on april 21, 2008, three whooper swans (2 adults and 1 juvenile) were found dead at lake towada, akita prefecture, japan (figure 1). it was taken to the wildlife protection center in akita but had to be euthanized that day in moribund status. homogenates from the tracheas, cloacas, and internal organs of 3 swans were pooled and inoculated into embryonated chicken eggs for virus isolation. map of japan and nearby countries, with enlargement of the northern part of the country (inset) showing location of lake towada. agents were confirmed to be type a influenza viruses by a commercial rapid antigen assay kit and were excluded from being newcastle disease virus by the hemagglutination inhibition test with newcastle - specific antiserum. after those tests conducted at the animal hygiene service center, viruses were brought to the national institute of animal health, tsukuba, japan, for further analysis. the viruses were subtyped as h5n1 with a panel of antiserum, and 1 yielded from cloaca homogenates was designated as a / whooper swan / akita/1/2008 (wsak08) and was further analyzed. wsak08 was shown to be highly pathogenic to chickens by an intravenous administration of 10-fold diluted infectious allantoic fluid. this coincides with the sequence analysis of the hemagglutinin (ha) gene, showing that the ha protein possesses a series of basic amino acids (pqrerrrkr) at the cleavage site. phylogenetic analysis of the ha1 region of the ha gene (figure 2) showed that wsak08 belongs to clade 2.3.2 and is clearly distinguishable from the hpaivs previously isolated in japan in 2004, a / chicken / yamaguchi/7/2004 (clade 2.5), and in 2007, a / chicken / miyazaki / k11/2007 (clade 2.2). although sequence data were not found in genbank, a / common magpie / hong kong/5052/2007 reportedly resides in the same clade. antigenic analysis of wsaki08 with a panel of antiserum and monoclonal antibodies showed low reactivity against antibodies in the panel (appendix table). a > 32-fold reduction from homologous titers of all hyperimmune serum used postinfection duck serum against a / chicken / yamaguchi/7/2004 and a / chicken / miyazaki / k11/2007 did not react with wsak08. none of the monoclonal antibodies against ha protein of a / chicken / yamaguchi/7/2004 reacted with wsak08. thus, wsak08 is genetically and antigenically distinguishable from the hpaivs that caused previous outbreaks in japan. phylogenetic tree constructed based on the hemagglutinin (ha) 1 region (966 bp) of the ha gene of the highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (h5n1). clade designation follows the criteria proposed by the world health organization / world organisation for animal health / food and agriculture organization h5n1 evolution working group. representative strains of the previous highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in japan are in boldface. ab436731ab436738 ) showed that it does not contain amino acid substitutions conferring resistance to adamantane or neuraminidase inhibitors. unlike many isolates related to qinghai lake strains that have spread worldwide the neuraminidase protein has a 20-aa deletion at aa 49 to 68 in the stalk region. nonstructural protein 1 has a 5-aa deletion at aa 80 to 84, commonly observed in currently circulating hpaivs (h5n1) in southeastern asia. whooper swans breed in northern eurasia and winter in europe and eastern asia i.e., china, the korean peninsula, and japan. in japan , 35,00038,000 whooper swans spend every winter primarily in hokkaido, tohoku, and the hokuriku area. in the lake towada area, 300 whooper swans arrive beginning in late october; they leave the area between late march and late april. in late march, summer birds begin to arrive. according to of satellite tracking of 8 swans, as well as the of banding studies since 1961, whooper swans that winter in japan migrate from the northern end of honshu island to eastern hokkaido, by means of sakhalin, and reach eastern siberia, where they breed. to our knowledge, there have been no reports of whooper swans that winter on the eurasian continent migrating north through japan. in light of the migratory route mentioned above, the whooper swans found dead at lake towada were most likely recently infected with hpaiv (h5n1) in japan. it is unlikely that the swans were infected before they flew to japan in autumn, maintained the virus within the flock, and then suddenly developed the disease after no apparent infections for several months. although the susceptibility of a certain species of birds to a subtype h5n1 virus may be different depending on the virus strain, whooper swans as well as mute swans have been considered to be susceptible species to hpaiv (h5n1), as they showed a fulminant course of disease at the outbreak in germany in 2006. the possibility that the swans were infected by domestic fowl is low because there has been no report of hpai among domestic fowl in japan since the beginning of 2008. one possible explanation is that other wild birds brought the virus from outside the country. although it is not known whether any birds wintering on the continent migrate north through japan, passage visitor birds such as wader birds migrate from south to north through japan in spring; summer birds, e.g., egrets, swallows, songbirds, and some raptors, come to japan from the south in spring for breeding. also, the possibility of anthropogenic introduction of virus, such as by inappropriate importation of birds, meats, or materials, can not be excluded. in , genetic analysis demonstrates that the virus that killed the 4 swans in japan in 2008 is genetically distinguishable from the strains that caused previous poultry outbreaks in japan, ruling out a possibility of resurgence of previously introduced hpaiv in japan. after the incident we describe , 2 other whooper swan cases of hpaiv (h5n1) infection were confirmed in eastern hokkaido in early may. possible involvement of wild birds in the introduction of the virus to japan requires further scrutiny. antigenic analysis of whooper swan / akita/1/2008 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (h5n1) versus related isolates *

on april 21, 2008, four whooper swans were found dead at lake towada, akita prefecture, japan. highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of the h5n1 subtype was isolated from specimens of the affected birds. the hemagglutinin (ha) gene of the isolate belongs to clade 2.3.2 in the ha phylogenetic tree.


the general public is exposed to multiple sources of information on medicine, either through traditional mass media (e.g., television, journals, and radio) or through the internet (e.g., blogs, twitter, facebook, and the many features of web 2.0). the media's potential to reach large audiences gives it an important role in providing health - related information, shaping public health - related beliefs, and influencing health behaviors. however, medical information published in newspapers can often be based on scant evidence because of a lack of specialized knowledge of medical journalists, criticisms of medical information in newspapers, and a lack of available time to secure strong evidence prior to copy deadlines. in addition, information from newspapers, which should be understood by the general population, is sometimes an exaggeration or overstatement. erectile dysfunction is defined as a consistent or recurrent inability of a man to obtain and/or maintain a penile erection sufficient for sexual activity. a duration of symptoms of at least 3 months is considered acceptable to establish a diagnosis of erectile dysfunction, except in some instances of trauma or surgery. erectile dysfunction affected about 150 million men worldwide in 2000, and this number is expected to double by 2025 as a of improved life expectancy and the age - related nature of erectile dysfunction. this disorder is also associated with lower overall life satisfaction scores, mental health quality of life (qol) scores, and vitality qol scores. many patients look for information on erectile dysfunction from various media outlets, and commercials on treatment for erectile dysfunction have been developed. recently, sugita and miyakawa reported that the size of the japanese market for counterfeit phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors was estimated to be about 2.5 times larger than that for genuine phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. the aim of the present study was to evaluate the accuracy of news information on erectile dysfunction from 10 nationwide newspapers. our present study will add to the growing body of research documenting the nature and influence of news information on erectile dysfunction in korea. articles on erectile dysfunction from 10 nationwide daily newspapers in korea from january 2011 through december 2011 were evaluated in this study. the newspapers included were the kyunghyang shinmun, the kukminilbo, the dong - a ilbo, the munhwa ilbo, the seoul shinmun, the segye ilbo, the hankyoreh, the hankok ilbo, the chosun ilbo, and the korea joongang daily. newspaper articles or columns that reported of clinical or experimental studies were included; however, articles that discussed disease occurrence, accidents, crime, policies, social phenomena related to medicine, questionnaire surveys, educational information, esoteric medical information from unreliable sources, and advertisements were excluded. news articles that summarized scientific congresses or journal articles that did not include direct quotations were also excluded. because a public set of data was used that did not include personal data, the present study was exempted from institutional review board review. the websites of both the chosun ilbo and korea joongang daily (http://www.chosun.com and http://joongang.joinsmsn.com) newspapers were used to search for relevant articles, whereas the website of the korean press foundation (http://www.kinds.or.kr) was used to search for articles from the other newspapers identified above. , we identified 20 articles in a pilot test to confirm the evaluation process for interpretation. all newspaper articles were separately extracted by two researchers (y.s.h . and j.y.l .). differences in the of the extraction and interpretation were discussed, and agreement was sought from a senior physician specializing in andrology (k.s.c .). the articles were first categorized into articles with accurate statements and articles with inaccurate or misleading statements. on the basis of a previous study, articles with inaccurate or misleading statements were subclassified into four groups: 1 ) using inappropriate surrogate outcomes as clinical endpoints, 2 ) extrapolating nonhuman to humans, 3 ) exaggerating the significance of , and 4 ) using incorrect words. surrogate outcomes are defined as physiological or anatomical ; however, clinical endpoints are defined as patient - related or functional outcomes, such as symptomatic improvement, recovery of normal activity, and survival. traditionally, surrogate outcomes have been interpreted as clinical endpoints, although the two should not be considered equivalent. for instance, an article on post - prostatectomy - induced erectile dysfunction that could be cured by mesenchymal stem cells demonstrated a typical example of confusing surrogate outcomes with end outcomes. from animal experimental research or the use of cell lines may be inappropriately interpreted as equivalent to human data. although experimental, physiological, and animal studies are valuable and useful, they do not directly influence clinical decisions. finally, the use of incorrect words suggests that subjective and apocryphal terminologies may have been used. data extraction, sharing, and cooperation with our researchers were performed by using google drive (http://drive.google.com) and google docs (google inc . , mountain view, ca, usa). a pearson chi - squared test and fisher exact test were used to compare distributions of categorical values, and statistical analyses were performed by using r (r ver . 2.15.3, r foundation for statistical computing, vienna, austria ; http://www.r-project.org). articles on erectile dysfunction from 10 nationwide daily newspapers in korea from january 2011 through december 2011 were evaluated in this study. the newspapers included were the kyunghyang shinmun, the kukminilbo, the dong - a ilbo, the munhwa ilbo, the seoul shinmun, the segye ilbo, the hankyoreh, the hankok ilbo, the chosun ilbo, and the korea joongang daily. newspaper articles or columns that reported of clinical or experimental studies were included; however, articles that discussed disease occurrence, accidents, crime, policies, social phenomena related to medicine, questionnaire surveys, educational information, esoteric medical information from unreliable sources, and advertisements were excluded. news articles that summarized scientific congresses or journal articles that did not include direct quotations were also excluded. because a public set of data was used that did not include personal data, the present study was exempted from institutional review board review. the websites of both the chosun ilbo and korea joongang daily (http://www.chosun.com and http://joongang.joinsmsn.com) newspapers were used to search for relevant articles, whereas the website of the korean press foundation (http://www.kinds.or.kr) was used to search for articles from the other newspapers identified above. searching was not performed by using the real newspaper. however, the korean press foundation supplied the nearest article in the printed version. , we identified 20 articles in a pilot test to confirm the evaluation process for interpretation. all newspaper articles were separately extracted by two researchers (y.s.h . and j.y.l .). differences in the of the extraction and interpretation were discussed, and agreement was sought from a senior physician specializing in andrology (k.s.c .). the articles were first categorized into articles with accurate statements and articles with inaccurate or misleading statements. on the basis of a previous study, articles with inaccurate or misleading statements were subclassified into four groups: 1 ) using inappropriate surrogate outcomes as clinical endpoints, 2 ) extrapolating nonhuman to humans, 3 ) exaggerating the significance of , and 4 ) using incorrect words. surrogate outcomes are defined as physiological or anatomical ; however, clinical endpoints are defined as patient - related or functional outcomes, such as symptomatic improvement, recovery of normal activity, and survival. traditionally, surrogate outcomes have been interpreted as clinical endpoints, although the two should not be considered equivalent. for instance, an article on post - prostatectomy - induced erectile dysfunction that could be cured by mesenchymal stem cells demonstrated a typical example of confusing surrogate outcomes with end outcomes. from animal experimental research or the use of cell lines may be inappropriately interpreted as equivalent to human data. although experimental, physiological, and animal studies are valuable and useful, they do not directly influence clinical decisions. finally, the use of incorrect words suggests that subjective and apocryphal terminologies may have been used. data extraction, sharing, and cooperation with our researchers were performed by using google drive (http://drive.google.com) and google docs (google inc . , mountain view, ca, usa). a pearson chi - squared test and fisher exact test were used to compare distributions of categorical values, and statistical analyses were performed by using r (r ver . 2.15.3, r foundation for statistical computing, vienna, austria ; http://www.r-project.org). after website searches, a total of 188 news articles on erectile dysfunction from 10 newspapers in 2011 were reviewed. 1 ); excluded articles were those discussing disease occurrence, accidents, crime and policy, social phenomena related to medicine, questionnaire surveys, educational information, esoteric medical information from unreliable sources, and advertisements. in addition, 21 articles that summarized scientific congresses or journal articles were also excluded. our exclusion criteria were based on the concept that simple reporting of an article without discussion of the outcomes of the research was not new health information. of the 47 articles that met our inclusion criteria, 27 (57.4%) contained inaccurate or misleading statements on the basis of an evidence - based medicine evaluation. these included using inappropriate surrogate outcomes as clinical endpoints (three cases, 6.4%), extrapolating nonhuman to humans (two cases, 4.3%), exaggerating the significance of (eight cases, 17.0%), and using incorrect words (14 cases, 29.8% ; fig . the rate of error was higher in information from korean sources than in information from international sources ( 22 cases vs. 5 cases). however, there were no significant differences between korean and foreign sources in any category (table 1). there were also no differences between articles written by general journalists and those written by medical journalists or specialists (13 cases by general journalists vs. 14 cases by medical journalists). after website searches, a total of 188 news articles on erectile dysfunction from 10 newspapers in 2011 were reviewed. 1 ); excluded articles were those discussing disease occurrence, accidents, crime and policy, social phenomena related to medicine, questionnaire surveys, educational information, esoteric medical information from unreliable sources, and advertisements. in addition, 21 articles that summarized scientific congresses or journal articles were also excluded. our exclusion criteria were based on the concept that simple reporting of an article without discussion of the outcomes of the research was not new health information. of the 47 articles that met our inclusion criteria, 27 (57.4%) contained inaccurate or misleading statements on the basis of an evidence - based medicine evaluation. these included using inappropriate surrogate outcomes as clinical endpoints (three cases, 6.4%), extrapolating nonhuman to humans (two cases, 4.3%), exaggerating the significance of (eight cases, 17.0%), and using incorrect words (14 cases, 29.8% ; fig . the rate of error was higher in information from korean sources than in information from international sources ( 22 cases vs. 5 cases). however, there were no significant differences between korean and foreign sources in any category (table 1). there were also no differences between articles written by general journalists and those written by medical journalists or specialists (13 cases by general journalists vs. 14 cases by medical journalists). good health is a prime global concern, and various factors including economic development play a significant role in shaping and defining a population's perception of health. in particular, men's health, including erectile dysfunction and andropause, are important matters in developing and developed countries. in asia, the men's attitudes to life events and sexuality (males) study, which studies the prevalence and treatment of erectile dysfunction in china, japan, korea, malaysia, and taiwan, reported that 6.4% of 10,934 men between 20 and 75 years of age self - reported erectile dysfunction, and 83.5% found suitable treatments in the media. tannenbaum, in a survey on men's health of 2,325 canadians between 55 and 97 years of age, reported that 35.7% of men surveyed, especially those of a younger age, showed an interest in erectile dysfunction. in an epidemiological study on erectile dysfunction in korean men, the rate of self - reported erectile dysfunction was 13.4% in 1,570 men aged 40 - 75 years, and the percentage of men scoring fewer than 17 points on the international index of erectile function scale was 32.4%, demonstrating a high prevalence of erectile dysfunction among korean men. thus, the prevalence of erectile dysfunction is high, particularly in developed countries like korea. it might be difficult for men with erectile dysfunction who are keen to receive treatment to find a urologist, schedule an interview, and finally receive medical treatment. reported on the numbers of prescriptions written for phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors from each department within three medical institutions in korea. in their study, the mean rate of prescriptions for phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors was approximately 46.4% from the urology departments, compared with 33.0% from endocrinology, 5.1% from neurology, 4.4% from cardiology, and 3.9% from family medicine, which indirectly suggests that the medical diagnosis and treatment of erectile dysfunction was relatively low in the urology departments of the three hospitals. mass media such as newspapers and television broadcasts are alternative sources of medical and health information. with the recent introduction of medical journalists, many medical news articles have appeared in newspapers and television broadcasts and are subsequently redistributed via the internet. unfortunately, as shown in our present study, the accuracy of these medicine - related articles can be unreliable. hwang et al. performed an evidence - based medical evaluation of health information from the television news. in that study, over an 8-month period, there were 85 such reports on the evening news, and 34 of them (40.0%) were found to be inaccurate or misleading. in particular, using inappropriate surrogate outcomes as clinical endpoints was the most frequent error. this could be attributed to the misinterpretation of owing to inappropriate study designs, or medical researchers assuming that anatomical or physiological endpoints in their studies could be translated directly to represent clinical outcomes in patients, and the ignorance of news reporters on the medical issues they were reporting. the reason for this might be that the researchers published exaggerated , and the news media chose to focus on this misinformation of popular interest. the frequency of errors was higher in articles from korean sources than in articles from foreign sources. news articles from the foreign presses were re - reported by the korean media mainly because they were easily accessible to the journalists. on the contrary, domestic sources were often more interested in publicizing study researchers and their associated hospitals, often exaggerating claims although the level of korean media has been increasing, it may report biased content not based on exact evidence. because an increasing number of medical commentaries initially reported on television news and newspapers are now available online in media such as twitter, facebook, and youtube, the accuracy of primary sources (i.e., television news and newspapers) has become more crucial. presently, the korean urological association and the korean society for sexual medicine and andrology do not use twitter or facebook aggressively, so as to reduce " retweeting " or " liking " misleading information and comments made by the television news or newspapers. to curtail these errors, evidence - based medical methodology must be agreed upon and practiced by all medical journalists and the news media. doctors must first embrace evidence - based medicine during the course of their training and clinical work and publish their research findings in relevant peer - reviewed journals before making their public. additionally, medical journalists should spend more time studying and digesting medical - related information and receive training in evidence - based medicine. last but not least, both the korean urological association and the korean society for sexual medicine and andrology should constantly monitor misleading medical articles and request revisions whenever necessary. it is only through these measures that the general public can be spared the negative effects of medical misinformation. approximately 57% of all articles on erectile dysfunction from 10 nationwide daily newspapers were found to be inaccurate on the basis of an evidence - based medicine evaluation. to this effect, urologists, the korean urological association, and the korean society for sexual medicine and andrology play a paramount role in identifying articles containing inaccurate information. in addition, medical journalists should be trained to write articles based on evidence rather than sensation.

purposea rapid growth in the socioeconomic status of koreans has triggered an unprecedented explosion of health information for the general population. despite its obvious benefits, this increase in information could also in potentially harmful effects for both consumers and professionals who do not use it appropriately. thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the quality and accuracy of health information on erectile dysfunction from 10 nationwide daily newspapers.materials and methodsthis study analyzed health information from 10 nationwide daily newspapers in korea from january 2011 through december 2011. we reviewed the health information for quality by using evidence - based medicine tools and evaluated the accuracy of the information provided. articles that simply summarized scientific congresses or journal articles and that did not include direct quotations were excluded, as were advertisements.a total of 47 articles were gathered. among them, 27 (57.4%) contained inaccurate or misleading statements on the basis of an evidence - based medicine evaluation. these statements included using inappropriate surrogate outcomes as clinical endpoints (three cases, 6.4%), extrapolating nonhuman to humans (two cases, 4.3%), exaggerating the significance of (eight cases, 17.0%), and using incorrect words (14 cases, 29.8%). the rate of error was higher in the information from korean sources than in that from international sources (22 cases vs. 5 cases).approximately 57% of all articles on erectile dysfunction from 10 nationwide daily newspapers were found to contain inaccuracies.


although cardiovascular disease has been decreased in developed countries, it is increasing in developing countries without noticeable public health responses. in iran, like other developing countries, cardiovascular disease is the main reason of death and disability. it has been indicated that this disease causes about a half of all deaths. furthermore, it was revealed that this increased rate has been due to increased major risk factors in iran. the major risk factors like hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoking and diabetes are increased in this country. recognition of patients with vascular disease and intervention with advice about life style, cigarette smoking, alcohol, nutrition and physical activity are among the preventing methods of cardiovascular disease. disease preventing methods focus mostly on lifestyle factors such as physical activity, healthy diet and not smoking. confederacy of international health education organizations (cnheo) declared that theory and technology for the purpose of educational research should be used in methodology designing, performance and evaluation of health education programs. health belief model is one of the preventive models used for public health problem such as cardiovascular disease. this model was developed to explain lack of public participation in health screening and prevention programs in the 1950s. in addition, this model is used to examine patients' motivations for adopting a health - related behavior as well as assessing health - behavior interventions. it includes six key domains of perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action and self - efficacy. self - efficacy domain refers to one's beliefs in one's capability to organize and execute the courses of action required to achieve given . in many evidences, self - efficacy has been associated with healthy nutrition and physical activity behavior. in previous evidence , it was focused that higher levels of self - efficacy contributed to physical activity and lower dietary. previous studies showed that health belief model is a useful framework for describing the healthy nutrition behavior. moreover, this model has been used in risk reduction of cardiovascular disease in college students. considering the importance of behavioral determinants of nutrition and physical activity behaviors due to cardiovascular disease, this study aimed to identify the important predictors of nutrition and physical activity in relation to cardiovascular disease in students of tehran university. this was a cross - sectional study performed on students of tehran university from october to december 2012. a proportional quota sampling was used to select students studying in majors of humanity, basic sciences and technical - engineering in different grades of bs, msc and phd. inclusion criteria were being student of tehran university and aged between 18 and 55 years. exclusion criteria were unwillingness to participate in the study and guest student from other universities. the sample size was calculated as 323 subjects considering = 5%, statistical power of 90%, p = 0.5, d = 0.09 and the following equation: considering 10% attrition rate, we added 45 samples, so we totally considered 368 samples. in total, 36% were from engineering field, 11.3% basic sciences field and 52.7% humanity field. a self - administrated questionnaire consisted of four sections the first section was about demographic characteristics like age, gender, height, weight, level of education and information sources. the second part consisted of 16 questions regarding knowledge about causes, diagnosis and risk factors of cardiovascular disease, healthy diet and physical activity due to the disease prevention. the answering options of these questions were as " correct " with score of 1, " incorrect " and " i do not know " with score of zero. in this scale, scores below 7 were considered as " weak ", scores 8 - 11 as " average " and scores 12 as " good ". the third section of the questionnaire consisted of questions regarding health belief model (hbm) constructs such as perceived severity (4 items), perceived benefits (5 items), perceived barriers (11 items), self - efficacy (4 items) and cues to action (3 questions) for healthy nutrition and physical activity behaviors due to cardiovascular disease prevention. these questions were answered through 5-point likert options from totally agree to totally disagree ranged from 1 to 5. in this the fourth section of the questionnaire was about nutrition and physical activity behavior ranged from 1 to 4. ten specialists, three cardiologists and others in health education field assessed the questionnaire content. in content validity, changing the format of questions and omitting irrelevant questions were performed. afterward, mean content validity index (cvi) and content validity rate (cvr) of the questionnaire calculated as 0.83 and 0.77, respectively. reliability of the scale was calculated through test - retest on 25 homogeneous students with two weeks interval. the correlation score was 0.73 for knowledge question, 0.71 for perceived susceptibility questions, 0.61 for perceived severity questions, 0.73 for self - efficacy questions, 0.65 for perceived benefits and barriers questions and 0.80 for cues to action questions. the cronbach s alpha of knowledge questions were 0.66, 0.62, 0.51, 0.54, 0.68, 0.50, 0.70 for perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, perceived self efficacy and perceived cues to action, respectively. continuous variables were presented as mean standard division (sd), whereas categorical data were presented as frequency and percentages. kolmogorov - simirnov test was used to check normal distribution of data. also linear regression with enter method and logistic regression method were used to study association between independent and response variables. this was a cross - sectional study performed on students of tehran university from october to december 2012. a proportional quota sampling was used to select students studying in majors of humanity, basic sciences and technical - engineering in different grades of bs, msc and phd. inclusion criteria were being student of tehran university and aged between 18 and 55 years. exclusion criteria were unwillingness to participate in the study and guest student from other universities. the sample size was calculated as 323 subjects considering = 5%, statistical power of 90%, p = 0.5, d = 0.09 and the following equation: considering 10% attrition rate, we added 45 samples, so we totally considered 368 samples. in total, 36% were from engineering field, 11.3% basic sciences field and 52.7% humanity field. the first section was about demographic characteristics like age, gender, height, weight, level of education and information sources. the second part consisted of 16 questions regarding knowledge about causes, diagnosis and risk factors of cardiovascular disease, healthy diet and physical activity due to the disease prevention. the answering options of these questions were as " correct " with score of 1, " incorrect " and " i do not know " with score of zero. in this scale, scores below 7 were considered as " weak ", scores 8 - 11 as " average " and scores 12 as " good ". the third section of the questionnaire consisted of questions regarding health belief model (hbm) constructs such as perceived severity (4 items), perceived benefits (5 items), perceived barriers (11 items), self - efficacy (4 items) and cues to action (3 questions) for healthy nutrition and physical activity behaviors due to cardiovascular disease prevention. these questions were answered through 5-point likert options from totally agree to totally disagree ranged from 1 to 5. in this the fourth section of the questionnaire was about nutrition and physical activity behavior ranged from 1 to 4. ten specialists, three cardiologists and others in health education field assessed the questionnaire content. in content validity, changing the format of questions and omitting irrelevant questions were performed. afterward, mean content validity index (cvi) and content validity rate (cvr) of the questionnaire calculated as 0.83 and 0.77, respectively. reliability of the scale was calculated through test - retest on 25 homogeneous students with two weeks interval. the correlation score was 0.73 for knowledge question, 0.71 for perceived susceptibility questions, 0.61 for perceived severity questions, 0.73 for self - efficacy questions, 0.65 for perceived benefits and barriers questions and 0.80 for cues to action questions. the cronbach s alpha of knowledge questions were 0.66, 0.62, 0.51, 0.54, 0.68, 0.50, 0.70 for perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, perceived self efficacy and perceived cues to action, respectively. data was analyzed using spss version 18 (spss inc ., chicago, ill, usa). continuous variables were presented as mean standard division (sd), whereas categorical data were presented as frequency and percentages. kolmogorov - simirnov test was used to check normal distribution of data. also linear regression with enter method and logistic regression method were used to study association between independent and response variables. totally, 368 subjects including 318 female students (86.4%) and 50 male students (13.6%) took part in the study. the mean age of participants was 24.9 years (sd = 4.55) and the mean weight was 59.58 kg (sd = 11.3). the mean score of health belief model constructs and cardiovascular disease preventive behaviors are shown in table 2. data are presented as mean standard deviation. to explore the predictor variables of nutrition and physical activity behaviors, the main independent variables such as knowledge and all health belief model constructs entered the regression model analysis. accordingly, there was a positive association between knowledge and nutrition behavior (p = 0.023) and a negative association between perceived barriers and this behavior (p = 0.004). also in this model, male subjects showed lower mean nutrition behavior compared to female subjects (p < 0.001). abbreviations: b, standardized beta; s.e., standard error; ci, confidence interval. furthermore, predictor variables of physical activity behavior are shown in table 4. according to this table, knowledge (p = 0.011), perceived severity (p = 0.009) and self - efficacy (p = 0.033) showed positive associations with physical activity behavior, but perceived barriers had a negative association with this behavior (p = 0.019). this study investigated how hbm constructs could predict nutrition and physical activity behaviors due to nutrition and physical activity in tehran university students. regarding nutrition behavior , this study found that gender, knowledge and perceived barrier could contribute to behavior. accordingly, this study verified that female students had a better nutrition compared to male students. in consistent with this , unhealthier nutrition behaviors in male students and lack of physical activity in female students were reported in previous study. contrary to this finding, bahreynian and coworkers found that healthy pattern of nutrition behavior in boys was better than girls, so that girls obtained higher body mass index (bmi) than boys. furthermore, previous evidence verified that determinants of food quality in students of islands university were physical activity behavior, gender, age and the number of meals consumed per day. another study demonstrated that there were differences between two genders regarding the receipt dietary fat. in another study, the dietary knowledge and behavior among female students were better than males. thus, it could be argued that in most studies, the important role of gender regarding nutrition behavior has been noticed. however, there are differences between studies to determine the role of gender in nutrition behavior. in the present study, therefore, further studies with more male and female students should be performed. in the present study, in the study of vassallo, it was revealed that perceived benefits and barriers could improve dietary regime. furthermore, oconnell demonstrated that perceived benefit is a strong predictor of dietary behavior among obese teenagers. however, in non - obese teenagers, the perceived susceptibility was the important factor predicting nutrition behavior. it seems that in healthy and unhealthy people, the role of perceived barriers is different so that in healthy people these variables are more effective. the present study showed that knowledge has less effect on nutrition than the perceived barrier. however, previous evidence showed a significant relation between knowledge and food intake, so that knowledge has been an effective factor in defining food choice. moreover, a previous evidence showed that consumers nutrition knowledge was related to label use behavior. however, some studies showed no significant associations between knowledge and dietary behavior. the present study showed that for physical activity behavior, perceived severity of cardiovascular disease could affect this behavior more than any other factors. furthermore, in this study it was revealed that perceived barriers could predict physical activity. in consistent with this , a previous study pointed out that physical activity levels of students were influenced by perceived barriers such as fear of strangers, bad weather and many school assignments. therefore, motivation for walking should be affected by stressing on perceived benefits of physical activity such as positive health benefits, recreational benefits and a normal weight. in these motivational interviews, personal limitations such as lack of time, getting sunburn because of walking outdoors, non - supportive climate, traffic threat, crimes, etc garza and coworkers indicated that self - efficacy as a stronger predictor of the health belief model constructs could affect cardiovascular disease prevention behaviors. a previous study on patients with multiple sclerosis, self - efficacy and perceived benefits were the main determinants of physical activity. furthermore, self - efficacy also predicted oral health behavior in other study. parcel and coworkers indicated that self - efficacy plays a significant role in choosing the diets in students. this study indicated that health belief model contrasts could predict the risky behavior of university students regarding cardiovascular disease. however, more researches are needed to verify other predictors of high risky behaviors in students. although, this study had some strong points, there were some limitations such as self - reporting of questions responded by the participants. furthermore, the study was performed through a cross sectional method in which the relations between the variables were not assessed. although, this study had some strong points, there were some limitations such as self - reporting of questions responded by the participants. furthermore, the study was performed through a cross sectional method in which the relations between the variables were not assessed.

: disease preventing methods focus mostly on lifestyle factors such as physical activity, healthy diet and not smoking. previous studies verified using theory and models to change unhealthy behaviors, so that health belief model (hbm) is a useful framework for describing the healthy nutrition behavior.objectives:this study aimed to predict factors related to unhealthy nutrition and inactive life in students of tehran university, tehran, iran based on the health belief model (hbm).patients and methods: in this cross sectional study, proportional quota sampling from three different educational levels was conducted from october to december 2012. a self - administered validated instrument based on the health belief model (hbm) with 69 items and four sections was used to collect data. in this study through using linear and logistic regression, the effect of body mass index, age, gender, marriage, self - efficacy, cues to action, knowledge, perceived severity, susceptibility, benefits and barriers on nutrition and physical activity behavior were assessed. spss version 18 was used to analyze data.:totally, 368 students including 318 female students (86.4%) and 50 male students (13.6%) with a mean age of 24.9 years (sd = 4.55) took part in the study. among all independent variables, gender (p < 0.001), knowledge (p = 0.023) and perceived barriers (p = 0.004) predicted nutrition behavior. in case of physical activity, knowledge (p = 0.011), perceived severity (p = 0.009), perceived barriers (p = 0.019) and self - efficacy (p = 0.033) had significance association with physical activity behavior.:this study indicated that health belief model contrasts could predict the risky behavior of university students due to heart disease. however, more researches are needed to verify the predictors of high risky behaviors in students.


for large scale global analysis, hela s3 cells were prefractionated using custom 2d - le platform, comprised of sief coupled to multiplexed gelfree. hela s3, h1299, b16f10 cells, and mitochondrial membrane proteins were also fractionated using the custom gelfree device alone (no sief). after separation, detergent and salt were removed, and the fractions were injected into nanocapillary rplc columns for elution into a 12 tesla ltq ftms for online detection and fragmentation. the ms raw files were processed with in - house software called crawler to assign masses. using this program, determination of both the intact masses and the corresponding fragment masses were performed and these data were searched against a human proteome database. extensive statistical workups were also performed using several fdr estimation approaches (with decoy databases both concatenated and not). a final q - value procedure is described in detail (methods), with the data above reported using a 5% instantaneous fdr (i.e., q - value) cutoff at the protein level ( supplementary fig.

a full description of the human proteome relies on the challenging task of detecting mature and changing forms of protein molecules in the body. large scale proteome analysis1 has routinely involved digesting intact proteins followed by inferred protein identification using mass spectrometry (ms)2. this bottom up process affords a high number of identifications (not always unique to a single gene). however, complications arise from incomplete or ambiguous2 characterization of alternative splice forms, diverse modifications (e.g., acetylation and methylation), and endogenous protein cleavages, especially when combinations of these create complex patterns of intact protein isoforms and species3. top down interrogation of whole proteins can overcome these problems for individual proteins4,5, but has not been achieved on a proteome scale due to the lack of intact protein fractionation methods that are well integrated with tandem ms. here we show, using a new four dimensional (4d) separation system, identification of 1,043 gene products from human cells that are dispersed into > 3,000 protein species created by post - translational modification, rna splicing, and proteolysis. the overall system produced > 20-fold increases in both separation power and proteome coverage, enabling the identification of proteins up to 105 kilodaltons and those with up to 11 transmembrane helices. many previously undetected isoforms of endogenous human proteins were mapped, including changes in multiply - modified species in response to accelerated cellular aging (senescence) induced by dna damage. integrated with the latest version of the swiss - prot database6, the data provide precise correlations to individual genes and proof - of - concept for large scale interrogation of whole protein molecules. the technology promises to improve the link between proteomics data and complex phenotypes in basic biology and disease research7.


they almost always require open reduction and internal fixation. due to the increase in the emergence of native bone setters , these fractures are increasingly been managed by these spurious bone setters using native splints. as a the choice of implants used can be either a dynamic condylar screw plate (dcs) orproximal femoral nail (pfn). here we have used a surgical grade 316 l stainless steel proximal femoral anatomical locked compression plate (pf - lcp). we analyzed 13 patients with established non unions of subtrochanteric fractures treated in our centre by the use of the pf - lcp. all our patients were followed up by serial radiographs at 6, 12, 18, 24 weeks and thereafter at 6 months interval. union was achieved in 11 out of 13 patients at 12 weeks whereas two patients had delayed union which eventually healed at 18 weeks and 24 weeks. the average harris hip score at 1 year follow - up was excellent in eight, good in four and fair in one patient respectively. we conclude that in complicated non - unions, the use of pf - lcp has a definite positive role in the management of such cases. while inter - trochanteric malunite frequently, subtrochanteric fractures most often end in non - unions. the interposing soft tissues along with the displacement means that these fractures necessitate open reduction. also to complicate matters, there has been a surge in the number of traditional bone setters who use native splints with massages. hence, the frequency of non - union subtrochanteric fractures has increased in the recent past. the implant of choice has traditionally been either dcs plates or pfn. in our study clinical picture of the anatomical pf - lcp with proximal screws showing divergent screws and various angles (95, 120 and 135 degrees) we analyzed 19 consecutive patients with non - unions of subtrochanteric fractures who presented to our clinic. all patients underwent open reduction with removal of interposing fibrous tissue, freshening of the edges and anatomical reduction. the pf - lcp was used with proximal 6.5 mm locking cancellous screws and distally using both cortical and locked screws. primary bone grafting was done in two patients (seinsheimer type iv) i.e patients s. no. 2 and 12 to maintain poesteromedial cortical contact. wound closure and suture removal done as per standard guidelines. all patients were started on non - weight bearing walking for 6 weeks. then weight bearing was started as tolerated. eleven out of 13 patients started full weight bearing by 12 weeks with 2 patients walking full weight bearing at 18 and 24 weeks respectively. the functional assessment was done using the modified harris hip score and were tabulated (table 2). serial radiographs were taken at 6, 12, 18, 24 weeks follow - up and thereafter at 6 months interval. two patients (case no . 2 and 12) had delayed unions which healed eventually at 18 and 24 weeks respectively. they were both type iv seinsheimer fracture pattern with loss of posteromedial cortical contact. they were primarily grafted and this could be a possible reason for the delayed union. there was one patient who had one case of wound dehiscence which required secondary suturing under local anaesthesia (case no.9). at one year follow - up, all our patients were ambulatory full weight bearing, walking without any aid and were doing well. the functional assessment showed excellent in eight , good in four and fair in one patient respectively. we do not routinely advise or perform implant removals for any of our patients due to social and financial constraints. pre op x ray showing type v seinsheimer fracture non - union with smooth edges post op x ray at 1 year follow - up showing complete fracture union with implant insitu in good position a: clinical photo at 1 year follow - up showing excellent function of hip movements figure 4b: clinical photo at 1 year showing no limb length inequality.. the earlier used proximal femoral side plates namely dcs and the newly introduced pf - lcp have their own advantages in select cases. shukla et al reviewed 60 patients treated with i m nailing and reported a union rate of 95 %. they also reported a higher malunion and non - union rate in those patients treated by closed reduction than those treated by open reduction (3 and 1 in open versus 6 and 2 in closed reduction group). they also concluded that the complication rate was higher in those fractures fixed in varus (> 10 degrees) at the fracture emphasizing that correct anatomical alignment is of paramount importance in achieving union. in our study, all our patients underwent open reduction and anatomical reduction was achieved in all our patients. hence, we had a comparable union rate with no varus collapse or implant failure. bartonincek et al used the double angled blade plate with valgus osteotomy in his series of 15 patients and achieved a union rate of 93.33% which is comparable to our study. one patient had an implant failure due to a repeat fall and required revision surgery. the average harris hip score improved from 73 pre - operatively to 92 following surgery. in our study, the average harris hip score following union was 89 which is comparable. pelet et al compared gamma nail versus side plate and reported 100 % healing with gamma nail with 2 failures in the side plate group. however though we have used only anatomical pf - lcp and achieved comparable union rates. however weight bearing was delayed till about 12 weeks in 11 out of 13 patients (radiological union). liporace et al reported a case report of using a femoral fixator distractor over a i m nail to achieve length in a patient with limb length discrepancy. in our study , we were able to restore limb length to within 0.5 cm of the opposite normal side in all our patients. giannoudis et al reported a new diamond concept of treating non union subtrochanteric fractures using local injection of growth factor (rhbmp-7), ria (reamer irrigator aspirator) and mesenchymal growth factors (msc). he concluded that in addition to the above, preventing varus malalignment at the fracture is the keystone to allow fracture healing and prevent implant failure. muller et al reported a careful usage of additional circlage wiring to provide stability to the fracture site treated by i m nail. in our study, we ensured anatomical reduction along the posteromedial cortex was achieved to prevent varus collapse at the fracture leading to implant pull out. pugh et al compared first generation nails to second generation nails and preliminary reports by them suggested a slight biomechanical advantage for the second generation nail over the first generation nails. in our study , we have obtained which are comparable to the i m nail with fewer complications. omalley et al showed in 46 patients of unstable trochanteric fractures treated by intra medullary devices that there was on an average a 7 mm lateral shift of the distal femoral shaft (i.e wedge effect). as a all of those patients had a varus malignment (neck shaft angle of 129 degrees versus 133 degree in the opposite normal hips) but the fracture eventually united. in our study, we ensured a near anatomical neck shaft angle and supported the postero - medial cortex with graft when required (case no.2 & 12) to ensure that no varus collapse occurs. seyham et al compared the outcomes of proximal fractures using pfna and intertan nails and concluded that the rate of proximal screw back - out and varus collapse was significantly higher in the pfna than in the intertan group. in our study , we did not report any varus collapse or implant pull out in any of our cases. niu et al conducted a survey among aaos members about the preferred choice of implant for proximal femur fractures. he concluded that although both intramedullary devices and plate fixation devices produced equal with regard to fracture healing, the implant of choice in the current scenario is the i m device due to ease of surgery and biomechanical stability over the plate devices. in our study however, we have shown that in select complicated cases, these newer pf - lcp have proved to be as efficient and stable as i m devices. muller et al showed by a comparative study between pfn and dhs, a significantly higher rate of screw cut - out was seen in dhs group compared in the pfn group. the pf - lcp that we have used in our study has the advantage of having three locked screws in place of one dhs screw at 95,120 and 135 degrees to offer increased stability with a negligible cut out risk. in our study, we did not include a control group treated by either a pfn or dhs implant. however, we compared our with the of other authors who used either pfn or dhs as the standard implant of choice for such fractures. the in our study show promising outcomes in favour of the pf - lcp, but our study group is small (13 patients) and we need to have a bigger study group and include more patients. although the gold standard remains intramedullary devices for such fractures, we have concluded from our study that the anatomical proximal femur locked plates (pf - lcp) is able to provide comparable with those of i m devices. the potential advantages of this implant over the other side plates are as follows: three locked screws in the proximal fragment at various angles namely 95, 120 and 135 degrees providing multi planar stability no loss of bone as no reaming is done as with dcs screws anatomical so no pre - contouring is required provision of combi hole to use either locking or cortical screw to achieve plate to bone contact distally. can be safely used with fracture extension into greater trochanter (entry point for nail). we therefore conclude that pf - lcp is a valuable tool in the arsenal of every orthopaedic surgeon. we believe that with the right patient selection, this implant provides a similar and outcome to that offered by intramedullary devices. although the conventional and current implant of choice is intramedullary nailing (im / il nail) following open reduction, the use of the pf - lcp has produced similar to those of i m nails. hence, for the appropriate patient choice, the pf - lcp is a newer and proven implant to use for excellent outcomes.

introduction: subtrochanteric fractures have a bimodal age distribution. they are mostly due to high violence trauma in the younger age group. they almost always require open reduction and internal fixation. due to the increase in the emergence of native bone setters , these fractures are increasingly been managed by these spurious bone setters using native splints. as a , non - union rate is high among such patients. these patients definitely need open reduction with internal fixation + /- bone grafting. the choice of implants used can be either a dynamic condylar screw plate (dcs) orproximal femoral nail (pfn).case series: here we have used a surgical grade 316 l stainless steel proximal femoral anatomical locked compression plate (pf - lcp). we analyzed 13 patients with established non unions of subtrochanteric fractures treated in our centre by the use of the pf - lcp. there were 10 males and 3 females. the average age was 48.23 years. all our patients were followed up by serial radiographs at 6, 12, 18, 24 weeks and thereafter at 6 months interval. union was achieved in 11 out of 13 patients at 12 weeks whereas two patients had delayed union which eventually healed at 18 weeks and 24 weeks. the average harris hip score at 1 year follow - up was excellent in eight, good in four and fair in one patient respectively.:we conclude that in complicated non - unions, the use of pf - lcp has a definite positive role in the management of such cases.


Our friends won't buy this analysis, let alone the next one we propose.


One more pseudo generalization and I'm giving up.


One more pseudo generalization or I'm giving up.


The more we study verbs, the crazier they get.


Day by day the facts are getting murkier.


Fred watered the plants flat.


Bill coughed his way out of the restaurant.


We're dancing the night away.


Herman hammered the metal flat.


aba decides against community broadcasting licence


act fire witnesses must be aware of defamation


a g calls for infrastructure protection summit


air nz staff in aust strike for pay rise


air nz strike to affect australian travellers


antic delighted with record breaking barca


aussie qualifier stosur wastes four memphis match


aust addresses un security council over iraq


australia is locked into war timetable opp


path to device


Good shoe for office work. They will scuff very easy so be aware.


I have had the Patricia II wedge in black for about 1 year & wore them regularly in season.  When I saw the Patricia at a good price in navy (from 6pm), I purchased them because I thought they would fit just like my Patricia IIs.  I was wrong, and paid the price with return shipping that 6pm doesn't pay.

The crocs website says that crocs aren't suppose to fit like other sandals - they are suppose to be looser & thus more comfortable - I normally wear an 8-1/2, so have now tried both an 8 & a 9 in the Patricia shoe (I have an 8 in the Patricia II).  The Patricia 9 swims on my feet & they would be a hazard to walk around in.  The size 8 fits my left foot (which is my wider foot) but is too narrow on my right foot.  When I placed the shoes sole to sole, I did notice a slight difference in the width, which, apparently, my foot notices too.  I can only conclude a manufacturing defect.  But, it is this shoe specifically or the form for this shoe? (others have written the shoe is narrow).

Consequently, if you have a wider foot, order the Patricia II instead of this one & if you are a 1/2 size, order down, not up.


Width not right and size too small if width had been just little wider and ordered size larger would have been good. Loved the shoe look


I received these shoes and they weren't the same as the picture described them, they were a different color. When i tried to return them, the shipping wasn't paid for. So i had to pay $20 for shipping. A waste of time and money. I dont recommend anyone to buy from TheSmartBuy.


They began to split alone the mesh material after a month but loved the shoe and the feel of it


Excellent shoes ,  very confortable and litgthweight !


Usually love Ethnies product. In this case the raised arch area of one shoe is too far back and raised to the point of discomfort.
The other shoe fits fine.?? Had to wear em before I figured it out so im stuck with em.
Also, they do run a bit narrow(or at least one shoe did) ;)


Could not get my foot into the shoe.  Was disappointed and returned them.


Everything about the boot is great.


Nice looking shoe, okay for short-term wear.  Much narrower than other size 11's  that I have - tight fit!


Use of the urgent referral pathway (often called the two week wait system) by general practices for patients with suspected cancer is saving lives, according to a study in The BMJ this week.

Use of the urgent referral pathway could be efficacious.


Meeting patients' preferences for the time and place of their psychological treatment may affect their perception of treatment outcome, a cross-sectional survey by researchers from the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Imperial College London involving 14,587 respondents suggests.

People who reported preferences that were not met were less likely to state that treatment had helped them with their problems.


Besides studies showing relief of phantom limb pain using mirrors, this is the first evidence that impeding the processes by which the brain localises a noxious stimulus can reduce pain, and that this effect reflects modulation of multimodal neural activities.


Oral contraceptive use just before or during pregnancy is not associated with an increased risk of major birth defects, suggest the findings of a study published in The BMJ this week.

Residual confounding was possible, and the analysis lacked information on folate, one of the proposed mechanisms.


Scientists at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology have identified the mechanism behind a common inherited cause of severe sight loss in young children. The results also point to a potential new treatment that may be possible to deliver by simple injection to the eye. The research was funded by charities Fight for Sight, Moorfields Eye Charity and Guide Dogs, with support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

These results provide a mechanistic understanding of the retina-specific phenotypes in CEP290 LCA patients and potential strategies for therapeutic intervention.


Research finds connection between impulsivity and superstitions in pathological gamblers.

Impulsive choice in the gamblers was correlated with the level of gambling distortions, and we hypothesize that an impulsive decision-making style may increase the acceptance of erroneous beliefs during gambling play.


Drinking a lot of coffee every day--more than 900 ml (30 fluid ounces) or around six cups--is linked to a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), finds research published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

In accordance with studies in animal models of MS, high consumption of coffee may decrease the risk of developing MS.


A new study has found that protein and not sugar activates the cells responsible for keeping us awake and burning calories.

Physiological mixtures of AAs electrically excited orx/hcrt cells through a dual mechanism involving inhibition of K(ATP) channels and activation of system-A amino acid transporters.


(CNN) -- Shelling hit areas near two key cities in eastern Ukraine on Sunday morning, intensifying fears that a ceasefire that took effect less than two days ago may be falling apart. Why is the ceasefire under strain? A variety of fighting factions in the conflict zone -- on both sides -- may not fall directly under a military chain of command. The pro-Russian rebels are mostly volunteer militias; fighting against them on the Ukrainian side are at least some far-right nationalist militias. Controlling these groups is difficult and some may have different aims, including sabotaging the truce. At this point it's been nearly impossible to figure out who's doing the firing and why. The conditions of the ceasefire agreement don't help either. The conditions are vague and at this point there doesn't seem to be an effective mechanism in place inside the conflict zone to monitor and enforce the agreement. Why can't the two sides' leaders control their forces? It's unclear if Kiev has control over all of the fighting forces in eastern Ukraine. Some of the volunteer militias fighting alongside Ukrainian soldiers are far-right nationalists who've been critical of the current government in Kiev, but they're still fighting because they feel Ukraine is under attack by Russia. And who controls the pro-Russian rebels? Is it the local commanders? Is it Russian President Vladimir Putin? None of that is clear. Which side has the most to gain from the truce? If the truce leads to good-faith negotiations and a compromise, then both sides can gain. A compromise could look like something like this: The pro-Russian region of Donbas gets autonomy and self-determination under a federalized Ukrainian government, and in return the rebels drop their demand for independence and Kiev gets to protect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. There are elements on both sides that don't want a compromise, and they could certainly have the potential of undermining the truce. What happens next? We wait to see if the overnight shellings and firings are an anomaly or if they're a sign of more violence and more fighting. If the ceasefire sticks, both sides have agreed to hold talks that will address the core issues and demands on both sides that are still unresolved -- including the disarming of the rebels, a guarantee of self-determination for the pro-Russian Donbas region, the fate of Russian-annexed Crimea, constitutional reform, and a solution to the humanitarian crisis in the conflict zone. Obviously if the fighting continues, all bets are off. What effect does this have on the rest of the world? What happens in the coming days will determine the next move by NATO and Western leaders. If the ceasefire falls apart, the West will likely turn up the pressure by following through with sanctions and bolstering Western forces in NATO's Baltic-member states. Moscow has already threatened to respond if that happens. The bottom line is, the conflict will escalate and so will the prospects of a regional conflict -- although at this point that seems unlikely.

Shelling in eastern Ukraine raises fears that a ceasefire may fall apart .
Reza Sayah: It's been nearly impossible to say who's doing firing and why .
It's unclear who has control over fighting forces on either side in east Ukraine .
There are elements on both sides that don't want a compromise .


(CNN) -- Remember when oil giant BP paid billions of dollars to clean up its own mess from the 2010 Gulf oil spill? Then the company agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges and pay an unprecedented $4 billion fine for the spill. In the latest development, Wednesday, BP was essentially told to stand in the corner when it comes to winning new federal contracts -- a potentially huge blow to the company's bottom line. And it's still likely on the hook for civil penalties the federal government hopes to recover for environmental damages. So, is BP being punished enough for the deadly and destructive Deepwater Horizon spill, or too much? It depends on who you ask. This matters. BP says it supports nearly a quarter of a million American jobs and has invested $52 billion in the United States since 2007. Experts suggest punishments ranging from massive fines to banning the company from offshore drilling. However this all shakes out, it likely will send a powerful message to the industry. Families of killed rig workers react to BP settlement . First, here's what happened Wednesday: . The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it will block BP from new government contracts due to its "lack of business integrity" stemming from the 2010 explosion and oil spill. It was a tragedy that killed 11 oil workers and dumped 205 million gallons of oil into the Gulf in a slow-moving, 85-day national drama that prosecutors called the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. This month hasn't been good to BP. The decision follows the London-based company's agreement November 15 to plead guilty to criminal charges including manslaughter, obstruction of Congress and environmental violations related to the explosion and spill -- an agreement that still requires a judge's approval. What it means . Wednesday's EPA decision means BP won't be allowed to compete for new contracts, grants or other business until the company shows it meets federal business standards. As of February, BP had $9 billion in contracts to supply the U.S. government with fuel, most of it destined for military users, said Christine Tiscareno, a London-based analyst with S&P Capital IQ. Those contracts aren't affected by the EPA decision, the agency said. BP said it's already filed paperwork to get back in good graces with the EPA, said the agency is already preparing an administrative agreement to lift the suspension and highlighted what the company says it's done to rectify the situation. "As BP's submissions to the EPA have made clear, the company has made significant enhancements since the accident," the company said in a statement. "The company launched an internal investigation immediately after the accident, publicly released the results, and has been implementing all 26 of the investigation's recommendations." What's ahead . The next big step in the case comes in February, when a civil trial is expected to begin over the government's demand for civil damages under the Clean Water Act. That case could draw huge new fines for the company. The disaster, in addition to claiming 11 lives, caused disruption to countless residents and businesses, many of whom counted on the Gulf for their livelihoods, whether in the oil fields, fishing grounds or tourist beaches. For some, including environmentalists, the company couldn't be fined enough or spend enough money to get back on their good side. "Well, you know, we're discussing the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history," said Matt Dundas, acting campaign director at the environmental group Oceana. "The punishment needs to fit the crime." But, he said, the record $4 billion fine BP is expected to pay as a result of the criminal case is a tenth of the maximum it could have faced, making it small consolation to BP's harshest critics. The fine, while a record for the U.S. justice system, represents less than three months worth of profits for BP. The company reported $5.2 billion in profits in the quarter that ended September 30. Dundas is now rooting for the maximum possible verdict in the civil case -- $50 billion in fines. But he says there's only one punishment that would really get BP and other oil companies to sit up and take steps to prevent what Dundas says is the overwhelming risk of another large oil spill: being kicked out of the game entirely. "I think a terrific minimum would be to bar them from offshore drilling," he said. "That's really the only standard that's going to get oil companies to pay attention." The head of a trade association representing BP and other oil and gas operators in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico said Wednesday that BP has already complied with government requirements. "BP has done everything that the federal government has asked and more. ... This new EPA designation is another layer," said Chris John, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association. "How much is enough, when the economy in America is trying to dig out of the recession, and energy ... is a very important component to getting Americans back to work?" The EPA's decision could have a negative impact beyond BP, he said, affecting other companies in the industry who have also complied with regulators. "The companies that operate out in the Gulf of Mexico, they can go anywhere, they're global. They can drill anywhere in the world," John said. "They have chosen to come back to the Gulf in the past few years. ... This additional statement and designation by the EPA has to play into their decision of where to put their capital." BP didn't directly address whether it believes it has paid enough for the disaster, but noted Wednesday that it has spent $14 billion in response and cleanup costs, $1 million on restoration projects and $9 billion in compensation and expects to spend $7.8 billion more to resolve the majority of outstanding claims. Owning up . The company also pointed out it has acknowledged criminal responsibility, carried out recommendations made by investigators who studied the incident and has taken actions to strengthen safety and drilling standards that exceed federal regulations. Tiscareno, the oil analyst, said that while the costs to BP have been steep, they are bearable for the company. The big question is what happens in February, when the civil case goes to trial. Tiscareno said she expects BP, which has taken a long-term approach to recovering from the spill, will recover financially unless the civil trial nets an "irrational" decision. A huge verdict could pose problems for BP, Tiscareno said, but she said the government can't go too far in gutting the firm because of all the jobs and tax revenues the company provides. BP has invested $52 billion in the U.S. in the last five years, employs 23,000 U.S. residents and indirectly supports nearly 250,000 jobs, the company said Wednesday. "The U.S. needs BP as much as BP needs the U.S.," Tiscareno said. CNN's Kendra Wates and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.

NEW: Trade association: "BP has done everything that the federal government has asked"
Two years after the oil spill, experts weigh in on possible punishments for BP .
BP says it expects the temporary ban will be lifted soon .
The EPA says the oil giant showed a "lack of business integrity"


Adel Taarabt appeared for QPR for the first time since his public fall-out with Harry Redknapp in Monday afternoon's reserve game against Ipswich Town. The Moroccan's days at Loftus Road appeared to be numbered after his extraordinary spat with Redknapp last month. Taarabt claimed his manager never takes a training session after Redknapp had accused the midfielder of being 'three stone overweight' following the 3-2 defeat to Liverpool. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Harry Redknapp say  Taarabt's camp have told blatant lies . Adel Taarabt has played just three first-team games for QPR this season after returning from loan at AC Milan . Taarabt laughed off claims by QPR manager Harry Redknapp that the midfielder was 'three stone overweight' The 25-year-old was due to play for the club's Under 21s last week, but wasn't included in the draw against Swansea. However, Taarabt came through 90 minutes in the 3-0 win against Ipswich Town as he tries to prove his fitness to his boss. The former Spurs man, who has been hampered by an ankle injury, has been limited to just three appearances for the R's this season after returning from a loan spell at AC Milan. Taarabt hit back at Redknapp during an exclusive interview with Sportsmail last month . Taarabt spent last campaign on loan at Fulham and then Serie A side AC Milan .

Moroccan played 90 minutes for Under 21s in 3-0 win against Ipswich Town .
Taarabt has made just three first-team appearances for the R's this season .
Midfielder was accused of being 'overweight' by manager Harry Redknapp .
Taarabt hit back and claimed Redknapp never took training sessions .


By . Wills Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 11:14 EST, 6 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 12:19 EST, 6 March 2014 . Members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot have been attacked by a gang of men inside a Russian McDonalds. Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina were covered in paint while they sat and had breakfast in the city of Nizhny Novgorod. The pair, who were jailed for hooliganism in 2012, also had pepper spray, green antispetic and metal thrown in their faces during the assault. Scroll down for video . Attacked: Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina were covered in paint during the assault while they sat and had breakfast in the city of Nizhny Novgorod . Distressed: The pair spoke directly into the camera after the incident . They were visiting the area to inspect a local prison with Peter Verzilov and members of NGO 'Zone of the Rights'. Tolonnikova allegedly left the restaurant with a 'cut forehead' and the group have complained to the police. She was seen getting up from her seat and clutching her face during the incident. while the gang of men continually shouted abuse. When the attack eventually stopped, one of the men held up a sign to the camera while another was seen shouting down the lens. At around 7.00 am the group barged into the fast food restaurant where the musicians and their crew were eating. Gang: They were covered in paint, antiseptic and pepper spray by the group of men . Prolonged: The gang shouted abuse while they continued to launch the liquids at the members of the feminist band . Close: One of the attackers faced up to Nadya Tolokonnikova, preparing to throw something at her . Abuse: The individuals continued to shout at the musicians while a crowd built up behind them . It is not the first time the group have been targeted by members of the public. At the start of the Sochi winter . Olympics, members of the group were whipped and tackled to the ground by Cossacks as . they sang in protest. The . band started to perform an anti-Putin song under a sign advertising the . Winter Olympics. But singer Tolokonnikova was brutally whipped . in the attack and the guitarist was left bloodied and bruised. Last month, Tolokonnikova was filmed saying the anti-government protests in Ukraine were an 'inspiation'. She was also among those arrested during protests outside a Moscow courthouse. Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were released from seperate prisons on December 23, 2013 after the Russian State Duma approved an amnesty. Speech: An attacker spoke into a camera owned by the NGO 'Zone of the Rights' in the aftermath of the assault . Slogan: One man holds up a sign to the camera before the group leave the restaurant .

Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina were also pepper sprayed .
The pair were in city of Nizhny Novgorod visiting a local prison .
Alyokhina reportedly left the fast food restaurant with a 'cut forehead'


EU rejects German call to boycott British lamb .


The European Commission said on Thursday it disagreed with German advice to consumers to shun British lamb until scientists determine whether mad cow disease can be transmitted to sheep .


Germany 's representative to the European Union 's veterinary committee Werner Zwingmann said on Wednesday consumers should buy sheepmeat from countries other than Britain until the scientific advice was clearer .


" We do n't support any such recommendation because we do n't see any grounds for it , " the Commission 's chief spokesman Nikolaus van der Pas told a news briefing .


He said further scientific study was required and if it was found that action was needed it should be taken by the European Union .


He said a proposal last month by EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler to ban sheep brains , spleens and spinal cords from the human and animal food chains was a highly specific and precautionary move to protect human health .


Fischler proposed EU-wide measures after reports from Britain and France that under laboratory conditions sheep could contract Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy -LPR- BSE -RPR- -- mad cow disease .


But Fischler agreed to review his proposal after the EU 's standing veterinary committee , mational animal health officials , questioned if such action was justified as there was only a slight risk to human health .


Image

#define rot(a)          mat2(cos(a+vec4(0,11,33,0)))  // rotation
#define H(t)            fract(1e4*sin((t)*1e4))       // hash
#define B(x,y,z,r1,r2)  max( max(a.x,a.z)-r1, a.y-r2) // box
               // manage one slice, remember closest to pixel
#define S(k)   r = q - Y* .67 *float(k-1),                     \
               i%3==k ? r.xz *= rot(s*fract(T)*1.57) : U,      \
               a = abs(r), v = B(x,y,z,1.,.33),                \
               v < t ? t=v, q0 = r + Y* .67 *float(k-1) : r

void mainImage(out vec4 O, vec2 U)
{
    float t=9., s, v,T=iTime;
    int n, i = int(18.*H(floor(T)));                  // choose the random rotation+dir
    s = i%2==0 ? 1. : -1.; i/=2;                      // direction

    vec3  R = iResolution, Y = vec3(0,1,0),
          D = normalize(vec3((U+U-R.xy)/R.y, -3.)),   // ray direction
          p = vec3(0,0,6), q,q0,r,a,                  // marching point along ray
          M = iMouse.z > 0. ? iMouse.xyz/R -.5: vec3(10,12,0)/1e2*cos(iTime+vec3(0,11,0))+vec3(0,.12,0);

    for ( O=vec4(1); O.x > 0. && t > .005; O-=.01 ) {
        q = p,
        q.yz *= rot(.5-6.3*M.y),                      // rotations
        q.xz *= rot(-6.3*M.x), t = 9.,
        q = i/3==1 ? q.xzy : i/3==2 ? q.yxz : q,      // choose rotation axis
        S(0), S(1), S(2),                             // draw slices + rot one
        q = q0;
        for( n=0; n<3; n++ )                          // Menger fractal recursion
            a = abs(q),
            t = max(t, -B(x,y,z,.33,3.)),             // holes in 3 directions
            t = max(t, -B(y,z,x,.33,3.)),
            t = max(t, -B(z,x,y,.33,3.)),
            q = fract( 1.5*(q+1.) )*2. - 1.;          // recursion to smaller scale

        p += .25*t*D;                                 // step forward = dist to obj
    }
}

Menger-Rubik's cube

Menger sponge & Rubik's cube at the same time :-)

Mouse controls, camera.


const int maxSteps = 80;
const int shadowSteps = 6;
const int reflectionSteps = 5;

#define LIGHTS 3
//#define SHADOWS
#define REFLECTIONS

const vec4 lightColor = vec4(1.0,.75,0.6,0.0);
const vec4 lightColor2 = vec4(0.0,1.0,0.6,0.0);
const vec4 lightColor3 = vec4(0.75,0.0,1.0,0.0);

vec3 rayVector(in vec3 position, in vec3 target, in vec2 fragCoord)
{
    vec3 eye = normalize(target - position);
    vec3 up = vec3(0., 1., 0.);
    vec3 right = cross(eye, up);
    up = cross(eye,right);

    mat3 cameraMatrix = mat3(right.x, up.x, eye.x,
                			 right.y, up.y, eye.y,
                			 right.z, up.z, eye.z);

    vec2 uv = fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy - vec2(.5);
    uv.x = uv.x * iResolution.x/iResolution.y;
    uv.y = -uv.y;
    float focalDistance = 0.6 + .3 * sin(iTime* .25);
    return (normalize(vec3(uv.x,uv.y,focalDistance)) * cameraMatrix) * .5;
}

vec4 textureBall (in vec2 pos)
{
	return vec4(step(.5,fract((pos.x+pos.y)*4.)));
}

vec4 texturePlane (in vec2 pos)
{
	return vec4(abs(step(0.5,fract(pos.x*3.)) - step(0.5,fract(pos.y*3.))));
}

vec4 shade(in vec3 pos, in vec3 normal, in vec3 cameraVector, in vec3 lightPos, in vec4 lightColor, in vec4 surface)
{
    vec3 light = normalize(lightPos - pos);
    float dotlight = dot(normal,light);

    vec3 cameraReflected = normalize(reflect(cameraVector,normal));
    float spec = 0.0;
    if (dot(cameraReflected,light) < 0.0)
        spec = min(1.0,pow(dot(cameraReflected,light),2.0));
    return (surface
        * vec4(0.2+dotlight) * lightColor
        + vec4(0.5*spec)) * 10.0/length(lightPos - pos); // Sphere color
}

float map(in vec3 p, in vec3 shapeLoc, out vec3 pm)
{
	float bounce = 1.6*abs(sin(iTime + float(int(p.y/6.0) + int(p.x/6.0))));
	pm = vec3(mod(p.x,6.0),p.y-bounce,mod(p.z,6.0)) - shapeLoc;

	return min(length(pm) - 1.8, p.y);
}

vec3 normal(in vec3 p, in vec3 pm)
{
	if (p.y < 0.1)
	{
		return vec3(0.,1.,0.);
	}
	else
	{
		return normalize(pm);
	}
}

vec4 textured(in vec3 p, in vec3 pm, in mat3 rotation)
{
	if (p.y < 0.1)
	{
		return texturePlane( vec2(p.x *.1 - 3.1415 * .5 * iTime,p.z *.1));
	}
	else
	{
		vec3 pmr = rotation * pm;
		return textureBall( vec2(atan(pmr.x,pmr.z)*.20,pmr.y*.25));
	}
}

float shadow(in vec3 ro, in vec3 rd, in vec3 shapeLoc, in vec3 lightPos)
{
	float res = 1.0;
	float t = 1.0;
    for(int i = 1; i < shadowSteps; ++i)
    {
        vec3 pm = vec3(0.,0.,0.);
		float h = map(ro + rd * t, shapeLoc, pm);
		if ( h < 0.1 )
			return 0.1;

		res = min( res, 8. * h / t);
		t += h;
	}

	return res;
}

vec4 reflection(in vec3 ro, in vec3 rd, in vec3 shapeLoc, in mat3 rotation, in vec3 lights[3])
{
    vec4 color = vec4(0.0);

    float t = 1.6;
    for(int i = 0; i < reflectionSteps; ++i)
    {
        vec3 p = ro + rd * t;

        vec3 pm = vec3(0.,0.,0.);
		float d = map(p, shapeLoc, pm);
        if(d < 0.1)
        {
			vec3 normal = normal(p, pm); vec4 texc = textured(p, pm, rotation);

			color = (0.0
#if (LIGHTS >= 1)
				+ shade(p, normal, -rd, lights[0], lightColor, texc)
#endif
#if (LIGHTS >= 2)
			    + shade(p, normal, -rd, lights[1], lightColor2, texc)
#endif
#if (LIGHTS >= 3)
                + shade(p, normal, -rd, lights[2], lightColor3, texc)
#endif
			) / float(LIGHTS);
            break;
        }

        t += d;
    }

    return color;
}

vec4 march(in vec3 ro, in vec3 rd, in vec3 shapeLoc, in mat3 rotation, in vec3 lights[3])
{
    vec4 color = vec4(0.0);

    float t = 0.0;
    for(int i = 0; i < maxSteps; ++i)
    {
        vec3 p = ro + rd * t;

        vec3 pm = vec3(0.,0.,0.);
		float d = map(p, shapeLoc, pm);
        if(d < 0.01)
        {
			vec3 normal = normal(p, pm); vec4 texc = textured(p, pm, rotation);

            vec3 cameraReflected = normalize(reflect(rd, -normal));

			color = (0.0
#if (LIGHTS >= 1)
				+ shade(p, normal, -rd, lights[0], lightColor, texc)
	#ifdef SHADOWS
				* shadow(p, normalize(lights[0]-p), shapeLoc, lights[0])
	#endif
#endif
#if  (LIGHTS >= 2)
				+ shade(p, normal, -rd, lights[1], lightColor2, texc)
	#ifdef SHADOWS
				* shadow(p, normalize(lights[1]-p), shapeLoc, lights[1])
	#endif
#endif
#if  (LIGHTS >= 3)
				+ shade(p, normal, -rd, lights[2], lightColor3, texc)
	#ifdef SHADOWS
				* shadow(p, normalize(lights[2]-p), shapeLoc, lights[2])
	#endif
#endif
			) / float(LIGHTS)
#ifdef REFLECTIONS
			+ .5*reflection(p, cameraReflected, shapeLoc, rotation, lights)
#endif
			;
			break;
        }

        t += d;
    }
    return color;
}

void mainVR( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord, in vec3 ro, in vec3 rd )
{
    vec3 shapeLoc = vec3(3.0,1.8,3.0);
    vec3 cameraLoc = vec3(4.0 * sin(iTime), 6.0 + 4.0 * sin(0.4*iTime) , 4.0 * cos(iTime)) + shapeLoc;
    vec3 cameraTarget = shapeLoc;
    vec3 lights[LIGHTS];
#if (LIGHTS >= 1)
	lights[0] = vec3(3. + 4.0 * sin(iTime*2.), 16.0 + 8.0 * sin(0.4*iTime) , 3.+4.0 * cos(2.*iTime));
#endif
#if (LIGHTS >= 2)
	lights[1] = vec3(3. + 4.0 * sin(iTime*3.), 4.0 + 4.0 * sin(0.2*iTime) , 3.+8.0 * cos(3.*iTime));
#endif
#if (LIGHTS >= 3)
	lights[2] = vec3(3. + 8.0 * sin(iTime*4.), 4.0 + 4.0 * sin(0.1*iTime) , 3.+4.0 * cos(4.*iTime));
#endif

    mat3 rotation = mat3(cos(iTime*5.),-sin(iTime*5.), 0.,
                  sin(iTime*5.),cos(iTime*5.), 0.,
                   0.,0.,1.);

    ro *= 3.;
    ro.y += 6.;
    fragColor = march(ro, rd, shapeLoc, rotation, lights);
}

void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord )
{
    vec3 shapeLoc = vec3(3.0,1.8,3.0);
    vec3 cameraLoc = vec3(4.0 * sin(iTime), 6.0 + 4.0 * sin(0.4*iTime) , 4.0 * cos(iTime)) + shapeLoc;
    vec3 cameraTarget = shapeLoc;
    vec3 lights[LIGHTS];
#if (LIGHTS >= 1)
	lights[0] = vec3(3. + 4.0 * sin(iTime*2.), 16.0 + 8.0 * sin(0.4*iTime) , 3.+4.0 * cos(2.*iTime));
#endif
#if (LIGHTS >= 2)
	lights[1] = vec3(3. + 4.0 * sin(iTime*3.), 4.0 + 4.0 * sin(0.2*iTime) , 3.+8.0 * cos(3.*iTime));
#endif
#if (LIGHTS >= 3)
	lights[2] = vec3(3. + 8.0 * sin(iTime*4.), 4.0 + 4.0 * sin(0.1*iTime) , 3.+4.0 * cos(4.*iTime));
#endif

    vec3 ro = cameraLoc;
    vec3 rd = rayVector(cameraLoc, cameraTarget, fragCoord);

    mat3 rotation = mat3(cos(iTime*5.),-sin(iTime*5.), 0.,
                  sin(iTime*5.),cos(iTime*5.), 0.,
                   0.,0.,1.);

    fragColor = march(ro, rd, shapeLoc, rotation, lights);
}

Rolling Marbles

Basic raymarching with reflections. Hopefully not too slow on you hardware. Feel free to play around with parameters to enable shadows and etc.


void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord )
{

    //noramelize
	vec2 uv = fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy;

    //window aspect
    float aspect = iResolution.y/iResolution.x;

    //axis change from 0 - 1.0 to -1.0 - 1.0
	uv = uv * 2. - 1.;

    //Strecth y axis
    uv.y*=aspect;

    // creating buttom left rectangle point (x buttom, y buttom)
    float xb = step(-.1,uv.x);
    float yb = step(-.1,uv.y);

    // creating top right rectangle point (x top , y top)
    float xt = step(-.1,-uv.x);
    float yt = step(-.1,-uv.y);

    // multiplie step layers
    float color = xt*yt * xb*yb;

    //final
	fragColor = vec4(vec3(color),1.);
}

Basic square example

basic square example


Neural Shrek Head

thanks: https://youtu.be/8pwXpfi-0bU


//#define SD_POINT
//else we have a box

#define SHOW_ERROR

vec2 point = vec2(0.5, 0.7);

/*

Interpolating outside of a distance field, basic 2d setup.

*/

float sdFunc(vec2 fragPos)
{

    #ifdef SD_POINT

    return length(point * iResolution.xy - fragPos) - (80. + 40.*sin(iTime*0.5));

    #endif

    float sdf_angle = 1. + iTime / 10.;

    fragPos -= point * iResolution.xy;
    fragPos *= mat2(cos(sdf_angle),-sin(sdf_angle),sin(sdf_angle),cos(sdf_angle));
    vec2 d = abs(fragPos) - vec2(110.,20.);
 	return min(max(d.x,d.y),0.0) + length(max(d,0.0));

}

void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord )
{
    float sd = sdFunc(fragCoord);

    if(sd < 0.)
    {
     	fragColor = vec4(0., 1., 1., 1.);
        return;
    }

    float sd_groundtruth = sd;

    float thrshld = /*iMouse.z > 0. ? iMouse.y :*/ 0.4 * iResolution.y;

    float slider = (iMouse.z > 0. ? iMouse.x : 0.5 * iResolution.x) ;

    if((fragCoord.y < thrshld && fragCoord.x > slider && fragCoord.x < slider+1.) || (fragCoord.y > thrshld && fragCoord.y < thrshld + 1.))
    {
         fragColor = vec4(1.,0.,0.,1.);
           return;
    }

    if(fragCoord.x < slider)
    {
    	if(fragCoord.y < thrshld)
    	{
            //Idea from David Farrell https://twitter.com/Nosferalatu/status/862369897044516864

            //x outside = fragCoord

            vec2 sampleBorder = vec2(fragCoord.x, thrshld); //x on volume

            float phi = sdFunc(sampleBorder);

            float d = 1.;
            float grad_x = sdFunc(sampleBorder + vec2(d, 0)) - phi;
            float grad_y = sdFunc(sampleBorder + vec2(0, d)) - phi; //in OpenGL positive Y points upwards

            vec2 grad = vec2(grad_x, grad_y);

            vec2 endpoint = sampleBorder - normalize(grad) * phi;

        	sd = distance(endpoint, fragCoord);
    	}
    }
    else
    {
        if(fragCoord.y < thrshld)
    	{

            //Circle Intersection

            vec2 vec_to_limit = vec2(0, thrshld - fragCoord.y);

            float d = 1.;
            vec2 p0 = vec2(fragCoord.x, thrshld);
            vec2 p1 = vec2(fragCoord.x, thrshld + d);
            float r0 = sdFunc(p0);
            float r1 = sdFunc(p1);

            float h = 0.5 + (r0*r0 - r1*r1) / (2. *d*d);

            float r_i = sqrt(abs(r0*r0 - h*h*d*d));

            vec2 p2 = p0 + (p1-p0)*h;

            vec2 p3 = p2 + vec2(p1.y-p0.y, p1.x-p0.x) * r_i;

            sd = length(fragCoord - p3);
    	}
    }

    #ifdef SHOW_ERROR

    //Absolute error
    float error = abs(sd - sd_groundtruth);

    //Relative error
    //float error = abs(1. - sd / sd_groundtruth) * 100.;

    vec4 errorvisual = vec4( error, error/10., error/40., 1.);

    fragColor = mix(errorvisual, vec4( fract(sd / max(iResolution.x, iResolution.y) * 20.)), 0.5);

    #else

    fragColor = vec4( fract(sd / max(iResolution.x, iResolution.y) * 20.) );

    #endif

    return;
}

SDF Setup 2

Based on https://www.shadertoy.com/view/4s2cWV
Left side: https://twitter.com/Nosferalatu/status/862369897044516864
Right side: Circle Intersection
Mouse drag changes the columns size!