Because children from low-income families benefit from preschool but are less likely than other children to enroll, identifying factors that promote their enrollment can support research and policy aiming to reduce socioeconomic disparities in education. In this study, we tested an accommodations model with data on 6,250 children in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort. In general, parental necessity (e.g., maternal employment) and human capital considerations (e.g., maternal education) most consistently predicted preschool enrollment among children from low-income families. Supply side factors (e.g., local child care options) and more necessity and human capital factors (e.g., having fewer children, desiring preparation for school) selected such children into preschool over parental care or other care arrangements, and several necessity factors (e.g., being less concerned about costs) selected them into non-Head Start preschools over Head Start programs. Systemic connections and child elicitation did not consistently predict preschool enrollment in this population.


Magnesium is a material that presents favorable properties for its selection as biomaterial; however, its application is restricted by the rapid corrosion. In this research was evaluated the surface modification of magnesium AZ31 by PEO and its effect on the protective and bioactive properties. The microstructure, phase composition and distribution of elements in the coating were characterized by SEM, XRD and EDX. Chemical stability, corrosion resistance, the bioactivity and electronic properties were evaluated using EIS and Mott-Schottky in simulated body fluid. The analysis of XRD and EDX indicated the presence of MgO, MgSiO4 in the coatings. The cross section analysis present a compact layer close to the substrate followed by an outer porous layer. EIS analysis showed that treatment increased the substrate protection in a simulated physiological medium.


Thirty years ago, China began implementing a series of reforms to improve efficiency in agricultural production. These, and subsequent, reforms reshaped China's position in the world economy. China's rapid economic development and transformation from a planned to a market-oriented economy, however, has reached a stage where further efficiency gains in agricultural production will likely hinge on the development of modern market-supporting institutions. The development of market-supporting institutions in China will bring about long-term and sustainable benefits to producers and consumers in China and the global agricultural economy. This report provides an overview of current issues in China's agricultural development, policy responses to these issues, and the effects of these policies on China's growing role in international markets.


Understanding what customers expect and how provider can fulfill the variable needs for customer satisfaction important issues in service science. The paper tries to analyze mutual understanding process between customer expectation and provider capability in terms of symbiotic hypergame model [2]. We, first, define several types of customers and providers by characterizing them by their internal model and interpretation function in terms of symbiotic hypergame. Interpretation function is a function specifying how customer (resp. provider) interprets internal model of provider (resp. customer). Then, we will analyze formally how mutual understanding between customer and provider leads to satisfaction of both customer and provider for each pair of customer and provider types. The analysis allows us to derive deep insights about relationship between sufficient mutual understanding and satisfaction that can be obtained only through such rigorous model analysis.


The possibility of applying a method based on ray optics and modal relations to elliptical graded-index fibers is discussed, and the limits of validity are indicated. Two distinct classes of rays (whispering and bouncing) may be defined, along with a tunneling-radiating effect which both classes of rays may undergo. It turns out that, in the assumed reference system, the evaluation of the modal constants becomes less accurate when the index profile departs from a nearly step shape, especially for high ellipticities. However, when small ellipticities are considered (which correspond to practical cases), it is possible to evaluate the intermodal dispersion with sufficient accuracy.


Monge matrices and their permuted versions known as pre-Monge matrices naturally appear in many domains across science and engineering. While the rich structural properties of such matrices have long been leveraged for algorithmic purposes, little is known about their impact on statistical estimation. In this work, we propose to view this structure as a shape constraint and study the problem of estimating a Monge matrix subject to additive random noise. More specifically, we establish the minimax rates of estimation of Monge and pre-Monge matrices. In the case of pre-Monge matrices, the minimax-optimal least-squares estimator is not efficiently computable, and we propose two efficient estimators and establish their rates of convergence. Our theoretical findings are supported by numerical experiments.


Background Buruli Ulcer is a tropical skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, which, due to scarring and contractures can lead to stigma and functional limitations. However, recent advances in treatment, combined with increased public health efforts have the potential to significantly improve disease outcome. Objectives To study the Quality of Life (QoL) of former Buruli Ulcer patients who, in the context of a randomized controlled trial, reported early with small lesions (cross-sectional diameter <10 cm), and received a full course of antibiotic treatment. Methods 127 Participants of the BURULICO drug trial in Ghana were revisited. All former patients aged 16 or older completed the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and the abbreviated World Health Organization Quality of Life scale (WHOQOL-BREF). The WHOQOL-BREF was also administered to 82 matched healthy controls. Those younger than 16 completed the Childrens' Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) only. Results The median (Inter Quartile Range) score on the DLQI was 0 (0–4), indicating good QoL. 85% of former patients indicated no effect, or only a small effect of the disease on their current life. Former patients also indicated good QoL on the physical and psychological domains of the WHOQOL-BREF, and scored significantly higher than healthy controls on these domains. There was a weak correlation between the DLQI and scar size (ρ = 0.32; p<0.001). Conclusions BU patients who report early with small lesions and receive 8 weeks of antimicrobial therapy have a good QoL at long-term follow-up. These findings contrast with the debilitating sequelae often reported in BU, and highlight the importance of early case detection.


Based on our evaluation, we believe this newly developed test is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring nurses' competence in performing pharmacological calculations. The overall conclusion that this test is reliable and valid is strengthened by the use of various different measures of both reliability and validity. Following completion of this evaluation study, we began to use this test with all newly hired nursing staff. We arbitrarily chose a cut-off score of 80 percent as the passing score. Individuals who could not pass on their first attempt were offered remediation and then allowed a second attempt. During the first three months of use, we tested 25 newly hired nurses. Of those, 20 were able to pass the pharmacological calculations test on their first or second attempt, with a mean score of 88.7. The score on the second attempt of the five who failed (all LPNs) was 53.0. These individuals were not allowed to actually work as nurses at our hospital. We have subsequently changed the policy to allow three attempts, using the three parallel versions of the test. Remediation is offered after the second failed attempt. This approach has reduced the time needed by the education department to remediate, but meets nursing managers' desire and need to help those who can succeed and become competent members of our staff. The test has not been in use at our institution for over two years and is administered to all nurses who provide patient care in our institution (including agency/travel nurses). It has been generally well received and we area convinced that it can accurately measure nurses' pharmacological calculation competence.


The aim of this paper is to study the methods and develop technological scheme for thermal energy removal from coal mine rock waste dumps. The prospects of renewable energy sources development in Ukraine are analyzed. A number of available ways for using the sources of waste heat of mining enterprises, namely: outlet ventilation flow, mine water and other rock waste dumps, are investigated. The technological scheme of heat recovery from rock waste dump using heat pumps, which are component segments of the heat pump geosystem on the basis of borehole underground coal gasification, is developed.


The first continuous national history of any western people in their own language, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle traces the history of early England from the migration of the Saxon war-lords, through Roman Britain, the onslaught of the Vikings, the Norman Conquest and on through the reign of Stephen. Michael Swanton's translation is the most complete and faithful reading ever published. Extensive notes draw on the latest evidence of paleographers, archaeologists and textual and social historians to place these annals in the context of current knowledge. Fully indexed and complemented by maps and genealogical tables, this edition allows ready access to one of the prime sources of English national culture. The introduction provides all the information a first-time reader could need, cutting an easy route through often complicated matters. Also includes nine maps.


Median nerve is formed by two roots, one medial root of medial cord and other- lateral root of lateral cord in front/lateral to third part of axillary artery. Then it crosses brachial artery anteriorly from lateral to medial side. In cubital fossa, it remains medial to brachial artery. In forearm, it lays medial to radial artery. We observed unusual formation and course of median nerve during dissection of right upper limb of female cadaver aged 70 years, fixed in 10% formalin in the Department of Anatomy, AIIMS Rishikesh, India. Scanty literature is available describing such variant course of median nerve in arm and forearm. Variations in the course of median nerve are clinically important to avoid injury to it as it may be injured during endoscopic surgery in this region, post traumatic evaluations and peripheral nerve repair. Knowledge of variant course of median nerve is also imperative for radiologists for proper interpretation of radiographs, for anesthesiologists for introducing anesthesia and for anatomists for rare variations.


We use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel to investigate how individual happiness is affected by unemployment. Unemployment has a large and negative effect even after controlling for individual specific fixed effects. Nonparticipation, in contrast, is much less harmful to happiness. Further, we decompose the total well-being costs of unemployment and find that well above three quarters are non-pecuniary, and below one quarter pecuniary. One implication is that income support programs for the unemployed do very little at mitigating the adverse effects of unemployment, and such transfers are unlikely to generate unemployment.


RECENT developments in fiberoptic technology have revolutionized the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy. The endoscopist now can examine in great detail the entire length of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, colon, and parts of the small intestine. Gastric lesions can be visualized and photographed. 58 Biopsy and cytologic specimens can be obtained under direct vision. 59-62 The diameter of the gastroscope is only 10 to 11 mm. Sophisticated manipulative systems permit the examiner to direct the distal tip of the gastroscope to specific areas of interest and perform a thorough investigation. External illumination from powerful sources of light and an integral bundle to carry the light into the stomach provide adequate illumination for still photography, cinegastroscopy, and television. 63 Magnetic tape recording for instantaneous replay and simultaneous examination by two observers via a teaching attachment serve to train new endoscopists. Review of these tapes and other photographic documents is useful for self-teaching.


Electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbers have been used for improving the EM environment of an electronic toll collection system on an express highway or a wireless local area network system in an indoor environment. In this paper, an efficient multiray propagation model, which uses three-dimensional geometry and image techniques to trace multiple signal rays from transmitter to receiver, is employed to analyze the EM environment of a dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) system on an express highway. The validity of the model employed is discussed by a comparison with the results obtained by an experiment on the highways when a right-circular polarized transmitter and receiver are used. The analysis shows that the possible undesired communications between onboard equipment that acts as a receiver and DSRC beacon, which transmits the radio signals, is improved by increasing the EM wave-absorption capability of the sidewalls and the pavement of the highway. Another advantage of the employed model is that it is effective for investigating the location of wave absorbers to be set up on the highway, and it takes only a fraction of a minute for computation.


KI) orally at birth and at 12 and 24 hours of age. We await information on the efficacy of this oral regimen. Recent work by Cornelissen et al will further fuel the controversy as they suggest that a single dose of vitamin K, whether given orally or intramuscularly, is insufficient to protect against late haemorrhagic disease of the newborn.' I wonder whether, in the meantime, the adverse publicity surrounding vitamin K will result in a resurgence of this preventable condition; I hope that it remains a condition that is rarely seen.


Theoretical models are used to demonstrate a catalytic cycle for the generation of O2 from an iron(III)-centered tetraamido macrocycle in water that is consistent with experimentally observed energetics in the presence of a sacrificial oxidant. Application of density functional theory and multireference second-order perturbation theory indicates that two proton-coupled electron transfer steps followed by an electron-transfer step first generate a reactive species that is well described as an iron(V)-oxo supported by a macrocycle that has also suffered a one-electron oxidation. Subsequent O–O bond formation occurs through water nucleophilic attack on the iron-oxo with the local solvent shell serving to relay a proton away from the reacting partners. Subsequent steps of proton-coupled electron transfer and low-energy water displacement of O2 complete the catalytic cycle. Modification of the TAML ligand to reduce the likely instability of the non-innocent aromatic radical may prove useful in future catalyst design.


Summary Vitamin D and calcium are essential for normal skeletal growth and for maintaining the mechanical and structural integrity of the skeleton. Reduced intake of calcium and vitamin D may be associated with reduced bone mass and osteoporosis while a chronic and severe vitamin D deficiency may lead to osteomalacia. 1,25(OH)2D (calcitriol) is the major active metabolite of vitamin D and promotes intestinal calcium absorption and the mineralization of bone matrix and reduces PTH secretion. Despite vitamin D and calcium are considered essential components of management strategies for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, many people do not have adequate vitamin D levels. Vitamin D insufficiency is particularly common in the elderly due to reduced exposition to sunlight, declined synthesis of vitamin D in the skin and impaired renal hydroxylation. Even though secure inferences from randomized controlled trials on the prevention of osteoporotic fracture with vitamin D or its metabolites are limited, these compounds have been demonstrated to be pharmacologically active, safe and cost-effective for the prevention of age-related bone loss. Their use should be encouraged expecially in elderly subjects or in condition of dietary deficiencies. Interestingly, health benefits of vitamin D and its analogues may go beyond osteoporosis, including prevention of cancer and autoimmune diseases and improvement of neuromuscular function.


This article deals with Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and the private international law rules applicable to it. We will provide a brief overview of the rise of ADR world-wide, different forms of ADR and the legal issues they raise, before we address conflicts of laws issues. These include the rules applicable to the chosen ADR procedure (between the parties and between the parties and the third-party neutral), the effects of that procedure on simultaneous or subsequent adversarial procedures, the law applicable to the substance of the dispute and how it affects the ADR procedure, the law applicable to a settlement agreement, and how such an agreement can be enforced in a cross-border setting. Arbitration is a special case, and we will deal with it in a separate section.


Abstract In this paper, we examine how Teach for Bangladesh (TfB) has utilised Facebook since 2012 in its effort to extend its policy influence and message to young Bangladeshi graduates and local population. We reveal this as an example of how Facebook has become a powerful new platform for policy mediatisation. This is also a developing world-example of a [global] policy rewritten [locally] as audio-video bytes. Our analyses reveal three ways in which TfB sought to influence these graduates, but also the local government and public, via Facebook. First, it created opportunities for recurrent reading, hearing and seeing the policy in practice as animated by 'stars', 'spectacles', 'glamour' and 'statistics', all of which regularise a sense of heroic bodily feeling-as-vernacularisation. Secondly, it sought to inform and reshape the social imaginary and associated problem imagination of the graduates and locals to whom this message was directed. And thirdly, it involved what might be described as a 'post-truth' way of engagement via the excessive use of emotional stimulus, manifesting an understanding of the affective aspect of policy. We have used a combination of social network analysis, content analysis and videological analysis in establishing our argument.


Background In sports ankle sprains are responsible for most of the time lost in practice. In basketball, ankle sprains are not only a main injury but they also have a high tendency of re-injury. There is a special interest in finding risk factors that can be used to predict the ankle sprain occurrence and so prevent it. Joint position when contacting the ground is a main issue. Objective The aim of this study is to examine the knee position on ground contact moment and its relationship with ankle sprain. Design To reproduce the most common mechanism of ankle sprain in basketball players, landing in another player's foot, barefoot athletes with healthy (n=17) and already sprained ankles (n=28) were asked to jump from the floor to an unstable round surface placed 50 cm in front of them while kinematics was recorded using an electromagnetic tracking device with 3 sensors located in each segment of the lower limb and another on a round Freeman board. Setting elite basketball players. Patients (or Participants) 13 females, and 12 males accepted to perform five consecutive jumps in unipodal support. Interventions (or Assessment of Risk Factors) Previous ankle sprain or never sprained ankle. Main Outcome Measurements Knee range of motion on landing. Results At contact knee angles did change significantly with previous ankle sprain. Never sprained subjects showed more knee flexion on contact. When separating results by gender we found that women landed with knees in an even more extension degree. Conclusions Knee position on landing differs from healthy to previous sprained ankles. Previous sprained land in a more extension position and consequently a higher impact energy for lower limb and all the body must be absorbed. This difference is even more important among females.


Diversion of the gastrointestinal tract for distal obstruction or perforation is commonly practiced, yet cervical esophagostomy is rarely applied to such problems when they occur in the esophagus. The procedure can be performed quickly, with little stress to the patient, under local anesthesia if desired. Indications for this procedure include esophageal perforation in patients too ill to tolerate thoracotomy, detection of esophageal perforation or suture line breakdown at a time too late to permit primary repair, benign or malignant obstruction of the esophagus associated with persistent pneumonitis when it is desirable to postpone direct therapy until the patient's general condition improves, and in selected cases of tracheo-esophageal fistula related to carcinoma of the lung or esophagus. Results of this treatment in 15 patients are presented.


Stevens examines the biographical information about the German Romantic-era guitarist Josef Kaspar Mertz.The first one, authored in Russian by Nicolai Makaroff, became the best known because it has been available in English. By today's standards, Makaroff's recollections of the guitar's situation in the middle of the nineteenth century seem deeply subjective. Ever on the lookout for active exponents of the art of guitar playing, he met Mertz twice in Vienna and witnessed several private performances by Mertz. For better or for worse, his less-than-enthusiastic assessment of Mertz's playing has been taken at face value for perhaps too long, especially since there have been no contradictory opinions on the matter.


The Mw 7.2 Nippes, Haiti, earthquake occurred on 14 August 2021 in Haiti's southwest peninsula and in the midst of significant social, economic, and political crises. A hybrid reconnaissance mission (i.e., combined remote and field investigation) was coordinated to document damage to the built environment after the event. This article evaluates two ground-motion records available in Haiti in the context of the geology of the region and known areas with significant damage, such as Les Cayes. We also present a new map of time-averaged shear-wave velocity values to 30 m depth (VS30) for Les Cayes and Port-au-Prince based on the geostatistical approach of kriging and accounting for region-specific geology proxies and field measurements of VS30. Case studies of ground failure observations, including landslides and liquefaction triggering, are described as well as the intersection of social and engineering observations. Maps depicting this important intersection are provided to facilitate the assessment of how natural hazards and social conflicts have influenced the vulnerability of Haiti's population to earthquakes.


Background and Aim: Abnormality karyotype of couples can produce susceptibility to infertility or abortion. Therefore, the first step to study these couples should be determining karyotype by cytogenetic method. In this study assay the prevalence of abnormalities chromosomal these couples from western provinces of Iran.
Method: A cytogenetic study was performed on 200 individuals (124 women (28.1 ± 5) and 76 males (30.7 ± 5) with infertility and/or abortion with age average 30.81 ± 5 using lymphocyte culture and high-resolution G-banding method.
Results: Normal karyotype and various types of chromosomal abnormalities were observed in 138 (69%) and 62 (31%) individuals, respectively. Also, the frequency of translocations, insertions, deletions, inversions and duplications were 40.32% (25), 22.6% (14), 17.74% (11), 9.7% (6) and 9.7% (6) respectively, that the highest frequency was related to changes in transposition or chromosomal displacement with 25 cases (40.3%) In addition, the types of chromosomal abnormalities involving translocations, insertions, deletions, inversions and duplications were detected in 15, 9, 6, 3 and 2 persons, respectively, from 35 patients with RLP and 10, 5, 5, 3 and 4 persons, respectively, of 27 patients with infertility.
Conclusion: This issue can also play a role in the planning of pregnant mother's health.


The Xα method is applied to study the spin-polarized electronic structures and atomic magnetic moments of clusters La 8-x Ba x CuO 6 in the compound La 2-y Ba y CuO 4 .This paper shows that Cu magnetic moment in La 2 CuO 4 is 0.37μ B , which is in better agreement with the experimental value(0.48±0.15μ B ). Ba substitution lowers the structure symmetry, removes molecular orbital degeneracy, and hence strengthens orbital hybridization and weakens quasi-two-dimensional feature, which enhance the coupling between Cu-O layer and the neighbormg layers and influence the charge transfer. These changes strongly affect the properties of carriers. Holes are introduced due to Ba substitution and they mainly enter into O sites, a few d-electronic holes enter into Cu sites, which causes important effects on the density of states, atomic magnetic moment and valence states of Cu and O in Cu-O layers. The results confirm that the holes are not always beneficial to the superconductivity. At the beginning the holes are beneficial to the superconductivity; they can decrease the superconductivity when more holes are introduced. This paper can explain that the transition temperature of high-temperature superconductive oxides changes with the variation of the doping level.


We demonstrate an elementary grating-based OCDMA code generation and - recognition system incorporating a nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) within the receiver. We show that the NOLM can act as a nonlinear processing element capable of reducing both the pedestal associated with conventional matched-filtering, and the width of the associated code-recognition pulse. The pedestal rejection allows for an improved code recognition signal to noise ratio relative to simple matched filtering alone and reduced intra- and inter-channel interference noise due to code overlap. The system benefits of using the NOLM are experimentally demonstrated under both single and multi user operation within a variety of both 7- and 63-chip, 160 Gchip/s code generation, recognition and transmission experiments based on the use of bipolar SSFBG coding:decoding pairs. Incorporation of the NOLM is shown to allow error-free, penalty free operation at data rates as high as 2.5Gbit/s under single user operation, and to provide error-free performance with reduced power penalty in two-user experiments. The narrowed pulse recognition signature offers major advantages in terms of the further all-optical processing of decoded signals, such as code regeneration and recoding. In our experiments we used a fibre based NOLM however, semiconductor based nonlinear devices should offer similar benefits.


This study aimed to use the response surface (RS) method for finite element (FE) model updating, using operational modal analysis (OMA). The RS method was utilized to achieve better agreement between the numerical and field‐measured structure response. The OMA technique for the field study was utilized to obtain modal parameters of the selected historic masonry minaret. The natural frequencies and mode shapes were experimentally determined by the enhanced frequency domain decomposition (EFDD) method. The optimum results between the experimental and numerical analyses were found by using the optimization method. The central composite design was used to construct the design of experiments, and the genetic aggregation approach was performed to generate the RS models. After obtaining the RS models, an attempt was made to converge the natural frequency values corresponding to the five‐mode shapes with the frequency values identified by the experimental analysis. ANSYS software was used to perform 3D finite element (FE) modeling of the historic masonry minaret and to numerically identify the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the minaret. The results of the experimental, initial, and updated FE model were compared with each other. Significant differences can be seen when comparing the experimental and analytical results with the initial conditions.


This study, in three parts, addresses the problem of the beginning of the classical style—the so-called Severe Style—from an archaeological perspective, focusing on those sculptures either found, or allegedly found, in Persian destruction contexts or directly associated with the Persian and Carthaginian invasions. Part 1 appears in a previous issue of the AJA (112 [2008] 377-412). Parts 2 and 3 are presented in this article. The first part of the study reexamined the 19th-century excavations of the Acropolis and demonstrated that the style probably did not predate the Persian invasion of 480-479 B.C.E. Part 2 revisits finds from elsewhere in Athens and Attica, Phokis, the Aphaia sanctuary on Aigina, and Sicily, with similar results. Part 3 summarizes current theories on the origins and significance of the Severe Style, suggests that the Tyrannicides of Kritios and Nesiotes, dedicated in 477/6, indeed inaugurated it, and reconsiders the idea that the Greek victories of 480-479 somehow inspired it, at least in part.


Numerical simulation is developing into a viable research-tool to help understand dispersion and structure in turbulence. In order to make progress toward simulating flows under realistic flow-conditions and in complex flow-domains, large-eddy simulation appears an essential stepping-stone. This requires a combination of accurate numerical treatment and proper (subgrid) modeling of the dynamic effects of small-scale turbulence. It will be shown that accurate subgrid models may be systematically derived from mathematical regularization principles. This will be illustrated for the Leray and \mbox{NS-$\alpha$} models. Moreover, a database analysis of interacting modeling and simulation errors in large-eddy simulation will be discussed in terms of error-landscapes. The optimality of the dynamic procedure will be quantified and a new inverse polynomial interpolation method will be proposed with which model parameters can be optimized to approximate the `optimal refinement strategy'.


Sum frequency spectra of gramicidin A at the air/water interface in partially deuterated dimyristoylphosphatildycholine monolayers were collected as a function of surface pressure and mole fraction of the peptide. Reorganization of the lipid and peptide molecules were followed between 5 and 35 mN/m. Selective deuteration of the lipid enabled independent observation of the ordering of the lipid tail and headgroup regions. The results from pure lipid monolayer studies revealed that both portions of the amphiphile rearranged roughly in tandem as a function of pressure. When the membrane peptide was added to the monolayer, changes in its orientation were noted at mole fractions below 0.5, but not above this value. Specifically, two sets of data for the peptide could be obtained. One was for the aliphatic residues and the other for the Trp residues as each gave a distinct sum frequency signal in the CH stretch range. The aliphatic residues, which are dispersed throughout gramicidin, revealed that the whole peptide could facilely track changes in lipid orientation at 0.1 mole fraction but did so less readily at 0.4 mole fraction. On the other hand, the Trp residues, which all reside near the C-terminus and interact strongly with the lipid headgroups, showed a greater propensity to track lipid reorientation at the higher mole fraction. These results indicated that changes in the C-terminus probably precede realignment in other parts of the membrane peptide at higher peptide concentration. Furthermore, peptide-peptide interactions probably inhibit gramicidin A reorientation.


Androgens and oestrogens have been implicated in the noted gender differences in the increasing intimal medial thickness. Oestrogens are protective in females while the role of androgens as male disadvantage remains in conflict. There have been reports that androgens are protective while other reports suggest they are bane. The distribution of androgen receptors in the carotid intimal medial thickness may help explain this propensity. Thirty six samples from the proximal, middle and distal carotid artery segments and three sections of prostate gland from three different men were collected within 48 hours of demise were processed for routine light microscopy and immunohistochemistry. The prostate samples were mounted next to the carotid artery samples on the same slide for immunohistochemical staining. They were stained using anti-human mouse androgen receptor monoclonal antibody (AR318) for androgen receptors. All prostate control samples stained for androgen receptors. Androgen receptors were not expressed in any of the carotid arterial walls. The carotid intimomedial thickness is not influenced by the presence of androgen receptors.


Recent advances in 3D semantic segmentation with deep neural networks have shown remarkable success, with rapid performance increase on available datasets. However, current 3D semantic segmentation benchmarks contain only a small number of categories -- less than 30 for ScanNet and SemanticKITTI, for instance, which are not enough to reflect the diversity of real environments (e.g., semantic image understanding covers hundreds to thousands of classes). Thus, we propose to study a larger vocabulary for 3D semantic segmentation with a new extended benchmark on ScanNet data with 200 class categories, an order of magnitude more than previously studied. This large number of class categories also induces a large natural class imbalance, both of which are challenging for existing 3D semantic segmentation methods. To learn more robust 3D features in this context, we propose a language-driven pre-training method to encourage learned 3D features that might have limited training examples to lie close to their pre-trained text embeddings. Extensive experiments show that our approach consistently outperforms state-of-the-art 3D pre-training for 3D semantic segmentation on our proposed benchmark (+9% relative mIoU), including limited-data scenarios with +25% relative mIoU using only 5% annotations.


Serum estimations of immunoglobulins, complement components and their presence in circulating immune complexes were carried out in 39 Lepromatous, 44 ENL and 22 Post ENL leprosy patients. Serum IgG, IgA, IgM, C3 and C4 levels were determined by single radial immunodiffusion. Serum immune complexes were precipitated with Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) and IgG, IgA, IgM, C3 and C4 were estimated by single radial immunodiffusion and expressed as % of precipitation of their serum level. Decreased IgG, IgM; increased IgA and C3; and no change in C4 levels are observed in ENL than Lepromatous and Post ENL patients. However, a gradual insignificant reduction of IgG, IgA, and IgM was found from Lepromatous to ENL and Post ENL patients in the PEG-precipitates. Similarly, C3 and C4 was found reduced insignificantly in ENL than Lepromatous and Post ENL patients. The significance of these estimations in relation to immune status of ENL reactions are discussed.


Free-standing single crystalline semiconductor membranes have gained intensive attention over the last few years due to their versatile usage in many applications. This material platform possesses a high level of material quality similar to their bulk counterparts because single crystallinity is maintained. Si, Ge, and III–V based membranes have been widely studied for flexible electronic and optoelectronic devices such as thin-film transistors and photodetectors. However, the current status of research and development on free-standing single crystalline wide band-gap membranes is at a relatively early stage compared to IV and III–V based membranes. This review highlights recent advances in free-standing wide band-gap membranes, including GaN, SiC, ZnO, β-Ga2O3, and diamond and their applications. Fabrication techniques of each membrane are presented with material characterization. Some prospects for new research opportunities and challenges are also discussed.


A series of 24-hr. catches of Glossina from bait-oxen was carried out during 16 months in 1962–63 at Lugala, Uganda, where G. pallidipes Aust., G. palpalis fuscipes Newst. and G. brevipalpis Newst. occur. Female flies were dissected to determine their physiological age and the presence or absence of trypanosomes. Five age-categories were distinguished, depending on whether a fly had ovulated 0, 1, 2, 3 or more (4 + ) times. Flies remained in each of the first four categories for about 11 days and the fifth therefore comprised those over 40–50 days old. Trypanosome infections were classified as brucei -type, vivax -iype or congolense -type (i.e., attributable to trypanosomes of the groups of Trypanosoma brucei, T. vivax and T. congolense ) according to the sites in which they were found. In all three species of Glossina, vivax -tjpe infections were commonest and alone showed seasonal fluctuations in incidence. Infections of the brucei -type were rare. The total infection rate (all types) in G. pallidipes and G. palpalis fuscipes was highest in or immediately after months of greatest rainfall and relatively lower in dry months; the highest infection rates in G. brevipalpis occurred a month later than those of the other two species. Over 80 per cent, of infections in all three were found in category 4+ flies, the percentage of which in the catches varied in much the same way as the total infection rate, suggesting not only that the flies live longest during wet periods but also that fluctuations of infection rate are largely due to changes in mean age. The regression of total infection rate on percentage of category 4 + flies was significant for G. palpalis fuscipes over 14 months, and for G. pallidipes over 12 months, but insignificant for G. brevipalpis . The age-composition of catches of G. pallidipes and G. brevipalpis but not G. palpalis fuscipes varied during the day. In G. pallidipes , the percentage of older flies was higher in the middle of the day than in the early morning and late evening, and these contrasts were reflected in the infection rate, which was highest in samples taken in the middle of the day. In G. brevipalpis , the percentage of oldier flies and also the infection rate were lower during the night than during the day. Estimates were made of the mean number of bites by infected females that would be received by one ox in one day. The number varied from month to month, with peaks shortly after periods of high rainfall, mainly as a result of changes in fly density and relatively little as a result of changes in infection rate. G. pallidipes , the most numerous species, was responsible for most of the potentially infective bites.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Subjective measures of successful penile curvature surgery are poorly defined. This study follows the 6 year development of a PROM for patients with stable Peyronie's disease (PD) undergoing corrective surgery in a single centre, measuring pre and post operative outcomes prospectively. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with PD patients identified four domains for assessment - penile appearance (PA), erectile function (EF), sexual relationships and generic quality of life (GQoL). A RAND consensus group of UK andrologists defined the initial item-specific PROM 1. Questions about PA were created de-novo. EF and QoL questions were modified for PD based on IIEF and EQ5-D questionnaires respectively. PROM 1 was piloted on all patients being considered for PD surgery at a single centre over a 3 year period. A test-retest design was used for pre operative assessment, with further post operative assessment at follow up. Following statistical assessment for validity, and modification based on patient feedback, a second iteration PROM 2 was created and tested over a further 3 year period. Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was used to assess consistency between test/retest scores, and significant differences between pre and post operative scores. RESULTS: The baseline PROM 2 was completed at first assessment by 58 men who all underwent surgery. Retest questionnaires were completed on the day of surgery with post operative questionnaires completed at first follow up. All questions had response rates >85%. Median age was 56 years (26-70 years), median time between test and retest PROMs was 169 days (13-492 days) with median time to follow up 110 days (61-299 days). Wilcoxon Signed Rank test indicated no significant difference between pre-operative test and retest scores for PA, erectile function, relationship or GQoL (P>0.101). However, pain scores significantly reduced between test and retest assessment (P = 0.05). No significant difference was seen between pre and post operative EF, use of PDE5 inhibitors, penile pain, relationship or GQoL scores. Sexual relationships (P = 0.049) and PA showed significant improvement between pre and post operative scores over all questions (P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: ED, use of PDE5 inhibitors and QoL are not affected by penile curvature surgery. Subjective penile appearance and sexual relationships improve significantly post operatively. There was a significant reduction in pain sensation pre-operatively and surgery did not adversely affect pain afterwards. The final iteration, PROM 3 is now suitable for internal use and external validation. Source of Funding: None.


In this paper, I explore the tensions embedded within my experiences as both a learner and a teacher as they relate to curriculum theory, current conceptions of curriculum, and contemporary education. I argue that students growing up today suffer from an unbalanced and unhealthy education system, characterized by a curriculum that is becoming increasingly standardized and impersonal. To help regain balance and to provide students with a more holistic education, I propose a new conception of curriculum: a curriculum of the heart. Similar to the four chambers in the human heart, four main components are essential to a balanced curriculum, education, and life: living, thriving, feeling, and connecting. Within this conception of curriculum, each component serves an important purpose, contributing to students' overall holistic development and learning. Just as the heart is at the center of the pulmonary system, the curriculum is at the heart of the education system. If there is too much pressure or focus on one component, the system cannot function properly. If this imbalance continues, students will not receive a well-rounded education and will suffer accordingly. Schools have the potential to provide positive and fulfilling lived experiences for students, but must remain conscious that they too, unintentionally, have the potential to accomplish quite the opposite. It is the task of curriculum theorists, teachers, and administrators to initiate and sustain a dialogue about how to provide the best experiences for students and to implement changes that will help them grow in happy, healthy, and holistic ways.


Magnetically recoverable chitosan based spinel cobalt and nickel ferrite (CS/CoFe2O4 and CS/NiFe2O4, respectively) composites were successfully prepared in one step. A series of batch adsorption experiments indicated that the removal of toxic Cd(II) ions by the as-obtained composites as adsorbents was pH-dependent, rapid, proficient, better fitted to pseudo-second-order kinetics model and Langmuir monolayer adsorption isotherm model. Compared to the naked particles, magnetic bio-polymer composites exhibited promoted adsorption capacity. Competitive adsorption studies in binary solutions illustrated preferable selectivity of adsorbents toward Cd(II) ions in the presence of co-existing cations. More importantly, CS/CoFe2O4 and CS/NiFe2O4 had a satisfactory practical application in the removal of Cd(II) from real groundwater spiked with cadmium. The exhausted adsorbents could be regenerated efficiently by 0.5 M HNO3. The results from this study support that CS/CoFe2O4 and CS/NiFe2O4 prove excellent adsorption behavior for the removal of Cd(II) ions from aqueous media.


The main objective of the study is to examine how the post-colonial character of the Nigerian state engendered the emergence and strategies of IPOB and Boko Haram in the state. The study is anchored on the postcolonial state theory. Qualitative (documentary) method was employed for data collection, while qualitative-descriptive method of analysis was adopted. The paper contends that both Boko Haram and IPOB are manifestations of the dissatisfactions arising from the inadequacies of the Westphalian state system imposed on the kingdoms, empires and principalities which hitherto existed in the area today known as Nigeria. Both Boko Haram and IPOB extensively adopted anti-state propaganda targeted at disparaging the postcolonial Nigerian state. Hence, while Boko Haram's propaganda launch onslaught against the colonial education system, the IPOB proselytize secession as a panacea to lopsided federal structure tilting in favour of the North and responsible for economic and political 'marginalization' of the Igbo ethnic group. The central thesis of this study is that contradictions like insurgency and separatist movements are recurring features of postcolonial African states such as Nigeria. The study recommends inter alia that peace-building in Nigeria should address economic and political marginalization which engenders dissatisfaction among the masses, while access to education by youths should be enhanced.


There have been forced migrations from one country to another due to wars, conflicts, and various reasons within and among countries. Turkey is a transit point from Asia to Europe. Accordingly, this study sheds light on experiences the refugee students have in the Turkish Education System. Therefore, this study is meant to be based on a qualitative approach as a case study method. The data were obtained through a semi-structured interview and a focus group interview. The information was gathered from nine students-three Syrians, two Iranians, two Iraqis, and two Afghans-as well as five teachers. According to the results, refugee students had difficulty learning and using a new language, adapting to a new country and environment, and getting used to new friends they made and teachers they were taught by. The results also indicate that students were concerned about their inability to travel to the United States and European countries.


Results of clinical examinations and ultrasonic duplex scanning of the venous system of the lower extremities performed in 31 patients with the varicose disease were analyzed. The disease developed due to the primary valve insufficiency of the profound veins. This form is characterized by total-subtotal refluxes of blood along the subcutaneous veins, multiple lesions of the perforant veins, the presence of the hemodynamically valuable blood refluxes in the profound and muscle veins. The hemodynamic parameters of blood flow and the technology of surgical treatment of the deep, superficial, perforant and muscle blood refluxes are shown allowing to restore the quality of life in 76.7% of the patients and considerately improve it in 23.3%.


The purpose of this NEH/ALA grant is to familiarize the American public with Islam and the cultural heritage of Islamic civilizations around the world.


Creating customer value is the greatest challenge facing profit and non- profit landlords nowadays. By offering valuable products landlords can distinguish themselves from competitors in the housing market. In marketing literature two meanings exist for the phrase "customer value": value of a customer and value for the customer. As a matter of fact, this distinction refers to the traditional contrast between exchange value and the utility value of housing. One meaning is the value of a customer for the landlord. The customer as tenant is seen as an asset; as a potential source of income representing a certain value. The second meaning is value for the customer, created by the landlord by offering a bundle or package of qualities. Both forms of customer value are connected to each other. This paper deals with creating customer value in the second meaning. One of the ways to create superior value for a tenant is by extending the traditional product 'housing' with additional services. For this reason landlords in the Netherlands are developing all kinds of additional services, such as health care services, comfort services, safety and security services etc. The value adding potential of additional services must however not be overestimated. This article focuses on the possibilities and limitations of additional services to provide additional value to the traditional product of landlords: 'housing' (DOGGE, 2003).


With the proliferation of mobile devices, large collections of geospatial data are becoming available, such as geo-tagged photos. Map rendering systems play an important role in presenting such large geospatial datasets to end users. We propose that such systems should support the following desirable features: representativeness, visibility constraint, zooming consistency, and panning consistency. The first two constraints are fundamental challenges to a map exploration system, which aims to efficiently select a small set of representative objects from the current region of user's interest, and any two selected objects should not be too close to each other for users to distinguish in the limited space of a screen. We formalize it as the Spatial Object Selection (SOS) problem, prove that it is an NP-hard problem, and develop a novel approximation algorithm with performance guarantees. % To further support interactive exploration of geospatial data on maps, we propose the Interactive SOS (ISOS) problem, in which we enrich the SOS problem with the zooming consistency and panning consistency constraints. The objective of ISOS is to provide seamless experience for end-users to interactively explore the data by navigating the map. We extend our algorithm for the SOS problem to solve the ISOS problem, and propose a new strategy based on pre-fetching to significantly enhance the efficiency. Finally we have conducted extensive experiments to show the efficiency and scalability of our approach.


Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a clinical chronic condition characterized by chronic fatigue and orthostatic symptoms associated with postural tachycardia. Early diagnosis and intervention can prevent significant functional consequences, although it can be very difficult to recognize. Two cases of POTS were presented in this article to help clinicians identify POTS more easily. Firstly, we present a 16-year-old adolescent female who was hospitalized for daily headaches, chronic fatigue, bilateral lower limbs discoloration and edema on standing position associated with orthostatic symptoms. All investigations were negative except for tilt table test, which showed heart rate increase of 80 beats per min, hypotension and discoloration of lower limbs, confirming POTS diagnosis. Non-pharmacological treatment showed no improvement. Midodrine was started because of β-blockers intolerance with only moderate response. Secondly, we present a 17-year-old patient diagnosed with benign hypermobility syndrome who was referred for recurring episodes of palpitations associated with heat, nausea, headache and vertigo for the past year. She also reported dizziness and lower limbs discoloration on standing position. Previous investigations were negative. A clinical diagnosis of POTS was made based on history. Non-pharmacologic treatments with hydration, increase of salt intake and regular exercise were tested. However, no improvement was shown. Symptoms were controlled by a propranolol trial. These cases relate a clinical sign that can be easily identified by a clinician attempting to diagnose POTS. Acrocyanosis can be unquestioned or ignored. Clinicians should be attentive to this condition, and attempt to diagnose its underlying causes. This can result in lowering unnecessary testing and interventions. Patients with dependent acrocyanosis should be closely evaluated for the diagnosis of POTS. Int J Clin Pediatr. 2018;7(1-2):13-16 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/ijcp293w


Both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are crucial to water splitting, but require alternative active sites. Now, a general pelectronassisted strategy to anchor single-atom sites (M=Ir, Pt, Ru, Pd, Fe, Ni) on a heterogeneous support is reported. The Matoms can simultaneously anchor on two distinct domains of the hybrid support, four-fold N/C atoms (M@NC), and centers of Co octahedra (M@Co), which are expected to serve as bifunctional electrocatalysts towards the HER and the OER. The Ir catalyst exhibits the best water-splitting performance, showing a low applied potential of 1.603V to achieve 10 mAcm@2 in 1.0m KOH solution with cycling over 5 h. DFT calculations indicate that the Ir@Co (Ir) sites can accelerate the OER, while the Ir@NC3 sites are responsible for the enhanced HER, clarifying the unprecedented performance of this bifunctional catalyst towards full water splitting.


The changing nature of how children engage with their physical environment is one factor in the dramatic increase in childhood overweight. Children today are engaging much less with the world outside their homes in terms of physical activity and much more in terms of eating. Technological innovations in media have contributed to these changes, keeping children inside and sedentary during more of their playtime and exposing them to highly coordinated advertising campaigns. But researchers are increasingly looking to technology for solutions to understand how children interact with their built environments and to make changes that promote healthy living. This article reviews many of these innovations, including the use of geospatial technologies, accelerometers, electronic food and travel diaries, and video games to promote physical activity and healthy eating. It also explores some of the other possibilities for harnessing the potential of technology to combat the childhood overweight epidemic.


Low-velocity impact damages in composite material laminates, such as matrix cracks, delaminations and fibre breakage, usually develop inside the material and can be dif ficult to detect. As these flaws downgrade the structural integrity of the composite, the thorough damage evaluation is essential to assess the impact damage criticality. This chapter focuses on the ultrasonic non-destructive inspection of low-velocity impacted composite laminates for damage estimation and assessment. The impact damage genera tion mechanisms are described and characterised. Ultrasonic testing methods and their defect detection capabilities are illustrated. Recent research studies on ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation of low-velocity impacted composite materials are presented and discussed.


With the rapid development of media services, it's an urgent demand that videos uploaded to the Internet need to be processed with high efficiency and high quality. We set up a flexible lightweight distributed system for media processing to address this problem. The architecture of our system consists of three layers, which are connected by three flows. This system shows high performance after deployed for a public video processing service for UGC in a private cloud environment. Moreover, the functional extension and efficiency optimization are discussed in this paper. Overall, the deployed public service shows remarkable performance in both processing efficiency and network load.


The graphics calculator seems to be frequently misunderstood, especially by those who are unaccustomed to using it. (Kissane, 1997a) For example, it is sometimes regarded as a device to assist students to pass examinations, perhaps understandably in places where its use has become widespread because of changes to examination rules. Similarly, it is also interpreted sometimes as a device whose main significance is related to drawing graphs of functions, again not surprisingly in situations where it is described as a 'graphing' calculator. As a further example, it is sometimes dismissed as a form of technology because it is not commonly used by professional people such as industrial mathematicians, statisticians, scientists and engineers, most of whom routinely use desktop or laptop computers for mathematical work.

In contrast to these opinions, I would argue that the significance of the graphics calculator for education is that it offers opportunities for investigation that would not otherwise be available to students. That is, its significance is for learning rather than the assessment of learning. This includes aspects of graphing functions, but many other aspects of mathematics as well. Although less powerful than other sorts of computers, it is of educational importance because it is potentially accessible to all students, rather than to only the privileged few. (Kissane 1995a,1996)

In support of these claims, this paper outlines very briefly three of the ways in which a graphics calculator can be regarded as an investigative device, described as the most important metaphor for the device by Kissane (1995b). For convenience, the Casio cfx-9850GB Plus graphics calculator is used to illustrate the possibilities.


The aim of this work, was to investigate the heterogeneous ice nucleation of supercooled micro-droplets induced by contact with an ice nucleating particle (INP). The contact freezing is poorly quantified but can be potentially important for understanding precipitation mechanisms via cloud glaciation in mixed clouds. The contact freezing results are compared to results of freezing experiments in the immersion mode. The same INP is ice active at higher temperatures in the contact mode than in the immersion mode.

An electrodynamic balance was used to levitate single, supercooled micro-droplets of deionized water. The droplet is exposed to a flow of mobility-selected aerosol particles. The injection of droplets and the detection of freezing events is automated. In this experiment, it is possible to calculate the collision rate separately, and the probability of freezing on a single contact. Furthermore, immersion freezing experiments are performed in the same experimental setup, and a direct comparison between immersion and contact mode is possible.

As ice nucleating particles, some relevant atmospheric minerals (hematite, feldspar, illite, kaolinite), cellulose, SNOMAX®, birch pollen washing water and a mixture of illite and birch pollen washing water have been investigated. The resulting contact freezing probabilities show a temperature, particle size, and material dependency. For comparison of immersion and contact freezing results an Ice Nucleating Active Site (INAS) density has been calculated. With exclusion of SNOMAX® and birch pollen washing water, all particles have been shown to be more ice active in the contact freezing mode than in immersion mode.


In this paper, we propose a temporal extension to an extended ERT model and extend database temporal models to handle the fuzzy numbers. The concept of lifespan for entities and relationships is incorporated in the FTER model. We specify a fuzzy temporal query and update temporal language which is an extension from the TQuel language. The concepts of fuzzy temporal expressions, fuzzy temporal selection, fuzzy temporal join and fuzzy temporal projection are introduced, and their use in the query language is illustrated. We also discuss reducibility of the semantics to the language when applied to a static database and define the semantics of update operations.


A sedan Mercedes 500 SEL has been equipped with active bifocal vision systems. Road and object recognition is performed both in a look-ahead and in a look-back region; this allows to servo-maintain an internal representation of the entire situation around in the vehicle using the 4D approach to dynamic machine vision. Obstacles are detected and tracked both in the forward and in the backward viewing range up to about 100 meters distance; up to 5 objects may be tracked in parallel in each hemisphere. A fixation type viewing direction control with the capability of saccadic shifts for attention focusing has been developed. The overall system comprises about 5 dozen transputers T-222 (16-bit, for image processing and communication) and T-800 (32-bit, for number crunching and knowledge processing) plus a PC as transputer host. A description of the parallel processing architecture is given allowing frequent data driven bottom-up and model driven top-down integration steps for efficient and robust object tracking (4D approach).


Beard's essay contends that specialized journals with limited readerships encounter similar problems. Independent of the subject there are material conditions that limit, shape, or color a journal's possibilities. These conditions become especially vivid to editors. In the case of journals and book series dealing with the literatures of the Middle East, the constraints are in part political. (Readers bring to the area preexisting commitments and expectations.) In part they are methodological. (Writers trained in Middle East Studies are likely to come to literature from different disciplines other than literary analysis.) In part they are regional. (Contributors usually have specialized in a particular culture or language — Turkish, Persian, or Arabic, in addition to lesser-taught languages like Uighur, Urdu, or Uzbek.) Beard describes his experiences as an editor of two projects: the journal Middle Eastern Literatures and the series "Middle Eastern Literatures in Translation." In both cases the primary value is generating dialogue between specialists from different backgrounds.


This paper proposes a new parameter, the Maxima Dispersion Quotient (MDQ), for differentiating breathy to tense voice. Maxima derived following wavelet decomposition are often used for detecting edges in image processing, where locations of these maxima organize in the vicinity of the edge location. Similarly for tense voice, which typically displays sharp glottal closing characteristics, maxima following wavelet analysis are organized in the vicinity of the glottal closure instant (GCI). Contrastingly, as the phonation type tends away from tense voice towards a breathier phonation it is observed that the maxima become increasingly dispersed. The MDQ parameter is designed to quantify the extent of this dispersion and is shown to compare favorably to existing voice quality parameters, particularly for the analysis of continuous speech. Also, classification experiments reveal a significant improvement in the detection of the voice qualities when MDQ is included as an input to the classifier. Finally, MDQ is shown to be robust to additive noise down to a Signal-to-Noise Ratio of 10 dB.


This paper presents some of the research done during the last 8 years at the Technical University of Denmark developing improved low-energy window solutions. The focus has been on maximizing the net energy gain of windows for residential buildings. The net energy gain of windows is the solar gain minus the heat loss integrated over the heating season. It is assumed that in northern cold climates all of the solar gain during the heating season can be utilized for space heating. Problems with overheating in the summer period must be solved with overhang or moveable solar shading devices. Two windows have already been developed and prototypes constructed for laboratory test and a third generation of the window design is now in the developing and designing phase in a new project. The first window constructed was made of wood profiles and a low-energy double glazing unit. The second and third windows are made of fiber-reinforced plastic (plastic reinforced by fine fibers made of glass). This composite material is a weatherproof material with very low thermal conductivity and high mechanical strength. These properties make the material very suitable for frame profiles due to lower heat loss and longer durability of the window. The glazing in these fiber reinforced polyester windows is both unsealed and sealed triple glazing units. To increase the net energy gain slim frame profiles have been developed to increase the glazing area and thereby the solar gain. The challenge when developing slim frame profiles is to make enough space for hinges and fasteners and still maintaining the functionality and strength of the window. Proposals for new hinges and handles are also given in this paper.


The requirement for renewable energy sources is very high in recent years due to the acute energy crisis. Photovoltaic power is regarded as a chief source of energy in several countries with high solar power density. The main obstruction for reach of solar PV systems is their low efficiency and high capital cost. Therefore, controlling Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) for the solar array has become an essential aspect in a PV generation as Maximum Power Point (MPP) changes with the solar radiation and temperature. In this paper, Perturbation and Observation (P&O) lgorithm is used for maximum power point tracking as it has the potential to adjust the solar array reference voltage to attain maximum power point. P&O system has certain limitation which is overcome in this paper with the utilization of fuzzy based P&O. But, this produces oscillations in voltage conversion. To overcome this difficulty, a better converter should be used in voltage conversion. Cuk converter is one of the existing efficient converters in PV systems. One of main drawback in cuk converter is more duty cycles are required for better conversion and some oscillations will persist in voltage conversion. To overcome these drawbacks, Boost converter is used in this paper. In Boost converter, step up structure is used which will result in better conversion ratio and better damping of oscillations. The main advantage of this proposed system is that the efficiency of the Boost converter is increased. The system is simulated under different climatic conditions. The simulation model of controller is built in MATLAB / Simulink background, and the simulation result shows the reduction in oscillations and improvement in power conversion. Keywords— Maximum Power Point Tracking, Perturb and Observe, Boost Mode Converter.


Due to its size, shape, and inherent expression of pathogen-associated molecular patterns and invasion-assistant adhesion proteins, Burkholderia pseudomallei can easily attach to, and then be internalized by, dendritic cells (DCs), leading to more efficient antigen cross-presentation if modified as carrier. Herein, we engineered Burkholderia pseudomallei as a porous/hollow carrier (SB) for loading tumor lysates (L) and adjuvant CpG (C) to be used as a tumor vaccine (SB-LC). We found that the adhesion proteins of Burkholderia pseudomallei promote internalization of the SB-LC vaccine by DCs, and result in enhanced DC maturation and antigen cross-presentation. SB-LC induces robust cellular and humoral antitumor responses that synergistically inhibit tumor growth with minimal adverse side effects in several tumor models. Moreover, SB-LC vaccination reverses the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, apparently as a result of CD8+-induced tumor ferroptosis. Thus, SB-LC is a potential model tumor vaccine for translating into a clinically viable treatment option.


Sir—I would like this considered for publication as a comment on the 1996 paper by Ratkowsky and colleagues. I have no reason to quarrel with the experiment or its results, but I believe the authors have taken one or two false steps in drawing conclusions. Specifically, the results tell us nothing about the shape of the distribution (contrary to the claim by Ratkowsky et al. that they imply a gamma distribution with an a of 150). What the results do say is that the coefficient of variation does not depend upon temperature.


Crosstalk noise is a crucial factor affecting chip performance in deep submicron technologies. Among all possible crosstalk noise sources, clock is the most common aggressor as well as victim. Crosstalk on clock nets can increase clock jitter, which may degrade significantly the system performance. It is therefore imperative to design clock buffers to reduce the coupling effects. In this paper, we address the crosstalk effect on clock networks. We propose an algorithm to size clock buffers for given buffered clock trees such that the induced clock jitter is minimized. Our experimental results show a significant reduction of clock jitter by sizing the clock buffers without increasing the total area of buffer.


1Abstract—The Interpolated DFT is a non time-consuming supplement to the DFT algorithm. It allows to achieve a much greater frequency measurement accuracy than the DFT and is easily applicable to multitone spectrums. A very simple variant of the Interpolated DFT, proposed and analyzed in previous papers, was implemented in the frequency meter. The introduced device allows to check the correctness of the theoretical limitation and simulation results obtained earlier. The instrument is based on a microcontroller with a DSP unit and a 14-bit fast AD converter. The actual properties of the meter were introduced in the paper. The accuracy of the frequency measurement, the influence of the number of samples in a series and the influence of measured signal amplitude variation during acquiring a series of samples on the accuracy are consistent with the theoretical limits and simulation results with one exception. A boundary of the accuracy of frequency measurement related to used single-precision floating point format occurred. The limiting parameters of the introduced meter are: rate of measurements up to 410 per second and standard deviation about 7.6·10-8.


The purpose of this article is to present an association of the concepts of conflict, in the sense proposed by Machiavelli, in freedom as non-domination, according to the definition of contemporary neo-republicanism, and especially Philip Pettit, and in categorical inequality as defined by Charles Tilly. The intention is to formulate a theory that can be used as a guide for the State in situations of inequality that are intolerable for democracy — particularly those in which practiced by groups of people with special traits in detriment of others. This theoretical formulation will be denominated republican democracy as it combines the formulations of democratic theory proposed by Tilly with the contributions of the leading contemporary theoreticians of republicanism.


Shape memory alloys (SMA) are smart materials which can be activated thermally. They are suitable for the use as actuators due to their ability to remember an imprinted shape through thermal activation. In addition, actuators based on shape memory alloys offer a higher work output in relation to their volume compared to other actuator concepts. Other advantages of using SMA in actuation applications include the ability to design lightweight systems and the comparatively low material costs.On the other hand, designing an SMA actuator poses a challenge in case a specific rate of feed has to be achieved. These difficulties become especially apparent if the actuator is used to create a defined displacement not only in its activation direction, but in the returning (deactivation) direction as well. This might occur, for example, while devising an SMA-driven feed axis.During the activation of the SMA, the speed of the actuator and therefore the speed of the axis can be influenced by choosing a specific thermal energy transfer method. For instance, when using the intrinsic resistance for heating purposes, the speed can be controlled by changing the electrical current running through the SMA. However, after the deactivation (end of the heating phase) of the shape memory alloy, the transformation needs a considerably longer time. For an exemplary SMA wire actuator, the transformation time in room temperature can be five times higher than the activation time. For usage in a feed axis, the actuator should produce similar speeds in both the activation and deactivation direction.To achieve this, different strategies for cooling the SMA after cutting off the current are investigated. These strategies include an active air cooling system with different flow characteristics and the operation of the actuator in a cooling fluid.In a nutshell, the paper compares different ways of cooling an SMA wire actuator to increase the transformation speed after deactivation. The aim is to make the deactivation speed as manageable as the activation speed.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


Climate extremes have more far-reaching and devastating effects than the mean climate shift, particularly on the most vulnerable societies. Ethiopia, with its low economic adaptive capacity, has been experiencing recurrent climate extremes for an extended period, leading to devastating impacts and acute food shortages affecting millions of people. In face of ongoing climate change, the frequency and intensity of climate extreme events are expected to increase further in the foreseeable future. This study provides an overview of projected changes in climate extremes indices based on downscaled high-resolution (i.e., 10 × 10 km   2 ) daily climate data derived from global climate models (GCMs). The magnitude and spatial patterns of trends in the projected climate extreme indices were explored under a range of emission scenarios called Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). The performance of the GCMs to reproduce the observed climate extreme trends in the base period (1983–2012) was evaluated, the changes in the climate projections (2020–2100) were assessed and the associated uncertainties were quantified. Overall, results show largely significant and spatially consistent trends in the projected temperature-derived extreme indices with acceptable model performance in the base period. The projected changes are dominated by the uncertainties in the GCMs at the beginning of the projection period while by the end of the century proportional uncertainties arise both from the GCMs and SSPs. The results for precipitation-related extreme indices are heterogeneous in terms of spatial distribution, magnitude, and statistical significance coverage. Unlike the temperature-related indices, the uncertainty from internal climate variability constitutes a considerable proportion of the total uncertainty in the projected trends. Our work provides a comprehensive insight into the projected changes in climate extremes at relatively high spatial resolution and the related sources of projection uncertainties.


Many data science algorithms require complete observations, making missing value imputation an important step in many data processing pipelines. Imputation is also of independent interest for applications such as recommender systems. To address real-world big data problems, imputation algorithms must handle mixed data, containing ordinal, boolean, and continuous variables, and such algorithms must be highly scalable. In this work we develop a semi-parametric online algorithm for mixed missing value imputation using a Gaussian Copula. This online algorithm improves on the speed of its offline counterpart by an order of magnitude, with similar accuracy. The online method can also improve on the offline method by adapting to a changing data distribution.


Background: Infidelity is an interpersonal traumatic incident that can have cognitive, emotional and behavioral consequences for the victim. This study aimed to explain the effectiveness of Robert Enright Forgiveness Inventory (EFI) on the marital quality of women affected by infidelity in Ahvaz. Methods: In this research, a single-case experimental design was used. The population included all women affected by infidelity referring to Ahvaz counseling centers in 2016. The study sample which included 4 women referring to Ahvaz Avaye Daroon Center was selected using available sampling method. The participants responded to the Marital Quality Questionnaire during the treatment and follow-up phases. The data were analyzed using visual analysis, clinical significance (Reliable Change Index and Normative Comparison), and the recovery percentage formula. Findings: The results indicated that the marital quality increased in women in the treatment (40.37) and (44.88) follow-up phases. According to the normative comparisons, t was bigger than the table with the degree of freedom of 32; therefore, it can be argued that there was no clinical difference between the normal and abused groups in terms of marital quality. Conclusion: Robert Enright Forgiveness Inventory (EFI) aims to change beliefs, advocate positive thinking, increase the sense of tranquility, reduce the sense of revenge and teach communication skills. These measures can help increase the marital quality of women affected by infidelity.


Advances in omics technologies now permit generation of highly contiguous genome assemblies, detection of transcripts and metabolites at the level of single cells, and high-resolution determination of gene regulatory features including 3-dimensional chromatin interactions. Using a complementary, multi-omics approach, we interrogated the monoterpene indole alkaloid (MIA) biosynthetic pathway in Catharanthus roseus, a source of leading anti-cancer drugs. We identified not only new clusters of genes involved in MIA biosynthesis on the eight C. roseus chromosomes but also rampant gene duplication including paralogs of MIA pathway genes. Clustering was not limited to the linear genome and through chromatin interaction data, MIA pathway genes were shown to be present within the same topologically associated domain, permitting identification of a secologanin transporter. Single cell RNA-sequencing revealed exquisite and sequential cell-type specific partitioning of the leaf MIA biosynthetic pathway that, when coupled with a newly developed single cell metabolomics approach, permitted identification of a reductase that yields the bis-indole alkaloid anhydrovinblastine. Last, we revealed cell-type specific expression in the root MIA pathway that is conferred in part by neo- and sub-functionalization of paralogous MIA pathway genes. This study highlights how a suite of omic approaches, including single cell gene expression and metabolomics, can efficiently link sequence with function in complex, specialized metabolic pathways of plants.


The influence of radius ratio of cutting point and cutter on cutting force and stability during end milling process is presented in this paper. To derive motion equations, a 2 DOF mechanical model of end milling considering both regenerative and self-excited effects was established. Different ratio values during three milling conditions were analyzed. Cutting forces as well as stability under different radius ratios by changing curvature radius and cutter radius were elaborated respectively. The results show that when other parameters are set fixed, cutter with relative large radius has smaller cutting force and larger stable range. Cutters with same radius will overlap on cutting force when radius ratio is large enough even under different milling conditions. The proposed analysis on cutting force and stability can be used to determine the optimal parameters, such as cutter radius and spindle speed etc. to improve the accuracy and productivity.


Some common medicinal plants that are used either alone or in association, and sold as industrial preparations or by phytotherapists for the treatment of hyperlipidemia. We used two medicinal plants namely Lagenaria siceraria and Carica papaya with cow urine for the treatment of Hyperlipidemia. Hyperlipidemia is a condition of excess fatty substances called lipids, largely cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. It is also called hyperlipoproteinemia because these excess lipids travel in the blood attached to proteins. The aim of present study is to evaluate and compare the anti-hyperlipidemia effects of cow urine & freshly prepared juice and hydroalcholic extract of Lageraria siceraria fruit & Carica papaya leaf in high fat diet induced hyperlipidemia rat with marketed Atorvastatin. Present work aim to check potency of cow urine with freshly prepared juice and hydroalcholic extract of Lageraria siceraria fruit & Carica papaya leaf preparation with potent anti-hyperlipidemic activity. In present study four preparations were taken i.e. Lagenaria siceraria fruit juice (LSFJ) and Carica papaya leaves juice(CPLJ) with CU in dose of 10 ml/kg and 20 ml/kg and hydroalcoholic extract of Lagenaria siceraria (LSFE) and Carica papaya leaves extract(CPLE) with CU in dose of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg. LSFJ and CPLJ in dose of 20 ml/kg and LSFE and CPLE in dose of 200 mg/kg showed the most significant results among other preparation in high fat diet induce obese and hyperlipidemic rats. The results of study reveal that the juice and hydroalcoholic extract of Lagenaria siceraria and Carica papaya leaves with CU when administered to the obese & hyperlipidemic rats causes significant decrease in the body weight, Serum TC, LDL, TG and VLDL level.


Abstract. To define a background in the electromagnetic emissions above seismic regions, it is necessary to define the statistical distribution of the wave energy in absence of seismic activity and any other anomalous input (e.g. solar forcing). This paper presents a completely new method to determine both the environmental and instrumental background applied to the entire DEMETER satellite electric and magnetic field data over L'Aquila. Our technique is based on a new data analysis tool called ALIF (Adaptive Local Iterative Filtering, [Cicone et al., 2016 and 2017; Piersanti et al., 2017]). To evaluate the instrumental noise, we performed a multiscale statistical analysis, in which the instantaneous relative energy (ϵrel), kurtosis and Shannon entropy was calculated. To estimate the environmental noise, a background map, divided into 1° × 1° latitude/longitude cells, of the averaged relative energy (ϵrel) has been constructed, taking into account the geomagnetic activity conditions, the presence of seismic activity and the local time sector of the satellite orbit. Any distinct signal different (over a certain threshold) from both the instrumental and environmental backgrounds will be considered as a case event to be investigated. Interestingly, on April 4, 2009, when DEMETER flew exactly over L'Aquila at UT = 20:29, an anomalous signal was observed at 333 Hz on both the electric and magnetic field data, whose characteristics seem to be related to pre-seismic activity.


In this study, we prepared polystyrene (PS) nanofibers as hepatocytes culture substrates by electrospinning method and subsequently coated with specific ligand (poly(N--vinylbenzyl-- β-D-galactopyranosyl-(14)-D-gluconamide)(PVLA) for hepatocytes attachment. Rat hepatocytes' behavior on the PVLA-coated and non-coated PS nanofibrous matrices have been investigated. Electrospun PS fiber structures revealed randomly aligned fibers with average diameter of 500 nm. Fabricated PS nanofibers had no bonding points like cotton fibers. Analyses by ATR/FTIR and ESCA revealed that PVLA was successfully coated to the surfaces of PS nanofibers. More hepatocytes were attached on the surface of PS nanofibers coated with PVLA than that on noncoated PS nanofibers. PS nanofibrous matrix could incorporate many cells into the interior of the matrix probably due to the suitable pore size. Cell viabilities cultured on PVLA-coated PS nanofibrous mats were maintained for 2 weeks, while it was decreased rapidly on PVLA-coated PS dishes. High hepatic function especially albumin secretion was maintained for 2 weeks on nanofibrous mats but rapidly decreased on flat PS dishes. These results indicate that nanofibrous structure enabled spheroid-like culture results in providing cell-cell communication and subsequent long-term maintenance of specific cell function.


The drainage of the Fucino Lake of central Italy was completed in 1873, and this possibly caused significant climatic changes over the Fucino basin. In this paper we discuss a set of short-term triple-nested regional model simulations of the meteorological effects of the Fucino Lake on the surrounding region. We find that the model simulates realistic lake-breeze circulations and their response to background winds. The simulations indicate that the lake affects the temperature of the surrounding basin in all seasons and precipitation in the cold season, when cyclonic perturbations move across the region. Some effects of the lake also extend over areas quite far from the Fucino basin. Our results support the hypothesis that the drainage of the lake might have significantly affected the climate of the lake basin. However, longer simulations and further development in some aspects of the model are needed, in order to provide a more statistically robust evaluation of the simulated lake-effects.


Carbon accounting is a process or a way to measure carbon emissions, then set a strategy to reduce carbon emissions, recording costs incurred and reported to the stakeholders of the company. The application of carbon accounting is a good benefit for a country, including Indonesia. For companies,
the application of carbon accounting could be part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and will bring a positive impact for the company. For the government of Indonesia, carbon accounting can push the path of cooperation with countries associated with REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation), to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Indonesian society also have benefitfrom the application of carbon accounting. If the industry implementing carbon accollnting to reduce carbon emissions, so air pollution will be reduced and public !1ealth in the industry area will also be. improved. Application of carbon accounting could also reduce the potential natural disasters, the development of new infrastructure throughfundingfrom the REDD partnership and it will appear new jobs.


Abstract The hydrothermal reactivity of the <1 μm fraction, K-saturated SWy-2 Wyoming low-charge montmorillonite was studied in the 250-400 °C temperature range with reactions lasting between 5 and 120 days, with a solid/solution mass ratio of 1:10, and in 1 mol/L KCl solution. From X-ray diffraction (XRD) profile modeling results on K-saturated and ethylene-glycol solvated samples the illitization process appears to occur as a progressive replacement of expandable layers by layers with illitic behavior, in a single illite-smectite phase. However this treatment overestimates the amount of illite layers because of the presence of smectitic non-expandable layers. This was revealed by calcium exchange of the products, which causes re-expansion of the apparent illite layers. The illitization model then obtained consists of four phases with increasing illite content: discrete smectite, a randomly interstratified mixed-layered mineral (MLM) and two ordered MLMs that progressively replace the phases with less illite content. This polyphase model is consistent with results from transmission electron microscopy and chemical microanalysis, which show several types of particle morphology with different interlayer K content and Al-for-Si substitution that seem to correspond to the several phases detected by XRD. Thus, the actual illitization mechanism of smectite in our experiments is not a progressive reaction but a dissolution-precipitation process following the Ostwald step rule in which metastable smectite transforms into illite through a series of metastable illite-smectite phases.


BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to assess the factors that influence smoking in the presence of the infant by mothers, partners, other family members, and friends.

METHODS
An observational study using questionnaires was performed with smoking and nonsmoking parents of babies between 1 and 14 months old attending Dutch well-baby clinics between February and May 1996. The main measures were prevention of passive smoking in children by mothers and the relation with self-reported attitudes, social influence, and self-efficacy.

RESULTS
A total of 1702 parents completed the questionnaire (63%). A total of 1551 questionnaires were completed by the mother. Sixty-five percent of the mothers prevented passive smoking by their child. This figure was 55% for smokers and 69% for nonsmokers. Attitude was the factor that most explained preventive behavior among both smokers and nonsmokers. Among the respondents, a lack of prevention of passive smoking was significantly related to (1) a negative attitude and 2) a negative social influence exerted by their partner, (3) lower self-efficacy in reducing passive smoking, and (4) increasing age of the child. (5) Finally, a lack of prevention is associated with the mother's self-efficacy in asking others not to smoke. This association strongly differs between smoking and nonsmoking mothers.

CONCLUSION
The results suggest that health education efforts should focus on attitude and self-efficacy, assuming that these precede actual behavior, and in particular on the health consequences of the exposure of young children to tobacco smoke. The information should not be restricted to parents of newborn babies; it should also focus on parents with older children. Particular attention should be paid to smokers with a low educational level. The results also indicate that education should strengthen the ability of nonsmoking parents to deal with smokers and the ability of smoking parents to deal with their own smoking behavior.


On a quiet sea, the biggest ship in the world is waiting. There is no noise from the engines. Up in the night sky there are hundred of stars. Behind the ship, an iceberg - a great mountain of ice - goes slowly away into the black night.
In the beautiful first-class rooms, rich passengers eat and listen to music. Down in the third-class cabins, families sleep. An exciting new life is waiting for them in America. But for many of the people in this small ' city on the sea' this is their last night alive...


Starting with a novel audio analysis and editing paradigm, a set of new and adaptive audio analysis and editing algorithms in the spectrogram are developed and integrated into a smart visual audio editing tool in a "what you see is what you hear" style. At the core of our algorithms and methods is a very?exible audio spectrogram that goes beyond FFT and Wavelets and supports manipulating a signal at any chosen time-frequency resolution:the Gabor analysis and synthesis. It gives maximum accuracy of the representation, is fully invertible, and enables resolution zooming. Simple audio objects are localized in time and frequency. They can easily be identified visually and selected by simple geometric selection masks such as rectangles, combs and polygons. For many audio objects, however the structures in the spectrogram are rather complex. Therefore, we present several intelligent and adaptive mask selection approaches. They are based on audio fingerprinting and visual pattern matching algorithms. Spectrograms of individually recorded sounds under controlled conditions or interactively selected in the current spectrogram can be regarded as visual and sophisticated templates. We discuss how to generate templates, how to find the best match out of a database and how to adapt the match to the sound which we want to edit.


A balanced cyberinfrastructure is necessary to meet growing data-intensitive scientific needs. We believe that available resources should be allocated to benefit the broadest cross-section of the scientific community. Given the power-law distribution of problem sizes, this means that about half of funding agency resources should be spent on tier-1 centers at the petascale level and the other half dedicated to tier-2 and tier-3 centers on a cost-sharing basis. Funding agencies should support balanced systems, not just CPU farms, as well as petascale IO and networking. They should also allocate resources for a balanced tier-1 through tier-3 cyberinfrastructure.


ABSTRACT Cholera toxin (CT) is an AB5 toxin responsible for the profuse secretory diarrhea resulting from Vibrio cholerae infection. CT consists of a pentameric, receptor-binding B subunit (CTB) and a monomeric A subunit (CTA) that has latent enzymatic activity. In addition to its enterotoxicity, CT has potent mucosal adjuvant activity and can also function as a carrier molecule with many potential applications in cell biology. In earlier studies, the toxic CTA1 domain was replaced by several other antigenic protein domains to produce holotoxin-like chimeras for use as potential mucosal vaccines. In the present study we utilized the twin arginine translocation (tat) system to produce fluorescent CT chimeras, as well as fluorescent chimeras of Escherichia coli heat-labile toxins LTI and LTIIb. Fusion proteins containing either green fluorescent protein (GFP) or monomeric red fluorescent protein (mRFP) and the A2 domain of CT, LTI, or LTIIb were transported to the periplasm of E. coli by the tat system, and the corresponding B polypeptides of CT, LTI, and LTIIb were transported to the periplasm by the sec system. The fluorescent fusion proteins were shown to assemble spontaneously and efficiently with the corresponding B polypeptides in the periplasm to form chimeric holotoxin-like molecules, and these chimeras bound to and entered cultured cells in a manner similar to native CT, LTI, or LTIIb. The GFP and mRFP derivatives of CT, LT, and LTIIb developed here are useful tools for studies on the cell biology of trafficking of the CT/LT family of bacterial enterotoxins. In addition, these constructs provide proof in principle for the development of novel chimeric CT-like or LT-like vaccine candidates containing CTA2 fusion proteins that cannot be delivered to the periplasm of E. coli by use of the sec secretion pathway.


Perineural invasion (PNI) has emerged as a key pathological feature and be considered as a poor prognostic factor in cervical cancer. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, PNI status of 269 cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) samples were quantified by using whole-slide diagnostic images obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Integrated analyses revealed that PNI was an indicative marker of poorer disease-free survival for CESC patients. Among the differentially expressed genes, ADCYAP1 were identified. Clinical specimens supported that high expression of PACAP (encoded by ADCYAP1) contributed to PNI in CESC. Mechanistically, PACAP, secreted from cervical cancer cells, reversed myelin differentiation of Schwann cells (SCs). Then, dedifferentiated SCs promoted PNI by producing chemokine FGF17 and by degrading extracellular matrix through secretion of Cathepsin S and MMP-12. In conclusion, this study identified PACAP was associated with PNI in cervical cancer and suggested that tumour-derived PACAP reversed myelin differentiation of SCs to aid PNI.


Preventing the health system from collapse has
been repeatedly stated as one of the main objectives for the German containment
policy for SARS COV 2. The exact relation between infections recorded in the public
surveillance system maintained by the German center for disease control (RKI) and
data on hospital occupation published by the German association for intensive
care an emergency medicine (DIVI) has not been analyzed to date. Using a
stepwise approach as described in the paper a linear regression model based on
recorded infections with known disease onset was found to be the most suitable
predictor for the number of ICU patients with a positive test for SARS COV 2 one
month later. The model showed an excellent model fit with nearly 90% explained variance
and reliable prediction of the maximum when applied to data beyond the
construction dataset. Still, the number of additional patients with a diagnosis
of COVID 19 does not necessarily mean a reduction of ICU capacities in the same
dimension. Based on a examination of interrelations between parameters published
in the DIVI registry it is concluded that a temporary reorganization of hospital
care for SARS COV 2 positive patients would probably help to mitigate the risks
coming with increasing infection rates.


Background
Dengue virus serotypes 1-4 (DENV-1-4) are the most common vector-borne viral pathogens of humans and the etiological agents of dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic syndrome. A live-attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine (TDV) developed by Takeda Vaccines has recently progressed to phase 3 safety and efficacy evaluation.

Methods
We analyzed the qualitative features of the neutralizing antibody (nAb) response induced in naive and DENV-immune individuals after TDV administration. Using DENV-specific human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and recombinant DENV displaying different serotype-specific Ab epitopes, we mapped the specificity of TDV-induced nAbs against DENV-1-3.

Results
Nearly all subjects had high levels of DENV-2-specific nAbs directed to epitopes centered on domain III of the envelope protein. In some individuals, the vaccine induced nAbs that tracked with a DENV-1-specific neutralizing epitope centered on domain I of the envelope protein. The vaccine induced binding Abs directed to a DENV-3 type-specific neutralizing epitope, but findings of mapping of DENV-3 type-specific nAbs were inconclusive.

Conclusion
Here we provide qualitative measures of the magnitude and epitope specificity of the nAb responses to TDV. This information will be useful for understanding the performance of TDV in clinical trials and for identifying correlates of protective immunity.