Sexual dimorphism in mammalian liver impacts genes affecting hepatic physiology, including inflammatory responses, diseased states, and the metabolism of steroids and foreign compounds. Liver sex specificity is dictated by sex differences in pituitary growth hormone (GH) secretion, with the transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)5b required for intracellular signaling initiated by the pulsatile male plasma GH profile. STAT5a, a minor liver STAT5 form >90% identical to STAT5b, also responds to sexually dimorphic plasma GH stimulation but is unable to compensate for the loss of STAT5b and the associated loss of sex-specific liver gene expression. A large-scale gene expression study was conducted using 23,574-feature oligonucleotide microarrays and livers of male and female mice, both wild-type and Stat5a-inactivated mice, to elucidate any dependence of liver gene expression on STAT5a. Significant sex differences in expression were found for 2,482 mouse genes, 1,045 showing higher expression in males and 1,437 showing higher expression in females. In contrast to the widespread effects of the loss of STAT5b, STAT5a deficiency had a limited but well-defined impact on liver sex specificity, with 219 of 1,437 female-predominant genes (15%) specifically decreased in expression in STAT5a-deficient female liver. Analysis of liver RNAs from wild-type mice representing three mixed or outbred strains identified 1,028 sexually dimorphic genes across the strains, including 393 female-predominant genes, of which 89 (23%) required STAT5a for normal expression in female liver. These findings highlight the importance of STAT5a for regulation of sex-specific gene expression specifically in female liver, in striking contrast to STAT5b, whose major effects are restricted to male liver.


Combining multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) with a massive number of transmit antennas (massive MIMO-OFDM) is an attractive way of increasing the spectrum efficiency or reducing the transmission energy per bit. The effectiveness of Massive MIMO-OFDM is strongly affected by the channel state information (CSI) estimation method used. The overheads of training frame transmission and CSI feedback decrease multiple access channel (MAC) efficiency and increase the CSI estimation cost at a user station (STA). This paper proposes a CSI estimation scheme that reduces the training frame length by using a novel pilot design and a novel unitary matrix feedback method. The proposed pilot design and unitary matrix feedback enable the access point (AP) to estimate the CSI of the signal space of all transmit antennas using a small number of training frames. Simulations in an IEEE 802.11n channel verify the attractive transmission performance of the proposed methods.


The ferrite grain refinement is a powerful mechanism to improve mechanical properties of low carbon steels providing steels with high strength and toughness at low temperatures and good weldability characteristics. The grain size refining is the only mechanism capable of to increase both mechanical strength and toughness. By refining the grain size of low carbon steel from 5 μm to 1 μm, its yield strength can be theoretically increased from 450 MPa to 650 MPa. In this way refining of ferritic grain is a very attractive processing route. This work aimed to investigate the characteristics of the heat affected zone of a microalloyed low carbon-manganese (0.11% C, 1.41% Mn, 0.028%Nb, and 0.012%Ti) steel with ultra-fine ferrite grain structure produced through quenching, warm rolling, followed by sub and intercritical annealing in laboratory. Four intercritical annealing treatments were performed after the same warm rolling processing to obtain different grain sizes with residual work hardening of the base metals. Specimens were TIG welded with 4 different levels of heat input. Cooling conditions during tests were recorded and used to evaluated the microstructure of the heat affected zones and their hardness. Cooling times between 800 and 500°C from 0.6 to 17 s were obtained. Martensite was observed in the heat affected zones for low-heat-input welding conditions. No softened zone was found in the heat affected zone in any of the performed tests.


Cachexia is frequently accompanied by severe metabolic derangements, although the mechanisms responsible for this debilitating condition remain unclear. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK)4, a critical regulator of cellular energetic metabolism, was found elevated in experimental models of cancer, starvation, diabetes, and sepsis. Here we aimed to investigate the link between PDK4 and the changes in muscle size in cancer cachexia. High PDK4 and abnormal energetic metabolism were found in the skeletal muscle of colon‐26 tumor hosts, as well as in mice fed a diet enriched in Pirinixic acid, previously shown to increase PDK4 levels. Viral‐mediated PDK4 over‐expression in myotube cultures was sufficient to promote myofiber shrinkage, consistent with enhanced protein catabolism and mitochondrial abnormalities. On the contrary, blockade of PDK4 was sufficient to restore myotube size in C2C12 cultures exposed to tumor media. Our data support, for the first time, a direct role for PDK4 in promoting cancer‐associated muscle metabolic alterations and skeletal muscle atrophy.—Pin, F., Novinger, L. J., Huot, J. R., Harris, R. A., Couch, M. E., O'Connell, T. M., Bonetto, A. PDK4 drives metabolic alterations and muscle atrophy in cancer cachexia. FASEB J. 33, 7778–7790 (2019). www.fasebj.org


Sand failure may result in the production of formation sand at the same time the formation fluids are being produced. Sand failure occurs when the formation stress exceeds the strength of the formation, which is derived mainly from the natural material that cements the sand grain and cohesive forces. The sand failure and production is a serious challenge that, if not properly handled, can have a drastic effect on oil and gas production rate, cause downhole and subsea equipment damage, and also increase the risk of catastrophic failure. Several models exist for the prediction of sand failure in oil and gas wells, but none of these models account for the failure effects of oilfield chemicals on the reservoir rock, which is exposed to significant amounts of these chemicals. Oilfield chemicals have many applications in the oil and gas industry, and have been used extensively as inhibitor, surfactant, biocide, stabilizer, depressant, retarder, scavenger, defoamer, demulsifier, stimulant, and so on. However, the weakening effect that the chemical/formation interaction may have on the grain fabrics has not yet been given due attention as part of the industry's current approach to geomechanical evaluation of reservoir rock for sand failure and production forecast. This thesis investigates the failure effects of some oilfield chemicals (corrosion inhibitor, scale inhibitor and biocide) on the geomechanical strength of reservoir rocks, the mechanisms of interaction and the mechanism of failure. The research used a combination of rock mechanical testing, grain size distribution analysis, analytical techniques and numerical modelling to establish and define the geomechanical and mechanical failure effects of these chemicals and the mechanisms of failure. The failure effects of the oilfield chemicals on sandstone and carbonates may be integrated within any suitable and relevant existing sand failure prediction models. Results clearly show that a dissolution/precipitation reaction took place, weakening the reservoir grain fabrics and reducing the geomechanical strength, which in turn causes sand failure/production. This work has established that volume fraction and porosity change are functions of dissolution and precipitation reactions, and that the dissolution/precipitation reaction is a function of the type of minerals in the rock.


This paper presents a comprehensive review of the extant literature from 1980 through 2023 on the role and utility of Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) in the treatment of brain trauma and brain neuropathology resulting from disease. Brain trauma resulting from accident, injury and disease is a significant contributor to short and long-term morbidity, as well as a leading cause of mortality globally. To date, limited effective treatments strategies exist, and are focused primarily on symptom relief, not restoring primary preinjury function and structure. Much of the current clinical literature is based on retrospective case reports and limited animal model prospective trials exploring core etiology and alterations in post-injury clinical phenotypes. The current findings reported in the scientific literature suggest that electromagnetic therapy may hold promise as a potential non-invasive treatment for traumatic brain injury and neuropathology. Although promising, well designed clinical trials are needed to better determine its potential clinical effectiveness in this diverse patient population. Future trials will need to determine the impact of clinical variables, such as sex, age, type and extent of injury and pathology, pre-injury baseline health status and a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment to determine a more effective personalized approach to patient care. Although initially showing promise, much work needs to be done.


Following the induction of ischemic or toxin-mediated acute kidney injury (AKI), cellular adaptations occur that 're-program' how the kidney responds to future superimposed insults. This re-programming is not simply a short-lived phenomenon; rather it can persist for many weeks, implying that a state of 'biologic memory' has emerged. These changes can be both adaptive and maladaptive in nature and they can co-exist in time. A beneficial adaptation is the emergence of acquired cytoresistance, whereby a number of physiologic responses develop that serve to protect the kidney against further ischemic or nephrotoxic attack. Conversely, some changes are maladaptive, such as a predisposition to Gram-negative or Gram-positive bacteremia due to a renal tubular up-regulation of toll-like receptor responses. This latter change culminates in exaggerated cytokine production, and with efflux into the systemic circulation, extra-renal tissue injury can result (so-called 'organ cross talk'). Another maladaptive response is a persistent up-regulation of pro-inflammatory, pro-fibrotic and vasoconstrictive genes, culminating in progressive renal injury and ultimately end-stage renal failure. The mechanisms by which this biologic re-programming, or biologic memory, is imparted remain subjects for considerable debate. However, injury-induced, and stable, epigenetic remodeling at pro-inflammatory/pro-fibrotic genes seems likely to be involved. The goal of this editorial is to highlight that the so-called 'maintenance phase' of acute renal failure is not a static one, somewhere between injury induction and the onset of repair. Rather, this period is one in which the induction of 'biologic memory' can ultimately impact renal functional recovery, extra-renal injury and the possible transition of AKI into chronic, progressive renal disease.


OBJECTIVE
The epidemiology and antibiotic susceptibility of Shigella species changes over time. Updated susceptibility knowledge is necessary for appropriate empirical antibiotic treatment. Thus, this research aimed to study these changes in 2 time periods with an interval of 10 years.

METHODS
Two hundreds and three Shigella strains, isolated from stool samples of diarrheic patients at the Central Health Laboratory in Sana'a, Yemen in 2 time periods (1993 and 2003) with a 10-year interval, were examined for serotyping and drug resistance pattern. Resistance patterns of the strains to 12 commonly used antimicrobial agents and minimum inhibitory concentrations of the antibiotics were tested.

RESULTS
Shigella flexneri (60%) was found to be the most common isolate of the total Shigella species, followed by Shigella dysenteriae (28.6%) and Shigella boydii (11.3%). In Shigella flexneri strains, Shigella flexneri 3 (30.5%) was the most prevalent serotype, followed by Shigella flexneri 6 (17.2%), and Shigella flexneri 1 (12.3%). All strains were found equally susceptible to cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, and gentamicin, but more than 80% of the strains of 2003 were resistant to tetracycline, co-trimoxazole, and 52% of the same strains were resistant to ampicillin. Resistance to chloramphenicol was found in 61%, cefuroxime in 56.2%, and cephradine, 52% of the strains. Overall, Shigella species showed statistically significant increase in resistance against tetracycline, cephradine, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, nalidixic acid, and aztreonam (p<0.05) over the 10 years period. This indicates decreased efficacy of co-trimoxazole and nalidixic acid for the empirical treatment of shigellosis in Sana'a, Yemen. Almost 55.2% of the strains were resistant to 4 drugs.

CONCLUSION
This is one of the first studies reporting epidemiological pattern of Shigella species in Sana'a, Yemen with regard to serotypes and antibiotic resistance patterns. Based on these antibiotic resistance pattern findings, it is suggested that the commonly in use antibiotics including ampicillin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol should not be used for empirical treatment of shigellosis in Yemen.


Introduction Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is highly prevalent after stroke and is associated with recurrent stroke and unfavourable outcome. Objectives We aimed to assess the feasibility, safety and effects on glucose metabolism of metformin or sitagliptin in patients with transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or minor ischaemic stroke and IGT. Design We performed a multicentre, randomised, controlled, open-label phase II trial with blinded outcome assessment. Interventions Patients were randomised in a 2:1:1 ratio to 'no medication', sitagliptin or metformin. Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcome measures were baseline adjusted differences of 2-hour postload glucose; secondary outcome measures fasting glucose, glycosylated haemoglobin 1c (HbA1c) levels, tolerability and safety of metformin and sitagliptin at 6 months. Patients on metformin or sitagliptin were contacted by telephone for recording of possible adverse events and to support continuation of treatment at 2 weeks, 6 weeks and 3 months after inclusion. These events were not analysed as outcome measures. Results Fifty-three patients were randomised to control group, 26 to metformin and 22 to sitagliptin. We found no significant differences in 2-hour postload glucose between patients on antidiabetic drugs and controls ((−0.04 mmol/L (95% CI −0.53 to 0.45)). Patients in the treatment arms had reduced fasting glucose: ((−0.21 mmol/L (95% CI −0.36 to −0.06)) and HbA1c levels ((−1.16 mmol/mol (95% CI −1.84 to −0.49)). Thirteen patients (50%) on metformin and 7 (32%) on sitagliptin experienced side effects. Sixteen patients (61%) in the metformin and 13 (59%) in the sitagliptin group were still on treatment after 6 months. Conclusions Metformin and sitagliptin were both effective in reducing fasting glucose and HbA1c levels in patients with recent TIA or minor ischaemic stroke and IGT. However, the reduction of glucose levels and sample size was relatively small. The clinical relevance, therefore, needs to be tempered. A phase III trial is needed to investigate whether medical treatment, compared with lifestyle intervention or a combination of both, not only improves glucose metabolism in IGT, but also leads to reduction of recurrent TIA or ischaemic stroke in these patients. Trial registration number NL3048.


Analysis of an aeroelastic bridge system consisting of the fundamental vertical and torsional modes of vibration offers an expeditious assessment of bridge flutter performance. It also produces valuable insight into the multimode coupled bridge response to strong winds. This paper presents closed-form formulations for estimating the modal frequencies, damping ratios, and coupled motions of the bimodal coupled aeroelastic bridge system at varying wind velocities. The derivation of these formulations is based on the assumption of low-level damping of the aeroelastic bridge system. This assumption has also been adopted in current modeling of self-excited forces and the analysis of coupled flutter through complex eigenvalue analysis. This framework leads to a formula for determining the critical flutter velocity of bridges with generic bluff deck sections, which not only provides an analytical basis for Selberg's empirical formula, but also serves as its extension to generic bridges. This formula gives a single parameter or index as a function of flutter derivatives to describe the flutter efficiency of a given bridge section, which facilitates comparison of aerodynamic characteristics of different bridge deck sections. The accuracy of the proposed framework is illustrated through long span bridge examples with a variety of structural and aerodynamic characteristics. Based on the proposed framework, the significance of structural and aerodynamic characteristics on the development of coupled motion and the evolution of modal damping is discussed, which helps to better understand how and where bridges may be tailored for better flutter performance. It is pointed out that coupled bridge flutter is initiated from the modal branch that has a higher modal frequency and is characterized by coupled motion in which torsional motion lags vertical motion. The generation of coupled flutter instability is driven by the negative damping effect caused by the coupled self-excited forces.


Control of Ca2+ flux between the cytosol and intracellular Ca2+ stores is essential for maintaining normal cellular function. It has been well established in both neuronal and non-neuronal cells that stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) initiates and regulates refilling Ca2+ into the ER. Here, we describe a novel, additional role for STIM1, the regulation of free cytosolic Ca2+, and the consequent control of spike firing in neurons. Among central neurons, cerebellar Purkinje neurons express the highest level of STIM1, and they fire continuously in the absence of stimulation, making somatic Ca2+ homeostasis of particular importance. By using Purkinje neuron-specific STIM1 knock-out (STIM1PKO) male mice, we found that the deletion of STIM1 delayed clearance of cytosolic Ca2+ in the soma during ongoing neuronal firing. Deletion of STIM1 also reduced the Purkinje neuronal excitability and impaired intrinsic plasticity without affecting long-term synaptic plasticity. In vestibulo-ocular reflex learning, STIM1PKO male mice showed severe deficits in memory consolidation, whereas they were normal in memory acquisition. Our results suggest that STIM1 is critically involved in the regulation of the neuronal excitability and the intrinsic plasticity of the Purkinje neurons as well as cerebellar memory consolidation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1), which regulates the refilling of ER Ca2+, has been investigated in several systems including the CNS. In addition to a previous study showing that STIM1 regulates dendritic ER Ca2+ refilling and mGluR1-mediated synaptic transmission, we provide compelling evidence describing a novel role of STIM1 in spike firing Purkinje neurons. We found that STIM1 regulates cytosolic Ca2+ clearance of the soma during spike firing, and the interruption of this cytosolic Ca2+ clearing disrupts neuronal excitability and cerebellar memory consolidation. Our results provide new insights into neuronal functions of STIM1 from single neuronal Ca2+ dynamics to behavior level.


No previous study has investigated which ear should be fitted with a hearing aid. Fifty-eight patients with bilateral hearing loss of 25-75 dB HL were sequentially fitted with an ear level hearing aid for 10 weeks in each ear. Patients were then asked their preference for side of fitting, and their reasons for this preference. Thirty-five patients had symmetrical hearing: 17 (49%) preferred one ear because they could hear better with the aid in that ear, and 12 (34%) chose one side for practical reasons. Twenty-three patients had asymmetrical hearing: 8 (35%) preferred one side for practical reasons, and 13 (57%) could hear better with the aid in one ear, which was invariably the poorer hearing ear. As the preferred ear cannot be reliably predicted, bilateral ear moulds should be provided. If only one mould is provided, it should be for the poorer hearing ear.


Well logs and biostratigraphic data from six wells in the "XB Field", central Swamp Depobelt, Niger Delta were integrated to carry out a sequence stratigraphic analysis of depositional systems in the field. The analysis revealed four 3rd order depositional sequences (SEQ1 to 4) bounded by three erosional unconformities interpreted as Sequence Boundaries (SB1 to 3). Transgressive Surfaces of Erosion (TSE1 to 3) that mark the onset of marine flooding and turnarounds from progradational facies to retrogradational facies during sequence build-up were delineated. Three 3rd order Maximum Flooding Surfaces (MFS1, MFS2 and MFS3) characterized by marker shales, high faunal abundance and diversity were also delineated and dated 15.9, 17.4 and 19.4 Ma, respectively. The delineated sequences comprised Lowstand Systems Tracts (progradational packages), Transgressive Systems Tracts (retrogradational packages) and Highstand Systems Tracts (aggradational packages), which reflect depositional systems deposited during different phases of base level changes. The Lowstand Systems Tract (LST) consists of Basin Floor Fans (BFF), Slope Fans and Channel Sands deposited when sea level was low and accommodation space lower than rate of sediment influx. Transgressive Systems Tract (TST) consists of retrogradational marine shales deposited during high relative sea levels and when accommodation space was higher than rate of sediment influx. Highstand Systems Tracts (HST) consisted of shoreface sands displaying mostly aggradational to progradational stacking patterns. The sands of LST and HST show good reservoir qualities while the shales of the TSTs could form potential reservoir seals. The above recognized sequences, were deposited within the Neritic to Bathyal paleoenvironments and are dated mid-Miocene (15.9 - 20.4 Ma) in age.


The Eldorado Success is the newspaper for the community of Eldorado in Schleicher County, Texas. The newspaper was founded in 1901, and was previously known as the Eldorado Paper, the Success, and the Schleicher County Leader-Success. The newspaper continues to be published today.


Recommendations for the use of heparin for preventing miscarriage are recently rapidly changing based on evidenced based prospective studies. At present either heparin or low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) is recommended for the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). However criteria for diagnosing APS have become much stricter. The exact timing of the heparin is still being evaluated since it is not clear if the main therapeutic effect is in inhibition of thrombosis when the heparin could be started at the time in the first trimester when the platelets become thrombophilic or does its main role in improving implantation in which it would be started shortly before or shortly after ovulation. Possibly heparin is superior to LMWH in improving the implantation process though more studies are needed to corroborate or refute this suggestion. At present inherited thrombophilias are not considered a cause of first trimester miscarriage and thus measuring these factors are not recommended. There is no evidence that heparin has any benefit in preventing miscarriage from unexplained causes. Heparin is effective alone and there does not appear to be any extra benefit from adding aspirin (or even aspirin may negate some of its benefits).


Globalization, deregulation and technological improvements have resulted in increase in M&A across the globe. There is enormous literature existing in the advanced economies. However, very little information is available regarding M&A in India. Various sectors have witnessed differential involvement in M&A activity indicating higher participation by some. Particularly, certain sectors such as financial services and pharmaceuticals demonstrate higher M&A activity. To emphasise differential importance of sectors in M&A activity, it is necessary to conduct a sector-wise analysis. Accordingly, this study attempts to investigate the differential representation of various sectors in M&A. Further, it explores the role played by India in the rising global M&A activity. In light of this, it specifies the factors driving consolidation in the financial sector globally.


Over last few years an increasing number of multiaccess devices have emerged, which enable users to stay connected almost everywhere, and in many cases very cheaply. It is likely just a matter of time until VoIP capabilities become ubiquitous in these devices (be it in the form of applications, or in a transparent mode such as the one used in UMA phones), and since they run on heterogeneous networks, with different performance issues, the quality experienced by the users will likely be very variable. In this paper we present some measurements performed with Skype in converging network environments.


Climate often drives ungulate population dynamics, and as climates change, some areas may become unsuitable for species persistence. Unraveling the relationships between climate and population dynamics, and projecting them across time, advances ecological understanding that informs and steers sustainable conservation for species. Using pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) as an ecological model, we used a Bayesian approach to analyze long-term population, precipitation, and temperature data from 18 populations in the southwestern United States. We determined which long-term (12 and 24 months) or short-term (gestation trimester and lactation period) climatic conditions best predicted annual rate of population growth (λ). We used these predictions to project population trends through 2090. Projections incorporated downscaled climatic data matched to pronghorn range for each population, given a high and a lower atmospheric CO2 concentration scenario. Since the 1990s, 15 of the pronghorn populations declined in abundance. Sixteen populations demonstrated a significant relationship between precipitation and λ, and in 13 of these, temperature was also significant. Precipitation predictors of λ were highly seasonal, with lactation being the most important period, followed by early and late gestation. The influence of temperature on λ was less seasonal than precipitation, and lacked a clear temporal pattern. The climatic projections indicated that all of these pronghorn populations would experience increased temperatures, while the direction and magnitude of precipitation had high population-specific variation. Models predicted that nine populations would be extirpated or approaching extirpation by 2090. Results were consistent across both atmospheric CO2 concentration scenarios, indicating robustness of trends irrespective of climatic severity. In the southwestern United States, the climate underpinning pronghorn populations is shifting, making conditions increasingly inhospitable to pronghorn persistence. This realization informs and steers conservation and management decisions for pronghorn in North America, while exemplifying how similar research can aid ungulates inhabiting arid regions and confronting similar circumstances elsewhere.


Histoplasmosis is a systemic fungal disease that occurs worldwide, causing symptomatic infection mostly in immunocompromised hosts. Etiological agent is the dimorphic fungus, Histoplasma capsulatum, which occurs in soil contaminated with bird or bat droppings. Major limitation in recognition of H. capsulatum infections is the low awareness, since other diseases may have similar symptomatology. The molecular methods have gained importance because of unambiguous diagnostic ability and efficiency. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a padlock probe in view of rolling circle amplification (RCA) detection method which targets ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) rDNA of H. capsulatum enabling rapid and specific detection of the fungus in clinical samples. Two padlock probes were designed and one of these (HcPL2) allowed specific amplification of H. capsulatum DNA while no cross‐reactivity was observed with fungi used as negative controls. This method proved to be effective for H. capsulatum specific identification and demonstrated to be faster than the traditional method of microbiological identification.


Texture feature extraction consolidated with texture feature detection and feature matching solves many typical problems of image processing and computer vision; such as, texture classification, pattern recognition, object detection, and image segmentation. Through this paper, a new method for texture feature extraction is presented which uses Log-Gabor Filter and Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) algorithm. In the proposed model, sample images are converted to gray level images. And then, to elicit suitable distinctive texture orientation, a 2D Log-Gabor filter with various frequencies and different edges disintegrated with the SVD employ on each converted gray level images. Finally, singular values of SVD used as feature vector for this texture feature extraction model. For training and testing of experimental datasets, Naive Bayes classifier has been used. The Log-Gabor and SVD based feature extraction shows improved performance by exhibiting higher classification accuracy for our tested dataset compare to conventional Gabor and SVD feature extraction method. Furthermore, in order to decrease the computational and time complexity, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX780 GPU is used to implement our proposed model in parallel. The GPU implementation of proposed model showed average 3X speedup for per image than conventional CPU implementation.


ABSTRACT Late Archaean granitic rocks from the southern Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia have a close temporal relationship to the basaltic and komatiitic volcanism which occurs within spatially associated greenstone belts. Greenstone volcanism apparently began ∼2715 Ma ago, whereas voluminous felsic magmatism (both extrusive and intrusive) began about 2690 Ma ago. A brief but voluminous episode of crust-derived magmatism ∼2690-2685 Ma ago resulted in the emplacement of a diverse assemblage of plutons having granodioritic, monzogranitic and tonalitic compositions. This early felsic episode was followed immediately by the emplacement of mafic sills, and, after a further time delay, by a second episode of voluminous crust-derived magmatism dominated by monzogranite but containing plutons covering a wide compositional range, including diorite, granodiorite and tonalite. The products of this 2665–2660 Ma magmatic episode now form a significant fraction of the exposed southern Yilgarn Craton. Later magmatism, which continued to at least 2600 Ma ago, appears largely restricted to rocks having unusually fractionated compositions. The magmatic sequence basalt-voluminous crust-derived magmatism-later diverse magmatism, is interpreted in terms of a dynamically-based model for the ascent of the head of a new mantle plume. In this model basalts and komatiites are derived by decompression melting of rising plume material, and the crust-derived magmas result after conductive transport of heat from the top of the plume head into overlying continental crust. This type of magmatic evolution, the fundamentally bimodal nature of the magmatism, the presence of high-Mg volcanics (komatiites), and the areal extent of the late Archaean magmatic event, are all suggested to be characteristic of crustal reworking above mantle plumes rather than resulting from other processes, such as those related to subduction.


In this paper we find numerically the first eigenvalue of a partial differential equation defined on a heterogeneous domain, considering the one-dimensional and two-dimensional case. We use as tools of solution numeric elements of
Homogenization Theory and Finite Differences Method.


he Journal of Postgraduate Medicine (JPGM) organised a conference aptly entitled "JPGM GoldCon" to commemorate 50 years of its existence. Stealing four days from our busy internship training, we managed to attend "JPGM Goldcon", an international conference on medical writing, editing and publishing. This was the first conference we were attending and it was just the type of event we were looking for. It initiated us in the art of medical writing, which we are hardly exposed to in our undergraduate medical career. The conference covered a wide array of subjects and sensitised us to the various aspects of medical research and medical writing, ranging from the concept of a good research question to the use of the right research design; from conducting literature search, to arranging funds for research and in selecting an appropriate journal for publication. And all this was done with the help of specialists who were not only experts in the field but were also great communicators. They skilfully managed to cater to the T needs of a range of delegates, from "neonates" like us to the experienced connoisseurs in the field. The concepts were vividly presented with a good mix of humour that kept us very much involved. The conference also provided us with an opportunity to meet distinguished personalities. The entire experience of this conference cannot just be summed up in a mere 300 words. More such conferences and workshops must be conducted to give a positive thrust in the field of medical research. This conference has inspired us and armoured us, the young generation, with weapons of knowledge for good medical research and better medical writing.


A combined volume of fluid and immersed boundary method is developed to simulate two-phase flows with high density ratio. The problems of discontinuity of density and momentum flux are known to be challenging in simulations. In order to overcome the numerical instabilities, an extra velocity field is designed to extend velocity of the heavier phase into the lighter phase and to enforce a new boundary condition near the interface, which is similar to non-slip boundary conditions in Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) problems. The interface is captured using a Volume of Fluid (VOF) method, and a new boundary layer is built on the lighter phase side by an immersed boundary method. The designed boundary layer helps to reduce the spurious velocity caused by the imbalance of dynamic pressure gradient and density gradient and to prevent tearing of the interface due to the tangential velocity across the interface. The influence of time step, density ratio, and spatial resolution is studied in detail for two set of cases, steady stratified flow and convection of a high-density droplet, where direct comparison is possible to potential flow analysis (i.e. infinite Reynold's number). An initial study for a droplet splashing on a thin liquid film demonstrates applicability of the new solver to real-life applications. Detailed comparisons should be performed in the future for finite Reynold's number cases to fully demonstrate the improvements in accuracy and stability of high-density ratio two-phase flow simulations offered by the new method.


Objective: To determine whether common genetic variants in UNC5C, a recently identified late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) dementia susceptibility gene, are associated with AD susceptibility or AD-related clinical/pathologic phenotypes. Methods: We used data from deceased individuals of European descent who participated in the Religious Orders Study or the Rush Memory and Aging Project (n = 1,288). We examined whether there were associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within ±100 kb of the UNC5C gene and a diagnosis of AD dementia, global cognitive decline, a pathologic diagnosis of AD, β-amyloid load, neuritic plaque count, diffuse plaque count, paired helical filament tau density, neurofibrillary tangle count, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) score. We also evaluated the relation of the CAA-associated variant and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) UNC5C RNA expression. Secondary analyses were performed to examine the interaction of the CAA-associated SNP and known genetic risk factors of CAA as well as the association of the SNP with other cerebrovascular pathologies. Results: A set of UNC5C SNPs tagged by rs28660566T was associated with a higher CAA score (p = 2.3 × 10−6): each additional rs28660566T allele was associated with a 0.60 point higher CAA score, which is equivalent to approximately 75% of the higher CAA score associated with each allele of APOE ε4. rs28660566T was weakly associated with lower UNC5C expression in the human DLPFC (p = 0.036). Moreover, rs28660566T had a synergistic interaction with APOE ε4 on their association with higher CAA severity (p = 0.027) and was associated with more severe arteriolosclerosis (p = 0.0065). Conclusions: Targeted analysis of the UNC5C region uncovered a set of SNPs associated with CAA.


PurposeThis paper aims to explore the impact discourse has on decision making practices within the boardroom and considers how personal proficiency in micro-language use can enhance an individual's personal efficacy in influencing boardroom decisions. The work uses Habermas' theory of communicative action to critique board talk, highlighting the need for greater understanding of the power of everyday taken for granted talk in strategy shaping. It illuminates the contribution that human resource development (HRD) professionals can make to the management of such behaviour and minimising dysfunctional behaviour and enabling effective boardroom practices.Design/methodology/approachTraditional governance theory from a business and organisational perspectives are provided before considering the boardroom environment and HRD's role. The authors undertake ethnographic research supported by conversation analysis to explore how directors use talk-based interpersonal routines to influence boardroom processes and enact collective decision making. The authors provide one extract of directors' talk to illustrate the process and demonstrate what the data "looks like" and the insights it holds.FindingsThe analysis suggests that the established underlying assumptions and rationale ideologies of corporate governance are misplaced and to understand the workings of corporate governance HRD academics and professionals need to gain deeper insight into the employment of talk within boards. Armed with such insights HRD professionals can become more effective in developing strategies to address dysfunctional leadership and promote good governance practice throughout their organisation.Social implicationsThe work raises a call for HRD to embrace a societal mediation role to help boards to become a catalyst for setting good practice which is strategically aligned throughout the organisation. Such roles require a more dialogical, strategic and critical approach to HRD, and professionals and academics take a more holistic approach to leadership development.Originality/valueThe paper considers the role of the development of HRD interventions that both help individuals to work more effectively within a boardroom environment and support development to shape a boardroom culture that promotes effective governance practice by influencing boardroom practice thereby promoting strong governance and broad social compliance throughout the organisation.


Dependence of conventional agricultural systems on chemical fertilizers and pesticidesmakes agricultural systems less stable and important drift polluters influencing to theregional and global sustainability. This problem made human being think about thealternative systems: agricultural systems that mimic natural systems and are friendly to theenvironment; those have higher economical efficiency concerning production level andcosts. The objective of the present study was sustainability assessment and comparison oforganic and conventional system with special focus environmental and economicalperformance. The case study consisted of two organic and conventional olive producingfarms in the South of Italy. The method used for sustainability assessment wasEnvironmental Accounting Information System (EAIS) that integrates togetherenvironmental (soil organic matter, soil erosion, genetic and landscape biodiversity,EPRIP, etc ) and economical indicators (gross margin). Data used for assessment ofEAIS indicators values were mainly collected from: farm economic-accounting systems,interviews, farm maps, area public organizations, bibliographical sources, farm nutrientaccounting systems, observations and field assessments and chemical soil analyses. Theindicator values measured into two farms were compared to theoretical or referenceindicator values. Based on indicator assessment it was concluded that organic olivegrowing farm had better performance than conventional farm.


By the end of twentieth century process of transition occurred in countries of formal planned economy and socialistic model of governance. In the analyses of achieved level of progress, three levels can be underlined: - Countries of central Eastern Europe witch accessed European Union in the last wave of accession in 2004. and in witch processes of transition are practically finished, - Countries that are now on doorstep of EU (Romania and Bulgaria), and - Serbia, where transition process are in delay of one decade, from known reasons: country decomposition, war in environment, isolation from international community, NATO actions. This paper works gives overview of applied measures and achieved effects of transition in the area of agrar in listed countries. With significant problems, it is showed that transition in countries that ended this process was successful. Serbia has, in a matter of speaking, stirring times by the end of transition. Experience obtained by countries that finished this process can be still useful for transition in Serbia.


Magnetic resonance imaging data are being used in statistical models to predicted brain ageing (PBA) and as biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease. Despite their increasing application, the genetic and environmental etiology of global PBA indices is unknown. Likewise, the degree to which genetic influences in PBA are longitudinally stable and how PBA changes over time are also unknown. We analyzed data from 734 men from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging with repeated MRI assessments between the ages 52 to 72 years. Biometrical genetic analyses 'twin models' revealed significant and highly correlated estimates of additive genetic heritability ranging from 59% to 75%. Multivariate longitudinal modelling revealed that covariation between PBA at different timepoints could be explained by a single latent factor with 73% heritability. Our results suggest that genetic influences on PBA are detectable in midlife or earlier, are longitudinally very stable, and are largely explained by common genetic influences. Highlights We explored the genetic and environmental etiology of MRI-based predicted brain age (PBA) in a longitudinal sample of males starting in midlife. Genetic influences on PBA are detectable in midlife or earlier, are longitudinally very stable, and largely explained by common genetic influences.


Sparked by the article from Lescuyer and colleagues in a recent issue, we aim here to further encourage interest in and discussion of clinically relevant biomarker research. We express our view on proteomics for biomarker discovery by addressing multiple relevant issues, including the inherent differences between biological fluids (and how these differences affect current analytical approaches) and experimental design to maximize the efficiency of moving from the bench to the bedside. Herein, we also include suggestions for definition of the term "biomarker", based on the use of a set of universal characterization/validation requirements, and illustrate several recent examples of successful transitions of benchtop proteomic studies work to clinical practice.


Paying more attention to economic benefit but less to social responsibility is a problem faced by many Radio & TV universities in China. As the most successful distance education university in the world, the Open University of UK provides much experience on management model. Favorable benefit and well development tendency are gotten by hammering at shouldering community responsibilities and winning public praise with quality. The management strategy of it would make contributions to the development of China's Radio & TV universities.


From the mounds of raw information available electronically today, what professionals really need are targeted, timely nuggets of knowledge that can guide the solution to business problems. Today's common information tools -Web full-text search engines and the like - do not fully support this conversion of raw information into knowledge. In examining the common knowledge management problems faced by Price Waterhouse professionals, we have found that converting information to knowledge requires not only finding raw information, but also filtering through it for relevance, formatting it appropriately for the knowledge task at hand, and forwarding it to the right people. A fifth stage, feedback from the users, can allow the effectiveness of each stage to increase with time. In this paper, we describe each stage of this knowledge cycle and discuss the potential role that AI- based technology can play in its automation. We illustrate the possibilities through case studies of deployed knowledge management tools we have built at Price Waterhouse. These tools demonstrate that for targeted business tasks, AI-based technology can potentially facilitate much of the knowledge cycle, providing users with useful business knowledge that provides competitive advantage.


OBJECTIVE
To gain further understanding of the antiphospholipid syndrome(APS).

METHODS
Analysing clinical and laboratory data on ten cases of APS.

RESULTS
Thrombocytopenia appeared in all cases. Venous thrombi of limbs appeared in five cases and neurological abnormalities in two cases. Renal impairments were found in three cases. One case manifested left renal venous thrombi and the other two cases thrombotic microangiopathy. Budd-Chiari syndrome was found in one case. One of the ten cases was catastrophic APS (CAPS) presented as acute diffuse swelling, cyanosis, pain, ischemia and necrosis in fingers and limbs, recurrent shock, ascites, hepatic and respiratory dysfunction. Anticoagulants and corticosteroids could be effective for dealing with APS. It was critical to treat catastrophic APS with anticoagulants or plasmapheresis as early as possible.

CONCLUSIONS
APS shows variable manifestations for good prognosis, but catastrophic APS has fatal risk. The main treatment for APS is the use of anticoagulants and immunosuppressives.


Models for the evolution of virulence traditionally assume a trade-off between the inverse of disease-induced mortality rate and infectivity, resulting in intermediate virulence. The underlying intuition is that faster growing agent populations do both more damage and produce more infective particles. This intuition implicitly assumes a well-mixed host body. In reality both damage and infectivity depend mainly on the location in the body where the agents lodge. This is related i.a. to the surface proteins that allow agents to dock on and penetrate into different cell types. The typical example is respiratory diseases where more deeply seated ones are both less infective and more harmful. With the other standard assumption, full cross-immunity between disease strains, this would lead to evolution towards the tip of the nose. In reality cross-immunity depends on surface antigens and hence is at least in part connected to depth. In this talk I discuss a simple adaptive dynamics style model taking on board the aforementioned considerations. Inferences are that in respiratory diseases (1) higher host population densities are conducive to a higher diversity, (2) diversity should be higher in the upper air passages than lower in the lungs, (3) emerging diseases may be expected to combine a high virulence with a low infectivity.


type="main" xml:id="twec12154-abs-0001"> Employing data on emigration rates by education level, this study finds that primary and secondary qualified emigrants contribute positively and significantly to remittances. Tertiary qualified emigrants, however, do not contribute significantly to remittances. Remittances in turn contribute significantly to home country income. There is some evidence of both an altruistic and self-interested motive to remit. Gender-disaggregated results suggest that females remit more than males and are more altruistic.


How can virtual reality be used in the operation, design and construction of the built environment? The first edition of this book came out in the childhood of virtual reality use in the built environment, but the rapid pace of technological development in VR systems and digital platforms presents us with the challenge of making appropriate choices for using VR to obtain real value. In this book we consider some key questions: What is virtual reality? How is it used in the built environment? What is the value proposition? What can we anticipate about its use in the future? These questions are pertinent as the increasing use of digital data through Building Information Modelling (BIM) and related technologies, leads to a renewed interest and more mature use of virtual reality to visualize and understand data to make decisions.

In this second edition we examine how the ongoing process of growth and development involved in the uptake of VR often introduces new visualization approaches into practices that are already digital. We expand the scope to consider both immersive virtual reality as a way of bringing professionals inside a building information model, and augmented reality as a way of taking this model and related asset information out to the job-site. We consider these approaches in the context of other technological developments that were in their infancy when the first edition was written, such as laser scanning, mobile technologies and big data.


OBJECTIVE
Oxytocin (OT) is primarily synthesized in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus in the central nervous system and exhibits a wide spectrum of central and peripheral activities. OT is involved in lipid metabolism and glucose homeostasis and plays a protective role against liver damage.

METHODS
In this study, we investigated whether CSF OT levels correlates with peripheral glucose, lipid profiles, and/or liver enzymes in Chinese subjects. Sixty-nine subjects (n=36 males; n=33 females) who were recruited from Beijing Jishuitan Hospital participated in the study. Their levels of CSF OT and peripheral parameters were assayed by radioimmunoassay and continuous monitoring assay, respectively.

RESULTS
There was no significant difference in CSF OT levels between males (53.09±6.88 nmol/mL) and females (52.34±6.87 nmol/mL), and no correlation found between CSF OT levels and peripheral glucose and lipid profiles. Significant negative correlation was observed between CSF OT levels and peripheral ALT and AST concentration in females but not in males.

CONCLUSION
Our results support the physiological role of neuropeptides acting on brain sites to regulate liver enzymes, and shed new light on the brain-liver interaction.


The human lung comprises 24 generations of dichotomously branching tubes known as bronchi [1]. Functionally, these generations can be categorized as: (1) conducting airways which are non-alveolated and comprise the first 16 generations, and (2) the acini which consist of flexible, alveolated airways and are responsible for gas exchange. The alveoli are the most important units of the human respiratory system and provide large surface area (about 70–80 m2) for efficient gas exchange; oxygen diffuses into the blood through the alveolar epithelium, whereas carbon dioxide diffuses in the opposite direction from the blood to the lung.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


The aim of this paper is to compile a list of German lexicalised synaestheses and to compare them to a list of Italian lexicalised synaestheses. Before doing so, some of the most fundamental studies on synaesthesia are summarised in order to introduce notions such as directionality of transfer, hierarchy of the senses and accessibility of synaesthetic metaphors. Afterwards, the main semantic, morphological and syntactic characteristics of lexicalised synaestheses are described, for instance polysemy of adjectives and syntactic configuration. In the main part of the paper, the German lexicalised synaestheses, which have been extracted from the Duden-dictionary, are organised according to the source and target domain. Compared to the Italian lexicalised synaestheses, it turns out that the numerical distribution of adjectives among the five canonical senses is almost identical. Moreover, the major directionalities of synaesthetic transfer are the same in both languages, thus confirming the findings of earlier studies (touch as the main source domain and hearing as the main target domain). The final part of the work is dedicated to the equivalence of some German and Italian synaestheses.


Molten metal meniscus profile and mold flux channel width were measured under high frequency magnetic field by model experiments, then the dynamic pressure in mold flux channel were calculated during one mold oscillation period. It is found that the high frequency magnetic field can decrease the dynamic pressure greatly, which may be one mechanism of improving the billets surface quality by the soft-contact mold electromagnetic continuous casting. Based on this study, a novel technology named Amplitude-Modulated Magnetic Field (AMMF) coupled with mold oscillation in electromagnetic continuous casting was proposed in order to balance the dynamic pressure caused by mold oscillation with a varied electromagnetic force inducted by AMMF. Based on the calculation of mold flux channel dynamic pressure, a model to optimize design of AMMF was proposed. Then continuous casting experiments under AMMF coupled with mold oscillation were carried out. It is shown that AMMF is effective in reducing the friction force during continuous casting and improving the billets surface quality.


Author(s): Mollengarden, Zachary | Abstract: On July 1, 2018, China's Supreme People's Court published the "Provisions on Several Issues regarding the Establishment of International Commercial Courts." The Provisions followed on the heels of a January announcement from the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms alluding to plans to establish a dispute settlement mechanism dedicated to China's Belt and Road Initiative. The Provisions confirmed that what the press had swiftly branded the "Belt and Road Court" (BRC) will comprise three international commercial courts. Regardless of analysts' discipline or affiliation, the response to the initial proposal, and now to the framework laid out in the Provisions, has been predictably binary, reflecting a longstanding division in interpretations of China's commercial dispute resolution policies.One branch, call it the sociological school, explains China's policies with reference to the country's history and culture. It contends that a direct line may be drawn from the Chinese people's traditional aversion to litigation to their government's preference for informal and private mechanisms for dispute resolution. With reference to the BRC, the causal narrative this school presents is one of continuity, contending that to understand the BRC, the basic explanatory trajectory must proceed from China outward to the international arena. An alternative branch, call it the political-economy school, argues that China's policies toward international commercial dispute resolution respond to the same goals and imperatives as any other state. China's policies are viewed as a self-interested response to factors such as commercial flows, security considerations, and development goals. Insofar as such matters are subject to constant flux, China's dispute resolution policies are understood to be commensurately fluid. Here, the basic explanatory trajectory proceeds from the international arena inward into China.As with all binaries, there is a middle way—an approach that interprets China's commercial dispute resolution policies generally, and the newly established BRC in particular, as a product of continuity as well as change, influenced as much by internal dynamics as external imperatives. This Article adopts this middle way in order to identify and assess the principal tensions that have confronted, and will continue to challenge, the designers of what will amount to an international commercial court with Chinese characteristics.


Introduction: cervical cancer is a serious public health problem throughout the world and often affects women of low socioeconomic level and of reproductive age. Objective: to identify the set of sociodemographic, individual and programmatic characteristics present in the daily life of women that made them vulnerable to cervical cancer. Method: descriptive and cross-sectional study addressing the various dimensions of vulnerability that had the participation of 99 women with a confirmed diagnosis of cervical cancer. To characterize the women, a structured questionnaire was used, composed of information directed to the sociodemographic aspects of the individual and related to the organization of the health services. Results: the predominant age group was between 40 and 57 years. Most started sexual activity between 15 and 18 years old, had up to five sexual partners and had never used a condom. There was prevalence of married, white, Catholic women with primary education, family income between one and two minimum wages and having their own house. Before the diagnosis of cervical cancer, 45.5% performed the preventive examination once a year and after cytopathological collection, it occurred at least once a year. The majority sought the health service after symptoms of the disease. Conclusion: it is necessary to develop effective interventions for women's health care based on the concept of comprehensiveness of care provided.


Background: Youth in vulnerable situations are known to have high rates of mental disorders but low help-seeking. Help-seeking is known to be influenced by mental health literacy (MHL), a key concept that is important for the recognition of mental disorders and planning intervention. Aims: To explore MHL and help-seeking patterns in a group of young women in an urban slum setting in India. Materials and Methods: A total of 337 young women between 16 and 19 years of age belonging to urban slum settings formed the study sample. Two vignettes on depression and self-harm were used to assess: (a) recognition of the disorder, (b) help-seeking, and (c) knowledge of treatments available. Results: Only 8% of women were able to label the condition as depression in the first vignette. Though suicidality was identified correctly by the majority of participants 73 (63%), they did not think it needed urgent intervention. Only a few considered mental health professionals as possible sources of help (19.3% for depression and 2.4% for self-harm). Majority of the young women felt friends and parents were sources of help, and that stigma and lack of awareness were the reasons for not considering professional help. Conclusion: MHL regarding depression and suicidality is low among young women from low-income areas. It is a critical and urgent need to encourage early and appropriate help-seeking for mental health problems in this vulnerable population.


In measuring risk, practitioners have practiced one of the two extreme approaches for so long, i.e. historical simulation or risk metrics. Meanwhile, academicians tend to apply methods based on the latest development in financial econometrics. In this study, we try to assess one of important issues in financial econometric development that focuses on market risk measurement and management employing asset-based models, i.e. models that apply dimensional covariance matrix, which is relevant to practice world. We compare covariance matrix model with Exponential Smoothing Model and GARCH Derivation and the Associated Derivation Models, using JSX Stock price Index data in 2000-2005. The result of this study shows how applicable the observed financial econometric instrument in Financial Market Risk Management practice.


This paper describes the design and implementation of a fuzzy logic control system which is to be used for teaching purposes. The application selected is a single-link robotic manipulator arm. Emphasis it placed on the implementation of the test-rig and the method applied to the design of the fuzzy logic controller. The prototype is made of components often found in small industrial manipulators. Particular attention is taken on the analysis of the practical design considerations found during the implementation of the manipulator arm. Models for both the fuzzy logic-based control system and the use of a PID are developed. Results of the simulation and experimental test-runs performed are also presented. This is an experimental platform which would be used to introduce undergraduate students to the application of fuzzy logic control techniques. >


When an observer moves in a 3D static scene, the motion field depends on the depth of the visible objects and on the observer's instantaneous translation and rotation. By computing the difference between nearby motion field vectors, the observer can estimate the direction of local motion parallax and in turn the direction of heading. It has recently been argued that, in 3D cluttered scenes such as a forest, computing local image motion using classical optical flow methods is problematic since these classical methods have problems at depth discontinuities. Hence, estimating local motion parallax from optical flow should be problematic as well. In this paper we evaluate this claim. We use the classical Lucas-Kanade method to estimate optical flow and the Rieger-Lawton method to estimate the direction of motion parallax from the estimated flow. We compare the motion parallax estimates to those of the frequency based method of Mann-Langer. We find that if the Lucas-Kanade estimates are sufficiently pruned, using both an eigenvalue condition and a mean absolute error condition, then the Lucas- Kanade/Rieger-Lawton method can perform as well as or better than the frequency-based method.


This qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences of parents and young people who are demonstrating emotionally based school refusal behaviour (EBSR) in terms of the sense that they make of their difficulties and their views about the helpfulness or otherwise of the support they have received. In addition it sought the views of those practitioners, schools and agencies supporting such children and parents, to identify what is helpful currently and what could be done to improve support.

Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with six young people and their parents and the views of practitioners, schools and agencies supporting these families were analysed using Thematic Analysis.

All the participants identified positive and negative experiences, but were in agreement that more needs to be done to effectively support pupils with emotionally based school refusal. Practitioners, schools and agencies were
conscious of pitfalls in the system which sometimes meant school refusing behaviour becomes more entrenched and difficult to resolve than it needs to be.
All identified that EBSR is complex, puzzling and very frustrating for all involved.
All were in agreement that better communication between schools, professionals, children, young people and their parents would be helpful, as would thinking about and responding to each case individually, empathetically
and creatively. All observed that a greater coherence between agencies was needed with a quicker response. It was acknowledged that EBSR is often poorly understood and inadequately responded to. Parents and young people are keen
to be involved and to be pro-active in finding ways forward to ensure that they do achieve, obtain qualifications and have the opportunity to move on.

The implications from these results suggest that schools and professionals supporting children, young people and their parents need to reflect upon their current working practices and look for quicker and more effective ways of
supporting the families to get the child back into school or into a suitable learning environment, if they are to promote achievement and well being in this group of pupils.

Rather than viewing this group of pupils as dysfunctional, they could be seen to be displaying behaviour that demonstrates their discomfort in functioning in large scale secondary school environments, so shifting attention from a within child model to the wider system. If basic human needs are not met, such as the need to feel safe, secure and included and if those around are unable to adequately respond by containing and helping the child to address and deal with their anxieties, school refusal may be the consequence. The challenge is to consider how to meet the needs of the individual pupil within the large environment of a secondary school.


Several models have been proposed to explain the high temperatures required to denature enzymes from thermophilic organisms; some involve greater maximum thermodynamic stability for the thermophile, and others do not. To test these models, we reversibly melted two analogous protein domains in a two-state manner. E2cd is the isolated catalytic domain of cellulase E2 from the thermophile Thermomonospora fusca. CenAP30 is the analogous domain of the cellulase CenA from the mesophile Cellulomonas fimi. When reversibly denatured in a common buffer, the thermophilic enzyme E2cd had a temperature of melting (Tm) of 72.2 degrees C, a van't Hoff enthalpy of unfolding (DeltaHVH) of 190 kcal/mol, and an entropy of unfolding (DeltaSu) of 0.55 kcal/(mol*K); the mesophilic enzyme CenAP30 had a Tm of 56.4 degrees C, a DeltaHVH of 107 kcal/mol, and a DeltaSu of 0. 32 kcal/(mol*K). The higher DeltaHVH and DeltaSu values for E2cd suggest that its free energy of unfolding (DeltaGu) has a steeper dependence on temperature at the Tm than CenAP30. This result supports models that predict a greater maximum thermodynamic stability for thermophilic enzymes than for their mesophilic counterparts. This was further explored by urea denaturation. Under reducing conditions at 30 degrees C, E2cd had a concentration of melting (Cm) of 5.2 M and a DeltaGu of 11.2 kcal/mol; CenAP30 had a Cm of 2.6 M and a DeltaGu of 4.3 kcal/mol. Under nonreducing conditions, the Cm and DeltaGu of CenAP30 were increased to 4.5 M and 10.8 kcal/mol at 30 degrees C; the Cm for E2cd was increased to at least 7.4 M at 32 degrees C. We were unable to determine a DeltaGu value for E2cd under nonreducing conditions due to problems with reversibility. These data suggest that E2cd attains its greater thermal stability (DeltaTm = 15.8 degrees C) through a greater thermodynamic stability (DeltaDeltaGu = 6.9 kcal/mol) compared to its mesophilic analogue CenAP30.


INTRODUCTION
Acromegaly results from oversecretion of growth hormone and subsequently insulin growth factor-1. According to some authors, the disease can cause increased prevalence of nodular goitre and thyroid cancer (TC). However, the number of studies comparing acromegalic patients with control groups is low. We aimed to assess the prevalence of thyroid lesions in patients with acromegaly in comparison to an age- and sex-matched control group and to update the meta-analysis previously performed in our department by the same authors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
We searched medical documentation of patients with acromegaly treated in our department between 2003 and 2013. The prevalence of thyroid abnormalities was compared with the group of patients with hormonally inactive adrenal incidentalomas. To perform the meta-analytic part of the paper we also searched ten databases to find relevant papers.

RESULTS
Two hundred and five patients with acromegaly and 184 patients with incidentalomas were included. Any thyroid lesions were present in 77.6% of patients with acromegaly vs. 63.0% with incidentalomas (p = 0.002), multinodular goitre - 66.8% vs. 47.8% (p = 0.0002), and TC- 5.4% vs. 2.7% (p = 0.21) respectively. For thyroid lesions the pooled odds ratio (OR) was 3.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8-5.5), and for TCs the OR was 4.5 (95% CI 1.9-10.3).

CONCLUSIONS
According to our results thyroid lesions were significantly more common in patients with acromegaly; in case of TC the difference was not significant. The updated meta-analysis showed significantly increased prevalence of both disorders. In conclusion, systematic thyroid examination should be an important part of follow-up in case of acromegalic patients. (Endokrynol Pol 2017; 68 (1): 2-6).


Combining the labeling algorithm of Chomsky (2013) with bare phrase structure raises the question of how heads (simple or complex) and phrases can be distinguished. I propose a notational device which draws the distinction in a way which solves technical problems for the labeling algorithm. Focusing on phrasal movement, I show how the "halting problem" for wh-movement, and in particular the freezing effects arising in criterial positions, can be derived from labeling and a maximality principle, restricting movement to maximal elements with a given label. Looking then at head movement, I argue that it can be made consistent with the No Tampering condition, and work out the labeling algorithm for structures derived by head movement. Finally, I argue that the ban against excorporation in head movement can be analyzed as a case of freezing, and traced back, much as freezing in phrasal movement, to the maximality principle relativized to the head – phrase distinction.


• To our knowledge, to date, no nonempirical method exists to measure reverse, low or high sap flux density. Moreover, existing sap flow methods require destructive wood core measurements to determine sapwood water content, necessary to convert heat velocity to sap flux density, not only damaging the tree, but also neglecting seasonal variability in sapwood water content. • Here, we present a nonempirical heat-pulse-based method and coupled sensor which measure temperature changes around a linear heater in both axial and tangential directions after application of a heat pulse. By fitting the correct heat conduction-convection equation to the measured temperature profiles, the heat velocity and water content of the sapwood can be determined. • An identifiability analysis and validation tests on artificial and real stem segments of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) confirm the applicability of the method, leading to accurate determinations of heat velocity, water content and hence sap flux density. • The proposed method enables sap flux density measurements to be made across the entire natural occurring sap flux density range of woody plants. Moreover, the water content during low flows can be determined accurately, enabling a correct conversion from heat velocity to sap flux density without destructive core measurements.


This thesis discusses about the actions of the three male characters', that is Fanshawe, Butler and Edward which show their types of love toward Ellen in Hawthorne's first novel, Fanshawe. Fanshawe loves Ellen so much that he is willing to protect her from any harm. He shows his love in respecting Ellen, in wanting the best for her and in willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of Ellen. Fanshawe's actions show that his love toward Ellen can be called agape. The second character, Butler, is attracted to Ellen physically with materialistic motivation. He only thinks of his own needs so that even Ellen's needs mean nothing for him. Therefore, he does not protect her but betrays her. He disrespects her and even tries to rape her. Butler's actions show that he bases his love on lust, so his love can be called eros. The third character is Edward, Ellen's first friend who finally falls in love with her. However, his love is based on the fulfilment of his desire. As long as Ellen is able to do what he wants, he feels happy but when she is unable to do it, he will become angry with her. Since Edward only wants the benefits from his relation with Ellen, his actions show that his love cannot be considered as a true love. His type of love is just based on friendship. The thesis writer finally concludes that agape love is the best type of love to be continued in marriage. Love based on eros is not good for a marriage since it is based on lust and on materialistic things. Meanwhile, love based on friendship is still immature. It can grow to be agape that fits for marriage when the couple become unselfish and ready to sacrifice for the sake of the loved one.


This study was designed to determine whether smooth muscle α-actin mRNA and smooth muscle α-actin contractile protein elements were present within the renal medullary pericytes. Extraction of total RNA from microdissected outer medullary descending vasa recta allowed for the detection of smooth muscle α-actin mRNA expression using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Expression of smooth muscle α-actin was specific to the descending vasa recta and not a result of tubular contamination because RT-PCR amplification of the vasopressin V2 receptor, which is a specific tubular marker, did not occur. To determine the exact cell type(s) that translate the mRNA into protein, we performed immunohistochemistry on the renal outer and inner medulla using a monoclonal smooth muscle α-actin antibody, whose specificity was determined by immunoblot analysis. Smooth muscle α-actin protein was found selectively within the pericytes surrounding the descending vasa recta from the outer and inner medullary tissue sections. This study demonstrates that the pericytes alone that surround the descending vasa recta within the outer and inner medulla contain smooth muscle α-actin mRNA and protein and are therefore the site of the contractile elements that could play a vasomodulatory role in the control of renal medullary blood flow and its distribution within the renal medulla.


A massive neuronal loss during early postnatal development has been well documented in the murine cerebral cortex, but the factors that drive cells into apoptosis are largely unknown. The role of neuronal activity in developmental apoptosis was studied in organotypic neocortical slice cultures of newborn mice. Multielectrode array and whole-cell patch-clamp recordings revealed spontaneous network activity characterized by synchronized burst discharges, which could be blocked by tetrodotoxin and ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists. The identical neuropharmacological manipulations also caused a significant increase in the number of apoptotic neurons as early as 6 h after the start of drug treatment. Moreover, inhibition of the NMDA receptor subunit NR2A or NR2B induced a differential short-term versus delayed increase in the apoptosis rate, respectively. Activation of L-type, voltage-dependent calcium channels was neuroprotective and could prevent activity-dependent apoptosis during NMDA receptor blockade. Furthermore, this effect involved phosphorylation of cAMP response element-binding protein and activation of the tropomyosin-related kinase (Trk) receptors. Inhibition of electrical synapses and blockade of ionotropic gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors induced specific changes in spontaneous electrical activity patterns, which caused an increase in caspase-3-dependent cell death. Our results demonstrate that synchronized spontaneous network bursts activating ionotropic glutamate receptors promote neuronal survival in the neonatal mouse cerebral cortex.


Introduction Cervical lymphadenopathy is a sign that can be presented in many diseases condition. We are presenting a case of fever with cervical lymphadenopathy due to kikuchi Fujimoto diseases. Kikuchi lymphadenitis is a rare, benign condition of unknown cause usually characterised by cervical lymphadenopathy and fever. While, 40% of patient with kikuchi disease were initially misdiagnosed as having lymphoma and were consequently over treated with chemotherapy. This pitfall remains an active source of diagnostic error. Case Mr. Am is a 25 years old Malay man initially admitted under Internal Medicine department with history of fever and neck swelling for more than 2 weeks. During admission, his routine blood tests were normal. Chest X ray was also clear. Thereafter patient transferred under Palliative medicine unit for the further evaluation and management. His CT-TAP (thorax, abdomen and pelvis) reported as normal study. He underwent FNAC (fine needle aspiration and cytology) of the cervical lymph node which showed T cell lymphoma. Although, FNAC report did not clinically correlate. Therefore, for the further workup we performed bone marrow aspiration and trephine. His bone marrow showed leukopenia. We started to treat with steroid which showed some clinical improvement. Mr. Am was seen in the NUH (National University hospital) Singapore for second opinion. His working diagnosis is now Kikuchi lymphadenitis. Unfortunately, he was presented with fever and low WBC count again in September 2014 and went to NUH Singapore and his current working diagnosis is recurrent Kikuchi lymphadenitis with Mycoplasma and Infectious mononucleosis infection. His PET CT scan reported as increased mediastinal masses with low significance. Currently he is under care of Palliative medicine of RIPAS hospital. Discussion Our case illustrates a significant role of palliative medicine for the complicated clinical case. Which could be achieved by meticulous history taking and symptoms assessment and relevant investigations. Hence, integrated palliative care service could prevent the miss diagnosis, and ensures a better outcome.


Objective: Longdan Xiegan Decoction (LXD) is a famous herbal formula in China. It has been proved that LXD has been shown to have a significant inhibitory effect on suppresses the inflammatory cells associated with uveitis. However, the key functional combination of component groups and their possible mechanisms remain unclear. Methods: The community detecting model of the network, the functional response space, and reverse prediction model were utilized to decode the key components group (KCG) and possible mechanism of LXD in treating uveitis. Finally, MTT assay, NO assay and ELISA assay were applied to verify the effectiveness of KCG and the accuracy of our strategy. Results: In the components-targets-pathogenic genes-disease (CTP) network, a combination of Huffman coding and random walk algorithm was used and eight foundational acting communities (FACs) were discovered with important functional significance. Verification has shown that FACs can represent the corresponding C-T network for treating uveitis. A novel node importance calculation method was designed to construct the functional response space and pick out 349 effective proteins. A total of 54 components were screened and defined as KCG. The pathway enrichment results showed that KCG and their targets enriched signal pathways of IL-17, Toll-like receptor, and T cell receptor played an important role in the pathogenesis of uveitis. Furthermore, experimental verification results showed that important KCG quercetin and sitosterol markedly inhibited the production of nitric oxide and significantly regulated the level of TNF-α and IFN-γ in Lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 cells. Discussion: In this research, we decoded the potential mechanism of the multi-components-genes-pathways of LXD's pharmacological action mode against uveitis based on an integrated pharmacology approach. The results provided a new perspective for the future studies of the anti-uveitis mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine. Endotoxin-induced uveitis; CAMP, Cyclic adenosine monophosphate; EAU, Experimental autoimmune uveitis; TLR, Toll-like receptor.


This paper discusses the design of the temperature and humidity monitoring system. It designs from software and hardware aspects in detail. The system included the three modules such as PC, FPGA and some peripheral circuit. Thereinto emphasis is laid on the introduction of hardware and software of communication interfaces of PC and FPGA. FPGA is core controller; PC is used to manage data acquisition and analysis. It introduces the data acquisition based on PXI bus and NI software LabVIEW. The system has the following advantages: its interface is friendly, its circuit is simple, its function is strong and its hardware system is integrated highly. The system realizes the monitoring the multi-humiture storehouses.


The magnetic actuation has been one of the promising wireless actuation methods for minimally invasive surgeries. The magnetic field and its gradients can penetrate inside the human body and provide actuation and control for wireless magnetic robots. Due to the lack of direct line-of-sight in such minimally invasive operations, one of the most important research questions towards clinical applications is the acquisition and combination of clinical imagingmodalities with wireless magnetic actuation methods.Intraoperative imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are employed to fulfill the need for visual feedback to the surgeons for such operations. ClinicalMRI systems are already equipped with three electromagnetic hardware systems that are used for imaging three-dimensional soft tissues. Such hardware and the generated magnetic field can also be used to actuate magnetic objects wirelessly. This MRI-powered actuation method aims to combine imaging and actuation by using a single clinical MRI system and enables a potential alternative for the future's interventional MRI (iMRI) procedures. Moreover, using MRI-powered wireless magnetic robots with image acquisition and magnetic actuation under MRI systems, minimally invasive operations can be performed neither introducing any additionalelectromagnetic hardware, nor reducing the workspace of the scanners. Therefore, the issues stemming from combining separate imaging and actuation devices are minimally present in such MRI-powered actuation techniques. Converting clinical MRI devices into a wireless robotic manipulation platform comes with some challenges. These challenges can be classified as (1) the limited actuation degrees-offreedom (DOF), (2) the implementation of medical functions with miniature MRI-powered robots, (3) MR monitoring challenges such as image distortions due to the magnetic robot material, (4) slow MR image feedback rate for such a time-multiplexed imaging and actuationmethod with the same device. In this thesis, each of these challenges is addressed and methods to overcome these challenges are proposed. By using magnetic pulling forces exerted by MRI gradient coils, not only translational but also rotational motions of miniature magnetic robots have been accomplished. We demonstrate a wireless capsule endoscope that employs both rotation and translation withonly magnetic pulling forces. Moreover, such a capsule robot is able to translate in three-dimensional volumes due to its near-buoyant design. Controlling the position or orientation of these robots via magnetic pulling forces in three-dimensional fluids is demonstrated. The translation and rotation of such capsule robots are coupled. In other words, the magnetic pulling force used for rotation may also induce a translation simultaneously. This may create difficulty in both open-loop (human-in-the-loop, teleoperation) and closed-loop (fully autonomous) control of these robots. In order to overcome this issue, a phase-changing wax material-based locking mechanism is proposed to lock and unlock the robot's orientation on-demand via wireless heating. This mechanism decouples the rotation from translation and allows the robot to translate with a fixed orientation. Medically relevant and orientation-dependent functions, such as hyperthermia and drug delivery, are also demonstrated towards the medical use of such MRI-powered robots. Additionally, two-dimensional monitoring and one-dimensional imaging/actuation systems are established for closed-loop position control andhuman-in-the-loop teleoperation applications towards minimally invasive robotic surgeries.


Among 61 patients with severe pregnancy induced hypertension, cerebral lesions were detected on CT scans in 23 cases (37.7%). The positive rates were 5/25 cases in preeclampsia and 18/36 cases in eclampsia. The incidence rate of cerebral lesions in eclampsia was significantly higher than that in preeclampsia (chi 2 test, P < 0.05). Furthermore, it showed that patients with renal impairment and retinal changes were more susceptible to cerebral lesions (P < 0.05), through comparative study of the relationships between either the function of liver and kidney or retinal changes and cerebral lesions. Main manifestations of cerebral lesions were ischemia, edema and infarction. The represented the different pathological stage of cerebral lesions. The cerebral lesions were mainly involved at cortical or subcortical area of bilateral parietal or occipital lobe (60%), secondly at the deep basal ganglia and the superior sagittal sinus. The pathological process of cerebral lesions and the management of pregnancy induced hypertension were analysed.


New developments in Computer Science, both hardware and software, offer researchers, such as physicists, unprecedented possibilities to solve their computational intensive problems. However, full exploitation of e.g. new massively parallel computers, parallel languages or runtime environments requires an approach that combines elements of computer science, numerical mathematics and, in our case, physics. We call this β-computer science. Here we present an example of a computational intensive physical application, the coupled dipole formulation of elastic light scattering from arbitrary shaped particles. The computational kernel of this method is a large set of linear equations. We solve this set by means of a Conjugate Gradient (CG) method, implemented on a coarse grain distributed memory computer (a Transputer network). This paper describes the parallelization of a CG method. Two important choices are discussed; what is the best possible decomposition and which processor network topology is most suited. We introduce a general method to answer these questions and investigate its usefulness by applying this method to our application. It is concluded that implementation of the CG method, with a row-block decomposition of the coefficient matrix, on a ring of Transputers is the most efficient choice. Finally the actual implementation is described, and preliminary experimental timing results are compared with the theoretical time complexity analysis.


The Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) is widely used to predict the short‐term mortality in patients with cirrhosis, but potential limitations of this score have been reported. The aim of this study was to improve the score's prognostic accuracy by assessing new objective variables. Data of 310 consecutive patients with cirrhosis who underwent elective transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement between July 1995 and March 2005 were analyzed retrospectively. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed by proportional hazard Cox regression models. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (auROC) and the likelihood ratio test were used to evaluate the performance of the models for predicting early mortality. Findings were validated in a cohort of 451 consecutive patients with cirrhosis on waiting list for liver transplantation. Bivariate analyses showed that the following variables correlated with time to death: age, serum bilirubin, serum creatinine, international normalized ratio of prothrombin time, serum albumin, serum sodium, and MELD. Multivariate analysis revealed that MELD, serum sodium, and age were independently associated with the risk of death. The integrated MELD model (iMELD, incorporating serum sodium and age) was better than original MELD in predicting 12‐month mortality: auROC increased by 13.4% and the likelihood ratio statistic from 23.5 to 48.2. The improved accuracy of iMELD was confirmed in the validation sample of 451 patients with cirrhosis on the waiting list for liver transplantation by increasing auROC (+8%) and likelihood ratio statistic (from 41.4 to 82.0). This study shows that in patients with cirrhosis, serum sodium and age are predictors of mortality independent of the MELD score. The incorporation of these variables into the original MELD formula improves the predictive accuracy of time to death. Liver Transpl 13:1174–1180, 2007. © 2007 AASLD.


Purpose To assess whether monocular contrast sensitivity and stereoacuity impairments remain when visual acuity is fully recovered in children with refractive amblyopia. Methods A retrospective review of 487 patients diagnosed with refractive amblyopia whose visual acuity improved to 0.08 logMAR or better in both eyes following optical treatment was conducted. Measurements of monocular contrast sensitivity and stereoacuity had been made when visual acuity normalized. All patients had been treated with refractive correction for approximately 2 years following diagnosis. No other treatments were provided. Monocular contrast sensitivity was measured using the CSV-1000E chart for children 6 years of age or younger and a psychophysical technique called the quick contrast sensitivity function in older children. Stereoacuity was measured using the Random Dot Test that includes monocular cues and the Randot Stereoacuity Test that does not have monocular cues. Results Statistically significant interocular differences in contrast sensitivity were observed. These differences tended to occur at higher spatial frequencies (12 and 18 cycles per degree). Stereoacuity within the age-specific normal range was achieved by 47.4% of patients for the Random Dot Test and only 23.1% of patients for the Randot Stereoacuity Test. Conclusions Full recovery of visual acuity following treatment for refractive amblyopia does not equalize interocular contrast sensitivity or restore normal stereopsis. Alternative therapeutic approaches that target contrast sensitivity and/or binocular vision are required.


The QoS-aware web services discovery and composition are considered as two important, open and hot issues in Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). By definition, web-service discovery is about how to select the best web-service for a role in a workflow among available web-services whereas web-services composition works on developing merely optimum coordination among a number of available web-services to provide a new composed web-service intended to satisfy some users requirements for which a single web service is not (good) enough. The criteria, upon which the web service selection, position, and composition processes are based, may or may not cover the Quality of services (QoS) parameters. The latter case would turn the name of the job into QoS-aware web services discovery and composition. In this article, the QoS-WSC test data-set is introduced for the QoS-aware web-services discovery and composition with regard to specific potentials and needs of the web-services world. In this respect, at first, an interface has been designed to define QoS for the roles attended in a service-oriented architecture. Then a solution, which allows comparison among web-services through the calculation of similarity of the request to amounts of the QoS parameters of available web services, is proposed. The similarity is obtained using the internal multiplication of two vectors of weighted numerical parameters representing request parameters and QoS parameters of available web services. The weights are technically significant coefficients, which can be obtained from the QoS-WSC data-set, which is assembled out of a rule-based integration of two well-known prior data sets in the field of web services.


Background: Etomidate, barbiturates, alfaxalone, and propofol are anesthetics that allosterically modulate γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors via distinct sets of molecular binding sites. Two-state concerted coagonist models account for anesthetic effects and predict supra-additive interactions between drug pairs acting at distinct sites. Some behavioral and molecular studies support these predictions, while other findings suggest potentially complex anesthetic interactions. We therefore evaluated interactions among four anesthetics in both animals and GABAA receptors. Methods: The authors used video assessment of photomotor responses in zebrafish larvae and isobolography to evaluate hypnotic drug pair interactions. Voltage clamp electrophysiology and allosteric shift analysis evaluated coagonist interactions in α1β3γ2L receptors activated by γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) versus anesthetics [log(d, AN):log(d, GABA) ratio]. Anesthetic interactions at concentrations relevant to zebrafish were assessed in receptors activated with low GABA. Results: In zebrafish larvae, etomidate interacted additively with both propofol and the barbiturate R-5-allyl-1-methyl m-trifluoromethyl mephobarbital (R-mTFD-MPAB; mean ± SD α = 1.0 ± 0.07 and 0.96 ± 0.11 respectively, where 1.0 indicates additivity), while the four other drug pairs displayed synergy (mean α range 0.76 to 0.89). Electrophysiologic allosteric shifts revealed that both propofol and R-mTFD-MPAB modulated etomidate-activated receptors much less than GABA-activated receptors [log(d, AN):log(d, GABA) ratios = 0.09 ± 0.021 and 0.38 ± 0.024, respectively], while alfaxalone comparably modulated receptors activated by GABA or etomidate [log(d) ratio = 0.87 ± 0.056]. With low GABA activation, etomidate combined with alfaxalone was supra-additive (n = 6; P = 0.023 by paired t test), but etomidate plus R-mTFD-MPAB or propofol was not. Conclusions: In both zebrafish and GABAA receptors, anesthetic drug pairs interacted variably, ranging from additivity to synergy. Pairs including etomidate displayed corresponding interactions in animals and receptors. Some of these results challenge simple two-state coagonist models and support alternatives where different anesthetics may stabilize distinct receptor conformations, altering the effects of other drugs. Analysis of photomotor responses in zebrafish larvae and electrophysiologic recordings from Xenopus oocytes expressing α1β3γ2L γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors revealed that, of six pairs of four anesthetic drugs acting at distinct sets of binding sites on GABAA receptors, some interacted synergistically while other pairs were additive. These findings challenge the general validity of simple two-state coagonist models for anesthetic combinations. They support alternative models where different anesthetics may stabilize distinct receptor conformations, altering the effects of other drugs.


In this thesis an automated video based speed limit recognition system is introduced together with the framework for adaptation of the system to the special characteristics of the signs in different countries. The system is to be used as a vehicle mounted driver assistance system.

Autonomous infrastructure detection has to be international in our globalised world. Many publications concerning the detection and recognition of traffic signs have been published. The literature does not address the challenge of extending the systems to be capable of coping with the - sometimes subtle, sometimes distinct - differences met when considering a system to be designed to recognize infrastructure in a variety of countries instead of just one. In this thesis the traffic sign recognition is given as an example application for the internationalization of an autonomous recognition system. The term internationalization is used to express the necessity to adapt the system and especially the classifiers involved to the special characteristics of the traffic signs encountered in different countries. This process of adaptation is supported by the framework developed and implemented in this thesis with the goal of reducing human intervention in this process to a minimum.

The necessity of internationalization is especially true for traffic signs since their representation in different countries is not similar even if the countries belong to the 52 states that signed the Vienna Convention on road traffic from 1968. In addition to the internationalization, the necessary and yet in the literature still disregarded extensions to a successful traffic sign recognition will be designed and evaluated. This includes a supplementary sign recognition, a three dimensional position estimation and a scene interpretation. For system training and test a huge number of samples has to be gathered to let the conclusions be significant. To support this task bootstrapping labelling and classifier construction tools have been developed and evaluated.

The following is the main contribution of this work to the topic of traffic sign recognition:

 A framework for adapting classifiers on international traffic signs with a minimum
 of required human interaction.
 The detection and recognition of supplementary signs using a priori knowledge
 and the classifier internationalization framework.
 A three dimensional scene analysis to enhance the robustness of the system.
 A flexible modular framework that allows traffic sign recognition to be run on
 general purpose hardware and embedded control units in real time without
 source code changes.