The metaphor of progress as it applies to education refers to the steps taken (Latin gredi) by students on a road leading from one way of understanding or misunderstanding in the direction (Latin pro) of another, better understanding. This process of acculturation, understood in the light of the metaphor of progress, is thought here as connecting two commensurate realms. This metaphoric mode evokes a technical, natural, scientific way of understanding education. The cultural metaphor of a rite of passage as it is used by preliterate societies presents acculturation as a transcending movement between incommensurate realms. The root metaphor for the rite of passage is that of dying to one way of life and being reborn to another. The metaphor of progress, like that of homo faber, leads to an understanding of acculturation in terms of becoming literate. The metaphor of the rite of passage and of transcendence leads to an understanding of acculturation as essentially a process of becoming inscribed. The rite of passage places human learning and understanding within the context of human suffering and mortality; modern progressive theories place our thirst for knowledge within the context of everyday usefulness and the practical desire to improve our life. It is possible to think of the young child's passage from the home environment to the grade-school environment in terms of progress; the world of the home and that of the school are then thought of as commensurate realms, as together forming one unproblematic whole. The child's problem in moving from the one environment to the other is then seen as a problem of adjustment. If we look at this transition in terms of a rite of passage, it can then be thought of as a radical personal and individual transformation or conversion that cannot be accomplished by purely technical means. This mode of understanding casts in high relief the essential differences that mark the incommensurate realms of the home and the school. An investigation concerning the essential differences between the incommensurate realms of home and school brings to the fore the more fundamental differences between the incommensurate spheres of the private and the public, each of which has its own specific structural and ontological characteristics that determine the characteristic manner in which these realms are inhabited.


This study was conducted in order to identify the effect of using video as an audio-visual material on foreign language learners' levels of motivation and achievement. The study was applied to 48 students attending the Preparatory Program during the 2010-2011 academic year at Amasya University. The study was conducted during the second semester of the academic year. The participants in this study completed Elementary level English course work in the first semester of the same academic year. In the second semester, they continued their English language studies at the Pre-intermediate level. The data collection instruments of this study consisted of a motivation scale and an achievement test. The motivation scale was adapted from Kurum's (2007) motivational factors questionnaire, in accordance with the objectives of this study. The achievement test was taken from New English File Pre-Intermediate Workbook. The collected data was analyzed by using SPSS 15.0 statistical package. Independent Samples T-test and Paired Samples T-test were used to analyze the data obtained from the preand post-tests. As a result of these ana lyses, it was found that using video as an audio-visual material influenced the language learning motivation and achievement levels of the students in the Preparatory Program of Amasya University.


This study was conducted to identify the effectiveness of meridian acupressure for enhancement of post operative bowel movement to the patient with absolute bed rest who having surgery under general anesthesia. This study used a qusai experimental, nonequivalent control group post test only design. This subject were 44 patients, 22 for the experimental and 22 for the control group, who were admitted at KyungHee University hospital, neurosurgical unit A and B ward, assigned by matched sample by the name of operation who having microvascular decompression and laminectomy. Date were collected from May 1, 2001 to June 30, 2001 by auscultation, self report and by using 7 point face scale. The recovery of bowel sound were measured every 4 hours until gas out for 1 minute auscultation on lower abdomen after 4 hours having surgery. The time of gas out were measured by self report, the severity of nausea were measured every 4 hours for 7 point face scale and also the degree of satisfaction of nursing care were measured after 2 days having surgery with same scale. Data were analyzed with X2, t test, repeated measures ANOVA and ANOVA. The result of this study were as follows; 1. The experimental group which were implemented with meridian acupressure showed shorter time the recovery of bowel sound after having surgery than control group(t=-5.112, p=.0001). 2. The experimental group which were implemented with meridian acupressure showed shorter time of gas after having surgery than control group(t=-4.010, p=.0001) 3. The experimental group which were implemented with meridian acupressure showed decreased level of nausea score according to time interval than control group(F=21.995, p=.0001). 4. The experimental group which were implemented with meridian acupressure showed higher the degree of satisfaction of nursing care than control group(t=-4.010, p=.0001). These finding indicate that a meridian acupressure could be a effective nursing intervention for enhancement of post operative bowel movement to the patient with absolute bed rest who having surgery under general anesthesia.


This paper presents a new open-source dataset with ground truth position in a simulated colon environment to promote development of real-time feedback systems for physicians performing colonoscopies. Four systems (DSO, LSD-SLAM, SfMLearner, ORB-SLAM2) are tested on this dataset and their failures are analyzed. A data collection platform was fabricated and used to take the dataset in a colonoscopy training simulator that was affixed to a flat surface. The noise in the ground truth positional data induced from the metal in the data collection platform was then characterized and corrected. The Absolute Trajectory RMSE Error (ATE) and Relative Error (RE) metrics were performed on each of the sequences in the dataset for each of the Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) systems. While these systems all had good performance in idealized conditions, more realistic conditions in the harder sequences caused them to produce poor results or fail completely. These failures will be a hindrance to physicians in a real-world scenario, so future systems made for this environment must be more robust to the difficulties found in the colon, even at the expense of trajectory accuracy. The authors believe that this is the first open-source dataset with groundtruth data displaying a simulated in vivo environment with active deformation, and that this is the first step toward achieving useful SLAM within the colon. The dataset is available at www.colorado.edu/lab/amtl/datasets.


Summary Objective: To compare the mechanical properties of pancarpal arthrodesis (PCA) constructs stabilized at 20° of extension using either a 3.5 mm limited contact dynamic compression plate (LC-DCP) or a 3.5/2.7 mm hybrid plate (HP). Methods: Seven forelimb pairs were used from dogs of similar size. All soft tissues were removed except for supporting structures of the carpus and proximal metacarpal region. All plates were accurately bent to 20°, and then instrumented with two, 350Ω strain gauges applied at the level of the bend. Constructs were embedded in epoxy moulds then mounted onto a servo-hydraulic testing machine. Specimens were loaded for 10 cycles at 100N, 200N and 300N. Tenth cycle construct compliance (CC), maximum angular deformation (MAD), and peak plate strain (PPS) were compared using two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Student-Newman- Keuls post-hoc tests (p <0.05). Results: Regardless of load, CC was 29% to 33% smaller in the HP than the LC-DCP group (p <0.03). In each group, the CC significantly increased with increasing loads (p <0.02). Mean MAD was 19% to 22% less in HP than LC-DCP constructs, with significant differences seen at 200N and 300N loads. In both groups, MAD was significantly greater with increasing loads (p <0.02). In addition, PPS was 37% to 43% smaller for HP than LC-DCP. Clinical significance: The mechanical advantages of the HP over the LC-DCP make it a viable alternative for PCA. Smaller CC, MAD and PSS of the HP may reduce the risk of implant failure and postoperative morbidity following PCA.


A minisystem is the smallest system that can deliver a single clinical benefit. Healthcare is delivered to patients through an assemblage of minisystems. It is the failure of these minisystems that reportedly results in between 44,000 and 98,000 iatrogenic deaths in the United States annually. Accident investigations are intended to identify the latent defects within these minisystems and to recommend corrective actions that will prevent a recurrence. Since human error is involved in approximately 69% of these deaths, understanding the fundamental causes of human error is important to an effective investigation. Device-related accident investigations require a three-step process to identify the deficiencies: 1) gathering clinical and engineering data surrounding an event, 2) analyzing the data to identify the components of the minisystem that contributed to the event, and, when operator error is identified, 3) translate the clinical actions of the operator to human error concepts. A case study of an incident involving a defibrillator which illustrates the process and recommendations for adjusting the minisystem to increase compatibility with the device operator are presented.


Experiments on solid iodine under pressure are reviewed. Theoretical results obtained on solid iodine by the full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital method are reviewed. The pressure dependences of the Raman-active modes of molecular solid bromine have been studied theoretically by the same method. The calculated results reproduce recent experimental results very well. After metallization, the softening of frequencies that is seen is not the same as in experiments. This contrasts with the case for solid iodine.


Ground motion records from six high-explosive cratering events in northeastern Montana, ten contained nuclear explosive events at the Nevada Test Site, and motions of an earth-fill dam during the Gasbuggy underground nuclear explosion in New Mexico were analyzed for power spectral density, peak velocity and velocity spectra. The high-explosive events included four 20-ton single charges at depths of burst which varied between 42 to 57 feet, a 140-ton row charge consisting of three 20-ton and two 40-ton charges at optimum cratering depths of burst, and a 0.5-ton charge at the optimum depth of burst. It was found that at these depths and charge weights an increase in depth of burst resulted in an increase in peak velocities and power-spectral densities as measured at distant points (> 5 km). Power spectral density was found to be approximately proportional to the first power of yield. For this region it was determined that power spectral density varied inversely as radial distance to the 3.55 power. Three analysis techniques—peak velocity, velocity spectra and power spectral density—are compared, and it is shown that power spectral density is the most consistent method when comparing records from different measuring stations. An analysis of power-spectral density measured at one station for the ten events at the Nevada Test Site shows that a significant shift in the frequency of the energy in the seismogram occurs when the source location changes. For events in the Yucca Flat area the peak energy at Mercury was consistently at 1.0 Hz, while for events in the Pahute Mesa area this peak occurs at 2.5 Hz. A comparison of the power spectral densities on and near the Navajo Dam revealed that the natural frequencies and first harmonics of the dam are 1.4, 2.0 and 2.5 Hz in the mode where motion is parallel to the canyon axis. A simple model makes use of these frequencies to calculate a shear-wave velocity of 1130 ft/sec. A method of using power spectral density to measure earthquake magnitudes and measure the yield of underground explosions is proposed.


Glass-based packaging presents unique opportunities for supporting 5G and beyond frequencies. In this work, we present the first broadband characterization results for the electrical properties of Ajinomoto build-up film (ABF) laminated on glass substrates. ABF/glass/ABF-based stack up has been characterized from 20 to 170 GHz. We also report the low-loss performance of ABF/glass/ABF transmission lines. The material stack up consists of a 100- $\mu \text{m}$ -thick EN-A1 glass core from Asahi Glass Company (AGC) with 15- $\mu \text{m}$ ABF GL102 laminated on both sides. Semiadditive process (SAP) has been used to metalize the stack up. A microstrip ring resonator (MRR) method has been used to extract the dielectric constant and loss tangent of the stack up. The dispersive model estimates the dielectric constant of the stack up to be ~4.72 for the entire frequency range with a variance of +0.1. The measured loss tangent values were 0.004, 0.009, and 0.012 at 23, 103, and 140 GHz, respectively. The electrical characterization results with a confidence interval of 95% have been reported. The average insertion loss for coplanar waveguide (CPW) lines in the frequency range was measured to be between 0.055 and 0.50 dB/mm. The average insertion loss for microstrip in the same frequency range was measured to be 0.12–0.62 dB/mm. Along with the good model to hardware correlation, the performance of the transmission lines has been compared with the insertion loss published for other substrate technologies.


The large number of genes across eukaryotic genomes begs the question as to whether they are all fundamentally regulated in the same manner. Clearly, sequence-specific factors direct gene-specific regulation, but then do all downstream events proceed along a common path? To begin to address this question, we use ChIP-exo to map the precise contact points of proteins along genomic DNA. The near single-bp readout provides structural insights into how proteins are organized into complexes across genomes, and how they might position nucleosomes to regulate gene expression. Multiple classes of complexes occupy nucleosome-free promoter regions: an ensemble of sequence-specific factors and their coactivators, the core transcription machinery, chromatin remodelers and nucleosomes. This talk will focus on identifying common principles that determined how factors and chromatin organize themselves at promoters across co-regulated genes, and in genes in general. Citation Format: B. Franklin Pugh. Genomic organization of yeast chromatin and gene regulatory complexes. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Chromatin and Epigenetics in Cancer; Sep 24-27, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(2 Suppl):Abstract nr IA02.


Many researchers and professionals need to be able to measure, assess and interpret human growth between birth and adulthood. However, much of the methodology is scattered in diverse literature. Human Growth: Assessment and Interpretation provides a complete reference to the field for all those who measure and assess child growth. It emphasises the interpretation of growth data taking into account the adjusted effects of influences such as genes, hormones and substance abuse during pregnancy, gives descriptions of normal and abnormal growth patterns, and of variant growth patterns such as failure-to-thrive and catch-up growth. Including methods to measure size and maturity, the judgement and interpretation of recorded data, evaluations of influences on growth and the significance of abnormal growth, it will be an essential source of information for pediatricians, human biologists, health workers, nutritionists, epidemiologists and others who are responsible for the health and welfare of children.


Introduction
Familial Adult Myoclonic Epilepsy (FAME) is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by cortical tremor, myoclonus and epileptic seizures. In this article, we aimed to review the main clinical characteristics, pathophysiology and diagnostic work-up of this disease to increase awareness.

Method
PubMed and Web of Science databases were used and all types of articles available in full text and Englishwere selected.

Results
The first symptom of this rare condition is involuntary tremor-like finger movements that appear often in the second decade. Generalized tonic-clonic and myoclonic seizures are the most common types of seizures which develop later in the course of the disease. Additional clinical symptoms enlarging the clinical spectrum have been described, such as cognitive decline, migraine, night blindness. Electroencephalography shows usually normal background activity with/without generalized spike and wave activities. Giant somato-sensory evoked potentials (SEP) and long loop latency reflexes which indicate the cortical origin can be detected. Genetic side of the disorder is rather complicated, linkage analyses defined four independent loci on chromosome 2, 3, 5 and 8. Recent studies disclose abnormal pentanucleotide repeat expansions of intronic TTTCA and TTTTA that are involved in the pathogenesis of FAME.

Conclusion
However, as it is not classified as an individual epileptic syndrome by the ILAE, there are still some question marks about this under-recognized disease. The insidious progression of the clinical findings and similarity in phenotypes may lead to misdiagnosis. Clinical and electroclinical international collaborations may help distinguish FAME from other myoclonic epilepsies including juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and slow-progressive forms of progressive myoclonic epilepsy and movement disorders like essential tremor.


Microprocessor-based signal processing equipment for frequencies up to 20 kHz have become compact and fast enough to allow direct on-line real-time analysis on power systems to determine behavior. A case study is presented for a small steelworks operating a 25-MVA open arc furnace, installing 6.5 MVA of thyristor control equipment and further power factor correcting equipment and harmonic filters on a system with ill-defined parameters, low short- circuit capacity, and already containing power factor correcting capacitors tuned at the third harmonic. Discrete spectrum analysis equipment, microprocessor-based and coupled via IEEE-bus to a microcomputer system, was used to do on-line analysis at various points in the system. The high-speed system enabled sophisticated signal processing to yield even and uneven harmonics, stochastic components, system parameters and resonances and mutual interference. It is shown how this is used to rectify problems in the system, adapt equipment, and design power factor and filter equipment.


This paper proposes diagonal microphone placement for the landscape/portrait interchangeable mode of a personal computer. Two microphones are diagonally located at a screen corner to provide useful directivity for target-signal enhancement in both landscape and portrait modes. The diagonal microphone placement guarantees a nonzero microphone spacing in either the landscape and the portrait mode along the ground surface leading to successful interference attenuation. Evaluations in a speech recognition scenario demonstrate that the diagonal microphone placement is effective in both the landscape and the portrait position with comparable command recognition rates of 80 to 99%.


Author(s): Marelius, David Charles | Advisor(s): Grotjahn, Douglas B | Abstract: It is imperative that we improve clean and renewable energy technology in the face of growing energy demand. Solar energy is potentially abundant, but we need to capture, convert and store solar energy in usable forms. Hydrogen could be ideal for energy storage, if made using sunlight energy to split water by oxidizing water to dioxygen and protons and using the released electrons to reduce protons to hydrogen in a net transfer of electrons. In Chapter 2, we explored water oxidation which is believed to be the more challenging of the two steps. We found evidence for catalyst degradation while using iridium complexes with ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as a sacrificial oxidant, possibly forming iridium oxide nanoparticles. Chapter 3 describes studies of analogs of well-known ruthenium water oxidation catalysts with bipyridine ligands that were designed to be bifunctional, by adding potential pendant bases such as hydroxy, alkoxy, amino, and heterocyclic amines, and some combinations of these groups. One successful catalyst was the methoxy complex which proved to be more robust than the parent unsubstituted complex while using CAN. Extended π systems, e.g. naphthyridine were found to lead to less active catalysts; therefore, we attempted to slow degradation and increase duration of catalysis by protecting the complex with sterically hindered groups, but we suspect that ligand loss interfered. Chapter 4 focused on ligands that would support formation of binuclear complexes which could improve catalysis, taking into account one of the proposed mechanisms for water oxidation involving two metal complexes Work presented in Chapter 1 involves synthesis (by direct metalation of C-H bonds) and characterization of bis protic N-heterocylic carbene (PNHC) pincer complexes of platinum, palladium, and even nickel, in addition to their reactivity with alkynes and under basic conditions. Alkynes were converted to aldehydes as the major anti-Markovnikov addition products. The complexes were treated with different bases to form proposed trifunctional complexes containing one PNHC and one basic imidazolyl ligand. Addition of sodium alkoxide yielded dimeric species and lithium bases gave LiCl-imidazolyl adducts, which proved to be moisture sensitive but did not lose LiCl and undergo ligand exchange with substrates.


Air transportation is an integral part of the
economy and the transportation infrastructure. However, aircraft
activity at airports generates CO2 emissions that affect the
climate and other pollutants that affect air quality and human
health. The focus of this thesis is to enable the reduction of the
air quality impacts of aircraft operations at airports by (1)
advancing the understanding of the relationship between aircraft
activity and its air quality impacts and (2) evaluating the air
quality benefits of controlling aircraft operations. There are
atmospheric conditions where decreasing fuel burn (which is
directly proportional to CO2 emissions) results in increased
population exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone
(O3). This thesis quantifies the duration and magnitude of the
tradeoffs between CO2 emissions and population exposure. The
research complements current studies that optimize aircraft
operations at airports for CO2 emissions but have not quantified
the air quality implications of doing so. This raises the
possibility of reducing the air quality impacts of airports beyond
focusing only on minimizing fuel burn. Next, this thesis
characterizes the atmospheric conditions that give rise to
tradeoffs between emissions and population exposure to ozone. The
ozone exposure response to nitrogen oxide (NOx) and Volatile
Organic Compound (VOC) emissions is quantified as a function of
ambient NOx and VOC concentrations using ozone exposure isopleths.
This is the first time that ozone exposure isopleths are created
for all locations in the US, using emission sensitivities from the
adjoint of an air quality model. Metrics are calculated based on
the isopleths which can be used to determine whether NOx and VOC
emission reductions will improve ozone exposure or be
counter-productive and the optimal NOx/VOC reduction ratio.
Finally, this thesis calculates, for the first time, the air
quality and climate benefits of pushback control and de-rated
takeoffs for simulated aircraft operations at the Detroit
Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW). Operations are also
optimized for minimum air quality, environmental and fuel
combustion-related costs. The results show that the gate holding
strategy is effective in mitigating the environmental impacts of
taxi operations at airports, reducing CO2 emissions and air quality
impacts by 35-40% relative to a baseline without gate holds.
De-rated takeoffs at 75% thrust are effective in reducing the air
quality impacts of takeoff operations by 19% but increase fuel burn
by 3% relative to full-thrust takeoffs. Environmental costs are
minimized with average optimal thrust setting of 81%, while
maintenance cost savings are estimated to be 2 orders of magnitude
larger than the increase in fuel costs from de-rated
takeoffs.


CONTENTS Introduction § 1. Basic definitions and auxiliary assertions § 2. Graphs with a given number of vertices § 3. Auxiliary assertions concerning graphs with a given number of vertices and edges § 4. Graphs with a given number of vertices and edges References


Strong law of large numbers is a fundamental theory in probability and statistics. When the measure tool is nonadditive, this law is very different from additive case. In 2010 Chen investigated the strong law of large numbers under upper probabilityVby assumingVis continuous. This assumption is very strong. Upper probabilities may not be continuous. In this paper we prove the strong law of large numbers for an upper probability without the continuity assumption whereby random variables are quasi-continuous and the upper probability is generated by a weakly compact family of probabilities on a complete and separable metric sample space.


The nonstructural 3 serine protease inhibitors (PIs), boceprevir and telaprevir, represent the first in a new generation of directly acting antivirals against genotype 1 hepatitis C (HCV) infection. When used in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, these drugs greatly improve sustained virological response rates in both treatment‐naïve patients and patients who have had previous virological failure on treatment. However, the addition of these new agents will increase the complexity of therapeutic regimens, the rates of side‐effects and costs.


(Under the care of C. E. PURSLOW, M.D.Lond., Honorary Obstetric Officer, Queen's Hlospital; Tutor in Midwifery and Gyneecology, Queen's College, Birmingham.) M. S., aged 53, was admitted on March 26tb, 1890, at 11.30 P.M, blanched, collapsed, and pulseless from severe uterine haemorrhage, which had come on at 1 P.M. and continued since. On examination, there was a rounded uniform tumour in the abdomen, reaching to midway between umbilicus and pubes, and bimanually this was made out to be the uterus. The os was reached with difficulty, being high up in vagina and directed backwards, and the anterior lip of cervix, together with anterior uterine wall, bulged down, forming a rounded swelling in vaginal roof immediately behind pubes. The os was not dilated. Patient had a well-marked mitral systolic murmur, and slight cedema of legs. The heemorrhage was stopped by ergotin and plugging vagina, but recurred in a few hours, and a laminaria tent was then introduced into cervix, and removed in twelve hours. March 29th. Recurrence of heemorrhage. Large-sized laminaria tent introduced; removed in twelve hours, and uterus washed out with hot water. Os not sufficiently dilated to admit finger. After this there was no further heemorrhage, but the temperature rose at night to 101.60, and there was some pain. Uterus washed out with carbolic (1 in 40). April 2nd. Pyrexia since last note. No pain. Intensely fcetid, purulent discharge has set in. Abdominal tumour feels softer. Os now admits finger, which detects pulpy mass in uterus. Uterus washed out every four hours. Diarrheea, vomiting. April 3rd. Rigor in night, during which temperature rose to 106°0; delirium; vomiting continues; os more dilated, admitting finger readily. At 11 A.M. patient placed under anesthetic and os dilated to size of crown-piece with fingers, its edges being thinned and easily dilatable. With vulsellum forceps as much of the mass as possible was grasped and torn away; it appeared to be attached to anterior uterine wall by a very broad base. The forceps were again introduced, and the mass removed piece by piece until all that could be felt by the finger was taken away. One part of the tumour near the os was soft, pulpy, and intensely feetid, exuding pus; but the deeper part was firm, and presented the ordinary naked-eye appearance of uterine fibromyoma on section. The whole, when drained of fluid, weighed 131 oz. The uterus was washed out with a hot solution of corrosive sublimate (1 in 3,000), and plugged with iodoform gauze. April 4th. Plugs removed: no beemorrhage. Temperature, morning 99.80, evening 100.2°. No pain, or vomiting, or discharge. April 6th. Temperature normal since last note. Feetid discharge has recommenced. Os contracting. Uterus washed out twice daily. Evening temperature has risen to 101.2°. April 15th. Patient has had pyrexia. Temperature sometimes 103° since last note. A foetid, purulent discharge has continued, but is now diminishing, and the foetor is less. Uterus has been washed out twice daily, and a pessary containing iodoform (10 grains) introduced after each washing. The os is contracting, and the intrauterine glass irrigation tube is now with difficulty introduced. General condition much improved. April 17th. Intrauterine irrigation now discontinued, as tube cannot be introduced; vaginal injection performed instead. Discharge almost ceased. Temperature has not risen above 100° since last note. April 26th. No pyrexia since last note. Discharge now quite ceased. On examination, cervix smooth; os contracted, just admitting sound, which passes 2i inches in normal direction without causing pain. Bimanually, the uterus feels slightly enlarged, freely movable, not at all tender. The patient gained strength, and left the hospital on May 8th, having had no hsemorrhage since operation, temperature being normal, there being no pain, and feeling very well except for the slight dyspncea, etc., due to the cardiac condition above-mentioned. REMRAKS.-This case appears to me to be interesting, because cases of sloughing uterine myoma are not at all common, and, according to Hart and Barbour, in their Manual of Gyna-cology, "most of such cases end fatally." This patient was twice in imminent danger of death; in the first place from heemorrhage, and in the second place from septicmemia, when the tumour began to slough, and, had not prompt treatment been applied in the latter instance, she would not have lived many days. The explanation of the sloughing appears to me to be that the laminaria tents abraded or tore the capsule of the tumour and the mucous membrane covering it, and allowed access of air to the substance of the growth. The second less severe attack of septicmemic symptoms, which came on four days after operation, was due no doubt to small particles of the fibroid which had not been removed commencing to slough away, though no pieces were ever seen in the discharge, which was carefully noticed. I must, in conclusion, acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Algernon J. Horton, the then obstetric house-surgeon, for many of the notes, and for valuable assistance in the treatment of the case.


This collection of essays by several physicians at a single hospital in Australia attempts to present a multidisciplinary "team" approach to the problems of extracranial vascular disease. There are 15 chapters dealing with the anatomy, physiology, pathology, clinical evaluation, and treatment of cerebrovascular disease, including a chapter each on the role of neuroradiologic investigations, thermography, the neuro-ophthalmologic exam, and the electroencephalogram (EEG) in the diagnosis of stroke. The multiauthor format results in an unevenness of style and occasional redundancies. Several chapters are well-referenced and helpful reviews, but others are excessively anecdotal. The book contains several generalizations on therapy that are unsupported by data, eg, 5% CO 2 inhalation, corticosteroids, and osmotic agents are endorsed for use in completed stroke. There are several contradictory statements, eg, the Horner syndrome ipsilateral to a carotid stenosis is said to be postganglionic on page 58, and preganglionic on page 96. Occasionally, the authors disagree


The vulnerability of urban environments in continental regions to earthquake forces was explicitly demonstrated in Australia's devastating Newcastle earthquake on December 28, 1989. This moderately-sized earthquake of Richter magnitude ML 5.6 (Moment magnitude M 5.3) claimed 13 lives, damaged more than 70,000 properties and left an estimated total loss of about $AU(l991)4 billion. The need for an earthquake mitigation programme in Australia was thus clearly established. It is for this reason that a multidisciplinary approach involving seismology, geology, engineering,insurance, local government and emergency services is being followed to study this event and its consequences. The earthquake source is defined as being on a thrust fault trending NW-SE dipping 75° to the NE, with a depth of focus at 11.5 km, source radius of 1.86 km, stress drop of at least 24 bars and a displacement along the rupture surface of at least 310 mm. The epicentre is located at 32.95°S, 151.61 °E close to Boolaroo, about 15 km SW of the City of Newcastle, and with an epicentral error of about + 15 km. More than 100,000 observations from damage and felt reports are being analysed and integrated with the wide experiences gained in the rescue, recovery and renewal phases that have extended over the two years since the event. The specific issue of the geotechnical aspects is of great importance. It is being considered from the view of urban geology (surface alluvial sediments), rather than from theoretical considerations, to explain the major extent of building damage on the alluvial areas, amplification and liquefaction. Apart from the immediate "causes" of damage, serious consideration is being given to the long-term effects which have resulted in the latent and recurrent defects to buildings. The engineering findings from the Newcastle earthquake are discussed in detail. While it is uneconomical and not necessary to design a structure to withstand the greatest likely earthquake without damage in Australia, the cost of providing strength to resist very high intensity loads must be weighed against the importance of the structure and probability of the earthquakes, particularly in areas such as this with relatively little known seismic histories. Lessons for local government authorities who had not previously considered seismic activity are addressed. Based on the response and recovery of the City of Newcastle, the lessons include the development of a recovery management plan, revision of building regulations and the requirements for hazard mitigation. Unfortunately, several misconceptions about some aspects of the consequences of this earthquake have arisen. These concern the limitations of some analyses, use of selected data sets rather than all the available data and apparent lack of understanding of complex, rather than singular, causal relationships. Implications for the engineering, insurance and possibly the legal professions need to be considered. The potential to reduce losses in future earthquakes in Australia through an earthquake mitigation programme is now an achievable goal. The scenarios of such an event occurring at a different time or in a different city can be addressed, based on the Newcastle and other international experiences. Sufficient information is available to prepare the revised Australian earthquake loading code as a reliable and practical document for use by engineers. The consequences of the 1989 Newcastle earthquake have also captured the interest of researchers from many other continental areas of the Earth who must consider preparations for similar situations. All aspects of the study ultimately lead to the preparedness of urban communities to deal with such consequences with the assistance of emergency services agencies to minimize the social and economic traumas that will inevitably occur. 1•5The Centre for Earthquake Research in Australia [CERA], in association with The University of Queensland,


This paper reconceptualizes the purposes of education's budget envelope. Citing numerous examples of how policymakers consider resource allocations apart from the main concerns of individual programs, the people reallocations affect, and education's most important programs, it suggests that policymakers and finance officers reemphasize program and people priorities rather than financial ones. Noting that curriculum and instruction issues rank a distant fifth behind frontrunner funding issues in the 1988 American Association of School Administrator's Survey, disapproval about funding priorities and program-based budgeting systems is expressed. Political concerns often dictate program funding without regard to the most effective programs. In addition, when expenditures outstrip income based on foundation levels established according to the annual inflation rate, funding emergencies occur. The report concludes that such a reconceptualization will not prevent policymakers from meeting their long-term or short-term budgeting obligations. Rather, budget flexibility is enhanced because of budgets designed to respond to immediate ongoing program needs, and not to any fixed "written in stone" timetable that ends with the fiscal year. (JAM) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** RECONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE BUDGET ENVELOPE


This study evaluates the reliability of the discharge status variable m health insurance claims for identifying in-hospital patient deaths. This study used 2002 national health insurance claims and the cause of death statistics from Korean national statistical office. The Study data set included acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients in 133 general and tertiary hospitals. The gold standard containing patient death information was made and then compared with that of claims data. The hospitals were classified into four groups based on the number of deaths in each hospital. Simple kappa coefficients were calculated to evaluate the agreements of patient deaths between the gold standard and the insurance claims. CABG (83.9%) showed higher agreements than AMI(73.0%) in matched in-hospital patient death information between data sets. Simple kappa coefficients of CABG (0.63) and AMI (0.59) showed moderate or good agreements. The agreements, however, varied depending on the disease or hospital types. The fact that the agreements are only moderate to good indicates that the accuracy of in-hospital death information in claims is not high. n the variable is used to identify patient deaths, it may mislead people. Therefore, efforts should be made to improve the reliability of the discharge status variable in health insurance claims.


tooth in of to assess an automated robotic tooth preparation system for PLVs for accuracy and precision compared with conventional freehand tooth a a ABSTRACT Statement of problem. Controlling tooth reduction for porcelain laminate veneers (PLVs) in fractions of millimeters is challenging. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to assess an automated robotic tooth preparation system for PLVs for accuracy and precision compared with conventional freehand tooth preparation. Material and methods. Twenty maxillary central incisor tooth models were divided into 2


In this paper we propose a technique for evaluating similarity of XML Schema fragments. Firstly, we define classes of structurally and semantically equivalent XSD constructs. Then we propose a similarity measure that is based on the idea of edit distance utilized to XSD constructs and enables one to involve various additional similarity aspects. In particular, we exploit the equivalence classes and semantic similarity of element/attribute names. Using experiments we show the behavior and advantages of the proposal.


The monoclonal antibody mMN9 recognizes an antigenic molecule, equatorin, which is localized at the equatorial segment of the mammalian sperm acrosome. Our previous results using an IVF system indicated that mMN9 blocked sperm-oocyte fusion. Antibody-containing and control solutions were injected directly into the right and left oviductal ampullae, respectively, of anaesthetized female mice to assess the effect of mMN9 on fertilization in vivo. After hCG treatment, the females were mated, and their oviductal eggs and implanted embryos were examined. mMN9 was retained in the oviductal lumen at 20 h after injection. The rates of fertilization and concomitant pregnancy were significantly lower than in the control side (P < 0.05). In addition, histological studies showed no evidence of pathological changes in the female reproductive tract after the injections. These results indicate that mMN9 inhibits mouse fertilization significantly under in vivo conditions and that this injection method should be useful for studying the effects of antibodies and agents on fertilization in vivo.


Summary Within the Alston Orefield of the North Pennines, glaucodot and gersdorffite have been found in samples from Tynebottom Mine, Garrigill, and zoned gersdorffite has been found from Nenthead and the Great Sulphur Vein. At Scar Crag in the English Lake District, glaucodot and alloclase (the first reported occurrence in the United Kingdom) occur associated with arsenopyrite and minor cobaltite and skutterudite. The mineralogy and parageneses of these associations have been studied by ore microscopy, X-ray powder photography, and electron probe microanalysis. Electron probe microanalysis shows a considerable range in nickel content in the sulpharsenides from the Alston Orefield with a relatively constant Co:Fe ratio. Samples from Scar Crag contain no nickel but exhibit almost a complete range of Co:Fe ratios from FeAsS to CoAsS. The compositions of the Alston Orefield sulpharsenides, in particular, show them to be metastable phases when compared with data from synthetic studies. At Tynebottom Mine, glaucodot and gersdorffite overgrow arsenical marcasite, and at Nenthead and the Great Sulphur Vein, early pyrite framboids or euhedra act as cores to zoned gersdorffite crystals. The Scar Crag sulpharsenides occur in a quartz chlorite apatite vein with the glaucodot and alloclase as overgrowths on arsenopyrite. In the case of the Scar Crag association, consideration of the compositions of coexisting phases, together with precise determinations of the arsenic content of the arsenopyrites, has permitted speculation regarding temperatures and sulphur activities during ore formation. Estimated ranges are Tc. 400 °C–300 °C and a S2 ≈ 10−9–10−11 11 bar. The occurrence of the sulpharsenides in the Alston Orefield correlates with further geochemical differences compared to other Pennine ores, differences that have been linked to higher temperatures of formation and a magmatic contribution to the ore-forming fluid. The Scar Crag mineralization may be related to a postulated stock intrusion beneath Causey Pike and the geographical proximity of the Alston and Scar Crag occurrences does suggest the possibility of a genetic link.


The actin monomer-binding protein, profilin, influences the dynamics of actin filaments in vitro by suppressing nucleation, enhancing nucleotide exchange on actin, and promoting barbed-end assembly. Profilin may also link signaling pathways to actin cytoskeleton organization by binding to the phosphoinositide PIP2 and to polyproline stretches on several proteins. Although activities of profilin have been studied extensively in vitro, the significance of each of these activities in vivo needs to be tested. To study profilin function, we extensively mutagenized the Saccharomyces cerevisiae profilin gene (PFY1) and examined the consequences of specific point mutations on growth and actin organization. The actin-binding region of profilin was shown to be critical in vivo. act1-157, an actin mutant with an increased intrinsic rate of nucleotide exchange, suppressed defects in actin organization, cell growth, and fluid-phase endocytosis of pfy1-4, a profilin mutant defective in actin binding. In reactions containing actin, profilin, and cofilin, profilin was required for fast rates of actin filament turnover. However, Act1-157p circumvented the requirement for profilin. Based on the results of these studies, we conclude that in living cells profilin promotes rapid actin dynamics by regenerating ATP actin from ADP actin–cofilin generated during filament disassembly.


Spectral-element method (SEM) is applied for the vibration analysis of the Levy-type rectangular plates subject to distributed dynamic loads. In the solution procedure, both fast Fourier transform (FFT) and inverse FFT computer algorithms are efficiently used to obtain the dynamic responses in time domain. Distributed dynamic load is approximated, as the superposition of equivalent dynamic line loads and the spatial coordinate dependent of equivalent line loads is removed by (spatial) FFT. This procedure transforms the original plate (two-dimensional) problem into an effective beam (one-dimensional) problem so that the solution procedure for one-dimensional structures can be used. Numerical tests show that SEM provides very accurate solutions when compared with conventional finite element solutions.


Ultrasound examination of the elbow should be performed in a comparative way, exploring joint spaces and fossas. Ultrasound is the method of choice for the detection of joint fluid and loose bodies. Tendinitis and microfissures can be demonstrated in case of tennis and golfer elbow. On the posterior aspect of the elbow, ultrasound shows the different types of bursitis, and allows evaluation of the ulnar nerve in cases of impingement.


Fashion design piracy has the potential to highly impact small designers through a combination of limited legal fashion rights and the proliferation of online exposure to their work. The purpose of this study was to examine effects of a revelation of fashion design piracy cases on consumers' perceptions about small designers and their designs, particularly when these designers were purportedly pirated by large fashion corporations. Through an online experiment of 260 college students, we examined perceptions of two designers and their designs narrowed from a pretest of purported piracy cases. Designers' value and uniqueness of designs, as well as brand attitude and brand creativity upon participants' revelation of their piracy by a corporation were examined through two-way multivariate analysis of variance. Findings revealed a significant interaction effect for revelation condition and piracy case designer. Further, significant main effects were found for perceived designer brand creativity and perceived value of designs.


Many major cities suffer from severe traffic congestion. Road expansion in the cites is usually infeasible, and an alternative way to alleviate traffic congestion is to coordinate the route of vehicles. Various path selection and planning algorithms are thus proposed, but most existing methods only plan paths separately and provide un-coordinated solutions. Recently, an analogy between the coordination of vehicular routes and the interaction of polymers is drawn; the spin glass theory in statistical physics is employed to optimally coordinate transportation routes. To further examine the advantages brought by path coordination, we incorporate the link congestion function developed by the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) into the polymer routing algorithm. We then estimate in simulations the traveling time of all users saved by the polymer-BPR algorithm in randomly generated networks and real transportation networks in major cities including London, New York and Beijing. We found that a large amount of traveling time is saved in all studied networks, suggesting that the approach inspired by polymer physics is effective in minimizing the traveling time via path coordination, which is a promising tool for alleviating traffic congestions.


Excess growth of cyanobacteria in semiclosed water area caused by eutrophication induces coagulation inhibition in drinking water treatment processes. Thus, it is highly desirable to establish effective countermeasures against such coagulation inhibition by identifying the causative substances released by cyanobacteria. In this study, coagulation inhibitor proteins of Microcystis aeruginosa were screened using a phage display system and an aluminum-ion-immobilized affinity chromatography. From the results, algal proteins with a high level of metal-coordinating amino acids were identified as inhibitor proteins for the coagulation. One of the inhibitor proteins, a homologue of the metal sensor protein ArsR, showed strong inhibition of the coagulation of kaolin suspension with polyaluminum chloride (PAC). It was demonstrated that one of the mechanisms of the coagulation inhibition caused by M. aeruginosa is the inhibition of the cross-linking between aluminum clusters in PAC and suspended solids by the algal inhibitor protein.


A display in which a Kanizsa-like illusory-figure pattern of three notched circles was accompanied by several other notched circles was found to be relatively ineffective, thus confirming an important, but previously untested, suggestion. This ineffectiveness may have been due to a strengthened tendency of the visual system perceptually to 'explain' each edge of each of the three critical notches as belonging to one of the partial circles themselves, thus tending to preclude any other (ie illusory) 'explanation' of those edges.


We investigate the phase diagram of the so-called Polyakov–Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model at finite temperature and non-zero chemical potential with three quark flavors. Chiral and deconfinement phase transitions are discussed and the relevant order-like parameters are analyzed. The results are compared with simple thermodynamic expectations and lattice data. We present the phase diagram in the (T, μB) plane, paying special attention to the critical end point: as the strength of the flavor-mixing interaction becomes weaker, the critical end point moves to low temperatures and can even disappear. PACS numbers: 11.10.Wx, 11.30.Rd, 12.40.-y


Title of Dissertation: MULTI-SCALE MECHANICS OF COMPOSITE SANDWICH STRUCTURES WITH BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED FIBER REINFORCED FOAM CORES: A POTENTIAL TEMPLATE FOR DEVELOPING MULTIFUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES Sandip Haldar, Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Directed By: Professor Hugh A Bruck Department of Mechanical Engineering This dissertation describes a novel multi-scale characterization and modeling approach for developing bio-inspired composite sandwich structures. The source of bio-inspiration was chosen to be Palmetto wood, a naturally occurring porous composite material with macrofiber reinforcement. Characterization of Palmetto Wood at multiple length scales revealed that the mechanical behavior is dominated by the stronger and stiffer macrofibers, while the porous cellulose matrix controls load transfer and failure between macrofibers. Shear dominated debonding and pore collapse mechanisms have been identified as the leading modes of failure mechanism. The role of macrofiber volume fraction and strain rate on macroscale response and damage evolution has been evaluated through experiments. It is seen that increase in macrofiber concentration increases the stiffness of the Palmetto wood, leading to a higher concentration of macrofiber in the outer region of the wood by evolution. A damage model has been developed to decouple the effect of the plastic strain and pore collapse on damage evolution. Using Palmetto wood as a template, prototype bioinspired sandwich composite structures have been fabricated using carbon fiber reinforcement in the foam core to translate the mechanics principles of Palmetto wood. The sandwich composite structures with bioinspired foam core and standard foam core have been characterized under quasistatic and dynamic three-point bending load. The model developed to study damage evolution in Palmetto wood has been applied to the behavior of bioinspired sandwich to quantify the parameters. The enhancement in mechanical behavior has been achieved by reinforcement of the carbon rods in the core like the macrofibers in the Palmetto wood. An increase in macroscale reinforcement in the core led to the behavior that tunes the material response to a better combination the flexural stiffness, energy absorbance and damage evolution characteristics. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model has been developed to numerically study the effects of reinforcement in the foam core on its flexural behavior as observed in the experimental characterization. The simulations performed using homogenized, isotropic properties from simulations of the bioinspired core affirm the experimental observations. The viability of developing multifunctional sandwich structures from the multiscale characterization and modeling of the bioinspired foam cores has also been investigated. Prototype sandwich battery structures were fabricated using copper coated fiberglass and Zn plate facesheet, a carbon foam core, and an adhesive of NH4Cl and ZnCl2 bound by HTPB and epoxy polymers. Very low power generation was demonstrated using the prototype batteries, however it was determined that the mechanical strength and energy absorbing capability were compromised, as expected from the model, indicating that the use of macrofiber reinforcement could potentially enhance multifunctional behavior. MULTI-SCALE MECHANICS OF COMPOSITE SANDWICH STRUCTURES WITH FIBER REINFORCED FOAM CORES INSPIRED BY PALMETTO WOOD: A POTENTIAL TEMPLATE FOR DEVELOPING MULTIFUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES


The technology which could make our lives prosper within the four walls could also help to create our own corner of nature nourish. In this paper, we propose a smart gardening system that utilizes the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) [1]. The major goal of this project is to reduce water consumption when gardening and to maintain the garden remotely. Important plant data, like temperature, relative humidity, and soil moisture, are continuously stored in a relational database in this gardening system. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based planning [2] is used for watering the plants at regular intervals and providing appropriate illumination in the garden area for aesthetics and overall plant growth. Our proposed system reduces the effort due to manual intervention by around 59.3%. The real-time sensor status can be monitored which in turn allows the end-users of the garden to control the surrounding conditions optimal for plant growth, using the Telegram application. A plant recognition model has been introduced in this system, where a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) [3] based deep learning algorithm classifies the plant categories with 95% accuracy. Moreover, an 98% accurate, deep learning-based, plant health identification model integrated with this gardening system also informs the end-user about the health of the plant.


Current literature supports the use of powered instrumentation over traditional hand instrumentation. The objective of scaling and root planing is the complete removal of plaque and calculus from root surfaces. While this is unrealistic, the accepted end-point is a smooth, glassy root surface during periodontal instrumentation. This often has resulted in overinstrumentation and excessive removal of cementum. Cementum removal has been deemed generally unnecessary. What is essential is the removal of plaque, calculus, and the endotoxin adherent to the root surface. This cleaning of root surfaces is best done with judicious use of powered instrumentation. The excessive removal of cementum during hand instrumentation is due to the lack of visualization. Using endoscopic technology, the ability to visually debride roots can improve chances of success in a more conservative and minimally invasive way. This article provides a brief review of micro ultrasonic technologies and periodontal endoscopy, its implementation in our practice, and a limited case series.


Summary: Siderophore-negative mutants of Azotobacter vinelandii were generated by insertional mutagenesis with a Tn5 construct containing a promoterless luxAB fusion. The use of this construct, delivered on a suicide plasmid by conjugation, allowed the selection of mutations in iron-repressible genes by virtue of the expression of iron-regulated bioluminescence. Although many iron-regulated mutants were selected, only a few could be easily identified as defective in siderophore production. These included a non-fluorescent azotobactin-negative phenotype (strain D27), and strain F196, which had lost the ability to produce the catechol siderophores azotochelin and aminochelin as well as the lower-affinity chelator 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid. Strain D27 had normal production of catechol siderophores, while strain F196 produced 2·5 times as much azotobactin as the wild-type. Two other mutants demonstrated normal catechol levels and either low or relatively unrepressed azotobactin levels. Transformation of the DNA from strain F196 into another spontaneously obtained azotobactin-negative strain (UA1) resulted in strain P100, which was unable to produce the known siderophores. Unlike the wild-type and other siderophore-deficient mutants, this strain was unable to grow in the presence of the iron chelator ethylenediamine di-(o-hydroxyphenylacetic acid) (EDDHA; 50 mUg ml-1) unless stored iron was carried over in the inoculum. Strain P100 did grow on iron-limited medium containing EDDHA when the catechol or azotobactin siderophores were provided exogenously. However, strain P100 gave a positive result in the chrome azurol-S assay (CAS), a non-specific assay for siderophores. The CAS activity was iron-repressible and strain P100 was able to grow and accumulate more iron from the insoluble iron minerals FeS, vivianite and Fe3O4 than was available by simple diffusion or exchange. Therefore, it appears that iron-limited A. vinelandii produces an as yet unidentified low-affinity non-conventional (non-catechol, non-hydroxamate) siderophore.


A programmable digital logic system has been developed for vehicle powertrain control. The system is configured around a custom microcomputer, and has been demonstrated in the control of ignition timing and exhaust gas recirculation rate in a vehicle installation. The specific design resulted from considerations of performance, reliability, serviceability, flexibility and cost. This work at Ford has made further contributions to establishing the feasibility of an On-Board Computer system for vehicle application, but direct cost effectiveness is not yet established, and many problems remain unresolved. /GMRL/


Two novel star-shaped donor–acceptor small molecules, TPA–TBT–CN and TPA–TBT–R, with triphenylamine (TPA) as the core, benzothiadiazole (BT) as the arm, and alkyl cyanoacetate or 3-ethylrhodanine as the end-group are synthesized for application as donor materials in OSCs. The two small molecule films show broad absorption bands from 300 nm to 850 nm, narrow optical band gaps (1.5–1.7 eV), deep HOMO energy levels (−5.0 to −5.1 eV) and moderate hole mobilities. OSCs based on blends of the two donors and PC70BM acceptors exhibit power conversion efficiencies of 1.34% and 1.79%, respectively. Notably, TPA–TBT–R with 3-ethylrhodanine as the end-group displays a broader solar spectral coverage, a lower HOMO level, a higher hole mobility and higher photovoltaic properties. Our results indicate that 3-ethylrhodanine as the acceptor and end-group is a promising linker in constructing donor materials for high efficiency OSCs.


Stenting of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a palliative technique that is evolving as an alternative to shunt surgery. Patients with duct‐dependant pulmonary circulation and branch pulmonary artery stenosis are often palliated by shunt surgery with repair of branch pulmonary arteries under cardiopulmonary bypass. We present here an 8‐month‐old male child with duct‐dependant pulmonary circulation with bifurcation stenosis who was palliated successfully by transcatheter means. He had stenosed PDA with tight pulmonary artery bifurcation stenosis and underwent successful "Y" stenting of PDA with simultaneous deployment of two stents. He successfully underwent bidirectional Glenn surgery 8 months after the procedure. Simultaneous stenting of bifurcation stenosis of branch pulmonary arteries with two stents has not been described in the literature. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


We request to use the Fermilab NuMI neutrino beam in the MINOS Near Detector Hall to produce neutrino interactions in two separate detector arrangements using prototype target bricks designed for the OPERA experiment. OPERA is scheduled to to begin taking data in the CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso (CNGS) beam in 2006. The proposed test set up would be located just upstream of the MINOS Near Detector. The data will be used to validate the OPERA analysis scheme and to study backward particle production in neutrino interactions, which is of interest to the OPERA collaboration as well as the neutrino community in general. In addition, we contend that the data taken in this exposure may also be useful to the MINOS collaboration as additional input to the understanding of the initial composition of the neutrino beam. Ideally, this exposure could take place in early to mid-2005, providing timely feedback to both the OPERA and MINOS collaborations.


Fine-Grained Cycle Sharing (FGCS) systems aim at utilizing the large amountof idle computational resources available on the Internet. Such systems allow guest jobs to run on a host if they do not significantly impact the local users of the host. Since the hosts are typically provided voluntarily, their availability fluctuates greatly. To provide fault tolerance to guest jobs without adding significant computational overhead, we propose failure-aware checkpointing techniques that apply the knowledge of resource availability to select checkpoint repositories and to determine checkpoint intervals. We present the schemes of selecting reliable and efficient repositories from the non-dedicated hosts that contribute their disk storage. These schemes are formulated as 0/1 programming problems to optimize the network overhead of transferring checkpoints and the work lost due to unavailability of a storage host when needed to recover a guest job. We determine the checkpoint interval by comparing the cost of checkpointing immediately and the cost of delaying that to a later time, which is a function of the resource availability. We evaluate these techniques on an FGCS system called iShare, using trace-based simulation. The results show that they achieve better application performance than the prevalent methods which use checkpointing with a fixed periodicity on dedicated checkpoint servers.


In the process of feature extraction, geometric information about feature points is based on the nearest 1-ring field points, which are usually the edge points of the face adjacent to the feature line. The high structural complexity of rigid aircraft components leads to recognition of false feature points. Therefore, this paper proposes an improved Harris algorithm designed to improve the accuracy of feature extraction. It combines the discrete curvature and the normal vector in a way that is suitable for use with point clouds. Key to this approach is the use of changes in the gradient rather than changes in the curvature to identify corner, plane, and crease points. Our method accurately eliminates pseudo-feature points that are too close to actual feature points in order to refine potential feature points. We demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed method by validating it against standard models and actual scan data and by comparing it with other feature detection algorithms.


Three cases of defibrination syndrome and bleeding tendency are described. In each case the aetiology was completely different but thrombocytopenia and fibrinogenopenia were present together. This combination is invariably due to diffuse intravascular clotting and it is suggested that these simple investigations should be asked for in cases of unexplained shock, acute renal failure of obscure origin, severe intravascular haemolysis, septic abortions, etc. Heparin would appear to be of value in these cases of defibrination. However, if there is no thrombocytopenia, defibrination may be due to excessive fibrinolysis. This should be treated with anti-fibrinolytics only when an underlying clotting defect has been excluded.


Previous deep multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) algorithms have achieved impressive results, typically in homogeneous scenarios. However, heterogeneous scenarios are also very common and usually harder to solve. In this paper, we mainly discuss cooperative heterogeneous MARL problems in Starcraft Multi-Agent Challenges (SMAC) environment. We firstly define and describe the heterogeneous problems in SMAC. In order to comprehensively reveal and study the problem, we make new maps added to the original SMAC maps. We find that baseline algorithms fail to perform well in those heterogeneous maps. To address this issue, we propose the Grouped Individual-Global-Max Consistency (GIGM) and a novel MARL algorithm, Grouped Hybrid Q Learning (GHQ). GHQ separates agents into several groups and keeps individual parameters for each group, along with a novel hybrid structure for factorization. To enhance coordination between groups, we maximize the Inter-group Mutual Information (IGMI) between groups' trajectories. Experiments on original and new heterogeneous maps show the fabulous performance of GHQ compared to other state-of-the-art algorithms.


Plasma Facing Materials (PFMs) suffer from very high heat load including quasi-stationary high heat load during normal operation and transient events with extremely high heat load during normal plasma operation and off-normal events. In this paper, W/Cu functional gradient coating was applied on CuCrZr substrate (250mm × 120mm × 30mm) with compositionally gradient W/Cu as bond coat (0.4-0.6 mm) and 1.5 mm thickness W coating as top coat via VPS for continuous deposition duration of 5 h. VPS-W/CuCrZr mokeup with built-in cooling channel was prepared for evaluating the transient vertical displacement and plasma disruption events applied by high energy electron beam. The formation of cracks and surface melting of VPS W/Cu mokeup were investigated under the two transient high heat loads (HHL). The coatings were able to absorb about 2 MJ/m2 in HHL without significant damage.


Costs and differentiation have long been considered to be sources of competitive advantage in firms. Reputation is also considered to be a potential source of competitive advantage in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) literature, which seeks to promote social responsibility in the business community. In this paper we argue that many firms aspire towards good company-wide CSR, and that poor CSR practices can damage reputation and competitiveness. However, our analysis, based upon the Faulkner and Bowman customer matrix, shows that although many firms have every economic incentive to take CSR issues seriously, commodity producers do not. For almost every other type of manufacture identified in the customer matrix, cost or differentiation advantages can be seen to ultimately accrue from the pursuit of CSR policy. On the other hand, for commodity producers there are no obvious cost or differentiation advantages to be gained by developing and maintaining a good reputation. We suggest that these are the circumstances in which it is necessary to resort to legislation.


The use of sonography to diagnose pathologic changes of the breast is constantly increasing. It is well known that this method can be employed to distinguish cystic from solid processes. Of greater interest is the question as to the usefulness of sonography in prognosticating the pathology of such processes. This prognosis of pathology is linked to assessment criteria which are not uniformly defined worldwide and which are also applied differently. The study reported here--an evaluation of 755 sonographic focal findings--points out the possible distinctiveness of each individual assessment criterion and indicates the degree of confidence with which malignant and benign breast processes can be distinguished. There are statistically significant differences (p less than 0.0001) in the patterns of distinctiveness of all the assessment criteria mentioned depending on whether the processes are malignant or benign. The most important criterion is the edge contour. Every sonographic focus finding should be checked with regard to its edge contour, retrotumorous acoustic behavior, echo structure, and echo density. In the dynamic part of the examination, changes in the form and structure of the finding must be recorded. The authors estimate the changes of being able to distinguish malignant from benign processes on the basis of the above-mentioned criteria as good. The guide to the classification of echographic phenomena presented here may be of help to learners.


This paper reports on the synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures and examines the performance of nanocomposite thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated using ZnO dispersed in both n- and p-type polymer host matrices. The ZnO nanostructures considered here comprise nanowires and tetrapods and were synthesized using vapor phase deposition techniques involving the carbothermal reduction of solid-phase zinc-containing compounds. Measurement results of nanocomposite TFTs based on dispersion of ZnO nanorods in an n-type organic semiconductor ([6, 6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester) show electron field-effect mobilities in the range 0.3-0.6 cm2 V-1s-1, representing an approximate enhancement by as much as a factor of 40 from the pristine state. The on/off current ratio of the nanocomposite TFTs approach 106 at saturation with off-currents on the order of 10 pA. The results presented here, although preliminary, show a highly promising enhancement for realization of high-performance solution-processable n-type organic TFTs.


Self-organization of phthalocyanines (Pc) as a result of stacking interaction between aromatic rings provides, in particular, their rather low solubility which increases when alkyl, alkylaromatic and polar groups for organic and aqueous media, respectively, are introduced as substituents in macrocycles. The presence of crown ethers groups both enhances solubility of Pc and provides new properties for these macrocyclic compounds: the crown fragments annulated or introduced via oxygen bridges provide self-organization of the Pc molecules involving the guest cation, whose stability depends on the observation of the principle of geometrical conformity and multiplicity of interactions, namely, a growing number of reacting groups. Phthalocyanine molecules comprising eight crown containing substituents, octa-(benzo-15-crown-5)phthalocyanines, to the utmost meet these requirements. Electronic spectroscopy as the most informative method for studying the aggregation of crownsubstituted phthalocyaninates of metals in solution was used to study: 1) the behavior of octa-(benzo-15-crown-5) phthalocyaninates of nickel (Nicr8Pc) and cobalt (Cocr8Pc) in mixed solvents and in polar media including water; 2) the formation of related composites on ITO and quartz by the layer by layer deposition method; 3) the embedding of Pc in the tetraalkylammonium bromide matrix. In such conditions crown containing Pc can form a number of structures, for example, 'sandwich' heteronuclear complexes if a complex forming cation is larger than the crown ether cavity. It has been shown that complex formation between crown fragments of Mcr8Pc (M = Ni, Co) and cations (Na+, K+ and TBА+) provides such phthalocyanines with solubility in a polar organic medium, namely, propylene carbonate. It was suggested that the possibility of dissolution is due to the presence of both a great number of substituents and an oxygen bridge between a benzo-crown group and a phthalocyanine macrocycle. The presence of a spacer provides crown groups with mobility which makes it possible to obtain identical 'stack' structures of Pc involving К+ or ТБА+ cations. For inorganic polar solvent (water), the presence of K+ in solution results in the dissolution of Mcr8Pc (M = Ni, Co) and the formation of stable charged forms of octa-crown-metallophthalocyaninates what allows them to be used in the development of composites consisted of ultra-thin layers of differently charged ions, K/Mcr8PcPSS−.


Leishmaniases are parasitic diseases caused by protozoan flagellates of the genus Leishmania, parasites infecting numerous mammal species, including humans. This is transmitted through the infective bite of an insect vector, the phlebotomine sandfly. The leishmaniases are threatening 350 million people in 88 countries of four continents. In Sri Lanka too, cutaneous manifestation of leishmaniasis has been reported particularly in North Central Province. Visceral leishmaniasis is a disease of the mononuclear phagocytic system, commonly affecting the spleen, liver, lymph nodes and bone marrow. However, other organs (intestine, lung) and skin may also become involved. In advanced cases, as in immune suppressed patients all organs are involved. This case revealed a death of a 47 year old deceased male who was presented to the hospital with an upper abdominal pain for eight days and ultra sound examination revealed splenomegaly. Additional information indicated he had had on and off abdominal pain for one year, and the investigations revealed low haemoglobin, neutropenia with no features of malignancy and screening for haemoglobinopathy was suggested. At the autopsy massive splenomegaly, hepatomegaly and ascites were observed and sections from all organs were taken for histology, which revealed Leishmania donovani bodies in Kupffer cells with dense perivascular infiltrate of lymphocytes and plasma cells. Spleen too, showed the sinuses that contain macrophages with LD bodies. Conclusion: This case demonstrates visceral leishmaniasis as the cause of death and this is the first autopsy case where such a cause of death was encountered in Sri Lanka and reinforces the need of awareness of leishmaniasis. Medico-Legal Journal of Sri Lanka 2013; 1(2) : 37-41


Near edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectra have been measured at the carbon and nitrogen K-edges of the prototypical aromatic molecule, pyrrole, both in the gas phase and when solvated in water, and compared with spectra simulated using a combination of classical molecular dynamics and first principles density functional theory in the excited state core hole approximation. The excellent agreement enabled detailed assignments. Pyrrole is highly reactive, particularly in water, and reaction products formed by the auto-oligomerization of pyrrole are identified. The solvated spectra have been measured at two different temperatures, indicating that the final states remain largely unaffected by both hydration and temperature. This is somewhat unexpected, since the nitrogen in pyrrole can donate a hydrogen bond to water.


Megachurches, which are among the fastest-growing religious organizations in the Philippines, have been apolitical towards Duterte's war on drugs. In contrast to some influential religious groups, that they have not released any statement is glaring. At the same time, megachurches have adopted interventions that aim at the rehabilitation of drug-dependent individuals and the moral renewal of police officers. What accounts for these actions? For megachurch pastors, the war on drugs is a 'righteous intervention' on the part of a God-ordained administration. At the same time, addressing the proliferation of illegal drugs is 'humanly impossible'. Thus responding to substance abuse can only be a spiritual matter. The task of the church is to treat it as a spiritual condition to which the answer is conversion and moral recovery. The article ends with a critical reflection on how these theological views ultimately reflect the interests of the class these megachurches represent.


The performance of principal component analysis suffers badly in the presence of outliers. This paper proposes two novel approaches for robust principal component analysis based on semidefinite programming. The first method, maximum mean absolute deviation rounding, seeks directions of large spread in the data while damping the effect of outliers. The second method produces a low-leverage decomposition of the data that attempts to form a low-rank model for the data by separating out corrupted observations. This paper also presents efficient computational methods for solving these semidefinite programs. Numerical experiments confirm the value of these new techniques.


Learning about statistics presents a challenge to psychology studentswhose background in mathematics is not strong. The percentage ofstudents who fail Statistics course at the Department of Psychology inone university in Malaysia is of concern. A survey that included ameasure of statistics anxiety was conducted at the beginning of asemester among students taking a statistics course. Performancemeasures included a basic mathematic review quiz, continuousassessment mark, final examination marks, and total marks. The coursewas divided into three sections, all taught by the same instructor.Scores from 139 students were used in the analysis. Statisticsanxiety and attitude towards statistics are not significantly correlatedand both are not related to the total marks. The mathematics quizscore is a significant predictor of the total marks. The instrument formeasuring pre-course mathematics ability could be used in class as apart of the teaching strategy to improve students' learning experience. Keywords : statistics anxiety, academic performance, psychology students


Distributed systems, characterized by their ability to ensure the execution of multiple transactions across a myriad of applications, constitute a prime platform for building Web applications. However, Web application interactions raise issues pertaining to security and performance that make manual security management both time-consuming and challenging. This thesis is a testimony to the security and performance enhancements afforded by using the autonomic computing paradigm to design an adaptive cryptographic access control framework for dynamic data sharing environments.
One of the methods of enforcing cryptographic access control in these environments is to classify users into one of several groups interconnected in the form of a partially ordered set. Each group is assigned a single cryptographic key that is used for encryption/decryption. Access to data is granted only if a user holds the "correct" key, or can derive the required key from the one in their possession. This approach to access control is a good example of one that provides good security but has the drawback of reacting to changes in group membership by replacing keys, and re-encrypting the associated data, throughout the entire hierarchy. Data re-encryption is time-consuming, so, rekeying creates delays that impede performance.
In order to support our argument in favor of adaptive security, we begin by presenting two cryptographic key management (CKM) schemes in which key updates affect only the class concerned or those in its sub-poset. These extensions enhance performance, but handling scenarios that require adaptability remain a challenge. Our framework addresses this issue by allowing the CKM scheme to monitor the rate at which key updates occur and to adjust resource (keys and encrypted replicas) allocations to handle future changes by anticipation rather than on demand. Therefore, in comparison to quasi-static approaches, the adaptive CKM scheme minimizes the long-term cost of key updates. Finally, since self-protecting CKM requires a lesser degree of physical intervention by a human security administrator, we consider the case of "collusion attacks" and propose two algorithms to detect as well as prevent such attacks. A complexity and security analysis show the theoretical improvements our schemes offer. Each algorithm presented is supported by a proof of concept implementation, and experimental results to show the performance improvements.


There were errors in the Funding section. The correct funding statement is as follows: The authors acknowledge travel funding provided by the International Synchrotron Access Program (ISAP) managed by the Australian Synchrotron and funded by the Australian Government. This work is supported by the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, Cure4CF Foundation Limited, and the NIH grant number NIH-P01HL-110873 supported this publication. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.


Tumors of the parotid are the most frequently encountered salivary gland tumors. Knowledge of the histology and anatomy of the salivary gland is important when considering the histiogenesis of salivary gland tumors, requiring close cooperation between the pathologist and the surgeon. Most tumors are benign epithelial formations. Pleomorphous adenomas predominate. Superficial lobectomy is adequate treatment. When the tumor involves a deep lobe, total parotidectomy is indicated. Treatment of malignant tumors depends on the histology, its TNM stage and other factors. Total parotidectomy with lymphadectomy and radiotherapy are needed in case of high grade malignancy. In children, vascular neoplasias are the most frequent, followed by malignant tumors. Their histological features and treatment are the same as for adults.


Wireless communications systems using stratospheric platforms have become the focus of the world's attention, since they would have many advantages over the conventional wireless communication infrastructure such as terrestrial and satellite communications systems. The research and development for putting the system to practical use is ongoing in some countries. This paper describes the results and the status of research on the technology for stratospheric communications system in Korea.


The Handbook to the Ghost Story sets out to survey and significantly extend a new field of criticism which has been taking shape over recent years, centring on the ghost story and bringing together a vast range of interpretive methods and theoretical perspectives. The main task of the volume is to properly situate the genre within historical and contemporary literary cultures across the globe, and to explore its significance within wider literary contexts as well as those of the supernatural. The Handbook offers the most significant contribution to this new critical field to date, assembling some of its leading scholars to examine the key contexts and issues required for understanding the emergence and development of the ghost story.


In the present work, by determining the content of malondialdehyde, proline and total protein, an attempt was made to find out the role of presowing irradiation of seeds in the development of corn in salt conditions. In so doing, a rather wide range was used, both of the radiation dose and the salt concentration. The effects of radiation and salt have been studied separately as well as in their combination. It was shown that pre-seed γ-irradiation of seeds in doses from 5 to 100 Gy in normal conditions contributes to a slight increase in the level of MDA. However, in the case of salt stress, NaCl in concentrations from 1 to 50 mM for unirradiated seeds, on the contrary, causes a strong increase in the content of MDA. And with the joint action of salt and radiation (radiation doses of 1–50 Gy, salt concentration 1–10 mM), the content of lipid oxidation product remains almost constant. It has been established that proline, as an antioxidant, plays an insignificant role in protecting the plant from salt stress. However, in pre-sowing at low doses, the role of proline in protecting the plant from salt stress is essential. It is shown that both higher radiation doses and higher concentrations of NaCl separately lead to a decrease in total protein content. And in the case of double stress for seeds irradiated in small doses, salt at concentrations up to 1 mM does not cause changes in the total protein content. Moreover, for seeds irradiated in large doses, a sharp decrease in the protein content is observed. It is assumed that pre-sowing irradiation of seeds in certain doses, to some extent, facilitates salt stress at low concentrations of NaCl.


Lepidopteran insects produce cocoons with unique properties. The cocoons are made of silk produced in the larval tissue silk gland and our understanding of the silk genes is still very limited. Here, we investigated silk genes in the bagworm moth Eumeta variegata, a species that has recently been found to produce extraordinarily strong and tough silk. Using short‐read transcriptomic analysis, we identified a partial sequence of the fibroin heavy chain gene and its product was found to have a C‐terminal structure that is conserved within nonsaturniid species. This is in accordance with the presence of fibroin light chain/fibrohexamerin genes and it is suggested that the bagworm moth is producing silk composed of fibroin ternary complex. This indicates that the fibroin structure has been evolutionarily conserved longer than previously thought. Other than fibroins we identified candidates for sericin genes, expressed strongly in the middle region of the silk gland and encoding serine‐rich proteins, and other silk genes, that are structurally conserved with other lepidopteran homologues. The bagworm moth is thus considered to be producing conventional lepidopteran type of silk. We further found a number of genes expressed in a specific region of the silk gland and some genes showed conserved expression with Bombyx mori counterparts. This is the first study allowing comprehensive silk gene identification and expression analysis in the lepidopteran Psychidae family and should contribute to the understanding of silk gene evolution as well as to the development of novel types of silk.


This paper proposes a new family of CMOS latches based on floating gate inputs. The main goal of this logic family is to achieve low area and low power requirements. A comparison of this Iogic family with logic families based on pass transistors or standard CMOS is included in this paper.


Two dietary factors have been implicated in the parallel aging of tendons and arteries. Schwartz2 suggests that the trace element silicon is the factor in dietary fibre and hard water which reduces the incidence of CHD. Silicon contributes to the stability of connective tissue by forming -O-Si-Obridges. Ascorbic acid is the second factor. Its role in collagen synthesis-' makes it essential for both tendons and arteries. Our observations on cardiac patients who take up marathon running show a conspicuous increase in silicon-rich foodstuffs (pectin, bran, and alfalfa) and also ascorbic acid (fresh fruit and vitamin C supplements). The longest run for cardiac patients is the Primo 100-km run on the island of Oahu. It is supported by the cardiac rehabilitation programme of the Honolulu YMCA. The event is social and non-competitive. In our view any dietary manipulation should be aimed at increasing "distance covered on foot." T J BASSLER Editor, American Medical Joggers Association Department of Pathology, Centinela Hospital, Inglewood, California


Zahit Arofat. 2018. "The irony of education and love of country in the movie
Tanah Surga, Katanya". Thesis compiled and mentored by Dr. Redyanto Noor,
M.Hum. as mentors I and Fajrul Falah, S.Hum., M.Hum. as mentors II.
Semarang: Course Literature Indonesia the Faculty of Humanities Diponegoro
University.
The object of the material in this study is a movie Tanah Surga, Katanya
the work of Herwin Novianto, released on August 15, 2012. Film land of Heaven,
and said, never get a several awards including film festivals, film director, a
supporting role, art direction, musical, and best original story.
The purpose of this research is: ( 1 ) explain structure narrative of movie
Tanah Surga, Katanya the work of Herwin Novianto, ( 2 ) explain irony education
in the movie Tanah Surga, Katanya the work of Herwin Novianto, and ( 3 )
explain love of homeland in the movie Tanah Surga, Katanya the work of Herwin
Novianto.
This research uses the method refer, by watching and observing the movie
Tanah Surga, Katanya, later noting the important data in the film. The data
obtained are then processed and analyzed using a study of the sociology of
literature. The overall elements that have been analyzed and peeled as a foothold
for analyzing the social dimension, that is the irony of education and love of the
homeland.
The results of this research show that the film land of Paradise, he said
more highlights about the identity crisis and love the homeland of Indonesia.
Many citizens including children who do not know the identity of his own people
and many citizens especially in the border areas who lost their identity as a nation
of Indonesia. The cause of the occurrence that is the less people that
Government's role as not providing sufficient human resources, did not provide
development assistance, as well as the lack of learning materials in the form of
assistance such as books. Heaven is in fact that should be kept is the younger
generation of the successor Nations.
Keywords: crisis, identity, irony, education, nationalism


In this paper we propose to analyses the alternative flow in the parallel installation including the capacity, and the friction resistance In this paper we show the caloric effect due to the displacement of the low in the friction resistance calculate. We propose to calculate the section of the friction resistance in the parallel installation, were we know the capacity and the flow and sonic pressure.


Application specific instruction set processors (ASIPs) can be optimized both for speed and power taking advantage of the flexibility of a synthesized semi-custom implementation. The current case study evaluates the effect of datapath and instruction set optimisation using two examples from terrestrial digital video broadcasting (DVB-T) acquisition and tracking algorithms. Starting from a conventional, unoptimized instruction set architecture, which uses simple instructions like any commercially available DSP, incremental application specific optimizations are performed. Results in terms of cycle count and energy per task are used to evaluate the feasibility and the power efficiency of each implementation. The results show a huge potential (>6x) concerning power savings using this design methodology.


Most of people who live in coastal areas work as fisher who depend on their embankment, have started unproductive. Wonorejo Urban Village is an area in Surabaya East Coastal region which has the concept of ecotourism mangrove forest. Problems arise when the existence of people who manage this mangrove forest system misunderstood about the concept of ecotourism. Mangrove Leaves Craft programs answer the problems that exist in the Wonorejo Village, that educate the creativity of those community utilize mangrove leaves waste into economically valuable craft and thus become one of the ecological alternative livelihoods onWonorejo Village in Surabaya.


OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship of degenerative joint disease (DJD) features (marginal lipping, porosity, surface osteophytes, eburnation, and loss of joint morphology) with sex, age, and occupation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We devised a recording method for scoring the single features in the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle of an Italian skeletal sample of 332 individuals (males = 161, females = 171) of known sex, age, and occupation from the Frassetto collection (Sassari, Sardinia, 19th-20th century).

RESULTS
Our data revealed that: (1) the frequency of all features increases with age; (2) porosity is the first feature to appear, being in general the most frequent feature in young adults; (3) sex differences are especially found in the upper limbs of mature and elderly adults; (4) marginal lipping and surface osteophytes show a lesser age correlation and, in general, higher frequencies in the left lower limb; (5) no differences were found among different occupations.

DISCUSSION
We explain these results in light of different metabolic and adaptive processes in relation to age and sex. Static (weight-bearing) rather than dynamic mechanical stress could play a pivotal role in the distribution of the features observed in the lower limbs. The considerable increase in marginal lipping and surface osteophytes in elderly adults may be an adaptation for sustaining mechanical loading, balancing the loss of bone tissue which is characteristic of ageing processes (osteopenia, osteoporosis). Am J Phys Anthropol, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:683-693, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Background - In PET/CT imaging the amount of 18 F-FDG activity injected to patient is mainly based on the patient body weight (BW) or on body mass index (BMI). Imaging overweight and obese patients using standard protocols results quite often in poor diagnostic images. The purpose of this study was to optimise BMI-based whole body 18 F-FDG PET images obtained from overweight and obese patients and assess the added value in terms of image quality, quantitative accuracy and radiation dose in comparison to BW-based images. Methods - The NEMA-IEC-body phantom was scanned on the mCT 128 slices scanner (Siemens Healthineers). The spheres and background were filed with F-18 activity. Spheres-to-background (2.1kBq/mL) ratio was 4:1. Data was reconstructed using the OSEM-TOF-PSF routine reconstruction (2 iterations, 21 subsets, 3mm Gaussian filter). The optimisation was performed by varying number of iterations, number of subsets, filter's size and type and matrix size. The phantom images were assessed using contrast recovery coefficients (CRCs). The optimised reconstruction was applied to 17 overweight and obese patients. The optimised BMI-based images and BW-based images were compared visually and using signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), SUVmax and SUVpeak measurements. Results- The visual assessment of the optimised phantom images using 1 iteration, 21 subsets, 3mm Hamming filter showed better image quality and CRC values compared to the routine reconstruction. On patient data, the optimised BMI-based images provided better image quality compared to BW-based images in 87.5% of the overweight cases and 66.7% for obese cases. Compared to BW-based images, the optimised BMI-based images resulted in reduction of 18.6% in SUVmax, 10.6% in SUVpeak and 59% in radiation dose for overweight patients. Similar trends were observed in obese patients. SNR improvement on BMI optimised images over BW images was 55% and 59% on overweight and obese patients, respectively. Conclusions - The optimised BMI-based approach using 1 iteration, 21 subsets, 3mm Hamming filter improves image quality, reduces radiation dose and provides, at least, similar quantitative accuracy compared to the BW-based approach for both overweight and obese patients. These findings are compelling enough support to conducting a full assessment of the approach on a large patient population.


Understanding long-term interest rate fluctuations requires one to understand what the term premium is and how it may change over time. In this Economic Letter, we define the term premium and explain the state of the art in measuring it. We conclude with some discussion of the limitations of our current knowledge.


This work is focused on characterizing and evaluating the solid state interconversion of norfloxacin (NF) hydrates. Four stoichiometric NF hydrates, dihydrate, hemipentahydrate, trihydrate, pentahydrate and a disordered NF state, were generated by various methods and characterized by X-ray powder diffractometry (XRPD), thermal analysis and Karl Fisher titrimetry. XRPD patterns of all NF hydrates exhibited crystalline structures. NF hydrate conversion was studied with respect to mild elevated temperature and various degrees of moisture levels. NF hydrates transformed to anhydrous NF Form A after gentle heating at 60 degrees C for 48 h except dihydrate and trihydrate where mixture in XRPD patterns between anhydrous NF Form A and former structures existed. Desiccation of NF hydrates at 0% RH for 7 days resulted in only partial removal of water molecules from the hydrated structures. The hydrated transitional phase and the disordered NF state were obtained from the incomplete dehydration of NF hydrates after thermal treatment and pentahydrate NF after desiccation, respectively. Anhydrous NF Form A and NF hydrates transformed to pentahydrate NF when exposed to high moisture environment except dihydrate. In conclusion, surrounding moisture levels, temperatures and the duration of exposure strongly influenced the interconversion pathways and stoichiometry of anhydrous NF and its hydrates.