Plasma somatomedin activity in normal and scoliotic children

In a study of plasma somatomedin activity in childhood scoliosis a group of five patients with congenital scoliosis was found to have significantly lower plasma somatomedin levels compared with a group of 20 normal children. A group of 52 patients with "idiopathic" scoliosis had normal plasma somatomedin levels. There is no apparent difference in the plasma somatomedin activity between the sexes, and no change in plasma somatomedin activity with chronologic age in these children, suggesting that normal adult somatomedin levels have been reached.     

Encephalopathy during oral treatment with bismuth salts

Side effects of orally administered bismuthic salts have been known for many years. Many systems are involved, including the digestive and urinary. The authors discuss a recently discovered effect on the central nervous system, termed "bismuth encephalopathy". In the light of the medical literature reviewed, two original aspects are stressed: the clinical symptoms are stereotyped and completely reversible, and the distribution of the disease is almost epidemic, being limited in time and space. The prodromes include confusion, asthenia, slowing of mental functions and disturbance of gait. The clinical picture is dominated by four major symptoms: confusion (again), ataxia, dysarthria and, above all, myoclonic jerks. In conclusion, various pathogenetic hypotheses are considered. The purpose of this study is to enable the general practitioner to detect the development of this condition early in treatment with oral bismuthic salts. Withdrawal of the medication always results in normalization of the patient's condition.     

Recognition of depressed affect in hospitalized psychiatric patients: staff and patient perceptions

A comparison of self-report vs. observer rating of depressed mood in a heterogenous inpatient population revealed wide variations in concordance among diagnostic groups. Patients diagnosed as having Affective Psychosis and "Other' illnesses showed the highest correlation between four self-report scales and an observer rating scale. Patients with a diagnosis of depressive Neurosis showed only modest correlation, while Schizophrenics revealed no significant correlation, on these instruments, suggesting inconsistent communication of affect from Schizophrenic patients to observers. In contrast, when self-report scales were intercorrelated, patients in all four diagnostic categories showed highly significant correlations, indicating that they were consistently reporting their affective state on these instruments. The implications of these findings for future research as well as for practical clinical management are discussed.     

IT outsourcing as strategic partnering: the case of the UK Inland Revenue

The information systems (IS) literature, and the industry sectors confronted with information technology (IT) outsourcing, are beginning to perceive IT outsourcing as more than just a necessary organizational resource-acquisition venture. Instead organizations have begun to consider vendors as their partners, causing many companies to enter into more intricate deals that include both contractual and informal issues. In light of these developments, a growing concern with forming closer client–vendor relationships has evolved for both vendors and clients. This paper explores, in the context of a case study, three critical dimensions emerging from previous studies. These are: what is outsourced; the contract; and the relationship dimension. We also explore the process and management issues underlying these dimensions. The investigation is enabled through two analytical frameworks, one proven in previous research, one exploratory, but both specifically developed for IT outsourcing arrangements.     

Machine learning in continuous casting of steel: a state-of-the-art survey

Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing - Continuous casting is the most important route for the production of steel today. Due to the physical, mechanical, and chemical components involved in the...     

Thermal and Electrical Conductivity of Amorphous and Graphitized Carbide‐Derived Carbon Monoliths

The influence of graphitization and composition of carbide‐derived carbon (CDC) monoliths on the electrical and thermal conductivity was investigated. Carbon monoliths with varying porosities were synthesized employing biomorphous macroporous TiC and SiC as precursors. Graphitization was carried out in situ during high‐temperature chlorination with and without addition of nickel, iron, and cobalt chloride to the carbide. The graphitized monoliths showed improved properties. The results demonstrate that despite graphitic carbon also glass‐like carbon, stemming from the carbide synthesis, increases the thermal and electrical conductivity significantly.     

Yield estimation and forecasting for winter wheat in Hungary using time series of MODIS data

Wheat is one of the most important crops in Hungary, which represents approximately 20% of the entire agricultural area of the country, and about 40% of cereals. A robust yield method has been improved for estimating and forecasting wheat yield in Hungary in the period of 2003–2015 using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from the data of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. Estimation was made at the end of June – it is generally the beginning of harvest of winter wheat in Hungary – while the forecasts were performed 1–7 weeks earlier. General yield unified robust reference index (GYURRI) vegetation index was calculated each year using different curve-fitting methods to the NDVI time series. The correlation between GYURRI and country level yield data gave correlation coefficient (r) of 0.985 for the examined 13 years in the case of estimation. Simulating a quasi-operative yield estimation process, 10 years’ (2006–2015) yield data was estimated. The differences between the estimated and actual yield data provided by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office were less than 5%, the average difference was 2.5%. In the case of forecasting, these average differences calculated approximately 2 and 4 weeks before the beginning of harvest season were 4.5% and 6.8%, respectively. We also tested the yield estimation procedure for smaller areas, for the 19 counties (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics-3 level) of Hungary. We found that, the relationship between GYURRI and the county level yield data had r of 0.894 for the years 2003–2014, and by simulating the quasi-operative forecast for 2015, the resulting 19 county average yield values differed from the actual yield as much as 8.7% in average.     

Testing Einstein's faux formula: fast computers+slow humans=creative brilliance

An experiment was designed for the purpose of testing the proposition that creative decision-making can be greatly improved by making use of the personal computer to solve a set of word anagrams serving as hints to a surprise phrase. The authors hypothesised that the experimental condition of students using various unscramble word jumble websites would significantly outperform the control group of students who attempted to unscramble the words and solve the surprise answer by hand. Results were mixed and the authors conclude that certain types of creative problem solving exercises might benefit more from the innate abilities and talents of the participants rather than the speed and accuracy of the computer.