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4,509,500 | Canopy Management and Enzyme Impacts on Merlot, Cabernet franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. II. Wine Composition and Quality Merlot, Cabernet franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon vines in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, were subjected to four treatments in a randomized complete block experiment: hedged control, cluster thinning at veraison (CT), basal leaf removal (BLR), and CT+BLR. Musts from each treatment replicate (CT+BLR excepted) were thereafter either left untreated or treated with one of ColorPro or Color X enzymes. In most cases, CT and CT+BLR treatments had the highest wine anthocyanin and phenol concentrations and the highest color intensities (A420 + A520). Leaf removal resulted in small increases in wine color intensity and anthocyanin and phenol concentrations. Cluster thinned and BLR treatments both reduced titratable acidity (TA) and increased pH relative to controls, but BLR tended to be more effective than CT. The CT+BLR treatments usually resulted in the lowest TA and the highest pH. Enzyme treatments increased wine TA and reduced pH and typically increased color intensity, total anthocyanins, and phenols. Both viticultural and enological treatments had noteworthy impacts on individual wine phenolic compounds and anthocyanins, although the viticultural treatments were more efficacious. The viticultural treatments enhanced intensities of several aroma and retronasal descriptors (e.g., black fruit, black pepper, tobacco) and reduced those of others (e.g., bean/pea, mushroom). The CT+BLR treatment has the potential to substantially improve fruit and wine composition in cool-climate regions; negatively, excessive leaf removal could result in lowered ethanol and undesirable increases in pH. Enzyme treatment has the potential for increased color intensity, but with occasional increases | 97005321 |
4,509,501 | in TA. | 97005321 |
4,509,502 | Low-dose 1064-nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser for the treatment of melasma Abstract Background: Melasma is a common acquired pigmentary disorder which is sometimes hard to treat with conventional methods. Various kinds of modalities have been applied for the treatment of melasma but none shows constantly good results. Objectives: In this study, we would like to know the effect of low-dose 1064-nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (QSNYL) on melasma and want to evaluate the changes of skin after laser treatment. Methods: Twenty melasma patients were enrolled. Two regions were evaluated from each patient; a total of 40 sites. The 1064-nm QSNYL at fluences of 2.0–3.5 J/cm2 was used to treat the whole face, including the melasma lesions. The fluence was adjusted individually and increased until erythema was developed on the laser-treated area. The treatment was performed five times with a 1-week interval. Non-invasive measuring methods, including a chromatometer, mexameter, cutometer, visioscan and a corneometer, were used before and after treatment. Results: The L-value from the chromatometer, which reflects the lightness of skin, was increased (0.86 ± 1.67, p < 0.05). The melanin index from the mexameter was significantly decreased (–28.23 ± 28.21, p < 0.001). The SEw value from the visioscan, which reflects the degree of wrinkling, decreased (–5.80 ± 0.59, p = 0.040). None of the other measurement parameters showed significant changes. Conclusions: Low-dose 1064-nm QSNYL appears to be an effective treatment modality for melasma. | 21940871 |
4,509,503 | Method for calculating the link importance of power communication network based on link availability With the continuous deepening of the construction of power communication networks, the protection of sites in power communication networks has become increasingly mature. However, there are fewer studies on link protection. This paper proposes a method for calculating the link importance of power communication network based on link availability. This method calculates the probability of normal transmission of each service through the link availability rate and service work route in the power communication network. Combining the number of services and the importance of each service, the service importance of the active and the standby routes carried by each link are calculated. The link importance of the power communication network is finally obtained. This paper combines the characteristics of the active and standby routes unique to the power service, and uses the service importance carried by the link in the power communication network to quantify the link importance. The link importance is corrected by the availability of each link to overcome the traditional method whose evaluation results are not accurate. | 211057521 |
4,509,504 | [30 years' experience with posterior fundoplasty in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux (analysis of 1499 cases)]. Posterior fundoplasty, is an antireflux procedure we introduced in 1966 after experimental laboratory trials and published in 1969. To data, we have operated more than 2,000 cas. Although we now also use laparoscopic procedures, the present study reports our experience with 1499 patients who underwent the conventional procedure and who have been followed for 4 to 30 years. Mortality has been nil and mean failure rate was 9.6%. One important feature of this technique is the low incidence of undesirable effects: 3.66% dysphagia (none required dilatation), 3.94% impossibility to vomit, and 4.94% difficulties in belching. This study establishes comparisons between this group of 1499 patients and another group of 68 patients who underwent the original Nissen procedure performed under laparoscopy by the same surgeon and followed for a similar period. Such a larger personal series followed for 30 years is rare in the medical literature. | 19224521 |
4,509,505 | Isoscaling of mass A ≃ 40 reconstructed quasiprojectiles from collisions in the Fermi energy regime Isoscaling studies of fragments with Z=1-8 from reconstructed quasiprojectiles of mass A ≃40 from the 40Ca + 112,124Sn and 40Ar + 112,124Sn reactions at beam energy of 45 MeV/nucleon were performed. After initial efforts to obtain isoscaling using pairs of systems differing in their neutron-to-proton ratio N/Z, “intra-system” isoscaling for each of these four systems was obtained using fragment sources restricted in two narrow N/Z zones, one neutron rich and one neutron poor. The observed isoscaling behaviour was excellent and the isoscaling parameter α was found to decrease as the excitation energy increases. Corrections due to undetected neutrons were also taken into account in the source N/Z determination by using the theoretical models DIT (Deep Inelastic Transfer) and SMM (Statistical Multifragmentation Model) along with a software replica of the experimental setup. The reduced isoscaling parameter α/∆ was found to decrease as the excitation energy of the quasiprojectile source increases, in good agreement with recent work on reconstructed mass A ≃ 80 quasiprojectiles. This decrease of α/∆ may point to a decrease of the symmetry energy coefficient with increasing excitation energy. | 214243921 |
4,509,506 | Long-Term Management of Incidental Bladder Cancer Detected in Patients Undergoing Prostatectomy for Prostate Cancer Introduction: At our institution, screening for incidental bladder cancer is routinely performed to avoid tumor cell dissemination caused by surgery in patients undergoing prostatectomy for prostate cancer (PCa). Here, we report the long-term clinical results in patients with incidental bladder cancer detected by routine screening prior to prostatectomy. Materials and Methods: Between January 2003 and December 2013, 430 patients undergoing prostatectomy for resection of PCa were enrolled in this cohort study. All patients underwent screening with cystoscopy, urinary sediment analysis, and urinary cytology to detect incidental bladder cancer. The clinical outcomes of cases with incidental bladder cancer were evaluated. Results: The incidence of incidental bladder cancer was 2.1% (9/430). All tumors were single papillary tumors located around the urinary orifice or lateral side and were diagnosed as urothelial cancer (UC). No significant findings were detected by urinary sediment analysis or urinary cytology. Pathological results of transurethral resections revealed 5 cases of pTa with Grade 1 UC and 4 cases of pTa with Grade 2 UC. Androgen-deprivation therapy was administered to 8/9 patients. During the observation period (average of 7.2 years), UC recurrence was detected in 2 cases (2 and 7.3 years). However, transurethral resection successfully removed the tumor completely. After an average of 19.6 months (12-25 months) without UC recurrence, 7 patients (77.8%) underwent prostatectomy, and 2 patients received radiation or androgen-deprivation therapy. Prostatectomy was carried out without dissemination of UC during the observation period. Conclusion: Incidental UC was detected in 2.1% | 208176621 |
4,509,507 | of prostatectomy candidates. Preoperative routine screening with flexible cystoscopy was useful to detect early incidental UC. | 208176621 |
4,509,508 | Signaling and mediation in Bayesian games Two players participate in a Bayesian game. Before they take any actions each receives a stochastic signal that depends on the actual state of nature. The signals the players receive are determined by the information structure, which in turn, determines the equilibria of the game. Two information structures are equivalent with respect to a certain solution concept, if the equilibria they generate induce the same distributions over outcomes. We characterize when two information structures are equivalent with respect to three solution concepts: Nash equilibrium, agent-normal-form correlated equilibrium and the Bayesian solution. | 18506571 |
4,509,509 | Prevalence of metabolic syndrome parameters in a Romanian population of young adults Parametrii sindromului metabolic la o popula Ńie de tineri adulŃi din România Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of the me tabolic syndrome and its components among a Romanian population of young adults. Methods : During 2010-2011, 235 medical students were enroll ed in this cross sectional study to investigate the metabolic syndrome prevalence. The metabolic syndrome was def ined based on the International Diabetes Federation crit eria. Data were processed using SPSS version 17. T- student test, Chi square test and Pearson coefficient were used for statistical anal ysis. Results: The metabolic syndrome prevalence recorded on the entire group was 1.28%. The highest prevalence for a metabolic syndr ome component was abnormal waist circumference (49.4%), follo wed by low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) (13.58%); the prevalence of hypertriglyceride mia was 3.08%. The average value of HDLc was signif icantly lower in the subgroup with abnormal waist cir cumference compared to the subgroup with a normal one both in women and in men. In women, the average BMI was also significantly higher in the subgroup with waist circumference above the threshold limit. In terms o f gender analysis, women presented a significant ly higher prevalence of abnormal waist abdominal circumferenc e. (63.6% versus 15.7%). Conclusions: Although the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was not high (1.28%), the high prevalence (49.4%) of the mandatory diagn osis criteria (WC over a threshold value) allow ed us to conclude that primary prevention interventio ns for metabolic | 74330021 |
4,509,510 | syndrome are needed within the population group rep resented by young adults. | 74330021 |
4,509,511 | Clinicopathological features and outcomes of coexistent light chain cast nephropathy and light chain deposition disease in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma Aims A varying proportion of patients with multiple myeloma suffer from more than one type of kidney disease simultaneously, of which the most common pattern is coexistent light chain cast nephropathy and light chain deposition disease (LCCN+LCDD). We investigated clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of LCCN+LCDD in comparison with pure LCCN and pure LCDD. Methods We retrospectively analysed 45 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients with pure LCCN (n=26), LCCN +LCDD (n=9) and pure LCDD (n=10) between 2000 and 2019 at Peking University First Hospital. Results Pathologically, patients with LCCN+LCDD were more likely to have λ light chain isotype and presented atypical features of LCDD including less nodular glomerulosclerosis and less deposit distribution than patients with pure LCDD. In clinical characteristics, patients with LCCN +LCDD and patients with pure LCCN shared similar features. The death-censored renal survival in patients with LCCN +LCDD was similar to patients with pure LCCN but worse than patients with pure LCDD, but the overall survival was much better than patients with LCCN alone and similar to patients with pure LCDD. For patients with pure LCCN, the independent predictor of death-censored renal survival was lactate dehydrogenase, and the independent predictors of overall survival were the mean number of casts and serum albumin. Conclusions Patients with LCCN+LCDD had similar renal outcome compared with patients with pure LCCN but the overall survival is much better. Thus, for patients with LCCN, especially those with λ | 235677421 |
4,509,512 | restriction, pathologists should carefully evaluate the kidney specimens to exclude the possibility of combined LCDD. | 235677421 |
4,509,513 | Durga Puja Pandals of Kolkata 2016: The Heritage and the Design Durga Puja [1] also known as Sharadotsav or Durgotsava is an annual festival of West Bengal, India, where artists, designers and architects use innovative themes to decorate unique pandals to impress the visitors each year. It involves planning and tedious hard work to give it virtual form. It was interesting that Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is the capital of India's West Bengal state has an area of 185 km2, more than 4500 pandals [2] were erected in that area during the five day of Durga Puja was from October 7 until October 11, 2016. Each year there are unique themes which comprise art and design techniques at the single place, time and event. Pandals are distinctive from each other, also they deliver a meaningful message to the society. Those pandals are not only a matter of rituals, devotion and aesthetics, but it is a way to realise the ideologies that are dominating current society. It needed to physically capture the event and document the designs, to understand it with soul, spirit and body. The author connected, visited, studied, captured and documented as a researcher of new media art and faculty of traditional, digital and modern installations. The author finds it was the biggest event which can tell so much about current practices, that no other event in the country can knowledge the variety in the context of art and design techniques then this one of a kind held in the country. This paper will explain and | 201578421 |
4,509,514 | acknowledge the art, and design techniques used in some of Durga Puja pandals where the author visited during 7th -11th October 2016 in Kolkata. | 201578421 |
4,509,515 | Studies of the alignment properties of antiferroelectric liquid crystals by X-ray diffraction It is observed optically that in a parallel rubbed antiferroelectric liquid crystal device, the texture consists of domains with two distinct optic axes, which make equal and opposite angles with the rubbing direction. It is proposed that this is caused by a large electroclinic effect at the surfaces during layer formation in the SmA* phase. This hypothesis is verified by finding the layer structure in single, parallel and skew rubbed devices by using X-ray diffraction. | 122653021 |
4,509,516 | Exogenous High-Mobility Group Box 1 Protein Induces Myocardial Regeneration After Infarction via Enhanced Cardiac C-Kit+ Cell Proliferation and Differentiation High-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) is a chromatin protein that is released by inflammatory and necrotic cells. Extracellular HMGB1 signals tissue damage, stimulates the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, and modulates stem cell function. The present study examined exogenous HMGB1 effect on mouse left-ventricular function and myocyte regeneration after infarction. Myocardial infarction was induced in C57BL/6 mice by permanent coronary artery ligation. After 4 hours animals were reoperated and 200 ng of purified HMGB1 was administered in the peri-infarcted left ventricle. This intervention resulted in the formation of new myocytes within the infarcted portion of the wall. The regenerative process involved the proliferation and differentiation of endogenous cardiac c-kit+ progenitor cells. Circulating c-kit+ cells did not significantly contribute to HMGB1-mediated cardiac regeneration. Echocardiographic and hemodynamic parameters at 1, 2, and 4 weeks demonstrated a significant recovery of cardiac performance in HMGB1-treated mice. These effects were not observed in infarcted hearts treated either with the unrelated protein glutathione S-transferase or a truncated form of HMGB1. Thus, HMGB1 appears to be a potent inducer of myocardial regeneration following myocardial infarction. | 15034521 |
4,509,517 | Control of polynomial dynamical systems on rectangles In this paper we focus on a particular class of nonlinear dynamical systems given by polynomial vector fields in rectangular domains (boxes). This is a generalization of the work of Belta and Habets dealing with multi-affine dynamical systems on rectangles. The main idea is to use the blossoming principle which allows us to relate our polynomial dynamical system to a multi-affine one. This technique allows us to establish sufficient conditions for invariance of a rectangle or exit of a rectangle through a given facet. We extend these results to handle control synthesis. Finally, we show how our approach can be used to solve motion planning problem. | 5751221 |
4,509,518 | Oscillations of differential equations with several non-monotone advanced arguments Consider the first-order advanced differential equation of the form where qi, 1 ≤ i ≤ m are functions of non-negative real numbers, and σi, 1 ≤ i ≤ m are functions of positive real numbers such that σi(t) > t for t ≥ t0. New oscillation criteria, involving lim sup and lim inf, are established, in the case of non-monotone advanced arguments. An example illustrating the results is also given. | 120531071 |
4,509,519 | Physiologic responses to sudden, loud tones in monozygotic twins discordant for combat exposure: association with posttraumatic stress disorder. BACKGROUND Larger heart rate responses to sudden, loud (startling) tones represent one of the best-replicated psychophysiologic markers for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This abnormality may be a pretrauma vulnerability factor, ie, it may have been present prior to the event's occurrence and increased the individual's likelihood of developing PTSD on traumatic exposure. Alternately, it may be an acquired PTSD sign, ie, it may have developed after the traumatic exposure, along with the PTSD. Studying identical twins discordant for traumatic exposure offers an opportunity to resolve these competing origins. METHODS Subjects included pairs of Vietnam combat veterans and their non-combat-exposed, monozygotic twins. Combat veterans were diagnosed as having current PTSD (n = 50) or non-PTSD (ie, never had) (n = 53). All subjects listened to a series of 15 sudden, loud tone presentations while heart rate, skin conductance, and orbicularis oculi electromyogram responses were measured. RESULTS Consistent with previous reports, averaged heart rate responses to the tones were larger in Vietnam combat veterans with PTSD. These larger responses were not shared by their non-combat-exposed co-twins, whose responses were similar to those of the non-PTSD combat veterans and their non-combat-exposed co-twins. This result remained significant after adjusting for a number of potentially confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that larger heart rate responses to sudden, loud tones represent an acquired sign of PTSD rather than a familial vulnerability factor. | 13051171 |
4,509,520 | The Regressive Recovery: Distribution, Inequality and State Power in Britain's Post-Crisis Political Economy This article interrogates the underlying mechanisms at the heart of Britain's post-crisis political economy. We argue that the contemporary economic recovery has been characterised by a dynamic of ‘regressive redistribution’: a socially regressive dynamic of state-led economic restructuring that has worked through two axes at the centre of the recovery. The first axis, a monetary policy framework centred upon Quantitative Easing, has driven asset-price inflation to the benefit of the wealthiest asset holders. The second axis centres upon the politics of regressive labour market restructuring which has provoked widespread wage deflation. In combination, these two axes have been central to defining the contours of the Britain's post-crisis political economy paradigm: characterised by rising asset wealth for the few, and falling living standards alongside increasing economic insecurity for wage earners. The opportunity to change path from the trends of deepening inequality that defined the pre-crisis era has not been taken. Instead, the prevailing policy paradigm of the post-crisis period – discursively unified and sustained by David Cameron's government – has intensified the regressively redistributive dynamics at the core of the neo-liberal project. Ultimately, this is likely to further entrench structural weaknesses in Britain's economy in the years ahead. | 154283421 |
4,509,521 | Total Synthesis of the Diterpenoid Alkaloid Arcutinidine Using a Strategy Inspired by Chemical Network Analysis. Arcutinidine and other arcutinidine-type diterpenoid alkaloids feature an intricate polycyclic, bridged framework with unusual connectivity. A chemical network analysis approach to the arcutane skeleton enabled the identification of highly simplifying retrosynthetic disconnections, which indicated that the caged structure could arise from a simpler fused ring system. On this basis, a total synthesis of arcutinidine is reported herein, featuring an unprecedented oxopyrrolium Diels-Alder cycloaddition which furnishes a key tetracyclic intermediate. In addition, the synthesis utilizes a diastereoselective oxidative dearomatiza-tion/cycloaddition sequence and a SmI2-mediated C-C coupling to forge the bridged framework of the natural products. This synthetic plan may also enable future investigations into the biosynthetic relationships between the arcutanes, the related diterpenoid atropurpuran, and other diterpenoid alkaloids. | 195812221 |
4,509,522 | Identification of clusters of investors from their real trading activity in a financial market We use statistically validated networks, a recently introduced method of validating links in a bipartite system, to identify clusters of investors trading in a financial market. Specifically, we investigate a special database allowing us to track the trading activity of individual investors of Nokia stock. We find that many statistically detected clusters of investors show a very high degree of synchronization in time when they decide to trade and in the trading action taken. We investigate the composition of these clusters and find that several of them show an over-expression of specific categories of investors. | 1549771 |
4,509,523 | Impaired cognitive modification for estimating time duration in Parkinson’s disease Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with various cognitive impairments. However, the nature of cognitive modification in patients with PD remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we examined whether patients with PD could correct and maintain subjective time duration and line length estimation. After training sessions, in which participants repeatedly memorized either a duration or a length, we compared a learning performance in 20 PD patients with 20 healthy controls. In the case of duration in the PD patients, the learned durations immediately returned to baseline of pre-training within a few minutes. However, the patients’ ability to learn length estimation remained unimpaired. In contrast, healthy controls were able to retain the learned duration and length estimations. Time compression in PD's internal clock may become entrained to their altered duration estimation even after learning of accurate time duration. These deficits may be associated with disrupting cognitive modification in PD. | 56483521 |
4,509,524 | Comparison of low complexity clipping algorithms for OFDM This paper explores low complexity clipping of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmit signal for critically sampled or oversampled complex data as a solution for the peak to average power reduction (PAPR) problem. Four existing clipping algorithms are compared to two new low complexity algorithms in an OFDM environment. Their performance is examined through mathematical analysis and simulation to find the effect of clipping on the signal to noise ratio (SNR). The complexity of each algorithm is compared in terms of hardware operations. One solution is a variation of a Lucent patent called vector subtraction that avoids the division in the scaling operation for a minor reduction in the SNR (<0.5 dB for 3 iterations). The other solution called sector clipping limits the signal to a predefined level without the need of a magnitude estimate, avoiding the need for multipliers, divisions, square roots, or look up tables (LUT). This is at the expense of a 1 to 4 dB (dependant on clip level and number of sectors) decrease in the SNR compared to the optimum clipping approach. Both methods are suitable for low power integrated circuit implementation with low memory requirements and low latency. | 14799371 |
4,509,525 | Trajectory of marketing function ‒ from traditions to innovations Purpose – to review modern marketing concepts, definitions of the constituent elements in the marketing system at enterprises and to substantiate the basic postulates underlying the development of innovative marketing at enterprises in order to improve competitiveness of products. Design/Method/Approach. In the course of the study we used methods of theoretical generalization, reasoning and abstraction, as well as analytical, monographic, dialectic methods. Findings. We have revealed the essence and content of the concept of marketing. It has been substantiated that the development of marketing support is a sophisticated dialectical process of interaction between factors from the external environment and the targeted influence of drivers associated with the production of competitive products that satisfy certain market needs. We have reviewed and substantiated the essence, objectives, basic tools and principles of marketing function. We have developed and scientifically substantiated organizational components in the innovative marketing at enterprises based on ensuring the coordinated interaction between their innovation and marketing activities. The essence, content, and principles of the term "innovative marketing" have been defined. We propose a classification of varieties of innovative marketing depending on their functional belonging. Practical implications. Results of the study can be used in the development of proposals related to the effective formation and application of marketing at an enterprise. Originality/Value. We have devised a classification of the marketing function at an enterprise. The basic principles of marketing function have been substantiated. We have defined the methodological provisions for studying the marketing function at an enterprise. The | 199289221 |
4,509,526 | essence, content, and structure of innovative marketing have been determined as an important and integral component of conducting an economic activity by an enterprise, which implies the creation of a fundamentally new product (good, technology, service); the application of innovative marketing has been emphasized for improving business processes at an enterprise. Research limitations/Future research. The task is to develop an effective mechanism for the efficient functioning of marketing under different situational and market-led fluctuations under conditions of market volatility. Paper type – theoretical. | 199289221 |
4,509,527 | The evaluation of the applicability of using gold plating to enhance the predictability and strength of base metal post ceramic gold solder joints when using a flux that does not discolour the porcelain The unpredictability of solder joints in dental base metal alloys constitute a major problem. This study aimed to establish whether gold plating the joint surfaces of a metal ceramic base metal alloy prior to postceramic soldering would enhance the predictability of the soldering method and joint strength. 150 standardised test specimens were prepared from 3 Oegussa dental alloys, viz Resistal P (Nier), Oegulor M (AUPt) and Realor (PdAU). The Resistal P specimens were subjected to 6 porcelain firing cycles and solder joint surfaces of 40 specimens gold plated prior to soldering, using gold plating equipment and solutions found in the jewellery industry. suitable fluxes were used and all soldering was done in a porcelain furnace. First the soldering method was validated by soldering 20 oegulor M specimens and determining the tensile strength of the 10 joints in an Instron testing machine. The data were then compared with the ISO minimum standards. The soldering method proved sound and a control was thus established. secondly, using 3 alloy combinations without gold plating, 30 solder joints were made and their tensile strengths determined. This established the level of predictability and strength and parameters for comparison. Thirdly, the above procedure was repeated, but the Resistal P specimen joint surfaces were gold plated prior to investing for soldering. The levels of predictability and strength were then compared with | 136427171 |
4,509,528 | the parameters set. The fracture sites of broken joints were examined and photographed using a metallurgical microscope. The data were analysed using 4 statistical tests. The Oegulor M control group solder joints were the strongest and the Resistal P joints the weakest. The success rates for the non-plated joints were; oegulor M to oegulor M = 100%, Resistal P to oegulor M = 90%, Resistal P to Realor = 80% and Resistal P to Resistal P = 60%. The success rates for the gold plated joints were; Resistal P to oegulor M = 60%, Resistal P to Realor = 40% and Resistal P to Resistal P = 80%. This study found, under the circumstances of testing, that gold plating of the base metal alloy prior to investing for postceramic soldering did not enhance the strength, solderability and predictability of the solder joints to an extent that a flux that does not discolour porcelain can be used. | 136427171 |
4,509,529 | Macroscopic model of electron cyclotron current drive This paper presents a macroscopic model to describe the dynamics of electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD). A fully relativistic distribution function formed by both drifting bi-Maxwellian and Dory–Guest–Harris type components is used to represent the energetic stream of current-carrying electrons. The model is readily applied to examine the current drive efficiency of high-power ECCD experiments, reproducing the main experimental features in a simple form. | 120841671 |
4,509,530 | Cryptic Self-Fertilization in the Malpighiaceae Some Malpighiaceae produce minute cleistogamous flowers in addition to showy chasmogamous flowers. Standard techniques fail to reveal how the cleistogamous flowers achieve self-fertilization. Fluorescence in longitudinal sections shows that the pollen germinates inside the indehiscent anther. The pollen tubes then grow down through the filament,. into the receptacle, up into the carpels, and into the nucellar beak of the ovule. | 12519121 |
4,509,531 | The neurology of AIDS. Some people may be laughing when looking at you reading in your spare time. Some may be admired of you. And some may want be like you who have reading hobby. What about your own feel? Have you felt right? Reading is a need and a hobby at once. This condition is the on that will make you feel that you must read. If you know are looking for the book enPDFd the neurology of aids as the choice of reading, you can find here. | 45651421 |
4,509,532 | Decision making under time constraint: From heuristics to strategy In this study, we discuss bilateral decision making under time constraint. The problem on time constraint is to evaluate the value of the cost of time for decision procedures. We propose a formula to compute the cost of time by introduction of opportunity cost to its evaluation. We also propose a formula on a strategic point for decision making under time constraint. The strategic point is located at the one-third of the entire or remaining duration for decision procedures instead of a heuristic point of its half time. We have conducted a feasibility check on the formulas on the cost of time and the strategic point in their applications to a case study. | 27574971 |
4,509,533 | Early pet exposure: friend or foe? Purpose of reviewSensitization to pets is a risk factor for asthma and it was assumed that pet ownership was a risk factor for sensitization. Epidemiological studies failed to confirm this, some even suggesting that keeping pets decreased the risk of sensitization and asthma. In the last year, 10 studies have been published which have, at least in part, attempted to address the question. The results, however, are heterogeneous and it is still not clear how we should advise our patients on this issue of pet ownership. Recent findingsResults of studies of the association between exposure to cat or cat allergen and the development of sensitization are such that almost any view on the relationship could be supported by evidence from the literature. For dogs, there are fewer data, but there is little to suggest that keeping a dog increases the risk of sensitization to dog. The majority of studies reviewed find either no association or a reduced risk of asthma amongst pet owners, but only one of these selectively excludes those who deliberately avoid pets from the analysis. There is evidence to suggest that amongst non-pet owners, the risk of sensitization and of asthma increases in areas with a high proportion of pet owners. There is evidence emerging that the effect of exposure to pets may be different in different relative risk groups, based on parental allergy. There is also evidence that asthma is more severe amongst pet sensitized pet owners. SummaryThere are several large birth cohort studies being conducted | 5713721 |
4,509,534 | around the world designed to measure the development of asthma and allergies in children with prospective and objective measures of environmental exposures. The results of such studies are required before the association between pets and asthma can be determined. | 5713721 |
4,509,535 | Key correlation mining by simultaneous monotone and anti-monotone constraints checking Correlated pattern mining has become increasingly an important task in data mining and knowledge discovery. In practice, the exploitation of correlated patterns is hampered by the high number of the generated patterns. Thus, the integration of the constraint of frequency with the constraint of correlation has been proved to be very interesting by mining Frequent correlated patterns [2, 14] and Rare correlated patterns [4, 3]. In this situation, the main task concerns the manipulation of the constraints of correlation and of frequency. One way to deal with this issue is to mine all the correlated patterns and then to filter by the constraint of frequency. However, this filtering is done as a post-processing phase and it suffers from the important number of patterns and loses the opportunity to exploit the selectivity power of both constraints. In this paper, we introduce an approach that puts the focus on mining rare correlated patterns according to the bond measure. We were based on the simultaneous integration of the anti-monotone constraint of correlation and the monotone constraint of rarity during the mining process. Our experimental studies shows an important benefit when early pushing the constraints of distinct types. We also flag out better performances than the Gmjp approach [3] which also dealt with both types of constraints. | 4300421 |
4,509,536 | P24.10: A case of uterine rupture in the subsequent third trimester pregnancy after prior laparoscopic cornual resection A 24 year old primipara with previous unremarkable antenatal course, presented with an episode of RUQ pain at 30 weeks’ gestation. Investigations showed rapidly rising levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels, which was of placental origin. Sonography of the hepatobiliary tract was normal. The abdominal pain settled, but the serum levels of ALP activity continued to rise. The woman subsequently had investigations and very close follow-up to exclude liver, kidney, bone, ovarian and autoimmune pathology. The patient had close foetal ultrasound surveillance and biochemical monitoring. By 36 weeks, the ALP had risen to 2700 U/l. In view of concerns about placental function, induction of labour was carried out at 39 weeks. She proceeded to an uneventful vaginal delivery of a healthy female infant weighing 3465 g. The placenta looked normal in appearance and weighed 660 g. Microscopy revealed moderate chronic intervillositis and patchy areas of infarcts and increased perivillous fibrin deposition. After delivery, ALP activity returned to normal reference range within 8 weeks. A literature review found 5 similar cases, all of which also had a normal neonatal and maternal outcome. As long as other causes are excluded, a raised ALP of placental origin does not appear to confer increased risks to the mother or fetus. | 71074921 |
4,509,537 | Age‐Specific Detection and False‐Positive Rates: An Aid to Counseling in Down Syndrome Risk Screening Objective: To determine whether the serum screening test for Down syndrome provides equal detection efficacy for women of all ages, to improve the data available for patient counseling both before testing and afterward in the event of a positive result. Methods: We examined the effect of age on Down screening by generating a set of “normal” and “Down syndrome” likelihood ratios by computer simulation. The expected false‐positive and detection rates were derived for different age groups by counting the proportion of cases in which the likelihood ratio could modify the age‐specific risk to be greater than the cutoff risk of one in 300 (equivalent to an incidence of 3.33 per 1000). The predictive value of a positive result was calculated using Baye's theorem. Results: Detection rates, false‐positive rates, and predictive values were shown to be age‐dependent. Conclusions: Knowledge of the age dependency of Down syndrome screening results may be useful in explaining to patients that the Down screen can only detect a proportion of cases and that a negative result does not guarantee normality. This knowledge may also be helpful in minimizing psychological stress, as a positive result indicates only a small chance that the fetus will have Down syndrome. (Obstet Gynecol 1993;81:447–50) | 32749721 |
4,509,538 | How Does the Brain Keep Information “in Mind”? For decades, theoreticians and experimentalists have worked under the assumption that the short-term retention of information depends on elevated activity in the neural elements that represent this information. This was reinforced by the observation of elevated activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during the performance of working memory tasks. Increasingly, however, researchers are realizing that the face-value interpretation of regional patterns of elevated activity, including in the PFC, is constrained, a priori, to the principle that brain functions (like working memory) are organized in a modular manner. This is at odds with our current understanding of the brain as a highly distributed, dynamical system capable of multiplexed processing. An alternative empirical approach, the application of multivariate pattern analysis to neural data sets, has led to two important developments in our conceptualization of working memory. First, it has shown that sustained delay-period activity in the PFC (and elsewhere) often does not correspond to the active retention, per se, of information. Second, it has provided strong empirical evidence for two mechanisms that may underlie our ability to keep in mind small amounts of information with which we can guide our behavior: sensorimotor recruitment, and the temporary activation of long-term memory representations. | 45511971 |
4,509,539 | An Improved Variable Step-Size Dual-Mode Blind Equalization Algorithm for QAM Signals An Improved Variable Step-Size Dual-Mode Blind Equalization Algorithm for QAM Signals is proposed in this paper. The algorithm which is combining the Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE) structure uses a variable step-size in its start-up mode to speed up its convergence rate, and then switches to the Directed Decision (DD) as the tracking mode to reduce the residual error after convergence. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has a faster convergence rate and lower residual error, and can compensate the phase rotation automatically. | 14019221 |
4,509,540 | Online grocery systems design through task analysis Purpose – Modelling users' interactions online is envisaged to allow developers to increase the usability of online systems and will aid system developers in building better systems to meet users' needs, hereby creating better system design processes. This paper aims to investigate this issue.Design/methodology/approach – The normative task model that was developed in this paper was created through an expert review of 14 online grocery stores, using a reverse engineering technique to model the features of the stores' ordering process.Findings – The research identified three main areas of user experience when undertaking the process of adding a product to an online trolley: attempting to retrieve the product, receiving the results of the retrieval attempt, and adding the product to the trolley. These three classifications were used as the basis for an analysis of errors.Practical implications – The findings present a model that can be used to further understand the processes of customers as they engage in ... | 6908821 |
4,509,541 | “Dickheads” and “Cool Cops”: The Impact of Officers’ Perceived Cultural and Contextual Competence on Black Men's Appraisals of Police Public support for police reached a record low during the summer of 2020. To ameliorate police-community relations, research has sought to identify how community attitudes towards police are built. Studies often find that Black individuals are less likely to trust and be satisfied with police than their non-Black counterparts largely due to negative direct and vicarious experiences. This finding has led to an empirical focus on how officers engage, with limited research on why officers engage in certain ways. Without analyzing motives for conduct, the critical gaze remains blind to broader social and cultural issues that may inform and motivate some officers’ harmful and discriminatory actions. The current study highlights how Black men implicate segregation, media-induced miseducation, cultural and contextual incompetence, and hostile police culture for mutual distrust and officers’ misconduct. These findings promote harm reductionist policy to enhance officers’ cultural and contextual competence and encourage researchers and practitioners to consider an abolitionist agenda that a) focuses on the implementation and evaluation of novel and existing trauma-informed, community-based means of addressing harm in order to ultimately dissolve police power, and b) promotes cultural shifts by increasing diverse learning opportunities and critical curriculum in educational spaces. | 253995221 |
4,509,542 | The Outcome of Local Radiation Injuries: 14 Years of Follow-up after the Chernobyl Accident Abstract Gottlöber, P., Steinert, M., Weiss, M., Bebeshko, V., Belyi, D., Nadejina, N., Stefani, F. H., Wagemaker, G., Fliedner, T. M. and Peter, R. U. The Outcome of Local Radiation Injuries: 14 Years of Follow-up after the Chernobyl Accident. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident on April 26, 1986 was the largest in the history of the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Of the 237 individuals initially suspected to have been significantly exposed to radiation during or in the immediate aftermath of the accident, the diagnosis of acute radiation sickness (ARS) could be confirmed in 134 cases on the basis of clinical symptoms. Of these, 54 patients suffered from cutaneous radiation syndrome (CRS) to varying degrees. Among the 28 patients who died from the immediate consequences of accidental radiation exposure, acute hemopoietic syndrome due to bone marrow failure was the primary cause of death only in a minority. In 16 of these 28 deaths, the primary cause was attributed to CRS. This report describes the characteristic cutaneous sequelae as well as associated clinical symptoms and diseases of 15 survivors of the Chernobyl accident with severe localized exposure who were systematically followed up by our groups between 1991 and 2000. All patients presented with CRS of varying severity, showing xerosis, cutaneous telangiectasias and subungual splinter hemorrhages, hemangiomas and lymphangiomas, epidermal atrophy, disseminated keratoses, extensive dermal and subcutaneous fibrosis with partial ulcerations, and pigmentary changes including radiation lentigo. Surprisingly, no cutaneous malignancies have been | 10159171 |
4,509,543 | detected so far in those areas that received large radiation exposures and that developed keratoses; however, two patients first presented in 1999 with basal cell carcinomas on the nape of the neck and the right lower eyelid, areas that received lower exposures. During the follow-up period, two patients were lost due to death from myelodysplastic syndrome in 1995 and acute myelogenous leukemia in 1998, respectively. Other radiation-induced diseases such as dry eye syndrome (3/15), radiation cataract (5/15), xerostomia (4/15) and increased FSH levels (7/15) indicating impaired fertility were also documented. This study, which analyzes 14 years in the clinical course of a cohort of patients with a unique exposure pattern, corroborates the requirement for long-term, if not life-long, follow-up not only in atomic bomb survivors, but also after predominantly local radiation exposure. | 10159171 |
4,509,544 | New design and analysis of Bragg grating waveguides. New design of optical waveguides is presented to synthesize Bragg grating waveguides without inducing birefringence. In the design, waveguide core has a thin trench on the top surface of the core and width of the trench is modulated concurrently with width modulation of the waveguide core. Effective refractive index profiles in Bragg grating waveguides are obtained by a differential inverse scattering algorithm and converted to waveguide width profiles by using the new core design. This procedure allows design of non-birefringent Bragg grating waveguides on planar substrate. The method is applied to the design of chromatic dispersion compensators. For characterization of Bragg grating waveguides, analysis based on short-time Fourier transform of Bragg grating response waveforms is presented. | 19353871 |
4,509,545 | Boundaries of perception of long tones in taiwanese speech In this work we set out to investigate the fundamental frequency boundaries of perception of the Taiwanese long tones. We are interested in how the variations in fundamental frequency affect the perception of linguistic tones in Taiwanese speech. Our investigation is adopted from similar studies of tones in Mandarin speech. As opposed to Mandarin tones that can be perceived with little difficulty the seven Taiwanese tones have a more subtle structure and are consequently harder to perceive successfully. The experimental results in this paper allow us to quantify these perceptual boundaries. The experiments consisted of a perception test involving over 150 Taiwanese subjects where the task involved identifying the tone of the words played back in a random sequence. The stimuli consisted of a set of tone pairs and a selection of intermediate tone words obtained by linearly interpolating between the words of the tone pairs. | 9703421 |
4,509,546 | Comparison of C4.5 and C5.0 Algorithm Classification Tree Models for Analysis of Factors Affecting Auction Auction in Indonesia is carried out by the Office of State Assets and Auction Services (KPKNL). Goods auctioned at KPKNL are quite diverse including land, wood, inventory, vehicles, and other goods. However, not all of the items auctioned were sold. Because not a few items have been auctioned but no one has made an offer. The Purpose of this study is to compare two classification methods, C4.5 and C5.0 algorithm and to determine which items were successfully auctioned with those that did not and its factors. The methods that used were comparing the classification tree C4.5 algorithm and C5.0 algorithm with cross validation. From the results of the comparison of the two methods, it was found that the C5.0 Algorithm method was rated better than the C4.5 algorithm in classifying the auction results with an accuracy of 96.43% and 92.86% respectively. In this case, C5.0 has a higher precision than C4.5. | 250571871 |
4,509,547 | A modified, sparsity-promoting, Gauss-Newton algorithm for seismic waveform inversion Images obtained from seismic data are used by the oil and gas industry for geophysical exploration. Cutting-edge methods for transforming the data into interpretable images are moving away from linear approximations and high-frequency asymptotics towards Full Waveform Inversion (FWI), a nonlinear data-fitting procedure based on full data modeling using the wave-equation. The size of the problem, the nonlinearity of the forward model, and ill-posedness of the formulation all contribute to a pressing need for fast algorithms and novel regularization techniques to speed up and improve inversion results. In this paper, we design a modified Gauss-Newton algorithm to solve the PDE-constrained optimization problem using ideas from stochastic optimization and compressive sensing. More specifically, we replace the Gauss-Newton subproblems by randomly subsampled, ℓ1 regularized subproblems. This allows us us significantly reduce the computational cost of calculating the updates and exploit the compressibility of wavefields in Curvelets. We explain the relationships and connections between the new method and stochastic optimization and compressive sensing (CS), and demonstrate the efficacy of the new method on a large-scale synthetic seismic example. | 122425221 |
4,509,548 | Correlation signal subset-based stochastic subspace identification for an online identification of railway vehicle suspension systems ABSTRACT Monitoring the condition of suspension systems is significant to ensure the safe operation of modern railway vehicles. For this purpose, an online modal identification scheme, denoted as Correlation Subset based Stochastic Subspace Identification (CoS-SSI) is proposed in this paper to monitor the suspension conditions. Because of the widespread of the dynamic contact status between wheel and track, especially under faulty suspension cases, the vibration responses measured online exhibit high nonstationarity and nonlinearity. To take into account these characteristics of signals, the input correlation signals for SSI are clustered into several successive subsets according to their magnitudes, on which SSI is implemented one by one. In this way it yields a magnitude adaptive SSI for more reliable and accurate identification. Experimental studies were conducted on a 1/5th scaled roller rig system to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method for suspension monitoring. The experimental results show that the CoS-SSI outperform the conventional SSI in that it produces more reliable and realistic identification for the nonlinear system. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the CoS-SSI was verified experimentally with two faulty suspension faults induced into the system. | 115164171 |
4,509,549 | The accuracy of manual and digital measurements on conventional lateral cephalograms The study on the accuracy of manual and digital measurements was conducted on conventional lateral cephalograms of 66 randomly selected patients with malocclusion from the Clinical Orthodontics at the Ambulatory Clinic of the “St. Spiridon” University Emergency Hospital, Iasi, Romania. Forty-six linear and angular measurements were performed with Steiner, Tweed and Jarabak analyses. The manual measurements were conducted with a ruler and a protractor, the digital ones with Onyx CephTM (Onyx CEPH 2.7.18 (174) Image Instruments GmbH, Chemnitz, Germany). The statistical analyses were performed in SPSS, version 20.0. The results presented different mean values of measurements calculated with two analyses, being statistically significant (p<;0.05) for 30 measurements. Some values were pathological, others have changed the diagnosis of skeletal class. The most important differences were found in the metric measurements through Jarabak analysis. The causes of these differences were mainly due to human error in both methods of cephalometric analysis. | 29850621 |
4,509,550 | Recognition in a visuospatial memory task: The effect of presentation The influence of the mode of presentation (simultaneous vs. sequential) on accuracy and latency of visuospatial recognition was explored in three experiments. In Experiment 1, two groups were administered a visuospatial task in which a number of positions were shown either simultaneously or sequentially (in a random order); memory was tested using a recognition procedure of visuospatial patterns, either identical or different (a single cell displaced). The results showed that (1) performance was higher in the simultaneous than in the sequential presentation, and (2) decision time increased with complexity in the sequential presentation but not in the simultaneous presentation. In Experiment 2, the same task was used in three conditions of presentation, simultaneous, random sequential, and ordered sequential; at test, a single location, rather than a pattern, was presented for recognition. The results showed that (1) performance was higher in the simultaneous and in the ordered sequential presentations than in the random sequential one, and (2) decision time increased with complexity. In Experiment 3, the same task was used in the same three conditions of presentation, simultaneous, random sequential, and ordered sequential; at test either an identical or a “displaced” pattern was presented for recognition. The results showed that (1) performance was equivalent in the three types of presentation, and (2) decision time increased with complexity for “hit” items; different patterns of linear relations were observed for “correct rejections” items. The results are interpreted in terms of the organisation of visuospatial working memory, and three types | 146428671 |
4,509,551 | of encoding—extrafigural spatial encoding, visual pattern encoding, and spatial path encoding—were proposed. | 146428671 |
4,509,552 | Towards a Software Centric Approach for Ontology Development: Novel Methodology and its Application The last few years have witnessed a paradigm shift in World Wide Web, from a global information space of connected documents to Semantic Web. It has been observed that the ontologies are playing a pivotal role in the growth of Semantic Web as it offers an effective knowledge representation with appropriate formalisms. Semantic Web technologies based on ontology have emerged as an appropriate engineering solution to the problems of developing systems that assure the integration of data from different sources with high end interoperability to provide seamless services to web users. Development of domain ontology exhibits both structural and logical complexity comparable to the development of software systems. However, the first one is more complex compared to any form of software development due to various factors. Though they are two complementary engineering branches, the maturity and popularity level of later is too high compared to the former. Unlike Software Engineering, absence of effective methodologies eligible to claim the tag 'standardized' aimed at supporting the development of ontology restricts the availability of large scale domain ontologies. Methodologies leveraged from Software Engineering to ontology development by extending the matured process models can bridge the gap between the above mentioned engineering branches to a significant extent. This paper proposes a software centric novel methodology for ontology development with a defined Ontology Development Life Cycle (ODLC) in terms of stages, workflows, activities and techniques. The applicability of the proposed methodology has been shown by developing prototype ontology. | 57366371 |
4,509,553 | Seismic waveform simulation with pseudo-orthogonal grids for irregular topographic models S U M M A R Y In seismic waveform simulation, an irregular topography such as mountainous areas cannot be simplified to a flat surface. Even for marine seismic, a rough water bottom cannot be treated as a planar interface numerically. A body-fitted grid scheme will accurately present an earth model with an irregular topography. As it is a structured grid, then a simple finite difference scheme can be used as an efficient solver for waveform simulation. The pseudoorthogonal property of grids is obtained by solving Poisson’s equation. Investigation reveals that grids should have the acute angles >67◦ (90◦ for completely orthogonal) and the cellsize change rate <5 per cent, so that meshes are in a good orthogonality suitable for finite difference operation in waveform modelling. The acoustic wave equation and the absorbing boundary condition are reformulated from the physical space to the computational space. Waveform simulation and eventually tomographic inversion using a realistically complicated velocity model with a curved surface demonstrate the effectiveness of developed technology that works for irregular topographic models. | 129370271 |
4,509,554 | The value of thermography in the early diagnosis of postoperative sternal wound infections. Peristernal skin temperatures were recorded postoperatively by infrared thermography in 150 patients. Persistent elevation of peristernal skin temperature during the 3rd and 4th post-operative week was found in 5 patients, all of whom developed sternal wound infection. A further group of 18 patients, all suspected to have occult wound infection, showed persistent temperature elevation in 7 patients, 6 of these patients were proven later to have manifest infection and needed treatment. Close thermographic scruting of the incision in patients with suspected but not proven infection appears to be useful in deleting early stages of deep seated infections. | 33256571 |
4,509,555 | Relationship between topographic patterns and corneal astigmatism in Korean adults. The anterior corneal surface is one of the most important elements determining the optical performance of the eye. Corneal topography provides quantitative data about the anterior corneal surface. We studied the corneal topography of 200 normal corneas in 110 adult subjects. All of the eyes were examined using the Corneal Analysis System (EyeSys 2000, Houston, Texas). The topographic maps were grouped into the following patterns: round, oval, symmetric bow tie, asymmetric bow tie, and irregular. The symmetric and asymmetric bow tie patterns were the most common topographic pattern (33.0%, and 32.5%, respectively) in our study population, followed by oval (14.5%), irregular (12.5%), and round (7.5%) patterns. The mean corneal astigmatism calculated from videokeratographic data was 0.32 D for round, 0.63 D for oval, 1.16 D for symmetric bow tie, 1.21 D for asymmetric bow tie, and 0.43 D for irregular patterns. There were significant differences among the corneal astigmatic values in the topographic patterns (p < 0.01, Gabriel post hoc test). The distributions of symmetric and asymmetric bow tie patterns were skewed toward greater amounts of corneal astigmatism. In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrate the relationship between topographic patterns and corneal astigmatism and should provide one possible normal standard for corneal topography in Korean adults. | 21285321 |
4,509,556 | Factors Influencing Implementation of Youth Physical Activity Interventions: An Expert Perspective ABSTRACT Little is known about the factors that influence implementation of physical activity interventions undertaken in youth-serving settings, and this lack of information impedes the development of effective implementation strategies. This study convened a panel of experts to identify factors that are most important in achieving successful implementation of physical activity interventions in youth-serving organizations. Five recognized experts participated in a four-round, modified Delphi consensus process. The panelists were asked to achieve consensus on a list of potential factors that are most important in predicting successful implementation and on the descriptions of these factors. They also provided estimates regarding the individual contributions each of the identified factors make in predicting a successful implementation. These estimates were then translated into Bayesian predictive models for factor selection. The expert panel achieved consensus on 23 factors. Results from the factor selection procedures indicated that a final model containing 15 factors yielded the greatest contributions in predicting successful implementation of youth physical activity interventions. In this final model, five factors were classified as organizational characteristics, six factors as implementation processes, two factors as provider characteristics, and two factors as program characteristics and community-level factors, respectively. In conclusion, this is the first study to identify factors that are important in achieving a successful implementation of youth physical activity interventions through systemically gathering information from a panel of experts. The 15 factors identified in this study provide important information to inform implementation planning and evaluation of future interventions. | 216058271 |
4,509,557 | Comparative Simulation Analysis of the Performance of the Logistics Manufacturing System at the Operative Level The article focuses on one of the current problems of manufacturing systems which consist of individual machines equipped with dedicated tools that are replaced when they are worn out. It is assumed that the machines are located within the reach of the robotic arm which carries out transport operations of semifinished products to designated production machines and storage containers in accordance with the production time period. The aim is to find such an arrangement of production activities, respectively, production paths for a given set of orders that will be effective from the time and cost point of view. Moreover, the whole issue is solved with regard to possible failures of individual stands, overfilling of some tanks, etc. The theory and practice of creating and using simulators as tools for the definition and verification of production plans are used to solve this issue. The starting point is the creation of a mathematical simulation model with the necessary but acceptable degree of simplification. The mathematical simulation model is tested on sample data in a feasibility study to perform a detailed usability analysis of the model. The output of the article is a simulation model for which, based on the analysis of simulation results, patterns of possible use in specific types of enterprises are given. | 162173421 |
4,509,558 | Social Stigma and the Situation of Young People in Lesbian and Gay Stepfamilies This article presents the results of a qualitative study examining how social stigmatization made the lives of young people in gay and lesbian stepfamilies more complex. The study focused primarily on the young people's viewpoint, which has until now rarely been taken into consideration in studies of gay and lesbian families. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescents and young adults from 15 to 29 years old. The results showed that these young people experienced social stigmatization because of the family they lived in, which in turn had repercussions on their personal, family, and interpersonal lives. | 31498421 |
4,509,559 | Multiple user pair scheduling in TWR assisted FSO systems In this paper, various multiuser scheduling schemes are applied to a two-way relay (TWR) assisted multiple user pair free-space optical (FSO) communication network, when the optical beam is subjected to path loss, misalignment errors, and atmospheric turbulence. The FSO network consists of a single, half-duplex, decode-and-forward, two-way optical relay that serves multiple user pairs by employing a scheduler. Three types of schedulers based on absolute signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), normalized SNR, and selective multiuser diversity are considered. Further, the atmospheric turbulence is modeled by a recently proposed statistical model, namely the Málaga M-distribution. For the presented system and channel models, closed-form and asymptotic expressions for outage probability and bit error rate are derived. The mathematical analysis is accompanied by Monte Carlo simulations and several numerical examples to illustrate the effect of the key system parameters. | 16925621 |
4,509,560 | A computer application for parametric aircraft design Abstract The present work describes the development and final result of a graphical user interface tailored for a mission-based parametric aircraft design optimization code which targets the preliminary design phase of unmanned aerial vehicles. This development was built from the XFLR5 open source platform and further benefits from two-dimensional aerodynamic data obtained from XFOIL. For a better understanding, the most important graphical windows are shown. In order to demonstrate the graphical user interface interaction with the aircraft designer, the results of a case study which maximizes payload are presented. | 113922571 |
4,509,561 | Achievable Rate of Downlink Superposition Coding with Channel State Feedback In this paper, we consider superposition coding (SC) scheme in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) broadcast channel when the transmitter obtains the channel state information (CSI) through user's quantized feedback. The algorithms for the base station (BS) scheduling, including users selection, power allocation among co-scheduled users, and precoding matrix assignment are investigated. We also derive bounds for the achievable rates of the SC scheme with quantized CSI feedback and imperfect user measurement being taken into account. | 6060171 |
4,509,562 | Green cloud computing in developing regions Moving data and processing closer to the end user The Internet has provided an unlimited potential with access to ebooks, multimedia content, news, new ideas, and information access in general. Yet, due to poor broadband infrastructure and available grid power to support the Internet and ICT growth, the developing regions have actually been left even further behind. The basic requirements in any developing region (beyond clean water and food) are a reliable electric power grid, network infrastructure, education, jobs, and a stable government and banking system. Nothing works without the electric and network infrastructure in place. The sad fact is diesel generators are used to power everything in place of a stable power grid. The other sad fact is most of these countries have tremendous amount of wind or solar energy that can be used in place of imported fossil fuels. The developing regions in most cases are connected to the Internet; the question is how best to interconnect inside the regions and countries and move the data closer to the end user? We need a developing world approach, not our western model of bigger is better, ie over sized, energy hungry Data centers. Many papers have been written on how Cloud Computing will help the developing world by just lower ICT costs, yet this is a flawed theory. As the data, systems, telecommunication bandwidth, and people required still remain in the western world and its control. Moving processing and data closer to the user in the developing region plays | 3685871 |
4,509,563 | an import role on three fronts; 1. Keeps needed jobs and systems ICT people in region, 2. Sidesteps high telecommunication bandwidth costs and network latency issues in and out of the region and 3. Quality of service: in region computing can remove a major points of network failure and potential bandwidth bottlenecks. Energy- efficient computing cannot be achieved without the integration between computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and environmental science. Designing data centers for the developing regions require a vertically integrated efforts to drive key energy-efficient technologies in computing (cloud computing), electronics (low power CPUs and systems), and building systems (spot rack cooling, higher ambient temperatures, and natural convention cooling). Collectively, these technologies address very significant near-term and long-term energy challenges and environmental issues. What is that approach for developing region ICT, in region Green Cloud Computing, which is cloud computing using low power CPUs servers, and renewal energy and most important, which is closer to the end user. This paper presents an approach for a low energy use data centers using cloud computing designed for developing regions, powered with renewable energy. | 3685871 |
4,509,564 | National Integration ∗ TIIE TWO-nation theory had had its tragic denouement in the partition of the country, anc. the shock and agony of the brutalities, and movement of millions of uprooted humanity accompanying it, had gradually subsided. With the integration of the princely states, the danger of balkanisation of the country had passed, and a humane democratic constitution had been enacted. The general feeling in the 1950s was one of hope and confidence that after cenlTUries India was settling down on the path to its great historic destiny. Under Nehru's creati\'e and charismatic leadership, it was taken for granted that the .country would march forward at a rapid pace. The political atmosphere was one of consensus and amity and free from the acerbity and brashness which were to disfigure publiclife in later years. However, by the end of the decade, clouds, still small but potentially ominous, appeared on the horizon, calling for a close and comprehensive look at the developments. There was still •>nly cause for concern and not for alarm; there were some unhealthy trends; but they were considered amenable to correction. True, an insurgency had started in Nagaland, but it was regarded as a transient aberration on the periphery, explained by the Nagas having been virtually kept apart from the rest of India under the British regime. The riots in Assam in ·1960, resulting in a great deal of violence against a linguistic minority, however, caused deeper concern, for the Assamese and Bengali-speaking population of the state had always played an active role in | 220372071 |
4,509,565 | national affairs. These disturbances were in a large measure among the delayed demographic consequences of the partition. Also relatable to the partition was the demand of the Sikhs for a Punjabi speaking State in which they would be in majority. It had been believed that the question of languages had bcc!1 settled by the Constitution, but in addition to the language riots in Assam, the language question had become a central issue in the separatist, even secessionist politics of the DMK in Tamil Nadu. The events, leading to the arrest of Sheikh Abdullah in 1953, were a reminder that for certain sections of the population, the ghost of the two-nation theory had not been finally laid. However, with external forces contributing to it the Kashmir problem was a complex one and it was expected that with passage of time things would settle down. But, when communal riots broke out in some districts in Madhya Pradesh early in 1961, it was evident that Hinc!uMuslim relations were still capable of leading to large-scale violence, and the communal question had not been definitively settled with independence or the division of the country. All these developments had begun to cast }heir shadow, though yet in a small way, on the relatively placid flow of public life in the preceding decade. Questions which had appeared to have been settled by the constitution and the reorganisation of states had since thrown up issues and given rise to demands which needed to be attended to, and an attempt to be made to evolve | 220372071 |
4,509,566 | a national consensus on the way they were to be approached. | 220372071 |
4,509,567 | Verification on Valve Losses of LCC HVDC Converter Station in Korea This paper deals with verification of valve losses on High Voltage Direct Current(HVDC) converter stations in Korea. Technique of calculating losses is one of important verification process to evaluate systems performance, so customers have right to get accurate information of losses in project bidding process. However, it is not easy for utility company to verify maker’s documents because getting information is limited from makers.Losses of a converter station can be easily estimated from calculation of two main equipments, valve and transformer, because proportion of two equipments accounts for more than 80% of the total values in the HVDC converter station. In this paper, the authors firstly analyzed calculating process of valve losses and verified if the calculated results are accorded with the reports provided from maker in accordance with the IEC standards, IEEE standard, EPRI Handbook in Jeju No.2 converter station in Korea. After that, it was verified whether the results were satisfactory compared to KEPCO’s specification. | 225323221 |
4,509,568 | Relation of parent-teen agreement on restrictions to teen risky driving over 9 months. OBJECTIVES To determine the relations among parent-teen discordance for restrictions on driving conditions, driving rules, and consequences for rule violations at licensure and subsequent risky teen driving. METHODS Parents and teens completed telephone interviews at 1, 4, and 9 months after teens became licensed. RESULTS At each time interval, the degree of disagreement with parent restrictions on driving conditions was positively associated with teen risky driving. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate a positive association between parent-teen discordance for driving conditions and teen risky driving. Initial establishment of restrictions and agreement with them may have longer term protective effects against teen driving risk. | 41344871 |
4,509,569 | PRESCRIBING OF ANALGESICS IN TRAUMA PATIENTS ObjectiveTo evaluate whether initial orders of pain medications by physicians for trauma patients were in accordance with published guidelines. DesignConcurrent, nonrandomized investigation conducted over 4 months. Materials and MethodsAll adult trauma patients admitted to the intensive care unit within 12 hours of injury who stayed for at least 1 hour were eligible for study admission. Patients with injuries prohibiting accurate pain assessment (e.g., Glasgow Coma Score < 8, spinal cord injury) were excluded. Initial orders for pain medications were compared to published guidelines; correlations between dose and patient demographics were studied. ResultsOf the 30 patients enrolled in the study, 83% were prescribed appropriate pain control regimens. The average dose of morphine administered during each of the 8-hour dosing intervals was approximately 12 mg. No relationship was found between patient age, sex, Glasgow Coma Score, and morphine dose; however, there was a positive correlation found between Injury Severity Score and dose. ConclusionsThe majority of patients in this investigation were initially prescribed appropriate doses and intervals for pain management. | 29676021 |
4,509,570 | Escape from competition: neighbors reduce Centaurea stoebe performance at home but not away. The greater abundance of some exotic plants in their nonnative ranges might be explained in part by biogeographic differences in the strength of competition, but these competitive effects have not been experimentally examined in the field. We compared the effects of neighbors on the growth and reproduction of spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) in Europe, where it is native, and in Montana, where it is invasive. There were strong negative competitive effects of neighboring vegetation on C. stoebe growth and reproduction in Europe. In contrast, identical experiments in Montana resulted in insignificant impacts on C. stoebe. Although the mechanisms that produce this dramatic biogeographic difference in competitive outcome remain unknown, our results indicate that differences in net competitive interactions between ranges may contribute to the striking dominance of C. stoebe in parts of North America. | 12931421 |
4,509,571 | [Evaluation of irradiation techniques in breast carcinoma using dose-volume histograms. Comparison of the heart and lung exposure]. For irradiation of the internal mammary lymph nodes (IMN), together with irradiation of the breast the commonly used treatment techniques are of three types: 1. two tangential opposed fields, 2. three field plans with a separate "straight on" IMN-field, or 3. with a separate "angled" IMN-field. To determine lung and heart volumes and doses for these techniques, dose-volume-histograms in 30 patients were analyzed. The optimum dose distribution was achieved with the "angled" field technique and an appropriate combination of electrons and 60Co gamma radiation for the IMN-field. (The beam mixture used was 40% 60Co beam and 60% electron beam.) The least possible dose to the lung was obtained with the "straight-on" field technique and the least possible dose to the heart with the separate "angled" IMN-field technique. | 21970021 |
4,509,572 | Hadronic Charmless B Decays at the SLD Rare decays of beauty particles were studied in several two-body exclusive hadronic charmless modes using the 19.4 pb -1 Z-pole data collected with the SLD detector at SLAC from 1993 to 1998. These decays are mediated by both tree level b {yields} u and one-loop penguin b {yields} s, d transitions. Upper limits for the branching ratios are set for the investigated modes B s , B 0 {yields} P + P - , B + {yields} V P + and B s , B 0 {yields} V V , where the pseudoscalar particle P + is either {pi} + or K + and the vector particle V is either {rho} 0 , K * 0 or {phi}. Using an event selection algorithm consisting of a set of hard cuts combined with a set of discriminator functions, the efficiencies range between 24% and 37% with near zero background. | 117384021 |
4,509,573 | Industrial Internet of Things as a Challenge for Higher Education This paper is aimed to examine the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) in industry (so-called Industrial Internet of Things, shortly IIoT) and the requirements for higher education in the times of the fourth industrial revolution. The addition of the fourth letter, "I" in front of the “IoT” coins the name of the new concept, “IIoT” in relation with another term, “Industry 4.0”. Because these concepts have no precise and widely accepted definitions, we presented some considered relevant by scientific literature. The paper also highlights the most important similarities and differences between these concepts. IIoT is a very dynamic concept and it will constantly bring changes in digital technologies, requirements and markets, and will also transform industries and business practices. According to manifold studies, currently, there is a skills gap which may widen in the future if no action is taken. Higher education must adopt the latest related technologies and must adapt to the new ways in which people, machines, services and data can interact. Consequently, employees, students, graduates, etc. have to be equally dynamic in learning and acquiring new skills. The transition from higher education to employment is a challenge that could be more easily addressed through the efforts of all stakeholders, from individuals to organizations, and from businesses to governments. As changes in higher education take time, all stakeholders will now have to act in preparing for the Industrial Internet of Things. Keywords—Industry 4.0; industrial internet of things; internet of things; higher education; | 54551621 |
4,509,574 | skills gap | 54551621 |
4,509,575 | Sulphur as a nutrient for Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) seedlings and radish (Raphanus sativus) grown on a sandy podzol in England SUMMARY Experiments with Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) seedlings grown on an acid sandy podzol at Wareham, Dorset, England showed that sulphur fertilizers improved the colour but not the height of the crop and increased sulphur concentrations in the needles above those considered by Ingestad (1962) to indicate sulphur deficiency for Norway spruce (Picea abies). Spruce seedlings grown on other soils (Oxford and Woburn) contained more sulphur than those grown at Wareham. Sulphur concentrations in transplants of both species were generally less when S-free basal fertilizers were used. Radish (Raphanus sativus) experiments confirmed that Wareham soil was low in available sulphur. Increased yields were obtained from elemental sulphur treatments during the springs of 1968 and 1969, but not the summer months, when more sulphur may have been mineralized in the warmer soil. Wareham is in an area with less sulphur in the rain and atmosphere than most other parts of England. | 86794821 |
4,509,576 | Are fast interceptive actions continuously guided by vision? Revisiting Bootsma and van Wieringen (1990). In an influential study, R. J. Bootsma and P. C. W. van Wieringen (1990) argued that 2 of their 5 participants used visual information continuously during the attacking forehand drive in table tennis, its brief duration vis-à-vis the visuomotor delay notwithstanding. The authors repeated Bootsma and van Wieringen's experiment and included a condition in which vision was obscured after drive initiation. The authors replicated most of Bootsma and van Wieringen's findings but found no significant differences between the full-vision and no-vision conditions, which goes against the interpretation of these findings as evidence for continuous visual guidance. A subsequent simulation study found that a single preprogrammed muscle stimulation pattern resulted in spatiotemporal convergence similar to that observed experimentally but not in other important behavioral characteristics. The results contain no indications that visual information that becomes available after drive initiation affects arm motion and suggest that a form of model-based predictive control is operative rather than continuous visual guidance. | 26150921 |
4,509,577 | GAIN CLAMPING IN SINGLE-PASS AND DOUBLE-PASS L-BAND ERBIUM-DOPED FIBER AMPLIFIERS Gain clamping is demonstrated in single-pass and double-pass long wavelength band erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (L-band EDFAs). A C/L-band wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) coupler is used in single-pass system to generate a laser at 1566 nm. The gain for the amplifier is clamped at 15.5 dB with gain variation of less than 0.2 dB from input signal power of -40 to -14 dBm with almost negligible noise figure penalty. However, the flatness of gain spectrum is slightly degraded due to the un-optimisation of erbium-doped fiber (EDF) length. The advantage of this configuration is that the oscillating light does not appear at the output port of the amplifier. A highly efficient gain-clamped L-band EDFA with improved noise figure characteristic is demonstrated by simply adding a broadband conventional band fiber Bragg grating (C-band FBG) in double pass system. The combination of the FBG and optical circulator has created laser in the cavity for gain clamping. By adjusting the power combination of pumps 1 and 2, the clamped gain level can be controlled. The amplifier gain is clamped at 28.1 dB from -40 to -25 dBm with gain variation of less than 0.5 dB by setting the pumps 1 and 2 at 59.5 and 50.6 mW, respectively. The gain is also flat from 1574 nm to 1604 nm with gain variation of less than 3 dB. The corresponding noise figure varies from 5.6 to 7.6 dB, which is 0.8 to 2.6 dB reduced compared to those of unclamped amplifier. | 109261371 |
4,509,578 | Conceptualizing Multicultural Advertising Effects in the “New” South Africa ABSTRACT Multicultural marketing is a strategic priority area for most companies in emerging consumer markets (ECMs). We develop a new conceptual framework that demonstrates how two processes influence the effectiveness of multicultural advertising, namely similarity and corporate social responsibility processes. We draw on attribution, social influence, and intercultural accommodation theories to argue that there are strong economic imperatives—expressed in terms of customer-based brand equity—for adopting a multicultural advertising approach in ECM settings. We also offer propositions regarding key framework constructs and moderating variables. This research contributes to the growing research focus on marketing communication strategies in ECMs. Further, the present research enriches our understanding of consumer behavior through the focus on the highly multicultural and unequal South African society which mirrors changing populations in other emerging and western countries. | 155592371 |
4,509,579 | Research of Modeling and Control Method for Electromagnetic Levitation System There has been wide interest in the control scheme of the electromagnetic levitation system due to its disadvantages of nonlinearity and open-loop uncertainty. A typical coil-ball levitation system is used in research. The forces of the ball are analyzed and a dynamic model of the whole electromagnetic levitation system is established. Based on the nonlinear state-space model, the coil-ball system is linearized and then a LQR control approach is proposed. Simulation results show that, compared with conventional pole assignment scheme, the electromagnetic levitation system under the proposed control approach gets a better performance, including smaller overshot and faster response. | 108640321 |
4,509,580 | Design Issues for Drawing in Natural Ventilation Abstract The authors outline the knowledge they have gained through their design experience on the efficacy of natural ventilation in non-residential buildings in Japan. They also describe the various challenges which must be overcome to deploy natural ventilation. It is hoped that the knowledge presented in this paper will be of reference in the drafting of guidelines for the research and design of future natural ventilation systems. Natural ventilation yields great energy-saving effects, but it is also necessary to make reference to and examine the numerous challenges which must be overcome at all stages from design to operation, with reference to actual conditions in Japan, and indicate thenecessity of developing methods for verifying the performance of natural ventilation. | 111694071 |
4,509,581 | ON LINGUISTIC STRATA (LEVELS) 0. The notion of "linguistic stratum (level)" may be interpreted in different ways. In principle, however, this notion reflects the evident fact that the structure of the semiotic systems represented by natural languages shows a very high degree of complexity. In Prague-School linguistics these strata (levels) have been considered as facts of la langue itself, not only as mere constructs of a linguistic theory. This opinion (which we shall discuss later) has been formulated clearly by J. Vachek: "The complexity of the system is reflected in the fact that within a system taken as a whole one can distinguish a number of sub-systems or levels, each of which has its own particular structure, and, consequently, its own specific structural problems." | 60469071 |
4,509,582 | What is Normal Intra-Abdominal Pressure? The causes and effects of increased intra-abdominal pressure and abdominal compartment syndrome have been well documented. However, there have been no large series to determine normal intra-abdominal pressure in hospitalized patients. The purpose of this study was to determine normal intra-abdominal pressure in randomly selected hospitalized patients and to identify factors that predict variation in normal intra-abdominal pressure. A total of 77 patients were prospectively enrolled between September 1998 and July 1999. Data obtained included patient demographics (i.e., age, gender, height, weight, and body mass index), reason for hospitalization and bladder catheterization, previous and current surgical status, comorbidities, and intra-abdominal pressures. Intra-abdominal pressure readings were obtained through an indwelling transurethral bladder (Foley) catheter. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis. There were 36 females and 41 males with a mean age of 67.7 years. Average weight, height, and body mass index were 79.6 kg, 1.70 m, and 27.6 kg/m2, respectively. Mean intraabdominal pressure was 6.5 mm Hg (range 0.2–16.2 mm Hg). Body mass index was positively related to intra-abdominal pressure (P < 0.0004). Gender, age, and medical and surgical histories did not significantly affect intra-abdominal pressure. However, using multiple regression analysis, a relationship between intra-abdominal pressure, body mass index, and abdominal surgery was discovered. Intra-abdominal pressure is related to a patient's body mass index and influenced by recent abdominal surgery. Thus, the normal intra-abdominal pressure can be estimated in hospitalized patients by using the derived equation. Knowledge of the expected intra-abdominal pressure can then by used in | 24575421 |
4,509,583 | recognizing when an abnormally high intra-abdominal pressure or abdominal compartment syndrome exists. | 24575421 |
4,509,584 | Synergistic co-delivery of doxorubicin and melittin using functionalized magnetic nanoparticles for cancer treatment: loading and in vitro release study by LC–MS/MS Abstract In this study, citric acid-functionalized Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (CA-MNPs) were prepared via a coprecipitation method and were fully characterized. Doxorubicin (DOX) and melittin (MEL), as anticancer agents, were loaded onto CA-MNPs surface through electrostatic interactions with the aim to achieve an effective co-delivery system for cancer therapy. The loading efficiency and in vitro release profiles of DOX and MEL were investigated by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The MS/MS step was performed in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode which enabled simultaneous quantification of the analytes with high specificity and sensitivity. An excellent loading efficiency of about 100% was achieved for DOX and MEL in a drug to nanocarrier ratio of 1:10. The in vitro release of the drugs from CA-MNPs was evaluated for 8 h at pH 7.4, 5.5 and 4.5. The experimental results revealed that the release behaviour of both of the anticancer agents was strongly pH-dependent and significantly enhanced at pH 4.5. The in vitro MTT assay on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line exhibited a synergistic effect between DOX and MEL which led to substantially greater antitumor efficacy, compared to single administration of these anticancer agents at equivalent doses. The results indicated that the co-delivery system of (DOX/MEL)-loaded CA-MNPs is highly capable to be used in magnetically targeted cancer therapy. Graphical Abstract | 53949771 |
4,509,585 | Disfluent fonts don't help people solve math problems. Prior research suggests that reducing font clarity can cause people to consider printed information more carefully. The most famous demonstration showed that participants were more likely to solve counterintuitive math problems when they were printed in hard-to-read font. However, after pooling data from that experiment with 16 attempts to replicate it, we find no effect on solution rates. We examine potential moderating variables, including cognitive ability, presentation format, and experimental setting, but we find no evidence of a disfluent font benefit under any conditions. More generally, though disfluent fonts slightly increase response times, we find little evidence that they activate analytic reasoning. | 33370921 |
4,509,586 | Comparison of real and computer-simulated clustered microcalcifications on digital mammograms. ROC study The authors propose a model to simulate clustered microcalcifications on digital mammograms. The simulation model is based on the gray-level, size and number of microcalcifications per cluster. All the parameters describing the individual microcalcifications and clusters were randomly sampled from the values of the real clustered microcalcifications (extracted in a feature analysis process) present in the mammogram, the exception being the center of the cluster, that was interactively positioned to ensure the location of all the microcalcifications inside the breast. Subsequently, a database of clustered microcalcifications was created. These clusters of microcalcifications from this database were tested from indistinguishability from real ones. Two radiologists and one physicist were asked to indicate wether the microcalcifications were either real or simulated. The responses of the readers were evaluated with an ROC analysis, and the area under the curve was calculated. The average ROC area was 0.54/spl plusmn/0.05, indicating that there was no statistical difference between real and simulated clustered microcalcifications. | 1981921 |
4,509,587 | Site‐specific effects of mental practice combined with transcranial direct current stimulation on motor learning Mental practice can induce significant neural plasticity and result in motor performance improvement if associated with motor imagery tasks. Given the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on neuroplasticity, the current study tested whether tDCS, using different electrode montages, can increase the neuroplastic effects of mental imagery on motor learning. Eighteen healthy right‐handed adults underwent a randomised sham‐controlled crossover experiment to receive mental training combined with either sham or active anodal tDCS of the right primary motor cortex (M1), right supplementary motor area, right premotor area, right cerebellum or left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Motor performance was assessed by a blinded rater using: non‐dominant handwriting time and legibility, and mentally trained task at baseline (pre) and immediately after (post) mental practice combined with tDCS. Active tDCS significantly enhances the motor‐imagery‐induced improvement in motor function as compared with sham tDCS. There was a specific effect for the site of stimulation such that effects were only observed after M1 and DLPFC stimulation during mental practice. These findings provide new insights into motor imagery training and point out that two cortical targets (M1 and DLPFC) are significantly associated with the neuroplastic effects of mental imagery on motor learning. Further studies should explore a similar paradigm in patients with brain lesions. | 5337521 |
4,509,588 | The mitogenic effects of sera from psoriatic subjects on normal dermal fibroblasts: an absence of correlation with the clinical activity of psoriasis Serum was obtained from 21 normal and 22 psoriatic subjects, and the severity of skin disease in the psoriatic patients was recorded using the PASI score. The scores ranged from 1.8 to 51.0. The growth stimulatory effect of the sera on normal dermal fibroblasts in cell culture was assessed by measuring [3H]‐thymidine uptake. Each serum was assessed at four concentrations (2, 5, 10, 20%). The psoriatic sera were more growth stimulatory than normal sera, but this difference was statistically significant (P>0.02) only at 20% serum concentration. Eleven of the 22 psoriatic serum samples had a mitogenic effect greater than the mean ± 2 SEM of all the normal sera: these sera were from patients with PASI scores of 4.5–51.0. Six of these psoriatic subjects were recalled after 5 months: their PASI scores were reassessed, and the mitogenic effect of new serum samples was compared with that of the initial samples. All of these patients displayed a change in serum mitogenic effect, but this was not consistent with the change in severity of skin disease over the corresponding time period. In one subject, the severity of the psoriasis had increased marginally over the 5 months, while the mitogenic effect of her serum decreased significantly (mean counts of 43808 vs. 32660; P= 0.0029). | 25422371 |
4,509,589 | Comets, asteroids, meteorites, and the origin of the Biosphere During the past few decades, the delivery of water, organics, and prebiotic chemicals to the Biosphere of Earth during the Hadean (4.5-3.8 Ga) period of heavy bombardment by comets and asteroids has become more widely accepted. Comets are still largely regarded as frigid, pristine bodies of protosolar nebula material that are devoid of liquid water and therefore unsuitable for life. Complex organic compounds have been observed in comets and on the water-rich asteroid 1998 KY26 and near IR observations have indicated the presence of crystalline water ice and ammonia hydrate on the large Kuiper Belt object (50000) Quaoar that has resurfacing suggesting cryovolcanic outgassing. Spacecraft observations of the chemical compositions and characteristics of the nuclei of several comets (Halley, Borrelly, Wild 2, and Tempel 1) have shown that comets contain complex organic chemicals; that water is the predominant volatile; and that extremely high temperatures (~350-400 K) can be reached on the surface of the very black (albedo~0.03) nuclei of comets when they approach the Sun. Impact craters and pinnacles observed on comet Wild 2 suggest a thick crust. Episodic outbursts and jets from the nuclei of several comets indicate that localized regimes of liquid water and water vapor can periodically exist beneath the comet crust. The Deep Impact mission found the temperature of the nucleus of comet Tempel 1 at 1.5 AU varied from a minimum of 280 ±8 K the 330K (57 °C) on the sunlit side. In this paper it is argued that that pools | 121071771 |
4,509,590 | and films of liquid water exist (within a wide range of temperatures) in cavities and voids just beneath the hot, black crust. The possibility of liquid water existing over a wide range of temperatures significantly enhances the possibility that comets might contain niches suitable for the growth of microbial communities and ecosystems. These regimes would be ideal for the growth of psychrophilic, mesophilic, and thermophilic photoautotrophs and chemolithotrophs such as the motile filamentous cyanobacteria (e.g., Calothrix, Oscillatoria, Phormidium, and Spirulina) that grow in geothermal springs and geysers of Earth at temperatures ranging from 320K to 345K and are also found growing in cold polar desert soils. The mineralized remains of morphotypes of all of these cyanobacteria have also been found in the Orgueil CI1 and the Murchison CN2 carbonaceous meteorites that may derive from cometary parent bodies. Observational results that support the hypothesis that liquid water can in active regions just beneath the surface of comets and that comets, carbonaceous meteorites, and asteroids may have played a significant role in the origin and evolution of the Biosphere and in the distribution of microbial life throughout the Solar System.s | 121071771 |
4,509,591 | He is smarter when he looks smart in front of many versus a few others: Impact of audience size on target appraisals in a cross-cultural context. Will a person be seen as more superior if he or she receives an award in front of a large audience in comparison with a small audience? We predicted that this would hold true for East Asians, whose cultural logic of face asserts that a person's worth can only be conferred by collective others, but would not hold true for European Americans, whose cultural logic of dignity promotes the judgement of a person's worth based on their own perspective. This study found an audience-size effect for East Asians, in which participants gave higher appraisals to a target when they imagined the target's high performance to have been seen by 10 other people (vs. one other person) even when the target's performance level remained constant. In contrast, Westerners were not affected by the size of the audience witnessing the target's performance. In addition, perceived social reputation was found to mediate the audience-size effect; the participants imagining the target performing well in front of 10 others (vs. one other) perceived others as thinking more highly of the target; this in turn led participants to give higher appraisals to the target. As expected, this mediation effect was only found for East Asians. | 208621571 |
4,509,592 | It is Time to Get Ready for Patient Safety Education Healthcare can harm patients. A recent review estimated that threats to patient safety in a primary care setting had a range from 5 to 80 per 100 000 consultations. Most of these events did not result in actual patient harm. This realisation has slowly resulted in a steady stream of National Health Service (NHS) policy documents in an attempt to improve patient safety. Recently, these efforts have turned to medical education and there are now statements about patient safety in the new undergraduate education recommendations of the General Medical Council (GMC), and in the proposed curriculum for the foundation years in postgraduate education and training. Patient safety is now a concern for all educators. | 79283471 |
4,509,593 | Helicobacter pylori infection and non-ulcer dyspepsia: the effect of treatment with colloidal bismuth subcitrate. A study was undertaken to determine the role of Helicobacter pylori in non-ulcer dyspepsia (NUD) and to determine the efficacy of colloidal bismuth subcitrate (CBS) in the treatment of NUD. Seventy-one patients were randomly allocated (double blind) to CBS or placebo, two tablets twice daily for 4 weeks. The severity of dyspepsia was scored and endoscopies performed before and after treatment, and antral biopsy specimens were taken for bacteriologic and histologic examination. Forty patients had H. pylori infection, and all had changes of chronic active gastritis. H. pylori was cleared from 17 to 21 patients (81%) treated with CBS, whereas none of the 19 patients treated with placebo cleared the bacteria. Improvement in histology was noted in 15 of 21 patients (71.4%) treated with CBS, whereas no improvement was noted in any of the placebo controls. Thirty-one patients were negative for H. pylori. All had either normal gastric histology or minor degrees of inflammation. Seventeen of these patients received CBS, and 14 received placebo. All groups reported improvement in the symptom score; however, the H. pylori-positive, CBS-treated group recorded a significantly higher improvement than the other groups (p less than 0.001). Relapse of H. pylori infection after initial clearance of the bacteria was high. Twelve of 16 patients evaluated relapsed 1 month after withdrawal of CBS. | 25617971 |
4,509,594 | Impact of adverse event reports from marketing authorization holder-sponsored patient support programs on the performance of signal detection in pharmacovigilance ABSTRACT Objectives Marketing authorization holder (MAH)-sponsored patient support programs (PSPs) are a major source of adverse event (AE) reports. The impact of reports from PSPs on the ability to detect AE signals is unclear. We compared signal detection performance using data from PSPs vs. non-PSP sources, and between PSPs providing clinical services vs. PSPs not providing clinical services. Methods Data were obtained from an internal safety database for a global pharmaceutical company 2015–2017. We assessed whether signals were detected for the reference drug-AE pairs using data from PSPs vs. non-PSP sources, and among different PSP services. The performance was evaluated by four measures including area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and time-to-signal detection. Results While the majority of reports were from PSPs, non-PSP sources were better and faster at detecting signals (AUC 0.63 vs. 0.41, p = 0.035; HR 3.52, p = 0.014) compared to PSPs. Within PSPs, PSPs providing clinical services were marginally better at detecting signals (AUC 0.60 vs. 0.41, p = 0.053) but not faster compared to PSPs not providing clinical services. Conclusion Reports of AEs from PSPs had worse signal detection performance compared to non-PSP sources. Pharmacovigilance experts should be mindful when using databases that contain reports from PSPs for signal detection. | 220522071 |
4,509,595 | Trajectories of weight change from late adolescence to late middle age for lean and obese individuals To identify and better understand trajectories of individual weight change associated with increasing age, we analyzed longitudinal data from a cohort of older Americans (171,711 men and 122,563 women). Subjects entered the cohort in 1996 at a mean age of 62.5 years and they reported current height and weight, and weight at ages 18, 35, and 50 years. At study entry in 1996, prevalences of overweight and obesity among men were 49.6% and 19.9%, respectively. Across 9 categories of current BMI (from <18.5 kg/m2 to ≥35 kg/m2) there was no difference in mean BMI at age 18 (all categories of current BMI had a mean BMI at age 18 of between 21.4 and 21.6 kg/m2). Likewise, mean BMI at age 35 was almost identical across the 9 categories of current BMI. However, BMI at age 50 was strongly associated with current BMI (19.8 kg/m2 in the bottom category with a monotonic increase to 33.2 kg/m2 in the top category). Results for women were essentially identical to those in men. In this cohort of subjects that was primarily lean at late adolescence, neither BMI at age 18 nor BMI at age 35 were associated with current BMI despite high prevalences of overweight and obesity at late middle age. Weight gain between ages 35 and 50, however, was highly predictive of overweight and obesity in late middle age. | 82431421 |
4,509,596 | Statistical Inference for Progressive Stress Accelerated Life Testing with Birnbaum-Saunders Distribution As a result of the two-parameter Birnbaum–Saunders (BS) distribution being successful in modelling fatigue failure times, several extensions of this model have been explored from different aspects. In this article, we consider a progressive stress accelerated life testing for the BS model to introduce a generalized Birnbaum–Saunders (we call it Type-II GBS) distribution on the lifetime of products in the test. We outline some interesting properties of this highly flexible distribution, present the Fisher’s information in the maximum likelihood estimation method, and propose a new Bayesian approach for inference. Simulation studies are carried out to assess the performance of the methods under various settings of parameter values and sample sizes. Real data are analyzed for illustrative purposes to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed Bayesian method over the likelihood-based procedure. | 70035861 |
4,509,597 | On the Relation between Robust and Bayesian Decision Making This paper compares Bayesian decision theory with robust decision theory where the decision maker optimizes with respect to the worst state realization. For a class of robust decision problems there exists a sequence of Bayesian decision problems whose solution converges towards the robust solution. It is shown that the limiting Bayesian problem displays infinite risk aversion and that decisions are insensitive (robust) to the precise assignment of prior probabilities. This holds independent from whether the preference for robustness is global or restricted to local perturbations around some reference model. | 17750721 |
4,509,598 | The effects of prenatal H1N1 infection at E16 on FMRP, glutamate, GABA, and reelin signaling systems in developing murine cerebellum Prenatal viral infection has been identified as a potential risk factor for the development of neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Additionally, dysfunction in gamma‐aminobutyric acid, Reelin, and fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP)–metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 signaling systems has also been demonstrated in these two disorders. In the current report, we have characterized the developmental profiles of selected markers for these systems in cerebella of mice born to pregnant mice infected with human influenza (H1N1) virus on embryonic day 16 or sham‐infected controls using SDS‐PAGE and Western blotting techniques and evaluated the presence of abnormalities in the above‐mentioned markers during brain development. The cerebellum was selected in light of emerging evidence that it plays roles in learning, memory, and emotional processing—all of which are disrupted in autism and schizophrenia. We identified unique patterns of gene and protein expression at birth (postnatal day 0 [P0]), childhood (P14), adolescence (P35), and young adulthood (P56) in both exposed and control mouse progeny. We also identified significant differences in protein expression for FMRP, very‐low‐density lipoprotein receptor, and glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 and 67 kDa proteins at specific postnatal time points in cerebella of the offspring of exposed mice. Our results provide evidence of disrupted FMRP, glutamatergic, and Reelin signaling in the exposed mouse offspring that explains the multiple brain abnormalities observed in this animal model. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. | 25674421 |
4,509,599 | Influence of adenosine analogs on morphine tolerance and dependence in mice. A number of adenosine agonists were investigated for possible actions on tolerance to morphine withdrawal in mice. The induction of tolerance to a sustained release preparation of morphine was assessed by measuring the analgesic effect induced by a test dose of the drug. The concomitant treatment with L- and D-phenylisopropyl adenosine, (L- and D-PIA), cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) or chloroadenosine (CADO) during the period of morphine absorption did not alter the induction of the process. In contrast cyclohexyladenosine (CHA) significantly decreased the intensity of tolerance. The administration of naloxone 30 hrs, after the priming dose of morphine induced an intense withdrawal reaction. The intensity of the abstinence syndrome was decreased by the administration of L-PIA, CHA or CADO; CPA and D-PIA were ineffective. These results suggest that adenosine analogs may interfere with the known morphine effects on calcium disposition in nerve terminals. | 44567321 |
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