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In this paper we propose an approach for underdetermined
blind separation in the case of additive Gaussian white noise and pink
noise in addition to the most challenging case where the number of source
signals is unknown. In addition to that, the proposed approach is appli-
cable in the case of separating I +3 source signals from I mixtures with
an unknown number of source signals and the mixtures have additive two
kinds of noises. This situation is more challenging and also more suitable
to practical real world problems. Moreover, unlike to some traditional
approaches, the sparsity conditions are not imposed. Firstly, the number
of source signals is approximated and estimated using multiple source
detection, followed by an algorithm for estimating the mixing matrix
based on combining short time Fourier transform and rough-fuzzy clus-
tering. Then, the mixed signals are normalized and the source signals
are recovered using multi-layer modied Gradient descent Local Hier-
archical Alternating Least Squares Algorithm exploiting the number of
source signals estimated , and the mixing matrix obtained as an input
and initialized by multiplicative algorithm for matrix factorization based
on alpha divergence. The computer simulation results show that the pro-
posed approach can separate I + 3 source signals from I mixed signals,
and it has superior evaluation performance compared to some traditional
approaches in recent references.

Aim To characterize quantitatively the relationship between ABT-102, a potent and selective TRPV1 antagonist, exposure and its effects on body temperature in humans using a population pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modelling approach. Methods Serial pharmacokinetic and body temperature (oral or core) measurements from three double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies [single dose (2, 6, 18, 30 and 40 mg, solution formulation), multiple dose (2, 4 and 8 mg twice daily for 7 days, solution formulation) and multiple-dose (1, 2 and 4 mg twice daily for 7 days, solid dispersion formulation)] were analyzed. nonmem was used for model development and the model building steps were guided by pre-specified diagnostic and statistical criteria. The final model was qualified using non-parametric bootstrap and visual predictive check. Results The developed body temperature model included additive components of baseline, circadian rhythm (cosine function of time) and ABT-102 effect (Emax function of plasma concentration) with tolerance development (decrease in ABT-102 Emax over time). Type of body temperature measurement (oral vs. core) was included as a fixed effect on baseline, amplitude of circadian rhythm and residual error. The model estimates (95% bootstrap confidence interval) were: baseline oral body temperature, 36.3 (36.3, 36.4)°C; baseline core body temperature, 37.0 (37.0, 37.1)°C; oral circadian amplitude, 0.25 (0.22, 0.28)°C; core circadian amplitude, 0.31 (0.28, 0.34)°C; circadian phase shift, 7.6 (7.3, 7.9) h; ABT-102 Emax, 2.2 (1.9, 2.7)°C; ABT-102 EC50, 20 (15, 28) ng ml−1; tolerance T50, 28 (20, 43) h. Conclusions At exposures predicted to exert analgesic activity in humans, the effect of ABT-102 on body temperature is estimated to be 0.6 to 0.8°C. This effect attenuates within 2 to 3 days of dosing.

More than 12×10 9m 3/year of Nile Delta drainage water is annually discharged into the Mediterranean Sea. El-Salam (peace) canal, having a mixture of such drainage water and the Nile water (1:1 ratio), crosses the Suez canal eastward to the deserts of north Sinai. The suitability of the canal water for agriculture is reported here. Representative samples were obtained during two successive years to follow effects of seasonal and spatial distribution, along the first 55km course in north Sinai, on the water load of total bacteria, bacterial indicators of pollution, and chemical and heavy metals contents. In general, the canal water is acceptable for irrigation, with much concern directed towards the chemical contents of total salts (EC), Na and K, as well as the trace elements Cd and Fe. Extending the canal course further than 30km significantly lowered the fecal pollution rate to the permissible levels of drinking water. Results strongly emphasize the need for effective pre-treatment of the used drainage water resources prior mixing with the Nile water. © 2011.

ABT-107 is a potent, selective α7 nicotinic receptor agonist under development for treatment of Alzheimer's disease and cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. The pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of escalating single oral doses (1, 3, 10, 30, 60, 80, and 100 mg; double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, incomplete crossover design) and multiple oral doses (2, 6, and 15 mg once daily for 7 days; double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-group design) of ABT-107 were evaluated. Additionally, effect of food on ABT-107 pharmacokinetics (20-mg single dose) was evaluated using an open-label, 2-period, fasting and nonfasting, randomized, complete crossover design. ABT-107 exhibited nonlinear (more than dose-proportional) pharmacokinetics. ABT-107 half-life ranged from 7 to 10 hours, and steady state was achieved by day 6 of dosing. Food did not have a clinically meaningful effect on ABT-107 exposure. ABT-107 was safe and well tolerated over the tested dose range. The most frequently reported adverse events were nausea, headache, and tremor following single dosing and somnolence following multiple dosing. The pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability profiles of ABT-107 pose it as a good candidate for further development.

This study is concerned with the electocatalytic evolution of oxygen gas at novel gold nanoparticles (nano-Au) modified glassy carbon (GC) electrodes in 0.5 M KOH. The electrochemical measurements show a superior enhancement of the nano-Au/GC towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) compared to bulk GC and Au electrodes. That is, the onset potential of the OER is shifted by ca. 600 mV in the negative direction compared with bulk Au and unmodified GC electrodes. The enrichment in the Au (110) facet orientation (of the electrodeposited nano-Au) [1] at the expense of other low facets orientations induces a favorable geometric arrangements of the Au surface atoms which is believed to facilitate the OH- adsorption and, hence, the charge transfer process during the water electrolysis into molecular oxygen. Thus, the OER is accelerated and realized at less positive potential.

Ambiguity is a major reason why computers do not yet understand natural language. We have made great deal strides towards developing tools for morphological and syntactic analyzers for Arabic in recent years. The absence of diacritics, which represent most vowels, in the written text creates ambiguity which hinders the development of Arabic natural language processing applications. Thus, ambiguity increases the range of possible interpretations of natural language. In this paper, we give a road map of solutions to common ambiguity problems inherent in parsing of Arabic sentence.