Aim: Nutritional factors affecting prevalence of anemia among pregnant women. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the field practice area of department of community medicine, NMCH Patna, Bihar, India, for 10 months. All pregnant women registered at UHTC and RHTC were included in the study. Sahli's method was used to estimate the concentration of hemoglobin in capillary blood. Results: Majority (88%) of the women get married between age 2030 years. Overall, more than half (62.5%) of the respondents were Hindu and 37.5% were Muslims by religion. In urban area, 60% were Hindu while 40% respondents were Muslims. In rural area, 65% respondents were Hindus while 35% respondents were Muslims. In urban area, 66% respondents lived in nuclear family, and in rural area 64% respondents lived in nuclear family. Overall, the average family size was 4.9. About half (54%) of the women were literate, 94% were housewives and 98% were married. More than half (56%) of the women had 4-6 months of gestational age. The overall prevalence of anemia was 73.5% among the pregnant women. The moderate anemia was found in 42.86% women, mild anemia was in 47.62% and severe anemia was in 9.52%. The calorie intake was significantly (p<0.0001) lower in anemic women (1821.59 ± 269.8) as compared to non-anemic women (2312.17 ± 359.97). The protein intake was significantly (p<0.0001) lower in anemic women (35.98 ± 11.03) as compared to nonanemic women (42.21 ± 11.74). The fat intake was significantly (p<0.0001) lower in anemic women (34.74 ± 11.26) as compared to non-anemic women (40.12 ± 14.12). The iron intake was significantly (p<0.0001) lower in anemic women (24.12 ± 5.78) as compared to non-anemic women (26.74 ± 6.63). The folic acid intake was significantly (p<0.0001) lower in anemic women (138.54 ± 34.74) as compared to nonanemic women (148.42 ± 42.15) (Table-3). Conclusion: The micronutrient intake was lower in the studied population and it was found to be significantly associated with problem of anemia amongst pregnant women.


Milner''s {$\pi$}-calculus is a very influential process algebra in which communication channels are first-class objects. One of the basic concepts in the language is the transmission of one channel along another. This leads to immensely powerful programming techniques, which have been used for modelling things from cellular telephones to object-oriented languages. However, the {$\pi$}-calculus lacks many operations, such as broadcasting a value to many processes, interrupting processes, checkpointing, and even such basics as sequencing and \t{while}-loops in full generality. Adding all useful operations to the {$\pi$}-calculus would make it unusably large and complex. We thus propose a \e{rule format}, called \metapi. The {$\pi$}-calculus, and a vast range of other calculi treating channels as first-class data, can be expressed with {\metapi} rules. Any operations defined by {\metapi} rules have the same essential theory as the {$\pi$}-calculus. For example, all such operations respect the appropriate notion of strong bisimulation. Furthermore, the {$\pi$}-calculus, and all the operations in the previous paragraph, have {\metapi} equivalents. {\metapi} describes the heart of the {$\pi$}-calculus without prejudice towards the particular communication mechanisms of the calculus, and thus gives a general framework for working with {$\pi$}-like calculi. Further, it can be argued that the {\metapi} rule format is the most general of its kind, in the sense that any obvious extensions to the format would cause important language properties to be violated.


Soil moisture is a key environmental variable, important to e.g., farmers, meteorologists, and disaster management units. We fuse surface soil moisture (SSM) estimates from spatio-temporally complementary radar sensors through temporal filtering of their joint signal and obtain a kilometre-scale, daily soil water content product named SCATSAR-SWI. With 25 km Metop ASCAT SSM and 1 km Sentinel-1 SSM serving as input, the SCATSAR-SWI is globally applicable and achieves daily full coverage over operated areas. We employ a near-real-time-capable SCATSAR-SWI algorithm on a fused 3 year ASCAT-Sentinel-1-SSM data cube over Italy, obtaining a consistent set of model parameters, unperturbed by coverage discontinuities. An evaluation of a therefrom generated SCATSAR-SWI dataset, involving a 1 km Soil Water Balance Model (SWBM) over Umbria, yields comprehensively high agreement with the reference data (median R = 0.61 vs. in situ; 0.71 vs. model; 0.83 vs. ASCAT SSM). While the Sentinel-1 signal is attenuated to some extent, the ASCAT's signal dynamics are fully transferred to the SCATSAR-SWI and benefit from the Sentinel-1 parametrisation. Using the SM2RAIN approach, the SCATSAR-SWI shows excellent capability to reproduce 5 day-accumulated rainfall over Italy, with R = 0.89 against observed rainfall. The SCATSAR-SWI is currently in preparation towards operational product dissemination in the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS).


Although there is occasionally remarkable accumulation of mucin in the skin lesion of dermatomyositis, no special attention has been paid in regard to mechanisms underlying it. We carried out histochemical and biochemical studies on materials obtained from one case of dermatomyositis, who showed the presence of abundant mucinous material stainable with alcian blue between the collagen bundles throughout the lesional dermis. The major component of the ground substance was identified to be hyaluronic acid. The activity of N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase, exoglycosidase that degrades hyaluronic acid in serum of the patient, was equivalent to that of controls. However, heparan sulfate was greatly increased in the urine of the patient in comparison with that of the normal controls in which the major components were chondroitin 4-sulfate and chondroitin 6-sulfate. We think that the increase of hyaluronic acid in the lesional dermis is due to an excess production by the fibroblasts under some immunological stimulation, although its relation to the increased heparan sulfate excretion into the urine of the patient is obscure.


The optimal conditions are found for in vivo irradiated lymphocyte induction of high cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) specific to the H-2Kb molecule with a subsequent monoculture differentiation. B10.D2(R101) CTL have a pronounced excess as compared to B10.A (4R) CTL, with respect to lysis intensity of the same target cells (TC), and requires a lower term of the monoculture incubation in spite of their specificity to the same H-2Kb molecule. As the susceptibility of TC for CTL lysis is higher (M phi as compared to EL-4 thymoma cells), CTL are much more inactivated with the monoclonal antibodies to Lyt-2 and Lyt-3 antigens without complement. Anti-H-2Kb CTL differentiated in the monoculture cross react to TC bearing third-party H-2 molecules (Kk, Dq, Dk). Unlike a stable CTL adherence to the donor M phi monolayer, nonspecific CTL adherence to the syngeneic M phi monolayer declines in the presence of EGTA, and as a result of repeated detachment of lymphocytes. The findings give rise to study receptor affinity expressed on the in vivo induced CTL surface, the CTL receptor monoclonal antibody and the CTL differentiation factor.


Changes in functional activity following treatment of DNA with heavy ions were analysed by transformation assay. Biological response to exposure to charged particles, 10B, 12C, and 22Ne, was evaluated by the extent of inactivation of ability of DNA to transfer the genetic marker of tryptophane independence. The possibility of protecting the biological activity of DNA was studied using a conventional protector, cysteamine hydrochloride, or the preparation cytriphos, synthesized at the Institute of Radiobiology and Radiation Hygiene, Sofia. Dried samples of donor DNA isolated from a Bacillus subtilis prototroph strain were exposed to doses of 50 krad to 1 Mrad. For the three types of charged particles used, dose response of the inactivation process was defined by an exponential function. Comparison of response curves for the three types of radiation showed the effect to be dependent on LET, being highest for 10B and lowest for 22Ne. In all three cases, addition of a protective substance failed to produce any change in the biological effect observed.


Energy consumed by buildings accounts for approximately 20 % of the total energy consumption in the United States of America (USA). A significant number of commercial buildings in the USA are cooled using a bank of chillers which reject the thermal loads on the buildings to the atmosphere through cooling towers. About two-thirds of the total power consumption in such buildings is due to the power consumption of the compressors in the chillers and the fans in the cooling tower. The total steady state power consumed by the compressors and the fans seems to be a convex function of the chilled water temperature of the cooling tower at most operating thermal loads. In this paper, we propose an extremum seeking algorithm for determining the set point temperature for the tower given the load on a building


Based on particle swarm optimization algorithm, this paper presents a grid scheduling optimization algorithm combing the advantages of Ant Colony optimization algorithm. The algorithm processes task scheduling through particle swarm optimization algorithm to get a group of relatively optimal solutions, and then conducts small-area local search with Ant Colony optimization algorithm. Theoretical analysis and results of the simulation experiments show that this scheduling algorithm effectively achieves load balancing of resources with comprehensive advantages in time efficiency and solution accuracy compared to the traditional Ant Colony optimization algorithm and particle swarm optimizationalgorithm, and can be applied to task scheduling in grid computing.


In a multiple service wireless and mobile system, different numbers of channels (or bandwidth) are assigned to different services according to their QoS requirements. Real-time services have the lowest delay tolerance, while they might not need very large bandwidth. Non-real-time services can improve their performance if they are given more bandwidth and they are also not as sensitive to delay as the real-time services. Many channel allocation and resource management schemes have been carried out for wireless system with differentiated services. However, the link status of channel has not been considered very well in those schemes. Many of them just assume that all channels are homogeneous and their status will not charge throughout the service durations. This is not true in real world. In this paper, we take into account the physical channel status in our preemptive priority channel allocation scheme. Transmission rate changes dynamically according to variational channel status as a result of shadowing and fading. Our scheme uses the transmission rate of each channel as one important fact in choosing the channel candidate to be preempted. When the channel originally having a poor transmission rate is assigned to a new user, its link status is very likely to gain some improvements. Therefore, both the user QoS and the system utilization get a boost using this scheme. We evaluate the system performance in terms of blocking probabilities, forced termination probabilities, and average number of user in the system.


Smooth, dense and uniform diamond-like carbon films (DLC films) for industrial applications have successfully been prepared by dual-target unbalanced magnetron sputtering and the DLC characteristics of the films are confirmed by Raman spectra. It is found that the sputtering current of target plays an important role in the DLC film deposition. Deposition rate of 3.5 μm/h is obtained by using the sputtering current of 30 A. The friction coefficient of the films is 0.2–0.225 measured by using a pin-on-disc microtribometer. The structure of the films tends to have a growth of sp3 bonds content at high sputtering current. The compressive residual stress in the films increases with the increasing sputtering current of the target.


Flow data visualizations describe runoff, flooding or drought, showing the interconnectivity and complexity of water data issues or water management problems. Intermittent Flow Rivers constitute more than half of the length of the global river network and their presence is expanding in response to climate change. A new approach is developed to visualize the flow of the Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams (IRES) based on the creation of time-lapse videos. Two statistical methods, the Natural Breaks and Equal Interval one, are used and evaluated for the creation of the mapping content. The flow dataset of IRES for the island of Crete (in Greece) is used as a case study for a six-year period. The results of both methods are used as an input to create the time-lapse videos of IRES. The videos show the flow fluctuation and cessation during a six-year period and the differences between the two methods.


This paper proposes a method to measure the in-band deterministic and stochastic contributions of nonlinear distortions in mixers. The model of the mixer as a two or three port device is developed. Based on this model, the measurement technique which is a generalization of the methods developed for amplifiers is developed. While designing the measurements method, the difficulties that arise out of the fundamental differences between mixers (3-port devices) and amplifiers (2-port devices) are taken into account. Two techniques are presented, depending on the fact that the phase of the local oscillator is known or unknown.


Methods for spatially diagonalizing wideband multiple-input multiple-output channels using linear finite impulse response (FIR) filters are investigated. The PSVD approach by applying the PQRD-BC algorithm for approximate singular value decomposition (SVD) of polynomial matrices is compared to the approach of performing a set of conventional SVDs in the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) domain, in terms of complexity and approximation error. Reduced order filters, based on the DFT-SVDs, are then obtained by optimizing the phases of the filters. Applying the phase optimized filters as linear filters then forms a benchmark on the accuracy attainable for any PSVD factorization, for the given filter length. Simulations show that the DFT-SVD method has significantly lower complexity than the PSVD by PQRD-BC, but results in higher order filters. On the other hand, the PSVD by PQRD-BC yields filters which are close to being perfectly unitary for all frequencies. To achieve good performance, the reduced order filters are around one order of magnitude longer than the channel impulse response length. Therefore there is no gain in performing time domain diagonalization using a polynomial SVD, compared to using a multicarrier solution.


Computer-aided translations with the help of translation memory technology deliver numerous advantages. Nevertheless, many enterprises have not yet or only partially come in touch with such systems. For this reason, they are often still unaware of the functions and actual savings potential. This white paper explains the basic functionality and modes of operation as well as the central modules of a translation management system.


The emerging threat of pollinator declines has motivated research on bee ecology to understand the causes of declines and to develop appropriate conservation strategies. The main drivers of decline are anthropogenic and include: loss of habitat to agricultural intensification; use of pesticides; climate change; and alien species. However, in many parts of the world, knowledge of bee ecology and spatial distributions is scarce and the impacts of these stressors on bee populations are poorly understood. The Iberian Peninsula, located in the south-western part of Europe is one of the regions in Europe where there is large knowledge gap in relation to bee distribution and their conservation status. Additionally, the region has experienced the expansion of farmland abandonment in remote areas due to poor soils and rural depopulation. This thesis investigates how bee distributions in the Iberia Peninsula are shaped by climate using innovative tools such as Species Distribution Modelling (SDMs). It also evaluates how farmland abandonment shapes bee communities and their ecological interactions along an environmental gradient. The main findings reveal a) the climatic distributions of bumblebees, highlighting under-sampled areas in Iberia where rare species are likely to occur; b) the negative effect of land abandonment on bees in the intermediate successional stages such as shrublands; c) great beta diversity, with higher differences in species composition between sites (βRepl) in early-successional stages such as grasslands d) plant-bee interactions become more specialized along a secondary succession triggered by land abandonment. Overall, this thesis provides novel information on the ecology of bees and proposes the best management practices for Iberian bee conservation including the need to control the proliferation of intermediate successional stages in the landscape while preserving grasslands and forests.


This study assesses the feasibility of policy harmonization in the fight against terrorism in 53 African countries with data for the period 1980–2012. Four terrorism variables are used, namely: domestic, transnational, unclear and total terrorism dynamics. The empirical evidence is based on absolute beta catch-up and sigma convergence estimation techniques. There is substantial absence of catch-up. The lowest rate of convergence in terrorism is in landlocked countries for regressions pertaining to unclear terrorism (3.43% per annum for 174.9 years) while the highest rate of convergence is in upper-middle-income countries in domestic terrorism regressions (15.33% per annum for 39.13 years). After comparing results from the two estimation techniques, it is apparent that in the contemporary era, countries with low levels of terrorism are not catching-up their counterparts with high levels of terrorism. As a policy implication, whereas some common policies may be feasibly adopted for the fight against terrorism, the findings based on the last periodic phase (2004–2012) are indicative that country-specific policies would better pay-off in the fight against terrorism than blanket common policies. Some suggestions of measures in fighting transnational terrorism have been discussed in the light of an anticipated surge in cross-national terrorism incidences in the coming years.


Understanding the processes that give rise to quantitative measurements associated with molecular sequence data remains an important issue in statistical phylogenetics. Examples of such measurements include geographic coordinates in the context of phylogeography and phenotypic traits in the context of comparative studies. A popular approach is to model the evolution of continuously varying traits as a Brownian diffusion process acting on a phylogenetic tree. However, standard Brownian diffusion is quite restrictive and may not accurately characterize certain trait evolutionary processes. Here, we relax one of the major restrictions of standard Brownian diffusion by incorporating a nontrivial estimable mean into the process. We introduce a relaxed directional random walk (RDRW) model for the evolution of multivariate continuously varying traits along a phylogenetic tree. Notably, the RDRW model accommodates branch-specific variation of directional trends while preserving model identifiability. Furthermore, our development of a computationally efficient dynamic programming approach to compute the data likelihood enables scaling of our method to large data sets frequently encountered in phylogenetic comparative studies and viral evolution. We implement the RDRW model in a Bayesian inference framework to simultaneously reconstruct the evolutionary histories of molecular sequence data and associated multivariate continuous trait data, and provide tools to visualize evolutionary reconstructions. We demonstrate the performance of our model on synthetic data, and we illustrate its utility in two viral examples. First, we examine the spatiotemporal spread of HIV-1 in central Africa and show that the RDRW model uncovers a clearer, more detailed picture of the dynamics of viral dispersal than standard Brownian diffusion. Second, we study antigenic evolution in the context of HIV-1 resistance to three broadly neutralizing antibodies. Our analysis reveals evidence of a continuous drift at the HIV-1 population level towards enhanced resistance to neutralization by the VRC01 monoclonal antibody over the course of the epidemic. [Brownian Motion; Diffusion Processes; Phylodynamics; Phylogenetics; Phylogeography; Trait Evolution.].


Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a very active Computer Science research field aiming to develop systems that mimic human intelligence and is helpful in many human activities, including Medicine. In this review we presented some examples of the exploiting of AI techniques, in particular automatic classifiers such as Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Classification Tree (ClT) and ensemble methods like Random Forest (RF), able to analyze findings obtained by positron emission tomography (PET) or single-photon emission tomography (SPECT) scans of patients with Neurodegenerative Diseases, in particular Alzheimer's Disease. We also focused our attention on techniques applied in order to preprocess data and reduce their dimensionality via feature selection or projection in a more representative domain (Principal Component Analysis - PCA - or Partial Least Squares - PLS - are examples of such methods); this is a crucial step while dealing with medical data, since it is necessary to compress patient information and retain only the most useful in order to discriminate subjects into normal and pathological classes. Main literature papers on the application of these techniques to classify patients with neurodegenerative disease extracting data from molecular imaging modalities are reported, showing that the increasing development of computer aided diagnosis systems is very promising to contribute to the diagnostic process.


The success of organizations largely depends on management competencies of managers. This study aimed to determine the management competencies in planning, organizing, leading and controlling (P-O-L-C) of educational managers in performance of trilogy functions in Instruction, Research and Extension of MIMAROPA State Universities and Colleges (SUCs). The study employed descriptive-comparative design. Self-structured questionnaires were used in survey to gather data, which were tested using ANOVA and t-test. Findings revealed that managers in MIMARO SUCs have high extent competencies in P-O-L-C. Leading is given more focus while organizing received the least attention. As to trilogy functions, Instruction ranked first; followed by Extension and Research on the last rank. Though, there are differences in mean ratings of responses from managers and faculty respondents, no significant differences were found when they were statistically examined. It is concluded that competencies of managers in P-O-L-C are highly relevant and contributing to the excellent performance of SUCs. It is recommended that P-O-L-C be performed in the same extent of competencies to ensure the success of performance of SUCs' functions. Keywords - Management competencies, P-O-L-C, MIMAROPA, trilogy function, SUC, descriptive-comparative design, Philippines


Loughborough University Business School was commissioned by the Department of Health to study the attractiveness of the NHS as an employer to potential radiography, physiotherapy and nursing recruits. The two-year project commenced in September 2000 and aims to help the NHS improve its recruitment of radiographers, physiotherapists and nurses.


An effective number of animals used in oncological experiments in general and carcinogenicity testing in particular is usually calculated as that of animals which have survived by the time a first tumor of any type (epithelial, mesenchymal, fatal, incidental etc.) is detected in any group, including control, throughout the whole experiment. This is justified for the determination of total number of tumors or the incidence of early tumors which are detected first. It is assumed that tumors of different histologies and in different organs, on the one hand, and early tumors, on the other, are detected at the same time. However, such approach may be misleading as far as tumors detected at later stages are concerned when the number of animals is much lower than that when the first rapidly-growing tumor was found. It seems advisable to compute effective numbers for all tumor patterns individually or for a given pattern in each organ. Hence, in either experimental situation, an effective number will refer to animals surviving till a first target tumor is detected.


The effect of contour bumps on transonic drag reducing at off-design conditions of a supercritical airfoil have been examined in the paper. Research focuses on two-dimensional flow condition with Mach number of 0.78 and chord Reynolds number of 2.5 million. Different contour bump airfoil configurations are examined using numerical method. Recent tests on these models are conducted in 0.6m×0.6m transonic wind tunnel at CARDC to validate the drag reduction effect. The computational results indicate that a surface contour bump is capable of reducing transonic drag for moderate to high lift conditions, but raises the drag remarkably for lower lift condition due to the second shock wave generated near the aft of the bump. The experimental research shows a good agreement with the computational. With the computational and experimental evidences, the mechanism of contour bump's effect on transonic drag reduction has been further analyzed.


Background/Aims: To evaluate the safety of suramin compared with mitomycin-C (MMC) as an adjunctive agent in trabeculectomy by determining its ciliary body toxicity at predetermined effective dosages in rabbit eyes. Methods: Thirty-two New Zealand albino rabbits received either suramin (200, 300, 400, or 800 mg/ml) or MMC (0.2, 0.3, 0.4, or 0.8 mg/ml) injections subconjunctivally in the right eye. Enucleations were performed on the 1st, 3rd, 7th and 28th day. Untreated left eyes were injected with balanced salt solution and served as controls. The injection-exposed ciliary body specimens were processed to be investigated under the light microscope and transmission electron microscope. Results: There was no pathologic abnormality in specimens under light microscopy. The morphologic evaluation with transmission electron microscopy showed severe changes in structure, except for eyes treated with 200 mg/ml suramin and 0.2 mg/ml of MMC. These changes were more prominent in eyes exposed to MMC, and appeared earlier compared to suramin-treated eyes. Conclusions: Suramin 200 mg/ml and MMC 0.2 mg/ml seem to be comparatively nontoxic to the ciliary body of the rabbit eye. Concentrations higher than these values caused severe damage.


An all-optical full-adder is proposed based on cascaded second-order nonlinearities of sum-frequency generation and difference-frequency generation in quasi-phase-matched periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguides. By utilizing the logic functions of PPLN waveguides, a configuration based on cascaded PPLN waveguides is designed to achieve the all-optical full-adder. The waveforms, eye diagrams, extinction ratio, pulse width, and peak power delay of the signals in the all-optical full-adder are calculated and discussed numerically. The results demonstrate that the logic function of full-adder can be achieved well by this configuration, which has important significance for all-optical digital signal processing.


Introduction: Integrated care is believed to provide support to patients with multiple long-term and complex conditions. Transparency in information delivery is key for shared decision-making, and co-production of care. This study aimed to explore information pathways within an integrated healthcare and social care organisation and describe how information continuity was delivered for an older patient with complex care needs. Methods: An explorative single-case study conducted in a Swedish healthcare organization where municipality and the county council have integrated their services. One focus group discussion and six individual interviews were conducted. Results: Information flow to partners in care was obstructed, with compensatory double documentation, complementary information channels, and information loss. A heavy burden was on the patient and relatives to keep track of and communicate information between different caregivers. Patients were expected to be active partners in their own care, but were largely excluded from the information flow. Discussion: Even integration of care organisations does not imply that integrated care is delivered at the sharp end of practice. An integrated electronic health record is needed to improve accessibility of care information from within all the organisations, facilitating handovers between professionals and levels of care, and involving patients in the information flow.


Our research addresses how to integrate exploration and localization for mobile robots. A robot exploring and mapping an unknown environment needs to know its own location, but it may need a map in order to determine that location. In order to solve this problem, we have developed ARIEL, a mobile robot system that combines frontier based exploration with continuous localization. ARIEL explores by navigating to frontiers, regions on the boundary between unexplored space and space that is known to be open. ARIEL finds these regions in the occupancy grid map that it builds as it explores the world. ARIEL localizes by matching its recent perceptions with the information stored in the occupancy grid. We have implemented ARIEL on a real mobile robot and tested ARIEL in a real-world office environment. We present quantitative results that demonstrate that ARIEL can localize accurately while exploring, and thereby build accurate maps of its environment.


Abstract Fire-dependent pine forests in the Caribbean Basin cover extensive areas in the coastal plain of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico and on several islands in the Bahamas Archipelago, Cuba, Hispaniola, and the Honduran Bay islands. These forests are high in conservation value but, unfortunately, remain mostly unprotected. Moreover, even though they are fire dependent, the use of fire for forest management often suffers from poor public perception and is prohibited by law in several countries. In this paper, we describe the fundamental links among fire, forest regeneration, and forest persistence in these ecosystems. We identify two general strategies based on the presence or absence of pine seedling adaptations for fire survival and describe management implications of these two strategies. We also introduce conceptual models describing fire, forest structure, and regeneration strategy linkages.


In this project a methodology for testing MAG wires was conducted. The method involves the use of some advanced technologies like a high speed camera and a high frequency data logging devise to capture the welding starting properties, in which six wires both copper and bare were selected for the tests, while setting most parameters such as work piece material, power source, voltage, current and wire feed speed as constants. The main purpose is to evaluate the High Speed Camera usage as a non-real-time sensor for the suggested method. At the mean time a comparison was established between the selected wires, entailing their coating, type of arc used, welder's opinions on performance, integrity of solidified weld among others.
This project was divided into 3 tasks, the first task was recording welding tests using the high speed camera, the second task involved testing the wires manually with experienced welders to compare their subjective opinion to the data collected from the first task, and finally the third task was a comparison of the filet weld size of the same six wires, thus reflecting weld integrity.
Using the method of high speed camera and data logger shed some light on several features and introduced fresh new aspects that were not possible to attain otherwise such as the time to establish a stable arc for each wire and its dependence on wire cuts and type of arc used, while comparisons between wires showed how wire composition, coating type and arc applied affect welding starting properties and voltage/current trends. It was concluded that the unstable arc duration is prolonged in case of the presence of wire-cuts or solidified droplets on wire tips and that copper-coated wires have fewer spatter and non-spherical shaped droplets compared to bare wires. Finally, it was also proven that weld bead integrity and flatness increases with increasing applied voltage.


Adhesively bonded joint strength optimization can be obtained through the modification of the overlap length and bi-adhesively bonded technique. In this technique, the joints have two different types of adhesive in the overlap length. In the present paper, the effects of bi-adhesively bondline on the shear stress, peeling stress and von-Mises stress of tongue and groove joints were investigated by using finite element analysis. The joint models were consisted of thick woven E-glass/vinyl ester laminate composite groove geometry together with aluminum 5083 tongue geometry. Finite element analyses were performed for three different tongue lengths (75, 150, 225 mm). The distribution of shear and peeling stresses were investigated on adhesively bonded tongue and groove joints subjected to longitudinal tensile loads. The results indicated that the joint strength can be improved by selecting appropriate design parameter values with bi-adhesive bonded technique.


Hus. A tinal search for the answer is lodged in a discussion of the indulgences attached to such relics. intended to attract pilgrims to various site\. Throughout, the experience of the Westminster Blood Relic is contrasted with the more successful outcomes for similar relics ;it H d e s and Ashridge in England and those collected in France by Louis IX. Although answers are provided at each stage for the Westminster Blood Relic's lack of success. i t is evident that Vincent is not completci> satisfied with reasons having to do with thc relic alone. At the close of the book, he Itroks more closely at the other element in the book's subtitle: King Henry 111. Vincent makes clear that one reason relics increased the stature of Louis IX in France was the personality and actions of the French king himself. In England, the failure of the Holy Blood was symptomatic of the far wider failure of King Henry 111. Here Vincent adds a valuable dimension to the current view of the thirteenth-century troubles in England as encompassing far more than narrow constitutional issue\. The reader is left wishing for a continuation of that discussion. There is much here for students of relics and high medieval popular devotion to think about, as well as for those seeking more complete explanations of Henry 111.


Table tennis student-athletes should be mentally tough as they train and perform under extreme pressure. It is essential to identify other mental skills that will aid mental toughness development. Accordingly, the study focused on assessing athletic identity, self-compassion, and intra-team communication. The relationship between the constructs was also explored. A multi-part questionnaire was fielded to 230 college student-athletes participating in table tennis singles event. Findings indicate high levels of athletic identity and intra-team communication among the participants; while moderate levels for self-compassion and mental toughness. Structural equation modeling revealed the dynamic relationship between the constructs. On one hand, self-compassionate participants who highly recognize their role as athletes, and communicate with the team are more mentally tough. On the other hand, uncompassionate self-responding lead student-athletes to become mentally weak. The study provides useful insights for practitioners in designing mental skills training geared towards optimal functioning and psychological wellness of young athletes.


Croatian Web Archive of National and University Library in Zagreb was established in 2003. in collaboration with University of Zagreb University Computing Centre (Srce). The purpose of the Archive is to collect, preserve and provide access to web resources wich are considered to be an important part of Croatian cultural heritage. Since its conception up to year 2011., Croatian Web Archive has been used for selective harvesting of Croatian web resources. In order to complete and enhance national collection of archived resources National and University Library in Zagreb decided to run first national domain harvest as well as thematic harvesting.


Background: Drug particle size influences lung deposition and systemic bioavailability of inhaled aerosols. We investigated the fate of 3 different particle sizes of inhaled fluticasone propionate (FP) in the lungs of asthmatics (AST) & healthy subjects (HS). Methods: AST (n=15, FEV1= 81 %pred) & HS (n=15, FEV1= 100 %pred) each inhaled 4 treatments randomised crossover; FP-50µg monodisperse particle sizes 1.5, 3, 6-µm and FP-250µg pMDI. FP plasma concentrations were quantified from baseline to 12-h post-dose. Results: Smaller FP particles (1.5, 3-µm) achieved significantly (p<0.05) higher peak concentrations (Cmax) and showed greater airway clearance and systemic absorptive bioavailability (AUC0-12h) compared to larger particles (6µm) and pMDI, in both AST & HS [ C max (AST:HS pg/mL) 1.5µm(425:359), 3µm(278:290), 6µm(85:63), pMDI(52:65); AUC(0-12h) (AST:HS pg.h/mL) 1.5µm(923:723), 3µm(891:933), 6µm(222:204), pMDI(182:199)]. In both AST & HS, 1.5µm FP particles showed faster clearance from the plasma compartment compared to other particles, and final 12-h concentrations were similar for all 4 treatments. We previously showed 1.5µm monodisperse aerosols achieve greater total lung and distal airways deposition compared to 6µm particles. Conclusions: The systemic bioavailability of inhaled FP is related to its drug particle size, and may be a function of total lung dose and regional airways deposition. Striking differences in the behaviour of different sized drug particles exist within the airways and can be investigated using pharmacokinetics. Each drug formulation interacts differently with the many airways factors that influence and govern the ultimate fate of inhaled drug transport within and beyond the lungs.


Patients who had undergone extracapsular cataract extraction with implantation of a posterior chamber intraocular lens, and normal subjects of corresponding age and vision were examined with the mesoptometer and nyktometer to compare their twilight vision and glare sensitivity. All the results were poorer in patients with intraocular lenses. Statistically, some of the differences in the results of examinations performed in the two groups were highly significant. As the controls were strictly matched in age and visual acuity, these results confirm other studies with similar objectives. Additionally, some patients with posterior chamber lenses were examined who had also undergone YAG laser capsulotomy for secondary cataract. Although the number of cases was too small for statistical evaluation, it appeared that in this group twilight vision and glare sensitivity could not be improved in the same way as daylight visual acuity by means of this treatment. These findings indicate that since intraocular lenses are increasingly being implanted in younger patients, special attention should also be paid to scotopic vision and glare sensitivity during examinations for drivers' licenses, particularly in cases of good daylight vision. Special examinations, e.g., with the mesoptometer or nyktometer, should be carried out in all such cases. Increased glare sensitivity in eyes with lens implants should also be taken into consideration with regard to the increasing importance of computer and TV screens.


ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to identify the gaps in public dental service locations for people living with a disability in Australia, with in-depth analysis of Western Australia (WA).MethodsData from the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers and national census data were used to geographically model the prevalence of disability. Private and public dental practice data were integrated using QGIS, and a catchment area of 5km was used for public dental practices. This was then used to identify residential areas outside the 5-km catchment area. Further analysis was then done to determine how a potential service at these sites would improve geographic access for people with a disability residing within the area.ResultsIn this study, 6162 private and 178 public dental practices were geo-coded, covering 39915 Statistical Area Level 1 regions and approximately 16 million people. Overall slightly more than half the people living with any disability resided within the 5-km catchment area of a public dental practice. WA (Perth) had the lowest coverage (48%), whereas New South Wales (Sydney) had the highest (71%). In WA (Perth), four sites were identified that would improve the overall coverage from 48% to 75%.ConclusionThis study highlights the areas where there is low access to a dental service, particularly access to a public dental service, for people living with a disability.What is known about the topic?The distribution of people with a disability is associated with area-level measures of socioeconomic disadvantage. Access to dental care is a function of affordability, availability, accessibility, accommodation and acceptability. Previous studies identified problems in relation to access to dental care for people living with a disability, including wait times, costs and physical access to buildings.What does this paper add?This paper shows how geographical access to a dental service can be improved, by locating services in identified areas targeting people living with a disability.What are the implications for practitioners?The results of this study could be used to plan funding targeted at areas of need with a high burden of disease and low accessibility to services.


This paper presents a variationally consistent an exponential shear deformation theory for the bi-directional bending and free vibration analysis of thick plates. The theory presented herein is built upon the classical plate theory. In this displacement-based, refined shear deformation theory, an exponential functions are used in terms of thickness co-ordinate to include the effect of transverse shear deformation and rotary inertia. The number of unknown displacement variables in the proposed theory are same as that in first order shear deformation theory. The transverse shear stress can be obtained directly from the constitutive relations satisfying the shear stress free surface conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate, hence the theory does not require shear correction factor. Governing equations and boundary conditions of the theory are obtained using the dynamic version of principle of virtual work. The simply supported thick isotropic square and rectangular plates are considered for the detailed numerical studies. Results of displacements, stresses and frequencies are compared with those of other refined theories and exact theory to show the efficiency of proposed theory. Results obtained by using proposed theory are found to be agree well with the exact elasticity results. The objective of the paper is to investigate the bending and dynamic response of thick isotropic square and rectangular plates using an exponential shear deformation theory.


Introduction: Similar to other total joint arthroplasty procedures, total hip arthroplasty (THA) is shifting to an outpatient setting. The purpose of this study was to analyse outcomes following outpatient THA. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed in April 2019 according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines using the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases to identify articles that reported functional outcomes following outpatient total hip arthroplasty (THA). Results: 9 articles, with 683 hips and a collective study period of 1988 to 2016, were included in this analysis. The mean age across all studies was 58.9 years and the follow-up period ranged from 4 weeks to 10 years. 4 studies reported Harris Hip Scores (HHSs) for their patient populations and in 3 studies, the average HHSs were excellent (>90) by 6 weeks postoperatively. The fourth study reported fair HHS scores for the outpatient and inpatient THA groups (75 ± 18, 75 ± 14, p = 0.77, respectively) at 4 weeks postoperatively. VAS scores improved significantly in two studies and NRS at rest and during activity improved significantly (p < 0.001) in a separate study. Overall, 88.1% of the enrolled patients were discharged the same day of surgery, as expected. Out of the 6 studies reporting on readmissions rate, there were two (0.34%) readmissions within 3 months of surgery. Conclusion: In patients with no significant comorbidities, outpatient THA leads to favourable outcomes as well as low readmission rates in the short term.


Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 is a recently recognized human pathogen associated with hemorrhagic colitis. This work was therefore aimed at isolating Esherichia coli O157 from human stool. A total of 100 stool samples were collected from patients with age ranging from (0-05) years, statistical analysis of the risk factors showed that only zero to five years age range of the respondents had a significant statistical difference of 0.012 (P<0.05). The presumptive Esherichia coli isolates that appeared as pink flat lactose fermenting on MacConkey Agar and green metallic sheen on Eosin Methylene Blue agar were picked and confirmed biochemically as Esherichia coli using biochemical test kit. The confirmed E. coli isolates were then cultured on Sorbitol MacConkey Agar which shows non sorbitol fermenting. Detection of E. coli O157:H7 on SMAC medium had a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 85%, and an accuracy of 86%. SMAC medium stool culture is a simple, inexpensive, rapid, and reliable means of detecting E. coli O157:H7. Although 1.39% prevalence rate of Esherichia coli O157 was obtained it is pertinent to note that, Esherichia coli O157 is becoming a public health threat because of the debilitating effects it has on humans and also due to its low infectivity dose. There is therefore, the need for more public awareness to educate our citizens on ways of improving on the unsanitary environment.


Energy retrofitting of buildings is an unavoidable way to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases emissions. In this paper, we argue that the need to retrofit buildings in a view to energy efficiency cannot occult the intrinsic quality and specificities of patrimonial buildings. Understanding the relation between matter, structure and constructive reality is fundamental to adequately orient the options of retrofitting without losing the soul of this heritage. A framework is presented to address this challenge. It deals with four main interrelated categories: reduction of energy consumption in the use phase, life-cycle impact of retrofitting material (including reuse of material, in situ or from previous dismantled buildings), architectural and heritage values (with a particular attention on matter) and return on investment. A particular focus is put on the following architectural issue: what to do when maintaining the original matter of buildings' facades is not compatible with the necessary intervention to ensure energy reduction and necessary maintenance works? This research was developed during the energy refurbishment of several significant modernist buildings of the University of Liège in Belgium, which are presented as case studies. The retrofitting works are now completed, allowing a critical return on the results, outputs and the framework.


This evaluation framework sets out recommendations for evaluating Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland. It discusses the evaluation activities to carry out, the outcomes to examine, the data to use and the methods to apply. It also sets the recommendations in a broader context by introducing activities and guiding principles related to evaluating public interventions and by briefly summarising relevant literature.The report describes a long-term evaluation strategy to be followed once required links between administrative datasets are put in place, and it also outlines the steps that should be made already in the short and medium term to facilitate the data linkage and to exploit data that are more readily available. The report emphasises the crucial role of formulating an ex-ante evaluation strategy in enabling high-quality and cost-effective evaluation.


Knowledge of diets is important for understanding species ecology and the mechanism of coexistence of multiple closely related species. Two rhinolophid bats, the greater Japanese horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus nippon) and the little Japanese horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus cornutus), occur in Japan, but little is known about their diets and interspecific interactions regarding food resources. In this study, we examined the fecal contents of these two species in the Southern Japanese Alps by microscopic analysis over multiple seasons. R. cornutus, which have more skillful flight, consumed nonvolant insects (caterpillars and spiders), whereas R. nippon did not; this indicates that R. cornutus can glean prey better than R. nippon. The larger-bodied R. nippon more frequently consumed hard-bodied beetles, whereas the smaller-bodied R. cornutus more frequently consumed soft-bodied dipterans and neuropterans. Body size differences influenced flight ability and bite force, which resulted in food resource partitioning and enabled multispecies coexistence of these closely related bats. A R. nippon nursery colony consumed a wider variety of insects, such as beetles, moths, and dipterans, during the pregnancy and lactation periods; however, after lactation, they showed a beetle-dependent diet, and before hibernation they again consumed various food resources. A R. cornutus non-nursery colony frequently consumed dipterans and moths in spring; dipterans, moths, and neuropterans in autumn; and moths and neuropterans in winter. These seasonal changes in diet seemed to be related to food supply or reproductive status.


In this study we try to determine a cut off for detecting heart failure (HF) with the highest sensitivity and specificity in a population of hospitalized people aged ≥65 years and to identify potential confounding variables for the interpretation of plasma concentration of the marker. We evaluated 212 consecutive patients admitted to our Department of Medicine, the only inclusion criterion being an age ≥65 years. We identified a group with clinical and/or instrumental HF, and among remaining patients we selected a normal group without obvious cardiac disease. The strongest predictors of higher levels of NT-proBNP resulted age and free-triiodothyronine as in all models they were strongly associated with Log NT-proBNP. Using receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curves, we found an optimal discriminatory value for detecting HF in 879 pg/ml for subjects aged between 65 and 74 years and 1658 pg/ml for subjects aged ≥ 75 years. In elderly hospitalized patients the discriminatory cut offs of NT-proBNP for the diagnosis of HF are significantly higher than community derived reference values. Adjustments for the independent effects of age and other confounding variables appear necessary.


The Internet has ruffled the feathers of copyright law. In response policy makers and rightsholders have sought to expand the legislative boundaries of copyright and embed technical and contractual constraints into works themselves. These measures - collectively termed Digital Rights Management - are not only viewed as necessary to stem the tide of 'piracy', but as desirable to achieve the efficient allocation of copyright works in the market place. Economic theory is used to support these advances as the natural progression for copyright law in the 21st century. This essay takes issue with this economic rationale, and suggests that private market based mechanisms are likely to systematically exclude certain values that copyright law has traditionally undertaken to protect. Furthermore, it is suggested that whilst rightholders are naturally wary of digital technology, it provides precious opportunities for those at the ends of the copyright chain: creators and users. Finally, the status of copyright exceptions under the European Copyright Directive, in particular those which implicate informational, private, and transformative uses, are assessed in light of the earlier arguments.


The rollout of antiretroviral therapy (ART) significantly reduced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related morbidity and mortality, but good clinical outcomes depend on access and adherence to treatment. In resource-limited settings, where over 90% of the world's HIV-infected population resides, data on barriers to treatment are emerging that contribute to low rates of uptake in HIV testing, linkage to and retention in HIV care systems, and suboptimal adherence rates to therapy. A review of the literature reveals limited evidence to inform strategies to improve access and adherence with the majority of studies from sub-Saharan Africa. Data from observational studies and randomized controlled trials support home-based, mobile and antenatal care HIV testing, task-shifting from doctor-based to nurse-based and lower level provider care, and adherence support through education, counseling and mobile phone messaging services. Strategies with more limited evidence include targeted HIV testing for couples and family members of ART patients, decentralization of HIV care, including through home- and community-based ART programs, and adherence promotion through peer health workers, treatment supporters, and directly observed therapy. There is little evidence for improving access and adherence among vulnerable groups such as women, children and adolescents, and other high-risk populations and for addressing major barriers. Overall, studies are few in number and suffer from methodological issues. Recommendations for further research include health information technology, social-level factors like HIV stigma, and new research directions in cost-effectiveness, operations, and implementation. Findings from this review make a compelling case for more data to guide strategies to improve access and adherence to treatment in resource-limited settings.


Electron beam (EB) direct manufacturing is an additive near-net shape digital fabrication process developed recently. The process offers a promising route for the fabrication of intricate speciality aluminium alloy parts for aircraft and aerospace applications because of the excellent energy coupling between an electron beam and aluminium. As part of a fundamental study on EB manufacturing of Al alloys, this work investigates the effect of the EB processing parameters on the development of the molten pool and the solidification characteristics of Al 2219 and Al 6061 alloys. The samples were processed using a 50kV electron beam gun over a wide range of beam currents (10-40mA) and welding speeds (0.3-0.86m/min) in both the static and oscillation focus modes. In the static focus mode, the molten pool is wedge-shaped; while in the oscillation focus mode, the molten pool is hemispherical, wider and shallower. In both cases, the depth and width of the molten pool increase with increasing beam current but they are less affected by the moving speed of the EB gun in the range 0.3-0.86m/min. Electron beam re-melted and subsequently re-solidified Al 2219 and Al 6061 alloys show microstructural features distinct from those obtained under sand casting and direct chill casting conditions. In particular, fine intermetallic precipitates in the size range 100-200nm are prominent in the equiaxed grains formed in the re-solidified weld beads of Al 6061 compared to the coarse intermetallic particles up to 10m in size prior to EB processing. EB processing offers opportunities for aluminium alloy development.


This debate outlines some of the institutional aspects of perceived research quality and the potential implications on academic behaviour across Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. In particular the paper discusses the differences in formal measurements of research output quality in the two regions considered. The paper draws upon my personal experiences living and working in Scandinavia and the United Kingdom, and as such represents a subjective account. I argue that the formality of the UK Research Assessment Exercise encourages a high degree of academic rigor and potentially discourages the willingness to innovate and expand the academic debate. Conversely, I argue that the relative lack of formality in the Scandinavian context can both encourage innovation and potentially discourage academic rigour. As an example, I highlight the emerging field of mobile informatics.


Twelve patients who had surgery to repair a rotator cuff tear, which could not be repaired because the residual tendon tissue was of poor quality, insufficient, or both, were followed up for a mean of 33 months. At surgery, the deltoid was detached from the acromion for 4 to 6 cm and an acromioplasty was done. Preoperatively, all patients except one had mild to severe pain. The mean active forward flexion, abduction, and external rotation were 75°38;, 61°38;, and 22°38;, respectively. After surgery, of the 11 patients who had shoulder pain preoperatively, 10 reported partial relief of pain and one was pain-free. However, shoulder function deteriorated in 11 patients and remained unchanged in one patient who had a pseudoparalytic shoulder before and after surgery. The mean postoperative values of forward flexion, abduction, and external rotation were 49°38;, 43°38;, and 16°38;, respectively. Only one patient was satisfied with the result of surgery because of pain relief. Two patients had repeat surgery (total shoulder replacement or latissimus dorsi transfer) 6 and 4 months after the index surgery because of unsatisfactory functional results. Attempts at open repair of an irreparable cuff tear should be avoided because functional results generally are poor. When there is a risk that an irreparable tear will be found, open surgery should not be done or alternative procedures should be planned before surgery.


This study was conducted to investigate Multivariate Statistical Methods, i.e., Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Cluster analysis (CA) and Discriminant analysis (DA), to assess temporal and spatial variations in the water quality in coastal waters of the Hormozgan province. Thirteen physico-chemical parameters (including Temperature, pH, Salinity, Dissolved oxygen, Electrical conductivity, Turbidity, TSS, Nitrate, Nitrite, Total ammonia, Phosphate, Silicate, DIN and Chlorophyll a) were selected to evaluate the quality of coastal waters. Surface water sampling layers (0-1m) were collected from at 14 stations during 12 months in 2013-2014. Results showed that Cluster analysis grouped Water quality in the fourteen stations and twelve months into three and two clusters of similar water quality features respectively. The principle component analysis identified five parameters (Temperature, Electrical conductivity, Nitrate, Total ammonia, DIN and Chlorophyll a) for temporal analysis and seven parameters (Temperature, Electrical conductivity, TSS, Nitrate, Phosphate, DIN and Chlorophyll a) for spatial analysis. Finally, according PCA analysis three possible latent pollution sources for groups 1, 2 and 3 (organic/eutrophication, Nutrient pollution and natural pollution) were identified. It seems that the coastal waters can be classified into three groups, i.e. low, moderate and high pollution.


"An Institutional Repository is an online locus for collecting, preserving, and disseminating — in digital form — the intellectual output of an institution, particularly a research institution." "For a university, this would include materials such as research journal articles, before (preprints) and after (postprints) undergoing peer review, and digital versions of theses and dissertations, but it might also include other digital assets generated by normal academic life, such as administrative documents, course notes, or learning objects."


The method of choosing the best boundaries that make strata internally homogenous as far as possible is known as optimum stratification. To achieve this, the strata should be constructed in such a way that the strata variances for the characteristic under study be as small as possible. If the frequency distribution of the study variable x is known, the optimum strata boundaries (OSB) could be obtained by cutting the range of the distribution at suitable points. If the frequency distribution of x is unknown, it may be approximated from the past experience or some prior knowledge obtained at a recent study. Many skewed populations have log-normal frequency distribution or may be assumed to follow approximately log-normal frequency distribution. In this article, the problem of finding the OSB and the optimum sample sizes within the stratum for a skewed population with log-normal distribution is studied. The problem of determining the OSB is redefined as the problem of determining optimum strata widths (OSW) and is formulated as a Nonlinear Programming Problem (NLPP) that seeks minimization of the variance of the estimated population mean under Neyman allocation subject to the constraint that the sum of the widths of all the strata is equal to the range of the distribution. The formulated NLPP turns out to be a multistage decision problem that can be solved by dynamic programming technique. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the application and computational details of the proposed method. A comparison study is conducted to investigate the efficiency of the proposed method with other stratification methods, viz., Dalenius and Hodges' cum method, geometric method by Gunning and Horgan, and Lavallée–Hidiroglou method using Kozak's algorithm available in the literature. The study reveals that the proposed technique is efficient in minimizing the variance of the estimate of the population mean and is useful to obtain OSB for a skewed population with log-normal frequency distribution.


A
thesis submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy to the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Microbiology, School of Life
Sciences, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Victoria,
Australia.


Phonetic keywords found in the pronunciation guides to five monolingual learners' dictionaries of English
(OALDCE4, LDOCE3, COBUILD1, CIDE and CHAMBERS) are evaluated with respect to their
familiarity, phonetic difficulty and textual frequency. It is shown that while they are more or less equivalent
on the first two scores (with OALDCE4 and CIDE listing words slightly easier to pronounce than
the other three dictionaries), OALDCE4's words are almost twice as frequent in running English as those
of CHAMBERS. Appeal is made for more research into the phonetic structure and choice of keywords,
which are supposed to assist the dictionary user in the difficult task of phonetic look-up.


Abstract. The standardization of the calibration of optical sensors in photogrammetry and remote sensing has been discussed for more than a decade. Projects of the German DGPF and the European EuroSDR led to the abstract International Technical Specification ISO/TS 19159-1:2014 "Calibration and validation of remote sensing imagery sensors and data – Part 1: Optical sensors". This article presents the first software interface for a read- and write-access to all metadata elements standardized in the ISO/TS 19159-1. This interface is based on an xml-schema that was automatically derived by ShapeChange from the UML-model of the Specification. The software interface serves two cases. First, the more than 300 standardized metadata elements are stored individually according to the xml-schema. Secondly, the camera manufacturers are using many administrative data that are not a part of the ISO/TS 19159-1. The new software interface provides a mechanism for input, storage, editing, and output of both types of data. Finally, an output channel towards a usual calibration protocol is provided. The interface is written in Java. The article also addresses observations made when analysing the ISO/TS 19159-1 and compiles a list of proposals for maturing the document, i.e. for an updated version of the Specification.


The present work aims to promote a comparative analysis between the most cited and recent methods in the scientific world associated to the Frozen Permeability Method combined with the Finite Element Method for on-load cogging torque evaluation in permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSM) and determine which is the most appropriate. Numerous researches have been carried throughout the years in order to accomplish the task of segregating the torque components and figure out the origins of torque oscillations. However, most of them have failed as they usually attribute the torque ripple only to the cogging torque and taking general conclusions based only in one type of PMSM. Here, in the present text, the investigation is carried out basing on different PMSM topologies and different current waveforms for motor drive. The results show that the most suitable methodology is not based on electromagnetic energy neither based on the electromagnetic coenergy but based on flux distribution. All simulations are performed with FEMM (Finite Element Method Magnetics) software.


Neutrino-nucleus cross section uncertainties are expected to be a dominant systematic in future accelerator neutrino experiments. The cross sections are determined by the linear response of the nucleus to the weak interactions of the neutrino, and are dominated by energy and distance scales of the order of the separation between nucleons in the nucleus. These response functions are potentially an important early physics application of quantum computers. Here we present an analysis of the resources required and their expected scaling for scattering cross section calculations. We also examine simple small-scale neutrino-nucleus models on modern quantum hardware. In this paper, we use variational methods to obtain the ground state of a three nucleon system (the triton) and then implement the relevant time evolution. In order to tame the errors in present-day NISQ devices, we explore the use of different error-mitigation techniques to increase the fidelity of the calculations.


It is generally acknowledged that small and medium sized enterprises (SME's) contribute significantly to a country's economic performance. It is also generally acknowledged that it can be problematic to provide effective, public sector research, development and innovation support for SME's given their size and diversity. It is also considered that vertical cooperation with customers and suppliers is more effective in new product development (NPD) for SME's than horizontal co-operation with research institutions and government agencies. This paper discusses how higher education institutions (HEI's) engaged in design research, can effectively support SME's in NPD by actively participating in the design process whilst simultaneously working with SME's to facilitate the development of knowledge networks local to specific SME's, by acting as an intermediary. A number of design support schemes and specific SME, NPD projects undertaken by the author are used to advocate a participatory intermediation role for HEI's in supporting NPD for SME's.


Knowing the effects that technologies have on society is the essential input to motivate the development of science, since it provides inputs to policy makers to project the impact of future investments. In Ecuador, the main public center in charge of research and development of technologies in the agricultural sector is the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIAP), which develops genetic material (seeds) and crop management recommendations to 27 LA GRANJA: Revista de Ciencias de la Vida 30(2) 2019:27-36. c ©2019, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Ecuador. Review / Reseña bibliográfica SUITABLE AGRICULTURE Sánchez, V.H. and Zambrano M., J.L. increase and add value to farmer's production, alternatives for the soil and water management and the conservation of genetic resources. In order to estimate the adoption and impact of agricultural technologies generated in the country, 37 studies of adoption, impact and economic profitability of technologies generated by the INIAP were analyzed. These studies were published in the period 2007-2017. The average adoption rate of the varieties developed by INIAP at the national level was 37%, with an average internal rate of return of 33%. The overall impacts of agricultural technologies developed in Ecuador were positive at an economic, environmental and productive level for the farmers who adopted these technologies. These results support the politicians and decision makers in the country for the direction and strategic planning of the research to invest more in science and technology, which will allow the development of a sustainable agriculture for Ecuador and the region.


The well-known empirical relationship between the equilibrium cross-sectional area of tidal inlet entrances (A) and the tidal prism (P), first developed by O'Brien (1931), has been extensively reviewed. Our theoretical investigations indicate that a unique A-P relationship should only be expected for clusters of inlets that are phenomenological similar (i.e. fairly similar hydrodynamic and morphological conditions), and that the exponent q in the A-P relation should be larger than 1. However, relevant published data available to date do not clearly support this theoretical finding. A re-analysis of the available data sets by Stive et al. (2009) indicated that they may not be sufficiently reliable to verify our theoretical finding with regard to q>1 due to the violation of the condition of phenomenological similarity, and possibly also due to violating the initial definitions given by O'Brien (1931) in estimating the tidal prism. The resolution of this issue is important because slightly different values of q result in significantly variable values for the equilibrium cross-sectional area of the tidal entrance. This may have significant implications in determining the true stable equilibrium entrance cross-sectional area. Here we present a re-analysis of the available data with a focus on determining the phenomenological dependencies of the A-P relationship. The available A-P data from the US Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf coasts (Jarrett, 1976 and Powell, 2003) have been re-scrutinized and categorized following the above mentioned phenomenological similarity criteria, viz. similar tidal range, similar sediment size, similar littoral transport and similar hydraulic radius. All together, some 20 different categories were considered and A-P relationships were obtained for each category. Generally, high correlations were found between the stable inlet predicted by each A-P relationship and the corresponding data. However, only in a limited number of categories were they significantly better than the correlations for the complete datasets. Finally, we point out that only in a number of categories the q value associated with the A-P relationship exceeded unity as suggested by the theoretical derivations. In the majority of categories the q value associated with the A-P relationship does not exceed unity. This is truly disappointing, and we have no physical explanation for this and consider this issue unresolved.


Over time, dictionaries have been adapted to meet users' consultation needs. As a result, other types of data such as instructions or specialised explanations have been included in these works in order to fulfil their purpose. It is in this context that operative lexicographical tools are produced, although such tools have traditionally received very little attention from a metalexicographic point of view. Through the analyses of 5 existing dictionaries and other reference works from the 18th to the 20th centuries regarding equestrianism, football and fencing, this article shows that many lexicographical information tools in Spanish were indeed produced to satisfy the need for practical knowledge through instructions (operative need). Based on this finding, this article argues that the operative function of lexicography deserves a place in lexicographical theory and lexicographical academic literature. An interesting finding that emerges from these analyses is that almost all the dictionaries analysed are polyfunctional, and they share a list of characteristics based on their typology, media and historical moment that can help to make clear the importance of the operative function in the Spanish lexicographical tradition. Furthermore, on the basis of the above analyses, several answers are given to guide future research on operative lexicographical products. Keywords: function theory, Spanish lexicography, sport dictionaries, polyfunctional tools, operative function, specialised dictionaries


This paper presents the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of microstructures of Neogene clays from Warsaw, Poland. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) studies were used for the microstructural analysis of natural clays and clay pastes. Qualitative microstructural changes were observed: from a honeycomb microstructure for the initial clay paste to a turbulent microstructure for the dried paste. It was also noticed that water loss caused by the increase of the suction pressure had a significant impact on the microstructural transformations. Significant changes in the quantitative values of the pore space parameters were also observed. Increase of suction pressure and water loss caused a decrease in porosity and changes in the values of morphometric parameters, such as pore distribution; for example, a significant increase of the number of pores of 0−10 μm size and changes in the geometric parameters of the pore space were noticed with the increase of suction pressure. The pore space with larger isometric pores was modified into a pore space with the dominance of small anisometric and fissure-like pores. The increased degree of anisotropy from a poorly-oriented to a highly-oriented microstructure was also observed. After rapid shrinkage the reduction in the number of pores, maximum pore diameter, and total pore perimeter was recorded. The process of rapid water loss induced the closure of very small pores. A similar effect was observed during the increase of the suction pressure, where the closure of pore space of the clay pastes was observed very clearly.


An important line of research involves asking people with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) to self-report their experiences and opinions. We analyzed the responsiveness of 11,391 adult users of IDD services to interview questions from Section 1 of the 2008-2009 National Core Indicators-Adult Consumer Survey (NCI-ACS). Proxy responses were not allowed for the selected questions. Overall, 62.1% of participants answered the questions and were rated by interviewers as understanding the questions and as responding consistently. Most participants responded in an all-or-none fashion, answering either all or most questions or few to none. Individuals with milder levels of IDD and with speech as their primary means of expression were more likely to answer the questions and provide a scoreable response. Interviewer ratings of interviewees' answering questions, understanding of questions, and consistent responding were each related to responsiveness.


As a promising means of realizing broadband ISDN, the ATM (asynchronous transfer mode), which is based on fast packet switching, is considered interesting. In video communication by ATM, the constancy and improvement of picture quality by variable rate coding is expected, while the quality deterioration by cell loss is a serious problem.

This paper proposes a video coding method introducing hierarchical coding to cope with the cell loss problem. The proposed hierarchical coding extracts the low-frequency components of the image by iterating the hierarchical processing based on the spatial filter. Then it is possible to suppress the effect of the quality deterioration caused by cell loss, as long as the low-frequency components are retained.

First, the configuration of the proposed system is discussed. Simulations are executed to observe the effect of the cell loss and the coding characteristics, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method in coping with the cell loss. Then discussions are made on the optimal number of hierarchical processings to cope with the cell loss and the protection level for hierarchical information. Furthermore, it is shown that a new type of video communication can be realized by introducing hierarchical coding.


AIM
We wanted to characterize the clinical profile and outcome of pregnancy in women with epilepsy due to neurocysticercosis (NCC) enrolled in the Indian Registry of Epilepsy and Pregnancy (IREP).

METHODS
We identified all women with NCC in the IREP between January 2000 and September 2005. Age- and parity-matched patients without NCC were identified from the respective centers of IREP for comparison. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 11.

RESULTS
There were 30 women with NCC (mean age 24.3 +/- 4 years) among 1071 registrations in the IREP. All the patients had NCC prior to the pregnancy. Fourteen (47%) NCC patients had calcified lesions and 16 (53%) had ring lesions in a CT scan of the brain. Compared to women without NCC, the NCC group had later age-at-onset of seizures (20.7 +/- 4.4 years, p = 0.008) and epilepsy (21.1 +/- 5.2 years, p = 0.01). They were more likely to have partial seizures (70% versus 30%, p = 0.002), an EEG without epileptiform abnormalities (50% versus 100%, p = 0.01), and better control of seizures before (47% versus 3%, p = 0.001) and during pregnancy (33% versus 10%, p = 0.02). Maternal and neonatal complications did not differ between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS
NCC is an uncommon cause of epilepsy in pregnant women enrolled in IREP. To be noted, as a limitation of our study, that the IREP is a hospital-based registry, which may not reflect global epilepsy characteristics of the community. The maternal and fetal outcome for NCC patients was not different from those women without NCC.


An 18-year-old man was admitted to the clinic complaining of deterioration in the function of his hands and feet. The clinical examination revealed that his movements were clumsy and that he had disproportionally short limbs. In addition, he also had facial abnormalities of frontal bossing, hypertelorism, maxillary hypoplasia, broad low nasal bridge, short upturned nose with anteverted nostrils and triangular mouth. All extremities appeared short with stubby fingers and toes and with broad hands and wrinkling of the dorsal skin. Chromosomal analysis showed a normal (46, XY) karyotype. X-ray studies revealed broad, short metacarpals and phalanges with cone-shaped epiphyses and brachycdactyly and a diagnosis of peripheral dysostosis was confirmed by the characteristic radiographic appearance of the hands. Serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase levels were high, parathormone (PTH) was low, but 25 (OH) Vitamin D, albumin, and 24 hour urine calcium levels were in the normal range. Based on these findings, a diagnosis of acrodysostosis associated with hypercalcemia was made. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first description of this syndrome.


Targeted disruption of the transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) gene in mice results in the development of a massive multifocal inflammatory disease in many tissues. Because no detectable pathogen was identified, we examined whether autoimmune mechanisms played a role in initiating or maintaining the inflammatory disease. The serum of TGF-beta 1 knockout mice contained elevated titers of antibodies to nuclear antigens (ssDNA, dsDNA, Sm, and RNP) as well as reactivity against the 16/6 idiotype (16/6 Id). In addition, Ig deposits were detected in renal glomeruli of TGF- beta 1 knockout mice. Transplantation of TGF-beta 1 knockout hematopoietic cells into normal irradiated recipients resulted in a similar profile of autoantibody production as well as in the induction of inflammatory lesions. Our results describe autoimmune activity that ensues when the TGF-beta 1 cytokine is absent.


Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized by "green", cheap hydrothermal method in an autoclave using sodium citrate and Vascellum pratense polysaccharide extract as reducing and stabilizing agents. Presence of spherical AgNPs was confirmed by UV-VIS spectrophotometry and scanning electron microscopy; particle size was determined as ~ 40 nm. Even though colloidal solution had relatively low absolute value of zeta potential(-15 mV), short term stability studies suggested a stable system, with AgNPs being stabilized by both citrate and fungal polysaccharides, as FTIR spectra confirmed. The colloidal solution showed good antimicrobial activity against both G+/G- bacteria and Candida albicans, including methicilin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Products containing AgNPs and fungal polysaccharides, which possess various biological activities - most important being immunostimulation - may find use in treatment of skin conditions caused by pathogens.


Situating the dreams of Cleopatra, Bottom and Caliban in the context of Elizabethan oneirology, medicine, politics, and the English Reformation, this paper argues that Shakespearean oneirotopias (dream topoi) reveal how deeply the Bard felt about contemporary emotional wellbeing, whether concerning an Alexandrine empress, a subaltern weaver or an inebriated "monster." Elizabethans saw dreaming largely within martyrological, heretical, theological or utilitarianist discourses. Proto-medical texts of Galenic oneirology, drawn from Greek influences, gave a secondary position to dreams as dispensable and falsifiable residues of waking realities. Shakespeare's dreamscape challenged the notion of dreams as a "naturall sicknes," finding dramaturgical, aesthetic and psychotherapeutic roles for them. Seen in the light of the method of dream work devised by the psychotherapist Montague Ullman, the Shakespearean dreamscape elicits the anxieties of Elizabethan oneirology to trace and articulate the etiology of dreams, which it failed to wholly appropriate into either a divine (metaphysical) or anthropogenic (secular or materialistic) discourse. The Shakespearean stage operates as a meeting ground between private traumas and collectivized spectacle, legitimizing dream phenomena as perfectly natural and organic constituents of the processual sickness and health of the Renaissance mind, beyond Elizabethan cynicism and the Freudian model of dream censorship.


The aim of the thesis was to identify the physicochemical properties of nonstarch polysaccharides (NSPs) that are most relevant to the nutrition of the broiler chicken. More specifically, the mechanisms by which fibre viscosity can affect lipid digestibility in broiler chickens have been investigated in a series of experiments. The effect of fibre viscosity per se was investigated by using carboxymethylcelluloses (CMC) with varying viscosity. The CMC types were non-fermentable in vitro . Fibre viscosity per se depressed the digestibility of lipids, protein and starch in broiler chickens fed diets containing CMC with varying viscosity. The effect of fibre viscosity on lipid digestibility was dependent on the type of fat. The digestibility of animal fat that was predominantly composed of saturated long chain fatty acids was depressed, whereas there was no effect on the digestibility of soyabean oil or coconut oil. The reduction in lipid digestibility coincided with a reduced bile salt concentration and raised microbial numbers in the small intestine. CMC did not affect the condition of the small intestinal mucosa. The morphological parameters indicated that the condition of the mucosa was even improved in CMC fed birds. A study with germfree rats and rats with a specific pathogen free intestinal flora revealed that the effect of CMC on lipid digestibility is mediated, at least partially, by the intestinal flora. it was concluded that the small intestinal microflora can mediate the antinutritive effect of fibre viscosity on lipid digestibility in broiler chickens. Moreover, it was proposed that a reduction in bile salt concentration and bacterial transformation of bile salts reduces their efficacy to solubilise lipids. The results show that fibre viscosity is an important antinutritive property which should be taken into account in diet formulation for broiler chickens.


Finger millet (Eleusine corocana subsp. coracana), an important cereal in East Africa and India, is a tetraploid species with unknown genomic components. A recent cytogenetic study confirmed the direct origin of this millet from the tetraploid E. coracana subsp. africana but questioned Eleusine indica as a genomic donor. Chloroplast (ct) DNA sequence analysis using restriction fragment pattern was used to examine the phylogenetic relationships between E. coracana subsp. coracana (domesticated finger millet), E. coracana subspecies africana (wild finger millet), and E. indica. Eleusine tristachya was included since it is the only other annual diploid species in the genus with a basic chromosome number of x = 9 like finger millet. Eight of the ten restriction endonucleases used had 16 to over 30 restriction sites per genome and were informative. E. coracana subsp. coracana and subsp. africana and E. indica were identical in all the restriction sites surveyed, while the ct genome of E, tristachya differed consistently by at least one mutational event for each restriction enzyme surveyed. This random survey of the ct genomes of these species points out E. indica as one of the genome donors (maternal genome donor) of domesticated finger millet contrary to a previous cytogenetic study. The data also substantiate E. coracana subsp. africana as the progenitor of domesticated finger millet. The disparity between the cytogenetic and the molecular approaches is discussed in light of the problems associated with chromosome pairing and polyploidy.


Business analytics (BA) systems are an important strategic investment for many organisations and can potentially contribute significantly to firm performance. Establishing strong BA capabilities is currently one of the major concerns of chief information officers. This research project aims to develop a BA capability maturity model (BACMM). The BACMM will help organisations to scope and evaluate their BA initiatives. This research-in-progress paper describes the current BACMM, relates it to existing capability maturity models and explains its theoretical base. It also discusses the design science research approach being used to develop the BACMM and provides details of further work within the research project. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of how the BACMM might be used in practice.


This thesis is a reflective account of an action research project set in a drama classroom.  It is a multi-voiced patchwork text which is created and built imaginatively to re-present my students and my experience in the drama classroom.On one level it deals with the question 'How can drama be used to enhance life skills in children with specific learning disabilities studying in a school in Mumbai?' On the second level it is related to the question 'How can I improve my practice?' This research is concerned with a teacher's capacity to recognise and realise the opportunity of an alternate reality in teaching. The reality of loving and caring for the students. The reality of an empathetic, compassionate, just and democratic classroom. The foundation of this study was laid when I saw the children in need suffer due to insensitive teaching practices and uncooperative peers and family. I was concerned with the trauma faced by students in the prevalent educational setting in India. I believe that what I do in education should help make changes for the better in our society. Life skills enhancement, in my understanding, was a way to alleviate the stress the children experienced seeing that life skill education promotes mental well-being in young people and behavioural preparedness.  As a drama teacher I see drama as tool for education. It is a natural vehicle for explorative and experiential learning. The aim of my thesis is to describe and reflect on the learning process and the context in which it occurs. I present the critical points with close analysis of the choices made by me as I taught my pupils using drama as a learning medium. Additionally, this study investigates the influences of action research on my practice and the impact of engaging in the stages of action research which provided me with a methodical structure for implementing and analyzing the teaching and the learning process. This defined structure guided me through systematic and conscious data collection, data analysis, and reflection. The data is composed of classroom observations and transcripts, a collection of the students and my work and interviews with their schoolteachers and parents. The main objective of this research was to enable a gain in positive behavioural intentions and improved psychosocial competence in children. This was accomplished through augmentation of creativity, emotional understanding and development, improved self-esteem and a notion of the joy of autonomy to enable the students to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life.


This article reports on an in-depth, qualitative study into the pro-environmental engagement of small businesses in the east of England, with respect to climate change in particular. Managers of environmentally pro-active small businesses were asked about the pro-environmental measures they had implemented in their firms, their motivations for doing so, and their understanding of climate change. The managers in this study had a relatively good understanding of environmental issues in general and climate change in particular, and had implemented a range of pro-environmental measures in their firms. Their understanding of climate change was a holistic one, which sat within their overall understanding of environmental and social issues. While economic arguments and external pressure played a role in their pro-environmental engagement, perhaps the most notable motivation for managers in this study to engage with environmental and climate change issues was personal values and beliefs. Environmentally engaged managers exhibited an internal locus of control. Some of these findings contrast with the views of key informants in local government and business advice organisations, who tend to emphasise the business case and cost arguments when trying to encourage small businesses towards greater environmental engagement. These findings suggest that public policy and business advice in this area should perhaps focus more strongly on personal values and a sense of being able to contribute to environmental protection in their engagement with small businesses.


Human activity recognition (HAR) is an active area of research concerned with the classification of human motion. Cameras are the gold standard used in this area, but they are proven to have scalability and privacy issues. HAR studies have also been conducted with wearable devices consisting of inertial sensors. Perhaps the most common wearable, smart watches, comprising of inertial and optical sensors, allow for scalable, non-obtrusive studies. We are seeking to simplify this wearable approach further by determining if wrist-mounted optical sensing, usually used for heart rate determination, can also provide useful data for relevant activity recognition. If successful, this could eliminate the need for the inertial sensor, and so simplify the technological requirements in wearable HAR. We adopt a machine vision approach for activity recognition based on plots of the optical signals so as to produce classifications that are easily explainable and interpretable by nontechnical users. Specifically, time-series images of photoplethysmography signals are used to retrain the penultimate layer of a pretrained convolutional neural network leveraging the concept of transfer learning. Our results demonstrate an average accuracy of 75.8%. This illustrates the feasibility of implementing an optical sensor-only solution for a coarse activity and heart rate monitoring system. Implementing an optical sensor only in the design of these wearables leads to a trade off in classification performance, but in turn, grants the potential to simplify the overall design of activity monitoring and classification systems in the future.


This work aims at contributing to the knowledge of trypanosomiasis epidemiology in calves of trypanotolerant breeds and at defining an appropriate treatment to improve the survival of such calves in a tsetse infested area. The first study was a parasitological survey of 100 calves from the day of birth to the age of one year. According to the results of this survey, the period from birth to three months is a "critical" moment in the life of the calves, due to a high infection rate and mortality related to trypanosomiasis. The purpose of the second study was to investigate the possible interference of early trypanocidal treatments with the further expression of trypanotolerance. For this purpose three groups of over one-year old animals were established. The groups had different trypanosomiasis history due to the different treatments they had undergone during their first year of life. All the animals had been exposed to trypanosomiasis without treatment and followed up parasitologically and clinically during the second year. The results showed no interference of early trypanocidal treatments (including preventive ones) with the expression of resistance in potentially trypanotolerant animals.


Schools are increasingly involved in efforts to promote health and healthy behavior among their adolescent students, but are healthier students better learners? This synthesis of the empirical, longitudinal literature investigated the effects of the most predominant health-related behaviors—namely, alcohol and marijuana use, smoking, nutrition, physical activity, sexual intercourse, bullying, and screen time use (television, Internet, video games)—on the academic performance of adolescents. Thirty studies dating back to 1992 were retrieved from the medical, psychological, educational, and social science literature. Healthy nutrition and team sports participation were found to have a positive effect on academic performance, whereas the effects of alcohol use, smoking, early sexual intercourse, bullying, and certain screen time behaviors were overall negative. Generally, all relations of health-related behaviors and academic performance were dependent on contextual factors and were often mediated by psychosocial problems, social structures, and demographics. Findings were interpreted with use of sociological theories.


Following twenty years of conflict, the context of stabilization and early recovery in Mogadishu has supported a strategic water supply assessment. Traditionally supplied by shallow wells, at the outbreak of civil war the program of reticulated supply development collapsed, and the town has since reverted to an un-centralized network of wells, small scale reticulated distribution systems and vendors, with limited water treatment options. Access to sufficient safe affordable water is biased disproportionately against the poorest. The trend of well expansion driven by diaspora/national investment and humanitarian/aid programs continues. Although a planning framework is coming into place to address rehabilitation of a centrally regulated system required in the future, taking account of uncertainty, purposive research has produced an inference-based analysis. A fresh problem statement underpinning national efforts to improve prospects for sustainable water supply development for Mogadishu has been framed.


© 2017, This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. Recent Advances in Technology and Engineering (RATE-2017) 6 National Conference by TJIT, Bangalore International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology An Open Access Journal


To the Editor:-The editorial by Benumof' regarding preoxygenation cited pediatric patients as "obvious exclusion examples," and suggesting that they were not candidates for preoxygenation before the induction of general anesthesia. On the contrary, neonates, infants, and children are at increased risk of hypoxemia because of smaller functional residual capacities, increased heart rates, and increased metabolic requirements compared with adults. The younger pediatric patient who presents for rapid sequence induction (e.g., duodenal atresia) or suspected difficult intubation (eg. , Pierre Robin anomalad) would certainly benefit from appropriate preoxygenation. Several studies using pulse oximetry data have confirmed that these young patients tend to desaturate more quickly than adults.'.' Notably, the time to desaturation is affected by younger age4 and recent upper respiratory infection5-a common variable encountered in clinical pediatric anesthesia from September through April. Such studies using oximetry".' and end-tidal oxygen assessment ("oxygraphy," F E ~ , ~ ) ~ . ' ) have demonstrated that children do indeed benefit from appropriate preoxygenation, which prolongs the potential apneic interval, and that use of a tight-fitting mask for at least 1 min is both desirable and strongly recommended.