The backbone molecular dynamics of the C-terminal part of the mouse Cdt1 protein (tCdt1, residues 420-557) was studied by high field NMR spectroscopy. The Secondary structure of this protein was suggested by analyzing of chemical shift of backbone atoms with programs TALOS and PECAN, together with NOE connectivities from 3D data. Measurement of dynamic parameters and NOE and limited proteolysis experiment provided information for domain organization of tCdt1(420-557). Analysis of the experimental data showed that the C-terminal part of the tCdt1 has well folded domain for residues 455-553. The residues 420-453 including (432-441) are flexible and probably belong to other functional domain in intact full length Cdt1 protein.


The experimental data and theoretical calculations have been researched for the collision excitation cross section Q , collision strength and rate coefficient R on the electrons with atoms and ions. The empirical formulae of the different types have been compared, analysed and evaluated also. These empirical formulae have been given by the strict theoretical model, formulae derivation and programme calculation. A set of values of the Q and R have been given by means of the calculating results and measurering values, particularly, on the calculating formula parametrization of the collision strength On the basis of evaluating data, a set of the reasonable and convenient empirical formulae have been recommended.


Combine market-forecasting-based MPS and order-based assembling plan to adjust throughput and resource-requirement,so as to strengthen the ability of quick market response and satisfy variety requirements of customers.Integrate the factors of market forecasting,product advantage,throughput and product benefit and bring forward the concept of integrated-forecasting to attain to reduce stock capital and increase benefit.Bring forward MC-oriented layered and bidirectional-driving production planning and apply it to the project of Forklift Production Plan System.


............................................................................................. p.1 1.Introduction.................................................................................. p.2 1.1. Conservation Genetics ....................................................................... p.2 1.2. Hybridization in Conservation Genetics................................................... p.2 1.3. Ecology of E. orbicularis sp. (Linnaeus, 1758)........................................... p.3 1.4. Genetic differentiation in glacial refugia and Holocene expansion..................... p.4 1.5. Current distribution of haploclades......................................................... p.5 1.6. Relict Swiss populations...................................................................... p.6 1.7. Genetic markers............................................................................... p.6 1.8. Aims of the study.............................................................................. p.7 2. Materials and Methods........................................................................ p.8 2.1. Sampled sites.................................................................................. p.8 2.2. Trapping sessions.............................................................................. p.10 2.3. Origins of the samples........................................................................ p.10 2.4. Laboratory analyses........................................................................... p.10 2.5. Null alleles..................................................................................... p.12 2.6. Observed (Ho) and expected (Hs) Heterozygosity....................................... p.12 2.7. Allelic richness................................................................................. p.12 2.8. Mitochondrial (Cytochrome b gene) and nuclear (microsatellites) loci analyses..... p.12 2.9. Identification of more complex hybrids.................................................... p.13 3. Results.......................................................................................... p.13 3.1. Sampled sites and presence of relict populations in Switzerland....................... p.13 3.2. Summary of captured and sequenced individuals........................................ p.16 3.3. Null alleles..................................................................................... p.17 3.4. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium................................................................ p.17 3.5. Genetic structure of the populations........................................................ p.17 3.6. Observed (Ho) and expected (Hs) Heterozygosity....................................... p.18 3.7. Allelic richness................................................................................ p.18 3.8. Hybridization between subspecies in a natural hybrid zone (France).................. p.19 3.8.1. Brenne....................................................................................... p.19 3.8.2. Western France............................................................................ p.20 3.8.3. Aigues-Mortes............................................................................. p.21 3.8.4. Camargue................................................................................... p.21 3.8.5. Vigueirat.................................................................................... p.22 3.8.6. Var.......................................................................................... p.23 3.8.7. Ardèche.................................................................................... p.23 3.9. Hybridization between subspecies in an artificial hybrid zone (Moulin-de-Vert)... p.24 3.10. Assignment of Swiss samples collected in several locations during the last years to their putative location of origin..............................................................p.26 3.11. Identification of more complex hybrids................................................p.27 4. Discussion...................................................................................... p.28 4.1. Suitable sites for further reintroductions................................................... p.28 4.2. Presence of relict populations in Switzerland............................................. p.28 4.3. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium ............................................................... p.29 4.4. Genetic structure of the populations ....................................................... p.29 4.5. Ho, Hs and allelic richness................................................................... p.29 4.6. Assignment of found individuals to their putative origin.................................. p.29 4.7. Hybridization between subspecies in a natural hybrid zone (Southern France)...... p.30 4.8. Hybridization between subspecies in an artificial hybrid zone (Moulin-de-Vert)..... p.32 4.9. Impact of the invasive Trachemys scripta sp.............................................. p.34 4.10. Perspectives and conservation strategies................................................p.34 4.11. Future studies...............................................................................p.35 5. Conclusion...................................................................................... p.36 6. Thanks.......................................................................................... p.37 7. Bibliography.................................................................................... p.38 8. Annexes......................................................................................... p.46 Hybridization and genetics of the Swiss Emys orbicularis sp. populations Raemy Matthieu Master thesis 2008-2010


In our classical literature, commentaries were written on both prose and prose works. Some of these annotations contain detailed information, while others merely give the meaning of words, while in rare cases they provide some explanations. In the second category, it is more correct to consider the commentary of Destaviz-i Daniş written for the Persian divan of Yavuz Sultan Selim. This commentary is based on the printed Divan by Hüseyin Hilmi in 1306/1888-89. The Destaviz-i Daniş commentary, which contains a total of 106 poems, has a rather incomplete position compared to the printed Persian Divan which was published in 1904 by Paul Horn. This deficiency is not only seen in the number of poems but also in the number of verses included in the poems. For instance, the total number of couplets of 63 gazel in the Destaviz commentary is 342, and the number of couplets of the same gazel's on the printed divan printed by Paul Horn is 389. In this article, the poems disseminated in the commentary of the Destaviz will be compared with the texts of the Persian Divan's poem prepared by Paul Horn and the text of the translation of Tarlan based on this divan, and some of the differences and inconsistencies between them will be examined.


This report concerns the green synthesis of selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs) through chemical reduction method using ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) as a reluctant and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or chitosan (CS) as stabilizers. Ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) absorption spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were applied as the main characterization tools. The cytotoxicity of Se-NPs on fibroblast L929 cells was determined by MTT assay. The nanoparticles showed low toxicity toward the investigated cell line which remained more than 50% viable at 170 ppm for 24 h. The in-vitro antioxidant property of the synthesized Se nanoparticles was evaluated by radical scavenging (DPPH) assay. The IC50 values of the nanoparticles were 26.56 and 530 ppm for PVA coated SeNPs (PVA-SeNPs) and CS coated SeNPs (CS–SeNPs), respectively. Finally, the antibacterial activity of Se-NPs was determined on the gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus epidermidis. The results showed that Se nanoparticles exhibited dose-dependent antibacterial activity against all the four bacterial strains tested. Noticeably, PVA-SeNPs exhibited significant effect against S. epidermidis (MIC 125 ppm) and S. aureus (MIC 125 ppm). The results of this study indicate that Se nanoparticles can be potentially used as antimicrobial and antioxidant agents.


In this paper, the essential oil (EO) extraction from thyme by the consecutive use of ultrasound and microwave treatments is presented. The aim of this study was to apply an ultrasound pre-treatment of thyme leaves to enhance the thymol content and the extraction yield of the EO obtained by microwave-assisted hydro-distillation (MWHD). Compared with conventional hydro-distillation (CHD), the consecutive use of ultrasound pre-treatment and microwave extraction resulted in a 72% lower extraction time. When the ultrasound pre-treatment (using the ultrasonic processor with an amplitude of 70%) was applied, the EO content was 23% higher compared to the extraction without pre-treatment (2.67 ± 0.06 g EO/100 g DM for the MWHD with ultrasound pre-treatment compared with 2.18 ± 0.07 g EO/100 g DM for the MWHD without pre-treatment). The EO samples were analyzed by GC/MS. The results showed that the major component, thymol, varied from 43.54% (by CHD) to 65.94% (by the consecutive use of ultrasound and microwave treatments).


Introduction: In the era of industrial revolution 4.0, distance learning has a strategic role for spreading and equity in higher education, including nursing science. Triggered by the COVID 19 pandemic, nursing education needs to innovate how to achieve the competency without direct contact with patients. This study aimed at exploring the virtual reality method in nursing education, moreover in mental health nursing.  Method: The study design is a literature review, using Pubmed as the search engine, continued with literature search from the selected articles, using the following key words: nursing education, virtual reality, competency; and nursing education, virtual reality, and mental health. We selected only English and articles of the recent 10 years Result: Eight articles were selected using the two sets of key words, consisted of 5 articles about nursing education and 3 articles were more on mental health nursing education. The study designs were varied from RCT, review and scoping review, descriptive study, and qualitative study. The context were undergraduate and postgraduate students.. Conclusion: Virtual reality is one candidate in nursing education, especially in mental health nursing education to improve competency among nursing student.
 Keyword: nursing education; virtual reality; mental health.


As a critical part of agriculture risk management,agriculture insurance plays an irreplaceable role to other disaster prevention or relief manners.Although agriculture insurance made rapid development in recent years,there are still some problems to be solved.This paper analyses pros and cons of foreign agriculture insurance modes and puts forward the relevant suggestions.


The Plate heat exchanger is prominent among all
alternatives to the conventional shell and tube heat exchanger because of simplicity in operation, maintenance, and high surface area density. Currently lot of research is going on to optimize the design by considering thermo-hydraulic performance. In the present study, an
extensive analytical model is developed using MATLAB® to study the thermo-hydraulic characteristics of Plate heat exchanger with high beta (60°/60°), low beta (30°/30°) and thermally mixed (30°/60°) plate configurations. Further, the experimental investigation is carried out to validate the analytical model and it reveals that the maximum
deviation of ±10% considering both hot and cold fluid outlet
temperature with respect to different flow rates in case of all the three plate configurations. To incorporate the effect of rise in pressure drop with different chevron plate configurations, the term thermohydraulic
effectiveness is introduced. In all cases, it is found to be
highest for high beta plates and least for low beta plates. Whereas for thermally mixed plates, the values lies between high and low beta plates being more closer towards high beta plates. This indicates that the thermal performance of thermally mixed plates is nearly match with the high beta plates but the pressure drop being lesser than the
latter. A generalized correlation to estimate the Nusselt number has been developed with a relative standard error of ±18%. The Nusselt number predicted from the developed correlation is found to be in good agreement with experimental results compared to the values
predicted from different correlation in the literature.


The effects of extraction conditions on the yield of gibberellin,produced by solid-state fermentation of Gibberella fujikuroi SFGi-1,were investigated by single factor experiments.The optimal extraction conditions were determined as: water as extraction solvent,ratio of material to solvent 1:7,extraction temperature 45℃,pH 8.0 and 3-time countercurrent extraction for 2h.Under above conditions,the yield of gibberellin reached 10.492g/kg dry material,and the gibberellin content in extract were 1.498g/L.


The concept of harmonious world is one proposition about new diplomatic strategy of China and the development prospect of the world.Because there are contradictions in petroleum safety conception and differences in petroleum diplomatic strategy between China and America,the inharmonious relationship between two countries appeared in the field of international petroleum safety.America usually feel worried about the activity of "Exploring Petroleum" in overseas and regarded it as the threat to American petroleum safety.However,international energy safety is neither absolutely safe,nor a single safety problem of certain country,but a problem of relative safety and common safety.Therefore,only through the equal cooperation and harmonious coexistence in the field of international petroleum,can both countries realize petroleum positive interactions and double-wins.


Traffic sign and mile-marker detection and classification are among the important components of highway asset management systems. The significant number of these high-quantity and low-cost assets in US highways can negatively impact the quality of any manual data collection and analysis. To address these challenges, this paper presents an efficient pipeline for video-based detection and classification of traffic signs and mile-markers based on color and shape criteria. Candidate extraction is based on finding the optimum red, green, blue (RGB) thresholds which yield high detection rates (very low false-negatives) while keeping the number of false-positives in check. The connected components from a thresholded image are extracted next. The authors use sliding windows, Haar-like features, and the AdaBoost learning method to classify the detected assets. Experimental results with an average classification accuracy of 79.30% on actual data collected from US-460 highway show the promise of the proposed method for reducing the time and effort required for developing traffic road asset inventories.


Evidence-Based Answer Gradual ascent is the most effective method for preventing acute mountain sickness. (Strength of Recommendation [SOR]: B, based on good-quality prospective and retrospective cohort studies.) Acetazolamide should be used to prevent acute mountain sickness in persons with a history of acute mountain sickness or when gradual ascent is not practical. (SOR: A, based on two randomized controlled trials [RCTs] and a metaanalysis of 15 RCTs.) Dexamethasone is effective in preventing acute mountain sickness, but adverse effects must be considered. (SOR: A, based on a meta-analysis of seven RCTs.) Ginkgo extract is not recommended for acute mountain sickness prophylaxis. (SOR: A, based on seven controlled trials.) Recommended prophylactic regimens for acute mountain sickness are listed in Table 1.1-7


In order to decrease weaving flaws,it is necessary to set up the effective system, perfect the way to check and optimize technology design.


is in 12 8 , not 38 ; and on page 78, in the penultimate sentence of the section on variation 21, the cited tenor interval is reversed. There is as well a sentence on page 40 at the end of the second paragraph that makes little sense. These small things aside, Williams's latest book is a worthy addition to the Cambridge series. As the first general study of the Goldberg Variations since Donald Francis Tovey's 1900 essay (Donald Francis Tovey, "Aria with Thirty Variations (The 'Goldberg' Variations)" in Essays in Musical Analysis: Chamber Music [New York: Oxford University Press, 1945; reprint, 1989], 28–75), it is in fact rather overdue.


Because single line-scan camera loses light in the edge of the sensor when the field of viewis large,a mosaic camera based on field programmable gate array(FPGA) is presented by putting multiple cameras arranged in a straight line to share the field of viewand reduce the viewangle of every camera. For detecting doping micro particles with the designed mosaic line-scan camera,a detection algorithm of the target's location in FPGA is proposed. Finally,the practicability and stability of the system were validated experimentally. The results of the experiment showthat the camera can get images clearly with less light loss and can accurately distinguish the target and the background.


Background and Aim: Ultrasonographic fetal sexing is of utmost economic importance for horse breeders. Relatively, a few studies have been conducted to determine fetal sex in mare using transrectal Doppler ultrasound. This study aimed to compare two sexing techniques, two-dimensional (2D) mode and color Doppler ultrasonography. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 39 mares under field conditions. Examinations were performed using the ultrasonic model device (Medison SonoAce Pico, South Korea), equipped with real-time 3-7 MHz convex multifrequency transducer. Fetal sex diagnosis was carried out in two periods of pregnancy, early period (57-80 days of gestation) and late period (80-150 days of gestation). Results: No difference (p=0.4) was observed between the efficiency of the 2D mode and Doppler ultrasound in sex determination with the respective frequency of 74% and 85%. The best time to sex the early fetus was between 57 and 70 days of gestation and between 90 and 120 days for the older fetus. Conclusion: The accuracy of sex determination can be increased using Doppler mode compared to 2D mode, especially in the early period between 57 and 70 days, in male more than female sex.


With the arrival of the pandemic, many education students in higher education classrooms saw how their internships were cancelled, making it impossible for them to access real contexts that would let them know how their everyday professional life would be. Consequently, it was necessary to make a methodological change. To bridge the gap between theoretical and practical training, we conducted an educational experience at a private university where several educational videos were used to reflect the implementation of different educational methodologies in teaching mathematics by expert teachers. In the recorded practices, it was shown how four different methodologies were implemented in several contexts during the day-to-day classes: International Baccalaureate (IB), gamification, flipped classroom and project-based learning. We studied each methodology to measure their impact on primary students' learning and guarantee that higher education students had visualized effective practices through micro-videos. The results of our study show that, in certain aspects of mathematics, the students' own teaching capabilities have greater influence than the theoretical methodological instruction they generally receive in the classroom. Further, concerning students' perceptions, we can conclude that their motivation increased towards the use of micro-videos, since they became active agents of their own learning.


In this note the results are presented of the determination of total phosphorus, in a product for dishwashing machine, carried out using gravimetric method, IEC and ICP-AES. It was shown that instrumental techniques allow obtaining results that are statistically comparable with the ones obtained using gravimetric method and they guarantee, moreover, some great advantages for the analysis and for the operator's safety.


Rough surface analogs to ocean bottom interfaces with two contrasting power‐law roughness spectra were fabricated from slabs of PVC. A tank experiment with a nearly monostatic geometry and transmitted signals in the band 100‐300 kHz was performed, with the source and receiver positioned to produce acoustic interactions on multiple locations on the surfaces. Models of scattering strength and the received time series, using deterministic and stochastic representations of the surface, are used to verify the predicted dependence of the scattering, with emphasis on the sub‐critical angle (< 50 degrees grazing) region, where the predicted difference in scattering strength due to the contrast in roughness between the two fabricated surfaces is on the order of 10 dB. The numerical models employed were perturbation theory, a second‐order small‐slope calculation using the power‐law roughness parameters, and a fourth‐order small‐slope calculation using the actual grid of heights as an input. The experimental effort also focused on the near‐critical angle region where the predictions of the numerical models differed markedly. [Work supported by ONR and NURC.]


Scene description plays a major role in the interpretation of images. In the paper a novel data- and rule-driven system for 3D segmentation and scene description in an unknown environment is presented. This system generates hierarchies of features that correspond to structural elements such as boundaries and shape classes of individual objects as well as relationships between objects. It is implemented as an added high-level component to an existing low-level binocular vision system (Don and He, 1988). Based on a pair of matched stereo images produced by that system, 3D segmentation is first performed to group object boundary data into several edge-sets each of which is believed to belong to one particular object. Then gross features of each object are extracted and stored in an object record. The final structural description of the scene is accomplished with information in the object record, a set of rules and a rule implementor. The system is designed to handle partially occluded objects of different shape and size on the 2D images. Experimental results have shown its success in computing both object and structural level descriptions of common man-made objects.<<ETX>>


Abstract Light-pulses that are reflected recurrently to one another by two kinematically equivalent dynamically identical inertial systems moving collinearly and irrotationally with uniform relative velocity generate sequences of contiguous time-intervals in both. By means of clocks stationed in the two systems, each time-interval is both measurable locally and calculable non-locally in accord with basic requirements of special relativity theory. Their ratio yields the velocity dependent dilation-of-time relation of Einstein, but an equivalent spatially dependent version of it is obtained as well, because the time-intervals involved are actually determined by the distances that exist between the systems when the reflections occur. As a result, the Einstein relation involves no time-rates of clocks that are actually affected kinematically by the systems containing them.


The red hypergiant VY CMa and the more typical red supergiant (RSG) Betelgeuse provide clear observational evidence for discrete, directed gaseous outflows in their optical and infrared imaging, spectra, and light curves. In the very luminous VY CMa, mass-loss estimates from the infrared-bright knots and clumps not only dominate its measured overall mass loss, but explain it. In the less luminous Betelgeuse, similar mass estimates of its circumstellar condensations show that they contribute significantly to its measured mass-loss rate. We present new measurements for both stars and discuss additional evidence for gaseous ejections in other RSGs. Gaseous outflows are the dominant mechanism for the most luminous RSGs and an important contributor to the more typical RSGs like Betelgeuse. We conclude that gaseous outflows, related to magnetic fields and surface activity, comparable to coronal mass ejections, are a major contributor to mass loss from RSGs and the missing component in discussions of their mass-loss mechanism.


Thanks to the safety of administration, efficiency of in vivo transduction and persistence of transgene expression, vectors based on the adeno‐associated virus (AAV) are extensively utilized in both preclinical and clinical experimentation. Here we thoroughly explore the potential of AAV‐mediated antigen delivery for tumour vaccination. A recombinant AAV vector (rAAV) encoding a lymphoma idiotype (Id) in a single‐chain variable fragment format was found to induce an efficient anti‐Id immune response upon injection in immunocompetent animals. The intensity of the immune response and the protective effect of rAAV administration in vivo were systematically compared with those elicited by simple injection of naked DNA or biolistic immunization. The results indicate that Id delivery via rAAV enhances the intensity of immune response compared with injection of naked DNA, while anti‐idiotypic antibodies titres are not considerably increased compared with biolistic vaccination. On the contrary, a prime‐boost vaccination strategy combining biolistic and AAV DNA delivery results in a major increase in anti‐Id antibody response compared with the repetitive biolistic immunization. This increased anti‐Id humoral response strictly correlated with a significant improvement on tumour protection in vivo.


This experiment was conducted at the Department of Animal Husbandry, Sam Hingginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Science, India. The data was collected from the history sheet records maintained in the Department of Animal Husbandry, Sam Hingginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and ScienceAnimals were managed by skilled persons under similar feeding and management condition and the following traits were studied; Gestation Length, Birth Weight, Weight at Service The data for the reproductive traits of Jersey× Red Sindhi crosses was tabulated and analyzed to determine the relationship between the above mention traits. Correlation and completely randomized design were used. TheBWof the calves ranges from 9.08 kg to 28.15kg for both sexes. The BWof male and female calves varies from 10.90 to 28.15 kg and 9.08 to 23.60 kg respectively. The average BWof male and female calf was 19.07 kg and 17.68 kg respectively. The male calves were heavier than the female calves at birth. It was observed that the cows which weighted 531635lbs at service gave birth to heavier calves.GL in case of male and female varied from 251 to 299 days and 267 to 304 days respectively. The average GL of male and female calves is 283.23 days and 284.18 days respectively. The female calves have longer GL than the male calves. It was observed that increase in WS did not result in the heavier BWof calves. These shows that, there is no significance difference between the group of BW according toWS. It was observed that the cows which weighted 531635lbs at service gave birth to heavier calves. Significance difference in BW due sex was observed. It was also observed that the increased in WS did not result in increase in the GL.There is significance difference between GL and BWof the calves and the GLwas positively correlated with the BW0.426 ** at 0.01 probability level.


A capability control apparatus for a cooling system having a direct expansion type evaporator comprises a control valve mounted in a heating system for a generator for controlling an amount of heat to be given to the generator. Temperature sensors are mounted at inlet and outlet sides, respectively, of a cooling system for an absorber, and an arithmetic unit is connected to the temperature sensors and the control valve. The arithmetic unit calculates the amount of heat to be given to the generator based on signals transmitted from the temperature sensors to the unit and issues and transmits to the control valve a control signal for controlling the latter.


Hearings held before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources in March 1994, requested that officials of federal agencies and other experts explore options for providing regulatory oversight of the US Department of Energy (DOE) facilities and operations. On January, 25, 1995, the DOE, supported by the White House Office of Environmental Quality and the Office of Management and Budget, formally initiated an Advisory Committee on External Regulation of DOE Nuclear Safety. In concert with this initiative and public opinion, the DOE Richland Operations Office has initiated the K Basin Spent Nuclear Fuel Project -- Regulatory Policy. The DOE has established a program to move the spent nuclear fuel presently stored in the K Basins to a new storage facility located in the 200 East Area of the Hanford Site. New facilities will be designed and constructed for safe conditioning and interim storage of the fuel. In implementing this Policy, DOE endeavors to achieve in these new facilities ``nuclear safety equivalency`` to comparable US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-licensed facilities. The DOE has established this Policy to take a proactive approach to better align its facilities to the requirements of the NRC, anticipating the future possibility of external regulation. The Policy, supplemented by other DOE rules and directives, form the foundation of an enhanced regulatory, program that will be implemented through the DOE K Basin Spent Nuclear Fuel Project (the Project).


SUMMARY: The purpose of this article is to reflect on the ongoing transformation of the Big 8/6/5/4 public accounting firms, with the intent of helping primarily doctoral students and junior faculty engaged in developing their own research programs. Drawing on a variety of theoretical research traditions that we have employed in our field research spanning over 30 years, we will briefly reconsider three "moments" through which the phenomenon of the multi-discipline (or, as termed in the sociology of professions literature, the "entrepreneurial") professional service firm has shaped both accounting firms and accountants: Moment I, in which administrative partners implemented centrally orchestrated control systems to better direct the actions of audit team members, and the response of the latter to resist, deflect, and transform such efforts; Moment II, in which the profession attempted to rebrand itself as a professional service delivery system that could offer "higher platforms of service" to a global bus...


Density and biomass of live trees ≥10 cm DBH and saplings 1-9.9 cm DBH, coarse woody debris (LCG – diameter ≥ 10 cm), fine woody debris (LCF – diameter 2.5-9.9 cm), and standing dead trees (≥ 10 cm DBH) were quantified in 56 permanent, 1-ha sample plots. These plots are located in four 1(4 plots), three 10(12 plots) and two 100(14 plots) forest fragments in size and nearby continuous forests (19 plots) as well as in two classes of distance from the edges < 300 m (29 plots) and > 300 m (21 plots). Density and biomass of primary species did not differ significantly among the four size categories and the two edge distance classes. However, forest fragments and distance < 300 m from the edges had more biomass and density of pioneer trees and saplings than did continuous forest and distance > 300 m from the edge, respectively. There were no significant differences among the size categories for standing dead trees. Forest fragments, however, had more quantity of LCG and LCF than did continuous forests. Moreover, distances < 300 m from the edges had higher quantity of LCG and LCF and total necromass than did distances > 300 m. We performed an ANCOVA to assess whether differences in LCG and LCF in fragments were due to proximity of forest borders. An ANCOVA showed that there was no significant effect of fragment size on necromass, but a significant effect of edge distance on both LCG and LCF. The quantity of LCG and LCF was correlated negatively with edge distance – sites close to the edge presented over 40-60% more LCG than sites far from the edges in both forest fragments and continuous forests.


Nuclear R&D products are not fully accepted in the market, one of the reasons is the lack of safety assurance. BATAN has established the CHNT to conduct clearing of nuclear R&D products. However, currently the CHNT has no adequate working programs and improvement patterns. To analyse those weaknesses, a SWOT survey were conducted towards employees and took a case study of HTGR technology. The analysis result was a set of activity strategies which then be prioritized and selected based on BSC perspectives, to determine logical strategy sequence, targets and activities. SWOT strategies were expressed by combination of WO-WT-SO-ST, to overcome weaknesses and capture opportunities in improving the CHNT. All BSC perspectives were applied to explore those combination and select the best steps for the CHNT. By means of this SWOT-BSC strategy analysis, an effective development formulation for the CHNT is proposed in the form of two phase project for two years duration to support EPR program in Indonesia.


Metropolitan rail transit network plays a foundational role in promoting the fast development of newtype urbanization,industrialization and transportation. In response to the inconsistency between the service radius and the distribution of metropolitan transportation needs the evolution of metropolitan rail transit network in China,this paper argues that the perspective of synergy rather than that of hierarchy shall be taken to fulfill three purposes,namely,to clarify the transformation and features of the lines and the nodes in rail transit network,to re-establish the status and functions of suburban railway and important nodes and to complete the index system of the structural evolution of metropolitan rail transit network. It is hoped thus the evolution of metropolitan rail transit network in China can be promoted.


The Commerce Refuse to Energy Facility, which is operated by the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (Districts), first burned refuse in late 1986. This facility was the first U.S. refuse plant to use anhydrous ammonia for NOx control. Although technically effective and economical, the system was converted from anhydrous ammonia (gaseous) to ammonium hydroxide (liquid or aqua ammonia) in May 1995. This change was made to eliminate the potential release of gaseous ammonia if an accidental leak occurred. This paper will include discussions on: 1) the design layout of the new system, 2) the capital cost of the conversion, 3) the change in operating cost, and 4) NOx emissions bcfore and after the conversion. DISCUSSION The Commerce plant is located near Los Angcles, CA which is in an EPA air emission non-attainment area. A� a result, the plant was required to have NOx control when it was constructed. Exxon's thermal DeNOx process with ammonia injection as a non-catalytic NOx control was used. This process was considered the "best available control technology" (BACT) by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD). The AQMD, however, considered ammonia injection an "innovative technology" sinee it had not been proven with refuse firing. The NOx permit limits at Commerce are: 1) 225 ppm corrected to 3% oxygen for a 15 minute period 19 2) 190 ppm corrected to 3% oxygen for a 1 hour period 3) 40 lb. for a 1 hour period 4) 825 Ib/day The DeNOx process proved very effective for NOx control averaging 110 ppm corrected to 3% oxygen and 24 Ib/hour. The process had 100% availability and thus never caused lost production or down time of the plant for the eight years it was in operation. The process was simply a pressurized tank, a vaporizer, a flow control valve, and solenoid yalves to control the elevation in the furnace for the injection. A 75 hp compressor was originally used to provide carrier air to provide better mixing as the ammonia was injected into the furnace. Initial system performance testing, however, indicated adequate mixing without carrier air so the compressor was not used. In 1992, a new law through the California Health and Safety Codes required a special Risk Management Prevention Plan (RMPP) study done for acutely hazardous chemical which included anhydrous ammonia. The study identified potential risks to the employees and the publie of an accidental leak of ammonia. The study identified some piping changes which were completed and included a dispersion model of the "most credible" gaseous ammonia leak. Although the model showed that the likelihood and dispersion concentration was acceptable, it required that the a leak be shut off within 6 minutes. Th·is 6 minute response required that Districts' operating staff and not the Fire Department be the "first responder". The "first responder", according to the CA Safety Code, requires an initial 24 hours of training and an 8 hour annual refresher for all the operating staff. Equipment needed included: several self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), one time use Class " A" protective suits which fully contain the entire body and SCBA, and de-contamination showers and related equipment. The cost of this equipment is approximately $20,000 . PILOT STUDY We began looking for alternatives to gaseous ammonia. The two likely choices were urea and ammonium hydroxide. Urea is a solid, water soluble form of ammonia and ammonium hydroxide is ammonia dissolved in de mineralizer water with up to 30% ammonia. Urea injection for NOx control is a patented process which requires a license fee and purchase of the design and equipment by the patent holder. Although both chemicals appeared technically acceptable, ammonium hydroxide was chosen for its lower cost and the chemistry was closer to the existing system. The next decision was the process. One option was to vaporize the liquid just before it entered the furnace to preserve the existing gaseous injection system. The second option was to atomize the liquid directly into the furnace. The alOmizmion option was chosen for the following reasons:


The combination of a boronic acid and a Lewis base, both employed in substoichiometric amounts, enables the regioselective silylation of cis-diol groups in alkylpyranoside substrates. The proposed mode of activation involves the formation of a tetracoordinate adduct that displays enhanced nucleophilicity at the boron-bound alkoxide groups.


Measurements of information system performance are of great significance to organizational strategy for a number of reasons. First, in many industries the proper management of an information system is the key factor in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Secondly, technological innovations can contribute to changing the industry structure or can create new industries. Most leading corporations have succeeded by exploiting unique technological advantages that allowed them to reshape an old industry or create a new one. Finally, technology is a most pervasive activity. Innovation and technological change are not only strategically relevant in dealing with the technologies associated with the products, but they also affect all managerial activities and functions.
Perhaps none of the existing technologies can match the potential impact that information systems have in reshaping industry structure and in transforming the nature of businesses and firms. We are living in the information revolution, where computer and communication technologies are affecting every facet of our society.
Assessing the information system function within organizations has been identified as one of the most critical issues of information system management. Despite the importance of the subject to both executive management and information systems professionals, not much progress has been made in the assessment of information system performance. The purpose of this research is twofold: (1) to develop a model that can be used to measure MIS performance; and (2) categorize, synthesize, and analyze the MIS performance of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) celebrated its twenty sixth birthday in 1997. The UAE has been exposed to completely new technology in virtually every area from oil industry to agriculture. Mainframes, communication equipment, and microcomputers were introduced in the military general headquarters (GHQ), ADIA, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Emirates Telecommunication Company (Etisalat), and all other parts of the country. These four major organizations are now undergoing a major evaluation and study of their current information systems.
Expert Choice was selected as a tool to design the model for the assessment of the information systems. The model was designed using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) that is supported by the Expert Choice software. Expert opinion was gathered through a pairwise comparison from eighty participants to populate the model. A survey was generated from the model using rating scale, which was used to measure the MIS performance of ADIA. Forty participants were involved in the survey.
With the use of performance sensitivity analysis, the results from the performance assessment sheet were synthesized, validated and documented. The performance assessment sheet identified both the strengths and weaknesses of the MIS function. The importance of this research was documented by the use of the assessment sheet as a performance measurement tool, which will be used to measure the MIS performance over time and establish a base line for comparison.


Summary Reflection seismic methods are becoming popular in mineral exploration, because they allow high-resolution delineation of the exploration targets, even at great depths. Seismic interferometry can be used to retrieve reflections from passive seismic data, removing the need for active seismic sources and, therefore, reducing the cost and environmental impact of exploration. The retrieval of reflections can be challenging, since passive seismic records are typically dominated by surface waves. Therefore, illumination diagnosis, a method which allows the isolation of the portions of the passive data where body-wave signals are stronger, can be a valuable step that improves the quality of the reflections retrieved from seismic interferometry and reduces the overall computational cost of the processing stage. Here, we validate the performance of the method to effectively isolate the portions of the passive data dominated by body waves and apply it on an ambient-noise seismic dataset acquired in the Siilinjarvi mining site in Finland.


To the Editor, In a recent study, Dooley et al.1 reported on the prevalence and risk associated with error-prone abbreviations (EPAs) in hospitals. They found that 8.4% of medication orders contained at least one EPA, a rate substantially lower than previously reported in the literature.2,3 They attribute this lower rate to multiple factors, such as the introduction of an educational program for medical staff. The study focused on inpatient prescriptions and the authors acknowledged that data on EPAs in Australia are limited.1 Outpatient and community settings pose a significant risk to patients, as medications are not reviewed regularly by pharmacists. Therefore, any unidentified errors are more likely to go unrecognised for prolonged periods of time. We set out to identify the incidence of EPAs in an outpatient population at a teaching hospital in inner Sydney. Following an audit of 181 medication orders, we discovered that 43% (n = 78) contained one or more EPAs, a rate considerably higher than that reported by Dooley et al.1 Interestingly, a large proportion of the EPAs we identified (27%) were drug name abbreviations, a type not often seen in the inpatient setting. We also observed a large difference in the number of EPAs that occurred in outpatient orders that were handwritten compared to those generated electronically (61% vs 11%). This result is in line with expectations that EPAs will be largely eliminated once e-prescribing is widely adopted.1,2 To investigate this further, we conducted an audit of paper and electronic orders in our inpatient population, where an electronic medication management system (eMMS) was being implemented. A total of 1288 paper and 1205 electronic medication orders were reviewed. We found little difference in the rate of EPAs (4.1% [paper] vs 5% [electronic]); both comparable to Dooley's inpatient rate and substantially lower than our outpatient rate. This is despite recent evidence demonstrating that eMMS haves resulted in a 60% reduction in prescribing errors at our site.4 On closer inspection of our EPA data, we discovered that the eMMS had eliminated all but one type of EPA – 'mcg' (microgram). This EPA could be eliminated by removing the microgram abbreviation from our selection lists. The jury is out on whether the typed abbreviation is as prone to misinterpretation as a handwritten one. Is the fix simple? Is technology the answer? We recently implemented another technological innovation at our site – smart pumps. Smart pumps have the potential to reduce medication administration errors by providing nurses with clinical decision support (e.g. dose checking) at the bedside. But there is a problem! The size of the smart pump display limits the number of characters that can be entered for drug names, often making it necessary to use an EPA. Was advice from a human factors expert sought when the pumps were being designed? The EPA challenge continues. Error prone abbreviations in hospitals: Is technology the answer? Dr Melissa T Baysari, PhD Research Fellow Australian Institute of Health Innovation University of New South Wales, and Department of Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology St Vincent's Hospital Darlinghurst NSW 2010 E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Susan Welch, BPharm Senior Pharmacist St Vincent's Hospital, and Lecturer Faculty of Pharmacy The University of Sydney Katrina Richardson, BPharm, DipHospPharm Clinical Information Systems Pharmacist Gillian Sharratt, BPharm Senior Pharmacist Jessica Clough, BPharm Pharmacist Maureen Heywood, BPharm Clinical Information Systems Pharmacist Teresa Melocco, BPharm, GradDipManagement Director of Pharmacy St Vincent's Hospital Darlinghurst NSW 2010


Background: Large spatial, seasonal and annual variability of major drivers of the carbon cycle (precipitation, temperature, fire regime and nutrient availability) are common in the Sahel region. This causes large variability in net ecosystem exchange and in vegetation productivity, the subsistence basis for a major part of the rural population in Sahel. This study compares the 2005 dry and wet season fluxes of CO2 for a grass land/sparse savanna site in semi arid Sudan and relates these fluxes to water availability and incoming photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD). Data from this site could complement the current sparse observation network in Africa, a continent where climatic change could significantly impact the future and which constitute a weak link in our understanding of the global carbon cycle. Results: The dry season (represented by Julian day 35–46, February 2005) was characterized by low soil moisture availability, low evapotranspiration and a high vapor pressure deficit. The mean daily NEE (net ecosystem exchange, Eq. 1) was -14.7 mmol d-1 for the 12 day period (negative numbers denote sinks, i.e. flux from the atmosphere to the biosphere). The water use efficiency (WUE) was 1.6 mmol CO2 mol H2O 1 and the light use efficiency (LUE) was 0.95 mmol CO2 mol PPFD-1. Photosynthesis is a weak, but linear function of PPFD. The wet season (represented by Julian day 266–273, September 2005) was, compared to the dry season, characterized by slightly higher soil moisture availability, higher evapotranspiration and a slightly lower vapor pressure deficit. The mean daily NEE was -152 mmol d-1 for the 8 day period. The WUE was lower, 0.97 mmol CO2 mol H2O and the LUE was higher, 7.2 μmol CO2 mmol PPFD-1 during the wet season compared to the dry season. During the wet season photosynthesis increases with PPFD to about 1600 μmol m-2s-1 and then levels off. Conclusion: Based on data collected during two short periods, the studied ecosystem was a sink of carbon both during the dry and wet season 2005. The small sink during the dry season is surprising and similar dry season sinks have not to our knowledge been reported from other similar savanna ecosystems and could have potential management implications for agroforestry. A strong response of NEE versus small changes in plant available soil water content was found. Collection and analysis of flux data for several consecutive years including variations in precipitation, available soil moisture and labile soil carbon are needed for understanding the year to year variation of the carbon budget of this grass land/sparse savanna site in semi arid Sudan. Published: 1 December 2008 Carbon Balance and Management 2008, 3:7 doi:10.1186/1750-0680-3-7 Received: 5 May 2008 Accepted: 1 December 2008 This article is available from: http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/3/1/7 © 2008 Ardö et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


Semarang City as the capital of Central Java Province contributes a fairly high number of cases of the COVID-19 virus. This study used a sample of the number of COVID-19 case data in 16 sub-districts in Semarang City. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling with a period of 3 months, namely from October until December 2020. The research aims to find out the impact of social economy and community mobility on the growth of COVID-19 in Semarang City. There is a linkage of spatial factors between sub-districts in the growth of COVID-19 numbers. Spatial influence can show the relationship of influence between sub-districts with each other. In addition, appropriate quantitative approaches are used to obtain a complete view of the expected results through mapping with Geoda software through regression testing analyzed through spatial econometric methods. The process of data collection is carried out by a literature review. This study showed that the model correlated with a high R2 value of 0.7780. All variables show significant numbers in the model. Through policies at the Semarang City level through coordination between sub-districts to achieve prevention goals in the growth rate of COVID-19 numbers of each sub-district. The findings from this study will inform that the effort to a policy of handling COVID-19 must also be carried out continuously and the regulation of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in Semarang city is needed.


PURPOSE This in-vitro analysis aimed to compare the intaglio trueness, the antagonist's wear volume loss, and fracture load of various single-unit zirconia prostheses fabricated by different manufacturing techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS Zirconia crowns were prepared into four different groups (n = 14 per group) according to the manufacturing techniques and generations of the materials. The intaglio surface trueness (root-mean-square estimates, RMS) of the crown was measured at the marginal, axial, occlusal, and inner surface areas. Half of the specimens were artificially aged in the chewing simulator with 120,000 cycles, and the antagonist's volume loss after aging was calculated. The fracture load for each crown group was measured before and after hydrothermal aging. The intaglio trueness was evaluated with Welch's ANOVA and the antagonist's volume loss was assessed by the Kruskal-Wallis tests. The effects of manufacturing and aging on the fracture resistance of the tested zirconia crowns were determined by two-way ANOVA. RESULTS The trueness analysis of the crown intaglio surfaces showed surface deviation (RMS) within 50 µm, regardless of the manufacturing methods (P = .053). After simulated mastication, no significant differences in the volume loss of the antagonists were observed among the zirconia groups (P = .946). The manufacturing methods and simulated chewing had statistically significant effects on the fracture resistance (P < .001). CONCLUSION The intaglio surface trueness, fracture resistance, and antagonist's wear volume of the additively manufactured 3Y-TZP crown were clinically acceptable, as compared with those of the 4Y- or 5Y-PSZ crowns produced by subtractive milling.


Background: Landmark clinical trials have led to optimal treatment recommendations for patients with diabetes. Whether optimal treatment is actually delivered in practice is even more important than the efficacy of the drugs tested in trials. To this end, treatment quality indicators have been developed and tested against intermediate outcomes. No studies have tested whether these treatment quality indicators also predict hard patient outcomes. Methods: A cohort study was conducted using data collected from .10.000 diabetes patients in the Groningen Initiative to Analyze Type 2 Treatment (GIANTT) database and Dutch Hospital Data register. Included quality indicators measured glucose-, lipid-, blood pressureand albuminuria-lowering treatment status and treatment intensification. Hard patient outcome was the composite of cardiovascular events and all-cause death. Associations were tested using Cox regression adjusting for confounding, reporting hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Lipid and albuminuria treatment status, but not blood pressure lowering treatment status, were associated with the composite outcome (HR = 0.77, 0.67–0.88; HR = 0.75, 0.59–0.94). Glucose lowering treatment status was associated with the composite outcome only in patients with an elevated HbA1c level (HR = 0.72, 0.56–0.93). Treatment intensification with glucose-lowering but not with lipid-, blood pressureand albuminuria-lowering drugs was associated with the outcome (HR = 0.73, 0.60–0.89). Conclusion: Treatment quality indicators measuring lipidand albuminuria-lowering treatment status are valid quality measures, since they predict a lower risk of cardiovascular events and mortality in patients with diabetes. The quality indicators for glucose-lowering treatment should only be used for restricted populations with elevated HbA1c levels. Intriguingly, the tested indicators for blood pressure-lowering treatment did not predict patient outcomes. These results question whether all treatment indicators are valid measures to judge quality of health care and its economics. Citation: Sidorenkov G, Voorham J, de Zeeuw D, Haaijer-Ruskamp FM, Denig P (2013) Do Treatment Quality Indicators Predict Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Diabetes? PLoS ONE 8(10): e78821. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0078821 Editor: Cordula M. Stover, University of Leicester, United Kingdom Received June 30, 2013; Accepted September 16, 2013; Published October 30, 2013 Copyright: 2013 Sidorenkov et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: The study was funded by the Research Institute SHARE of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


summary Routine screening for maternal immunization in a 36‐year‐old woman revealed an alloimmunization against the high‐incidence Vel antigen during a second pregnancy. Because of the development of immunoglobulin G‐type anti‐Vel, the infant developed haemolytic disease of the newborn, with severe jaundice and reticulocytosis. Phototherapy was needed to reduce hyperbilirubinaemia.


ABSTRACT Gabbroic and tonalitic xenoliths from c. 3 ka pyroclastic deposits on Raoul Island in the intra-oceanic Kermadec arc are samples of shallow crust formed < 2 Ma ago. Gabbros are orthocumulates composed of plagioclase, augite and orthopyroxene. Some trace element and isotopic characteristics are similar to those observed in Raoul mafic lavas, but SiO2 and incompatible trace element abundances are lower. The rare earth element (REE) patterns of the gabbros manifest strong positive Eu anomalies indicative of cumulate plagioclase. Tonalitic xenoliths comprise plagioclase, quartz, magnesiohornblende, magnetite, ilmenite and titanite. Their REE patterns feature strong negative Eu anomalies, which could indicate extensive plagioclase fractionation, but some have orthocumulate textures. In contrast to Raoul dacites, tonalitic xenoliths commonly contain amphibole. They also have higher total REE, and lower K, Ba and Rb abundances, and more evolved Sr isotope compositions. They represent a spectrum from highly fractionated felsic melts, through crystal mushes to felsic cumulates and were generated during an earlier phase in the evolution of the Raoul magmatic system.


The chlorophyll content and leaf color were estimated in leaves of sweet pepper by using the SPAD‐502 chlorophyll meter and the Minolta tristimulus colorimeter. In situ SPAD readings and extractable chlorophyll content were highly correlated, both for chlorophyll a (r2 = 0.93) and total chlorophyll (r2 = 0.89). Light reflectance (400–700 nm) measured with the tristimulus colorimeter was compared with light transmittance (at 650 and 940 nm) measured with the SPAD‐502 meter. Strong linear relationships (r2 ≥ 0.93) were found between L* (lightness) and b* (yellow color) and the SPAD chlorophyll readings. However, a more correct form to measure leaf color is obtained from the calculation of the saturation chroma C* and the hue angle H°. Linear and quadratic regression models were obtained between C* and H°, and SPAD readings (r2 = 0.95 and r2 = 0.90, respectively), suggesting that both instruments may be used to estimate either chlorophyll content or leaf color.


This paper relates seven years of experience teaching Software Project Management both in academia as part of an undergraduate software engineering program and to software engineering graduate students, and to practitioners in industry. It explains some of the difficulties and constraints for such a course. It describes the current syllabus and its rationale. The course is constructed based on a conceptual model of software development that accommodates a wide range of process models, traditional and agile, large and small. The course is illustrated by drawing from a range of concrete processes: RUP®, DSDM®, MSF®, Scrum and XP, of software engineering standards (from IEEE and ISO) and a few project management tools. The paper then maps this course to the IEEE SWEBOK (Software Engineering Body Of Knowledge), to IEEE Standard 1490, better known as the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge), and more particularly to the recent IEEE-CS/ACM SE2004 (Software Engineering Curriculum 2004), showing how the course can be made an integral part of a well-rounded software engineering program.


In this paper, the authors approach the issue of new forms of subjectivation promoted by neoliberalism. We start from the Foucaultian conception of power as governance, understood as the leading of the behavior of others. To achieve this, we establish the ruptures and discontinuities between the liberal and neoliberal government rationalities as well as the effects this has had on the shaping of subjectivities. We conclude that, in contemporary times, emerging subjectivity occurs in self-entrepreneurs. Furthermore, we state that these individuals: (1) behave as entrepreneurs; (2) turn their own lives into human capital that must be increased through investments on oneself so that the self-company obtains better performance; (3) build new ways of establishing bonds based on the market, and (4) are governed under the promise of absolute freedom, the cult of risk and the discourse of flexibility.


Genetic studies on model plants and crops in the last few decades have uncovered numerous genes that play vital roles in plant tolerance to adverse environments. These genes could be used as targets for genetic engineering to improve plant tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Recent advances in CRISPR-based genome editing have accelerated modern plant breeding and wild-species domestication. However, the stress regulators in many crops and horticultural cultivars and their wild species remain largely unexplored. Thus, transferring the accumulated knowledge of these molecular regulators from model plants to a wider range of other species is critical for modern plant breeding. Phylogenetic analysis is one of the powerful strategies for studying the functional conservation and diversity of homologous gene families among different species with complete genome sequences available. In addition, many transcriptome datasets of plants under stress conditions have been publicly released, providing a useful resource for addressing the stress response of given gene families. This Special Issue aims to illustrate the phylogenetics of molecular regulators with potential in contributing to plant stress tolerance and their stress response diversity in multiple non-model plants.


Background: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy and safety of the perioperative use of sunitinib in patients with metastatic and advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Materials and methods: We searched authenticated databases for related clinical studies. The baseline characteristics, parameters concerning the efficacy and safety of the perioperative use of sunitinib were extracted for subsequent comprehensive analysis. The parameters which reflected the efficacy and safety as overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), occurrence rate of all-grade and grade ≥3 adverse effects (AEs) were carefully pooled using comprehensive meta-analysis. Results: We finally recruited 411 patients from 14 eligible studies. We found proteinuria (75.0%, 95% CI 62.1%–84.6%), anemia (71.6%, 95% CI 60.9%–80.3%), athesia (60.0%, 95% CI 40.3%–77.0%), pause symptoms (59.2%, 95% CI 49.2%–68.4%), arterial hypertension (53.1%, 95% CI 43.2%–62.7%), and thrombocytopenia (52.5%, 95% CI 44.8%–60.0%) to be the most common all-grade AEs. And arterial hypertension, athesia, cutaneous toxicity, hypophosphatemia, leukopenia, pain, pause syndrome, renal dysfunction, and thrombocytopenia were the most common types of grade ≥3 AEs. In addition, objective response rate (ORR) of sunitinib to both the original and metastatic tumor sites increased with the use of sunitinib, so did the OS and PFS. Conclusion: Common all-grade and grade ≥3 AEs were carefully monitored. The perioperative use of sunitinib showed superior ORR, OS, and PFS rates. Nevertheless, more studies are required to further verify these findings.


A fluid distribution system with at least a container containing the one camming surface can be used. In various embodiments, the fluid delivery system may have a track engageable with the housing and a housing that can accommodate a fixed orientation at least a portion of the container. In at least one embodiment, the housing can be slidably moved along the track at least between a first position and a second position. In various embodiments, the fluid distribution system housing the second may have a tube that at least bitten portion and fit of the container to withdraw the fluid from the vessel when in position, also have a fluid system in communication with the tube and fluid can.


PurposeTo define clinically useful markers for determining the adequacy of resuscitation after hemorrhage. DesignProspective study of 20 Yorkshire swine, using an established model for hemorrhagic shock in swine. Background and MethodsClinically useful markers for assessing the adequacy of resuscitation after hemorrhage do not exist. We assess variables, such as BP and arterial blood pH. However, these variables do not correlate well with restoration of organ perfusion. In this study, 14 anesthetized swine were hemorrhaged to a mean arterial pressure of <25 mm Hg. After 30 mins without interventions, each animal was resuscitated with whole blood, hydroxyethyl starch, or normal saline. At baseline and during shock and resuscitation, hemodynamic variables, arterial and mixed venous blood gases, and arterial lactate concentrations were measured to determine which variables correlated most closely with the restoration of blood flow. ResultsThe correlation between cardiac index and arterial or mixed venous pH and the correlations with arterial lactate values were poor. The correlation between cardiac index and mixed venous hemoglobin saturation also was weak (r2 =.28). Cardiac index correlated best with the arterial-venous Pco2 difference (r2 =.67) and the arterial-venous pH difference (r2 =.38). Using multiple regression, a linear correlation was established between the cardiac index and the arterial-venous pH and Pco2 differences throughout shock and resuscitation (r2 =.91). ConclusionThese findings suggest that the adequacy of resuscitation after hemorrhage can be assessed using paired arterial and mixed venous pH and Pco2 values. (Crit Care Med 1992; 20:518–522)


ABSTRACT Mental health disparities impacting Korean Americans are multifaceted. Although encouraging developments have been made in the knowledge of mental health prevalence and professional help-seeking behaviours of Asian Americans, Korean Americans continue to experience many challenges and unique needs that require more ethnic- and culture-specific knowledge. Given the prominent role that religion, particularly Christianity, plays in the Korean American context, we conducted exploratory interviews with 10 Korean American pastors regarding their perspectives on mental health issues impacting the Korean American community. Using consensual qualitative research, we found four salient domains: (a) Barriers to seeking mental health services, (b) Challenges that pastors experience, (c) Pastor's assessment of church's current climate in approaches to mental health issues, and (d) What is needed. Implications for research and practice in addressing mental health disparities are discussed.


The development of computer systems that analyze the execution of top athletes has been improving and becoming more meticulous and precise in an attempt to measure each variation that affects the performance of athletes. These complex systems are reserved, due in most part to their high costs and lengthy implementation process, to a few selected groups of athletes, excluding the amateur group, which represents a considerable population. The same happens with cycling, so the purpose of developing a low-cost, and rapid implementation system, is to conduct a larger group of people towards a comfortable riding posture and, consequently, to improve their performance.


In order choose the explosion parameters easily,the index system,about explosion and crash properties on stone and mine,was established,and the analytical hierarchy process was used to analyze.The results show that,the modulus of elasticity,compressive strength,tensile strength,friction angle,bond strength are the most important influence facters with the weight of 7.93%.The power and sudden character of dynamite(weight: 7.04%),as well as,the rows space and depth of holes and once consume of dynamite(weight:6.73%),take second place.The influences of the decline ratio,depth error(weight: 2.77%) and volume to weight ratio(weight:2.54%) are lesser.This has provided the powerful theory basis for choosing the parameters and design of explosion.


Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare Volume 6 Supplement 1 2000 the other hand, commonly suggested advantages were: faster diagnosis, increased accuracy of diagnosis and a decrease in the need for patient travel. One-third of doctors could see no advantage in the use of telemedicine in relation to themselves or colleagues. However, three main advantages emerged: these were the educational value of telemedicine, diagnostic and management reassurance for GPs and a reduction in time spent travelling by consultants. Similarly, one-third of doctors believed that the use of telemedicine posed no problems for patients, themselves or colleagues. However, a potential lack of confidentiality was of major concern to both groups. Other concerns included inaccuracy during a teleconsultation due to a combination of technical limitations and the GP having to perform a proxy examination for the specialist, the supposed 'impersonal' nature of a teleconsultation and a lack of reassurance for the patient. In relation to themselves and their colleagues, inaccuracy was perceived as a potential problem, as were time constraints and the costs associated with the setting up and maintenance of a telemedicine system. Consultants were particularly worried about technical limitations and the impersonal nature of telemedicine whereas GPs were concerned that its use could lead to a further increase in patient expectations and hence pressure on services.


Abstract This paper considers the extent to which the provision of sheltered housing for sale has created a new and buoyant market niche for housebuilders during the 1980s. Focusing on the rapid growth in the numbers of elderly home owners, the increasing equity value of their existing homes and improved savings and pensions arrangements, the market has been targeted at a group of relatively affluent and independent elderly. Sophisticated targeting and marketing of such developments has become the prerogative of specialist divisions of major housebuilding companies, and a number of companies exclusively concerned with the retirement homes market, with McCarthy and Stone and Anglia Secure Homes providing the empirical base for the current paper. After considering the growth and maturing of the retirement homes market, the paper concludes with some speculation on the sustainability of this market niche, within the context of current recessionary processes in the wider housing market.


This research of a business management model to improve marketing processes in the area of sales at Palmeras de los Andes Company, of Quininde for the company to reach the market position by applying techniques and communication tools achieve catch the attention to oil palm base don previous research. The management model proposes the implementation of the "marketing mix", which is based on the implementation of advertising strategies, promotion and sales forces, each of these aspects have been previously investigated for the location of the oil palm in front of them and there raise communication activities, base don a manual of animated image (called Generation) to frame the product and reach the consumer at oil palm farmer. The strengthening of marketing in the company helps get closer to palm farmers and entrepreneurs who are interested in the product and know their awards, so this area must be given the same importance as other that we work together and achieve the development of the company. It is recommended that once built the operation of a business management model to improve marketing processes in the sales area, as well as internal and external socialize in the company. Secondly it is important that the company implementa all the strategies proposed in this way to increase sales and improve our distribution channels for our palm growers are dissatisfied whith our proposals. Finally the research process that could give me the customer base.


Constipation, a common health problem, causes discomfort and affects quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate the potential effect of probiotics on loperamide (LP)-induced constipation in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, a well-established animal model of spastic constipation. In total, 100 male SD rats (age, 8 weeks; Japan SLC, Inc., Hamamatsu, Japan) were used in the experiments following a 12-day acclimatisation period. They were randomly divided into two treatment groups (groups 1 and 2) of 50 rats each. Spastic constipation was induced via oral administration of LP (3 mg/kg) for 6 days 1 hour before the administration of each test compound. Similarly, a probiotics solution (4 ml/kg body weight) was orally administered to the rats once a day for 6 days in group 2. In group 1, phosphate buffer solution was orally administered once a day for 6 days 1 hour after each LP administration. The changes in body weight, faecal parameters, short-chain fatty acid concentration in faeces, and faecal immunoglobulin (Ig)-A concentration were recorded. In the present study, the oral administration of probiotics improved faecal parameters, short-chain fatty acid concentration in faeces, and faecal IgA concentration. Our results indicate that probiotics increase the levels of intestinal short-chain fatty acids, especially butyric acid, thereby improving constipation and intestinal immunity.


Abstract. We compare vacuum forces on a slab and on an atom embedded in a magnetodielectric medium near a mirror as obtained in a traditional and a recently suggested Lorentz-force approach to the Casimir effect. We also extend a number of classical results concerning the atom-mirror and atom-atom force in vacuum and dielectrics to magnetodielectric systems. This reveals, for example, that the (repulsive) interaction between atoms of different polarizability type is at small distances unaffected by the surrounding medium.


The use of flexible fiber optic cables on high-speed log handling cranes in the pulp and paper industry is described. On these machines, the fiber optic technology provides a noise free communication link for the control system and enables clear video signal transmission from the crane's legs through the festoon system to the drivers cabin to support the crane operators for safe truck unloading. A basic description of fiber optic transmission systems and an overview of the types of fiber constructions available are presented.<<ETX>>


Discusses a research project which focuses on how decisions are made, rather than on who makes them, and in particular on the communication involved when all members of a family participate in buying a product; the family is the most important consumer buying unit in society. Outlines how respondents were recruited in northeast Scotland, with children between 13 and 15 targeted; the research consisted of a questionnaire, interviews, and a decision‐mapping tool in the form of posters. Distinguishes formal and informal communication modes, the former tending to prevail if the decision was urgent; two‐way communication or one‐way, ie parent to child; and communications pairs and subgroups, including parent communication, child communication, and parent and child communication. Concludes that the research families adopted varying degrees of formality and communication directions, and that parents and children often worked together rather than in opposition to each other, with the child focusing on the parent who was most interested in the product.


COMA in the diabetic is not always diabetic coma, yet it is surprising how frequently this diagnosis may be made because of failure to consider all of the facts of the case. While, from the very nature of his disease, the diabetic is particularly liable to develop the ketosis which, should it become severe, will produce the so-called diabetic coma, yet, on the other hand, he is not immune to any of those conditions which may produce coma in the nondiabetic. At this stage it might be well to define just what we mean by "coma ". Unfortunately there has arisen a tendency to apply this word to any degree of ketosis in the diabetic without reference to his clinical condition; actually it means a somnolent state. In the present discussion we shall limit the use of the word to those conditions in which there is a severe depression of the sensorium, commencing with at least an obvious degree of clouding of the intellect, through the scale to the state of com-


I One of the factors that restrict the efficiency of photocatalysis is the fast recombination of photoinduced charge carriers in semiconductor particulate systems':", Efforts ha.-:' been made by several investigators to retard such a recombination of holes and electrons within the semiconductor particle and iJromote heterogeneous charge transfer at the semiconductor surface. Such efforts have included surface modification of the semiconductor with a noble metal" or with an oxide5.6 and simultaneous scavenging of holes and electrons by adsorbed redox species 7• Another approach for achieving efficient charge separation involves the coupling' of two semiconductor particles with different energy levels for the conduction and valence band edges. Serpone et a£8 reported a few years ago that Hz formed from HzS on CdS powder illuminated with visible light in aqueous solution and that the yield slightly increased in the presence of TiOz powder. The effect was explained by an improved charge separation due to electron transfer from the illuminated CdS particles to the conduction band of the Ti02 particles. Similarly, Gerischer and Lubke have reported the sensitization of TiOz electrodes by a CdS deposit", However, the drawback of such a system is that the holes which accumulate in the CdS particles cause anodic decomposition. Thus, the CdS layers disappear after being illuminated for a considerable length of time. ZnO semiconductor has shown a high efficiency in different photocatalytic processes 10,11, but the drawback of ZnO is that it is not stable under irradiation conditions, especially in highly alkaline media and hence there is a need of a sacrificial agent. Another limitation is that the bandgap energy (3.2 eV) of ZnO requires UV light for photoactivation. Fe20.1 is a stable short bandgap semiconductor with Eg = 2.4 eV. However, the tlatband potential of Fe10.1 is positive with respect to the potential for hydrogen evolution and hence there is a need for a bias. Thus in a ZnOFe20.1 system, photocorrosion of ZnO' can be prevented and the limitation associated with FeO, can be overcome and at the same time, sensitization of ZnO can also be achieved.


With the MICE(Meeting, Incentive travel, Convention, Exhibition) industry coming into the spotlight, there has been a growing interest in the domestic exhibition industry. Accordingly, in Korea, various studies of the industry are being conducted to enhance exhibition performance as in the United States or Europe. Some studies are focusing particularly on analyzing visiting patterns of exhibition visitors using intelligent information technology in consideration of the variations in effects of watching exhibitions according to the exhibitory environment or technique, thereby understanding visitors and, furthermore, drawing the correlations between exhibiting businesses and improving exhibition performance. However, previous studies related to booth recommendation systems only discussed the accuracy of recommendation in the aspect of a system rather than determining changes in visitors' behavior or perception by recommendation. A booth recommendation system enables visitors to visit unplanned exhibition booths by recommending visitors suitable ones based on information about visitors' visits. Meanwhile, some visitors may be satisfied with their unplanned visits, while others may consider the recommending process to be cumbersome or obstructive to their free observation. In the latter case, the exhibition is likely to produce worse results compared to when visitors are allowed to freely observe the exhibition. Thus, in order to apply a booth recommendation system to exhibition halls, the factors affecting the performance of the system should be generally examined, and the effects of the system on visitors' unplanned visiting behavior should be carefully studied. As such, this study aims to determine the factors that affect the performance of a booth recommendation system by reviewing theories and literature and to examine the effects of visitors' perceived performance of the system on their satisfaction of unplanned behavior and intention to reuse the system. Toward this end, the unplanned behavior theory was adopted as the theoretical framework. Unplanned behavior can be defined as "behavior that is done by consumers without any prearranged plan". Thus far, consumers' unplanned behavior has been studied in various fields. The field of marketing, in particular, has focused on unplanned purchasing among various types of unplanned behavior, which has been often confused with impulsive purchasing. Nevertheless, the two are different from each other; while impulsive purchasing means strong, continuous urges to purchase things, unplanned purchasing is behavior with purchasing decisions that are made inside a store, not before going into one. In other words, all impulsive purchases are unplanned, but not all unplanned purchases are impulsive. Then why do consumers engage in unplanned behavior? Regarding this question, many scholars have made many suggestions, but there has been a consensus that it is because consumers have enough flexibility to change their plans in the middle instead of developing plans thoroughly. In other words, if unplanned behavior costs much, it will be difficult for consumers to change their prearranged plans. In the case of the exhibition hall examined in this study, visitors learn the programs of the hall and plan which booth to visit in advance. This is because it is practically impossible for visitors to visit all of the various booths that an exhibition operates due to their limited time. Therefore, if the booth recommendation system proposed in this study recommends visitors booths that they may like, they can change their plans and visit the recommended booths. Such visiting behavior can be regarded similarly to consumers' visit to a store or tourists' unplanned behavior in a tourist spot and can be understand in the same context as the recent increase in tourism consumers' unplanned behavior influenced by information devices. Thus, the following research model was established. This research model uses visitors' perceived performance of a booth recommendation system as the parameter, and the factors affecting the performance include trust in the system, exhibition visitors' knowledge levels, expected personalization of the system, and the system's threat to freedom. In addition, the causal relation between visitors' satisfaction of their perceived performance of the system and unplanned behavior and their intention to reuse the system was determined. While doing so, trust in the booth recommendation system consisted of 2nd order factors such as competence, benevolence, and integrity, while the other factors consisted of 1st order factors. In order to verify this model, a booth recommendation system was developed to be tested in 2011 DMC Culture Open, and 101 visitors were empirically studied and analyzed. The results are as follows. First, visitors' trust was the most important factor in the booth recommendation system, and the visitors who used the system perceived its performance as a success based on their trust. Second, visitors' knowledge levels also had significant effects on the performance of the system, which indicates that the performance of a recommendation system requires an advance understanding. In other words, visitors with higher levels of understanding of the exhibition hall learned better the usefulness of the booth recommendation system. Third, expected personalization did not have significant effects, which is a different result from previous studies' results. This is presumably because the booth recommendation system used in this study did not provide enough personalized services. Fourth, the recommendation information provided by the booth recommendation system was not considered to threaten or restrict one's freedom, which means it is valuable in terms of usefulness. Lastly, high performance of the booth recommendation system led to visitors' high satisfaction levels of unplanned behavior and intention to reuse the system. To sum up, in order to analyze the effects of a booth recommendation system on visitors' unplanned visits to a booth, empirical data were examined based on the unplanned behavior theory and, accordingly, useful suggestions for the establishment and design of future booth recommendation systems were made. In the future, further examination should be conducted through elaborate survey questions and survey objects.


Objective To understand the structure characteristics of bat auditory organs and increase the anatomy data of mammals' auditory organs.Methods The components of auditory organs of miniopterus schreibersi were isolated by microscopic anatomy,then taking their photos by using the equipment of LEICA MZ16 F camera and measuring some length indexes from these photos by Spot advanced software.After that,the corelationship between these indexes was analyzed.Results The measured length of outer ear(L),malleus' helve(L1),incus' crus longum(L2),the height(H) and bottom width(W) of cochlea,the area of tympanic membrane(S1) and stapes' subface(S2) were(12.44±1.75) mm,(1.03±0.19) mm,(0.54±0.08) mm,(2.59±0.14)mm,(1.77±0.10)mm,(3.25±0.43)mm2,and(0.14±0.02)mm2,respectively.There was remarkable corelationships between the length of L1 and L2,the W and H,as well as S1 and S2,respectively.No significant difference about the magnification of the sound pressure by middle ear appeared between the different individuals.Conclusions A delicate and well-worked transmission system was assembled with individual components of auditory organs on mini opterus schreibersi,which established a fundamental condition for the function of echolocation.


Evidence is presented that for a large body of surface sound channel propagation data, collected for ionic absorption, there is a residual attenuation coefficient that may be due to the combined effects of scattering by sea waves as well as bubble‐layer absorption and scattering. The bubble‐layer properties are wakelike and are dominant whenever they are present. The bubble layer losses are proportional to the square root of the product of acoustic frequency and mean wave height.


A method of cleaning a wellbore prior to oil or gas production is disclosed, wherein the wellbore has been drilled with an invert emulsion drilling mud that forms an invert emulsion filter residue, the method may include the circulation steps of a decomposer fluid in the wellbore where the decomposer fluid comprises an aqueous fluid, a polar organic solvent, water-soluble hydrolysable ester of a carboxylic acid and an agent to increase density and wherein the hydrolysable ester is selected so that, upon hydrolysis, an organic acid is released and the filter residue invert emulsion breaks down.


Bone marrow grafts were carried out using two groups of donor recipient pairs. In group 1 the mixed leucocyte culture (MLC)-nonreactive littermate served as the donor for the MLC-reactive littermate; in group 2 the MLC-reactive littermate served as the donor for the MLC-nonreactive littermate. Recipients were given 1200 R total-body radiation from $sup 60$Co sources. Preliminary results of these transplants are described and compared with previous data obtained in littermates matched or mismatched at the canine histocompatibility complex. (HLW)


Idealy, everyone would like to embed test into their products today, whether it's to reduce costs, build in support capabilities, ensure better quality, reduce dependacy on expert technicians, or for one of many other intelligent motivations. However, it seems the technology of Built in Test (BIT) has not taken off or been adopted like many believed it would. The reasons for this poor adoption are diverse: some blame it on design, others fault product specifications and even others blame it on the fundementals of the technology itself.


The present study measures seasonal dynamics of the chemical characteristics of pectin, hemicellulose, starch, protein, and soluble carbohydrates in the tissues of Scandinavian willow bark, which were examined during a...


The social nature of laughter invites people to laugh together. This joint vocal action often results in overlapping laughter. In this paper, we show that the acoustics of overlapping laughs are different from non-overlapping laughs. We found that overlapping laughs are stronger prosodically marked than non-overlapping ones, in terms of higher values for duration, mean F0, mean and maximum intensity, and the amount of voicing. This effect is intensified by the number of people joining in the laughter event, which suggests that entrainment is at work. We also found that group size affects the number of overlapping laughs which illustrates the contagious nature of laughter. Finally, people appear to join laughter simultaneously at a delay of approximately 500 ms; a delay that must be considered when developing spoken dialogue systems that are able to respond to users' laughs.


Core test data from 10 wells indicate that the sandstone reservoir in Yuanshi oilfield is characterized by low permeability, thin pore throat, high clay mineral content, and strong sensitivity, which are likely to cause reservoir damage and affect development result. Based on the characteristics of water-sensitive, velocity-sensitive low permeability reservoir as well as non-Darcy flow behavior, the development strategy of high pressure water injection and cyclic water injection has been formulated with the assistance of engineering measures such as fracturing and reducing well spacing.


This report discusses six issues that could influence the world food situation in the twenty-first century: the relationship between policy related variables and the nutritional status of children, the relationship between current market trends for wheat, maize and rice and their potential impact on producer income, food production, and food stocks; the role of developing countries in the next round of World Trade Organization negotiations; and three topics related to increasing productivity on small-scale farms: the potential of agroecological approaches, the role of biotechnology, and the relevance of new information technology and precision farming.


This report explains what it means to characterize the performance of a computer , and which methods are appropriate and inappropriate for the task. The most widely used metric is the performance on the SPEC benchmark suite of programs; currently , the results of running the SPEC benchmark suite are compiled into a single number using the geometric mean. The primary reason for using the geometric mean is that it preserves values across normalization, but unfortunately , it does not preserve total run time, which is probably the figure of greatest interest when performances are being compared. Cycles per Instruction (CPI) is another widely used metric, but this method is invalid, even if comparing machines with identical clock speeds. Comparing CPI values to judge performance falls prey to the same problems as averaging normalized values. In general, normalized values must not be averaged and instead of the geometric mean, either the harmonic or thearithmetic mean is the appropriate method for averaging a set running times. The arithmetic mean should be used to average times, and the harmonic mean should be used to average rates (1/time). A number of published SPECmarks are recomputed using these means to demonstrate the ef f c of choosing a favorable algorithm.


The invention belongs to the technical field of image measurement, particularly relates to a measurement device for measuring concentricity and perpendicularity of a compression spring, which comprises a camera disposed on a cloud platform; a backlight plate disposed opposite to the camera for projecting uniform beam; a rotating base for fixing a spring to be measured; a cylinder and a cylinder head shaft for fixing the spring position and pressing the spring; a cloud platform for adjusting the viewing angle of the camera; and a computer for calculating and measuring the concentricity and perpendicularity of the spring according to the image signal collected by the camera. The invention also provides a method for measuring the concentricity and perpendicularity of the compression spring by utilizing the measurement device. The inventive measurement device can completely replace the measurement manner for measuring the concentricity and perpendicularity of a compression spring during compression spring production process by using an explorator or a contour projection measurement device, and realizes high speed online measurement and quality control of spring production. The inventive measurement device has good measurement accuracy and stability.


Purpose To develop a RP-HPLC method for peptide mapping analysis of Agkistrodon acutus defibrase and Gloydius ussuriensis defibrase.Methods The peptide mapping was obtained by trypsin hydrolysis and RP-HPLC detection.The analysis was performed on a C18 column and the mobile phase consisted of 0.1% trifluotroacetic and acetonitrile-water-trifluotroacetic(90∶ 10∶ 0.1) with gradient elution.Results The digested fragments were well separated and there was a significant difference between Gloydius ussuriensis defibrase and Agkistrodon acutus defibrase.Conclusion The method is simple and rapid for identification of defibrase from different sources to reduce the occurrence of adverse reactions.


As a result of theoretical and experimental experiments conducted in this study, the specifics of the temperature field in the heat-insulated parts of the outer wall of a hidden metal frame of a residential building built of cement sandwich panels in dry hot conditions of Uzbekistan were identified.


Diabetes mellitus is an endocrine metabolic disorder affecting many people all over the world. The mortality rate due to diabetes and its complications is increasing at an alarming rate. Dietary
factors rich in nutraceuticals, antioxidants, dietary fiber, etc are of great significance in the management of diabetes. Oxidative stress contributes to the progression of diabetes and its
complications and hence the present study was aimed to examine the effect of banana (Musa sp. var. elakki bale) flower and pseudostem on antioxidant and lysosomal enzyme activities during
diabetes. Banana flower (5%) and pseudostem (5%) feeding reduced hyperglycemia levels by 40 and 38%, respectively, and modulated the activities of antioxidant defense enzymes viz., catalase
(CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Activity of SOD was decreased in serum of diabetic group (1.6 ± 0.02 U/mg
protein), and was significantly ameliorated in banana flower (1.9 ± 0.03 U/mg protein) and pseudostem (2.0 ± 0.09 U/mg protein) fed groups at P<0.001. An alteration in the activities of
lysosomal enzymes viz., N-acetyl-s-D-glucosaminidase, N-acetyl-s-D-glucuronidase, N-acetyl-s-D-galactosidase and acid phosphatase was observed in diabetic group and was modulated by
banana flower and pseudostem feeding. Our results indicate that banana flower and pseudostem are involved in minimizing the oxidative stress-induced tissue damage by regulating the altered
antioxidant and lysosomal enzyme activities in different tissues during diabetes. These findings suggest that banana flower and pseudostem could be used as source of alternative medicines and
nutraceuticals.