Objective: The objective of this study was to develop, formulate and evaluate the sodium alginate grafted poly (acrylamide-co-acrylic acid/cloisite-30B/silver nanoparticle hydrogel composites (SA-PAAm-PAAc/C30B/AgNPs) with varying weight percentage (wt %) of cloisite-30B clay for paclitaxel targeted delivery and anticancer activity.
Methods: Polymer hydrogel composites of different wt % of cloisite-30B modified clay dispersed sodium alginate (SA) grafted polyacrylamide-co-polyacrylic acid were prepared via in situ free radical initiation polymerization reaction technique. In vitro release of paclitaxel (PT) anticancer drug and anticancer studies were performed. The formulations were further evaluated for swelling, drug encapsulation, drug delivery, anticancer activity study, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric (TGA), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) characterizations.
Results: FT-IR spectroscopy of various composite hydrogel formulations displayed good compatibility between sodium alginate, polyacrylamide, and polyacrylic acid polymers. The thermal study reveals that the formulations with clay (C30B) and AgNPs in hydrogel composites exhibit good thermal stability and less % of weight loss (wt. loss) compared to pure formulations. Further, the highest encapsulation efficiency was shown by the formulation S0-0+D (72.66±5.92%) and least encapsulation efficiency was shown by S75Ag+D (41.33±3.12%) compared to rest of the formulations and S50Ag+D and S75Ag+D samples exhibits relatively slightly higher and sustained cumulative release rate of PT drug at an average rate of 80±9 % within 72 h and also shows relatively better anticancer activity compared to other formulations.
Conclusion: Formulations S50Ag+D and S75Ag+Dwere found to be best formulations with a higher cumulative percentage of PT drug release and showed better anticancer activity


Uddebo wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is the largest of its kind in Luleå, with about 61 000 connected users in Luleå and neighboring villages. There have recently been some problems with the biological treatment process in the WWTP, and it was suspected that hazardous substances in the wastewater are causing the disturbances. In addition, the metal content of sludge from Uddebo is occasionally such that the sludge may not be used as fertilizer according to limits set by the Swedish EPA. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the presence of hazardous substances in Uddebo WWTP to become a basis for future environmental assessment. Existing data from analysis of wastewater and sludge was collected and compared with other Swedish WWTPs on the Baltic coast, a screening was made on pollutants in the influent wastewater, and a literature study was made to summarize existing knowledge on the subject. The literature study was focused mostly on the substances which are regulated by the Swedish EPA: Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn as well as the organic substances nonylphenol, toluene, PAH and PCB. The subjects of main interest were the presence of these substances in wastewater and their use in modern society; major sources for the substances in sludge, and the existing regulations. A few other substances were examined as well, but not as thoroughly. In the analysis of the existing data, the following substances were examined: Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn, nonylphenol, toluene, PAH and PCB. In sludge, the content of these substances have been analyzed monthly since 1995. Influent wastewater has in average been analyzed for metals every three months. The existing sludge data were compared to comparable data from Gävle, Piteå, Skellefteå, Sundsvall and Örnsköldsvik. A screening study of hazardous substances in the influent wastewater at Uddebo WWTP was performed. Time-based sampling was used, and three weekly mixed samples were taken. The analyzed substances were among others As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sn, V and Zn, as well as organic compounds within the groups PAH, PCB and BTEX. The search for nonylphenol and phthalates was made only during the first week. Many of the organic compounds were not detected at all, however the levels of cadmium were higher and the levels of zinc were notably lower than what was shown by the ordinary analyses. For the investigated substances no serious exceeding of the threshold values in sludge or wastewater at Uddebo were found. The major exception was zinc, which had relatively high concentrations in the sludge. There was also a high level of cadmium in the influent wastewater compared to the threshold value set by the municipality; however the Cd threshold value in Luleå is very low compared to other municipalities in Sweden. The content of PAH was high in the sludge from Uddebo WWTP. Silver was not included in the screening, although this metal might be of concern since the threshold values of Luleå are higher than generally recommended in Sweden. Furthermore, as was recently observed, silver may cause adverse ecotoxicological effects in the recipients. Recommendations for future substances of concern silver and brominated flame retardants were shown to be the most interesting. Concluding, very little can be said about sources for the measured substances and further, to track sources of hazardous substances in the wastewater system needs systematic tracking in the sewage network. Innehållsförteckning 1 Inledning .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Bakgrund................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Syfte .......................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Metod ........................................................................................................................ 2 2 Spillvattennätet i Luleå .................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Uddeboverket............................................................................................................ 4 3 Litteraturstudie................................................................................................................. 6 3.1 Allmänt om miljöfarliga ämnen................................................................................ 7 3.2 Tungmetaller ............................................................................................................. 7 3.2.1 Kadmium............................................................................................................ 9 3.2.2 Krom ................................................................................................................ 10 3.2.3 Koppar.............................................................................................................. 11 3.2.4 Kvicksilver....................................................................................................... 12 3.2.5 Nickel............................................................................................................... 13 3.2.6 Bly.................................................................................................................... 14 3.2.7 Zink.................................................................................................................. 15 3.2.8 Andra tungmetaller .......................................................................................... 16 3.3 Organiska miljögifter .............................................................................................. 18 3.3.1 Nonylfenol ....................................................................................................... 19 3.3.2 Toluen .............................................................................................................. 20 3.3.3 Polycykliska aromatiska kolväten.................................................................... 21 3.3.4 Polyklorerade bifenyler.................................................................................... 22 3.3.5 Andra organiska ämnen ................................................................................... 23 4 Analys av befintliga data ............................................................................................... 25 4.1 Insamling av data .................................................................................................... 25 4.2 Analys av data......................................................................................................... 25 4.3 Resultat av dataanalys............................................................................................. 26 4.3.1 Kadmium.......................................................................................................... 26 4.3.2 Krom ................................................................................................................ 28 4.3.3 Koppar.............................................................................................................. 30 4.3.4 Kvicksilver....................................................................................................... 32 4.3.5 Nickel............................................................................................................... 34 4.3.6 Bly.................................................................................................................... 36 4.3.7 Zink.................................................................................................................. 38 4.3.8 Nonylfenol ....................................................................................................... 40 4.3.9 Toluen .............................................................................................................. 42 4.3.10 PAH................................................................................................................ 44 4.3.11 PCB................................................................................................................ 46 4.4 Samvariation mellan metaller ................................................................................. 48 5 Egna undersökningar ..................................................................................................... 49 5.1 Metod ...................................................................................................................... 49 5.2 Mätresultat och diskussion kring dessa................................................................... 51 5.2.1 Metaller ............................................................................................................ 52 5.2.2 Nonylfenol och nonylfenoletoxylater .............................................................. 53 5.2.3 Toluen och andra aromater .............................................................................. 53 5.2.4 Polycykliska aromatiska kolväten.................................................................... 53 5.2.5 Polyklorerade bifenyler.................................................................................... 54 5.2.6 Mineralolja....................................................................................................... 54 5.2.7 Ftalater ............................................................................................................. 55 5.3 Hushållens bidrag av metaller och organiska ämnen.............................................. 55 5.4 Möjliga felkällor vid provtagningen ....................................................................... 58 6 Resultat och diskussion.................................................................................................. 59 6.1 Gränsvärden och Luleås ABVA ...................


The purpose of this research is to identify the factors influencing purchase intention of natural perfumes and also aims at designing promotional strategies for natural perfumes. This study was examined through an online survey administered to the perfume buyers. Multiple regression was used to analyze the data. Results show that the demographic variables (education and annual family income), scheme characteristics, perceived quality, subjective norms and habit of using perfumes significantly influence and had an impact on purchase intention of natural perfumes. The purchase intention and its relationship with the buying behavior or purchase decision could be examined in the future research.


There commonly exist the velar initial consonants in Mianyu dialect of Southern Hunan,most of which are chronologically originated from the labiovelar consonants of ancient Miao and Yao dialects.The velar consonants have finally changed into single ones.


This presentation was held at a JISC sponsored workshop on "Mobility and Learning and Teaching in HE" at the University of Bristol, 1st October 2008. The discussion aimed to star gaze into 2015 for m-learning in the HE sector. It aimed to help stimulate discussion for the rest of the day and demonstrate the ease of using mobile technologies effectively in the classroom.


This paper analyses the spatial centralization change of Shanxi inbound and domestic passengers by means of collecting the data of Shanxi inbound passenger flow during 1998—2009,and using the ratio of market occupancy and spatial centralization and the index of equilibrium.The result shows that the regional crowding level of Shanxi domestic tourism is lower than its inbound tourism but both their equilibrium degree improves year by year.This reflects that Shanxi domestic tourism structure is more stable than its inbound tourism and that Shanxi tourism industry has started to develop longitudinally.


A series of tests are conducted in a tubular, continuous flow combustor containing a 15 cm diameter combustion liner. Fuel is supplied to the flame zone through a circular array of 30 equispaced miniature airblast atomizers. The objective is to achieve a sensibly uniform mixture strength in the fuel-air mixture entering the flame zone. This, in turn, ensures uniform conditions of temperature and chemical composition at any given axial distance downstream of the fuel injection plane. A unique feature of this fuel injection system is that it allows the mean drop size of the fuel spray to be varied while maintaining all other flow properties constant. Thus, experimental data on particulates and other pollutant emissions can be acquired under controlled conditions of pressure, inlet air temperature, and fuel mean drop size, at any given axial distance downstream of the fuel injection plane. This means that all observed differences in pollutant formation can be attributed directly to variations in chemical properties. The results obtained on several selected fuels demonstrate the effects of variations in fuel composition, fuel drop size and combustor operating conditions on the emissions of particulates over a range of pressures form 1.01 to 1.52 MPa (10 to 15more » atmos.).« less


It was analyzed theoretically that there are three kinds of external loads to the vibration system,including the exciting force of two drums,the damping force of shock absorbers and the follower forces of vibrating soil.Then a test was done with a 14tdouble-drum vibratory roller,and the results show that,when the vibration system works stably,the follower load accounts for 40%~50% of total vibration system loads at low amplitude and high frequency,and accounts for about 70% of total loads at high amplitude and low frequency.


Today, the prostitution in our society turns out to be an indicator of the dominant "sexual culture" in the patriarchal and capitalist societies. This article tries to contribute with another approach to the analysis of the sexual industry in our country, adjusting, principally, to the experiences of the men involved in the phenomenon of the prostitution in Galicia. The dramatic quality in which the women in prostitution live their reality and the levity and idleness, in which the clients enjoy themselves, show the controversial and worrying face of this reality. The analysis of the clients' speech across the "Frame Analysis", and the study of the feminine dominant imaginary among them are portrayed in this text, together with the speech of the women in prostitution and of the men who occupy masculinized spaces. This article tries to be a contribution to the complex study of the phenomenon of the prostitution in our country.


The search for the best approach to business education has led educators and researchers to seek many differentteaching strategies, ranging from the traditional teaching methods to various experimental approaches such as activelearning techniques. The aim of this experimental study was to compare the effects of the traditional and combined(traditional plus active learning) teaching methods in the process of knowledge formation among future primaryschool teachers. Participants were randomly selected from available Ukrainian 5th year students. After they werepre-tested, randomly divided into two equal groups. The participants in the experimental group were instructedthrough combined teaching methods, while those in the control group were only taught through traditional lecture.Following the completion of the course, both groups were received their post-test. The results of both groups wereequal at the beginning of experiment. An investigation on the post-test indicated that both teaching methodsincreased the students' post-test scores significantly. Also, the result of post-test scores in the experimental groupincreased statistically significant than that the control group. This study concluded that active learning plus thetraditional teaching method is a feasible alternative to the traditional teaching method only format.


Species of genus Otidea previously reported in China are mainly distributed in the northeast, northwest and southwest regions of China, but the species diversity of Otidea in north China is not very clear. In this study, newly collected Otidea specimens from northern China and some herbarium specimens deposited in three important Chinese fungus herbaria (HMAS, HKAS, HMJAU) were studied using morphological and phylogenetic methods. The internal transcribed spacers of the nrDNA (ITS), the nrRNA 28S subunit (nrLSU), the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1-α), and the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (rpb2), were employed to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships between Otidea species. Results identified 16 species of Otidea, of which seven new species are described, namely O. aspera, O. cupulata, O. filiformis, O. khakicolorata, O. parvula, O. plicara and O. purpureobrunnea. Otidea bicolor and O. pruinosa are synonymized as O. subpurpurea. Two species, O. mirabilis and O. nannfeldtii, are being reported for the first time in China. The occurrence of O. bufonia, O. leporina and O. onotica are confirmed by molecular data in China.


This paper presents an distributed consensus formation control using recurrent fuzzy wavelet neural networks (RFWNN) for a group of heterogeneous mobile three-Swedish-wheeled omnidirectional robots (TSWORs) with uncertainties. The dynamic behavior of each TSWOR is modelled by a three-input-three-output second-order state equation and the multirobot system is modeled by a directed graph. By online learning the system uncertainties using RFWNN and using the Lyapunov stability theory, an intelligent adaptive distributed consensus formation control approach is presented to carry out formation control in the presence of heterogeneity and uncertainties. Simulations are conducted to show the effectiveness and merits of the proposed method.


This paper presents a method to predict the harmonic current level of traction system with phase-controlled DC motor drives by Monte Carlo simulation. Based on the behavioral modeling technique (BMT), a model for electrical unit of traction is proposed. The probability density functions (PDF) of speed and notch numbers are obtained from long-term field measurement. The mean and variance of harmonic current of a single electrical unit is obtained based on the speed PDF and traction electrical unit model. The results of Monte Carlo simulation are in good accordance with the experimental and analytical conclusions. The harmonics of a different number of trains are systematically investigated. It is shown the total harmonic distortion decreases with the increase of the number of trains and the harmonic current per train decreases with the train number because of the harmonic cancellation.


Background: The novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has affected the world at large. To control the spread of the virus, the Government of India promoted simple measures such as social distancing and hand hygiene. Yet, the most prominent one was a strict nationwide lockdown on all non-essential services and complete curtailment of the public transport. Objective: Our study aims to quantify the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures on the pediatric services of a tertiary care center in North India. Materials and Methods: A retrospective observational study was done to analyze the change in our outpatient visits, admissions, and number of institutional deliveries, immunization services, pediatric surgeries, and mortality rates during the lockdown period when compared to the pre-lockdown period. Data of all children aged 0–12 years who presented to the pediatric medicine and pediatric surgery departments were collected. Data were divided into two groups; January 1, 2020–March 31, 2020 and April 1, 2020–June 30, 2020. Results: There was a reduction of 79.1% OPD attendance and 70.8% in immunization visits. Inpatient admission in pediatrics medicine and surgery decreased by 59.8% and 67.6%, respectively. The mortality rate increased from 11.8% to 13% and 7.6% to 19.6%, respectively. Emergency area visits decreased by 55.3% with an increase in mortality rate from 2.4% to 6.2%. Intramural births decreased by 55.4%. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unmet need of pediatric services. This requires urgent management or else it may halt the progress made in different aspects of health care.


Tc-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (Tc-99m DMSA) is often used to evaluate renal cortical anatomy and differential renal function. The authors describe a DMSA scan that showed extrarenal uptake that strongly suggested a supernumerary kidney. However, a subsequent Tc-99m MAG3 renogram revealed a laterally deviated bladder, a novel differential for an apparent pelvic kidney concentratina DMSA.


The study involved 55 children with respiratory disorders aged 6 to 11 years living in the area of influence of exogenous chemical factors. The identification f the marker of cell differentiation CD127-, the level of expression of the Bcl-2 protein, the TNFR receptor was carried out by flow cytometry. Phagocytic activity of cells was studied using formalinized sheep erythrocytes. The IgG content was determined by th method of radial immunodiffusion. The level of beta2-microglobulin was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The functional state of the respiratory system was assessed by spirometry and rhinomanometry methods. Functional reserves were determined by calculating the Skibinskaya index. The prevalence of allergic diseases in the examined children was higher. The allergic rhinitis was diagnosed more often rather than in the comparison group. The prevalence of bronchial asthma, clinical signs of chronic lymphoproliferative diseases significantly exceeded the level of children in the comparison group. Changes in immune reactivity were established relative to the comparison group manifested in an increase in the percentage of phagocytic cells, beta2-microglobulin protein, IgG, CD127-, TNFR, and specific IgG to aluminum. Inhibition of Bcl-2 protein expression was recorded (p <0.05). In children living in the area of influence of exogenous chemical factors, more often than in children of the comparison group, respiratory diseases with an allergic component were diagnosed, reliably associated with the contamination of biological media with aluminum compounds. Immunological examination revealed an imbalance between the humoral and cellular links of immunity: overproduction of specific IgG to aluminum, overexpression of proteins and receptors – beta2-microglobulin, IgG, CD127-, TNFR and Bcl-2 deficiency, which reflects the state of cellular immunodeficiency and the likelihood of allergic manifestations.


"Wu Men Poetry",written by Fa Shishan in Qing Dynasty,was to study the Qian Jia poetry with the po-et's idea of the important documents."Piling Seven",as a regional group,was listed in the "Wu Men Poetry".However,"Seven" didn't appear in this Poetry.It may be related to the bar on the right literary inquisition."Seven" appeared in the Poetry in the dispersion,frequency roughly in line with each profile.Fa Shishan's election was recorded for seven people of good poetry,the angles were different,but the overall evaluation was very accurate,and affected later studies."Seven" have occurred in Poetry,which related to Fa Shishan's wide friends circle,as well as "Seven"'s joining in the chorus frequently.It's the power display of this literate group.


Photovoltaics' (PV's) are widely preferred in electricity generation market in recent years. However many parameters effect solar power generation such as irradiance, temperature, humidity etc. Therefore, solar power generation forecasting is quite significant to plan and manage energy distribution. In this study, a novel methodology called Mycielski-Markov is utilized to forecast solar power generation for short term period. This novel hybrid method is developed based on two different techniques; Mycielski signal processing technique and probabilistic Markov chain. Mycielski investigates the data history and finds the recurrence of the solar radiation data. It predicts the next data due to the recurrence in a deterministic way. On the other hand, Markov produces the transition probabilities of the solar energy states and forecast new state according to these probabilities. It is obtained that, the methods in proposed hybrid hierarchy; provide a good forecasting accuracy with a 0.87 correlation of determination value.


Surface enhanced Raman scattering was discovered over 30 years ago, when it was noted that the usually weak molecular Raman scattering cross section was increased by orders of magnitude in the vicinity of metal surfaces. [ 1 , 2 ] Despite the early reports of single-molecule detection, [ 3 ] the promise of the technique as the basis for portable chemical sensors has not been fully realized. The reason for this gap between the science and the engineering of SERS lies in the formidable nanofabrication challenges it poses, which is the need to prepare large numbers of very small yet highly controlled "hot spots" as the sensing device. The need for "hot spots" arises because the SERS enhancement is composed of an electromagnetic effect and a chemical (or resonance) enhancement, with the electromagnetic effect being responsible for the majority of the enhancement. The "hot spots" are the manifestations of this fi eld enhancement, occurring only for select plasmonic materials. [ 4 ] Modeling studies of the electromagnetic effect indicate that dimerized plasmonic metal structures offer a signifi cantly higher electromagnetic fi eld enhancement than isolated structures, with the maximum fi elds occurring in the gap between the structures. [ 5 , 6 ] The fi eld enhancement dependence on the gap size is highly nonlinear: it becomes signifi cant when the gap is less than ∼ 10 nm, and then rises steeply with decreasing gap size. The importance of the small gap size on signal strength has been confi rmed experimentally. [ 7 , 8 ] While the SERS effect may be very high in a localized volume of the order of a few nm 3 , the probability that target analyte molecules adsorb there is very small. [ 9 ] Consequently, practical SERS-based sensors require the engineering of a very large number of such "hot spots" over areas that are at least a few mm 2 . Small interparticle spacing with a large number of metal particles has been realized for SERS experiments performed in nanoparticle solutions, which have been "activated" by electrolyte-induced aggregation. [ 10 ] However, solution-based


We present results of ultrascaled double-gate MOSFET operation and performance obtained from a new self-consistent particle-based quantum Monte Carlo (MC) approach. The simulation of quantum transport along the source-drain direction is based on the Wigner transport equation and the mode-space approximation of multi subband description. An improved method for correctly reproducing the Wigner function in the phase space by means of pseudo-particles is proposed. Our approach includes scattering effects for a two-dimensional (2-D) electron gas via standard MC algorithm. Detailed comparisons with both ballistic nonequilibrium Green's function and semiclassical multi subband Monte Carlo approaches show the ability of this Wigner transport model to incorporate correctly quantum effect into particle ensemble Monte Carlo simulation together with accurate description of scattering. This study of 6-nm-long MOSFET emphasizes the prevalent contribution of source-drain tunneling in subthreshold regime and the significant effect of quantum reflections in on-state. The influence of scattering in both the source access region and the gated part of the channel appears to be of prime importance for the correct evaluation of the on-state current, even for such small device in which the fraction of ballistic electrons is high


Hypothesis: The ecological theory of adaptive radiation predicts divergent morphological adaptations to different environments, and different evolutionary trait utilities in varying environments. Organism: Darwin's Small Ground Finch (Geospiza fuliginosa). Times and places: Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Archipelago, in two study areas of different habitat type: highland forest (c. 500 m elevation) and lowland arid zone (c. 50 m elevation). The two contiguous populations of Darwin's finches were separated by a flight distance of 18 km. Data were collected from both study areas between November and March in the years 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004. Analytical methods: This natural experiment examined two contiguous populations for evidence of the first phase of speciation, namely adaptive divergence in morphological parameters between environments. We used mist-netting to capture and then measure birds between habitat types, and observational methods to record foraging behaviour. Foraging behaviour was recorded as a single observation per bird that was observed along transects through the study plots. Morphology data for beak and foot dimensions were analysed separately, and as principal components factor scores, and were compared between habitats and years. Results: Birds in the lowlands of Santa Cruz Island differed significantly from birds in the highlands in foot dimensions (longer foot and claws) and beak size (shorter beak). Lowland birds spent more time foraging on the ground, and used the foraging techniques of picking and chipping at prey with their beak, and scratching the ground with their feet, whereas highland birds tended to forage in low vegetation, sliding their longer beaks through vegetation to remove seeds. This study is the first to document adaptive divergence in clinal populations of Darwin's finches. These findings highlight the role that adaptive response to ecological gradients has over relatively short distances in contiguous populations. The findings also generate testable hypotheses about species richness in lineages that show morphological differences within clines.


Part I: Contributions. 1. Material Structure, Description and Applications. 2. Scaling, Fracture and Applications. 3. Structures and Structural Components. 4. Numerics, Simulation Techniques and Design Processes. 5. Porous and Granular Media. 6. Fracture, Fatigue. Part II: Synthetic Papers and Round Table Discussions. Round Tables.


Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. Very Low Immunization Rate in Kidney Transplant Recipients After One Dose of the BNT162b2 Vaccine: Beware not to Lower the Guard! Hélène Georgery, MD, Arnaud Devresse, MD, Jean-Cyr Yombi, MD, Leila Belkhir, MD, PhD, Julien De Greef, MD, Tom Darius, MD, PhD, Antoine Buemi, MD, Anais Scohy, PharmD, Benoit Kabamba, MD, Eric Goffin, MD, and Nada Kanaan, MD


Three eudesmanolides, barrelierin (1), artemalin (2) and barrelin (3), isolated from aerial parts of Artemisia barrelieri, and desoxyvulgarin (4) obtained from barrelin by reduction with zinc and acetic acid, reduced carrageenan‐induced rat paw oedema. The results show that the α‐methylene γ‐lactone group is not essential for the antiinflammatory effect, but variations in the molecular structure of these sesquiterpene lactones may enhance or diminish the antiinflammatory effect.


RWE, owner ofnpower, is planning to invest heavily in the future of coal burning with proposals for 4000 MW of new clean coal plant at Tilbury and Blyth, in the UK.


yield, price and cost variations O.A. Kobzar* M.A.P.M. van Asseldonk R.B.M. Huirne 5 In this study farm revenue variability is analysed within and between farms. Within-farm analysis is conducted by examination the variance-covariance structure of revenue components (i.e. yields and prices). Between-farm analysis refers to farm revenue variability that is affected by differences in business and financial characteristics. The method is applied to a panel data set of 109 Dutch arable 10 farms based on the period 1990-1999 including nine major crops. The within-farm results show that the coefficients of variation (CV) of prices exceeded CV values of yields. A high number of the within-farm correlation coefficients were significant (75 out of 144) for both price-price and yield-yield correlations. Positive yield correlations were most frequently observed. Negative price correlations were found only between cereal crops and root crops. 15 Negative correlation values were observed only between yield and price of the same crops. Cereals have lower yield-price correlation compared to the root crops. In overall the variance-covariance structure differed substantially between farms. The results have considerable impact on farm portfolio analysis, where usually within-farm variability of crops is ignored. Between-farm analysis indicated that the geographical location, farmer's age, farmer's education level and variable cost 20 had significant impact on revenue variability. The leverage ratio, off-farm income and land area were also significant and had inverse relations with the total farm revenue variability.


The super edge-connectivity of a graph is an important parameter to measure fault-tolerance of interconnection networks. This note shows that the Kautz undirected graph is super edge-connected,and provides a short proof of Lue and Zhang's result on super edge-connectivity of the de Bruijn undirected graph.


Complications following lateral retroperitoneal transpsoas lumbar fusion (LLIF) surgery include femoral nerve apraxia, bowel/bladder injury, ureteral injury, and potentially, as illustrated in this case report, Guillain-Barré syndrome. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an autoimmune inflammatory condition that typically presents after infection, or, less frequently, post-operatively. We report a case of GBS following elective lumbar fusion through the lateral retroperitoneal transpsoas approach (LLIF). A 56-year-old patient presented with left lower extremity (LLE) weakness on post-operative day 12. EMG showed bilateral upper extremity muscle recruitment, worse distally. Following a treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), the patient gradually improved, and her condition was favorable at 6-month post-operative follow-up. CSF analysis and EMG should be part of the workup for patients presenting with lower extremity neuropathy following LLIF.


Funding success: who's doing what? Recent awards page 8 Modern Information Retrieval. Is it any good? Book review page 5


The condition of fatigue during labor has received little attention for meditative intervention, so it is important in suppressing the adverse effects of fatigue during labor on the mother and fetus, and preventing the incidence of maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity. The purpose of the study to determine the handling of fatigue using watermelon juice in maternal mothers. Anaerobic fatigue was measured using blood lactic acid values, and Visual Analoque Scale-Fatique (VAS-F) quetioner from 68 respondents were divided into 2 groups: treatment and control group were selected concencutive sampling.  Measurement of blood lactate level was performed 2x at before and after treatment. Data analysis was using univariate and bivariate by dependent T test. The results showed that there were significant differences between lactate levels before and after treatment and control group (.003). The VAS-Fatique analysis resulted  the difference in fatigue experienced stage 1 (.015) and  fatigue experienced 24 hour post partum (.001) is lower treatment group compared with the control group. In conclusion, watermelon juice is effective as fatigue handling in maternal mothers, it is recommended that watermelon juice be given to the mother during normal delivery


The high level of mechanical accuracy in the wire location represents one of the main characteristics of the MDT chambers. The -ray measurements performed at CERNX have certified this accuracy; almost all the measured chambers have n r.m.s. respect to athe nominal position below 20 µm. It has been also observed that, leaving free, in the fit to the measured wire grid, few global parameters, like the relative distance, the rotation and the angle between multilayers (chamber mechanicalparameters), we can obtain a substantial improvement (up to -7 µm) in the wire r.m.s. that can boost the ultimate5 precision of the Atlas muon spectrometer. This is due to the better accuracy that can be obtained, at the construction level, in the wire location inside a multilayer respect to the relative positioning of one multilayer respect to the other. More sophisticated approaches [1] trying to obtain single wire positions from mechanical measurements, offer only a marginal improvement respect to the few parameters fit and are much more difficult to perform. Only a small (10-15%) fraction of all MDTs can be -ray inspected at the CERNX Tomograph [2], but all the chambers are expected to be certified in a cosmic rays stand. We can therefore try to optimize the chamber geometrical parameters from the analysis of the cosmic rays data. It will also be possible to perform the same analysis during the Atlas commissioning period with cosmic rays or during low luminosity runs. In this way we will be able to improve the performance of the spectrometer checking the quality of all detectors. The aim of this note is the Monte Carlo evaluation of the performance of a simple cosmic rays test facility, looking in particular to the resolution that can be obtained in the measurements of the chamber geometrical parameters. In section 2 we will describe the set up and the chamber simulation. In section 3 we will validate the simulation and the track reconstruction procedure using high-energy muons, comparing the results with H8 experimental data taken in the 2002. In section 4 the same analysis will be performed with the cosmic rays simulation. Finally section 5 will deal with the


Thepurposeofthispaperistohighlightthesocialhistoryofthe Romanian Academy in order to build an overview of the continuities and discontinuities between the pre-communist, communist and post-communist periods. The study analyses the RA and other research institutions which support the birth of groups around objectives related to their specific activities or intellectual interests, which emerge due to contextual related politicalobjectives.Itattachedspecialimportancetotheevolutionofsciences according to the place occupied in the RA, especially the social sciences and in order to show the two facets of this traditional institution, instance of consecration and place for scientific production. The first section of this paper (I) deals with the history of the Romanian Academyfromitsverybeginning(the19 th century)totheeveoftheWorld WarIIinordertopresenttheevolutionoftheRAfroma"literarysociety" to a "national institute" and the initiatives to become a framework for research and not only an institution for consecration. Ever since the creation of the national state, in which the language and the local history playedanimportantpart,theRomanianAcademybelongedtothenational state project. Hence the members of theAcademy were consecrated as the best among the nation. Relations between representatives of various types ofcultureshowthatthereisasymbolicunbalancebetweenthehumanities (e.g.philosophy,history,literarystudies,theArts)andthepreoccupations of those who claimed for them the authority of science. The objective is to see the institutional dynamics in the field of humanities and the evolution towards the establishment of research institutions in Romania.


The proposal that the movement of transition states on potential energy surfaces is controlled by the geometry of the surface is examined by use of a nonchemical, mathematical model of surfaces. We conclude that the chemical rules of Thornton, Jencks, and More O'Ferrall for predicting TS movement have an underlying geometrical origin. The model permits ready visualization of the rules for predicting TS movement, and the model facilitates predicting TS movement for surfaces in which the saddle point lies off the diagonals connecting the corners of the surface.


Not surprisingly, we originally intended that the last word on our A–Z supplement series should come under 'Z'. However, we did not anticipate the attention provided to a topic that we had overlooked under 'P', namely peptides. Some peptides—technically defined as chains of amino acids of lengths ranging from 2 to 50—can be considered nutrients. Indeed, there is now increased recognition that some proteins in our diet (eg, milk proteins) are broken down and absorbed in such fragments, exerting biological effects of their own in addition to their contribution to the body's amino acid pool. However, it is synthetic peptides that have become a major talking point in sport, due to publicity in 2013 regarding their alleged use in some professional football codes in Australia as part of a 'supplement scheme'. These products include chemicals that have been registered in clinical trials as potential secretagogues of growth hormone. Whether some of these products are unapproved medicines or supplements found on websites targeting body builders has become blurred. Because of the apparent confusion and controversy over such products, we have invited a special editorial on the topic.

### Peptides Editorial

#### NA Burd

The production of sport nutrition foods (or parts of foods) and supplements to improve athletic performance, image or health for the consumer is a multibillion dollar industry. Within the broad supplement spectrum are the protein and/or free-form amino acid-based supplements. Research substantiating the efficacy of these supplements …


The mathematical model of Internet of things is a scientific or engineering model constructed by using mathematical logic method and mathematical language. In order to solve the various practical problems in the Internet of things engineering system, it is necessary to apply different methods and algorithms to establish various corresponding mathematical models of the Internet of things system. Based on the application of the Internet of things, this paper discusses the structure of the mathematical model of the Internet of things, the types of the model, the basic criteria for establishing the model, and the process and steps of the model establishment. The method discussed in this paper is of great significance and value to the application and expansion of the Internet of things system.


The article deals with the problems of defining the subject of the crime covered by the Article 255 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that violations of the rules of protection and use of mineral resources are widely distributed, but the criminal cases under Article 255 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are initiated very rarely. One of the reasons for this is the difficulty of determining the subject of the crime, and as a result there are no grounds for a criminal case. The examples of the practical work are used in the article.


Porous anatase titania that is attractive to its notable functions for photo catalysis and photon-electron transfer. A method for producing the porous anatase titania at low temperature is with dissolving of a titanium alkoxide in a methanol to give a titanium alkoxide solution, adding a mixed solution containing water, nitric acid catalyst and a methanol to the titanium alkoxide solution to perform hydrolysis and simultaneous polymerization to give a polymer solution (gel). The solvent in wet gels was super critically extracted in CO{sub 2} at 60{sup o}C and 22 Mpa. Thermal evolution of the microstructure of the gels were evaluated by TGA-DTA, N{sub 2}, adsorption, TEM and XRD. A porous titania, which has an anatase-form crystalline structure, an anatase-form particle diameter about 4 nm, average pore diameter of 13 nm, a BET specific surface area of 195 m{sup 2}/g and a total pore volume of 0.55 cm{sup 3}/g was obtained as prepared condition. The transformation of anatase phase to rutile phase occurred at 600{sup o}C.


We investigated an imaging method by nanoscale localization sampling (NLS) to break an optical diffraction limit. NLS is a technique based on locally amplified hot spots occurred by surface plasmon localization on nanohole arrays.


Strange type of rainfall effect is found in our continuous observations on a shallow well, that sudden rise of water level always follows the beginning of severe rainfall. Raised level is maintained for some time and then begins to show gradual rise with advancing of infiltrating water. It is noted that the former sudden rise always reached a definit amount, viz. about 6 mm. This fact may be explained by propagation of increasing pressure in soil air controlled with escaping process of air bubbles through the subsurface water continuous region. 1. Observed results of rainfall effects Effects of rainfall on the water table are generally illustrated as gradual rises somewhat later to the beginnings of rainfall. Such delays were often regarded as depending on time taken by infiltration from surface to the water table. Water level in an observed shallow well also shows similar effect in most cases of usual rainfall. It starts to rise 0.5 to 2 hours later to the beginning of rainfall (see Fig. 1). It is noted, however, that a strange type of rainfall


Combined with the cultural background of spatial-temporal concepts in Chinese and Western architectures,the author studies the formation of the spatial-temporal concepts,discusses the erect and upward architectural spatial concept in Western countries,and illustrates the spatial-temporal concepts the axle line of Chinese buildings,in order to help people better know the spatial-temporal concepts in Chinese and Western architectural culture.


Objectives : To estimate the value of the Gyungokgo as therapeutic agent preventing against aging with an analysis of the ingredients and the bio-activating effects by enzymologic methods. Methods : A quantitative analysis of general ingredients' of the Gyungokgo's extract was done first. The effects on electronic donating ability, SOD-like activity, nitric oxide inhibition, xanthine oxidase inhibition, whitening effect have been investigated in the physiological activity measurement of function experiment. Results : The contained hydrolyzed amino acid is Valine, Aspartic acid, Arginine, Isoleucine and the contained free amino acid is Arginine, Phenylalanine, Valine, Glycine. The derivative of free amino acid is Phosphoserine, Carnocine, -Aminoisobutyric acid. And the Gyungokgo contains 14 species of minerals, K>Na>Ca>Mg>Fe>Al>Mn. Then, to assure of the Gyungokgo's anti-oxidation, these following subjects -polyphenol, electronic donating ability, SOD-like activity, nitric oxide inhibition, xanthine oxidase inhibition, tyrosinase inhibation- are analyzed and show high activity especially the most in chloroform extracts, (every ingredients written by the order of high amount) Conclusions : The Gyungokgo contains many materials functioning as anti-oxidation, neurotransmitter, anti-fatigue and immune agent.


Are those with a high-quest orientation to religion less likely to help a person if that person's behavior violates their values of open-mindedness and tolerance? If so, is it because they have antipathy toward the person or toward the behavior? To answer these questions, sixty undergraduate women were given the opportunity to help either of two same-sex peers win a monetary prize. About one peer, they knew nothing; from the other, they had received two self-disclosing notes. The first note either did or did not reveal that the discloser was intolerant of gays; the second revealed that the discloser wanted the money for an activity that either would or would not promote intolerance of gays. Participants scoring high on measures of quest religion helped the intolerant discloser less than the discloser who was not intolerant when their help would promote intolerance; they did not help the intolerant discloser less when their help would not promote intolerance. These results suggest that a high-quest orientation is associated with antipathy toward the value-violating behavior (intolerance), not toward the value-violating person. The scope of the associated compassion seems relatively broad.


The existence of clustered microcalcifications is one of the important early signs of breast cancer. This paper presents an image processing procedure for the automatic detection of clustered microcalcifications in digitized mammograms. In particular, a sensi- tivity range of around one false positive per image is targeted. The proposed method consists of two main steps. First, possible micro- calcification pixels in the mammograms are segmented out using wavelet features or both wavelet features and gray level statistical features, and labeled into potential individual microcalcification ob- jects by their spatial connectivity. Second, individual microcalcifica- tions are detected by using the structure features extracted from the potential microcalcification objects. The classifiers used in these two steps are feedforward neutral networks. The method is applied to a database of 40 mammograms (Nijmegen database) containing 105 clusters of microcalcifications. A free response operating character- istics curve is used to evaluate the performance. Results show that the proposed procedure gives quite satisfactory detection perfor- mance. In particular, a 93% mean true positive detection rate is achieved at the price of one false positive per image when both wavelet features and gray level statistical features are used in the first step. © 1999 SPIE and IS&T. (S1017-9909(99)00701-1)


Within the framework of South East European Development Network on Plant Genetic Resources program, collecting missions in twelve countries were conducted under the regional project " Collecting local landraces of maize and cereals (wheat, barley, rye, oat, millet and buckwheat) in South Eastern Europe (20092010)". The main goal of this project was preservation of local landraces of maize and cereals in the participating countries with the aim to make them available for breeding, research and other purposes at national, regional and international level. The project participants were the national teams from Macedonia (as project coordinator), Federation Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania, Republic of Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, Albania, Serbia, Slovenia, Moldova and Bulgaria. Each national team carried out the collecting missions in its own country. During 2009 and 2010, over 589 localities were inventoried in the predicted regions. The result of the project was a total number of 867 maize and cereals accessions collected. Maize prevailed with the total number of 637 collected accessions (73.47% ), followed by 47 wheat accessions (5.42%), then barley 43 (5.07%), rye 40 (4.61%), oat 52 (5.99%), millet 8 (0.92%), buckwheat 9 (1.02%) and other species (Sorghum sp., Triticum monococcum, Triticum spelta, Triticum turanicum, einkorn) 31 accessions (3.58%). Regarding the status of the samples, accessions are mainly landraces, which are still grown by some farmers and used as a source of high quality animal and human food.


In this paper, I want to argue-with certain qualifications-that there cannot be any vague identities, and to outline reasons for scepticism about the view that the world contains vague objects. I also argue that, even if there were vague identities, this would lend no support to the vague-objects view. 1. What would constitute a defence of the vague-identity thesis? It would be an example in which a sentence of numerical identity is indeterminate in truth-value (i.e., neither true nor false), where the indeterminacy is due to vagueness. (Thus we are not concerned with identity sentences whose indeterminacy is due, e.g., to referencefailure or to cross-category identification.) It seems clear that there are such examples: where the vagueness of an identity is a consequence of the vagueness of one or both of its singular terms. For example, the singular term 'the world's greatest ruler' is vague because of the vagueness of the predicate '. . . great ruler'. This predicate is vague, not because it lacks sharp boundaries, but because of its multi-criterial application conditions. Many different factors contribute to the greatness of a ruler-wisdom, fortitude, diplomacy, prudence, etc.,-and the rules of our language do not fix in advance what weight to assign to each factor. Because of this vagueness, the singular term 'the world's greatest ruler' has no determinate reference: it is vague which person it singles out. (Though, as Wiggins has emphasised, from the fact that it is vague which object a term singles out, it does not follow that it singles out something vague.)' Consequently, an utterance of, e.g., 'the world's greatest ruler was the world's wisest ruler' is a plausible example of a vague identity.2


To the Editor: We report an acute allergic reaction to an infusion of dipyridamole. A 56-year-old man was referred for myocardial scintigraphy. He had no history of asthma or diabetes mellitus. His...


The role of the International Convention on Plant Protection (IPPC) that aims to limit the pests spread and avoidance of economic losses in agriculture and forestry is discussed. With the acceptance of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and later of the Bernen Convention new categories of harmful organisms such as alien species and invasive alien species were established. These species are a serious threat for agriculture, forestry and the environmental integrity. General and specific problems are discussed concerning insects as invasive alien species.


Cloud computing reliability is an acute problem for the Cloud Computing Centers (CCC) operator. Although cloud computing is perceived as a reliable always on service, behind the scenes tens of thousands of general computing platforms, i.e., servers, operate under continuous load. These servers may fail due to either a component failure, or due to a software glitch. With the large number of servers and components in CCC, failure probability has significant impact on system performance. Such failures derive additional complexity on the CCC task management mechanism, as it is now required to handle both admission of new tasks and preservation of existing tasks that their servers failed. The operational dilemmas of admission and preservation seem to be strongly coupled. If a new task is admitted and served by an available idle server, then that server cannot be used for preserving existing tasks in the event their server fails. Similarly, if a task is preserved upon the failure of its server, which requires the allocation of an idle server, then the idle server cannot be held for new arrivals. The admission and preservation decisions of the task management are not trivial, and require consideration of the system settings as well as future projections of the system behavior and the interplay between them. Thus, the CCC task management faces a tradeoff between admitting new tasks (which will be beneficial in the immediate future) versus keeping certain number of servers idle for future failures (which will be beneficial in the long run). In this paper we construct a new modeling framework which provides a holistic optimization scheme for the combined problems of new task admission and existing task preservation. We base our model on a queuing-loss multi-server system with failures and address the optimal operation of the CCC. We formulate a cost minimization problem, based on a reward and cost model. Based on this formulation, we evaluate the optimal policy of the combined admission/rejection and preservation/dropping decisions using a Markov Decision Process (MDP). For the problem composition as an MDP, we construct and analyze a new operator: the preservation operator. Our analysis reveals that despite the complexity of the system, the problem simplifies as the decision rules can be decoupled. We first show that the optimal admission and preservation rules are based on a double switchingcurve. We then prove that, unexpectedly, the two rules can be effectively be decoupled. That is, we show that the problem can be reduced to a set of problems, in each of which one rule is of a switching-curve type and the other rule takes the trivial form. The outcome of our analysis enables us to derive a simple policy based on the system cost-structure, which simplifies the CCC management. This is due to the fact that task management is now based only on a single rule. Hence, our scheme significantly simplifies the task management operation as it eliminates the need for complex real-time mechanisms.


We present a new algorithm for computing the ideal class group of an imaginary quadratic order which is based on the multiple polynomial version of the quadratic steve factoring algorithm. Although no formal analysis is given, we conjecture that our algorithm has sub-exponential complexity, and computational experience shows that it is significantly faster in practice than existing algorithms.


: Smarandache presented and built up the new idea of Neutrosophic concepts from the Neutrosophic sets. A.A. Salama presented Neutrosophic topological spaces by utilizing the Neutrosophic sets. Point of this paper is we present and concentrate the ideas Neutrosophic Weakly Generalized Closed Set in Neutrosophic topological spaces and its Properties are talked about subtleties


Using papers submitted to an international conference on economics held in Sweden in 2008, we analyze how gender, as well as other characteristics of the authors and reviewers, affects the grading of these papers by the reviewers. Correcting for other variables, including the country and research field, as well as the academic level of the author, we focus on the difference in grades between blind and non-blind review treatments. We find that non-blind reviewing has little effect, and there is no significant evidence of gender discrimination. Furthermore, we do not find any significant difference between the average grading by female and male reviewers.


ABSTRACT Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has emerged as a response to Europe's calls for increasing plurilingualism, due to its dual-focused approach which aims to foster and consolidate both non-language subject matter and language learning. As the approach becomes more widespread, more resources become available to help teachers facing new methodological challenges. However, there are still wide gaps between the demand for CLIL teachers and the current levels of training and professional development available. In this paper, we review the research on the teacher training to acquire the linguistic competences on the foreign language as well as a particular bilingual methodology and professional development needs of CLIL teachers in Europe, and particularly in Spain. Findings show that teachers' professional development needs center around (1) the need for improvements to their language proficiency (particularly aural skills), (2) the need for methodological training in areas such as materials design as a response to the lack of materials particularly addressed to this methodology, (3) the opportunities to collaborate with others (e.g. coordinators and teaching assistants) in order to plan in advance the CLIL methodology that will be used in schools and (4) the need to create rubrics to assess in a transparent and efficient way.


The conditions necessary for a surgeon are four: first, he should be learned. Second, he should be expert. Third, he must be ingenious. Fourth, he should be able to adapt himself.

Guy de Chauliac. The art of surgery. 1363.

(The first European book on surgery)


Hypothesis / aims of study One in 500 people in the UK have Parkinson's and it has been demonstrated that patients are nearly five times more likely to meet the Rome Criterion for constipation than partner/career controls (odd ratio 4.80,95% CI 1.61-14.04), with constipationrelated problems causing daily concern for significant numbers of people. It has however been reported that there is a need for further research into optimal management regimens, including robust trials to provide an evidence-base for practitioners. The aim of this feasibility study is to develop appropriate methods for a randomized controlled trial of abdominal massage for the alleviation of symptoms of constipation and collect pilot data to inform sample size calculation within this patient population.


The effect of 10% or 20% Intralipid on lipid clearing enzymes, plasma lipids and apoproteins was investigated during the first 5 days after birth in 37 premature infants maintained on total parenteral nutrition; 21 infants received 20% and 16 received 10% Intralipid, respectively. Lipid was infused over a 20‐h period at rates of 1, 2 and 3 g/kg/day on consecutive days. Plasma lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity was low and increased significantly (p < 0.05) only during infusion of 3 g/kg/day in both groups of infants. Plasma lipolytic activity was generally not affected by the regimen orpreparation(10% or 20%) of Intralipid infused, except for higher (p < 0.05) levels at 3 g/kg/ day of 20% compared with prelipid infusion. Plasma triglyceride concentrations were similar after 10% or 20% Intralipid, whereas plasma total cholesterol was significantly higher during infusion of 2 and 3 g/ kg/day of 10% compared with 20% Intralipid. The efficient clearing of 20% Intralipid might be related to the lower lecithin: triglyceride ratio which is compatible with the low LCAT activity of premature infants.Apoprotein A‐J, apoprotein B, cholesterol, LCAT, plasma lipolytic activity, triglycerides


Bronchopulmonary C‐fiber induced pulmonary chemoreflex is a critical component of the respiratory defense reflex and characterized by cessation of inspiratory airflow (i.e., apnea) and increase of upper airway resistance (i.e., laryngeal closure). Our previous reports demonstrated that apneic response was attenuated following cervical spinal cord injury; however, it remained unclear whether the upper airway response of pulmonary chemoreflex was also influenced by spinal injury. Accordingly, the present study was designed to investigate the response of laryngeal function to bronchopulmonary C‐fiber activation following unilateral high‐cervical spinal cord contusion in rats. Adult Sprague–Dawley male rats were received laminectomy or unilateral contusion at C2 spinal cord using the MASCIS Impactor (height: 6.25 mm). The respiratory airflow and subglottal pressure in response to intra‐jugular capsaicin (1.5 μg/kg)‐induced pulmonary chemoreflex were measured under spontaneously breathing condition at 3 days, 2 weeks or 6 weeks following spinal surgery. The result demonstrated that high cervical contusion caused a long‐term reduction in the tidal volume without alteration of laryngeal resistance at three time points after injury. However, capsaicin‐induced increase of subglottal pressure was substantially attenuated in contused animals at 3 days post‐injury, and partially recovered at 2 and 6 weeks post‐injury. These results suggested that cervical spinal cord injury not only influence the breathing pattern but also impact the upper airway function. The attenuated laryngeal closure response may unfavorably reduce the ability to prevent inhaling irritants and cause the pulmonary pathological condition following cervical spinal cord injury.


Richard Newton inspired Berkeley's engineering faculty to come together and envision a way to maximize their collective impact on society. Ken Wagner, IEEE Design & Test's interviews editor, spoke with Newton about the resulting Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society. Newton's view is that the 21st century will be the "century of the engineer."


Scholars and researchers of international education frequently use data from large-scale cross-national studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a periodic international assessment consisting of cognitive, attitudinal, and sociodemographic measures conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Several components of PISA contain conventional Likert-type scales of psychological attitudes which are administered to students, parents, and school personnel in many nations. Secondary analysts of these attitudinal data, however, generally ignore the issue of cultural differences in response style or scale usage heterogeneity, leading to descriptive statistics and inferences that may be biased and misleading. In this paper I explore this issue several ways and illustrate the extent, consequences, and some possible solutions using data from PISA 2006.


Osteoporosis is a worldwide problem and mostly result from the age-dependent bone loss. Literatures show factors involved in bone loss, but impacts of that are not totally clarify. This study primary aimed to investigate whether basal metabolic rate and body composition affect bone mass in elderly and adult. Cross-sectional study was performed to collect the data set of bone mass, muscle mass, fat mass, and basal metabolic rate. The result showed that bone mass was highly correlate with basal metabolic rate (r = 0.979, 0.971; p = 0.000) and muscle mass (r = 0.947, 0.924; p = 0.000) in elderly and adult. Aged bone mass also related to fat mass. Bone mass in both age-groups were mostly influenced by basal metabolic rate (adjusted beta coefficients = 0.979, 0.971; p = 0.000). In conclusion, basal metabolic rate was correlate with bone mass and may be the factor affecting bone mass in both elderly and adult.


According to economic theory,the achievement of economic growth and the economic efficiency depends on the optimal distribution of resources.The determining factor in the allocation of resources is the power structure of the arrangements for the social system in addition to the market.This article holds that China's rural areas are undergoing"open village affairs democratic management",which is the innovative practice of the con- struction of the"incentive structure"that prosper the power of the rural economy in new era.Built on the basis of democracy,and the rural grassreots organizations which is adapted of the market-oriented new rural should be one of the important"incentive structure"which is promoting China's rural economy and the whole of China's na- tional economy growing.This article argues that it is"democratic management of village affairs transparency"that promotes the Pareto improvement of the rural powers,on the basis of the analysis of the history,current situation and existing problems of the"power resources"of the economic mainstay of the rural grassroots.At the grassroots level in rural areas,building the effective organizational systems under the relatively reasonable power structure, and expounded upon the basic framework of the power of the"incentive structure"which can flourish the rural e-conomy.


Aiming at the problem of traditional fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm that it is sensitive to the initial clustering centers and easy to fall into the local optimization,an improved algorithm that combines Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm with FCM algorithm is proposed.Depending on utilizing the global searching ability of Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm instead of the FCM algorithm,the new algorithm searches the initial cluster centers and escapes from the local optimization so as to achieve fuzzy clustering at last.Meanwhile,it mainly redesigns the fitness function from the perspective of compactness in intra-class and separation in inter-class.The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has a better effect on both the cluster validity indexes and clustering accuracy.


Background: Delay in seeking medical care is common and constitutes a major unresolved public health problem. It could contribute immensely to maternal mortality, especially in developing countries, where access and availability of functional health-care facility have remained a challenge. Objective: This study aimed at identifying the forms of delays encountered by pregnant women seeking antenatal care (ANC) services and also factors responsible for such delays. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among women attending antenatal care clinic of our hospital. Data were obtained through an interviewer-administered questionnaire and were analyzed by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 17. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 28.6 (standard deviation [SD] ± 5.44) years. About a third (31.5%) experienced Type II delays due to inaccessibility to the mode of transportation and traffic deadlock; while majority (77.1%) experienced intrahospital delays due to delay in retrieving cases notes, seeing an obstetrician, inadequate health personnel, and consulting rooms. The average waiting time was 3.1 ± 0.91 SD hours (188 min). The waiting time was not statistically associated with time of arrival to the clinic. Conclusion: Most women experience intrahospital delays while seeking ANC. Intervention by policymakers and adequate staffing coupled with provision of necessary health-care amenities will go a long way in reducing patients waiting time.


Abstract This article represents the first detailed examination of the Women's Social and Political Union's prayer campaign against and within the Church of England. It seeks to highlight the extent of the campaign, consider its representation, explain its purpose and establish its significance. In defining these interventions as acts of militancy, this article highlights the ongoing significance of non-violent forms of direct action even into the final months before the outbreak of war. It underscores the fact that much militancy in this period was not actually aimed at achieving the vote but offered both a way for women to reaffirm their commitment to one another and a means to challenge what they saw as social degradation and corruption within the Church and in wider society. The article also argues that the prayer campaign demonstrates a particular shared mindset–of divinely inspired righteousness and certainty–which also helps to account for the extreme use of force at this time. Suffragettes used Christ's example to justify and legitimate their efforts. As such, this article responds to a recent call for the need to take prayer and other religious acts seriously as political practices, considering their value as a form of militancy.


in the achievement of its immediate purposes. Though these pages add little to the established knowledge of Walpole and his policies, they offer an excellent critical appraisal of the nature and the results of his system, and a comprehensive survey of the factors, in the structure of society and.in the machinery of state, with which he had to deal. On the Pelham era, with its conflicts of personalities and its muddled and indecisive policies, the treatment is brief as to home affairs; but foreign affairs, which inevitably bulk large, are discussed with an understanding of fundamental issues which help to point a clear path through the tangle of eighteenth-century diplomacy. Above all, there is a clear recognition of the significance of colonial development. The period was a crucial one in imperial affairs, and oversea interests were fundamental both for England's domestic development and in the issues of foreign policy. Professor Williams shows a lively appreciation of this aspect of his subject. He makes evident the nature of the exploitation, not merely of the American colonies who gained something in return, but also of Ireland whose sufferings were almost without any compensating benefit. His narrative shows clearly that if the earlier part of this period laid the foundations for the triumphs of Pitt, it planted at the same time the seeds of dissension which led to the disruption of the empire. Sir John Marriott's study of colonial development, which covers the years from the age of exploration to the Statute of Westminster, is distinctly less critical in its approach. Without denying the occasional flaws in imperial policy, he prefers to minimize them where possible, and to dwell rather on the more inspiring aspects of imperial development. In consequence his book is at times less balanced in presentation than might be desired--for example, in his rather selective discussion of the origins of the Boer War. One could wish, too, a fuller appreciation of the colonial policy of the Restoration, and a clearer understanding of such things as the Boston tea party or the position of the Supreme Court of Canada. None the less, this is in many respects auseful survey, particularly in its attention to constitutional developments, not merely in imperial relations but within the Dominions themselves. It is true that Sir John tends to view certain of these developments with considerable alarm. As an old imperial [ederationist he cannot but regret the recent extensions of autonomy, and particularly the growing independence of the Dominions in foreign policy; and the appointment of Governors-General solely on Dominion advice seems to him "a change which may have mischievous consequences in the future." In such matters his interpretation will seem to many readers misguided if not actually misleading. He does, however, survey the chief stages in imperial development, and particularly in the development of the Commonwealth; and in that respect he offers a useful brief summary of this important theme. EnGAR MClNNIS


This paper describes the "ws-crR" diarization system developed by the team from the New Technologies for the Information Society (NTIS) research center of the University of West Bohemia (team "ZCU-NTIS"), for the First DIHARD Speech Diarization Challenge. Our system follows the currentlystandard approach of segmentation, i-vector extraction, clustering and resegmentation. Additionally, we use an ANN-based domain classifier, which categorizes each conversation into one of 10 domains (the 9 corpora from the development set, plus "other"). This classification determines the specific system configuration (expected number of speakers, stopping criterion, etc.). This "ws-crR" version of the system uses fixed-length segmentation (with overlap) and is mostly identical to our baseline system "ws-cr", only with the addition of a resegmentation step and with adult-child classification on the SEEDLingS corpus. This system achieves a DER of 26.90% and an MI of 8.34 bits on the evaluation set using gold segmentation (Track 1). In Track 2, DER of 45.78% and MI of 7.79 bits were achieved with our speech activity detector. 1 Differences from our other two systems This document describes the entire "ws-crR" system, including parts that are identical to our other two systems. For convenience, here we list the parts which are different: Compared to our most basic "ws-cr" system, both this and the "MH-crR" system perform resegmentation (section 3.6), use a different approach for SEEDLingS data (sections 2.5 and 3.7), and also include speech activity detection (sections 2.4, 3.2 and 4.5). Additionally, unlike the "MH-crR" system, this system uses segmentation with fixed segment length and with overlaps between neighboring segments (section 3.3). Finally, the total execution times (section 4.6) are different for each system.


A key driver for this research is the need for a better understanding of reservoir connectivity in the Sue Group in the Whicher Range area. Litho-stratigraphic correlations tend to over-estimate the lateral connectivity of reservoir sandstones. A sequence stratigraphic framework, based on modern concepts, uses key surfaces to subdivide succession into sequences and systems tracts of genetic stratigraphic units. This approach generates a more objective prediction of intervals with optimum reservoir connectivity. The aim of this project is to develop a geological reservoir model for the southern Perth Basin focussing on the tight gas sand Permian section of Whicher Range area. There are several deeply buried, tight gas sands reservoirs in the Perth Basin that have very low permeabilities. Such a geological reservoir model will be potentially beneficial for the reservoir development and production of Whicher Range area. However, the volume and quality of data actually available to construct this geological reservoir model are limited resulting in increased uncertainty than might otherwise be the case. The application of empirical relationships, and the comparison with modern analogues, greatly assists in generating an improved and more realistic model. The presences of stratigraphic traps that involve fluvial bodies in the Whicher Range Permian section are recognized.


Mining concept drifts is one of the most important fields in mining data streams. In this paper, a new ensemble algorithm called ICEA is proposed for mining concept drifts from data streams, which uses ensemble multi-classifiers to detect concept changes from the data streams in an incremental way. The experimental results show that ICEA algorithm performs higher accuracy and better adaptability than the popular methods such as SEA algorithm.


Guangdong suffered the strongest cold air process in the early November, 2009.This process had two characteristics of earlier outbreak and stronger intensity than normal.The result of circulation situation analysis shows that, the process followed the pattern of transverse trough downswing: the cold air accumulated in the areas of middle-high latitude due to the stable blocking high in Ural Mountain, then led by downswing of transverse trough, and finally blocked in the north of Nan-ling Mountain.The vertical structure analysis of cool air mass reveals itself to be a shallow system no higher than the 850-hPa level but becoming stronger after accumulation.The cloudy and rainy weather also means that the sharp temperature drop mostly result from the cold advection.


C6H6Cl2HgN2O, triclinic, P1 (no. 2), a = 3.8750(1) Å, b = 8.7240(3) Å, c = 13.9420(5) Å, = 107.06(5)°, = 95.90(5)°, = 95.22(5)°, V = 444.5 Å, Z = 2, Rgt(F) = 0.044, wRref(F) = 0.129, T = 173 K. Source of material Dichloro(pyridine-2-carbaldoxime)mercury(II) was formed by reacting of pyridine-2-carbaldoxime as ligand (0.34 g, 2.7 mmol) with mercury(II) chloride (0.4 g, 1.4 mmol) in methanol (4 ml) at 45 °C. After a week colorless crystals were obtained (m.p. 210 °C). Discussion The title compound, HgCl2[C5NH4]CHNOH, exists in the solid state with the Hg atom linked by bridging N atoms. Our attention was drawn to potentially coordinating pyridine-2-carbaldoxime ligand, recorded initially as forming mononuclear complex manganese(II) and zinc(II) salts [1]. In the present research, a 1:1 mercury(II) chloride/pyridine-2-carbaldoxime complex was synthesized. The pyridine-2-carbaldoxime ligand in this complex is coordinating via N atoms. There is a significant difference between Hg—N1 (2.363(6) Å) and Hg—N2 (2.524(7) Å) bond lengths. However, the distances are in the range of 2.106 Å to 2.800 Å reported for Hg—N bond lengths [2-5]. The valence bond angles around the metal atom are 101.4(2)°, 93.0(2)°, 67.5(2)° and 134.10(7)° respected to N1–Hg–Cl1, N2–Hg–Cl2, N1–Hg–N2 and Cl1–Hg–Cl2. The complex is insoluble in dichloromethane, chloroform, water, acetone and acetonitrile, which indicates that it can be a good tool for removing mercury from industrial residual. Z. Kristallogr. NCS 220 (2005) 613-614 613 © by Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, München Crystal: colorless prism, size 0.05 × 0.05 × 0.05 mm Wavelength: Mo K radiation (0.71073 Å) : 178.62 cm−1 Diffractometer, scan mode: Nonius KappaCCD, 2 max: 60.1° N(hkl)measured, N(hkl)unique: 2598, 2597 Criterion for Iobs, N(hkl)gt: Iobs > 2 (Iobs), 2370 N(param)refined: 110 Programs: SIR92 [6], SHELXL-97 [7], PLATON [8] Table 1. Data collection and handling. H(1O) 2i 0.1501 0.8056 0.5202 0.045 H(1) 2i 1.0544 0.8453 0.9257 0.025 H(2) 2i 1.1710 0.6085 0.9617 0.029 H(3) 2i 0.9484 0.3586 0.8437 0.028 H(4) 2i 0.6170 0.3504 0.6905 0.029 H(6) 2i 0.3489 0.4975 0.5791 0.026 Table 2. Atomic coordinates and displacement parameters (in Å). Atom Site x y z Uiso


Partial information decomposition (PID) separates the contributions of sources about a target into unique, redundant, and synergistic components of information. In essence, PID answers the question of "who knows what" of a system of random variables and hence has applications to a wide spectrum of fields ranging from social to biological sciences. The paper presents MaxEnt3D_Pid, an algorithm that computes the PID of three sources, based on a recently-proposed maximum entropy measure, using convex optimization (cone programming). We describe the algorithm and its associated software utilization and report the results of various experiments assessing its accuracy. Moreover, the paper shows that a hierarchy of bivariate and trivariate PID allows obtaining the finer quantities of the trivariate partial information measure.


Disinformation is regarded as an act that involves concocting and spreading deliberately information that is not true with the aim of causing harm and threat to the intended targets. The central theme in disinformation is that the spreader is fully aware the information or news item is false but shares to achieve a specific objective of injuring the reputation of someone, institution, groups, or country. Disinformation is misleading information that has the function of misleading someone (Fallis 2015). This means disinformation deals with publishing misleading information and the source/publisher derives gains from the information disorder. It must be said that disinformation is as old as man but has assumed more prominent space in recent times because of its destructive and devastating effects on the society, following the introduction of digital technology. Wardle and Derakhshan (2017) state that 'disinformation including misinformation has gained ground in the community of activists, scholars, and non profit apologists attempting to understand and mitigate these conditions.' In addition, renewed interest of scholars among others has led to further interrogation of the concept and practice of disinformation. he study examines the dynamics of disinformation in electoral violence in Nigeria. Many studies have been done on role of disinformation in electoral violence in the Western world, yet the role of disinformation in electoral violence remains understudied in Nigeria. This is the gap the study intends to fill. Data for the study are collected from archives, newspapers, journals, books and internets sources including social media platforms – Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram which are analysed qualitatively using historical approach. The study interrogates the change and continuity in the role of disinformation in electoral violence from the era of traditional media to the emergence of digital technology, 1964 to 2019. The study also suggests measure to tackle the menace posed by disinformation, especially in the Nigerian political space. ABSTRACT


This article presents a usage of IPV4 and IPV6 legitimate tending to for an Organization Network, Various configurtions done in this system are Access Control Lists(ACL's) for an Internet Service Provider (ISP) switch associated with edge Router of an organsitation Network to obstruct a few administrations from our Network to outside web which is associated with ISP switch and system address translation(NAT) to be done in edge switch of an association. Virtual LAN's (VLAN's) 15,25,35,88 to be done in each switch of an association. Time Delay has been determined to ping from same VLAN's, Different VLAN's and between IPV4 &IPV6 systems utilizing CISCO PACKET TRACER 7


Using Faddeev-Jackiw quantization, we find an alternative way to treat the zero-mode problem in light-cone quantum field theory, e.g., two-dimensional [phi][sup 4] theory.


All organizations want a change. Various methods have been used, including in changing the model used to support finance to obtain information for management decisions. This study uses qualitative research methods with data sources based on library research relating to performance appraisal models that have been used specifically in public sector organizations


Ductility of open piled wharves under reversed cyclic loads has been investigated. Experimental testing of five wharf models having a scale of about 1:4 was conducted under the application of horizontal reversed cyclic loading. The experiments were designed to focus on the horizontal ultimate load, ductility and failure mode of the considered wharf models. Nonlinear numerical analyses using the finite element method were also performed on numerical models representing the experimentally tested wharves. The results of the experimental tests showed that open piled wharves possessed favourable ductile behaviour and that their load bearing capacity did not depreciate until a ductility factor of 3 to 4 was reached. The numerical analysis showed that the relative rotation that took place at the joints between the steel piles and the R.C. beam was responsible for a considerable portion of the total horizontal deformation of the wharves. Therefore, it was concluded that introducing the joint stiffness in calculating the deformations of open piled wharves was important to achieve reasonable accuracy.


After many years of controversies it appears now that the that glassy-like behavior of spin glasses at low temperature is not in contradiction with the existence of a well defined phase transition. We discuss here in a non exhaustive way some static and dynamic experimental results which among others, contribute to shed light on this question.


FIELD: information technology. SUBSTANCE: system and method of generating and distributing energy has one or more microwave transmitters lying on Earth near natural fuel and energy resources, e.g. natural gas, oil, solid fuel or geothermal energy. The fuel and energy source is converted to electrical energy onsite and the electrical energy is then converted to microwave energy beams transmitted from a microwave transmitter to a relay satellite on orbit around the Earth. The relay satellite then sends one or more microwave beams to rectennae located in countries with high consumption and located on corresponding places for powering the power system, or to further relay satellites for direction to rectennae located on the opposite side of the Earth. EFFECT: supplying the Earth with energy at low cost using satellites, in particular the Moon. 51 cl, 13 dwg


The invention relates to a novel method for producing substituted indenofluorenes which are especially used in organic, electronic devices. The indenofluorenes are produced in the presence of selected solvents and specific bases.


The control of synthesis of the two prolactins (tPRL188 and tPRL177) in the anterior-most portion of the pituitary, the rostral pars distalis (RPD), was investigated in freshwater (FW)- and seawater (SW)- acclimated tilapia. Individual RPD of FW and SW male tilapia were incubated in either hyposmotic or hyperosmotic medium containing3H-leucine for various intervals, up to 360 min. The total quantity of the two tPRLs in media and RPD was assessed by gel electrophoresis and scanning densitometry of the stained bands. Synthesis was characterized as the uptake of3H-leucine into the tPRL molecules. Results showed greater synthesis and release of both3H-tPRLs in the RPD from FW tilapia than in those from SW- acclimated tilapia. The in vitro synthesis of both prolactins tPRLl88 and tPRL177 in RPD of FW tilapia and tPRLl77 in RPD of SW fish was also augmented by exposure to hyposmotic medium. The ratio of the appearance of newly synthesized3H- tPRLl88:3H-tPRL177was approximately 1.3 in FW tilapia RPD and approximately 0.5 in SW tilapia RPD. The delay between effect of osmotic pressure on tPRL release and its effect on tPRL synthesis suggests that the rapid effect of osmotic pressure upon PRL release is at least partially independent of its effect upon tPRL synthesis. Moreover, the altered ratios of tPRL188 and tPRL177 observed in our studies suggest that the synthesis rates of the two tPRLs are differentially sensitive to environmental salinity. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.


Introduction: Hypertension is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the latter still representing the main cause of death in Luxembourg. The aim of this study was to estimate the current prevalence of hypertension, associated risk factors, and its geographic variations in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Methods: Cross-sectional, population-based data on 1,508 randomly selected residents of Luxembourg, aged 25 to 64, were collected as part of the European Health Examination Survey (EHES-LUX) between 2013 and 2015. Hypertension was defined as systolic/diastolic blood pressure of ≥140/90 mmHg, self-report of a physician diagnosis or on anti-hypertensive medication. Standard and Bayesian regressions were used to examine associations between hypertension and covariates. We mapped hypertension's geographic distribution by using a Bayesian geo-additive mixed model adjusted by health-related behaviours, socioeconomic characteristics, body mass index, depressive symptoms and general health status. Results: 31% (471 of 1508) of Luxembourg residents were hypertensive, and half of them were unaware of their condition. Among those who were aware of their condition, nearly 50% (121 of 261) were not adequately controlled. In men, the likelihood of being hypertensive was: lower in those being more physically active (>3h/week) (odds ratio [OR] and 95% credible region [CR]: 0.60[0.37, 0.92]) and consuming alcohol daily (0.33 [0.10, 0.83]), and higher in those with a low health perception (1.63 [1.01, 2.69]). In women, the likelihood of being hypertensive was higher in those experiencing depressive symptoms (1.83[1.27, 2.68]). There was a clear variation in hypertension prevalence across cantons and municipalities, with a North to South gradient: the highest odds ratio was observed in the South-West region of the country (1.21 [0.94, 1.57]), one of the most industrialized regions in Luxembourg. We observed a significant positive spatial effect in this region at 90% nominal level. Conclusions: In Luxembourg, the vast majority of people with hypertension are either unaware of their condition or not adequately controlled, which constitutes a major public health issue. There are geographic differences in hypertension prevalence in Luxembourg, which is remarkable given the size of the country. It is therefore necessary to consider the role of individual and regional (canton and commune level) risk factors in hypertension prevalence, as well as public health initiatives to control and promote awareness about this condition in order to reduce its burden in Luxembourg.


whereas the testes became abdominal in animals held under 12L:12D. Photoperiodic control of reproduction in this species could lead to changes in the length of the active interval hence to changes in survivorship of animals from different litters (if more than one is produced). I thank William Hanson, Donald Johnson, and Paul Young for reviewing this manuscript and providing helpful suggestions. LITERATURE CITED


Translator's choice of subtitled and dubbed versions should approach the style and tone of the source text in relation to language register.Stylistic effects inform the viewer about the speaker.Emotions can be expressed and social relationships portrayed through the use of particular forms of language.The audiovisual translator has to sift through the multiple layers of meaning within the context of the verbal,non-verbal,aural and visual signs of the audiovisual text.Lexical,grammatical and stylistic changes in the subtitled and dubbed versions will be studied to establish the extent to which coherence is secured in relation to the features.Zo? Pettit works great as the expert in inter-lingual subtitling and dubbing,semiotics,verbal and nonverbal communication.


As the population of the aged has increased considerably in Korea owing to elongated average life of the aged and the children's consciousness of supporting the aged has weakened, people are more concerned with their selfsupport in their old days. Then, they are more interested in the residential complex for the aged as a means of selfsupport. To acquire basic data for constructing residential and welfare facilities for the aged and to present thedirection of development, this research checks the influence that the degree of preparing for the aged, family relation and social relation have on the preference of residential and welfare facilities for the aged and intends to contribute to the construction of the residential and welfare facilities for the aged. Then, the result is as follows. First, as general opinion on the life of the aged, people are most concerned about the loss of social role when they become old, responding that the type of house is general house and they are unwilling to move in. Thus, it is found that residential complex for the aged cannot be positively carried on owing to such absolute lack of demand. Second, it is found that the aged prefers residential complex in the form of lease as it is less burdensome to them economically. Thus, government and self-governing body with public property and reliability should prepare positive policy and program to develop residential complex for the aged. Third, it is found that people in the following property further recognize the development of residential complex for the aged; higher income and schooling, family type in nuclear form. Female rather than male and those with high income rather than low income are more willing to move in later. Fourth, the preference of residential complex for the aged depending on the level of preparation for the old days is higher when preparation for retirement is positive and the motive for retirement is passive. The recognition of residential complex for the aged depending on the level of preparation for the old days is higher when preparation for the old days is positive and the preparation for retirement or health state is low. The intention to move in the facilities for the aged depending on the level of preparation for the old days is higher when preparation for the old days is positive, health is bad and preparation for retirement is voluntary. Fifth, the preference of developing residential complex for the aged depending on the organic relation is further recognized when the social linkage is not smooth. The intention to move in is higher when the sense of value among family is self-developing and modern. Thus, it signifies that the aged tend to bear responsibility rather than relying on the children.


Physiological indices are commonly used to assess the condition of wildlife populations. The underlying assumption when using such indices is that they are associated with survival rates and/or reproductive success. However, such an association has never been demonstrated conclusively in wildlife populations. From 7 December 1987 to 15 April 1988 we monitored survival of 101 wild mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) fawns in 2 fenced pastures, and determined levels of cortisol: creatinine and urea nitrogen: creatinine ratios in urine of 14 tame yearling mule deer using the same ranges. The 2 pastures were stocked with deer in November-December 1987 at high (0.66 km 2 ; 41 adults, 50 fawns, 7 tame yearlings; 148 deer/km 2 ) and low (1.69 km 2 ; 29 adults, 51 fawns, 7 tame yearlings; 51 deer/km 2 ) density


The constitutive secretion of latent TGF-β by many cell types in culture suggests that extracellular mechanisms to control the activity of this potent cytokine are important in the pathogenesis of the diseases in which this cytokine may be involved, including fibrotic disorders. In this study, we focused on the αvβ3 integrin, which is recently demonstrated to function as an active receptor for latent TGF-β1 through its interaction with latency-associated peptide-β1, and investigated the involvement of this integrin in the pathogenesis of scleroderma. Scleroderma fibroblasts exhibited increased αvβ3 expression compared with normal fibroblasts in vivo and in vitro. In scleroderma fibroblasts, ERK pathway was constitutively activated and such abnormality induced the up-regulation of αvβ3. Transient overexpression of αvβ3 in normal fibroblasts induced the increase in the promoter activity of human α2(I) collagen gene and the decrease in that of human MMP-1 gene. These effects of αvβ3 were almost completely abolished by the treatment with anti-TGF-β Ab or TGF-β1 antisense oligonucleotide. Furthermore, the addition of anti-αvβ3 Ab reversed the expression of type I procollagen protein and MMP-1 protein, the promoter activity of human α2(I) collagen gene, and the myofibroblastic phenotype in scleroderma fibroblasts. These results suggest that the up-regulated expression of αvβ3 contributes to the establishment of autocrine TGF-β loop in scleroderma fibroblasts, and this integrin is a potent target for the treatment of scleroderma.