The Fertile Crescent is a high biodiversity region where most temperate-zone agricultural species originated and were first domesticated. A favorable environment, a special plant community, and an adaptive population combined to initiate the Neolithic—the New Stone Age—in the Fertile Crescent. However, over time, valuable plant genetic resources of the region are being eroded through degradatio...

The authors present a nonparametric method for estimating vaccine efficacy as a smooth function of time from vaccine trials. Use of the method requires a minimum of assumptions. Estimation is based on the smoothed case hazard rate ratio comparing the vaccinated with the unvaccinated. The estimation procedure allows investigators to assess time-varying changes in vaccine-induced protection, such...

Tags made of mudstone are predominantly found in ancient Egyptian Predynastic cemetery contexts. This study examines the symbolism and significance tags with recurved horns hartebeests crescent-shaped tags. The use syncretic imagery on these provides evidence for fluidity artistic perceptions Egypt. Available data suggests that individuals buried hartebeest crescent were almost exclusively fema...

Optimal number of hosts in a distributed system based on cost criteria M. Xie a , Y. S. Dai a , K. L. Poh a & C. D. Lai b a Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119 260 b Institute of Information Sciences and Technology, Massey University, New Zealand c Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, National Uni...

We theoretically and experimentally generate stationary crescent surface solitons pinged to the boundary of a microstructured vertical cavity surface emission laser by triggering the intrinsic cavity mode as a background potential. Instead of a direct transition from linear to nonlinear cavity modes, we demonstrate the existence of symmetry-breaking crescent waves without any analogs in the lin...

We try to improve the accuracy of eccentric photorefraction by taking more information into account than just the size and tilt of the crescent. Based on Gaussian optics and the assumption of an isotropic scattering retina, a theoretical analysis of the light-intensity distribution in the pupils of astigmatic eyes is presented. The method is applied to different photorefractor setups (point lig...

OBJECTIVE To observe the treatment outcomes of a crescent-shaped conjunctiva resection combined with conjunctiva sclera fixation for severe conjunctivochalasis. PATIENTS AND METHODS Eleven (22 eyes) patients with severe conjunctivochalasis were enrolled in this study. They consented to undergo crescent-shaped conjunctiva resection and conjunctiva sclera fixation, to evaluate their symptoms an...

Ophthalmology Clinics, Turkish Red Crescent Hospital, Konya 42200, Turkey 2Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Mevlana University, Konya 42100, Turkey Department of Ophthalmology, Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Ankara 06800, Turkey 4Konya Eye Center Hospital, Konya 42100, Turkey Department of Ophthalmology, Konya Training and Research Hospital, Konya 42090, Turkey Corresp...

A case is presented of a healthy 57 year old female who slipped and fell awkwardly into what is known in athletic terms as the front splits. As a result of her fall she sustained bilateral crescent and superior and inferior rami pelvic fractures. Successful operative fixation was undertaken by a combination of open and percutaneous techniques. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of...