RETINAL NERVE FIBER LAYER IS ASSOCIATED WITH BRAIN ATROPHY IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS To the Editor: I read with interest the article by Gordon-Lipkin et al.1 The authors studied a small heterogeneous group of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and gave no information concerning the presence of previous optic neuritis. They stated that "there were no selection biases based on history or severity of optic neuritis orMS characteristics." There are at least three possibilities: 1) all the patients had prior optic neuritis; 2) no patients had prior optic neuritis; or 3) the group is a mixture of patients with and without prior optic neuritis. According to the patients that have been included, the meanings of the results are different. The authors should have studied patients without prior optic neuritis to accurately conclude that there is a correlation between RNFL thickness and brain atrophy. If all the patients had prior optic neuritis, it has been shown that following optic neuritis with incomplete recovery there is RNFL thinning.2 This can happen at the onset of MS when no brain atrophy is observed so it is impossible to reach a correlation between brain atrophy and axonal loss in RNFL. Olivier Gout, Paris, France


A series of novel N-acyl cyclic urea derivatives (3a-3l) have been synthesized by the reactions of 1-((6-chloropyridin-3-yl)methyl)imidazolidin-2-one (1) with various acyl chlorides in the yields of 35-95%. Subsequently, N-acyl cyclic urea derivatives containing α-tertiary amine (5a-5k) have been synthesized by the nucleophilic substitution reaction of 1-(2-haloacetyl)-3-((6chloropyridin-3-yl)methyl)imidazolidin-2-one (3e or 3f) with various secondary amines in the yields of 49-86%. The synthesized compounds were characterized by 1 H NMR spectroscopy, 13 C NMR spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectroscopy, IR and elemental analysis.


Two investigations were made in South Australia to assess the accuracy of methods alternative to monthly sampling in herd recording. In the first, lactation records for 15,482 cows completing lactations in 1971-72 and tested monthly at that time were examined. The average lactation yields were 3988 kg, 3974 kg, 4033 kg, 3971 kg and 4004 kg for monthly testing, bimonthly testing (even months), bimonthly testing (odd months), alternate p.m.-a.m. testing, alternate a.m.-p.m. testing respectively. Only 5 per cent of all alternate p.m.-a.m. and alternate a.m.-p.m. estimates differed by more than 5 per cent from monthly estimates, whereas 12.3 per cent of bimonthly (even) and 19.7 per cent of bimonthly (odd) estimates differed by greater than 5 per cent. The second investigation was made over six months using a Research Centre herd to determine the accuracy of alternate a.m.-p.m. sampling for milk fat and milk protein. Cows recorded six times gave average fat percentages of 3.56, 3.65 and 3.60 under alternate p.m.-a.m., alternate a.m.-p.m. and monthly testing schemes. Average protein percentages were 3.47, 3.44 and 3.46 respectively. It is concluded that alternate a.m.-p.m. sampling could be satisfactorily adopted as an alternative method of sampling in herd recording,


Ce(SO_4)_2/SiO_2 was first applied to esterification of succinic acid with ethyl alcohol.Content of active constituent of the catalyst was a little.But the catalyst had high activity and no corrosion to the facilities.Reaction product was separated easily. The catalyst was an environmentlly friendly catalyst.Reaction conditions were studied. The optimum condition was obtained as follows: supported ceric sulfate 15%, succinic acid 0.1mol, ethyl alcohol 0.7mol,catalyst 1.0g, reaction time 120min. In the optimum condition, the rate of esterification was 91.5%.


Understanding of processes of change in the global environment comes from analysis of evidence that spans the boundaries between nations and between disciplines. Scientists are obliged to work across those boundaries in a variety of ways if they are to arrive at reasonably accurate judgements as to what is known or not known about the alterations that are taking place in the air, water, soil, and biota, of the Earth. One of the devices which they have used since 1969 is the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE).


Polyethylene glycol enfolded potassium bromide, that is, [K+{PEG}Br–] promoted the synthesis of DMC from the reaction of methanol and carbon dioxide (CO2) using alkali metal based catalyst. The experimental results demonstrated that [K+{PEG}Br–] acted as a promoter and provided up to 12.8% yield with 98% selectivity of dimethyl carbonate (DMC). After completion of the reaction, the reaction products were isolated by distillation and the resulting PEG layer containing potassium bromide (KBr) and potassium carbonate (K2CO3) was efficiently reused for next six runs without significant loss in DMC yield. After the six run, the yield of DMC was found to be 12.1%. In the absence of [K+{PEG}Br–], the reaction between methanol and CO2 using K2CO3 base catalyst provided only 1–2% yield of DMC.


We give the classification of all possible G-graphs for any small binary dihedral subgroup G in GL(2,C) and use this classification to give the combinatorial description of the special representations of G in terms of its maximal cyclic normal subgroup.


We investigate the seismic response of liquid storage tanks isolated by lead-rubber bearings. The force-deformation behavior of the bearings is considered as bi-linear modeled by the Wen equation. The continuous liquid mass of the tank is modeled as a sloshing mass, impulsive mass and rigid mass. The corresponding stiffness associated with these masses has been worked out depending upon the properties of the tank wall and liquid mass. The governing equations of motion of the three-degrees-of-freedom model of the isolated liquid storage tank are derived. Since the force-deformation behavior of the bearings is non-linear, as a result, the seismic response is obtained using the Newmark step-by-step method under several recorded earthquake ground motions. The responses of two types of tanks, namely slender and broad, are compared with the corresponding response without an isolation system in order to investigate the effectiveness of the isolation system. A parametric study is also carried out to study the effects of important system parameters on the effectiveness of seismic isolation for liquid storage tanks. The various important parameters considered are the aspect ratio of the tank, period, damping and the yield strength of the isolation system. It has been observed that the seismic isolation of the tanks is quite effective and the response of isolated liquid storage tanks is significantly influenced by the above system parameters. There is an optimum value of isolation damping for which the base shear in the tank attains the minimum value. Therefore, increasing the bearing damping beyond a certain value decreases the bearing and sloshing displacements but it increases the base shear.


The aim of this paper is to study the properties of the Ta/sub 2/O/sub 5/-SiO/sub 2/ thin films grown by MOD followed by rapid thermal annealing . The film is characterised by XRD, AFM and its electrical properties are studied.


The natural, cultural tourism resources of Hexi areas in Gansu province are characterized by their high-grade, multi-functional features. However, because of lack of accessibility as well as the tourist attractions of perfect satisfaction, Hexi tourism development is limited. This article asserts : the development of Hexi tourism should choose development model of combination of "base type" and "axis point", besides, it needs undertaking unified planning, strengthening the functions of the government, strengthening the basic infrastructure construction as well as the introduction of talents, etc, to promote the overall development of Hexi tourism.


In this paper we explore the syntax of diminutive affixes (henceforth DIM) in three unrelated languages: German (Germanic), Halkomelem (Central Coast Salish), and Russian (Slavic). We wish to show that the syntax of diminutives varies across (at least) two dimensions: i) how DIM is merged: as a head or as a modifier; and ii) where DIM is merged: above or below the 'word-level' (in the sense of Marantz 1997). We further demonstrate that this type of variation is attested both across languages (German vs. Halkomelem) and within a single language (Russian). These findings have important implications for the syntax – semantics mapping of categorization: the same (semantic) 'concept' is not universally mapped onto the same syntactic category and thus we conclude there is no 1:1 correspondence between semantic and syntactic categories.


The main objective of this research work is to investigate the energy coefficient (α) and momentum coefficient (β) for some Egyptian irrigation canals. Six cases of study from them having different degrees, starting from rayyahs to distributer canals with 10 successive cross sections for each reach, were carefully selected with discharge values ranged from 7.9.4 m3/s to 0.7 m3/s. The different properties and flow characteristics of each cross section were obtained. The arithmetic method was used in the computation process of α and β values due to its accuracy using a prepared excel program to facilitate the calculations. It was found that the computed values of α and β approximately match with Chow's table with average values of about 1.30 and 1.11 respectively, for canals under study, which could be used for field applications. It was also found that the average values of α and β for each canal increased with the increase of the canal degree but the maximum and the minimum values may be independent of the canal degree. General relationships relating α and β for each canal and for all canals under study have been derived. Moreover, correlation relationships for both α and β with a ratio correlating maximum and mean velocities ( ), Manning's roughness coefficient (n), and different values of discharge and channel characteristics were performed. The cross section properties had intangible effect on the values of both α and β but these values were strongly dependent on the velocity distribution shape. Froude number had a pronounced effect on the value of α and β but Reynolds number could have a negligible effect.


Heart failure (HF) is a major public health concern worldwide. The diversity of HF makes it challenging to decipher the underlying complex pathological processes using single biomarkers. We examined the association between urinary peptides and HF with reduced (HFrEF), mid‐range (HFmrEF) and preserved (HFpEF) ejection fraction, defined based on the European Society of Cardiology guidelines, and the links between these peptide biomarkers and molecular pathophysiology.


This article uses national data on prisons in the United States to examine the effects of deprivation, overcrowding, and their interaction on the likelihood of prison suicide. Our central argument is that overcrowding is a pivotal feature of prison environments that conditions the effects of deprivation. Findings provide substantial support for this hypothesis. For example, at low levels of overcrowding, minimum-security facilities evidence a lower probability of prison suicide, but at high levels, they are as likely to experience a suicide as their medium- and maximum-security counterparts. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.!


Objective: Limitations of current VAD for smaller children with HF include use of para-corporeal device, high stroke risk and lack of portability precluding hospital discharge. We report our experience with smallest Jarvik LVAD prototype highlighting the evolution of this device. Methods: A 14-months-old child, weighting 5.6 Kg with DCM and mid-aortic syndrome and a 3 years-old baby, weighting 11 Kg with DCM underwent off-label Jarvik LVAD prototype implantation. Results: Patient 1. After 123 days of Berlin Heart EXCOR LVAD (10 ml) support, the patient developed mediastinitis. He underwent device removal and Levitronix LVAD implantation. After 25 days, we implanted Infant Jarvik 2000. On 13th post-operative day, for a suddenly pump electric blackout, he underwent urgently VA ECMO support and 12 days later, for infection recovery, a new 10ccml BH EXCOR LVAD was implanted. After 17 days of support, he was successfully transplanted and survived to hospital discharge. Patient 2. This child was supported for 166 days with a BH EXCOR LVAD, which was explanted for LV recovery. After 6 days, he developed recurrency of severe HF, needing new LVAD. Because of abdominal cannula site infection, he underwent Infant Jarvik 2015 prototype implantation. Actually, after 3 months of support, is still awaiting heart transplantation. Conclusion: Our pioneering experience showed the feasibility of new smallest Jarvik LVAD and could be considered in future as alternative therapeutic option for LVAD support even in low-weight patients. Further study and larger cohort of patients are necessary to confirm the safety of this new device.


In the published version of this article: Previously, the second sentence in the Abstract stated 'Polystyrene, including extruded polystyrene (also known as styrofoam)'. It should have stated, 'Polystyrene, including expanded polystyrene (colloquially known as styrofoam)'. In the first paragraph of the Methods section under the heading 'Superworms and polystyrene', the second, third and fourth sentences read: 'Styrofoam was originally a trademarked brand of a light- blue extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam used in building insulation and has since become a generic name for white expanded polystyrene foam (EPA) frequently used in food containers, coffee cups and packaging material. The styrofoam used in this study was EPA purchased from Polystyrene Products (https:// www.polystyreneproducts.com.au/).' It should have read, 'Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of a light- blue extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam used in building insulation and has incorrectly become a common name for white expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam frequently used in food containers, coffee cups and packaging material. For ease of understanding we have therefore employed the term 'styrofoam' for the EPS foam used in this study. The EPS was purchased from Polystyrene Products (https://www. polystyreneproducts.com.au/).'


The separation of the state and society, the public sphere and the private sphere designate an insuperable limit for the exercising of governmentality, which is the constitutionalism aim of restricting government power and protecting the rights of citizens. The establishment of a socialist market economic system is changing the pattern of "strong national power and weak social rights" for several thousand years in China, leading to binary separation of the state and society. It lays a solid foundation for the innovation of political system and establishment of a constitutional democracy in China.


Introduction: The clinical presentation and frequency of organ involvement are quite distinct in patients with IgM amyloidosis compared to patients with non-IgM amyloidosis, with less heart involvement and more nerve, soft tissue and lung involvement in IgM patients. It has been observed that immunoglobulin light chain variable region (IGVL) gene and gene family of the plasma cell clone impact phenotypic manifestations in AL amyloidosis, particularly organ tropism. (Kourelis et al. Blood. 2017;129). Given the variability in clinical features amongst patients with IgM vs. non IgM AL amyloidosis, we hypothesized that IGVL gene usage would be different between these two groups.
 Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed IgM and non-IgM amyloidosis seen at our institution from 01/2006 to 12/2015 were identified. IGVL gene usage was assessed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) as previously described. (Vrana et al Blood 2009;Dasari et al J of Proteome Res; Kourelis et al. Blood. 2017). Mass spectrometry data for IGVL analysis was obtained from clinically available data. LC/MS/MS was performed on available archival specimens when such data was not available clinically.
 Results: Patients with newly diagnosed amyloidosis who had sufficient mass spectrometry data on fat aspirate or tissue biopsy for IGVL gene usage identification were included (IgM AL, N=44 and Non-IgM AL, N=391).
 Clinical Features: As expected, differences were noted in baseline characteristics of patients with IgM vs. non-IgM AL amyloidosis. Patients with IgM amyloidosis were older (68 vs. 64 years, p=0.04) and more likely to have kappa as the involved light chain (34% vs. 25%, p=0.2), though the difference did not reach statistical significance. IgM amyloidosis patients had lower difference in involved and uninvolved free light chains (dFLC) (15.5 vs. 25.8 mg/dL, p=0.01) and lower NTProBNP levels (median: 1987 vs. 2655 pg/mL, p=0.02) compared with non-IgM amyloid patients. Presence of t(11;14) was less common by FISH (30% vs. 48%, p=0.1), though the difference did not reach statistical significance. Patterns of organ involvement were different, with heart involvement being less frequent in IgM patients (64% vs. 76%), while peripheral nerve (30% vs. 18%, p=0.05), soft tissue (41% vs. 21%, p=0.005) and lung involvement (7% vs. 3%, p=0.1) were more common in patients with IgM vs. non-IgM AL amyloidosis. There was no difference in liver (9% vs. 15%), kidney (50% vs. 51%) GI (23% vs. 25%) or autonomic nervous system involvement (18% vs. 14%).
 IGVL Gene Usage: As shown in Figure 1, IGVL usage differed across the two groups. In the lambda group, LV2-08 (14% vs. 2%, p<0.001) and LV2-14 (36% vs. 10%, p<0.001) were more common in IgM amyloid patients, while LV1-44 (0% vs. 10%, p=0.02) and LV6-57 (2% vs. 18%, p=0.004) were less common in the IgM group. There was also a trend towards less frequent involvement of LV3-01 (2% vs. 12%, p=0.07) in IgM amyloid patients. In the kappa group, KV4-01 (11% vs. 4%, p=0.04) was more common in patients with IgM amyloidosis.
 Correlation Between IGVL Gene usage and Clinical Features: IGVL gene usage correlated with disease characteristics and differences in the clinical presentation of patients across the two groups. LV2-14 was more commonly seen in IgM amyloid patients (above). It has been previously associated with a higher frequency of peripheral nerve involvement (Kourelis et al. Blood 2017), which was more frequent in IgM group. LV2-14 is also associated with low dFLC levels, which were noted to be lower in the IgM AL cohort. LV1-44 has been associated with higher likelihood of cardiac involvement. LV1-44 was seen less frequently in the IgM amyloid patients, who also had lower rates of cardiac involvement. LV6-57 has been historically associated with higher rates of t(11;14). It was less common in IgM AL patients, who also had lower rates of t(11;14).
 Conclusions: IGVL gene usage differed significantly in patients with IgM vs. non-IgM amyloidosis, correlating with differences in disease characteristics and organ involvement. This is the first study to our knowledge to report IGVL gene usage differences in IgM vs. non-IgM AL amyloidosis. Differences in IGVL gene usage may explain the distinct clinical presentation seen in IgM amyloidosis, the biology of which has so far remained poorly understood.
 *SS and SD contributed equally

 Dasari: The Binding Site: Patents & Royalties: US Patent Rights on Mass Spectroscopy Licensing agreement with The Binding Site, Research Funding. Dispenzieri:Alnylam: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy; Akcea: Consultancy; Intellia: Consultancy. Murray:The Binding Site: Patents & Royalties: US Patent Rights on Mass Spectroscopy Licensing agreement with The Binding Site, Research Funding. Kumar:Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Gertz:Prothena: Honoraria; Alnylam: Honoraria; Ionis: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Spectrum: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria.


The non-commercial fishes called bycatch form a significant quantity of the total marine fish landings particularly in the landing area of Visakhapatnam fishing harbour (VFH). The inedible fishes, bulk catches of juvenile fishes, low value fishes and fishes unacceptable for human consumption are commonly referred to as bycatch. The present study was conducted to investigate the organic components (total protein, carbohydrate and lipid) and moisture in 3 species of finfish (Leiognathus equulus, Upeneus vittatus and Trichiurus lepturus) from bycatch of VFH during Aug 2014 to Jul'16. The total protein estimation was done by Micro Kjeldahl method, carbohydrate by Dubois method and lipid by Franz von Soxhlet method. The results showed that these fishes are good source of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. The result of the current study explained that the overall nutritional composition of each bycatch categories were above 15% in inedible bycatch which proves that the bycatch were of good nutritional value and it is acceptable for development of value added products. This investigation may be beneficial in utilization of bycatch.


The possibility of using gap-graded aggregates mixtures for road concrete was first mentioned in 1952 in the "recommendations for the construction of concrete roads". Since the end of the 1950s concrete pavements having gap-graded aggregates have been constructed in North Germany. Experience has shown that these concretes, apart from having better workability, also have a higher resistance to wear caused by studded tyres than uniformly graded concretes. It is concluded that the selection of gap-graded aggregates is the best way of improving the wearing strength and durability of concrete roads.


To improve the precision of slave POS(position and orientation system) in distributed POS and compensate for the wing's flexure deformation of aircraft,a novel transfer alignment method was proposed.The ground-demo of the distributed POS was set up to test the proposed method.A mechanical method with the aid of the ANSYS software was used to establish the motion equation of the model wing.Then the flexure angle and its angular rate were added to the state variables of the Kalman filter.Based on this,the attitude error measurement equation was deduced with considering the flexure.The Kalman filter using the "velocity+attitude" matching algorithm was designed.The simulation results show that the precisions of horizontal angle and azimuth angle are superior to and respectively by the proposed method.All these characteristics show that the scheme is feasible and can provide references for the engineering application of the distributed POS.


Using the equifrequency surfaces (EFS) to describe negative refractions in left-handed materials (LHMs) and photonic crystals (PCs), negative phase and negative group refractive indexes in LHMs were compared with positive phase and negative group refractive indexes in PCs. The refractive indexes in PCs were dependent on frequencies and incident angles of electromagnetic wave, while indexes in LHMs were constant in the left-handed region. Furthermore, the phase compensating effect resulting from the negative phase refractive index was addressed to distinguish the perfect lens made of LHMs from the superlens realized in the all angle negative refraction (AANR) region of PCs.


The study is aimed on traces of religiosity in aesthetic-philosophical system of a Russian symbolistic poet,  prosaic  writer  and  thinker  D.S. Merezhkovsky.  The  study  analyses  selected Merezhkovsky's works with focus on aesthetics, his essays, historiosophic prose and philosophic religious treatises. For Russian spiritual and art culture, importance of Merezhovsky is obvious, especially in connection with his effort to overcome crisis processes in religious, philosophical and art sphere, realized by means of synthesis and transcendence in modern culture.


SLEEP SERVES AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE MAINTENANCE OF MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH WITH APPROXIMATELY ONE THIRD OF AN INDIVIDUAL'S LIFE SPENT SLEEPING. Insomnia, a general impression of inadequate sleep, occurs when an individual reports one or more deficits in initiating or maintaining sleep.1,2 Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder reported in the general population with an estimated 10%—35% reported being affected.3,4 Insomnia has a pervasive influence upon daily life function compromising social and occupational performance. The consequent performance impairment imparts costs on both the personal and organizational levels.5-8 It is therefore of public health importance to understand which factors are associated with an individual experiencing insomnia. Insomnia has been associated with a number of sociodemographic, lifestyle, somatic, and mental health factors in the literature. Sociodemographic factors include increasing age,9,10 female gender,9,10 lower education,11 lower income,11,12 and shift work.13 Lifestyle behaviors associated with insomnia include being sedentary,12,13 smoking,13 alcohol and caffeine consumption,13-15 and being overweight.9,16 Pain,17,18 long-term disability,3 in addition to specific health conditions such as allergies,19 circulatory disease,16,20,21 diabetes,16 digestive disease,22 migraine,23 respiratory disease,9,16 and rheumatic disorders,16,21,24 have been associated with insomnia, as have mental health factors including anxiety, depression and stress.7,8,25 Clinical studies afford much of our current knowledge with few studies having examined potential correlates of insomnia in the general population. Notably, only a few studies have examined several potential associated factors together in multivariate analyses and none of these have included a comprehensive array of reported factors associated with insomnia.1,3,9,11,16,17,26-28 This paper reports on 1) the prevalence of insomnia in the Canadian population age 15 and older, and 2) identifies the relative contribution of selected factors associated with insomnia in this population. This study goes beyond that of previous research to examine in one study the multivariate association of sociodemographic, lifestyle, somatic health, and stress factors with insomnia in the general population.


Comparison between ReST API and SOAP web services in providing data services that are carried out to support the improvement of these web services. The data tested is divided into 2, namely data with the same size format and data with different size formats. The test is divided into 3 stages, the first collecting with 10 data, the second 20 data, and the third 30 data, by carrying out data loading from each comparing web service. From the overall results obtained from the ReST API runs faster than SOAP. With an overall total data collection time on different devices with the same size format in the ReST API it produces 3.4 seconds and SOAP produces 3.9 seconds. While receiving data on different devices with different size formats on the ReST API, it takes 4.7 seconds and SOAP takes 5.3 seconds.


For nearly a century of scholarship, uncertainties and paradoxes have beleaguered interpretations of the origins and meaning of Salafism (al-salafiyya). Although academics and journalists alike are well aware of the various definitions and conflicting narratives of Salafism, relieving some of the confusion that beclouds the term continues to prove difficult. Given that concepts are fluid and relational, this state of affairs may seem inevitable. Yet there are reasons to believe that the current confusion surrounding Salafism is in part attributable to faulty scholarship and that consequently the substance and history of this religious orientation will remain unnecessarily puzzling so long as the production of knowledge about Salafism goes unexamined. In that sense, recent scholarly efforts to remedy the situation by providing deeper insights into the intellectual, geographical, and political diversity of Salafism have produced mixed results, for they have largely overlooked two of the most persistent epistemological problems that are at the root of much of the present-day ambiguity.


Over the last few decades, the microwave heating process has experienced more common and routine use for both home and industrial applications. In industrial field, microwave heating has been used for many applications, including food processing and preservation, bleaching, pasteurization, and sterilization (Decareau, 1985; Farag et al., 2001; Knutson et al., 1987). Numerous advantages boosted the use of microwave heating making it in many cases a technique preferred to conventional heating. These advantages include precise timing, rapidity, and energy saving. The principle of microwave heating is based on the interaction of electromagnetic waves with the molecular constituents of food. Such interaction leads to heat generation in the entire volume at nearly the same rate due to internal thermal dissipation of the vibrational energy of the molecules in the food (Decareau, 1985; Kamel & Stauffer, 1993). On the contrary, conventional heating generates heat at the contact surface first, and then the heat diffuses inward. The effects of microwave heating and conventional heating on the food components are therefore expected to be completely different. Since processed foods by microwaves are heated as a result of molecular excitation (Stein, 1972), many researchers have been concerned with the evaluation of the effect of microwaves on food constituents, nutrient retention and the change of flavours and colours of heated food (Finot, 1995; Mudgett, 1982). Microwave heating of roasted seeds and beans shows a better retention of flavour and antioxidant compounds without any significant chemical changes of the lipids (Behera et al., 2004; H. Yoshida & Kajimoto, 1989, 1994). With respect to lipid components, microwave heating was studied to verify eventual heat induced effects on different oils and fats (Farag, 1994; Hiromi Yoshida et al., 1990; H. Yoshida et al., 1992). For this purpose, peroxide value, carbonyl value and conjugated diene and triene levels were assessed. Extra virgin olive oil that comes from the first pressing of the olive, without using heat or chemicals, contains natural antioxidants such as tocopherols, carotenoids, sterols, and phenolic compounds (Boskou, 1996). It should be mentioned that carotenoids play a significant role as antioxidants by scavenging free radicals, and as singlet oxygen quenchers (Burton & Ingold, 1984; Di Mascio et al., 1989). Since oil and fat have low specific heat constants and heat quickly (Jowitt, 1983), nowadays microwave frying of food has been


tina was being starved, and vision was rapidly failing.-Dr. CRISP said that it was assumed by all present that arterioles and some of the larger arteijes were muscular, but he had failed to find unstriped muscular fibres in the coats of the vessels, and he did not believe in their contractility. I-e had carefully examined the death-rate for the three last deceninial periods * and, allowing for the increase of population, he found that the death-rate had increased in fever, scarlatina, measles, hooping couglh, diarrhcea, rheumatism, puerperal fever, and croup.Dr. SANSOM said that as, in the investigation of disease, objective were better thani subjective signs, so in the investigation of remedies, experimental data were better than opinion. The old therapeutics had rested too heavily on men's opinions ; and even now there were probably many agents empirically employed which were destined to share the fate of the pulverised lizards and decoctions of cerebral substance of ancient days. He could not without close scrutiny of the data accept the conclusion that modern medicine was practically less successfuil thani the anicient. Most probably, from the advance in diagnosis, cases described as fever, croup, etc., in one epoch, differed widely from those described in the other. The contractility of arteries and arterioles seemed to be so clear, that he was surprised that any one could reasonably doubt it. In common with hundreds of others, he lhad observed it over and over again. Lister (Phzil. TIans., 1858) showed that by irritation of the vaso-motor centre such complete contractioin of the arterioles of the web of the foot of the frog could be produced that it became white and exsanguined, as if benumbed with cold. Dr. Fothergill on one point might have unintentionally produced an erroneous impression. He had spoken of a condition of narcotism as produced by a venous reflex with secondary arterial contraction, whence resulted cerebral anzemia. It might be initerpreted that in his opiniion this was the explanationof the production of narcosis generally. Dr. Sansom considered that narcotism might be caused by the obstruction of the cerebral arterioles at the periphery, as wrhen blockaded by embola or foreigni bodies, or by active contraction of the arterioles, whereby the supply of blood was checked, or by dilatation of the arterioles, whereby the blood-current was showed. He had observed that the early action of an-esthetics was to contract the arteries ; this was constant in the case of all anoesthetics discovered. Subsequently, lhowever, and this more especially in the case of chloroform, dilatation occurred, whereby the blood-current was slowed. In iiarcotism, therefore, the conditions varied; there might be arterial contraction, just as in the case of congestion or dilatation, as in the advanced stages of chloroform-anwsthesia ; but there was one dominant circumstance, the imperfect supply of arterialised blood.-Dr. BROADBENT and Dr. THEODORE WILLIAMS joined in the (liscussion.-Dr. FOTHERGILL replied, and having answered the various questions asked, stated hls beiief that the veinis themselves possessed contractile powers; more especially the valveless veins of the portal system.


Spatial causal effects on water quality are essential in identification of vulnerable watersheds. Modelling landuse variables is an effective method of projecting localized impairment. This study presents an integrated index, designed to gauge the ability of an 8-digit Hydrologic Unit Code watershed in its ability to produce clean water. This index, IAPCW, can be successfully applied on a geospatial platform. In this study we utilized IAPCW to address forest cover dynamics of an impaired watershed, that is, Missouri Watershed James Sub-region in North Dakota. Specific parametric functions were analysed and combined within a customized GIS interface to provide a multi-faceted structured technique to derive IAPCW. These included ambient forest cover, housing density, agricultural land, soil erodibility and road density; it can be lucidly ascertained that where a prevailing forest cover undergoes conversion processes, the secondary effect may spur an exponential increase in water treatment costs. These parameters when projected statistically validated temporal and spatial relations of landuse/land cover dynamics to nutrient concentrations especially those that would be noted at the mouth of the watershed. In this study, we found that the levels of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) were much higher for the years 2014 to 2016 with a discernible increased alkalizing effect within the watershed. When IAPCW was compared to Annualized Agricultural Nonpoint Source (AnnAGNPS), the spatial distribution generated by the AnnAGNPS study showed that fallow areas produced significant amounts of sediment loads from the sub-watershed. These same locations in this study generated a low IAPCW.


Heat stress exerts high deteriorating impact on the poultry industry which could be ameliorated by dietary incorporation of synthetic vitamin C. Certain herbs either alone or in combination thereof are also a rich source of ascorbic acid in natural form. Thus, a 12-week experiment was conducted to determine the effects of high temperature and relative humidity on production performance in layer chickens supplemented with herbal antistress product and synthetic vitamin C. A total of 90 layer birds of 55 weeks age were divided in 3 equal groups (T0, T1 and T2) of 30 birds in each. They were exposed to a heat stress of daily temperature 39±8°C, and temperature humidity index (THI) of 81.33±1.20. To curb the losses incurred due to heat stress, birds in group T1 and T2 were treated respectively with synthetic vitamin C @ 100 g/tonne and herbal premix Ayucee containing natural Vitamin C and bioflavonoids @ 100 g/tonne of feed on daily basis for a period of seven weeks. Group T0 was not treated by any supplementation and kept as control. High ambient temperature and relative humidity resulted in high serum cortisol level (mg/L) (3.47±0.20 to 3.64±0.15) in all groups. It was significantly optimized and lowered down in both the treated groups. A significant difference existed between the initial and after treatment values in both the treatment groups while serum cortisol level was on a continuous rise in untreated T0 control group. Treatment with herbal Ayucee premix and synthetic vitamin C successfully optimized the increased ALT and AST levels and total protein, albumin and globulin in treated birds. Better growth and performance in terms of higher body weight, egg production % and egg weight was resulted from dietary incorporation of antistressor product containing vitamin C. Thus considering the cost benefit ratio herbal natural product Ayucee premix can replace synthetic vitamin C.


During a follow-up period of 16 weeks in 18 pigs, macroscopical and histological studies revealed inva sion of fibroblasts and mesenchymal cells around the carbon fiber prosthesis inserted to replace the ACL but scarce tissue ingrowth into the prosthesis proper. There was no adherence of the carbon ligament onto the bony channels. The peak tensile strength of the reconstructed ligament was about one third of the paired normal ACL ligament during the 16 week exper iment.


In image fusion domain, generic pixel-based image fusion methods are sensitive to imperfections of source images, and it therefore has much influence on the quality of the fusion results. Focusing on this problem, a region-based multi-focus image fusion scheme is proposed based on the local spatial frequency (LSF) in this paper. Firstly, calculate LSF for each pixel of source images, and a segmentation of the average image is introduced to segment the source images. From the segmented image, a shared region representation is obtained to label the source images. The identification of important features in shared region representation, region spatial frequency (RSF), is used to guide the fusion process. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme works well in multi-focus image fusion, and it outperforms comparison methods in terms of visual and objective evaluations.


Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are subject to node failures because of limited energy and link unreliability which makes the design of routing protocols in such networks a challenging task. The multipath routing scheme is an optimal alternative to address this problem which splits the traffic across multiple paths instead of routing all the traffic along a single path. However, using more paths introduces more contentions which degrade energy efficiency. The problem becomes even more difficult in the scenario of multiple source-destination pairs since the flow distribution of each link is uncertain. Our goal is to minimize the energy cost and provide the robust transmission by choosing the optimal paths. We propose a Distributed Energy Efficient Routing protocol (D2ER) to achieve this goal. In D2ER, we first study the problem from a theoretical standpoint by mapping it to the multi-commodity network design problem. Then, we employ the transportation method to solve this problem since it is hard to build a global addressing scheme due to the great number of sensor nodes. Simulation results demonstrate that our optimal algorithm can save energy drastically. Index Terms - Energy efficient; wireless sensor networks; routing


The purpose of this study was to compare the temperamental differences between the normal infants and low-birth-weight infants. The subjects of this study were 70 mothers with normal infants and 62 mothers with the low-birth-weight. Convenient sampling was done at three regions. The infant temperament scale developed by Pridham & others (1994) was used. Data were analyzed by SPSS WIN program. The results were as follows; 1) There was a significant difference in total temperament score between the low-birth-weight infants and normal infants. The scores of the low-birth-weight infants were significantly lower than those of normal infants in the subscales of amenability and persistence, activity, and reactivity. In adaptability, there was no significant difference between two groups. 2) In both groups, there were no significant difference by socio-economic status of parents, delivery type, and birth order. But, in the case of low-birth-weight infants, the temperament score of infants over 6 months was significantly higher than that of infants under 6 months. 3) In the correlation analysis among subscales of the temperament, amenability and persistence, activity, and reactivity showed the significant relationship. But adaptability showed significant correlation only with the amenability and persistence. In conclusion, temperament score of low-birth-weight infants were significantly lower than that of normal infants. It was suggested that parenting education for low-birth-weight infants would be needed to understand and impact the positive infant temperament.


In her editorial Fiona Godlee wrote, "Health reform has gained a bad name in England, but perhaps that's because we had a system that was largely working and improving when these latest changes were imposed."1 I wonder how you came to this conclusion. Perhaps if you understood the rationale behind the reforms you would think differently. So let me enlighten …


This paper focuses on the implementation of the rule-based supplier selection methodology using fuzzy logic concepts. The application of fuzzy sets and fuzzy rules to our methodology is discussed. This enables transforming linguistic rules into a form that can be computed. However, several issues do arise when the methodology is put into practice. The second part of the paper examines these issues and explores different ways of dealing with them.


Many commercial hand tools have been designed without ergonomic principles in mind which can result in the occurrence of upper extremity trauma. In this study, therefore, a clamping hand tool, Quick-Grip® bar clamp, was selected, ergonomically evaluated, a new version of the clamp focused on the handle was developed, and the original and ergonomically designed versions were compared using survey questionnaire. Design processes of the development of a new version were evaluation of the original clamp regarding ergonomic guidelines and anthropometric data, an idea sketch, prototype development, drafts and rendering of new design, development of final model, and objective and subjective comparisons to the original handle. Eleven male and eleven female students participated in the subjective testing portion which entailed questions after finishing simulated work. The results revealed that subjects were satisfied with the new version that was comfortable to hold and use in any position due to the rounded shape, the handle dimensions were appropriate, and no subjects reported pain in the hand. This study shows that application of ergonomics principles to the design of hand tools could increase usability and value of products and should be considered by manufacturers and designers.


The article is dedicated to the theatrical life of Western Siberia in the extreme period of World War II. The author analyzes the subject uniqueness of the repertoire of military time, the basic forms of theatrical activity.


A new hybrid genetic algorithm was proposed according to the lead compensator parameter optimization of gun-launching missile control system.This optimization methodology is globe optimization and has nothing to do with initial values.The mixture genetic algorithm combines the advantage of steeply convergence and highly precision of step-accelerating algorithm and global convergence of genetic algorithm,was used to improve the searching process and precision.Simulation results show that compared with the basic genetic algorithm,this hybrid genetic algorithm has good convergence and steadiness,and can be widely used for missile control system optimization.


Finished just weeks before his death, George Rochberg's eloquent memoir offers a detailed look at his fruitful life as a composer, publisher, and teacher of music. The volume traces a life immersed in music, with early study under George Szell and Gian Carlo Menotti and later long-term collaborations with the Concord Quartet and commissions for major orchestras and opera companies. Reflecting on music, aesthetics, colleagues, and the life of the creative mind, Five Lines, Four Spaces: The World of My Music captures not only the spirit but also the intellectual climate of the twentieth-century musical world.


Purpose – The growth of tourism in recent years has led to overtourism, which is present in many Mediterranean destinations. Coastal destinations are usually dealing with the consequences of seasonality and mass tourism during the summer season. Consequently, they have problems with their carrying capacity and various negative impacts of tourism. The well-being and quality of life of the local community depends on these impacts. According to this, the aim of this paper was to determine the attitudes of residents on the impact of tourism on their life in Zadar. The town of Zadar is a developed Mediterranean destination and the typical travel motive among tourists is the sea and the sun. It records continuous growth in tourist arrivals. Therefore, the purpose of the research was to examine how does tourism affect the residents' life. Methodology – The research was conducted in 2022 on a sample of 821 inhabitants of the town of Zadar. The questionnaire included demographic characteristics and attitudes related to their satisfaction with the tourism development and the impact of tourism on the residents' life. Findings – The research results showed that the residents are relatively satisfied with tourism activities in the town of Zadar. Despite the positive, primarily economic impacts of tourism, it is evident that there are also negative ones, including crowds, traffic, price increases, etc. Accordingly, residents support certain measures aimed at relieving the pressure of tourism in the town. Contribution – The results of this research indicate the increasing problems of overtourism faced by coastal destinations. These results should serve as one of the indicators for measurement and monitoring of tourism development. It is necessary to include them in the destination management of the town Zadar.


The Olympic Games have brought new life into both Beijing's and Chinese economy and greatly promoted Chinese economy.Chinese economy,especially Beijing's economy might go down due to the investment and consumption went down after the Olympic games of Beijing 2008.How to us positive and effective approaches to prevent the decline of Chinese economy is a hot topic for economists.Through integrating the Olympic economic theories with the China's country conditions,the author discussed the macro strategies for maintaining the development of Chinese economy.The author believes that modifying Chinese people's thought,increasing the feeling of happiness,completing social welfare systems,and optimizing economic structure are effective approaches to guarantee the development of Chinese economy after the Olympic Games.


Rising costs, increasing demand, wasteful spending, and limited resources in the healthcare industry lead to an increasing pressure on hospital administrators to become as efficient as possible in all aspects of their operations including location-allocation. Some promising strategies for tackling these challenges are joining some hospitals to form multihospital systems (MHSs), specialization, and using the benefits of pooling resources. We develop a stochastic optimization model to determine the number, capacity, and location of hospitals in a MHS offering specialized services while they leverage benefits of pooling resources. The model minimizes the total cost borne by the MHS and its patients and incorporates patient service level, patient retention rates, and type of demand. Some computational analyses are carried out to gauge the benefits of optimally sharing resources for delivering specialized services across a subset of hospitals in the MHS against complete decentralization (CD) and full centralization (FC) policies.


Large systems cybernetics and its generalized modeling method were introduced according to the mechanism, characteristic, mission requirements for the large scale system case of autonomous missile formation flying. The requirement analysis of system generalized modeling were put up, the modeling approach was proposed, and the global model and sub-model were established. By way of researching generalized modeling method, a kind of effective design idea was provided for demonstrating the control system scheme, and foundation was built for the embedded academic and technique study of engineering application.


Aspect Sentiment Triplet Extraction (ASTE) 001 performs fine-grained sentiment analysis in 002 a unified way through extracting sentiment 003 triplets comprised of aspect terms, opinion 004 spans, and their sentiment relations in sen- 005 tences. The previous works show the adoption 006 of BERT, which simply leverages its last layer 007 output as the word representation, is beneficial 008 for recognizing triplet elements. However, their 009 methods limit the potential of pretrained knowl- 010 edge in BERT, since the different layers can 011 capture multi-level linguistic information exist- 012 ing in sentences, which are useful for ASTE as 013 well. In this work, we explore to access the rich 014 pretrained knowledge by fully leveraging its at- 015 tention maps of different layers. To this end, 016 we propose to Segment the Attention Maps of 017 BERT ( SAMBERT ) by taking the merits of 018 semantic segmentation, which can effectively 019 discriminate the desired objects from others in 020 an image. In this procedure, we can further 021 reason over the knowledge of different levels 022 in these attention maps to distinguish aspect 023 terms, opinion spans and their sentiment rela- 024 tions from other parts, which results in a same- 025 shape tagging matrix of word pairs for deriving 026 sentiment triplets. Through the extensive ex- 027 periments on four benchmarks, we demonstrate 028 our method can achieve a new state of the art. 029


Abstract In this paper we present the impact of Intercollege's Web-Based Teaching and Learning Environment (IWBTLE). IWBTLE allows lecturers to develop webbased educational material using Web-based educational software WebCT (offthe-shelf software) and InterLearning (in-house developed software). The on-line material is available to the students through our Intranet and Internet sites. It is important to note that at this stage the aim of IWBTLE is to provide enhanced educational support to the students and not to replace traditional teaching and learning. The development of the InterLearning software and the development of the on-line material using both WebCT and InterLearning was funded by Intercollege and the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation. The on-line material was used by the students during the 2002-2003 (WebCT) and 2003-2004 (InterLearning) academic years. In this paper, we report on how students rated the WebCT and InterLearning software environment and their supporting tools and present a comparative analysis of the students' feedback. We also report on the lecturers' evaluation of the InterLearning software. This survey analysis helps us design our strategy in terms of what tools to use for the IWBTLE.


CCL20-CCR6 interactions promote colorectal cancer through direct effects on neoplastic epithelial cells and through modulating the tumor microenvironment. The mechanism of these effects on neoplastic epithelial cells is poorly understood. This study demonstrates that CCL20 induces secretion of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and phosphorylation of HGF's cognate receptor c-Met in HT29 and HCT116 colorectal cancer cell lines both in concentration- and time-dependent manners. Similar to CCL20, HGF induces migration, autofeedback CCL20 secretion, and ERK1/2 phosphorylation in the colon cancer cells. CCL20-dependent ERK1/2 phosphorylation is blocked by HGF inhibition, and CCL20-dependent migration and CCL20 secretion are blocked by inhibition of HGF or ERK. Interestingly, unlike CCL20, HGF does not induce proliferation of colon cancer cells, and CCL20-dependent cell proliferation is not blocked by direct HGF inhibition. CCL20-dependent proliferation, however, is blocked by the multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor crizotinib. Exploring this effect, it was found that CCL20 also induces production of MSP and phosphorylation of MSP's receptor MSPR by the colorectal cancer cells. CCL20-dependent cell proliferation is inhibited by directly blocking MSP-MSPR interactions. Thus, CCL20-mediated migration and CCL20 secretion are regulated through a pathway involving HGF, c-Met, and ERK, while CCL20-mediated proliferation is instead regulated through MSP and its receptor MSPR.


Phosphorene, a monolayer of bulk black phosphorus, is promising for light harvest owing to its high charge mobility and tunable direct band gap covering a broad spectral range of light. Here, via a...


The framework of this paper is the study of gas treatments (NOx abatement) by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure. To investigate the impact of various solutions for electrical energy injection on the treatment process, two diagnostic methods are considered to evaluate the discharging ratio on the reactor surface: an image processing method and a DBD equivalent circuit analysis, both presented in this paper. For the image analysis, the discharge area is first translated into gray levels, then segmented using the Otsu's method in order to perform the discharging ratio diagnostic. The equivalent circuit approach, derived from the classical Manley's diagram analysis, includes the behavior of the part of the reactor in which no discharge is happening. The identification of its parameters is used to estimate the discharging ratio, which evaluates the percentage of the reactor surface covered by the discharge. Experimental results with specifically developed power supplies are presented: they show a good agreement between the two methods. To allow a quantitative comparison of the discharge uniformity according to the operating conditions, the statistical analysis of gray level distribution is performed: non-uniform discharges with intense energy channels are shown to be clearly distinguished from more diffuse ones.


Allegheny Riverfront Park Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The narrow concrete embankment between an expressway and a river that floods every year might seem as tough and unforgiving a place for an enjoyable public space as one could imagine. But this is exactly the setting that the city of Pittsburgh and the non-profit Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, working with landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, set out to reclaim. Since the late 1970s, the trust has been working to revitalize what was once Pittsburgh's red-light district. Its vision for this fourteen-block area at the edge of downtown has been of a cultural district that would include not only new and renovated cultural venues and restaurants, but also residential and office space in new buildings and renovated warehouse space. The trust has long envisioned pedestrian connections between the new district and the Allegheny River. How- ever, according to Kevin McMahon, the trust's current president, this ran against the grain of Pittsburgh's indus- trial past. For more than a century, city residents had turned their backs to the river, considering it a utilitarian space at best, certainly not an environmental amenity. The city also was interested in facilitating a re-engage- ment between downtown and the river. In fact, a river- edge linkage between downtown parks had first been proposed in 1911 by the landscape firm of Frederick Law Olmsted. From a physical point of view, the major difficulty to re-establishing a pedestrian connection was that the river's edge had long ago been turned into a split-level transporta- tion corridor, with an arterial boulevard at street level and a four-lane expressway below. Moreover, much of the space that remained between the expressway and the river was used for parking. Together, roadways and parking areas had effectively cut the city off from the river, leaving the water's edge paved over and forgotten. Jurors were nearly unanimous in their praise for Allegheny Riverfront Park. They cited its aesthetic distinc- tion as well as its success at solving a host of environmental and engineering problems in pursuit of a shared civic vision. Furthermore, they noted, the project not only navi- gated a maze of state, federal and local regulations, but also integrated the delicate contributions of artists into what is, in essence, a massive work of civil engineering. Environmental and Infrastructure Challenge From the beginning, the designers recognized that the problem Pittsburgh faced was similar to that of other U.S. cities. "Across America, as industry recedes from once active water edges ... , a lifeless divide has developed between cities and their waterfronts. The river's edge has become an alienated, even hostile environment," they wrote in their award submission. But while Portland, New York and San Francisco tore down waterfront highways, Pittsburgh followed a different strategy. Matthew Urbanski, of Van Valkenburgh Associ- ates, explained that a key early decision was to accept the site for what it was. This meant resisting the desire to turn back the clock and bury the highway. Instead, the lower level of the park consists of new riparian plantings and a fourteen-foot-wide pedestrian and bicycle path that threads its way dramatically between the highway and the river. At street level, above, the park consists of a broad, semiformal, promenade overlooking the river. Much of the design is predicated on the need for bold solutions to neutralize the hostile character of the express- way. One problem was finding a way to bring pedestrians across the expressway and down to the riverfront. The answer came in the form of twin 350-foot-long ramps that descend from each side of the Seventh Street Bridge, one of three suspension structures that lead downtown. According to Urbanski, noise from the expressway once made it impossible to hold a conversation by the river's edge. Now, the ramps not only provide a fully ADA-com- pliant means of getting people down to the river, but also act effectively as sound walls. Pedestrians are further enticed to descend the ramps by undulating bronze handrails. And artist-designed screens with Virginia Creeper vines provide further shielding from the traffic. Another difficulty that had to be surmounted was find- ing a way for the riverfront walk to bypass an existing bridge abutment while avoiding conflicts with the Army Corps of Engineers. The method devised was to cantilever sections of reinforced concrete beyond the existing seawall, satisfying the Corps' prohibition against filling the river. The new path actually sweeps pedestrians and bicyclists out over the water, while leaving room for a narrow strip of earth along the bank in which plantings can be established. Yet another issue was that the lower level of the park is subject to floods that raise the Allegheny between five and ten feet each spring. Such extreme conditions, which sometimes include rapidly moving ice cakes, presented serious problems when it came to selecting plant materials. According to Urbanski, the design research involved boat trips up and down the river to determine what sur- vived in similar "inundation zones." Eventually, plants like river birch and silver and red maple, which have the ability Left: Construction of walkway cantilevered over river. Photos © Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., unless otherwise indicated. Right: Park site, after construction. Photo © Ed Massery Places 15.1


To the Editor:

Asthma, a leading cause of obstructive lung disease, is characterized by inflammation, mucus secretion, and remodeling of peribronchiolar connective tissue. These changes plus goblet cell metaplasia, smooth muscle hyperplasia, airway thickening, and eosinophil recruitment are regulated by or are a consequence of various cytokines, including IL-4, -13, -5, -9, and more recently -17 (1–8).

Type V collagen (col[V]), a minor collagen, is intercalated within fibrils of type I collagen, the major lung collagen (9). Due to its location, col(V) is considered a sequestered antigen not normally exposed to the immune system. However, interstitial remodeling leads to col(V) exposure, and results in a cryptic antigen becoming a target of the immune response. Indeed, we reported that anti-col(V) immunity developed in the pathogenesis of lung transplant–associated obliterative bronchiolitis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which are two disorders characterized by extensive interstitial remodeling (10, 11). Studies showing that immune responses to col(V) are involved in disease pathogenesis suggest that immune tolerance to col(V) may be protective of tissue injury. Indeed, col(V)-induced tolerance prevented acute lung allograft rejection and obliterative bronchiolitis (12–14), as well as bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis (15).

Because asthma is a disease that may involve interstitial remodeling, we hypothesized that clinical asthma is associated with anti-col(V) immunity and that col(V)-induced tolerance may limit the asthmatic response. Examination of serum from normal subjects and patients with asthma in the current study show higher levels of systemic anti-col(V) antibodies in individuals with asthma, and overexpression of interstitial col(V) in fatal asthma. col(V)-induced tolerance down-regulated ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) by reduction of airway smooth muscle contraction.

Methods
Methods are available in the online supplement.

Results
Anti-col(V) antibodies and col(V) expression in asthma.
We first determined if clinical asthma was associated with the presence of anti-col(V) antibodies. The study population is described in Table 1. Compared with healthy normal volunteers, individuals with asthma had significantly higher levels of serum anti-col(V) antibodies (P < 0.001) (Figure 1A). To determine if col(V) is highly expressed in the asthmatic lung, col(V) expression was assessed in a lung section from a patient who succumbed to an asthmatic episode. As expected in the normal lung, some col(V) staining was present in the subepithelial tissues and basement membrane, and stained at low levels in adjacent peribronchiolar tissues. In contrast, col(V) staining was increased in the thickened basement membrane and adjacent tissues in fatal asthma (Figure 1B).

TABLE 1.

PATIENT DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

Figure 1.

Detection of systemic anti–type V collagen (col[V]) antibodies in clinical asthma and allergic airway disease. (A) Serum was collected from 20 clinically defined individuals with asthma and 10 nonsmoking individuals without asthma and assayed ...

Induction of col(V) tolerance.
To determine if allergic airway disease (AAD) is also associated with anti-col(V) antibodies, we measured anti-col(V) antibodies in untreated mice and mice after OVA-induced AAD. In parallel studies, col(V) tolerance was induced by a single intravenous injection (100 μg) prior to OVA/alum as reported in the Methods in the online supplement and shown in Figure 1C. Compared with untreated mice or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-treated controls, AAD resulted in development of anti-col(V) antibodies (Figure 1D). To determine if OVA-induced AAD resulted in anti-col(V) cellular immune responses, mediastinal lymph node cells were isolated and cultured in the presence of OVA or col(V). As expected, OVA sensitization alone resulted in brisk OVA-induced proliferation (P < 0.01) (Figure 1E). Consistent with detection of anti-col(V) antibodies, OVA-sensitized mice developed a trend toward higher proliferation in response to col(V) (Figure 1E). Notably, col(V) treatment significantly suppressed OVA-induced proliferation, indicating that col(V) administration induced tolerance (P < 0.01) (Figure 1E). Local and systemic humoral responses were studied; the levels of total and OVA-specific IgE were assessed in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of treated animals. Compared with PBS-treated controls, total and OVA-specific IgE levels were unchanged in the serum of col(V)-tolerized mice (Figure 1F). In contrast, col(V)-induced tolerance resulted in significant reductions in total and OVA-specific IgE antibodies in BAL fluid (P < 0.05) (Figure 1G). Collectively, these data indicate that OVA-induced AHR results in anti-col(V) immunity, and col(V)-induced tolerance abrogates local OVA-induced cellular and humoral immune responses.

col(V)-induced tolerance down-regulated AHR.
To study the effects of col(V)-induced tolerance on AHR, we assessed lung function both by noninvasive (enhanced pause [Penh]) and invasive methods of measuring airway resistance and lung compliance. As expected, OVA sensitization and challenge resulted in dose-dependent increases in Penh in response to methacholine in PBS-treated (control) mice (Figure 2A). In contrast, Penh gradually increased in col(V)-tolerized mice at low methacholine concentrations, then plateaued at higher concentrations, which were significantly lower than PBS-treated controls (P < 0.001) (Figure 2A). Resistance, a measure of airway obstruction, was also significantly reduced in col(V)-tolerized mice compared with controls at the highest methacholine concentrations (P < 0.01) (Figure 2B). There was no change in compliance in the col(V)-tolerized group compared with the PBS group (Figure 2C). Consistent with data showing less airway resistance, airway smooth muscle contractile force in response to acetylcholine stimulation was decreased in mice tolerized with col(V) when compared with PBS-treated controls (Figure 2D).

Figure 2.

The effect of type V collagen (col[V])-induced tolerance on allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). AHR was measured 24 hours after the final intranasal challenge. (A) Twenty-four hours after the final challenge, AHR to aerosolized methacholine ...


As Thomas Laqueur points out in his Foreword to this fascinating book, no political, economic or social history is possible without a cultural history, and there can be no cultural history without a history of gender. Against this background, Brownell and Wasserstrom have put together a collection of 16 essays, mainly by historians and anthropologists, most of which were specifically written for the book but some of which are reprinted from elsewhere. The essays, prefaced by an informative introduction, are organized to progress historically from the Qing Dynasty period to the modern Reform Era and to form pairs alternating between a 'feminine' and a 'masculine' focus. The book's potential readership should be extremely wide, encompassing those interested in Chinese culture, society and politics, those interested in gender studies, and those whose interests are more general in the fields of history, cultural studies, politics, anthropology and sociology. Not least among its strengths is the book's detailed coverage of the gender studies literature in the Chinese context: the notes, references and readings attached to the chapters amount to 73 pages of very useful material. While the background is that of the tremendous transformations that have taken place in all aspects of Chinese life during the past two centuries, this book transcends historicism by linking political, economic and social trends with trends in notions about gender, by contrasting elite and popular views of gender differences, by highlighting changes over time in images of 'male' and 'female', and by relating gender distinctions to those associated with ethnicity and class. One of its aims is to demonstrate that gender studies can be more than a mere supplement to mainstream accounts of political, economic and social change, and in this it succeeds admirably. Another is to focus on the way that femininity and masculinity are constructed and performed as lived experience, rather than represented in art or in formal state policy, and the importance of the feminine and the masculine as contrasting experiential categories comes through strongly and persuasively. In achieving these aims, the book seeks to broaden the existing literature on Chinese gender studies from a limited focus on inequality, patriarchy and women's experiences to a wider focus on constructions of gender, gender problematization and issues of difference. The inequality approach, for example, fails to explain adequately why the Chinese communists failed to liberate women in any meaningful sense after taking power in 1949, and the contributions in this book show how the meaning of gender is as important as the issues of power that gender entails. Examples include: insights into the politics of difference between women who have produced sons and those who have not, the latter being denied the full status of their gender under a system of patrilineal exogamy; the marginalization of men such as homosexuals, eunuchs, bandits and even the unmarried by a political and social system that legitimates power only within certain male categories and sees others as a threat to patriarchal authority; the contrast Progress in Development Studies 4,2 (2004) pp. 155–185


Abstract An approximate non-perturbative theory of multiphoton ionization of a hydrogen atom by two strong radiation fields is outlined. The special case is then considered for when one of the fields is of low intensity and high frequency and the other field is of high intensity and low frequency. A set of representative calculations has been performed for this case; that is, (a) angular distributions for given numbers of absorbed and emitted low-frequency photons and different geometries; (b) total cross-sections versus the strong-field intensity; (c) angular distributions summed over all the low-frequency photon exchanges, showing a fourfold symmetry in a geometry in which each ionization channel exhibits, instead, only a twofold symmetry; (d) the average energy gained by the ejected electrons. Calculations are performed for a strong low-frequency field of arbitrary polarization. In many respects, the present calculations are expected to complement those of single-field multiphoton ionization. It is hop...


On reading through this ponderous but highly informative volume I could not help but come to the conclusion that it is one that every psychiatrist who is specially orientated to the research aspects of a demanding discipline should possess. In this connection our distinguished author has seen fit to deliver himself of a number of homely admonitions such as those which relate to the importance of differentiating between cause and effect in the final assessment of a particular clinical problem. It is just as well that he has done so, in that the rationality of our approach depends on our conception of what in fact constitutes the casual continum. Any other approach would be tantamount to &dquo;painting the lifeboats when the ship is sinking&dquo;: which is, I think, a rather picturesque simile to remember. By this, I took Dr. Foulds to imply that the medical and other allied professions have been incredibly naive in thinking that the act of eliminating or modifying an effect be it initial, intermediate or terminal represented exhaustive therapy. This might conceivably be true if the locus of the casual process originated in, and was confined to, what I have called human continuum. The fact is that this continuum is multi-dimensional and that the course of the casual process is cyclical, and not linear, as our clinical simplicists are apt to imagine. This approach has far reaching implications, and obligates us to look beyond, as well as within, the individual personality for the sources of human disorganisation. Dr. Foulds, in his last chapter headed: &dquo;Discussions and Conclusions&dquo;, shows that he understands this well, but then there is the vociferous majority who do not, and it is really for such that the book has been written. Louis Franklin Freed. (Johannesburg)


Among the important foreign papers which are of some interest o botanists are the following:Two systematic papers by HOUARD17 in which the author gives descriptions and notes based on the characters of the galls. Docters VAN LEEUWEN-REIJNVAANi8 continue their very valuable descriptions of the galls of Java, describing 99 species. These descriptions are purely botanical and in most cases the species is not named, but is placed in such genus or family as may be indicated by the external characters of the cecidium. This is therefore merely the record and description of certain types of cecidia found on certain species of plants and becomes an important starting-point for future workers.-MEL T. CooK.


Lower limb musculoskeletal injury (LLMI) is a common occurrence in athletes. Balance impairments have been implicated as contributory to poor balance performance following LLMI. It is usually expected that once the initial rehabilitation period is over, subsequent recovery should continue until the pre-injury state is reached. Some studies on certain physically-active individuals and amateur athletes have reported that this is usually not the case. This study therefore investigated balance performance (BPf) in professional footballers with longterm LLMI, the effect of limb dominance on BPf and comparison of BPf in injured footballers with their uninjured counterparts. A sample of 115 professional footballers – 104 males and 11 females, participated in the study and they consisted of two groups - injured group of participants (IGP) and uninjured group of participants (UGP). Balance performance (BPf) was assessed using the Stork balance stand test. The time in seconds for which the participant is able to stand on the ball of the foot of one leg is indicative of the BPf for that lower limb. The results indicated that poor balance performance was observed in the injured limb compared to the uninjured limb in IGP (P=0.000). BPf was poorer in the dominant limb of IGP compared with the dominant limb of UGP (P= 0.000). Time lapse since injury did not have any effect on BPf (P=0.868). It was concluded that balance problems persist in professional footballers with LLMI irrespective of time lapse since injury.

 Keywords: footballers, lower limb, injuries, balance, dominance


The macroscopic fractures in concrete at frame submitted to earthquake Granada (Spain) were assessed by Transform (CWT) was applied to the A which allowed reconstructing the filtered signal co rresponding to the scale frequency band as cribed to concrete fracturing; t concrete damage could be evaluated. obtained from the CWT energy signals in the pertine nt scale, which resulted as useful parameters for assessing junction.


Heating 2,3-diphenyl-2H-azirine in a sealed tube at 250 °C for 3 h yields 2-phenylindole, 2,3,4,5-tetraphenylpyrrole, 2,4,5-triphenylimidazole, and 1-benzyl-2,4,5-triphenylimidazole as major products, with tetraphenylpyrazine, tetraphenylpyrimidine, pentaphenylpyridine, benzonitrile, benzamide, and stilbene being produced in smaller yield. In an attempt to elucidate the reaction pathways, it was shown that benzonitrile is not an intermediate, that the reaction between tetraphenylpyrrole and phenylcarbene yields pentaphenylpyridine, and that a similar reaction with 2,4,5-triphenylimidazole produces 1-benzyl-2,4,5-triphenylimidazole, tetraphenylpyrazine, and tetraphenylpyrimidine.


Abstract: Reports of tetanus in buffaloes are scanty in comparison to cattle, horse, sheep and goat. A six years old Murrah buffalo, five days post-partum, was presented for treatment with a history of manual removal of retained placenta. Prolapse of third eyelid, complete locking of jaw, development of curve in spine, erection of ear and typical "pump-handle" position of tail were visible signs. Diagnosis was established on the basis of case history and clinical signs. Treatment was carried out with irrigation of genital tract with 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide and administration of hypertonic saline solution (7.5%), dextrose normal saline (5%), penicillin G procaine in high dose, ketoprofen and chlorpromazine. The animal fell like a stiff, wooden structure on day 11 of the onset of the disease and succumbed to its illness.


Marine snow aggregates often dominate carbon export from the surface layer to the deep ocean. Therefore, understanding the formation and properties of aggregates is essential to the study of the biological pump. Previous studies have observed a relationship between phytoplankton growth phase and the production of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), the sticky particles secreted by phytoplankton that act as the glue during aggregate formation. In this experimental study, we aim to determine the effect of phytoplankton growth phase on properties related to aggregate settling. Cultures of the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii were grown to four different growth phases and incubated in rotating cylindrical tanks to form aggregates. Aggregate excess density and delayed settling time through a sharp density gradient were quantified for the aggregates that were formed, and relative TEP concentration was measured for cultures before aggregate formation. Compared to the first growth phase, later phytoplankton growth phases were found to have higher relative TEP concentration and aggregates with lower excess densities and longer delayed settling times. These findings may suggest that, although particle concentrations are higher at later stages of phytoplankton blooms, aggregates may be less dense and sink slower, thus affecting carbon export.


Symptoms of painful bladder syndrome (PBS) including urgency and pain are common in female patients who report early life stress (ELS) such as neglect or abuse during childhood. We hypothesized that ELS contributes to PBS by inducing abnormal bladder detrusor muscle contractility in adulthood. This study used an odor‐attachment model in which female rats were conditioned on postnatal days (PND) 8‐12 using predictable or unpredictable odor‐shock conditioning, or an odor only control. In adulthood, bladder muscle strips were harvested and mounted in a muscle bath to measure contractile responses to neurally mediated signalling (electrical field stimulation‐EFS), muscarinic receptor‐dependant signalling with carbachol, and membrane depolarization with KCl. Detruser muscle responses to EFS were significantly decreased (P<0.001) in the unpredictable (12.6±2g/cm2) compared to the predictable (24.9±2g/cm2) or odor only (24.0±1.3g/cm2) groups. Detrusor muscle responses to CCh or KCl were not significantly different between groups. Our data indicate that ELS alters neurally mediated detrusor muscle contractility in the absence of abnormalities in smooth muscle myogenic responses. These findings suggest that therapeutics targeting neural innervation of the bladder musculature could effectively reduce PBS symptoms by normalizing bladder contractility in adulthood.


--="'--Investigations of the effects of color transformations used forvideo displays are often hampered by the inability to see the effects of these changes in real time for a variety of input signals. Using a video supercomputer, the Princeton Eogine, the effects of aparametric nonlinear colortransformation can be shown in real time.


ABSTRACT An innovative pilot project asks, How can students in special education classes benefit from work in the arts? What can special education teachers, arts specialists, and teaching artists learn from each other?


4.2 Estimation of Glucose-6-Phosphatase One-way ANOVA followed by Turkey's test showed that there was significant decrease (P<0.05) in glucose-6-phosphatase activity in both the treated groups compared to control (Table 4.2 and Figure 4.1). Among the treated groups phenol treated group showed the least activity. Table 4.2: Effect of different phenolic compounds on glucose-6-phosphatase activity in Clarias batrachus.


A comparative study of the series and shunt power-control techniques has been made with consideration given to solar array sizing, power-control weight, equipment heat dissipation, power availability, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) characteristics. A trade study example is shown for specific applications where the cost is the evaluation criterion. 4 refs.


Following the successful trials of a prototype twochannel automatic euglobulin lysis time recorder (Cash and Leask, 1965), we were encouraged to build a machine capable of recording the lysis of 12 clots simultaneously. Although the basic principles of the system have remained the same, the problems of observing the lysis of 12 clots simultaneously necessitated fundamental alterations in design.


The rate constant for the reaction of HO2 with O3 was measured using a turbulent flow reactor with tunable diode laser absorption detection of HO2. Two separate methods were used to determine k1 from the pseudo-first-order decay of HO2 in excess O3. The isotopic labeling method used H18O2 in excess 16O3 to avoid reformation of the reactant. The OH scavenger method used trifluorochloroethylene to remove the OH product and prevent re-formation of HO2. The turbulent flow reactor allowed measurements at temperatures between 297 and 197 K at total pressures from 80 to 175 Torr, spanning a wide range of stratospheric conditions. The temperature-dependent rate constant is given by the three-term expression k1(T) = {(103 ± 57) exp[−(1323 ± 160)/T] + 0.88} × 10-15 cm3 molecule-1 s-1, reflecting its non-Arrhenius behavior at low temperatures. These results demonstrate that the catalytic destruction of lower stratospheric O3 by HOx radicals (OH and HO2) may proceed faster than current models predict. The rate consta...


Spores flying disease gradient and space distribution of corn common rust in Jilin province were studied.The results showed that numbers of flying uredospores in the daytime is slightly more than that in the night.The numbers of uredospores captured in light rain days is more two times than that in sunny.The density of the rust spores in the air diminishes with the increase of height.The relation between height(x) and the number of spores(y) can be described by regression equation,y=19.24exp(-0.027 89x).The relation curve between distance(di) and number of lesions(xi) is a S pattern in the short distance spread of the corn rust.The regressive equation of downwind to spread was Xi=505.27exp(-0.058 3di) and regressive equation of side wind was Xi=988.32exp(-0.115 9di).The distance of the disease spread is about 90-100 metres in the same direction as the wind,but 50-60 metres in the side direction in a month.Space distribution model of the disease is gathered in the field.


This guide is for managers of Protected Areas to provide them with a simple tool to draw up their own simplified Business plans. In particular, it is designed for African Protected Marine Area managers for whom financial planning is already underway as part of various projects and programmes. The Guide is supported by simplified spreadsheets that managers can complete and update regularly.


The effect and aftereffect of radiation pretreatment of wheat straw with gamma ray were studied.It is shown that irradiation can cause significant breakdown of the structure of wheat straw.The mass loss of wheat straw increases and the size distribution after crushing moves to fine particles at elevated irradiation doses.A synergistic effect between irradiation and crushing was observed,with a glucose yield of 10.2% at a dose of 500 kGy with powder of 0.109 mm.The aftereffect of irradiation has important impact on enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat straw.The aftereffect of 400 kGy irradiation accounts for 20.1% of the initial effect for glucose production,and the aftereffects of 50,100,200 and 300 kGy account for 12.9%,14.9%,8.9% and 9.1%,respectively,for reducing sugar production.


The aim of this article is to present the biography and the political activity of Stanislaw Siedlecki (1877–1939). A chemical engineer, independence and socialist activist, conspirator, specialist in printing technology and emissary, publicist, politician and social activist, Stanislaw Siedlecki had outstanding abilities in every field of his activity. This article focuses on the initial period of Siedlecki's political activity, setting the final turning point for the year of regaining independence. It was in this period that the future senator of the Republic of Poland shaped his worldview, acquired the necessary political experience and entered the pages of history as one of the leading activists of the Polish independence left. The article utilizes a wide ranging analysis of the literature to verify arguments made in journals and studies, as well as presenting the results from an analysis of source documentation and research conducted on previously unknown hypotheses. The publication fills another gap in Polish historiography and is an introduction to a broader research undertaking, i.e., the full biography of Senator Stanislaw Siedlecki.


Pain is often endorsed by patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). A retrospective chart analysis of adolescents diagnosed with PTS from January 2014-December 2015 at the pediatric cardiology clinic at Children's National Health System were reviewed. 93% of the subjects reported pain at the time of diagnosis, with 46% of the sample reporting more than one site of pain.


Electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure in response to the output of, from the at least one sensor and the at least one sensor for sensing a plurality of antennas for sending and receiving radio waves, a physical quantity or physical change control It may include a communication module for controlling the wireless communication in response to the sensor hub and the control signal for outputting a signal using the plurality of antennas. It can be a variety of other embodiments.


With ageing, intrinsic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) activity decreases, resulting in impaired tissue homeostasis, reduced engraftment following transplantation and increased susceptibility to diseases. However, whether ageing affects also the HSC niche impairing its capacity to support HSC function is still largely debated. Here, by using in-vivo long-term label retention assays we demonstrate that aged labelling retaining 33 (LR) HSCs, which are in the old mice the most quiescent HSC subpopulation with the highest regenerative 34 capacity and cellular polarity, reside predominantly in perisinusoidal niches. Furthermore, we demonstrate that 35 sinusoidal niches are uniquely preserved in shape, morphology and number upon ageing. Finally, we show 36 that myeloablative chemotherapy can selectively disrupt aged sinusoidal niches long term, which is linked to 37 to the lack of recovery of endothelial Jag2 at sinusoids. Overall, our data characterize the functional alterations of the aged HSC niche and unveil that perisinusoidal niches are uniquely preserved and protect HSCs from ageing. challenge 20-25 . We demonstrate that in aged mice LR-HSCs reside predominantly in sinusoidal niches and are functionally and phenotypically younger than non-LR HSCs. We show that upon ageing HSCs are located more distant to multiple types of bone marrow niche cells but not from sinusoids and perisinusoidal Nestin(Nes)-GFP low cells. Sinusoidal niches and Nes-GFP low cells remain uniquely preserved in shape, morphology and number upon ageing. We show that Jag2 is expressed at sinusoids and perisinusoidal Nes-GFP low cells in proximity to aLR-HSCs, and that blocking endothelial Jag2 promotes HSC proliferation. Finally, we demonstrate that myeloablative chemotherapy disrupts the function of aged sinusoidal niches long- term, which is linked to the lack of recovery of endothelial Jag2 at sinusoids after chemotherapy and results in haematopoietic failure and decreased survival of aged mice. rare in control In summary, our data show Jag2 is expressed sinusoids and by Nes-GFP low cells in aged BM in proximity to aLR-HSCs and that endothelial Jag2 suppresses HSC proliferation and clustering. All mice were housed animal barrier under pathogen-free conditions the manuscript young mice are between 10 and 16-week-old and aged mice are at least 80-week-old. To induce myeloablation by 5- FU, mice were intraperitoneally administered one dose of 5-FU (150mg/kg). Young mice were treated with 5-FU at 10 weeks of age; old mice were treated with 5-FU at 76 week of age. Mice for this study were randomly selected and survival was followed up to 270 days after 5-FU administration. To assess the statistical significance of differences in survival, we performed Log Rank Mantel Cox test. All statistical tests were performed using GraphPad with Prism7, following its Statistics Guide. nearest Zeiss vivo PECAM-1 FABP4 LepR AF497. endosteal 1.5 endosteal


Urinary incontinence represents a serious social, medical and economic problem, which suffers a progressive increase, due to the increase in life expectancy that social, health and cultural advances have achieved. It is estimated that in the world there are approximately two hundred million people in urinary incontinence with a great economic impact of great importance that can exceed the coverage forecasts of the different systems of health care services. Our group from the Department of Physiology of the UCM has been studying the physiology of the lower urinary tract (LUT) for several years in order to determine the neurotransmitters and receptors that regulate these structures. This greater knowledge of the Physiology and Pathophysiology of the LUT has allowed these dysfunctions to be corrected with pharmacological methods compared to the traditional alternative of surgery.

Keywords: micturition; urinary incontinence; chemical neurotransmission; neurotransmitters; receptors


This paper examines the characteristics of one of Goldsmith's laughing comedies She Stoops to conquer with respect to its plot, characters, wit, farce, and dramatic techniques. In respect to plot development, the episode which makes the characters mistake an old mansion for an inn becomes the driving force inducing the laughter. The creation of characters- Marlowe, who keeps the grace of 18th century decorum; a wise woman Kate, who tests the truth of the man she loves in the disguise of a maid ; and the playful Tony who is mischievous but without any malice-also makes this play follow the traditions of classic comedy. In addition, the roles played by the lower class people in this play well reflect the definitions of comedy since Aristotle that a comedy deals with the follies of lower class people. One of the reasons why this play achieved a big success as a laughing comedy is that wit and farce are found everywhere in this play.


Ngwayu Claude Nkfusai1 and Samuel Nambile Cumber2* 1Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Buea, Cameroon 2Department of Public Health and Community Medicine (EPSO), University of Gothenburg, Sweden Submission: September 14, 2018 ; Published: September 26, 2018 *Corresponding author: Samuel Nambile Cumber, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine (EPSO), University of Gothenburg, Sweden, Tel: ; Email:


A filter arrangement an AC voltage superposed on a DC voltage present across first (KO) and second (HO) poles of a DC voltage source. The arrangement includes between these first (KO) and second (HO) poles, a series coupling of a capacitance (C1) and an impedance (R5), and an amplifier arrangement (N1,C2,R2,C3,R3, C4R4D1,D2) that has an inverting input terminal which is coupled to the first pole (KO) and an output terminal which is coupled a the junction node of the capacitance (C1) and the impedance (R5).


FIELD: mining. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to mining, particularly, to sliding anchor. Sliding anchor comprises anchor rod whereon sliding control element with through hole is arranged to receive anchor rod. Note here that said sliding control element comprises case of bodies of slippage provided with, at least, one recess to receive said body that stays in contact with anchor rod outer surface. Each aforesaid recess is arranged in aforesaid case tangentially to anchor rod outer surface. Note here that envelope surface of each recess extends for preset amount into free clearance of though hole, while each body of slippage fills the clearance in its recess. EFFECT: controlled load onto sliding anchor in different phases of opening spaced in time. 20 cl, 8 dwg


Abstract : Examine the strategic vision of General Creighton Abrams to restore values and standards to the Army. Argue the formation of the Ranger Battalions was the tool he used to effect this restoration. A restoration which was key to the Army emerging from its post Viet Nam period of decline. The values and standards incorporated in the Ranger Battalions were promulgated throughout the rest of the Army by Rangers returning to it. Analyze and develop lessons for future leaders.


The denoising of a natural image corrupted by Gaussian noise is a classical problem in image processing.Chen et al.have proposed an effective wavelet thresholding scheme using incorporating neighboring coefficients,namely NeighShrink.NeighShrink's disadvantages are to use a suboptimal universal threshold and fixed neighboring window size for every subband.In this paper,we improve NeighShrink using Stein's unbiased risk estimation(SURE).Our method can determine an optimal threshold and neighboring window size for every subband.Experimental results show that our proposed method is significantly better than NeighShrink in all test examples.It also outperforms Balster et al's FeatShrink which is a recent sophisticated image denoising algorithm.


The oxygen-copper matte flow,which covers bubble parameters,gas holdup distribution,inlet pressure variations and the fluid level fluctuation,was investigated by three-dimensional transient simulation in a bottom-blown bath smelting furnace,prototype of which is oxygen enriched bottom-blown furnace from some company.The formation,coalescence,deformation and breakage of bubble were captured using a high speed camera system in a water model,and the overall features of the bubble dynamic simulation were compared well with our experimental observations,as verified the accuracy and availability of this model.The results show that the continuous bubble formation time is 0.12?0.25 s and the bubble formation frequency is 4?5 Hz,the average rising velocity for the bubble is 4 m/s,and the bubble residence time ranges from 0.2 to 0.4 s.The sizes of bubbles forming in melt are about 3.5?6.5 times as that of the size of lance.The average frequency of phenomena of bubble back-attack occurs at 7° and 22°,the lance outlet is 5 Hz and 7 Hz,respectively,and the work time is 0.06 s.The gas phase mainly centers on the upper of the bath,so it is likely that high efficiency reaction core model is on upper of the copper matte.The amplitude which is very small at the slag hole nearby decays rapidly on side of settling zone as a result of the viscous dissipation caused by the high viscosity of smelt.


A multi-layer sheet that used in particular for forming a in a motor vehicle, preferably can be used as charge air cooler formed heat exchanger has a core layer (74) made of an aluminum alloy and a corrosion protection layer (76), wherein the corrosion protection layer (76) made of an alloy of the series AA 3xxx is formed. in particular such a multi-layer sheet has the advantage that at a forming of the multilayer sheet for forming a component of constant wall thickness for the device can be achieved.


Background: Living kidney donors remain at low risk of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), but the risk for obese and overweight donors is increased. The Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) clinical guideline recommends that overweight and obese patients pursue weight loss before donation and maintain a healthy post-donation weight. Objective: To determine the trajectory of weight changes before and after living kidney donation. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: The Living Kidney Donor program in the Champlain Local Health Integration Network at The Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa, Canada. Patients: The study included 151 living kidney donors who donated between January 2009 and December 2017. Measurements: Date of kidney donation, relationship to the transplant recipient, and cause of ESKD in the transplant recipient were documented. Demographic data, markers of glycemic control, and weights at the time of clinic visits were recorded. Methods: The analysis included use of paired Student's t tests to compare mean differences in weight at kidney donation relative to the time of initial assessment and at last follow-up. Results: The median (interquartile range [IQR]) follow-up was 392 (362, 1096) days post-donation. Among donors with normal body mass index (BMI; 18.5-24.9 kg/m2), weight loss occurred before donation (62.8 ± 3.1 kg to 61.5 kg ± 2.9 kg; mean difference 1.1 ± 2.7 kg, P < .01) and did not change significantly post-donation. Among overweight/obese donors (BMI ≥25 kg/m2), weight did not change significantly pre-donation, but increased significantly post-donation (86.0 ± 2.1 kg to 88.8 ± 2.7 kg; mean difference 2.3 ± 0.9 kg, P < .0001). Limitations: The single-center design of the study limits generalizability. Conclusions: Donors with normal BMI experienced significant weight loss before donation and maintained healthy body weight post-donation. Conversely, donors with BMI ≥25 kg/m2 at donation experienced significant weight gain over 1-year post-donation. Our findings suggest the need for enhanced weight control efforts among obese and overweight kidney donors to reduce the risk of ESKD.


We suggest that a certain one-to-one parametrization of completely positive maps on the matrix algebra might be useful in the study of quantum channels. This is illustrated in the case of binary quantum channels. While the algorithm is quite intricate, it admits a simple, lattice structure representation.