Introduction: Neonatal intestinal obstruction is the commonest surgical emergency in neonatal period. The outcome in neonatal intestinal obstruction has improved dramatically due to the improvements in diagnostic facilities and neonatal intensive care, and surgical advances.
Objective: To detect the pattern of neonatal intestinal obstruction, to find out their cause and outcome after management.
Materials and Methods: This was a 10 years retrospective review of all children aged 28 days and below, managed for intestinal obstruction between March 2006 and February 2016 at the Pediatric Surgical Division of Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka. Patients who were presented with septic shock, pneumonia, very low birth weight and extreme prematurity, Anorectal malformation were excluded from the study.
Result: Out of 196 patients, male patients were 135(68.87%), female 61(31.12%) and male to female ratio was 2.2:1. Most common cause of intestinal obstruction was Intestinal atresia 55(28.08%) followed by Hirschsprung disease 45(22.93%), Meconium ileus 43(21%), Malrotation of gut 23(11.73%), duodenal atresia 12 (6.12%), gastroschisis 10(5.10%) and other case 8(4.01%). Majority of neonates 158(80.61%) presented within 1st week of life and survival rate was 83.16%. Mortality in preterm was much higher 19(70.35%) than in term newborns 21(12.42%).
Conclusion: Dedicated delicate neonatal surgical care, early diagnosis and intervention are the crucial factors in improving operative outcome in neonatal surgery.
Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.14(1) 2018: 24-28


PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate how Internet capabilities influence international business relationships using the resource-based view and capabilities perspective. Many studies highlight the importance of the Internet in helping smaller firms internationalize. However, few studies actually test how this is happening. The central purpose of this research was to examine and test the impact of Internet capabilities on international information availability, international strategic orientation and international business relationships in a sample of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Australia, Chile and Taiwan.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a structural equation modeling process so as to test the Internet capabilities on international business networks. The empirical research is based on an analysis of a sample of internationalizing SMEs in three export-intensive markets in Australia (215), Chile (204) and Taiwan (130) to test a conceptual model.FindingsThe results demonstrate that Internet capabilities have a distinct effect on the development of international business relationships for SMEs in the three countries. That is, Internet capabilities have a positive impact on a firm's international business relationships, but this varies across Australian and Taiwanese and Chilean SMEs.Originality/valueThese studies give empirical validation on the way in which smaller firms are using Internet capabilities for leveraging networks in internationalization and how this varies across countries. The results demonstrate that Internet capabilities have a distinct and positive impact on the development of international business relationships for SMEs in the three countries. However, there are specific differences between countries in how the Internet is being leveraged for the development of international business networks. Something currently not highlighted in the body of knowledge.


Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) is characterized by changes in the endoscopic appearance of the gastric mucosa, specific for portal hypertension. The identification of the elementary lesions of PHG allowed the development of a reproducible classification, defining mild and severe pictures, and the execution of a natural history study. This study showed a 80% overall prevalence of PHG in patient with cirrhosis of the liver and a correlation between duration of the disease and development of PHG. PHG has often been shown to be a fluctuating condition, thus suggesting that its pathophysiology is not only related to portal hypertension, but also to other, yet unknown, factors. Bleeding from PHG did not occur in patients with a recent diagnosis of liver cirrhosis. Acute and chronic bleeding occurred in 2.5% and 12% of patients, respectively. The death rate from acute PHG bleeding was lower (12.5%) than the death rate of variceal bleeding (39.1%). Vasoactive drugs can be used in the treatment of acute PHG bleeding. For chronic bleeding, non selective 13-blockers and, if needed, iron, are the treatment of choice. TIPS or surgical portosystemic shunt may be considered for acute or chronic PHG bleeding, if medical treatment fails. Clinical controlled trials are needed to evaluate the efficacy of these or other treatments.


A method for detecting and segmenting periodic motion is presented. We exploit periodicity as a cue and detect periodic motion in complex scenes where common methods for motion segmentation are likely to fail. We note that periodic motion detection can be seen as an approximate case of sequence alignment where an image sequence is matched to itself over one or more periods of time. To use this observation, we first consider alignment of two video sequences obtained by independently moving cameras. Under assumption of constant translation, the fundamental matrices and the homographies are shown to be time-linear matrix functions. These dynamic quantities can be estimated by matching corresponding space-time points with similar local motion and shape. For periodic motion, we match corresponding points across periods and develop a RANSAC procedure to simultaneously estimate the period and the dynamic geometric transformations between periodic views. Using this method, we demonstrate detection and segmentation of human periodic motion in complex scenes with nonrigid backgrounds, moving camera and motion parallax.


Since the worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2, different European countries reacted with temporarily nationwide lockdowns with the aim to limit the virus transmission in the population. Also Austria started a lockdown of public life in March. In this study we investigated whether the circulation of different respiratory virus infections in Austria, as assessed by using the established respiratory virus surveillance system, is affected by these measures as well and may reflect the success of the lockdown in limiting respiratory virus transmission. Sentinel data obtained for influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus and rhinovirus cases were analyzed and compared between the season 2019/ 2020 and the five previous seasons. We observed a rapid and statistically significant reduction of cumulative cases for all these viruses within short time after the lockdown in March 2020, compared to previous seasons (each p<0.001). Also, sentinel screening for SARS-CoV-2 infections was performed and a decrease of SARS-CoV-2 was seen after the lockdown. While for the seasonally occurring viruses as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus or human metapneumovirus the lockdown led to the end of the annual epidemics, a re-increase of rhinovirus infections was observed after liberalization of numerous lockdown measures. Our data provide evidence that occurrence of different respiratory virus infections reflect not only the efficiency of lockdown measures taken against SARS-CoV-2 but also the effects of their release on respiratory transmission.


Extensive tests have shown that externally bonded fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) laminates are particularly suited for improving the short-term and long-term behavior of deficient reinforced concrete (RC) beam. Fatigue tests conducted to date indicate that fatigue life of RC beam bonded with FRP laminates lies in the response of steel rebar. Study on the method of nominal elastic stress (strain) for evaluating life-span of FRP strengthened beam is carried out in this paper. By analyzing fatigue tests, the acceptable stress concentration factors and S-N curves are suggested to be used to account for the fatigue behavior of RC beams strengthened with FRP laminates. Analytical results are compared with experimental data from two sets of fatigue tests on stresses and life-span, which shows agreeable trend. Based on the findings, the approach of nominal elastic stress (strain) can be extended to evaluate the fatigue life of RC beam bonded with FRP laminates.


The Varicella zoster virus may affect the central nervous system (CNS) as a complication of herpes zoster (HZ). A series of neurological syndromes are described and, on the basis of a review of the literature and two illustrative case histories, the symptomatology, pathogenesis, therapeutic possibilities and the diagnostic difficulties in HZ-associated cerebral vasculitis and HZ-associated encephalitis are reviewed. Progressive multifocal encephalopathy in immune-insufficient individuals is briefly mentioned. The diagnosis is most frequently established on the basis of the clinical picture when the characteristic symptoms develop in connection with cutaneous HZ. A long latent period may result in defective recognition of the connection. Immuno-suppression and dissemination are critical determinants for the course of the condition but, in immune-competent individuals, the morbidity and mortality are low. Treatment with acyclovir is employed to an increasing extent with good results but the conditions are rare and clinically controlled investigations are not available. It is important that the possibility of HZ-associated CNS-disease is borne in mind, in view of the therapeutic possibilities. The pathogeneses of these complications is little understood but there is increasing evidence that a direct viral invasion is the mechanism responsible. A post-infectious immune-mediate mechanism is also another popular opinion.


For QAM signalling, a new decoding strategy which reduces the average decoding complexity of the 32-dimensional Barnes–Wall lattice is presented. The reduction is by an order of magnitude at an SNR per bit of 10.5 dB. The strategy is based on partitioning the 32-D code space into disjoint subsets. The average decoding complexity is highly dependent on the number of these subsets.


Phosphatidic acid (PA) forms part of plant lipid metabolism and is a signalling molecule used in response to various external stresses. Guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) activate small GTPase ROPs, serving as molecular switches in a wide range of signalling pathways. However, the interaction between PA and GEFs in plants has not yet been reported. Here we show that PA bound specifically to GEF8 by using fat-Western blot and isothermal titration calorimetry assays. A C-terminal truncation of GEF8 exhibited strong PA binding, and mutation of lysines 13 and 18 in GEF8 PRONE domain caused a total loss of binding to PA. Two ROPs, ROP7 and ROP10, were identified as preferred substrates of GEF8 by pull-down and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays. GEF8 activity towards ROP7, but not ROP10, was stimulated by PA both in vitro and in cells. Moreover, the PA- or ABA-induced activation of GEF8 was completely lost in the mutant GEF8, which did not bind to PA. Together, these findings identify a direct interconnection between PA-mediated GEFs activity and small GTPase signalling in plants and provide evidence for a synergistic activation of GEF8 by direct PA-binding to its PRONE domain.


Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from breath, faeces or skin may reflect physiological and pathological processes in vivo. Our setup employs real-time proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-TOF-MS) to explore VOC emissions of dairy cows in stable air under field conditions. Within one herd of 596 cows, seven groups (8–117 cows per group) were assessed. Groups differed in milk yield and health status (two contained cows with paratuberculosis, a chronic intestinal infection). Each group arrived one after another in the area of air measurement in front of the milking parlour. A customised PTR-TOF-MS system with a 6 m long and heated transfer line, was used for measuring VOCs continuously for 7 h, 1.5 m above the cows. Three consecutive time periods were investigated. Twenty-seven VOCs increased while the animals were gathering in the waiting area, and decreased when the animals entered the milking parlour. Linear correlations between the number of animals present and VOC concentrations were found for (C4H6)H+ and (C3H6O)H+. A relatively high concentration of acetone above the cows that had recently given birth to a calf might be related to increased fat turnover due to calving and different nutrition. Changes in VOC emissions were related to the presence of animals with paratuberculosis, to different average milk yields per group and to the time of the day (morning versus noon milking time). We found that VOC monitoring of stable air may provide additional immediate information on an animal's metabolic or health status and foster novel applications in the field of breath research.


ABSTRACT This article explores how heritage values can be productively sustained or transformed by processes of building deconstruction and materials reuse, which address the increasing magnitude of demolition waste, landfill and resource use in urban development. The article starts by examining literature in heritage studies, sustainable building, and discard studies, then presents two examples from Vancouver, a Canadian city under intense development pressure, to help frame questions from project and policy contexts. Building on these questions, it reviews the relationship between heritage values and waste, gaps in deconstruction and salvage policies, the classifications of materials in deconstruction and reuse, and possible expanded uses for heritage inventories. In the Anthropocene, merely conserving designated buildings, or salvaging character-defining elements associated with heritage values, is not only inadequate, it helps to define waste, or that which does not have value. An ethic of conservation is called for that makes place for deconstruction as an acceptable reuse strategy while addressing the fate of all existing buildings and materials.


Hypertension is very common in our country. The aim of our study was to find the levels of liver enzymes ALT, AST and GGT in normotensive pre hypert ensive and hypertensive individuals. Patients were categorized into three groups – Group 1 Normotensive or Controls (n= 80), Group 2 Pre Hypertensive (n=64) and Group 3 Hypertensive (n=76). Values of ALT, AST and GGT were with in the normal reference range in all the three groups. No significant relation was found between ALT, AST and GGT in normal, pre hypertensive and hypertensive individuals.


The pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) species complex consists of at least 15 genetically distinct host races, also called biotypes. While all pea aphid biotypes live on plant species belonging to the Fabaceae, each host race shows distinct preferences for certain legume species. However, it is not yet known which plant factors contribute to the ability of different biotypes to feed on different legumes. In this dissertation, a selection of different pea aphid biotypes and legume species were used to study the localization of plant factors affecting pea aphid ability to feed on host and non-host plants. The localization of plant factors affecting pea aphid ability to feed was conducted using the the electrical penetration graph technique (EPG) which enables real-time monitoring of aphid probing and feeding behavior by measuring the fluctuations in the electrical resistance generated in a circuit set up to include both the aphid and the plant. Mechanisms that influence the ability of aphids to feed on a certain plant are discussed in the light of the behavioral data.


Combined neutron diffraction, dielectric and conductivity measurements of NaNO2 embedded into porous glasses with average pore diameter 7 nm are performed in the ferroelectric and paraelectric phases. The temperature interval of existence of a volume premelted state in this confined material is determined. It is shown that the observed earlier giant growth of dielectric constant above TC can be attributed with an appearance of ionic conductivity due to jumping diffusion (or hopping) of constituent ions. These data are in a good agreement with experimental results of our earlier measurements of temperature evolution of structure of this nanocomposite material.


Abstract. A dramatic increase in the frequency and intensity of floods due to the Niger River in the city of Niamey (Niger) has been observed in the last decade. Previous studies highlighted the role of the land use changes on the flood increase since 1970s. In the last decade, observations have raised the issue of a possible increase in extreme rainfall in the Sahel, which may have caused the recent and extreme floods in Niamey in 2010, 2012 and 2013. The study focuses on the 125 000 km2 basin between Ansongo and Niamey. This is the drainage area of the monsoon rainfall that leads to the rapid flow rise occurring between June and October. To understand the possible role of rainfall in flood intensification, satellite rainfall estimate is attractive in a region where the operational gauge network is sparse. This paper analyses the evolution of the Niger hydrograph in Niamey based on discharge observations, hydrological modelling and the satellite product PERSIANN-CDR, over the 1983–2013 period. PERSIANN-CDR is first compared with four other rainfall products. The salient features of the observed changes, i.e. a marked change in the mean decadal hydrograph, is well mimicked by the simulations, implying that rainfall is the first driver to the observed changes. The increase of flooded years over the period is also well reproduced but with some uncertainties in the exact number of flood days per year.


A characteristic feature of malignant cells, including colorectal cancer cells, is a profound decrease in level of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, product of 5-methylcytosine oxidation by TET enzymes. This study included four groups of subjects: healthy controls, and patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), benign polyps and colorectal cancer. Patients from all groups presented with significantly lower levels of 5-methylcytosine and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine than the controls. A similar tendency was also observed for 5-hydroxymethyluracil level. Patients with IBD showed the highest levels of 5-formylcytosine and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine of all study subjects, and individuals with colorectal cancer presented with the lowest concentrations of vitamin C and A. Expressions of TET1 and TET2 turned out to be the highest in IBD group. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show that healthy subjects, individuals with precancerous conditions and colorectal cancerpatients present with distinct specific patterns of epigenetic modifications in leukocyte DNA.


Development of software-intensive products and services increasingly occurs by continuously deploying product or service increments, such as new features and enhancements, to customers. Product and service developers need to continuously find out what customers want by direct customer feedback and observation of usage behaviour, rather than indirectly through up-front business analyses. This paper examines the preconditions for setting up an experimentation system for continuous customer experiments. It describes the building blocks required for such a system. An initial model for continuous experimentation is analytically derived from prior work. The model is then matched against empirical case study findings from a startup company and adjusted. Building blocks for a continuous experimentation system and infrastructure are presented. A suitable experimentation system requires at least the ability to release minimum viable products or features with suitable instrumentation, design and manage experiment plans, link experiment results with a product roadmap, and manage a flexible business strategy. The main challenges are proper and rapid design of experiments, advanced instrumentation of software to collect, analyse, and store relevant data, and the integration of experiment results in both the product development cycle and the software development process.


We estimated the prevalence and prognostic significance of neuroendocrine (NE) cells in a series of 208 resection specimens containing gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinomas, with 56 specimens containing Barrett's mucosa. Immunohistochemically, chromogranin A (CGA) was positive in 49% (102/208) of GEJ adenocarcinomas and in 68% (38/56) of Barrett's mucosas. CGA in GEJ tumors correlated with pTNM stage. CGA in Barrett correlated with pTNM stage and tumor grade of the adjacent carcinoma. Patients with CGA in Barrett had better survival than patients without CGA in Barrett, with 5-year survival percentages of 56% and 9%, respectively. In multi-variate analysis, CGA in Barrett was an independent prognostic factor for survival after surgery. Therefore CGA in Barrett adjacent to GEJ adenocarcinoma might be helpful in the assessment of patient outcome.


The electronic structure and the optical properties of a near-611 grain boundary in α-Al2O3 are studied by means of first-principles calculations based on a structural model constructed by Kenway. Results on the orbital-resolved partial density of states are presented for the grain boundary model and also for a perfect bulk supercell model containing the same number of atoms. An effective-charge calculation indicates an increased ionic character for atoms in the grain boundary region which is attributed to the distorted bonding pattern and a decrease in coordination number. The calculated optical properties show very similar results for the grain boundary model and the bulk supercell model. The electron energy-loss spectra are consistent with the recent experimental data on the near-611 grain boundary obtained by spatially resolved valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy.


State involvement in public service functions in Chinese rural areas has steadily decreased in the wake of reforms and the development of the private sector. A prominent example of this is the field of rural water supply facilities, where the life expectancy of a vast range of technical schemes failed to be more than a few years in most cases. At the same time, the bottleneck of dwindling water resources has become a major challenge. The experience of a foreign-assisted development aid project in Shandong province demonstrates an alternative grass-roots approach to the regulatory framework, which is normally provided in a top-down fashion by policies. The experimental establishment of the first rural water association in one township marked the beginning of a spin-off development creating similar associations in other townships in several other counties and culminated in the establishment of the first county-wide organisations. This innovation is now on the verge of serving as a model on a much wider regional scale. The paper analyses the long processes of implementation and their implications for economically efficient and ecologically sound water management in rural China.


Ethnic minority entrepreneurship operates in increasingly complex and ambiguous environments. Thus there is the need for entrepreneurship educators to prepare students to handle ambiguity and to develop a more comprehensive, contextualised and individualised understanding of ethnic minority entrepreneurship. In this paper, we present parables as a pedagogical tool to facilitate an understanding of ethnic minority entrepreneurship through the embracing and tackling of ambiguity by students. This is done through student interviews conducted with immigrant entrepreneurs in Sweden, followed by the construction of parables based on the interviews. The liberatory type of pedagogy where the student is the storyteller highlights multiple layers of meaning, including power, hegemony and exploitation in the interpretation and teaching about ethnic minority entrepreneurship. Such parable pedagogy encourages entrepreneurship educators to give more emphasis to ethnic minority entrepreneurship in the content and design of their curriculum.


Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy characterized by the growth of tumor cells in the bone marrow. Properties of the tumor microenvironment provide both potential tumor-promoting and tumor-restricting properties. Targeting underlying immune triggers for evolution of tumors as well as direct attack of malignant plasma cells is an emerging focus of therapy for MM. The monoclonal antibodies daratumumab and elotuzumab, which target the plasma cell surface proteins CD38 and SLAMF7/CS1, respectively, particularly when used in combination with immunomodulatory agents and proteasome inhibitors, have resulted in high response rates and improved survival for patients with relapsed and refractory MM. A number of other monoclonal antibodies are in various stages of clinical development, including those targeting MM cell surface antigens, the bone marrow microenvironment, and immune effector T cells such as antiprogrammed cell death protein 1 antibodies. Bispecific preparations seek to simultaneously target MM cells and activate endogenous T cells to enhance efficacy. Cellular immunotherapy seeks to overcome the limitations of the endogenous antimyeloma immune response through adoptive transfer of immune effector cells with MM specificity. Allogeneic donor lymphocyte infusion can be effective but can cause graft-versus-host disease. The most promising approach appears to be genetically modified cellular therapy, in which T cells are given novel antigen specificity through expression of transgenic T-cell receptors (TCRs) or chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). CAR T cells against several different targets are under investigation in MM. Infusion of CD19-targeted CAR T cells following salvage autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT) was safe and extended remission duration in a subset of patients with relapsed/refractory MM. CAR T cells targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) appear most promising, with dramatic remissions seen in patients with highly refractory disease in three ongoing trials. Responses are associated with degree of CAR T-cell expansion/persistence and often toxicity, including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity. Ongoing and future studies are exploring correlates of response, ways to mitigate toxicity, and "universal" CAR T cells.


Behavioral finance is under construction as a solid structure of finance. It substitutes normal people for rational people in standard finance, behavioral portfolio theory for mean-variance portfolio theory, and behavioral asset pricing models for the CAPM and other models where expected returns are determined only by risk. Behavioral finance also distinguishes rational markets from hard-to-beat markets in the discussion of efficient markets and examines why so many investors believe that beating the market is easy. Peter Bernstein encouraged and guided the author of this article as he contributed to the construction of behavioral finance in the pages of The Journal of Portfolio Management (JPM). The JPM's fortieth anniversary, the first ten-year anniversary without Peter, is an opportunity for the author to express his gratitude to Peter once more and describe his work published in JPM.


A framework for evaluating public opinion towards franchising is proposed and empirically tested in an emerging market, India. Franchising in an emerging market was selected as the context because – (1) future growth is likely to come from newly emerging markets, (2) franchising is primarily seen as a foreign concept in emerging markets and has attracted its fair share of attention, both positive and negative. The results indicate that people evaluate franchising using four key factors – well being of small businesses, socio‐economic, socio‐cultural well being, and employment opportunity. This study further investigates the relationship between these factors and patronage behaviour. Some of these factors were associated with patronage behaviour and the associated residual feeling. Clearly, in order to succeed in emerging and developing markets, the franchising industry must pay heed to public opinion.


The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between exposure to Parental Alienation (PA) at different developmental time periods and psychological maltreatment. Three hundred and sixty-one adults in Chieti, Italy completed an anonymous and confidential paper and pencil survey regarding their childhood exposure to twenty PA behaviours across three developmental time periods as well as a measure of psychological maltreatment by each parent. Results revealed that exposure to PA at each time period was significantly associated with psychological maltreatment. Moreover, the number of time periods of exposure to PA (from 0 to 3) was associated with psychological maltreatment. This was true for PA by mothers and PA by fathers. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Practitioner points
Mental health professionals can use the results of this study to guide their intervention efforts
Co-parenting educators can incorporate these results into their routine efforts to help parents be aware of PA and its effects
Targeted parents can use these findings to make the case for timely legal and mental health interventions


The versatile concept of the digital twin is being applied in various economic sectors. To exploit its full potential, the digital twin has to be adaptable to changing requirements. In this paper we address the configuration of digital twins with a focus on a flexible and modular simulation chain. Thereby, we utilize the Functional Mock-Up Interface to enable variable configurations based on basic simulation components. We validate the concept by a prototypical implementation.


All breast cancer patients are examined to check for the presence of malignant tumour cells that may have spread to the axillary lymph nodes. Following an ultrasound of the axilla, one or more lymph nodes are surgically removed for this purpose. This dissertation shows, among other things, that a contrast-enhanced MRI scan of the axilla could provide a promising alternative to surgical removal of the lymph nodes. If the validation study confirms this, surgery could be avoided in 70% of new breast cancer patients, because they do not have metastases in the lymph nodes. They would also be less exposed to the potential effects of axillary surgery, such as problems with shoulder movement, arm swelling due to a build-up of lymph fluid, or changes in arm sensitivity.


In this paper different aspects of desirable conditions In shallow weIl logging and various corrections that one must employ to provide a good picture of geological structures for important engineering purposes like dam constructions is presented. To examine the proposed corrections electrical weIl logging data of Salman Dam site were chosen. The dam site area was located in south central part of Zagros mountain ranges, Shiraz, Iran. In this project, nine boreholes and totally six thousand meters of weIl logging experiment including temperature, normal, sp, natural gamma, caliper, gamma-gamma and a case of fluid resistivity testing were logged. The results revealed temperature anomaly of about 5C, presence of low resistivity layers, under ground hot water flow and a minor fault impression,


In the years following the 1992 Supreme Court decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, abortion has been subjected to a wide range of legal restrictions, and the impact of these restrictions has not been adequately studied. While this process of increasingly restrictive regulation may be considered a public health issue, the natures of these laws also make them relevant to information studies. Biased counseling laws mandate that an abortion provider disseminate information specifically designed to discourage a woman from obtaining an abortion. This paper examines the impact of these laws on both the abortion patient and provider. Biased counseling information has a demonstrable effect on the health information access of abortion patients and on the intellectual freedom of abortion providers. However, there are also chilling effects on the intellectual freedom of the abortion patients themselves. This paper establishes abortion as an information issue and calls for future study into its effects on information access and intellectual freedom.


: Based on a study of the hemodynamics of the greater and pulmonary circulation by direct methods in 117 patients with essential hypertension it has been demonstrated that changes in the stroke volume are implicated in the mechanism of the interregulation of the greater and pulmonary circulation. Elevation of the pressure in the pulmonary artery is mostly observed in patients with the hypokinetic version of the hemodynamics.


This paper focuses on how the Internet of Things (IoT) could contribute to the transition to a circular economy (CE), through supporting circular business model and design strategies. While literature has highlighted the opportunities for IoT to support circular strategies in business, little has been published about actual implementations in practice. The aim of this study was therefore to understand how companies to date have implemented IoT for circular strategies, and how these implementations compare to the range of opportunities described in literature. To that end, a two-step approach was followed. Firstly, building on academic literature, a framework was developed which categorizes different IoT-enabled circular strategies. The framework recognizes tracking, monitoring, control, optimization, and design evolution as IoT capabilities. Efficiency in use, increased utilization, and product lifetime extension are distinguished as circular in-use strategies, while reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling are distinguished as circular looping strategies. The framework complements previously published work, as it adds additional detail to the categorization, and allows for easy mapping of diverse cases. Secondly, 40 cases from practice were analyzed and mapped to the framework. This way, practice-based insights were derived about the current distribution of IoT-enabled circular strategies implemented in practice. The results show that current implementation of IoT-enabled circular strategies mainly supports two strategies in the use phase: efficiency in use and product lifetime extension. Only a small number of the reviewed cases display IoT-enabled looping (reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling). Similarly, few cases describe 'design evolution' for CE, i.e., the feedback of data from products in use to support circular design. Based on these results, this study identifies the need for future research to further investigate why IoT-enabled looping strategies and design evolution for circular strategies have not been implemented to scale.


In the chemical industry, it is common to find production systems characterized by having a single stage or a previously identified bottleneck stage, with multiple non-identical parallel stations and with setup costs that depend on the production sequence. This paper proposes a mixed integer production-scheduling model that identifies lot size and product sequence that maximize profit. It considers multiple typical industry conditions, such as penalties for noncompliance or out of service periods of the productive units (or stations) for preventive maintenance activities. The model was validated with real data from an oil chemical company.  Aiming to analyze its performance, we applied the model to 155 instances of production, which were obtained using Monte Carlo technique on the historical production data of the same company.  We obtained an average 12 % reduction in the total cost of production and a 19 % increase in the estimated profit.


This paper reports the result of an exploratory study of the application of Heskett, Sasser and Schlesinger's service profit chain to a single organisation, one of the UKs leading grocery retailers. The results showed correlations between profit, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, service value, internal service quality, output quality and productivity; however there was no support for the claim that these are driven by employee satisfaction and loyalty. In fact, to the contrary, there was a strong correlation between employee dissatisfaction and store profitability. This research raises questions about the robustness of a central premise of the service profit chain, which is that strong business performance is the result of a mirror‐effect between employee and customer satisfaction. The paper considers the implications for management and calls for the development of a contingency based understanding of the drivers of business success.


In fluid transport, precise knowledge or estimation of fluids behaviour is very necessary, for mass flow and heat transfer computations. In this study, physicochemical analysis of palm oil and soybean oil were conducted, in addition to an equation modeling the relationship between the energy (Ea) and the pre-exponential factor (A). Later, two other parameters; the Arrhenius temperature (T) and Arrhenius activation temperature (T*) were introduced to buttress the veracity of the model used. The model is very useful in engineering since it would make for the estimation of the missing parameter value and its derivatives. The goodness of the result is strongly reinforced by the regression coefficient. The results indicate that the model which best fits the major defining parameters are logarithmic in nature. All the parameters studied showed that the two oil samples are good feed stock for biodiesel production and confirms their relevance in electric voltage transformers.


This paper proposes a novel region based image
fusion scheme based on high boost filtering concept using discrete
wavelet transform. In the recent literature, region based image
fusion methods show better performance than pixel based image
fusion method. The graph based normalized cutest algorithm
is used for image segmentation. Proposed method is a novel
idea which uses high boost filtering concept to get an accurate
segmentation using discrete wavelet transform. This concept is
used to extract regions from input registered source images which
is then compared with different fusion rules. The new MMS
fusion rule is also proposed to fuse multimodality images. The
different fusion rules are applied on various categories of input
source images and resultant fused image is generated. Proposed
method is applied on large number of registered images of various
categories of multifocus and multimodality images and results
are compared using standard reference based and nonreference
based image fusion parameters. It has been observed from
simulation results that our proposed algorithm is consistent and
preserves more information compared to earlier reported pixel
based and region based methods.


Good Syndrome is an adult-onset combined immunodeficiency defined by hypogammaglobulinemia, low or absent number of B cells, T cell deficiency and thymic tumor. We have characterized CD8+ T cells from a patient with Good syndrome that presented with CD8+T-cell large granular lymphocytic leukemia (LGL). Characterization of peripheral blood CD8+ T cells revealed that majority of CD8+ T cells were terminally differentiated effector memory phenotype (TEMRA; CD8+CCR7-CD45RA+), and were PD-1high (CD279), ICOSlow (CD278), and granzymehigh. Almost all CD8+ T cells were IFN-γ+. CD8 Treg (CD8+CD183+CCR7+CD45RA-) were decreased. TEMRA phenotype along with CD279high, demonstrates that these are exhausted CD8+ T cells. This phenotype along with CD278low may also explain severe T cell functional deficiency in our patient. In the present patient, T-LGL appears to be a clonal expansion of CD279+granzyme+IFN-γ+CD8+TEMRA cells. To best of our knowledge this is the first case of CD8+T-cell LGL leukemia associated with Good syndrome.


Introduction. Limited information regarding the relation between psychopathology associated with epilepsy, crime and the legal aspects thereof is available in South Africa. Objectives: The demographic, clinical and forensic profile of alleged offenders diagnosed with epilepsy and referred to the Free State Psychiatric Complex (FSPC) Observation Unit from 2001 to 2006, was investigated. Design A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted. Results: Of the 69 alleged offenders, aged 17–79 years (median 30 years), 94.2% were male, 81.2% Black, 72.5% single, and 69.9% unemployed. The median qualification was grade six. Offences were violent in nature and committed against a person in 75% of cases. A direct link between epilepsy and the alleged offences occurred in 7% of cases. Generalised epilepsy (34.8%) and interictal psychosis (20.3%) were the most commonly diagnosed conditions. Twenty-nine (42%) alleged offenders lacked criminal responsibility and were not fit to stand trial. Most observati (79.2%) diagnosed with generalised epilepsy were criminally liable and fit to stand trial. The highest rate of criminal incapacity was found among observati with interictal psychoses (85.7%) and comorbid mental retardation (90%). Almost 60% of referred cases were declared as state patients by the court. Conclusion: In only 16% of cases, observati were found unaccountable because of epilepsy (automatisms) or postictal confusional states. Our findings confirmed an increased prevalence of violent behaviour during seizure-free periods. This contributes to evidence that factors associated with epilepsy, rather than the epilepsy itself, play an important role in the possible increased risk of violent behaviour in people with epilepsy.


Wamnt Officer C., aged 26, was first seen on March 31, 1944, when he complained that he had been seeing black spots in front of both eyes for the preceding 2 months. He had noticed no signs of inflammation in the eyes. Examination.-Visual acuity in the right and left eyes was 4/4.5. Each eye had pigmented spots on the anterior surface of the lens and vitreous opacities. OphthaLmoscopic examination showed multiple small white areas on the retinal arteries (Figs 1 and 2), more marked in the left eye. The retinal veins in both eyes were dilated. An investigation was made to see whether there were any foci of infection elsewhere in the body.


This paper is a sequel of previous work, in which we proposed a model and computational technique to calculate the Erlang capacity of a single CDMA cell that supports elastic services. The present paper extends that base model by taking into account two important aspects of CDMA. First, we describe a simple and a refined multicell CDMA model that are able to capture the impact of the neighbor cells on important performance measures of the cell under study. These performance measures include the class-wise blocking probabilities and the mean time that elastic sessions spend in the system. Secondly, we model the impact of the outage by taking into account that in progress sessions can be dropped with a probability that depends on the current load in the serving and neighbor cells. We then consider a system with elastic and rigid service classes and analyze the trade-off between the total (soft and hard) blocking probabilities on the one hand and the throughput and the session drop probabilities on the other.


To the Editor.— In the MarchArchives, McDougal and Lukert discussed vascular calcification of mammary vessels during chronic renal failure in connection with breast pain (137:375-377, 1977). In a 1975 study of 64 patients with renal failure, GieBauf and I found 29 cases of calcification of the mammary vessels. 1 The intensity of the calcification did not always correlate with the amount of the serum calcium x phosphorous product. In retrospect and initiated by the comments of McDougal and Lukert, we examined the clinical data that had been registered with every mammogram (one item was the presence or absence of breast pain). Mammography was performed three times during a half-year interval in each of the 64 cases. In 12 cases, breast pain was mentioned in the case history; however, of these 12, only three patients showed vessel calcification in the breast. We reexamined these three patients with vessel calcification mammographically


Fabrics provide an attractive alternative for cell immobilization carrier. In this study, the relationship of weave structure of fabrics and the effects of cell immobilization was investigated. Several kinds of fabrics with different weave structure were designed and produced acting as cell immobilization carrier. Adsorptive capacity of the textile carriers with different weave structure was measured and the biodegradation rate of TA by cells absorbed on textile carriers was also investigated. It is showed that adsorptive capacity and stability was significantly affected by weave structure of fabric carriers. The result also indicated that the ability to TA degradation was also improved by cell immobilization.


Graph convolution operators bring the advantages of deep learning to a variety of graph and mesh processing tasks previously deemed out of reach. With their continued success comes the desire to design more powerful architectures, often by adapting existing deep learning techniques to non-Euclidean data. In this paper, we argue geometry should remain the primary driving force behind innovation in the emerging field of geometric deep learning. We relate graph neural networks to widely successful computer graphics and data approximation models: radial basis functions (RBFs). We conjecture that, like RBFs, graph convolution layers would benefit from the addition of simple functions to the powerful convolution kernels. We introduce affine skip connections, a novel building block formed by combining a fully connected layer with any graph convolution operator. We experimentally demonstrate the effectiveness of our technique, and show the improved performance is the consequence of more than the increased number of parameters. Operators equipped with the affine skip connection markedly outperform their base performance on every task we evaluated, i.e., shape reconstruction, dense shape correspondence, and graph classification. We hope our simple and effective approach will serve as a solid baseline and help ease future research in graph neural networks.


The West Antarctic Peninsula (henceforth "Peninsula") is experiencing rapid warming and melting that is impacting the regional marine food web. The primary phytoplankton groups along the Peninsula are diatoms and cryptophytes. Relative to diatoms, there has been little focus on regional cryptophytes, and thus our understanding of their diversity and ecology is limited, especially at the species level. This gap is important, as diatoms and cryptophytes play distinct roles in the regional marine food web and biogeochemistry. Here, we use a phylogenetic placement approach with 18S rRNA gene amplicon sequence variants to assess surface ocean cryptophyte diversity and its drivers at a high taxonomic resolution along the Peninsula. Data were collected over 5 years (2012–2016) during the regional research cruises of the Palmer Long‐Term Ecological Research program. Our results indicate that there are two major cryptophyte taxa along the Peninsula, consisting of distinct Geminigera spp., which in aggregate always comprise nearly 100% of the cryptophyte community (indicating low taxa evenness). The primary taxon dominates the cryptophyte community across all samples/years, which span a broad range of oceanographic conditions. A shift in cryptophyte community composition between a lower (higher) primary (secondary) taxon percentage is associated with distinct oceanographic conditions, including lower (higher) temperature, salinity, nutrients, and cryptophyte relative abundance (phytoplankton biomass and diatom relative abundance). These results emphasize the need for a full characterization of the ecology of these two taxa, as it is predicted that cryptophytes will increase along the Peninsula given projections of continued regional environmental change.


This paper provides new evidence on the role of the educational system for intergenerational mobility. I evaluate an educational reform, implemented in Sweden in the 1950s, which postponed ability tracking and extended compulsory education from seven to nine years. The reform may have influenced intergenerational mobility by several different mechanisms. First, there is the possibility of a direct effect of extending compulsory education. Second, the age at which ability tracking takes place can be crucial for the educational choice. In particular, the earlier the tracking, the more likely it is that the schooling decision is made by the parents. Third, recognizing that economic well-being is determined by the income of the household, assortative mating plays a major role in the mobility process. I argue that the peer group in which couples form can be affected by the educational system, and evaluate how the reform affects intergenerational mobility through changes in assortative mating. Differences-indifferences estimates and sibling-difference estimates indicate that the reform indeed resulted in a sizeable increase in intergenerational income mobility, and in a lower educational association between children and parents. The reform also contributed to reducing the association in education between an individual's partner and parents, which I interpret as an effect operating through reform effects on mating patterns.


A business model is like an ultrasound for businesses: it provides – from the outside – detailed insight into six vital elements of a business which explain their functioning (Chapter 3). Each peer-to-peer accommodation network is slightly different and requires an independent business model analysis. Here we analyse the business model of Airbnb because it is the international market leader in peer-to-peer accommodation trading and a model other platforms aspire to. We focus on value proposition, creation, communication and transfer. The other two elements (value capture and dissemination) are discussed in Chapter 5.


Yield-stress liquids are materials that are solid below a critical applied stress and flow like mobile liquids at higher stresses. Classical descriptions of yield-stress liquids, which have been the basis for asymptotic and computational studies for five decades, are inadequate to describe many recent experimental observations, and it is clear that the time dependence of microstructure must be taken into account in the description of many real yield-stress liquids.


This paper analyzes how the proportion of patronage refunds a cooperative pays in cash affects the cash flow of individual patrons and how an individual patron's preferences regarding patronage refunds and equity revolvement are affected by age and other factors. Using an estimated patron age distribution and a collective choice model based on the preferences of the median voter, we predict which patronage refund and equity revolvement practices should dominate under selected patron and cooperative characteristics. We also examine the role of former patrons in determining refund and revolvement practices and how outcomes may be affected by alternative voting schemes.


Introduction: Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), which is chemically known as AJI-NO-MOTO also familiar as MSG in routine life. MSG is always considered to be a controversial food additive used in the world. It is a natural excitatory neurotransmitter, helps in transmitting the fast synaptic signals in one third of CNS. Liver and kidney play a crucial role in metabolism as well as elimination of MSG from the body. Present study is to detect structural changes in adult rat kidney tissue treated with MSG; observations are done with a light microscope.
Materials & Methods: The study was conducted in the department of Anatomy, J.N.M.C, Sawangi (M) Wardha. Thirty (30) adult Wistar rats (2-3 months old) weighing about (200 ± 20g) were used in the current study, animals were divided into three groups (Group – A, B, C). Group A: Control, Group B: 3 mg /gm body weight, Group C: 6 mg /gm body weight, MSG were administered orally daily for 45 days along with the regular diet.
Observations & Results: The Mean values of animals weight at the end of experiment (46th day) respectively were 251.2 ± 13, 244.4 ± 19.9 and 320 ± 31.1. Early degenerative changes like, Glomerular shrinkage (GSr), loss of brush border in proximal convoluted tubules and Cloudy degeneration was observed in sections of kidney treated with 3 mg/gm body weight of MSG. Animals treated with 6 mg/gm body weight of MSG showed rare changes like interstitial chronic inflammatory infiltrate with vacuolation in some of the glomeruli, and much glomerular shrinkage invaginated by fatty lobules.
Conclusion: The effects of MSG on kidney tissues of adult rats revealed that the revelatory changes are directly proportional to the doses of MSG.


Flow-through subcritical water hydrolysis (FT-SWH) consists of flowing hot liquid water over a fixed bed packed with biomass particles to produce fermentable carbohydrates and other valuable small molecules. In this work, we studied FT-SWH of green coffee powder as a model lignocellulosic feed, investigating temperatures in the range from 150 to 250 °C and 22.5 MPa. Batch SWH was performed as a basis of comparison for the FT-SWH tests. The focus of the study was characterization of the treated solids; specifically, bulk (primarily thermogravimetric analysis, TGA) and surface (both attenuated total reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, ATR-FTIR, and Raman microscopy) methods were used to investigate the hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin content of the solids. Bulk analysis indicated that the solids treated under FT-SWH conditions retained substantial holocellulose content, even when treated under the most aggresisve FT-SWH conditions studied here (250 °C). On the other hand, surface analysis indicated that the treated materials were primarily composed of char, with the surface content of bound carboxylic acids also increasing with increasing hydrolysis temperature. To understand the apparent discrepancy between bulk and surface analysis, the cross sections of the treated samples were analyzed using both FTIR and Raman microscopy. These techniques confirmed that the surface consisted of a char material, whereas the particle interior was primarily holocellulose. Formation of the external char layer seems to prevent hydrolysis of the internal holocellulose, limiting sugar yields. In comparison with FT-SWH, batch SWH at a similar severity factor resulted in reduced sugar yields, decreased the onset temperature for formation of detectable char quantities, and increased char formation. Comparison with batch conditions suggests that flow conditions reduce external char formation but do not prevent it. This study explains the benefits of FT-SWH and inform development and refinement of pretreatment technologies that can reduce char formation rates.


Unintended consequences of renewable energy development include collision‐caused deaths of birds and bats. Energy companies may risk prosecution if protected species are among the casualties. Shutting down turbines during high collision‐risk conditions could reduce mortality rates, and several companies are developing systems to identify such conditions.

A recent peer‐reviewed article published in the Journal of Applied Ecology reported a remarkable '82% (75%–89%) reduction in the fatality rate' of eagles at a wind energy facility due to a device marketed as Identiflight®—remarkable because of the impressive effect size and the extremely high level of precision. We show that reported results stem from four major errors, which, when corrected, give an unremarkable estimate of 50% (−159%, 89%) reduction (or possible increase) in the fatality rate.

The errors include the following: (i) Ignoring annual variation. They compare the average number of eagle fatalities over 4 years before activation of Identiflight® to the number in a single year after, ignoring annual variation in fatalities. (ii) Unfounded causal inference. Lack of replication (one treatment year at one site) is ignored, leading to unwarranted causal inference. (iii) Inflated effect size. Effect size is inflated by assuming (without providing evidence) that the difference in fatality relative to the mean at a neighbouring site would be exactly repeated at the treatment site. Furthermore, the observed difference in fatalities at the control site depends strongly on the arbitrarily chosen date distinguishing the 'Before' and 'After' periods, yielding unreliable results. (iv) Inconsistency of data. It is unclear why 7 of 42 reported eagle fatalities were not included in the data analyzed, potentially further inflating the estimated effect size.

Synthesis and applications. The recent claim, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, that 'Eagle fatalities are reduced by automated curtailment of wind turbines' is not supported by the data but stems from errors that led to strongly overstated effect size and precision, and unfounded inference. In theory, automated curtailment has obvious potential for reducing eagle fatalities, but several more years of data at several locations and appropriate statistical analyses will be required to evaluate its effectiveness and to inform management prescriptions involving this technology.


A new technique is developed to compensate multiple-wavelength distortion in airborne antenna arrays. This approach exploits the phase information in microwave reflections from arbitrary terrain. To handle reflections incident over a broad angle, a range-Doppler preprocessor is used in each element channel to resolve wavefronts incident simultaneously from different directions. The phase information for each direction of arrival is compared between elements and processed by optimal estimators to determine the phase corrections needed to compensate the distortion. To develop the estimators, a statistical model of the complex baseband terrain reflections is developed. This is in turn used to generate conditional probability densities involving the range Doppler observations and the parameters to be estimated. These densities are subsequently used to develop minimum variance and maximum likelihood estimators. The new estimators use additional information that has not been exploited by previous techniques and therefore provide enhanced performance.


While there is extensive evidence that the flow of knowledge between academia and industry is important, scholars have noticed that little is known about the actual transmission mechanisms of these influences (Rosenberg and Nelson, 1994; Kenney and Patton, 2009). The paucity of research reflects the fact that university-industry exchanges are a complex process that involves many factors that are difficult to grasp. Furthermore, the practical benefits of most university research for companies stem from interactions and processes that are very much roundabout and indirect (Pavitt, 2005). For instance, a case in point of such processes consists of the technology-intensive interactions between academics and their suppliers of equipment (Perkmann and Walsh, 2007). This paper explores the emergence of dynamic complementarities among researchers' demand and suppliers' competencies and aims to identify the dynamic processes through which university labs serve as learning-environment for suppliers. We conducted field-study based on a set of instrumental devices developed in close collaboration between University of Strasbourg laboratories on the one hand, and equipment manufacturers on the other hand. Our case studies illustrate a multitude of patterns through which researchers share their technological knowledge with industrial suppliers. More precisely, our evidence shows the presence of a "procurement-led" innovation phenomenon wherein university researchers provide companies with unique insights by acting both as equipment-demanders as well as suppliers of scientific knowledge about instruments, ultimately allow firms to explore new innovative trajectories.


ACINGS To advance technology that can conserve critical materials, the Bureau of Mines investigated a cast-on hard-surfacing that wear resistance and confines alloy additions to wear-prone surfaces. Wear-resistant material in form is on a polystyrene , the is embedded in a mold of unbonded s and the wear-resistant material is transferred to a cas surface at the time of For low-stress abrasion, derived from high-carbon ferrochrome had higher wear resistance than did commercially available weldhard The microstructure of the was typiwhite iron carbides. Free carbon added to the ferrochrome powder produced more M7C3 carbides than did material contained in surfacings made from ferrochrome alone, and improved the wear resistance. Several white iron powders with greatly reduced chromium contents also white iron containM7C3 carbides. One derived from white iron powder had wear resistance to that of weld-deposited hard facings. Among the parameters investigated, surfacing thickness was found to have a or influence on diffusion of elements out of the , microstructure, and wear resistance. The results of field tests on bucket-wheel excavator teeth and plowshares with cast-on hard surfacing are given. 3 Chemical technician. Albany Research Center, Bureau of Mines. , OR.


Command and Control (C2) is a commander's guidance of his/her forces (command) to accomplish a goal or mission while monitoring the directed movements (control). The U.S. Army Research Laboratory's (ARL) Battlespace Decision Support Team (BDST) is exploring methods of evaluating the effectiveness of a commander's plan or course of action (COA). Part of our research involves the task of identifying metrics to rate a COA. We have modified the One Semi-Automated Forces (OneSAF) simulation to track direct fire hits and vehicle damage throughout simulated battles. One completed experiment ran a OneSAF scenario over 200 iterations and captured data. BDST will analyze the collected data to determine its utility in measuring COA effectiveness. Future applications of tools and techniques developed through this and other experiments will assist the commander as real-world battles unfold.


ABSTRACT Until recently, not only students of the titular nationalities (ethnicities) learned their native language but also ethnic Russians and other nationalities in some ethnic republics of Russia had to learn titular state languages of those republics. The political campaign in Russia against the compulsory teaching of state languages of republics started two years ago and culminated in the adoption of the amendment to the Russian education law on 3 August 2018. The law enacted some additional mechanisms to ensure the voluntary study of non-Russian languages. The law adoption signified the escalation of the conflict around linguistic rights and the compulsory study of state language. The problem is that the official discources typically overshadow the discourses of individuals and non-govenrmental ogranization who have their own language attitudes and agendas, which distorts the depiction of the conflict. In this paper, we will study official and public discourses together, combining the 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' perspectives, in order to explore both the language policy and language ideologies, and, thus, to provide a multifaceted picture of the conflict. We use policy analysis and discourse analysis to study official documents, surveys, mass media, social media discussions.


1 ABSTRACT The service elements and signalling scheme proposed in this paper allow efficient end-system access to the Policy Based Networking environment for provisioning of QoS controlled IP bearers. These service elements integrated in an IP bearer API provides a generic network service for support of call control and other higher layer protocols. Some of the required supporting protocol elements are proposed as extensions to existing IETF protocols, e.g. RSVP and SIP. The analysis of interaction with call control shows that call control can either be run transparently over the IP QoS bearer or as an integrated session service based on SIP.


The present study is aimed at investigating the high temperature oxidation induced by ash deposition from use of alternative fuels. The alloys and coatings being studied are typical of those used in current power generating gas turbines, as well as those that may be used in advanced systems. To achieve this objective, the alloys Rene"S N5, GTD 111, and IN 738 as well as these alloys coated with platinum aluminide and CoNiCrAlY were exposed to conditions relevant to corrosion induced by using alternative fuels. The test conditions representative of deposits from use of alternative fuels were selected based upon initial experiments that involved testing the alloy Rene"S N5 with a platinum aluminide coating at 750"aC, 950"aC, and 1150"aC in a variety of environments with deposits of CaO, CaSO4, and Na2SO4. Based upon the results from such tests, a temperature (950oC) and a deposit (CaO) were selected for the further experiments to compare the corrosion characteristics of all of the alloys and coatings. At 950oC with deposits of CaO, which are the selected experimental conditions obtained from the preliminary tests, accelerated cyclic oxidation experiments were performed with all uncoated and coated superalloys in extra dry air and wet (PH2O=0.1atm) air to compare corrosion characteristics of each with one another. Experimental details will be described followed by the presentation of experimental results and discussion. Additionally, uncoated GTD 111 specimens were exposed to different contaminants and moisture level environments to study the effect of contaminant level and water vapor pressure on CaO-induced degradation. Then, CaO deposits were coated on thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) and specimens with TBCs were exposed to the cyclic oxidation environments. The effects of deposits other than CaO, such as Fe2O3 and SiO2, on the oxidation characteristics of the specimens were also investigated. Finally, a mechanism for high temperature oxidation induced by CaO deposits was developed. It turns out that CaO directly reacts with protective oxides, such as Al2O3 and/or Cr2O3, to form non-protective ternary Ca compounds. Cracks are initiated and propagate along the weak interface between Ca compounds and underlying oxide layers resulting in spallation of Ca compound layers.


To comply with its NPDES MS4 Permit (the first NPDES MS4 Permit issued by US EPA Region IV) and a variety of other local requirements, the City of Venice must nearly double its existing stormwater budget. Accordingly, Venice is in the process of setting up an integrated stormwater funding program that utilizes the general fund, a stormwater utility, private system permit fees, stormwater charges, special assessments, and outside grants to meet its fmancial needs. The integrated funding approach is equitable, respects local political issues, provides flexibility, and maximizes outside grants and loans.


From the results of our previous studies, 4,5 in over 350 experimental pigs and dogs we have been able to establish the following reasonable specifications for the ideal synthetic vascular graft material. The synthetic graft wall should have the following characteristics: 1. No toxicity, no allergenic potential. "Biological reactivity," over a range varying from that of lead and glass to that of Teflon, does not appear to be a limiting factor in the ultimate fate of the synthetic graft. 2. No deterioration of the synthetic fiber upon biological implantation for prolonged periods of time. This specification is not met by the use of Ivalon, nylon, or Orlon. Vinyon-N, polyester (Dacron), polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), high-density polyethylene (Marlex), and polypropylene appear to meet this specification. 3. A material with desirable mechanical handling of properties will be: A . Scrunchable. This term is meant to imply the ability of a graft to readjust its wall


Philosophical reflection on quantum field theory has tended to focus on how it revises our conception of what a particle is. However, there has been relatively little discussion of the threat to the 'reality' of particles posed by the possibility of inequivalent quantizations of a classical field theory, i.e. inequivalent representations of the algebra of observables of the field in terms of operators on a Hilbert space. The threat is that each representation embodies its own distinctive conception of what a particle is, and how a 'particle' will respond to a suitably operated detector. Our main goal is to clarify the subtle relationship between inequivalent representations of a field theory and their associated particle concepts. We also have a particular interest in the Minkowski versus Rindler quantizations of a free Boson field, because they respectively entail two radically different descriptions of the particle content of the field in the very same region of spacetime. We shall defend the idea that these representations provide complementary descriptions of the same state of the field against the claim that they embody completely incommensurable theories of the field.


Abstract. This study investigates the utilization of hydrological information in regional flood frequency analysis (RFFA) to enforce desired properties for a group of gauged stations. Neighbourhoods are particular types of regions that are centred on target locations. A challenge for using neighbourhoods in RFFA is that hydrological information is not available at target locations and cannot be completely replaced by the available physiographical information. Instead of using the available physiographic characteristics to define the centre of a target location, this study proposes to introduce estimates of reference hydrological variables to ensure a better homogeneity. These reference variables represent nonlinear relations with the site characteristics obtained by projection pursuit regression, a nonparametric regression method. The resulting neighbourhoods are investigated in combination with commonly used regional models: the index-flood model and regression-based models. The complete approach is illustrated in a real-world case study with gauged sites from the southern part of the province of Quebec, Canada, and is compared with the traditional approaches such as region of influence and canonical correlation analysis. The evaluation focuses on the neighbourhood properties as well as prediction performances, with special attention devoted to problematic stations. Results show clear improvements in neighbourhood definitions and quantile estimates.


Abstract : The primary objective of this technical report is to provide a rational foundation for quantitatively evaluating the importance of unsteady versus steady or quasi-steady events during uptake of chemical toxicants via the human respiratory tract. A secondary objective is to review critically the current approaches in physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling of the lung with a view to generalizing the model descriptions to encompass a broader range of exposure and physiological conditions. The secondary objective is addressed frist, with a succinct review of the transport mechanisms that con operate within the respiratory tract when exposed to a concentration of chemical toxicants in the form of vapors, aerosols, and particulate matter. Functional relationships are reviewed within the context of a voluminous body of international literature bearing on this and related subjects of importance. Computational models are proposed to provide an essential complementary research tool with not only simulative but also predictive capabilities. Drawing upon this considerable background of established knowledge, one can proceed more readily with a detailed study of the very important question posed as the primary objective; namely, the establishment of an order-of- magnitude analysis resulting in a general classification scheme that identifies three major flow regimes, distinguished on the basis of whether the flow is dominated by unsteadiness, viscous effects, or the effects of convective acceleration. The report concludes with some important recommendations regarding the extrapolation of test results performed on small laboratory animals to the human context.


This paper constructs and analyzes certain unit-train models of a mixed lumped-distributed parameter character. These models allow construction of a filtering model for unit-train control in which grade forces and countervailing locomotive forces are treated as disturbances, while center of mass velocity control is decoupled from a stress control loop. The results are illustrated with a representative calculation.


We present results of three field campaigns us- ing active longpath DOAS (Differential Optical Absorp- tion Spectroscopy) for the study of reactive halogen species (RHS) BrO, IO, OIO and I2. Two recent field campaigns took place in Spring 2002 in Dagebat the German North Sea Coast and in Spring 2003 in Lilia at the French At- lantic Coast of Brittany. In addition, data from a cam- paign in Mace Head, Ireland in 1998 was partly re-evaluated. During the recent field campaigns volatile halogenated or- ganic compounds (VHOCs) were determined by a capillary gas chromatograph coupled with an electron capture detec- tor and an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (GC/ECD-ICPMS) in air and water. Due to the inhomoge- neous distribution of macroalgae at the German North Sea Coast we found a clear connection between elevated lev- els of VHOCs and the appearance of macroalgae. Extraor- dinarily high concentrations of several VHOCs, especially CH3I and CH3Br of up to 1830 pptv and 875 pptv, respec- tively, were observed at the coast of Brittany, demonstrating the outstanding level of bioactivity there. We found CH2I2 at levels of up to 20 pptv, and a clear anti-correlation with the appearance of IO. The IO mixing ratio reached up to 7.7±0.5 ppt (pmol/mol) during the day, in reasonable agree- ment with model studies designed to represent the meteo- rological and chemical conditions in Brittany. For the two recent campaigns the DOAS spectra were evaluated for BrO, OIO and I2, but none of these species could be clearly iden- tified (average detection limits around 2 ppt, 3 ppt, 20 ppt, resp., significantly higher in individual cases). Only in the Mace Head spectra evidence was found for the presence of OIO. Since macroalgae under oxidative stress are suggested to be a further source for I2 in the marine boundary layer, we re-analyzed spectra in the 500-600 nm range taken dur- ing the 1998 PARFORCE campaign in Mace Head, Ireland, which had not previously been analyzed for I2. We identified molecular iodine above the detection limit ( 20 ppt), with peak mixing ratios of 61±12 ppt. Since I2 was undetectable during the Brittany campaign, we suggest that iodine may not be released into the atmosphere by macroalgae in general, but only by a special type of the laminaria species under oxida- tive stress. Only during periods of extraordinarily low water (spring-tide), the plant is exposed to ambient air and may re- lease gaseous iodine in some way to the atmosphere. The results of our re-analysis of spectra from the PARFORCE campaign in 1998 support this theory. Hence, we feel that we can provide an explanation for the different I2 levels in Brittany and Mace Head.


Electric water heaters have the ability to store energy in their water buffer without impacting the comfort of the end user. This feature makes them a prime candidate for residential demand response. However, the stochastic and nonlinear dynamics of electric water heaters, makes it challenging to harness their flexibility. Driven by this challenge, this paper formulates the underlying sequential decision-making problem as a Markov decision process and uses techniques from reinforcement learning. Specifically, we apply an auto-encoder network to find a compact feature representation of the sensor measurements, which helps to mitigate the curse of dimensionality. A well-known batch reinforcement learning technique, fitted <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${Q}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-iteration, is used to find a control policy, given this feature representation. In a simulation-based experiment using an electric water heater with 50 temperature sensors, the proposed method was able to achieve good policies much faster than when using the full state information. In a laboratory experiment, we apply fitted <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${Q}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-iteration to an electric water heater with eight temperature sensors. Further reducing the state vector did not improve the results of fitted <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${Q}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-iteration. The results of the laboratory experiment, spanning 40 days, indicate that compared to a thermostat controller, the presented approach was able to reduce the total cost of energy consumption of the electric water heater by 15%.


The nasolacrimal apparatus is intimately associated with the lateral nasal wall and may be approached using an endoscopic technique. This study was undertaken to describe in detail the gross anatomy of the nasolacrimal duct orifice in relation to various landmarks of the lateral nasal wall to improve the safety and efficiency of endoscopic surgical procedures. The study was conducted on 25 sagittal sections of adult cadavers in the Department of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. The parameters measured were the distance from nasolacrimal duct orifice (NO) to the anterior end of middle concha (MC), distance from NO to the anterior nasal spine (ANS), distance from NO to the nasal floor (NF), distance from NO to anterior end of the inferior concha (AIC), and distance from NO to posterior end of the inferior concha (PIC). The shape of the NO was also observed and classified as oval, round and slit. The distance from NO to ANS was 2.73± 0.26 cm, the distance from NO to NF was 1.19± 0.34 cm, the distance between NO to MC, NO to AIC and PIC were 2.55 ±0.28 cm, 1.85±0.3 cm and 3.4±0.36 cm respectively. We also observed 3 types of shapes of NO, majority were slit like followed by oval and round. Knowledge of the anatomy of the nasolacrimal apparatus is essential for the surgeon during the performance of endonasal cystorhinostomies and maxillary osteotomies.


Objective: Social media addiction has become a considerable problem with the widespread use of social media. The aim of this research is to examine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, which was developed based on the 6-dimensional addiction model. Another aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between social media addiction and anxiety and depression symptoms. Methods: Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale is translated into Turkish by the translation-back translation method. Ex-ploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to examine the construct validity of the Turkish version of the scale. The reliability was examined by internal consistency and test re-test method. Relationships between social media addiction and anxiety and depression symptoms were analyzed by correlation and regression analysis. Results: As a result of exploratory factor analysis for construct validity, it was found that the scale was in a one-dimensional structure as in the original form. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the one-dimensional model wasan acceptable fit. In the criterion-related validity study, it was found that the scale had a positive correlation with the Internet Addiction Scale. The internal consistency reliability and test re-test reliability coefficient of the scale was found to be acceptable. It was found that social media addiction predicted the anxiety and depression symptoms positively. Conclusions: According to the findings of this research can be said of Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale it can be used in studies to be conducted in Turkey. Preventive studies are recom-mended because of the increase in social media addiction may increase anxiety and depression symptoms.


Background Previous studies have indicated that variants of the high sensitive C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin (IL)-6 and leptin receptor (LEPR) genes are associated with the presence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) but not in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Asian Indians. The study was conducted to investigate the association of CRP rs1130864 (1444C/T), IL-6 rs1800795 (-174G/C) and LEPR rs1137101 (Q223R) genes with OSA and NAFLD in Asian Indians residing in North India. Methods 240 overweight/ obese subjects [body mass index (BMI>23kg/m2)], 124 with OSA and with NAFLD (group 1), 47 with OSA without NAFLD (group 2), 44 without OSA and with NAFLD (group 3) and 25 without OSA and without NAFLD (group 4) were recruited in this study. The severity of NAFLD was based on abdomen liver ultrasound and of OSA on overnight polysomnography. Clinical details, anthropometry profile, body composition, biochemical parameters and inflammatory markers were measured. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism of CRP, IL-6 and LEPR gene was performed. The associations of these polymorphisms with clinical, anthropometric and biochemical profiles were investigated. The genotypes were confirmed by DNA sequencing analysis. Results The C, T and R alleles of IL-6, CRP and LEPR genes was more frequent in OSA and NAFLD subjects and significantly correlated with higher protein levels. The prevalence of variant genotypes C/T of CRP, G/C of IL-6 and Q/R of LEPR genes was significantly higher in OSA subjects as compared to non OSA subjects. Further, C/C genotype of IL-6 (G/C), T/T of CRP (C/T) and RR genotype of LEPR (Q/R) was associated with significantly higher BMI, fat mass (kg), % body fat, waist circumference, serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, alkaline phosphate, aspartate transaminase and fasting insulin levels in OSA and NAFLD subjects. Using a multivariate analysis, the combined effect of three polymorphisms of CRP, IL-6 and LEPR gene variants on OSA and NAFLD risk was evaluated. Odds ratio for OSA and NAFLD with the combination of the three gene polymorphisms increased to 2.84 (95% CI: 1.08–6.54; p = 0.04) even when adjusted for sex, age and BMI. Conclusion Polymorphisms of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes were associated with increased risk of OSA and NAFLD in Asian Indians.


Ancient Lake Poso in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, is among the deepest lakes in Asia, and hosts a largely endemic fauna of fishes, crustaceans, and molluscs. Introduction of non-native fish species started at least a century ago to foster local fish production. Recent fieldwork suggests that introduction of non-native fishes is ongoing, including species that originate from the ornamental pet trade. These include the hybridogenic ornamental "flowerhorn" cichlid, a fish that spread rapidly in Sulawesi's Malili Lakes, and the "golden cichlid," Melanochromis auratus from African Lake Malawi. This popular aquarium species colonized Lake Poso even more rapidly than the flowerhorn, and is omnipresent at benthic habitats across most of the lake. Here, we list records of 17 non-native fish species from Lake Poso, present the first assessment of golden cichlid stomach contents outside of their native habitat, report the occurrences of non-native crustaceans, molluscs and plants, and discuss potential impacts on the native fauna and ecosystem. Most of the non-native species have established substantial populations, and it appears very plausible that the non-native fauna affects endemics. This is supported by the finding that golden cichlid stomachs contained a broad spectrum of items, including fish, their scales, fins, eggs and larvae, and various invertebrates. We conclude that non-native species introduction poses a substantial and increasing threat to the Lake Poso fauna, a major hotspot of aquatic biodiversity in the Wallacea region.


Legal scholars, lawmakers and, increasingly, the general public seem to place ever-increasing hope in the potential of law and legal theory, and of enforceable uniform international legal standards. Many appear to believe that identifying and enacting laws and a legal framework that correspond worldwide to human rights will solve the age-old problem of legalized barbarism. The historical propensity of courts, even in democratic states, to legitimate and enable racist policies provides compelling evidence that the current level of faith in law is misplaced. This Article argues the limitations of law and legal theory, contesting the view that on their own they will have more than minimal impact on society and even on courts. No matter how good they are in conception; how correctly they embody contemporaneous understandings of universal human rights; or how flawlessly they may be phrased to connect the signifier of legal language to the signified concepts that language purports to represent, law and legal theory can only be a small part of the elements that would fashion judiciaries into a bulwark against ideologies and practices of repression.


Synopsis : This paper surveys the application of controlled rolling and accelerated cooling process-(thermomechanical control process= TMCP)-to austenitic stainless steels (AISI304, 304L, 316, 316L). The TMCP makes it possible to produce high-strength stainless steels while retarding carbide precipitation at grain-boundaries. The high strength is achieved by refining microstructures, and the ausforming effect which increases dislocation density. The 10% oxalic acid test reveals that , a sensitized TMCP type 304L does not easily form a ditch structure. The ferric sulfate-sulfuric acid test shows that the corrosion rate relating to chromium depleted zones of the TMCP type 304L is equal to that of the solutionized one. In a sensitized TMCP type 304L, sheet-like M23C6 carbide precipitates dispersively at grain-boundaries and subgrain-boundaries of the un-recrystallized grain. This is very different from the continuous precipitation at grain-boundaries in solutionized stainless steel. It is presumed that the dispersed precipitation leads to a discontinuous chromium-depleted zone and as a result, the sensitized TMCP type 304L does not form a ditch structure.


Interdisciplinary, international service-learning experiences provide transformative experiences that develop students' capacities as socially responsible global citizens. In this article the authors, a team of two professors and three students, share the results of a self-study in which we explored the narrative inquiry question: How does an interdisciplinary service-learning experience influence student understanding of common human dignity, social responsibility, and citizenship in a global context? The findings and reflections from this partnership between faculty and students provide insights and recommendations for faculty seeking to develop sustainable, interdisciplinary, international service-learning experiences.


Corporate Strategic Planning (CSP) reports on an important study of planning practices and the value of those practices. Though it is a long book, nearly 500 pages, one can get almost the full benefit by reading about 200 pages. In fact, CSP contains an excellent summary (Chapter 11) that is only 33 pages; this chapter should be sufficient for most readers. My review assesses what the book has to offer and provides a guide to the potential reader.


much to reduce the need for severe mechanical traumatization, whi e it is the fact that ether and, to a smaller degree, the other relaxing inhalational anaesthetics are potent agents in predisposing towards ileus from the second cause. Here again the use of curare by permitting the administration of reduced quantities of inhalational intestinal depressants should lessen the chances of development of post-operative ileus. The effect of curare itself on the gut was at first claimed in the U.S.A. to be parasympatheticomimetic. Workers in this country, possibly because of the greater purity of the product used, have been unable to confirm this; but as far as I know nobody has yet considered it to have the reverse action, and until some experimental evidence is produced that it does have any such adverse effect I see no reason why such a disadvantage should be imputed to it.-I am, etc., Preston, Lancs. A. J. GRAY.


Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) offer exciting potential in regenerative medicine for the treatment of a host of diseases including cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. They also provide insight into human development and disease and can be used as models for drug discovery and toxicity analyses. The key properties of hESCs that make them so promising for medical use are that they have the ability to self-renew indefinitely in culture and they are pluripotent, which means that they can differentiate into any of more than 200 human cell types. Since proteins are the effectors of cellular processes, it is important to investigate hESC expression at the protein level as well as at the transcript level. In addition, posttranslational modifications, such as phosphorylation, may influence the activity of pivotal proteins in hESCs, and this information can only be determined by studying the proteome. In this review, we summarize the results obtained from several proteomics analyses of hESCs that have been reported in the last few years.


The Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6)-enabled network architecture has recently attracted much attention. In this paper, we address the issue of connecting mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) to global IPv6 networks, while supporting IPv6 mobility. Specifically, we propose a self-organizing, self-addressing, self-routing IPv6-enabled MANET infrastructure, referred to as IPv6-based MANET. The proposed self-organization addressing protocol automatically organizes nodes into tree architecture and configures their global IPv6 addresses. Novel unicast and multicast routing protocols, based on longest prefix matching and soft state routing cache, are specially designed for the IPv6-based MANET. Mobile IPv6 is also supported such that a mobile node can move from one MANET to another. Moreover, a peer-to-peer (P2P) information sharing system is also designed over the proposed IPv6-based MANET. We have implemented a prototyping system to demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the IPv6-based MANET and the P2P information sharing system. Simulations are also conducted to show the efficiency of the proposed routing protocols.


In this paper, an elastic plastic damage model is presented based on the combined use of elastic plastic constitutive equations along with continuum damage mechanics. A tensile and a compressive damage variable are adopted to describe the different responses of concrete under tension and compression, respectively. The Helmholtz Free Energy is decomposed into hydrostatic stress component and deviatoric stress components. The hydrostatic stress component is neglected and the deviatoric stress component is amended according to stress state, resulting in a more accurate description of the concrete's response under multi-axial stress state. Finally, through several numerical simulations it is proved that the proposed model has the capability of simulating typical nonlinear performances of concrete material.


Many real-world networks consist of numerous interconnected groups which, as communities, display distinctive collective behavior. The division of a network into communities-groups of nodes with a high density of ties within but a low density of ties between groups- underlies the structure of social and technological networks. In human communities, for instance, individuals may group together according to special interest, occupation, intent, or belief, with tendency to establish stronger ties with individuals who are similar to themselves. Here, we introduce a formal framework for the formation of community structures from homophilic relationships between individuals. Stochastic modeling of local relationships allows us to identify a wide class of agent interactions which lead to the formation of communities and quantify the extent to which group size affects the resulting structure.


Background: The pathophysiology of low-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (LR-MDS) remains unknown and therapeutic options are limited. In a phase-II trial, with oral rigosertib, a small molecule inhibitor of PI3K and PLK pathways, was shown to have a 39% response rate, in patients with LR-MDS. Rigosertib caused an increase in hemoglobin, a decrease in transfusion requirements, and, in some patients who were previously refractory, "re-sensitization" to erythropoietin (EPO) therapy. Thus far, the mechanism of this responsiveness remains unknown. Whole exome sequencing revealed broad spectrum mutations in these patients, including mutations in SF3B1, SRSF2 and TET2. However, there was no correlation between mutational spectrum and responsiveness. Methods: CD34+ cells were isolated from bone marrow (BM) mono nuclear cells derived from BM aspirates. Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) were isolated from bone biopsies of patients with MDS. Normal CD34+ cells and BMSC were obtained commercially. CD34+ cells were co-cultured with stromal cells plated a day before and stimulated with concentrations of EPO and rigosertib. Differentiation was assessed by staining cells with various markers of erythroid differentiation and analyzed by FACS. We show that co-culture of CD34+ stem cells from the bone marrow of patients with their own BMSC recapitulates key features of the MDS phenotype and rigosertib responsiveness. Results: Normal (non-MDS) CD34+ cells co-cultured with normal BMSC showed striking responsiveness to EPO stimulation, as evidenced by the increased production of CD45- low/GPA+/ band 3+/Integrin-Alpha4+ erythroid cells (2.47 fold increase compared to no EPO). In contrast, RARS CD34+ cells co-cultured with MDS stromal cells showed no erythroid differentiation with EPO stimulation (1.09 fold change compared to EPO). Notably, LR-MDS co-cultures showed increased erythroid differentiation with the addition of 20 nm and 100 nm rigosertib in the presence of EPO (1.28 and 1.4 fold increase, respectively, compared to EPO alone). Moreover, co-cultures obtained from 3/3 patients that showed responsiveness in vivo were responsive to combined EPO/rigosertib stimulation in vitro, while 2/2 non-responsive patients were not responsive in vitro. Conclusions: We have created an in vitro platform to dissect the mechanism of rigosertib responsiveness in RARS patients. This is a novel co-culture-based system that recapitulates key features of the RARS phenotype. Without reliable animal models for this disease, this platform may offer a viable method to characterize drug responsiveness, dissect mechanisms, and offer patient-specific drug responsiveness information, since individual CD34+ cells are co-cultured with a patient9s own BMSC. We wish to use this in vitro co- culture test to prospectively predict responsiveness to experimental drugs in patients, thereby focusing the drug on only selected patients. Citation Format: Daniela Georgieva, Sheherzad Preisler, Michael Churchill, Abdullah Mahmood Ali, Azra Raza, Siddhartha Mukherjee. An in vitro platform to dissect drug responsiveness in refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts (RARS). [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2425. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2425


Objective: We investigated self blood pressure monitoring(SBPM) would improve the awareness of importance of blood pressure(BP) control, compliance of antihypertensive medications and the rate of blood pressure control in hypertensive patients. Design and method: A total of 7,751patients who visit out-patients clinic of private and university hospitals in Korea were recommended by duty physicians to measure self BP with automatic electronic BP monitors at home. Office BP changes before and after SBPM was compared. Attainment of target BP and compliance of antihypertensive drugs were also compared before and after SBPM. Patients and duty physicians were interviewed on perception of value of SBPM. Results: Mean BP significantly decreased from 142/88mmg to 129/80 mmHg (P < 0.001) and target BP attainment rate increase from 5% to 15% (P = 0.02). Drug compliance measured by no medication day/week increased from 0.86 day to 0.53 day (P = 0.013). Only 33% and 57% of patients know the normal BP range and target BP respectively in patients. Awareness of importance of BP control increased from 90% to 98% after SBPM. Ninety two percents of physicians replied SBPM is important, 94% answered SBPM is helpful in controlling BP and 90% recommended their patients to measure SBPM. Conclusions: Self blood pressure monitoring improves BP control rate, drug compliance and knowledge of patients on BP. Most physicians acknowledge the importance and SBPM and recommend it for BP control in Korea.