Management of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in departments of genitourinary medicine--a national survey

Two hundred thirty-three newly enrolled medical and nursing students at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, were tested for antibodies to measles and mumps. Antibodies to measles were detected in 95% of the sample, and antibodies to mumps in 84% of the sample. Susceptible individuals were appropriately immunized.     

An optimized sequential pattern matching methodology for sequence classification

In this paper we present a novel methodology for sequence classification, based on sequential pattern mining and optimization algorithms. The proposed methodology automatically generates a sequence classification model, based on a two stage process. In the first stage, a sequential pattern mining algorithm is applied to a set of sequences and the sequential patterns are extracted. Then, the score of every pattern with respect to each sequence is calculated using a scoring function and the score of each class under consideration is estimated by summing the specific pattern scores. Each score is updated, multiplied by a weight and the output of the first stage is the classification confusion matrix of the sequences. In the second stage an optimization technique, aims to finding a set of weights which minimize an objective function, defined using the classification confusion matrix. The set of the extracted sequential patterns and the optimal weights of the classes comprise the sequence classification model. Extensive evaluation of the methodology was carried out in the protein classification domain, by varying the number of training and test sequences, the number of patterns and the number of classes. The methodology is compared with other similar sequence classification approaches. The proposed methodology exhibits several advantages, such as automated weight assignment to classes using optimization techniques and knowledge discovery in the domain of application.

Spot addressing for microarray images structured in hexagonal grids

In this work, an efficient method for spot addressing in images, which are generated by the scanning of hexagonal structured microarrays, is proposed. Initially, the blocks of the image are separated using the projections of the image. Next, all the blocks of the image are processed separately for the detection of each spot. The spot addressing procedure begins with the detection of the high intensity objects, which are probably the spots of the image. Next, the Growing Concentric Hexagon algorithm, which uses the properties of the hexagonal grid, is introduced for the detection of the non-hybridized spots. Finally, the Voronoi diagram is applied to the centers of the detected spots for the gridding of the image. The method is evaluated using spots generated from the scanning of the Beadchip of Illumina, which is used for the detection of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the human genome, and uses hexagonal structure for the location of the spots. For the evaluation, the detected centers for each of the spot in the image are compared to the centers of the annotation, obtaining up to 98% accuracy for the spot addressing procedure.     

Renewable energy sources (RES) projects and their barriers on a regional scale: The case study of wind parks in the Dodecanese islands, Greece

The increasing energy challenges faced, in particular, by isolated communities, such as insular communities, call for an integrated, flexible and easy-to-apply methodology aiming at providing a list of renewable energy sources) (RES) projects capable to reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions, satisfy future energy forecasts and reach the objectives of international/national energy directives and obligations, as, for example, the ones set by the Kyoto Protocol by 2010. The EU project EMERGENCE 2010 developed such a methodology that is implemented here in the case study of wind parks in the Dodecanese islands in Greece. The results obtained consist of a final list of financially viable RES wind projects, for which various barriers have been previously identified and assessed. The additional advantages of the proposed methodology is that besides providing as an end result a comprehensive list of RES projects adopted to specific criteria and regional priorities, it also allows space for involving – from early stages – the local community and stakeholders in the decision-making process (participatory planning); in this way, the EMERGENCE 2010 methodology may assist towards the RES promotion and public acceptance, the profitability of RES investments and the regional sustainable development.     

Matrix pencil methodologies for computing the greatest common divisor of polynomials: hybrid algorithms and their performance

The computation of the greatest common divisor (GCD) of several polynomials is a problem that emerges in many fields of applications. The GCD computation has a non-generic nature and thus its numerical computation is a hard problem. In this paper we examine the family of matrix pencil methods for GCD computation and investigate their performance as far as their complexity, error analysis and their effectiveness for evaluating approximate solutions. The relative merits of the various variants of such methods are examined for the different cases of sets of polynomials with varying number of elements and degree. The developed algorithms combine symbolical and numerical programming and this is what we define here as hybrid computations. The combination of numerical operations with symbolical programming can improve the nature of the methods and guarantees the stability of the algorithm. Furthermore, it emphasizes the significance of hybrid computations in complex problems such as the computation of GCD. All methods are tested thoroughly for several sets of polynomials and the results are presented in tables.     

Ambient wood smoke exposure and respiratory symptoms in Tasmania, Australia

Wood smoke exposure has been associated with adverse respiratory health outcomes, with much of the current research focused on wood smoke from domestic heating and cooking. This study examined the association between respiratory symptoms and outdoor wood smoke in Launceston, Tasmania, where ~ 30% of homes use wood burners for domestic heating. This ecological study examined data from participants of the 2004 Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study postal survey and compared the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in Launceston (n = 601) with that in Hobart (n = 1071), a larger Tasmanian city with much less wood smoke. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate the associations of interest while adjusting for gender, atopy, history of allergic disease and current smoking status. There were no significant differences in symptom prevalence between Launceston and Hobart. Two subgroup analyses, which examined participants with pre-existing chronic respiratory disease, and those who reported actively using a wood burner in their home, also did not find significant differences. Any impact of wood smoke on non-specific respiratory symptoms might have been overshadowed by other important determinants of respiratory health, such as vehicle exhaust and tobacco smoking, or were too small to have been detected. However, the lack of detectable differences in symptom prevalence might also reflect the success of regulatory action by local governments to reduce wood smoke emissions in Launceston. The results of other epidemiological studies support an association between ambient wood smoke exposure and adverse respiratory health. Further investigations of wood smoke exposure in Australian settings are needed to investigate the lack of significant associations found in this study, especially studies of indoor air quality and health impacts in children and elderly populations.     

Studies on the usability of recycled PET for food packaging applications

The need of and opportunities for recycling of plastics for food packaging have been recognized, and a lot of work to find meaningful and cost-effective solutions to this issue is in progress. The safety of recycled plastics for food contact use is largely dictated by the ability of post-consumer contaminants to absorb into recycled materials and later diffuse from recycled plastics into the food. The objective of the present study was to establish a suitable analytical approach to identifying and quantifying any chemical substances that derive from the earlier use and remain in the polyethylene terephthalate (PET). A simple gas chromatographic technique using flame ionization detection was developed to allow quantification of solvent extractable compounds in a series of recycled PET samples. Identification of the nature and extent of contaminants in the PET samples was also attempted using GC/MS analysis.     

The concept of physical metric in rate-independent generalized plasticity

A new internal variable formulation of rate-independent generalized plasticity is presented. The formulation relies crucially on the consideration of the physical (referential) metric as a primary internal variable and does not invoke any decomposition of the kinematical quantities into elastic and plastic parts. On the basis of a purely geometrical argument, namely the invariance of a set under the action of the flow of a vector field, the transition to classical plasticity is demonstrated. The covariant balance of energy is systematically employed for the derivation of the mechanical state equations. It is shown that unlike the case of finite elasticity, in finite plasticity the covariant balance of energy does not yield the Doyle?CEricksen formula, unless a further assumption is made. As an application, a material model is developed and is tested numerically for the solution of several problems of large-scale plastic flow.