Feature extraction is the process of accurately simplifying the representation of data by reducing its dimensionality while extracting its relevant characteristics for the desired task. It has a substantial effect on the classification accuracy and speed since classification carried out without a successful feature extraction process on a high dimensional and redundant data would be computationally complex and would overfit the training data. Fractal dimension is a statistical measure indicating the complexity of an object or a quantity that is self-similar over some region of space or time interval. It has been successfully used in various domains to characterize such objects and quantities but its usage in BCI has been more recent. There are several fractal dimension estimation methods, some of which are not applicable to all types of data exhibiting fractal properties. In order to achieve a higher classification accuracy and speed, the fractal dimension estimation method that is most suitable to the data at hand should be chosen. In this study, after preprocess the EEG data by the coherence average, principal component analysis (PCA), and independent component analysis (ICA) commonly used fractal dimension estimation methods Katz's method, Higuchi's method, the rescaled range (R/S) method, were evaluated for feature extraction in EEG based BCI by conducting offline analyses of a two class EEG dataset. Support vector machine (SVM) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were tested in combination with these methods to determine the methodology with the best performance and result compare with wavelet feature extraction method.


BACKGROUND
No effective treatment for hyperopia following radial keratotomy has been described. A new surgical technique of two purse-string intrastromal sutures was investigated for correction of this hyperopia.

METHODS
Eighteen radial keratotomy patients who were unhappy with uncorrected vision and who were unsatisfied with contact lens or spectacle correction, after informed consent, underwent corneal suturing. The 19 hyperopic eyes included 5 original overcorrections, 5 overcorrections after reoperation, and 9 progressive hyperopes. The refractive error ranged from +1.25 to +5.75 diopters spherical equivalent (mean +3.47 D). Presuturing uncorrected visual acuity ranged from 20/50 to 20/400 with 11 eyes (58%) 20/100 or worse.

RESULTS
The follow up after double purse-string suturing averaged 24 months (range, 12 to 47 months). All patients had follow up of at least 1 year; 14 patients (74%) had follow up of 2 years or more. The change in refractive spherical equivalent following surgery averaged -3.30 D (range, -1.00 to -7.50 D). The steepening in average keratometry was 4.10 D (range, 1.00 to 8.00 D). The refraction after suturing averaged -1.12 D (range, +2.50 to -3.50 D). Uncorrected visual acuity after suturing was 20/40 or better in 14 eyes (74%), and 20/50 to 20/80 in 5 eyes (36%). There were no significant intraoperative, early or late postoperative complications. Seventeen eyes were either the same or gained 1 line of acuity; 2 eyes gained 2 lines of acuity; no eyes lost any lines of refractive Snellen acuity.

CONCLUSIONS
The placement of two purse-string intrastromal sutures appears to provide significant steepening of the central cornea following excessive flattening after radial keratotomy. The steepening effect appears to remain stable with greater than 1-year follow up. This surgical technique offers an alternative to symptomatic hyperopic postradial keratotomy patients who cannot be corrected with spectacles or contact lenses.


A monolithic fully-integrated interferometer position/displacement sensor is proposed. The device is implemented with waveguide grating components, a GRIN SCH SQW DFB laser and photodiodes. A prototype device of 6.5/spl times/2.0 mm/sup 2/ chip size and 0.4/spl times/0.4 mm/sup 2/ sensing beam aperture is fabricated, and the sensor operation of submicron resolution is demonstrated.<<ETX>>


Thermal dehydration kinetics of aluminum sulfate hydrates was studied with TG/DTA under static open air environment. It was found that the thermal dehydration of the aluminum sulfate hydrates was a two-stage process. The first stage happened in the temperature range from 90 to 300°C with 13 water loss. The second stage happened in the temperature range from 300 to 380 °C with 2 water loss. Activation energy and former factor of each staged were obtained by regression the TG/DTA data with 19 differential and integral functions based on non-isothermal Achar method as well as Coats-Redfern method. The result indicated that the mechanism for the first stage dehydration was the proliferation of three-dimensional, spherical symmetry, 3D, D3, slow-α-t curve, n = 2, reaction is reaction 2. The mechanism of the second stage dehydration was random nucleation and subsequent growth, A3, S-shaped α-t curve, n=1/3, m = 3, reaction is reaction 1/3. Identified that the most likely mechanism of Al2(SO4)3•15H2O dehydration is 2 and 1/3 reactions two process.


Analytical and empirical models analyze complex and non-linear interactions between the input–output parameters of the system. This is very important in the case of photovoltaic systems to understand their real performance potential. On the other hand, manufacturers of photovoltaic panels rate the maximum performance of the system under fixed lab conditions as per standard testing conditions (STCs) or nominal operating cell temperature (NOCT) standards of IEC. These ratings do not provide the actual production potential of the system in a field with fluctuating conditions of irradiance and temperature. For the case of a concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) system, utilizing multi-junction solar cells (MJCs), there is no commercial tool available to analyze the performance and production, despite some recent empirical models that also require post-processing of experimental data to be used in conventional models. In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN)-based performance model is presented for a multi-junction solar cell, which is not only convenient to apply but can also be easily expanded to predict the real-field performance of the CPV system of any designed size. In addition, the ANN-based model showed a high accuracy of 99.9% in predicting the performance output of MJCs as compared to diode-based empirical models available in the literature. The irradiance concentration at the cell area and the cell temperature are taken as inputs for the neural network. If both of these parameters are known, then the cell efficiency as an output can accurately predict the CPV performance for a field operation.


In this article, we discuss an alternative method for deriving conservative approximation models for two-stage robust optimization problems. The method mainly relies on a linearization scheme employed in bilinear programming; therefore, we will say that it gives rise to the linearized robust counterpart models. We identify a close relation between this linearized robust counterpart model and the popular affinely adjustable robust counterpart model. We also describe methods of modifying both types of models to make these approximations less conservative. These methods are heavily inspired by the use of valid linear and conic inequalities in the linearization process for bilinear models. We finally demonstrate how to employ this new scheme in location-transportation and multi-item newsvendor problems to improve the numerical efficiency and performance guarantees of robust optimization.


Models for mediation are widely used in psychology, behavior science and education because they help researchers understand how a causal effect happens through one or several mediating variables. And more complex mediation models that incorporate multiple mediators are increasingly being assessed. This report uses a generated dataset to provide an overview of the assessment of direct effects and indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Use of a multiple comparison-based procedure for testing a set of hypotheses simultaneously while controlling the experiment-wise type I error rate is used to calculate a confidence interval for each pairwise contrast of mediated effects. Three approaches will be used to test hypotheses concerning the contrast between pairs of mediator effects. These approaches include 1) an assumption of zero covariance between parameters from different models, 2) assumption of a non-zero covariance between parameters from different models and 3) use of bootstrapping. Results are provided and discussed.


The intermittency of renewable energies continues to be a limitation for their more widespread application because their large-scale storage is not yet practical. Concentrating solar power (CSP) has the possibility of thermally storing this energy to be used in times of higher demand at a more feasible storage price. The number of concentrated solar energy related projects have grown rapidly in recent years due to the advances in the associated solar technology. Some of the remaining issues regarding the associated high investment costs can be solved by integrating the solar potential into fossil fuel generation plants. An integrated solar combined cycle system (ISCCS) tends to be less dependent to climatic conditions and needs less capital inversion than a CSP system, letting the plant be more reliable and more economically feasible. In this work thus, two technologies of solar concentration (i) parabolic trough cylinder (PTC) and (ii) solar tower (ST) are initially integrated into a three-pressure levels combined cycle power plant. The proposed models are then modeled, simulated and properly assessed. Design and off design point computations are carried out taking into account local environmental conditions such as ambient temperature and direct solar radiation (DNI). The 8760 hourly-basis simulations carried out allow comparing the thermal and economic performance of the different power plant configurations accounted for in this work. The results show that injecting energy into the cycle at high temperatures does not necessarily imply a high power plant performance. In the studied plant configurations, introducing the solar generated steam mass flow rate at the evaporator outlet is slightly more efficient than introducing it at cycle points where temperatures are higher. At design point conditions thus, the plant configuration where the referred steam mass flow rate is introduced at the evaporator outlet generates 0.42% more power than those in which the steam is injected at higher cycle temperatures. At off design point conditions this value is reduced to 0.37%. The results also show that the months with high DNI values and those with low mean ambient temperatures are not necessarily the months which lead to the highest power outputs. In fact a balance between these two parameters, DNI and ambient temperature, leads to an operating condition where the power output is the highest. All plant configurations analyzed here are economically feasible, even so PTC related technologies tend to be more economically feasible than ST ones due to their lower investment costs.


In this paper we propose a highly accurate approximate performance analysis of a heterogeneous server system with a processor sharing service discipline and a general job-size distribution under a generalized join the shortest queue (GJSQ) routing protocol. The GJSQ routing protocol is a natural extension of the well-known join the shortest queue routing policy that takes into account the non-identical service rates in addition to the number of jobs at each server. The performance metrics that are of interest here are the equilibrium distribution and the mean and standard deviation of the number of jobs at each server. We show that the latter metrics are near-insensitive to the job-size distribution using simulation experiments. By applying a single queue approximation we model each server as a single server queue with a state-dependent arrival process, independent of other servers in the system, and derive the distribution of the number of jobs at the server. These state-dependent arrival rates are intended to capture the inherent correlation between servers in the original system and behave in a rather atypical way.


ABSTRACT During exposure to certain stresses, bacteria dimerize pairs of 70S ribosomes into translationally silent 100S particles in a process called ribosome hibernation. Although the biological roles of ribosome hibernation are not completely understood, this process appears to represent a conserved and adaptive response that contributes to optimal survival during stress and post-exponential-phase growth. Hibernating ribosomes are formed by the activity of one or more highly conserved proteins; gammaproteobacteria produce two relevant proteins, ribosome modulation factor (RMF) and hibernation promoting factor (HPF), while most Gram-positive bacteria produce a single, longer HPF protein. Here, we report the formation of 100S ribosomes by an HPF homolog in Listeria monocytogenes. L. monocytogenes 100S ribosomes were observed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation of bacterial extracts during mid-logarithmic phase, peaked at the transition to stationary phase, and persisted at lower levels during post-exponential-phase growth. 100S ribosomes were undetectable in bacteria carrying an hpf::Himar1 transposon insertion, indicating that HPF is required for ribosome hibernation in L. monocytogenes. Additionally, epitope-tagged HPF cosedimented with 100S ribosomes, supporting its previously described direct role in 100S formation. We examined hpf mRNA by quantitative PCR (qPCR) and identified several conditions that upregulated its expression, including carbon starvation, heat shock, and exposure to high concentrations of salt or ethanol. Survival of HPF-deficient bacteria was impaired under certain conditions both in vitro and during animal infection, providing evidence for the biological relevance of 100S ribosome formation.


This paper presents evidence on household savings in urban regions of the Chinese provinces Sichuan and Liaoning based on data from the State Statistical Bureau's Urban Household Survey for the late 1980s. In this period the Chinese economy was subject to extensive reforms that resulted in rapid economic growth followed by extremely high inflation rates in 1988 and 1989. The high inflation rates gave the households strong motives to switch from financial savings to purchase of consumer durables, which also appear to be consistent with the structure of the observed data. By providing empirical evidence on the relative importance of savings by lower, middle and upper income groups for single-child families and for all households, this study also demonstrates that the savings decisions depend heavily on the level of household income. Single-child families are focused, not only because of its growing dominance in the current Chinese society, but also to control for the effect of demographic disparities.


This work investigated whether the River Dee estuary can be considered as an martian environmental analogue and examined the whether an understanding of microbial processes could inform future life detection missions on Mars.

The subsurface environment of the River Dee estuary, UK, and its microbial community, was characterised and compared to the palaeolake at Gale Crater, Mars. Similarities were identified in pH, temperature and Total Organic Carbon measurements, as well as potential bioessential element availability (based on comparative mineralogy of the two sites). The microbial community at the River Dee site was also characterised, indicating that a diverse bacterial community thrived there, alongside a single dominant archaeal group. This provided key insight into potential microbial communities on Mars, and associated processes that may inform future Mars research.

Since the diversity and attributes of microorganisms is directly linked to their environment, the microbial community of the River Dee estuary was used to investigate potential martian geomicrobiological processes and community dynamics within a simulated martian experimental environment. Concentrations of the bioessential elements Fe, Mg and K were seen to increase in the biological experiments when compared with abiotic controls, leading to, for example, a 143 μmol L-1 difference in the concentration of Fe during the stationary phase. One bacterial group, the Acidobacteria Gp9, dominated the microbial community for 400 hr during the stationary phase, accounting for ~58 % of the microbial community at its peak.

For a subsequent experiment, five bacterial species were isolated from the simulated martian environment, and characterised in order to demonstrate their growth optima and tolerance to relevant environmental extremes. Clostridium amygdalinum was found to be a model organism for survival within environments like the palaeolake at Gale Crater, and is proposed as a useful biological analogue for future investigations of the potential of life in such environments on Mars.


This paper presents a tube guitar amplifier simulation made with the WebAudio API, that reproduces the main parts of the Marshall JCM 800 amplifier schematics. Each stage of the real amp has been recreated (preamp, tone stack, reverb, power amp and speaker simulation, and we added an extra multiband EQ). The " classic rock " amp simulation we built has been used in real gigs and can be compared with some native amp simulation both in terms of latency, sound quality, dynamics and comfort of the guitar play. Unfortunately, as of today, low latency can be achieved only with certain configurations, due to audio driver limitations of current browsers on certain operating systems. The paper discusses the latency problems encountered with WebAudio, common traps, current limitations, and proposes some solutions. The final web based simulation has been compared with native recreations of the same amp model (including commercial products such as GuitarRig, the JCM800 amp included in GarageBand or the open source Guitarix amp sim that runs on Linux), and with a real amp: the Yamaha THR10 that comes with a model of a Marshall amp. We conducted both quantitative evaluations (measure of the " guitar-to-speaker " latency, group delay, frequency response analysis) and qualitative evaluations with real guitar players who 1 https://github.com/micbuffa/WebAudio-Guitar-Amplifier-Simulator-3 compared, guitar in hands, the different simulations in terms of sound quality and dynamics, and more generally " how they feel playing guitar with these simulations ". The amp is open source 1 and can be tested online 2 , even without a guitar (it comes with an audio player, dry guitar samples and a wave generator that can be used at input). The Web page contains links to the source code repository, tutorial videos and a complete report of the measures we made, with different configurations (various soundcard, operating system, browsers), that is summarized in this paper. Figure 1 shows the current GUI (with optional frequency analyzers and oscilloscopes we used to probe the signal at different stages of the simulation). Our initial goal was to evaluate the limits of the WebAudio API and see if it was possible to design a web based guitar amp simulator that could compete with native simulations.


In this letter, a novel signal vector based detection (SVD) scheme for spatial modulation (SM) system is proposed. For analytical tractability, we focus on the system in which only one antenna is active during one time slot. Through the theoretical analysis and simulation results, it is shown that the performance of SVD scheme can agree well with the result of the optimal maximum likelihood (ML) detection. The proposed SVD approach also provides significant reduction in complexity as compared with other detection schemes, especially for high-order signaling constellation.


A central tenet of ecology is the quantification of species-habitat relationships in order to explain spatial variability in the distribution and abundance patterns of animals. We quantified habitat preferences for 6 tropical seabird species representing a phylogenetically and ecologically diverse group within the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP). Seabird censuses were conducted aboard NOAA research vessels from August to November of 1989 and 1990 using 300 m strip transect meth- ods. Simultaneously with the seabird censuses and from the same ships, oceanic habitat was quanti- fied by measuring sea surface temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll, as well as thermocline depth and strength. We quantified seabird habitat using generalized additive models fitted with forward and backward selection algorithms based on minimizing the Akaike information criterion (AIC). In general, seabird habitat models performed well in explaining spatial variability in abundance, reduc- ing the null deviance to ranges between 42.8 and 73.5%, and predicting seabird density patterns with an accuracy ranging from 56.6 to 80.5%. Relative abundance of the species modeled affected the outcome: the higher the abundance, the more robust the fit. Seabirds feeding on fishes and squids associated with habitats characterized by deep (>100 m) and strong (>2°C 10 m -1 ) thermoclines, while planktivorous species preferred habitat characterized by shallower thermoclines with cooler surface temperatures (<25°C) and a less stratified water column. Thus, seabirds in different feeding guilds have clear and distinct habitat preferences within the ETP. We propose thermocline topo- graphy as a key variable in predicting distribution and abundance of seabirds in this area, probably due to its influence on the availability of seabird prey.


Aimed of this work was to evaluate rehydrated corn and sorghum grains silages, with and without α-AMYLASE, on fermentation profile, nutritional value, digestion and metabolism on diets for sheep. Two experiments were conducted. In the first experiment 28 silos were divided into: 1- RSGS (rehydrated sorghum grain silage); 2- RSGS+A (rehydrated sorghum grain silage + amylase,); 3- RCGS (rehydrated corn grain silage); 4 RCGS+A (rehydrated corn kernel silage + amylase). In experiment II, 12 lambs were distributed in: RSGS; RSGS+A; RCGS; RCGS+A. In experiment I, there was an effect of grain x enzyme interaction for GL MN. The enzyme reduced the NFC content. In experiment II intake of DM kg/day was not affected by the starch content in the diet, with an average of 1.2 kg/day meaning that the type of grain and the enzyme had no influence on the intake of animals. There was an interaction for the intake of starch (kg/day), blood urea and N-NH 3. Lambs fed with RCGS+A had a higher concentration of ruminal ammonia. The use of enzymes improved the fermentation profile of the silages. RSGS can replace RCGS in sheep feed without modifying nutrient intake and digestibility.


INTRODUCTION
Post-transplant lymphoproliferative syndrome (PTLD) is a rare and potentially life-threatening complication after liver transplantation. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinicopathologic features related to PTLD in a single institution after liver transplantation.

METHODS
Observational study where we have retrospectively analyzed 851 cases who underwent liver transplantation. Ten cases have developed PTLD. Their clinical-pathological characteristics and the treatment received have been analyzed.

RESULTS
PTLD incidence was 1.2% (10/851). The mean time from liver transplantation to PTLD diagnosis was 36 months (range 1.2 to 144 months). PTLD localization was extranodal in all cases, the most frequent location being intestinal. Seven cases showed a monomorphic lymphoma which in all cases was differentiated B cell lymphomas. Fifty per cent of the series were seropositive for Epstein-Barr virus. Five patients were alive at the time of the review. Among these patients, we observed three cases of complete remission and two cases of disease stabilization. The death rate was higher in the first year after diagnosis of PTLD.

CONCLUSION
PTLD is a rare complication after liver transplantation, but it may pose a threat to the life of a liver transplant recipient. It is essential to identify patients at risk, to establish an early diagnosis and treatment that can change the outcome of the disease.


Insomnia is a prevalent sleeping disorder associated with increasing cardiovascular (CV) mortality and morbidity. However, data incorporating recent clinical studies evaluating these outcomes is scarce. Hence, we aimed to investigate the association of insomnia with CV mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), all-cause mortality, and incidence of CV disease by conducting the first-ever meta-analysis of real-world data evaluating these CV outcomes. MEDLINE and Scopus databases were queried till August 2022 to identify studies comparing prespecified outcomes in patients with and without insomnia. The primary outcomes were CV mortality and myocardial infarction, while secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality, and CV-disease incidence. All data were pooled using an inverse-variance weighted random-effects model, and results were reported as relative risks (RRs) and p-values. 21 studies were analyzed. Risks for CV mortality and MI were significantly higher in patients with insomnia (RR 1.53, p<0.01, and RR 1.48, p = 0.03, respectively). The risk for all-cause mortality and CV disease incidence was also significantly higher in insomnia patients (RR 1.14, p = 0.03, and RR 1.31, p<0.01, respectively). Individuals with insomnia experience a higher risk of long-term mortality, MI, and incidence of CV disease.


Purpose: To present first case of refractory craniopharyngioma treated successfully with SRS in Nepal. Background: Craniopharyngioma is a benign tumor, which progresses slowly and compresses the pituitary gland and nearby structures. First line of treatment is surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy as complete resection is usually not feasible. Here, we are reporting a case of recurrent craniopharyngioma treated with LINAC based SRS. Case Presentation: A 43 years old man diagnosed case of craniopharyngioma in May 2019. He underwent left pterional craniotomy and subtotal resection of tumor and kept on observation. He developed symptomatic as well as radiological recurrence in July 2020. Second debulking was not possible, so we did SRS on 23rd August 2020; 14Gy Dose was delivered to gross tumor volume. Six months after SRS, Patient is doing well.Conclusions: LINAC based SRS is a frameless, non-invasive and safe procedure with excellent clinical outcomes for recurrent or residual craniopharyngioma.


Personal safety and security are essential criteria for measuring the quality of public transport, and research has consistently demonstrated that crime and fear of crime affect levels of patronage. Although authorities throughout the world are implementing Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), research and practice commonly focus on the elements of surveillance, territoriality, and controlling access. Few studies have investigated the CPTED concepts of "image management" or "geographical juxtaposition" (the surrounding environment). This research compares and contrasts the perceptions of rail users and security experts in relation to two railway stations in Perth, Western Australia. One station was designed in accordance with CPTED principles, and one was not. Interestingly, the findings indicate that the rail users perceived the station that was not designed using CPTED to be marginally safer and to exhibit slightly higher levels of CPTED qualities. This exploratory investigation suggests that the effectiveness of CPTED is mediated by the local environment surrounding each station and its associated image.


Network management is the proverbial "elephant in the room"—the pressing problem we all know is plaguing the Internet, yet seems intractable to solve. Each new management challenge leads to a new point solution, such as a new configuration script, measurement tool, or protocol extension. In this paper, we argue that many networkmanagement problems stem from the same root cause— the need to maintain consistency between the physical and logical configuration of routers. Instead, we believe that future networks should break this tight coupling by allowing (virtual) routers to freely move from one physical node to another, without changing the IP-layer topology. Our VROOM (Virtual ROuters On the Move) architecture supports live virtual router migration and re-mapping of virtual links, by capitalizing on recent innovations in programmable transport networks, packet-aware access networks, virtual server migration and virtual router technologies. Preliminary experiments with a simple prototype, built using Xen and the Linux routing software, show that VROOM is feasible in practice. We believe that virtual router migration will simplify a variety of networkmanagement tasks, including planned maintenance, service deployment, and minimizing power consumption.


Federated Learning with Model Distillation (FedMD) is a nascent collaborative learning paradigm, where only output logits of public datasets are transmitted as distilled knowledge, instead of passing on private model parameters that are susceptible to gradient inversion attacks, a known privacy risk in federated learning. In this paper, we found that even though sharing output logits of public datasets is safer than directly sharing gradients, there still exists a sub-stantial risk of data exposure caused by carefully designed malicious attacks. Our study shows that a malicious server can inject a PLI (Paired-Logits Inversion) attack against FedMD and its variants by training an inversion neural network that exploits the confidence gap between the server and client models. Experiments on multiple facial recognition datasets validate that under FedMD-like schemes, by using paired server-client logits of public datasets only, the malicious server is able to reconstruct private images on all tested benchmarks with a high success rate.


Ldb1 and erythroid partners SCL, GATA-1, and LMO2 form a complex that is required to establish spatial proximity between the β-globin locus control region and gene and for transcription activation during erythroid differentiation. Here we show that Ldb1 controls gene expression at multiple levels. Ldb1 stabilizes its erythroid complex partners on β-globin chromatin, even though it is not one of the DNA-binding components. In addition, Ldb1 is necessary for enrichment of key transcriptional components in the locus, including P-TEFb, which phosphorylates Ser2 of the RNA polymerase C-terminal domain for efficient elongation. Furthermore, reduction of Ldb1 results in the inability of the locus to migrate away from the nuclear periphery, which is necessary to achieve robust transcription of β-globin in nuclear transcription factories. Ldb1 contributes these critical functions at both embryonic and adult stages of globin gene expression. These results implicate Ldb1 as a factor that facilitates nuclear relocation for transcription activation.


In human health care system and herbal medicine therapeutic plants show a significant role. Phytochemical are present in different parts of the plants. Cichorium intybus is one of the most significant therapeutic herbs belonging to family Asteraceae. The present study, elaborates phytochemical & antibacterial analysis of cichorium intybus seeds by agar well diffusion method by using Ethanol, Chloroform, Hexane & Aqueous extracts. S.aureus and E.coli were used as tested bacteria in this study. All the seeds extract of C.intybus plant was showed activity against both organisms but Aqueous extract were more active and show large inhibition zone against S. aureus. Hexane, ethanol & chloroform extracts show significant zone of inhibition against both organisms. The finding of this study suggests that the medicinal plant has significant antibacterial activity and can utilize for the treatment and control of infection.


ABSTRACT Only 2% of Minnesota's employed population worked in agriculture between the years 2005 and 2012. However, this small portion of the state's employed population accounted for 31% of total work-related deaths in the state during that same time period. During a similar time period, 2007–2013, the contribution of agriculture to Minnesota's gross domestic product increased from approximately 1.5% to about 2.3%. This article describes the economic impact of injuries related to farm work between the years 2004 and 2010. Using hospital discharge data and the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), estimates of the number of injuries and fatalities related to agricultural work were compiled. A cost of illness model was applied to these injury and fatality estimates to calculate the related indirect and direct costs in 2010 dollars. Estimated total costs, in 2010 dollars, ranged between $21 and $31 million annually over the 7-year study period. The majority of the costs were attributable to indirect costs, such as lost productivity at work and home. Fatal injuries accrued the largest proportion of the estimated costs followed by hospitalized and nonhospitalized injuries. A sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the impact each selected data source had upon the cost estimate. The magnitude of the costs associated with these injuries argues for better surveillance of injury related to agriculture to prioritize resources and evaluate intervention and prevention programs.


In order for optical transmission systems to compete successfully with other techniques, the circuits must be comparably small, comparably rugged, and comparably priced. The avenue to achieving these characteristics is via miniature guided-wave structures in contrast to beam-mode propagation via lenses and mirrors. Passive miniature transmission lines with satisfactory losses have been formed in glass and fused silica using ion bombardment and reactive sputtering. Certain crystalline systems seem well adapted to thin-film non-linear interactions at low absolute-power levels. Nonlinear liquids in hollow glass fibers can be used to achieve interaction lengths of a meter or more with the field concentrated to a few wavelengths width in the transverse direction. Photolithographic techniques based on visible or ultraviolet exposure of the photoresist yield waveguide-edge roughness greater than that needed for optical circuitry. However, electron beam exposure of the photoresist seems capable of yielding satisfactory results.


Multimodal named entity recognition (MNER) requires to bridge the gap between language understanding and visual context. While many multimodal neural techniques have been proposed to incorporate images into the MNER task, the model's ability to leverage multimodal interactions remains poorly understood. In this work, we conduct in-depth analyses of existing multimodal fusion techniques from different perspectives and describe the scenarios where adding information from the image does not always boost performance. We also study the use of captions as a way to enrich the context for MNER. Experiments on three datasets from popular social platforms expose the bottleneck of existing multimodal models and the situations where using captions is beneficial.


Speech synthesis has recently seen significant improvements in fidelity, driven by the advent of neural vocoders and neural prosody generators. However, these systems lack intuitive user controls over prosody, making them unable to rectify prosody errors (e.g., misplaced emphases and contextually inappropriate emotions) or generate prosodies with diverse speaker excitement levels and emotions. We address these limitations with a user-controllable, context-aware neural prosody generator. Given a real or synthesized speech recording, our model allows a user to input prosody constraints for certain time frames and generates the remaining time frames from input text and contextual prosody. We also propose a pitch-shifting neural vocoder to modify input speech to match the synthesized prosody. Through objective and subjective evaluations we show that we can successfully incorporate user control into our prosody generation model without sacrificing the overall naturalness of the synthesized speech.


Random ferns is a very simple yet powerful classification method originally introduced for specific computer vision tasks. In this paper, I show that this algorithm may be considered as a constrained decision tree ensemble and use this interpretation to introduce a series of modifications which enable the use of random ferns in general machine learning problems. Moreover, I extend the method with an internal error approximation and an attribute importance measure based on corresponding features of the random forest algorithm. I also present the R package rFerns containing an efficient implementation of this modified version of random ferns.


The expansion of school choice in elementary and secondary education, particularly in urban areas, is one of largest current educational reform movements sweeping the nation. This is true despite the fact that it is still too early for a consensus to develop about the educational benefits of increased choice.1 Society always precedes schooling. Thus, major educational reforms pass in and out of favor depending on social conditions and how prevailing patterns of understanding interpret those conditions.2 Among the most significant social developments influencing educational reforms are legal decisions. Since the Supreme Court is the final authority on constitutional law, its decisions influencing education are particularly significant in determining the direction of educational reform. This Article will discuss the role of the Supreme Court's decisions interpreting the Equal Protection Clause in the expansion of school choice. This Article seeks to focus attention upon the impact of the well-known fundamental shift that has occurred over the past thirty-five years in the way that the Supreme Court interprets the equal protection rights of black and other disadvantaged minority school children in the context of public education. These decisions by the Supreme Court have set up barriers and boundaries to educational reform that have made the expansion of school choice inevitable.


Six tomato (Solanum lycopersicon 'Lindo F1) nursery shades and no shade control were evaluated for their effects on seedling photomorphogenesis and field performances as influenced by variable light transmission through the shades. The shades were constructed with wooden frames and different coloured polyethylene sheets as cover (roof). Different polyethylene colours showed varying effects on all the parameters measured. The control treatment (no shade) and green colour shade transmitted the highest light intensity while black and blue coloured shades received the highest temperature and no shade, the lowest. Early emergence and highest percentage emergence (68.8%) was observed under green shade colour compared to blue, red and non-shaded seedlings that gave 54.2, 60.4 and 52.5%, respectively. The environmental variables, light and temperature created microclimates in each of the shades that differed significantly and influenced physiological activities of the seedlings as evidenced in their yield parameters. Regression analysis revealed that light was more important than temperature in tomato plant growth and development. Evidence from the study revealed that the different coloured shades transmitted different light wave lengths to the seedlings in the nursery and consequently affected seedling performance in the field. Conclusively, tomato nursery under no shade treatment produced high quality seedlings that performed better under field conditions than those seedlings raised in the shade. If shades must be used, green and red colours which are capable of transmitting enough light waves for effective photosynthesis of the seedlings are recommended.

 Key words: Light intensity, seedling, photomorphorgenesis, nursery, shade, photosynthesis.


In Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) for robotics application, it is important to find energy-efficient motions. For this purpose, a standard method is to set an action penalty in the reward to find the optimal motion considering the energy expenditure. This method is widely used for the simplicity of implementation. However, since the reward is a linear sum, if the penalty is too large, the system will fall into local minima and no moving solution can be obtained. In contrast, if the penalty is too small, the effect may not be sufficient. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the amount of the penalty so that the agent always moves dynamically, and the energy-saving effect is sufficient. Nevertheless, since adjusting the hyperparameters is computationally expensive, we need a learning method that is robust to the penalty setting problem. We investigated on the Spiking Neural Network (SNN), which has been attracting attention for its computational efficiency and neuromorphic architecture. We conducted gait experiments using a hexapod agent while varying the energy penalty settings in the simulation environment. By applying SNN to the conventional state-of-the-art DRL algorithms, we examined whether the agent could explore for an optimal gait with a larger penalty variation and obtain an energy-efficient gait verified with Cost of Transport (CoT), a metric of energy efficiency for gait. Soft Actor-Critic (SAC)+SNN resulted in a CoT of 1.64, Twin Delayed Deep Deterministic policy gradient (TD3)+SNN resulted in a CoT of 2.21, and Deep Deterministic policy gradient (DDPG)+SNN resulted in a CoT of 2.08 (1.91 for normal SAC, 2.38 for TD3, and 2.40 for DDPG). DRL combined with SNN succeeded in learning more energy efficient gait with lower CoT.


Congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by early onset of hypotonia and weakness. Almost 50% of the cases are caused by primary deficiency of a protein named merosin (MD), and present a homogenous phenotype with a severe motor and respiratory involvement. Eleven children with clinical and histological diagnosis of CMD-MD, aged of 3 to 15 years, were studied using the manual muscle testing (Medical Research Council), goniometric analysis, motor ability and day life activities (Barthel index) scales, with the objective to characterize the main motor function limitations. The muscular groups most affected were cervical flexors, paravertebral and proximal portions of limbs. The muscular groups of upper limbs were as affected as the lower limbs, and the extensors were more affected than the flexors groups. All children had severe muscular retractions on the hip, knee and elbow. Other frequent deformities were scoliosis and equinus-varum feet. No children presented the motor ability to walk, stand up and crawl; and all of them were classified as dependents or semi-dependents in the day life activities scale. Our findings confirm the severe and diffuse involvement of skeletal muscle in CMD-MD patients, producing serious motor limitations and deformities.


Background: In recent years, with the enormous advances in the field of cardiac intervention technology, the survival rate of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been improved significantly. However, the risk of arrhythmias and heart failure remains very high in AMI patients for long-term prognosis. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is more and more used in the treatment of AMI because of its good curative effect and less side effects. The target of this research is to analyze the efficacy and safety of Astragalus (Huangqi) preparation in the treatment of AMI by meta-analysis and also to provide a better evidence for clinical practice. Methods: Seven databases will be searched in this study: The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the Chinese Scientific Journal Database (CSJD), the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and Wanfang DATA. The following search terms will be used: (Huangqi OR Huang Qi OR Astragalus OR radix astragali) AND (acute myocardial infaction OR myocardial infaction OR AMI) AND (randomized controlled trial OR RCT OR randomized). No language limitations and the searches will be conducted up to March, 2019. Inclusion criteria: randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Astragalus (Huangqi) preparation in patients with AMI. Main outcome measures will be left ventricular end systolic volume (LVESV), left ventricular end diastolic volume (LVEDV), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular mass index (LVMI), recanalization rate, mortality rate, incidence of reperfusion arrhythmias, postinfarction angina pectoris, and re-infarction rate. Secondary outcome indicators were the incidence of adverse reactions and the effective rate of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment. Two independent reviewers will filter the literature and extract data which based to the Cochrane manual. The relevant data, including bias risk assessment, data synthesis, subgroup analysis, meta-analysis, and final meta-analysis, will be analyzed with RevMan 5.3 software. The funnel diagram will be used to evaluate the reported deviation, and the Egger test will be used to evaluate the symmetry of the funnel graph. Results: This systematic review study will provide a clear basis for evaluating the efficacy and safety of Astragalus (Huangqi) preparation with the treatment of AMI. Conclusion: This study will provide an up-to-date evidence for evaluating the efficacy and safety of Astragalus (Huangqi) preparation. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019124843.


This article addresses the question of how spatial difference manifests itself in International Relations discourses in an effort to theorize difference in international politics. In doing so, we focus on the concept of security in particular and demonstrate a paradox in its conceptualization. Despite the aspiration to capture global diversity, contemporary security discourses largely leave out the moment of subjectification in knowledge-construction. Rather, a form of subjectivity construction is promoted in these discourses, which is reliant on the other. In contrast, this article considers the unsynthesizable cognitive void between the self and the other through the work of the Japanese political scientist Maruyama Masao and his basso ostinato concept. By drafting it as a heuristic device to avoid the potential of determinism for which basso ostinato was criticized, we apply it to the concept of comprehensive security with the intention to demonstrate that ostensibly similar concepts can have different meanings in different times and spaces. In doing so, we aim to transcend the resulting misunderstandings that obstruct International Relations scholarship from contributing to what Amitav Acharya calls 'Global IR'.


The bioceramics nanostructured have made important characteristics in biomedical applications, especially the calcium phosphate ceramics. The aim of this work is synthesis and characterization of calcium phosphate and nanocomposites powders, the method of dissolution of CaO in liquid medium, precipitation and formation of bone calcium phosphate matrix, and nanocomposites by adding the solution of phosphoric acid (H3PO4). The nanocomposites powders were synthesized using as strengthening silica gel nanometer (20nm) at concentrations of 1%, 2%, 3% and 5% by volume and subjected to heat treatment to 900°C for 2 hours, seeking obtained HA (Hydroxyapatite). Later the bone matrix of calcium phosphate and nanocomposites powders were subjected from process attrition milling for 2 hours, by way of comparison. The studies characterizations were conducted through the technique of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dilatometric test.


OBJECTIVES
The objectives were to compare the efficacy, occurrence of adverse events, and recovery duration of propofol with and without alfentanil for use in procedural sedation in the emergency department (ED).

METHODS
This was a randomized nonblinded prospective trial of adult patients undergoing procedural sedation for painful procedures in the ED. Patients with pain before the procedure were given intravenous (IV) morphine sulfate until their pain was adequately treated at least 20 minutes before starting the procedure. Patients received 1 mg/kg propofol either with or without a supplemental dose of 10 mug/kg alfentanil for deep procedural sedation. Doses, vital signs, nasal end-tidal CO(2) (ETCO(2)), pulse oximetry, and bispectral electroencephalographic (EEG) analysis scores were recorded. Subclinical respiratory depression was defined as a change in ETCO(2) of >10 mmHg, an oxygen saturation of <92% at any time, or an absent ETCO(2) waveform at any time. Clinical events related to respiratory depression were noted during the procedure, including the addition of or increase in the flow rate of supplemental oxygen, the use of a bag-valve mask apparatus, airway repositioning, or stimulation to induce breathing. After the procedure, patients were asked if they experienced pain during the procedure or had recall of the procedure.

RESULTS
A total of 150 patients were enrolled; 146 underwent sedation and were included in the analysis. Seventy-four patients received propofol, and 71 received propofol with alfentanil. No clinically significant complications were noted. Subclinical respiratory depression was seen in 24/74 patients in the propofol group and 30/71 patients in the propofol/alfentanil group (effect size = 9.8%, 95% CI = -5.8% to 25.5%). Clinical signs of respiratory depression included an increase in supplemental oxygen use in 25 of the 74 propofol patients and 31 of the 71 propofol/alfentanil patients (effect size 9.9%, 95% CI = -5.9% to 25.7%), the use of bag-valve mask apparatus in seven patients in the propofol group and 12 in the propofol/alfentanil group (effect size = 5.6%, 95% CI = -3.5% to 18.4%), airway repositioning in 13 propofol patients and 20 propofol/alfentanil patients (effect size = 10.6%, 95% CI = -3.0% to 24.2%), and stimulation to induce breathing in 11 propofol patients and 20 propofol/alfentanil patients (effect size = 13.3%, 95% CI = 0.1% to 26.5%). The total time of the procedure was longer for the alfentanil/propofol group (median = 11 minutes, range = 5-22 minutes) than for the propofol group (median = 9 minutes, range = 1 to 43 minutes; effect size = 1.93 minutes, 95% CI = 0.73 to 2.58, p = 0.02). Pain during the procedure was reported by 10 of the 74 patients in the propofol group and 7 of the 71 patients in the propofol/alfentanil group (effect size = 4.5%, 95% CI = -6.8% to 14.1%). Recall of some part of the procedure was reported by 12 patients in the propofol group and 9 in the propofol/alfentanil group (effect size = 3.5%, 95% CI = -7.9% to 15.0%). All procedures were successfully completed.

CONCLUSIONS
The use of supplemental alfentanil with propofol for procedural sedation did not result in a difference in reported pain or recall immediately after the procedure. There was an increase in the proportion of patients who required stimulation to induce respiration during the procedure in patients who received propofol with supplemental alfentanil. The addition of supplemental opioid to procedural sedation with propofol does not appear beneficial.


This paper contributes to a taxonomy of augmented reality and robotics based on a survey of 460 research papers. Augmented and mixed reality (AR/MR) have emerged as a new way to enhance human-robot interaction (HRI) and robotic interfaces (e.g., actuated and shape-changing interfaces). Recently, an increasing number of studies in HCI, HRI, and robotics have demonstrated how AR enables better interactions between people and robots. However, often research remains focused on individual explorations and key design strategies, and research questions are rarely analyzed systematically. In this paper, we synthesize and categorize this research field in the following dimensions: 1) approaches to augmenting reality; 2) characteristics of robots; 3) purposes and benefits; 4) classification of presented information; 5) design components and strategies for visual augmentation; 6) interaction techniques and modalities; 7) application domains; and 8) evaluation strategies. We formulate key challenges and opportunities to guide and inform future research in AR and robotics.


Abstract Higher-order plants and mammals use similar mechanisms to repair and tolerate oxidative DNA damage. Most studies on the DNA repair process have focused on yeast and mammals, in which histone chaperone-mediated nucleosome disassembly/reassembly is essential for DNA to be accessible to repair machinery. However, little is known about the specific role and modulation of histone chaperones in the context of DNA damage in plants. Here, the histone chaperone NRP1, which is closely related to human SET/TAF-Iβ, was found to exhibit nucleosome assembly activity in vitro and to accumulate in the chromatin of Arabidopsis thaliana after DNA breaks. In addition, this work establishes that NRP1 binds to cytochrome c, thereby preventing the former from binding to histones. Since NRP1 interacts with cytochrome c at its earmuff domain, that is, its histone-binding domain, cytochrome c thus competes with core histones and hampers the activity of NRP1 as a histone chaperone. Altogether, the results obtained indicate that the underlying molecular mechanisms in nucleosome disassembly/reassembly are highly conserved throughout evolution, as inferred from the similar inhibition of plant NRP1 and human SET/TAF-Iβ by cytochrome c during DNA damage response.


We investigated the use of ictal single‐photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in 2 children with intractable epilepsy. Ictal scalp electroencephalographic studies failed to localize the epileptic focus and interictal data demonstrated widespread lateralized abnormalities. Ictal SPECT studies with technetium 99m–hexamethylpropyleneamineoxime demonstrated focal areas of hyperperfusion in the frontal lobes. Resection of the abnormal areas shown by SPECT was carried out despite evidence of large areas of epileptogenesis demonstrated by scalp and subdural electroencephalographic studies. Pathological material revealed cortical dysplasia. Ictal SPECT provides functional evidence for localized epileptogenesis in focal cortical dysplasia.


The ethical issues related to the possible future creation of machines with general intellectual capabilities far outstripping those of humans are quite distinct from any ethical problems arising in current automation and information systems. Such superintelligence would not be just another technological development; it would be the most important invention ever made, and would lead to explosive progress in all scientific and technological fields, as the superintelligence would conduct research with superhuman efficiency. To the extent that ethics is a cognitive pursuit, a superintelligence could also easily surpass humans in the quality of its moral thinking. However, it would be up to the designers of the superintelligence to specify its original motivations. Since the superintelligence may become unstoppably powerful because of its intellectual superiority and the technologies it could develop, it is crucial that it be provided with human-friendly motivations. This paper surveys some of the unique ethical issues in creating superintelligence, and discusses what motivations we ought to give a superintelligence, and introduces some cost-benefit considerations relating to whether the development of superintelligent machines ought to be accelerated or retarded.


Objective Previous findings suggest that differences in brain expression of a human-specific long intergenic non-coding RNA (LINC01268; GRCh37/hg19: LOC285758) may be linked to aggressive behavior and suicide. The authors sought to replicate and extend these findings in a new sample, and translate the results to the behavioral level in living healthy subjects. Method The authors examined RNA sequencing data in human brain to confirm the prior postmortem association of the lincRNA specifically with suicide by violent means. In addition, they used a genetic variant associated with LINC01268 expression to detect association with in vivo prefrontal physiology related to behavioral control. They finally performed weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and gene-ontology analysis to identify biological processes associated with a LINC01268 co-expression network. Results In the replication sample, prefrontal expression of LINC01268 was again higher in suicides by violent means (N=65) than both non-suicides (N=78; 1.29e-06) and suicides by non-violent means (N=46; p=1.4e-06). In a living cohort, carriers of the minor allele of a SNP associated with increased LINC01268 expression in brain scored higher on a lifetime aggression questionnaire and show diminished engagement of prefrontal cortex (BA10) when viewing angry faces during fMRI. WGCNA highlighted the immune response. Conclusions These results suggest that LINC01268 influences emotional regulation, aggressive behavior and suicide by violent means; the underlying biological dynamics may include modulation of genes potentially engaged in the immune response.


Though theoretically desirable, production functions are difficult both to obtain and to use. Farm standards have generally been the main vehicle for giving farm management advice, despite their defects. This article puts an argument for standards but concludes that more effort can be made to use standards derived from mathematically defined production functions.


The present investigation reports the formulation of resealed erythrocytes (RBCs) as carriers for the anticancer agent, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The preswell dilution technique was adopted for loading and various formulation conditions like preswelling point, drug concentration, time of contact, point of lysis, resealing point, incubation period and cross linking conditions were optimized. Nearly spherical RBCs with 6.9±1.014 pm size, 88% cell recovery and 43.84±1.54% drug loading were obtained after optimizat1on. The 5-FU loaded RBCs were evaluated with respect to osmotic fragility, turbulence shock studies, osmotic shock studies, In vitro 5-FU and hemoglobin (Hb) leaching. It was concluded that the loading procedure had reduced the resistance of the RBCs to osmotic and turbulence shock but the cell shape and integrity remain unaffected. Due to cross linking, stress resistance was improved and 5-FU and Hb leaching during storage were reduced. In vivo studies in healthy rats after i.v. administration of loaded RBCs showed a significant 5-FU accumulation in spleen and lungs as compared to that from plain 5-FU solution. These findings point to the potential utility of resealed RBCs as site specific carriers for improving therapy of 5-FU, especially in tumors of lungs.


Many teachers and pupils today are beginning to question current primary educational practice (Ogunleye, 2003, Wragg, 2003). They find themselves compliant to an overcrowded curriculum model based on content rather than pedagogy. Those who recognise that engagement and enjoyment is key to learning complain of frustration with a lack of opportunity to address teaching and learning more creatively (MacGilchrist, 2003, Hofkins, 2003). For those committed to broadening educational opportunities for all children so they can participate in the twenty-first century, is it not time to reconsider the current curriculum model that appears to be failing so many? This paper reports on selected results of case study collaborative action research in the primary curriculum. It focuses on the implementation, in a class of Year Six pupils, of a cross-curricula project- based model where design and technology provided the integrative focus. This model sought to overcome a pedagogical dichotomy between compliance and creativity, raised by the Headteacher and recognised in the literature. The research addressed two important questions: • Was it feasible, in a climate under immense pressure to focus on standards and measurement in the core subjects, to provide a broad and balanced primary curriculum model which embraced rather than marginalised the arts? • Would such an alternative model allow teachers to explore more creative learning and teaching methods and encourage greater levels of engagement on behalf of the pupils? The paper highlights the wider context surrounding the current primary curriculum debate and presents selected findings which provided evidence to suggest that through the application of a process-led pedagogy it is possible to address compliance with National Strategies and the National Curriculum whilst at the same time enhance the creative potential of learning and teaching.


Generally, image registration using genetic algorithm is a time-consuming process since the algorithm needs to evaluate the objective function several hundred times depending on the vastness of search space. The situation appears worse if the registration is intensity-based due to the interpolation loops prior to each objective function. However, with the availability of parallel processing method, one can accelerate the application of genetic algorithm for iterative-based image registration process of up 80 % for multi-modality alignment


The U/f-constant (Voltage/Frequency equals to constants) control strategy of three-phase AC motor was studied. SPWM (Sinusoidal Pulse Wave Modulation) algorithm was employed to design the open-loop speed control system of three-phase AC motor and implement through programming on DSP (Digital Signal Processor), TMS320F2812. The test results showed that the output signal of the control system is characteristic of sine wave with small harmonic wave, the rotor speed agreed well with the theoretical value. The purpose of precise speed control in the system can be achieved in range of 20-70 Hz.


This research focuses on development of novel methods and techniques to measure the mechanical properties of very low density polymer cellular solids (foams) particularly their response to dynamic impact. Two foams are extensively studied; Zotefoams Nylon based ZOTEK N BSD and N A30 with nominal densities of 50 and 30 kg/m3 respectively. This work has developed a verified adaptation of the traditional Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar. This method no longer uses a stress pressure pulse to load the sample. This has greatly simplified and eliminated many of the technical problems presented by the SHPB method for low stiffness/density foams. Compression set (fixed strain) were undertaken on these foams at various temperatures (-5°C to 90°C) and the foam recovery monitored over time periods in excess of those dictated by standard methods. This data produced a strong log relationship of strain recovery as a function of time. This recovery dependency was also found to be a function of temperature. Based on the results, it was possible to fit the data to produce a useful surface fitted, constitutive equation that described compression set as a function of both initial compressive strain and temperature. Visual observation during compressive tests showed that lateral expansion 01 the materials was non zero. A novel method was developed to determine Poisson's ratio as a function of compressive strain. For N BSD and N A30 Poisson's ratio was found to be less than 0.014 and to be dependent on the compressive strain. Unusual behaviour was observed during tensile tests for N A30 as a function of temperature. The results indicated that over the strain range 0.01-0.10 the modulus of elasticity is not a constant and increased. This behaviour is very unusual and believed to be a result of the base polymer being a blend of two polymers. Compressive tests showed that for low density foams the supporting gas pressure has a dominating effect on the stress strain behaviour of the materials. During heating, proportionally, the change in gas pressure within the foam effects the stress strain curve to such an extent that this affect must be included in the Nagy and William Landel Ferry constitutive equations.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
Entecavir is a nucleoside analogue with potent in vitro activity against lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B virus (HBV). This randomized, dose-ranging, phase 2 study compared the efficacy and safety of entecavir with lamivudine in lamivudine-refractory patients.

METHODS
Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive and -negative patients (n = 182), viremic despite lamivudine treatment for > or =24 weeks or having documented lamivudine resistance substitutions, were switched directly to entecavir (1.0, 0.5, or 0.1 mg daily) or continued on lamivudine (100 mg daily) for up to 76 weeks.

RESULTS
At week 24, significantly more patients receiving entecavir 1.0 mg (79%) or 0.5 mg (51%) had undetectable HBV DNA levels by branched chain DNA assay compared with lamivudine (13%; P < .0001). Entecavir 1.0 mg was superior to entecavir 0.5 mg for this end point (P < .01). After 48 weeks, mean reductions in HBV DNA levels were 5.06, 4.46, and 2.85 log(10) copies/mL on entecavir 1.0, 0.5, and 0.1 mg, respectively, significantly higher than 1.37 log(10) copies/mL on lamivudine. Significantly higher proportions of patients achieved normalization of alanine aminotransferase levels on entecavir 1.0, 0.5, and 0.1 mg (68%, 59%, and 47%, respectively) than on lamivudine (6%). One virologic rebound due to resistance occurred (in the 0.5-mg group).

CONCLUSIONS
In HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative lamivudine-refractory patients, treatment with entecavir 1.0 and 0.5 mg daily was well tolerated and resulted in significant reductions in HBV DNA levels and normalization of alanine aminotransferase levels. One milligram of entecavir was more effective than 0.5 mg in this population.


The major late transcription factor (MLTF) is a 46-kilodalton polypeptide that specifically binds to and activates transcription from the major late promoter of adenovirus. The presence of this promoter-specific transcription factor in uninfected HeLa cell extracts suggests that MLTF is also involved in the transcription of cellular genes. This report demonstrates that MLTF specifically stimulates transcription of the rat gamma-fibrinogen gene through a high-affinity binding site. Stimulation of transcription by MLTF was not dependent on the exact position of the MLTF binding site with respect either to the transcription initiation site or to adjacent promoter elements. These results suggest that one of the cellular functions of MLTF is to control gamma-fibrinogen gene expression.


WAIS subtest standard scores, IQ scores, and factorial deviation quotients were correlated with Bender Gestalt recall scores for 111 vocational rehabilitation clients. The number of Bender designs recalled was associated significantly with intellectual measures, with the strength of association somewhat stronger with nonverbal than with verbal scores. Bender recall scores were correlated more highly with Perceptual Organization DQs than with Memory-Freedom from Distractibility DQs, but that difference only approached significance. Despite the relationships between Bender recall scores and intelligence scores, the Bender recall task could not classify Ss as to general intelligence level with greater accuracy than could be obtained with the WAIS Vocabulary subtest alone.


The heat stability and periodate sensitivity of the nematode receptors and bacterial adhesins and the solubility of the bacterial adhesins involved in the adhesion of Rathayibaeter toxieus to Anguina funesta and R. tritiei to A. tritiei were examined. The data were consistent with R. toxieus having at least two adhesins for A. funesta, one heat labile and the other heat stable. The complementary receptors had a frequency of 50 and 15 %, respectively, for the nematodes tested, and had the opposite heat stability. R. tritid appeared to have one heat labile (inactivated by 16 min at 100 °C) adhesin for A. tritiei. The complementary, heat stable receptor occurred in 100% of the test population. Periodate treatment of either the nematode or the bacterium eliminated adhesion. There was no evidence that the bacterial adhesins were soluble.


The assumption that inquiry-based instruction is more effective in influencing student science achievement than traditional didactic teaching has been the driving force of science education reform in recent decades and in many countries. However, the empirical relationship between these two kinds of science teaching and student science performance is not soundly established, which is worth a careful examination. Framed through the theoretical perspectives of inquiry-based instruction and culturally relevant pedagogy, using a two-level hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) approach and simultaneous multiple regression, this study examines the above relationship using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011 8th grade dataset from Singapore, Chinese Taipei, and the US. The study found that for the low-performing students, none of the inquiry-based teaching practice items measured had a significant relationship with the science achievements at any performance levels of students in any country/region except for the case of two inquiry-based teaching practice items that were positively related to Chinese Taipei students' achievements. No didactic teaching practice items were associated with the Singapore students' science achievement, three of these practice items were found negatively related to Chinese Taipei students' science achievement, and one traditional didactic teaching practice was negatively related to the science achievement of U.S. students. However, for mediumand high-performing students, none of these inquiry-based or traditional didactic science-teaching practices were found to be positive predictors of science performance in all three countries/regions. However, in the case of Chinese


Pituitary tumors are the most common intracranial neoplasm. Of the various types of tumors derived from the pituitary cell types (somatotrophs, lactotrophs, thyrotrophs, corticotrophs, or gonadotrophs), the gonadotropinomas commonly present as macroadenomas (tumors > 1 cm). Gonadotropinomas are FSHβ, LHβ and/or α-secreting tumors that account for approximately one-third of pituitary tumors and can result in hypogonadism, compress cranial nerves, and cause visual symptoms. Little is known about the pathophysiology of these tumors. We used DNA microarray technology (Affymetrix GeneChip Operating System with Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 Array) to compare expression profiles from 10 gonadotropinomas to 9 normal pituitary samples (obtained at autopsy). A candidate gene list was prepared detecting genes that were 2-fold up or down in tumors compared to normal by pairwise analysis in at least 81/90 comparisons. One of the genes identified that was up-regulated in gonadotropinomas was Eps8, an epidermal growth factor receptor substrate. Eps8 has been previously shown to amplify growth factor signaling via interacting with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) and insulin growth factor receptor (IGFR) signaling. In the microarray, Eps8 was up-regulated 5.53-fold in gonadotropinomas (90/90 comparisons) compared to normal pituitary (11,460 ± 4,730 vs 2,072 ± 974). Eps8 has been shown to use the Sos-1/Rac pathway to reorganize the actin cytoskeleton and has been implicated in cell migration. We investigated a potential role of Eps8 in pituitary tumorigenesis using a modified Boyden chamber migration assay. α-T3 immortalized mouse pituitary gonadotrope cells stably overexpressing Eps8 (3.56-fold) were compared to vector transfected cells. In 10% serum (containing abundant growth factors), Eps8 overexpressing pituitary cells migrated more robustly than controls (4.1-fold), whereas only a 2.2-fold increase in migration was observed in low 0.2% serum. Together these data are consistent with a role of Eps8 in enhancing the migratory phenotype of gonadotropes in the presence of growth factors. Further studies are ongoing to examine the role of Eps8 as a protein involved in pituitary tumorigenesis.


The flood that occurred in late December 2014 was an unprecedented act of nature that displaced hundreds of thousands of Malaysians from their homes and causing massive damage estimated at nearly one billion ringgits. Due to the lack of unpreparedness for such an event, homes, belongings and lives were unfortunately lost in the flood-waters; the extent to which could possibly be reduced if proper pre-emptive mechanisms are well-planned ahead. This research aims to conceptualise a Takaful model based on Waqf principle as a financial preparation for the flood victims. In efforts to achieve this objective, two stages of data collection have been conducted which are survey and followed by focus group discussion (FGD). A total of 537 flood victims have involved in the survey mainly from areas affected by flood at east-coast of Malaysia (Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu). In details, they were basically being affected mostly in the aspect of financial matters rather than health aspect. In addition, majority of them were not participated yet in the Takaful and hence they have shown their willingness to participate in the scheme in future. Meanwhile, in terms of level of awareness towards Takaful, the result indicates that they still have low level of awareness towards Takaful. Based on structural equation modelling analysis, it is found that the factors that have significantly influenced the victims to participate in the Takaful scheme are their awareness on the scheme and the financial effect.
Subsequently, a qualitative data collection has been carried out via focus group discussion among the authority bodies which include government bodies, Malaysian Takaful Association, Takaful operators, and also Waqf institutions to generate idea to structure a suitable Takaful model for the flood victims. Among the three waqf-based models being considered, the third model which involves multi-sources multi-usages waqf-based Takaful model is most viable because it provides with more stable sources of funding due to diversified sources of funds. As suggested from the practitioners, there are several areas for further refinement of the model. First, it is suggested that the model to focus more on providing the takaful protection to the flood victims rather than developing the flood evacuation centre. Second, it is cumbersome to structure such a complex takaful product, thus a longer time is required in designing and implementing the product. Third, due diligence needs to be exercised to ensure the marketability and sustainability of the product, and this would further prolong the process of designing the product. Regulatory constraints pertaining to the administration of waqf-based products would also be a challenge in implementing the product. Last but not least, the product would require substantial seed capital to start off, which could be an issue due to the currently tight government financial position.
Ultimately, this research aims to assist the country to reduce cost caused by the flood in the event of its future re-occurrence. The results from the survey would provide important inputs on the efforts to structure a comprehensive Waqf-based Takaful model for flood victims in Malaysia. An aspect of novelty of this research is that it applies the real objectives of Takaful as well as combines it with the Waqf principle to help one and another in times of crisis and instill brotherhood spirit in the society. More importantly, the proposed model would assist the Malaysian government to effectively channel the financial resources via a systematic way for the benefit of the flood victims, thereby reducing the financial burden incurred due to the flood disaster. On top of that, various efforts should be done by the industry to increase the level of awareness among the Malaysian on the importance of participating in the takaful plan.


ABSTRACT Work interruptions are contemporary job stressors that occur frequently in the workplace. Theories on work interruptions and the stressor–strain relationship over time suggest that work interruptions should have a lagged negative effect on well-being. However, we argue that continued changes in work interruptions may also be important for employees' well-being. We investigated the mid- and long-term effects of work interruptions on employee job satisfaction and psychosomatic complaints across two studies (Study 1: N = 415, four waves over five years; Study 2: N = 663, five waves over eight months). Using latent growth modelling, we predicted job satisfaction and psychosomatic complaints with respect to the level of, and changes in, interruptions. Controlling for initial well-being, we found that the mean levels (intercepts) of work interruptions had negative effects on later well-being in Study 1, but not in Study 2. However, increases in interruptions over time (slopes) predicted later well-being consistently. An analysis on reversed effects revealed that only the initial level of psychosomatic complaints positively predicted work interruptions. The studies underscore not only the importance of interruptions for well-being over time in general, but also the particular importance of exposure to increases in interruptions.


We analyze the financial value of insurance when individuals have access to credit markets. Loans allow consumers to smooth shocks across time, decreasing the value of the smoothing (across states of the world) provided by insurance. We derive a simple formula for the incremental value of insurance and show how it depends on individual characteristics and the features of available loans. Our central contribution is to derive formulas for aggregate welfare that can be taken to data from typical studies of health insurance. We provide both exact formulas that can be taken to data on the distribution of medical expenditures and income and an approximate formula for aggregate data on medical expenditure. Using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey we illustrate how the incremental value of insurance is decreasing with access to loans. For consumers in the sickest decile, access to a five-year loan decreases the incremental value of insurance by $338 (6%) on average and $3,433 (36%) for the poorest consumers. We also find that our approximate formula is a reasonable proxy for the exact one in our data.


: It was experimentally established that plague pathogen strains with different plasmid composition variously suppressed the viability of Frontopsylla luculenta luculenta fleas. Dead insects were most frequently observed among those infected with a virulent strain having the cryptic plasmid pTP33. The presence of the avirulent and apesticinogenic plasmid I-3480 in the fleas less deteriorated their state. Biofilm formation by different F.l.luculenta strains in the body was characterized by quantitative and qualitative differences. The strains that had the cryptic plasmid and were able to form the biofilm in the F.l.Iuculenta fleas surpassed the three-plasmid strain I-3230 and their formned aggregates achieved very large sizes and frequently persisted until the end of the experiment. Small solitary masses were generally observed in the insects infected with the three-plasmid strain. Thus, the pTP33 plasmid potentiated the pYT plasmid-encoded ability to colonize the F.l.Iuculenta fleas with the plague pathogen; in this case the products of the pYV and pYP plasmids (or one of them) are toxic to ectoparasites.


In 2007 Sami Assaf introduced dual equivalence graphs as a method for demonstrating that a quasisymmetric function is Schur positive. The method involves the creation of a graph whose vertices are weighted by Ira Gessel's fundamental quasisymmetric functions so that the sum of the weights of a connected component is a single Schur function. In this paper, we improve on Assaf's axiomatization of such graphs, giving locally testable criteria that are more easily verified by computers. We then demonstrate the utility of this result by giving explicit Schur expansions for a family of Lascoux-Leclerc-Thibon polynomials. This family properly contains the previously known case of polynomials indexed by two skew shapes, as was described in a 1995 paper by Christophe Carrand Bernard Leclerc. As an immediate corollary, we gain an explicit Schur expansion for a family of modified Macdonald polynomials in terms of Yamanouchi words. This family includes all polynomials indexed by shapes with less than four cells in the first row and strictly less than three cells in the second row, a slight improvement over the known two column case described in 2005 by James Haglund, Mark Haiman, and Nick Loehr. R´


ABSTRACT Evaluation of the phonological working memory (PWM) through repetition of nonwords can provide important information on the linguistic abilities of children, thus differentiating those with and without communication disorders. Objective: The aim of this study was to obtain reference values in the Nonword Repetition Test (NWRT) in order to investigate the performance of children without language disorders concerning this type of memory. Material and Methods: The study was conducted on 480 normal children of both genders aged 4 years to 8 years and 11 months, attending preschool and elementary school. The NWRT consisted of repeating 20 (children up to 4 years) or 40 (for children aged 5 years or more) invented words with 2 to 5 syllables. The results were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis. Comparison between ages and between the number of syllables in nonwords was performed by the Tukey's multiple-comparison test and one-way analysis of variance, at a significance value of p<0.05. Results: There was statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in performance between children of different age groups, except between 7- and 8-year-olds. The analysis also showed statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in the number of syllables between the different age groups. Conclusions: The reference values obtained indicated an improvement in performance with the increase of age of children, indicating an improvement in the storage of verbal material in the PWM. The performance was worsened with the increase in the number of syllables in words, demonstrating that the greater the number of syllables, the greater is the difficulty in storing verbal material.


This guide is intended as a starting point for research in the law of elections, including campaign finance, election administration, and voting rights.


Recent results in the literature highlight the impact of nonlinear inertial forces on the post-flutter Limit Cycle Oscillation (LCO) characteristics of highly deflected structures in supersonic axial flow. The current investigation examines how the ability to passively modulate nonlinear inertial forces may alter the overall aeroelastic response. The structural model is a one-dimensional nonlinear inextensible plate subject to nonlinear aerodynamic forces in accordance with a new, geometrically modified third-order Piston Theory. For the linear aeroelastic case, we find that non-homogeneous mass distribution elicits discontinuous increases in the critical Mach number for flutter and several flutter mode-switching phenomena that are not observed when mass is added homogeneously. The existence of several different flutter mode mechanisms as a function of a concentrated mass location leads to different post-flutter LCO amplitude behavior. This is found to transition the underlying nonlinear structural dynamics to either be stiffening (when lower-order modes merge) or softening (when higher-order modes merge), which in turn alter the influence of nonlinear aerodynamic forces. We also address discrepancies in LCO amplitude trends due the nonlinear inertial forces previously reported in the literature.


COPI and COPII are vesicle coat complexes whose assembly is regulated by the ARF1 and Sar1 GTPases, respectively. We show that COPI and COPII coat complexes are recruited separately and independently to ER (COPII), pre-Golgi (COPI, COPII), and Golgi (COPI) membranes of mammalian cells. To address their individual roles in ER to Golgi transport, we used stage specific in vitro transport assays to synchronize movement of cargo to and from pre-Golgi intermediates, and GDP- and GTP-restricted forms of Sar1 and ARF1 proteins to control coat recruitment. We find that COPII is solely responsible for export from the ER, is lost rapidly following vesicle budding and mediates a vesicular step required for the build-up of pre-Golgi intermediates composed of clusters of vesicles and small tubular elements. COPI is recruited onto pre-Golgi intermediates where it initiates segregation of the anterograde transported protein vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G) from the retrograde transported protein p58, a protein which actively recycles between the ER and pre-Golgi intermediates. We propose that sequential coupling between COPII and COPI coats is essential to coordinate and direct bi-directional vesicular traffic between the ER and pre-Golgi intermediates involved in transport of protein to the Golgi complex.


Information overload has become an ubiquitous problem in modern society. Social media users and microbloggers receive an endless flow of information, often at a rate far higher than their cognitive abilities to process the information. In this paper, we conduct a large scale quantitative study of information overload and evaluate its impact on information dissemination in the Twitter social media site. We model social media users as information processing systems that queue incoming information according to some policies, process information from the queue at some unknown rates and decide to forward some of the incoming information to other users. We show how timestamped data about tweets received and forwarded by users can be used to uncover key properties of their queueing policies and estimate their information processing rates and limits. Such an understanding of users' information processing behaviors allows us to infer whether and to what extent users suffer from information overload. Our analysis provides empirical evidence of information processing limits for social media users and the prevalence of information overloading. The most active and popular social media users are often the ones that are overloaded. Moreover, we find that the rate at which users receive information impacts their processing behavior, including how they prioritize information from different sources, how much information they process, and how quickly they process information. Finally, the susceptibility of a social media user to social contagions depends crucially on the rate at which she receives information. An exposure to a piece of information, be it an idea, a convention or a product, is much less effective for users that receive information at higher rates, meaning they need more exposures to adopt a particular contagion.


The flow over a multi-element airfoil is computed using two two-equation turbulence models. The computations are performed using the INS2D NavierStokes code for two angles of attack. Overset grids are used for the three-element airfoil. The computed results are compared with experimental data for the surface pressure, skin friction coefficient, and velocity magnitude. The computed surface quantities generally agree well with the measurement. The computed resuits reveal the possible existence of a mixing-layer-like region of flow next to the suction surface of the slat for both angles of attack.


The lymphatic vessels in total macro-microscopical preparations of various human organs and those in some laboratory animals have been injected with silver nitrate solution. There are various morphological structures that are capable to regulate the lymph flow and outflow rate in the microcirculatory lymphatic bed. A peculiar role belongs to the lymphatic postcapillaries (V. V. Kuprianov) that possess valve-sluices. The structural mechanism of the microcirculatory lymphatic bed circulation are in many respects similar to those of the hemomicrocirculatory bed. A model demonstrating a morphofunctional unit in the microcirculatory lymphatic bed is proposed. It is an integrate part of the hemomicrocirculatory bed module.


In this paper, a full-wave method for the electromagnetic analysis of dielectric-loaded cylindrical and coaxial waveguides and cavities is developed. For this purpose, a new four-port ring network is proposed, and the mode-matching method is applied to calculate the generalized admittance matrix of this new structure. A number of analyses on dielectric-loaded waveguide structures and cavities have been conducted in order to validate and to assess the accuracy of the new approach. The results have been compared with theoretical values, numerical modeling from the literature, and data from commercial electromagnetic simulators. The method has been also applied to the accurate determination of dielectric properties, and we provide an example of these measurements as another way to validate this new method.


The Supreme Court has almost systematically expanded the Eighth Amendment over the past decade and a half, proscribing categorical limitations to the death penalty and juvenile life without parole. With Justice Kennedy's recent retirement, this expansion seems like it might be ending. As this door is closing, however, another door may be opening for restricting excessive punishments — state constitutional analogues to the Eighth Amendment. A close examination of such provisions reveals that some of the provisions use "or" instead of "and," a linguistic difference that suggests many state constitutions might be broader than the Eighth Amendment.

This article explores the consequences of linguistic differences between the Eighth Amendment and its state constitutional analogues, focusing in particular on the effect of disjunctive state constitutional provisions. Specifically, the article argues that these linguistic differences open the door to broader application of state Eighth Amendment analogues to rein in excessive punishment practices of state governments.

In Part I, the Article begins by providing an overview of Eighth Amendment doctrine and the importance of the conjunction in its application to criminal sentences. Part II surveys the state constitutions and examines the language of the provision analogous to the Eighth Amendment, grouping these provisions into three broad categories. In Part III, the Article advances its core claim — state constitutional prohibitions against "cruel" punishments should limit the ability of states to impose disproportionate punishments. Part IV concludes the Article by exploring the many practical consequences of limiting the imposition of cruel punishments.


Longitudinal studies on event occurrence aim to investigate if and when subjects experience a particular event, and the timing of these events may be measured continuously using thin precise units or discretely using time periods. To conduct such trials, a lot of labor, time, and money is needed, and to not waste these efforts, trials need to be carefully planned before they are actually conducted. The best way is to find a good or an optimal design in the planning phase of a trial and then implement it in real life. One can find a good design taking the statistical power and sample size into consideration, or find an optimal design taking the statistical power and sample size but also constraints like time limitations, feasibility, political, or ethical restrictions into account. In this way one can find a design that is actually feasible in reality, efficient and scientifically useful, and can be conducted using an available budget. The design of trials with continuous-time survival endpoints has been studied for years, but very little is known about the design of trials with discrete-time survival endpoints. The latter trials are conducted in many fields of science, for instance, in social and behavioral science, because observations are often recorded at intervals or at discrete points in time due to practical, financial, or ethical reasons, and therefore, it is important to carefully investigate that trials. When they are conducted in experimental setting, one or more groups of subjects receive a treatment, and they are compared to a group of subjects that receives a standard treatment or no treatment at all. The compared treatment groups might have an equal number of subjects or some of the groups might have more participants relative to the other groups. Moreover, subjects can be recruited at the same or at different points in time, each of them can be followed for the same or for different length of time, and the follow up time can be short or long. Hence, the interest here is to find a good number of subjects in both groups, a number of subjects in the experimental group and a duration of the trial, i.e. the number of time periods that subjects are observed for. To investigate these quantities, the generalized linear model (GLM) with logistic or complementary log-log link function, and the continuous-time parametric survival distribution can be applied. Moreover, a cost function can be considered.


The field of neuroscience has considerably expanded in the last decades. Researchers have used neuroscientific techniques to study a wide range of phenomena in entrepreneurship, business, economics, and marketing fields. The purpose of this chapter is to provide in a single source an outlook on the state-of-the-art techniques in cognitive neuroscience useful to address questions within business and economics realms. Here we particularly focus on two groups of highly insightful and non-invasive techniques: electrophysiologics (EEG, MEG, ECG, EMG, EOG, eye tracking, and electrodermal activity) and behavioral genetics (twins studies, family studies, adopted studies, psychoneuroendocrinology). The techniques can complement more commonly used methodologies (such as fMRI) to provide a holistic picture of the phenomena under study. We further highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each technique and conclude providing examples of potential research questions that can be answered using each instrument.


Databases nowadays used in all kinds of application areas often differ greatly in a number of properties. These varieties add complexity to the handling of databases, especially when two or more different databases are dependent. The approach described here to propagate updates in an application scenario with heterogeneous, dependent databases is the use of a rule-based mediator. The system EruS (ECA rules updating SCOP) applies active database technologies in a bioinformatics scenario. Reactive behaviour based on rules is used for databases holding protein structures. The inherent heterogeneities of the Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) database and the Protein Data Bank (PDB) cause inconsistencies in the SCOP data derived from PDB. This complicates research on protein structures. EruS solves this problem by establishing rule-based interaction between the two databases. The system is built on the rule engine ruleCore with Event-Condition-Action rules to process PDB updates. It is complemented with wrappers accessing the databases to generate the events, which are executed as actions. The resulting system processes deletes and modifications of existing PDB entries and updates SCOP flatfiles with the relevant information. This is the first step in the development of EruS, which is to be extended in future work. The project improves bioinformatics research by providing easy access to up-to-date information from PDB to SCOP users. The system can also be considered as a model for rule-based mediators in other application areas.


Objective: The earliest non-surgical treatment for the correction of congenital idiopathic talipes equinovarus (CTEV) deformity was described by Ignacio Ponseti. He suggested gentle manipulation and serial applications of casts followed by a period of bracing to maintain the correction. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the result of the Ponseti method with a subjective clinical scoring system using Pirani score, to compare the results with the published literature and to evaluate the effectiveness of foot abduction orthosis (FAO) or ankle-foot orthoses (AFO) in preventing relapse following correction.Methods: A cross-sectional study which was conducted at the Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). A minimum of 12 months follow-up casting was observed before the patient was subjected to the subjective clinical scoring system. A total of 25 patients which included 5 right feet, 9 left feet, and 10 bilateral feet with idiopathic clubfeet were treated with Ponseti serial casting. Percutaneous Achilles tendon tenotomy was done for 28 feet (82.35%) to correct the equinus to achieve full correction.Results: Our results showed that the Ponseti method for treating CTEV was comparable to other published studies. Satisfactory and good results were observed in 97% of cases. A total of 41.18% underwent re-tenotomy of tendon Achilles due to recurrent and persistent equinus.Conclusion: The treatment of CTEV using Ponseti method will increase the successful correction. Meanwhile, the FAO gave better results for maintenance and prevention of recurrent deformity, compared to the AFO.


Through a case study of the mobilisation around the Luxembourgish language in the 1970s and 1980s, this article investigates the paradox of contemporary linguistic nationalism, resulting from a hiatus between the continued influence of the classic nation-state model and the new constraints linked to a changed socio-historical context. Based on an analysis of actors' discourses, parliamentary debates and legislative documents, the investigation retraces the social, political and economic dynamics as well as the cognitive mechanisms leading to a change in the social perception of the Luxembourgish language. It shows how the contemporary context implies specific constraints and difficulties for mechanisms of the invention of tradition, but that at the same time the traditional nation-state model, where one nation equates with one state and one language continues to function as a reference. Through the Luxembourgish case is raised the more general question of the relation between linguistic nationalism, modernity and change in a contemporary context.