They received the therapy on their backs while lying in a supine position. The control group (n=21) received no treatment. The primary outcome was the change in the Perceived Perimenopausal Disturbances Scale, designed for the measurement of menopause-related symptoms (MRS) before and after completion of treatment in a 10-week period. Secondary outcome parameters included serum levels of estradiol (E2) with osteocalcin (OC), and calcaneal BMD by quantitative ultrasound.

RESULTS
After 10 weeks of intervention, MRS determined by the scale decreased in mean total scores and mean scores for vasomotor, musculoskeletal, urologic, reproductive, and psychologic domains (p<0.05), except for reproductive (sexuality-related) symptoms. In the control group, mean total scores and scores of each domain had no significant difference between baseline and follow-up examination after 10 weeks. There was no significant difference between the quantitative ultrasound parameters in the calcaneus, serum E2, and OC levels either at the baseline or in the changes from the baseline between the intervention and control groups of women (p>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Local thermal therapy with FIR results in a significant reduction of MRS in postmenopausal women. Serum E2, OC levels, and calcaneal BMD showed no significant changes between the two groups. These results suggest that FIR local thermal therapy may be a potential alternative for the management of postmenopausal symptoms.


Engineering today is the backbone for support and advancement of the environment to keep the United States a world leader in the realm of health care. Over the past year, the expense for health care has astoundingly risen by over $100 billion. Hence, many politicians have proposed several ideas for a reform policy that will cut spending on health care, yet improve it at the same time. The Clinton plan seemed to spark the greatest uproar among its supporters as well as its antagonists. In any event, reform of health care is needed to stabilize the incredible spending that has come about. Some 650,000 individuals are presently employed in the medical technology profession. Any health care reform will directly affect these individuals and their families. Consider how the bioengineer will be affected. The authors first define the profession as devoted to improving and enhancing the environment and animal and human life through research and development. Since this is such a wide field, almost any reform made in the health care system will have an impact. For example, if the budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is cut, research will be halted on marine technology and how aquatic organisms can protect human health and increase the safety of food products. Also, studies that focus on genetic engineering of marine plants and animals to help produce useful enzymes, polymers, and pharmaceutical products would be discontinued. Any reforms, whether loyal to Clinton or an alternative plan, will force an entirely new set of parameters and specifications onto the vast spectrum of health care. Within that spectrum lies the vital field of medical technology. All changes pertaining to medical applications of technology affect the biomedical engineer. Due to the ambiguity of the proposals presented, the effects on medical technology cannot be pre-determined as being beneficial or detrimental. One can, however, assess the limited information that is available on this matter and speculate. Regarding the proposed reforms' affect on the biomedical engineer, there appears to be certain key issues that need to be addressed. One of these pertains to the question of continued research funding. Within the pages of the Clinton plan there exists a section devoted to a vague and ambiguous exposition on the future of health research. The individual is left with more than one confusing vision of the future. >


The growing urban lifestyle of consumers in Thailand has been driving demand for packaged convenience food. New trends in packaging technologiese.g.smart packaging, active technology, RFID.,etc.can be used as a business tool for a competitive advantage in the food industry to comply with consumer lifestyles.This paper aims to identify and validate the decision factors for selecting new trends of food packaging technology to support the food packaging industry in Thailand in producer firms' viewpoints. Firstly, the author reviewed the literature to find out general factors in selecting any technologies to set guideline for design questions in questionnaires about decision factors in selecting food packaging. Secondly, the questionnaires were distributed to 40 representatives of food packaging firms in Thailand to find out their decision factors concerned. By the facts that the development of new trends of packaging in Thailand is mostly driven by only large firms. Hence, thirdly, the author performed in-depth interviews with executives in 8 leading and top largest food firms in Thailand to confirm that advanced packaging technology whether has opportunities of growth in the food industry in Thailand or not.Respondents from food packaging firms in Thailand expressed their interests in four areas in selecting new technology of packaging, including (1) the technology aspect, (2) marketing and business competition aspect, (3) financial and economical aspect, and (4) strategy, society and environment aspect.A lack of raw materials and local technology still make the cost prohibitive to boom the advanced packing.


The electrical method is effective on detecting and locating leaks in geomembrane liners for landfills. If a leak exists in the liner, an anomaly in the measured potential is generated in the immediate vicinity of the leak through which electrical current is flowing. But the power supply current above the liner can affect the potential distribution. A current point source model for power supply current was set up in this paper. The potential equation induced by the point source was derived. The analysis of potential expression shows that: 1) the potential generated by the power supply current is proportional to the current size and the medium resistivity; 2) as the medium thickness increases, the potential reduces; 3) to reduce the influence of power supply current, the power supply electrode should be away from the detection area as far as possible.


For the micro-modelling of masonry in numerical programs that take non-linear behaviour into account, a complete description of the behaviour of masonry components has to be available. "Complete" means that, apart from the initial stiffness and the strength, the behaviour beyond the peak in the σ-e diagram is described. This article gives an overview of deformation controlled tensile and flexural tests that have been carried out since 1990 by the author to establish the behaviour prior and beyond the maximum load under tension. All tests were carried under a monotonic increase of a deformation measured on the specimen itself. The behaviour of units and mortar-joints under tension showed a great similarity to that of concrete. Experience in describing the non-linear behaviour of concrete under tension could be applied to the masonry components. The mode I fracture energy of units is of the same magnitude as that of concrete. The mode I fracture energy of mortar-joints is approximately one order of magnitude smaller and showed a great scatter.


Two donor–acceptor–donor (D–A–D) type low-bandgap small molecules, M1 and M2, with bis(2-thienyl)-N-alkylpyrrole (TPT) as the donor and thieno[3,4-b]thiadiazole (TT) as the acceptor were designed and synthesized. The absorption, transmission, electrochemical, thermal and film properties were studied. The compounds showed panchromatic absorption in the spectral range of 300–1000 nm. Moreover, they also exhibited semi-transparent property in the visible region (400–700 nm). Small molecule photodetectors (SMPDs) based on M1 and M2 were fabricated and studied. For the SMPD with BCP as the hole blocking layer (HBL), a detectivity of 5.0 × 1011 Jones at 800 nm at −0.1 V was obtained, which is among the highest detectivities reported for NIR SMPDs. With a sufficiently thin silver electrode, visibly transparent PDs with an average transmittance of 45% in the visible region were obtained for the first time. The transparent PDs exhibited fairly constant and high detectivity between 1011 and 1012 Jones over a broad spectral range of 300–900 nm. In addition, side chains of the compounds exhibited a great influence on the device performance, which could be assigned to their film absorption coefficient, molecular packing and active layer morphology.


Some classes of sensing applications target scenarios where the overall system, including antenna and energy sub-system, is placed under the ground, through concrete, or under-the-debris (disaster scenario). A real-time soil moisture sensing system deployed at the root zone of a crop area for precise irrigation and an oil pipeline leak detection (PLD) system are particular examples of interest discussed in this work. Communication solutions for these scenarios have been recently investigated in the Wireless Underground Sensor Networks (WUSN) literature and magnetic induction (MI) technology is usually regarded as the best candidate for low-power and mid-range (i.e., 15..30m) wireless underground communication. Nonetheless, underground MI systems are still significantly impacted by changes at the electrical properties of the medium surrounding the MI nodes, such as due to the soil moisture variability. The design of a MI system for the worst-case scenario (e.g., high soil moisture) is a strategic approach but it may significantly reduce the application bandwidth. Therefore, the dynamic frequency adaptation has the potential of balancing robustness and higher bandwidth for MI-WUSNs. In this work, a novel design procedure is proposed for the optimization problem of selecting the proper operational frequency for MI-WUSN nodes according to the medium conditions.


Mainstream public finance research has largely ignored race issues. This paper calls on public finance economists to explore racial issues more extensively. The obvious reasons are to understand the effects of inequitable and inefficient policies, help develop remedies, and ensure that public finance is addressing the issues most salient to society. The less obvious reason is that public finance has tools and frameworks that can provide useful insights into the economics of racism. As economists search for issues that are both amenable to analysis and important for society, the pervasive effects of racism stand out in both regards.


. In this work, we devise robust and efficient learning protocols for orchestrating a Federated Learning (FL) process for the Federated Tumor Segmentation Challenge (FeTS 2022). Enabling FL for FeTS setup is challenging mainly due to data heterogeneity among collaborators and communication cost of training. To tackle these challenges, we propose a Ro bust Le arning Pro tocol (RoLePRO) which is a combination of server-side adaptive optimisation (e.g., server-side Adam) and judicious parameter (weights) aggregation schemes (e.g., adaptive weighted aggregation). RoLePRO takes a two-phase approach, where the first phase consists of vanilla Federated Averaging, while the second phase consists of a judicious aggregation scheme that uses a sophisticated re-weighting, all in the presence of an adaptive optimisation algorithm at the server. We draw insights from extensive experimentation to tune learning rates for the two phases.


The aim of this study was to apply tests of inequality to dental inspection data from 3-year-old children in Greater Glasgow and Clyde and to compare and contrast their usefulness. Dental inspections were repeated from 2006/7 to 2009/10. The measures of caries experience used were d3mft >0 and mean dmft, while the measure of socioeconomic status was "quintiles" of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. Analyses of each year's data included: raw summaries by SIMD score; logistic regression (LR) models with ROC plots and c-index; Significant Caries Index (SIC); Population Attributable Risk (PAR); Concentration Index; Gini Coefficient and Lorenz Curves; Slope Index of Inequality (SII) and Relative Index of Inequality (RII). We inspected 10 022 three year old children (19% of the population). The prevalence of obvious decay was 26%, 25%, 18% and 17%, in the 4 years. Raw analyses revealed a drop in absolute inequality, but little change in relative inequality. The SII values over the 4-year period were −1.61, −1.38, −1.16 and −0.54, respectively. ORs from the LR models provide relative estimates (backed up by the ROC plots), the SIC and the PAR are good at picking up the absolute reduction, the Concentration Index does not add much information, the GINI coefficient does pick up inequality but is counter-intuitive in this context, and the SII and RII are useful. We found that standard analyses such as LR and ROC are good for estimating dental inequalities, but other methods are needed to more graphically demonstrate reductions in absolute inequality.


Through a case study of Julian Smith, this essay investigates what makes YouTube comedians/entrepreneurs successful. In order to understand the channel juliansmith87 and its connections to social media platforms, I adopt two strategies: focusing on a specific video from the channel called 25 Things I Hate About Facebook; and discussing the channel on a macro-level, looking at it from inception to current state. While 25 Things has not achieved the success of other videos by Smith, it created a formula characterized by a self-reflexive approach to digital media and a high production value. Why are so many users following Smith's work? How did these videos go viral? How did he manage to beat the competition of other users aiming to reach the same visibility? How does he take advantage of our current digital environment and convergence culture? Generally presented in a three to five minute format, Smith's videos are professionally produced with updated digital cameras and editing software and then shared online via media marketing strategies. Smith proves that YouTube is both a site for personal use (summarized by its tagline 'Broadcast Yourself') and a platform for the shared artistic visions of comedy entrepreneurs. The study concludes with an initial map of some comedy content creators that possess characteristics similar to those of juliansmith87, evaluating their role in the modernization of digital humor.


Graph neural networks (GNNs) have achieved tremendous success in graph mining. However, the inability of GNNs to model substructures in graphs remains a significant drawback. Specifically, message-passing GNNs (MPGNNs), as the prevailing type of GNNs, have been theoretically shown unable to distinguish, detect or count many graph substructures. While efforts have been paid to complement the inability, existing works either rely on pre-defined substructure sets, thus being less flexible, or are lacking in theoretical insights. In this paper, we propose GSKN1, a GNN model with a theoretically stronger ability to distinguish graph structures. Specifically, we design GSKN based on anonymous walks (AWs), flexible substructure units, and derive it upon feature mappings of graph kernels (GKs). We theoretically show that GSKN provably extends the 1-WL test, and hence the maximally powerful MPGNNs from both graph-level and node-level viewpoints. Correspondingly, various experiments are leveraged to evaluate GSKN, where GSKN outperforms a wide range of baselines, endorsing the analysis.


In an experimental field study, airborne particulate birch and grass pollen allergens were sampled with a cascade impactor on the roof of an office building in the centre of a middle-sized town in Sweden. The impactor separated particles into eight size fractions. Simultaneously, inhalable pollen allergens in the indoor air were sampled in offices of the building. Significant amounts of the outdoor pollen allergens were found on particles much smaller than the pollen grains. These small particles could penetrate the fine filters (quality F6) of the building's ventilation system. By taking into account the effectiveness of the installed ventilation filters, the pollen allergen concentration indoors could be well predicted, thus pointing out the supply air as the main source of indoor pollen allergens. Comparison of data from workdays with those from weekends indicated that secondary emissions of pollen allergens brought indoors by people (on clothes, hair, shoes etc.) were insignificant.


As industrial applications are increasingly automated by machine learning models, enforcing personal data ownership and intellectual property rights requires tracing training data back to their rightful owners. Membership inference algorithms approach this problem by using statistical techniques to discern whether a target sample was included in a model's training set. However, existing methods only utilize the unaltered target sample or simple augmentations of the target to compute statistics. Such a sparse sampling of the model's behavior carries little information, leading to poor inference capabilities. In this work, we use adversarial tools to directly optimize for queries that are discriminative and diverse. Our improvements achieve significantly more accurate membership inference than existing methods, especially in offline scenarios and in the low false-positive regime which is critical in legal settings. Code is available at https://github.com/YuxinWenRick/canary-in-a-coalmine.


Although estimation of the total ice concentration from special sensor microwave imagers (SSM/I) has proven to be successful, none of the various algorithms developed to discriminate new and older ice provide satisfying results. While the strong contrast between the emissivity of sea ice and that of open water can be utilized to provide reliable estimators of the total ice concentration, passive microwave characteristics of second-year and multiyear ice may locally evolve in different ways, even during the cold season. Scatterometers, as the active microwave instrument in wind mode (AMI-wind) on board the European Remote Sensing Satellites (ERS), provide backscatter data which have a higher sensitivity to the surface topography of ice and a better stability in time, at a resolution compatible with the SSM/I measurements. Here we present the evolutions of the microwave properties of an ice feature appearing along the shores of Novosibirskiye Ostrova (New Siberian Islands) at the end of July 1992 as the ice ages during its 3-year drift toward the Fram Strait. The track of this well-defined ice surface is easily followed on the maps of the backscatter coefficient provided by the AMI-wind during the cold season. In summer, because of melting, the ice undergoes critical changes which alter its microwave signatures and hamper automatic tracking. Moreover, on approaching the Fram Strait the resolution of the scatterometer is not sufficient to capture the complex and rapid transformations of the ice cover. To compensate for this, buoy data obtained from the International Arctic Buoy Program are used, alone during summers or together with satellite data, to build basin-wide ice displacement fields. These displacement fields, successively applied to each pixel of the ice feature selected, provide a series of Lagrangian observations. During the drift, which ends in May 1995, the active and passive signatures evolve coherently, except for the cold season 1992–1993 when unrealistic multiyear ice concentrations are deduced from the brightness temperatures, which, at that time, are much less stable than the backscatter coefficient over the ice surface tracked, identified as second-year ice.


Various debates on the desirability and rationality of life-extending enhancements have been pursued under the presupposition that a generic psychological theory of personal identity is correct. I here discuss how the narrative approach to personal identity can contribute to these debates. In particular, I argue that two versions of the narrative approach offer good reasons to reject an argument against the rationality of (certain forms of) life-extending enhancements.


The Glasgow s17 syn+ strain of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) is arguably the best characterized strain and has provided the reference sequence for HSV1 genetic studies. Here we show that our original s17 syn+ stock was a mixed population from which we have isolated a minor variant that, unlike other strains in the laboratory, fails to be efficiently released from infected cells and spreads predominantly by direct cell-to-cell transmission. Analysis of other s17-derived viruses that had been isolated elsewhere revealed a number with the same release phenotype. Second-generation sequencing of 8 plaque-purified s17-derived viruses revealed sequences that vary by 50 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including approximately 10 coding SNPs. This compared to interstrain variations of around 800 SNPs in strain Sc16, of which a quarter were coding changes. Amongst the variations found within s17, we identified 13 variants of glycoprotein C within the original stock of virus that were predominantly a consequence of altered homopolymeric runs of C residues. Characterization of seven isolates coding for different forms of gC indicated that all were expressed, despite six of them lacking a transmembrane domain. While the release phenotype did not correlate directly with any of these identified gC variations, further demonstration that nine clinical isolates of HSV1 also fail to spread through extracellular release raises the possibility that propagation in tissue culture had altered the HSV1 s17 transmission phenotype. Hence, the s17 intrastrain variation identified here offers an excellent model for understanding both HSV1 transmission and tissue culture adaptation.


Many modern materials are composite structures with complex morphologies that play a large role in determining the material function. The ability to investigate the relationship between structure and property on a microscopic scale can play a crucial role in material development. Micro-Thermal Analysis (μTA)™ is a unique set of analytical techniques for characterizing materials on a micrometer and nanometer scale. Micro-TA combines the imaging power of atomic force microscopy with the ability to analyze physical, mechanical, thermal, and chemical characteristics at a specific point of interest on the surface of a material. At the heart of the technique is a miniaturized thermal probe. In a new technique termed Photo Thermal Micro-Spectroscopy (PTMS), this thermal probe is used to detect temperature fluctuations in samples that have been irradiated by IR radiation. A Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectrum can be constructed from this information. This paper describes the PTMS technique and discusses recent applications.


Abstract. The proximity of the Upper Etowah River watershed to such a vast urban and urbanizing area (Atlanta, Georgia) makes proactive watershed management essential because there is critical need to balance water and wastewater demands with efforts to maintain and enhance overall ecological conditions. The monitoring program is intended to be comprehensive, help address multi-jurisdictional watershed management objectives, and focus on ecological condition at multiple spatial scales. Therefore, the purpose of this project is the development of a valid and technically defensible, long-term monitoring design for the Upper Etowah River watershed. The Lake Allatoona/Upper Etowah River Watershed Partnership specified a list of management objectives and questions that the data gathered under the monitoring program should address. The set of objectives required an approach that incorporates sites selected based on expected problems or issues (targeted), as well as sites from which data could be aggregated for assessments at broader spatial scales (probability-based). The resulting network design is a set of sites that will, in part, be sampled annually; intermittently; and as part of a regular, rotating-basin schedule. Constituents to be sampled include selected laboratory and field chemistry, various aspects of flow and physical habitat quality, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish. Over a 6-year period, these data will be gathered from approximately 400 locations throughout the upper basin. Implementation of the program will require training, tracking of data quality characteristics, and performing analyses focused on answering, with known confidence, the stated objectives of the program. INTRODUCTION


The part's precision-machined quality of NC machining is influenced by the chord error greatly during precision machining. The confined chord error Algorithm for Machining Complex Parametric Curve is proposed for the complexity of the chord error. The information of the arc length error is utilized to control the chord error of the interpolated point indirectly. The arc length error of interpolated point is computed by Simpson expressions, the information of coordinate and the first order derivative of interpolated point is computed by the interpolation algorithm, so the computed difficulty is not increased greatly. The computed error of the algorithm is discussed and the simulation example of NURBS curve proves that the destined precision of the chord error can be satisfied by this algorithm.


Voltage-sensitive dye imaging (VSDi) has revealed fundamental properties of neocortical processing at mesoscopic scales. Since VSDi signals report the average membrane potential, it seems natural to use a mean-field formalism to model such signals. Here, we investigate a mean-field model of networks of Adaptive Exponential (AdEx) integrate-and-fire neurons, with conductance-based synaptic interactions. The AdEx model can capture the spiking response of different cell types, such as regular-spiking (RS) excitatory neurons and fast-spiking (FS) inhibitory neurons. We use a Master Equation formalism, together with a semi-analytic approach to the transfer function of AdEx neurons. We compare the predictions of this meanfield model to simulated networks of RS-FS cells, first at the level of the spontaneous activity of the network, which is well predicted by the mean-field model. Second, we investigate the response of the network to time-varying external input, and show that the mean-field model accurately predicts the response time course of the population. One notable exception was that the "tail" of the response at long times was not well predicted, because the mean-field does not include adaptation mechanisms. We conclude that the Master Equation formalism can yield mean-field models that predict well the behavior of nonlinear networks with conductancebased interactions and various electrophysiolgical properties, and should be a good candidate to model VSDi signals where both excitatory and inhibitory neurons contribute.


The Java Remote Method Invocation (JRMI) specification simplifies the development of distributed Java applications, but provides little support to guarantee reliable, highly-available operation. The Aroma System is middleware that transparently enhances the JRMI model with the mechanisms required for consistent replication of client and server objects. By exploiting novel interception mechanisms, the Aroma System is activated at runtime, with minimal modification to the application and to the JRMI infrastructure. The Aroma System adapts the JRMI model for group communication, and exploits an underlying reliable, totally-ordered multicast protocol to provide strong replica consistency. We describe the architecture of the Aroma System, and discuss the mechanisms required to achieve transparent replication of Java RMI objects and to enforce strong replica consistency.


The paper discusses CAD design on the pores created with simple units such as cylinder, whose structures are determined by unit space array mode and size. Pore ratio, independent to unit models, only relates to orifice diameter and scanning space in fused deposition manufacturing (FDM). Mechanical strength is measured to verify the influences of array modes and inside sizes. The tests demonstrate that 0/90°array mode has larger strength and that the cylinder bears the more pressure along the axis. Stress-strain curve reveals the 4 sections when the parts deform, including linear stage, slightly change stage, increasing stage and damage stage.


Abstract. The importance of spatial accuracy of land use/cover change maps necessitates the use of high performance models. To reach this goal, calibrating machine learning (ML) approaches to model land use/cover conversions have received increasing interest among the scholars. This originates from the strength of these techniques as they powerfully account for the complex relationships underlying urban dynamics. Compared to other ML techniques, random forest has rarely been used for modeling urban growth. This paper, drawing on information from the multi-temporal Landsat satellite images of 1985, 2000 and 2015, calibrates a random forest regression (RFR) model to quantify the variable importance and simulation of urban change spatial patterns. The results and performance of RFR model were evaluated using two complementary tools, relative operating characteristics (ROC) and total operating characteristics (TOC), by overlaying the map of observed change and the modeled suitability map for land use change (error map). The suitability map produced by RFR model showed 82.48% area under curve for the ROC model which indicates a very good performance and highlights its appropriateness for simulating urban growth.


An excision assay system for En/Spm was developed in transgenic tobacco. The characteristics of excision and integration are similar to the natural system of Zea mays. In this transgenic model system two En/Spm encoded trans‐acting functions, TNPA and TNPD, are required for excision. A biochemical model for transposition is proposed that might also be applicable to other transposable elements.


Abstract Survivors of acute pulmonary embolism (PE) are at risk of developing persistent, sometimes disabling symptoms of dyspnea and/or functional limitations despite adequate anticoagulant treatment, fulfilling the criteria of the post-PE syndrome (PPES). PPES includes chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), chronic thromboembolic pulmonary disease, post-PE cardiac impairment (characterized as persistent right ventricle impairment after PE), and post-PE functional impairment. To improve the overall health outcomes of patients with acute PE, adequate measures to diagnose PPES and strategies to prevent and treat PPES are essential. Patient-reported outcome measures are very helpful to identify patients with persistent symptoms and functional impairment. The primary concern is to identify and adequately treat patients with CTEPH as early as possible. After CTEPH is ruled out, additional diagnostic tests including cardiopulmonary exercise tests, echocardiography, and imaging of the pulmonary vasculature may be helpful to rule out non-PE–related comorbidities and confirm the ultimate diagnosis. Most PPES patients will show signs of physical deconditioning as main explanation for their clinical presentation. Therefore, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation provides a good potential treatment option for this patient category, which warrants testing in adequately designed and executed randomized trials. In this review, we describe the definition and characteristics of PPES and its diagnosis and management.


Author(s): Neal, Sonya Elina | Advisor(s): Koehler, Carla M | Abstract: A redox-regulated import pathway consisting of Mia40 and Erv1 was identified to mediate the import of cysteine-rich proteins into the mitochondrial intermembrane space. Mia40 mediates the import and oxidative folding of substrates and Erv1 is a putative oxidant for Mia40. The mechanism involved in the oxidation of substrates and subsequent release from Mia40 is not clear. In this study, we have reconstituted the disulfide exchange reaction in vitro using Tim13 as the substrate. By reconstituting the Mia40-Erv1 import pathway with cysteine mutants of Tim13, we were able to determine that C57, C61 and C73 are required for oxidative folding by Mia40. Moreover, we show that Tim13 is able to induce a conformational change and reduce 6 cysteines in Mia40. Finally, in organello studies confirmed that in yeast strains deficient in Erv1, Mia40 remains in a reduced state. In all, these experiments suggest that Mia40 is able to act as an electron sink in which it accumulates electrons in the presence of Tim13. Subsequently, the Mia40-Erv1 import pathway has electron acceptors to continue the process of disulfide bond formation. The aerobic electron acceptors include oxygen and cytochrome c, but an anaerobic acceptor has not been identified. Here we show that the fumarate reductase Osm1, which transfers electrons from fumarate to generate succinate, fills this gap as a new electron acceptor. In addition to microsomes, Osm1 localizes to the IMS and assembles with Erv1 in a complex. In reconstitution studies, Erv1 transfers electrons to Osm1 in the oxidation of Tim13. Comparative assays support that Osm1 accepts electrons with similar efficiency as cytochrome c and that the cell has strategies to coordinate expression of the terminal electron acceptors. Thus, Osm1 is a new terminal electron acceptor in the IMS that may also have a similar function in the endoplasmic reticulum.


Bear Creek: A Case Study in Locating Historic Site Remains in Southeast Texas. (December 2004) Andrea Renee Stahman, B.A., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Alston V. Thoms In the Gulf Coastal Prairie and Marsh region of Texas, historic archaeological sites are often obscured by dense vegetation resulting in extremely limited surface visibility. In an environment such as this, historic sites can only be detected by the presence of above-ground features such as architectural remains and landscaping. Although not standard among cultural resource management firms, the use of historical aerial photography and informant interviews can be effective and efficient pre-field strategies for locating sites in this region. Identification of such sites is further enhanced by an in-depth understanding of the characteristic remains of pier and beam construction, which was commonly utilized in 19century southeast Texas farmsteads. Four 160-acre grants located in the Addicks Reservoir, Harris County, Texas were used as a case study to test the effectiveness and efficiency of these pre-field research strategies. Each of these tracts was associated with the mid 19-century establishment of the German immigrant community of Bear Creek, and each tract contained the remnants of farmsteads where structures had often been removed or relocated leaving little above-ground remains to be discovered using standard survey


Nop9 is an essential factor in the processing of preribosomal RNA. Its absence in yeast is lethal, and defects in the human ortholog are associated with breast cancer, autoimmunity, and learning/language impairment. PUF family RNA-binding proteins are best known for sequence-specific RNA recognition, and most contain eight α-helical repeats that bind to the RNA bases of single-stranded RNA. Nop9 is an unusual member of this family in that it contains eleven repeats and recognizes both RNA structure and sequence. Here we report a crystal structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Nop9 in complex with its target RNA within the 20S preribosomal RNA. This structure reveals that Nop9 brings together a carboxy-terminal module recognizing the 5′ single-stranded region of the RNA and a bifunctional amino-terminal module recognizing the central double-stranded stem region. We further show that the 3′ single-stranded region of the 20S target RNA adds sequence-independent binding energy to the RNA–Nop9 interaction. Both the amino- and carboxy-terminal modules retain the characteristic sequence-specific recognition of PUF proteins, but the amino-terminal module has also evolved a distinct interface, which allows Nop9 to recognize either single-stranded RNA sequences or RNAs with a combination of single-stranded and structured elements.


The year 2010 is the centennial of the publication of the "Seven Little Devils" in the predecessor of Acta Physiologica. In these seven papers, August and Marie Krogh sought to refute Christian Bohr's theory that oxygen diffusion from the lungs to the circulation is not entirely passive but rather facilitated by a specific cellular activity substitute to secretion. The subjects of the present reevaluation of this controversy are Christian Bohr, Professor and Doctor of Medicine (1855-1911), nominated three times for the Nobel Prize; August Krogh, Doctor of Philosophy (1874-1949), Christian Bohr's assistant and later Nobel Prize laureate (1920); and Marie Krogh, née Jørgensen, Doctor of Medicine and wife of August Krogh (1874-1943). The controversy concerned is the transport of oxygen from the lungs into the bloodstream: are passive transport and diffusion capacity together sufficient to secure the oxygen supply in all circumstances or is there an additional specific ("energy consuming" or "active") mechanism responsible for the transport of oxygen from the alveoli into the bloodstream? The present discussion purports to show that the contestants' views were closer than the parties themselves and posterity recognized. Posterity has judged the dispute unilaterally from the Nobel laureate's point of view, but it is evident that August Krogh's Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of a cellular activity (Christian Bohr's expression), represented by Krogh's discovery of capillary recruitment. Christian Bohr appears to have been correct in the narrower sense that the diffusion capacity at rest is not great enough to explain the transport during work; a special mechanism intervenes and optimizes the conditions under which diffusion acts. August Krogh, of course, was right in the wider sense that the transport mechanism itself is always entirely passive.


In 1992, Russia's new leadership, led by Boris Yeltsin, explicitly committed to making Russia part of the Western hegemonic system. By the following year, and for the decade after, Russia under President Yeltsin and, from 2000, under Vladimir Putin increasingly identified itself in opposition to U.S. hegemony, but remained agreeable to participation in some kind of multipolar collective hegemony led by the West. Since 2003, however, a "new" Russia has emerged, interested neither in participating in Western hegemony nor in actively balancing against or undermining it. Instead, the new Russia, committed to being authentically Russian and not a kind of Western or Eurasian hybrid, has chosen the exit option, a strategy of selective disengagement from the West and nonparticipation in its hegemonic order.


International standards regarding polluting emissions from civil aircraft engines are becoming gradually even more stringent. Nowadays, the most prominent way to meet the target of reducing NOx emissions in modern aero-engine combustors is represented by lean burn technology. Swirl injectors are usually employed to provide the dominant flame stabilization mechanism coupled to high efficiency fuel atomization solutions. These systems generate very complex flow structures such as recirculations, vortex breakdown and processing vortex core, that affect the distribution and therefore the estimation of heat loads on the gas side of the liner as well as the interaction with the cooling system flows.The main purpose of the present work is to provide detailed measurements of Heat Transfer Coefficient (HTC) on the gas side of a scaled combustor liner highlighting the impact of the cooling flows injected through a slot system and an effusion array. Furthermore, for a deeper understanding of the interaction phenomena between gas and cooling flows, a standard 2D PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) technique has been employed to characterize the combustor flow field.The experimental arrangement has been developed within EU project LEMCOTEC and consists of a non-reactive three sectors planar rig installed in an open loop wind tunnel. Three swirlers, replicating the real geometry of a GE Avio PERM (Partially Evaporated and Rapid Mixing) injector technology, are used to achieve representative swirled flow conditions in the test section. The effusion geometry is composed by a staggered array of 1236 circular holes with an inclination of 30deg, while the slot exit has a constant height of 5mm. The experimental campaign has been carried out using a TLC (Thermochromic Liquid Crystals) steady state technique with a thin Inconel heating foil and imposing several cooling flow conditions in terms of slot coolant consumption and effusion pressure drop. A data reduction procedure has been developed to take into account the non-uniform heat generation and the heat loss across the liner plate.Results, in terms of 2D maps and averaged distributions of HTC have been supported by flow field measurements with 2D PIV technique focussed on the corner recirculation region.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


Abstract : This report presents the results of an examination of historical records related to the construction and operations of the Ravenna Army Ammunition Plant (RVAAP), Ravenna, Ohio. This project was undertaken as part of a larger Legacy Resource Program demonstration project to assist small installations and to aid in the completion of mitigation efforts set up in a 1993 Programmatic Agreement concerning a program to cease maintenance, excess, and dispose of particular properties. The major focus of the project at RVAAP was to document the impacts that the facility had on the state and local environments. As one of the Ordnance Department's Government-Owned Contractor-Operated industrial facilities, RVAAP was designed to load, assemble, and pack munitions and materiel for European and American forces during World War II. In addition to explaining technical aspects of the load, assemble, and pack process, this report discusses the direct and indirect effects construction and operations had on the city of Ravenna and the smaller communities of eastern Portage County. Although many communities near GOCO facilities across the nation faced new economic problems at the end of World War II due to the closure of those facilities and subsequent exodus of workers, eastern Portage County felt slightly less impact because of the U.S. government's continued use of RVAAP and its neighbor, the Portage Ordnance Depot, during the post-war years.


The aim of the current study was to characterize the anti-HLA antibodies before and after pancreatic islet or pancreas transplantation. We assessed the risk of anti-donor-specific antibody (DSA) sensitization in a single-center, retrospective clinical study at Geneva University Hospital. Data regarding clinical characteristics, graft outcome, HLA mismatch, donor HLA immunogenicity, and anti-HLA antibody characteristics were collected. Between January 2008 and July 2014, 18 patients received islet transplants, and 26 patients received a pancreas transplant. Eleven out of 18 patients (61.1%) in the islet group and 12 out of 26 patients (46.2%) in the pancreas group had anti-HLA antibodies. Six patients (33.3%) developed DSAs against HLA of the islets, and 10 patients (38.4%) developed DSAs against HLA of the pancreas. Most of the DSAs were at a low level. Several parameters such as gender, number of times cells were transplanted, HLA mismatch, eplet mismatch and PIRCHE-II numbers, rejection, and infection were analyzed. Only the number of PIRCHE-II was associated with the development of anti-HLA class II de novo DSAs. Overall, the development of de novo DSAs did not influence graft survival as estimated by insulin independence. Our results indicated that pretransplant DSAs at low levels do not restrict islet or pancreas transplantation [especially islet transplantation (27.8% vs. 15.4.%)]. De novo DSAs do occur at a similar rate in both pancreas and islet transplant recipients (mainly of class II), and the immunogenicity of donor HLA is a parameter that should be taken into consideration. When combined with an immunosuppressive regimen and close follow-up, development of low levels of DSAs was not found to result in reduced graft survival or graft function in the current study.


ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of acetazolamide combined with different agents as intracanal medication in late reimplanted rat teeth. Materials and Methods:In 100 Wistar rats, divided into 5 groups of 20, one of the following medications was used: Acetazolamide liquid (AL); AL with calcium hydroxide powder (ALHC); acetazolamide powder with AL; acetazolamide powder with physiological solution; and calcium hydroxide with physiological solution (control). At 30 and 60 days after reimplantation, the animals were sacrificed, tissues were processed, and cuts were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. An optical microscope was used to determine the following: percentage of inflammatory root resorption (RRI); percentage of substitute root resorption (RRS); and presence of ankylosis. The data obtained was submitted for statistical analysis. Results: Group ALHC had a significantly higher RRS than the control group at 60 days (P = 0.01). Group AL showed significantly less ankylosis than the other groups, including the control, at 30 days. AL showed results similar to those of the control group with respect to RRS. Conclusion:Acetazolamide has the potential to be an effective intracanal medication.


Past research on care leavers has, understandably, tended to focus on those who are in their mid- to late-teens or early 20s. This reflects the profound impact of central and local government policy on those young people. It also reflects their prominence in contemporary analyses of most of the indicators of social exclusion among young people in the UK – unemployment, homelessness and lack of educational qualifications among them. However, some issues affecting adults who grew up in care apply across the life course. One such issue is the access that former care adults have to their child care files. Indeed, as we shall see, this issue has particular importance for many older adults (in their 30s and upwards). Policy and practice in this field has changed significantly during the past 20 years and there is a growing awareness of the needs of former care adults in this area. Access to such files can be a significant element in the process of seeking to address identity concerns centring around family and childhood experiences. This paper explores some of these identity concerns and analyses how access to care files both reflects such concerns and attempts to address them.


In content-based publish-subscribe (pub/sub) systems, users express their interests as queries over a stream of publications. Scaling up content-based pub/sub to very large numbers of subscriptions is challenging: users are interested in low latency, that is, getting subscription results fast, while the pub/sub system provider is mostly interested in scaling, i.e., being able to serve large numbers of subscribers, with low computational resources utilization.

We present a novel approach for scalable content-based pub/sub in the presence of constraints on the available CPU and network resources, implemented within our pub/sub system Delta. We achieve scalability by off-loading some subscriptions from the pub/sub server, and leveraging view-based query rewriting to feed these subscriptions from the data accumulated in others. Our main contribution is a novel algorithm for organizing views in a multi-level dissemination network, exploiting view-based rewriting and powerful linear programming capabilities to scale to many views, respect capacity constraints, and minimize latency. The efficiency and effectiveness of our algorithm are confirmed through extensive experiments and a large deployment in a WAN.


The authors carried out comparative assessment of efficacy of cava filters (CF) for prevention of pulmonary artery thromboembolism in patients presenting with iliofemoral thrombosis with flotation of thrombi, as well as analysed complications in the remote postimplantation period. A total of 266 patients were examined within the terms from 1 month to 10 years after CF implantation. Depending on the type of the implanted device, all patients were subdivided into 3 groups: group 1 (n=65) consisted of patients with one-level CF, group 2 (n=112) comprised those with "sandglass" and "shuttle" type two-level cava filters, and group 3 (n=89) was composed of patients with the implanted CF "TrapEase" and "OptEase". In the remote period relapsed PATE was revealed in 5.2% of cases. Embolism in the CF was noted in 9.3% of cases, with the incidence rate of this complication not depending on the type of the implanted device. However, total occlusion of the inferior vena cava after embolism was observed 2 times more often in patients of the 2nd and 3rd group. In the first group recanalization of the intrafilter space occurred in one third of cases. Chronic occlusion of the inferior vena cava was revealed in 13.9% of cases, most frequently in group 2. Total occlusion of the inferior vena cava with the development of inferior vena cava syndrome was diagnosed in 24.1% of patients with thrombotic lesion below the level of renal veins confluence. This complication was associated with both characteristics of CF and technical errors of implantation, and was also encountered more frequently in group 2.


Freshwater mussels (order Unionida) are a historically abundant component of North American freshwater ecosystems, yet are among the most imperiled faunal groups. Understanding the underlying genetic structure and how it relates to historical geographic changes is critical for development of effective conservation strategies. Here we analyze mitochondrial gene fragments (COI) and 6 microsatellite loci of the freshwater mussel Lampsilis cardium (Rafinesque, 1820) in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River drainages to assess phylogenetic structure. The mitochondrial phylogeny shows geographic structure, with one divergent clade found exclusively in the Maumee and Wabash River. Phylogenies created using the COI sequences indicate divergence between two distinct clades of putative L. cardium (uncorrected p distance = 5.22%). Results from the microsatellite analyses suggest two genetically distinct populations corresponding to at least two glacial refugia, similar to the genetic structure observed for some other freshwater mussels in the region and are largely consistent to the results of mtDNA dataset. Three COI sequences from putative L. ovata (Say, 1817) were obtained from other published studies and included the phylogenetic analysis, these rendered the sequences from putative L. cardium generated in this study non–monophyletic. This suggests that more work is needed to determine whether L. cardium and L. ovata represent two distinct species or represent two divergent populations. Despite the highly divergent COI haplotypes in two monophyletic clades, nuclear microsatellite markers failed to detect differences in allele frequencies between individuals from these two clades in regions where they co–occur (FST = 0.004). These data aid in conservation strategies for unionids, providing guidance of best practices for maintaining natural genetic structure.


I develop a general equilibrium theory of bank lending relationships in an economy subject to search frictions and limited enforceability. The model features a dynamic contracting problem embedded within a directed search equilibrium with aggregate and bank-specific uncertainty. The interaction between search and agency frictions generates a slow accumulation of lending relationship capital and distorts the optimal allocation of credit along both intensive and extensive margins. A crisis characterized by a sizable destruction of lending relationships therefore leads to a significant contraction in credit and a slow recovery, consistent with the Great Recession. I calibrate the model to study aggregate and cross-sectional implications and analyze policies aimed at reviving bank lending. JEL Classification: D86; E02; E22; G01; G21; G28; L26.


This paper presents a conceptual architecture for an object-oriented framework to support the development of formal verification tools (i.e. model checkers). The objective of the architecture is to support the reuse of algorithms and to encourage a modular design of tools. The conceptual framework is accompanied by a C++ implementation which provides reusable algorithms for the simulation and verification of explicit-state models as well as a model representation for simple models based on guard-based process descriptions. The framework has been successfully used to develop a model checker for a subset of PROMELA.


In this article, the author focuses on the solo performance "Words in the Sand" (Žodžiai smėlyje, based on Samuel Beckett's play Happy Days, premiere in 1998) by Birutė Mar, one of the most prominent creators of solo performances in Lithuania, with the aim of defining the originality in the interpretation of this representative drama of the absurd, produced by the actor. The creative principles of the Japanese theatre noh and butoh are observed in this performance, which makes it possible to talk about an original intersection of the ideas of Western existentialism and Eastern philosophy and aesthetics. Emphasis is placed on the specific performativity of the solo performer. The author suggests that while creating her personal "holy" theatre (a notion introduced by Peter Brook), Birutė Mar renews the "traditional" metaphysical thinking in Lithuanian theatre, which she combines with original and contemporary ways of artistic expression.


We evaluated the efficacy of K-strophanthidin and digoxin in 20 patients with stable, severe congestive heart failure. In this aim, we studied the left ventricular pump function at rest and following manipulation of the cardiac load (cold pressor test and nitroprusside infusion), the exercise performance (cardiopulmonary exercise test), and the level of circulating norepinephrine. The study was double-blind and cross-over and comprehended 4 periods of 1-week each during which patients received in random order: placebo (oral+intravenous), K-strophanthidin (intravenous + oral placebo), digoxin (oral+intravenous placebo and, in 8 patients, intravenous + oral placebo). The efficacy of the various compounds was tested at the end of each period 1 and 10 hours after drug dosing. Comparable results were obtained by the 2 sets of measurements. Both digoxin and K-strophanthidin showed a positive inotropic effect. This is shown by an upward shift of the ejection fraction/end-systolic stress. In spite of this, only K-strophanthidin significantly increased exercise performance: tolerance time (+153 s), peak oxygen consumption (+1.2 ml/kg/min) and oxygen consumption at anaerobic threshold (+2.3 ml/kg/min). Norepinephrine plasma level at rest was significantly lowered only by K-strophanthidin. Results were comparable when digoxin was given intravenously. We conclude that both glycosides elicit an increase of the inotropic cardiac state but only K-strophanthidin improves exercise performance.


Abstract The lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus plantarum is capable of producing strain‐specific structures of cell wall teichoic acid (WTA), an anionic polysaccharide found in the Gram‐positive bacterial cell wall. In this study, we established a rapid, NMR‐based procedure to discriminate WTA structures in this species, and applied it to 94 strains of L. plantarum. Six previously reported glycerol‐ and ribitol‐containing WTA subtypes were successfully identified from 78 strains, suggesting that these were the dominant structures. However, the level of structural variety differed markedly among bacterial sources, possibly reflecting differences in strain‐level microbial diversity. WTAs from eight strains were not identified based on NMR spectra and were classified into three groups. Structural analysis of a partial degradation product of an unidentified WTA produced by strain TUA 1496L revealed that the WTA was 1‐O‐&bgr;‐d‐glucosylglycerol. Two‐dimensional NMR analysis of the polymer structure showed phosphodiester bonds between C‐3 and C‐6 of the glycerol and glucose residues, suggesting a polymer structure of 3,6′‐linked poly(1‐O‐&bgr;‐d‐glucosyl‐sn‐glycerol phosphate). This is the third WTA backbone structure in L. plantarum, following 3,6′‐linked poly(1‐O‐&agr;‐d‐glucosyl‐sn‐glycerol phosphate) and 1,5‐linked poly(ribitol phosphate).


Improved agricultural efficiency and reduction in the impacts of tropical livestock farming on habitat degradation require global approaches that enhance ruminant farming functionality in terms of feed use efficiency, emissions and food security. This study evaluated the in vitro mitigation potential of the prostrate to erect, herbaceous Desmanthus spp. pasture legume adapted to semiarid clay soil land types in northern Australia. D. bicornutus, D. leptophyllus and D.virgatus were seasonally harvested from commercial plots by Agrimix Pty. Ltd. Samples of the legumes and the control Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) using ruminal fluid from grazing Brahman (Bos indicus) steers were incubated in vitro (Ankom RF1 Technology) for 24, 48 and 72 h. Overall, the in vitro organic matter degradability (OMD) and methane production between Desmanthus species differed (P < 0.001). Compared to the control (0.656 ± 0.027 proportion of total OM) at 48 h of incubation, D. leptophyllus showed lower OMD (0.479 ± 0.016), while D. bicornutus (0.688 ± 0.016) and D. virgatus (0.619 ± 0.015) were different from each other, but similar to the control. Methane production (ml/g OM) was 15.7 ± 1.54, 3.7 ± 0.89, 12.0 ± 0.95 and 11.7 ± 0.95, respectively. It is suggested that the impact of these attributes may benefit household farmers in developing economies to expand productivity, improve livelihoods and meet the growing food consumption. Further analyses of the intra‐cultivar characteristics of Desmanthus spp. will complement the design of sustainable and efficient interventions across tropical pastoral feeding systems, with a particular emphasis on large‐scale grazing operations.


A low cost 1.5 GHz and 200 MHz dual channel broadband receiver IC for Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) is described. The SSOP-28 packaged Si bipolar device provides 28 dB of conversion gain, 4 dB NP and 50 dB IM3 suppression to a common 920 MHz IF. Two novel 30 dB variable gain, 2.4 dB NP, low noise amplifiers are integrated with doubly balanced mixers, VCO, dual modulus prescaler, AGC and power management circuitry. With a companion IF IC, filters, and 20 MHz frequency synthesizer, it forms a complete DAB receiver for large dynamic range signals between -97 and -5 dBm.


The absorption of light gives a pigment its colour and its reason for being, but it also creates excited states, that is, new molecules with an energy excess that can be dissipated through degradation pathways. Photodegradation processes provoke long-term, cumulative and irreversible colour changes (fading, darkening, blanching) of which the prediction and prevention are challenging tasks. Of all the environmental risks that affect heritage materials, light exposure is the only one that cannot be controlled without any impact on the optimal display of the exhibit. Light-induced alterations are not only associated with the pigment itself but also with its interactions with support/binder and, in turn, are further complicated by the nature of the environmental conditions. In this Minireview we investigate how chemistry, encompassing multi-scale analytical investigations of works of art, computational modelling and physical and chemical studies contributes to improve our prediction of artwork appearance before degradation and to establish effective preventive conservation strategies.


Introduction Medical tourism is characterized by people seeking treatment abroad for various medical conditions due to varied reasons, many of whom benefit from specialized care for non-communicable diseases. Conversely, there are associated negative effects such as medical complications and weakened health systems. Currently, there is paucity of scientific evidence on patient-related factors influencing seeking treatment benefits abroad. This study sought to compare patient-related factors associated with choice of cancer treatment center locally or abroad, to understand reasons for seeking treatment outside Kenya. Materials and methods As a case-control study, 254 cancer patients were randomly sampled to compare responses from those who chose to receive initial treatment abroad or in Kenya. The cases were recruited from Ministry of Health while the controls from Kenyatta National Hospital and Texas Cancer Center. Data was analyzed using SPSS Software Version 21. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multiple logistic regression analysis was carried out. Level of significance was set at 5%. Results Out of 254 respondents, 174 (69.5%) were treated for cancer in Kenya and 80 (31.5%) in India. We found that cost effectiveness was a significant factor for over 73% of all respondents. The study revealed independent predictors for seeking treatment in India were: monthly income higher than US$ 250; every additional month from when disclosure to patients was done increased likelihood by 1.16 times; physician advice (Odds Ratio(OR) 66; 95% Confidence Interval(CI) 7.9–552.9); friends and family (OR 42; 95% CI 7.07–248.6); and perception of better quality of care (OR 22.5; 95% CI 2.2–230.6). Conclusion Reasons patients with cancer sought treatment in India are multifactorial. Several of these can be addressed to reverse out-ward bound medical tourism and contribute to improving the in-country cancer healthcare. It will require strengthening the health system accordingly and sensitizing the medical fraternity and general public on the same.


Background: The standard treatment against COVID-19 is presently lacking. It is important to suggest that people should use some supplements to boost their immune systems. The best way is to strengthen our immunity naturally with the help of medicinal plants/herbs. Objective: The objective of this review is to investigate the immunity-boosting medicinal plants c herb in support of maintaining health in the time of Corona. Methods: Pubmed and Google Scholar were searched for relevant information regarding medicinal immunity-boosting plants their uses, and properties. Results: A total of 17 articles were selected for review which included information about the immunity boosting plants and their effects on health. Conclusion: There are other certain ways to boost the 'immune system' such as active lifestyle, physical exercise, healthy diet, relaxation, and sound sleep. Comprehensive scientific studies required to make medicinal plants available as robust medicine to fight against viral diseases like COVID-19.


Basic research in implicit social cognition demonstrates that thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness or conscious control can influence perception, judgment and action. Implicit measures reveal that people possess implicit attitudes and stereotypes about social groups that are often distinct from their explicitly endorsed beliefs and values. The evidence that behavior can be influenced by implicit social cognition contrasts with social policies that assume that people know and control the causes of their behavior. We consider the present state of evidence for implicit social cognition and its implications for social policy. We conclude that consideration of implicit social cognition can improve policy, and that most policy use of implicit measures as selection or evaluation devices is not easily justified.


High performance products used for special purposes in medicine and aviation are often manufactured from advanced materials such as titanium and nickel based alloys. As the most promising and effective technology for such production and repair the Laser Rapid Prototyping technologies are being used and implemented into the practice. Special focus has been orientated into the Laser Net Shape (LENS) technology. This paper will review the State of the Art of the LENS laser technology and present application case studies where LENS is being applied to manufacture of modern medical implants such as bone fixation plate and jet engine turbine inconel blades


Wheat blast is one of the most important and devastating fungal diseases of wheat in South America, South-east Asia, and now in southern Africa. The disease can reduce grain yield by up to 70% and is best controlled using integrated disease management strategies. The difficulty in disease management is compounded by the lack of durable host resistance and the ineffectiveness of fungicide sprays. New succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides were recently introduced for the management of wheat diseases. Brazilian field populations of the wheat blast pathogen Pyricularia oryzae Triticum lineage (PoTI) sampled from different georgraphical regions in 2012and 2018 were shown to be resistant to both QoI (strobilurin) and DMI (azole) fungicides. The main objective of the current study was to determine the SDHI baseline sensitivity in these populations. Moderate levels of SDHI resistance were detected in five out of the six field populations sampled in 2012 and in most of the strains isolated in 2018. No association was found between target site mutations in the sdhB, sdhC, and sdhD genes and the levels of SDHI resistance, indicating that a pre-existing resistance mechanism not associated with target site mutations is probably present in Brazilian wheat blast populations.


Exploratory behavior and responsiveness to novelty play an important role in maintaining cognitive function in older adults. Inferences about age- or disease-related differences in neural and behavioral responses to novelty are most often based on results from single experimental testing sessions. There has been very limited research on whether such findings represent stable characteristics of populations studied, which is essential if investigators are to determine the result of interventions aimed at promoting exploratory behaviors or draw appropriate conclusions about differences in the processing of novelty across diverse clinical groups. The goal of the current study was to investigate the short-term test-retest reliability of event-related potential (ERP) and behavioral responses to novel stimuli in cognitively normal older adults. ERPs and viewing durations were recorded in 70 healthy older adults participating in a subject-controlled visual novelty oddball task during two sessions occurring 7 weeks apart. Mean midline P3 amplitude and latency, mean midline amplitude during successive 50 ms intervals, temporospatial factors derived from principal component analysis (PCA), and viewing duration in response to novel stimuli were measured during each session. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no reliable differences in the value of any measurements between Time 1 and 2. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) between Time 1 and 2 were excellent for mean P3 amplitude (ICC = 0.86), the two temporospatial factors consistent with the P3 components (ICC of 0.88 and 0.76) and viewing duration of novel stimuli (ICC = 0.81). Reliability was only fair for P3 peak latency (ICC = 0.56). Successive 50 ms mean amplitude measures from 100 to 1,000 ms yielded fair to excellent reliabilities, and all but one of the 12 temporospatial factors identified demonstrated ICCs in the good to excellent range. We conclude that older adults demonstrate substantial stability in ERP and behavioral responses to novel visual stimuli over a 7-week period. These results suggest that older adults may have a characteristic way of processing novelty that appears resistant to transient changes in their environment or internal states, which can be indexed during a single testing session. The establishment of reliable measures of novelty processing will allow investigators to determine whether proposed interventions have an impact on this important aspect of behavior.


One of the major challenges facing today's clinicians is the rising cost of healthcare. Sports and exercise medicine clinicians can address these challenges by making a working diagnosis on clinical grounds and using investigations only selectively. They should also educate their patient about the limits to funding and be prepared to use time as a diagnostic aid.

As clinicians we face many challenges. Hippocrates challenged us to 'primum non nocere'—first do no harm. Second, the challenge is to practise medicine in a scientific manner. This has evolved from anecdote and case studies to evidence-based medicine, where such evidence exists. The third and potentially most difficult challenge is to practise affordable medicine.

In the 1950s, when I was born, the limits to medicine were largely around what we could do. Now the limits are increasingly around what we can afford. This is a major challenge facing health systems in many countries and is fuelled by several factors: demand for health services will always exceed society's ability to pay. This is compounded by physicians feeling duty-bound to advocate for their own patients. Additionally, politicians realise that health is an emotionally sensitive issue and funding decisions are often made in response to pressure from special interest groups—this has been termed 'planning by decibels'. The Herceptin (Roche Basle, Switzerland) debate in New Zealand is a good example of this.1 Herceptin is a high cost drug used in the treatment of breast cancer. Funding for this drug was granted to New Zealand women after a high-profile campaign by women's health advocates.

Health administration is a science which is in its relative youth. Secondary and tertiary care services chew up the majority of the health budget. These are hospital based and several decades ago hospitals were usually run by a triumvirate of a medical superintendent …


Prevailing American conservative views regarding consumption and the environment have evolved in ways incongruous to a past intellectual legacy. As the world's most voracious consumer and greatest power, the United States possesses a vast global footprint; this historically unprecedented combination of appetite and might translates into both potential and peril. Given that the repercussions of dominant American perspectives are not just domestic, but global, it is imperative to reflect on American conservative ideology. This article begins with an examination of a past intellectual heritage, which extolled virtues such as conservation, prudence and stewardship. It then examines an array of contemporary conservatisms by laying out a typology of views. As a whole, the spectrum shows considerable ideological elasticity. Of much interest is an array of green outliers within the typology, for these nascent, diverse voices indicate potential synergy with mainstream environmental goals, although not without caveats. Finally, the future direction of conservative thought with respect to consumption and the environment is assessed.


In this technical note, we develop an approach to globally solve a class of optimization problems in system engineering based on the recent paper ([1]). Actually the problem we investigated is more general, since we extend numerators and denominators of linear ratios to generalized polynomial functions. And we give a new linear relaxation method for obtaining the lower bound of problems. Our approach is easy to be implemented, since it need not additional special program to the upper and lower bound for numerator and denominator of each generalized polynomial ratio.


As in most cities, the natural water cycle is disrupted in the Brussels-Capital Region (BCR) because of the large and still increasing soil waterproofing in private parcels and public spaces. Consequently, severe and recurrent floods occur in the whole region. Major public works, such as stormwater reservoirs and combined sewers have proven their limits to mitigate this increasing risk. The Brussels Environment agency asked to develop a tool, at the neighbourhood scale, to promote Best Management Practices (BMPs) in the public space: the QUADEAU tool. This sustainable stormwater management tool evaluates the hydrological efficiency of a public space in a renovation or new urban project. The public space projected is modelled in the tool by characterizing all areas of the project, by creating the flow networks between these surfaces and by designing the BMPs used in network in the project. Then the tool calculates the total volumes of stormwater that percolate through the soil, evaporate, accumulate in the BMPs and finally flow into the outlet. The flow into the outlet has to match the hydrological thresholds determined in function of the total imperviousness of the neighbourhood, the type of project and the local hydrogeology. QUADEAU aims to be used for the predimensioning and for the optimization of all specific characteristics of the BMPs. QUADEAU is designed to easily adapt to all type and size of project. The tool, encoded within an Excel spreadsheet, is intuitive and easy to use for most individuals without specific engineering knowledge.


SnS and Ag films were deposited on glass substrates by vacuum thermal evaporation successively, and then the thin films were annealed at 260°C in N2 for different times (60min, 120min, 180min) in order to investigate the influence of annealing time on the silver-doped SnS (SnS:Ag) films. The obtained films annealed at different times are polycrystalline SnS with orthogonal structure, and the crystallites in the films are exclusively oriented along the {111} direction. With the increase of annealing time, the uniformity and crystallization of the films are improved, the carrier concentration and mobility of the films first rise and then drop, whereas their resistivity and direct bandgap energy Eg show the contrary trend.


Solar radiation management (SRM) has been proposed as a means to alleviate the climate impacts of ongoing anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, its efficacy depends on its indefinite maintenance, without interruption from a variety of possible sources, such as technological failure or global cooperation breakdown. Here, we consider the scenario in which SRM—via stratospheric aerosol injection—is terminated abruptly following an implementation period during which anthropogenic GHG emissions have continued. We show that upon cessation of SRM, an abrupt, spatially broad, and sustained warming over land occurs that is well outside 20th century climate variability bounds. Global mean precipitation also increases rapidly following cessation, however spatial patterns are less coherent than temperature, with almost half of land areas experiencing drying trends. We further show that the rate of warming—of critical importance for ecological and human systems—is principally controlled by background GHG levels. Thus, a risk of abrupt and dangerous warming is inherent to the large-scale implementation of SRM, and can be diminished only through concurrent strong reductions in anthropogenic GHG emissions.


SIR,-The potential indications for the therapeutic use of growth hormone have widened with the availability ofmore abundant supplies of growth hormone. For some of the new potential indications such as Turner's syndrome, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), etc, the growth-promoting benefits of growth hormone have usually been assessed in the short term by comparing the changes in height velocity SD score during the first treatment year and the pretreatment year, and, in some instances, by quantitating the psychological benefit gained by improved growth during the middle childhood years. In the long term the benefits of growth hormone can be assessed by comparing final height in a treated group with either that achieved in an untreated group or with the original pretreatment height prediction of the treated group. In their recent article on the use of growth hormone in children with IUGR, Stanhope et al present three year growth data and suggest that the results are rather disappointing.' This conclusion is based on the fact that the height for bone age score did not change significantly over the three years of the study. With knowledge of the natural history of IUGR, Stanhope et al do, however, still believe that their growth hormone treated children may attain a greater final height than would have been the case if they had remained untreated. In their discussion Stanhope et al state that 'only the continuation of clinical trials such as this until final height will answer the question'. Others might feel that the current results are sufficiently disappointing for the study to be concluded now. Certainly if the design of the study remains in its present form then, as the authors acknowledge, there is a real possibility that growth hormone treatment will reduce the duration of puberty and compromise final height prognosis. Thus, I would suggest that, if the study is to continue, one of their groups of IUGR children, who received growth hormone during prepubertal life, should not receive growth hormone during puberty. Furthermore, their results emphasise that individual children with IUGR seen by paediatricians around the UK should not be offered growth hormone on an ad hoc basis. Finally, if the authors believe that possible growth hormone treatment induced gain in height for IUGR children can only be interpreted when the children attain final height, is much learnt by publishing the three year growth data?