Performance Analysis of Regular and Irregular LDPC Codes on SPIHT Coded Image Data

The LDPC (Low Density Parity Check Code) has Shown interesting results for transmitting embedded bit streams over noisy communication channels. Performance comparison of regular and irregular LDPC codes with SPIHT coded image is done here. Different Error Sensitive classes of image data are obtained by using SPIHT algorithm as an image coder. Irregular LDPC codes map the more important class of data into a higher degree protection class to provide more protection. Different degree protection classes of an LDPC code improves the overall performance of data transmission against channel errors. Simulation results show the superiority of irregular LDPC over regular LDPC codes

Bioorthogonale Ligationsreaktionen an Grenzflächen

In dieser Arbeit werden verschiedene Synthesestrategien beschrieben, welche Zugang zu einer Substanzbibliothek neuer polyvalenter Strukturen ermöglicht, die sich durch ein breites Spektrum an funktioneller Vielfalt auszeichnet, sowie deren Anwendungen in der Herstellung von Biomaterialien

Colposcopic evaluation and papanicolaou smear in high risk groups and its correlation with histology

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most common gynaecologic neoplasms. PAP smear and colposcopy are used for its early detection. This study aims to find the correlation of colposcopic evaluation with Pap smear in cervical cancer screening and with histology. Methods: All women attending the OPD with unhealthy cervix and abnormal symptoms, who gave written informed consent were included in the study. Pap smear cytological grading, colposcopic findings were recorded. Pap smear and colposcopy findings was compared with histopathology. Results: The study included 73 patients. Pap smear was negative in more than half of the patients (56.2%), followed by atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance in 12 (16.4%), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion in 17 (23.3%), high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion in 2 (2.7%) and squamous cell carcinoma in 1 patient (1.4%).  The histopathology showed normal findings in 46 patients (63%), followed by CIN 1 in 11 (15.1%), CIN 2 in 6 patients (8.2%), CIN 3 and squamous cell carcinoma in 5 patients each (6.8%). Pap smear’s predictability of cervical malignancy showed that it had a sensitivity of 48.15, it’s specificity for identifying patients without cervical malignancy was 84.78%. Colposcopy’s predictability of cervical malignancy showed that it had a sensitivity of 88.89%, it’s specificity for identifying patients without cervical malignancy was 95.65%. Conclusions: Colposcopy does seem to be better than Pap smear in diagnosing cervical carcinoma and also identifying patients without it

PENGARUH AKUPUNKTUR TERHADAP TINGKAT NYERI DISMENORHEA PADA MAHASISWI S1 KEPERAWATAN FIK UNIPDU JOMBANG

Dismenorhea merupakan rasa nyeri saat menstruasi yang menggangu kehidupan sehari-hari wanita, khususnya para mahasiswi. Faktor yang menyebabkan timbulnya dismenorhea salah satunya adalah factor endokrin, dalam penangan dismenorhea dapat dilakukan dengan pengobatan non farmakologi seperti akupuntur. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui adanya pengaruh akupuntur terhadap tingkat nyeri dismenorhea pada mahasiswi S1 Keperawatan FIK Unipdu Jombang. Penelitian menggunakan metode Quasy Experiment dengan desain Pretest- Posttest Control Group Design, dengan jumlah sampel sebanyak 24 responden (12 kelompok perlakuan dan 12 kelompok kontrol) dengan mengunakan teknik Purposive Sampling. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan metode observasi dan wawancara, selanjutnya ditabulasi dengan menggunakan distribusi frekuensi dan diuji menggunakan uji Independen T Test dan Paired T Test tingkat kemaknaan p = 0,05. Dari hasil penelitian ini menunjukan antara kedua kelompok menunjukkan tingkat nyeri dismenorhea pada mahasiswi, setelah diberikan akupuntur sebanyak 3 kali dalam waktu 2 hari sekali terdapat pengaruh tingkat nyeri dismenohrea yang signifikan pada kelomok perlakuan dan kelompok kontrol pada uji Paired T Test dan uji Independent T Test dengan nilai signifikasi p = 0,000 (p ˂ 0,05) sehingga Ho ditolak ada pengaruh akupunktur terhadap tingkat nyeri dismenorhea. Nyeri dismenorhea merupakan gangguan fisik yang sangat menonjol pada wanita yang sedang mengalami haid, yaitu nyeri di daerah perut bagian bawah, tetapi dapat menjalar ke punggung atau permukaan dalam paha. Kesimpulan yang dapat diambil dari penelitian ini adalah ada pengaruh akupuntur terhadap tingkat nyeri dismenorhea pada mahasiswi S1 Keperawatan FIK Unipdu Jombang. Dari hasil yang ada tersebut akupuntur dapat membantu untuk mengatasi masalah nyeri dismenorhea pada mahasiswi salah satunya yang di sebabkan oleh faktor endokrin

Pengaruh Ukuran Perusahaan, Leverage, Intensitas Modal dan Profitabilitas terhadap Agresivitas Pajak

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan bukti empiris mengenai pengaruh ukuran perusahaan yang diproksikan dengan logaritma natural total aset, leverage yang diproksikan dengan debt to total asset ratio (DAR), intensitas modal yang diproksikan dengan capital intensity ratio, dan profitabilitas yang diproksikan dengan return on asset (ROA) terhadap agresivitas pajak yang diproksikan dengan effective tax rate (ETR). Sampel pada penelitian ini dipilih menggunakan metode purposive sampling. Data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini berupa data sekunder dengan menggunakan metode regresi linier berganda. Sampel dalam penelitian ini sebanyak 26 perusahaan sektor manufaktur yang terdaftar di BEI secara berturut-turut selama tahun 2016-2018, menerbitkan laporan keuangan atau laporan tahunan yang sudah diaudit oleh auditor independen dan berakhir pada 31 Desember, menyajikan laporan keuangan menggunakan mata uang Rupiah, memiliki laba sebelum pajak positif, memiliki beban pajak yang lebih besar dari manfaat pajak, memiliki laba setelah pajak positif, dan memiliki total aset Rp1.000.000.000.000 sampai dengan Rp4.000.000.000.000. Hasil penelitian ini adalah (1) ukuran perusahaan (SIZE) tidak berpengaruh negatif terhadap agresivitas pajak (ETR), (2) leverage (DAR) berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap agresivitas pajak (ETR), (3) intensitas modal (CAIR) tidak berpengaruh negatif terhadap agresivitas pajak (ETR), (4) dan profitabilitas (ROA) tidak berpengaruh negatif terhadap agresivitas pajak (ETR)

Multifunctional nanoparticles for specific neuroblastoma targeting

Neuroblastoma is a solid extracranial cancer of the nervous system. Besides leukemia, brain tumors, and central nervous system tumors, neuroblastoma is the most common cancer in children.1 It mainly affects children under 15 years old and accounts for 15% of childhood cancer deaths.2 There is a wide variety of treatment options for neuroblastomas; ranging from surgery or chemotherapy in children with low-risk to medium-risk forms of the disease, to aggressive multimodal therapies in patients with high-risk forms.3 A treatment used in certain high-risk patients is iodine-131 meta-iodobenzylguanidine (I-131 MIBG) radiotherapy. MIBG is a norepinephrine analogue that localizes to adrenergic cells. Neuroblastoma cells overexpress adrenergic receptors, and thus take up MIBG at higher rates than other tissues.4 Because of this, when modified with I-131, MIBG is used as a radiotherapy agent.5 I-131 MIBG treatment, as a highly specific therapy, avoids many of the heavy side effects seen in other cancer treatments, but its radioactivity causes a need for highly specialized facilities. Additionally, all patients undergoing I-131 MIBG treatment must remain in isolation for several days while radiation in their system is reduced to safe levels, which is especially difficult for children. As an alternative to I-131 MIBG treatment, a nanoparticle (NP) system that uses MIBG to home to neuroblastoma cells and then releases chemotherapy agents in their immediate vicinity may result in a better treatment for the disease. It would be more patient friendly in that, in addition to the above stated advantages of MIBG, it would contain no radioactive properties and therefore avoid the need for patient isolation and specialized facilities, which would increase patient compliance and reduce costs. Similar NPs were previously shown to be useful for drug loading purposes and therapeutic release rates can be controlled in NP systems, as opposed to the traditional therapy.6 Through electrohydrodynamic (EHD) co-jetting, our group has fabricated surface modifiable, biodegradable nanoparticles that can be used for predictable, controlled, and distinct delivery of therapeutics.7 In this work we present the fabrication poly-lactic-glycolic acid NPs chemically modified to display MIBG on their surface that were manufactured using our EDH methodology. We characterized the system using proton nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and nanoparticle tracking analysis. Increased particle uptake for MIBG modified NPs vs controls in a neuroblastoma line was observed using confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. Future work will investigate the efficacy of these particles for delivering chemotherapeutics in in-vitro and in-vivo systems based on previously published work on drug loading studies in our group.8 1. Pizzo, P. A. & Poplack, D. G. Principles and practice of pediatric oncology. (2006). 2. Stiller, C. A. & Parkin, D. M. International variations in the incidence of neuroblastoma. Int. J. Cancer 52, 538–543 (1992). 3. Park, J. R., Eggert, A. & Caron, H. Neuroblastoma: Biology, Prognosis, and Treatment. Hematol. Oncol. Clin. North Am. 24, 65–86 (2010). 4. Hattner, R. S., Huberty, J. P., Engelstad, B. L. & Gooding, C. A. Localization of m-lodo (I-131) benzylguanidine Neuroblastoma. 373–374 (1984). 5. Riad, R. et al. Role of 131-I MIBG Therapy in the Treatment of Advanced Neuroblastoma. J. Egypt. Natl. Canc. Inst. 21, 51–8 (2009). 6. Rahmani, S., Park, T. H., Dishman, A. F. & Lahann, J. Multimodal delivery of irinotecan from microparticles with two distinct compartments. J. Control. Release 172, 239–245 (2013). 7. Rahmani, S. & Lahann, J. Recent progress with multicompartmental nanoparticles. MRS Bull. 39, 251–257 (2014). 8. Rahmani, S. et al. Dual Release Carriers for Cochlear Delivery. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 5, 94–100 (2016)

Phase transitions in MgSiO3 post-perovskite in super-Earth mantles

The highest pressure form of the major Earth-forming mantle silicate is MgSiO3 post-perovskite (PPv). Understanding the fate of PPv at TPa pressures is the first step for understanding the mineralogy of super-Earths-type exoplanets, arguably the most interesting for their similarities with Earth. Modeling their internal structure requires knowledge of stable mineral phases, their properties under compression, and major element abundances. Several studies of PPv under extreme pressures support the notion that a sequence of pressure induced dissociation transitions produce the elementary oxides SiO2 and MgO as the ultimate aggregation form at ~3 TPa. However, none of these studies have addressed the problem of mantle composition, particularly major element abundances usually expressed in terms of three main variables, the Mg/Si and Fe/Si ratios and the Mg#, as in the Earth. Here we show that the critical compositional parameter, the Mg/Si ratio, whose value in the Earth's mantle is still debated, is a vital ingredient for modeling phase transitions and internal structure of super-Earth mantles. Specifically, we have identified new sequences of phase transformations, including new recombination reactions that depend decisively on this ratio. This is a new level of complexity that has not been previously addressed, but proves essential for modeling the nature and number of internal layers in these rocky mantles.Comment: Submitted to Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 28 pages, 6 figure

Evaluation of recombinant Herpesvirus of Turkey Laryngotracheitis (rHVT-LT) Vaccine against Genotype VI Canadian Wild-Type Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus (ILTV) Infection

In Alberta, infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) infection is endemic in backyard poultry flocks; however, outbreaks are only sporadically observed in commercial flocks. In addition to ILTV vaccine revertant strains, wild-type strains are among the most common causes of infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT). Given the surge in live attenuated vaccine-related outbreaks, the goal of this study was to assess the efficacy of a recombinant herpesvirus of turkey (rHVT-LT) vaccine against a genotype VI Canadian wild-type ILTV infection. One-day-old specific pathogen-free (SPF) White Leghorn chickens were vaccinated with the rHVT-LT vaccine or mock vaccinated. At three weeks of age, half of the vaccinated and the mock-vaccinated animals were challenged. Throughout the experiment, weights were recorded, and feather tips, cloacal and oropharyngeal swabs were collected for ILTV genome quantification. Blood was collected to isolate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and quantify CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. At 14 dpi, the chickens were euthanized, and respiratory tissues were collected to quantify genome loads and histological examination. Results showed that the vaccine failed to decrease the clinical signs at 6 days post-infection. However, it was able to significantly reduce ILTV shedding through the oropharyngeal route. Overall, rHVT-LT produced a partial protection against genotype VI ILTV infection

Pathogenic and transmission potential of wildtype and chicken embryo origin (CEO) vaccine revertant infectious laryngotracheitis virus

Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) is an infectious upper respiratory tract disease that impacts the poultry industry worldwide. ILT is caused by an alphaherpesvirus commonly referred to as infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV). Vaccination with live attenuated vaccines is practiced regularly for the control of ILT. However, extensive and improper use of live attenuated vaccines is related to vaccine viruses reverting to virulence. An increase in mortality and pathogenicity has been attributed to these vaccine revertant viruses. Recent studies characterized Canadian ILTV strains originating from ILT outbreaks as related to live attenuated vaccine virus revertants. However, information is scarce on the pathogenicity and transmission potential of these Canadian isolates. Hence, in this study, the pathogenicity and transmission potential of two wildtype ILTVs and a chicken embryo origin (CEO) vaccine revertant ILTV of Canadian origin were evaluated. To this end, 3-week-old specific pathogen-free chickens were experimentally infected with each of the ILTV isolates and compared to uninfected controls. Additionally, naïve chickens were exposed to the experimentally infected chickens to mimic naturally occurring infection. Pathogenicity of each of these ILTV isolates was evaluated by the severity of clinical signs, weight loss, mortality, and lesions observed at the necropsy. The transmission potential was evaluated by quantification of ILTV genome loads in oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs and tissue samples of the experimentally infected and contact-exposed chickens, as well as in the capacity to produce ILT in contact-exposed chickens. We observed that the CEO vaccine revertant ILTV isolate induced severe disease in comparison to the two wildtype ILTV isolates used in this study. According to ILTV genome load data, CEO vaccine revertant ILTV isolate was successfully transmitted to naïve contact-exposed chickens in comparison to the tested wildtype ILTV isolates. Overall, the Canadian origin CEO vaccine revertant ILTV isolate possesses higher virulence, and dissemination potential, when compared to the wildtype ILTV isolates used in this study. These findings have serious implications in ILT control in chickens

Comparative pathogenicity of infectious bronchitis virus Massachusetts and Delmarva (DMV/1639) genotypes in laying hens

Infectious bronchitis (IB) is a highly contagious and acute viral disease of chicken caused by the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) of the family Coronaviridae. Even with extensive vaccination against IB by the poultry industry, the occurrence of new IBV genotypes is a continuous challenge encountered by the global poultry industry. This experiment was designed to compare the pathogenicity of two IBV strains belonging to Massachusetts (Mass) and Delmarva DMV/1639 genotypes. Specific pathogen-free laying hens were challenged during the peak of production (30 weeks), keeping a mock-infected control group. During 21 days of observation following infection, a significant drop in egg production with miss-shaped and soft shells was observed in the DMV/1639 IBV-infected hens only. The DMV/1639 IBV infected group showed prolonged and higher cloacal viral shedding compared with the Mass IBV-infected group. At the end of the study (21 days post-infection), the viral genome loads in the respiratory, urogenital, and immune tissues were significantly higher in the DMV/1639 IBV-infected group compared with the Mass IBV-infected group. Macroscopic lesions such as distorted ova leading to egg peritonitis were observed only in the DMV/1639 IBV-infected group. Moreover, microscopic lesion scores were significantly higher in the lung, kidney, cecal tonsils, and oviduct of the DMV/1639 IBV-infected group compared with the Mass IBV-infected group. Finally, the apoptosis index in the kidney, ovary, magnum, isthmus, and shell gland was significantly higher in the DMV/1639 IBV-infected group compared with the control and Mass-infected groups. This study examined the pathogenicity of two IBV genotypes that are impacting the layer industry in North America