Magneto-rheological (MR) dampers, recently, have been widely utilized in many different areas of engineering for their high properties. There are two different kinds of problems for MR dampers, the direct model and the inverse one. It is difficult to express of the direct model of the MR damper for its high nonlinearity and hysteretic characteristics. It is much more difficult to get the inverse model of MR damper, which means the determination of the input voltage so as to gain the desired restoring force decided by the control law. When identifying the direct and the inverse model of MR damper with Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), there exists curse of dimensionality of fuzzy system. Therefore, it will take much more time, and even the inverse model may not be identifiable. The paper presents a hierarchical ANFIS to deal with the curse of dimensionality of the fuzzy identification of MR damper and to identify the direct and the inverse model of MR damper. The numerical simulation proves that the proposed hierarchical ANFIS can model the direct and the inverse model of MR damper much more quickly than ANFIS without more changing of identification precision. Such hierarchical ANFIS shows the higher priority for the complicated system, and can also be used in system identification and system control for the complicated system.


We study the impact of natural resource royalties on educational outcomes in Colombia. We analyze a reform enacted in 2012 that made the distribution of these royalties more equitable. Before the reform, most royalties were assigned to the regions where the natural resources were exploited; with the reform non-producing regions started to receive royalties. We estimate the impact of the reform on regions that most benefited from it, using the international price of oil as an instrument in a difference-in-differences framework. We found positive impacts on enrollment in primary, secondary, and high schools, but no conclusive evidence on academic achievement at any of these levels.


BACKGROUND
New diagnostic tools are urgently needed to interrupt the transmission of tuberculosis and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Rapid, sensitive detection of tuberculosis and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in sputum has been demonstrated in proof-of-principle studies of the microscopic-observation drug-susceptibility (MODS) assay, in which broth cultures are examined microscopically to detect characteristic growth.

METHODS
In an operational setting in Peru, we investigated the performance of the MODS assay for culture and drug-susceptibility testing in three target groups: unselected patients with suspected tuberculosis, prescreened patients at high risk for tuberculosis or multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, and unselected hospitalized patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. We compared the MODS assay head-to-head with two reference methods: automated mycobacterial culture and culture on Löwenstein-Jensen medium with the proportion method.

RESULTS
Of 3760 sputum samples, 401 (10.7%) yielded cultures positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Sensitivity of detection was 97.8% for MODS culture, 89.0% for automated mycobacterial culture, and 84.0% for Löwenstein-Jensen culture (P<0.001); the median time to culture positivity was 7 days, 13 days, and 26 days, respectively (P<0.001), and the median time to the results of susceptibility tests was 7 days, 22 days, and 68 days, respectively. The incremental benefit of a second MODS culture was minimal, particularly in patients at high risk for tuberculosis or multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Agreement between MODS and the reference standard for susceptibility was 100% for rifampin, 97% for isoniazid, 99% for rifampin and isoniazid (combined results for multidrug resistance), 95% for ethambutol, and 92% for streptomycin (kappa values, 1.0, 0.89, 0.93, 0.71, and 0.72, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
A single MODS culture of a sputum sample offers more rapid and sensitive detection of tuberculosis and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis than the existing gold-standard methods used.


The effect of phosphate group modifications on formation and properties of G-quadruplexes (G4s) has not been investigated in detail. Here, we evaluated the structural, thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the parallel G-quadruplexes formed by oligodeoxynucleotides d(G4 T), d(TG4 T) and d(TG5 T), in which all phosphates were replaced with N-methanesulfonyl (mesyl) phosphoramidate or phosphoryl guanidine groups resulting in either negatively charged or neutral DNA sequences, respectively. We established that all modified sequences were able to form G-quadruplexes of parallel topology; however, the presence of modifications led to a decrease in thermal stability relative to unmodified G4s. In contrast to negatively charged G4s, assembly of neutral G4 DNA species was faster in the presence of sodium ions than potassium ions, and was independent of the salt concentration used. Formation of mixed G4s composed of both native and neutral G-rich strands has been detected using native gel electrophoresis, size-exclusion chromatography and ESI-MS. In summary, our results indicate that the phosphate modifications studied are compatible with G-quadruplex formation, which could be used for the design of biologically active compounds.


It is known that the magnetic field of the Earth's closed magnetosphere can be highly displaced from the quiet‐day configuration when interacting with the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), an asymmetry largely controlled by the dawn‐dusk component of the IMF. The corresponding ionospheric convection has revealed that footprints in one hemisphere tend to move faster to reduce the displacement, a process we refer to as the restoring of symmetry. Although the influence on the return flow convection from the process of restoring symmetry has been shown to be strongly controlled by the IMF, the influence from internal magnetospheric processes has been less investigated. We use 14 years of line‐of‐sight measurements of the ionospheric plasma convection from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network to produce high‐latitude convection maps sorted by season, IMF, and geomagnetic activity. We find that the restoring symmetry flows dominate the average convection pattern in the nightside ionosphere during low levels of magnetotail activity. For increasing magnetotail activity, signatures of the restoring symmetry process become less and less pronounced in the global average convection maps. We suggest that tail reconnection acts to reduce the asymmetric state of the closed magnetosphere by removing the asymmetric pressure distribution in the tail set up by the IMF By interaction. During active periods the nightside magnetosphere will therefore reach a more symmetric configuration on a global scale. These results are relevant for better understanding the dynamics of flux tubes in the asymmetric geospace, which is the most common state of the system.


Two people from diverse backgrounds — a black woman and a white man — embarked upon a three-year "healing journey" to attempt to overcome the trauma of historic harms brought on by America's legacy of slavery and the lingering effects of present-day racism. Illustrated through the stories of their lives—and those of their ancestors — Gather at the Table is informed by trauma healing, restorative justice, and peacebuilding skills the authors learned through their work at Eastern Mennonite University and its STAR (Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience) and Coming to the Table programs. EMU is an acclaimed resource for peacebuilding, having introduced their healing models in war-ravaged countries around the world. Coming to the Table began as an initiative focused on linking descendants of enslaved people with the descendants of those by whom they were enslaved. Morgan and DeWolf decided to "live" the Coming to the Table model together. The legacy of slavery remains a horrendous and unhealed wound, a disease that must be diagnosed, treated, and cured. The approach shared in Gather at the Table may just make it possible to heal. This is the story of two people who decided to try.


A new species, Bacillus azotofixans, is described. This taxon is based upon 16 soil and root-associated strains that exhibit acetylene-reducing ability and nitrogen-fixing Bacillus sp. strain Hino. B. azotofixans is phenotypically similar to Bacillus polymyxa and Bacillus macerans. However, 13 tests (nitrate reduction; production of acid and gas from xylose, arabinose, lactose, ribose, and glycerol; resistance to lysozyme; liquefaction of gelatin; starch hydrolysis; decomposition of casein and pectin; production of dihydroxyacetone; susceptibility to B. polymyxa phages) differentiate it from B. polymyxa, and 12 characteristics (spore position; Voges-Proskauer test; nitrate reduction; production of acid and gas from xylose, arabinose, lactose, ribose, and glycerol; growth at 45°C; hydrolysis of starch; decomposition of pectin; formation of crystalline dextrins) differentiate it from B. macerans. The guanine-plus-cytosine contents of five strains ranged from 47.9 to 52.5 mol%. All strains reduced acetylene much more efficiently than B. polymyxa or B. macerans. In four strains, nitrogen fixation was confirmed by micro-Kjeldahl analysis of acetylene-reducing cultures. Acetylene reduction was not inhibited by nitrate and was not dependent on yeast extract or thiamin plus biotin. The proposed type strain of B. azotofixans is strain P3L-5 (= ATCC 35681).


The tyrosine kinase Syk has been implicated as a key signal transducer from the B cell antigen receptor (BCR). We show here that mutation of the Syk gene completely blocks the maturation of immature B cells into recirculating cells and stops their entry into B cell follicles. Furthermore, using radiation chimeras we demonstrate that this developmental block is due to the absence of Syk in the B cells themselves. Syk-deficient B cells are shown to have the life span of normal immature B cells. If this is extended by over-expression of Bcl-2, they accumulate in the T zone and red pulp of the spleen in increased numbers, but still fail to mature to become recirculating follicular B cells. Despite this defect in maturation, Syk-deficient B cells were seen to give rise to switched as well as nonswitched splenic plasma cells. Normally only a proportion of immature B cells is recruited into the recirculating pool. Our results suggest that Syk transduces a BCR signal that is absolutely required for the positive selection of immature B cells into the recirculating B cell pool.


This thesis presents a reconfigurable Ground Control Station designed for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle use, which utilizes multi-touch gesture inputs as well as the ability for the operator to personalize where the instruments they interact with are located on screen. The Ground Control Station that is presented was designed and developed in Ryerson University's Mixed-Reality Immersive Motion Simulation Laboratory utilizing commercial off the shelf programs supplied by Presagis. Presagis' VAPS XT 4.1 beta was used to design and develop the actual Ground Control Station's User Interface due to its ability to create high quality interfaces for aircraft that harness multi-touch gestures. While FlightSIM 14 was used to simulate a high fidelity aircraft being controlled by the Ground Control Station. The final interface was comprised of six key features and 12 different instrument panels that could be manipulated by the operator to control a simulated aircraft throughout a virtual environment.


Film and Modern Life in Limburg. Cinema Exhibition between Commerce and Catholic Cultural Politics (1909-1929) The aim of this book is to provide a deeper understanding of the development of a local and regional infrastructure of cinema exhibition as an element in a larger process of modernization that at the same time stimulated that modernization process. The main focus of the book is on the dynamics of cultural adaptation and resistance accompanying the rise of the cinema exhibition industry in the Dutch province Limburg. How did the cinema integrate into the everyday life of the - predominantly Roman Catholic - inhabitants of this region? The empirical basis for this study stems from painstaking historical research of municipal and other archives, newspapers and magazines, surviving business records, etcetera. For this research I have made use of the concept of the cultural intermediary or broker. In brief, cultural brokers negotiate the appropriation of meaning. More concrete, in this research the most prominent intermediary is the cinema owner. He acted as a gatekeeper deciding in what manner and circumstances and in what dosage his audiences were exposed to an international film culture consisting predominantly of foreign products. The exhibitor chose marketing strategies and constructed the social image of his theatre. He balanced the demands of his audiences against for instance the interests of his suppliers, the distributors, or the pressures of government and church authorities. Besides the entrepeneurs, another category of intermediaries that played a major role in the integration of cinema in Limburg were the local and regional government and officials and religious leaders. The Catholic authorities responded cautious to the growing consumption of commercial entertainment in which the cinema appeared as a pivotal institution during the 1910s. Shortly after World War I the Netherlands Cinema League (Nederlandsche Bioscoopbond), a newly founded professional organization for entrepeneurs in the national cinema industry, succesfully blocked the aspirations for independent Catholic film exhibition. A key struggle took place in the so-called Venlo Cinema War of 1921-1922, during which all cinemas remained closed for almost a year. After that, Catholic authorities shifted their attention to the distribution instead of the exhibition branch of the industry, by setting up a regional, Catholic film censorship organization. This organization regularly came into conflict with the Netherlands Cinema League, culminating in a regional clash in 1929, when the cinemas in numerous cities in the Catholic South of the Netherlands closed for months. Both parties were forced to a settlement by personal interference of the Prime Minister. After this agreement, the relations between the cinema industry and the Catholic authorities gradually became less strained. The regional censorship arrangement safeguarded a sense of regional Catholic identity, guaranteeing at least a degree of control over cinema culture. Simultaneously, the vast majority of films passed the censors, and were as a result implicitly sanctioned by the Catholic authorities. In spite of the repeated reassurance that films were only 'admitted', not 'approved', in this way the censorship stimulated the integration of film culture into Limburg society.


Patients with clinical N1 (cN1) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) based on PET-CT imaging are often found to have occult mediastinal nodal involvement (N2-disease) at invasive staging or resection although the PET-CT was negative on the mediastinum. Two multicenter prospective studies in patients with PET-negative mediastinum but suspected cN1-disease were performed to measure sensitivity of two invasive mediastinal staging strategies to detect mediastinal nodal disease, one with endosonography and one with video-assisted mediastinoscopy (VAM) or video-assisted mediastinoscopic lymphadenectomy (VAMLA). Consecutive patients with operable and resectable cN1 (suspected) NSCLC underwent endosonography, if negative followed by mediastinoscopy in the first study (n=100). In the second study with identical inclusion criteria, patients (n=105) underwent a VAM or VAMLA [VAM(LA)]. All patients underwent FDG-PET and CT scan prior to invasive mediastinal staging. The primary study outcome was sensitivity to detect N2-disease. Secondary endpoints were the prevalence of N2-disease, negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy of the invasive staging procedure. In both studies, 25% of patients with cN1 disease on imaging had eventually pathology-proven N2-disease. Endosonography alone reached a sensitivity (38%) to detect mediastinal nodal disease. Invasive mediastinal staging with VAM(LA) had a sensitivity of 73% to detect N2-disease. The NPV was 92% and accuracy 93%. At endosonography, a mean of 2.1 mediastinal nodal stations were biopsied vs. 3.9 at VAM(LA). VAM(LA) has a satisfactory sensitivity of 73% to detect mediastinal nodal disease in cN1 lung cancer and could be the technique of choice for pre-resection mediastinal lymph node assessment in this patient group with a one in four chance of occult positive mediastinal nodes after negative PET-CT.


Study objectives: For Canadian children living with end-stage renal disease, hemodialysis is a common intervention and usually received in a specialized ambulatory hospital-based unit. Although children spend up to 12 hours a week receiving hemodialysis, little is known about how they perceive and respond to hospital-based hemodialysis. The study's purpose is to describe and interpret the children's embodied situatedness in the temporal, spatial and technological regimes and relations of a pediatric hospital-based hemodialysis unit. Methods: An ethnography was undertaken at a Canadian urban pediatric hospital. Time, space, and technology are viewed as significant interrelated aspects of the hemodialysis unit and the unit is conceived as nested in the broader contexts of the children's everyday lives. The theoretical framework merges concepts of human embodiment and contemporary human geographical perspectives and philosophy of technology. Results: The dominant theme emerging from the study findings is the notion of the children doing 'technological' time. The pervasiveness and reach of hemodialysis technologies upon the children profoundly textures their situations, shapes their perspectives, evaluations and expectations and impacts how they are seen by caregivers in the unit. Conclusions: Crucial changes in practices are essential to envision ways to create with children an overall positive place that merges and balances technological care with child focused care. The inclusion of children's views is critical because many settings typically occupied by children have been designed and designated by authoritative or professional adults as "places for children" (Rasmussen, 2004, p. 155) without children being involved. Exploration of the findings may contribute to the ways that healthcare providers, funders, administrators and policy-makers can facilitate the inclusion of children in the design and care provision of hemodialysis units as well as other high-tech hospital-based units. References Rasmussen, K. (2004). Places for children – children's places. Childhood, 11(2), 155-173.


This article critiques the way the topic of meat and its consumption is addressed in geography education within the remit of education for sustainable development (ESD). We argue that current approaches perpetuate normative food discourse by: (a) framing participation in the food system solely in terms of consumption; (b) simplifying and moralizing food systems as 'good' or 'bad'; and (c) largely omitting animals from a discussion of meat and agriculture. As a result, students learn that their role is to consume 'good' not 'bad' meat, but are ill-equipped to analyse the political–economic, cultural and affective dimensions of food. Meat and consumption topics, although rarely addressed, fall under the broader pedagogy of ESD. Although emancipatory approaches to ESD explore contradictions inherent in and personal aspects of sustainability, ESD in practice often leads to binary schemata of 'right' and 'wrong'. Based on our qualitative review of geography curricula in Austria and Germany (Lower Saxony and Bremen), we find that they neglect meat production and consumption, but that these subjects can be addressed within broader topics about sustainability and agricultural land use. Interviews with secondary school teachers and students indicate that ESD ignores the interpersonal, relational and more-than-human elements of food systems. However, we show that students still rank animal welfare as an important component of sustainability. This indicates that they are influenced by education beyond institutional settings and, furthermore, highlights opportunities for making students aware of the visceral (dis)connections they make between taste and political economy. Finally, we suggest future directions for ESD in order that these links can be explored, probing students to develop their own ethics of the gut.


A peripheral device to a computer is described which is being developed to perform the task of 3D vision autonomously without 'perception' of the scene. The fully integrated, stand-alone hardware front-end employs the active vision technique known as 'strip-lighting' to provide 3D position data for analysis. This front-end provides data within a unique set of 3D co-ordinates. The best of a range of procedures for direct segmentation is combined with a region-growing procedure within the unique co-ordinates to demonstrate the instrument. Results from prepared scenes are presented here which demonstrate the performance of the first prototype. These results show the success of the instrumentation approach to 3D vision acquisition and preliminary analysis. The results also provide a guide for the next stage in the development of this complex instrument.


Most of the common arrhythmias and conduction disturbances have been reported in domestic mammals. Prevalence data, however, are not available from unselected population samples, and little information is at hand on long-term studies of individual cases. A discussion of some of these disturbances, therefore, must necessarily rely more heavily upon clinical impression than is desirable. Data have been published on normal electrocardiograms in different species, which, coupled with published case series, individual case reports, and observations made at the Heart Station of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, provide the basis for this presentation. This information suggests that certain arrhythmias and conduction disturbances occur commonly in some species and should be regarded as normal variants. In animals, departures from the normal regular sinus rhythm characteristic of adult humans apparently result from a relatively greater vagal influence on the cardiac pacemaker and conduction tissues. This certainly accounts for respiratory sinus arrhythmia in dogs. In horses, high resting vagal activity is considered accountable for sinus arrhythmia (respiratory and non-respiratory), wandering pacemaker, varying P-R interval, SA block, and incomplete AV block with dropped beats. Although these arrhythmias and conduction disturbances may occur with primary heart disease, or disease primarily affecting vagal activity, their frequent occurrence in the absence of detectable heart disease and also their disappearance with increased heart rate following exercise, excitement, or atropine, support the view that vagal activity rather than primary heart disease accounts for the majority of occasions in which they are observed. Frequently, more than one of the preceding arrhythmias are observed in one individual in the same or subsequent tracings; therefore frequency data often reflect some overlapping. It is useful, however, to present them individually when discussing more specific information. Disciplines Cardiology | Medicine and Health Sciences | Veterinary Medicine Comments Appendix 6.6 of James W. Buchanan's dissertation Chronic Valve Disease and Left Atrial Splitting in the Dog This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/vet_papers/56


Several potential cancer risk factors have been monitored concurrently in the upper gastrointestinal tract of young male Wistar rats given N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) via the drinking water, a regimen that induces a high yield of tumours in the pylorus and to a lesser extent in the duodenum. Radioimmunoassay was used to determine the amounts of O6-methyl-2'-deoxyguanosine (O6-MedG) formed in the tissue DNA of rats given MNNG at doses of 40 or 80 micrograms/ml for periods of 3, 6 and 12 weeks. The highest adduct concentration was found in the pylorus with progressively lower concentrations in the corpus and duodenum, jejunum, forestomach and oesophagus. Between 3 and 12 weeks these adduct levels decreased in all tissues and there was no evidence of a dose dependent accumulation of O6-MedG. When analysed by immunohistochemistry the distribution of cells with nuclei containing O6-MedG was seen to be heterogeneous in the various tissues. O6-Alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase activity increased during the 12 weeks of MNNG treatment in oesophagus and forestomach, but decreased to approximately 50% of the initial value in the corpus, pylorus, duodenum and jejunum. The major changes in DNA synthesis and cell proliferation were the marked upward expansion (i.e. towards the lumen) of the zone of replicating cells in the glands of the pylorus and the greatly increased numbers of replicating damaged cells (i.e. cells that contained O6-MedG whilst undergoing DNA synthesis) as determined by sequential immunohistochemical analysis and autoradiography. Such cells are the probable target cells in this chronic dose carcinogenesis regime. Although similar changes also occurred in the glands of the corpus these were of lesser extent and the changes of labelling index in the oesophagus and forestomach were relatively minor. In the duodenum, MNNG treatment led to erosion of the upper part of the glands so that the zone of cells containing O6-MedG overlapped with the zone of proliferating cells resulting in the formation of many replicating damaged cells. Thus, as in the single dose study (see preceding paper) the distribution of replicating damaged cells coincides with the tumour yield in the tissues of the upper gastrointestinal tract. As in the case of single doses of MNNG the risk factors for carcinogenesis are, a significant level of DNA damage, a lower capacity for DNA repair and an increased DNA synthetic activity, again suggesting that carcinogenic risk cannot readily be determined by studying risk factors individually.


ABSTRACT Carvedilol poly(d,l)-lactide nanoparticles/microparticles were prepared. The size and morphology of the developed particles were optimized to study the carvedilol release profile by studying the effect of organic solvents and polymer amount through atomic force microscopy analysis. Spherical particles were obtained with a minimum size of 125 nm in the case of acetone and a maximum size of 970 nm in the case of dichloromethane affording microparticles formation. The interaction was confirmed by differential scanning calorimeter and Fourier transform infrared. The in vitro release profile of the multicompartment system (pure carvedilol, loaded nanoparticles and microparticles) has shown a sustained release with Korsmeyer–Peppas with T lag model. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


Invasive fungal sinusitis is an infection of the paranasal sinuses that should be diagnosed early due to its high mortality and morbidity rates. Mucormycosis and aspergillus are the two most important agents of invasive fungal sinusitis. Although usually seen in patients who are immunocompromised, they are rarely seen in immunocompetent patients. In this article, we present three patients with ophthalmoplegia; one patient with hematologic malignancy, and two patients with uncontrolled diabetes. By presenting these three patients with invasive fungal sinusitis, we aimed to emphasize the possible role of fungal sinusitis in the development of ophthalmoplegia in patients with diabetes or immunosuppression due to any reason, and the importance of early treatment.


Premixed diesel combustion offers the potential of high thermal efficiency and low emissions, however, because the rapid rate of pressure rise and short combustion durations are often associated with low temperature combustion processes, noise is also an issue. The reduction of combustion noise is a technical matter that needs separate attention. Engine noise research has been conducted experimentally with a premixed diesel engine and techniques for engine noise simulation have been developed. The engine employed in the research here is a supercharged, single cylinder DI diesel research engine with a high pressure common rail fuel injection system. In the experiments, the engine was operated at 1600 rpm and 2000 rpm, the engine noise was sampled by two microphones, and the sampled engine noise was averaged and analyzed by an FFT sound analyzer. The structural attenuation of the test engine was calculated from the power spectrum of the FFT analysis of the in-cylinder pressure wave data and the cross power spectrum of the sound pressure of the engine noise by the coherence method. With the heat release history approximated by the Wiebe function, the pressure history could be calculated from the fitted curves of the heat release, and the simulated combustion noise was calculated from the pressure history and structural attenuation. Two simulations were conducted for this paper. Since combustion noise arises in a trade-off relation with thermal efficiency in general, the best heat release shape for low engine noise and high thermal efficiency was first investigated. The simulation parameters of the heat release shape are the crank angle at 50% burn (CA50), the maximum rate of heat release, the combustion duration, and the initial rise in the high temperature heat release. Based on the heat release data of the engine tests, initial conditions were set and the simulation was conducted with these initial conditions. The simulation results show that the CA50 and degree of constant volume are related to the thermal efficiency and the initial rise in the high temperature heat release is related to the engine noise. For the conditions studied in this research, the thermal efficiency is maximum when the CA50 of the heat release occurs at 4.0 °CA ATDC, and the optimum engine operation for lower engine noise with higher thermal efficiency can be achieved by a mild initial rise in the high temperature heat release (the parameter-M=2.0 in the Wiebe function) and a high degree of constant volume combustion. The effects of the connecting rod/crank radius ratio (L/R ratio, Figure 10) on combustion noise and thermal efficiency were also investigated. The L/R ratio was changed from 2.5 to 8 in 0.5 steps, and the heat balance and combustion noise were calculated. The simulation results show that improvements in the thermal efficiency can be achieved with decreases in the L/R ratio, caused by the cooling loss reduction, but that L/R ratio changes do not result in a reduction in combustion noise. Further, the heat release shape for the optimum thermal efficiency and combustion noise was calculated from the points of the L/R ratio, maximum rate of heat release, and combustion duration. Optimization of Heat Release Shape and the Connecting Rod Crank Radius Ratio for Low Engine Noise and High Thermal Efficiency of Premixed Diesel Engine Combustion 2015-01-0825 Published 04/14/2015 Gen Shibata and Koki Ishi Hokkaido Univ. Hirooki Ushijima Subaru Motors Yushi Shibaike and Hideyuki Ogawa Hokkaido Univ. David E. Foster University of Wisconsin CITATION: Shibata, G., Ishi, K., Ushijima, H., Shibaike, Y. et al., "Optimization of Heat Release Shape and the Connecting Rod Crank Radius Ratio for Low Engine Noise and High Thermal Efficiency of Premixed Diesel Engine Combustion," SAE Technical Paper 2015-01-0825, 2015, doi:10.4271/2015-01-0825. Copyright © 2015 SAE International Downloaded from SAE International by Gen Shibata, Friday, May 12, 2017


Recombinant vaccinia viruses that express the bacteriophage T3 RNA polymerase (VV-T3pol) or the Escherichia coli lac repressor (VV-lacI) under control of the early-late vaccinia promoter P7.5 were constructed. To determine whether phage polymerase and lac repressor can function in the nucleus of mammalian cells, the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene was cloned downstream of a T3 promoter (PT3-CAT) or downstream of a T3 promoter-lac operator fusion element (PT3Olac-CAT), and these reporter gene cassettes were introduced stably into NIH 3T3 or Ltk- cells. Infection of 3T3/PT3-CAT or Ltk-/PT3-CAT cells by VV-T3pol led to rapid expression of CAT (greater than 20 ng of CAT protein per 10(6) cells). The presence of hydroxyurea (which blocks virus DNA replication) did not prevent CAT production. When 3T3/PT3Olac-CAT cells were infected with both VV-T3pol and VV-lacI (multiplicities of infection of 2.5 and 10, respectively), greater than 30-fold repression of CAT gene activity by lac repressor was observed. This could be reversed to unrepressed levels by the presence of 10 mM o-nitrophenyl-beta-D-galactoside (IPTG) in the medium. Regulated expression of the target gene was observed with cell lines that had been maintained for over 1 year (greater than 50 passages in culture), and Southern blot analysis revealed the presence of the CAT gene only in the nuclear fraction in these cells, demonstrating the stability of the target gene. These results indicate that vaccinia virus-encoded proteins can function in the mammalian nucleus and provide the basis for a genetic system in which essential vaccinia virus genes, placed in the chromosome of a cell, can be used to complement defective virus particles. This approach may prove useful for other virus systems.


Background Parkinsonism is a common and invalidating feature of Huntington's disease (HD) that results difficult to manage since levodopa and/or dopaminergic agonists may exacerbate chorea and psychiatric symptoms. Methods Two patients exhibiting a rigid-akinetic form of HD, -with apathetic symptoms and slight depression in patient A and major depression in patient B were treated with Rasagiline (a monoaminoxidasa-B inhibitor used in Parkinson's disease) 1mg/day. Motor function, cognition and affect were explored through the Unified Huntington Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS), neuropsychological assessment, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Starkstein's Apathy Scale. Results One month after initiation of Rasagiline, motor function improved on rigidity/bradykinesia (measured with finger taps, pronate supinate-hands, bradykiensia-body and rigidity items). Patient A improved nine points (Initial UHDRS = 33, final 24) and patient B ten (Initial UHDRS = 24, final 14). No worsening on chorea neither in other items was seen. Significant amelioration of apathy and depression was also evidenced in both cases. In Patient A, apathy score decreased from 18 to 12 points and from 12 to 7 for depression. In patient B, apathy decreased from 22 to 13, while depression from 14 to 6. The Global impression of change was rated by the patients up to 70% of improvement in both cases. Neurologist rated up to 50% for patient A and 70% for patient B. Both remained stable after 3-month follow-up. Conclusions In our reported cases of HD, rasagiline appeared effective to treat parkinsonism. Future studies are needed to clarify the potential usefulness of Rasagiline for the management of HD.


Assimilating recent observations improves model outcomes for real-time assessments of groundwater processes. This is demonstrated in estimating time-varying recharge to a shallow fractured-rock aquifer in response to precipitation. Results from estimating the time-varying water-table altitude (h) and recharge, and their error covariances, are compared for forecasting, filtering, and fixed-lag smoothing (FLS), which are implemented using the Kalman Filter as applied to a data-driven, mechanistic model of recharge. Forecasting uses past observations to predict future states and is the current paradigm in most groundwater modeling investigations; filtering assimilates observations up to the current time to estimate current states; and FLS estimates states following a time lag over which additional observations are collected. Results for forecasting yield a large error covariance relative to the magnitude of the expected recharge. With assimilating recent observations of h, filtering and FLS produce estimates of recharge that better represent time-varying observations of h and reduce uncertainty in comparison to forecasting. Although model outcomes from applying data assimilation through filtering or FLS reduce model uncertainty, they are not necessarily mass conservative, whereas forecasting outcomes are mass conservative. Mass conservative outcomes from forecasting are not necessarily more accurate, because process errors are inherent in any model. Improvements in estimating real-time groundwater conditions that better represent observations need to be weighed for the model application against outcomes with inherent process deficiencies. Results from data assimilation strategies discussed in this investigation are anticipated to be relevant to other groundwater processes models where system states are sensitive to system inputs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


In the context of missions accomplished jointly by an artifi cal agent and a human agent, we focus on a controller of the authority dynamics based on a dependence graph of resources that can be controlled by both agents. The controller is designed to adapt the behaviours of the artifi cial agent or of the human agent in case of an authority conflict occurring on these resources. The relative authority of two agents regarding the control of a resource is de fined so as the authority conflict, which appears relevant to trigger authority reallocation between agents as shown by a fi rst experiment. Finally a second experiment shows that beyond the modifi cation of the arti ficial agent's behaviour, it is also possible to adapt the human operator's behaviour in order to solve such a conflict.


ABSTRACT Background: Despite the magnitude of dementia, little research on survival duration and prognosis of dementia has been reported in developing countries. This study was conducted to investigate survival times, identify related prognostic factors and construct a prognostic index (PI) for community-based dementia patients in Beijing, China. Methods: This study is part of the 10/66 Dementia Research Group study in China. One hundred and thirty-seven dementia patients identified by 10/66 dementia criteria among 2162 participants and 137 referent subjects matched by age and sex were followed up for five years. Results: Ninety-one (66.4%) dementia patients and 51 (37.2%) referent subjects died during the 5-year follow-up (p < 0.01). The median survival time of dementia patients was 4.2 years (95% CI: 3.8–4.6). Severity of dementia (severe/mild, HR: 8.765, 95% CI: 4.436–17.163), substantial disability (HR: 5.503, 95% CI: 3.017–8.135), co-morbidity (HR: 4.149, 95% CI: 2.254–7.736) and age (HR: 1.079, 95% CI: 1.048–1.110) were independent predictors of survival for patients with dementia. Using the PI calculated for each dementia patient, all dementia patients were classified into three groups: low, medium and high risk groups. The median survival times of each group were 5.2 years, 4.4 years and 1.5 years (p < 0.01), respectively. Conclusions: Survival times of community-based dementia patients were significantly shorter than those of referent subjects. Severity of dementia, substantial disability, co-morbidity and age were independent predictors of survival. The PI derived from the four predictors can stratify the mortality risk and predict life expectancy for community-dwelled dementia patients, although further validation is needed.


This paper is based on analyses of historical documents and scholarly reviews relating to Lanka and Thailand; focusing on how Buddhist teachings shaped the cultural traditions. Sri Lankan history begins in 543 BC, with the migration of Sinhala people from Northern India influenced by Hindi traditions. In 243 BC a Buddhist mission to Lanka resulted from a friendship between Indian and Lankan monarchs leading to Lankans embracing Buddhism. Thereafter, Buddhist teachings had a huge impact in shaping the education and culture whereby temples became centers of education and between 89-76 BC, Buddhist Doctrine commissioning into writing in Sinhala. This event improved the image of Lanka, amongst Buddhist countries greatly. Medieval-times became the Golden Age of education consolidating relations with China, Siam, Burma, Cambodia, and Laos. From 1505, Christian missionary campaigns adversely affected indigenous education; yet, a revival occurred since 1880. Currently, it has a Western model education system complemented by a pirivena system, integrated with Buddhist culture in harmony with Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Thailand's developments goes back to pre-historic times resulting in several ethnic groups merging into one Thai nation. However, Thailand's documented history commences from 1220. Thai education was influenced by India, Burma and Lanka whereby education offered at temples/monasteries and households playing dominant roles through the Ayutthaya to Thonburi, and Bangkok periods. Unlike Lanka, Thailand could remain independent from Western colonial rule. But, missionary campaigns since 1868 to convert Thai people into Christianity resulted in the reformation of formal education with state intervention. Thereafter, she experienced three phases of reforms, education becoming both ecclesiastical and secular. Buddhist teachings are being provided at all levels of education as a way of living. Reforms of 1999 were implemented with Self-Governing Schools. Education systems of both countries were developed in conformity with the cultural environments enriched by religion and mutual interactions.


PURPOSE
To develop a method to qualify the function of cultured human corneal endothelial cells (cHCECs) applicable for clinical settings.

METHODS
The diversified gene and microRNA (miRNA) signatures in HCECs from a variety of tissue donors were confirmed by three-dimensional (3D) gene human miRNA profiling. These were compared with those of more than 20 cHCECs distinct in their cell morphology or culture lots. Candidate genes were selected after quantitative (q)RT-PCR validation, and gene products were assayed by ELISA. After three additional screening steps, final candidate cytokines for qualification were selected.

RESULTS
Gene and miRNA signatures among distinct cHCEC lots were greatly diversified compared with those among fresh tissues from different age donors. By comparing more than 20 lots of cultures, 32 candidate genes were assigned to be seemingly linked to distinct cHCEC morphologic features. The validation of candidate genes by qRT-PCR revealed the genes, either upregulated or downregulated, corresponding to morphologic variances in cHCECs (e.g., epithelial-mesenchymal transition or cell senescence). Further adding the ELISA results by Bio-Plex Human Cytokine 27-Plex Panel, 11 candidate cytokines suitable to qualify cHCEC function were selected. In consideration of the presence of these cytokines in the anterior chamber, IL-8, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP-1), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) were ultimately selected and applied in practice for the qualification of cHCECs actually used in our clinical cell-injection studies.

CONCLUSIONS
The specified cytokines properly discriminating the functional features of cHCECs indicates a correlation between profiling signatures and cell morphology.


Piracy is the single greatest threat to copyright owners in the US and globally, and China stands at the heart of the international piracy epidemic, producing nearly two-thirds of the goods on the $512 billion worldwide counterfeit market. Chinese piracy costs the US music and film industries billions of dollars in losses each year, and the Chinese domestic music and film industries have been decimated at the hands of pirates. Any solution to the international piracy problem must begin with a solution to the problem in China. However, the road to such a solution has become far more difficult with the rapid growth of the Internet in China, and consequently, the rapid growth of Internet piracy there. This paper contemplates what the future holds for the protection of audiovisual works in China. It is meant to provide cultural and historical context to the copyright piracy epidemic in China, and, with that context in mind, realistically assess three policy directions from which the Chinese government might choose going forward as it seeks to defeat piracy in the Internet age and develop vibrant domestic music and film industries. The three policy directions examined are: (1) cracking down on piracy; (2) staying the present course; and (3) establishing an online alternative compensation system that would allow users to download unlimited music and movies from the Internet while ensuring copyright owners are fairly compensated for their works. I argue that the third option could provide the optimal balance between the objectives of Chinese consumers (more entertainment at a lower price), copyright owners (fair compensation), and the Chinese government (cultural enrichment and reduction of Internet and physical piracy). Information used in this paper was obtained from numerous interviews I conducted in Shanghai and Beijing during December 2004 and January 2005. All of those interviewed are connected with copyright in China, either in the administrative, legal, or entertainment fields. Interviewees included government officials, intellectual property lawyers, an appellate court judge specializing in intellectual property cases, law professors, music producers, a television producer, a publicist, an agent, songwriters, and music industry executives.


The spices in India have been playing a great role in strengthening the economic conditions because of their characteristic aroma and presence of etheric oils which is mostly obtained after grinding. Grinding of spices generates heat which leads to loss of volatile oils and production of lower quality spice powders. To overcome this, cryogenic grinding system which uses liquid nitrogen or liquid carbon dioxide is developed. Being expensive, it isn't commercialized much in India. The main objective of this research was to study the effect of low temperature grinding of turmeric rhizome and development of pre-cooling unit for cooling turmeric. Performance evaluation was done at 5°C, 10°C and 15°C by circulating chill water through double jacketed pre-cooling chamber. The results revealed that volatile oil had been retained higher at 4.5% in 5°C for grounded sample. Similarly, energy consumption, time and increase in temperature during grinding were less while reducing the turmeric temperature before grinding.


Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is recognized as the most common reproductive disorder in women. Obesity is believed to play a central role in the development of PCOS, as many women with this condition are reported to be overweight or obese. A strong correlational relationship exists between PCOS and obesity. This paper examines the relationship between PCOS and obesity in order to determine whether PCOS causes obesity as opposed to obesity causes metabolic changes that lead to PCOS. Analysis was conducted by reviewing and comparing many studies related to the topic . Factors such as insulin resistance, hyperandrogenemia and body fat distribution were examined in obese and non-obese PCOS subjects. Most studies included in this review could not conclusively determine whether PCOS contributed to obesity or vice versa. The important points raised in the literature showed that obesity could be an important factor to predict PCOS. In women who are predisposed to PCOS, the metabolic and hormonal issues that are present such as insulin resistance and hyperandrogenism, can lead to weight gain and eventually obesity. Obesity in turn can exacerbate the symptoms of PCOS such as further metabolic issues and reproductive abnormalities.


President Barack Obama was in office for less than a year before he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, making him the third sitting American President in office to win the award. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded President Obama the Prize as a catalyst to further encourage his peaceful approach and reverse some of the George W. Bush Administration's inimical actions in the international community. Obama was expected to follow in the same trajectory of actions to which those other recipients of the award dedicated their life work, and that was the pursuit of world peace. With the potent expectation of President Obama to promote peace, it is only necessary to ask the following question: How did a Noble Peace Prize recipient bomb an African, Third World country and send 30,000 additional troops to a war he so detested leading up to his election and after? This paper seeks to answer this major research question. The Pacifist Theory asserts a commitment to peace and an opposition to war. Utilizing this theory, this paper analyzes the contradictory war policies of President Barack Obama and his employment of the Pacifist Theory in his obtainment of office and earlier into his job as President. Thus, the hypothesis tested in this study is that President Obama utilized the Pacifist theory to gain office and through his war policies performed the complete opposite of a pacifist. Qualitative data derived from primary and secondary sources using expert interviews and the document analysis technique were analyzed. The findings from the analysis support the hypothesis tested.


Synthesis of photothermal materials with high efficiency and anti-corrosion stability is key for photothermal corrosive-water evaporation, but remains a great challenge. Herein, for the first time, we developed mesoporous Fe3Si aerogel as a new photothermal material for remarkably efficient and stable corrosive-water evaporation. The as-prepared Fe3Si aerogel presented narrow mesopores with a size of 2–3 nm that could greatly reduce the thermal conductivity to 0.04 W m−1 K−1, which is the lowest reported value so far, and depressed the latent heat of water evaporation. The obtained Fe3Si aerogel supported on melamine foam demonstrated outstanding seawater evaporation rate of 2.08 kg m−2 h−1 and high solar-thermal utilization efficiency of 91.8% under one solar level irradiation, exceeding those of most of the photothermal materials. Notably, owing to the strong corrosion resistance, the support-free hydrophobic Fe3Si aerogel displayed utrastable solar-thermal water evaporation performance, with more than 1 kg m−2 h−1 of water evaporation and outstanding cycling stability in two highly corrosive solutions, namely, 0.5 M H2SO4 and 1 M NaOH. Therefore, we believe that the Fe3Si aerogels have great potential for wide industrial applications such as seawater desalination, salt production, brine management and water purification.


This paper explores whether the impact of economic uncertainty on credit growth differs for Islamic vs. conventional banks. Using a sample of 416 banks (58 Islamic and 358 conventional) in 12 countries, the findings indicate that an increase in economic uncertainty significantly decreases the credit growth of conventional banks but does not have any significant impact on Islamic banks' credit growth. Our results are robust to alternative specifications and addressing endogeneity concerns using GMM estimators. We further observe that our findings are stronger for the following countries: (1) countries with explicit deposit insurance protection system for Islamic banks, (2) lower foreign dominance, and (3) countries with a higher share of deposits and assets in Islamic banks.


In this Article the author contends that judges should be conscious of aesthetics when deciding copyright cases. However, given the inherent ambiguity of aesthetics and the supposedly objective rules and principles that govern judicial opinions, courts implicitly assume a sharp divide between aesthetic reasoning and legal reasoning. Additionally, because aesthetic choices by judges could potentially be deemed government censorship, the two are further considered incompatible. The author argues, however, that this distinction is illusory in that a truly open-minded copyright jurisprudence requires explicit awareness of aesthetics. This argument is supported firstly by a description of four major movements from aesthetic theory, which represent some of our culture's most thoughtful observations about art and its meaning. Secondly, case analyses from three major doctrines in copyright law illustrate how legal reasoning appears to avoid aesthetic issues in copyright. Lastly, the Article argues for explicit consciousness of aesthetics as the best way to treat varying aesthetic viewpoints fairly.


This pilot study was conducted to determine whether or not it is necessary for an occupational therapy (OT) student to dissect a human cadaver in order to gain the knowledge of human anatomy required for subsequent course work in neuroanatomy, kinesiology, and occupational therapy theory and practice in physical dysfunction. Junior students were permitted to select either an anatomy course in which they dissected human cadavers or one in which prosected models were used. Similarity of the academic ability of students in each of the two groups was assured by comparing cumulative grade point averages at the end of the sophomore year. Final grades in neuroanatomy, kinesiology, and the OT course were used as criteria for comparing the effects of the two anatomy course formats. Results indicate that when students are permitted to select the anatomy class of their choice, there is no significant difference in grades in subsequent related course work.


As Web infrastructures continue to develop, the need to have network-sensitive Web servers will continue become more important. In particular, current network routers do not bias against flows that use more than their fair share of bandwidth. In the future, however, this will not be true, requiring the Web servers to be network-sensitive. In this paper, we investigate techniques for balancing Web server load in servers that support network-sensitive video delivery. The goal of this research is to provide a scalable infrastructure that is well-balanced in terms of response times. Our results show that we can significantly improve current DNS (Domain Name System) schemes for Web server balancing.


Background Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 3350 is a non-absorbable, non-metabolised osmotic agent used in lavage solutions for gut cleansing. Aims To compare the efficacy of PEG and lactulose in chronic constipation. Methods A total of 115 patients with chronic constipation entered a multicentre, randomised, comparative trial. They initially received two sachets containing either PEG (13 g/sachet) or lactulose (10 g/sachet) and were given an option to change the dose to one or three sachets/day, depending on response. Results Ninety nine patients completed the trial. After four weeks, patients in the PEG group (n=50) had a higher number of stools and a lower median daily score for straining at stool than patients in the lactulose group (n=49). Overall improvement was greater in the PEG group. Clinical tolerance was similar in the two groups, but flatus was less frequently reported in the PEG group. The mean number of liquid stools was higher in the PEG group but the difference was significant only for the first two weeks. There were no serious adverse events and no significant change in laboratory tests in either group. At the end of the study, the number of sachets used by the patients was 1.6 (0.7)/day in the PEG group and 2.1 (0.7)/day in the lactulose group. Sixty one patients completed a further two months open study of one to three sachets PEG daily; there was no loss of efficacy and no serious toxicity. Conclusion Low dose PEG 3350 was more effective than lactulose and better tolerated.


Age estimation at a distance has potential applications including visual surveillance and monitoring in public places. Far from the camera, image resolution is significantly degraded. In fact, age estimation using classical methods such as face is not reliable. Given that gait is very sensitive to ageing, gait analysis is the suitable solution for age estimation at a great distance from the camera. Medical and biomechanical studies prove that older adults adapt their walking toward a safer and more stable gait and an established balance. Indeed, in this study the authors propose a gait-based descriptor for age classification using a silhouette projection model. The proposed model encapsulates both spatiotemporal longitudinal (SLP) and transverse (STP) projections of the silhouette during a gait cycle. The proposed model aims to represent the arms' swing, the head's pitch, the hunched posture and the stride's length, which are among the most outstanding ageing characteristics that appear on the elderly's gait. Although age classification using gait is a very challenging task, SLP and STP curves analysis shows a considerable discrimination between young and elderly people. Also, experiments conducted on the OU-ISIR database prove that their proposed descriptor outperforms existing ones by reaching an important recognition rate.


Education institute are the nursery for the future minds of the nation. Knowledge represents the intangible assets of the education institutes, industries and nations. With development of the information and telecommunication technology activities like commerce, communication, entertainment and learning are occurring on internet. As universities and colleges are started using an online learning platform for providing content to students and started using student management system for better management of the students personal data. Education institute have large amount of student data like basic personal information, attendance, marks, achievements etc. Online learning platform provide an opportunity to capture fine gain data about student online activities like course content he browse, time spent on each unit, post on forum, practice test, sequence of activity will generate large amount of structured and unstructured data. But it is found that educational system are notoriously poor in managing the data and taking advantage of this generated data. There are two research area for Big Data mining in education called educational data mining and learning analytics. Educational data mining is suit for the computational and psychological methods and research approach for the understanding how student learn, predict student future learning behavior. Learning analytics is becoming defined as an area of research and application and is related to academic analytics actions and predication analytics. Recently waste amount of work has been done in other area like ecommerce portal and increase the click through rate. So now considering opportunities with data generate by the online learning platform we can mine the education data for calculating learner performance interest problem face by the learner knowledge level for different knowledge point. As recently there are lot of research in education data mining and some researcher started treating data in education system as big data problem, we have done survey of various research in education. Keywords—Education, Data Mining, Predictive analysis, Big Data, Hadoop, Association Rules.


Timmer provides an excellent review and synthesis of the challenges and solutions to reducing hunger and improving food security, importantly emphasizing the need to rely on markets together with government provision of public goods such as agricultural research and development (R&D) and rural roads and other infrastructure in order to generate agricultural production growth and stimulate structural transformation to make big improvements in food security. A wide range of readers will benefit from this book, first and foremost students of agriculture and economic development.


While it is known that softness discrimination relies on both kinesthetic and cutaneous information, relatively little work has been done on the realization of haptic devices replicating the two cues in an integrated and effective way. In this paper, we first discuss the ambiguities that arise in unimodal touch, and provide a simple intuitive explanation in terms of basic contact mechanics. With this as a motivation, we discuss the implementation and control of an integrated device, where a conventional kinesthetic haptic display is combined with a cutaneous softness display. We investigate the effectiveness of the integrated display via a number of psychophysical tests and compare the subjective perception of softness with that obtained by direct touch on physical objects. Results show that the subjects interacting with the integrated haptic display are able to discriminate softness better than with either a purely kinesthetic or a purely cutaneous display. Index Terms—Haptic interfaces, softness rendering, kinesthesia, cutaneous perception, psychophysics.


Purpose: To study the alumni network and its features of the top ten ranking universities in NIRF-2019 and based on it to design and develop a custom social network for management of alumni of a department or university which are span across the Globe. Methodology: Top ten universities in the NIRF-2019 ranking were thoroughly studied to know the basic features they provide in their alumni site and later on a suitable custom social networking platform were selected to host the alumni network of a university in India that has those basic features in some form. Findings: There are a wide varieties of software available to manage the alumni data, some of which are directly marketed as alumni management software and easy to understand by all kind of people whereas some others are marketed as custom social networking platform or under other terminologies and sometimes even have more usable features than that of software specifically categorized as alumni management software. Research Limitation: The study only covers the top ten NIRF-2019 ranking universities to find out the basic features of an alumni site. However, there may be some lower ranking institutes that even can have more usable features in their alumni site. Practical Implication: The findings of the research can be useful in tracing the basic features of an alumni site and identification of different kinds of software to host such alumni site. Originality: This study is expected to help the people responsible for the design and development of the alumni site and in fine tuning their software to meet the need of their institute and alumni.


Livestock grazing of riparian areas can have a major impact on stream banks and stream integrity if improperly managed. The goals of this study were to determine the sediment and phosphorus (P) losses from stream bank soils under varying cattle stocking rates and to identify additional factors that impact stream bank erosion in the southern Iowa Drift Plain. The research was conducted on 13 cooperating beef cow-calf farms within the Rathbun Lake Watershed in south central Iowa. Over three years, stream bank erosion rates were estimated by using an erosion pin method. Eroded stream bank lengths and area, soil bulk density, and total P (TP) content in stream bank soil were measured to calculate soil and TP losses via stream bank erosion. The length of severely eroded stream banks and soil compaction of the riparian areas of the pastures were positively related to stocking rates. There was no direct relationship between bank erosion and stocking rate. These results suggest that use of riparian areas as pasture can negatively impact the integrity of the major source areas and that the impact could be reduced through management of livestock stocking densities within these riparian areas.


A nationwide, multicenter study of typical retinitis pigmentosa (RP) was carried out in collaboration with 18 hospitals throughout Japan to obtain current information for genetic counseling. We analyzed the genetic heterogeneity of RP based on the parental consanguinity of 434 probands registered during a 6-month period in 1990. A gradual decline in the frequency of consanguineous marriage was recognized among the normal parents of RP patients. The relative frequencies of inheritance patterns were estimated as: autosomal recessive, 25.2%; autosomal dominant, 16.9%; X-linked, 1.6%; and simplex, 56.3%. A comparison of these results with previous reports in Japan revealed a decline in the relative frequency of autosomal recessive cases and an increase in simplex cases. This suggests a decrease in the incidence of autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa in Japan, as well as the necessity for exhaustive investigations aimed at identifying inheritance patterns for RP patients seeking genetic counseling. Jpn J OphtMmoi 1997;41:1-6


The rolling element bearing is a key part in many mechanical equipment. The accurate and timely diagnosis of its faults is critcal for predictive maintenance. Vibration signals from a defective bearing with a localized fault contain a series of impulsive responses, which result from the impacts of the defective part(s) with other elements and inevitable noise. Most researches carried out have focused on fault location identification. However, limited work has been reported for fault severity estimation, which is critical to make decision for maintenance actions. To improve current diagnostic capability,. This paper presents a new approach to detection and diagnosis of bearing fault severity based on vibration analysis using modulation signal bispectrum (MSB). It models the vibration sources from bearing defects as an impact process with constant size but three different lengths corresponding to outer race fault, inner race fault and roller fault, respectively. The results shows that MSB has a better and reliable performance in extract small changes from the faulty bearing for accurate fault detection and diagnosis for different bearing fault severity.


In order to understand the structure and function of H-FABP gene, reveal the effect on the heart-type fatty acid-binding protein in goat, the cDNA of H-FABP gene was cloned and sequenced from heart of Tianfu goat (an emerging breed) by T-A clone techniques. The structure and function of H-FABP were analyzed by bioinformatics, and the gene expression profile in different tissues was examined by real-time PCR. The results showed that the full sequence of H-FABP cDNA is 650 bp, containing 402 bp coding region (CDS) encoding 133 amino acids. The isoelectric point (pI) of the protein is 6.11, and the molecular weight is 14.7 kDa. There were eight phosphorylational sites in this protein. The secondary structure of the protein was mainly α-helix, random coil and extended strand structure. The deduced amino acid sequence of H-FABP shared significant identity with the H-FABP from other mammals. The phylogenic tree based on H-FABP protein sequence was detected the closest relationship to cattle. A predicted 3D model was constructed by homology modeling. H-FABP mRNA is a broad-spectrum expression gene, which was detected in heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, longissimus muscle and leg muscle. In particular, high expression levels of H-FABP mRNA were detected in heart, longissimus muscle and leg muscle, but low expressions were observed in liver tissue.


The present paper presents a descriptive summary of the views and experiences of people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) as they have been represented in research and other literature. The authors develop further the DoH Research Initiative on Learning Disability: Proposal for a Research Review on the Views and Experiences of Users and Carers, a review report commissioned by the Department of Health on the views and experiences of users and family carers focusing on the ways in which research might contribute to policy and practice. The literature review of user views and experiences produced three broad categories: (1) 'testaments of life', which are mainly ethnographies and life histories; (2) 'user movement media' produced in an accessible format for people with IDs or by people with IDs themselves; and (3) 'research based studies' in their varying forms. It is demonstrated that no single approach is able to encompass all the interests of knowledge production, policy planning, and action or practice on its own. Some of the methodological issues associated with these gaps are more fully discussed. A more coordinated and broad-based research approach to user views and experiences is advocated.


Debt creation is one of the most serious problems faced by modern economies. It occurs through financial institutions using the huge funds they have mostly from depositors to create debt through providing financing to clients. Then comes the issue of selling the debt resulting from the financial intermediation to exacerbate the risk further. The totality of these two things, excessive creation of debt and then selling it, is one of the most important causes of financial crises, and the recent global financial crisis in 2008, is the best witness to this fact. Huge amount of real estate debt was created by means of home financing in the United States, securitized and then sold locally and abroad. Debtors defaulted and consequently collateral damage occurred affecting debts owners, debt insurance companies and banks all over the world. Although Islam in principle does not oppose to the issue of financial intermediation, since selling at a deferred price may involve financial intermediation, like in the banking Murabaha, Islam however prohibits the trade of debt arising from this mediation for its risk being a major reason for economic crises, and this reflects the invulnerability of the Islamic economics to crises. The research comes to investigate this issue and criticize the contemporary interpretations that justify the sale of debt by various means, since such interpretations deprive Islamic finance of its major element of immunity against financial crises.


Wildlife-vehicle collisions kill millions of wild animals around the world, however this number could be underestimated because the absent of monitoring of road-kill events. Here, we aimed to examine reptile road mortality in three routes located on a fragmented landscape in the Middle Magdalena Valley, Santander department, Colombia. We described the species composition affected by road mortality, estimated the road-kill rates for each studied road segment, and also analyzed the spatial and temporal distributions of reptile road-kills, identifying the location of road-kill hotspots, and proposing mitigation measures. During an 8-month period, we recorded a total of 66 road-killed reptiles belonging to 18 species. There was difference in the number of roadkills among seasons, being the rainy season where there was a biggest number of road-kill events. The road with the highest number of road-kill events was Departmental Route 1 (DR01) this also presents the highest road-kill rates relative to the other road segments assessed. Spatial distribution for road-kill reptiles was non-random for the route DR01, indicating that mortalities were aggregated in some locations, which correspond to potential road-kill hotspots. The road-kill hotspots identified in this study offer a unique opportunity for design efficient mitigation measures that will work properly. Based on our results, as well as in the social and economic reality of the study region, we consider that mitigation measures should be focused on changing driver behavior, involving educational plans to increase public awareness and promote in the local people behaviors in benefit to wildlife conservation.


Summary.
 Winter habitat influences the number of feather mites of two species living on European robins Erithacus rubecula. Plumicolous feather mites are a little-known but diverse and abundant group of symbionts of birds. The nature of the feather mite versus bird relationship is controversial, with reports ranging from suggestions of parasitism to evidence supporting commensalism or even mutualism. In addition, little is known as to why enormous inter-individual variation in mite loads is observed within bird species. In this study we show that migrant European robins Erithacus rubecula differ in their load of Proctophyllodes rubeculinus and Trouessartia c.f. rubecula by a factor of 2 to 3 depending on the winter habitat that they occupy. Such variation cannot be explained as being due to robins from different geographic origins wintering in different habitats, as wing shape and stable hydrogen isotope ratios (inferring breeding origin) in feathers of those robins did not explain variation in mite loads. Furthermore, there were no age or sex effects on the number of mites, but abundance increased as winter progressed. Robins wintering in the best putative habitat had higher mite numbers and the fact that there was no correlation between mite infestation levels and either muscle or fat scores indicates minimal costs to the host and hints at a commensal or mutualistic relationship. More research is needed to better understand the factors underlying differences between habitats. Meanwhile, habitat must be taken into consideration in future studies of the relationships between feather mites and birds.


We evaluated the effect of adding a small amount of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), which is a temperaturesensitive polymer, on the glass transition temperature (Tg) of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc). The Tg of a blend comprising 5wt.% PNIPAM was affected by the ambient temperature; the Tg was low when the blend was stored at low temperatures and high when it was stored at high temperatures. This phenomenon can be attributed to the hydrophilic–hydrophobic transition of the PNIPAM. At low temperatures, the moisture content of the blend increased, resulting in a low Tg because of the plasticizing effect of water molecules on the PVAc. Because the material becomes soft at low temperatures, this unique property can be exploited in the design of smart materials. Copyright © 2018 VBRI Press.


We evaluate quantitatively which behavioral stage dominantly generates magnetic field adjacent to a CA3 pyramidal cell by using a compartmental model with dendrites and an axon. Generally speaking, there are four stages in the potential behavior, i.e., excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potential, firing action potential, bursting action potential, if any, and after-hyperpolarization potential stages. Calculated magnetic field also consists of corresponding four stages. We find, first, the dominant origin of the peaks of the magnetic field is counter propagating pulses at the firing and bursting stage at basal and apical dendrites. Second, the amplitude of the magnetic field changes to a great extent by the cancellation timing of the apical- and basal-originating fields depending on the calcium ionic channel spikes. Third, the field generated by the current flowing through the axon is significant enough when the temporal resolution of the measurement system becomes high. The results predict that the magnetic-field waveform measured in physiological experiments represents the dendritic configurations, channel density distributions; and bursting characteristics. These facts enable new investigations of neuronal activities in more detail through the observation of the magnetic-field waveform.


Partially distributed teams (PDTs) consist of two or more sub teams that are separated geographically. This paper presents the results of a study of global partially distributed student teams collaborating over a five-week period. Over one thousand students participated from more than a dozen universities spanning nine countries. By understanding what drives learning, we are better equipped to prepare students for careers in the global marketplace. Thus, the research question addressed is, "What are the relative impacts of team interaction variables on (1) learning to work in partially distributed teams and (2) learning skills pertaining to requirements determination and high-level design within the domain of emergency management information systems (EMIS)?" Eight explanatory variables were investigated in a multiple regression analysis. Three variables, coordination, interaction performance, and (lack of) conflict were significant in both within and between sub team analyses in both learning contexts. Shared identity was significant regarding PDT learning while personal and process trust were significant regarding EMIS domain learning.


Commercial Real Estate and Financial Stability: Evidence from the US Banking Sector-Mr. Salih Fendoglu 2021-05-26 This note analyzes the implications of changes in commercial real estate (CRE) prices for the stability of the US banking sector. Using detailed bank-level and CRE price data for US metropolitan statistical areas, the analysis shows that, following a decline in CRE prices, banks with greater exposures to CRE loans perform worse than their counterparts, experiencing higher non-performing CRE loans, lower revenues, and lower capital. These effects are particularly pronounced if the drop in CRE prices turns out to be persistent because of possible structural shifts in CRE demand—for example, because of an increased trend toward ecommerce and teleworking—even after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is over. The impact of a decline in CRE prices is especially true for small and community banks, which tend to have the highest CRE loan exposures. While the US banking sector has remained resilient during the pandemic crisis due to strong capital buffers and massive policy support, these findings suggest that continued vigilance is warranted with regard to potential downside risks to CRE prices amidst ongoing structural shifts in the sector.


In the model of perfectly secure message transmission (PSMT) schemes, there are n channels between a sender and a receiver. An infinitely powerful adversary A may corrupt (observe and forge) the messages sent through t out of n channels. The sender wishes to send a secret s to the receiver perfectly privately and perfectly reliably without sharing any key with the receiver. In this paper, we show the first 2-round PSMT for n = 2t + 1 such that not only the transmission rate is O(n) but also the computational costs of the sender and the receiver are both polynomial in n. This means that we solve the open problem raised by Agarwal, Cramer, and de Haan at CRYPTO 2006. The main novelty of our approach is to introduce a notion of pseudobasis to the coding theory. It will be an independent interest for coding theory, too.


BACKGROUND
To investigate whether the effects of desflurane on inspiratory resistance are similar to those of isoflurane and sevoflurane during 30 min administration at 1 and 1.5 MAC in patients with healthy lungs.

METHODS
Seventy-one patients undergoing elective surgery were randomly assigned to receive isoflurane, sevoflurane, or desflurane. Baseline inspiratory resistance was obtained after intubation and establishment of volume control ventilation. Anaesthesia was maintained with desflurane, isoflurane, or sevoflurane at 1 MAC for 30 min followed by 1.5 MAC for another 30 min. Tidal volume, flow, and inspiratory pressures were continuously recorded with a pneumotachograph. Total inspiratory resistance (R(rs)), minimal resistance (R(min)), and effective resistance (D(Rrs)) were calculated every 5 min using the end-inspiratory occlusion technique.

RESULTS
No significant differences of the evaluated parameters (R(rs), R(min) and D(Rrs)) were observed during administration of the three agents at 1 MAC for 30 min. At 1.5 MAC, desflurane caused a maximum increase in R(rs) by 26% and in R(min) by 30% above baseline, in contrast to isoflurane and sevoflurane which did not display a significant effect on R(rs) (+3.7% by isoflurane and +7.6% by sevoflurane) and R(min) (+4.7% by isoflurane and +9.6% by sevoflurane). All parameters returned to baseline after discontinuation of the volatile agent.

CONCLUSIONS
In healthy adults, neither sevoflurane nor isoflurane produced bronchodilation at 1 and 1.5 MAC. Desflurane did not affect respiratory resistance at 1 MAC, but at 1.5 MAC caused significant increase in both total and airway resistance with return to near baseline values after discontinuation of the agent.


There are various ways to use the internet technology for marketers. One of them is the use of social media as a means for marketers to inform or sell products or services for customers' online market share. Social media is a new marketing tool that makes it possible to know customers and prospective customers in ways that were previously impossible (Clayman, 2017). The subjects of this study were the people of Surabaya, who were selected by simple random sampling. This study uses a Likert scale as a measurement scale, which consists of four answer choices. This was used to accommodate differences in respondents' answers between categories of respondents. Data collection was carried out through a questionnaire containing several questions which were then recorded, calculated on average per dimension, and analyzed descriptively. The questionnaire in this study employed to measure the effectiveness of advertising is based on EPIC theory (Empathy, Persuation, Impact, and Communication - EPIC), and to measure brand awareness is based on the brand awareness of the pyramid theory (top of mid, brand recall, brand recognition, and unaware of the brand) by David Aaker quoted in Durianto (2004). All respondents knew the Kitchenindo brand with the help of content or advertisements through the Kitchenindo Instagram account and respondents rated Kitchenindo's ads or content on Instagram as effective. Thus, the use of digital marketing communication media can be used as a tool to achieve the awareness of the Kitchenindo brand, although this research only reached the brand recognition stage and has not reached the level of brand recall and even top of mind. This turned out to have an impact on the number of product sales figures that did not significantly give benefit to the company.


The goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus) is a useful species for embryonic micromanipulations because of its large egg size and wide temperature tolerance. Here, we describe in detail the rate of development and morphological characteristics of goldfish embryos incubated at temperatures between 10 °C and 30 °C. The cleavage speed increased rapidly as temperature increased. Synchronized cell divisions occurred at 131 min intervals at 10 °C, at 33 min intervals at 20 °C, and at 19 min intervals at 30 °C during the cleavage period. The rate of hatched abnormal embryos significantly increased at temperatures of 26 °C and above, while there was no change in the number of abnormal embryos at temperatures less than 24 °C. Moreover, the blastomeres around the center of the blastodisc rose in the direction of the animal pole at temperatures less than 14 °C. At the lower temperatures, clusters of maternally-supplied germplasm were visualized both at the ends of the first three cleavage furrows and at the border between the lower and upper tiers at the 16- to 32-cell stage, with injection of artificial mRNA and vasa in situ hybridization. This study showed that temperature affects not only developmental speed but also the shape of the blastodisc and the distribution of maternally-supplied materials in the blastodisc. By controlling the temperature, it is possible for researchers to prepare many stages of embryos and shapes of the blastodisc from a single batch of eggs.


The Liturgy (Mass) is the very life of the Church and its way of existing. In the core of the Liturgy there is the Anaphora, specific to each rite. Regarding the East Syriac Church, one mainly knows three important anaphoras – of Mar Addai and Mari, of Mar Theodore of Mopsuestia and of Mar Nestorius. This paper is focused on the Anaphora of Mar Theodore of Mopsuestia in the East Syriac rite, analysed in parallel with that of St. John Chrysostom, the most used anaphora in the Byzantine Tradition. Both of the authors are significant representatives of the Theological School of Antioch. This subject was scarcely analysed by the contemporary scholars and it gets a plus of importance in my case for accompanies an on-going process of translating the Syriac text of Theodore's anaphora into Romanian, for the benefit of the Romanian theologians. The paper will be divided into two sections – the first one colligated to the authorship of the two anaphoras, and the second, focused on their structure and theology. Concrete conclusions regarding the identification of some liturgical-theological constants in both the anaphoras will end my research.
Keywords: Anaphora of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Anaphora of John Chrysostom, liturgical theology, epiclesis, Theological School of Antioch.


Abstract The properties of a number of common lubricants have been measured, namely the viscosity, elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) friction coefficient, density, thermal conductivity and heat capacity per unit volume. These properties have been measured within relatively broad pressure and temperature ranges. The lubricants tested were naphthenic and paraffinic mineral oils, blends of these, polyalphaolefins and a polyglycol. Physical-empirical expressions have been developed upon the basis of the measurement results and a number of lubricant constants, or lubricant parameters, have been determined for each lubricant. These expressions can be used in engineering computational tools for lubrication analysis. The use of such analyses is expected to increase into the new millennium and it is thus important to provide reliable and relevant input data.


Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) films were deposited on non-alkali glass substrate by magnetron sputtering using commercial ITO target (target A) and improved ITO target (target B). Depositions were carried out at total gas pressure (Ptot) of 0.5 Pa, substrate temperature (Ts) of RT ~ 300 °C, oxygen flow ratio [O2/(O2+Ar)] of 0 ~ 1.0% and dc power of 100W. Target B showed relatively higher stability in film resistivity with increasing sputtering time, i.e., erosion ratio of target surface. Optimum oxygen ratio to obtain the lowest resistivity was decreased with increasing substrate temperature. The lowest resistivity was 1.06x10-4 6cm for the film deposited using target B at O2/(O2+Ar) ratio of 0.05% and at Ts =300 °C.


Objectives : Fourteen year-old boy was diagnosed with visual impairment in his right eye since birth. Other symptoms included blurred vision, dry eyes, and headache. Pranic Healing (PH) as a complementary therapy to heal eye aliments was applied on the subject..PH is an ancient science and art of healing people. It is considered as a natural, drugless, non-touch complimentary technique using prana to treat illness. Methods : Fifty PH sessions of 20 minutes each was applied on the subject. Results : On completion of 50 PH sessions, it was found that his unaided visual acuity improved in both eyes with the right eye showing significant improvement. The dryness in the eye, eye pain and headache were healed. Conclusions :Observing his visual improvement, he was advised to be transferred to the conventional school. PH as adjuvant therapy can assist for patients with visual impairment. Further studies are warranted to study the impact of PH on larger  populations of visually impaired subjects Key words : Prana, Pranic healing, Blurred Vision, Visual Acuity, Complementary therapy


A rapid automatic method of synthesis of deoxypolynucleotides from 5'-O-dimethoxytritylnucleoside-3'-H-phosphonates is described. An improved construction of synthesizer "Gene-2" adapted for this method has been developed. The modified scheme of synthesis included detritylation with trifluoroacetic acids in dichloromethane, washing with acetonitrile instead of pyridine--acetonitrile mixture and one-step oxidation with iodine solution in acetic acid and pyridine instead of two-step oxidation in the presence of amines. By means of this method, more then 160 polynucleotides containing 8 to 83 monomers were prepared for various biochemical goals including synthesis of promotor 9(260 bp) of the mouse metallothionein-I gene and of promotor and leader sequence (120 bp) of gene of the E. coli alkaline phosphatase.


In 2018, an experiment was run at the IOP farm in Tanzania. Four nutrient management treatments were combined factorial with two tillage options. The results show that the lowest maize yield was obtained under conventional tillage without fertilizer application, and the highest with reduced tillage and NPK fertilizer to target 70% of water-limited yield and the addition of micronutrients. A number of field visits was organized, and from the six villages surrounding the farm, hence a total of 120 farmers made at least 4 visits to the farm, one every month between February and June. That brings the number of farmers that learned from the 2018 trial to 480+. In addition, the Tanzania Uhuru Torch made a stop at the Trial, to recognize the importance of the training tool for the farmers. During this festive day a large array of different stakeholders visited the farm, such as village leaders, region and district level leaders and young and older farmers.


Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was given to 60 patients to induce labor at term. Two dosage schedules were used: 30 patients were given 0.5 mg hourly and 30 patients were given 1.0 mg hourly. Membranes were ruptured when active labor had occurred. The Bishop score was used for inducibility quotient. In general, the higher the Bishop score, the shorter the delivery time. The 1.0 mg dosage schedule decreased the induction time in both nulliparas and multiparas. There were 55 vaginal deliveries. Five patients were delivered by cesarean section for obstetrical indications; two were in active labor. The overall success rate was 91.6%. No fetal distress occurred that could be attributed to the PGE2. Maternal complications consisted of nausea and vomiting.


FDI is very important for the development of a country, especially for developing countries. The experience of newly industrialized countries (NICs) shows that FDI has played an important role in their economic development. In the age of globalization with cross-border flow of capital among nations, FDI becomes a key solution to reducing development gaps among nations. This research intends to identify the direct and indirect effect of ICT driving factor through openness on foreign direct investment and the direct effect of GDP Growth, GFCF on foreign direct investment. The objects of this research are ASEAN countries, while the variables in this research are macroeconomic indicators, ICT driving factor and foreign direct investment. The results are Gross domestic product growth, Gross fixed capital formation, Accessibility of digital content and Openness which affects directly on foreign direct investment, while other research variables have no significant influence. The only variable, Government Prioritization of ICT, affects foreign direct investment through openness.


Synthesis and photophysics of two diketopyrrolopyrrole-based small band gap oligomers, end-capped at both ends with C_60 are presented. Upon photoexcitation of the oligomer, ultrafast energy transfer to the fullerene occurs (∼0.5 ps), followed by an electron transfer reaction. Femtosecond transient absorption has been used to determine the rates for charge separation and recombination. Charge separation occurs in the Marcus normal region with a time constant of 18–47 ps and recombination occurs in the inverted regime, with a time constant of 37 ps to 1.5 ns. Both processes are faster in o -dichlorobenzene (ODCB) than in toluene. Analysis of the charge transfer rates by Marcus-Jortner theory leads to the view that the positive charge must be located on the thiophene/dithiophene unit closest to the fullerene. Approximately 14% of the charge transfer state was found to recombine into the low-lying triplet state of the oligomer for the smaller system in ODCB.


Utilization of severe plastic deformation (SPD) methods has provided a convenient approach for producing ultrafine-grained (UFG) materials exhibiting outstanding characteristics especially mechanical properties. HPT as one of the SPD methods can lead both to smaller grains and to a higher fraction of high-angle grain boundaries, which is an especially attractive procedure by researchers. In order to understand the nonlin- earities relationship between the mechanical properties and the developed strain during plastic deformation, local deformation analysis using the finite element methodwas applied for the HPT process. In this chapter, results are reported of an investigation on the deformed microstructure and mechanical properties of different materials samples during the HPT process using experiments and FEM simulations. Simulation results indicate that the disks show inhomogeneity development and distribution of strain and stress during the plastic deformation. Microstructure and hardness investigation results can give a well support to verify the rules of inhomogenous plastic deformation in the early stage of the HPT disks. Furthermore, the friction and anvil geometry play impor- tant roles in the homogeneity of the deformation. After the hollow cone high pressure torsion (HC-HPT), the thermal stability of Zr 64.13 Cu 1 5.75 Ni 10.12 Al 10 BMGs is enhanced, while the elastic modulus of BMG will be decreased.


PURPOSE
Decisions regarding treatment for early-stage prostate cancer are frustrated not only by inadequate evidence favoring one treatment modality but also by the absence of data comparing quality among providers. In fact, the choice of provider may be as important as the choice of treatment. We undertook this study to develop an infrastructure to evaluate variations in quality of care for men with early-stage prostate cancer.

METHODS
We enlisted several sources to develop a list of proposed quality-of-care indicators and covariates. After an extensive structured literature review and a series of focus groups with patients and their spouses, we conducted structured interviews with national academic leaders in prostate cancer treatment. We then convened an expert panel using the RAND consensus method to discuss and rate the validity and feasibility of the proposed quality indicators and covariates.

RESULTS
The panel endorsed 49 quality-of-care indicators and 14 covariates, which make up our final list of candidate measures. Several domains of quality are represented in the selected indicators, including patient volume, pretreatment referrals, preoperative testing, interpretation of pathology specimens, and 10-year disease-free survival. Covariates include measures of case-mix, such as patient age and comorbidity.

CONCLUSION
This study establishes a foundation on which to build quality-of-care assessment tools to evaluate the treatment of early-stage prostate cancer. The next step is to field-test the indicators for feasibility, reliability, validity, and clinical utility in a population-based sample. This work will begin to inform medical decision-making for patients and their physicians.


Eleven patients with recurrent bacterial infections were found to have impaired neutrophil chemotaxis. The infections were primarily staphylococcal abscesses involving the skin and the respiratory tract. All patients had chronic eczematour dermatitis and an elevated level of serum IgE. The peripheral blood eosinophil count was equal to or greater than 10% of the circulating leukocytes in 10 of 11 patients. Associated findings in some patients included urticaria and oral or cutaneous Candida infection. These observations suggest a relationship between chronic dermatitis, elevated serum IgE level, eosinophilia, defective neutrophil chemotactic responsiveness, and recurrent pyogenic infections of skin and lungs.


The need for large amounts of data permeates almost all fields of research. New technologies related to machine learning (deep learning in particular), cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT) add to the increased complexity of data-related work and how researchers deal with that. Those trends are accelerating and result in a widespread need for new frameworks to increase the cost-benefit ratio of research work while driving innovation. Modern developments in the private sector, both in technologies and ways of working, can be readily adopted by research organizations. "Data strategy" is an umbrella term for those advancements. This article presents its research variant, Research Data Strategy (RDS), complete with its different elements, the sequence of execution, and supporting activities. This new methodology aims to build on top of existing research data management practices by providing a framework for ensuring innovative science in data-driven research organizations.


We explore the use of sequential, mistake-driven updates for online learning and acoustic feature adaptation in large-margin hidden Markov models (HMMs). The updates are applied to the parameters of acoustic models after the decoding of individual training utterances. For large-margin training, the updates attempt to separate the log-likelihoods of correct and incorrect transcriptions by an amount proportional to their Hamming distance. For acoustic feature adaptation, the updates attempt to improve recognition by linearly transforming the features computed by the front end. We evaluate acoustic models trained in this way on the TIMIT speech database. We find that online updates for large-margin training not only converge faster than analogous batch optimizations, but also yield lower phone error rates than approaches that do not attempt to enforce a large margin. Finally, experimenting with different schemes for initialization and parameter-tying, we find that acoustic feature adaptation leads to further improvements beyond the already significant gains achieved by large-margin training.