OBJECTIVE
To characterize the range of opinions among neonatologists in Connecticut and Rhode Island regarding the gestational age at which they would support parental resuscitation or nonresuscitation requests for infants born at 21-27 weeks.

METHODS
Anonymous questionnaire mailed to 70 Connecticut and Rhode Island neonatologists detailing specific resuscitation scenarios and hypothetical guidelines regarding management of premature infants.

RESULTS
Response rate was 69%. Nine percent of neonatologists would never reject a parental resuscitation request. Ninety-one percent would reject a resuscitation request at 21 weeks, 67% at 22 weeks, and 11% at 23 weeks. Fifty-three percent would refuse a nonresuscitation request at 24 weeks, 96% at 25 weeks, and 100% at 26 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS
The majority of neonatologists would not resuscitate infants born at < or = 22 weeks and would resuscitate infants born at > or = 25 weeks gestational age despite parental wishes to the contrary.


OBJECTIVE:To compare the application of the improved hemolysis test and the routine in vitro test tube me_ thod in compound Shenshao injection.METHODS:Compound Shenshao injection was studied through adoption of the hemolysis test stipulated by the pharmacologic empirical methodology.RESULTS:Improved in vitro hemolysis test can determine the concentration of compound Shenshao injection more accurately.CONCLUSION:It is advisable that improved in vitro hemolysis test be adopted to evaluate the hemolysis safety of newly-developed Chinese medicines for intravenous injection.


Parabolic trough can be considered the state of the art for solar thermal power plants thanks to the almost 30 years experience gained in SEGS and, recently, Nevada Solar One plants in US and Andasol plants in Spain. One of the major issues that limits the wide diffusion of this technology is the high investment cost of the solar field and, particularly, of the solar collector. For this reason, since several years research activity has been trying to develop new solutions with the aim of cost reduction. This work compares commercial Fresnel technology with conventional parabolic trough plant based on synthetic oil as heat transfer fluid at nominal conditions and evaluates yearly average performances. In both technologies, no thermal storage system is considered. In addition, for Fresnel, a Direct Steam Generation (DSG) case is investigated. Performances are calculated by a commercial code, Thermoflex® , with dedicated component to evaluate solar plant. Results will show that, at nominal conditions, Fresnel technology have an optical efficiency of 67% which is lower than 75% of parabolic trough. Calculated net electric efficiency is about 19.25%, while parabolic trough technology achieves 23.6%. In off-design conditions, the gap between Fresnel and parabolic trough increases because the former is significantly affected by high radiation incident angles. The calculated sun-to-electric annual average efficiency for Fresnel plant is 10.2%, consequence of the average optical efficiency of 38.8%, while parabolic trough achieve an overall efficiency of 16%, with an optical one of 52.7%. An additional case with Fresnel collector and synthetic oil outlines differences among investigated cases. Finally, because part of performance difference between PT and Fresnel is simple due to different definitions, additional indexes are introduced in order to make a consistent comparison.© 2011 ASME


Thermal history calculations have been made on a once-molten earth model: the earth is assumed to have undergone extensive melting in its early stage and the formation of the core and mantle with a proto-crust completed 4.5×109 years ago. Necessary magnitude of thermal conductivity, including the radiative components, for such an earth to cool to the present state has been obtained in terms of the opacity value as 1-3cm-1. If the earth's mantle became to consist of large crystals after the recrystallization, such a small value of opacity may be compatible with the results of thermal and optical measurements.


We have shown (Presta et al., Cell Regul., 2:719–726, 1991) that a long‐lasting interaction of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) with endothelial GM 7373 cells is required to induce cell proliferation. In the present work, we have investigated the interaction of 125I‐bFGF with GM 7373 cells, its pathway of internalization, and its intracellular fate under the same experimental conditions previously utilized to assess the mitogenic activity of the growth factor. Cell cultures were incubated with 10 ng/ml 125I‐bFGF for 2 h at 4°C. Then, cells were shifted to 37°C without changing the medium. A rapid down‐regulation of high affinity sites, paralleled by a rapid internalization of 125I‐bFGF, was observed during the first 1–2 h at 37°C. After 6–8 h, also low affinity sites down‐regulate. This was paralleled by a continuous internalization of 125I‐bFGF and by a slow disappearance of the growth factor from the culture medium. This suggests that GM 7373 cells activate, when exposed to bFGF for a long period of time, a late internalization pathway mediated by low affinity sites. This hypothesis was supported by the following experimental evidence: 1) soluble heparin inhibited the prolonged internalization of 125I‐bFGF and its binding to low affinity sites with the same potency; 2) treatment of GM 7373 cells with heparinase, which removes most of the low affinity sites, also inhibited the prolonged internalization of 125I‐bFGF internalized via low affinity sites was partially protected from lysosomal degradation. This was the case also when 125I‐bFGF was internalized in the presence of soluble heparin, suggesting that the complexes bFGF—surface glycosaminoglycan and bFGF—soluble heparin are maintained during the internalization of the growth factor. Moreover, the capacity of soluble heparin to inhibit the mitogenic activity of bFGF also when added to cell cultures several hours after the growth factor indicates that the requirement for a prolonged interaction of bFGF with GM 7373 cells in order to induce cell proliferation might be related to the late internalization of the growth factor via low affinity sites. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Type 1 metabotropic glutamate (mGlu1) receptors play a pivotal role in different forms of synaptic plasticity in the cerebellar cortex, e.g. long‐term depression at glutamatergic synapses and rebound potentiation at GABAergic synapses. These various forms of plasticity might depend on the subsynaptic arrangement of the receptor in Purkinje cells that can be regulated by protein–protein interactions. This study investigated, by means of the freeze‐fracture replica immunogold labelling method, the subcellular localization of mGlu1 receptors in the rodent cerebellum and whether Homer proteins regulate their subsynaptic distribution. We observed a widespread extrasynaptic localization of mGlu1 receptors and confirmed their peri‐synaptic enrichment at glutamatergic synapses. Conversely, we detected mGlu1 receptors within the main body of GABAergic synapses onto Purkinje cell dendrites. Although Homer proteins are known to interact with the mGlu1 receptor C‐terminus, we could not detect Homer3, the most abundant Homer protein in the cerebellar cortex, at GABAergic synapses by pre‐embedding and post‐embedding immunoelectron microscopy. We then hypothesized a critical role for Homer proteins in the peri‐junctional localization of mGlu1 receptors at glutamatergic synapses. To disrupt Homer‐associated protein complexes, mice were tail‐vein injected with the membrane‐permeable dominant‐negative TAT‐Homer1a. Freeze‐fracture replica immunogold labelling analysis showed no significant alteration in the mGlu1 receptor distribution pattern at parallel fibre–Purkinje cell synapses, suggesting that other scaffolding proteins are involved in the peri‐synaptic confinement. The identification of interactors that regulate the subsynaptic localization of the mGlu1 receptor at neurochemically distinct synapses may offer new insight into its trafficking and intracellular signalling.


Adhesive applicator manual action to distribute a mixed of at least two liquid adhesive components output may adhesives components, once mixed, produce a solid adhesive product, the applicator comprising: a) a mixing volume (66, 148) for mixing at least two liquid components adhesives; b) at least two distribution ducts adhesive components (59) to distribute separately corresponding flows adhesive components the mixing volume (66, 148), each flow a sense input component adhesive where sensory input adhesive components are arranged at an angle of at least 120 degrees, and also arranged to cause the flow of adhesive components collide with each other in the mixing volume (66, 148) in order to create a turbulent flow of the liquid components adhesives; c) an ejection mechanism (170); wherein the ejection mechanism sepuede used to apply a retrograde suction to act on and remove unwanted mixing volume (66, 148) solid adhesive product.


We describe the digital subsystem of a hybrid vision system. The digital processing includes feature extraction, projection of an object's model through a camera model, space-domain correlation of the model feature with the observed feature map, and a constrained solution that minimizes errors in the fit between modeled and observed features by using a gradient search routine. The digital processing refines the coarse information from the optical processor. Examples will be shown of the degree to which the digital system can refine the precision of the optical estimate and how the optical pre-processing can provide a starting pose for the gradient search, thus minimizing the likelihood of the process's catching on a local minimum in the cost function.


Twenty years from now, the built environment in a typical metropolitan area will look different. Mature urban neighborhoods and commercial districts will be redeveloped, while many suburban subdivisions and shopping areas--the focus of this article--will be designed along more traditional lines. Hybridization of land development is occurring at four levels: communities, commercial centers, individual streets and neighborhoods, and individual design elements. Many other design elements are being hybridized as well. Street patterns are an obvious example. Instead of numerous street connections associated with traditional urban grids or, conversely, the few associated with curved suburban streets, many new urbanist developments are now adopting hybrid networks that minimize through traffic and environmental impacts. At the same time, these new street patterns offer multiple routes to disperse traffic, shorten trips, and facilitate access by emergency and service vehicles. Public spaces and parking spaces are evolving as well, and so, too, are pedestrian facilities.


An annotated list of birds sighted by Rita Goranson. Included with this document is an article about waterfowl and a note about Loon plumage. This item was used as supporting documentation for the Iowa Ornithologists' Union Quarterly field report of spring 1995.


This study aims to analyze the role of local wisdom in building community participation in health development in Ujungjaya district of Sumedang Regency both the outcome and process of participation. Triangulation of interviews, observation, and documentation in data collection support qualitative research. Data processing procedure with display, reduction, conclusion and triangulation. The participation of community of Sumedang Regency both in the form of outcome and process from start of mind, energy, skill and social could happen because of local wisdom. Therefore, the increase of community participation in the activities of alert villages, health cadres and posyandu, local wisdom should be used as a driving force. To measure the success of participation and the process of implementation of community participation, the criteria and indicators of success not only refer to the quantity and quality of participatory output and processes but also pay attention to the achievement of the policy objectives and targets as well as the extent to which local wisdom was concerned.


Using personal narrative as a form of inquiry, this paper analyzes the possibilities of re/claiming epistemological grounds within racialized transnational spaces. Categories of race, nationality, and subject positions influence the legitimacies that are extended, withdrawn and or usurped within such transnational interactions. The paper examines the ways in which these interactions are performed and negotiated through my various identity positions that inevitably mark one in US higher education settings. Specifically it examines how identity, community and Blackness become imagined, redefined and performed in different spaces. Situated within US higher education settings, the paper pays particular attention to how my racialized subject position is interpreted and engaged with/in US and African research, academic and community sites. Within this paper I use my specific Third/First World transnational interactions to examine and theorize the politics, psychological intentions and outcomes of masked racialized ideologies that shape such interactions. The intention of this paper is threefold – to: (1) examine the complexities of transnational racial identity and politics; (2) trace the im/possibilities of being validated as intellectual worker and authentic Third/First World subject in the global politics of power and knowledge that shapes the transnational educational, research and community trajectory; and (3) theorize the possibilities and limits for using transnational racial identity and politics for building solidarity. This decolonizing writing project attempts to reveal and disrupt the ways in which imperialism constructs racialized Others within and beyond the west. It also shows how imperialism develops transnational citizenship that creates subjects who, for those in the west, believe that they can master and conquer the world and, for those in/from the colonies, are rendered into second‐class positions. Decolonization, therefore, needs to account for the interconnectedness of the west and the colonies as well as the transnational and complex interplay of subjugation, complicity and resistance.


A high fidelity cluster encryption transmission method for sea target detection is proposed. The disadvantage of relatively complex processors and slow encryption speed for software encryption on the ocean. The characteristics of information realtime and miniaturization in practical application can not be satisfied. This paper focuses on the fusion and encryption and coding of target information, Reliable and safe transmission of target information at sea can be achieved with high precision underwater acoustic detection module and high speed processor of FPGA and combined with RSA digital encryption algorithm. Finally, display in data terminal interface. Through simulation experiment, the test results show that the method collects the orthogonal vector underwater acoustic signal and boost underwater acoustic signal with zero time difference, and synchronized wireless transmission of signals to host computer by cluster encryption together with magnetic signals. The method can achieve high precision and high fidelity target information restoration.


In this paper, the combination of genetic algorithm and a new variable step-size algorithm for a second-order adaptive IIR notch filter is presented. The objective of the new algorithm is to optimize the filter coefficient. The results of computer simulation show that the new algorithm provides a good performance such as fast convergence rate, low mean square error and noise robustness. In addition, the new algorithm is also applied to cancel 50-Hz power line interference in the recording of electrocardiograms signal.


Limited data are available on health‐related quality of life (HR‐QoL) in pediatric stroke survivors. The aim of the present study was to assess HR‐QoL by self‐assessment and parent/proxy‐assessment in children and adolescents who survived a first stroke episode.


Trial access to online video collections under consideration by the CSU system / CSU Stanislaus. Collection of 32,000 videos based on the Films for Humanities and Social Sciences


: The present study reveals that a total number of 30 species of fishes belonging to 9 families and 20 genera were recorded during the present study. Cypriniformes as the most dominant order with 23 species followed by Perciformes 5 and Siluriformes 2 species of fish recorded. During the present study bio-indices such as Shannon Weiner index (H) range a value from 1.87-2.79 in most ecological site and has a maximum index in overall distribution of 3.12. Simpson Dominance index (D) value range from 0.06-0.15 site wise and overall with 0.05 if D decrease, increase in species richness and Simpson index of diversity with a value range from 0.85-0.84 in site and 0.94 overall distribution. Analysis of Relative Abundance (RA) of fishes in river Umngi were found to be categorized under Very Rare (VR) 67%, Rare (R)17%, Common (C) 10% and Rarest (Rt) 6%. As per IUCN a total of 24species were categorized under Least Concern, 5 species not assessed and 1 Vulnerable.


A coalition of property interests and politicians at local and central governmental levels promoted the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay "as a project that was good for the future of Cardiff". The welfare of the residents of the multi‐ethnic community Butetown played little or no part in the deliberations, and was not to feature in the mission statement of the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation. Instead Butetown became the target of negative narratives, which could only be countered by local initiatives built on the mobilization of the historical identity of the multi‐ethnic community that Butetown has always been. The Butetown History and Art Centre with its various activities forms the core of these culturebased bottom‐up redevelopment dynamics.


A thermodynamic model for haplogranitic melts in the system Na2O–CaO–K2O–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O (NCKASH) is extended by the addition of FeO and MgO, with the data for the additional end‐members of the liquid incorporated in the Holland & Powell (1998) internally consistent thermodynamic dataset. The resulting dataset, with the software thermocalc, is then used to calculate melting relationships for metapelitic rock compositions. The main forms for this are P–T and T–X pseudosections calculated for particular rock compositions and composition ranges. The relationships in these full‐system pseudosections are controlled by the low‐variance equilibria in subsystems of NCKFMASH. In particular, the solidus relationships are controlled by the solidus relationships in NKASH, and the ferromagnesian mineral relationships are controlled by those in KFMASH. However, calculations in NCKFMASH allow the relationships between the common metapelitic minerals and silicate melt to be determined. In particular, the production of silicate melt and melt loss from such rocks allow observations to be made about the processes involved in producing granulite facies rocks, particularly relating to open‐system behaviour of rocks under high‐grade conditions.


Background : Amoebiasis and schistosomiasis remain major public health problems in poor, developing countries with poor sanitary and water infrastructure. Disease surveillance provides necessary data for intervention programs. This study, therefore, determined the prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica and Schistosoma spp. and assessed associated risk factors in selected communities in the Ijebu-East Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Urine and stool samples were randomly collected from 123 people living in five communities in the study area. Stool samples were subjected to the Kato-katz method for the detection of E. histolytica cysts and Schistosoma ova. Urine samples were examined by filtration technique for the presence of S. haematobium eggs. Demographic and socio-economic data, and knowledge, attitude and perceptions of subjects to infection were assessed using a standard questionnaire. Results: The study revealed that only 7(5.7%) of the 123 study participants were infected with E. histolytica . Females (8.3%) were more infected than males (1.96%) (p>0.05), and the age group >51 years had the least prevalence (p>0.05) of E. histolytica infection. None of the assessed risk factors were significantly associated with infection. However, subjects that had watery stools had a significantly higher prevalence of infection (P<0.05). Schistosoma spp. infections were not detected in this study, but respondents' frequent contact with water bodies in their communities was shown. Conclusions : This study confirmed the presence of E. histolytica infection in Ijebu-East LGA, although at low prevalence. Health education is imperative to improve personal hygiene practices and prevent the transmission of these infections in the study area.


The partition function of a quantal spin system is expressed by that of the Ising model, on the basis of the generalized Trotter formula. Thereby the ground state of the d-dimensional Ising model with a transverse field is proven to be equivalent to the (d+ 1) -dimensional Ising model at finite temperatures. A general relationship is established between the two partition functions of a general quantal spin system and the corresponding Ising model with many-spin interactions, which yields some rigorous results on quantum systems. Some applications are given.


Melzter, D. (1975) 'The psychology of autistic states and of post-autistic mentality'. In Meltzer, D., Bremner, J., Hoxter, S., Weddell, D. and Wittenberg, I. Explorations in Autism. Strath Tay: Clunie Press. Tustin, F. (1972a) 'Psychotic depression'. In Autism and Childhood Psychosis. London: Hogarth. Tustin, F. (1972b) 'Early infantile autism and childhood schizophrenia as specific syndromes'. In Autism and Childhood Psychosis. London: Hogarth. Tustin, F. (1981) 'Awareness in autistic states'. In Autistic States in Children. London/New York: Routledge. Second revised edition, 1992. Tustin, F. (1986) 'The development of "I-ness"'. In Autistic Barriers in Neurotic Patients. London: Karnac. Second revised edition, 1994. Williams, D. (1992) Nobody Nowhere: The Remarkable Autobiography of an Autistic Girl. London: Transworld Publishers.


A helical peptoid bearing two distinct metal binding ligands at positions i and i+3 (Helix HQT i+3) enables the selective recognition of one or two metal ions depending on its environment, thus mimicking the unique recognition abilities of natural biopolymers.


But what does the term really mean? Is globalization a recent phenomenon, or do its roots penetrate deep into the past? Are technology and markets the key drivers of globalization? Is culture an impediment? Does globalization tend to favor advanced economies over developing nations, or the other way around? Has it always expanded, or has it unfolded in a cyclical pattern? Who has opposed globalization, and why? What do past trends suggest about the future?


The effects of different amount of irrigation and time of irrigation on seed yield and quality of tall fescue hundog 5(Festuca arundinacea cv. Hundog5) under the same rate of fertilizer applied were studied. The results showed that from returning up to harvest, the fertile tillers/m\+2 were the highest and spikelets per fertile tiller, the florets per spikelet and seeds per spikelet were near to the highest number under irrigating four times(returning up period, jointing period, tasseling period and grouting period),and its potential seed yield, showing seed yield and actual seed yield were the highest. In seed growth early stage(the seventh day after perk anthesis),standard germination, accelerated aging germination, seedling length and seedling weight under irrigating four times were the highest.In seed growth late stage, the effects of irrigation on the seed quality of tall fescue were not significant.


This paper was motivated by the strong need of preparing instructional materials in electronic support (CD-Rom and others) or its diffusion through information nets (internet), as well by the scarcity of research studies, under a constructivist view, in the area of Earth sciences. We tried to inves tigate whether there is a relationship between the type of hypertextual organization of information and the resulting type of learning and/or reasoning, attempting to understand which are the best solutions in terms of hypermedia documents construction. In order to support theoretically our study we used the theories of meaningful learning and cognitive flexibility. Two hyperdocuments, constructed with similar contents but different organization (hierarchically and in network) were applied to a sample of 31 students (14 5o 16 years). In the construction of the hyperdocuments studies by Chi et al. on conceptual change were also taken into account. Research findings suggest that hierarchical hypertextual structure seems to favor subordinate and superordinate meaningful learning associated to descriptive and classificative reasonings. However, the network hipertextual structure, while favoring cognitive flexibility, might stimulate progressive differentiation and integrative reconciliation promoting combinatoria l learning associated to interpretive and explicative reasonings. Key-words: hipertextual structure, Earth sciences, meaningful learning.


Compared with the non-redundant inertial navigation system (INS), the redundant INS (RINS) has more error parameters and the system is more complicated. The calibration methods for non-redundant INS are unable to be adopted by RINS directly. Meanwhile, the inner lever arm effect of accelerometers is more severe in RINS, which is not supposed to be ignored in the error compensation. To solve the problems above, this paper proposes a novel calibration method for accelerometers in RINS. First, the paper analyses and models the bias, scale factor error, installation angle error and lever arm error. Based on the error model, two Kalman filters are designed to estimate the error parameters. The calibration is divided into two steps: the bias, scale factor error and installation angle error are calibrated by the static multi-position experiment first, and then the lever arm error is calibrated by the rotation experiment. Experiments prove that the proposed method can effectively calibrate the deterministic error of the accelerometers, that the estimation errors are controlled at 1 × 10−4 level. Further, the paper studies and optimizes the turntable rotation scheme in the lever arm error calibration experiment, and proposes the design principles for the rotation scheme. Comparing with the casually designed scheme, the optimized procedure can improve the accuracy by almost an order of magnitude as well as the time-consumption being shortened by 40%. The design principles are applicable to the other inertial navigation systems to improve the calibration accuracy and reduces the time cost.


This study employed Benoit's functional theory of presidential discourse to examine the incidence of attacks, acclaims, and rebuttals on four politically aligned blogs and six politically nonaligned blogs. Results suggest that candidates use their own blogs for acclaims, political parties use their blogs to level attacks against opponents, and rebuttals on blogs are rare. These findings are contrasted with the entries on six politically nonaligned political blogs directed toward specialized audiences, such as conservatives, liberals, independents, women, African Americans, and Christians. Candidate blogs contained significantly more acclaims than did nonaligned blogs, but both were similar with respect to incidence of attacks and rebuttals.


Objective: The association of coarctation of aorta (CoA) and coronary artery disease is rare. To formulate single stage safe strategy for redo repair of aortic coarctation and simultaneous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Case presentation: The present case report describes a 55-year-old male, who underwent a redo safe single -stage surgical repair for both pathologies. CoA was tackled by ventral aortic repair followed by coronary artery bypass grafting under cardiopulmonary bypass. The vascular prosthesis was anastomosed to descending thoracic aorta in end-to-side fashion, and it was located posterior to the inferior vena cava through the oblique sinus but inferior to the superior vena cava and curved around the right atrium, anastomosed to ascending aorta. Conclusion: Ventral aortic repair through a midline approach is our preferred technique for redo surgical repair of CoA. Dual arterial cannulation ensures adequate perfusion of both upper and lower extremities.


Wastewaters come from domestic and / or institutional activities and present characteristics of the water use functions to which it was submitted. This work aimed to characterize quantitatively and qualitatively wastewater from the Experimental Farm of UninCor, in Tres Coracoes / MG and propose a decentralized treatment system. Thus, conducting on-site visits to observe how activities users spend and their frequency can identify quantitatively as wastewater, according to NBR 7229/1993, leak in L.day-1. Observed activities, wastewater approved for use of toilets, washbasins, kitchen, washing machine, general cleaning and operating room of the veterinary hospital, are displayed with a high payload due to the large amount of blood and make high fat content. A sample for qualitative characterization of wastewater was collected and analyzed in the laboratory according to the procedures established in the Standart of methods "(APHA, 2005). The variables evaluated were organic materials (BOD5 and COD), pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity, chlorides and ammonia. A flow of 1,500 L / day of effluent from UninCor's Experimental Farm was quantified. For the treatment of these effluents and the agreement with the results for qualitative characterization of the COD / BOD ratio has a value of 1.77, making possible a proposal for biological treatment for these wastewater. Concluded after the quantitative and qualitative characterization of UninCor Farm wastewater treatment, it will be a decentralized system, by means of a septic tank followed by wetlands..


The water vapor line broadening and shifting coefficients for the H217O lines in the 8,550-9,164 cm-1 spectral region induced by oxygen pressure are measured with a spectral resolution of 0.01 cm-1 at room temperature by a Fourier transform spectrometer. Measurements were carried out using Bruker IFS-125M Fourier spectrometer with a 60 cm multipath cell, with a path length of 1920 cm. In order to prepare the H217O vapor, liquid water enriched to 86% with H217O produced by Sigma-Aldrich Company was used. H216O and insignificant amount of H218O make up the remaining 14% of the sample. The volume of the cell is 2.765 L. The absorption spectra of the H217O isotopologue were recorded at pressure of 23 mBar and oxygen pressures of 0, 171, 422 and 655 mBar.


Certain superstring theories contain new exotic particles and couplings active at low energies. We show that they offer a solution to a long-standing problem simultaneously having naturally small Dirac neutrino masses and vanishing Majorana masses. It is therefore consistent with (a) a lack of observation of neutrinoless double ..beta.. decay, (b) a possible evidence for nonvanishing neutrino mass, and (c) a recently proposed solution to the solar neutrino problem.


The invention discloses a high-precision measuring device for measuring joint type equipment member bar deformation. The high-precision measuring device for measuring joint type equipment member bar deformation is a real-time error compensation device aiming at solving the problem that an armed lever member bar deforms elastically in the measuring process of the geometric dimension of a parallel dual-joint coordinate measuring machine. The high-precision measuring device for measuring joint type equipment member bar deformation is based on the laser detection principle and combined with the elastic deformation of an electronic circuit detection armed lever relative to a reference beam, and on-line correction of the error is achieved. The high-precision measuring device for measuring joint type equipment member bar deformation is easy to assemble, convenient and fast to use, light and handy in structure and easy to operate. By means of the high-precision measuring device for measuring joint type equipment member bar deformation, the measuring error of the parallel dual-joint coordinate measuring machine can be well corrected, and therefore measuring precision is improved.


The enthalpies of transformation of pure, well-characterized samples of brookite and anatase to rutile were determined by solution calorimetry in a 3Na2O·4MoO3 melt at 971 ±2 K. The experiments gave the following results: brookite→rutile, ΔH°971= -0.17±0.09 kcal mol−1; anatase → rutile, ΔH°971= -0.78±0.20 kcal mol−1.


Sketch comedy and crosstalk are two popular types of comedy. They can relieve people's stress and thus benefit their mental health, especially when performances and scripts are high-quality. However, writing a script is time-consuming and its quality is difficult to achieve. In order to minimise the time and effort needed for producing an excellent script, we explore ways of predicting the audience's response from the comedy scripts. For this task, we present a corpus of annotated scripts from popular television entertainment programmes in recent years. Annotations include a) text classification labels, indicating which actor's lines made the studio audience laugh; b) information extraction labels, i.e. the text spans that made the audience laughed immediately after the performers said them. The corpus will also be useful for dialogue systems and discourse analysis, since our annotations are based on entire scripts. In addition, we evaluate different baseline algorithms. Experimental results demonstrate that BERT models can achieve the best predictions among all the baseline methods. Furthermore, we conduct an error analysis and investigate predictions across scripts with different styles.


In the present study, vibration analysis of a three-layered cylindrical shell is performed whose inner and outer layers are composed of functionally graded materials whereas the middle one is assumed to be of isotropic material. This formation of a cylindrical shell influences stiffness modulii and the resultant material properties. The shell problem is formulated from the constitutive relations of stresses and strains with the displacement deformations and they are taken from Love's thin shell theory. This problem is transformed into the integral form by evaluating the expressions for the strain and kinetic energies of the shell. Rayleigh-Ritz method is employed to solve the shell dynamic equations. Vibration characteristics of these cylindrical shells are investigated for a number of physical parameters and configurations of the fabrication of shells. The axial modal dependence is approximated by the characteristic beam functions that satisfy the boundary conditions. Results evaluated, show good agreement with the open literature.


In order to ensure three-phase grid-connected inverter output voltage symmetry under unbalanced grid voltage, an improved control strategy is proposed in this paper. The proposed control strategy includes power, voltage and current three loops. The complex coefficient-filter (CCF) is used to obtain the positive and negative sequence of unbalance output voltage and current during the grid faults. By calculating output power of the inverter, an improved P+-f and Q+-U droop control strategy is designed to adjust droop curve real-timely. In order to improve the stability of parallel three-phase inverter system, the virtual impedance is further applied. The simulation and experiments results of a 1kVA three-phase grid-connected inverter verify the feasibility of the control strategy.


A short Bibliographical Note, and the extensive chapter notes grouped at the end of the book, indicate that the author has made diligent use of the extensive body of published sources, primary and secondary, that pertains to his subject. In addition he has used a number of important collections of private papers in various libraries and in the Public Archives at Toronto and Ottawa, although few public records in the archives were exploited. Factual mistakes appear to be few in number. On page 120 the London district court house in 1804 is placed in the town of London (which did not then exist) instead of in Charlotteville. One wonders that no mention is made of the Niagara and Detroit Rivers Rail Road Company and its unsuccessful contest wffh the Great Western Company for the building of the first railroad across the peninsula. But these are minor criticisms. Mr. Johnston has produced a wellwritten and scholarly book which should rank high on the list of county histories, and be useful to students of the national scene.


The essay analyses the principle,the architecture and the main functions of the simulation software of NS_2,aiming at how to use NS_2 in experimental teaching of computer network.That is,building a virtual network enviroment to assist comptuter network teaching by exploting NS_2;analysing comprehensively the result of the simulation software by means of various methods of data analysis;having a statistical analysis of the track data of the network by Gnuplot construction software.It is demonstrated that the system of the simulation software,which plays an important role in experimental teaching of computer network,provides for students the platform of operating,observing and analysing,as well as stimulate students to develop exploratory learning activities.


Introduction.Before the Philosophy - Understanding the Films.1. Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole: Knowledge, Reality, and the Pit of Skepticism.2. Mind and Body in Zion.3. Are Sentient Machines Possible?.4. There is No Spoon: Does matter really exist?.5. Virtual Bodies: The Social Construction of Race and Gender in the Matrix.6. The Problem is Choice: Control, Free Will, and Causal Determinism.7. How to Really Bake Your Noodle: Time, Fate, and the Problem of Foreknowledge.8. Smith's Moral Challenge.9. De-Cyphering Right and Wrong.10. Morpheus and the Leap of Faith.11. Existentialism for Sentient Programs.12. The Tao of the Code.13. Overcoming Our Own Matrix.EXTRAS.Cast of Matrix Characters.Matrix Glossary.Philosophy Glossary


In this paper, I argue that the key innovation of Agent-Based Economics is not the introduction of the individual agent as an ontological object, but the fact that the economy is modelled as a process. I propose a formal language to express economic models as processes. This formal language leads to ABCE, a modelling platform for Agent-Based Economic models. ABCE's core idea is that the modeller specifies the decisions of the agents, the order of actions, the goods and their physical transformation (the production and the consumption functions). Actions, such as production and consumption, interactions and exchange, are handled automatically by the modelling platform, when the agent decided to do them. The result is a program where *the source code contains only economically meaningful commands*. Beyond the decisions and the setup, ABCE handles everything in the background. It scales on multi-core computers and cloud computing services, without the intervention of the modeler. ABCE is based on python, a language which is characterized by highly readable code.


Clustering is high on the agenda of policy makers these days. Much of the attention has stemmed from the apparent success of firms linked together in a Porterian mould in specific regions. Hence the range of examples from the traditional industrial districts in Italy, the innovative milieux in France and Switzerland, and Silicon valley in the USA. The clusters agenda has moved on from consideration of spatial agglomeration issues to discussions on the convergence of technologies, skills, and resources, learning and knowledge, and interconnectedness between disparate industries resulting from convergence and learning opportunities. In the complex web of dynamic socialization and technological sophistication that characterizes clusters, a relatively new player, the Internet, has started to redefine cluster-based interconnectedness. Paradoxically, the Internet both challenges the role of space and geography in clusters and reinforces the value of human interaction between customers and suppliers, buyers and producers, and between consumers and sellers in defined spaces. The 'net' effect is often the creation of a new space of virtual interconnectedness for both physical buying and selling and intangible value generation in a 'new economy'.


For the 2000- and 4000-Mw systems studied, nuclear power is economically attractive over a wide range of assumed alternative fossil plant costs. In optimum system expansion patterns, nuclear savings occur for fossil fuel costs above 25 cents per million Btu in the range of normal fossil plant costs. There is an added economic incentive to nuclear power in larger systems because of the better economics of large nuclear units relative to fossil units. Nuclear power can contribute most to low total system power cost when it is combined in a mixed pattern expansion with some form of low-cost peaking generation. For a given system, the economic unit size for nuclear units is larger than for fossil units. In competition with fossil units, the low incremental fuel costs of nuclear units can result in heavier loadings and higher lifetime capacity factors. (auth)


The purposes of this study were to determine the extent to which anxieties are created among student teachers by assigning Negro or white student teachers to cooperating teachers of the opposite race, and to analyze the implications of the anxiety on white and Negro student teachers for teacher education institutions interested in the optimum adjustment of student teachers.


A highly efficient disulfide rebridging strategy for the modification of monoclonal antibodies with substituted divinyltriazine linkers is reported. The reaction proceeds efficiently under mild conditions with near stoichiometric quantities of linker. This method of conjugation yields serum stable antibody conjugates with a controlled payload loading of 4.


The human fetus is normally warmer than its mother. The principal route of fetal heat dissipation is through the placental circulation. We developed a technique that is noninvasive to the fetus to record the fetal skin and maternal uterine wall temperatures, from which we derived the temperature difference. We have established a range of normal values (mean temperature difference 0.24C) and present some preliminary data. The results show a correlation between changing temperature and baseline fetal heart rate (r = 0.628, P less than .001) and the influence of contractions and epidural analgesia on these measurements. Measurement of the fetal-maternal temperature difference during labor may help detect abnormal umbilical-placental blood flow, resulting in fetal distress, and may help distinguish sinister from iatrogenic fetal tachycardias. Our technique provides the first simple means of recording this basic fetal variable.


This study aims to examine and determine the effect of independent variables, namely ROA, ROE, DER, and firm size on the dependent variable, namely stock returns. This research is associative research. The population in this study is a company listed in the Compass 100 index in 2015-2017. The number of samples from this study is 195 companies. Sampling was done using purposive sampling method. The method of analysis carried out in this study is multiple linear regression analysis using classical assumption test, and hypothesis testing. The results showed that ROA, ROE, DER and firm size had a significant effect on stock returns. Partially ROA, ROE and company size have a significant effect on the positive direction of stock returns, and DER has a significant effect on the negative direction of stock returns.


The online control of torque by Magneto-Rheological (MR) brake through MR Fluid makes an attractive option to replace the conventional disc brake. The torque provided by the MR brake depends on the magnetic flux generated on the MR fluid by the electromagnet. However the magnetic flux generated in a MR brake depends on the thickness of the casing, properties of MR fluid and material property of the MR brakes. Extensive work has been performed on improving the magnetic properties of MR fluid. However no work has been performed yet, to understand the thickness of the casing required for generating higher magnetic flux on MR fluid. Therefore in the present work, the dependence of casing thickness on the generation of magnetic flux on MR fluid region is studied using ANSYS software. Detailed electro-static analysis has been performed by varying the thickness of the casing and the magnetic flux at the MR fluid was evaluated. Based on the obtained results, MR brake having the desired thickness was developed. The generated magnetic flux values were validated with the reading obtained from Gauss meter. The obtained results are presented.


To improve the enterpri's competitive force, our enterprises should make great efforts in management innovation to change the passive to the active. This article discusses the management innovation of our enterprises from three aspects. The purpose is to provide reference for the enterprises which will carry out management innovation or which are innovating now.


Abstract Chinelo Okparanta's novel, Under the Udala Trees, offers possibilities for a multi-sensory engagement that goes beyond an ordinary textual reading. This essay focuses on the concept of the soundscape and what it constitutes in Okparanta's novel. It examines how Okparanta employs rural and church soundscapes to articulate the concept of sociability, construct, and deconstruct space. Through a sonic reading of the novel, the essay demonstrates that a focus on soundscape not only allows us to unravel complexities often ignored in an ordinary textual analysis but also extends possibilities of reading what would otherwise be considered as a schematic text with a predictable plot that is intentionally crafted to highlight the novel's morality. The essay employs a sonic reading that goes beyond an analysis of audible sounds and human voices to include an examination of inaudible sounds mediated by the "more-than-human world."


The choice of an algorithm comes down to a question of efficiency, which is a measure of complexity of an algorithm. This paper addresses the questions of how to measure and compare the complexities of different algorithms. The aim of the study was to analyze and to comparing the complexities of tree search algorithms using software metrics approach to discover the most efficient programming language for implementing the tree search algorithms. Implementations of the algorithms were carried out using C, C++, Pascal, Visual BASIC, and Java programming languages. Complexity appraisals of the algorithms were carried out after the analyses and it was discovered that the choice of programming language affects the complexity of the tree search algorithms. The results showed that Pascal is the most efficient language for implementing Breadth-first algorithm, Java is the best for Depth-first, Java or Pascal is the best for Depth-limited while C is the best programming language for implementing A-star tree search algorithm. Visual BASIC is the worst language for implementing the entire search algorithm. It was further revealed that the entire codes are structurally and logically simple.


Objective.  We evaluated the hypothesis that higher levels of total daily physical activity can eliminate the increased mortality rate associated with overweight and obesity.


In this paper, third-order compact and fourth-order finite element methods (FEMs) based on simple modifications of traditional FEMs are proposed for solving one-dimensional Sturm-Liouville boundary value problems (BVPs). The key idea is based on interpolation error estimates. A simple posterior error analysis of the original piecewise linear finite element space leads to a third-order accurate solution in the L2 norm, second-order in the H1, and the energy norm. The novel idea is also applied to obtain a fourth-order FEM based on the quadratic finite element space. The basis functions in the new fourth-order FEM are more compact compared with that of the classic cubic basis functions. Numerical examples presented in this paper have confirmed the convergence order and analysis. A generalization to a class of nonlinear two-point BVPs is also discussed and tested.


The microleakage at the interface between the metal infrastructure and the veneering part of the fixed partial dentures are a common problem of aesthetic dentistry. It is possible to use the method of laser microspectral analysis for investigations of microleakage at the metal-veneering material interfaces in fixed partial prostheses. The laser microspectral analysis device LMA-10 (Carl Zeiss, Jena) was used equipped with a diffraction spectrometer PGS-2 (Carl Zeiss, Jena). Different fixed partial dentures were used to determine the microleakage between the metal infrastructure and the veneering material. The distribution of chemical elements at interface infiltration was investigated, making a series of craters and establishing the spectra of the vapours emitted from the craters. Data was gathered in various tables of chemical elements showing the quality and the quantity of microleakage. The laser microspectral analysis is a punctual method of analysis, which allows to investigate small quantities of materials of around 0.1 μg. This method allows to establish the content of atoms and molecules and to perform semi-quantitative and quantitative analysis. By this method it is possible to establish trace elements, i. e. with concentration of ppm (parts per million).


Background information. Spherulites are multi‐lamellar lipidic vesicles that can encapsulate biomolecules and may be used as carriers for drug delivery. STxB (Shiga toxin B‐subunit) is known to bind the glycosphingolipid Gb3 (globotriaosyl ceramide), which is overexpressed by various human tumours. After Gb3 binding, the toxin enters the cytoplasm via the retrograde route, bypassing the degrading environment of the late endosomes/lysosomes. STxB is non‐toxic and has been identified as a promising tool for drug delivery. So far, applications have relied on direct coupling with therapeutic agents. In the present study, we have investigated the functionalization of spherulites by STxB and the intracellular trafficking of these structures.


For nonexperts to get consistently high quality results in color printing, computer power can be used to supplement the operator's judgment, which is at present indispensable. In a method originally developed at MIT for gravure printing, input images are scanned, displayed on a TV monitor, and then edited in terms of their appearance rather than with respect to ink amounts or dot percentages. The edited appearance varibles are converted to ink amounts in a lookup table. The relationship between the original colors and the scanner output signals, as well as the relationship between the edited appearance variables and the corresponding ink amounts, must be accurately characterized. The fact that the scanner, display, and printer gamuts are usually quite different is a complication that must be addressed for good results. The gravure system used a display that predicted the output page apppearance very accurately. For desktop publishing, a less expensive method is used involving a library of reference images known to print correctly on the given printer. If the user image is adjusted to match the reference image overall, it will also print acceptably.


Survey and responses Current and future potential practice were investigated by direct contact with the persons responsible for scientific activities within each laboratory. The forms were completed and data were entered in a non-identifiable manner. All HFEA listed centres (n = 95) were contacted by letter and 32 responded on the section on assisted hatching. A number of the answers involved multiple replies, so distributions rarely amount to 32, and few are exclusive analyses.


Print concept knowledge, as measured by Sand and Stones tests, and oral language receptive vocabulary, as measured by forms L and M of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary test (PPVT-R), of 103 kindergarten schildren were investigated in November and May. The children were interviewed individually by the investigator at both testing periods. It was hypothesized that the two major variables would show a significant positive correlation as would their gain scores. Significant correlations were found at both testing periods. The gain scores, however, were not correlated. It was concluded that knowledge of oral and printed language are interrelated in their development. -- It was also hypothesized that the two major variables and their gain scores would be significantly affected by the secondary variables, school entrance age and sex. Results of F tests revealed that knowledge of print concepts was significantly affected by sex at the final testing period, with girls scoring higher. Oral language receptive vocabulary was significantly affected by school entrance age at both testing periods, with the older children scoring higher. Gain scores of the major variables were not significantly affected by sex or school entrance age. It was concluded that boys may lack valuable preschool experiences with print due to society's sex-role standards. -- Results of Clay's Sand and Stones tests were analyzed in comparison with Day and Day's (1978) results of kindergarten children in Texas. Agreement was found in the developmental sequence of concept patterns. This study supported the Day and Day conclusion that success with all print concepts was not a prerequisite for reading and that many advanced print concepts could be acquired during the learning-to-read process.


Abstract A climatological study of mesoscale convective complexes (MCCs) during 1983–1985 over the western Pacific region (WPR), using full-disc, enhanced infrared satellite imagery from the Japanese Geostationary Meteorological Satellite is presented. The results indicate that MCCs are common in the WPR and display many of the same characteristics as those found in the Americas. The systems are nocturnal and tend to form over or in the immediate vicinity of land. Cold-cloud shields in the Americas last for about 10 h while WPR shields last about 11 h. The cold-cloud-shield size distribution is similar to that of the Americas, with most systems exhibiting areas between 2 × 105 and 3 × 105 km2. Seasonal distributions of WPR systems are also similar to that in the Americas. Specifically, the frequency of midlatitude systems peaks in late spring and early summer while low-latitude MCCs are distributed uniformly throughout the warm season. As with western systems, WPR MCCs occur in preferred zones. Climatolog...


Objective To observe the curative effect and security of Xinhuang tablet combined with Minocycline in treatment of acne.Methods 120 cases with acne were randomly divided into two groups. The treatment group were given oral minocycline,hydrochloride capsules and Xinhuang tablet,the control group were given minocycline. at the same time,both groups used Adapalene Gel and treated 6 weeks.Before and after the treatment at second week and sixth week,counted skin lesions,curative effect and adverse reactions were observed. Results For the second week treatment and sixth week treatment,the clinical efficacy of treatment group were significantly higher than the control group( P 0. 05). Conclusion Xinhuang tablet combined with Minocycline treatment of ordinary type acne has fast and good curative effect.


Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate antimicrobial activity of the various extracts of Callistemon Salignus leaves.Method: Callistemon Salignus leaves were extracted in hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and water and their antimicrobial activities were examined against few selected microorganisms including B.subtilis, S. aureus, M. luteus, S. marcenscens, P. aeruginosa, B. megaterium, E. coli, P. vulgaris, Yeast,A. niger and R. oligoporus using cup plate method.Results: Water extract of Callistemon Salignus leaf showed activity against B. subtilis and S. aureus only. Methanol extract gave the highest zone of inhibition against P. aeruginosa where as minimum zone of inhibition was found against S. aureus and yeast. B. megaterium and yeast were found to be highly susceptible towards ethyl acetate and hexane extracts, respectively whereas A. niger and B. subtilis were found to be least susceptible against ethyl acetate and hexane extracts, respectively. Hexane extract showed the highest activity against yeast among the tested microorganisms.Conclusion: The study confirms the possible antimicrobial potentiality of the leaf extract of Callistemon Salignus.


The aim of this document is to understand the spatial transformation of the everyday sphere, based on certain socio-cultural preconceptions and conditions. The physical changes and symbolic transmutations in the interior space of the Mayan vernacular house is analysed as well as the constant gradual changes occurring on his land and in the wider rural environment. This work was developed in the state of Yucatan, Mexico, during the days set apart to celebrated the dead, a time when, according to local tradition, the souls of the deceased return to visit the earth.The transformations in the spaces, dynamics of use and processes of appropriation and assignment of meaning, as well as people's behavior and social roles observed over those days, are presented as inversely proportional to their corresponding physical dimensions, frequency of use and social representation in the community.


In explaining why, until very recently, food and eating have received less analytical attention from sociologists than from scholars in neighboring disciplines, Alan Beardsworth and Teresa Keil suggest that, paradoxically, one reason may be that the very centrality of eating to human life has made it relatively invisible to the principal analysts of society. Whether or not this is so, Sociology on the Menu has been designed to make visible the complex of activities and relationships surrounding the human food system, from production to consumption, as well as to highlight the contributions made by sociologists to our understanding of its social and cultural dimensions. This is not a modest pair of objectives but objectives that are mostly attained by a book that manages to sustain a certain anaytical density while successfully avoiding the arid, encyclopedic quality of most textbook introductions. Organized into four parts, the book consists of 11 chapters that break down fairly evenly between those areas that would be obligatory in any attempt to reasonably cover such a field (i.e., "The Origins of Human Subsistence," "The Making of the Modern Food System," "Eating Out," and "Changing Conceptions of Diet and Health") and those areas that seem to have been animated by the particular intellectual and political commitments of the authors (a strong emphasis on gender inequality throughout, and specific chapters on "Food Risks, Anxieties and Scares," "Dieting, Fat and Body Image," and "The Vegetarian Option"). Each chapter includes some critical recapitulation of the recent sociological research related to the specific topic, and data from the United Kingdom tends to predominate (while this very well may be the result of more and better research on the relationship between food and society in the United Kingdom, it may also have something to do with the nationality and institutional location of the authors). A chapter devoted to the principal theoretical perspectives offers a useful review and assessment of the contributions made not only by the most well-known theorists (such as Lévi-Strauss, Mary Douglas, Jack Goody, and Norbert Elias) but also by those like Stephen Mennell and Claude Fischler, who may be less widely known outside the field of food and foodways but whose work has been very important in helping us to understand it. Although the authors assert "change and ambivalence" as the thematic thread linking all of the chapters, this does not really contribute very


Lagerpeton chanarensis forms part of an important Triassic fauna, produced by the lower part of the Ischichuca Formation (Chañares Formation of Romer and Jensen, 1966), Los Chañares locality, La Rioja, Argentina, which corresponds to the Chañarian Reptile Age, correlated with the European Anisian (Bonaparte, 1978, 1982b). This faunistic association includes therapsids, both cynodonts and dicynodonts (Romer, 1972c; Bonaparte op. cit.), and thecodonts pertaining to two suborders (Erythrosuchia and Pseudosuchia, sensu Bonaparte, 1982a) and five families: Cerritosauridae, Rauisuchidae, Lagosuchidae, Ornithosuchidae and Sphenosuchidae, represented by several genera (Bonaparte, 1978). The importance of studying this fauna rests in the fact that Middle Triassic thecodonts, particularly from the lower part of this period, represent an important evolutionary moment in the history of archosaurs, since they attempted a great adaptive radiation that was the basis of later evolution of the group. The thecodonts of the Los Chañares fauna had achieved an evolutionary level immediately preliminary to the appearance of adaptive types such as saurischians and ornithischians, which are not recorded until the Upper Triassic, and which dominate the faunas that they comprise until the end of the Mesozoic. The significance of the Los Chañares fauna increases when it is observed that the worldwide panorama of Middle Triassic thecodonts is particularly restricted. As to the aforementioned, a better understanding of these Argentine forms can help clarify the systematic and evolutionary interpretation of the group, providing a guide to the


3-Phenylisoxazol-5-one (1) reacts with hippuric acid and ethyl orthoformate in acetic anhydride to give 4-(5-keto-2-phenyloxazolin-4-ylmethylene)-3-phenylisoxazol-5-one (4) in a single step.


Although transfer learning has been shown to be successful for tasks like object and speech recognition, its applicability to question answering (QA) has yet to be well-studied. In this paper, we conduct extensive experiments to investigate the transferability of knowledge learned from a source QA dataset to a target dataset using two QA models. The performance of both models on a TOEFL listening comprehension test (Tseng et al., 2016) and MCTest (Richardson et al., 2013) is significantly improved via a simple transfer learning technique from MovieQA (Tapaswi et al., 2016). In particular, one of the models achieves the state-of-the-art on all target datasets; for the TOEFL listening comprehension test, it outperforms the previous best model by 7%. Finally, we show that transfer learning is helpful even in unsupervised scenarios when correct answers for target QA dataset examples are not available.


Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic fungal infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue caused by one of several dematiaceous (naturally pigmented) fungi. Predominantly, an infection of the humid tropical and subtropical regions, chromoblastomycosis does occur in India, and its diagnosis is usually delayed due to the low level of clinical suspicion. Here, we present the case of a 65-year-old male who presented with gradually progressive raised lesions over the right thigh of 8 years' duration with a history of sustaining injury through horse tail. Dermatological examination revealed a well-defined, erythematous, verrucous plaque on the lower third of the right thigh and knee with ill-defined advancing margins. Histopathological examination of skin biopsy and potassium hydroxide preparation of material scraped from the surface of lesions showed characteristic "sclerotic bodies" of chromoblastomycosis, and the patient was started on anti-fungal drugs to which he responded very well with regression of most of his lesion.


Social network services (SNSs) serve numerous users with large amounts of information of different kinds. On an SNS, information will propagate on a user network, which is represented as a complex network in general but can be reformed as a tree by using the direction of propagation and allowing duplication. Our goal in this study was to show the propagation of a particular kind of information on an SNS, as well as the clustering of a similar propagation scheme for each user. For this goal, we used elastic tree pattern matching to calculate the similarity of two tree structures. A set of users are propagated from source to destination in the same or similar way, and these users are given information from a similar source. We also aimed to find the high-influence person who is at the start of the same or similar propagation, which will indicate that she/he is the moderator of a topic. We used tumblr data for the experiment. Findings indicated that the similar part of each information propagation tree on tumblr was too small for the clustering propagation pattern.


We compare simulated ground motions for a Mw 7.15 scenario rupture of the Puente Hills fault beneath downtown Los Angeles to predictions of empirical ground motion prediction equations developed through the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) project. We find that the simulated ground motions across a wide range of frequencies attenuate slightly more rapidly with distance than those from the empirical model. The average residuals of the simulated event (i.e., event terms), which are expressed in natural log units, are negligible for spectral periods < 1.0 sec but are positive to approximately 0.5 at long periods (approximately 25 sec). Those values of event terms are generally within the scatter of event terms from actual earthquakes used in the development of the NGA equations.


Abstract An experiment was conducted with commercial egg production hens to determine whether or not ethoxyquin enhanced the utilization of xanthophyll during digestion. Egg yolk color was depleted by feeding a diet with white corn for 28 days. The addition of 1.1 and 2.2 mg of ethoxyquin to the water for 14 days resulted in a significant linear increase in excitation purity of egg yolk. The dominant wavelength of egg yolk color was not affected by the ethoxyquin. The increase in excitation purity indicated that ethoxyquin enhances xanthophyll utilization during the digestion and absorption process.


The Oxford First Rhyming Dictionary is organised alphabetically and contains rhyming words, rhyming families, rhyming sounds, phonics, poems and illustrations. It is the ideal tool to build children's phonic and spelling knowledge in a fun way. It also helps children to write their own poetry, rap, slogans, songs or rhyming stories or simply to extend their vocabulary. The 60 original poems compiled by the well-known children's poet, John Foster, are illustrated with quirky artwork throughout. Tested with children and teachers. This book is a must for every home and classroom.


A silicon microelectromechanical systems microphone is described that detects sound pressure gradients. The diaphragm consists of a stiffened plate that rotates around a central axis in response to sound pressure gradients. The motion of the diaphragm is converted into an electronic signal through the use of interdigitated comb fins that enable capacitive sensing. Measured results show that the microphone achieves a substantially lower low-frequency sound pressure-referred noise floor than can be achieved using existing dual miniature microphone systems. Measured directivity patterns are shown to be very close to what is expected for sound pressure gradient receivers over a broad range of frequencies.


Short term deterministic sea wave prediction (DSWP) offers the promise of considerably extending the operational envelope of many marine activities such as aircraft launch and recovery onto vessels, cargo transfers, station-keeping roles and shuttle tanker activities. A short term prediction model first builds a description of the local sea surface profile then appropriately shifts this in time and space to the prediction site. It is shown that using the discrete Fourier series description conventionally proposed for DSWP implies assumptions about spectral resolution which can give rise to large errors in the shifting process. By reformulating the traditional linearised gravity wave equations it is possible to remove the need for discrete approximations to the shifting process and thus entirely avoid the consequent errors. The resulting shifting algorithms are shown to involve little increase in computational overhead compared to the fully discretised DSWP methods, and thus do not significantly detract from the available prediction times.


We consider the Cahn-Hilliard equation on a manifold with conical singularities. We first show the existence of bounded imaginary powers for suitable closed extensions of the bilaplacian. Combining results and methods from singular analysis with a theorem of Clément and Li we then prove the short time solvability of the Cahn-Hilliard equation in Lp-Mellin-Sobolev spaces and obtain the asymptotics of the solution near the conical points. We deduce, in particular, that regularity is preserved on the smooth part of the manifold and singularities remain confined to the conical points. We finally show how the Allen-Cahn equation can be treated by simpler considerations. Again we obtain short time solvability and the behavior near the conical points.


"We know that the PTT takes on very important tasks both in the First World War and the War of Independence. The PTT has played a very critical role in telegraph communication, especially in the First World War and the War of Independence, behind the front and back. Naturally, in the early years of the Republic of Turkey it was an institution of great importance. Following all the changes that took place during the history of the Republic, PTT developed itself and was renewed. One of the most important functions of the institution today is domestic money transfer. The most important reason for this monopoly in the field is the prevalence of PTT businesses throughout the country. In this way, my citizen has the advantage of sending money and withdrawing money from our closest business. In addition, our customers can perform all kinds of financial transactions in PTT establishments. Apart from all these, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKU) sent a Christmas greeting card to the families of 7 thousand students who registered this year."


Taking the advantage of high-throughput single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping technology, large genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have been considered to hold promise for unraveling complex relationships between genotypes and phenotypes. Current multi-locus-based methods are insufficient to detect interactions with diverse genetic effects on multifarious diseases. Also, statistic tests for high-order epistasis (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\geq 2$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="guo-ieq1-2527648.gif"/> </alternatives></inline-formula> SNPs) raise huge computational and analytical challenges because the computation increases exponentially as the growth of the cardinality of SNPs combinations. In this paper, we provide a simple, fast and powerful method, named DAM, using Bayesian inference to detect genome-wide multi-locus epistatic interactions in multiple diseases. Experimental results on simulated data demonstrate that our method is powerful and efficient. We also apply DAM on two GWAS datasets from WTCCC, <italic><italic>i.e</italic>.</italic>, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Type 1 Diabetes, and identify some novel findings. Therefore, we believe that our method is suitable and efficient for the full-scale analysis of multi-disease-related interactions in GWASs.


The present study of the manuscripts of the Knights arose out of the preparation of a text of the scholia for a forthcoming edition. The completion of a collation of all the manuscripts for the scholia seemed a suitable occasion for extending the inquiry and re-examining our manuscript tradition in both text and scholia, especially as the scholia in a manuscript, provided they come from the same source as the text, can often reveal facts that might escape an investigator who confined himself to the text. The scholia are far greater in bulk than the text, and scribes are often less careful and so more self-revealing in scholia; so that both from the quantitative and qualitative points of view scholia are important for the student of the tradition.


As part of the Marie Stopes UK team, I believe that every woman has the right to choose whether and when to have children. But for millions of women worldwide, that right has just been snatched away.


Lipocortin 1 production and hydrocortisone A report from Bath (one ofthe authors is called Godolphin-a name steeped in Cornish history) showed that the production of the anti-inflammatory protein lipocortin 1 by plasma and peripheral blood leucocytes was greatly increased by hydrocortisone. It is clear that therapeutic doses of the drug can rapidly increase the concentration of this anti-inflammatory protein. The implications are considerable. Lancet 1990; 335: 1416-8.


................................................................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................IV CONTRIBUTIONS OF CANDIDATE AND SUPERVISORS ............................................... V LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.....................................................................................................VI LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... XII LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. XV CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 RATIONALE OF THESIS ............................................................................................... 1 1.2 STRUCTURE OF THESIS............................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 2: OBESITY EPIDEMIOLOGY...................................................................................................... 4 2.1 TEMPORAL TRENDS IN FATNESS IN SOUTH PACIFIC POPULATIONS............. 4 2.2 DIFFERENCES IN FATNESS BETWEEN PACIFIC AND NON-PACIFIC GROUPS........................................................................................................................... 5 2.3 EXPLANATIONS FOR HIGH FATNESS LEVELS IN PACIFIC ISLAND POPULATIONS ............................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 3: MEASURES OF FATNESS....................................................................................................... 14 3.


Although Asian-Pacific Americans have a long history in American society and represent the fastest growing minority group, they remain a relatively "unknown" and "obscure" population. In particular, while ethnic myths about Asian women continue to persist, ranging from the erotic Oriental beauty to the evil dragon lady to the obedient wife and mother, the complexities of the lives of Asian-Pacific American women remain a mystery. Such myths create a number of barriers to understanding the problems of their everyday life including coping and stress, financial worries, family conflict, and drug use. This article represents the first ethnographic account of Asian-Pacific American women drug users, and specifically explores their onset and patterns of drug use and coping strategies in relation to the competing cultural claims on their lives.


Hydrogenated amorphous carbon films have been prepared from CH4, H2, and Ar mixtures by plasma‐enhanced chemical‐vapor deposition. Films with various physical properties were obtained from different deposition conditions. The deposition parameters varied included H2 flow rates, Ar flow rates, total pressures, substrate temperatures, and power densities. Effects of each deposition parameter on the microstructures and the kinetics involved in the formation of each film are discussed. In addition, relations between deposition conditions, microstructures, and the optical properties are reported.


Based on the theory of atomic and molecular statics, the reasonable dissociation limit for the ground state of TiO is derived.The structural optimization and the frequence analysis for the ground state (X 3 Δ r ) of TiO molecule are performed using different density functional theory methods or MP2, MP4 methods with the different basis sets. By comparison with the above calculation results, the conclusion is obtained that the B3LYP method with 6-311+G basis set for O atom and 6-311+ +G ** basis set for Ti atom is the most suitable for the geometric structure, vibrational frequence and dissociation energy calculation. The analytical potential energy curve for the ground state (X 3 Δ r ) of TiO molecule is scanned using the chosen method, and then fitted to the Murrell-Sortie function using least squares fitting. Finally the spectroscopic constants related to the analytical potential energy function are calculated. All calculation results are in good agreement with the experimental data.


This article concretizes the concept of «Monitoring the dissemination of innovative pedagogical experience of the winners of priority national project «Education».


The key to safety and reliability, when specifically speaking tapered journal bearings, is a matter of bearing design. Design has further an impact on the life-cycle cost. SKF has maintained a key focus in the conceptual development of new bearing designs with the ability to achieve the increased load capacities required by the global customer base. These tapered journal bearings are also known in Australia as 'package bearings" and in North America as "cartridge bearings"; in some other places they are called "wheelset roller bearings". The compact tapered bearing init (Compact TBU or CTBU) concept, when utilized, will require less maintenance costs, will provide higher safety and reliability and is pre-equipped with advanced component technologies that allow railway operators time to react if severe bearing conditions occur while in service.


Inventory represents a huge proportion of the cost of construction. Inventory typically ordered in a week or maybe in the month prior to demand leading to uneconomical inventory on construction site. Construction inventory represents the cost to purchase, cost required to store and insure, cost to protect against theft, & cost incurred when inventory becomes obsolete. Major construction industries are attempting to adopt various business initiatives so as to remain alive incoming marketplace. The evaluation and selection of vendors is a very important task in any industry. For initiating the to adopt the most efficient ways so as to make sure the smooth flow of the execution of the project, thereby avoiding delay and cost overrun of projects. The paper is focusing on the efficient method for supplier selection for inventory and its procurement procedure, to avoid delay in construction projects. Also explained about extra cost spent on the procurement of different construction materials from various vendors, and remedies for the same by using a case study.


Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a very important link in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes to the environment and the formation of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. The mechanical and biological methods of wastewater treatment in WWTPs do not completely remove the resistance genes from sewage. The genes responsible for extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) are very common in the family Enterobacteriaceae that colonize the human digestive tract and are abundant in wastewater. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of genes encoding beta-lactamases in the wastewater and sludge samples collected from two WWTPs in the Polish regions of Warmia and Silesia and from the river water upstream and downstream from the WWTPs. The wastewater samples were passed through polycarbonate membrane filters, whereas the sludge samples were homogenized, and genomic DNA was extracted. The blaTEM, blaOXA and blaSHV genes were detected by means of standard PCR. The most prevalent gene was blaTEM which occurred in all samples, including the treated wastewater. The blaOXA gene was also frequently detected in all samples from the WWTP in Silesia. The blaSHV gene was least prevalent in the tested samples. These results indicate that wastewater is a hotspot for resistant bacteria. Beta-lactamase genes are not eliminated through the mechanical-biological wastewater treatment methods, and they can spread to other environments, thus increasing the pool of antibiotic resistance genes around the world and creating epidemiological risks.


Objective To enhance the study of theoretical knowledge,skill training,and assessment among cardiovascular nurses and improve their first-aid capacities.Methods Proper training measures were taken in light of the disease characteristics,nature of work,basic requirements of work,and necessary competencies of nurses in the cardiovascular department.Results Through intensive training and repeated demonstration and practice,the first-aid capacities of nurses were improved.Conclusion Strengthening the training,learning,and basic skill training for nursing staff is an effective way to improve their first-aid capacities.


Purpose: This study aimed to analyze risk factors, compliance with health protocols, and the COVID-19 screening test among mall employees at Yogyakarta city, Indonesia.Methods: We analyzed secondary data from a cross-sectional study in Yogyakarta City from May-August 2020. The population was all employees at all malls in Yogyakarta City who participated in the screening rapid test zero survey conducted by the Yogyakarta City Government. Results: Bivariate analysis showed a significant relationship between ensuring proper mask install (OR = 6.33, p = 0.023, 95% CI = 1.03-38.81), applying a minimum distance of > 1 meter when outside home (OR = 27.34, p = 0.001, 95% CI = 3.01-248.32) and applying a minimum distance of > 1 meter when at work (OR = 22.25, p = 0.003, 95% CI = 2,45-201.65) with the reactive COVID-19 results. Multivariate analysis showed the most dominant variable associated with the reactive rapid test results is not keeping a minimum distance of > 1 meter when outside the house with a value of (OR=11.91, p=0.047, 95% CI = 1.03-137.37). Conclusion: The risk factor for Covid-19 for employees and mall staff is physical distancing > 1 meter when outside the house.  The city administration should keep working with mall managers to tighten health protocols in malls and other public areas to prevent Covid-19 transmission.


This paper examines speech quality and Internet protocol (IP) telephony. Voice over IP requires specific treatment of the signals transmitted in order to avoid the problems reported by a study conducted by KPN Netherlands and reported at the ETSI-STQ workshop "Quality issues for IPtelephony" June 1999: A pilot study was organized in 1998/1999. The requirement was that the network quality should be better than global system for mobile communications (GSM), i.e. the subjective quality rating expressed in MOS (mean opinion score) should be >3.2. There were about 5,000 customers in the study. Problems were reported due to poor speech quality, echo, clipping, inaudibility and soft speech. Up to Forty-five percent of the users were very dissatisfied with the speech quality and 33 percent were not satisfied with the service. Replacement of the ordinary telephone is not possible using the technology that has been deployed there. It is important to note that all of the complaints were related to speech quality. Call-setup times and availability were of minor importance.


Three different extracts of Aloe barbadensis Miller leaves were evaluated for acaricidal activity against adult female of mites, Tetranychusurticae and Cenopalpuspulcher by spray bioassay. At 72 h after treatment the acetone extract showed the strongest acaricidal activity with LC 50 value of 105 ppm while, the LC 50 values for ethanol and water extracts were 322 and 366 ppm for T. urticae, respectively. LC 50 values were 80, 289 and 320 ppm at the same order for extracts against C. pulcher. The acetone extract was fractionated using GC-MS analysis to twenty-three fractions. Using LC 50 of acetone extract a reduction in longevity of adult females of both species occurredas 14.45 and 12.37 days for T. urticae and C. pulcher, respectively. While, control treatment was 20.27 and 16.18 days for T.urticae and C. pulcher, respectively. Acetone extract caused significant reduction on fecundity. Deterrent index were 43.61 and 31.29 % for T.urticae and C. pulcher, respectively. The obtained results indicated that A.barbadensis has a great potential as a botanical acaricide for T. urticae and C. pulcher control. Conclusively, from these results of the present study show great potential and must be more advanced for developing Aloe extracting based mite control products.


Objective — to study the dynamics of the incidence of tuberculosis among residents of the Sumy region for the years 2007—2022 and to draw the attention of general practitioners to the current problem of our time.
Materials and methods. The incidence of tuberculosis among residents of the Sumy region for 2007—2022 was analyzed. Two groups were distinguished. The first study group (2007—2014) included 5,037 people, the second (2015—2022) — 4,218.
Results and discussion. In the period of 2007–2014, the number of tuberculosis cases was 1.2 times higher than in 2015–2022 (p > 0.05). The highest incidence was registered in 2011 — 57.2 cases per 100,000 population, while the lowest was observed in 2020 and 2021 (32.9 and 33.4 cases per 100,000 population, respectively). The mortality rate decreased from 23 per 10,000 population in 2007 to 5.2 in 2022. On average, the mortality rate in the first group was 18.2 per 10,000 population, and in the second group it was 9.7 (p < 0.05 ). From 2007 to 2022, children accounted for 3.2 % of the total tuberculosis cases, with the highest occurrence among teenagers (15—17 years) comprising 120 individuals (1.3 %). The highest number of drug-resistant tuberculosis cases was registered in 2015 (234), while the lowest number (83) was registered in 2022. Prior to 2011, no cases of resistance were reported in Ukraine. Among the drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis, the most common type is multi-resistant.
Conclusions. During the period of 2007 to 2014, the average incidence of tuberculosis was 54.5 cases per 100,000 population. In 2020, the incidence of tuberculosis has halved compared to previous years, possibly due to the COVID-19 epidemic. This decrease in incidence was accompanied by a decline in primary care referrals, which in turn affected tuberculosis diagnosis. The mortality rate from 2015 to 2022 was significantly lower, only half of what was observed during 2007 to 2014 (p < 0.05). The majority of patients were individuals of working age who were not employed, accounting for 55.5 and 53.3 % in groups 1 and 2, respectively.


The goal of this project is to examine the potential for using optical spectroscopy techniques, such as UV-Visible Spectroscopy and Laser Fluorescence Spectroscopy, for special nuclear materials accountability applications for the UREX+ and other solvent extraction processes. To increase the inherent proliferation resistance of the solvent extraction process, it is necessary to develop on-line techniques to directly measure the concentrations of special nuclear materials in-process. By providing on-line materials accountability for the processes, the potential for covert diversion of the materials streams becomes much more difficult to implement. On-line monitoring of material streams will also allow for improved plant operation, as well as serving as an additional safety measure for plant operations. Laser fluorescence and UV-Visible spectroscopy have been demonstrated for use in determining the concentration of the actinides at the laboratory scale. These processes are adaptable to flow-thru applications, and should be highly radiation-tolerant, which suggests that they should be applicable to the spent fuel treatment environment. Work Proposed for Academic Year 2005-2006, Goals, and Expected Results: Year 1: Impact of process parameters Year 2: Adaptation to flowing systems Year 3: Impact of radiation on detection systems and optics Funding Profile: Academic Year: 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 Total (K$) $147.5 $157.7 $163.4 UNLV TRP: Optical Spectroscopy Proposal Background and Rationale: One of the primary challenges facing any advanced fuel cycle is the proliferation resistance of that fuel cycle, especially the potential for illicitly diverting nuclear material from the fuel cycle for other purposes. The key step in almost all of the fuel cycles currently under evaluation in the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative is the chemical separation and partitioning of used nuclear fuel, either as the starting point for treating existing used fuel, or as a key step in the recycling and destruction of the higher actinides. Any partitioning of the actinides has the potential for increasing the proliferability of the fuel cycle unless the process or plant can be designed to prevent, or at least detect, the diversion of nuclear material from the process. To address this concern, the AFCI has proposed that any new separations plant include in its design an integral system capable of providing materials accountability for the actinide elements with less than 0.1% uncertainty. It is proposed that optical spectroscopic techniques, such as Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and Laser Fluorescence Spectroscopy (LFS), would allow for the on-line, real-time analysis of the actinide elements for a solvent extraction process. UV-Vis and LFS are quantitative analytical techniques that have been used for measuring the concentration of the actinides under laboratory conditions, and are easily adaptable to multiple sampling geometries, such as dip probes, fiber-optic sample cells, and flow-through cell geometries. This research project will evaluate the application of these analytical techniques to the on-line, real-time measurement of the actinide elements in the process streams of a solvent extraction process, with particular attention to the UREX+ and PUREX processes. Researchers will evaluate the impact of process conditions on the sensitivity of these techniques, providing plant engineers with the information they will be able to use to evaluate these techniques for inclusion as part of the materials accountability system for future plant designs. In UV-Vis spectroscopy, the sample is illuminated by a continuous spectrum (from the UV through the Visible wavelengths). The transmitted light is measured, allowing the determination of the absorbance of the light as a function of wavelength. The wavelength of the absorbance is dependant on the electronic structure of the absorbing atom, and is proportional to the concentration of the absorbing element in the sample. For LSF, the sample is illuminated at a single wavelength, which is absorbed by the target atoms in the sample. The energy absorbed is reemitted through fluorescence. The wavelength of the absorbance, and the fluorescence-response, is again dependant on the electronic structure of the absorbing atom, and is proportional to the concentration of the absorbing element in the sample. In addition to the potential materials accountability applications, UV-Vis Spectroscopy and LFS can provide information regarding the speciation of the actinides in the process stream (oxidation state, complex formation, etc.). This information will help elucidate the behavior of the actinides under process conditions, improving our understanding of the chemical interactions underlying these separations processes. Research Objectives and Goals: The research objectives are: • To evaluate the potential for utilizing UV-Visible and laser fluorescence spectroscopy to determine actinide concentrations under process conditions • To examine the impact of process environment on the sensitivity of UV-Visible and laser fluorescence spectroscopy to the actinides, including the impact of o Acid concentration o Solvent concentration o Ligand concentration (TBP, AHA) o Iron o Fission Products o Competing Actinide elements • To examine the impact of process conditions on the sensitivity of UV-Visible and laser fluorescence spectroscopy for the determination of actinide elements, including o Flow rate o Process temperature o Plant Geometry (pipe diameter, shape, etc.) • To examine the potential impact of radiation fields on the spectroscopy systems


This paper examines the coordination of a financial reporting system and a contracting system in a principal-agent model with managerial reporting incentives and moral hazard. The manager privately observes both economic earnings and the available reporting discretion. A tradeoff between the firm's financial reporting system and the contracting system determines whether the owner will find it optimal to induce the manager to report the firm's economic earnings or to manage the reported earnings by exercising reporting discretion. We refer to the former as "truthful reporting" and the latter as "earnings management," where earnings management incorporates any accruals-based manipulation of economic earnings by the manager. We find that the principal uses the contracting system primarily to deal with moral hazard over managerial


The author claims that the recently published department of transport consultation paper on cycling will do little to help British cyclists and describes methods adopted in the Netherlands. Britain's cycle planning is poor in its attention to detail and in the amount spent on cycle routes. The Dutch government gives an 80 per cent grant for the construction of cycle routes compared with a grant of 50 per cent for roads. The relative merits of cycle paths and cycle lanes are discussed. One of the main disadvantages of cycle lanes is that, since they are denoted only by road markings, they are frequently blocked by parked vehicles. The greatest danger to cyclists occur when turning at junctions. Several solutions to this problem are discussed. At Groningen, a 5 metre-deep refuge has been constructed where traffic turning right must wait for cyclists riding in their own path. In all Holland, traffic must give way when crossing a cycle lane to turn right. Left turns are more hazardous for cyclists than right turns and the main solution is a cyclist refuge in the middle of the road or traffic lights, which are sometimes operated by a transponder. Another solution is to provide a short cycle path at traffic lights where cyclists have to wait for the lights to change. (TRRL)


Nervous system involvement in Lyme disease was originally described as meningitis, cranial neuritis, and radiculoneuritis,1-3 but Lyme disease can also involve the brain parenchyma. We describe a child whose first manifestation of Lyme disease was an acute, focal meningoencephalitis with signs and symptoms such as fever, headache, slurred speech, hemiparesis, seizure, and CSF pleocytosis.
 CASE REPORT
 A 7-year-old boy was hospitalized Aug 27, 1985, because of hemiparesis. Six weeks prior to admission he had vacationed at Old Lyme, CT. There was no history of rash or tick bite. He had been well until eight hours prior to admission when fever and headache developed.


Purpose: To collect data from the initial evaluation of patients referred for a second opinion to a specialist pulmonary oncology clinic and compare these with the data of the re-evaluation (second opinion) conducted there to identify discrepancies in diagnosis, stage and therapeutic advice. Methods: Demographics and disease characteristics of 188 patients referred between January 2005 to December 2009 were collected from medical records, next to therapeutic advice. The data of both initial and second evaluations were compared with each other. Results: At time of referral, the (clinical/histopathological) diagnosis was known in 174 patients (92.6%) and the stage in 162 patients (86.2%). Forty-eight percent of the patients had received prior therapy and 73% a therapeutic advice. Next to data review, additional diagnostic procedures were performed in 68% of the patients. There were discrepancies between the initial and second opinion in diagnosis (17 patients, 9%), stage (24 patients, 13%) and therapeutic advice (70 patients, 37%). The second opinions led to a total of 91 discrepancies, 53 of these had a potential major impact on patient outcomes in terms of survival, morbidity and quality of life. For patients with advanced lung cancer, the results were similar but the number of changed stages, therapeutic advices and discrepancies with a potential impact on patient outcomes were slightly higher (15%, 40% and 51% respectively). Conclusions: Lung cancer second opinions referrals led to significant discrepancies in diagnosis and therapeutic advice in a substantial number of patients. This might be translated in better (palliative) care.


Nanocarrier mediated therapy of gliomas has shown promise. The success of systemic nanocarrier-based chemotherapy is critically dependent on the so-called leaky vasculature to permit drug extravasation across the blood-brain barrier. Yet, the extent of vascular permeability in individual tumors varies widely, resulting in a correspondingly wide range of responses to the therapy. However, there exist no tools currently to rationally determine whether tumor blood vessels are amenable to nanocarrier mediated therapy in an individualized, patient specific manner today. To address this need for brain tumor therapy, we have developed a multifunctional 100nm-scale liposomal agent encapsulating a gadolinium-based contrast agent for contrast enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging with prolonged blood circulation. Using a 9.4 Tesla MRI system, we