The main aim of the article is to emphasise the need for governmental support in the process of building knowledge-based economy. The authors focus on the knowledge creating process in the form on R&D activities and also on entrepreneurial process, mostly in participation with universities. That means an analytical description of the survey provided by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia, outlining the major barriers to this process, proposes the main directions for development through business development of innovative and knowledge-based companies and also the survey conducted in Tallinn University of Technology about academic entrepreneurship. The authors are going to analyse companiesA cooperation with universities for better utilisation of their R&D possibilities, entrepreneurial attitude of universities and also to find out possibilities how further activate the stronger cooperation with universities in Estonia for better collaborative research. On the contrary, university as a partner for entrepreneurs is getting the possibilities to enhance the awareness of science-intensive entrepreneurship.


The theoretical basis for the economic approach to tax compliance has, at least until recently, been inadequate, and the limited empirical work based on it is seriously flawed. In this paper we briefly review both, as well as new theoretical and, especially, empirical work on the tax compliance problem. With respect to the latter we present preliminary results based cm a state-level, time-series, cross-section data set drawn in part from the annual reports of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.


Simple Summary Two rabbit lines are divergently selected for increasing or decreasing the variability of litter size at birth. Decreasing the litter size variability produces more resilient females with less sensitivity to diseases, being an indirect selection way to improve environmental sensitivity. The kits' survival rate at weaning was higher in the homogeneous line. Moreover, this line led to a greater uniformity of the kits' weight at weaning, although the weight variability at birth was higher, which could be due to a higher lactation capacity of the homogeneous line. Abstract A divergent selection experiment on environmental sensitivity was performed in rabbits. The aim was to estimate the correlated response in kit weight and survival, litter weight, and weight distance from birth to weaning. The weight distance was calculated as the absolute value of the differences between the individual value and the mean value of its litter. The relationship between the probability of survival at 4 d of age, and the weight at birth, was studied. Environmental sensitivity was measured as litter size variability. A total of 2484 kits from 127 does from the low line, and 1916 kits of 114 does from the high line of the 12th generation were weighed. Both of the lines showed similar individual and litter weights at birth and weaning, and a similar survival rate at birth, and at 4 d of age. The survival rate at weaning was higher in the low line (0.67 and 0.62; P = 0.93). The weight distance was higher at birth, but lower at weaning in the low line (47.8 g and 54.1 g; P = 0.98). When the weight at birth was high, the kits had a higher survival rate. In conclusion, selection for environmental sensitivity showed a correlated response in the kits' survival, and in the homogeneity of litter weight at weaning.


This paper deals with a new approach of the technical progress impact on the Romanian agriculture, as a representative country of the European agricultural environment. The analysis started from a catastrophe model based on labour and capital as control parameters and the outputs as behavioural parameter. The model is applied to the agriculture situation from the 2 nd South-East region of Romania, under a Cobb-Douglas function. The fundamental idea is that, as a result of the obsolete and relative labour decrease in agriculture, the training and the human capital become essential for a modern agriculture. This was why we used the growth of the agricultural labour knowledge and the growth of fixed capital usage degree in order to quantify the technical progress in agriculture. Official statistic databases during 2004-2009 were used to develop the model that highlighted the effect of the present global crisis on the Romanian agriculture. This new approach could help the regional authorities to implement the best measures in order to obtain a modern agriculture for the next years.


In a 1990 address, Mickey spoke about "beginner's mind." As an Army physician at the close of WWII, he was sent to Japan to interview the country's former military officers. Mickey learned about Japanese history and culture and later met a man who had established a Zen Buddhist community in San Francisco. Shunryu Suzuki became Mickey's lifelong teacher and friend. In this address, Mickey thanked Suzuki for describing the beginner's mind—where one allows the mind to be free from convention, lets ideas flow naturally and lives wholly in the moment. Mickey did these things intuitively and, as a consequence, discovered what needed to be found. Mickey described his professional life as his attempt to ". . .try to learn something about obesity, whether or not I know anything about the subject, even though each time I am just a beginner."


The concept of quality of work life exhibits positive emotional reactions and attitudes an individual has towards their job. It has been conceptualized as a general attitude toward the job. Job performance is often viewed as the degree to which employees execute their job tasks, responsibilities and assignments adequately. Motivation is the willingness to work at a certain level of effort and drives employees to action. Motivation emerges out of needs, values, goals, intentions and expectations. The study utilizes desk research to review literature on quality of work life that informs organization performance and motivation. The importance of considering these factors is demonstrated in the strong relationship between employee's well-being at work and performance of such organizations.


Abstract : Evaluation was made of the pilot's ability to navigate and to perform simulated helicopter terminal area maneuvers using contact analog vertical display symbology alone and in the presence of the horizontal map display. Combinations of the grid, flight pathway and ground position indicator (GPI) on the vertical display with and without the map display were investigated. Performance measures were taken of the terminal area maneuvers including the landing approach, transition to hover, hover and touchdown. In general, the cruise portion of the flight could be accomplished as well when using the basic grid plane on the vertical display in the presence of the map display as when additional symbology (pathway and GPI) was presented on the vertical display. Performance on the approaches and transition to hover scores indicated improved performance with the additional information provided by the pathway and the GPI. It was concluded that precision of performance could be improved with the pathway and GPI navigation features on the vertical display but successful accomplishment of terminal area maneuvers was not entirely dependent upon this information. (Author)


State and local governments across the United States are bracing for financial hardships due to the coronavirus pandemic. As the nation endures the extended economic impact of the pandemic, including the various mandated shutdowns of nonessential businesses, now is a good time to understand the basics of state budgets as well as how they change over the business cycle. In addition to exploring the effects of the anticipated recession on state budgets and the federal government's efforts to aid the states, this article examines the expected nuances of this recession. It then takes a specific look at the Third Federal Reserve District states (Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) to assess their preparedness to weather this economic downturn. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; author's calculations. F I G U R E 1


Nowadays busily engaged in construction the worlds ethics, people do not go to cross-examine where it come from and where it's value return. This text sets out from the widespread beginning, thinking that the universalism gestate the rationalism. But world ethics origin in ideal and system rational inside strain, for the sake of break away from the violence and durance that the system reasonableness brings to the society, people look for the ethics problem to resolve them the inside nervous strain, Which leaves the political ideology farther, but close to the human nature. Therefore, the point of departure of the world ethics is being dissatisfied to the despotism which imposed to system reasonableness, and enlarge the describable frame of system reasonableness, and offer wider development space system reasonableness. So, the appearance of the world ethics is not only the result of the system reasonableness self-moving evolvement, but also the outcome of the corresponding between the universalism ideal and the system reasonableness.


Based on the finite difference approach elastic wave equation forward modelling method out of the theory of nonhomogeneous medium,the paper made the elastic wave modelling research on the earth surface multiwave seismic, referring to the microscales、the transverse laminar layer or the discontiguous nonhomogeneous reservoir body model. By the forward modelling and data processing on the laminar layer reservoir body to Ken 71 Area of Shengli Oilfield, we did the research on the rule between the response feature of elistic wave field and the change of reservoir parameters. The result directed the design of field layout and field seismic acquisition,verified the validity and precision of the earth multiwave seismic imaging processing method and software, provided evidences for the reservoir predication and evaluation,and improved the precision of the oil/gas identification and predication,with the important theoretical value and practical purpose.


Science and religion are the two ways in which mankind learn and understand the world.In most people's opinion,science and religion seem to represent opposite points of view.However,the developing track of science and religion shows that the development of modern science is not only based on the rebellion against the traditions of religious studies,but also developed naturally in the rational atmosphere created by the religions in the late Middle Ages.


The title compound, [Ru(C 9 H 12 ) 2 ]2BF 4 , forms cubic crystals twinned on (110). The [Ru(mesitylene) 2 ] 2+ cation resides on a 3 special position and therefore adopts a staggered conformation


We examined the effect of type I interferon (IFN) on IFN-gamma-induced HLA-DR antigen expression in A431 cells, a human squamous cell carcinoma line. A431 cells expressed HLA-DR antigen when stimulated with IFN-gamma, but not with IFN-beta. Simultaneous addition of IFN-gamma and IFN-beta to A431 cells resulted in significantly decreased HLA-DR antigen expression when compared to treatment with IFN-gamma alone. Kinetic studies revealed that IFN-beta was required concomitantly or prior to stimulation with IFN-gamma in order to down-regulate expression of HLA-DR antigens. IFN-alpha also inhibited IFN-gamma-induced HLA-DR antigen expression in A431 cells. Analysis of cytoplasmic mRNA showed that simultaneous treatment of A431 cells with IFN-gamma and IFN-beta resulted in a marked decrease of the level of DR alpha specific mRNA when compared to a level reached after treatment with IFN-gamma alone. These results suggest that type I IFN antagonize the IFN-gamma-induced HLA-DR antigen expression in human keratinocyte system, and that this antagonistic effect of type I IFN is confirmed as evidenced by a change in HLA-DR mRNA levels.


The purpose of this study was to develop a curriculum using DACUM method for beauty design departments for adult learners at University in Seoul. The curriculum development was conducted through the Curriculum Development Committee including industry and academia experts. The process of this study was as follows. Firstly, the social industry demand and the job-related data of the beauty service industry analysis was conducted to establish the direction for departmental human resource development. Secondly, job and task were derived from the progress of the Curriculum Development Committee meeting based on industry demand analysis data. Thirdly, an on-line questionnaire was conducted to 43 field experts to verify the job model. Fourthly, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for the performance of the identified tasks were derived, and the curriculum design considering these is conducted. Lastly, H University's beauty design department consists of a four-year curriculum of 38 subjects, based on the type of human resources training centered on beauty artists, global beauty management, beauty education, and beauty designer practices. Among subjects, a total of six courses, including Basic Practices 1 and 2 and Beauty Field Studies 1,2,3,4, were established separately for supporting the basic level learners. This study has significance in that it includes more systematic management of beauty management and beauty education, which is required in the field, in addition to education and training that provides beauty services.


The study was conducted to investigate the relationship between diversification on Board and firm performance. The investigation has been performed using panel data procedure for a sample of 204 Vietnamese listed companies in two different groups: Large cap and Mid cap, listed in HOSE and HNX during the period of five years from 2015 to 2019. The study uses three performance measures (including return on equity, return on asset, Tobin's Q) as dependent variable. The independent variables for measurement of diversification on Board are the number of females and the diversification for Supervisory Board are the number of females only. Other independent variables are average age of Board member, CEO duality and the number of independent directors. The results indicated that firm performance have positive relationship with nationality diversity on Board and gender diversity on Supervisory Board. CEO duality shows a significant result of negative effect on firm performance.


This study is to predict accurately the wave induced current accuring by the radiation stress which acts as the driving force around Nearshore structure. For the wave induced current, the depth integrated and time averaged governing equation of an unsteady nonlinear form is derived from the continuity and momentum equation of an incompressible fluid. Numerical solutions are obtained by a finite difference method for the governing equation. In the vicinity of a structure, computed flow patterns show good agreement with the hydraulic experimental data. The numerical results obtained by neglecting the convective term show a large change of alongshore and offshore current.


The aim of this study is to identify the impacts of zero punishment on student's behaviour and classroom learning at government primary schools. This study was conducted at city Faisalabad of Pakistan. The target population was primary school teachers in the city. The sample of 106 was selected by using online sampling calculator www.surveysystem.com with confidence level 95% and interval level 8. By applying the simple random sampling technique the data were collected from the respondents through a well-developed questionnaire. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyses the collected data and results were discussed for the findings. The study findings reveal that zero punishment have good positive impacts on student's behaviour and classroom learning. The result is also observed that physical punishment has negative effects on the students like as they may stop from school or may fall in depression, fear and hatred. Zero punishment treats to encourage to learning and behave polite each other in the school. So teachers should ask pupils questions with politeness in the classroom to improve student learning and should be cooperative for student. Students should be motivated to participate in classroom activities with caringly. Teachers were expected to be lenient and not intimidate students into corporal punishment.


Summary The antimicrobial activity of Lactobacilli has been widely exploited for prevention of food –borne pathogens e.g.: Escherichia coli being the major cause of diarrhea especially in children, because of bacteriocin activity and the importance of herbal drugs, hence this study was designed to evaluate the synergistic effect of plant extract and bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus on the growth and pathogenesis of Enteropathogenic Ecoli. 1. The Plantaricin production was induced by adding the mutagenic agent Mitomycin C. 2. Purification of Plantaricin was made by heating crude plantaricin at 80oC for 10min and then purified by two steps method including extraction with n-butanol followed by gel filtration chromatography on Sepharose 6B column. The results showed that the specific activity was 1600 AU/mg protein with 8 purification folds and 12% recovery yield. 3. The antibacterial activity of Quercus infectoria with concentration 300 mg/ml was showed highly antibacterial activity in vitro and in vivo. 4. The result showed synergistic effect of Plantaricin with Quercus infectoria extract after experimental infection that induced by orally dosing with Escherichia coli in vivo. A result of histopathological study was recorded recovery of tissue.


OFDM is regarded as a viable solution to combat the impact of frequency selective fading; however, the channel does not have flat amplitude over the entire bandwidth, thus channel equalization is still required at the receiver. Radial basis function (RBF) neural networks have been widely considered for channel equalization, since they offer certain advantages over conventional equalizer structures. In this paper, a novel RBF channel equalizer structure, which performs Bayesian estimation, is proposed for OFDM communication systems. The proposed equalizer structure is shown to outperform existing equalizers; it can therefore be considered as a better practical alternative for OFDM channel equalization.


This short paper deals with the preview problem, in which a controller can use future information as well as present and past information in deciding the control. The problem of following command signals is considered for the continuous time system. It is assumed that the controller can make use of the finite preview information with respect to command signal from the present time t up to t la time units in the future. t la is called the preview length and usually t_{la} , the duration of the problem, which distinguishes the present problem from the optimal tracking problem. It is shown how to utilize the local future information obtained by finite preview to minimize an optimality criterion evaluated over the problem duration. An example is given to show advantages of making use of future information and the existence of an effective preview length.


The paper introduces the key technologies in the design of the Basic Geo-Information Database including hardwares and soft wares and network environments,system structure,system operating mode,organization structure of database and functions of the system, etc.for your reference in construction of the database.


The expression of a hybrid gene encoding an α‐factor prepro leader peptide‐miniproinsulin (MPI) fusion [MPI is the same as the LysArg human insulin precursor described by Thim et al. (1986)] was tested in a series of isogenic yeast strains to investigate the influence of some genetic and physiological factors on heterologous production in yeast. We found that: (i) an MFα1 gene disruption in haploid cells, as well as MFα1 gene product expression in diploid cells, do not affect the MPI secretion level; (ii) under conditions of exogenous leucine availability, MPI production is hindered by leucine auxotrophy (a leu2 mutation); (iii) rho− mutations increase the per‐cell MPI yield approximately three‐fold; (iv) the MPI yield is apparently dependent on the pH of the culture medium: the higher the external pH, the larger the per‐cell MPI yield.


Disclosed are a plate type wind power generating apparatus and a building equipped with the plate type wind power generating apparatus. The plate type wind power generating apparatus installed in a duct type structure includes: a caterpillar unit installed with a plurality of plate units on the external surface thereof and moving in a caterpillar manner by the plate unit applied with the resistance of wind passing through the duct type structure; a plurality of rollers supporting the caterpillar unit and rotating according to the caterpillar movement; and a conveyor unit which includes a power generating unit connected to at least one of the plurality of rollers and generating power.


1 Prologue Chapter 2 Sleeping Giant or Fossil? Chapter 3 "The Wall of Stone" - Broken Self and Broken Reality Chapter 4 Character Perversion Chapter 5 The Way from Ithaca to Golgatha - The Analysis of a Masochistic Sexual and Character Perversion Chapter 6 Superego as Herald of Resentment Chapter 7 Tragic Character and the Devastating Power of Absoluteness Chapter 8 "The Envy of the All-powerful Goddess" and Womb Envy - Some Basic Equations Chapter 9 The Core Fantasies - "From Abyss to Abyss" Chapter 10 Technique and Relationship in the Treatment of Severe Neuroses 11 Bibliography


The FASEB Journal BLACKMAN ET AL. dated in a clonal nerve cell line by low-intensity pulsed magnetic fields. Nature (London) 296, 253-256 11. Weaver, J. C., and Astumian, R. D. (1990) The response of living cells to very weak electric fields: the thermal noise limit. Science 247, 459-462 12. Adair, R. K. (1991) Constraints on biological effects of weak extremely-low-frequency electromagnetic fields. Phys.Rev. A 43, 1039-1048 13. Adair, R. K. (1992) Reply to 'Comment on 'Constraints on biological effects of weak extremely-low-frequency electromagnetic fields'?' Phys. Rev. A 46, 2185-2187 14. Kirschvink, J. L. (1992) Comment on 'Constraints on biological effects of weak extremely-low-frequency electromagnetic fields:' Phys. Rev. A 46, 2178-2184 15. Kirschvink, J. L., Kobayashi-Kirschvink, A., and Woodford, B. J. (1992) Magnetite biomineralization in the human brain. Proc. Nail. AcacL Sci. USA 89, 7683-7687 16. Blackman, C. F., Benane, S. G., House, D. E., and Pollock, M. M. (1992) Action of 50-Hz magnetic fields on neurite outgrowth in pheochromocytoma cells. Bioelectromagnetics In press 17. Misakian, M., and Kaune, W. T (1990) Optimal experimental design for in vitro studies with ELF magnetic fields. Bloelectromagnetics 11, 251-255 18. Mazzoleni, A. P., Sisken, B. F., and Kahler, R. L. (1986) Conductivity values of tissue culture medium from 20#{176}C to 40#{176}C. Bioeleclromagnetics 7, 95-99 19. Greene,J.J., Skowronski, WJ., Mullins,J. M., Nardone, R. M., Penafiel, M., and Meister, R. (1991) Delineation of electric and magnetic field effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic radiation on transcription. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 174, 742-749 20. Liburdy, R. P. (1992) Calcium signaling in lymphocytes and


AUe/HYGbl75J CGEb4B SIR: I was most interested in your editorial (Journal, September 27) and the subsequent papers in medical education. As you say there always seems to be somethings happening in medical education and I hope that this will continue. The present problem of medical education I believe, relates to the fact that the established school~ of a university and the specialities of the protession find their positions being threatened by the changing requirements of society. The vast expertise acquired over years in a particular school or specialty-acquired to teach a subject such as manipulative obstetric manoeuvres needed to deliver patients vaginally are of historical interest only and of relevance only in this context. The rate of change is increasing and where 10 years ago a school had sufficient time to augment its staff in relation to changing requirements, the time is now so shortened as to require the existing staff to learn many new skills so as to alter their teaching output.


A pulsating laminar flow of a viscous, incompressible fluid through a pipe with an orifice has been studied at relatively low Reynolds numbers. The motion is caused by an imposed sinusoidally varying pressure difference, Δp(t). The induced flow rate, Q(t), has a phase shift, φQ, with respect to the imposed pressure oscillations. We have used that a phase (x,y)-plane instantaneous state plot of two phase-shifted trajectories: x(t)=sin(ωt+φx) and y(t)=sin(ωl+φy), is an ellipse. The ellipses of the instantaneous states Q(t) vs Δp(t) during a cycle allow readily computing the phase shift, φQ.


The transmission performance of digital television terrestrial broadcasting (DTTB) was improved using Turbo code based on the channel conditions and the DTTB transmission requirements in connection with 16QAM constellation and OFDM modulation. A new parallel concatenated trellis code was constructed as the kernel of the serially concatenated coding scheme. In the receiver the MAX-LOG-MAP iterative decoding algorithm with a sliding window was used as a compromise between system complexity and performance and to avoid trellis termination. Simulations for bit-error-rate on an additive white gaussian noise channel showed that at the threshold of visibility the required E _b/ N _0 was only 3.4 dB, which is 1.8 dB better than the reference schemes. At the field strength level, the system is able to support robust digital video transmission at a net information rate of about 12.5 Mb/s.


Clinical and functional studies of the central nervous system and retina in comatose alcoholic patients were conducted. Intravenous therapy of blood in conjunction with detoxication therapy contributed to early resuscitation and coma withdrawal. It brought about a decreased neurological deficiency, reduced cerebral edema expressiveness. There was a sharp decline in pyramidal tract insufficiency and spasm syndrome detected by visualization during the course of electroencephalography, their spectral coherent analysis as well as total and local electroretinography.


Objective
To compare the discriminatory power of the Albumin-bilirubin score (ALBI) and the Child-Pugh score (CP) in predicting post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative liver resection, and to explore the clinical value of ALBI score.

Methods
The clinical data of HCC patients who underwent curative hepatectomy in Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University from January 2011 to December 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. The risk factors of PHLF were identified through logistic regression. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were calculated to measure the ALBI and CP scores in the prediction of PHLF.

Results
A total of 1 013 patients were enrolled. The incidence of PHLF was 17.7% (179/1 013). Both CP score (OR=1.94, P<0.05) and ALBI score (OR=3.85, P<0.05) were identified as independent predictors of PHLF on multivariable analysis. The incidence of PHLF in patients with CP grade A was significantly lower than those with CP grade B(16.4%, 158/963 vs. 42%, 21/50; P<0.05). The incidences of PHLF in patients with AIBI 1, 2 and 3 were 9.9%(50/504), 24.8%(124/501) and 62.5%(5/8), respectively (P<0.05), indicating that the incidences of PHLF increased significantly with increasing ALBI grades. Moreover, when the ALBI score further classified patients of the CP grade A into the ALBI 1-A and ALBI 2-A subgroups, the incidence of PHLF in patients with ALBI 1-A was significantly lower than that with ALBI 2-A (9.9%, 50/504 vs. 23.5%, 108/459; P<0.05). The area under the ROC curve for the ALBI score in predicting PHLF was greater than that of the CP score (0.705 vs. 0.630; P<0.05).

Conclusions
The prognostic power of the ALBI score was greater than that of the CP score in predicting PHLF. Even in patients with CP grade A, the ALBI score was more sensitive in identifying patients with a high risk of PHLF. The ALBI score is a useful tool to predict PHLF after hepatectomy in HCC patients.

Key words:
Carcinoma, hepatocellular; Post-hepatectomy liver failure; Albumin-bilirubin score; Child-Pugh score


The enforcement of opacity, a security property concerning information-flow, has been investigated using edit functions, which are capable of manipulating the output of the system via insertion, replacement, and erasure operations on its symbols, in order to ensure that an outside observer (the intruder) does not gain access to critical system information. In this article, we consider situations where an intended receiver may be present and develop attribute-based edit functions, which not only obfuscate the output for the intruder, but also allow the intended receiver (who is assumed to have access to specific additional information) to recover the original output behavior. In our developed edit mechanism, edit functions modify the output by only performing insertion or replacement operations under a carefully chosen replacement regulation. Moreover, the outside observer that satisfies the intended-receiver attribute (i.e., the identity of the observer is the intended receiver) is able to recover the unedited output sequence using its ability to distinguish inserted/replaced symbols, and its knowledge of the replacement regulation. We provide an algorithmic procedure, based on a backtracking technique, to obtain suitable replacement regulations for the attribute-based edit function and the intended receiver.


Purpose: The use of intravenous (IV) acetaminophen has been evaluated in several clinical trials and systematic reviews and has been shown to be an effective pain medication that can reduce the need for opioids. Recently, the Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) committee at Atlanta Medical Center (AMC) approved an extension of the use of IV acetaminophen from one dose intra-operatively to four doses over 24 hours for 30 patients. The objective of this study was to compare the use of IV acetaminophen dosed at 1 g every 6 hours, to the previous use of 1 g for one dose at AMC in patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Methods: Patients were divided into two groups; control group consisting of patients who received one dose of IV acetaminophen in the operating room (OR) and the intervention group consisting of patients who received four doses of IV acetaminophen over a 24 hour period. The primary endpoint was the total amount of opioids required by patients over 24 hours measured in morphine equivalents. The secondary endpoints were the adverse effects and average pain scores. Results: The final sample consisted of 30 patients in each group. The total amount of opioids used by the intervention group was 28.3% lower than that of the control group. The average amount of opioids required by patients in the intervention group was 13.08 mg compared to 18.23 mg in the control group (p = 0.15). The only adverse event experienced within the groups was nausea/vomiting (p = 0.1). The average pain score reported by patients in the intervention group was 4.58 compared to 6.12 in the control group (p = 0.04). Conclusion: Although not powered to show statistical significance between groups, IV acetaminophen is associated with a reduction in opioid use, and improved pain scores over a 24 hour period. Adequately powered studies are needed to determine the long term benefits of acute opioid reduction.


ABSTRACT It is known that mutant mice of the β-1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase gene (β3Gn-T5) respond well to T-cell dependent and independent antigens. Here, we examined the effectiveness of anti-ganglioside antibody generation by immunization of β3Gn-T5 mutant mice with liposome-embedded glycosphingolipids such as GD1a and GT1b. Consequently, the mutant mice showed a more efficient generation of anti-GD1a or anti-GT1b antibodies than wild-type mice in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using sera during immunization. Thus, the β3Gn-T5 deficient mutant mice proved more responsive than wild-type mice to not only protein antigens, but also to carbohydrates in glycolipids. Furthermore, about 50% of monoclonal antibodies generated using splenocytes of the immunized mutant mice were of the IgG class. Besides general high responsiveness to proteins and glycolipids, it could be expected that the mutant mice of β3Gn-T5 would be useful in the generation of monoclonal antibodies towards lacto-/neolacto-series glycolipids, since these mutants lack lacto-/neolacto-series glycolipids. In fact, they showed a good serum response in immuno-fluorescence assay with cultured living cells when immunized by glycolipids extracted from ovarian cancer cell lines. These results suggested that β3Gn-T5 mutant mice are useful for the generation of anti-glycolipid antigens with lacto-/neolacto-core structures expressed in cancer cells.


ABSTRACT Hydrogen has the potential to be the sustainable fuel of the future, decrease the global dependence on fossil fuel resources, and lower the pollutant emissions from the transportation industry. In this study, recent development in hydrogen-based transportation engines is reviewed to scrutinize the feasibility of using hydrogen as a major fuel of future. Using hydrogen in internal combustion engines achieves only 20-25% efficiency and low power output compared to fossil-fueled internal combustion engines. Although hydrogen-based internal combustion engines have recently received considerable interests, several practical barriers have prevented the fast development of this technology. Hence, at the current stage, using hydrogen as an additive to hydrocarbon fuel systems have been taken into consideration to produce higher performance than hydrogen-only internal combustion engines. Using the dual-fuel strategy can increase the combustion stability and thermal efficiency while decreasing the CO and unburned hydrocarbons emissions, and fuel consumption. Alternatively, hydrogen can be used in fuel cells for vehicular applications with several automotive manufacturers producing fuel cell vehicles currently. Fuel cells can achieve efficiencies of up to 60%, while the rest is lost as heat. Strategies that have been investigated to increase the efficiency, performance, and lifespan of fuel cells are capillary pumping systems, a chemisorption chiller, nanofluids and supercapacitors. All such strategies improved the fuel cells in one or more ways. Safety, hydrogen delivery, onboard storage, and the capital and operating costs of hydrogen powered vehicles are analyzed to approach to clean transportation utopia.


This paper presents an algorithm based on testability measurement for test point insertion of mixed-signal circuits. Two transfer function models compatible with analog models are proposed: one is for digital devices and the other is for A/D interface components. An industry power supply circuit and a common A/D converter circuit are used to validate our approaches.


This study focuses on: (1) an examination of the relationship between the emotional and social isolation experienced by older French Canadian seasonal residents of Florida; and (2) a comparison of the emotional and social isolation of the French Canadian sample with their English Canadian counterparts (Mullins, Woodland & Putnam, 1989). Among these French Canadians, emotional isolation was related to living alone, but only among those under 70 years of age, males and those in poor health, and among those who were under 70 years of age who had fewer children. A comparison of the relationship between social and emotional isolation between the French and English Canadians shows the results to be more different than similar. The conclusions drawn from these findings point to the importance of considering living arrangements, ethno-cultural background, and age, gender and health to understanding and coping with emotional isolation.


The authors undertook to determine and collate the glucose tolerance curves in 2 loci in the cerebrospinal system and in the blood, in the hope not only of establishing the relations of the absolute sugar levels but also of obtaining data on the movement of the cerebrospinal fluid itself or of substances dissolved therein. To determine the carbohydrate tolerance curves a healthy adult dog was used for each experiment. After 18 hours' fasting, anesthesia was induced by intraperitoneal injection of sodium amytal (Lilly). With full surgical asepsis both cerebral hemispheres were exposed by a midline trephine opening so that either lateral ventricle could be tapped with a specially made brain needle. A cisternal needle was then introduced into the cisterna magna and left there throughout the experiment. Since the latest modification of Folin's micro-sugar method, 1 using unlaked blood, was used, it was necessary to obtain from each locus only 0.1 cc. of fluid for each determination. After obtaining simultaneously one sample from each point, 20 gm. of glucose were given by vein. Every 15 minutes thereafter for a period of 21/2 hours, samples were taken simultaneously from each locus. Twenty-two experiments were performed. The following table summarizes the relevant essentials from experiments performed after the technique had been perfected. The data obtained appear to the authors to warrant the following tentative conclusions. These are derived for the most part from the average figures shown in Table I. 1. The relatively close approximation of the 3 initial sugar levels suggests that under stable fasting conditions the sugar level of the dog's cerebrospinal fluid equals that of the blood.


Play in African elephants (Loxodonta africana) is a life-long activity, with both males and females engaging in a variety of forms of play into their 40s and 50s. Play represents a potentially enriching social and physical activity for elephants, but also one with energetic costs and other risks. Having followed a cohort of individually recognized elephants from birth to adulthood in Amboseli, Kenya, we suggest here some long-term consequences for the role of play in the development of social and physical skills in elephants. Playful elephant calves appeared to be individuals with greater capacity to resist growth insults or stresses and had a reduced risk of dying as adults. The sexes differed in the social contexts and consequences of their early play experiences. Juvenile males used play as a mechanism to enable relaxed contacts with relative strangers, providing vital physical and behavioral information about future friends, associates and reproductive competitors. Females, by contrast, used play as one of the many mechanism for sustaining their social, protective and leadership roles within families.


Abstract : A Programmable video Digitizing System (PVDS) has been developed that will digitize selected portions of the return TV analog video from the Ebison camera at the GEODSS ETS. The digitized video can then be processed by either a microprocessor or a Modcomp Computer. From the data, the software may then determine object centroiding, night sky background calculations, signal/noise ratios and object rate/direction calculations for closed loop tracking. The system may also be used to process digitized data from future sensors, i.e., infrared or CCD. (Author)


ABSTRACT This essay discusses the implications of the phrase a "citizen of the world" in the anonymous novel The Woman of Colour (1808), a novel that begs attention for locating moral world citizenship in the mixed-race female body. The essay ponders views of cosmopolitan justice, emphasizing those based on cosmopolitan solidarity. It proceeds by first, historicizing the phenomenon of solidarity within the abolitionist movement prior to 1807; and second, by drawing attention to a process of literalization that debunks skin myths in the name of a shared humanity and in the service of the abolition of slavery in the British colonies that would be achieved in 1833. The essay's final proposition is to read the woman of colour and her cosmopolitan political catechism in the tradition of Christian allegorical exegesis. This tradition rejects abstraction and guards intact the (interracial) embodiment and historicity of text.


The trees and bushes have an important paper for their considerable protein tenors. The objectives of this work were to determine the qu ality of...


This rotary projector (P) of coating material comprises a spray bell (3) and a rotor (11) suitable for driving the bowl in rotation about a geometric axis (X-X '), and means (4 , 5, 7, 8) for controlling the presence and / or the correct assembly of the bowl (3) on the rotor (11). The rotor (11) is held away from a non-rotating portion (15) of the projector (P) by means of an air thrust bearing (P1) and the control means may comprise first means (4, 5 ) for exerting on the bowl (3) a force (F3) tending to vary the thickness of the air film of the air thrust bearing (P 1) and second means (7, 8) determining the air pressure in the bearing (P1) .We may determine the air pressure in the thrust bearing (P1) when the latter is normally supplied and compared with at least one reference value.


Islamic education essentially provides space for reason to be able to develop human potential. Islamic Religious Education in PAI Lectures in tertiary institutions has a function besides strengthening student Islam, it also builds a peaceful, moderate and tolerant diversity. Based on the theory of the psychology of religion, mature religious people are adherents of religions that are peaceful, moderate and tolerant. The understanding of the contribution of PAI lectures as well as the style of Islamic religious thinking is of course different. In general, this study aims to describe the contribution of PAI to the religious way of thinking of Islamic UKM activist students and its implications for the notion of radicalism in Indonesian University of Education Universities. The participant who will be the source of the research is the head of the Islamic UKM. The object of his research is the opinion of the head of the Islamic UKM regarding the contribution of PAI and religious thinking. Data collection techniques using observation, interviews, documentation. It appears that most Islamic UKM activists at the Indonesian University of Education think moderately and inclusively. Understanding of Islamic law is quite widespread so that the impetus towards radicalism is very small


Excitation of higher-order modes (HOMs) in superconducting cavities may severely affect the operation of the main linac in the Chinese Accelerator Driven System (CADS)∗. Preliminary analysis is made on the effects of beam dynamic, which includes possible longitudinal and transverse emittance enlargements, as well as the possibility of beam breakup. Suggestions are given for further investigation. Comparison is made between the C-ADS and the Fermilab Project X. ∗Conceptual Physics Design on the C-ADS Accelerators, Ed. Jingyu Tang and Zhihui Li, Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS and Institute of Modern Physics, CAS, August 2012, IHEP-CADS-Report/2012-01E Operated by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359 with the United States Department of Energy.


Analysis on the absorption characteristics of heavy metals by wheat varieties offered theoretical guidance and practilal methods for excellent quality,efficient and safe production of wheat.The results showed that contents of heavy metals do not exceed the corresponding criterion of green foodstuff by measuring the contents of heavy metals in the wheat of different varieties grown in 2003.The detection of heavy metals in riverside soil of hrerside of weihe river in 2004 showed that the content of Cd was 10.5 mg/kg,which was seriously exceed the corresponding criterion(0.6 mg/kg).Under this soil environment the accumulation of Cd in different organs of different wheat varieties were measured.The results showed that the accumulation of Cd were various in different genetypes and organs.The contents of Cd in seed grains varied from 0.102 mg/kg to 0.168 mg/kg,which exceed the corresponding national criterion(0.1 mg/kg).The order of the accumulation of Cd in organs was that rootleafstem vaginaseed glume,which varied from 0.073mg/kg to 0.483 mg/kg.


The dependence of channel capacity on cross‐polarization and the branch power ratio is established over a wide range of both realistic and idealized values. An existing empirical model is adjusted to avoid self‐contradictory results for cross‐coupled, but uncorrelated energy. Typical ranges are highlighted for realistic channel measurements from the literature, and extreme cases are identified. The value of a peak capacity measure is established and compared with the outage and average capacities. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1384–1388, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23360


A previous amplifier circuit of the present invention includes: a grounded emitter amplifier circuit using a grounded emitter transistor connected to a light receiving device; another grounded emitter amplifier circuit using another grounded emitter transistor connected to another light receiving device; and a grounded emitter changing switch to be switched in a manner such that an emitter of the grounded emitter transistors is grounded so as to cause only one of the grounded emitter amplifier circuits to operate. A light-receiving amplifier circuit includes the previous amplifier circuit. An optical pickup apparatus includes the light-receiving amplifier circuit.


Review(s) of: Ivory Scales: Black Australia and the Law, by Kayleen M . Hazlehurst ed. University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 4. xx + 291, Bibliographies, Index. $19.95 .pb.


Socio-economic behaviour analysis is a study made on socio-economic parameters like age, gender and income groups and also some attract the investor towards that particular investment. This analysis describes why an investor will opt a particular investment and the motive behind the investment and other objectives of investment. Investment culture among the people of a country is an essential prerequisite for capital formation and the faster growth of an economy. Investment culture refers to the attitudes, perceptions, and willingness of the individuals and institutions in placing their savings in various financial assets, more popularly known as securities. The research paper, thus attempts to study the socio-economic profile of the 50 investors in Warangal district, Andhra Pradesh.


Background In the USA, acute pancreatitis (AP) was the third most prevalent gastrointestinal disease and it is the commonest pancreatic disease worldwide. It is critical to identify individuals at a higher risk of developing severe AP early to improve their prognosis. Several scoring systems to assess the severity of AP (e.g. Ranson's criteria and acute physiologic assessment and chronic health-evaluation II) were developed. Aim The goal of this study was to see whether red-cell distribution width (RDW) could be used to predict the severity and mortality of AP. Patients and methods This prospective observational study included 50 patients admitted at Tanta University Emergency Hospital with AP. During the study, 46 patients survived, while four patients died, 31 patients discharged without complications, and 15 patients had complications. Results RDW had a significant relationship with complications of AP (P=0.005), also, RDW had a strong relationship to mortality (P=0.049). RDW had a sensitivity of 61.11% and a specificity of 84.37% in predicting complications. While RDW had a sensitivity and specificity of 75.0 and 95.65%, respectively, in predicting mortality. We also found that Ranson's criteria had a significant relationship with complications and mortality of AP (P=0.024). The sensitivity and specificity of Ranson's criteria to predict complications was 72.22 and 62.50%, respectively. While the sensitivity and specificity of Ranson's criteria to predict mortality was 75.0 and 71.74%, respectively. Conclusion RDW seems to be a good test used to determine the severity of AP.


The more a person drinks, the greater their chances for negative health and behavioral consequences (e.g., problems at work or school, trouble with campus or local law enforcement, physical injury). Higher-risk consumption, when these issues are more likely to occur, is defined as drinking more than 4 drinks per occasion or greater than 14 drinks for those who are assigned male at birth and more than three drinks per occasion or greater than seven drinks per week for those assigned female at birth. Further, binge drinking consists of four or more drinks in two hours for anyone over 65.


SANDRA WIELAND Techniques and Issues in Abuse-Focused Therapy With Children and Adolescents Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998, 242 pages (ISBN 0-7619-0482-4, us$29.95, Softcover) Reviewed by FRANCINE LAVOIE It is frustrating not to be able to make contact with a child or adolescent who we believe to be a victim of sexual abuse or maltreatment. The frozen silence and clever dodging of the issue are grim reminders of the wall that separates us. Sandra Wieland's second book deals with difficulties faced by all kinds of therapists when dealing (in therapy) with young victims of sexual abuse. This book is unusual in that it emphasizes intervention over theory. It is based on clinical experience and includes a large number of excerpts from interviews. Another unusual aspect is the importance Wieland gives to adolescent experience. In her first book, Hearing the Internal Trauma, published in 1997, she placed greater importance on theoretical models, play therapy, and family involvement. The theoretical model suggested, namely the internalization model, is based on psychodynamics and does not dwell on symptoms, but on the internal perception of the child and his/her world. This model, described in great detail in her first book, is summarized here to allow readers to understand the techniques she proposes. Though not compulsory reading for specialists, the first book is recommended for consultation by all novices. In her second book, Wieland maintains that its contents are applicable not only in cases of sexual abuse, but also in cases of physical or emotional abuse and in cases of child neglect. Basically, the book has four parts. The first part is a reiteration of the theoretical trauma model; the second deals with techniques; the third involves individual challenges corresponding to dissociation, sexuality, and resistance. In the fourth part, 15 adolescents and young adults present their point of view on what hindered and what helped their therapy. The techniques described have rarely been written about before, which makes this book highly interesting. In the first part, the theoretical model successfully explores what is known about the processes resulting from research in the field of sexual abuse, and recognizes the variety of variables influencing the child and the family when dealing with sexual abuse. The author mentions that the model is applicable to other types of violence, but supporting research data on emotional abuse, physical abuse or child neglect are lacking, which is one shortcoming of the book. The second part reminds the reader of therapy principles, then precisely details techniques to be used. The basic idea is that therapy should first treat abuse as a source of difficulty, but not at the expense of the needs of the child or adolescent. Therapy must stay focused on the child and his/her relationships. The therapy proposed adds to the roster of the therapist's skills by offering a response to the child's various internal perceptions such as "feeling different," "feeling devastated," "feeling powerless," or "feeling guilty." On several occasions, anxiety is broached in interesting ways. The author reminds us, rightly so, that the therapist must not lose sight of the victim's age when the abuse occurred in order better to understand the developmental tasks that may have been compromised. …


Sexual Negotiation in the Age of AIDS The Social Construction of Sexuality Family and Friends Negotiating Relationships Risk and Trust in Relationships Negotiating Sex Sexual Negotiation Revisited


An optical identification for 3C 159 is reported with a 19-mag emission-line radio galaxy at z = 0.482. Photometric measurements show it to be unusually bright and blue. The emission lines are of exceptionally high luminosity, and are split into two components separated by 598 + or - 13 km/s and 3 kpc along the spectrograph slit. A VLA may show that one of the radio lobes has two hot spots with tails of emission leading to both. 21 references.


The possibility of producing phosphate based glasses (PBG) with tailored degradation profile allows for unique utilisation in biomedical application. Various compositions in the phosphate based glass (PBG) system of (50-x)P2O5-40Ca-(5+x)Na-5TiO2 and (50-x)P2O5-40Ca- (5+x)Na-5Fe2O3, where x= 5 and 10 were prepared and characterised. Method as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been used to characterise the thermal properties of these phosphate based glasses. It was observed that both glass transition temperature (Tg) and onset of crystalisatisation temperature (Tx) increased with increasing phosphate content. In addition, Tg values were found to be higher for the P2O5-CaO-Na2O-TiO2 glass system compared to P2O5- CaO-Na2O-Fe2O3 glass system. The density result showed that increasing the P2O5 content at the expense Na2O led to a decrease in density for both glass systems. The dissolution study of these glasses was conducted in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). It was observed that the dissolution rate of P2O5-CaO-Na2O-Fe2O3 glass system was higher than the P2O5-CaO-Na2O-TiO2 glass system. The dissolution rate for both glass systems was in the order of 10-6 g cm-2 hr-1.


Phlox divaricata is one of the most conspicuous elements of the early spring flora throughout much of the eastern United States. The species is highly adapted to humus-rich soils of moist woodlands, but also occurs along road-cuts, in meadows and on rocky slopes. Although it may be a component of communities in various successional stages, it is typically associated with climax associations (Wherry, 1930). The presence of P. divaricata in the physiographic provinces outlined by central Minnesota, eastern Texas, western Florida, and southern Quebec bespeaks of its broad tolerance for a range of climatic and edaphic conditions. Phlox divaricata is pollinated by several species of butterflies, moths, and bees (cf. Grant and Grant, 1965). A strong gametophytic incompatibility reaction between the pollen and stylar tissue all but precludes self-fertilization. The species is also protandrous. Seed-set per capsule in the field is ca. 2 and the typical plant will produce from 30 to 50 seeds. The seeds have no special mechanism for dissemination, although the bursting of the mature capsule often scatters them beyond 10 feet.


Dingxianism is a high condensation for the experimental theory of mass education in Dingxian. It is one of the most influential trends of rural reconstruction in China during the 1920's and 1930's. The main content of it includes: taking the masses as the focus and mainstay of education; taking on "the mission of remolding the nation" in the way of peaceful rural reconstruction; taking measures such as "four types and three ways of education" to solve the troubles of "foolishness", "poverty","weakness" and "selfishness" in rural area; spreading the Dingxian mode of experiment to the whole country.


The purpose of this report is to document how the requirements for
publication of a routing protocol as an Internet Draft Standard have
been satisfied by Border Gateway Protocol version 4 (BGP-4). This
report satisfies the requirement for "the second report", as described
in Section 6.0 of RFC 1264. In order to fulfill the requirement, this
report augments RFC 1774 and summarizes the key features of BGP-4, as
well as analyzes the protocol with respect to scaling and performance.
This memo provides information for the Internet community.


We present a new term-structure model for commodity futures prices based on Trolle and Schwartz ( 2009 ), which we extend by incorporating seasonal stochastic volatility represented with two different sinusoidal expressions. We obtain a quasi-analytical representation of the characteristic function of the futures log-prices and closed-form expressions for standard European options' prices using the fast Fourier transform algorithm. We price plain vanilla options on the Henry Hub natural gas futures contracts, using our model and extant models. We obtain higher accuracy levels with our model than with the extant models.


With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, it's time to start considering what you'll be doing March 17th to celebrate. We've got ideas here.


I was just thinking about #livestream + #VR = immersion into developing stories with objective & factual investigation storytelling would be amazing to upgrade journalism


Logistics costs include the cost of all activities that are realized in order to shape, design, direct, manage and regulate the flow of goods, energy and information. As such, they represent a measure of economic "success" of logistics system functioning. According to the statement above, the definition of the logistics costs will be that the logistics costs are related to the costs of handling, transporting and warehousing. Thus, they are associated with administrative costs. In terms of transport, they are present throughout the entire traffic, i.e. transportation process, from the order of transport service to its completion or delivery of goods to the end user.


Glutamate appears to be the neurotransmitter of granule cells, the major neuronal population of the cerebellar cortex. To determine the role of astroglial cells in the synthesis of glutamate, we have measured the specific activity of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) in clonal cell lines that might be the in vitro equivalents of the different cerebellum astroglial cell types. In conditions where GDH operates in the direction of glutamate synthesis, the specific activity of GDH measured in the "Golgi‐Bergmann"‐like clone was 4–6 times higher than in the "velate protoplasmic"‐ or "fibrous‐like" astrocytic clones. These data correlate well with the intense immunoreactivity to GDH in Golgi‐Bergmann astrocytes in vivo that has been recently reported.


ABSTRACT This paper explains the design and analysis of modified hexagonal slot antenna for wideband applications. The proposed antenna is fabricated on FR-4 substrate. On one side of square substrate, a square patch is printed and one hexagonal slot and six circular slots are etched. On the other side of the substrate, a rectangular microstrip line is printed to feed the antenna. High-frequency structure simulation (HFSS) software is utilized to optimize the different antenna parameters. The simulated and measured results are compared, and these are in good agreement. The proposed design and feeding technique allows the antenna to operate within the frequency range of 2.16–3.42 GHz with the fractional bandwidth of 45.16%. The broadsided gain of proposed radiator is more than 2.6 dBi. The proposed antenna is quite appropriate for IMT (2.3–2.4 GHz), Bluetooth (2.4–2.5 GHz), WLAN (2.4–2.484 GHz), and WiMAX (2.5–2.69 GHz) applications.


An experimental investigation of thermal bulk polymerization of styrene in a pilot plant will be reported. The plant is composed of a recycle tubular reactor followed by a tubular reactor. The conversion of the pre-polymerization part is in the range of 0 to 60% and at the outlet of the pilot plant up to 96%. Studies on the residence time distribution show plug-flow behaviour for a variety of different conditions with respect to viscosity and density gradient. The polymers obtained are characterized by gel permeation chromatography and compared to commercial products.


Abstract : It is estimated that more than 370,000 elementary/secondary school children have been displaced by the recent hurricanes. In addition, it is estimated that approximately 30 institution of higher education (IHEs) in the affected areas have been severely damaged, and nearly 100,000 postsecondary students have been displaced as a result. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the combined direct effect of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on employment probably resulted in the loss of between 293,000 and 480,000 jobs. Many of these individuals will not likely return to their homes, jobs, and/or schools within the 2005-20006 academic year. It is likely that numerous program regulations and statutes will need to be revisited to address the needs of the students and families affected by Katrina, as well as financial issues of the institutions that help make education possible for many of these individuals.


Combining the 'time-delay distance' (DΔt) measurements from galaxy lenses and other distance indicators provides model-independent determinations of the Hubble constant (H0) and spatial curvature (ΩK, 0), only based on the validity of the Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric and geometrical optics. To take the full merit of combining DΔt measurements in constraining H0, we use gamma-ray burst (GRB) distances to extend the redshift coverage of lensing systems much higher than that of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) and even higher than quasars, whilst the general cosmography with a curvature component is implemented for the GRB distance parametrizations. Combining Lensing+GRB yields $H_0=71.5^{+4.4}_{-3.0}$ km s−1Mpc−1 and $\Omega _{K,0} = -0.07^{+0.13}_{-0.06}$ (1σ). A flat-universe prior gives slightly an improved $H_0 = 70.9^{+4.2}_{-2.9}$ km s−1Mpc−1. When combining Lensing+GRB+SN Ia, the error bar ΔH0 falls by 25%, whereas ΩK, 0 is not improved due to the degeneracy between SN Ia absolute magnitude, MB, and H0 along with the mismatch between the SN Ia and GRB Hubble diagrams at z ≳ 1.4. Future increment of GRB observations can help to moderately eliminate the MB − H0 degeneracy in SN Ia distances and ameliorate the restrictions on cosmographic parameters along with ΩK, 0 when combining Lensing+SN Ia+GRB. We conclude that there is no evidence of significant deviation from a (an) flat (accelerating) universe and H0 is currently determined at 3% precision. The measurements show great potential to arbitrate the H0 tension between the local distance ladder and cosmic microwave background measurements and provide a relevant consistency test of the FLRW metric.


Mathematical and computational studies of Covid-19 have underestimated the influence that other countries have on their daily records. To visualize this, a Granger causality analysis was implemented in Python to determine if the cases registered in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the USA have any effect on Venezuela, and between all of them. Finally, this paper highlights the need to incorporate causality analysis employing only the cases of Covid-19 to improve mid and long term forecasts.


Searching for available parking spots in congested areas has arouse widespread and close concerns from academia and industry in recent decades. Plenty of related work has been done to design multiple parking systems, but few of them has taken fairness into account. In this paper, we propose a smart parking scheme towards fairness. The scheme is characterized by allowing parking lots to select prospective vehicles, in order to avoid the phenomenon called "multiple cars chasing single spot". Moreover, the proposed scheme manages reservation period of each parking spot, therefore, time wasted on cruising for vacant parking space greatly reduces, and the smart parking system is guaranteed to be more equitable. Performance analysis via extensive simulations demonstrates its efficiency and practicality.


Carbon dots (CDs) are a unique class of fluorescent nanomaterials, whose emissions can be tuned by manipulating the reaction conditions of their formation. Herein, we report a facile solvothermal r...


Comprehensive assessment of river health is challenging due to the diversity of rivers, the complexity of their ecosystem and functional service. This paper updates the river health assessment indicator system, weight, and assignment criteria in China by reviewing and examining the peer-reviewed literature. We propose an indicator system, weight, and criteria, validated by nine case studies and able to assess the country-scale river health. Our analysis shows that the rule layer of indicator system includes hydrology, water quality, aquatic organism, physical habitats, and functional service; its corresponding weights are set to 0.15, 0.21, 0.18, 0.22, and 0.24, respectively. The ten most representative indicators are selected that incorporates the indicator layer with their corresponding weights. The evaluation based on case studies shows that in eight out of nine cases, our results are consistent with those obtained in previous studies. Therefore, the suggested index system, weight, and three-assessment criteria are well suited for the complex cases in China. This paper can serve as a reference for a river health assessment and present a comprehensive listing of assessment criteria.


Characterizing the mechanical properties of MEMS structures at a very early stage of manufacturing is a challenging task for quality assurance in this field. The paper describes a new solution that is based upon the vibration analysis of the microparts. The microvibrations have nm amplitudes and are detected by electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI). A specific signal processing technique (moving phase reversal reference) has been applied to make the solution robust. Comprehensive numerical simulations provide the theoretical base for estimating the frequencies and mode shapes expected for perfect MEMS as well as for typical faults. The complete wafer ensemble was modeled to gain knowledge about best suited wafer clamping and about interactions between the microparts vibrating. A laboratory system for 4' wafer has been built, and extensive tests show that such key properties as e.g. the thickness of springs or membranes can be determined exactly by means of the hybride approach. Automated frequency scanning and corresponding digital image processing open the way to reliable and fast industrial systems for MEMS testing on wafer level.


Autonomous land vehicle have an increasingly range of applications providing efficiency and effectiveness gains and allowing human intervent in contexts of high risk or inaccessibility. In this context, this dissertation addresses the problem of design, development and implementation of an autonomous land vehicle, with emphasis on the control system. This project arises in the context of the development of a new robotic land vehicle in the Autonomous Systems Laboratory (LSA) of the Institute Engineering of Porto (ISEP). Monitoring, transport and surveillence applications in unstructed outdoor scenarios led to requirements analysis. Concepts and technologies relevant to the control of terrestrial land vehicles are presented along with a current state of the art. The locomotion control is addressed with particular attention to the control of brushless DC motors. The vehicle control system project ranging from traction and direction control to the on-board computer system with the supervision and mission control is presented. The implemented mechanical solution is based on a commercially available all terrain vehicle plataform (4x4 motorcycle). It's direction control project and implementation is presented both in electromechanical, hardware and software embedded control subsystem aspects. Two solutions are presented to the traction control. One dedicated custom developed BLDC control system and other relying on an external controller. The energy management system is addressed throught the design and implementation of a dedicated control and power distribution subsystem. Basic locomotion validation tests were performed both in simulation and on the actual vehicle. In this work, some conclusions of the development and implementation process are draw along with perspect future development in the control of the coordinated missions of multiple vehicles. iii iv


This paper presents an approach for timing analysis and response time of end to end packet delivery for Ethernet Networked Control System (ENCS). Ethernet is a popular network for control applications. However, traditional Ethernet network suffers from non-deterministic handling of the network communication caused by Carrier Sense Multiple Access Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) Protocol, where the nodes compete for access to the media. In this paper, a collision free network configuration model for Ethernet is used which is more suitable for control application as compared to the traditional network configurations. The office network is separated from the control network and a fully switched Ethernet network is employed for control network. The timing behaviour of a fully switched network is analysed and the response time of end to end packet delivery in switched Ethernet network is derived. This analysis can then be served as a time delay model for NCS.


The present study was aimed at evaluating the effects of partial replacement of fishmeal with locally available feed ingredients on growth performance, feed utilization efficiency body composition and apparent digestibility coefficient of protein (ADCp) of Nile tilapia. For this purpose, seven experimental diets were prepared using 0%, 10% and 20% Jatropha, Alfalfa and Brewery waste as partial replacement of fishmeal. Healthy mixed-sex Nile tilapia with an average body weight of 6.5 ± 0.56 g were collected from Ziway Fish and Other Aquatic Life Research Center and stocked in fiberglass plastic tanks in triplicates at a stocking density of 20 fish per tank. The fish were fed three times a day with a control diet for one week and then with experimental diets for a period of four months at a rate of 3-6% body weight of fish. For ADCp studies, fish were reared for 20 days and were fed with control and test diets having an internal marker. Data were collected twice a month. The result showed that the fish fed with control diet,10%Jatropha, 10% Alfalfa and 10% and 20% Brewery waste based diets showed significantly better final body weight (28.7-30.0 g) specific growth rates (1.39-1.47%/day),feed conversion ratio (1.44-1.56) and protein utilization efficiency (0.60-0.66) than the fish fed with 20% Jatropha and Alfalfa based diets (23.8-26.0 g for final body weight, 1.25-1.33%/day for specific growth rate, 1.95-1.97 for food conversion ratio and 0.49-0.54 for protein utilization efficiency). The final survival rates of the experimental fish (73.3-86.6%) did not differ significantly (P>0.05) among feeding treatments. In conclusion, the fish meal can be replaced using the three ingredients up to 10% without negative effects on the growth and feed utilization of Nile tilapia.


In this paper, I discuss one of Peter van Inwagen's charges against the Meinongian thesis, which states that some objects do not exist. The charges aimed to show that the thesis either leads to a contradiction or that it is obscure. Both consequences support the opposite Quinean thesis, which states that every object exists. As opposed to the former, the latter ought to be consistent and clear. I argue why there is no contradiction in the Meinongian thesis and why the Quinean thesis is not clear.


Background Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are often defined as health care (HA) or community-associated (CA) using common classification schemes involving health care risk factor, infection type, susceptibility pattern, or molecular typing. This investigation compared pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) molecular typing results (dichotomized as HA or CA) with our new MRSA infection classification method. The goal was to develop an improved predictive model for PFGE-type based primarily on the other 3 classification variables. Methods Methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections reported to the Michigan Department of Community Health from October 2004 to December 2005 were analyzed. Patients' demographics, risk factors, infection information, and susceptibility results were collected for 2151 cases. A subset of 244 MRSA infections with available PFGE results was analyzed. Results of logistic regression are presented using a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results The multivariable models predicted the PFGE classification as HA or CA (Max-rescaled R 2 = 61%) better than health care risk factor, infection type, or susceptibility pattern alone (max-rescaled R 2 = 21%, 34%, and 46%, respectively). The best model included infection type, susceptibility pattern, age, and hospitalized during infection. Conclusions This model provides a simpler, more accurate prediction of HA or CA status, thus enhancing efforts to control MRSA infections.


This paper extends the work of Uysal (2011) and Harford et al. (2009) by exploring whether overor under-deviation from target leverage may predict the investment and financing decisions of public and non-public acquisitions. Using a sample of 3,416 completed domestic bids by UK acquirers from 1987 to 2012, we find that that overdeviated firms are more likely to make public acquisitions while, under-deviated firms prefer non-public acquisitions. We also observe that over-deviated (under-deviated) firms use less (more) cash financing for their public (non-public) acquisition deals. We show that over-deviated firms experience wealth gains (losses) when acquiring public (non-public) targets, whereas under-deviated firms create value gains (losses) when undertaking non-public (public) acquisitions. We further find that under-deviated firms outperform over-deviated firms following the acquisition of non-public targets. Overall, these findings confirm empirically that contrasting characteristics of overand underdeviated firms produce reverse effects in their choices and outcomes of public versus non-public acquisitions.


The presence in Tuscany and Elba Island of the tropical ligeid Graptostethus servus (Fabricius, 1787). (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Lygaeidae). Graptostethus servus (Fabricius, 1787) was found, the first time, in the Island Elba in 2007 and therefore in other countries of Central Italy where it was completely unknown. The distribution of this ligeid bug is tropical: Africa, Asia and Australia. In mediterranean countries it's very scarce and the biology and host plants are less known. Recent records of G. servus were taken on Hedera helix L. and Mentha spicata L.


In order to emend the deficiency of the frame skipping strategy used in JVT-H017 rate control method,in which a number of pictures may be skipped by using the mathod similar to MPEG-4 Q2 and the motion complexity of the frame to be not considered.This paper present a frame skipping strategy based on the JVT-H017 rate control method.The motion complexity of the frame as the criterion is used in this method.It can prevent the overflowing of the buffer caused by the strong movement of object and improve the quality of the picture.


Valve hall fittings' corona characteristics, corona inception electric-field strength and the critical electric-field values are the key factors to consider while designing fittings. Furthermore, the characteristics and value have guiding significance for engineering application. However it is difficult to obtain electric-field strength by theoretical calculation as there are varied types of valve hall fittings with irregular and complex shapes. This paper adopted the research method of combining DC corona test with FEM (finite element method) calculation. Spherical electrodes were tested with a wide range of diameter, thus corona inception voltage and corona characteristic curve of spherical electrode with diameter from 33 to 1000mm was obtained. Based on the corona electric field FEM simulation with the inception voltage as an input, a formula similar to Peek formula and the change regulation of corona inception electric-field strength with electrode diameter were obtained. The article consulted China's national standard modification of fittings' discharge voltage and actual size of fittings in valve hall, and consequently proposed the differentiated critical electric-field values for various fittings. The critical electric-field value is 2000V·mm-1, when the fittings' equivalent diameter is below 200mm, e.g. valve tower shield and arrester grading ring, and for fittings with equivalent diameter above 200mm, e.g. shield ball, bushing shield, the value is 1200V·mm-1. The research method and conclusion of the article will provide a reference for designing fittings.


Kudryashov–Sinelshchikov equation arises in the study of pressure waves in the mixture of liquid and gas bubbles. In this paper, the exact wave solutions of the Kudryashov– Sinelshchikov equation are obtained using the improved tan / ð g Þ 2 (cid:2) (cid:3) -expansion technique. Four types of solutions namely, trigonometric function solution, hyperbolic function solution, exponential function solution and rational solution are constructed. Exact travelling wave solutions including kink, periodic, bright and dark solitons are obtained. The wave solutions are graphically illustrated by 3D-surface plots and the corresponding 2D-contour plots. The comparison of the results obtained by the improved tan / ð g Þ 2 (cid:2) (cid:3) method with results obtained by other methods reveals that the improved tan / ð g Þ 2 (cid:2) (cid:3) method is more effective and powerful.


The utility model discloses a domestic intelligent security system, which mainly comprises a digital coded lock, a flame sensor, a smoke sensor, a bijection photoelectric switch, a temperature sensor, an intelligent controller and a human-computer interface, wherein the intelligent controller consists of an MCU (Microprogrammed Control Unit) module, a power supply module, a parameter monitoring module, a door lock control module and an alarming module which are assembled in a control box; the human-computer interface consists of a liquid crystal display and a fingerprint acquiring camera; the switch-on of the digital coded lock can be accurately and inerrably controlled through a fingerprint identifying technology; a domestic environment is monitored by using flame, smoke, the temperature sensor and the bijection photoelectric switch; and local acousto-optic alarm is made for emergencies, and short message alarm is realized by using a GSM (Global System Message) network, so that a host can obtain accurate information and take measures very first time. The domestic intelligent security system has the outstanding advantages of compact structure, low manufacturing cost, convenience for installing and using and high security reliability, and has extremely good popularization and use prospects.


Summary: Gluconic acid-producing bacteria have been isolated in high glucose media from honey bees and from ripening honey. Their morphological and biochemical properties indicate possible relationship with acetic bacteria and certain pseudo-monads. At least part of the gluconic acid in honey may arise from the metabolic activity of these bacteria.


Widowhood is akin to separation or divorce. The traumas usually are difficult to overcome although, strangely enough, when the relationship between the partners is strained it is sometimes a blessing. Talking with friends, counselors, social workers, therapists and the like can alleviate the wounds and hasten recovery.


Acupuncture, Cautery and Massage~these were the three great recourses not only of the practitioners of medical sciences in the Far East, but resorted to indiscriminately at the indi vidual's discretion, from time immemorial until within recollec tion of the present generation. Even nowadays they are employed freely enough, especially in rural districts; and, it must be ad mitted, with satisfactory results in many instances. A ll three are based on the reaction of muscles and blood-circulation: in the first two methods due to an acute shock followed by only slight soreness, in the last one because of a "softening up" of stiffness in the tissue. In the former respect, our habit of applying leeches or "cups" for letting blood had in part the same basis; the Orientals fancied these latter procedures less, although they knew them both and did apply them in more serious cases of "bad


EDITOR—Twenty eight (100%) hospice inpatients at least five days into thromboprophylaxis with low molecular weight heparin found it acceptable.1 The potential for lengthened life appeared the main reason for wanting prophylaxis and none knew any common symptoms of venous thromboembolism. All had irreversible deteriorations in performance status, and, as cancer itself is a risk for venous thromboembolism, …


Aim: To investigate and compare the effect of Fresnel prisms on visual acuity in photopic and mesopic conditions. Methods: Twelve participants aged between 18 and 26 years were recruited who had good visual acuity and normal binocular single vision. Monocular visual acuity was measured with three strengths of base-out Fresnel prisms (5 Δ , 15 Δ , 30 Δ ) and without a Fresnel prism. The right eye was tested in all participants. This was assessed at 60 cd/m 2 and 1 cd/m 2 . Participants adapted to 1 cd/m 2 for 5 min before being tested at this luminance, and those tested at 1 cd/m 2 first were allowed to adapt to normal room lighting (60 cd/m 2 ) for 2 min before being tested at this level of lighting. Results: A two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that both increased Fresnel prism strength (F 11,3 = 204.762, p < 0.0001) and luminance (F 11,1 = 343.303, p < 0.0001) significantly reduced visual acuity. There was no interaction between prism strength and lighting condition. The reduction in visual acuity in mesopic conditions was approximately 0.2 logMAR with all prism strengths. Conclusions: Fresnel prisms reduce visual acuity in photopic conditions and lowering luminance to a mesopic level reduces visual acuity further. When a Fresnel prism is worn in mesopic conditions a cumulative effect is seen on the extent that visual acuity is reduced with all prism strengths. This should be considered when deciding whether to fit the prism monocularly or binocularly, and advice should be given to the patient about changing driving habits accordingly.


India is currently the second most populous nation in the world with over 1.2 billion people, growing annually at the rate of 1.5%. It is experiencing a surge in energy demands, expected to grow more than three to four times in 25 years. Most of the energy requirements are currently satisfied by the import of fossil fuels – coal, petroleum-based products and natural gas. Biofuels can satisfy these energy needs in an environmentally benign and cost effective manner while reducing dependence on import of fossil fuels, thus providing National Energy Security. Among various forms of bioenergy, bioethanol is one of the major options for India because of availability of feed stock crops. This paper presents an overview on bioethanol production and technology, steps taken by the Indian government to facilitate and bring about optimal development and utilization of indigenous biomass feedstocks for production of this biofuel. Keywords—Bioethanol, Fossil fuel, Biofuel, energy


Background: WHO has stipulated that the feeding bottle with a nipple should not be used at any age, in order to achieve optimal growth, development, and health of infants. Despite this, bottle feeding to infants is still practiced across our country due to various socio-cultural reasons. This study aims to explore bottle feeding practices among mothers of Urban, Rural and Urban Slum areas. Methods: Qualitative Cross-sectional community based study of mothers attending anganwadi/immunization centre from urban, rural and slum areas. Data was collected by Focussed Group Discussion (FGD) regarding General knowledge on infant feeding and Bottle-feeding practices was discussed. Data was analysed by Content Based analysis and Ethnography. Results: Practice of bottle-feeding was adopted for mother's illness and breast related health issues and some unacceptable reasons. Mothers opted for formula milk and cows' milk equally, making commercially available milk packets as their next choice. No conclusion was made out from the methods of preparation in slum. Information about practicing hygiene in bottle feeding was scientific and justifiable. Conclusions: Practice of bottle-feeding was adopted rarely. Preparation methods were variable in all the mothers and were inconclusive in mothers from Slum. Majority practiced hygienic bottle feeding measures.


Objective To explore the germicidal efficacy and toxicity of benzalkonium bromid disinfection wet tissue.Methods Examination and evaluation were conducted on the content of effective component, germicidal efficacy, and toxicity according to "Technical Standard For Disinfection(2002)".Results The benzalkonium bromid content in disinfection wet tissue was 3.60g/L, after stored at 37℃ for 90 days, the content of the benzalkonium bromid was 3.49g/L and decreased by 3.05%, its expiration date is 2 years, pH is 5.90. The microbiological contamination tests are in line with requirements. The results showed that the disinfection wet tissue sample with a 2 min contact time killed 99.12% of Staphylococcus aureus, 99.32%of Escherichia coli and 98.53%of Candida albicans respectively. with a 5 min, 10min and 20 min contact time, the average killing rate was 100%. In animal tests, the dermal irritation test with the disinfection wet tissue sample was not irritation, and the skin sensitisation test with the disinfection wet tissue sample had not sensiting effect. Conclusion Benzalkonium bromid disinfection wet tissue has good germicidal efficacy and safety, The toxicity tests meet the requirements.


It is unreasonable and illegal for water works to charge households for apportion of water consumption as it is essentially disguised price hike.In addition,this practice will trigger a vicious circle of water steal by households.For water works,this practice maintains their interests in the short term,but it will not enhance their competitiveness in a long run.


Current leading portals still do not provide the user with a realistic three-dimensional multi-modal interaction. The next generation of portals will not only amend this but will provide an integrated environment with marketplaces, chat rooms and believable synthetic characters. We are concerned with the design of embodied sales assistants to be immersed in MPEG4 multiuser worlds. Sales assistants that interact with customers and their virtual shop in a believable manner bring many challenges to the designer. In particular, the assistant must have a detailed and timely knowledge of its contextual setting. We propose a contextually sensitive architecture for sales assistants in the SoNG Project supporting integrated context sensitivity over four distinct domains: the social or communicative domain, the user domain, the product domain and the virtual environment. This architecture has the potential to provide situated believable sales assistants for 3D environments. K K K Ke e e ey y y yw w w wo o o or r r rd d d ds s s


The authors present the results of an investigation of the rate of electron-electron scattering in the two-dimensional electron gas of the Si inversion layer. The electron-electron scattering rate was extracted by analysis of the negative magnetoresistance in the regime of weak localisation when kFl>1, where kF is the Fermi wavevector and l is the mean free path for elastic scattering. The results showed that over a wide range of kFl, carrier concentration and electron mobility the scattering rate was given by two processes which were additive. The first was the normal T2 (Landau-Baber) law and the second was the T law expected when the effects of disorder are considered. There was no evidence for the recently proposed T ln T law.


Objective: Retrospective analysis of the patients submitted to surgical treatment of anorectal fistula in a teaching hospital, in relation to the preoperative data, procedure performed and factors predictive of relapse and anal incontinence. Introduction: Anorectal fistula is a condition commonly found in surgical practice with an incidence of about 1 in 10,000 individuals with a predisposition to the male sex, occurring mainly in patients between 30 and 50 years of age and in 80% of the cases originates from infection in the glandular crypts (cryptoglandular). Its treatment can have as main consequences the relapse and anal incontinence. Methods: A retrospective cohort of patients submitted to surgical treatment of anorectal fistula was analyzed at Santa Marcelina Hospital, São Paulo, between January 2011 and September 2015, based on the analysis of data collected in a prospective electronic medical record. The criteria for non-inclusion were: patients with a history of trauma, urologic, colorectal or gynecological causes, neoplasms, and those with inflammatory bowel disease. The remaining patients with cryptoglandular fistula consecutively operated in the aforementioned period were included in the study. Results: A total of 200 patients submitted to surgical treatment of anorectal fistula were analyzed. Among men, there was a higher incidence of hypertensive patients (0.03), diabetics (0.05), older age (p=0.001), and in women previan abscess was predominant (p=0.001). An overall relapse rate of 13% and a transsphincteric (p=0.044) and extra-sphincter (p=0.005) positions were found. Regarding anal incontinence complaints, even in the first 3 months postoperatively, there was an association with previous abscess (p=0.034), number of pregnancies (p=0.019) and anterior orifice surgery (p=0.021). Conclusion: In the present study with analysis of patients submitted to surgical treatment of anorectal fistula, there was a predominance of male patients and a low incidence of recurrence and symptoms of anal continence disorders, in addition to a predominance of complex fistulas. Isaac José Felippe Corrêa Neto1*, Janaína Wercka2, Diego Palmeira Rangel2, Angelo Rossi da Silva Cecchini2, Hugo Henriques Watté1, Rogério Freitas Lino Souza2, Alexander Sá Rolim2, Rodrigo Ambar Pinto3 and Laercio Robles4 1Department of General Surgery and Coloproctology, Hospital Santa Marcelina-SP, Brazil 2Department of Coloproctology, Santa Marcelina Hospital-SP, Brazil 3Department of Gastroenterology, University of São Paulo, Brazil 4Department of General Surgery, Santa Marcelina Hospital-SP, Brazil Introduction Anorectal fistula is a condition commonly found in surgical practice [1] and can be defined as an abnormal communication between two epithelial surfaces, usually the anal canal with the perianal region [2-4]. It presents an incidence of about 1 in 10,000 individuals with a predisposition to the male sex (2-7:1), occurring mainly in patients between 30 and 50 years of age [5,6] and in 80% of cases it originates from infection in the glandular crypts (cryptoglandular) [6]. The treatment of the anorectal fistula is eminently surgical with the objective of eradicating the fistulous path7, from the correct identification and treatment of the internal fistula hole, path Isaac José Felippe Corrêa Neto, et al., Clinics in Surgery Colon and Rectal Surgery Remedy Publications LLC., | http://clinicsinsurgery.com/ 2018 | Volume 3 | Article 1976 2 and eventual adjacent collections, avoiding lesions to the anorectal sphincter complex [7-9]. However, this ideal proposal is not simple to achieve with risk of anal incontinence and recurrence of fistula in up to 18% of cases [1,10]. With regard to the most commonly used treatment in anorectal fistula, i.e., fistulotomy, the incidence of anal incontinence can vary widely from 4% to 62% [11-13] and this risk is fundamentally related to age at the time of surgery, type e complexity of the fistula, presence of multiple routes, previous drainage of anorectal abscess and still follow-up [14-17]. Objectives Retrospective analysis of patients submitted to surgical treatment of anorectal fistula in a teaching hospital, in relation to preoperative data, procedure performed and predictive factors of recurrence and anal incontinence. Materials and Methods We analyzed a retrospective cohort of patients submitted to surgical treatment of anorectal fistula at Santa Marcelina Hospital, São Paulo, between January 2011 and September 2015, based on the analysis of electronic medical record data collected prospectively. The criteria for non-inclusion were: patients with a history of trauma, urologic, colorectal or gynecological causes, neoplasms, and those with inflammatory bowel disease. The remaining patients with cryptoglandular fistula consecutively operated in the aforementioned period were included in the study. The preoperative data analyzed were: gender, age, body mass index, comorbidities, history of perianal abscess, symptomatology, classification and location of the perianal fistula. The postoperative perioperative and postoperative data evaluated were: type of surgery, postoperative complications, relapse and anal continence disorders. For the analysis of the epidemiological data the comparison between the male and the female was made. All surgeries were performed by resident physicians of coloprocology assisted by attending physicians of the hospital, experienced in the treatment of orifice diseases. Statistical analysis Data were described as mean ± standard deviation (extremes) or absolute frequency (percentage). To study the association between qualitative variables, Fischer's exact test and Relative Risk (RR) calculation (Confidence Interval 95%) were used. To analyze the difference between quantitative variables, Student's t-test was used for independent samples. In order to evaluate the relationship between preoperative or intraoperative factors with relapse or anal incontinence, binary logistic regression was used. The level of statistical significance was 95%. Results The treatment flowchart, following the exclusion criteria of patients in the study is described in (Figure 1). Among the men, there was a higher incidence of patients with lower educational level (p=0.02), hypertensive (0.03), diabetic patients (0.05), older age (p=0.001) and in women preanal abscess was predominant (p=0.001) (Table 1). The complaints reported by the patients undergoing preoperative evaluation were the presence of perianal secretion in 82% of the patients, followed by the lesion in the place perceived by the patient in 73.5% of the cases and pain in 51.5% of the cases analyzed without statistical difference between the genders. In the intraoperative period, the fistulas were classified in relation to the anal sphincter and position of the external orifice by the Rule of Goodsall [18] and according to the classification of Parks [19] with a higher incidence of inters-phyterial fistulas (140 patients), followed by transsphincteric fistula. Regarding the postoperative complaints, the most frequent were pain, soiling, hygiene difficulty and loss of sedation, without showing a statistically significant difference between patients submitted to or not to the use of sedentary wire. However, the percentage of asymptomatic patients was higher in the group of patients submitted Geral Masculino Feminino p Number of patients 200 132 68 Age years) 43,3 ± 14 46,4 ± 14 37,3 ± 11,9 0,001 (15-82) (15-82) (20-75) BMI (kg/m2) 28,5 ± 5,9 29 ± 6,0 27,6 ± 5,6 0,12 (16,6-55,3) (16,6-55,3) (16,9-40,9) Hypertension 44 (22%) 35 (26%) 9 (13%) 0,03 Diabetes mellitus 13 (6,5%) 13 (9,8%) 0 (0%) 0,05 HIV 6 (3,0%) 6 (4,5%) 0 (0%) 0,09 Smoker 42 (21%) 31 (23%) 11 (16%) 0,27 Previous Orifice Surgery 61 (30,5%) 36 (27,3%) 25 (36,8) 0,19 Previous abscess 113 (57%) 63 (47,7%) 50 (70,3%) 0,001 Previous pregnancy 40(58,8%) Vaginal delivery 26 (38,2%)


Dynamic spectrum access (DSA) is a promising technology to increase the spectrum efficiency of Internet of Things (IoT) networks, where the traffic demand grows up dramatically recently. In this paper, an intelligent DSA-assisted IoT network is introduced, where we investigate the spectrum sensing through neuromorphic computing (NC) and spectrum access through genetic algorithm (GA)-based power allocation. To be specific, we apply the NC's unconventional computing architectures that exploit and harness the intrinsic dynamics for computation, and thus provide increased functionality with better spectrum sensing performance requiring significantly lower size, weight, and power budgets. Furthermore, we design a GA algorithm to intelligently search the desirable transmission power for multiple IoT devices sharing the same channel to enhance the capacity of the highly dynamic DSA-assisted IoT network. Extensive simulation results have demonstrated the benefits of NC and GA compared to other baseline algorithms and methodologies.


Several studies are conducted to demonstrate how bacteria and other microorganisms present in different food items enter and hence affect the human body. It is shown that inappropriate handling techniques lead to food poisoning and hence need to be avoided. The need for the development of new technologies to avoid food poisoning in New Zealand is discussed.