The decade of 1970s is generally known for its dramatic increases in the price of oil. What is less known, however, is the fact that U.S. industrial sector experienced a significant slow down in productivity growth during the 1970s and 1980s. While many studies have analyzed the economic impact of higher energy prices on industry, the research on productivity slow down has been rather slow. The task of unraveling the cause of this productivity mystery is further complicated by the fact that this period also marks the beginning of an era of unprecedented environmental controls as Congress passed a series of sweeping amendments to the Clean Air Act (CAA) law in the 1970s and again in 1990. As a result of these amendments to the CAA the U.S. industry was faced with mounting environmental compliance cost. While environmental regulations are generally believed to impair productivity few studies have considered environmental regulation.


This paper analyses the role played by individual creativity in shaping collaborations styles and its impact on research productivity. To operationalise creativity we consider two contrasting visions of collaboration style: the Freak collaboration style that we define according to a popular characterization of creative individuals, and a Monolithic collaboration style that we define as Freak style's opposite. We then observe the relationship between the collaboration style and research productivity - measured by the number of publications - by estimating a Tobit model. Explanatory variables include a set of traditional variables plus preferences of collaborators in terms of gender, nationality, age, cognitive distance, as well as the reason for collaborating and the circumstances in which the collaboration began. The model shows that there are great gender differences in collaboration styles. Many of the outcomes of the estimation procedures are in line with extant researches on scientific collaborations, while some are not. In particular cognitive distance between collaborators shows a positive linear relationship and not an inverted U-shape one, partially in contrast with literature's findings. Finally, and more intriguing, uncommon ways of meeting collaborators are found to positively affect researchers' productivity. These less common ways are indeed linked to the personal attitude of establishing relationships with people met in social occasions (e.g., while talking in a cafeteria, attending a conference), in line with the literature on creative societies.


Eutrophication of lakes, rivers and coastal waters is the main environmental problem caused by agriculture in Finland. Water quality of most Finnish watercourses is good or excellent, but in the intensively cultivated region of southern and western Finland the turbidity of water as well as algal blooms are a common problem. Generally, phosphorus is the limiting nutrient for primary production in Finnish lakes, but in eutrophic lakes and coastal waters the role of nitrogen becomes more important.

Nitrogen from agriculture enters the watercourses mainly in dissolved form. By contrast, most phosphorus is transported in association with small particles. According to bioassays the algal availability of this paniculate P is very low. Therefore, the eutrophying effect of agriculture can be estimated on the basis of dissolved nutrients. In shallow lakes, typical in agricultural regions, the release of dissolved P from the bottom sediment often induces the development of N2-fixing blue- green algal blooms. In some cases the internal load may exceed the external load. For the recovery of such a lake the introduction of better agricultural practices in the drainage basin has to be coupled with in-lake measures.


INTRODUCTION One of the most important responsibilities for a military commander is the protection of his or her own troops. Military personnel are informed that they have a right, and even an obligation, to use force to defend themselves and their units against attack or imminent attack. This right, often called "unit self-defense," is recognized by militaries around the world and serves as a key element of militaries' Rules of Engagement (ROE). (1) A significant amount of legal scholarship has focused on the meaning of national self-defense under international law, particularly following the September 11 attacks and the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Legal scholars, practitioners, and international courts have parsed the meaning of "armed attack," (2) argued over the legitimacy of anticipatory self-defense, (3) and debated application of the Caroline doctrine (4) in states that are unwilling or unable to prevent armed attacks by non-state actors. (5)These articles generally focus on when and how states can use force against another state, or within the territory of another state, in self-defense. Yet there has been little attention to when soldiers can use force under international law to defend themselves against attacks or threatened attacks. In particular, the source and scope of the right of unit self-defense has not been carefully examined in academic literature. Military ROEs assert the right of unit self-defense and numerous articles presuppose that such a right exists--it seems intuitive that this must be the case. Yet there is no clear source for this right as it is not codified in any international convention or treaty. Perhaps for this reason, several scholars have stated that the right of unit self-defense must be a subset of the right of national self-defense reflected in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. (6) But, as this Article argues, the right of unit self-defense does not fit comfortably within the national self-defense framework. This is the first thorough examination of the jurisprudential basis for unit self-defense in military Rules of Engagement under international law. (7) This Article argues that the right of unit self-defense is derived from customary international law and that it must be separate and distinct from the right of national self-defense. This is not a purely academic distinction, as states are required to report all actions taken in national self-defense to the U.N. Security Council. Moreover, maintaining a distinction between unit and national self-defense would mitigate concerns generated by the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) conservative interpretation of the right of national self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. Part I of this Article describes the concept of unit self-defense, drawing on various countries' Rules of Engagement. Part II critiques the arguments that unit self-defense is a subset of national self-defense, noting key differences regarding when and how these rights can be exercised. Part III explains that unit self-defense, although not derived from Article 51, is nevertheless recognized under customary international law, as evidenced by state practice and opinio juris. Part IV argues that understanding unit self-defense as an independent right can help make sense of several of the perceived inconsistencies in the ICJ's jurisprudence on self-defense, most notably in the Case Concerning Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua. (8) Part V discusses the similarities between individual and unit self-defense, and raises some additional questions that warrant further attention in the academic literature. I. AN OVERVIEW OF UNIT SELF-DEFENSE The right of unit self-defense is "fundamental to all international military codes" and Rules of Engagement. (9) It "allows a commander, or an individual soldier, sailor or airman the automatic authority to defend his or her unit, or him Or herself, in certain well defined circumstances. …


Immunosuppressive (IS) therapy after lung transplantation (LTx) remains a matter of controversy. Treatment regimens and concepts vary significantly between centers worldwide. Although there is a broad consensus on a triple IS therapy, protocols differ by the preferred calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) [cyclosporine A (CsA) vs. tacrolimus], cell cycle inhibitor [mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) vs. azathioprine] and induction therapy (basiliximab, ATG, alemtuzumab, no induction).


Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an increasing health issue among key populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM). We sought to assess the burden of and risk factors for HCV among MSM in Vietnam. Methods We analysed behavioural and demographic data and stored specimens from MSM surveyed in four provinces through Vietnam's 2009–2010 Integrated Biologic and Behavioural Survey, which used probability-based, respondent-driven sampling. Commercial hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HCV/antibody (HCV Ag/Ab) testing were performed on archived sera with follow-up PCR for HCV RNA and genotype determination. Results Among the 1588 MSM surveyed, the median (range) frequency, by province, of HCV Ag/Ab detection was 28.4% (13.7%–38.8%); 84.5% (83.1%–100%) among HIV-infected and 21.9% (8.9%–28.2%) among HIV-uninfected. HCV prevalence was higher in northern Hanoi and Hai Phong provinces than in southern Ho Chi Minh City and Chan Tho provinces. Among a convenience sample of 67 HCV Ag/Ab+ MSM, 67.2% were HCV RNA+; of 41 genotyped, 73.2% were genotype 1. HBsAg prevalence varied from 8.5% to 27.4%. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, being HIV-infected (adjusted OR (aOR) 19.0; 7.0–51.9), ever having used injected drugs (aOR 4.4; 1.6–12.4) and age >25 years were significant risk factors for testing HCV Ag/Ab+. Conclusions HCV infection in Vietnam appears to be high among MSM, particularly among HIV-infected MSM, with a north–south gradient. Given overlapping risk behaviours and associations between HCV and HIV, integrating HIV and HCV programme services to prevent both HIV and HCV transmission among MSM is indicated.


Aberrant gene-environment interactions are implicated in the pathogenesis of congenital renal dysgenesis (CRD), a leading cause of renal failure in infants and children. We have recently developed an animal model of CRD that is caused by gestational salt stress (5% NaCl diet; HS) of bradykinin B2R null mice [B2R(-/-)CRD; El-Dahr SS, Harrison-Bernard LM, Dipp S, Yosipiv IV, and Meleg-Smith S. Physiol Genomics 3: 121-131, 2000.]. Developing B2R(-/-)CRD mice exhibit tubular and glomerular cysts, stromal expansion, and loss of corticomedullary differentiation. In addition, B2R(-/-)CRD mice exhibit transient hypertension from 2 to 4 mo of age. The present study was designed to determine the long-term consequences of CRD on renal morphology and salt sensitivity of blood pressure in B2R(-/-)CRD mice. One-year- and 18-mo-old B2R(-/-)CRD mice exhibited stunted renal growth, glomerular cystic abnormalities, and collecting duct ectasia. Moreover, tumors of mesenchymal cell origin emerged in the dysplastic kidneys of 90% of 1-yr-old and 100% of 18-mo-old B2R(-/-)CRD mice but not in age-matched B2R(-/-) or wild-type mice. When challenged with an HS diet, 18-mo-old B2R(-/-)CRD exhibited a significant rise in systolic and diastolic blood pressures and more pronounced natriuresis and diuresis compared with salt-loaded 18-mo-old wild-type mice. Kidney aquaporin-2 expression was decreased by 50%, whereas renin, ANG type 1 receptor, and Na+-K+-ATPase levels were not different in B2R(-/-)CRD mice compared with controls. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that B2R(-/-)CRD mice exhibit permanent phenotypic and functional abnormalities in renal growth and differentiation. This novel model of human disease links gene-environment interactions with renal development and blood pressure homeostasis.


The paper evaluates the question of whether a combined anaerobic-aerobic or a solely aerobic treatment of some particular industrial wastewaters leads to better results. Therefore three different industrial wastewaters were treated in two different process lines: one line consisted of anaerobic treatment prior to aerobic treatment and in the other, only aerobic treatment was applied. The experiments were run with wastewater from:
 –the pectin industry –the sugar industry (beet sugar) –the animal pulp industry. The data presented in this paper were gained from experimental work which was conducted over a period of two years. Different scales of treatment plants were used. The anaerobic treatment was done in full- and semitechnical scale reactors, while the aerobic treatment took place in labscale and semitechnical scale plants. Surprisingly in all three cases the solely aerobic treatment led to slightly better results in terms of residual pollution. Finally the paper presents data gained from a recently built, full-scale anaerobic-aerobic process which treats pectin waste. The aerobic stage of the process was designed on the basis of the results from the experimental work which was mentioned above. The results from the former experimental work and from the full-scale operation are compared.


In the recent literature, significant and substantial efforts have been dedicated to the important area of multi-agent decision-making problems. Particularly here, the model predictive control (MPC) methodology has demonstrated its effectiveness in various applications, such as mobile robots, unmanned vehicles, and drones. Nevertheless, in many specific scenarios involving the MPC methodology, accurate and effective system identification is a commonly encountered challenge. As a consequence, the overall system performance could be significantly weakened in outcome when the traditional MPC algorithm is adopted under such circumstances. To cater to this rather major shortcoming, this paper investigates an alternate data-driven approach to solve the multi-agent decision-making problem. Utilizing an innovative modified methodology with suitable closed-loop input/output measurements that comply with the appropriate persistency of excitation condition, a non-parametric predictive model is suitably constructed. This non-parametric predictive model approach in the work here attains the key advantage of alleviating the rather heavy computational burden encountered in the optimization procedures typical in alternative methodologies requiring open-loop input/output measurement data collection and parametric system identification. Then with a conservative approximation of probabilistic chance constraints for the MPC problem, a resulting deterministic optimization problem is formulated and solved efficiently and effectively. In the work here, this intuitive data-driven approach is also shown to preserve good robustness properties. Finally, a multi-drone system is used to demonstrate the practical appeal and highly effective outcome of this promising development in achieving very good system performance.


BACKGROUND:
Nonmelanoma skin cancer is the most common cancer in humans especially with lighter skinned individuals and ultraviolet exposure which are the major predisposing risk factors. There are many reports of increased frequency of skin cancer among Iraqi individuals.
OBJECTIVE:
To study the frequency of skin cancer in Iraqi patients.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:
This is a retrospective study, conducted in the outpatient clinic of dermatology center at Baghdad Teaching Hospital from the beginning of January 2013 to the end of December 2018. A total of 365 biopsies proved histopathologically as malignant skin cancer were included in the study. RESULTS:
Basal cell carcinoma accounted for 37.3% (n=136), mean age was 63±13 years. Squamous cell carcinoma represented 16.2% (n=59), mean age was 61±15 years. Mycosis fungoid frequency was 15% (n=55) with a mean age of 47±16 years. Kaposi sarcoma was 10.1% (n=37), mean age 64±15 years. Cutaneous metastasis represented 7.8% (n=29) with mean age of 64±5 years. Patients with malignant melanoma were 4.3% (n=16), mean age was 50±19 years.  Other less commonly skin malignancies represented 9.3% (n=33).
CONCLUSION:
The most frequent primary skin cancer is nonmelanoma skin cancer followed by mycosis fungoides, kaposi Sarcoma and malignant melanoma, respectively. The most common origin of skin metastasis is breast carcinoma.


Background & Aim: Exercise training increases the levels of stem cells and recalling cells of these cells in order to rebuild and proliferate the cells of the heart. However, the effect of a short period of intense exercise has not been determined. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of two weeks of severe routine training on SDF-1α, its receptor (CXCR4) and C-Kit in the rat heart tissue. Methods: This experimental study was performed on 10 male Wistar 8 weeks old (234.5 ± 8.7 g) in both control and exercise groups. The experimental group performed two weeks of severe periodic training in four parts. The first part consisted of three days of exercise, two sessions a day, and each session included 4 severe 2 minute movements and 3 slow 2-minute alternations between two severe periods. The second part also: The two days of the training were similar to the first part, with the difference that the severity of the frequencies increased sharply. The third part was a three-day training with a more frequent and intense second part. Finally, the fourth part was more frequent than the third one with the same severity of the second part. 48 hours after the last training session, the mice bleached, and after surgery, the heart tissue was removed and quickly faded. The concentrations of SDF-1α, cxcr4 and C-Kit proteins were measured by western blot method. Data were analyzed by independent t-test. Results: Independent t-test analysis showed that the SDF-1α protein concentration of the training group was significantly higher than the control group (p <0.038), as well as the concentration of CXCR4 protein in the training group compared to the control group (p <0.002) There was a significant increase in C-Kit protein content in the heart tissue of the training group compared to the control group (p <0.023) , (p≥0.05). Conclusion: It seems that even a short period of intense periodic exercises can lead to the formation of new myocytes by stimulating the recalling factors of stem cells.


We consider the manifold of all quantum many-body states that can be generated by arbitrary time-dependent local Hamiltonians in a time that scales polynomially in the system size, and show that it occupies an exponentially small volume in Hilbert space. This implies that the overwhelming majority of states in Hilbert space are not physical as they can only be produced after an exponentially long time. We establish this fact by making use of a time-dependent generalization of the Suzuki-Trotter expansion, followed by a well-known counting argument. This also demonstrates that a computational model based on arbitrarily rapidly changing Hamiltonians is no more powerful than the standard quantum circuit model.


The prevalence of epilepsy in the world reachs 5-20 per 1000 population. In Indonesia, the prevalence of epilepsy is approximately at 0.5-1.2%. Antiepilepsy drug has an important role in the epilepsy treatment. This study was aimed to know the effectiveness and safety of monotherapy treatment compared to polytherapy in terms of seizure frequency, seizure-free duration, and adverse drug reaction. This study was the observational research. The data were collected prospectively using instruments i.e.: seizure diaries and APS (Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale). Subject of this study were epileptic patient with idiopathic generalized tonic clonic who receive either polytherapy or monotherapy in neurological clinic of Dr. Sardjito Hospital on May-June 2012 period, which fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The data from monotherapy and polytherapy group was analysed in term of seizure frequency, seizure-free duration and adverse drug reaction. Result showed that monotherapy treatment more effective in controlling seizure (reduce the frequency of seizure) compared to polytherapy (<0.05). Percentage of seizure free was 83% in monotherapy compared to 48% in polytherapy. The prevalence of adverse drug reaction was about 20% in monotherapy and 14% in polytherapy. Based on the interview, although monotherapy caused more adverse drug reaction than that in polytherapy, the drug adverse reaction in monotherapy was milder and did not annoy patient convenience. Keywords: Epilepsy, Idiopathic Generalised Tonic Clonic, Monotherapy, Polytherapy, Adverse Drug Reaction


Abstract Objective: To assess the long-term safety (primary aim) and efficacy (secondary aim) of the MAO-B inhibitor Selegiline Transdermal System (STS) for the treatment of HIV-associated cognitive impairment. Background: HIV infection is associated with increased oxidative stress. In vitro and animal studies have shown that selegiline can reduce oxidative stress levels while enhancing the synthesis of neurotrophic factors. We conducted and reported a 24-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with STS in HIV-infected individuals with cognitive impairment (ACTG 5090). We now report the results of the 24-week open-label follow-up. Method: Subjects received either 3 mg/24 h or 6 mg/24 h STS daily. The primary efficacy endpoint was changes in the mean of z scores of six neuropsychological tests (NPZ-6). Additional outcomes included NPZ-8 and NPZ scores by cognitive domain. Results: 86 subjects were enrolled. There were few severe adverse experiences (n = 13). There was no significant change in NPZ-6 score, whereas significant changes were observed in NPZ-8 score and several cognitive domains. Conclusion: Long-term use of selegiline was safe and well tolerated in this HIV cohort of HIV with cognitive impairment. Cognitive improvement may be delayed in neuroprotective trials, suggesting that trials longer than 6 months may be necessary to assess the efficacy of putative neuroprotective agents.


The feasibility of using MR fluids to develop a smart material-structure system and thereby to prevent structure from catastrophic damage is actively carried out in this study. The MR smart fluids are utilized to develop a smart damper with controllable parameters and the mechanical model of MR devices is presented by involving the effects of damper's axial stiffness. The interaction of a smart material-structure system is analyzed through the numerical integral and iteration. The vibration mitigation of the dynamic responses of an engineering structure with the smart coupled system is conducted based on the intelligent fuzzy control for performance evaluation. It is observed that the structural internal forces such as shear forces and bending moments can be remarkably mitigated with the protection of the smart system.


A Few Kind Words and a Loaded Gun is the autobiography of convicted felon Noel Razor' Smith. An extraordinarily vivid account of how a tearaway kid from South London became a career criminal, it is both a searing indictment of a system that determinedly brutalized young offenders and a frank, unsentimental acknowledgement of the thrills of the criminal life. Shocking, fascinating and frightening by turns, it also reveals Razor Smith to be a remarkably talented writer.


Backscatter communication (BSC) technology can enable ubiquitous deployment of low-cost sustainable wireless devices. In this paper, we investigate the efficacy of a full-duplex multiple-input-multiple-output reader for enhancing the limited communication range of monostatic BSC systems. As this performance is strongly influenced by the channel estimation (CE) quality, we first derive a novel least-squares estimator for the forward and backward links between the reader and the tag, assuming that reciprocity holds and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$</tex-math></inline-formula> orthogonal pilots are transmitted from the first <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$</tex-math></inline-formula> antennas of an <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$</tex-math></inline-formula> antenna reader. We also obtain the corresponding linear minimum-mean square-error estimate for the backscattered channel. After defining the transceiver design at the reader using these estimates, we jointly optimize the number of orthogonal pilots and energy allocation for the CE and information decoding phases to maximize the average backscattered signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for efficiently decoding the tag's messages. The unimodality of this SNR in optimization variables along with a tight analytical approximation for the jointly global optimal design is also discoursed. Lastly, the selected numerical results validate the proposed analysis, present key insights into the optimal resource utilization at reader, and quantify the achievable gains over the benchmark schemes.


By exploiting the penetration, attenuation, and scattering properties of neutrons, images of matter in two or three dimensions reveal information unobtainable using other probes. Despite the limitation in brilliance of neutron sources, several neutron-based imaging techniques are essential to different aspects of modern geoscience. Typical examples include the evaluation of porosity in rocks and sediments, mapping of light elements in solids, noninvasive probing of cultural heritage objects, investigations of thick engineering components, and the exploration of diffusion and percolation processes of fluids within porous matrices, organo-inorganic composites, and living organisms. Techniques under development include simultaneous neutron and X-ray tomography in heterogeneous media, Bragg-edge imaging, and the possibility of porosimetry from dark-field imaging.


1. Ordinary Differential Equations 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Linear Dependence 1.3 Complete Solutions of Linear Equations 1.4 The Linear Differential Equation of First Order 1.5 Linear Differential Equations with Constant Coefficients 1.6 The Equidimensional Linear Differential Equation 1.7 Properties of Linear Operators 1.8 Simultaneous Linear Differential Equations 1.9 particular Solutions by Variation of Parameters 1.10 Reduction of Order 1.11 Determination of Constants 1.12 Special Solvable Types of Nonlinear Equations 2. The Laplace Transform 2.1 An introductory Example 2.2 Definition and Existence of Laplace Transforms 2.3 Properties of Laplace Transforms 2.4 The Inverse Transform 2.5 The Convolution 2.6 Singularity Functions 2.7 Use of Table of Transforms 2.8 Applications to Linear Differential Equations with Constant Coefficients 2.9 The Gamma Function 3. Numerical Methods for Solving Ordinary Differential Equations 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Use of Taylor Series 3.3 The Adams Method 3.4 The Modified Adams Method 3.5 The Runge-Kutta Method 3.6 Picard's Method 3.7 Extrapolation with Differences 4. Series Solutions of Differential Equations: Special Functions 4.1 Properties of Power Series 4.2 Illustrative Examples 4.3 Singular Points of Linear Second-Order Differential Equations 4.4 The Method of Frobenius 4.5 Treatment of Exceptional Cases 4.6 Example of an Exceptional Case 4.7 A Particular Class of Equations 4.8 Bessel Functions 4.9 Properties of Bessel Functions 4.10 Differential Equations Satisfied by Bessel Functions 4.11 Ber and Bei Functions 4.12 Legendre Functions 4.13 The Hypergeometric Function 4.14 Series Solutions Valid for Large Values of x 5. Boundary-Value Problems and Characteristic-Function Representations 5.1 Introduction 5.2 The Rotating String 5.3 The Rotating Shaft 5.4 Buckling of Long Columns Under Axial Loads 5.5 The Method of Stodola and Vianello 5.6 Orthogonality of Characteristic Functions 5.7 Expansion of Arbitrary Functions in Series of Orthogonal Functions 5.8 Boundary-Value Problems Involving Nonhomogeneous Differential Equations 5.9 Convergence of the Method of Stodola and Vianello 5.10 Fourier Sine Series and Cosine Series 5.11 Complete Fourier Series 5.12 Term-by-Term Differentiation of Fourier Series 5.13 Fourier-Bessel Series 5.14 Legendre Series 5.15 The Fourier Integral 6. Vector Analysis 6.1 Elementary Properties of Vectors 6.2 The Scalar Product of Two Vectors 6.3 The Vector Product of Two Vectors 6.4 Multiple Products 6.5 Differentiation of Vectors 6.6 Geometry of a Space Curve 6.7 The Gradient Vector 6.8 The Vector Operator V 6.9 Differentiation Formulas 6.10 Line Integrals 6.11 The Potential Function 6.12 Surface Integrals 6.13 Interpretation of Divergence. The Divergence Theorem 6.14 Green's Theorem 6.15 Interpretation of Curl. Laplace's Equation 6.16 Stokes's Theorem 6.17 Orthogonal Curvilinear Coordinates 6.18 Special Coordinate Systems 6.19 Application to Two-Dimensional Incompressible Fluid Flow 6.20 Compressible Ideal Fluid Flow 7. Topics in Higher-Dimensional Calculus 7.1 Partial Differentiation. Chain Rules 7.2 Implicit Functions. Jacobian Determinants 7.3 Functional Dependence 7.4 Jacobians and Curvilinear Coordinates. Change of Variables in Integrals 7.5 Taylor Series 7.6 Maxima and Minima 7.7 Constraints and Lagrange Multipliers 7.8 Calculus of Variations 7.9 Differentiation of Integrals Involving a Parameter 7.10 Newton's Iterative Method 8. Partial Differential Equations 8.1 Definitions and Examples 8.2 The Quasi-Linear Equation of First Order 8.3 Special Devices. Initial Conditions 8.4 Linear and Quasi-Linear Equations of Second Order 8.5 Special Linear Equations of Second Order, with Constant Coefficients 8.6 Other Linear Equations 8.7 Characteristics of Linear First-Order Equations 8.8 Characteristics of Linear Second-Order Equations 8.9 Singular Curves on Integral Surfaces 8.10 Remarks on Linear Second-Order Initial-Value Problems 8.11 The Characteristics of a Particular Quasi-Linear Problem 9. Solutions of Partial Differential Equations of Mathematical Physics 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Heat Flow 9.3 Steady-State Temperature Distribution in a Rectangular Plate 9.4 Steady-State Temperature Distribution in a Circular Annulus 9.5 Poisson's Integral 9.6 Axisymmetrical Temperature Distribution in a Solid Sphere 9.7 Temperature Distribution in a Rectangular Parallelepiped 9.8 Ideal Fluid Flow about a Sphere 9.9 The Wave Equation. Vibration of a Circular Membrane 9.10 The Heat-Flow Equation. Heat Flow in a Rod 9.11 Duhamel's Superposition Integral 9.12 Traveling Waves 9.13 The Pulsating Cylinder 9.14 Examples of the Use of Fourier Integrals 9.15 Laplace Transform Methods 9.16 Application of the Laplace Transform to the Telegraph Equations for a Long Line 9.17 Nonhomogeneous Conditions. The Method of Variation of Parameters 9.18 Formulation of Problems 9.19 Supersonic Flow of ldeal Compressible Fluid Past an Obstacle 10. Functions of a Complex Variable 10.1 Introduction. The Complex Variable 10.2 Elementary Functions of a Complex Variable 10.3 Other Elementary Functions 10.4 Analytic Functions of a Complex Variable 10.5 Line Integrals of Complex Functions 10.6 Cauchy's Integral Formula 10.7 Taylor Series 10.8 Laurent Series 10.9 Singularities of Analytic Functions 10.10 Singularities at Infinity 10.11 Significance of Singularities 10.12 Residues 10.13 Evaluation of Real Definite Integrals 10.14 Theorems on Limiting Contours 10.15 Indented Contours 10.16 Integrals Involving Branch Points 11. Applications of Analytic Function Theory 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Inversion of Laplace Transforms 11.3 Inversion of Laplace Transforms with Branch Points. The Loop Integral 11.4 Conformal Mapping 11.5 Applications to Two-Dimensional Fluid Flow 11.6 Basic Flows 11.7 Other Applications of Conformal Mapping 11.8 The Schwarz-Christoffel Transformation 11.9 Green's Functions and the Dirichlet Problem 11.10 The Use of Conformal Mapping 11.11 Other Two-Dimensional Green's Functions Answers to Problems Index Contents


Aims Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)/soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) dual inhibitor, PTUPB, has been demonstrated to inhibit angiogenesis, primary tumor growth and metastasis. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of PTUPB on glioblastoma cells and xenograft model. Results We show here that PTUPB inhibits glioblastoma cell proliferation and G1 phase cell cycle arrest in vitro, and suppresses the tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo. The expression and activation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its downstream kinases, ERK1/2 and AKT, are reduced by PTUPB, indicating that the EGF/EGFR signaling pathway is a potential target. Moreover, PTUPB dramatically suppresses expression of hyaluronan mediated motility receptor (HMMR) in the glioblastoma cell lines and xenograft mouse model, suggesting that the HMMR is the other potential target. Materials and Methods Cellular immunofluorescence assays were used for cell staining of actin fibers and HMMR. CCK-8 kit was used for cell proliferation assay. Cell-cycle analysis was performed by flow cytometry. Quantitative real-time PCR assay was performed to test mRNA level. Western blot analysis was used to test protein expression. Immunohistochemical staining assay was used for xenograft tumor tissue staining of Ki-67, CD31 and HMMR. The SPSS version 17.0 software was applied for statistical analysis. Conclusions Our data demonstrate that PTUPB is a potential therapeutic agent to treat glioblastomas.


It's difficult to speak of the characteristics of Islamic thought in Indonesia during the early period the 9 th century until toward the end of the 16 th century. The unavailability of the resources on this issue and the attitude of Indonesians in general that prefer spirituality rather than thought and ideas serve as the main reason for this difficulty. It is with this challenge in mind that is paper is designed. It is aimed at historically describing the development, characteristics and thrusts of Islamic thought in Indonesia prior to the advent of the salafi current of thought. It brings to light first, the irrevocable role of the Arabs, the Persians, and the Indians in the dissemination of Islam in the country. It argues that Islamic thought in Indonesia is influenced to a large extent by the dynamics of religious thought in these regions. Given its very nature, Islamic thought in Indonesia was impregnated by the dynamic tension between the Sunnites and the Shi'ites, the Shafi'ites and the non-Shafi'ites, the Sunni Orthodox Tasawuf and the Philosophical Heterodox Tasawuf as well as between the Sunnites and the Batinites.


: An unusual case is reported of an intradural lumbar arachnoid diverticulum causing mild compression of the cauda equina and producing debilitating symptoms which were relieved by inadvertent drainage. A survey of the literature indicates that lumbar arachnoid diverticula are very rare. Only one other report of an intradural lesion of this type has been found. These lesions cause back pain or radicular pain and sensory disturbances when the patient is upright of bending forward. These symptoms are relieved by lying down. Percussion tenderness over the level of the diverticulum is a consistent finding. The key to the diagnosis is supine myelography.


Brief myocardial ischemia not only evokes a local cardioprotective or "preconditioning" effect but also can render remote myocardium resistant to sustained ischemia. We propose the following hypotheses: remote protection is initiated by a humoral trigger; brief ischemia-reperfusion will result in release of the humoral trigger (possibly adenosine and/or norepinephrine) into the coronary effluent; and transfer of this effluent to a virgin acceptor heart will elicit cardioprotection. To test these concepts, effluent was collected during normal perfusion from donor-control hearts and during preconditioning ischemia-reperfusion from donor-preconditioned (PC) hearts. After reoxygenation occurred and aliquots for measurement of adenosine and norepinephrine content were harvested, effluent was transfused to acceptor-control and acceptor-PC hearts. All hearts then underwent 40 min of global ischemia and 60 min of reperfusion, and infarct size was delineated by tetrazolium staining. Mean infarct size was smaller in both donor- and acceptor-PC groups (9% of left ventricle) than in donor- and acceptor-control groups (36% and 34%; P < 0.01). Protection in acceptor-PC hearts could not, however, be attributed to adenosine or norepinephrine. Thus preconditioning-induced cardioprotection can be transferred between rabbit hearts by transfusion of coronary effluent. Although adenosine and norepinephrine are apparently not responsible, these results suggest that remote protection is initiated by a humoral mechanism.


Agile distributed environments pose particular challenges related to control of quality and collaboration in software development. Moreover, while face-to-face interaction is fundamental in agile development, distributed environments must rely extensively on mediated interactions. On this backdrop, we report from an in-depth case study of an agile distributed software project. Applying Kirsch's elements of control framework, we analyze how actors in this context used different elements of control. We offer a description of the general management context and provide a detailed analysis of how control was mediated over distance by technology through real-time exchanges. Contrary to previous research, the analysis suggests that both formal and informal elements of real-time mediated control were used; that evolving goals and adjustment of expectations were two of the main issues in real-time mediated control exchanges; and, that the actors, despite distances in space and culture, developed a clan-like pattern mediated by technology to help control quality and collaboration in software development.


Although common octopus catches are increasing globally, lack of information on the reproductive biology of the species has been a major concern in its management, particularly in Kenya. The present study aimed to investigate the reproductive biology of common octopus at Shimoni and Vanga on the Kenyan south coast. Sampling was undertaken monthly from November 2010 to November 2012 using a traditional fishing spear. The body weight (BW), total length (TL), dorsal mantle length (DML), ventral mantle length (VML) and gonad weight was recorded for each specimen. Maturity stages and gonadosomatic indices (GSI) were determined using standard methods. A total of 1 599 specimens (746 males and 853 females) were collected. The sex ratio was 1:1.1 (males: females) at both Shimoni and Vanga during the study period. Sexual staging of gonads indicated that the common octopus was breeding year round with a spawning peak from June to August. Fecundity estimates ranged from 5 200 to 389 000 oocytes (mean 154 057.6 ± 29 132). The lowest gonadosomatic index values were recorded during the month of September, indicating the end of the spawning period. The female length at first maturity (DML 50%) was 10.8 cm, that for the male was 10.5 cm.


The relation between manifold topology, observables and gauge group is clarified on the basis of the classification of the representations of the algebra of observables associated to positions and displacements on the manifold. The guiding, physically motivated, principles are i) locality, i.e. the generating role of the algebras localized in small, topological trivial, regions, ii) diffeomorphism covariance, which guarantees the intrinsic character of the analysis, iii) the exclusion of additional local degrees of freedom with respect to the Schroedinger representation. The locally normal representations of the resulting observable algebra are classified by unitary representations of the fundamental group of the manifold, which actually generate an observable, "topological", subalgebra. The result is confronted with the standard approach based on the introduction of the universal covering M̃ of M and on the decomposition of L2(M̃) according to the spectrum of the fundamental group, which plays the role of a gauge group. It is shown that in this way one obtains all the representations of the observables iff the fundamental group is amenable. The implications on the observability of the Permutation Group in Particle Statistics are discussed. Math. Sub. Class.: 81Q70, 81R15, 81R10


OBJECTIVE: To study trends in hospital admissions for acute pediatric asthma in the Hospital da Santa Casa do Rio Grande during the period of 1979 to 1996. METHODS: This is a study of a series of cases. We reviewed all the discharge records of pediatric patients with diagnosis of acute asthma, pneumonia, and bronchiolitis within the period mentioned above. The main variable in this study was the percentage of admissions for acute asthma in relation to the total amount of hospital admissions. The percentages of admissions for bronchiolitis and pneumonia in relation to the total amount of hospital admissions were also calculated as reference values. RESULTS: There were 3,493 admissions for acute asthma in 3,122 patients during the studied period, with an average of 194 admissions per year. The percentage of admissions for acute asthma to total hospital admissions increased from 5,5% to 14,7% between 1983/84 and 1991/92. Half of this increase occurred during the period 1987-1992 in which hospitalizations for bronchiolitis and pneumonia were stable. This percentage decreased from 14,7% to 10,6% in the period of 1991/92 - 1995/96. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant increase in hospital admissions for acute pediatric asthma in the Hospital da Santa Casa do Rio Grande during the period of 1983 - 1992. From then on, hospital admissions for asthma showed downward trends.


This article analyzes two cases from the October 2006 Supreme Court Term, Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Gonzales v. Carhart. The cases have much in common, even though Ledbetter concerns pay disparity claims based on gender and Gonzales concerns second trimester abortions. Both are five-four decisions which demonstrate how profoundly the appointment of Justice Samuel Alito to occupy Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's seat has affected the balance of power on the Court. The net result of this shift has been a devastating setback for women's rights. Both decisions prompted Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to uncharacteristically read aloud two forceful dissents in which she outlined the development of the law governing women's equality, and admonished the Court for turning back the clock on women's rights. This Article also briefly discusses two other cases: Winkelman v. Parma City School District, an Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA") case, where the Court upheld the right of parents to go to court without an attorney to challenge a school district's individualized educational plan for their children, and Long Island Care at Home, Ltd. v. Coke, where the Court upheld a regulation exempting home health care attendants hired by agencies from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.


BACKGROUND
In May 1993 an outbreak of severe respiratory illness occurred in the southwestern United States. A previously unknown hantavirus was identified as the cause. In Asia hantaviruses are associated with hemorrhagic fever and renal disease. They have not been known as a cause of human disease in North America.

METHODS
We analyzed clinical, laboratory, and autopsy data on the first 17 persons with confirmed infection from this newly recognized strain of hantavirus.

RESULTS
The mean age of the patients was 32.2 years (range, 13 to 64); 61 percent were women, 72 percent were Native American, 22 percent white, and 6 percent Hispanic. The most common prodromal symptoms were fever and myalgia (100 percent), cough or dyspnea (76 percent), gastrointestinal symptoms (76 percent), and headache (71 percent). The most common physical findings were tachypnea (100 percent), tachycardia (94 percent), and hypotension (50 percent). The laboratory findings included leukocytosis (median peak cell count, 26,000 per cubic millimeter), often with myeloid precursors, an increased hematocrit, thrombocytopenia (median lowest platelet count, 64,000 per cubic millimeter), prolonged prothrombin and partial-thromboplastin times, an elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase concentration, decreased serum protein concentrations, and proteinuria. Rapidly progressive acute pulmonary edema developed in 15 of the 17 patients (88 percent), and 13 patients, all of whom had profound hypotension, died (case fatality rate, 76 percent). Increases in the hematocrit and partial-thromboplastin time were predictive of death.

CONCLUSIONS
Infection with a newly described hantavirus causes the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which is characterized by a brief prodromal illness followed by rapidly progressive, noncardiogenic pulmonary edema.


Dimensionality reduction as a preprocessing step to machine learning is effective in removing irrelevant and redundant data, increasing learning accuracy, and improving result comprehensibility. However, the recent increase of dimensionality of data poses a severe challenge to many existing feature selection and feature extraction methods with respect to efficiency and effectiveness. In the field of machine learning and pattern recognition, dimensionality reduction is important area, where many approaches have been proposed. In this paper, some widely used feature selection and feature extraction techniques have analyzed with the purpose of how effectively these techniques can be used to achieve high performance of learning algorithms that ultimately improves predictive accuracy of classifier. An endeavor to analyze dimensionality reduction techniques briefly with the purpose to investigate strengths and weaknesses of some widely used dimensionality reduction methods is presented.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the location of the subepithelial split in benign mucous membrane pemphigoid (BMMP) and its relationship to the anchoring filaments and their receptors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Frozen sections of lesional and perilesional oral mucosa from 10 cases of BMMP were stained, using an immunofluorescence method, for the beta-1, beta-4, alpha-3 and alpha-6 integrin subunits and for their ligands, laminin I and laminin V (kalinin). In all cases the diagnosis was confirmed by the demonstration of linear staining for IgG at the basement membrane zone. Six specimens of normal mucosa were stained for comparison.

RESULTS
Staining for integrins, laminin and kalinin in perilesional mucosa was similar to normals, although one case showed loss of alpha-6 and beta-4 . In lesional mucosa, laminin and kalinin showed strong linear staining localised to the floor of the bullae. The alpha-6 and beta-4 subunits were expressed only on the roof of the bullae but staining was weak and patchy with areas of loss. In some sections alpha-6 showed a punctate intracellular distribution similar to IgG. The distribution of alpha-3 and beta-1 was similar to that seen in normals.

CONCLUSIONS
In all cases kalinin was found on the connective tissue side of the lesions and alpha-6 beta-4 localised to the epithelial side. This shows that the split occurs at a location which separates anchoring filaments from the hemidesmosomes. Loss of the alpha-6 beta-4 integrin in the lesions and the similar intracellular staining of alpha-6 and IgG, suggest that disruption of hemidesmosomes may be a key event in the immunopathogenesis of the lesions and that the alpha-6 integrin subunit is a potential antigen in oral mucosal BMMP.


We consider a simple model of imprecise comparisons: there exists some δ > 0 such that when a subject is given two elements to compare, if the values of those elements (as perceived by the subject) differ by at least δ , then the comparison will be made correctly; when the two elements have values that are within δ , the outcome of the comparison is unpredictable. This model is inspired by both imprecision in human judgment of values and also by bounded but potentially adversarial errors in the outcomes of sporting tournaments. Our model is closely related to a number of models commonly considered in the psychophysics literature where δ corresponds to the just noticeable difference unit (JND) or difference threshold . In experimental psychology, the method of paired comparisons was proposed as a means for ranking preferences amongst n elements of a human subject. The method requires performing all (cid:0) n 2 (cid:1) comparisons, then sorting elements according to the number of wins. The large number of comparisons is performed to counter the potentially faulty decision-making of the human subject, who acts as an imprecise comparator. We show that in our model the method of paired comparisons has optimal accuracy, minimizing the errors introduced by the imprecise comparisons. However, it is also wasteful, as it requires all (cid:0) n 2 (cid:1) . We show that the same optimal guarantees can be achieved using 4 n 3 / 2 comparisons, and we prove the optimality of our method. We then explore the general tradeoff between the guarantees on the error that can be made and number of comparisons for the problems of sorting, max-finding, and selection. Our results provide strong lower bounds and close-to-optimal solutions for each of these problems. S y X 2


The dihadron azimuthal angular correlations for p+p collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV are simulated by a multi-phase transport model. The dispersions of near-side and away-side peaks, indicated by the width of Gaussian fit functions and the rms width, decrease with the transverse momentum of associated particles. This trend is consistent with the experimental results. Conditional-yields are also calculated to obtain distributions of the associated particle transverse momentum for both away-side and near-side. Furthermore, the hadronic rescattering effects make the conditional-yield distributions softer.


In this report, we explored the nature of stay and the number of large raptors in "Nurgush" State Nature Reserve in Kirov region, assessed the role of the reserve in conservation of these birds. The Nature reserve consists of two sections. The "Nurgush" section that was created in 1994 (protected area – 5634.2 ha, buffer zone – 7942.4 ha) preserves a fragment of the primary vegetation in the southern boreal floodplain of the Vyatka River in the Kotelnichsky district. The "Tulashor" section (protected area 17815.5 ha, buffer zone – 17566.1 ha) was created in 2010 to protect intact middle taiga forests in the Nagorsky district. Four large raptor species listed in the Red Book of Russia have been recorded in the reserve: Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga), Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). Osprey is a rare migratory species, possibly nesting in the vicinity of "Nurgush" section. On migration and during the breeding period it is encountered near the Vyatka River, lakes Staritsa, Nurgush, Holchovik, the Prost' River. According to A.D. Fokin (1960), Osprey was regularly encountered on large lakes of Nurgush Reserve before. The waters of the Nature Reserve are used as a feeding station. Osprey is supposed to nest on the left bank of Vyatka River. During migration and breeding season, individual birds, pairs, and rarely groups of 3–4 individuals are found here, its abundance is estimated at 0.7 pairs/100 km2. It arrives in spring in the second–third decade of April, the earliest encounter noted on August 4, 2004. On autumn migration it is encountered between the first decade of September and the second–third decade of October, the latest date is October 24, 2007. There are no habitats suitable for Osprey in the "Tulashor" section. White-Tailed Eagle is a common nesting species, in some years staying to winter in the "Nurgush" section. It is more often observed nesting on the lakes: Nurgush, Krivoe, Small Krivoe, Holchovik; in Kaleichi and Prudishcha tracts; on the river Vyatka. In spring and autumn, it is much more common. In the last decade, winter encounters have become more frequent as birds stay on channels and rivers near beaver dams and on lakes near non-freezing polynyas. Occupied White-Tailed Eagle nest is located on the territory of the Natural Reserve near Lake Nurgush. This nest has been known since the 1950s. Another nest has been located on the left bank of the Vyatka River, on Lake Myandy near the village of Vishkil. Species abundance is estimated at two pairs/100 km2. Analysis of species registration sites in Nature Reserve in 2016–2022 using GIS-method allows us to suggest that there are 5–6 breeding territories in the Nature Reserv, buffer zone and its immediate vicinity. The Greater Spotted Eagle is a rare migratory species nesting in both sections of the Nature Reserve. In the "Nurgush" section it is found in protected area, the buffer zone, and the surroundings. In the summer, individual birds were recorded in Kaleichi and Okunki tracts, on lakes Greater Spotted Eagles nested on a platform in the buffer zone in Sosnovy Kust tract. Its abundance is estimated at 0.7 pairs/100 km2. In spring Greater Spotted Eagles appear in the second (April 11–17, 1998) and third (April 26, 1998) decades of April. In autumn it is encountered until the second decade of September (September 22, 2013). In the "Tulashor" section Greater Spotted Eagle nests in the Fedorovka river valley. It is only recorded in its buffer zone and adjacent area. It nests on large pine trees in the upper slopes of taiga river valleys, preys mainly on water voles in river floodplains. A pair was observed on June 19, 2013, in Fedorovka river floodplain at the border of squares in the Fedorovka river floodplain terrace on a pine tree 300 m south of the Pozhmashor ranger station most likely belonged to the species. In 2016–2017 this nest was empty, and by 2018 almost completely broke down, the breeding territory disappeared. Adult individual was encountered on May 13, 2017, in the adjacent territory in the Fedorovka river floodplain, near the former village of Estapovo. The total number of breeding territories in both sections of the reserve and their buffer zones is estimated at 3–5. Golden Eagle is a very rare migratory species of the "Nurgush" Nature Reserve. In autumn, Golden Eagles were observed in Prudishcha tract (August 24, 2010), Molchalnik tract (September 20, 1995), Laptev mowing (September 10, 1996), Zakalye (October 19, 1999), Pishchalsky island (October 9, 1996), near the village of Borovka (November 12, 1997). Individual birds, rarely pairs, are found during post-nesting migrations in the first and second decades of October. V.M. Ryabov (2013) includes the species in the faunistic list of "Tulashor" section based on data obtained before 2011 (prior to the Nature Reserve creation). We believe that Golden Eagle habitat in the "Tulashor" section and its buffer zone is impossible as there are no suitable habitats here. Individual birds only visit here occasionally. "Nurgush" Nature Reserve plays an important role in conservation of White-Tailed Eagle and Greater Spotted Eagle in Kirov region. The role of the Nature Reserve in Osprey conservation is small.


This article revisits Edmund Husserl's philosophy of time in light of the modern standardisation of time. After assessing Husserl's innovative analysis of the experience of time and raising key issues pertaining to his derivation of objective time from an originary 'absolute flux of consciousness', the article addresses potential relationships between this conception of time and the historically unique experience of time based in the rise of modern clock-time. Drawing on insights from the literature within the sociology of time, the article concludes that Husserl's conception of time both reproduces and rejects certain features of modern time relations.


The lack of consideration of cultural factors within neuropsychological literature
has been argued to be due to the assumption that assessment tools are
measuring universal constructs (Nell, 2000), supported by the medical
discourse with which neuropsychology has aligned itself and the subsequent
implications of neutrality. However, evidence suggests that people experience
assessments differently which may undermine the validity of the assessments.
This is increasingly likely for participants from a different culture to that in which
the assessment tool was developed, due to a greater degree of inference in any
claims made. Evidence also suggests that cognitive processes are not only
related to cultural experience, but that between-group differences increase
exponentially with increased exposure to different cultures and formal
education.
Whilst the dominant construction of deafness is that of a disability, this is in
direct contrast to many people who identify as culturally deaf, or Deaf. Whilst
Deaf culture is difficult to define, it is felt to encompass shared experiences,
traditions and beliefs and centre around a shared language, British Sign
Language (BSL), whilst also covering the heterogeneity of experience of deaf
and Deaf people.
The researcher recruited eight participants to explore how culturally Deaf
people experience neuropsychological assessment tools. Six participants were
BSL users who identified as culturally Deaf, two of whom had experience of
working with neuropsychological assessment tools. Two additional participants
had experience of working as BSL-English interpreters. A ninth participant was
recruited for the purpose of respondent validation. The data was analysed using
Grounded Theory. Categories were constructed suggesting participants
experienced the relationship with the researcher as unequal in power, due to
the researcher being hearing, a professional and seen as linked to the mental
health system and the assessment tools were experienced as lacking relevance
to the participants. These categories were understood to load upon an axial code of 'not being understood'. The details of this, along with implications for
both the assessment procedures and future research are discussed.


As China's largest city best known for its pre-eminent achievements in the early part of the twentieth century, Shanghai grew modestly in comparison with southern China after the adoption of China's open policy in 1978. With the 1990 announcement of Pudong as an area for special development, Shanghai has raced ahead, seemingly on its way to an economic and cultural resurgence that is likely to accelerate development and modernization in the Yangzi Delta and China at large. This volume focuses on the physical and socioeconomic transformation of Shanghai across a wide range of topics. Drawing on the experience and expertise of researchers primarily in Hong Kong, this study is a major contribution to the subject of economic development and social change in China. It seeks to understand, analyze and interpret how Shanghai has transformed itself in recent years.


Formate dehydrogenases (FDH) reversibly catalyze the interconversion of CO2 to formate. They belong to the family of molybdenum and tungsten-dependent oxidoreductases. For several decades, scientists have been synthesizing structural and functional model complexes inspired by these enzymes. These studies not only allow for finding certain efficient catalysts but also in some cases to better understand the functioning of the enzymes. However, FDH models for catalytic CO2 reduction are less studied compared to the oxygen atom transfer (OAT) reaction. Herein, we present recent results of structural and functional models of FDH.


The individualization of relationships refers to the situation in which a leeway is allowed for the intervention of individuals making choices on their own in developing and maintaining relationships. Two types of discourses on relationships were generated: one is the "liberation" discourse that ties the individualization of relationships to individual self-realization and the demonstration of individuality, and the other is the "deprivation" discourse that ties the individualization of relationships to the weakened state of existing relationships. In this paper, we investigate which the aspects - "liberation" or "deprivation" - appear in family, company and local communities. We found that even though the Japanese are positive about living an individual life free from family and corporate relationships in the context of "liberation", in order to deal with the risks of "deprivation", they easily resort to family members and corporate community that formerly controlled or bound them.


We present a study and game design that explores how motion controlled physical activity levels can be used to support exergaming and an improved user experience in a traditional game genre. We developed DynoFighter, a two player full body competitive fighting game where a player's activity levels influence their strength in the game, making it advantageous for players to exert themselves in order to win. We conducted a between subjects experiment to compare DynoFighter with and without its physical activity incentive mechanism and examined players' heart rate and activity levels, as well as their overall user experience with the game. Our results show that although there were no significant differences in physical exertion levels, players showed significantly more immersion and enjoyment as well as an increase in perceived exertion levels with DynoFighter's physical activity incentive mechanism.


Investigations linking human megakaryocyte development and cell biology have been hindered by an inability to obtain large, relatively pure megakaryocyte cell preparations from in vitro stem cell cultures. We report here that such preparations can be generated from liquid cultures of normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated by a serum source of megakaryocyte colony stimulating activity (Meg-CSA, the 0% to 60% ammonium sulfate protein fraction of aplastic canine serum). Adherent-depleted peripheral blood mononuclear cells are suspended at 5 x 10(5) to 10(6) cells/mL in supplemented liquid culture medium, platelet-poor human plasma 20% (vol/vol) and 1 to 2 mg/mL serum Meg-CSA protein. After 12 to 14 days of incubation, megakaryocytes constitute 3.0 +/- 2.9% (mean +/- SD, n = 8) of the unseparated cultured cell population. Megakaryocytes can be enriched by counterflow centrifugal elutriation to a purity of 58 +/- 14% (+/- SD) with a recovery of 13 +/- 7% and a viability of 67 +/- 19%. This algorithm results in the average isolation of approximately 3 x 10(5) enriched megakaryocytes from a 100-mL starting volume of peripheral blood. Cultured megakaryocytes exhibit normal light and ultrastructural morphology by Wright-Giemsa staining and electron microscopic analysis. After a 12-day culture interval, enriched megakaryocyte preparations exhibit morphologic stage distributions that are similar to normal human marrow. Stage distributions move rightward with culture duration indicating partial synchrony of megakaryocyte maturation. On cytospin preparations, megakaryocyte diameter averages 30.2 +/- 1.5 microns and increases with maturation stage. Flow cytometric analyses demonstrate the expression of platelet glycoproteins (GP) Ib and IIb/IIIa by the cultured megakaryocytes. The modal ploidy of the enriched cells at day 12 of culture is 16N and most remaining megakaryocytes are 8N or 32N. Liquid culture of serum Meg-CSA-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells represents a valuable investigative tool that should permit studies of human megakaryocyte biology that have not been possible in the past.


Nationalism can be understood as a doctrine of territorial political legitimacy, in the sense that demands for national self-government necessarily involve claims over a given territory. Such claims are ultimately justified by establishing a relationship of mutual belonging between the nation and 'its' territory. This makes nationalism intrinsically exclusionary and potentially violent, since purely civic nations become impossible in practice. Shared political and social values on their own fail to bind nation and territory together, and as such the nation's 'home' might be anywhere, and thus, in a world of competing political claims over territory, nowhere. Ethnic elements of national identity are therefore necessary if an exclusive relationship is to be established between the nation and 'its' territory. These arguments are illustrated by analysing a series of nationalisms that have been traditionally considered to be 'civic,' such as those found in the United States, Canada and England.


We introduce the dynamic SAT problem, a generalisation of the satisfiability problem in propositional logic which allows changes of a problem over time. DynSAT can be seen as a particular form of a dynamic CSP, but considering results and recent success in solving conventional SAT problems, we believe that the conceptual simplicity of SAT will allow us to more easily devise and investigate high-performing algorithms for DynSAT than for dynamic CSPs. In this article, we motivate the DynSAT problem, discuss various formalisations of it, and investigate stochastic local search (SLS) algorithms for solving it. In particular, we apply SLS algorithms which perform well on conventional SAT problems to dynamic problems and we analyse and characterise their performance empirically; this initial investigation indicates that the performance differences between various algorithms of the well-known WalkSAT family of SAT algorithms generally carry over when applied to DynSAT. We also study different generic approaches of solving DynSAT problems using SLS algorithms and investigate their performance differences when applied to different types of DynSAT problems.


Mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) are decentralized, self-configuring, without any fixed infrastructure and temporary network where participating nodes/devices are working as host as well asrouters.Every communicating device/node in MANET is free to movefor making the multi-hop network topology. Selection of a routing protocol for mobile network is an emerging research area in mobile computing and communication. In order to select appropriate routing protocol, IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) MANET group has given certain parameters. These parameters define the reservedcharacteristics of a protocol. This paper isexplaining different routing protocols and comparing them onqualitative and quantitative parameters. Many qualitative metrics such as security, routing scheme, routing metric, multicasting, nodes with special task and average end-to-end delay are discussed in various protocols like DSDV, AODV, DSR, TORA and OLSR.


This article offers an in-depth reading of the poetic cycle Het graf van Pernath (1977; Pernath's Tomb) by the Flemish author and novelist Hugo Claus (1929-2008). The cycle is only one of the many tributes to the prominent post-experimental Flemish poet Hugues C. Pernath, who died in 1975. First, the present article shows how Het graf van Pernath displays a complex attitude towards the genre tradition of the tombeau littéraire in particular and funerary poetry in general. Claus's poems intricately respect, oppose and transform both traditional formal conventions of the genre and dominant conceptions of death and grief. Second, this article demonstrates how Claus's exploration of the funerary tradition goes hand in hand with an exploration of the genre of confessional poetry, which has become the dominant paradigm in the post-Romantic lyric. Indeed, Claus's critical poetic homage to a befriended poet can also be interpreted as a critical unmasking of both authors' very own poetic practice as a form of semantic deceit.


Wetting of water, a 1 : 1 water/ethanol mixture and an aqueous dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid surfactant solution on hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces were studied using confocal Raman microscopy. The superhydrophobic surfaces were prepared by immersion of a glass substrate in a silica particle/fluoropolymer formulation followed by silanization. Preparation of hydrophobic surfaces was done in the same way with the exception that the silica particles were excluded from the formulation. The hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces were characterized with respect to surface roughness using AFM, and by contact angle measurements using different liquids. Confocal Raman microscopy measurements in a 1 : 1 water/ethanol mixture showed an enrichment of ethanol close to the superhydrophobic surface, which could not be observed for the hydrophobic surface. Unexpectedly, the Raman spectrum of a pure water film in close proximity to the superhydrophobic surface displayed some differences compared to that of bulk water and indicated a stronger hydrogen-bonding close to the superhydrophobic surface. Evidence for capillary evaporation next to the superhydrophobic surface was also found, and this results in very long-range capillary attraction between one superhydrophobic surface and a hydrophobic colloidal probe as shown by AFM colloidal probe force measurements. Addition of a surfactant or ethanol suppresses capillary evaporation.


Data were collected from 708 adult children nested within 274 later-life families from the Within-Family Differences Study to explore the role of perceived maternal favoritism in the quality of sibling relations in midlife. Mixed-model analyses revealed that regardless of which sibling was favored, perceptions of current favoritism and recollections of favoritism in childhood reduced closeness among siblings. Recollections of maternal favoritism in childhood were more important than perceptions of current favoritism in predicting tension among adult siblings, regardless of age. Taken together, the findings from this investigation are consistent with childhood studies showing that siblings have better relationships when they believe that they are treated equitably by their parents.


A method to estimate vegetation cover, density and background brightness parameters in a rangeland environment from low-altitude digital images is presented. A digital still-frame camera, mounted on a 5.2 m pole, is used to acquire images of the ground. The acquired images are then processed using an unsupervised spectral-contextual classifier to extract quantitative measurements automatically. The test results show that the extracted cover measures from the fully automated procedure provide an accuracy of 0.89 to 0.99, measured in kappa, compared with 0.36 to 0.58 and 0.79 to 0.95 from k -means clustering and maximum likelihood supervised classifications respectively. For the clump density measure, the proposed method had an error level ranging from 0 to -62%-hundreds of times less than those produced from both k -means and maximum likelihood classifications. The presented method overcomes human subjectivity inherent in other commonly used ground investigation methods for estimating vegetation cover. The results provide an accurate and objective reference for the calibration of models which relate the spectral reflectance recorded by remote sensors to quantitative measures of range condition.


A review of patients proven to have the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) at autopsy revealed that 15.0% had one or more surgical procedures performed while they were infected with the immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Complications of AIDS were not frequently amenable to surgical therapy. Only 3.7% had an operation for a condition specifically related to AIDS, with mean postoperative survival of 79 days. Eleven patients (2.5%) required surgical treatment for conditions unrelated to HIV infection. Minor therapeutic and diagnostic surgical procedures were performed in 8.8% of patients hospitalized with AIDS. Postoperative survival was longer in patients with HIV infection than with clinical AIDS. No seroconversions to HIV positivity occurred in any personnel performing the procedures. Risk of accidental infection to operating room personnel via blood contact during surgical procedures is not excessive and can be reduced by adherence to universal precautions.


Chronic endometritis is not an uncommon diagnosis in our biopsy material and we believe should be diagnosed more frequently. There seems to be no correlation however between clinical symptomalogy and severity of plasma cell infiltration of the endometrial stroma as observed histologically. Pelvic inflammatory disease is the condition most commonly associated with chronic endometritis. The precise etiology of pelvic inflammatory disease is not clear. No clinical cause could be found in 37.5% of our cases with histopathological diagnosis of chronic endometritis.


A 65-item questionnaire was used to examine the relations among religious beliefs and psychotherapeutic orientations in a national sample of 237 clinical and counseling psychologists. Sixty-six percent of these psychologists believed in the transcendent ; 72% asserted that their religious beliefs influenced their practice of psychotherapy, and 66% claimed that their practice of therapy influenced their religious beliefs. Psychologists who affirmed Christian beliefs tended to endorse the cognitive-behavioral orientation, and those who affirmed Eastern and mystical beliefs tended to endorse humanistic and existential orientations These findings suggest (a) that most psychologists synthesize personal Weltanschauungen composed of elements derived from both their study of psychology and their exposure to religion and (b) that these syntheses are not random, that specific religious beliefs are differentially associated with specific psychotherapeutic orientations.


This chapter discusses the nature of an integrated system, the reasons for developing an integrated delivery system, and various organizational structures that might be used. The chapter then identifies several of the critical business issues affecting the development of an integrated system.


What does it mean to know language? Since the Chomskian revolution, one popular answer to this question has been: to possess a generative grammar that exclusively licenses certain syntactic structures. Decades later, not even an approximation to such a grammar, for any language, has been formulated; the idea that grammar is universal and innately specified has proved barren; and attempts to show how it could be learned from experience invariably come up short. To move on from this impasse, we must rediscover the extent to which language is like any other human behavior: dynamic, social, multimodal, patterned, and purposive, its purpose being to promote desirable actions (or thoughts) in others and self. Recent psychological, computational, neurobiological, and evolutionary insights into the shaping and structure of behavior may then point us toward a new, viable account of language.


Reclaimed water is former wastewater from households, schools, offices, hospitals, and commercial and industrial facilities that has been disinfected and treated to remove certain impurities such as nutrients and pathogens. After flowing out of wastewater treatment plants, reclaimed water is piped back to communities for reuse in numerous domestic, industrial, and agricultural applications. Though reclaimed water cannot be used for drinking water in Florida, it is considered highly safe and reliable for non-potable water needs. This fact sheet is one of a series titled Reclaimed Water Use in the Landscape written by Gurpal S. Toor and Mary Lusk and published by the UF Department of Soil and Water Science, January 2011.
SL337/SS542: Reclaimed water use in the landscape: What's in reclaimed water and where does it go? (ufl.edu)


SUMMARY While Yersinia enterocolitica is an important pathogen, which can cause yersiniosis in humans and animals, its epidemiology remains obscure. The pig is the major reservoir of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica of bioserotype 4/O:3, the most common type found in humans. Y. enterocolitica is thought to be a significant food-borne pathogen, although pathogenic isolates have seldom been recovered from foods. The low isolation rate of this pathogenic bacterium in natural samples, including clinical, food, and environmental samples, may be due to the limited sensitivity of culture methods. During the last decade, numerous DNA-based methods, such as PCR and colony hybridization assays, have been designed to detect pathogenic Y. enterocolitica in natural samples more rapidly and with better sensitivity than can be achieved by culture methods. In addition, the occurrence of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica in natural samples is clearly higher with PCR than with culture methods. The methods available for detection of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica in natural samples are reviewed in this article.


The paper reviews the major techniques of specialty fiber fabrication. It primarily reports the progress of panda-type polarization maintaining fiber, spun fiber, specialty fibers for harsh environment and those for novel distributed sensing applications. Compared with the sensing systems utilizing conventional communication fiber, the fiber optic sensors based on specialty fibers show evident advances in performance. Additionally, the development of specialty fibers facilitates the advent of novel sensing mechanisms.


ABSTRACT Political communicators work under the assumption that information provision, such as framing, may influence audiences and elicit some desired attitudinal or behavioral shift. However, some political issues, such as climate change, have become polarized along party lines, with partisans seemingly impervious to disconfirming information. On these highly polarized issues, can framing sway partisans to moderate their positions, or are partisans so motivated in their issue stances that framing fails? Using a variety of vignettes, and Republican climate change skepticism as a case, this article reports an experiment of how partisans respond to counter-attitudinal framing on a sharply polarized issue. Results indicate that Republicans are resistant to frames that encourage support of governmental action or personal engagement against climate change. There is strong evidence of motivated skepticism, given widespread backfire (or 'boomerang') effects and decreased attitudinal ambivalence following exposure to framing, suggesting that issue polarization may severely constrain attempts at communication.


Pollen grains of Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae family members belonging to weed taxa are one of the main causes of allergic respiratory system diseases. In this study, airborne pollen studies were carried out in Turkey, and the monthly changes in Chenopodiacea/Amaranthaceae pollen rates for 58 regions were evaluated. Within the studies, the highest Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae pollen grains were recorded on august-september, around year.


Blind quantum computing (BQC) allows a client to have a server carry out a quantum computation for them such that the client's input, output, and computation remain private. A desirable property for any BQC protocol is verification, whereby the client can verify with high probability whether the server has followed the instructions of the protocol or if there has been some deviation resulting in a corrupted output state. A verifiable BQC protocol can be viewed as an interactive proof system leading to consequences for complexity theory. We previously proposed [A. Broadbent, J. Fitzsimons, and E. Kashefi, in Proceedings of the 50th Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science, Atlanta, 2009 (IEEE, Piscataway, 2009), p. 517] a universal and unconditionally secure BQC scheme where the client only needs to be able to prepare single qubits in separable states randomly chosen from a finite set and send them to the server, who has the balance of the required quantum computational resources. In this paper we extend that protocol with additional functionality allowing blind computational basis measurements, which we use to construct another verifiable BQC protocol based on a different class of resource states. We rigorously prove that the probability of failing to detect an incorrect output is exponentially small in a security parameter, while resource overhead remains polynomial in this parameter. This resource state allows entangling gates to be performed between arbitrary pairs of logical qubits with only constant overhead. This is a significant improvement on the original scheme, which required that all computations to be performed must first be put into a nearest-neighbor form, incurring linear overhead in the number of qubits. Such an improvement has important consequences for efficiency and fault-tolerance thresholds.


A new three-dimensional cubic chaotic system is reported. This new system contains five system parameters and each equation contains nonlinear term. Moreover, two equations of nonlinear term is cubic. The basic properties of the new system are investigated via theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, Lyapunov exponent spectrum, bifurcation diagram, Lyapunov dimension and Poincare diagram. The different dynamic behaviors of the new system are analyzed when each system parameter is changed .An electronic circuit was designed to realize the new chaotic system. Experimental chaotic behaviors of the system were found to be identical to the dynamic properties predicted by theoretical analysis and numerical simulations.


Interannual variability in the Southern Ocean is investigated via nonlinear Laplacian spectral analysis (NLSA), an objective eigendecomposition technique for nonlinear dynamical systems that can simultaneously recover multiple timescales from data with high skill. Applied to modelled and observed sea surface temperature and sea ice concentration data, NLSA recovers the wavenumber‐2 eastwards propagating signal corresponding to the Antarctic circumpolar wave (ACW). During certain phases of its lifecycle, the spatial patterns of this mode display a structure that can explain the statistical origin of the Antarctic dipole pattern. Another group of modes have combination frequencies consistent with the modulation of the annual cycle by the ACW. Further examination of these newly identified modes reveals that they can have either eastwards or westwards propagation, combined with meridional pulsation reminiscent of sea ice reemergence patterns. Moreover, they exhibit smaller‐scale spatial structures and explain more Indian Ocean variance than the primary ACW modes. We attribute these modes to teleconnections between ACW and the tropical Indo‐Pacific Ocean; in particular, fundamental El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) modes and their associated combination modes with the annual cycle recovered by NLSA. Another mode extracted from the Antarctic variables displays an eastwards propagating wavenumber‐3 structure over the Southern Ocean, but exhibits no significant correlation to interannual Indo‐Pacific variability.


Order book and transactions data from the U.S. Treasury securities market are used to calculate daily measures of bid-ask spreads, depth, and price impact for a twenty-six-year sample period (1991-2017). From these measures, a daily index of Treasury market liquidity is constructed, reflecting the fact that the varying measures capture different aspects of market liquidity. The liquidity index is then correlated with various metrics of funding liquidity, volatility, and macroeconomic conditions. The liquidity index points to poor liquidity during the 2007-09 financial crisis and around the near failure of Long-Term Capital Management, but suggests that current liquidity is good by historical standards. Market liquidity tends to be strongly correlated with funding liquidity at times of market stress, but otherwise exhibits little correlation.


The nanocrystallization kinetics of the Fe81Si3.5B13.5C2 amorphous alloy was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The apparent activation energy Ea, as well as the nucleation and growth kinetic parameters has been calculated by Kissinger and Ozawa methods. The changeable activation energy Ea with crystalline fraction α was obtained by the expended Friedman method without assuming the kinetic model function, and the average value of Ea was 364±20 kJ/mol. It was shown that the crystallization mechanism of initial stage (0<α<0.7) of the transformation was bulk crystallization with two and three dimensional nucleation graining growth which was controlled by diffusion. For the middle stage (0.7<α<0.9), the crystallization mechanism is surface crystallization with one dimensional nucleation graining growth at a near-zero nucleation rate. In the final stage(α>0.9),the local Avrami exponents rose anomalously from 1.4 to about 2.0.


This study was conducted to determine how the teachers manage to learn in suburban schools during COVID-19. This thesis was conducted at Kristen Indonesia University. The method of this study was quantitative research with a survey design. The instrument used was a set of questionnaire which consisted of 24 statements. Two hundred thirty-five teachers involved in this research. The findings of the analysis showed that 85% of the teachers find it difficult in managing the learning at schools because most of the students do not have laptops, 87% of the teachers said that it is difficult to get in touch with the students for having low signal and wasteful of using data packages because many students lived far from urban areas. Teachers are deemed ineffective because as many as 83.5% of teachers stated that their students are not familiar with online before the COVID-19 Pandemic. The conclusion is that it is clear from various points of view that COVID-19 is a disaster that affects almost all sectors of human life, including teaching. However, it cannot be denied that the Pandemic of COVID-19 also provides educational institutions with the opportunity to become technology literate. The implementation of online teaching has become a catalyst for advancing the process of digital transformation of Indonesian learning.


In a retrospective study, 19 patients with 20 decompressions of the posterior interosseous nerve for radial tunnel syndrome were reviewed. The results were evaluated using Roles and Maudsley's criteria; they were found to be consistent with those previously reported: i.e. 75% favorable outcomes. Despite this finding only 8 patients (40%) stated they were satisfied. The main reason was residual pain. Shorter delay between the onset of symptoms and surgical treatment as well as simultaneous release of the lateral epicondylar muscles was found to influence positively patient satisfaction. These findings suggest that the scoring system used in the present study and also in previous studies is inappropriate. They also cast some doubt on the role of compression of the posterior interosseous nerve in the pathogenesis of chronic lateral elbow pain.


As do all advancing technologies, they will also create new nightmares. The most worrisome development will be in cryptography. Developing new standards for protecting data won't be easy. The RSA standards that are in common use each took five years to develop. Ralph Merkle, a pioneer of publickey cryptography, points out that the technology of public-key systems, because it is less well-known, will take longer to update than these — optimistically, ten years. And then there is a matter of implementation so that computer systems worldwide are protected. Without a particular sense of urgency or shortcuts, Merkle says, it could easily be 20 years before we've replaced all of the Internet's present security-critical infrastructure. [7]


The Sub-Auroral Polarization Stream (SAPS) is a geospace boundary layer phenomenon associated with the interaction of the warm plasma of the magnetospheric ring current with the cold ions and electrons of the outer plasmasphere [1]. Driven by ring current enhancements during magnetospheric disturbances, SAPS location, intensity, and characteristics are greatly influenced by the underlying ionosphere. Strong M-I coupling by means of field-aligned currents creates a high-speed (>1000 m/s) westward plasma flow channel in the ionosphere at pre-midnight/post-noon local times which is readily observable by incoherent scatter [2] and HF radars and in plasma drift observations by low-altitude spacecraft (e.g. DMSP). The fast ionospheric flows generate E-region irregularities providing for additional diagnostics using coherent backscatter techniques [3]. SAPS plays a significant role in the redistribution of cold plasma through the geospace system at both ionospheric and magnetospheric heights. Where the SAPS flow channel overlaps the mid-latitude ionosphere and outer plasmasphere, streams of cold plasma are carried westward and sunward as plumes of storm enhanced density (SED) in the ionosphere and as plasmasphere erosion plumes at high altitude. Ground-based maps of GPS total electron content (TEC) serve to visualize the spatial extent and evolution of the SAPS and SED. Mapping these features to magnetospheric altitudes along magnetic field lines permits direct intercomparison with in situ spacecraft observations. The recently launched Van Allen Probes twin satellites (RBSP-A & RBSP-B) are in near-equatorial orbits well suited for studies of the SAPS and related phenomena at the apex of field lines threading the plasmasphere boundary layer. Simultaneous near magnetic field aligned observations of SAPS at DMSP altitude (~800 km) and by RBSP-A at ~20,000 km show close correspondence of SAPS location and characteristics between the ionosphere and magnetosphere. In highly elliptical orbits with apogee near 5.5 Re, the RBSP spacecraft often spend hours at a time skimming the outer plasmasphere within the SAPS region. A great variety of wave phenomena are observed. Here we describe long-duration large amplitude (+/- 5 mV/m) electric field oscillations with 3 min-5 min period seen in the magnetospheric equatorial plane within the SAPS/erosion plume region.


: The medical diagnosis of bedsores often applies to open wounds. These wounds are caused by constant pressure to the skin of seniors who cannot change their position in bed or wheelchair without help. In severe cases these wounds extend through all layers of the skin with involvement of muscle and underlying bone. These ulcers can be very painful, so the mobility and quality of life of seniors is thoroughly reduced. Treatment of ulcers costs annually millions of Euro in Germany alone. Primary prevention of bedsores has not yet been established neither in Germany nor in Europe. The first step to improve the situation in a scientific manner has been to set up a comparable database. In order to change that, the German community of Ostalbkreis (part of the German Federal state of Baden-Wurttemberg) developed a process of nursing quality assurance as a project of the local agenda 21, initiated and supported by the health office of the community. Annual networked and anonymous survey from 2001 to 2003, each lasting three months every year, proved that the rate of non stratified prevalence could be reduced. For example the rate of all day spent with bedsores within the community could be reduced from 1.96 % in 2001, to 1.74 % in 2002 and finally to 1.62 % in 2003. During the survey as an additional bonus cooperation of community-organized nursing was optimised and quality assurance in nursing became a pole position of the community. During the QM-process a software was developed to process the survey: it is internet-based, published in the nursing-guide of Ostalbkreis, easy to manage and to establish in any nursing institution or community.


Aims The bone marrow procedure (BMP) has been performed worldwide for years. Nonetheless, no generally accepted standards or guidelines for the performance of the BMP exist. Recent studies suggested that the lateral angulation technique (LAT), targeting the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) after penetration of the posterior superior iliac spine, yields longer biopsy cores and is safer for patients. We assessed the feasibility and safety of targeting the ASIS in the prone and lateral decubitus positions. Methods We first observed the BMP needle tracks on cadavers. Our cadaver study revealed that the LAT is feasible and safe but requires different operator techniques. Next, we studied 25 adult haematology patients undergoing elective BMP via the LAT approach. Patients returned 5 days after the BMP for a haemoglobin assessment, pain questionnaire and low-dose non-contract CT. Results 8% of patients reported persistent pain. No fall in haemoglobin and no pelvic haematomas or neurovascular injuries were detected. 88% of BMPs were successfully accomplished by targeting the ASIS. 12% required a back-up traditional angulation technique (TAT), directing the needle straight in, perpendicular to the coronal plane of the back. All three demonstrated inadvertent, but asymptomatic, penetration of the sacrum. Biopsy lengths were compared with a historical TAT control demonstrating that specimens obtained by LAT are significantly longer. Imaging studies showed that a seven-degree change in needle direction can convert a TAT to a LAT. Conclusion The LAT approach is feasible, safe and more productive than the TAT, and may be the preferred standard for training haematologists. Trial registration number NCT02524613.


Abstract The image recognition and identification procedures are comparatively new in the scope of ISAR (Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar) applications and based on specific defects in ISAR images, e.g., missing pixels and parts of the image induced by target's aspect angles require preliminary image processing before identification. The present paper deals with ISAR image enhancement algorithms and neural network architecture for image recognition and target identification. First, stages of the image processing algorithms intended for image improving and contour line extraction are discussed. Second, an algorithm for target recognition is developed based on neural network architecture. Two Learning Vector Quantization (LVQ) neural networks are constructed in Matlab program environment. A training algorithm by teacher is applied. Final identification decision strategy is developed. Results of numerical experiments are presented.


This paper focuses on an under-explored yet important problem: Federated Class-Continual Learning (FCCL), where new classes are dynamically added in federated learning. Existing FCCL works suffer from various limitations, such as requiring additional datasets or storing the private data from previous tasks. In response, we first demonstrate that non-IID data exacerbates catastrophic forgetting issue in FL. Then we propose a novel method called TARGET (federat T ed cl A ss-continual lea R nin G via E xemplar-free dis T illation), which alleviates catastrophic forgetting in FCCL while preserving client data privacy. Our proposed method leverages the previously trained global model to transfer knowledge of old tasks to the current task at the model level. Moreover, a generator is trained to produce synthetic data to simulate the global distribution of data on each client at the data level. Compared to previous FCCL methods, TARGET does not require any additional datasets or storing real data from previous tasks, which makes it ideal for data-sensitive scenarios.


Large amounts of databases are created daily in data storage Due to this it becomes very difficult to retrieve the images require for applications in various fields. Thus Content Based Image Retrieval Techniques play an important character in image processing. Here we will be using various masking methods to find out different features and apply different clustering algorithms. In this paper, we are proposing a hybrid model which is the combination of Genetic and Candidate Group Search algorithm. This gives us the best results in some aspects and find it suitable in point of time and accuracy. Candidate Group search Genetic Algorithm is employed to facilitate the users retrieve the images that are most relevant to the users demand.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of different speeds using the piston device in the shear bond strength. 48 cylinders of composed resin had been confectioned (Solidex),and were divided randomly in four groups (n=12). The specimens were adapted to the device for the shear bond strenth test and were taken to an universal testing machine with a load cell of 1000Kg. The test were carried through with four different speeds: group A: 0,5; group B: 1,0; group C: 1,5 and group D: 2,0mm/min. The mean and standard deviations, in Kgf, were: A - 66,31(10,24); B - 64,53 (20,40); C - 75,23 (11,84) and D - 66,62 (13,81). The data were submitted to ANOVA (p=0,13). The results indicated that it did not have statistical significant difference between the groups A, B, C and D concluding that the speed in this type of test, with this device, can be varied without modify results.


BACKGROUND: One of the promises of cost-effective analysis is that it can demonstrate how to maximize health benefits attainable within a specific limited budget. Many people argue, however, that when there are budget limitations, the use of cost-effectiveness analysis leads to health care policies that are inequitable. METHODS: We asked prospective jurors, medical ethicists, and experts in medical decision making to choose between two screening tests for a population at low risk for colon cancer. One test was more cost effective than the other but because of budget constraints was too expensive to be given to everyone in the population. With the use of the more effective test for only half the population, 1100 lives could be saved at the same cost as that of saving 1000 lives with the use of the less effective test for the entire population. RESULTS: Fifty-six percent of the prospective jurors, 53 percent of the medical ethicists, and 41 percent of the experts in medical decision making recommended offering the less effective screening test to everyone, even though 100 more lives would have been saved by offering the more expensive test to only a portion of the population. Most of the study participants justified this recommendation on the basis of equity. A smaller number stated either that it was not politically feasible to offer a test to only half the population or that the additional benefit of the more expensive test (100 more lives saved) was too small to justify offering it to only a portion of the public. CONCLUSIONS: People place greater importance on equity than is reflected by cost-effectiveness analysis. Even many experts in medical decision making -- those often responsible for conducting cost-effectiveness analyses -- expressed discomfort with some of its implications. Basing health care priorities on cost effectiveness may not be possible without incorporating explicit considerations of equity into cost-effectiveness analyses or the process used to develop health care policies on the basis of such analyses.