GaAs-based Self-Aligned Stripe Superluminescent Diodes Processed Normal to the Cleaved Facet

We demonstrate GaAs-based superluminescent diodes (SLDs) incorporating a window-like back facet in a self-aligned stripe. SLDs are realised with low spectral modulation depth (SMD) at high power spectral density, without application of anti-reflection coatings. Such application of a window-like facet reduces effective facet reflectivity in a broadband manner. We demonstrate 30mW output power in a narrow bandwidth with only 5% SMD, outline the design criteria for high power and low SMD, and describe the deviation from a linear dependence of SMD on output power as a result of Joule heating in SLDs under continuous wave current injection. Furthermore, SLDs processed normal to the facet demonstrate output powers as high as 20mW, offering improvements in beam quality, ease of packaging and use of real estate. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only

POLITICAL REGIMES, REBEL SUPPORT, AND INCENTIVES FOR PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

Extant scholarship has mainly focused on assessing how battlefield conditions such as casualties and military stalemates affect the probability of peace settlements taking place during civil conflicts. However, there is a lack of scholarly work that probes other factors that might influence the decision to negotiate. I identify two broad classes of explanations that I expect influence a government’s decision to negotiate: behavioral and institutional explanations. In regards to behavioral explanations, I argue that rebels that are at least as popular as the civil war government pose a salient threat to the political survival of the incumbent, thereby increasing the costs of continued war and making negotiations more likely to occur. Moreover, the military costs of prosecuting the war and the costs involved for overseeing protests by supporters of the rebels become exorbitantly high in this political environment, which makes seeking a political solution to the war a more attractive choice for the incumbent. In terms of institutional explanations, I provide an assessment examining under what conditions the level of institutional consolidation of a regime and the strength of electoral institutions shape incentives for peace negotiations. I first argue that unconsolidated regimes have a number of institutional deficiencies that make the costs of continued war higher relative to consolidated regimes, which consequently increases incentives to negotiate with the non-state opposition. I then argue that regardless of the level of regime consolidation, electoral institutions, such as competitive elections, incentivize political leaders to hold peace negotiations only if the rebels are at least as popular as the state. Continued war essentially becomes a costly option for these leaders given that it will threaten the electoral success of the incumbent. Empirical results using a mixed-effects logistic regression and case studies suggest that institutional factors matter for negotiations, but the popularity of rebels relative to the government appears to play a nuanced role in the civil war government’s decision to negotiate. My project highlights the importance of understanding how certain characteristics of political regimes and relative popularity of rebel groups work together to create incentives for dialogue during civil wars.Doctor of Philosoph

A contribution to the second neighborhood problem

Seymour's Second Neighborhood Conjecture asserts that every digraph (without digons) has a vertex whose first out-neighborhood is at most as large as its second out-neighborhood. It is proved for tournaments, tournaments missing a matching and tournaments missing a generalized star. We prove this conjecture for classes of digraphs whose missing graph is a comb, a complete graph minus 2 independent edges, or a complete graph minus the edges of a cycle of length 5

Time-to-positivity in bloodstream infection is not a prognostic marker for mortality:analysis of a prospective multicentre randomized control trial

Objectives Time to positivity (TTP), calculated automatically in modern blood culture systems, is considered a proxy for microbial load and has been suggested as a potential prognostic marker in bloodstream infections. In this large, multicentre, prospectively collected cohort, our primary analysis aimed to quantify the relationship between the TTP of monomicrobial blood cultures and mortality. Methods Data from a multicentre randomized controlled trial (RAPIDO) in bloodstream infection were analysed. Bloodstream infections were classified into 13 groups/subgroups. The relationship between mortality and TTP was assessed by logistic regression, adjusted for site, organism, and clinical variables, and linear regression was applied to examine the association between clinical variables and TTP. Robustness was assessed by sensitivity analysis. Results In total 4468 participants were included in the RAPIDO. After exclusions, 3462 were analysed, with the most common organisms being coagulase-negative staphylococci (1072 patients) and Escherichia coli (861 patients); 785 patients (22.7%) died within 28 days. We found no relationship between TTP and mortality for any groups except for streptococci (odds ratio (OR) with each hour 0.98, 95%CI 0.96–1.00) and Candida (OR 1.03, 95%CI 1.00–1.05). There was large variability between organisms and sites in TTP. Fever (geometric mean ratio (GMR) 0.95, 95%CI 0.92–0.99), age (GMR per 10 years 1.01, 95%CI 1.00–1.02), and neutrophilia were associated with TTP (GMR 1.03, 95%CI 1.02–1.04). Conclusions Time to positivity is not associated with mortality, except in the case of Candida spp. (longer times associated with worse outcomes) and possibly streptococci (shorter times associated with worse outcomes). There was a large variation between median times across centres, limiting external validity

Modeling of a New High Voltage Power Supplyfor Microwave Generators with Three Magnetrons

This original work treats the modeling of a new type of HV power supply with several magnetrons (treated case   N=3 magnetrons).The design of this new power supply uses a new single-phase high voltage transformer with magnetic shunts supplying three doublers voltage cells, each one composed of a capacitor and a diode. Each cell supplies in its turn one magnetron. The π equivalent model of the transformer is developed taking account the saturation phenomena and the stabilization process of each magnetron current. The model of the transformer is based on the determination of the analytical expressions of the non linear inductances that can be stored from the fitting of the magnetization curve B (H) of material used. The resulting model will be implemented under Matlab-Simulink code. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental measurement for one magnetron, thus provides, relative to the current device, gainsof volume, weight and cost of all power supply with respecting the conditions recommended by the constructor of magnetron current: Ipeak<1.2 A, Imean≈ 300 mA.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v3i2.223

Investigation of the bioequivalence of montelukast chewable tablets after a single oral administration using a validated LC-MS/MS method

Background: Montelukast (MT) is a leukotriene D4 antagonist. It is an effective and safe medicine for the prophylaxis and treatment of chronic asthma. It is also used to prevent acute exercise-induced bronchoconstriction and as a symptomatic relief of seasonal allergic rhinitis and perennial allergic rhinitis. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the bioequivalence (BE) of two drug products: generic MT 5 mg chewable tablets versus the branded drug Singulair® pediatric 5 mg chewable tablets among Mediterranean volunteers. Methods: An open-label, randomized two-period crossover BE design was conducted in 32 healthy male volunteers with a 9-day washout period between doses and under fasting conditions. The drug concentrations in plasma were quantified by using a newly developed and fully validated liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method, and the pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using a non-compartmental model. The ratio for generic/branded tablets using geometric least squares means was calculated for both the MT products. Results: The relationship between concentration and peak area ratio was found to be linear within the range 6.098–365.855 ng/mL. The correlation coefficient (R2) was always greater than 0.99 during the course of the validation. Statistical comparison of the main pharmacokinetic parameters showed no significant difference between the generic and branded products. The point estimates (ratios of geometric means) were 101.2%, 101.6%, and 98.11% for area under the curve (AUC)0→last, AUC0→inf, and Cmax, respectively. The 90% confidence intervals were within the predefined limits of 80.00%–125.00% as specified by the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency for BE studies. Conclusion: Broncast® pediatric chewable tablets (5 mg/tablet) are bioequivalent to Singulair® pediatric chewable tablets (5 mg/tablet), with a similar safety profile. This suggests that these two formulations can be considered interchangeable in clinical practice

Towards A Robust Cad System For Early Diagnosis Of Autism Using Structural Mri

This chapter discusses a promising computer-aided diagnosis system, devised by our research team, for diagnosing autism at various stages of life, making use of the shape information in brain magnetic resonance imaging. Our system integrates the shape features extracted from both the cerebral white matter and the cerebral cortex

Oncogenic role of connective tissue growth factor is associated with canonical TGF-β cascade in colorectal cancer

TGF-β signaling pathways promote tumour development and control several downstream genes such as CTGF and MMPs. This study aimed to investigate the association between CTGF and MMP-1 mRNA expressions with clinicopathological status and survival rate in colorectal cancer patients. We investigated expression levels of CTGF and MMP-1 genes in paraffin-embedded tumours and adjacent normal tissue blocks (ADJ) by Real Time-PCR. Then, the expression of Smad2 and Smad4 proteins in the TGF-β canonical pathway was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Finally, the correlation between CTGF, MMP-1, and the canonical TGF-β-signalling pathway with the clinicopathological features was investigated. Expression levels of MMP-1and CTGF were higher in tumours compared with adjacent normal tissues. Overexpression levels of MMP-1 and CTGF were associated with lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, tumour histopathological grading, advanced stage, and poor survival (p 0.05). Additionally, a significant association between the upregulation of MMP-1 and tumour location was noted. Upregulation of Smad2 and Smad4 proteins were also significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, advanced stage, and poor survival (p 0.0001). This study showed that canonical TGF-β signalling regulates both CTGF and MMP-1 expression and CRC progression. Moreover, TGF-β signalling and its downstream genes could be used as novel biomarkers and novel approaches for targeted therapy in CRC