AIMS
In cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) procedure, left ventricular (LV) lead implantation is time consuming. In this clinical setting, no study has investigated the impact of right atrium anatomical parameters on both CRT implantation procedure duration and X-ray exposure. Additionally, only few studies have examined the coronary sinus (CS) using dual-source 64-multi-slice computed tomography (DS 64-MSCT), and its impact on CRT procedure parameters has not yet been investigated. The aim of this prospective study was to identify local anatomical predictive factors of difficult CRT implantation procedure using DS 64-MSCT.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Between January and July 2010, 50 consecutive patients underwent primo CRT implantation. The patient population had a mean age of 70 ± 10 years, and was 34% female, with New York Heart Association Class 3.2 ± 0.3 heart failure, left ventricle ejection fraction 30 ± 4%, and QRS width 157 ± 30 ms. Cardiac resynchronization therapy implantation was attempted in 50 patients, and first LV lead implantation was obtained in 49 of 50 patients (98% primary success). One implantation failed (2%) due to unsuccessful LV lead implant. Procedure parameters were as follows: LV threshold, 1.4 ± 0.8 V; LV wave amplitude, 17 ± 8 mV; LV impedance, 830 ± 240 Ω; median procedure time (skin to skin), 51 min (38 min); median fluoroscopy procedure time, 11.9 min (22 min); and median LV fluoroscopic time, 10.3 min (22 min). In 10 patients (20%), procedures were difficult requiring an implantation lasting ≥ 85 min. The only predictive factor for difficult CRT implantation was the insertion level of the CS ostium (CSO), evaluated by the distance between the CSO and the bottom floor of the right atrium (14.8 ± 4 vs. 9.5 ± 4; P= 0.01). Neither the right atrium dilation nor right ventricular dysfunction was associated with difficult CRT implantation procedures.

CONCLUSIONS
Today, despite improvements in the materials used, problems still remain in the CRT procedure. In this clinical setting, the only predictive factor for very long CRT procedures is the CSO-level insertion (located high). This anatomical anomaly identified by DS 64-MSCT prior to surgery is responsible for 20% of difficult CRT device implantation procedures.


Anthony D'Amato [Northwestern U. School of Law]: "Today, February 4, 2006, Senator John McCain speaking in Munich said that military action against Iran must remain an option if it did not bow to international demands to halt its nuclear activities. This is a major foreign policy statement, but why a person not in the Executive Branch was chosen to state it is anyone's guess. In any event, what kind of "military action against Iran" would it be? For the following reasons, it can only be an action involving the use of, nuclear weapons.


This paper presents various deformation-monitoring technologies employed to monitor the frost heave and thaw settlement of two mounds along the Qinghai–Tibet Engineering Corridor (QTEC), China. The QTEC is known as a critical infrastructure and passage connecting inland China and the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). Three technologies—global navigation satellite system (GNSS), terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)—were used to estimate the freeze/thaw–induced 3D surface deformation of two frost mounds. Our results showed that (1) the two frost mounds exhibited mainly thaw settlement in thawing periods and frost heave in the freezing period, but frost heave dominated after repeated freeze–thaw cycles; (2) different zones of the mounds showed different deformation characteristics; (3) active-layer thickness (ALT) and elevation changes were highly correlated during thaw periods; (4) integrated 3D-measurement technologies can achieve a better understanding and assessment of hazards in the permafrost area.


This paper has introduced the conception of SCADA technology,analyzed the characteristic of greenhouse environment,proposed the design thought and system construction method of greenhouse environment supervisory system,elaborated the hardware and software design.This system has data display,storage,query,statistics,control of the greenhouse environment and other functions,has realized the greenhouse intellectualized management,caused in the true sense the modernization and industrialization in greenhouse planter industry..


Expansive cements are utilised in special applications to improve properties such as cracking caused by drying shrinkage. Several types of expansive cements exist and the main hydration product responsible for the expansion is ettringite, [Ca3Al(OH)6]2(SO4)3·26H 2O. The importance of the cement phase containing alumina is well known, in this study the source of sulfate is investigated. Pastes containing 50 wt% calcium aluminate cement, 25 wt% Portland cement and 25 wt% calcium sulfate mixed with water at a water to solid weight ratio of unity have been investigated. The calcium sulfate was b-hemihydrate, anhydrite or mixes of the two. The phase development was studied by in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction, the heat of hydration by isothermal calorimetry and the dilatation was followed by a unidimensional dilatometer. The microstructure of hydrated pastes was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The source of calcium sulfate was shown to be important to the kinetics of ettringite formation and the expansive properties of ettringite. In the paste with b-hemihydrate, ettringite forms continuously over a time period of approximately three hours parallel to the formation and re-dissolution of gypsum. The last 50% of the ettringite formation is followed by an expansion caused by interacting spheres of ettringite crystals growing radially on the surfaces of the cement grains. When anhydrite is utilised, the ettringite formation is slower and not accompanied by expansion. The kinetics of ettringite formation and the expansive properties can be controlled by blending the two calcium sulfates. When 75 and 50 wt% of the calcium sulfate was b-hemihydrate, the kinetics of ettringite formation can be described as a linear addition of the kinetics in the pure pastes. In the remaining mixed paste, containing 25 wt% b-hemihydrate, the phase development differed from the other two mixes and sulfate-AFm was detected. Addition of lithium carbonate accelerates the dissolution of anhydrite and appears to alter the hydration reactions at high additions. Tartaric acid retards all stages of hydration in all pastes. The utilisation of dynamic corrections in isothermal calorimetry has been investigated. A correction with two time constants has been found successful in order to study the very early reactions in cement hydration. (Less)


The artificial detection of intelligent breaker is a work of difficu lty and low efficiency. It couldn't run seventy-two hours successively. The numb er of data obtained is too small. The intelligent breakers online testing system based on virtual instruments technology simulates the intelligent breakers envi ronment of running and fixing, the system detects hundreds of intelligent breake rs successively at the same time. The system could obtain lots of data and has h igh reliability. While the system completes the product testing, it provides a l ot of on-line data for increasing product quality and developing new product. Th e paper presents the system's diagram and software design.


ABSTRACT Pay-what-you-want (PWYW) mechanisms are a specific form of voluntary market payment. While a large number of recent studies have considered their design options, the aspect of group behaviour in PWYW situations has not been investigated, although a substantial part of payment decisions occur in group constellations. We provide initial evidence by running a field experiment implementing a PWYW mechanism in a cinema characterized by group attendance, finding that groups chose to pay similar amounts as individuals. Group payments can be increased by a prosocial framing of the decision, while an increase in group size and repeated participation reduce voluntary payments. We thus show that group payment decisions in PWYW situations are characterized by altruism concerns rather than in-group egoism.


The thalamus is a major relay station that modulates input from many cortical areas and a filter for sensory input and is involved in the pathophysiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, it still remains unclear whether all thalamocortical networks are affected or whether there is selective vulnerability. In this study, we aimed to study the selective vulnerability of different thalamocortical structural connections in ALS and to test the hypothesis of a specific impairment in motor‐related thalamocortical connectivity.


To achieve a better balance between investment and return, the development of more generally applicable technologies (generic, modular, multi-functional) or the application of the proven off-the-shelf technologies are the key issues. Besides cost effective design and manufacturing, the competitiveness can be significantly improved with a wider applicability of the technology. This paper discusses the modular design approach and the implementation related aspects of a multi-frequency, multi-mode, high-resolution SAR system.


In his manuscript "Life of Blake" (c. 1832), Frederick Tatham writes that during the 1790s William and Catherine Blake resided in Hercules Buildings in a pretty clean House of 8 or 10 Rooms & at first kept a servant, but finding (as M.rs Blake declared & as every one else knows) the more service the more Inconvenience, she like all sensible women, who are possessed of industry & health & only moderate means, relinquished this incessant Tax upon domestic comfort, did all the Work herself, kept the House clean, & herself tidy, besides printing all Blakes numerous Engravings, which was a Task alone sufficient for any industrious Woman, but however as there is no state, or scheme, or plan, without its accompanying Evil Blake had reason to regret his having left no one in possession of his House during his & M.rs Blakes absense for one day paying some friendly visit, some Thieves entered it & carried away Plate to the Value of 60 Pounds & clothes to the amount of 40 more. However, as this note will demonstrate, by the end of January 1791 William and Catherine may have been all too aware that leaving a servant in charge of 13 Hercules Buildings was no sure security against burglary.


We have seen two patients at our institution with benign scapular lucent defects in both the central and the marginal portions of the scapula


The introduction of technology resources into mathematics classrooms promises to create opportunities for enhancing students' learning through active engagement with mathematical ideas; however, little consideration has been given to the potential for technology to promote new pedagogies that foster a more investigative approach to learning. This paper draws on data from a three year longitudinal study of Australian secondary school classrooms to examine pedagogical issues in using technology resources in mathematics teaching – in particular, graphing calculators and overhead projection panels that allow screen output to be viewed by the whole class. Our research focuses on how technology contributes to students' understanding of mathematics, and changes the teacher's role in the classroom. The nature of these changes is analysed with the aid of classroom vignettes that illustrate different patterns of interaction between teachers, students, and technology – ranging from conservative use of technology as an adjunct to transmissive teaching methods, to the welcoming of technology as a liberating opportunity for students to experiment and conjecture.


Academic writing is the art of writing down what you know for the purpose of discussing it with other knowledgeable people. In so far as students and scholars approach it in these terms, they often tend to focus on the role of knowledge. Students imagine that they must demonstrate what they know to their examiners (who know more than they do) and scholars imagine that they must communicate what they know to their colleagues (who don't yet know their results). This is completely understandable since knowledge is at the core of academic work, but both scholars and students sometimes lose sight of the discussion. They think of the discourse as a performance rather than a conversation. In this paper, therefore, I will explore the formation of academic discourse and the building of academic competence in terms of the rhetorical situation (not just the epistemic resources) of academic readers and writers.
This shift of focus has some important implications. Academic writing is not merely the communication of ideas or the transmission of facts; much more importantly, it is the exposure of ideas to criticism. The academic writer is not interested in "ideas worth spreading," to invoke the famous slogan of TED talk, but in ideas worth testing. To sharpen the point, we might say that academic writers are always writing for people who are qualified to tell them that they are wrong. As writing consultants and information specialists, we help scholars and students face this situation squarely.


This article introduces the technics of NC machining for frameworks and the methods of SINUMERIK - 840D's parameter programming. By these methods parameter programming is used in the processing of the frameworks so that the working efficiency and reliability will be raised and time will be assured.


Researchers have used mixed stock analysis (MSA) to infer the relevance of rookeries in sea turtle aggregations for conservation/management purposes. However, their approaches and assumptions are not always homogeneous or realistic. We assayed new MSAs using the annual haplotype frequencies of aggregations and rookeries of Eretmochelys imbricata in the Wider Caribbean (WC), and the population size was selected according to the sampler year most relevant on the maturity of the aggregation. The MSA results obtained using this approach were compared with MSAs executed with grouped haplotype frequency data as has been the most common practice in the literature. The relationship of Jardines del Rey (JR) legal fishing aggregation (Cuba) to other aggregations and rookeries in the region was analyzed with data collected in 2004 to 2006 and during the 1990s. The JR non-adult fishing ground presented high genetic diversity and Mexican rookery was identified as the primary contributor using haplotypes at the 384 bp length and each MSA approach that was used, congruent with the demographic growth reported for this rookery. Using haplotypes at the 740 bp length, the primary contributor to non-adult turtles at JR differed according to the MSA approach used, alternating between Mona Island and the Mexican rookery. Jardines del Rey is a route usually taken by non-adult hawksbills of diverse origin, reflecting the need to strengthen the sampling and conservation efforts on the WC rookeries with rare or orphan haplotypes, and to warn about the impact of the fishery occurring in similar areas. Likewise, adult turtles from JR were highly diverse and from multiple origins, with this area serving as a migratory corridor for first breeders (females) to many WC breeding grounds. Caution should be employed in any MSA approach due to the influence effect of sequence length, selection of the rookery size and haplotype frequencies, as well as other assumptions that may affect the estimated contributions.


We propose a new method of the recommender agent that supports to make clear the preference of a user. First, an overview of our coarse to fine recommendation system and the experimental results are described. Next we will discuss the effectiveness of our system. We interpret the meaning of our fixed recommendation strategy of the agent for contributing to restrain to prevent the user from his awareness. Then we will propose the awareness based filtering method to assist a user to be aware the true preference of the user. The main idea is to visualize both the coarse to fine preference space and the history of the recommendation in it.


Many self-* properties are variations on the same theme: resilience of a system to changes in itself or the conditions under which it operates. Quantifying resilience is difficult, however: there are no metrics of resilience that are readily comparable across systems, and the space of possible changes is typically prohibitively large. To address this problem, I propose a quantitative measure of graceful degradation that is independent of the units, scales, and number of system parameters. Although this metric is typically intractable to compute precisely, it can be approximated by perturbation surveys, and the quality of approximation is likely to be improved by a random perturbation approach based on recent advances in manifold learning.


Considering the possibility of Nankai Trough large-scale earthquake predicted to occur in the nearest future, the issue of the tsunami in the coastal area of Kyushu-Pacific region is becoming extremely important. Efforts to utilize the various functions of the ecosystem internationally for the society creation are expanding in recent years, and even in the situation of toughening of the land in Japan, the initiative to incorporate Green Infrastructure (GI) which utilizes the disaster prevention and reduction functions of the natural ecosystem are being observed. Also, during the process of self-help/mutual assistance action and disaster reconstruction at the time of disaster, attention is paid as regional ties are affected, which are being considered as Social capital (SC). The purpose of this study is to clarify the actual situation of tsunami disaster prevention of Nankai Trough earthquake based on the viewpoint of GI. We conducted a questionnaire survey on tsunami disaster prevention and GI at local governments and local communities. After analyzing the questionnaire, we analyzed the needs of the self-governing president's disaster prevention measures, the problems of the area, and the deviation of the improved situation of municipalities' disaster prevention measures. A correlation analysis was conducted to grasp the relationship between the consciousness concerning GI utilization, the strength of regional linkage SC and the recognition of evacuation. Especially, the correlation coefficient was 0.701 between No.7 and No.6. This shows that those who responded that disaster can happen among residents can respond that regional ties are stronger. For items with a high correlation coefficient between No.3 and No.8, the correlation became 0.437. This means the respondents who answered that evacuation is possible for all area inhabitants including elderly people in case of disaster (flooding, earthquakes, and tsunami) are able to use local well water and spring water in the event of a disaster.


Introduction: Lower numbers of progenitor cells (PCs) in peripheral blood (PB) have been associated with cardiovascular events in high-risk populations. It is currently unknown what causes the redu...


Our research provides a kind of treatment that deals with issues related to the Hebrew language in the field of translation and linguistics, where we offer a model for translating Surat Al-Duha by analyzing its verses that were translated into modern Hebrew by relying on three Hebrew translations of some oriental translators who translated the Holy Quran into modern Hebrew And find out about many of the problems in translation by transferring the Arabic text to the Hebrew language. As well as clarification of some technical aspects in the approach to equivalencies and stylistic evaluation, where we dealt with translating Surah Al-Duha into modern Hebrew language based on three translations with criticism, analysis and comparison through some translation theories in order to benefit from this study in the analysis of the Hebrew translations of the Holy Quran by many specialists in The field of modern Hebrew, who work in the field of translation from the Hebrew language to the Arabic language.


To deal with the unknown observation noise for a robot in simultaneous localization and mapping(SLAM), we propose an adaptive learning observation noise algorithm based on neural network PID for robot SLAM(ALON–SLAM).In this algorithm, the system noise is with Gaussian distribution and the noise variance is unknown, but the true values of the noise are within a finite set. An online noise identification structure consisting of neural network PID controller,observation noise adjustor and median filter is developed. The observation noise covariance is adaptively learned online.Meanwhile, the innovation covariance is used to match the observation noise covariance and to iteratively revise it. Then,the estimation accuracy of the robot position is improved online. Experimental results show that this algorithm reduces the impact of the observation noise without prior knowledge, and lowers the positioning error.


One would expect that the issue of immortality—the proof of the soul's survival of the death of the body and an account of its state in the afterlife—would be a central topic for Kant's criticism of the rational psychologist in the Paralogisms of Pure Reason of the KrV. Indeed, Kant himself would seem to encourage this expectation as he lists immortality as one of the "concepts of the pure doctrine of the soul" at the outset of the chapter (A345/B403). Yet, a look at the Paralogisms chapter itself, in both its original version in the A edition as well as the thoroughly revised B edition version, reveals to the contrary that Kant has little to say about the topic that was arguably the most important for the rational psychologist. So, in the A edition, rather than offering a direct discussion of immortality, Kant focuses his criticism on the claims of the soul's substantiality and simplicity, and then draws the natural consequences from this for the possibility of any cognition of the immortality of the soul (cf. A349, A351, and A356–7). In the B edition, Kant offers two rather more substantial but still peripheral discussions of immortality, the first in the context of a criticism of Mendelssohn's proof of the perdurance of the soul (B413–15), and the second a concluding section on the warrant for the assumption of the possibility of a future life (B423–6). 1 Considered in light of the reader's expectation of a thoroughgoing criticism of the pretensions of the rational psychologist, and of the wealth of discussions available in the broader 18 th century context, which includes a variety of proofs that do not explicitly turn on the identification of the soul as a simple substance, Kant's discussion of immortality in the Paralogisms would seem to fall lamentably short. However, outside of the Paralogisms (and the published works generally), Kant had much more to say about the arguments for the soul's immortality as he devoted considerable time to the topic throughout his career in his lectures on metaphysics. In fact, the student lecture notes prove to be an indispensable supplement to the treatment in the Paralogisms, not only for illuminating Kant's criticism of the rational psychologist's views on the immortality of the soul, but also in reconciling this criticism with Kant's own positive claims regarding certain theoretical proofs of immortality. So, in one of the passages from the B edition referred to above, Kant rather surprisingly identifies the theoretical proof for the soul's immortality which proceeds by "analogy with the nature of living beings in this world" (B425) as a "powerful ground of proof, which can never be refuted" (B426), and


There has been a surge in number of software security threats and vulnerabilities in recent times. At the same time, expectations towards software and data security are growing. Thus there is a need to ensure that security-related tasks are effectively integrated in the software development process. However, integrating security practices with agile software development is not trivial due to, for instance, differences in process dynamics and concentration on functional vs non-functional requirements. In this short paper we present a literature review on challenges and solutions when adopting security in agile software development contexts. Our findings show that there are ongoing efforts to integrate security-practices in agile methods, but more research is needed to make the processes more optimized and simpler for developers.


In the process of impact testing of large‐scale mechanical equipment, the measured forced response signals are often polluted by strong background noise. The forced response signal has a low signal‐to‐noise ratio, and this makes it difficult to accurately estimate the modal parameters. To solve this problem, the mean averaging of repeatedly measured frequency response function estimates is often employed in practical applications. However, a large number of impact tests are not practical for the modal testing of large‐scale mechanical equipment. The primary objective of this paper is to reduce the averaging operation and improve the accuracy of the modal identification by using a noise removal technique. A hybrid denoising method is proposed by combining the Wiener and improved minimum mean‐square‐error short‐time spectral amplitude estimators. The proposed method can effectively remove both stationary and highly nonstationary noise while preserving the important features of the true forced response signals. The simulation results show that the proposed noise removal technique improves the accuracy of the estimated modal parameters using only one impulse response signal. The experimental results show that the proposed method can accurately identify a natural frequency that is very close to a strong interference frequency in the modal test of a 600‐MW generator casing.


A congenital epulis is a rare benign jaw tumor of neonate and is also known as "congenital gingival granular cell tumor". The Greek word ''epulis'' means ''swelling of the gingiva''. It was first described in 1871 by Neumann; hence the alternative name is Neumann's Tumor [1]. It usually presents at birth with an obvious mass arising from the gingival mucosa of the maxilla or mandible. It commonly presents in neonates, although prenatal diagnosis with ultrasound has been reported as early as 26 weeks gestation [2]. The lesion usually arises from the gingival mucosa of the maxilla or mandible (maxillary/mandibular ratio 3:1). However, it has also been described on the tongue [3].


808 Particularly useful are Uekötter's well-chosen case studies, which vividly reflect the diversity of conservation activities, the lack of a coherent conservation policy, and the prominent role of influential Nazi leaders in the attainment of individual conservationist goals. Rather weak, in contrast, is his discussion of actual changes of the land during the Nazi era, in which he writes of an "absence of enduring and truly revolutionary changes in land use" (p. 169). In spite of some redundancies, a tendency toward broad generalization (for example, continuous references to the "conservation community" or the "conservation movement" which suggest greater unity and homogeneity than Uekötter himself appears to believe), and an inclination to express himself in a somewhat imprecise manner, Uekötter's The Green and the Brown provides a thorough and well-balanced account of the history of conservation in Nazi Germany.


Recent research into porous materials has been using models mapping the realistic shapes of pores. The most common method of obtaining cross sections is X-ray computed microtomography (micro-CT). For optimal quality of tomographic images it is necessary to have an suitable configuration of the micro-CT imaging parameters for the specific material [1]. In recent years the finite element modeling of mechanical properties concerning various cellular materials based on microtomography images has been developed. The most frequently were investigated metallic cellular materials [2, 3]. Micro-CT device has limited measurement accuracy. This results in a lack of information about the geometric shape of details smaller than the pixel size obtained during the measurement. In the case of the sintered 316L these are fissures and small pores resulting from the manufacturing process. No mapping of the geometric details results in overestimation of nominal (average) stress, obtained by numerical computations [4]. The paper describes a complex method to compensate of micro-CT inaccuracy used for numerical modeling. The proposed methodology enables the modeling of porous materials deformation taking into account their heterogeneous structure. The research allows to determine the impact of porous structure on the deformation process.


This article reviews the challenges with B schools are facing in making the curriculum more relevant to the changed environment. The author studies all the articles in this area and comes to some overall conclusions on various ways. B schools can take support from Indus-try and peers to modify and make their curriculum more significant.


Dynamic memory management is important and essential to the operation of a computer system. Efficient memory allocation, garbage collection and compaction are becoming increasingly critical in parallel, distributed and real-time applications using object-oriented languages like C++ and Java. In addition to achieving fast allocation/deallocation of memory objects, memory management techniques should strive to achieve low fragmentation and high storage utilization. Recently, we have proposed a memory management technique (Segregated Binary Tree) and reported data on its performance both in terms of storage utilization and execution speed. In this paper, we present how to exploit Intelligent Memory Devices to decouple the memory management from the central processing unit, and show how Segregated Binary Trees can be embedded in Intelligent Memory devices.


The aim of this paper is twofold: rstly we show analytically how low-dimensional projections of solutions of large systems of random ODEs can be approximated by SDEs; the randomness is introduced via initial conditions and parametric dependence of vector elds. Secondly we study, by a combination of analysis and numerics, the implications of the approximation for the long-term averages of functions of the ODEs, when the approximating SDEs are ergodic. As a by-product we give a construction of non-stationary Gaussian processes through sums of trigonometric functions with random frequencies.


The uptake kinetics of methanesulfonic acid (CH3SO3H, MSA) and glyoxal (CHOCHO, ethanedial) by aqueous solutions were studied as a function of temperature using the droplet train technique combined with mass spectrometry and FTIR detection. The measured uptake kinetics for MSA were shown to be independent of the composition of the aqueous phase for NaCl concentrations in the range from 0 to 2 M. The mass accommodation coefficient was determined as a function of temperature between 261 and 283 K. The measured values decreased from 0.16 to 0.1 in this temperature range. The uptake kinetics of glyoxal were studied as a function of temperature between 263 and 283 K and were very close to our detection limit in pure water (i.e., uptake coefficient γ close to 10-3) but were strongly affected by the pH (in the range from 1 to 14) or by sulfite ions (γ increasing to ∼0.02). The rate constant of the reaction between nonhydrated glyoxal and sulfite ions was determined to be ∼7.6 × 106 M-1 s-1 at 283 K. The mass acc...


In Indonesia, the contribution of anemia towards maternal mortality is estimated to reach 10% up to 20%. The effort of the government to overcome anemia focuses on iron supplementation program since 1974, but the prevalence of anemia in pregnant mother still relatively high. The factor is discompliance in taking medicine. This study aimed to analyse the factors that related to the compliance of pregnant mother in taking the iron tablet at the Tegalrejo Community Health Centers, Yogyakarta. This research used mixed methods by using sequential explanatory strategy. The quantitative sample is taking used consecutive sampling technique, which presented 81 pregnant mothers and intensity sampling for qualitative research presented 13 informants. Based on the result of the analysis, the factors which related to the Compliance of pregnant mother in taking iron tablet were knowledge (p=0,000), husband support (p=0,000) and midwife support (p=0,000). The most significant Exp(B) score was the variable of husband support, which was 15.297. It concluded that pregnant mothers who got support from their husbands would be 15.297 times more significant to obey in taking the iron tablet. Based on the interview of the informants showed that both husband and midwife support in taking an iron tablet. The factors related to the Compliance of pregnant mother in taking the iron tablet at clinic government Tegalrejo, Yogyakarta was knowledge, husband and midwife supports. Keyword: Factors, Compliance, Iron Tablet, Pregnant Mother ISSN 2354-7642 (Print), ISSN 2503-1856 (Online) Jurnal Ners dan Kebidanan Indonesia Tersedia online pada: http://ejournal.almaata.ac.id/index.php/JNKI INDONESIAN JOURNAL OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY


Objective:To provide anatomic data of keyhole approaches for the endoscope-assisted operations. Methods:The operations via presigmoid approaches were simulated on 15 cadaveric specimens under endoscopy.At the same time, the operations by retrosigmoid approaches were performed on 5 cadaveric specimens. To observe intracranial structures and compare the visual fields and factors that impact on endoscope operating.To detect data such as working distances from the midpoints of anterior and posterior edges of sigmoid sinus to the intracranial permanent marks.Results: The operations via retrolabyrinthine approaches were even more influenced by the anatomic variation in front of sigmoid sinus than via retrosigmoid approaches. The distances from the midpoints of anterior and posterior edges of sigmoid sinus to the same intracranial permanent marks were obviously different. Conclusions:During the operation via retrolabyrinthine approach, the working distance is shorter, the endoscope could reach the cerebellopontine angle,the anterior and lateral aspects of brain stem could be observed without dragging cerebellum. But this operative approach is complex and even more influenced by anatomic variation. On contrast, the operation via retrosigmoid approach is simple and easy to control. The cerebellopontine structures can be fully observed with help of endoscope via retrosigmoid approach with cerebellar retraction.


She may appear, at first, a positive portrait, but the reader of Joyce's Dubliners soon discovers that there is something wrong with mother -- all mothers, whether they be real mothers or surrogates. Just as the priests of Portrait simultaneously convey contradictory impulses -- kindness and cruelty, for example -- the ambiguous mothers in Dubliners emerge paradoxical and enigmatic. Their "goodness" most decidedly tainted, Dubliners' mothers often seem ineffectual or hardened, sometimes even wildly or sadly perverted. Their positive feelings for their children become suspect when tempered by their harshness or selfishness. Usually paralyzed, either physically socially, or spiritually, the offspring of Dubliners' mothers suffer. Indeed, Joyce refuses to confine these negative portraits of "Mother" to this life: his mothers can reach far beyond the grave (as evidenced in Ulysses and in Portrait) to encumber and to handicap the living. Critics still ponder Joyce's relationship with his own mother in hopes of gleaning insight into the writer's multifaceted treatment of females in his works. In "The Song of the Wandering Aengus: James Joyce and His Mother," Mark Shechner speculates that Joyce's surging creative impulse quickly fell upon the heels of his mother's death (75). Acknowledging the general agreement among critics that Joyce felt guilt because of his mother's death, Shechner adroitly, recounts the author's confession: "My mother was slowly killed, I think, by my father's ill-treatment, by years of trouble, and by my cynical frankness of conduct" (76). Perhaps this sense of guilt, exacerbated by his contradictory feelings about his mother, ultimately inspired Joyce to explore the veins of motherhood in Dublin. Whatever his reasons for polishing these portraits with ambiguity, Joyce establishes one irrefutable fact: though Dubliners mothers may seem, on the surface, supportive and loving, under this veneer of apparent benevolence lurks an ugly, darker side of motherhood. Children of Dubliners' mothers often exemplify ambivalent or contradictory feelings about their mothers. The mother of Gabriel Conroy, though long dead, stirs such conflicting emotions in her son. Alone amidst the crowd and festivities, Gabriel's ambivalent feelings for his mother haunt him -- her support had provided the impetus for his career, she had pushed him to take his degree in the Royal University, but then, she also had reproached him "sullen opposition") for his marriage -- a "contract" with another woman, perhaps, threatened her (187). Gazing at his mother's picture while at his aunt's party, "a shadow pass[ing] over his face," Gabriel remembers her "slighting phrases" -- they still "rankled in his memory" -- and he recollects her ingratitude for Gretta's care during her long illness (187). Though no visible contract or verbal promise exists between him and his mother, nonetheless, this Dubliners son feels compelled to ensure the "dignity of family life" -- an endeavor that his mother earlier had considered "sensible" (186). Gabriel's delivery of the "address" at the Christmas party seems but one manifestation of his effort to fulfill his responsibility to the dead. Adhering to tradition, he preserves family "dignity," carving the turkey for the guests -- visitors whom he personally dislikes. Thus, a Dubliners mother reaches from beyond the grave to repress her son. With Gretta's revelation about Michael Furey, Gabriel comes to understand that the voices of the dead demand to be heard. A major assault upon "family dignity" appears in the unflattering portrait of mothers found "Ivy Day in the Committee Room." Though Joyce mentions mothers in but a few passages, two twisted portraits viciously emerge, those of the Queen and of a discontented wife. Mr O'Connor, whom we first meet at the Committee Room, complains of the difficulty of "bring[ing] up children" (119), and he attributes his son's inflated ego to the influence of his wife, whom he also claims is the cause of his becoming a useless drunkard. …


This paper focuses on the kinematic analysis of a novel 3-DOFs parallel manipulator. This parallel manipulator is a modified version of the well-known Tricept robot, achieved by making two of the three active limbs and the passive limb coplanar. The inverse kinematic problem is solved and the velocity equation is given. There are at most three real solutions, which are described in closed forms, for the forward kinematic problem of the proposed parallel manipulator. Through the analysis of local and global conditioning indices for a given workspace, it can be found that the kinematic performance of this parallel manipulator is similar to that of the Tricept


Nowadays there exist several frameworks to utilize a computation power of graphics cards and other computational devices such as FPGA, ARM and multi-core processors. The best known are either low-level and need a lot of controlling code or are bounded only to special graphic cards. Furthermore there exist more specialized frameworks, mainly aimed to the mathematic field. Described framework is adjusted to use in a multi-agent simulations. Here it provides an option to accelerate computations when preparing simulation and mainly to accelerate a computation of simulation itself.


Recently the time dependence of gain in a Ti:Al2O3 amplifier was measured.1 It was shown that the decay of gain was much more rapid than expected if only spontaneous decay was responsible for depletion of the upper state. Although it was believed that amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) might be responsible for this difference, the apparent difficulty of calculating the effect of ASE inhibited pursuit of this conjecture. A rate equation has been used to demonstrate that ASE can quantitatively explain the fast decay. In this model, the gain of the amplifier is e
 γ
 , where γ obeys the time-dependent spatially integrated equation The three terms on the right-hand side of this equation describe the spontaneous emission rate, pump rate, and stimulated emission rate caused by the input to the amplifier and by ASE, respectively. Excellent fits of the experimental data have been obtained using only one parameter Ω, the effective solid angle for ASE. The fitted parameter is in good agreement with geometrical estimates.


A newly developed RuO₂/rutile-TiO₂ catalyst displays a remarkable activity and stability in N₂O decomposition. The outstanding performance was attributed to the formation of a uniformly coated RuO₂ thin film on rutile-TiO₂.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the Bologna Process in the light of globalisation and examine how it affects curriculum and engineering education developments.Design/methodology/approach – The growing need for creative competitiveness and the striving for specific profiles of engineering qualifications that are of high quality whilst taking account of diversity, transparency have resulted in the declaration of the Bologna Process. The qualifications framework proposed involving the cycle systems are examined taking account of globalization, quality assurance, management and diversity of needs. The future opportunities are explored taking account of global expectations.Findings – The present research reveals that the Bologna Process provides a means through which higher education institutions (HEIs) can be encouraged to provide more attractive curricula for the younger generation for differing cultures whilst catering for the broad range of engineering fields where they could become mor...


An addition sequence problem is given a set of numbers X = {n1, n2, · · · , nm}, what is the minimal number of additions needed to compute all m numbers starting from 1? Downey et al. [9] showed that the addition sequence problem is NPcomplete. This problem has application in evaluating the monomials y1 , y2 , · · · , ym . In this paper, we present an algorithm to generate an addition sequence with minimal number of elements. We generalize some results on addition chain (m = 1) to addition sequence to speed up the computation. keywords: addition chain, addition sequence, vectorial addition chain, monomials evaluation, branch and bound algorithm.


ABSTRACT Trees along the roads are important assets, which need continuous assessment and maintenance. The mobile laser scanning (MLS) has been adopted as mainstream mapping technique for three-dimensional data acquisition along the roads. In this study, an automated method was developed to identify trees and their trunks from MLS data. A bottom-up search in two stages is adopted in the cylinders, which are formed by partitioning of normalized MLS data. Tree trunk is identified first based on linearity and data distribution homogeneity along lower section of object clusters lying near to the respective cylinder's base centre. Then, crown of tree is retrieved for respective identified trunk using compactness index for circular or near-circular cross section of crown and its axial symmetry about trunk axis. The object cluster composed of trunk and crown both are identified as tree. The proposed method was tested and validated on MLS data of two different roadway test sites that were acquired at different point spacing. The results reveal that the performance of proposed method in these two sites in terms of average completeness, correctness, and measure was 94.4%, 100%, and 97.1%, respectively. The correctness did not change in both sites and it was 100% and stable, which showed that none of the non-tree objects was falsely identified as tree and correctness in trees identification was independent of the test site complexity. The proposed method holds great potential for identifying trees from MLS data of various roadway site conditions, where shapes and sizes of trees in their 3D data get distorted due to occlusions, and partial overlap presents among objects. Furthermore, the proposed method was implemented in the graphics processing unit-based parallel computing framework and runtime was dramatically minimized on MLS datasets of two test sites.


This research was designed to investigate the mechanical properties of timbers reclaimed from demolition, with the aim of generating a visual grade and model expression to grade these materials for structural reuse. The use of timber, reclaimed from demolition, for new construction or refurbishment has both environmental and economic benefits.

The research developed an appropriate, alternate visual grading method which takes account of the unique problems associated with timber reclaimed from demolition. The research also investigated the loading capacity of timbers where previous structural loading may have affected the strength, and how grading without prior knowledge of the timber species can be utilised. Complimentary research suggested that the number of timber growth rings in a specimen has a direct effect on the mechanical properties, and that this can serve as a predictor of elastic modulus, especially when considered in conjunction with the density of the specimen.

This thesis presents the findings of the research, which involved developing an alternate visual grading methodology, appropriate to the inherent 'in service'damage sustained by timber, and quantifying the mechanical properties of reclaimed timber joists and comparing these with small clear tests. The visual grade accounted for the lack of species data available, by becoming independent of timber species. The research analysis considered density, specimen age and tree ring frequency as the variables in generating the model expression. In the final instance the analysis rejected the age of the specimen as a variable; this was found to be an anomalous and
inaccurate figure, which could only be estimated and added very little to the accuracy of the model expression. The model expression uses tree ring frequency and specimen density to estimate the modulus of elasticity of the specimen and thus its strength grade.

The contribution to knowledge in this research is through the introduction of an alternate, novel method of investigation and an expression to estimate the modulus of elasticity; the method is aimed specifically towards operatives at the demolition site using simple measuring equipment.


Industry 4.0 or Digital Revolution ischanging the way we live, changing interactions withclients and companies, which inevitably implies thatboth existing business methods and financial servicesare not exempt from this change. In the bankingworld, accelerated digitalization has made banks intensivelyre-examine traditional business models,which means that they have to respond quickly andefficiently to the demands of their clients while offeringsafe and simple services for use. Security and trust arestill key determinants, and banks have developed innovativebanking services and products over the pastfew years, including secured systems that reliably protectdata and money of clients. However, just like anyindustrial revolution, both Industry 4.0 and its impacton the transformation of the banking sector carrywith themselves both positive and negative consequencesof this transformation. Digitalization of thebanking sector is in full capacity, with the fact that thisprocess also includes other component parts of the Industry4.0, such as blockchain networks, artificial intelligence,IoT, biometrics, cooperation of banks withFinTech companies, preparation of the platform andother services for the Generation Z and other.In this paper, we explore how increased competition,new legislation, and all the changes that camewith digitalization, will affect the banking sector inthe upcoming period, will the banking sector look significantlydifferent in the upcoming years, and will, despiteall technological changes, human factor, trustand security still be the key determinants.


Currently, face recognition is widely used in many applications including access and security systems. However, a malicious user can spoof such systems by using a photo or recorded video of a legitimate user to gain access. Therefore, it is essential to solve this problem using anti-spoofing measures that can determine whether the face image presented to the system is genuine or a spoof. In this paper, we proposed a novel anti-spoofing system based on local texture features. The local features of the input image are extracted using Quaternionic Local Ranking Binary Pattern (QLRBP). We evaluate the effectiveness of these features using two different classifiers, namely the K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) and the Support Vector Machine (SVM). Our experiments using publicly available datasets show that our proposed system could achieve up to 95.20% accuracy (at 205.62 ms per frame) using the KNN classifier. Using the SVM, our proposed system can achieve up to 97.36% accuracy at 229.39 ms per frame. These results show that the QLRBP features are suitable to be used in a face anti-spoofing applications.


to improve police and community relations; enable democratic policing and create a safe and secure society. However, it continues to face challenges. These challenges include trust deficits, public participation, conflict of mandates, and financial and technical capacity shortfalls. The brief recommends, among others, creation of outreach programs to enhance trust and confidence between communities and the police; public participation; streamlining the working of CP and Nyumba Kumi; and increasing budgetary allocations. Challenges to implementation of community policing in Kenya


Haplo-cord Transplantation Vs Unrelated Donor Stem Cell Transplantation In Patients with AML/MDS older than 50 Between 2007 and 2013, 109 patients with AML/MDS who were 50 years and older and had no HLA- matched related donor underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. 64 had an HLA identical unrelated donor and received fludarabine/melphalan/alemtuzumab conditioning and post transplant tacrolimus for graft vs host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. 45 underwent haplo-cord (HC) SCT with fludarabine/melphalan/ thymoglobulin; post-transplant tacrolimus and MMF. We compared patient characteristics and transplant outcomes between both groups. (Table 1) Age distribution and ASBMT risk category were similar. There were more patient9s with AML in the HC group. (P=0.01) Time to neutrophil recovery, treatment related mortality (TRM), relapse rate, progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were nearly identical between the two groups. Time to platelet recovery was on average 5 days longer after HC (p=0.05) The incidences of acute and chronic GVHD were very low in both groups, in part due to the use of in-vivo T cell depletion. HC transplant with reduced intensity conditioning is a curative treatment for older patients with AML/MDS who lack HLA identical unrelated donors. Despite inclusion of many patients with high risk features, nearly two thirds were estimated to be alive one year after transplant and very few had chronic GVHD. Haplo-cord grafts are more readily available, a potential advantage over MUD grafts in situations where transplant is needed urgently. Disclosures van Besien:Miltenyi: Research Funding. Mark:Millennium: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Onyx: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Artz:Miltenyi: Research Funding.


The current study was designed to assess the presence of deception indicators in truthful and deceptive statements. Four independent raters watched 80 statements on three different topics and evaluated the presence of 11 different cues to deception. It was hypothesized that it would be impossible to accurately differentiate between truthful and deceptive statements based on raters' evaluation and that the ratings of credibility would be based on stereotypical beliefs about cues to deception rather than on the objective indicators of deception. Moreover, different deception topics would result in different patterns of indicators. The results partially supported the hypothesis – the raters' evaluations did not make it possible to differentiate truth from lies; however, it was usually the objective cues that were used to predict the credibility of statements. Moreover, different accounts resulted in different patterns of cues to deception.


Sustainable Social Awareness Measurement at the Industrial Work. This document takes as a starting point the theoretical construct of Sustainable Social Awareness defined as the thoughtful capacity to identify the modifications in the environment produced by individual and collective actions to establish strategies for the Sustainable Development. This conceptual approximation made possible to carry out a methodological design to build a practical instrument that could measure the Sustainable Social Awareness Level in people that was related to industrial work. The construction of this instrument it is described from the stages of the theory formulation, the legitimacy and objectivity to endorse that it is a useful investigation tool to measure the sustainable parameters. The aim of this instrument is to encourage the environmental management culture through the use of 4 Sustainable Developing objectives, minimizing the own bias of subcultures found in the different ranges and roles in the work environments.


Numerical modelling of heterogeneous porous media has received attention at a variety of scales from pore dimensions to those of hundreds of meters. Most of the approaches to predict the behaviour of flow have focussed on enhancements to established finite difference schemes (e.g., local grid refinement, multi-grid methods). Although finite difference schemes have many advantages, in fine grids they are difficult to apply properly to curved surfaces with Neumann boundary conditions, which occur at the boundary between media of different permeability and they appear very difficult to use with multiple heterogeneities. In such circumstances boundary conditions can often be expressed using boundary integral equations, and solutions by powerful boundary integral equation methods can be applied.


End-of-life communication focuses on verbal and nonverbal communication that occurs between individuals following the diagnosis of a terminal illness until the point of death. It is the context of an impending death that shapes the communication for the participants. The communication encompasses personal conversations with family and friends through final conversations, clinical-task focused conversations with palliative healthcare professionals, as well as interactions with caregivers and Hospice volunteers.

Keywords:

affectionate communication;
caregiver communication;
doctor–patient communication;
end of life;
family communication;
health communication;
identity management;
interpersonal communication;
qualitative methods;
relational communication


The invention discloses a process for preparing 125I seed source for medical radioactive therapy. The process comprises the following steps of: placing a cleaned silver rod in a 10ml square quartz bottle with a penicillin opening; adding 0.5-1.0 ml of 10-15mg/ml of KBr solution, 0.3-0.6ml of 5-10mg/ml of KCl solution and 0.5-1.0ml of 0.1mol/L of NaOH to adjust PH to 7-10, adding the 125I solution in the required amount, evenly agitating, adding 0.2ml of 20mg/ml of K3Fe(CN)3, fixing a reaction bottle on a controllable rotary oscillator by forming an angle of 30 degrees with the horizontal direction, making the mixture react for 10-15min under a room temperature, taking out for drying, carrying out laser welding and sealing in a titanium tube.


The dynamic-mechanical behaviour of high performance thermoplastic polymers (PEEK, PEI, PES) and their composites with carbon fibres is presented over a wide range. Secondary transitions are observed at different temperatures in the polymer matrices and tentative interpretation is given of the corresponding relaxation processes


Cosmophorus laricio sp. nov., reared from adults of the bark-beetle Pityogenes bistridentatus feeding in dead twigs of Pinus nigra laricio collected in Corsica, is described and illustrated. The unusual behaviour of the apterous male is discussed in relation to its morphology and the species' presumed mating strategy.


In this paper, an algorithm based on the combination of the Canny operator and the morphology method is proposed for the semiautomatic segmentation of medical image series. Firstly, Canny operator is used to extract the whole accurate edges in the medical image series. Then find some object edge with the user interaction. And obtain the closed object edge by using the morphology methods of end point extraction, searching breakpoint, connecting breakpoints, removing burr and so on. Next, carry out expansion for the current object edge and make the expansion result as the location of object contour in the adjacent slice. With the same morphology methods, the closed object edge in the adjacent slice could be obtained automatically. Finally, make some interactive modification for the medical image series. Experiment shows that this algorithm can obtain the boundary of the desired object from a series of medical image quickly and reliably with only little user intervention.


The interaction of granular dynamics and uid dynamics is perhaps most apparent in the movements of sand bars by shear o ws. We discuss experiments on fully developed, large-amplitude bars under the action of a steady shearing o w in a 1 meter diameter annular tank, focusing on three phenomena: advection, with a velocity that is a strongly nonlinear function of the shear rate and which yields information on the average properties of the thin layer of sand responsible for transport, interaction, in which a group of adjacent ripples undergoes transient rearrangements at speeds distinctly higher than those of advection, and dispersion in which an isolated mound of sand will develop into a train of sand ripples whose members travel at dieren t speeds as they spread apart. PACS numbers: 87.16.Ac The transport of granular matter by the shearing action of wind or water generally occurs by the motion of grains only within a thin layer at its top surface, with stationary material below. A body of recent theoretical work [1{3] has sought to characterize the evolution of granular proles through PDEs for the coupled evolution of the topography and local thickness of the transport layer. These have focused primarily on the case of gravity-driven o ws, without external shear. There is of course a long history of study of wind-driven (aeolian) patterns [4, 5], which dier from uvial (uid-driv en) patterns [6] by the actual forces experienced by individual grains and the structure of the nonlocal relationship between the topography and the shear stress [7{11]. The temporal symmetry of the forcing, steady [12, 13] or oscillatory [14{16], also has a clear impact on the symmetry of the patterns and the overall transport of material [17]. The distinction between suspended sediment and bedload is a key one in determining the actual dynamics of sediment transport , and the regime of bedload transport has received perhaps the most attention. Apart from studies of the linear instability of a at bed of sand under shearing o w, relatively little experimental work has been presented on the dynamics of fully-developed, nonlinear ripples under highly-controlled shear o ws. Here we report experimental results on this problem, focusing on the case of steady shear in an annular tank. Space-time portraits of the topography such as that in Fig. 1 reveal an intrinsic competition between two modes of ripple motion, advection and interaction, the details of which we examine below. Explaining the details of these two dieren t modes of granular dynamics is an important open theoretical problem. The apparatus consists of a pair of large, concentric cylinders forming a quasi-two-dimensional chamber in the annulus. It is based on a smaller version rst constructed in collaboration with S. Gubser [18], and of the type used later by Rehberg, et al. [13] in the study of the linear instability of a at layer. Similar devices have been in existence since the early part of the last century. Notable among those in use today is a 7 m diameter tank used for environmental studies [12]. Interest in this geometry derives from the simplifying feature that the freeboundary problem of the air-water interface, which in theoretical treatments introduces great complexity or is replaced by a prescribed free surface [19, 20], simply becomes a xed-heigh t, xed-v elocity boundary condition at the rotor, and that end-eects are eliminated by the periodic boundary conditions. While the side walls and rotor introduce problems of their own, discussed below, the uid dynamics is sucien tly constrained that a theoretical treatment would appear to be more tractable. Two plexiglas cylinders (Reynolds Polymer), 6 mm thick and 30 cm high, with outside diameters of 82:8 and 91:4 cm, were fused to a plexiglass base to form an annular tank. The shearing of the uid is eected by a ring-shaped rotor, machined from a single sheet of aluminum, attached to a DC motor (Belden ME-3353). The rotor assembly is attached to a frame of aluminum


Lignocellulosics are widely available natural products which are the tremendous source for the production of enzymes being used for the numerous applications in food, feed, paper, textile and agro-biotechnological industries, ethanol production, bioremediation processes and many more. Enzyme productions from microorganisms are stimulated aggressively through solid state fermentation which meets the demand of getting rid of agro-industrial waste and strengthen the consumption of renewable resources through biotechnology. Though well-developed techniques for enzyme production by submerged fermentation has been found very successful at the industrial sectors; solid state fermentation helps to overcome to the issues of production cost and high yield. Additionally the availability of the substrate with very much economical rate can compensate the overall economic expenses which promote the application of solid state fermentation at industrial level. However several reports regarding fermentation techniques and their pre-treatments are available, the present review will discuss about utilization of lignocellulosics through solid state fermentation for production of enzymes and their enhanced applications in different sectors in recent years.


Lead all aspects of, and set strategic directions for, Special Collections; expand discovery of, and access to, the collections; actively engage with campus and regional community through teaching, exhibitions, projects, and events to promote learning, teaching, and research uses of the collections; cultivate new collections and donor relationships by engaging with regional community; secure external grant funding; participate in donor stewardship in collaboration with the Dean of Libraries and the UWG Foundation; work in partnership with Library's Technical Services for acquisitions, cataloging, and retrospective catalog cleanup of Special Collections materials; participate in Library management and operations as part of the Dean of Libraries' Leadership Team; serve as a consultant to organizations and others for the management and preservation of archival materials; hire and manage faculty and staff positions; direct the work of volunteers; represent the Ingram Library in local, regional, and national forums.


This section on the creation and use of information by all levels of the public sector will become a regular feature of Knowledge. The section will be edited by Lois-ellin Datta, an associate editor of the journal. If you have information or inquiries about how local, state, federal, or foreign governments are using and creating knowledge, please send it to Lois-ellin Datta, General Accounting Office, Room 5741, 411 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20654.


an expert system for identifying weeds on oil palm plantations using a web-based forward chaining and dempster shafer method. Palm oil is one of the plants that has its own charm in the community because the commodity of palm oil plays an important role in the Indonesian economy, therefore demand for palm oil continues to increase. Along with the increasing demand for palm oil in the world market, oil palm plantations have experienced many disturbances, one of which is weeds which are very detrimental to oil palm farmers, so oil palm farmers are trying to control it. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to build a system application that can be used by farmers to provide information related to weeds that attack oil palm and their control solutions.


The technique of obtaining humic substances (HS) from an alkaline hydrolyzate of lake sapropel by effect of irradiation with UV-light was offered. We have demonstrated that photochemical infl uence on humic substances to results in the changes of their composition and structure. Based on the comparative analysis of physicochemical methods of research it can be suggested that at irradiation by UV-light there is an activation of humic substances. The IR spectroscopy date show an increase of the carbonyl groups, the carboxyl groups and a decrease of the aliphatic fragments in activated humic substances (HSA). Also an increase in the content of oxygen-containing functional groups of acidic nature was established by conductometric titration of Boehm's method. The results obtained by methods of fl uorimetry and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicate the increasing degree of humifi cation of HSA. The study of morphology of the surface carried out by scanning electron microscopy showed transforming of structure of the surface of HS from the globular to the layered.


The paper presents an optimization-based technique that enhances the schedulability of real-time transactional multiprocessor systems. The technique addresses two important aspects: task allocation and task deadline assignment. In order to satisfy real-time restrictions we combine genetic search and simulation to fine tune the system's configuration. To reduce the solution search space, we propose a hybrid technique for finding feasible scheduling solutions. We determine task deadlines through a heuristic and then use the optimization-based approach to find a solution for task allocation to processors. We evaluate the performance of the proposed techniques by using automatically generated transaction sets. Finally, we compare the optimization-based technique with related work and we analyze the results.


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Dabaoshan polymetallic deposit is located at the middle part of the Nanling granite belt,South China,which is a famous large deposit with a long history of mining. Much attention has been paid to the Mesozoic magmatism because recent research reveals that Mo( W)-ore related porphyries are the product of Yanshanian magmatism,while little effort has been done on the other stage magmatism. Based on the previous study,zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating has been conducted on different stage granites and mafic dykes in order to systematically clarify the magmatic activity of the studied area. The weighted average206Pb /238U age of Xuwu rhyolitic porphyry is 426. 9 ± 2. 2Ma,and the weighted average206Pb /238U ages are 162. 2 ± 0. 7Ma,160. 2 ± 0. 9Ma and 161. 2 ± 0. 9Ma for Jiuquling granodiorite porphyry,Chuandu granodiorite and Dabaoshan granodiorite porphyry,respectively. Two mafic dykes recorded two magmatic events of 210. 4 ± 1. 4Ma and 163. 9 ± 1. 8Ma,respectively. Therefore,it is proved that the Dabaoshan area has gone through a multiple magmatic activity including Caledonian,Indosinian and Yanshanian. Middle-Late Jurassic mafic magma might have contributed to the Dabaoshan polymetallic mineralization.


Aim The present study was designed to evaluate the implantation of alginate beads containing human mature allogenic chondrocytes for the treatment of symptomatic cartilage defects in the knee. Methods A biodegradable, alginate-based biocompatible scaffold containing human mature allogenic chondrocytes was used for the treatment of chondral and osteochondral lesions in the knee. Twenty-one patients were clinically prospectively evaluated with use of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain preoperatively and at 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 and 36 months of follow-up. Results A statistically significant clinical improvement became apparent after 6 months and patients continued to improve during the 36 months of follow-up. Adverse reactions to the alginate/fibrin matrix seeded with the allogenic cartilage cells were not observed. Two of the procedures failed. One of the patients had loosening of the periosteal flap, which was attributed to a failure of the surgical procedure. The other failure case was the result of the poor quality and quantity of the repair tissue itself. Discussion The results of this pilot study show that the alginate-based scaffold containing human mature allogenic chondrocytes is feasible for the treatment of symptomatic cartilage defects in the knee. The described technique provides clinical outcomes equal to those of other cartilage repair techniques.


This paper presents a novel long baseline navigation solution based on pseudo-range measurements that does not require clock synchronization nor propagation speed profiling. In a one-way-travel-time setting, the offset between the clocks of the emitters and the clock of the receiver is assumed unknown, as well as the speed of propagation of the acoustic waves in the medium. The proposed solution, which resorts to state and output augmentation to achieve a system that is linear in the state, is shown to yield estimates that converge exponentially fast to zero for all initial conditions. The observability of the system is also carefully analyzed, the multi-rate nature of the measurements is taken into account, and simulation results evidence excellent performance.


Objective To explore the effect of helicobacter infection and its link to inflammatory signalling pathway in esophageal carcinoma and the relationship between chronic inflammation and esophageal carcinoma.MethodsThirty-seven samples of esophageal carcinoma and 10 samples of normal esophageal tissues were randomly collected.Helicobacter species were examined by polymerase chain reaction(PCR) with helicobacter-specific 16SrDNA primers.The target products amplified were sequenced and compared with helicobacter.A research for important virulence genes(cagA,babA2,vacA) specific for helicobacter pylori(Hp) were also carried out by PCR.The standard strain of Hp was co-cultured with EC109 for different period of time and P-IκB-α was detected with Western blot.ResultsHelicobacter species were found in esophageal tissue in 31.6%(12/37) of patients with squamous carcinoma whereas none of the controls harboured the 16SrDNA.Nine of helicobacter-specific PCR amplicons were sequenced and the homology was 99%~100% to 16SrDNA of Hp.Virulence genes,4 cases of cagA,8 cases of babA2 and 3 cases of vacA were found in the helicobacter 16SrDNA-positive esophageal squamous carcinoma.Expression of P-IkB-α in the EC109 markedly increased after co-cultured with Hp.ConclusionHelicobacteraceae are found in human esophageal carcinoma tissues which shows the infection of helicobacter species likely Hp.The infection of the bacteria might play a very important role in human esophageal carcinoma generation and development,in which P-IkB-α-associated inflammatory signalling pathway might be one of molecular mechanisms of persisting inflammation.


Summary

Undesirable substances of thermal food processing such as acrylamide (AA) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) have been intensively studied in recent decades. The aim of this work was to investigate the evolution mechanism of AA and HMF contents in the presence of various valence metal cations at various concentrations in asparagine–glucose model system. Three interesting phenomena were found. Firstly, the AA contents first decreased and then increased, whereas the HMF contents first increased and then decreased, with increasing metal cations concentration; secondly, the concentration of cations for maximal HMF contents was lower than the concentration of cations for minimal AA contents; thirdly, the maximum AA-inhibiting or HMF-promoting efficiency was achieved more readily with trivalent, then divalent and lastly monovalent cations. These phenomena can be explained by that increasing the metal cations concentration can increase the protonated product contents, thus increasing the AA-inhibiting efficiency and HMF-promoting efficiency. With higher metal cations concentration in the model system, HMF as a reactant can react with the asparagine to form AA or directly decompose into furfural. These interesting results can provide a theoretical foundation to simultaneously control the formation of AA and HMF during food processing.


A transformation revertant has been isolated from an unusual line of simian virus 40 (SV40)-transformed BALB/c-3T3 cells in which rearrangements of integrated viral sequences are common. The revertant produces no SV40 T antigens, yields no virus on fusion with permissive cells, and can be retransformed by SV40 virions. SV40 DNA sequences are present within the cellular DNA, but interruption of the viral early transcription region by deletion and recombination with cellular sequences precludes the synthesis of T antigens. Analysis of this revertant lends further support to the notion that large T antigen plays an essential role in the maintenance of transformation in SV40-transformed BALB/c-3T3 cells. Examination of integration of SV40 DNA in this revertant, as well as in a temperature-sensitive A transformant, after retransformation by SV40 confirms that sequence homology plays little role in the insertion of SV40 DNA into cellular chromosomes.


A barley mutant resistant to barley yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) was selected from a total of 150 early mutants induced from a variety Chikurin lbaraki I with physical and chemical mutagens. The original variety is a six-rowed covered form with winter habit. The mutant, coded as Ea 52, was originally screened as an early mutant from M3 after acute irradiation of growing plants at vegetative stage with 250R of gamma-rays. When grown in a field severely infested with BYMV, all early mutants except Ea 52 showed mpre or less leaf yellowing characteristic to BYMV disease and proved to be highly susceptible, while Ea 52 exhibited no such external symptoms. The mutant Ea 52 was crossed as male parent to a susceptible mutant Ea 17 that has a similar degree of earliness. Segregation of resistance and susceptibility to disease in F2 was clear-cut from the absence or presence of leaf yellowing and stunting. The number of resistant and susceptible plants was 44 and 126 respectively, giving a good fit to the Mendelian ratio of I : 3 that is expected from a single gene inheritance. The resistant character was completely recessive to the susceptible. No sign of association of the disease resistance with heading time was observed. Although diseased plants more or less reco-vered their growth as temperature rose ih April, almost all of them produced lower number of tillers, smaller plant weight and lower culm length at maturity.


Reduce the tendency for surface slag is heat formed on and change the characteristics of the slag to a method of increasing the output of the combustor ignited with high iron and / or coal having calcium content are described by easily making to better remove it. The method slag with a high iron and / or calcium-combustion and the coal forms a whole with an excess of oxygen; Moving the resulting combustion gases through the heat exchanger under the condition of cooling the slag formed by burning the fuel and; Prior to contact with said heat exchanger, an aqueous aluminum tri-hydroxide and a hydroxide reducing the contamination rate and preferably containing the resulting introducing in an amount effective to increase the friability of the slag, and the droplet size and density. Preferably, aluminum tri-hydroxide reagent is introduced in the form of an aqueous liquid and computational fluid dynamics will determine the flow rate and reagent introduction rates, reagent introduction location (s), reagent concentration, reagent droplet size and / or select the reagent momentum It is used to. In a preferred embodiment, the feed rates would be a coal-1 up to about 6 pounds of ATH, and preferably up to about 2 pounds Mg (OH) per 1 ton of coal per ton with it In addition, there is provided a method for cleaning a burner and maintaining cleanliness.


An improved method and system for logging transaction records in a computer system. The method may include writing a confirmation log record to the log file for a transaction that completes normally, and not writing a confirmation log record for transactions that are aborted. The log file may be unloaded periodically by an unload program. The unload program may write transaction log records accompanied by a confirmation log record to a good output file and transaction log records not accompanied by a confirmation log record to a suspended output file. On a subsequent execution, the unload program may combine the log records in the log file and the suspended file. The unload program may write transaction log records accompanied by a confirmation log record to a good output file. The unload program may write transaction log records not accompanied by a confirmation log record and which have not exceeded a transaction time limit to a suspended output file. The unload program may write transaction log records not accompanied by a confirmation log record and which have exceeded a transaction time limit to a disposal output file. The transaction log records in the good output file may then be processed normally by log processing programs.


D Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) provides in-situ, steady or unsteady state, imaging of fluid distribution in core samples at reservoir pressures. Although spatial resolution is not able to match that obtained through x-ray CT or MRI, the technique provides an inexpensive, simple, practical and safe means of monitoring the resistivity distribution of reservoir fluids in a 38 mm core plug, in near real-time and in full 3D. An array of 192 electrodes carried on a flexible printed circuit is wrapped around a core plug mounted in a Hassler or Hoek-type core holder. A fast bipolar current pulse allows a 4-wire type resistance measurement on all electrodes around the surface of the core sample. A data set is thus generated that embodies the 3D resistivity/conductivity profile of the whole sample as a transresistance matrix. Processing of these measurements reconstructs the full 3D internal resistivity distribution, and correspondingly the distribution of conducting fluids in the sample. The iterative reconstruction algorithm utilises a Finite Element forward model, for the cylindrical core plug, comprising 1080 triangular prismatic linear Galerkin elements. Regularised Jacobian and Hessian matrices of the non-linear inverse problem are constructed, and inversion uses Levenberg-Marquardt and truncated-Newton algorithms, implemented in MATLAB. The real-time capability of EIT data acquisition permits imaging and analysis of the two- phase saturation system, including flow-front monitoring, characterisation of the flow regime, the distribution of residual oil or water at the final stages of relative permeability tests, and capillary end effects. Initial laboratory tests demonstrate repeatability and reliability of results.


The old, self-justificatory bromide that judges do not make the law, but only find it, is generally rejected-even scorned-these days,' but it continues to exercise a powerful effect on legal theory. It still whispers to us from the dark corners of legal formalism that there is no such thing as judicial lawmaking, and that, if there is, it is a violation of the rule of law. As a result, judges and legal scholars seem to believe that they have achieved a decisive conceptual breakthrough simply by rejecting this position.2 Having done so, they are content to describe judicial lawmaking with generalities like judgment,3 pragmatism, 4 religiosity,5 or maturity6 that respond primarily to a lingering


diagnose GERD. The GERD patient comes with chief complaints of heartburn and regurgitation of gastric contents. The relief symptoms with acid inhibition provide strong supporting evidence for the diagnosis of GERD. However, symptom frequency, duration, and severity are equally distributed among patients with varying grades of esophagitis and Barrett's esophagus and cannot be used reliably to diagnose complications of GERD. The GerdQ is a validated tool that can be used for the management of GERD in clinical practice. We can make a diagnosis and know about disease impact, including


Colic consider as one of the most and common cause leading to death in horses and donkeys. Colic is a general expression that refers to any gastrointestinal pain in horses and donkeys, our study aimed to evaluate the clinical -biochemical alterations of donkey's colic and proves the link between aspartate aminotransaminase, lactate dehydrogenase and severity grades in colicky donkeys. Thirty-five Egyptian donkey were included in this study, these donkeys were divided into fifteen apparently clinically healthy donkeys and twenty donkeys suffering from colic in Menofia and Behira Governate, these selected cases are clinically examined and biochemically expressed through estimation of serum glucose, total protein, blood urea nitrogen , Creatinine , Calcium , Potassium , Sodium, Alanine aminotransaminase , Aspartate aminotransaminase, Lactate dehydrogenase, Serum Malondialdehyde and Total antioxidant capacity. Clinical examination of the donkeys with signs of colic showed moderate significant increase in heart and respiratory rates with a great significant increase in capillary refill time. Analysed serum indicated mild significant increase in the levels of glucose and malondialdehyde as well as great significant increase in the Aspartate aminotransaminase and lactate dehydrogenase. On the other hand, there is significant decline of calcium and potassium. In Conclusions There is a difference in some clinical variables and some serum biochemistries, so we can recommend that the correlation between activities of aspartate aminotransaminase, lactate dehydrogenase in colicky donkeys can be used as an aid in the prognosis and gauging severity of tissue damage in donkey's colic.


Flexographic printing technique is a technique with the most frequent application in the field of flexible packaging due to its recognized property of quick ink drying on non-absorbent substrates. The application of conventional, solvent based, inks is still widely spread at present, however, their replacement with the energy curable inks (UV curable inks) is constantly expanding. The application of these two types of inks enables two methods of printing: wet on wet ink and wet on dry ink. The values of the last ink trap on the previously applied ink are usually determined using the Brunner, Ritz or Preucil method. The mentioned methods were developed with the use of paper as the printing substrate. In this research, ink trapping was tested in respect to the combination of process inks used in flexography (YMC) and their sequence of printing on a polymer substrate. Densitometric measurement enabled the determination of values which were used in the calculation of trapping in the aforementioned methods. The obtained values of trapping were compared against the image analysis of overlapped patches.


The effect of nanosized titanium oxide on the physicochemical property, Zeta potential and contact angle of the deinking pulp slurry and that on the pulp quality were studied with waste paper as raw material. The results show that with the increase of the dosage of nanosized TiO2, the Zeta potential of the deinking pulp slurry increased, the contact angle decreased, the brightness of the deinked pulp improved and the content of the residual ink particles in the pulp reduced.


In the title compound, C14H10BrF3O4, the coumarin ring system is almost plannar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.025 Å) and a short C—H⋯F contact occurs. The propanoate fragment is orientated almost perpendicular to the ring [dihedral angle = 71.80 (12)°]. In the crystal, molecules are linked by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating [100] chains.


It Is presumed that all biological phenomena should exhibit a common topological pattern. Argument in favour of a common unitary mechanism that maintains all biological form and function including evolution is put forward. It is proposed that the topological structure of the properties for all living matter Is helical In nature. It is concluded that simple helical topological form Is fundamental to all biological system and function and it resembles RNA, which Is assumed as the basic molecular form of life.


Abstract 2719 The aim of this study was to evaluate treatment outcomes and prognostic factors of high-dose MVP (methotrexate, vincristine and procarbazine) chemotherapy and response adapted intensification therapy in primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). We evaluated the expression of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded RNA in tissue and pretreatment EBV-DNA in whole blood. Forty patients with PCNSL who treated with high-dose MVP chemotherapy were retrospectively reviewed. Additional radiotherapy or autologous stem cell transplantation were performed for the patients who could not achieve complete response (CR) at interim response (Figure 1). The median age was 55 years. CR rate was 50.0% and objective response rate was 80.0%. Two-year overall survival (OS) was 59.8% and 2-year progression free survival (PFS) was 47.1%. Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia was seen in 19 of 40 (47.5%) patients and thrombocytopenia was developed in 13 (32.5%) patients. Treatment-related mortality was occurred in 4 patients. Delayed neurotoxicity was occurred in 4 patients. Poor performance status, elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein level and whole blood EBV-DNA positivity showed inferior OS (P=0.036, P=0.022, P=0.013, respectively, Figure 2). We detected whole blood EBV-DNA in 10 (29.4%) of 34 patients. It was related with poor OS and PFS in high risk patients according to International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group scores (P=0.015, P=0.027, respectively). This study suggests that high-dose MVP chemotherapy without intrathecal chemotherapy and response adapted strategy may be an effective regimen for the newly diagnosed PCNSL. Whole blood EBV-DNA positivity could predict the inferior outcome in high-risk patients. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


BACKGROUND/AIM
Pancreatic Ductal adeno-carcinoma (PDAC) is a devastating disease. Gemcitabine is the standard chemotherapeutic agent against PDAC but has only limited effectiveness. The aim of the study was to develop and study the targeting affinity and in vitro antiproliferative effect of a MUC4-targeted gemcitabine-loaded immuno-liposome for treatment of PDAC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Gemcitabine-loaded immunoliposomes were developed by grafting anti-MUC4 antibodies to the liposomal surface. Targeting affinity was compared in vitro between immunoliposomes and non-targeted liposomes and anti-proliferative effect was compared in vitro between free drug, non-targeted liposomal gemcitabine and MUC4-targeted immunoliposomal gemcitabine on a MUC4-positive pancreatic cancer cell line, Capan-1.

RESULTS
Development of a MUC4-targeted immunoliposome was confirmed and characterized by immunoblots and size characterization. The MUC4-targeted immunoliposome showed a significantly higher targeting affinity compared to the non-targeted liposomes and also showed an improved antiproliferative effect compared to free and non-targeted liposomal drug.

CONCLUSION
Successful development and characterization of a MUC4-targeted immunoliposome shows promising results for a targeted treatment and improved retention of gemcitabine for treatment of PDAC.


Examples Burling cites of "eccentric" rules are difficult to understand since they are in fact no more eccentric than many rules in other reconstructed languages, including IndoEuropean. Moreover they are much less eccentric than Burling's entire approach. He has produced a considerably simplified reconstruction by combining contrasting sets of correspondences through the simple expedient of declaring irregular all items which provide the contrasts. As examples, one entire tonal set is eliminated by declaring all Taungthu items irregular, and for rj he has combined three sets with the result that Taungthu forms which have /r j/ (the only dialect that does) must be considered irregular. Nor has he been consistent within his own scheme. For example, his *3 is said to occur only with tone *? but some forms are reconstructed with *am as well; *-N is said to be used when the position of the nasal could not be verified, though some forms in this category are reconstructed with *-n and *-rj as well. Regarding the data he correctly questions four misprints (obvious ones), and some others which are correct as given, and contrary to his supposition no misprints were taken seriously in the reconstructions. Burling's efforts do not represent sound methods of linguistic reconstruction, and provide, I fear, nothing of value for Karen studies. • Matisoff's paper is a very different matter. He describes it as "an exploratory working paper." It is that, but it is a much more important work than such a description would imply. Throughout the paper he is severely critical of Burling's Proto-Lolo-Burmese (1967), and with most of his criticism one can only agree. There is one point, however, on which the criticism is undeserved. Burling did not utilize any evidence from Burmese orthography, believing that reconstructions would provide a means for judging orthographic forms. Matisoff believes the exact reverse to be the case and that Burmese spelling should be taken at face value for the most part, and this position is much too extreme. Burmese spelling has been "adjusted" many times and there is still considerable variation in spite of efforts to standardize. It is just not all that reliable. Not even inscriptional Burmese is any very great help and was most aptly described by Pe Maung Tin (JBRS, 1929) as being like "the attempts of a child or an uneducated man at writing letters." Also, the simple rule Matisoff quotes to account for initial-1clusters, though not entirely clear, is in any case contradicted by comparative evidence. One other point here, Matisoff himself if inconsistent in identifying Burmese forms. He does use the terms New Burmese, Old Burmese, Written Burmese, but more often it is just "Burmese" which is used indiscriminately for any of these. Such matters do not, however, detract from the general excellence of his discussions of the comparative problems in many lexical items, of phonological subsystems and patterns, and the possible solutions suggested. Especially good is his revision of Burling's scheme relating to initial consonant classes and tones. Also his discussion of fusional clusters is excellent, and in this connection he presents a convincing case for an old prefix relating to animals. There is, of course, room for disagreement on some points. For example, Burling's *e, he says, should have been reconstructed on the basis of orthography as *ai, but comparative evidence does not really support this and in such a case it doesn't really matter very much what the value of the orthographic symbol might have been in Mon or Sanskrit. Moot points are stimulating. They in no way detract from the value of this work, any more than does Matisoff's often dogmatic tone. One of the most notable sections is Matisoff's demonstration of the development of the Lahu high-rising tone. Indeed throughout it is his firm control of the Lahu data which is most impressive, and make this one of the most important contributions to Tibeto-Burmese linguistics yet to appear.


The documentation of dance regularly asserts a false concept. This is that dances can be fixed, like a text, script, a painting or even a musical score. Dance academics and organisations like ballet companies and the trusts that claim to protect and preserve the heritage of specific choreographers, struggle with this idea. Focussed far more on outputs than production, they decontextualize dance by ignoring its context: the working process. Notwithstanding the problematics of this assumption about the archival form of such material, that the tokens of the types that Wollheim (1968) posits as necessary are simply too flexible to be captured as definitive, this in itself presents a creative opportunity.This is not to say an account of a dance is impossible, but to suggest there are conditional features that need taking account of, and to question the artistic validity of ossified reproduction.

This paper posits this working process as played out in performance as well as the confines of rehearsal, and gives as a practical example the performance of a work by the same dancers across a thirty year time frame, presented in sync with original video material.


Breathlessness is a common and distressing symptom in end-stage heart failure, impacting adversely on quality of life for both the patient and the carer. Breathlessness is recognized as being a multi-factorial subjective experience. Research into effective therapies is surprisingly sparse, although this is a common feature in the end stages of a number of diseases. A complex holistic assessment must first exclude a treatable underlying cause and ensure that medications have been optimized. A variety of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies are available for breathlessness. Treatment is likely to require an approach incorporating both and addressing identified physical, social, psychological and spiritual needs to provide optimum relief. A skilled and experienced specialist cardiac nurse is ideally placed both to assess the breathlessness and to support the patient in finding effective therapies at the end of life.


Introduction One of the complications of severe preeclampsia is cortical blindness which could be reversible or permanent. It is the most disturbing symptom of reversible post encephalopathy syndrome in preeclampsia and eclampsia. Case Discription An 18-year-old primigravida was admitted with term pregnancy in the obstetrics department, having high arterial blood pressure with pitting edema with proteinuria, hematuria, impaired renal functions, and elevated serum transaminases. She was treated with 250 mg of methyldopa three times a day, but as hypertension persisted, the patient was admitted to ICU and was given labetolol 200 mg three times a day orally, along with oxygen by mask. Sonographic examination showed cord around the neck with an arterial blood pressure of 160/110 mmHg. Cesarean section was planned. The patient was given 500 mg of methyldopa and labetalol 200 mg orally in the morning, few hours before being taken to the operating room. Segmental epidural block with 12 ml of 0.5% ropivacaine was performed, with epidural catheter left in situ in the L2-3 space and top up dose of same 6ml drug is given later on. Lower segment cesarean section was performed and the baby was delivered with an APGAR score of 8. On the second postoperative day, she developed headache, giddiness, and blurred vision, which became progressive. Computed tomography and MRI reports confirmed posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. She was treated accordingly and early management helped her recover completely. Conclusion This case report emphasizes the need for early diagnosis and prompt treatment of PRES to avert short-term and long-term neurological sequelae. Early treatment usually results in complete reversal of deficits over few days to few weeks.


Mobility of a standard quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is largely restricted since all of its propelling thrusts are vertical and it only possesses four degrees of freedom. As a result, traditional quadrotor UAV cannot follow the trajectory in three-dimensional space arbitrarily. The standard fixed-wing UAV performs well in high maneuvering flight. However, it cannot vertically take off, land and hover aerially. In this research, we presented a fully-actuated aircraft called Tilt-Octo with inclined propellers and only internal thrust to resist external pneumatic interference. In this way, the vehicle body is capable of keeping level flight and stable hovering under windy circumstances. Notably, the unique application was logically set up in special inspection field. A controller based on the backstepping method considering external disturbance was designed and thus altitude trajectory was ensured. In particular, the anti-wind disturbance experiments have been conducted and the results demonstrated that Tilt-Octo appear superior capabilities of stationary hovering and accurate trajectory tracking.