The purpose of this article is to identify the role of international diplomacy in shaping the outer Space Traffic Management.The theoretical research methods were used in this paper – analysis, synthesis, abstraction and generalization.The article presents the potential possibility of not only gaining the public awareness in the area of space traffic management problems thanks to the international mandate of institutions such as the European Union (EU) or NATO, but also its attempt to indicate the role of European institutions in shaping international security in the context of the development of space traffic management at the global level.Taking into consideration all potential space threats and military and non- military issues of building international security we can find straight links of complexity with the outer space environment and multilateral diplomacy. It sems to be the most efficient tool to build resilience in the environment of international institutions of strategic status to establish space situational awareness of key importance for future global defence and deterrence. Taking a huge intensity of space traffic management, especially with the example of the tensed conflict in Ukraine since 24th February 2022 we are witnessing the new era of space technological resolutions. The awareness should also concern the possibility of technical achievement, as the example done by Chinese or Russians that can destroy satellites in orbit in case of the possible conflict scenario in the space.

http://www.defencesciencereview.com.pl/pdf-153381-82624?filename=The role of eu public.pdf


ABSTRACT
 The development of the knowledge and skills of students can only be complete when the tenets of civic engagement are inculcated in them to respond to the needs of society. However, due to the weakening role of higher education institutions to develop a university ethos that stimulate civic interest and participation among students, it has become necessary to examine the aspects that enhance civic engagement. Using social cognitive and transformative learning theories, we examined six major aspects namely, civic knowledge, civic skills, civic culture, cultural diversity, social responsibility and students as partners to reveal the sets of relationships and antecedents that enhance civic participation among students. We relied on a mixed method approach for gathering and analysing data from students in an HEI setting in Ghana (n = 261). Results revealed that cultural diversity experience, social responsibility and students as partners represent important aspects for stimulating civic participation among students in HEIs.


The study assessed the differences in residents' level of accessibility to housing finance in Lagos metropolis with a view to providing information that could enhance housing delivery in the study area. The objectives of the research are to identify and examine sources of housing finance in different residential densities in Lagos metropolis, examine the socio-economic characteristics of residents in the study area, examine factors influencing the residents' level of accessibility to housing finance in the different residential densities and examine the relationship between residents' socio-economic characteristics and the level of accessibility to housing finance in the different residential densities of the study area. The multi–stage sampling technique was adopted for the study. A total of 535 sets of questionnaire were administered, out of which 475 copies were completed and retrieved, representing 88.8% return-rate. The study established that stable employment, possession of land and title to land, high level of financial involvement in housing projects are the major factors that significantly influence housing finance accessibility in the study area.


There was a statistical error that affects the "SEP Response" and "ERP Response" sections of the Results, the "Faster Reaction Time Is Not Due To Changes in the Latency of Somatosensory Processing" section of the Discussion, and the Conclusions. The corrected text can be found here: http://www.plosone.org/corrections/pone.0036407.001.cn.docx


The results of experimental and clinical investigations are evidence of the positive influence of magnetic-laser therapy on the restorative treatment of patients with ischaemic heart disease. The combination of the impact of laser therapy and magnetic field affords a possibility to increase the treatment effect. The effectiveness of medical rehabilitation of postinfarctic patients in early restorative period by the supravenous magnetic-laser illumination of blood has been shown. It has been ascertained, that the method of magnetic-laser therapy is economically profitable and perspective, conducive to the decline of atherosclerosis progression and decrease of the dosage of antianginal preparations.


It's a new trend for architecture designs that using virtual reality technology in BIM in the life cycle of construction but it still lacks of applications for integration management. GIS is a spatial information system in the professional form of data acquisition, processing, analysis, management and display. Because their application domains are different, the file formats are not compatible that needs the third-party software to integrated. This paper established their relationship by constructing BIM combined with GIS spatial technology in the management for pipelines the buildings. The student dormitories were used as the experimental examples. The ArchiCAD software were used to depict the buildings and pipelines with object attributes. Combined with Skyline TerraExplorer software, the pipelines within the buildings can be shown in three-dimensional space. This will enhance the effectiveness of building maintenance by providing intuitive interface of operation, query and management.


Books reviewed: Koven, Steven G. Public Budgeting in the United States: The Cultural and Ideological Setting Boris, Elizabeth T. and Steuerle, C. Eugene (Eds.) Nonprofits and Government Horowitz, Ruth Teen Mothers: Citizens or Dependents? Ferguson, Ronald F. and Dickens, William T. (Eds.) Urban Problems and Community Development Weiner, Edward Urban Transportation Planning in the United States: An Historical Overview Winston, Clifford and Shirley, Chad Alternate Route: Toward Efficient Urban Transportation


Introduction There is anecdotal evidence that obese individuals suffer from poor wound healing and frequent minor illnesses such as upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) cf. lean individuals. The altered metabolic, psychological and endocrine status of obesity may lead to immunodepression. Our group has investigated URTI in fatigued athletes and military personnel (Castell, 2003); one study focused on the obesity hormone, leptin which regulates energy balance, and its role in immune function. Decreased circulating leptin can lead to hyperphagia in some genetically obese individuals (O'Rahilly, 2002). However, human obesity is usually characterized by excessive leptin, rather than deficiency. The leptin functional receptor is found in all immune response cell types: thus leptin may link nutritional status, energy balance and immune function. Sleep loss, partial or chronic, is linked to decreased immune function. Obesity is a factor in obstructive sleep apnoea, which significantly reduces sleep duration and quality.


Advanced digital technologies broadly penetrate self-activities, such as algorithms, machine learning, or artificial intelligence. This trend is most evident on social media, where contents, attitudes and evaluative judgments meet on technology-driven platforms. Moreover, human networks also started communicating with social bots or conversational interfaces. All these challenges can trigger a redesign of self-concept via technology. Therefore, the paper investigates how social media machines affect self-concept-related academic research. First, pioneers of the field are presented. Second, the self-concept research in digital technology and social media is summarised. Topic networks illustrate critical research fields with the latest trends and future implications. Last but not least, we also investigate how emerging media phenomena affect academic trends in the case of social bots or fake news. The study aims to support the connected research in psychology, business, management, education, political science, medicine and media studies with an understanding of the latest trends. The additional goal is to highlight the potential of market-based research cooperation with academia supporting significant developments and funding.


A study was conducted to have a deeper understanding to the statistical characteristics of response of flexible riser in global dynamic simulation with irregular wave. If consider the numerical simulation model as a system and the input wave train as an excitation to it, the time histories of riser load should be the response of the system to the excitation. In order to look the effect of riser configuration and water depth, the study was conducted with three kinds of configuration: Free-Hanging, Lazy-S and Tethered-Wave, which were in different water depths. In order to examine the stationarity and ergodicity of riser response, 100 simulations were performed. Each simulation was performed with a 3-hours-long storm. Except the seeds used to generate the random phases to the wave components, the 100 irregular wave processes for each riser are completely the same. When the number of wave components is enough large, the input irregular wave train should be a stationary normal process. Since the software used for the dynamic simulation is high nonlinear, however, the time history of riser response may not be perfectly stationary normal process. Then different probability distribution theories were applied to fit these time histories and the most fitting one was found out for different riser responses and for different riser configurations. The ensemble autocorrelation functions and the time autocorrelation functions were also examined for both irregular waves and the riser responses. Then the study indicated that both irregular waves and riser responses as random processes should be ergodic stationary. Finally the cross correlations between the irregular waves and riser responses were also examined and it was found that the irregular wave for each riser should be jointly stationary with each response of the riser.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


In the paper, implementation of the Balanced Scorecard approach in make-to-order
manufacturing is proposed, not only for linking the strategy of the enterprise with operational planning,
and for measuring the level of strategy realization, but also to develop conditions which are investigated
during production order verification. This is one of the most important processes in make-to-order
manufacturing. Taking too many orders may cause delays in implementation and contractual penalties,
whereas taking too few orders results in unused system capacity, and the costs of lost opportunities.
In this paper it is proposed that the Balanced Scorecard approach is implemented in make-to-order
manufacturing. The application of key performance indicators (KPI's) can be used to connect an
enterprise's strategy and strategic goals, with monitoring and control of business processes during order
realization and conditions which have to fulfilled for the production order to be realized in the production
system. This solution can improve a decision-making process for accepting production orders for
realization. A set of production orders which allow the enterprise strategy to be achieved can be chosen.


Ignition delay times for 1% cyclopentane/O2 and 0.833% methylcyclopentane/O2 mixtures diluted by argon were measured behind reflected shock waves at pressures of 1.1 and 10 atm, with equivalence ratios of 0.577, 1.0, and 2.0, and in the temperature range from 1150 to 1850 K. Submechanisms for cyclopentane and methylcyclopentane were developed and added to the JetSurF2.0 mechanism for the kinetic interpretation of cyclopentane and methylcyclopentane oxidation chemistry at the high temperature region. Simulations with the model exhibit fairly good agreements with the measured ignition delay times of both cyclopentane and methylcyclopentane under all tested conditions. Cyclopentane shows longer ignition delay time than methylcyclopentane, especially for the fuel-lean mixture. Reaction pathways and sensitivity analyses were conducted to get insights into the oxidation process of cyclopentane and methylcyclopentane. Then, three factors are given for the effect of a cyclic ring and substitution of a methyl grou...


The 16S rRNA sequences from the Gluconobacter species G. asaii, G. cerinus and G. frateurii were determined and compared with homologous sequences from published databases and sequences of G. oxydans and Acetobacter species previously described [Sievers, M., Ludwig, W. and Teuber, M. (1994) System. Appl. Microbiol. 17, 189-196]. The Gluconobacter species have unique 16S rRNA sequences and exhibit sequence similarity values of 97.4 to 99.1%, corresponding to 36 to 14 base differences. The phylogenetic tree inferring methods (distance matrix, maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood) show that the species of Gluconobacter form a coherent, closely related cluster. Based on the distance matrix method including Rhodopila globiformis as an outgroup reference organism, Gluconobacter is well separated from Acetobacter.


the study. performed the statistical analysis, the protocol the first of the and managed literature searches. the analyses of the study and literature ABSTRACT Aim: To evaluate the toxicological effect of e-waste on cultured tilapia and identifying microorganisms associated with the tilapia aquaria polluted with soil from e-waste dumpsite. Study Design: The soil samples, water and BMRJ, aquaria polluted with soil from e-waste dumpsite differs from those from controls. The ash content (9.68 a ±0.08 - 14.29 e ±0.51) showed improvement over the control (9.49 a ±0.20). Rise in fibre content of the tissue (0.86 b ±0.02 - 0.98 c ±0.01) was also observed over the control. Deformities of the gills and livers of the fish were observed while the packed cell volume, haemoglobin, oxygen carrying capacity and the red blood cell of fish from polluted aquaria were lower than that of fish from unpolluted aquaria. Immunological responses were also observed. Conclusion: The histopathological and the haematological effects alongside the effect on the proximate composition and the microbial isolate variation in the soil samples and aquaria showed the adverse effect of the e-waste on the fish and its environment.


Combustion turbine projects have become a popular choice for providing a clean and efficient source of electricity. However, since combustion turbines generally produce low frequency sound energy, special siting considerations should be evaluated to minimize the potential for impacts on sensitive receptors, such as residences, churches, hospitals, and schools.


In this work, we prove that the growth of the Artin conductor is at most, exponential in the degree of the character.


This article analyzes how low-income state agreement has been produced for contemporary international climate change treaties. These treaties have dramatically weakened the legal framework for action on climate change, with likely unequal impacts in the poorest countries. The case demonstrates that theories of international cooperation are not fully equipped to explain the processes through which low-income states offer their consent to multilateral agreements. This article develops and applies to this case a neo-Gramscian framework of negotiated consent, which reveals three mechanisms in the production of low-income state consent: material concessions, norm alignment, and structural conditioning. This approach views international cooperation as a process of strategic power relations co-constituted by strong and weak states, in coordination with nonstate actors. As such, it is useful for bridging the agent-structure divide prevalent in cooperation theory and sheds light on the durable nature of inequality...


The purpose of this paper is to analyze the landscape pattern characteristic and its evolvement mechanism, and the problems in land use of Quzhou county , which is located in agricultural zone of Huang-Huai-Hai Plain. GIS and landscape pattern quantitative analysis methods were employed. The results indicate that landscape pattern of Quzhou county is strongly shaped by human activities and cultivated land is dominate of whole landscape. Meanwhile, irrigation land, dry land and rural residents play preponderant roles in Quzhou county. This pattern is a typical model in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, which has been resulted from land use type and higher population density. This method could offer new idea and method for assessment of sustainable land management. Finally, some suggestions are put forward to optimize landscape pattern and actualize sustainable land management, including strengthening landscape corridors construction and fulfill the target of sustainable land management, which include strengthening landscape corridors construction and promoting urbanization.


The critical role of the detection aperture size on the measurement of thermal lens signals has been explored by using mode-mismatched pump-probe thermal lens spectroscopy in pure methanol. Femtosecond laser pulses at 1560 nm are used to create thermal lens signal, which is simultaneously probed by a collinear 780 nm pulse train through a partially open aperture of different sizes placed after the sample. The trend in the time resolved thermal lens signals reveals that aperture size allowing less than half of the incident probe light is critical in providing accuracy of the thermal lens spectroscopy.


In animal cells, mitochondria are unique organelles in that they contain a genome of their own. There are small circular chromosomes in each mitochondrion that have genes for some of the mitochondrial proteins. But the mitochondrial chromosomes do not have genes for all the proteins found in mitochondria. The genes for the remaining proteins are found in the cellular genome which is found in the nucleus. So to get some functional mitochondria requires gene expression of both nuclear and mitochondrial genes. By the Evolutionary Metabolic Hypothesis of Cancer (EMHC), the main reason behind the cause of cancer, is increasing the amounts of Reactive Oxygen Species and intracellular inflammation which cause damage to the mitochondria. Increasing the inflammation will cause chaos in normal cells and causes the nucleus to send wrong messages instead of apoptosis, that means turning the oxidative phosphorylation into fermentation in cytosol. Therefore, by three-year study over cancer and normal cells, we have come to the conclusion that the real reason behind the cause of cancer is the increasing of ROS above the normal limits that causes butterfly effect inside the normal cells.


Titan's stratosphere has been observed in a superrotation state, where the atmosphere rotates many times faster than the surface does. Another characteristic of Titan's atmosphere is the presence of a thick haze layer. In this paper, we performed numerical experiments using a general circulation model to explore the effects of the haze layer on the stratospheric superrotation. We employed a semigray radiation model of Titan's atmosphere following McKay et al., which takes account of sunlight absorption by the haze particles. The phase change of methane or seasonal changes were not taken into account. Our model with radiation parameters tuned for Titan yielded a global eastward wind around the equator with larger velocities at higher altitudes, except at around 70 km, after 105 Earth days. Although the atmosphere is not in an equilibrium state, the zonal wind profiles are approximately consistent with the observed one. By changing the parameters of the radiation model, we found that the intensity and the location of the maximum zonal wind velocity highly depended on the optical thickness and the altitude of the haze layer, respectively. Analysis of our experiments suggests that the quasi-stationary stratospheric superrotation is maintained by the balance between the meridional circulation decoupled from the surface and the eddies that transport angular momentum equatorward. This is different from, but similar to, the so-called Gierasch mechanism, in which momentum is supplied from the surface. This structure may explain the no-wind region at about 80 km in altitude.


The scattering of cold neutrons from VH,, NbH,, and PdH, systems was measured at low hydrogen concentrations. The difference between the normalized intensity of the (< hydrogen system », and that of the pure host lattice, gives the neutron scattering distribution of the (( hydrogen probe )) in the host lattice. These intensity distributions show the expected high energy «local modes )) of the hydrogen impurity well above the maximum frequency of the host lattice. For VH, and NbH, in the a phase, a low energy neutron distribution of a few meV is also observed, close to the energy of the impinging neutrons. Apart from a certain distortion near the maximum host lattice frequency, in addition the host lattice frequency distribution can be (( seen )) through the hydrogen (( band modes ». For Nb, two pronounced peaks are found at energy transfers of 25.9 and 18.3 meV. They agree reasonably well with recent calculations of the frequency distribution of Nb.


Background: Fungal keratitis is a major ophthalmic problem. It is common in India due to the tropical climate and a large agrarian population that is at risk. Materials & Methods: The cases for the present study were selected from the patients attended in the Ophthalmology OPD and/or admitted in Ophthalmology IPD of a tertiary care teaching hospital, Durgapur (West Bengal) during the period from January 2018 to March 2019. Out of all corneal ulcer cases admitted during this period 100 cases clinically suspected to be due to fungal infection were selected for study. Conjunctival swab cultures were carried out from eyes of 10 clinically normal cases to study the fungal flora of conjunctival sac. Results: The fungal aetiology in the causation of corneal ulcer varies in relation to age, sex and occupation of the population and climatic condition of the region. The prevalence of mycotic corneal ulcer is more among male agriculture workers in the age group of 30-50 years. Keratomycosis occurs more frequently during the harvesting season of the year. Minor trauma to cornea acts as precipitating factor of keratomycosis mostly by the vegetative origin like paddy leaves straw, etc. Out of topical antifungal agents Fluconazole, Natamycin and Itraconazole, Fluconazole has edge over Natamycin and Itraconazole in treating mycotic corneal ulcer. Development of Fluconazole 0.3% ophthalmic formulation is an innovation in the management of keratomycosis. Fluconazole is more effective and safe than conventional azoles for treatment of ocular fungal infection, especially in the treatment of candida keratitis. 5% Natamycin ophthalmic solutions is effective against aspergillus, fusarium and cephalosporium. It is the drug of choice for Fusarium species. In comparison to Fluconazole, Natamycin is less effective in deep keratomycosis as its corneal penetration is poor. About 1% Itraconazole ophthalmic solution is effective against Aspergillus and other filamentous fungi which are more abundant in our surrounding. Conclusion: Instillation of herbal juice, antibiotic and corticosteroid drops in the corneal ulcer aggravate and enhance super added infection by fungus. Aspergillus is the commonest variety among the species of fungus from the mycotic corneal ulcer.


There has been a progressive development in the synthesis of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in power networks recently. ICT systems have become a vital part of every aspect of our daily lives and its integration into the electric power system has become paramount. ICTs support efficient incorporation of activities of all stakeholders of the power system to certify a more cost-effective and sustainable power system. The power system will exhibit intelligent monitoring and control, bidirectional communication between stakeholders and power system elements, security and safety of supply and self-healing qualities. However, asides from the vast benefits ICTs, their implementation within the power network come with some drawbacks which include element failures, failures due to interdependencies as well as vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks. These drawbacks can impact the reliability of the power network negatively. The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of ICTs integration on the reliability of power networks in terms of empirical validation of standard reliability indices. This study groups the findings into four perspectives, including the effects of cyber power interdependencies, ICT infrastructure failures, cyber-attacks and environmental conditions. As expected, results show that failures and maloperations in the ICT network have adverse effects on system reliability and careful considerations need to be made to dampen these shortcomings.


Hereditary thrombophilia is caused by various inherited disorders. Most lead to a familial tendency to recurrent venous, not arterial, thrombosis, usually at a young age, and with spontaneous onset. Most of the genetic defects known today affect the function of natural anticoagulant pathways, in particular, the protein C system. In this study, 602 (265 female, 337 male) patients with suspected thrombosis, arterial or venous, were referred to King Hussein Medical Center in Amman, Jordan. The prevalence of hereditary deficiencies of antithrombin (AT), protein S (PS), and protein C (PC) were studied over a seven-year period (1993–2000). Activated protein C (APC-R) resistance subjects were studied over four years (1996–2000). The mean age was 30 years in females and 42 years in males. A diagnosis was established in 22.4% (n = 135) of the subjects (20.3% venous, 2.1% arterial). Protein C deficiency was found in 3.8%, protein S deficiency in 2.3% and antithrombin deficiency in 1.4% of our sample group. An APC-R problem was seen in 23.0% (n = 89) of the surveyed population. Out of the APC-R patients, 75.0% had the DNA analysis of a factor V Leiden mutation present. Of the subjects found to have the mutation 87.0% were heterozygous and 13.0% were homozygous. These results confirm that APC-R, as a result of factor V Leiden mutation, is the most prevalent cause of thrombosis, and thrombophilia is related to venous, not arterial, thrombosis. Thrombophilia is the tendency toward recurrent venous thromboembolism usually occurring in young age. In recent years, important… ABBREVIATIONS: APC-R = activated protein C resistance; ASPCR = allele specific polymerase chain reaction; AT = antithrombin; CVA = cerebral vascular accident; DVT = deep vein thrombosis; FVL = factor V Lieden; N-APC-R = normalized activated protein C ratio; PC = protein C; PCR = polymerase chain reaction; PE = pulmonary embolism; PS = protein S.


Abstract In this article I provide a short critical review of the main contributions in this Text & Talk special issue. This afterword offers an anthropologically oriented reassessment of traditional views of writing and reading. After a discussion of some basic concepts such as readability, legibility, and visibility, a new model of the functioning of reading scripts is mentioned—a basically context-grounded, interpretive, and situated perspective. From the analysis of cross-cultural settings and situations provided by the articles in the issue, we learn that a new, flexible idea of reading as an integrated practice dismissing the notion of text as a given, context-free written sign structure can also be a key tool for a better understanding of contemporary communicative frameworks.


In this paper, a partition method for envelope based on fuzzy clustering is designed to obtain the typical operating points as well as the interpolation mechanism of gain scheduling according to the comparability of the dynamic characteristics and the maneuverability in some partial flight regions. In order to get the most reasonable partition result, the index of clustering evaluation is chosen which divides the flight envelope into several sub envelope with similar characteristics. This approach provides the basis for gain scheduling and reduces the difficulty of the design of the flight control law at the same time.


Excerpt A recent major advance in the diagnostic use of amylase in pancreatic disease is the so-called isoamylase analysis (1). Using various methods (chiefly electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing,...


Kanamycin (Km)-resistant bacterial populations in different soil, river water, sewage and pig manure slurry samples were enumerated and their prevalence in the total populations determined. About 350 Km-resistant Gram-negative colonies grown in the presence of kanamycin were identified using a rapid presumptive identification scheme. They were then screened for the presence of Tn5 and nptII sequences using hybridization of cells in dot blots, of Southern-blotted genomic DNA extracts and of PCR amplification products. Colonies reacting positively with a 2.7 kb probe of the central region of Tn5, or with a 925 bp nptII specific probe were primarily obtained from sewage samples, whereas fewer were obtained from pig manure slurry, river water and soil. However, in soil samples bacteria containing Tn5 or nptII were not found. Transposon Tn5 carrying the nptII gene could be unequivocally demonstrated in 3 isolates from sewage, identified as Aeromonas spp. (2x) and Escherichia coli. HindIII digests of chromosomal DNA obtained from these strains were cloned and shown to confer Km resistance to a sensitive E. coli strain. Further, various strains revealed the presence of nptII homologous sequences in a non-Tn5 background. The occurence of Tn5 and nptII in the samples was also assessed via PCR analysis of total community DNA extracts obtained from the aforementioned environmental samples. Evidence for the occurence of nptII was obtained for sewage, pig manure slurry, for 2 (out of 3) river water (Avon, Rhine) and 3 (out of 6) soil (Flevo silt loam, Westmaas silt loam, Ahlum rhizosphere) samples. Tn5 was not detectable via PCR in any of these environmental DNA extracts but it was found in Ede loamy sand and Flevo silt loam samples taken from a field microplot 2 and 4 weeks after release of a Tn5-containing genetically modified organism.


On the foundation of the original backpressure-based traffic light control algorithm, a distributed cooperative backpressure-based traffic light control method is proposed in this paper. The urban traffic network is modeled as a smart agent-controlled queuing network, in which the intersection agents exchange the queue length information and the selected activating light phase information of neighboring intersections through communications and determine the activating light phase at each time slot according to local traffic information. The improved phase pressure computation method considers the phase state of downstream intersections instead of only the queue length of the local intersections. Light phase switching coordination among adjacent intersections is achieved using the consensus-based bundle algorithm, in which the cooperative light phase switching problem is viewed as a task assignment issue among adjacent intersections. Simulation results illustrated that the proposed cooperative backpressure-based traffic light control method obtained better performance than the original backpressure-based and fixed-time traffic control methods.


We are in the era of data analytics and data science which is on full bloom. There is abundance of all kinds of data for example biometrics based data, satellite images data, chip-seq data, social network data, sensor based data etc. from a variety of sources. This data abundance is the result of the fact that storage cost is getting cheaper day by day, so people as well as almost all business or scientific organizations are storing more and more data. Most of the real data is multi-dimensional, non-uniform, and big in size, such that it requires a unique pre-processing before analyzing it. In order to make data useful for any kind of analysis, pre-processing is a very important step. This paper presents a unique and novel pre-processing method for multi-dimensional and non-uniform data with the aim of making it uniform and reduced in size without losing much of its value. We have chosen biometric signature data to demonstrate the proposed method as it qualifies for the attributes of being multi-dimensional, non-uniform and big in size. Biometric signature data does not only captures the structural characteristics of a signature but also its behavioral characteristics that are captured using a dynamic signature capture device. These features like pen pressure, pen tilt angle, time taken to sign a document when collected in real-time turn out to be of varying dimensions. This feature data set along with the structural data needs to be pre-processed in order to use it to train a machine learning based model for signature verification purposes. We demonstrate the success of the proposed method over other methods using experimental results for biometric signature data but the same can be implemented for any other data with similar properties from a different domain.


Cognitive radio (CR) is considered one of the most promising next-generation communication systems; it has the ability to sense and make use of vacant channels that are unused by licensed users. Reliable detection of the licensed users' signals is an essential element for a CR network. Cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS) is able to offer better sensing performance as compared to individual sensing. The presence of malicious users who falsify sensing data can severely degrade the sensing performance of the CSS scheme. In this paper, we investigate a secure CSS scheme, based on the Kullback-Leibler Divergence (KL-divergence) theory, in order to identify malicious users and mitigate their harmful effect on the sensing performance of CSS in a CR network. The simulation results prove the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.


The paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of bill of quantity,explores how to control and manage cost under the mode of bill of quantities,and mainly introduces the cost control and management methods at various engineering implementation phases,and finally puts out that has significant meaning for enhancing engineering cost management under the mode of bill of quantities.


The sharing characteristics of the Robin hood-like characters created in the ancient Chinese plays and novels are brave and strong, and imprudent. Robin hood-like figures are changing and developing from early "working on one's own" to later depending on leaders and counselors, with their effects declining; however, the tragic factors of their lives change to comedic factors. The heroic images of Robin hood-like figures still have great influence on modern literary world.


Conventional compressive sensing-based data gathering (CS-DG) algorithms require a large number of sensors for each compressive sensing measurement, thereby resulting in high energy consumption in clustered wireless sensor networks (WSNs). To solve this problem, we propose a novel energy-efficient CS-DG algorithm, which exploits the better reconstruction accuracy of the adjacency matrix of an unbalanced expander graph. In the proposed CS-DG algorithm, each measurement is the sum of a few sensory data, which are jointly determined by random sampling and random walks. Through theoretical analysis, we prove that the constructed <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${M\times N}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> sparse binary sensing matrix is the adjacency matrix of a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(k,\varepsilon )$ </tex-math></inline-formula> unbalanced expander graph when <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${M=O\left ({k\log {N / k}}\right )}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${t = O\left ({ {{N_{c} / {\left ({ {kq} }\right )}}} }\right )}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> for WSNs with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N_{c}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> clusters, where <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${0\leq q\leq 1}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${N_{c}>k}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. Simulation results show our proposed CS-DG has better performance than existing algorithms in terms of reconstruction accuracy and energy consumption. When hybrid energy-efficient distributed clustering algorithm is used, to achieve the same reconstruction accuracy, our proposed CS-DG can save energy by at least 27.8%.


Background
Papillary adenoma of the lung is a rare neoplasm with only 24 cases reported in the current literature. It occurs in individuals range in age, from 7-60 years with a male predominance and is usually detected incidentally on chest radiographs.


The subject of the article Parodies, travesties, overtures – meaning of styling treatments in Mark Piwowski's school films are Marek Piwowski's early, short films and the stylistic and parodic elements he used. As the starting point of the discussion, Katarzyna Maka-Malatynska adopts the findings of Jerzy Ziomek and Ryszard Nycz, and their definition of parody. Using categories of literary and film studies, the author examines four school films of the creator of The Cruise. Acknowledging parody as the first degree of mockumentary after Roscoe and Hight, she proposes that Piwowski's first films be seen as mockumentary, which could result in a new interpretation of his later works.


The title of this research is "Factors Influencing Employee Turnover Intention". This study consists of one dependent variable which is Turnover Intention and four independent variables which are Job Satisfaction, Affective Commitment, Trust and Perceived Organizational Institution Support. The current economic condition has causes the employee turnover rate higher. Hence, the four internal factor were being tested whether it have significant affect turnover intention or not. The results were collected from 76 respondents through a questionnaire. A survey consisted of 25 questions that used Likert Scale questions to establishing measureable values from the respondent. The data analysis intends to determine whether there are significant effect between independent variables (Job Satisfaction, Affective Commitment, Trust and Perceived Organizational Institution Support) with dependent variable (Turnover Intention). The data was being analyzed using SPSS. Thus, this study has found that two independent variables which is Job Satisfaction and Trust has significant effect while two independent variable which is Affective Commitment and Perceived Organizational Support has no significant effect with dependent variable which is Turnover Intention.


November at Beijing Hotel,with a theme of"creativity,innovation and creation".A plethora of new ideas upon these topics were presented at the meeting.


We construct a probabilistic representation of the Cauchy problem solution for a system of nonlinear parabolic equations and give the conditions which guarantee that this representation can be applied to construct and investigate a solution of the Cauchy problem for a system of nonlinear hyperbolic equations. As an example, we consider the system of gas dynamic equations and its parabolic regularization.


Halo-gravity traction (HGT) systems are widely used in leading clinics around the world as a staged method for correcting complex (>100°) scoliotic deformities of the spine in children. Today there is no single approach to the use of this technique, and each doctor makes a decision regarding the treatment regimen empirically, based on his clinical experience. Purpose - to identify the factors that affect the amount of blood loss during surgical correction of scoliotic deformity in children. Materials and methods. 76 patients aged 7 to 17 years were examined, on average 11.0±2.8 years. I (experimental) group - 38 children were treated with HGT using the developed tactics of staged surgical treatment; II (control) group - 38 children who underwent one-step surgical correction. The age of children in the groups in group I was 11.0±2.8 years, in group II - 11.2±2.8 years, the age of children in groups was statistically the same (t=-0.409; p=0.684). There were 28 (36.8%) boys and 48 (63.2%) girls. The distribution of children by age and sex in the groups was the same. Data on operative blood loss were statistically processed. Results. According to the statistical study, it can be argued that the blood loss during surgical correction of scoliotic deformity is most affected by the angle of deformation and age of the patient. At an angle of deformation of >100° blood loss is significantly greater than at an angle of <100°, children over 14 years also observed a significant increase in blood loss, and this is associated not only with greater body weight but also with the fact that these children the greater the angle of deformation of the spine, as well as the use of HGT, the angle of deformation decreases less than in younger children. Conclusions. It was determined that after HGT in children the angle of deformation decreased statistically significantly (p<0.001) by an average of 36.5±14.9°. The change in deformation in boys and girls was the same. With surgical correction of scoliotic deformity <100° blood loss (1025.0±235.9 ml), (statistically significant) (p<0.001) is statistically significantly less than blood loss with correction of deformity greater than 100° (1297.5±327.8 ml). With age, blood loss increases in children, and this difference between age subgroups is statistically significant (α=0.05). The value of the angle of scoliotic deformity after surgical correction has a statistically significant (r=0.576; p=0.001) effect on blood loss, the value of surgical correction of deformity on blood loss (r=0.015; p=0.879) does not affect. The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Local ethics committee of all participating institutions. The informed consent of the patient was obtained for conducting the studies. No conflict of interest was declared by the authors. Key words: intraoperative bleeding, spinal deformity, halo-gravity traction.


This series of reports explores new forms of teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This sixth report proposes ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education. To produce it, a group of academics at the Institute of Educational Technology in The Open University collaborated with researchers from the Learning In a NetworKed Society (LINKS) Israeli Center of Research Excellence (I-CORE).
Themes:
• Big-data inquiry: thinking with data
• Learners making science
• Navigating post-truth societies
• Immersive learning
• Learning with internal values
• Student-led analytics
• Intergroup empathy
• Humanistic knowledge-building communities
• Open Textbooks
• Spaced Learning


In order to satisfy the diverse requirements of the video monitoring, a design of video monitoring system is put forward based on Android Smart TV. The structure of the system is talked, and then the method of exchanging data between smart TV and servers is explained. Taking the real surveillance system as an example, it also expands on how to design a Android-based smart TV terminal. Using H.264 as the video compression method and RTP as protocol, the design achieves monitoring over smart TV through WiFi network.


© 2019 Indian Dermatology Online Journal | Published by Wolters Kluwer Medknow A 20‐year‐old man presented with irritation and itching in both eyes for past 1 month. He was on psychiatric medications and was living in an overcrowded psychiatric rehabilitation center for a 1 year. Slit lamp examination revealed several crab lice (Figure 1, arrow mark) along with their nits (Figure 1, star marks) on the eyelashes of both the eyes. A diagnosis of phthiriasis palpebrarum was made and the patient was treated with topical application of 20% fluorescein solution followed by mechanical removal of all lice and nits.[1] He was also prescribed ciprofloxacin eye ointment for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, his symptoms completely subsided and slit lamp examination revealed absence of any lice or nits. Phthiriasis palpebrarum is often missed due to deep attachment of the lice in the lid margin and hence is often misdiagnosed as allergic conjunctivitis or blepharitis.[2] Phthiriasis pubis with itching in perianal and pubic region is a common association


We report a systematic investigation of the magnetic properties including the exchange bias (EB) effect in an iron oxide nanocube system with tunable phase and average size (10, 15, 24, 34, and 43 nm). X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy reveal the presence of Fe3O4, FeO, and α-Fe2O3 phases in the nanocubes, in which the volume fraction of each phase varies depending upon particle size. While the Fe3O4 phase is dominant in all and tends to grow with increasing particle size, the FeO phase appears to coexist with the Fe3O4 phase in 10, 15, and 24 nm nanocubes but disappears in 34 and 43 nm nanocubes. The nanocubes exposed to air resulted in an α-Fe2O3 oxidized surface layer whose thickness scaled with particle size resulting in a shell made of α-Fe2O3 phase and a core containing Fe3O4 or a mixture of both Fe3O4 and FeO phases. Magnetometry indicates that the nanocubes undergo Morin (of the α-Fe2O3 phase) and Verwey (of the Fe3O4 phase) transitions at ∼250 K and ∼120 K, respectively. For smaller nanocubes (10, 15, and 24 nm), the EB effect is observed below 200 K, of which the 15 nm nanocubes showed the most prominent EB with optimal antiferromagnetic (AFM) FeO phase. No EB is reported for larger nanocubes (34 and 43 nm). The observed EB effect is ascribed to the strong interfacial coupling between the ferrimagnetic (FiM) Fe3O4 phase and AFM FeO phase, while its absence is related to the disappearance of the FeO phase. The Fe3O4/α-Fe2O3 (FiM/AFM) interfaces are found to have negligible influence on the EB. Our findings shed light on the complexity of the EB effect in mixed-phase iron oxide nanosystems and pave the way to design exchange-coupled nanomaterials with desirable magnetic properties for biomedical and spintronic applications.


Fred Hoyle is known as creator of the so-called "steady state universe" which latter, although permanently expanding,
does not change its state of matter, especially keeping its density constant. To achieve this virtue Hoyle introduced
into the energy-momentum tensor of the GRT field equations a term derived from a so-called ad-hoc creation field
astonishingly leading to field equations very similar to the ones already developed by Tolman when introducing
energy sources connected with viscous dissipation forces acting upon dust-like cosmic matter [1]. In this article here
we shall again study the action of viscous forces in cosmic baryonic matter and shall boil it down to volume viscosity
contributions to the viscous stress tensor in a universe with a compressible Hubble flow. Assuming that by collisions
of any kind the energy of the differential Hubble drift between two collision points of cosmic matter particles, seen
in the non-inertial rest frames of moving particles, is randomized and converted into thermal energy, one can then
show with the help of a kinetic transport equation that during the cosmic expansion permanently thermal energy is
generated leading to the result that the matter temperature, instead of falling-off, is linearly increasing with the scale
of the universe. This not only questions the standard use of the model of pressure-free, dust-like matter in the universe,
but furthermore indicates the possibility of an asymptotic cosmic-ray-like matter state including the possibility of
matter creation by pair production.


We propose a framework based on the use of a flat-base Luneburg lens antenna with a waveguide array for Direction-of-Arrival (DOA) estimation, and also present a hybrid approach which combines waveguide mode extraction and signal processing techniques for enhancing the angular resolution of the lens antenna. The hybrid method involves sampling the electric field at specified positions when the lens is operating in the receive mode, and extracting the weights of the possible propagating modes in each waveguide. Following this, we correlate these weights with the known ones that have been derived by either simulated or measured signals from single targets located at different look angles, to make an initial estimate of the angular regions of possible DOAs. We then apply an algorithm based on the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) of the simulated or measured database to estimate the angles of incidence. Numerical results show that the proposed framework, used in conjunction with the hybrid approach, can achieve an enhanced resolution over the conventional limit base on the 3dB beamwidth of the lens antenna. Furthermore, it is capable of locating targets with different scattering cross-sections and achieving an angular resolution as small as 2°, for a Luneburg lens antenna with an aperture size of 6.35λ and a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of 30 dB. © 2015, Electromagnetics Academy. All rights received.


We use co-tunneling spectroscopy to investigate spin-, orbital-, and spin-orbital Kondo transport in a strongly confined system of InAs double quantum dots (QDs) parallel-coupled to source and drain. In the one-electron transport regime, the higher symmetry spin-orbital Kondo effect manifests at orbital degeneracy and no external magnetic field. We then proceed to show that the individual Kondo contributions can be isolated and studied separately; either by orbital detuning in the case of spin-Kondo transport, or by spin splitting in the case of orbital Kondo transport. By varying the inter-dot tunnel coupling, we show that lifting of the spin degeneracy is key to confirming the presence of an orbital degeneracy, and to detecting a small orbital hybridization gap. Finally, in the two-electron regime, we show that the presence of a spin-triplet ground state results in spin-Kondo transport at zero magnetic field.


The Internet of Things has emerged as a wonder-solution to numerous problems in our everyday lives, such as smart homes and intelligent transportation. As an extension of the IoTs, the Internet of Vehicles (IoVs) also requires increasingly high security and timeliness. This article proposes a vehicle-assisted batch verification (VABV) system for IoV, in which some vehicles called auxiliary authentication terminal (AAT) are selected to assist the roadside unit for Basic Safety Message (BSM) verification. As a measure to enhance the timeliness performance for system dependability, comprehensive AAT selection strategies are designed. To overcome the security weaknesses of VABV system, a Sybil detection scheme based on Extreme Learning Machine is developed. For the evaluation of VABV system, the quantified Age of Information (AoI) is used as an integrated timeliness and security indicator. The proposed AoI indicator synthesizes the effects of BSM verification, re-verification for failure of some AATs, Sybil attack, and Sybil detection scheme. As illustrated by the simulation results, by employing AoI as a performance evaluation indicator, we can better and more intuitively design an AAT optimal selection strategy based on changes in AoI. Simultaneously, the performance of the proposed Sybil detection scheme can be evaluated more intuitively and effectively under different IoV scenarios based on AoI.


Based on extensive simulations, the robustness aspect of the two main kinds of camera self-calibration methods, namely the absolute conic based method and the absolute quadric based one, is investigated and compared in terms of the conditioning number of the corresponding coefficient matrix. In addition, the sensitivity of the conditioning number to the unknown scales in the constraint equations is also investigated. It is shown that the conditioning number of the absolute conic based method is generally smaller than that of the absolute quadric based one, and the absolute quadric based method is generally more sensitive to the possible scaling errors. The above simulation results indicate that the absolute conic based method is more robust than the absolute quadric based one, a conclusion in direct contradiction to the previously reported observations in the literature.


The best characterized of the campylobacters is Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni, a common commensal of warm-blooded animals, especially birds. The availability of eight new nonjejuni Campylobacter (NJC) genomes permits genomic comparisons between the NJC group and between the NJC genomes and the C. jejuni subsp. jejuni genomes. This chapter compares and contrasts the genomes of Campylobacter species other than C. jejuni subsp. jejuni. The primary phenotypic marker associated with Campylobacter plasmids is antibiotic resistance. Genes encoding resistance to tetracycline, kanamycin, and chloramphenicol have been identified on Campylobacter plasmids. Campylobacter plasmids fall into two basic groups: cryptic plasmids and megaplasmids. Homopolymeric G: C tracts have been identified in all of the NJC genomes. Several genes within the NJC genomes are frameshifted or have other defects and are considered putative pseudogenes. In Escherichia coli, the conjugative F episome cointegrates into the chromosome via homologous recombination between insertion sequences (IS) elements common to both the chromosome and the F plasmid, resulting in an Hfr strain. Helicobacter strains that possess the Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway contain a phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) distinct from those found in the other Epsilonproteobacteria. A complete oxidative tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle is present in C. jejuni subsp. jejuni, as evidenced by the presence of all three subunits of succinate dehydrogenase (encoded by sdhABC). The chapter talks about restriction/modification systems, and virulence/pathogenicity loci. Genomic data for the NJC genomes will lead to new typing methods and perhaps culture methods.


This paper studies an underwater acoustic communication system and its performance in shallow water. A channel encoder and a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation scheme have been adopted at the transmitter, and a multichannel decision feedback equalizer (DFE) with a soft decision device has been used at the receiver. This system has been tested in a Yellow Sea experiment for transmitting an image at a range of 18.5km. A space diversity procedure is used to mitigate the performance degradation of the multichannel DFE caused by occasional impulsive noise in the receiver. In the case of two receivers, the equalizer exhibits good performance with bit error number of 319 out of 239946. After channel decoding, an image is obtained without any errant bits.


The need for security in lightweight devices such as radio frequency identification tags is increasing and a pseudorandom number generator (PRNG) constitutes an essential part of the authentication protocols that provide security. The main aim of this research is to produce a lightweight PRNG for cryptographic applications in wireless identification and sensing platform family devices, and other related lightweight devices. This PRNG is produced with genetic programming methods using entropy calculation as the fitness function, and it is tested with the NIST statistical test suite. Moreover, it satisfies the requirements of the EPCGen2 standards.


In this thesis a method for unsupervised segmentation of continuous speech is introduced. The method is based on Vector AutoRegressive (VAR) modeling. The VAR model is used in the auditory time-frequency domain to predict spectral changes. The forward and backward prediction error increases at the phone boundaries. These error signals are then used to study and detect the boundaries of largest changes allowing the most reliable automatic segmentation. The fully unsupervised method leads to segments consisting of a variable number of phones. The robustness and quality of performance of the method was tested by using a set of 201 Finnish sentences pronounced by one female and two male speakers. The boundaries between stops and vowels, in particular, are detected with high probability and accuracy.


The main objective of this research is to study sugar cane production at a small farming community in South Tongu District of the Volta Region of Ghana. Primary data was administered by using questionnaires from ninety (90) farmers who were randomly selected and secondary data was also obtained from the Ghana Statistical Service from January 2000 to December 2010. The results were analysed using Factor analysis and Time series analysis that, men form the majority of the farmers, most of the farmers fall within the age group between 20 and 50 years. The cultivation of sugar cane at the study area is on small- scale basis. Majority (91.7%) of the sugar cane farmers obtained a yield of 1 -5 tons per acre. More than half of the farmers interviewed, representing 65% earned between 500-1000 Ghana cedis which could not support their satisfactory living standard conditions. In addition, farmers face problems such as high cost of production, inadequate preparations, customary method of farming and land holding title, age and inadequate information on production and lack of production amenities or necessities, contributing to the decline in yield and income of the farmers in the study area. Moreover, it was recommended that; Extension service delivery should reach the farmers to enhance their production techniques, Ministry of food and agriculture (MOFA) of the South Tongu District should reach the farmers in their communities and keep records on the volumes of production and the government and cooperate bodies should assist to establish sugar factory in the area to aid in the processing of the sugar cane into sugar.


Since the Treaty of Lisbon, the expression "common market" has definitely been replaced by "internal market" or "single market". According to Article 26 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European…


Various religious leaders claim that they are Jesus Christ (the fundamental figure in Christianity), which makestheir groups highly distinct from other religious groups. This claim allows society to view generally these leaders as false Christs. To guide individuals in society in identifying their characteristics empirically, in this paper, the language in the discourses of these leaders from the aboutness and communication style perspectives is viewed through the key linguistic features identified. The sermons of Apollo Quiboloy (the leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ) and the sermons of AJ Miller (the leader of Divine Truth) who view themselves as Jesus Christ incarnate were used as the target corpora. The sermons of these leaders were comparedto different versions of the four canonical gospels (namely, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) as the benchmark corpora found in the Christian Bible using keyness analyses to identify the patterns of key linguistic features in the sermons for language characterization. The findings show that the language in the sermons of Apollo Quiboloy displays concepts such as the relationship of father and I (son) which are likely to be similar when compared to the gospels, whereas the language in the sermons of AJ Miller displays psychological concepts which are likely to be different when compared to the gospels. The findings in the sermons of Christ claimants may allow the characteristics of these religious leaders to be identified.


For studying the total reflection tunnel effect of 1 D NIM-PIM alternant multilayer infinite period photonic crystal,the dispersion method is adopted and the dispersion function of TE wave and TM wave are studied when incident angle is greater than full reflection angle.Response curves of the tunnel frequency versus incident angle are obtained and response curves of the tunnel frequency versus medium thickness of negative refractive index are also gotten.


Research in social networks is attaining more attention in the recent past due to the explosive growth in the creation and sharing of information over social media. As the volume of information grows exponentially, we need efficient computational techniques to analyze this information and to synthesis the hidden knowledge associated with it. Being a suit of text understanding algorithms, topic modeling discovers the topics or themes within a huge collection of documents. In this work, we employ the essence of a powerful topic modeling algorithm to analyze hidden knowledge contained in the information spread across a famous social network platform Twitter, using a novel iterative topic modeling approach. Additionally, we visualized the knowledge extracted using a sunburst chart so that even a naive user can interpret the hidden knowledge extracted from tweets.


Secrecy graphs model the connectivity of wireless networks under secrecy constraints. Directed edges in the graph are present whenever a node can talk to another node securely in the presence of eavesdroppers. In the case of infinite networks, a critical parameter is the maximum density of eavesdroppers that can be accommodated while still guaranteeing an infinite component in the network, i.e., the percolation threshold. We focus on the case where the location of the nodes and the eavesdroppers are given by Poisson point processes, with and without power constraints. We present bounds for different types of percolation, including in-, out — and undirected percolation.


The present invention relates to the use of at least one lysolipid for the manufacture of a composition for improving transfection or introduction into cells of the polynucleotide. Such compositions gene therapy, vaccination, and are useful in any therapeutic or aspects of prophylactic administering the products based on gene to cells in vivo.


This paper examines the noun incorporation construction in Tongan. Like other Polynesian languages, noun incorporation in Tongan can involve modifiers of the incorporated noun. However, analyses using NP-compounding,VP-remnant movement,or head movementare shown to be inadequate for analyzing this construction. An alternative is proposed whereby the verb and the incorporated noun form a single word, but one that has some of the verb's dependency potential as well as the noun's dependency potential, thus licensing the modifiers.


Rectenna solar cells are electronic devices which were described for the first time in the 70s and these devices allow transforming light into electricity, thanks to the association of a nano-antenna and a rectifying element. Due to the size of the device and the challenge of rectification of the terahertz frequencies, the realization of such devices remains difficult. Rectification of current by molecules is a really active research field due to the possibility to drastically reduce the size of electronic devices. Theorized by Aviram and Ratner, the rectification can be achieved by an asymmetric molecule, enabling the electrons to be transferred in a preferential direction through the compound. The state of the art of the organic molecular rectifiers shows rectification ratios up to 10 5. Such ratios were obtained with molecules composed of a ferrocene unit, which is the key for the rectification process, linked to an insulating alkyl chain. At present, only few studies have been devoted to control the orientation of the molecular rectifiers. More precisely, the possibility to anchor onto two different electrodes while controlling their orientation has only been scarcely investigated. In our case, such a control of the molecular orientation has been obtained by developing a two-step process based on Click Chemistry. Here, we present unprecedented works on the synthesis of new ferrocene derivatives designed as molecular rectifiers. Especially, a special effort is devoted: firstly, to allow the molecule to be covalently linked to two metal electrodes (allowing implementation into future device) and secondly to definitely control the orientation of the molecular rectifier relative to both electrodes thanks to Click Chemistry. Here, we present unprecedented works on the synthesis of new ferrocene derivatives designed as molecular rectifiers. Especially, a special effort is devoted: firstly, to allow the molecule to be covalently linked to two metal electrodes (allowing implementation into future device) and secondly to definitely control the orientation of the molecular rectifier relative to both electrodes thanks to Click Chemistry


Abstract A sensitive, accurate, and precise method for determining apomorphine in mammalian liver fractions has been developed, based on reaction with blue tetrazolium. The devised procedure shows no interference from 0-methyl metabolites and has been utilized in analyzing apomorphine in liver fractions from four species of animals.


The degree of fluorescence resonant energy transfer in the protein construct "cameleon", whose structure is based on two green fluorescent protein mutants and the calmodulin Ca2+-binding protein, is a sensitive ratiometric reporter of the concentration of Ca2+ in solution and cells. For the first time, the detection of single copies of cameleon immobilized in agarose gels is described. This work exemplifies the issues involved in the observation of binding kinetics at the single-molecule level, using fluorescence resonant energy transfer as a signature of the response of the system to the presence of Ca2+ ions. The energy transfer distribution deduced from single-molecule fluorescence signals shows an increased width at the Ca2+ dissociation constant concentration, which is consistent with the ligand binding kinetics. The complex dynamics of the fluctuations are examined using a combination of autocorrelation and cross-correlation in conjunction with polarization information. We find both negative and pos...


Abstract Middle school children in a northeastern city in die United States were surveyed to assess dieir nutrition knowledge and attitudes. Basic eating behaviors, specifically the number of meals eaten, were recorded and evaluated based on gender, nutritional knowledge, and attitudes toward nutrition. In this pilot study, children were asked about their beliefs about different foods for their nutritional value, their positive or negative attitudes about the food, their intentions of eating these foods, and what meals they ate or skipped. The results showed attitudes were significantly related with intentions, and nutritional beliefs were marginally related with attitudes, and, intentions were marginally related to meals eaten. In addition, the study revealed that girls skip breakfast significantly more often on weekdays than boys, but that the opposite occurs on the weekend when boys skip breakfast significantly more often than girls.


The adoptive transfer of natural regulatory T cells (nTreg) is a new option to reshape undesired immune reactivity in autoimmunity and transplantation toward "tolerance." The first clinical trials using adoptive transfer of polyclonal nTreg demonstrated safety and hints of efficacy. However, the low frequencies of antigen‐specific cells among the pool of polyclonal nTreg and their broad antigen nonspecific suppression are limitations of this approach regarding efficacy and safety. Recently, the isolation and expansion of (allo)antigen‐specific nTreg have successfully been achieved by using Treg‐specific activation markers but the yield is relatively low. Here, we describe a novel good manufacturing practice (GMP)‐compatible expansion protocol of alloantigen‐specific nTreg based on the stimulation of nTreg by allogeneic activated B cells. Their functionality and specificity are superior compared to polyclonal nTreg both in vitro and in vivo. Employing an allogeneic B cell bank, designed to cover the majority of HLA types, allows fast GMP‐compliant manufacturing for donor‐specific nTreg for clinical application in organ and stem cell transplantation. TCR repertoire analyses by next generation sequencing revealed impressive expansion by several log‐steps of even very low‐abundance alloantigen‐specific nTreg clones. This novel method offers a simple approach for expanding antigen‐specific nTreg and is characterized by high replicability and easy transferability to full GMP standards.


Objective: The aim of this study is to compare the results of histopathological examination of the uterus of healthy cows and the uterus of cows that have recovered from metritis.
Materials and Methods: The study materials obtained from the slaughterhouse were divided into two groups: the uterus of healthy cows (no metritis; Group N; n=10) and uterus of cows that had recovered from metritis about 45 days ago (metritis; Group M; n=10). Sections were taken from the uterus of both groups and were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) for pathological comparison. In addition, the sections were stained immunohistochemically for the examination of Matrix metalloproteinases 1 (MMP-1) and the tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP-1) levels.
Results: The uterus showed pathological condition in Group M than in Group N. MMP1 immunopositivity was higher in the luminal epithelium (p


The Japan Fukushima nuclear crisis upgrades global discussion about the development and utilization of the nuclear power while provides experiences and lessons for the development and utilization of China's nuclear power. From the perspective of national economic security, the essay deals with the development and utilization of nuclear power for the purposes and giving some suggestions on developing a strategy to protect national economic security, building national economic security system.


Affected by urbanization, centralization and the decrease of overall population, Japan has been making efforts to revitalize the rural areas across the country. One particular effort is to increase tourism to these rural areas via regional branding, using local farm products as tourist attractions across Japan. Particularly, a program subsidized by the government called Michinoeki, which stands for 'roadside station', was created 20 years ago and it strives to provide a safe and comfortable space for cultural interaction between road travelers and the local community, as well as offering refreshment, and relevant information to travelers. However, despite its importance in the revitalization of the Japanese economy, studies with newer technologies and methodologies are lacking. Using sales data from establishments in the Kyushu area of Japan, we used Support Vector to classify content from Twitter into relevant topics and studied their causal relationship to the sales for each establishment using LiNGAM, a linear non-gaussian acyclic model built for causal structure analysis, to perform an improved market analysis considering more than just correlation. Under the hypotheses stated by the LiNGAM model, we discovered a positive causal relationship between the number of tweets mentioning those establishments, specially mentioning deserts, a need for better access and traffic options, and a potentially untapped customer base in motorcycle biker groups.


In order to eliminate the weighing errors caused by external supply voltage fluctuation of the weighing sensor,the method for detecting and compensating the voltage fluctuation of the weighing system was focused on.The strain effect of strain gauge and the measurement principle of the Wheatstone bridge were analyzed.Then the correcting relationship between the output voltage signal and external supply voltage signal was given.A dynamic voltage fluctuation compensation method by synchronously sampling output voltage and supply voltage was proposed subsequently.A weighing system based on digital signal processor TMS320F28335 and analog-digital conversion chip ADS1234 was designed to examine the proposed method.The results indicate that the weighing errors of the compensated weighing system are lower than 1% within the fluctuation range of the external supply voltage,which verifies that this method is feasible for improving the weighing accuracy.


In order to construct a gauge-invariant two-point function in a Yang-Mills theory, we propose the use of the all-order gauge-invariant transverse configurations A(h). Such configurations can be obtained through the minimization of the functional A(min)(2) along the gauge orbit within the BRST-invariant formulation of the Gribov-Zwanziger framework recently put forward in [1,2] for the class of the linear covariant gauges. This correlator turns out to provide a characterization of nonperturbative aspects of the theory in a BRST-invariant and gauge-parameter-independent way. In particular, it turns out that the poles of are the same as those of the transverse part of the gluon propagator, which are also formally shown to be independent of the gauge parameter alpha entering the gauge condition through the Nielsen identities. The latter follow from the new exact BRST-invariant formulation introduced before. Moreover, the correlator enables us to attach a BRST-invariant meaning to the possible positivity violation of the corresponding temporal Schwinger correlator, giving thus for the first time a consistent, gauge parameter independent, setup to adopt the positivity violation of as a signature for gluon confinement. Finally, in the context of gauge theories supplemented with a fundamental Higgs field, we use to probe the pole structure of the massive gauge boson in a gauge-invariant fashion.


Vera is a new cultivar of crisp loose leaf type lettuce resistant to bolting. It was obtained through pedigree selection from the cross between cultivars Veronica and Slow Bolting. Vera corresponds to the commercial increase of the F10 breeding line AF 470. Based on summer trials carried out in the main production areas of Sao Paulo state (Mogi das Cruzes, Campinas, Ibiuna, etc) bolting in Vera was delayed by fifteen to twenty days when compared to the cultivar Grand Rapid and by five to seven days when compared to cultivar Veronica.


This article examines gender differences and style-shifting of women in turn-taking (TT) strategies during Japanese conversations; such strategies appear when there is a new shift in conversation. ...


The ion temperature in a maxwellian plasma containing deuterium ions can be determined by measuring the neutron rate from the plasma. This rate, coupled with a measurement of the ion density, and a measurement of the fraction of the ions that are deuterium, allows a direct determination of the ion temperature since the cross section for neutron production as a function of temperature is well known. This technique has been applied to several tokamaks and at least one stellarator and will be employed in the Advanced Toroidal Facility (ATF). ATF is a stellarator with a major radius of 2.1 m and an average minor radius of 0.27 m. The plasma in ATF is produced by microwave power at the electron cyclotron frequency. The ions are heated by hydrogen neutral beam injection with a total power /approx gt/2 MW, and rf power at the ion cyclotron frequency. The ATF facility has nine moderated thermal neutron detectors arrayed around its exterior in order to accurately monitor the neutron rate. The various detectors have differing efficiencies in order to allow for a wider variation in neutron source strength before count rates and statistical uncertainties limit the temperature determination. A /sup 252/Cf source wasmore » inserted into ATF on the midplane of the vacuum chamber at 24 locations at a major radius of 2.1 m in order to give a good toroidal average of the count rate of the nine detectors. Each detector was calibrated to give an efficiency which is defined as the ratio of the toroidal average of the count rate to the californium source strength. When ATF operates with deuterium gas these efficiencies will be used to measure the ion temperature in the range of /approximately/500 eV to several keV. 5 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.« less


In this paper, heuristic query-driven clustering-based vertical fragmentation technique is efficiently developed. The intrinsic idea is to meet the idealistic case of DDBS design which comes to happen as each query attune "closely match†its relevant fragment. The proposed technique is mainly sought to breed clusters of queries in the first place. Consequently, these clusters would be tacitly used to generate intended disjoint fragments. Moreover, the allocation process has been considered so that replicated and non-replicated scenarios of data are applied. This technique basically meant to be efficaciously applicable at the initial stage of DDBS design without the need for data statistics or empirical results, in either dynamic or static DDBS environment. Many existing design-related techniques are being incorporated to make a promising work, particularly as communication costs being the foremost design objective. Throughout this work, the experimental results and internal evaluation are extensively illustrated to demonstrate the effectiveness and validity of proposed technique.


The numerical solution of compressible dusty fluid considering finite volume fraction has been studied. Assuming the velocity and temperature in the jet to differ only slightly from that of the surrounding stream, a perturbation method has been employed to linearize the basic equations. The linearized boundary layer equations have been solved by using double transform technique. Numerical computations have been made to discuss the profiles of velocity of the fluid and particle. It is observed that consideration of finite volume fraction reveals that the magnitude of perturbation velocity of both fluid and particle is reduced significantly.


In recent times it has become fashionable to describe major changes in the history of ideas as 'paradigm' shifts. This article describes the evolution of planning theories in a paradigm perspective. Since the end of Second World War, ideas about urban planning have changed significantly. Especially as part of urban planning studies, planning theories have been evolved and/or developed too. Overviewing the history of urban planning thought upon some criteria, I insist that there have been three outstanding changes in planning thought over this period. I think four theories are qualified as paradigm: physical planning theory, theory of rational planning process, theory of transactive planning, communicative planning theory. I examine them in the following aspects. First, I examine the prevailing conception of the nature of urban planning as a discipline: that is, the view which most urban planner held in the post-war years about the kind of activity they were engaged in. A useful way of approaching this is to imagine a leading urban planner of the post-years being asked by an intelligent layperson: 'what is urban planning?'. Second, I examine the main views held during the post-war period of what the purposes or aims of urban planning should be. This necessarily involves an inquiry into the values which underpinned urban planning at this time: that is, I examine the normative theory of planning which predominated in these years.


Abstract The spine is a common site of metastatic spread for many types of primary malignancies. Often, spinal metastases can cause significant pain and negative effects on quality of life. Devastating neurologic complications can also result from extension of disease into the spinal canal causing metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC). Therefore it is imperative that clinicians caring for patients with metastatic cancer be familiar with the clinical manifestations, diagnostic evaluation, and treatment paradigms for MESCC. This chapter presents an overview of MESCC and recent evidence-based approaches to its management.


On a 4-dimensional compact symplectic manifold, we consider a smooth family of compatible almost-complex structures such that at time zero the induced metric is Hermite-Einstein almost-K\"ahler metric with zero or negative Hermitian scalar curvature. We prove, under certain hypothesis, the existence of a smooth family of compatible almost-complex structures, diffeomorphic at each time to the initial family, and inducing constant Hermitian scalar curvature metrics.


Purpose: to study the effectiveness of the use of thrombofibrin clot of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in patients with corneal ulcers. Material and methods. A clinical study, conducted by the Department of Traumatology and Reconstructive Surgery of Helmholtz National Medical Research Center of Eye Diseases, involved 20 patients, aged from 22 to 82, with corneal ulcers of inflammatory and burn genesis more than 100 microns deep. All patients got coated with a thrombofibrin PRP clot from autologous blood. Prior to the study, all patients received standard treatment for 2 weeks to 3 months, including multiple amniotic membrane coating, with no effect. The thrombofibrin clot was produced by the Scientific Department of Biotechnology and Transfusiology of the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine. The ready clot was placed on the surface of the cornea and covered with an amniotic membrane. The membrane was fixed to the episclera along the border of the limb with a circular suture, whereupon autologous serum was injected along the limb in 4 quadrants, to be followed by temporary lateral blepharography. Results. On the 2nd day following the procedure, the patients noted a decrease in lacrimation and pain in the operated eye. As shown by optical coherence tomography, the average depth of the corneal ulcer at the beginning of the study in all patients was 129 ± 28.5 microns. On the 5th day, the depth lowered to an average of 71 ± 32.6 microns, and on the 10th day, to 23.3 ± 15.1 microns. In 7 patients (35%), complete healing of the defect was observed on the 15th day, while in 9 patients (45%) it was stated between the 16th and the 20th day. Thus, the average time of healing of the ulcer with complete epithelization occurred was 15 days. In four patients with the consequences of severe burns (20%), the ulcer did not heal due to extensive damage to the limbal zone. Conclusion. The use of a thrombofibrin PRP clot in combination with amniotic membrane transplantation allows achieving a stable and fairly rapid healing of corneal ulcers of various origins. However, this method is ineffective in patients with limbal cell insufficiency, severe burns and extensive damage to the limbal zone. In such cases, it is advisable to use more radical surgical methods, such as buccal or limbal cell transplantation, or allolimbal transplantation.


. Yarrowia lipolytica, as a good cell factory to speed up the production of plant pharmaceutical components, has been considered to be one of the most important and attractive micro-organisms in recent years, due to its high secretion capacity, limited glycosylation, large range of genetic markers and molecular tools. Naringenin, as a central core of flavonoids production, plays important roles both in plants and in the treatment of different types of human diseases. For this purpose, specific naringenin biosynthesis genes from different origins were selected and introduced after comparative expression profiling in Y. lipolytica . This research indicated that chs plays the main role in the production of naringenin, so the increase copy number of this gene in each construct was investigated. The HPLC results confirmed that the construct with 5 copy numbers of chs resulted in 7.14 fold increase of naringenin extracellular titer to 90.16 mg/L in shake flask cultures. The results reported in this study demonstrated that sufficient knowledge of genes involved in the specific biosynthesis pathway, synthetic gene pathway and using Y. lipolytica as a capable and cheap host could help bioengineers to produce significant amounts of pharmaceutical components.


Taylor and Francis CEER_A_424857.sgm 10.1080/13504620903246832 Environmental Education Research 350-4622 (pri t)/1469-5871 (online) Original Artic e 2 09 & Francis 0 002009 D StephenSterling srs@s sterling.org uk Childhood and the philosophy of education: an anti-Aristotelian perspective, by Andrew Stables, London and New York, Continuum Publishing, 2009, 216 pp., £70.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-0-82649972-1


Suppliers′ ethical issues concern human rights,environment,diversity,philanthropy and safety.Moral intensity differs from one ethical issue to another,so corporate decision makers view ethical issues differently.The AHP technique is used as a means to set the relative weights of magnitude of consequences,social consensus,probability of effect,temporal immediacy,proximity and concentration of effect of moral intensity and to rank-order different supplier ethical issues according to their relative importance.


The results of study that fall into the low category is the background in research this study, ie with average learning outcome of 65.00. This research is a classroom action research that aims to improve student learning outcomes through the application of STAD type cooperative learning model. The data used in this research is teacher and student activity data and student learning result of IPS. The result of research indicates that the students' learning achievement has increased, this is proved by: Activity of teacher at cycle 1 meeting 1 equal to 58,30%, at cycle 1 meeting 2 equal to 62,50%, increase in cycle II meeting 1 up to 79,2% , increased in the second cycle of meetings 2 to 91.67%. The activity of the students in the 1st cycle of meeting 1 was 54,2%, in the 1st cycle of meeting 2 was 58,30%, increase in cycle II of meeting 1 to 75,00%, increased in cycle II meeting 2 until 87,50%. Student learning outcomes in prasiklus amounted to 55.40, increased in the cycle I to 68.40, and in the second cycle increased to 76.80.


The present research work primarily focuses on the extraction of mango seed biodiesel from the waste mango seeds through transesterification process. Preliminary tests were conducted with diesel an...


The generation of compensated ion beams from electrically unsymmetrical reflecting discharge was investigated. The spatial location of a compensation zone, the optimal values of operating gas pressures Ð = (0,8 ÷ 1)⋅10 Torr and potential difference between cathodes ∆U = 80Â were determined. The way to control the current compensation degree of the extracted ion beam from a several to 100% was found.


The method of operators is used in the application of nonuniform-lift theory to problems of airplane dynamics. The method is adapted to the determination of the lift under prescribed conditions of motion or to the determination of the motions with prescribed disturbing forces.


Objective. To quantify the concentration and consumption of the protein fragments (NPN, TP, RDTP, SDTP, NDIP, and ADIP) present in the diet supplied to cattle, and its effect on the digestibility of crude protein. Materials and methods. Diets offered to Chino Santandereano cattle in stables, receiving different levels of supplementation, were analyzed. Using four animals in the 4x4 Latin square design, the treatments were UNS, not supplemented; LOW, supplemented with an amount relative to 0.5% of body weight; MEDIUM, supplemented with an amount relative to 1.0% of body weight; HIGH, supplemented with an amount relative to 1.5% of body weight. Consumption was determined daily, and digestibility through total stool collection in the last two days of each period. Results. A higher concentration of crude protein was found in the supplement than in grass (p<0.001), the forage exhibiting a higher concentration of CPNPN (p<0.001). The supplement also presented a higher concentration of TP (p<0.001) and RDTP (p=0.027). Supplemented animals presented higher consumption of CP, CPNPN (p=0.037), TP, NDIP, RDTP, ADIP, and SDTP (p<0.05), however, when the concentration representing the consumption of ADIP in the consumption of CP was determined, no difference was observed between supplemented and UNS (p=0.078). Higher digestibility of CP was found in supplemented animals than in UNS (p<0.001), and an upward linear effect was observed between supplemented treatments as the level of supplementation increased. Conclusions. Supplementation improves the digestibility of crude protein by providing a greater amount of highly digestible nitrogenous fragments.


Articles about the relationship between hepatitis B vaccination and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)/human T-cell leukemia (lymphotropic) virus type III infection have often appeared in the Journal. In Leads from the MMWR in the Jan. 4 1985 issue evidence confirming the absence of AIDS transmission by this hepatitis B vaccine was stated to be the following: 1) The AIDS virus is specifically inactivated by the inactivation procedures used in the vaccines manufacture. 2) The vaccine contains no detectable AIDS virus nucleic acid sequence. 3) The serologic markers of infection with AIDS virus are not observed in vaccine recipients. In Japan we studied Mercks Heptavax-B (lot 2374) in 74 health care workers who had no history of hepatitis B infection and determined in addition to the safety and antigenic potential of the vaccine the percentage of T-cell and B-cell subsets (OKT3 OKT4 and OKT8) the OKT4/OKT8 ratio and mitogenesis by phytohemagglutinin or concanavalin A at 3 and 9 months after the 1st vaccination. A group of unvaccinated age-matched health care workers were used as controls. The Table provides a summary of the results. As shown therein no difference from the control group was observed in any test item after 3 or 9 months. Follow-ups have been continued for longer than 9 months in some vaccinees and there has been no change even after 20 months. From these observations it can be inferred that there is little possibility of the hepatitis B vaccine made by Merck causing AIDS based on the fact that no abnormality was observed in the T-cell phenotypes of the people who received the vaccine. (full text)


Uncontrolled studies have indicated that the smoker's lift' can be simulated clinically by short-term, high-dosage corticotrophin therapy. Following such treatment, smokers previously prevented by the withdrawal syndrome from giving up smoking were able to do so easily. All 10 patients reported here were still not smoking after seven months.


Comfort and easy-care are among the vital factors that influence the customers' choice of textile material for their apparel needs. 100% cotton fabric gives comfort feel to the wearer as the cotton fibre has about 8% moisture regain capacity, adequate strength and excellent drape characteristics (Morton & Hearle 1997). But due to its greater creasing tendency and lack of soil release characteristics and dimensional stability, a high degree of care is required for cotton garments. If suitable chemical treatments are given to cotton fabrics, these drawbacks can be overcome.


The levels of neutralizing antibody against several adenovirus serotypes were determined on 42 paired specimens of maternal and cord serum and on 197 single serum specimens from children up to the age of 8 years. The antibody distribution indicates that adenovirus infection is endemic in Sheffield just as it has been shown to be endemic in Cleveland and Washington. We should like to thank Prof. C. P. Beattie for his advice and criticism, Dr C. C. Bowley of the Sheffield Regional Blood Transfusion Centre for paired maternal and cord sera, Dr M. H. Hambling for the provision of adenovirus stock strains and Mr Foster, medical artist, for preparation of the figures.


Background: SevereskeletalclassIIImalocclusionsusuallyneedacombinedtreatmentof orthodonticsandorthognathicsurgery. Knowing about changes occurred following such treatments lead to improve facial esthetics and better treatment results. Objectives: Thisstudywasdonetodeterminecephalometricchangesof facialsofttissueaftercombinedtreatmentinpatientswith skeletal class III problem. Methods: 25 patients with skeletal class III discrepancy who needed a combined treatment, were selected. Changes in nasolabial angle , upper lip and lower lip to E-line distance, angle of convexity , lip-chin-throat angle and lower anterior facial height were measured before and 6 - 12 months after surgery. Changes in parameters were analyzed with Paired t-test. Results: Upper lip to E-line distance (P < 0.0001) and angle of convexity (P < 0.001) changed significantly following surgical proce-dures while changes of other parameters were not significant. Conclusions: Clinical changes in the soft tissue following a combination of orthodontic treatment and orthognathic surgery in patients with skeletal class III discrepancy are significant while these changes mostly improves esthetics of patient's facial profile. determine cephalometric changes of facial soft tissue after bimaxillary orthongathic surgery in patients with class


Introduction: Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency is a rare hereditary disorder characterized by chronic hemolytic anemia and long-term complications such as iron overload, osteoporosis, and pulmonary hypertension. There are no patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments that are specific for this condition. The PK Deficiency Diary (PKDD), a disease-specific PRO, was designed as an evening diary to assess signs and symptoms for patients with PK deficiency. The seven-item instrument assesses tiredness, jaundice, bone pain, shortness of breath, and energy levels. Six of the seven items employ a numeric rating scale (NRS) ranging from 0-10 and one item uses a 5-point verbal descriptor scale. The instrument underwent psychometric validation using blinded data from the eighty patients participating in the ACTIVATE trial, a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, phase 3 trial of mitapivat, an allosteric activator of PK, in non-regularly transfused adults with PK deficiency (NCT03548220).
 Methods: Completion rates and baseline response distributions were characterized using descriptive statistics. Inter-item correlations were estimated and item response theory (IRT) modeling was applied. A scoring system was established with item weighting informed by IRT modeling. The resultant baseline scores were used to assess reliability (internal consistency and test-retest) and validity (convergent and known-groups). Change scores for group comparisons were evaluated via anchor-based methods using the Patient Global Impression of Severity (PGIS) changes from baseline to weeks 12 and 24. The PGIS had a 5-point verbal descriptor scale (Not at all, A little, Moderately, A lot, and Very much).
 Results: Baseline PKDD data were available for 77 patients (96% completion rate). Response distributions skewed right with sparse endorsements at the higher levels, especially for the NRS-rated items. To facilitate IRT modeling, responses were recoded to a 0-4 scale. The IRT model for the baseline item responses resulted in adequate fit [Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA) 0.09, 95% CI = (<0.01, 0.132)]. Daily sum scores were first calculated and then converted to T-scores (mean of 50 and standard deviation of 10) employing a scoring conversion (Table). The conversion of sum scores to T-scores is based on the expected a-priori scores (Z) from the IRT model. A higher score represents more severe symptomatology and higher disease burden.
 Internal consistency was assessed with McDonald's coefficient, ω = 0.86, indicating a high level of reliability. Test-retest reliability via a two-way mixed effects Intra-Class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was also high (0.94). Convergent validity was established when correlating PKDD scores with the FACT-An (|r| = 0.73), the SF-12 PCS (|r| = 0.54), and the SF-12 MCS (|r| = 0.30). Known-groups validity was moderate with mean scores ordering approximately as expected across baseline PGIS ratings and a linear trend (η 2 = 0.27).
 Changes in scores from baseline to weeks 12 and 24 were assessed by stratifying PKDD scores by changes in PGIS (no change as the reference group). By comparing patients who reported a 2-point worsening in severity to those who reported no change on the PGIS, estimates of a change in PKDD scores at weeks 12 and 24 ranged from 3.0 to 13.9 points. Per anchor-based methods, a change of approximately 5 to 8 points could be considered a meaningful change in PKDD score.
 Conclusions: The PKDD is now the first validated disease-specific PRO to assess signs and symptoms in patients with PK deficiency. The PKDD showed high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity. Further research investigating meaningful change scores would be beneficial. Due to the rare nature of PK deficiency, the ACTIVATE study enrolled a small number of patients overall, which was a limitation in the anchor-based determination of meaningful change. Thus, the recommended estimates of meaningful change, although interpretable for the current study, are not definitive and could benefit from further investigation.
 Figure 1 Figure 1.

 Zagadailov: Agios Pharmaceuticals: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Li: Agios Pharmaceuticals: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Tai: Agios Pharmaceuticals: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Boscoe: Agios Pharmaceuticals: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company.