The use of the contour path finite difference time domain (CPFDTD) method with locally distorted contours is well known to give accurate results for curved metal structures. The numerical stability of this scheme is, however, not guaranteed and this can pose problems, especially in the analysis of closed resonant structures. In addition, the generation of the distorted mesh is itself not a trivial task. In this contribution, we present a modification to the three-dimensional CPFDTD scheme which, without sacrificing accuracy, renders it numerically stable, robust and easy to generate. A step-by-step procedure is given whereby the distorted mesh can be automatically generated for any desired metal structure. The accuracy of the modified scheme is demonstrated for the analysis of a circular cylindrical resonant cavity which is tilted with respect to the Cartesian FDTD mesh.


A field emission nanostructures (18) to provide a micro-discharge apparatus adapted to support the operation of the micro discharge device. A said field emission nanostructures are incorporated into the micro-discharge device, or placed near electrodes (14,16,36,38) of the micro discharge device. It said field emission nanostructures, except lacking the field emission nanostructures compared with exactly the same equipment, to reduce the operating voltage and ignition voltage, thereby simultaneously also increase the radiation output of the micro discharge device. .FIELD 1


An ultrasonic range sensor has sophisticated characteristics whichw always depends on environmnt. So understanding of sensor characterristics is very important for programming behavior of an autonomous mobile robot.A physically based simulation helps understand characteristics of sensors. In this paper, a simulation algorithm of ultrasonic range sensor is proposed, and its implementation is dicussed.To realize fast, but accurate physical simulation, particle model of ultrasonic wave is introduced. This model includes not only specular reflection, but also diffuse reflection.The result of simulation was very similar to the result of the experiment. The simulator is fast and accurate enough for an aid of programming behavior of the robot.


Background: Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that grows in the breast tissue and is the most common cancer disease affecting women in Indonesia with an incidence of 42.1 per 100.000 population and an average death rate of 17 per 100.000 population. The increasing incidence of breast cancer in women as adolescents and young adults is due to several factors such as parity at a young age, family history, gene mutations, and poor lifestyle factors. Early detection of breast cancer through education on causative factors and how to prevent breast cancer and  breast self-examination technique will be very useful to reduce the incidence.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the comparison of breast cancer early detection health education with video and leaflets on the knowledge of young women about early detection of breast cancer.

Methods: This study used a quasi experiment method with two control group design. Samples collected with consecutive sampling techniques. This study conducted for 7 days in December 2019 on young women at SMP Negeri 15 Bandung with 40 subjects in each group. The technique used to collect the data is questionnaire. The experimental group is given with Video and the control group is given with Leaflet. The bivariate data analysis used Paired T-Test and Non-paired T-test.

Results: The results of this study showed that there was an increase in the knowledge before and after being given video (p = 0.000) and leaflet (0,003) with significant difference in young women who were given video compared to those given leaflets (p=0,000).
Conclusion: there were differences in health education with videos and leaflets on the knowledge of young women about early detection of breast cancer.


Blockchain nowadays has become a hot topic in technology, finance, regulation, and the wider society in recent years. A plethora of permissions and permissionless blockchain platforms are available in the industry, and some could be used to develop a social networking site. This paper proposes a framework for secure, trustworthy social networking that also creates value for user-generated content by using a blockchain-enhanced framework for social networking. In this work, we design blockchain-based data storage and access a framework that will not totally dependent on centralized Twitter. We use the public blockchain and tools like Ganache, MetaMask, and Ethereum IDE for deploying the contracts. In the proposed work, metadata of the files are stored on the blockchain and we use networks like the goerli test network for occurring the Transactions using peer-to-peer networks. The decentralized data storage will help to eliminate the most traditional data failures and outages by securing and controlling the data.


Proper waste management is a fundamental key to environmental sustainability. In this study, the municipal solid waste management and disposal methods in Abakaliki Metropolis, Ebonyi State, Nigeria is presented. The characteristics and composition of these wastes and the environmental issues associated with its management are also investigated. Structured questionnaires were used to obtain primary data from a random size of population in the areas that have the highest accumulation of heaps of solid wastes in the Government designated waste dumping sites and open spaces on the major streets within the metropolis. Environmental and health issues arising from the unsustainable management of the wastes were assessed from oral interviews and field observations in the study areas. The results indicates that the waste dump sites (designated and non-designated) on the major streets and several open spaces are left unattended for long periods such that the rubbish heaps; encroach on the roads thereby limiting the road users access, generate serious air pollution issues, constitute significant nuisance when blown over by winds, and distorts the aesthetic view of the metropolis. The results also show that the composition of the wastes in the metropolis is heterogeneous because it contains both biodegradable and non- biodegradable materials such as e-wastes, plastic, polythene materials, hospital wastes, and hair designers wastes amongst others. The study strongly recommend that Ebonyi State Environmental Protection Agency (EBSEPA) be made to sit up on their functions while Government should strongly consider introducing "waste to energy" as a way of curbing the menace of waste management and simultaneously solving the energy needs of the State.


It was decided by national vote in Panama to expand the Panama canal. Therefore 12,000TEU sized vessel can pass the canal from 2014. The Far East-North America shipping route, over than post panamax size vessels have to use other routes such as Mini land bridge instead of using the panama canal due to limitation of canal size. Therefore, some changes in the transport route in Far East-North America are expected duo to expansion of Panama canal. The objective of this paper is to analyze the transport cost between Far East and North America then compare the competition between panama canal route and land bridge route.


While PIN-based user authentication systems such as ATM have long been considered to be secure enough, they are facing new attacks, named UltraPIN, which can be launched from commodity smartphones. As a target user enters a PIN on a PIN-based user authentication system, an attacker may use UltraPIN to infer the PIN from a short distance (50 cm to 100 cm). In this process, UltraPIN leverages smartphone speakers to issue human-inaudible ultrasound signals and uses smartphone microphones to keep recording acoustic signals. It applies a series of signal processing techniques to extract high-quality feature vectors from low-energy and high-noise signals and then applies a combination of machine learning models to classify finger movement patterns during PIN entry and generate a ranked list of highly possible PINs as result. Rigorous experiments show that UltraPIN is highly effective and robust in PIN inference.


Tunlan Mine is one of the mines which took the lead in using large-mining-height intelligent fully-mechanized mining in China.Y-typed ventilation,as a main solution to the high-gas high-emission problems in Tunlan mine,has severely restricted the mine development due to complex techniques caused by gob-side entry retaining.By optimization and improvement,production techniques,field management and ventilation pattern have matched with one another,which have solved the gas problem,have realized high production and high efficiency,and have guaranteed the safety production and resource saving.


The effect of lens aberration in projection system is simulated for 0.2 micrometer isolated contact holes and 0.2 micrometer line/space patterns with conventional binary mask, 5% and 20% attenuated phase-shift-mask. The spherical aberration affects CD variation through focus on the 0.2 micrometer isolated contact holes for a 20% attenuated phase- shift-mask. Phase compensation is needed to minimize the CD variation. Line/space patterns are found to be insensitive to the spherical aberration. The comatic aberration is harmful for features as small as 0.2 micrometer line/space pairs. To satisfy the tolerance of 30 nm CD difference, the comatic aberration must be less than 0.05 (lambda) . The effect of astigmatism is negligible compared to the comatic aberration.


Growth of 'Bluecrop' highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) on Lloyd and McCown's woody plant medium was significantly unaffected by initial pH adjustments from 4.0 to 6.0 but was reduced significantly at pH 6.5. The expiants altered the pH of the medium during a 10-week culture period. A negative correlation between the final pH of the medium and growth was observed.


A problem of a nonoptimal structure of the solvent demand in different Russian industrial branches is reviewed in the article. The influence of internal elements of the solvent demand on the development of industries, which produce for the domestic market, is studied. The main attention is paid to interconnections between the solvent demand and the financial situation of enterprises, banks' involvement in investment processes, and growth of investment into fixed capital. The analysis is based on estimates obtained by using methods of mathematical statistics.


This project explored the representation of students' lived experience through soundscapes. Student compositional processes emerged from journaling, interviews with community members, and student discussions. This presentation will explore both student dialogue and discussion, as well as educator reaction and responses to the dialogue prompted by the soundscapes. The project indicates that soundscape compositions afforded particular spaces for students to develop dialogue, allowing for shared experience and giving the opportunity to peer into each other's world. This work engages in interdisciplinarity by drawing together fields of music and acoustic ecology with the politically charged nature of school classrooms and systemic sociocultural oppression.


Introduction The purpose of this multicenter, prospective, observational, open-label study was to evaluate the use and tolerability of dermo-cosmetic products in preventing skin reactions associated with cancer treatments. Patients and methods A 12-product kit was supplied to patients before chemotherapy began and was to be used throughout the treatment phase. Cutaneous adverse events were evaluated at each treatment session. Physicians evaluated skin reactions (edema, erythema, dryness, desquamation, pigmentation disorders, and cracks) and gave their opinion on the skin benefit for patients at the end of the study. Patients also evaluated the product benefit using the Patient Benefit Index (PBI) questionnaire. Results were analyzed by subgroups of casual and regular users, based on number and frequency of products used. Results A total of 147 patients were enrolled in cancer services in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Canada. Mean age was 59 years with 71% being female. Product tolerance on whole body was rated good to excellent for at least 89% of the patients for each product. Aggravated skin reactions during the study were reported more frequently by casual users than regular users (39.5% versus 22%; p=0.029). Similarly, casual users reported more erythema aggravation (p=0.02) and desquamation (p=0.03) than regular users. PBI >1 was reported for 95.5% of patients and regular users had significantly higher scores than casual users (p=0.049). Discussion Overall, the 12-product kit was very well tolerated, with regular users reporting benefits more frequently than casual users. Results support international recommendations to use appropriate skin care products to minimize the impact of cutaneous reactions associated with chemotherapy.


A fast eigenvector technique for obtaining good initial node partitions of netlists for use in interchange heuristics is described. The method is based on approximating the netlist or hypergraph by a weighted graph G and applying the eigenvector technique of E.R. Barnes (1982) to partition G and k blocks of fixed module size. An efficient generalization of the Fiduccia-Mattheyses node-interchange heuristic is developed to further reduce the number of nets connecting k blocks. This node-interchange heuristic is tested on the one resulting netlist partition obtained by this eigenvector approach on a variety of small to large sized benchmark netlist partitioning problems (200 to 12000 modules and nets). The test results show that this eigenvector-node-interchange approach yields netlist partitions that are competitive with the best netlist partitions obtained by using node-interchange heuristics alone on many random initial netlist partitions. The running time of this method is a small fraction of that previous node-interchange methods.<<ETX>>


Abstract Progressive reinforcement schedules (i.e. progressive ratio or interval schedules) have had limited use. What studies have been done show them to be valuable in testing perseverative hypotheses. Using these schedules the effects of variables that may affect perseveration, or persistence, of behaviour, can be assessed. Such variables are reinforcement magnitude, motivation conditions, and physiological manipulation using drugs, brain lesions and so on. Perseveration has been measured by the total number of responses or the size of the last completed ratio before responding becomes infrequent at the "break-point". Other dependent variables, such as the session time or the rate of responding may be used also to measure perseveration. The question of the criterion of the "break-point" is discussed. The relationship between the different progressive schedules, the property of their aversiveness, the effects of various variables on them and the potential use of these schedules are discussed.


The Web is changing the ways we collaborate on projects i n virtual communities. There is a need to develop not only tools and onto logies relating to the semantic level of the Web, but pragmatic approache s w ich consider the roles of the participants in collaborative and other vir tual communities. Our approach to this involves Peirce's notion of critical common sense taken in connection with his pragmatism and facilitated by |>*k ( trikonic, Peirce's category theory in diagrammatic form). It is argued tha t in collaboratories group observation and manipulation of |>*k diagrams could be of val ue in certain analyses. Six |>*k vectors (showing movement through the cat gories) are explicated and the potential of |>*k vector analysis for fa cilit ting inquiry directed to collaboratory project development is consider ed in conjunction with critical common sense. A chiral cycle involving all six vector patterns in a "melding order" is analyzed. Future research includes the ne d for the development of a |>*k tool supported by a consensus-seeking and reportauthoring element.


Controllability and observability of a class of distributed gyroscopic systems under pointwise actuators and sensors are presented. The equations of motion are cast in a state space form, in which orthogonality of the eigenfunction is obtined. The controllability and observability conditions in finite dimensions are obtained for a model representing a truncated modal expansion of the distributed system. In infinite dimensions the controllability and observability conditions are obtained through semi-group theory. In both the finite and infinite dimensional models the conditions of controllability and observability are evaluated through the eigenfunctions in an explicit form. The minimum number of actuators and minimum number of sensors needed to control and observe the system are determined by the largest eigenvalue multiplicity. The results are illustrated on vibration control of the axially moving string and the rotating circular plate.


Background Neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are an age group most susceptible to thrombosis in pediatrics. Besides central access devices (CAD), maternal and neonatal factors are reported to be associated with thrombosis. This has not been well investigated because of the relatively rare incidence of thrombosis and the inherent heterogeneity of thrombotic events. An assessment of the impact of individual risk factors is an essential step, as appropriate risk stratification is fundamental to evidence based thromboprophylaxis policy. Objective To identify risk factors associated with thrombosis in sick neonates admitted to the NICU. Methods A case-control study was conducted using the Children9s Hospital Neonatal Database (CHND) dataset with neonates admitted to the NICU at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children9s Hospital and Nationwide Children9s hospital between Jan 2010 and June 2013. Cases were neonates diagnosed with either arterial or venous thrombosis during their NICU stay and controls were matched to the cases in the same patient pool in a 1:4 ratio on the basis of gestational age and presence or absence of CAD. Neonates with a less than 72-hour stays in the NICU or complex congenital heart defects needing surgical repair as well as re-admission data were excluded. Chi-square tests were performed to compare characteristics as well as potential risk factors between cases and controls. A conditional multivariate logistic regression analysis included potential risk factors with p-value Results A total of 47 cases were identified in 4,122 NICU patients (11.4 per 1,000 patients). There were 32 (68%) males and 27 (57.5%) preterm neonates with thrombosis. On univariate analysis blood stream infections (BSI) and prolonged mechanical ventilation were significantly more common in cases than controls Table 1. A conditional multivariate analysis showed that prolonged mechanical ventilation was independently associated with higher risk of thrombosis (OR 3.03 [95% CI: 1.29, 7.09], p value 0.01 Table 2). Conclusions The incidence of thrombosis appears to be 5 fold higher than that previously reported in a Canadian registry. After matching for CAD and GA, prolonged mechanical ventilation represents an independent risk factor of thrombosis in neonates. This is the largest study of systematic assessment of risk factors in neonates with mechanical ventilation being reported as a risk factor independent of CAD. Larger multi-centered data should confirm the study results for developing evidence-based risk stratification protocols and thrombosis prevention strategies. Disclosures Liem:Global Blood Therapeutics: Consultancy; Fresenius Kabi: Other: DSMB; NHLBI: Research Funding.


The segment density profile of a homopolymer adsorbed at a single solid-liquid interface has been determined using neutron specular reflection. The polymer was polyethylene oxide (PEO) of relative molecular mass 145 000 adsorbed from solution in water or MgSO4/water at the amorphous quartz/water interface. The fraction of polymer within the first 40 A of the surface was found to be between 0.7 and 0.8, and there was a negligible fraction beyond about 80 A. These dimensions compare with estimated values of 200 A for the radius of gyration and 21 A for the statistical segment length. The polymer is adsorbed into a narrower layer than predicted by simple theoretical models.


We report the case of an 89-year-old man who developed composite gastric cancer and Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) arising from the remnant stomach. He had undergone partial gastrectomy for benign gastric ulcer 60 years earlier. Upper gastrointestinal series from a periodic health examination showed an ulceration in the remnant stomach near anastomotic site, and a biopsy from endoscopic examination revealed gastric cancer. He underwent total gastrectomy, and histological examination revealed composite gastric cancer and DLBCL. Lymphadenopathy was not detected on preor post-operative Computed Tomography (CT), and the cancer was considered limited. Helicobacter pylori and Epstein-Barr virus were not detected. Although composite gastric cancer and DLBCL arising from the remnant stomach is considered extremely rare, particular attention should be given to the residual stomach after partial gastrectomy.


The DEM approach is used to simulate the random distribution of fuel spheres.The purpose of this work is to study the flow fluid and heat transfer by means of CFD techniques.Analysis shows that the pressure is lower,but the velocity,eddy and temperature are higher in the clearance.The pressure,eddy and heat transfer coefficient are increased with the porosity reduction,but velocity is reduced with the porosity reduction.


Two permafrost profiles in the alpine region permafrost is only the second from the Rocky of Banff National Park, Alberta, and an ad- Mountain region of Alberta and southern jacent region of British Columbia were observed British Columbia. throughout the summer of 1970. This report of


ABSTRACT We consider a statistical model for directed network formation that features both node-specific parameters that capture degree heterogeneity and common parameters that reflect homophily among nodes. The goal is to perform statistical inference on the homophily parameters while treating the node-specific parameters as fixed effects. Jointly estimating all parameters leads to incidental-parameter bias and incorrect inference. As an alternative, we develop an approach based on a sufficient statistic that separates inference on the homophily parameters from estimation of the fixed effects. The estimator is easy to compute and can be applied to both dense and sparse networks, and is shown to have desirable asymptotic properties under sequences of growing networks. We illustrate the improvements of this estimator over maximum likelihood and bias-corrected estimation in a series of numerical experiments. The technique is applied to explain the import and export patterns in a dense network of countries and to estimate a more sparse advice network among attorneys in a corporate law firm.


Funding agencies and policy-makers have put increasing pressure on scientists to better clarify the usefulness of their research. It has been suggested that this may have led to an increased reflec ...


This study investigates intention on use e-money server in Indonesia. E-money server is electronic money payment system based on mobile platform. However, these are few studies discussed behavioral intention in this new area.It becomes strong gap to investigate in the consumers' intention to use e-Money Server in Indonesia.
Consequently, this study employs the Decomposed of Theory Planned Behavior (DTPB) by examines attitude and its decomposed (complexity) and perceived behavioral control and its decomposed (self-confidence and resources facilitating conditions) and awareness on intention to use e-money server.A total of one thousand and three
hundred respondents are selected using quantitative method as sources of data collection. The questionnaires are distributed using purposive sampling method in Medan, Indonesia.The software used for analysis is the SmartPls 2.0 M3. This study concludes with conclusion and suggestion for future studies.


The countries of the world are racing to achieve cultural integration in order to achieve cultural growth, relying on the total number of civil society institutions, including the media institutions that depend on countries to develop their horizons. As sports are part of cultural life, sports activity is a necessity for mental, intellectual, and cultural issues. Therefore, the interest in the term physical culture through the new media and varied in the provision of instructions and skills and rules of physical activity using multimedia from text, voice, image that the media contributes to the process of interpretation and guidance and education, entertainment through programs to the public.


• OD1, WWE3, and OP11 were commonly identified among the UMB orders we collected data for and analyzed in our database. • Previously identified UMB candidates like RB2256 were nullified as being UMB in this investigation based on criteria for UMB classification. • Genomic data in the UMB database was compared to small genome bacterial data (most of these cells being classified as parasitic) in JGI from which we identified more proteins for replication and translation from environmental UMB than small genome JGI entries. • This database was integrated into a Kbase narrative for future genome investigations.


The magnetic properties of four diphenylverdazyls (2−5) with electron acceptor groups in the 3-position were studied by measuring the magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity. The crystal structures of 3 and 4 were determined, and for 2 the crystal structure analysis led to an improved refinement. Verdazyl 2 was found to be an antiferromagnet with a Neel temperature of TN = 1.16 ± 0.04 K. Above the transition temperature TN, 2 behaves as a quasi-one-dimensional Heisenberg ferromagnet with the intrachain exchange interaction of 2J/kB = +7.0 ± 1.0 K. The interchain exchange interaction zJ'/kB was estimated to be −1.5 ± 0.2 K, where z is the number of interchain bonds per spin. On the other hand, 3 and 5 behave as 1D nonalternating and alternating Heisenberg antiferromagnets with an exchange interaction of 2J/kB = −11.6 K and 2J1/kB = −113 K (alternation parameter α = J2/J1 = 0.4), respectively. The susceptibility of 4 follows the Curie−Weiss law with a negative Weiss constant of −18 K above 100 K. Below 10...


Semiconductor-based photocatalyst is an alternative approach for wastewater treatment. The effectiveness of semiconductor nanoparticles to eliminate textile dye substances in the contaminant water has been widely studied in the last decade. This work discusses the photocatalytic activities of ZnO nanodisks by using different dye substance (rhodamine B, RhB and bromocresol green, BCG) under UV exposure. ZnO nanodisks were successfully synthesized through solution precipitation method. The formation of ZnO in hexagonal nanodisks structure was confirmed by XRD, FESEM and EDX analysis. The result showed that the photodegradation efficiency of BCG dye is higher than RhB dye under 75 min of UV irradiation. This could be explained by the dye molecular structure as BCG dyes containing more hydroxyl groups (-OH) than RhB dyes.


The invention relates to a device for supplying an electric drive for a motor vehicle with a power network, which is connected to the drive and having a fuel cell unit and at least one energy Save, wherein the fuel cell unit and the energy store are coupled. According to the invention it is provided that the power network has a first and a second power grid, the first power network comprises a first inverter disposed between the fuel cell unit and the drive, the second power network has a second converter arranged between the energy store and the drive and the first inverter is decoupled from the second inverter.


ISSN 1681-6277. Economics and Law. 2019, No 4 (55): 124—139 © S.K. RAMAZANOV, I.V. ZABLODSKA, D.V. ZABLODSKA, 2019 The article presents the integration model of sustainable development as a family of models for creation of integrated information systems of ecological economic and socio-humanitarian management of different socio-organizational systems and especially economic objects of technogenic character for ensuring the sustainable and viable development. The problem of sustainable development for the "hexagon" of main assets (capitals), supporting the vital activity of socio-ecological-economic systems is considered and defined: the concept of sustainable development, the system of sustainable development global dimensions, and the level of sustainable development.


This paper discusses anxiety from psychological and educational perspectives, with emphasis upon developing and implementing interventions in school settings. Definitions and characteristics of anxiety are presented, followed by discussion of anxiety as a problem in academic and personal-social functioning. Discussion occurs about identification, assessment, and the development of specific intervention techniques. Included are suggestions of how special services providers can assist in working with academic related anxiety in regular and special education.


Blind source separation technology is introduced to solve the problem of signal collision which is caused by the multiple signals arrived at satellite receiver simultaneously. This technology uses FastICA algorithm to separate the signals once it detects the collision, while FastICA also exists the problem of slow convergence due to too much iterations. This paper therefore proposed an improved FastCIA to overcome its shortcoming of complicated iterations. The simulation results prove that the proposed algorithm can achieve the faster convergence with the same effectiveness comparing with the original algorithm.


In this paper, we present the design and fabrication of a new type of slider for ECLIA (Electrostatic Control Linear Actuator). The slider is composed of a flexible conductive polymer and Silicon bone structure, hereafter called Polymer-Si bone slider, in order to generate electrostatic and suction force for the clutch mechanism and pushing force of the slider. The Polymer-Si bone slider can improve the stability of slider movement compared to a polymer slider. The flexible conductive polymer film, which consists of a Aramid base thin film and coated conductive PEDOT:PSS layer, can be deformed, and fitted to the opposite electrode surface at low applied voltages. In addition, the Si bone structure is rigid for stability movement and large pushing force of the slider. The characteristics of this new slider were compared to conventional sliders.


Diamond-like-carbon films and graphite samples were implanted at room temperature(RT) using 100—120 keV N-ions to 5 × 1017 - 5 × 1018 cm-2,and then irradiated at RT using 345 MeV Xe,2.64 GeV U or 30 MeV C60 ions,respectively. The irradiated samples were characterized by FTIR,Raman,and XRD or XPS spectroscopes,and the formation of new chemical bonds and phases in the N-doped samples induced by heavy ion irradiations were studied. It was found that high-energy heavy ion irradiations could significantly induce the formation of CN bonds in all samples,high N-concentration and intense energy deposition result in the increment of sp3/sp2 bonding ratio and the enhancement of the formation of N-sp3C bonds that are needed for α-and β-C3N4 phase production. Furthermore,C60 ion irradiation could result in the formation of CNx and tetrahedral amorphous carbon in the C-doped graphite samples,whereas high-energy Xe and U ions could produce α-and β-C3N4 crystalline inclusions in the C-doped diamond-like-carbon samples.


Cs is easily absorbable while hard for desorption by clunch mineral and organism,so it is very useful in tracking erosion of water and soil and disposal of nuclear waste.The adsorption of Cs depends on different pH and different ratio of additives.Experiments shows that for two sorts of soil,the sorption is strong when pH is from 4~7 and it′s at maximum when pH is 7;in four sorts of additive,i.e.,thick zeolite,artificial zeolite,Ca(OH)2 and MnO2,only for thick zeolite,the amount added had positive correlation to the adsorption of Cs,by adding which adsorption capability of soil can be improved.


OBJECTIVE
Minority populations have an increased risk for trauma, but little is known about injury rates for minority children. This study compares the causes, rates and outcomes of traumatic injuries between minority and white children in a statewide population sample.

METHODS
A cohort study of 5,973 children (age <16) receiving inpatient care for treatment of acute injuries at the pediatric trauma centers in Ohio from 1999--2001. Case records were analyzed for race, injury type, injury severity, length of stay and demographic information. Supplemental data sources included the 2000 U.S. census and Ohio Vital Statistics death certificates 1996--2001.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Hospital admission rate, mortality rate, length of stay, rate of admission to rehabilitation service.

RESULTS
African-American children, who composed the vast majority of the minority population sample, were 7.7 more times likely to sustain a burn or gunshot wound, seven times more likely to be struck by a car, six times more likely to be intentionally injured and over twice as likely to killed by an injury than white children. However, after adjusting for injury severity, they have the same mortality, hospital length of stay and referral rate to rehabilitation as white children.

CONCLUSION
Trauma has a far greater impact on minority children than on white children. Research and development of injury prevention initiatives that specifically target minority children are urgently needed.


Education today is based on information collection and information – giving. In this state, it is difficult to analyse the end purpose of education itself. Levels of grasping absorbing and then expressing vary according to individuals. In spite of our good teaching, the students fail due to so many reasons. The output by the students depends on the student's capacity and the knowledge obtained by them. Hence, by using fuzzy relations, it is possible to confirm the possible marks obtained by the students in the final examination.

An attempts has been made by using the approach formulated by adlassnig and Kolarz [1] and Adlassnig[2] in the design of CADIAG-2, the problem of finding the possible marks obtained by a student in the final exam using his capacity or intelligence and the knowledge obtained is derived.

The model proposes two types of relations to exist between capacity and knowledge obtained.
(1) Existence relation
(2) Assurance relation

The first relation gives information about how much a student has basic intelligence or capacity. It corresponds to the question.

"what is the level of a particular student's IQ in certain topics?"

The second relation assures the presence of intelligence and the knowledge obtained by the students in certain topics, so that he is sure of getting good marks. It corresponds to the question "What is the level of intelligence and the knowledge obtained in certain topics?"


This thesis involves the nanoscale characterizations of nanomaterial using novel Raman spectroscopic methods. Raman spectroscopy is an established technique for the characterization of graphene and polymers. However, its spatial resolution is limited by the diffraction limit of light (generally no better than 300 nm), and also affected by refraction when the probing spot is deep within polymer (could be worse than 20 µm in Z axis). This study overcomes these limits by using tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) and three dimensional surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (3D SERS). Using the near-field enhancement of metallic nanotips, TERS can individually probe each nanostructure on epitaxial graphene. Decreased graphene content in the sub-micron crack, which cannot be resolved by conventional Raman spectroscopy, was observed. For the first time, compressive strain relaxation on graphene nanoridges was measured. This is direct evidence to the 'strain relaxation mechanism' of nanoridges formation on graphene due to mismatch in thermal expansion coefficient. By analyzing nanoridges on graphene microisland, the alternative mechanism of 'Si vapor trapping' also showed to be insufficient to explain the formation. To improve spatial resolution in Z axis within polymer, 3D SERS using highly symmetric nanoporous silver microparticle was developed. Since the plasmon resonance of this substrate originates from uniformly distributed nanopores instead of random aggregation as in aggregated nanoparticle system. The 3D enhancement pattern is highly predictable and resembles particle shape. The octahedrally symmetric shape of the microparticles further provides the predictability. With the substrate, SERS signal from three dimensional volume of target sample can be obtained. Since the particle shape constrains the signal enhancement to the volume near the particle surface, the problem of laser spot expansion in Z axis could be relieved, resulting in improved resolution in the axis.


Indirect methods for visual SLAM are gaining popularity due to their robustness to varying environments. ORB-SLAM2 is a benchmark method in this domain, however, the computation of descriptors in ORB-SLAM2 is time-consuming and the descriptors cannot be reused unless a frame is selected as a keyframe. To overcome these problems, we present FastORB-SLAM which is light-weight and efficient as it tracks keypoints between adjacent frames without computing descriptors. To achieve this, a two-stage coarse-to-fine descriptor independent keypoint matching method is proposed based on sparse optical flow. In the first stage, we first predict initial keypoint correspondences via a uniform acceleration motion model and then robustly establish the correspondences via a pyramid-based sparse optical flow tracking method. In the second stage, we leverage motion smoothness and the epipolar constraint to refine the correspondences. In particular, our method computes descriptors only for keyframes. We test FastORB-SLAM with an RGBD camera on \textit{TUM} and \textit{ICL-NUIM} datasets and compare its accuracy and efficiency to nine existing RGBD SLAM methods. Qualitative and quantitative results show that our method achieves state-of-the-art performance in accuracy and is about twice as fast as the ORB-SLAM2


The paper pertains to the field of the current global endeavours in industrial robot construction, the presented research being oriented towards identifying innovative constructive solutions for gripper systems. The utilisation of the linear pneumatic muscle as actuator of the gripper system ensures a construction that is light, highly compliant, and that meets the safety requirements related to interaction with humans. The paper further presents and discusses such a system of asymmetrical construction with a single mobile jaw.


The effectiveness of massive transfusion protocols (MTPs) has been assumed from low quality studies with multiple biases. This review aimed to (i) evaluate the association between the institution of an MTP and mortality and (ii) determine the effect of MTPs on transfusion practice post trauma.


Abstract In this paper a modified Euler transformation is introduced and studied. The main merit of this transformation is to outperform stability preservation (with respect to the traditional Euler transformation) besides preserving the matrix sparseness. This is particular appealing in the analysis of positive systems since it is shown that stability is preserved independent of the sampling period. A brief collection of results for switched systems has been also provided.


This paper analyzes some problems in marketing courses teaching in higher vocational college. It discusses the construction of the idea of student center,the teaching arrangement of the center of practice and differential teaching approach.


Introduction The impending widespread deployment of Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) has created an opportunity for multimedia communication not only as part of vehicle safety provision, traffic management, and emergency response but also in the value-added 'infotainment' domain. The key feature of video distribution to the passengers of vehicles or crew members of emergency vehicles in the VANET is robustness and reliability, as the environment is highly error prone. As detailed below, complex movement patterns of vehicles and non-line-of-sight wireless propagation add to the challenge of multi-hop routing. One response to this challenge is through the error-resilience features of the H.264/AVC (Advanced Video Coding) codec, which together with multipath streaming, including peer-to-peer streaming [1], provide source coding solutions. Application-layer forward error correction (AP-FEC) as a general solution may replicate physical layer channel coding (unless the AP-FEC acts as a concatenated code), while error control through ARQ, apart from the additional latency introduced over multi-hop network paths, is unreliable when network links are constantly being broken. In retrospect, three events may be singled out in the rise of VANET multimedia communication. Firstly in 1999, the US FCC allocated 75 MHz bandwidth of the 5.9 GHz spectrum to Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), essentially for wireless communication between vehicles and from a vehicle to the network infrastructure, normally via roadside units. Secondly, the term Vehicular Ad Hoc Network (VANET) was first applied in the 2004 ACM international workshop of that name and since then academic activity has burgeoned. And thirdly, in 2005 video streaming over VANETs was suggested as a way of reporting traffic congestion and accidents [2], as captured by roadside cameras. In 2005 also, an early feasibility study [3] in Japan was testing streaming video between two vehicles. Imaginative ways of responding to urban emergencies [4] by streaming video to responding vehicles are one of a number of VANET initiatives by Mario Gerla's research group at the University of California, Los Angeles. Multi-wireless-interface vehicles placed within cellular networks are already proposed [5] as a way to relieve congested cells. As new 'push' multimedia services are introduced into 3G cellular networks, the same services may be extended into VANETs. VANETs may also support the exchange or sharing of personal video clips (as occurs in social networks). Roadside sources of multimedia content [6], possibly linked in a backbone network, can disseminate preencoded video or serve to notify the passengers of a passing vehicle of available video sequences in circulation within the VANET.


The Gava Mines Archaeological Park (Gava, Spain) is an interpretative centre created in order to achieve a global project in the Prehistoric Mines site, the oldest mines made in galleries in Europe. The construction of the building and the exhibition were a challenge and an opportunity to think about how to act and communicate such an outstanding archaeological site. In this paper we present this experience, the resources used and the technological applications in management and communication.


Case-based learning is an andragogical approach that requires students to apply knowledge by discussing scenarios resembling real-life situations. Despite its history of practical and effective application in several educational settings, little empirical research on case-based learning in Canadian police recruit training exists. For this study, administrators from six Canadian police recruit training institutions were interviewed on their approach to training and case-based learning. Four key themes emerged, including (1) interrelated training content, (2) andragogical methods, (3) case-based learning, and (4) resourcing challenges. Case-based learning is then discussed as a strategy to enhance knowledge acquisition and critical thinking among police recruits.


ABSTRACT The soldier's body is the most important subject of violence and destruction in war. Humans live primarily through their body in the material world, and when the body is destroyed, their whole existence is affected, both physically and non-physically. Therefore, the first locus on which we can observe the effects of war and violence is the human body, mainly soldiers. In modern wars, the soldier's body is combined with weapons and machines of war, but is also the first target of killing whether in attack or defence. On the one hand it is targeted and killed, but on the other hand the body itself targets and kills. In warfare, bodies are trained to be the mechanism of killing and they are employed on battlefields according to the political objectives of their sovereign power. Thus, the soldier's body becomes a weapon separated from the individual human body by the political authority.


The effect of bioactive soybean powder on the wheat flour quality was studied.The results showed that to add 0.5% of the bioactive soybean powder could increase the stability of the dough,strengthen the extension resistance,the gluten index and fatty acid value were influenced too.


The Canon T50 is a really good camera. The best 5 lenses for the Canon T50 will be talked about in this article. Additional information is below, ...


The invention provides an abrasive which is prepared by the steps as follows: 0.5-2.5Mu meter of corundum (95-98 percent) sold in the market, silicon carbide, diamond or cubic boron nitride abrasive micro-powder are mixed with 2-5 percent of ceramic adhesive, thermally disposed under high temperature of 840-1200 DEG C and combined with the abrasive micro-powder by the ceramic combination phase to form the abrasive with microcrystalline structure, wherein, according to the weight percentage, the raw material of the ceramic adhesive comprises 5-20 percent of NaO, 10-25 percent of B2O3, 45-70 percent of SiO2, 13-17 percent 4-5 components of Li2O, MgO, K2O, CaO and ZnO; all raw materials are sequentially mixed, screened, smelted, quenched, dried, crushed, screened to prepare the sintered abrasive, the granularity, classification and application of which are consistent to that of the corundum, carborundum, diamond or cubic boron nitride abrasive. The abrasive changes the internal structure of the abrasive grains, thus changing the processing performance of the abrasive, improving the processing precision, processing quality, processing efficiency, prolonging the service life of the grinder, and reducing the processing cost of the grinding.


Since the spring of 1997, when the Neurology Department of the University Hospital of Crete admitted its first patient, 9 cases (8 neuropathologically confirmed and 1 probable) of sporadic Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease (sCJD) have been recorded. This represents an annual incidence five‐fold higher than expected based on the island's population (0.54 million). Molecular analysis of the prion‐protein gene (PRNP) showed no mutations in any of the seven CJD cases studied. Five patients (ages 64–88 years) were homozygous for methionine‐129 of PRNP and showed the classic sCJD triad (subacute dementia, myoclonus, periodic electroencephalogram). Brains contained Type 1 (unglycosylated 21.5 kDa band) protease‐resistant prion protein (PrPres). Two patients (ages 56 and 57 years), both homozygous for valine‐129, showed cerebellar ataxia and later dementia not associated with periodic electroencephalogram; brain PrPres was Type 2. Genotyping of 205 Cretan controls showed that methionine‐129 homozygosity, a susceptibility factor for sCJD, was significantly higher in this population than in other Caucasian populations (57.0%, n = 205 versus 41.5%, n = 859. These data are the first to relate a high regional incidence rate for sCJD to the distribution of PRNP 129 genotypes in the local population; however, additional factors may be operational.


Objective To investigate the principle and the effectiveness of conformal ablation by using multi-pin bipolar radiofrequency system for the treatment of hepatic cancer.Methods 16 patients with Hepatic cancer underwent ultrasound guided multi-pin bipolar percutaneous radiofrequency ablation(PRFA),one of them received PRFA combined percutaneous ethanol injection(PEI).Results Total tumor necrosis were seen in 12 patients after one month of PRFA.but not in four patients,2 of them achieved total tumor necrosis after second ablation.AFP decreased to normal level in 6 patients whose AFP was positive before treatment.Conclusion Multi-pin bipolar percutaneous radiofrequency ablation is an effective therapeutic option.It can extent the ablation area and can also conform the ablation shape to the target tumor.


The invention discloses an egg-yolk crisp and a production method thereof. The egg-yolk crisp comprises the following raw materials by weight: 30-40% of fresh scatter-feed duck eggs; 5-10% of fructose-glucose syrup; 5-10% of dietary fiber, 18-25% of special flour, millet powder and hulless oat powder; 1-2% of pig leaf lard and peanut oil; and 1-2% of seaweed polysaccharide. The invention has properties of no saccharification and no blood glucose fluctuation, wherein the content of sucrose is zero, and the content of glucose and fructose is zero. The sweetness is low, which is only 45-50% of other corresponding products. The egg-yolk crisp has pure sweet taste, good sweet taste, and no biter taste. Because fat content is low and the oil fat is neutralized with grain fibers, the egg-yolk crisp is delicious but not greasy, and the fat content is 50%-70% of the corresponding traditional products.


Dual-sided optical films have extended split spreading structures formed on one major surface, and extended prisms formed on an opposite major surface. One portion of each split spreading structure has a low light spreading characteristic, and another portion has a high light spreading characteristic. For each split spreading structure, the low light spreading portion may be disposed alongside the high light spreading portion. The split spreading structures may be arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the prisms. Light that enters a given prism from one inclined surface thereof can be associated primarily with light transmitted through the low light spreading portion of the split spreading structure, and light that enters the given prism from the other inclined surface thereof can be associated primarily with light transmitted through the high light spreading portion.


the epithelial cells could be destroyed. Thus the 'principle of lymphatic access' in cysts (Toller 1967) now seems to have acquired a cellular dimension as well as a purely physical aspect. If this is so, then partial removal of a simple non-keratinizing cystic lesion whereby some of the epithelium is either deliberately or inadvertently left in the connective tissues might well result in total dissolution of the remainder of the condition, but I have not had the courage to put this to clinical test, nor has the occasion presented when it might appear of value to the patient. If root fillings are efficient, and apical infection is eliminated, not only do granulomas disappear but their contained epithelium seems to be eliminated very efficiently by the body in most cases. Perhaps we shall one day be able to use the body's natural mechanism, enhancing it to our own advantage or encouraging it to mop up epithelial cells which we have left behind. REFERENCES Alexander P (1967) Proc. roy. Soc. Med. 60, 1181 Allison A C (1970) Proc. roy. Soc. Med. 63, 1077 Burnet MacF (1969) Cellular Immunology. London Fairley GH (1969) Brit. med. J. ii, 467 Grupe H E, Ten Cate A R& Zander HA (1967) Arch. oral Biol. 12, 1321 Hellstrom I, Hellstrom K E, Evans C A, Heppner G H, Pierce GE& Young J P S (1969)Proc. nat. Acad. Sci. (Wash.) 63, 362 Lalonde ER (1970) J. Amer. dent. Ass. 80, 1056 LewisM G, Ikonopisov R L, NairnR C, Phillips T M, Fairley G H, Bodenham D C& Alexander P (1969) Brit. med. J. iii, 547 Mancini G, Vaerman J P, Carbonara A 0 & Heremans J F (1964) Protides ofthe Biologic Fluid. Colloques du Laboratoire del'Hoipital Saint-Jean d Bruges, No. 1 1, p 370 Oehlers FA C (1970) Brit. J. oral Surg. 8, 103 Simpson H E (1964) J. Periodont. 35, 293 Ten CateA R(1965) Arch. oral Biol. 10, 207 Thompson RA (1970) Clin. exp. Immunol. 7,491 Toiler PA (1967) Ann. roy. Coll. Surg. Engl. 40, 306 (1970) Brit. dent. J. 128, 317 Toller P A& Holborow E J (1969) Lancet ii, 178 Tourville D R, Adler R H, Bienenstock J & Tomasi T B (1969) J. exp. Med. 129, 411 Wassmund M (1935) Lehrbuch der praktischen Chirurgie des Mundes und der Kiefer. Leipzig


The antibacterial composite films was prepared by dissolving activated cellulose in sodium hydro-gen,urea and thiourea solution then adding the antibacterial agent.The compatibility,the mechanical property and antibacterial property of composite films were studied.The result showed that cellulose had good compati-bility when the concentration of soluble chitin and O-carboxymethyl chitosan reached 15% and 30%,respective-ly.The breaking strength and extension of composite films were high,and the composite films had good an-tibacterial property to Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.And the cellulose/O-carboxymethyl chitosan composite film was better than that of cellulose/soluble chitin composite film.


We investigated the denitrification activity and the distribution of the denitrifying bacteria of a boring survey site located on a volcanic plateau, where the geological profiles from surface to deep subsurface soil at the groundwater level had been examined. There were differences between the water quality in the Ito pyroclastic flow deposit (Shirasu) layer (44.2 to 54.5 m) and that in the Osumi pumice fall deposit (Pumice) layer (below 54.5 m) corresponding to the impermeable layer of unconfirmed groundwater: The nitrate concentration was less than 1 mg kg−1 in the Shirasu layer and more than 10 mg kg−1 in the Pumice layer (Kubota et al. 2005). Denitrification activity decreased from the surface to the loam layer and was enhanced in the Shirasu layer and the Haraigawa clay impermeable layer at a depth of 65 m. It was observed that the highest potential denitrification activity (103 ng-N2O d−1 g−1) in the impermeable layer was almost equal to that of a Kuroboku surface soil with slurry application. Viable counts of the sonic-samples, which indicated the presence of bacterial group with soil particles attached, increased in the impermeable layer. The ratios of viable or denitrifying bacterial counts in the sonic-samples to those in the wash-samples were significantly higher in the impermeable layer than those in the surface layer. These results suggest that the hydrogeological conditions enhanced the denitrification activity in the impermeable layer, the niches of which might be relatively anaerobic and have a sufficient supply of substrates to enable the denitrifying bacterial populations to multiply.


Using the Semantic Differential, 46 undergraduates evaluated as theoretically expected 12 social-psychological concepts as they themselves felt about each concept and as they thought hypothesized members of four social-class categories would evaluate them. The evaluation scores of the generally working-class Ss were much more similar to those projected onto the middle and upper classes than those attributed to the lower and working classes.


The Chinese Dwarf Cherry No.3 was used as experimental material to study the photosynthetic characteristics of mature leaf inside and outside greenhouse.Moreover,the factors influencing photosynthetic rate were analyzed.The results showed that the chlorophyll content of Chinese dwarf cherry was increased in greenhouse.The diurnal variation of net photosynthetic rate(Pn) showed two peak pattern.Pn reached maximum at 9:00 and 15:00 in greenhouse,which was 19.98 μmol/(m~2·s) and 9.59 μmol/(m~2·s),respectively,whereas,in field,Pn reached maximum at 10:00 and 15:00,respectively and the value was lower.All the results indicated that the decreases of photosynthetic rate in greenhouse which induced by the decreases of atmospheric relative humidity should be avoided.


A theoretical method which can be used to calculate the pressure field patterns of pulsed, focused, ultrasonic radiators in attenuating and nonattenuating media is discussed in this paper. The underlying principle involved is the superposition of continuous wave beams to form pressure pulses. The method is adapted to the circumstances associated with using a hydrophone to measure field patterns. Experimentally obtained hydrophone signals are then compared to theoretical predictions. The field patterns of four transducer‐pulser combinations are investigated. A medium with tissue‐mimicking acoustical properties is used to attenuate the ultrasonic beam in these studies. The theory compares favorably with experiment whether an attenuating medium is present or not. However, the theory fails at positions very close to the transducer face (∠1 cm) and when significant nonlinear effects occur during the transmission of the pulse through the medium. This work may have significant applications in research devoted to...


Dissecting aortic aneurysm is one of the most dangerous diseases of the aorta, often leading to severe complications or death. Currently, due to the increased level of diagnosis and the speed of care for patients with aortic diseases, there is now a need to improve approaches to the treatment of this condition. This paper presents the outcomes of a technique developed at our center, Shumakov National Medical Research Center of Transplantology and Artificial Organs, for selective antegrade cerebral perfusion (SACP) when performing prosthetic replacement of the aortic arch under circulatory arrest. Surgical treatment is performed on an emergency basis. During these surgeries, we focused on preventing neurological complications. Analysis of the efficacy and safety of our SACP technique shows that we obtained positive outcomes. In the analysis of 10 cases of aortic arch replacement, there was no evidence indicating the presence of any neurological complication. This technique allows for more adequate monitoring of perfusion during reconstructive interventions on the ascending aorta and aortic arch than the classical perfusion technique.


Patent numbers: US8440843 (B2)AU2005266755 (B2)US2011190501 (A1)US7932404 (B2)CN101023502 (B)EP1774550 (B9)US2009000658 (A1)AT409948 (T)EP1774550 (B1)KR20070085221 (A)CN101023502 (A)EP1774550 (A1)WO2006010290 (A8)AU2005266755 (A1)WO2006010290 (A1)EP1622178 (A1) Reference EPFL-PATENT-211652Search for this record at the European Patent Office Record created on 2015-09-22, modified on 2016-08-09


This paper studies the short-term stock performances of private equity placements.The author finds that the short-term stock performances of private equity placements are significantly positive.This result shows that investors view the participation of controlling shareholders and institutional investors as good prospects.The short-term stock performances for private equity placements associated with controlling shareholders and relevant shareholders are significantly lower than those with no controlling shareholders or relevant shareholders,which shows investors pays attention to the "tunneling" effect in private equity placements and the participation of institutional investors may deliver good prospects.


The article presents ontologically-oriented tools and applications for creating an intellectual environment for engineering interaction in enterprise resource planning systems. It is noted that the usage of modular ontologies to provide data sustainability is a key factor in the "cross-linking" of local systems and different-type applications in the environment of enterprise resource planning systems.


Penetrating chest trauma (PCT) represents 10% of worldwide mortality, with developing countries counting as some of the most affected by high mortality rates due to cardiac trauma. Colombia is considered one of the most violent countries due to the high mortality rate associated with war and crime, hence the validation of an own classification for penetrating cardiac injuries (PCI) is mandatory.


This work-in-progress paper describes the implementation and results of surveys to understand the impact of a first-year engineering design course on students. During the Engineering Design and Communication (EGR 101) course, students work in teams to learn and apply the engineering design process to a client-based problem drawn from a community partner. The learning outcomes are to 1) apply the engineering design process to meet the needs of a client; 2) iteratively prototype a solution; 3) work collaboratively on a team; and 4) communicate the critical steps in the design process in written, oral, and visual formats. Students work on one project team for the entire semester, with the focus of delivering a built and tested solution to the client. To better understand the effects of this course, we used a quantitative evaluation process. The survey addresses how the course contributes to students' self-efficacy and commitment in four areas: professional development, professional skills, engineering/academics, and creativity. Using a repeated-measures design, all students taking the course in fall 2018 were invited to participate in a survey at the beginning and end of the semester (113 paired responses). The survey utilized scale measures assessing intended outcome constructs, with scales adopted and/or adapted from other relevant existing measures. Measurements and analyses included determination of internal reliability for included scale measures (Chronbach's alpha), assessment of statistical significance in observed pre/post change using paired t-test (P<0.05), and/or assessment of strength of effect in pre/post change using effect size (Cohen's d). Significant, positive change was seen in general engineering self-efficacy, engineering skills (tinkering) self-efficacy, and engineering design self-efficacy; moreover, engineering design self-efficacy demonstrated notably high strength of effect, as measured by effect size. Within the area of personal development, students showed statistically significant growth in general self-efficacy, but not grit/perseverance. Positive changes in all three of the areas of professional skills, including teamwork, communication, and leadership, were significant and of medium to high effect size. However, these changes across the semester were not seen in engineering academic engagement, which attempted to measure how likely students were to select engineering as a major. These results provide early evidence of effectiveness for the EGR 101 course in core intended outcomes; results indicate that it is indeed building students' self-efficacy in terms of professional and engineering design skills. Ongoing efforts to further this work are twofold. First, we implemented a parallel data collection process with a second wave of student participants in fall 2019; this will allow us to both build our sample size and determine if the effects are evident across multiple course offerings. Second, current work is underway to evaluate whether these changes persist into students' second year. Particularly, the study will explore whether academic engagement (i.e., declaring a major) is a function of any of these measure parameters. The combination of this current and planned research trajectory will contribute to improve our evidence-based understanding of the contributions of a first-year design-focused course on undergraduates' academic and personal development. Role of Self-Efficacy in Educational Development The concept of self-efficacy refers to an individual's judgement of their own capabilities to achieve desired outcomes [1]. According to Social Cognitive Theory [2], self-efficacy is a core factor influencing individual behavior. Perceptions of one's own efficacy influence "how well people motivate themselves and persevere in the face of difficulties through the goals they set for themselves, their outcome expectations, and causal attributions for their successes and failures" [3]. As a result, individuals with higher self-efficacy are more likely to behave in ways that maximize their likelihood of success. Within an educational context, academic self-efficacy describes a student's beliefs about his or her ability to attain educational goals [4]. A systematic review of research examining the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic performance showed that academic self-efficacy is not only an important predictor of performance among college students, but also influences emotions about learning [5]. The concept of academic self-efficacy may be particularly consequential to efforts aimed at retaining students within a given area of study. Retention of STEM majors is especially important in modern American society, as technology-related careers employ millions of Americans [6]. Nevertheless, despite the importance and appeal of these fields, retention continues to be a challenge in engineering education, disproportionately impacting students of color. According to the American Society for Engineering Education [7], student retention into the second year of engineering programs differs greatly by race, with retention rates for Asian American and White students notably higher than those for African American, Latino, and American Indian/Alaskan Native students. Within engineering specifically, self-efficacy has been shown to be a predictor of persistence within the course of study, even when controlling for other factors [8]. One strategy for establishing self-efficacy involves intentionally creating opportunities for students to experience success in overcoming challenges, or what Bandura refers to as "mastery experiences" [1]. When asked to identify experiences that influence their self-efficacy or confidence in their engineering abilities, undergraduate engineering students often cite such challenges and experiences, mentioning successes in their course work and the design of a functioning device [9] [10] [11]. Similarly, engineering students refer to their understanding and learning of course material, their own motivation, and their course-related abilities as influencing their self-efficacy to perform well in a given course [11]. Project-based first-year engineering courses provide mastery experiences for students and have been shown to positively impact students' confidence in their tinkering and engineering skills, along with their motivation to continue pursuing their major [10] [12] [13] [14]. Hutchison-Green et al interviewed first-year engineering students to determine what factors, in the students' first semester, begin to affect self-efficacy [15]. They found that performance comparison (i.e., a student comparing his/her performance to his/her peers) makes a significant impact on self-efficacy, and that depending on the student and the situation, self-efficacy could either increase or decrease in response to the situation. Team-based project courses can thus mitigate the possibility of decreasing students' confidence because they do not require students to work individually and then compare their performance to that of their peers. Instead, students work together toward a common goal. Team-based projects can improve students' confidence in their collaboration and teamwork skills and even lead students to prefer working on teams [13] [16]. Development of communication skills is another facet of most team-based project courses. Communication skills possessed by engineering students have been assessed over the full curriculum of a given major, as well as within a single engineering design course [17] [18]. Bayles presents an engineering design course requiring students to document meetings, create building instructions, and present testing and evaluation plans for their team project [17]. Surveyed students reported that creating a course structure that relied on clear and effective communication for project success motivated them to more carefully consider their written work. Description of First-Year Design Course The Engineering Design and Communication (EGR 101) course at Duke University (Durham, NC, USA) provides first-year engineering students exposure to the engineering design process [19]. All incoming engineering students at Duke are required to take this course, regardless of intended engineering major. The learning outcomes are to 1) apply the engineering design process to meet the needs of a client; 2) iteratively prototype a solution; 3) work collaboratively on a team; and 4) communicate the critical steps in the design process in written, oral, and visual formats. This course was built on best practices in first-year programs as well as engineering education more generally [20]. Students gain and apply technical as well as professional skills while designing a solution to a real-world problem. This one-semester course consists of three components, some of which occur concurrently. In the first component, students develop technical skills (e.g., 3D printing) that are applicable to many of the design projects. In the second component, students learn about the various stages of the engineering design process. In the third component, students apply the engineering design process to solve a problem presented by a client. In the early portion of the semester, students complete two projects selected from areas such as computer-aided design and 3D printing, circuits and microcontrollers, woodworking, and machine shop (mill and lathe). Students are provided a brief introduction to the technical skills necessary to complete these projects as well as resources to help them as they complete these tools-based projects. The technical skills learned in this early part of the semester form a foundation on which students can build later in the semester. Throughout the entire semester, the course runs through key stages of the engineering design process such as defining a client's need, performing relevant background research, establishing quantitative design criter


Cannabinoids have been extensively studied in the field of cancer research. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has shown promising results in influencing cellular proliferation when in association with other cannabinoids. This traditional entourage effect solely focuses on the study of THC with other cannabinoids. However, not many studies have been done to explore the synergistic effect of THC analogs when used with non‐cannabinoid compounds. THC in its isolate form for experimentation is very strictly regulated. Therefore, this study was conducted in the pursuit of synthesizing and experimenting with analogs of THC to observe a potential entourage effect with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound known for its efficacy to reduce proliferation at higher concentrations in UMR cells. It was hypothesized that active analogs of THC can be synthesized and used in concert with EGCG to potentiate decreased proliferation in the bone‐like cancer cell line UMR 106‐01 BSP (UMR cells). Briefly, a Knoevenagel condensation and a Diels‐Alder reaction using 1,3‐cyclohexanediol dissolved in methanol (MeOH) and citronellal with ethylenediamine diacetic acid (EDDA) at a temperature of 60℃ was used to synthesize a novel THC analog, 3,10,10‐Trimethyl‐1,2,3,4,4a,6,7,8,10,10a‐decahydro‐9‐oxa‐5‐phenanthrenone (TDP). UMR cells were routinely passaged, counted, plated in six‐well culture plates at 480,00 cells/mL, then treated with 10‐fold dilutions of TDP. The plates were incubated for 72 hours in a humidified incubator at 37 degrees Celsius with 5% carbon dioxide infusion. At the end of the experiment, the cells were routinely washed with HANKS buffered saline solution (HBSS), then routinely counted using the Luna Automated Cell Counter. In another experiment, designated cells were co‐treated with TDP+EGCG, following the protocol above. F test ANOVA was used to compare variances and all values in the results were expressed as means ± SD. The results from the attempted cannabinoid analog synthesis yielded a novel active THC analog, TDP. Serial dilutions treatment of the UMR cells with TDP alone showed its ability to decrease cell count in a concentration dependent manner. However, when coupled with higher concentrations of EGCG, the co‐treatment increased cell count rather than potentiating the effect of decreasing cellular proliferation. The F Test ANOVA showed robust statistical significance (p values <0.05) with regard to TDP's effect of decreasing cell proliferation in UMR cells in a concentration‐dependent manner. Overall, the outcomes of this study suggest that active forms of THC analogs can be synthesized and tested in concert with other non‐cannabinoid compounds like EGCG. This study opens the door to explore the entourage effect of TDP with other non‐cannabinoid compounds that may provide another tool in the therapeutic treatment of bone cancer cells.


In Palestine, antibody screening is done antenatally only for pregnant women who are Rh-D negative. However, we report the first hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) due to anti-e in Palestine, illustrating the importance of alloantibodies other than anti-D as a cause of HDN. A pregnant woman had e-antigen negative and her blood group was B positive developed alloantibody against her infant erythrocyte e-antigen that lead to severe jaundice due to fetal erythrocyte destruction by this maternal alloantibody. Postnatal workup for the severe hyperbilirubinemia indicated that the newborn' erythrocytes were sensitized by the maternal anti-e alloantibody. Furthermore, the positive direct Coombs test was reported. This case highlights the importance of antibody screening for all pregnant women irrespective of the D antigen status to detect and manage erythrocyte alloimmunization to any other clinically significant blood group antigens.


BACKGROUND
 People at high risk of mental health or substance addiction issues among sexual and gender minorities may have more nuanced characteristics that may not be easily discovered by traditional statistical methods.

 OBJECTIVE
 This review aimed at identifying literature that used machine learning to investigate mental health or substance use concerns among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning and two-spirit (LGBTQ2S+) population as well as directing future research in this field.

 METHODS
 MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL Plus, PsycINFO and IEEE Xplore, Summon databases were searched from November to December 2020. We included original studies which used machine learning to explore mental health and/or substance use among LGBTQ2S+ population and excluded studies of genomics and pharmacokinetics. Two independent reviewers reviewed all papers and extracted data on general study findings, model development and discussion of study findings.

 RESULTS
 We included 11 studies in this review, of which 9 (82%) studies were on mental health and only 2 (18%) studies were on substance use concerns. All studies were published within last 2 years and majority were conducted in the Unites States. Among mutually non-exclusive population categories, sexual minorities male were the most commonly studied subgroup (n=5, 45%), while sexual minorities female were studied the least (n=2, 18%). Studies were categorized into 3 major domains: online content analysis (n=6, 55%), prediction modelling (n=4, 36%) and imaging study (n=1, 9%).

 CONCLUSIONS
 Machine learning can be a promising tool of capturing and analyzing hidden data of mental health and substance use concerns among LGBTQ2S+ people. In addition to conducting more research on sexual minority women, different mental health and substance use problems as well as outcomes, future research should explore newer environments and data sources and intersections with various social determinants of health.


A reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method was developed for the assay of synephrine in Citrus aurantium dry extract. The chromatographic separation used a C18 (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) column and a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile: 0.01% orthophosphoric acid (pH 3.0) at a 15:85 ratio, flow rate of 1 mL min-1 and detection at 220 nm. The detector response was linear in the range 15 - 45 mg mL-1. Specificity and stability, indicating suitability of the method, were confirmed using stress conditions (acid and basic hydrolysis, oxidation and photolysis). Intraday precision yielded RSD values of less than 1.77% and interday precision of 2.5%. The average recovery accuracy of the test was 102.03%. The method was validated according to international guidelines and can be used in routine quality control and stability studies of Citrus aurantium preparations. The preliminary stability study showed that synephrine is susceptible to hydrolysis, oxidation and photolysis.


Two mononuclear organoplatinum complexes based on the 2,2'-dipyridylamino derivative ligands (2,2'-dipyridylamino)phenyl triphenyl methane (dm) and (2,2'-dipyridylamino)phenyl triphenyl silane (dsi) with the formula PtPh 2 (dm) (1) and PtPh 2 (dsi) (2), respectively, have been synthesized. Both 1 and 2 have been found to form two polymorphs concomitantly: a colorless blue-luminescent form A (space group I4 1 /a) (1A and 2A) and a yellow nonluminescent form B (space group P2 1 /c) (1B and 2B). The crystal structures of 1A, 1B, and 2A were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. The CPh 3 group was found to display different conformations in the crystal lattices of 1A and 1B. Considerable variations in intermolecular interactions were also observed for the crystals of 1A and 1B. 2A was found to be isostructural to 1A. Spectroscopic study (UV-vis and luminescence) and molecular orbital calculations (Gaussian98) were performed to understand the color and luminescent differences between 1A and 1B. Intermolecular π-π stacking interactions between a phenyl of the CPh 3 group and the pyridyl of the 2,2'-dipyridylamino group were found to be the most likely cause for the absence of emission in the crystals of 1B.


The purpose of this study addressed the students' attitudes toward using Microsoft SharePoint Team Services as a learning platform with collaborative learning efforts. One hundred and ten students from three different divisional classes at the Business Administration Department of Meiho Institute of Technology were drawn as the study subjects. Students were self-grouped to construct their own group webs for classroom discussing topics and project assignments. Fifteen weeks later after the assignments were due, a structured questionnaire was administered to ask their opinions and attitudes toward the effectiveness of the learning platform and the collaborative learning methods.


A heat exchanging ventilation device (1) has an outdoor air intake opening (2), an indoor air discharge opening, an outdoor air supply opening (4), and an indoor air intake opening (5). Within a main body (1a) are disposed an air supply blowing pathway (6), an air discharge blowing pathway (7), a fan motor unit (43), and a heat exchanging element unit (11). Also, the heat exchanging ventilation device (1) has: an inner cladding case (12) that holds the fan motor unit (43) and the heat exchanging element unit (11); and an outer cladding case (13) that covers the outside of the inner cladding case (12).


Foreign language (FL) education has been marked by a monolingual principle that has favoured 'intralingual' methodologies. Bakhtin's view of language interillumination - that languages throw light ...


Classroom-based communication requires an appropriate contribution from lecturer and students� roles to constitute their non-cognitive skills. This study examines the paralinguistic attribution contributions deriving from lecturer�s visual manner. Of 504 pre-service English teachers, 120 freshmen participated in this study. Data collection used the questionnaire through a random sampling selection from lecturer�s writing class instruction. Data analysis used the multiple regression analyses with the significance level (p-value) of .05. The findings exhibited that lecturer�s paralinguistic attributions, namely: articulation, sonority, loudness, facial expression and lips setting and gesture positively contributed a significant influence towards writing class instruction. The effectiveness of the paralinguistic attributions contributed 45.5% of overall outputs shown in this study and the regression analysis dealt with F = 19.017, R� = .455, and p< .05. This study concludes the existence of the paralinguistic attributions adapts the freshmen�s learning maturation in the lecturer�s instructional modes.


Infections due to Nocardia species (nocardiosis) most frequently occur via inhalation of the organisms into the respiratory tract; the lungs are the primary sites of infection in 56 to 85% of cases and may present as an acute, subacute, or chronic pneumonitis. An acute, necrotizing pneumonia, associated with high fever and rigors, may simulate acute bacillary pneumonia from more typical pathogens. 1 3 More commonly, a subacute or chronic course, with a duration of symptoms exceeding 3 weeks, is characteristic. In this context, weight loss, anorexia, fatigue, and a productive cough may be the predominant symptoms; chest radiographs may simulate lung abscess, neoplasm, or granulomatous infections due to tuberculosis or mycoses. Up to one third of patients with pulmonary nocardiosis are asymptomatic, with incidental findings noted on a chest radiograph. ' ' A diverse spectrum of chest radiographic abnormalities have been described and include single or multiple nodular mass densities, patchy bronchopneumonic infiltrates, dense consolidation, thick-walled cavities, diffuse alveolar, reticulonodular, or miliary infiltrates, and pleural effusions ,5 ,7 -9 ,14 (see Figs. 1—3). Intrathoracic adenopathy and Nocardia "fungus balls" have also been described, but are rare. , 1 4 The most characteristic features include focal nodules, nodular infiltrates, or a localized pneumonic process, with consolidation; cavitation is evident in one quarter of patients. ,5 ,7 -9 ,14 Pleural effusions are present in one third of cases, almost always in conjunction with parenchymal abnormalities. Empyema and bronchopleural fistula are rare complications. ' Extrapulmonary involvement with Nocardia (either as the primary or secondary sites of infection) occurs in 20 to 45% of cases and gives rise to a wide gamut of clinical manifestations. Hematogenous dissemination to the central nervous system (CNS) occurs in 15 to 40% of cases. Brain abscess is the most frequent CNS manifestation, but involvement of the meninges, 1 5 spinal cord, epidural space, and eyes 6 2 9 may also occur. Symptoms and signs associated with CNS involvement may include nonspecific findings, such as headaches, declining mental status, or seizures as well as focal neurologic deficits. Skin or soft tissue involvement occurs in 9 to 20% of cases and may result from hematogenous dissemination or primary inoculation. 1 , 2 , 3 ° 3 2 Direct introduction of Nocardia into skin or soft tissue via abrasions, scratches, or local trauma may result in localized infection; this mode of transmission is particularly characteristic of Nocardia brasiliensis. Widespread dissemination from primary cutaneous nocardiosis may also occur, but is uncommon. 1 ' 5 A myriad of cutaneous lesions have been described and include pustules, cutaneous or subcutaneous nodules, pyoderma, cellulitis, draining sinus tracts, and mass lesions. ' ' ' ' ' The cutaneous manifestation of secondary and primary nocardial infection are identical, so the diagnosis of cutaneous nocardiosis (particularly with Nocardia asteroides) should prompt a search for pulmonary (or disseminated) involvement because only 15% of infections are confined to the skin and subcutaneous tissues.'' Dissemination to a variety of other sites, including bone, 4 ' 5 ' 6 joints , 5 , 3 7 3 9 heart valves, pericardium, aorta, vena cava, muscle, pancreas, peritoneum, spleen, kidney, cornea liver, lymph nodes, ' thyroid, adrenal glands, and prostate has been described in 1 to 4%. The three Nocardia species that are pathogenic in man are N. asteroides, N. brasiliensis, and Nocardia caviae, N. asteroides accounts for 84 to 94% of cases of nocardiosis; 3 to 9% are due to N. brasiliensis; 0.5 to 3% are due to N. caviae. Nocardia species have a predilection for involving the lungs, CNS, and skin/soft tissues, but the frequency with which these sites are involved depends on the particular species. For example, in one series of 253 cases of nocardial infections, N. asteroides accounted for 123 of 143 (86%) of infections limited to the lung; 36 of 39 (92%) of CNS infections; and 52 of 71 (73%) of systemic infections. By contrast, only 22 of 39 (56%) of localized soft tissue or cutaneous infections were due to N. asteroides; 13 (33%) were due to N. brasiliensis; 4 (10%), to N. caviae. N. brasiliensis has a striking predilection to involve the skin and subcutaneous tissues, because 13 of 24 (54%) of infections due to this species were confined to these sites. Among the ten infections due to N. caviae, four were localized to the skin or subcutaneous tissues; three involved the lung alone, and the remaining three cases were widely disseminated.


Introduction : Overview 1. Organisational Studies 2. Social Science Methods Applied to Micro-Level Settings 3. Epidemiological Research Methods 4. Organisational Psychology 5. Action Research 6. Political Science / Policy Analysis 7. Economic Evaluation Methods 8. Organisational Economics 9. Historical Research 10. Operational Research 11. Synthesising Research Evidence


The genus Chlorocryptus is revised and two species are recognized: Chlorocryptus purpuratus (Smith, 1852) and C. coreanus (Szépligeti, 1916). Cryptaulax metallicus Szépligeti, 1916, which has been hitherto listed in catalogs as Chlorocryptus fuscipennis Townes et al., 1961, is shown as a new synonym of Chlorocryptus purpuratus. Chlorocryptus purpuratus and C. coreanus are redescribed and illustrated in detail and a key is provided. Chlorocryptus purpuratus is recorded from Japan and Vietnam for the first time and is considered to have recently been introduced into Japan.


oral medications become available on the market and this time seems to get closer. Fingolimod®, a once–a-day oral form just showed superior efficacy to Avonex®3, and Cladribine®4 showed marked benefit compared to Placebo. Both are oral medications and this could facilitate prescriptions. A distinct difference being that Cladribine can be taken as a once a year medication. It remains to be seen if the use of the DMD will be reduced, once these medications are approved and released to the market. This probably will depend on their cost. It should be noted that a third contender is still in phase III trials: Teriflunomide®. It appears that the safest way to curb the ascending cost of DMDs will be both to set stopping rules and to admit on the market oral drugs which are expected to be less expensive (if, and only if, they are less expensive). Still the frequency of their long term side effects is not clearly determined. The second major contribution of this report to understanding the Canadian context is the unequal use of these DMDs among Provinces. According to their findings, the number of monthly doses sold per inhabitants in New Brunswick (9.9/1,000 inhabitants) is triple that in British Columbia (3.3). It is also high in Manitoba (9.0), Saskatchewan (7.3), and Quebec (7.0). It is lowest in Nova Scotia (2). The Canadian Health Act of 1984 and the Social Union Framework Agreement of 1999 enshrined the five principles to which Canada is committed: "comprehensiveness, universality, portability, public administration and accessibility"5. These findings of Rotstein et al1 are obviously incompatible with three of these principles. The divergence comes probably from the fact that the different Provinces have set-up policies that differently restrict the prescription of those drugs. British Columbia, for example does not allow reimbursement of DMDs for initial demyelinating events, something that Quebec authorizes. Interestingly, the restrictions of prescription of drugs for heart failure are quite similar to the pattern recognized in Rotstein's paper6. Of note is that these Provincial differences are not seen in the prescription of sleep medication, indicating the weight of economic argument in the decision making of the politics7. Somehow it is difficult to admit that the reason for the indication to treat or not to treat a given patient with certain drugs is for at least 50% determined by economic factors. As with other retrospective observational studies, there are limitations to this study. Data regarding changes in prevalence of MS over the years are very limited. This together with the fact that individual patients may have received multiple prescriptions made it impossible to calculate the percentage of MS patients who received DMD. It also rendered the calculations of the change of rate of drug prescription less accurate, although it is unlikely to have a major impact, since the 50% increase is way more than what is expected for the change in MS prevalence, the authors conclude. The article by Dalia Rotstein, Muhannad Mamdani and Paul O'Connor from St Michael's Hospital MS clinic published in this issue of the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences1 is remarkable on two fronts: the finding that the use of Disease modifying drugs (DMD) in MS keeps growing and the fact that use of these drugs differs so much among the Provinces. This is a retrospective cohort analysis study that examined changes of the rate and pattern of DMD prescription for MS and the subsequent changes in cost in the ten provinces of Canada from 2001 to 2007. Based on CompuScript data coming from monitoring retail pharmacies over the entire country, Rotstein et al describe that prescriptions of the 4 DMDs used in MS (Beta-1a Interferon IM or Avonex®, Beta-1b Interferon or Betaseron®, Glatiramer Acetate or Copaxone® and Beta-1a Interferon S.Cu or Rebif®) increased by 50% over five years. Their cost jumped from 15 to 28 million dollars per year over that period. This occurred despite their limited efficacy, the frequency of the side effects and the fact that they are only available in an injectable form. Indeed the DMDs are only very partially efficacious: they reduce relapse frequency by 30% or so, they retard the onset of the progressive phase but are not active on disability progression once the patient has reached the secondary progressive stage. They have numerous side effects which are not life-threatening but impact on quality of life: injection sites reactions, flue-like symptoms post injection. More rarely do they generate intractable headaches, blood cells maturation problems or liver enzyme increase. In fact these drugs have been remarkable for their absence of lethal complications2. A further draw back has been their route of administration as they are all injectable. Why do they keep being prescribed more and more out of proportion with a simple population effect? Amazingly for such expensive medications, no stopping rules are in place in most provinces, in contrast guidelines have been introduced in Europe and Australia recommending to discontinue the medications in case of high levels of neutralizing antibodies these are known to inhibit the drugs action. Further, efforts to delineate the possible benefits of the drugs have led to the extension of their indications to include first demyelinating episode, and even secondary progressive disease. One may wonder what will happen when new, more practical drugs will be allowed on the market. Indeed we have now two medications which are more effective than the DMDs: Mitoxantrone or Novantrone® (not labeled for MS) and Natalizumab (or Tysabri®) Both reduce relapse rate more than DMDs; unfortunately they also exhibit rare but serious and possibly lethal side effects. Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy has been seen in 1/2000 patients treated with Tysabri® and leukemia in 1/1000 patient treated with Mitoxantrone. These complications will, probably, by the simple fact of their recognition, limit the use of these two


The article deals with the role of Buddhism in the preservation of spiritual and moral values  and national identity of the Kalmyk people under the Soviet regime. The author notes that the Buddhist factor, despite the brutal repression and persecution, continued to have a serious impact on the Kalmyk society and helped to preserve the spiritual values  and national identity Kalmyks.


Many researchers have spent years trying to create an effective algorithm for identifying cardiac arrhythmias. However, despite the fact that they have yielded satisfactory outcomes, they have only been used on either relatively small or uniform data sets. In this work, we provide the results of a study designed to detect cardiac arrhythmias in 12-lead ECG signals of varying lengths, as collected as part of the PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge. We came up with a method that begins with looking at the database's labels. Following this, a number of signal processing methods were used on the 12-lead data to remove noise. Next, the data were segmented and filtered to determine which beats were most crucial in demonstrating the arrhythmia. Then, a 1DCNN+BiLSTM model was trained and evaluated on the training set and not only on the training set but also on the hidden validation and testing sets, all using a 10-fold cross-validation scheme. In the validation set, our method scored 0.854 as accuracy, and in the entire test set, it scored 0.812.


Background Hypertension is a major public health issue, a critical risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and stroke, especially in developing countries where the rates remain unacceptably high. In Africa, hypertension is the leading driver of cardiovascular disease and stroke deaths. Identification of critical risk factors of hypertension can help formulate targeted public health programmes and policies aimed at reducing the prevalence and its associated morbidity, disability and mortality. This study attempts to develop multilevel regression, an in-depth statistical model to identify critical risk factors of hypertension. Methods This study used data on 4381 individuals aged ≥18 years from the nationally representative World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Ghana Wave 2. Multilevel regression modelling was employed to identify critical risk factors for hypertension based on systolic blood pressure (SBP) (i.e. SBP>140mmHg). Results The data on 4381 individuals were analysed out of which 27.3% were hypertensive. Critical risk factors for hypertension identified were age, obesity, marital status, health state and difficulty with self-care. Strong unobserved household-level residual variations were found. Conclusion Hypertension remains high in Ghana. Addressing the problem of obesity, targeting specific interventions to those aged over 50 years, and improvement in the general health of Ghanaians are paramount to reducing the prevalence and its associated morbidity, disability and mortality. Lifestyle modification in the form of dietary intake, knowledge provision supported with strong public health message and political will could be beneficial to the management and prevention of hypertension.


The Singular Value Decomposition is one of the most useful matrix factorizations in applied linear algebra, the Principal Component Analysis has been called one of the most valuable results of applied linear algebra. How and why principal component analysis is intimately related to the technique of singular value decomposition is shown. Their properties and applications are described. Assumptions behind this techniques as well as possible extensions to overcome these limitations are considered. This understanding leads to the real world applications, in particular, image processing of neurons. Noise reduction, and edge detection of neuron images are investigated.


We report a case of a 39-year-old male who visited our hospital due to painful oral ulcers for 6 months. Under the impression of pemphigus, he received steroid therapy. A malignancy survey disclosed a retroperitoneal mass of about 7 cm in diameter over the left suprarenal space. Angiograghy showed a hypervascular lesion with blood supply from adrenal vessels. Surgical excision was carried out, and histopathological examination confirmed a diagnosis of the hyaline type of Castleman disease. The postoperative course was smooth, and he was discharged 9 days after the operation. The patient has been followed up for 6 months without local recurrence.


Abstract : Purification and biochemical evaluation of the alveolar and intracellular surfactant has already been performed in two pairs of monkeys. One monkey from each pair was infused with 10 mg endotoxin/kg/hr while the other monkey received Ringer's lactate solution only. Evaluation of the intracellular surfactant failed to demonstrate differences in the biochemical composition of surfactant between control and experimental groups. Using the method of total lung fixation (which was found to preserve the surfactant layer and the overall lung architecture) it was demonstrated that congestive atelectasis is characterized by multifocal foldings of the alveolar walls which characteristically involve damaged areas of the (injury sensitive) type I epithelium. Coagulation and other hematologic changes in endotoxin shock with or without steroid treatment were recorded and the effect of epsilon aminocaproicacid (EACA) and trasylol on endotoxin shock was noted.