The Hutongs blooming 08

China’s rapid development has altered the city’s landscape on a massive scale, continually eroding the delicate urban tissue of old Beijing. Such dramatic changes have forced an aging architecture to rely on chaotic, spontaneous renovations to survive the ever-changing neighborhood. In addition, poor standards of hygiene have turned unique living space and potential thriving communities into a serious urban problem. Hutongs are gradually becoming the local inhabitants’ dumpster and the haven for the wealthy. The hutongs blooming 08, will be inserted into the urban fabric, structure like clouds, attracting new people, activities, and resources to reactivate entire neighborhoods. They exist in symbiosis with the old housing. Fuel by the energy help to renew, the skin structure multiply and morph to provide for the community’s various needs, thereby allowing local residents to continue living in these old neighborhoods. In time, these interventions will become part of Beijing’s long history, newly formed membranes within the city’s urban tissue

Sensorineural Hearing Impairment is a Common Feature of Consanguineous Marriage

Introduction: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) accounts for about 60% of all hearing loss. This is sometimes also called “Nerve deafness”. The term “Sensorineural” is used to indicate that there is either a cochlear or an eight nerve lesion. The diagnosis of sensorineural hearing loss is made through audiometry, which shows a significant hearing loss without “The air-bone gap” that is characteristic of conductive hearing disturbances. Among various risk factors described for deafness, consanguinity is an established high risk. Aim of the Work: This work was carried out to study the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss in offsprings of consanguineous marriage, who attended the Medical Genetics Center, Ain Shams University. Patients and Methods: The study was performed on 950 children with congenital hearing loss. Results: Consanguineous marriage was present in 71.2% of studied cases, 47.3% of these cases, parents were 1st cousin, in 36.7% parents were 2nd cousin, 16% had remote consanguinity. 28.8% of cases were the offspring of non-consanguinous marriage. Also, the results showed that 44.2% of cases had severe degree of sensorineural hearing loss (71-90 dBHL), 24.3% had profound hearing loss (>90 dBHL). Autosomal dominant inheritance (AD) hearing loss was detected in 40% of cases. Autosomal recessive inheritance hearing loss was discovered in 27% of cases, and in 18.7% of study cases the hearing loss was associated with genetic syndromes, where 88.8% of these cases were associated with Down syndrome. Conclusion: The incidence of hereditary hearing impairement is commoner in developing counteries compared to developed counteries, so, prevention is essential to reduce the incidence of genetic hearing loss. Premarital and antenatal screening should be applied whenever possible, at least for those at risk of developing genetic diseases including hearing impairement. Keywords: Consanguinity; hearing disorders; preventive medicine. Egypt. J. Hum. Genet Vol. 9 (1) 2008: pp. 85-9

Data-Discriminants of Likelihood Equations

Maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) is a fundamental computational problem in statistics. The problem is to maximize the likelihood function with respect to given data on a statistical model. An algebraic approach to this problem is to solve a very structured parameterized polynomial system called likelihood equations. For general choices of data, the number of complex solutions to the likelihood equations is finite and called the ML-degree of the model. The only solutions to the likelihood equations that are statistically meaningful are the real/positive solutions. However, the number of real/positive solutions is not characterized by the ML-degree. We use discriminants to classify data according to the number of real/positive solutions of the likelihood equations. We call these discriminants data-discriminants (DD). We develop a probabilistic algorithm for computing DDs. Experimental results show that, for the benchmarks we have tried, the probabilistic algorithm is more efficient than the standard elimination algorithm. Based on the computational results, we discuss the real root classification problem for the 3 by 3 symmetric matrix~model.Comment: 2 table

Defining pharmacy and its practice: a conceptual model for an international audience

Background: There is much fragmentation and little consensus in the use of descriptors for the different disciplines that make up the pharmacy sector. Globalization, reprofessionalization and the influx of other disciplines means there is a requirement for a greater degree of standardization. This has not been well addressed in the pharmacy practice research and education literature. Objectives: To identify and define the various subdisciplines of the pharmacy sector and integrate them into an internationally relevant conceptual model based on narrative synthesis of the literature. Methods: A literature review was undertaken to understand the fragmentation in dialogue surrounding definitions relating to concepts and practices in the context of the pharmacy sector. From a synthesis of this literature, the need for this model was justified. Key assumptions of the model were identified, and an organic process of development took place with the three authors engaging in a process of sense-making to theorize the model. Results: The model is “fit for purpose” across multiple countries and includes two components making up the umbrella term “pharmaceutical practice”. The first component is the four conceptual dimensions, which outline the disciplines including social and administrative sciences, community pharmacy, clinical pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences. The second component of the model describes the “acts of practice”: teaching, research and professional advocacy; service and academic enterprise. Conclusions: This model aims to expose issues relating to defining pharmacy and its practice and to create dialogue. No model is perfect, but there are implications for what is posited in the areas of policy, education and practice and future research. The main point is the need for increased clarity, or at least beginning the discussion to increase the clarity of definition and consistency of meaning in-and-across the pharmacy sector locally, nationally and internationall

Opportunities for Practicing Sustainable Building Construction in Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Construction sector of Kurdistan region of Republic of Iraq has witnessed a huge development in construction sector last ten years. However, there are lack of awareness and legislation regarding the sustainable construction in buildings sector. The aim of the paper is to find the required mechanism to introduce sustainable practice and implement sustainable construction in the buildings construction sector at Northern Iraq. The main objectives in this study are identifying the barriers in sustainable construction at Northern Iraq and investigate the law and regulations in dealing with these barriers

CP^{N-1} models and the Quantized 2D Black Holes

We have examined the coupled system of the dilaton gravity and the $CP^{N-1}$ theory known as a model of the confinement of massive scalar quarks. After the quantization of the system, we could see the quantum effect of the gravitation on the coupling constant of $CP^{N-1}$ model and how the coupling constant of dynamically induced gauge field changes near the black hole configuration.Comment: 12 pages, Late

Space Climate Manifestation in Earth Prices - from Medieval England Up to Modern Usa

In this study we continue to search for possible manifestations of space weather influence on prices of agricultural products and consumables. We note that the connection between solar activity and prices is based on the causal chain that includes several nonlinear transition elements. These non-linear elements are characterized by threshold sensitivity to external parameters and lead to very inhomogeneous local sensitivity of the price to space weather conditions. It is noted that "soft type" models are the most adequate for description of this class of connections. Two main observational effects suitable for testing causal connections of this type of sensitivity are considered: burst-like price reactions on changes in solar activity and price asymmetry for selected phases of the sunspot cycle. The connection, discovered earlier for wheat prices of Medieval England, is examined in this work on the basis of another 700-year data set of consumable prices in England. Using the same technique as in the previous part of our work (Pistilnik and Yom Din 2004) we show that statistical parameters of the interval distributions for price bursts of consumables basket and for sunspot minimum states are similar one to another, like it was reported earlier for wheat price bursts. Possible sources of these consistencies between three different multiyear samples are discussed. For search of possible manifestations of the "space weather - wheat market" connection in modern time, we analyze dynamics of wheat prices in the USA in the twentieth century. We show that the wheat prices revealed a maximum/minimum price asymmetry consistent with the phases of the sunspot cycle. We discuss possible explanations of this observed asymmetry, unexpected under conditions of globalization of the modern wheat market.Comment: First International Symposium on Space Climate: Direct and Indirect Observations of Long-Term Solar Activity, 20-23 June 2004, Oulu, Finlan