Invariant measures for monotone SPDE's with multiplicative noise term

We study diffusion processes corresponding to infinite dimensional semilinear stochastic differential equations with local Lipschitz drift term and an arbitrary Lipschitz diffusion coefficient. We prove tightness and the Feller property of the solution to show existence of an invariant measure. As an application we discuss stochastic reaction diffusion equations.Comment: 10 page

A comparative study of machine learning methods for verbal autopsy text classification

A Verbal Autopsy is the record of an interview about the circumstances of an uncertified death. In developing countries, if a death occurs away from health facilities, a field-worker interviews a relative of the deceased about the circumstances of the death; this Verbal Autopsy can be reviewed offsite. We report on a comparative study of the processes involved in Text Classification applied to classifying Cause of Death: feature value representation; machine learning classification algorithms; and feature reduction strategies in order to identify the suitable approaches applicable to the classification of Verbal Autopsy text. We demonstrate that normalised term frequency and the standard TFiDF achieve comparable performance across a number of classifiers. The results also show Support Vector Machine is superior to other classification algorithms employed in this research. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of employing a ’locally-semisupervised’ feature reduction strategy in order to increase performance accuracy

Life-form and Density of Valuable Non-timber Plants in Ukpom Community Forest, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Ukpom Community Forest in Ikono Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria was assessed for the abundance of plant species producing economically valuable non-timber forest products. Forty-six plant species comprising 16 tree species, 17 shrub species, 8 herb species and 5 climber species were encountered. Apart from Baphia nitida, Pentatethra macrophylla and Brachystegia eurycoma with densities of 6,4 and 3/ha respectively, all the other tree species had a density of 1/ha each. In the shrub category, Lasianthera africana had the highest density of 255/ha and Alchornea cordifolia, the least of 1/ha. Palisota hirsuta had the highest density of 136/ha in the herb life-form, and Urena lobata the least of one/ha. Among the climbers, Ancistrophyllum secundiflorum had the highest density of 51/ha and Plukentia conophora, the least of 1/ha. The implications of the results for sustainable management of the forest are discussed.Key words: Rainforest, Plants, Density, Non-Timber Products, Exploitation

Timber Dealers’ Perception of their Knowledge of the Forest Law in Uyo Senatorial District of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study investigated timber dealers’ knowledge of the forest law andregulations in Uyo Senatorial District. Five timber markets were selectedthrough two-stage sampling. Data were collected from 238 traders in theselected markets using structured questionnaires and subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that over 90% of the respondents knew and understood the forest law and penalties for violation. Thus, forestoffences were not committed out of ignorance, but for undue profits.Knowledge and understanding of the law were independent of respondents’Local Government Areas (LGAs), but knowledge of penalties for forestoffences significantly varied with LGA (p = 0.05). Recommendations forimproved compliance with the law and its enforcement strategies includeemployment of more forest policemen, provision of vehicles for patrol andevacuation of illegal forest produce, adequate penalties on culprits, andadequate political will and earnest tackling of corruption by government.Key words: Timber dealers, Knowledge, Forest Law, Uyo SenatorialDistrict, Nigeria

Solubilisation of sludge by combined chemical and enzymatic treatment

In this study, the effects of cation-binding agents used alone and/or in combination with enzymes on solubilisation of municipal sludge and structure changes were investigated. Formic acid, citric acid,tartaric acid, EDTA, sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), Zeolite A, sodium fluoride, sodium thiosulphate or sodium silicate were added to both biological and digested sludges. Citric acid (50 mmol/l) released thehighest COD, amounting to 8 g/l from bio-sludge and 3 g/l from digested sludge. The highest specific dissolution rate was 0.5 g COD per mmol citric acid. COD released by STPP (50 mmol/l) was 3.3 g/l from bio-sludge and 2 g/l from digested sludge. STPP acted most efficiently to reduce suspended solids, 20% for digested and 40% for bio-sludge. The pre-treatment by the sequestering agents was followed by addition of three glycosidic enzymes. The used enzymes were more effective in hydrolysis of bio-sludge than in hydrolysis of the digested sludge. Additionally, after 4 h of incubation the remained enzymesactivities in enzyme treated sludges were improved by up to 20%, indicating high stability of added enzymes

Access to age-appropriate essential medicines: a retrospective survey of compounding of medicines for children in hospitals in Nigeria and implications for policy development

Policies to improve access to medicines for children in Nigeria do not include compounding as a source of medicines. Compounding is often applied as a last resort in health institutions to provide age-appropriate formulations usually for oral use in young children; but it bears some risk. Some countries have adopted policies aimed at reducing the risk based on available data. There is not much data for Nigeria. This retrospective study examined compounding records from January to December 2011 in a sample of seven hospitals to describe what medicines for oral use were commonly compounded in Nigeria. It then determined if these medicines were commercially available in forms suitable for use in children in selected countries-the United Kingdom, United States and India. The study found that out of 2845 items compounded, over 65% were medicines for cardiovascular conditions, diarrhoea or tuberculosis. The main reason (96%, n = 2399) for compounding was the unavailability of age-appropriate formulations. Medicines were almost all compounded using simple syrup, vitamin C or vitamin B syrups as suspending vehicles. Final products were all oral liquids. Comprehensive stability testing was not reported for the products. Almost all of the commonly compounded medicines were found to be commercially available in dosage forms suitable for use in children in the selected countries. These medicines were all listed in the World Health Organization Essential Medicines List for children as well as in the current edition of the Essential Medicines List of Nigeria. The fact that they were compounded highlights the need for improved access to age-appropriate dosage forms for children in Nigeria. The study recommends policy expansion through a three-pronged approach to improving access: increased supply through facilitated importation/accelerated product registration, or in-country manufacturing; rational drug use including therapeutic substitution, and establishment of a national formulary for compounding

DXA assessment

Accurate assessment of body composition is an important issue among athletes. Different methodologies generate controversial results, leading to a deep uncertainty on individual exercise prescriptions. Thus, this study aims to identify the differences between field methods, such as bioelectrical impedance (BIA) and skinfold assessment, with a clinical method, highly accurate, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), among elite young football players. Thirty-eight male football players with a mean (sd) age of 16.7 (0.87) years, involved in the Portuguese national competition of U16 (n = 13) and U19 (n = 25), were evaluated and objective measures of body composition, muscle strength and football skills were collected by trained specialists. Body composition was assessed using BIA (Tanita BC-418, Tanita Corp., Tokyo, Japan), in agreement with all the evaluation premises. Additionally, all athletes were evaluated using the clinical method DXA (Hologic Inc., Waltham, MA, USA). Among the U19 athletes, three skinfold sites (SKF) were assessed: chest, abdomin and thigh. The Spearman correlation coefficients and the mean difference between methods were calculated. The agreement between both methods was analyzed using Bland-Altman plots. Among the evaluated athletes, lower mean values of body fat % were found using BIA as a method of body composition assessment compared with DXA (12.05 vs. 15.58 for U16; 11.97 vs. 14.16 for U19). Despite the moderate correlation between methods (r = 0.33) to estimate the percentage of total fat, the median of the difference (DXA vs. BIA) was relevant in clinical terms, with 2.90% and 1.47% for U16 and U19 athletes, respectively. Stronger correlations were found between the sum of the SKF and DXA fat estimation (r = 0.68). The Bland-Altman plots showed a clear underestimation in the evaluations using the BIA, namely among athletes with better body composition profiles (8%?12% of fat). Using BIA, an underestimation of body fat assessment was observed among 94.5% of the athletes with less than 12% body fat mass. Among the evaluated athletes, fat mass was underestimated at a median value of 2.21% using BIA in comparison with DXA. The sum of the SKF showed a stronger correlation with the reference method (DXA) (r = 0.68) than BIA.D915-7373-ED16 | Cesar LeaoN/

Distributed Change Detection via Average Consensus over Networks

Distributed change-point detection has been a fundamental problem when performing real-time monitoring using sensor-networks. We propose a distributed detection algorithm, where each sensor only exchanges CUSUM statistic with their neighbors based on the average consensus scheme, and an alarm is raised when local consensus statistic exceeds a pre-specified global threshold. We provide theoretical performance bounds showing that the performance of the fully distributed scheme can match the centralized algorithms under some mild conditions. Numerical experiments demonstrate the good performance of the algorithm especially in detecting asynchronous changes.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure

Near death 18 weeks preeclampsia in molar pregnancy

Authors present a case of a molar pregnancy of 18 weeks with preeclampsia complicated with acute pulmonary oedema. A condition carrying a significant risk to mother, therefore, raising an important issue on preeclampsia symptoms on pregnancies before 20 weeks. A 31-year-old woman gravida 2, parity 1 presented with dyspnea at 18 weeks' gestation. Blood pressure was very high (180/110 mmHg) and there was markedly proteinuria (+4). She had severe dyspnea and her oxygen saturation level was 75%. Her chest X-ray graph showed massive acute pulmonary oedema. Ultrasonography shows endometrial cavity containing multiple small cystic spaces, creating a characteristic “snowstorm” and “cluster of grapes” appearance. Markedly elevated quantitative human chorionic gonadotropin (250.000 mIU/mL). The acute pulmonary oedema has been managed by diuretics (Furosemide) and oxygen. There was no cardiac abnormalities in the tranthoracic echocardiogram. Authors administered antihypertensive therapy (intravenous nicardipine and lmethyldopa in per os), and magnesium sulfate in prevention of eclamptic seizures. The pregnancy was terminated by uterine evacuation under oxytocin infusion by manual ultrasound aspiration. She was followed up intensive care unit for two days. Causes of secondary high blood pressure had been eliminated. The patient's blood pressure rapidly normalized two days after delivery. Dyspnea disappeared one day later. Pathologic and cytogenetic analyses revealed a complete hydatiform mole. Two days after delivery; the serum β-hCG level was 99000 mlU/ml. A control ultrasonography shows an empty uterus. Hydatidiform mole is classified into 2 different subtypes, complete hydatidiform mole and partial or incomplete hydatidiform mole development of preeclampsia prior to 20 weeks of gestation should prompt a clinical evaluation to exclude the possibility of an underlying hydatidiform molar pregnancy. Ultrasonography and level of serum BHCG are the initial investigation of choice for the detection of hydatidiform mole. Aspiration is the treatment of reference

Experimental modulation of capsule size in Cryptococcus neoformans

Experimental modulation of capsule size is an important technique for the study of the virulence of the encapsulated pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. In this paper, we summarize the techniques available for experimental modulation of capsule size in this yeast and describe improved methods to induce capsule size changes. The response of the yeast to the various stimuli is highly dependent on the cryptococcal strain. A high CO(2) atmosphere and a low iron concentration have been used classically to increase capsule size. Unfortunately, these stimuli are not reliable for inducing capsular enlargement in all strains. Recently we have identified new and simpler conditions for inducing capsule enlargement that consistently elicited this effect. Specifically, we noted that mammalian serum or diluted Sabouraud broth in MOPS buffer pH 7.3 efficiently induced capsule growth. Media that slowed the growth rate of the yeast correlated with an increase in capsule size. Finally, we summarize the most commonly used media that induce capsule growth in C. neoformans