Spotted fevers caused by bacteria of the genus Rickettsia can be confused with other febrile infections, because their first symptoms and clinical signs are nonspecific, similar to those of other tropical fevers such as dengue, malaria, leptospirosis and hantavirosis. In addition, there are no diagnostic tests during the acute phase of the disease, which makes the medical opinion even more difficult. This situation makes clinical suspicion based on epidemiology and ecology, followed by clinical manifestations of the disease, become the Best strategy for timely diagnosis. The objective of the present study was to establish seroprevalence to Rickettsia, Group of Spotted Fevers, in human populations of rural areas of the department of Sucre, Colombia. The study was carried out in the municipalities of Sampling, Toluviejo, Corozal, Sincelejo and San Marcos. With prior informed consent a peripheral blood sample was taken from the study participants, from which the blood serum that was analyzed for anti-Rickettsia IgG was obtained through indirect immunofluorescence tests using a commercial kit and plates Antigenated with R. rickettsi, strain Taiaçu, isolated in the laboratory of Marcelo Labruna, University of São Paulo, Brazil. Also, an indirect ELISA was performed with a commercial kit; it was assessed the level of concordance between the serological tests through a Kappa test. In addition, the participants were interviewed, in order to collect basic personal information to establish factors associated with seropositivity; A multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was performed and the independence between seroprevalence and demographic characteristics was evaluated with the chi-square test. 320 samples were taken, of which 21 were seropositive by the commercial IFI, 20 by IFI-Labruna and 14 by ELISA, for a seroprevalence of 6.5%, 6.2% and 4.3%, respectively. The ELISA and IFI tests had a low degree of agreement (0.126). The seropositive individuals were mainly older adults, who were engaged in agricultura (p <0.05). The municipality with the highest seroprevalence by IFI was Toluviejo with 16.4%, followed by Sincelejo in which half of the previous percentage was detected. These results confirm the circulation of bacteria of the genus Rickettsia in the rural population of the department of Sucre, which shows the need to do other studies to establish the circulation dynamics of bacteria species.


Shortly after our 1985 report in this publication on the percutaneous management of biliary stones, studies appeared in the medical literature describing a new cholesterol solvent, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), whose properties and initial clinical trials suggested its great potential for the rapid dissolution of radiolucent gallstones. It has long been known that diethyl ether, the general anesthetic, is an effective cholesterol solvent, but this substance has certain disadvantages that hindered its widespread clinical application. For example, at body temperature, liquid diethyl ether volatizes to at least 200 times its volume, causing acute, painful distention if instilled into the biliary system. This change in physical state also reduces the amount of liquid ether in contact with any stone surface, thus impeding stone dissolution. On the other hand, MTBE, a structural analogue of diethyl ether, remains a liquid until 55.2°C allowing much more tolerable and effective in vivo use. Additional clinical advantages are MTBE's ability to dissolve the cholesterol in biliary stones as much as 50 times faster than the current solvent of choice, monooctanoin, and its lower explosive potential relative to that of diethyl ether. These properties were met with enthusiasm by many investigators, and studies reporting successful gallstone dissolution appeared with increasing frequency in the United States. Although emphasis has been placed on using MTBE for gallbladder calculi, a few studies have surfaced on the efficacy of this agent in the management of patients with common bile duct calculi. A review of the English-language literature to date reveals mostly isolated case reports or small series, with results ranging from complete dissolution of ductal calculi to no response at all after MTBE perfusion. DiPadova et al. perfused relatively small amounts of MTBE through a T-tube in three patients with radiolucent stones and reported complete failure with the agent but subsequent success with monooctanoin. Bonardi et al. instilled MTBE in six patients via either a nasobiliary or the percutaneous transhepatic route following endoscopic sphincterotomy. All stones either completely dissolved or became small enough to pass into the duodenum. In the remainder of reports, results have fallen between these two extremes. We have used MTBE in the common bile duct in 20 patients having in excess of 50 calculi. The results are generally favorable, but in many of our patients, MTBE was not used alone. Rather, MTBE, monooctanoin, basket extraction, and endoscopic sphincterotomy were used in combination to remove the stones.


The invention discloses a method and device for maintaining multi-point coordination of user equipment. According to one embodiment of the invention, the method comprises the following steps that a base station receives a receiving timing difference measurement report related to a plurality of cells or a receiving timing different measurement report related to a plurality of transmission points in the same cell, which is provided by the user equipment; and on the basis of the received receiving timing different measurement report, the base station executes operation of maintaining a cooperation set. The method and device can timely and effectively maintain multi-point coordination and improve the system throughput.


After World War II,the cognitions of developing country about social and economical development are changed from simple economic development to the all-around development of society and economy,from temporary development to sustainable development,from substance-oriented development to human-oriented development.As the largest developing country,China puts forward scientific development view in the new historical period,which enriches the social and economic development theories of developing country.


This study of more than 725 federal, state and local governmental agencies reports on availability of preretirement planning programs for public employees. Current agency participation rates in preretirement counseling and projections for future programs were established along with content, administration, design, participation and other program characteristics. Results are profiled and compared with several similar studies of organizations within the private sector. The public sector's lag in both participation rates and innovation is documented. Most programs treat retirement as a point in time and fail to recognize it as a complex process and to design programs accordingly. Areas where existing programs need improvement are discussed along with agency perceptions of direct and indirect program benefits. Implications of these findings for future manpower planning strategies are presented.


European codes of private law have traditionally commenced with a concept of the person. In the development of private law in the European Union, we require a modern concept of the person, one which goes beyond the idea of the bearer of economic rights, to one which embraces ideas of human rights and social solidarity, as found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Nice Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.


Abstract The merits of polycentric climate governance have attracted considerable discussion. On the one hand, polycentric governance offers an alternative to top-down state-centric forms that have so far proven elusive. On the other, highly networked systems increase coordination challenges. Less attention has been paid to the varying capacities required to achieve coordination. In this article we explore the coordination of polycentric governance via a case study of sargassum influx management in the Caribbean. Since 2011, large quantities of sargassum seaweed have been washing up on Caribbean beaches with adverse socio-economic impacts. Our analysis of sargassum management policies reveals that a nascent polycentric system has generated significant cooperation in policy development and application across the region. However, there remain national capacity deficits to engage in this form of governance and to implement agreed actions. We conclude that advocates of a polycentric climate governance regime need to consider how capacity shapes participation, to the advantage of the largest and strongest. Polycentric governance can be useful for solving disparate cross-border environmental problems, but it also imposes a cost on the smallest that has thus far been unacknowledged and undertheorized.


The role of inhaled iloprost should be suspected in cases of gastro-intestinal haemorrhage in patients suffering from pulmonary hypertension (PH) receiving this treatment, and the way the drug is administered should possibly be changed.

Clinical, functional and haemodynamic deterioration of systemic scleroderma-PH in a 73-year-old Caucasian woman without any other past medical history, led to the introduction of aerosolized iloprost 5 µg six times a day in addition to her existing treatment of sitaxentan 100 mg once daily, sildenafil 20 mg three times daily, furosemide 40 mg once daily, bromazepam 6 mg one to two times daily, calcium 1000 mg once daily, cholecalciferol 880 IU once daily, monosodic alendronate 70 mg weekly, fluindione 20 mg once daily with an international normalized ratio (INR) maintained between 2 and 3. In the past, she had had occasional melaena, once a month, generally the day following alendronate ingestion. Two months after beginning aerosolized iloprost, the frequency of her melaena increased, becoming continuous, after each aerosolization (INR = 2.18). An oesogastroduodenal endoscopy revealed digestive angiomatosis, and the hypothesis that iloprost could play a role in causing this lesion to bleed was raised. As reassessment of pulmonary hypertension suggested the benefit of inhaled iloprost, it was decided to reduce the regimen to five aerosols a day, avoiding the first post-prandial hour. The frequency of melaena decreased and abdominal meteorism stopped completely. Reducing the dose of aerosols did not have any effect on the PH at the next reassessment.

In a 79-year-old Caucasian man with a past medical history of ischaemic cardiomyopathy, inhaled iloprost aerosol 5 µg six times a day was initiated following deterioration of a PH secondary to a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in association with previous treatment with sildenafil 20 mg three times daily, bosentan 125 mg two times daily, fluindione 20 mg once daily (INR between 2 and 3 throughout follow-up), furosemide 40 mg once daily, amiodarone 200 mg once daily, pravastatin 40 mg once daily, ramipril 5 mg once daily, clopidogrel 75 mg once daily, tiotropium bromide 1 inhalation day−1, molsidomine 2 mg three times daily and potassium chloride 600 mg day−1.

One month earlier, anaemia with iron deficiency had been diagnosed and treated by blood transfusion and ferrous sulphate supplements (80 mg two times daily). Oesogastroduodenal endoscopy had revealed millimetric bleeding angiodysplasias in the duodenal cap, which had been treated by argon plasma coagulation. Four months after beginning inhaled iloprost, haemoglobinaemia was 85 g l−1 with iterative digestive haemorrhages requiring several blood transfusions, despite ongoing ferrous supplementation. A colonoscopy found a 3 mm caecal angiodysplasia and two colic polyps requiring argon plasma coagulation therapy and polypectomy. In spite of this digestive procedure, gastro-intestinal haemorrhage continued and consequently clopidogrel was stopped and iloprost reduced to 5 aerosols a day, avoiding the immediate post-prandial period. There was no recurrence of digestive bleeding and haemoglobin stabilized. At the next reassessment, there had been no worsening of PH.

These two cases suggest a possible link between digestive haemorrhage and iloprost aerosols. There was a temporal relationship between inhalation of iloprost and the onset or worsening of bleeding, and between the reduced dose of iloprost inhalation and improvement of bleeding symptoms. The digestive haemorrhage did not recur after the iloprost dosage was reduced and inhalation was avoided after meals. The role of fluindione can be excluded because the INR did not increase and because bleeding symptoms improved despite the continuation of fluindione treatment. In the second patient, stopping clopidogrel may have had a beneficial effect on gastro-intestinal haemorrhage, but the symptoms worsened when iloprost was started, requiring blood transfusion. The role of other drugs can be ruled out as bleeding symptoms improved despite the continuation of these drugs. Neither of these patients had any history of liver disease.

The evidence for the effect of inhaled iloprost on digestive bleeding is strong and possibly multifactorial. Iloprost is an analogue of epoprostenol. Besides its vasodilatory effect, it inhibits platelet function in a dose-related manner and platelet aggregability returns to baseline levels after the end of the infusion [1]. Because its absolute bioavailability is approximately 80% [2], inhaled iloprost may induce sufficiently high serum concentrations to produce adverse systemic effects. Splanchnic blood flow increases after iloprost administration [3], which could promote the bleeding of an angioma. This pharmacodynamic effect could also explain why bleeding symptoms improved when iloprost was no longer inhaled close to meals. It is possible that part of the aerosolized iloprost is swallowed rather than truly inhaled and could have a direct action on the digestive cell wall. Prostaglandins inhibit secretion of histamine and pancreastatin by enterochromaffin-like cells of the gastric epithelium and therefore decrease gastric acidity, making the hypothesis that digestive haemorrhage is related to gastro-duodenal ulcers highly improbable [4].

In conclusion, these observations suggest that patients with a risk of digestive bleeding should avoid inhaled aerosols during peri-prandial periods as far as possible, and that patients with a history of digestive bleeding should be monitored clinically and biologically during the months following the introduction of inhaled iloprost.


Electron correlation effects in the production of two K-shell vacancies in lithium are investigated by bombarding atomic Li with 5-keV electrons. High-resolution Auger electron spectra show that discrete doubly vacant K-shell states are predominantly formed from ionization plus excitation, giving rise to the 2sns 1,3S and 2snp 1,3P states of Li+. For these fast electron projectiles, the shake-up and dielectronic manifestations of the electron-electron interaction are shown to be the only mechanisms for creating the observed hollow states. The formation of the 2snp 1,3P states is found to be mediated only by the dielectronic process, permitting this aspect of the electron-electron interaction to be separately identified and its contribution characterized.


In this paper, the transient simulation of semiconductor devices using a deterministic Boltzmann equation solver is presented. Transient simulation capability is implemented in a deterministic Boltzmann equation solver for the 3-D momentum space based on the spherical harmonics expansion. The numerical simulation results with implicit time marching methods demonstrate that the transient simulation using a deterministic Boltzmann equation solver can be performed. The impact of the quasi-static approximation for the current density, which is widely adopted in the momentum-based equations, is tested for various devices such as homogeneous samples, an N+NN+ structure and an MOSFET.


The influence of crystallographic defects on energy transfer processes in naphthalene crystals with and without anthracene doping has been studied. Annealing of single crystals near the melting point and other methods to improve the crystal quality do not change the yield of energy transfer. By plastical deformation three types of disturbed exciton states are created, which act as traps for the migrating electronic excitation energy. The fluorescence spectra of these exciton states are identified as a) a sharp naphthalene line spectrum shifted 165 cm-1 to the red, similar to the impurityinduced so-called X-series; b) a continuous background under the undisturbed naphthalene spectrum; c) emission of excited dimers. Several properties of these spectra are investigated.


The kinetic aspects of the exchange mechanism and of the ongoing structural modification with interfacial residence time for ribonuclease A adsorbed on hydrophilic surfaces are investigated. This i...


China's Entry into WTO means that, the rules and standards of WTO should be followed and all the previous protectionist policies will wind up in the future. In order to hold a fundamental position in the world, China should cultivate our own advantages. In our opinion, competitive advantages can be gained from different taches of the value chain, cost leadership strategy, product/market differentiation strategy and "one point" focus strategy as well.


The difference sequence space, which is a generalization of the space introduced and studied by Sargent (1960), was defined by Çolak and Et (2005). In this paper we establish some geometric inequalities for this space.


In order to provide a sink with an overflow opening in a rinsing wall and, arranged at the overflow opening overflow assembly, the overflow assembly comprises an overflow body and a cover, wherein a fixing member is covered to clamp the overflow body against the rinsing wall by a cover, and yet a simple cleaning of the overflow assembly is possible and in particular no Schmutzfuge between the sink wall in which the overflow opening is arranged, and a voltage applied to the rinsing wall frame, the overflow assembly is produced, it is proposed that the rinsing wall has at least one flush panel-side positioning member that the overflow assembly comprises a support element, wherein the cover member in the mounted state of the overflow assembly is releasably retained on the support element and the support element at least one fixing element receptacle and at least one support member eitiges positioning member, and in that the supporting member-side positioning element and the wall side flush positioning member cooperate so that the support element is secured against rotation relative to the sink wall.


Peptide extract from Brie cheese was examined. The opioid peptide was isolated from the extract. Its amino acid composition and N- and C-terminal amino acids were determined. Based on these analyses, the isolated peptide was assumed to correspond to β-casomorphin-7 (Tyr-Pro-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro-IIe). The opioid activity was measured by examining the effects of peptide extract and isolated opioid peptide on the motor activity of isolated rabbit intestine.

© 1999 Society of Chemical Industry


Using a quantitative approach, this study investigated the impacts of debate on students' speaking skills in English-language classes at the English Department, Herat University, Afghanistan. The study participants were 44 sophomore students (28 girls and 16 boys). To understand participants' speaking levels, researchers had a pre-test followed by a six-week treatment of having debates in the speaking class. For measuring the impacts of debate, a speaking post-test was taken. To investigate the impacts of debate on students' speaking skills the researchers created an online questionnaire form and the link was shared with students in speaking classes. The questionnaire enriched this study with essential information after the treatment. The data were analyzed through SPSS 25. A paired sample t-test was used to measure the degree to which students' speaking skills developed throughout the six-week debate program, and students' responses to the online questionnaire were analyzed by calculating the percentage of each item. The results of the present study indicate that debate had a positive impact and enhanced students' speaking skills. The participants also reflected that debate had improved their critical thinking, helped them practice new language skills and arguments, developed collaboration, and decreased their speaking anxiety while having fun.


The invention discloses a preparation method of a guanidine salicylate compound. The preparation method comprises the following concrete steps of adding salicylic acid into an organic solvent to sufficiently dissolve under the condition of water bath; then, slowly adding guanidine carbonate into the solution under the condition of stirring, and continuing to stir after adding all the guanidine carbonate; and next, cooling, filtering, concentrating filtrate to be dry, and placing the dry product into a 60-DEG C drying oven to continue to dry to obtain a white solid guanidine salicylate compound, wherein the reaction is carried out at the temperature of 25-75 DEG C for 0.5-10 hours, and the molar ratio of the added guanidine carbonate to salicylic acid is 1:1 to 1:5. The preparation method is simple and convenient to operate and suitable for industrial production; the dosage of the organic solvent is small, so that excessive organic solvent residues are avoided, and the medication safety is ensured; salicylic acid and guanidine carbonate are stable in character and sufficient in reaction, so that the yield is relatively high; and the preparation method is simple, low in cost and free of environment pollution.


We derive the local density of states from itinerant and boundary states around transport barriers and edges in graphene and show that the itinerant states lead to mesoscale undulations that could be used to probe their scattering properties in equilibrium without the need for lateral transport measurements. This finding will facilitate vetting of extended structural defects such as grain boundaries or line defects as transport barriers for switchable graphene resonant tunneling transistors. We also show that barriers could exhibit double minima and that the charge density away from highly reflective barriers and edges scales as $x^{-2}$.


UU no. 2 of 1989 stated that the curriculum is a set of plans and arrangements regarding the content and learning materials as well as the methods used as guidelines in the implementation of teaching and learning processes. In the Republic of Indonesia Government Regulation No. 19/2005, regarding National Education Standards (SNP), it is stated that the curriculum is a set of plans and arrangements regarding the objectives, content, and learning materials and the ways used as guidelines for organizing learning activities to achieve certain educational goals.


Part 1: System Development and the Unified Process 1. The World of the Modern Systems Analyst 2. Object-Oriented Development and the Unified Process 3. Project Management and the Inception Phase Part 2: Modeling and the Requirements Discipline 4. Business Modeling and Requirements Activities 5. Use Cases and Domain Models 6. Use Case Modeling Part 3: The Design Discipline 7. Design Activities and Environments 8. Use Case Realization in an Iteration 9. Advanced Design Principles and Patterns 10. Designing the Data Access Layer 11. Designing the User Interface Layer 12. Designing System Interfaces, Controls, and Security Part 4: Implementation, Test, and Deployment Disciplines 13. Making the System Operational 14. Agile Development


Recently a number of advances have been made regarding the developments of semiclassical Floquet theories for ab initio nonperturbative treatments of intense field multiphoton processes.1,2 These include multiphoton excitation (MPE) and dissociation (MPD) of molecules,1 multiphoton ionization (MPI) of atoms,1 many-mode Floquet theory,1,2 SU(N) dynamic symmetries and symmetry breaking,2 charge exchange in laser fields2 and nonlinear optical processes etc.3


This article describes state-of-the-art wood stoves that are designed to meet pollution standards of the EPA. To reduce pollution, the new stoves may use catalytic combustors, insulating firebrick and secondary combustion air, or they may use clean-burning wood pellets as fuel. According to the EPA particulate matter in the nation's air may be reduced by 436,000 tons a year by 1993 after a more stringent set of pollution standards takes effect in 1990. Pollution control has added $100-$200 to the average price of a new EPA-certified stove; however, homeowners will recoup that money in savings on wood and on chimney cleanings. They also predict that by 1993, the nation will be saving 700,000 cords of wood a year. Indirect savings from fire insurance premiums and health insurance premiums as the results of fewer chimney fires and better air quality may be expected also. The EPA estimates the possible health and welfare benefits at $1.5 billion annually by 1993.


2 Procytokine processing by caspase-1 is required for the maturation and release of IL-1 b and IFN- g -inducing factor (IGIF) (or IL-18) from activated macrophages (M f ). Nitric oxide (NO) has emerged as a potent inhibitor of cysteine proteases. Here, we tested the hypothesis that NO regulates cytokine release by inhibiting IL-1 b -converting enzyme (ICE) or caspase-1 activity. Activated RAW264.7 cells released four to five times more IL-1 b , but not TNF- a , in the presence of the NO synthase inhibitor N G -monomethyl- L -arginine. Stimulated peritoneal M f from wild-type mice (inducible NO synthase (iNOS) 1 / 1 ) also released more IL-1 b if exposed to N G -monomethyl- L -arginine, whereas M f from iNOS knockout mice (iNOS 2 / 2 ) did not. Inhibition of NO synthesis in stimulated RAW264.7 cells also resulted in a threefold increase in intracellular caspase-1 activity. The NO donor S -nitroso- N -acetyl- DL -penicillamine inhibited caspase-1 activity in cells as well as the activity of purified recombinant caspase-1 and also prevented the cleavage of pro-IL-1 b and pro-IGIF by recombinant caspase-1. The inhibition of caspase-1 by NO was reversible by the addition of DTT, which is consistent with S -nitrosylation as the mechanism of caspase-1 inhibition. An in vivo role for the regulation of caspase-1 by NO was established in iNOS knockout animals, which exhibited significantly higher plasma levels of IL-1 b and IFN- g than their wild-type counterparts at 10 h following LPS injection. Taken together, these indicate that NO suppresses IL-1 b and IGIF processing by inhibiting caspase-1 activity, providing evidence for a unique role for induced NO in regulating IL-1 b and IGIF release. The Journal of Immunology, 1998, 161: 4122–4128.


Drought refuges enable the biota of intermittent streams to survive dry periods, but their roles in sustaining algal assemblage structure and productivity are not known. This study determined the importance of two types of drought refuge (dry biofilm, permanent pools) for benthic algal regrowth in four intermittent streams in the Grampians National Park, Victoria, Australia. Dry biofilm was removed by scrubbing randomly chosen stones from two dry riffles in each of two streams with permanent pools and two streams without permanent pools. Algae were sampled from scrubbed and control stones at one, six and sixteen weeks after flow resumed. Removal of dry algal biofilm resulted in lower algal densities on stones from both stream types, and scrubbed stones had similar densities of algae after one week, regardless of the presence or absence of permanent pools. Algal density on stones exposed to both refuge types was more than an order of magnitude higher than the density on stones exposed to either one or neither refuge. The effects of biofilm removal on algal density were still apparent after six weeks of flow and assemblage composition differed between streams with and without permanent pools. Dry biofilm was an important drought refuge for algae in both stream types, but epilithic algal density in streams with permanent pools developed more rapidly than streams that were completely dry over summer. Loss of permanent pools from intermittent streams due to water abstraction may substantially reduce algal productivity after flow resumes, which may limit the supply of autochthonous carbon. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A summary of HAPO activities is given to include separate sections on the N-Reactor and other current production reactors. Specific programs and fuel performance for current production reactor fuels is discussed. Also, the production status, fuel performance, development program and process technology for N-Reactor fuels is presented.


An InAs-on-InP quantum dash buried heterostructure laser and silicon chip optimized for mutual integration by direct facet-to-facet coupling have achieved −1.2 dB coupling efficiency, with coupled laser RIN of −150 dB/Hz and 152 kHz linewidth.


The present paper deals with a study of natural circulation in PWR systems. The study consists of two parts: in the first one, natural circulation in experimental facilities simulating PWR plants was analyzed. This made it possible to gather a broad data base which was assumed as a reference for the subsequent part of the research. Seven Nuclear Power Plants nodalizations and additional experimental data from "non-PWR" facilities have been considered in the second part of the paper. Conclusions are drawn about natural circulation capabilities derived for the seven Nuclear Power Plants nodalizations and from data base pertinent to three "non-PWR" facilities.


The Human Immune System (HIS) is a complex network composed of specialized cells, tissues, and organs that is responsible for protecting the organism against diseases caused by distinct pathogenic agents, such as viruses, bacteria and other parasites. The first line of defence against pathogenic agents consists of physical barriers of skin and the mucous membranes. If the pathogenic agents breach this first protection barrier, the innate immune system will be ready for recognize and combat them. The innate immune system is therefore responsible for powerful non-specific defences that prevent or limit infections by most pathogenic microorganisms.


Abstract The essential oil composition of the aerial parts of Himalayan Tanacetum species viz. T. longifolium, T. tibeticum and T. nubigenum were examined by GC, GC-MS and NMR. The essential oil of T. longifolium was characterized by the presence of sesquiterpenoids viz. β-eudesmol (24.8 %), cadina-1,4-diene (15.0 %), α-bisabolol (7.4 %) and (E)-β-farnesene (6.8 %). On the contrary, T. tibeticum was dominated by bornyl acetate (60.7 %), β-caryophyllene (9.1 %), β-eudesmol (5.3 %), methyl thymol (4.3 %). The results show three chemotypes within T. nubigenum; characterized by the presence of bornyl acetate (39.7 %), (3R,6R)-linalool oxide acetate (69.4 %) and (-)-cis-chrysanthenol (37.0 %) as marker constituents, respectively. The raw material and their constituents have commercial utility in incense (dhoop) and fragrant preparations.


The technical innovation of killing locust in the period of the Republic of China was the most important contribution in the locust-control history of China,and the pivotal achievement was the killing-locust technology by chemicals and machinery drawn into China,which extremely promoted the efficiency of locust-killed and directly influenced the locust-control mode of the People′s Republic of China after 1949.The introduction and localization process included:First,the foreign locusts physiology knowledge and chemical eradicating-locust technology as well as the wiping-equipment were introduced into China.Second,the domestic research institutions were set up to carry out the locust investigation and test as well as train the professional talents of locust-control.Third,the native plant poison and raw materials were used to create the cheap and practical domestically-made-pesticides and appliances to kill locusts.


We prove a conjecture of K. Marton, widely known as the polynomial Freiman--Ruzsa conjecture, in characteristic $2$. The argument extends to odd characteristic, with details to follow in a subsequent paper.


A new fuel scheduling and accounting (FSA) function that allows the Houston Lighting and Power Company to schedule dispatch accurately and efficiently and monitor fuel usage throughout the entire system is described. In addition to minimizing the total cost of generation using the classical economic dispatch approach, FSA dispatches generation taking into account various fuel delivery and operational constraints. FSA provides real-time support to the dispatcher by estimating the actual fuel usage throughout the entire system and tracks the difference between actual and scheduled fuel flows. The estimation approach uses fuel flow telemetry where available compared to calculated flows based on unit input/output characteristics.<<ETX>>


An outline of the physiography and climate of the Augrabies Falls National Park is given. The plant communities occurring in the Park are described and their ecology is briefly discussed. A brief discussion on the phyto-geography of the area, and on the flora and growth forms is added.


Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are becoming more popular over the years. They are heavily loaded with sensors and many other modules to make real-time decisions and are connected to the internet to allow communication with other vehicles and the infrastructure. As with every internet-connected device, increased connectivity leads to a heightened level of cyber threats. As a result, AVs are being threatened with serious attacks. Hence, strict security measures need to be developed to preserve vehicular systems from those attacks. However, up to our knowledge, there have not been extensive efforts in proposing taxonomies to develop security measurements to mitigate AV attacks. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to classify cyber-attacks that exclusively target vehicular systems to give security researchers a good start to designing secure systems that mitigate those attacks.


An analytical method is proposed for practical design of electrohydraulic servomechanisms with near time-optimal response. The method, a dual-mode approach, involves opening the valve ports as wide as possible during the initial acceleration, followed by controlled closure during deceleration. The decelerating motion of the actuator load is critically controlled so that the actuator acts on the verge of cavitation. The proposed method leads to a simple dual-mode controller which can be implemented by a reasonably small amount of hardware. When a typical system was simulated on an analog computer, the results substantiated the validity of this design method.


Throughout history, as technology (including information technology) has evolved, so has the way that disease is diagnosed, treated, and managed. For close to half a century, clinicians and health services researchers have been investigating the use of telecommunication and information technology to provide access to care outside the traditional model of faceto-face encounters between providers and patients.' The use of technology to provide health care to patients where distance separates the participants is generally referred to as telemedicine. 2 Although the practice is not new,


To many Americans, geographical imaginings of Middle Easterners, Arabs, and Muslims are frequently derogatory. Though such imaginings have different meanings, origins, and ramifications, they have nevertheless reproduced essentialized perceptions of these diverse groups of people as the backward or dangerous "other." Images such as the oppressed woman draped in a burka or the angry man with a long beard touting a gun are prevalent in everyday discourses, popular media, and political rhetoric in the U.S. Particularly since 9/11 and the escalation of the "war on terror," these sorts representations have not only become common, but have also had widespread ramifications in both domestic and international politics. Focusing on the scale of the body, our paper examines representations of the male body as a site and symbol of difference and "otherness." Specifically, we examine beards, whether worn by al-Qaeda fighters or Afghan citizens, as key symbols in the manufacturing of Middle Eastern, Arab, and Muslim men as "the dangerous other." By focusing on media representations of bearded men in our post 9/11 world, we show how certain men's beards have been embedded in a discourse of fear, danger, and terror; and how the removal of the beard symbolizes modernization, westernization, and liberation. We argue that this othering of Middle Eastern, Arab, and Muslim men as "dangerous" not only creates a homogenized and distorted image of these diverse groups of people, but has also been used to justify social discrimination and U.S. hegemony. Aether: The Journal of Media Geography • Summer 2011 82 Aether Vol. viii.b, 82–96, September 2011 © Copyright 2011, The Center for Geographic Studies • California State University, Northridge The Face of Danger Beards in the U.S. Media's Representations of Arabs, Muslims, and Middle Easterners


Aim: To explore the effects of nicotine on intracellular nitric oxide,Calcium ion and expression of α7nAchR in umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells. Methods: MSCs were treated with different concentrations of nicotine.The level of NO was detected by nitrate reductase method at 24、36、48h;after cultured with nicotine for 24h,cells were stained using by fluo-3/AM and the change of Ca2+ was determined by flow cytometer.The expression of α7nAchR was detected by Real-time Quantitative PCR. Results: After treated with nicotine,the nitric oxide level in each experimental group were significantly higher than that of the control group at 24h and 36h(P0.05),in a dose and time dependent manners,however at 48 h the levels of NO in 0.8 mg/mL group and1.0 mg/mL group were lower than the control group,which may be related with the increased cells apoptosis.After treated with nicotine,the Ca2+ fluorescence intensity in each experimental group(0.6,0.8,1.0 mg/mL) were(141.26±16.01),(164.90±18.39),(198.76±17.63),respectively,which were higher than the control group(119.30±14.14).The expression of α7nAchR was detected in MSCs,and was found to be up-regulated after treated with nicotine in a dose-dependent manner and a time-dependent manner. Conclusion:Nicotine can promote MSCs apoptosis by up-regulating the expression of α7nAchR,stimulating MSCs to release NO and elevating the intracellular Ca2+.


China has rich Chinese herbal resources and a long history of the application.Meanwhile,China has a big animal husbandry production industry,and has a broad development prospects in additive research and development,further use of Chinese herbal medicine,and produce high quality of animal products.The functions,application,existing problems and development trend of Chinese herbal medicine additive were summarized in order to provide reference for the reasonable development and application of Chinese herbal feed additive in animal production.


The performance of eye gaze and speech when used as a pointing device was tested using the ISO multi-directional tapping task. Eye gaze and speech were used for target selection as is, as well as with the use of a gravitational well and in conjunction with magnification. These selection methods were then compared to the mouse. The mouse was far superior in terms of performance when selecting targets, although the use of a gravitational well did increase the performance of eye gaze and speech. However, magnification did not improve the use of gaze and speech as a pointing device.


This paper investigates the variation of depletion region width in the p and n layers and the total depletion region width of GaN-based pin ultraviolet (UV) detector with applied voltage. The variation of barrier capacitance with applied voltage is presented. The carrier number in the depletion region of detector generated by the light irradiation has relationships with width of the depletion region. Based on the definition of differential capacitance, the model including the photo-generated parasitical capacitance is presented. Finally, this paper systematically analyzes the influence of doping concentration on the photo-generated parasitical capacitance, response time and the cutoff frequency of GaN-based pin ultraviolet detector. By compared with the experiment results, the validity of the model is verified.


Part I. Growth of the Medical Services in War. As modern warfare expands in complexity and totality, medicine plays an increasingly important role. We now have modern, efficient medical services, ably directed, and responsible for the health of the men and women of the navy, army and air force. Medical responsibility increases with each campaign in each war, and the efficiency has kept pace. The last great conntct threw tremendous strain on medical science and resulted in the complete control of almost all the diseases that had ravaged the great armies of history-typhus and typhoid fevers, malaria, the dysenteric diseases. Once these diseases determined the outcome of the military venture. Today their importance -is 'almost negligible. Australia can indeed be proud of her contribution in the tropical medicine field, and in particular in malaria, scrub


Drunk driving is the condition of driving under the usage of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol level increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle accidents leading to severe injuries and sometimes death. Hence the legislator has set acceptable blood limits for drivers and overruling will lead to legal sentences. Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is the measure used to check drunken driving. However, this method remains tough to be used due to the huge equipment and maintenance cost. The alcohol detector used in this project consists of MQ3 gas sensor and IoT based NODEMCU. This sensor attached to the steering will sense alcohol content through driver's breathing. The status of driver along with the location map link will be sent to enrolled phone numbers. FIREBASE and THINGSPEAK features are used to achieve this task. Hence an efficient and cost effective alcohol detection method is implemented in this project.


Life insurance is regarded as the useful legal instruments which have been little captured by the public in the country. The exploration into the historical background of this legal institution indicates that the life insurance is among the first centers to be used in Iran; however, its development has experienced a slower pace compared to other similar insurances. Hence, the present study strives to explore the contributive factors to development of life insurance in developing countries for the years 2002 to 2011. The obtained results show that among the studied variables for developing countries, urbanization, dependent rate, life expectancy, inflation and growth of population have been the most contributive elements. In addition, for Iran country population growth, rate of dependency and inflation are among the most affective factors.


In the present experiment 56 diverse pea genotypes were chosen belonging to seven different plant type groups and observations were made on eight traits related to yield and lodging. Normal foliage with reduced stipule plant type (stst genotype) found to be shortest (in terms of days to flowering and days to maturity) while, semi-leafless plant type had the highest 100-seed weight as compared to the normal plant types (LeLe AfAf TlTl StSt). On the other hand, the pleiofila with reduced stipule foliage type (afaf tltl stst) had smallest 100-seed whereas, seed yield per plant was highest in case of semi-leaf plant types in both tall and dwarf groups. Similarly, Pleiofila with normal and reduced stipule plant types in both tall and dwarf groups were found to be more lodging susceptible than the normal. The dwarf/semi-dwarf genotypes combined with semi-leafless peas appear to be the most ideal plant type that would provide better tolerance to lodging and yields high.


Nowadays, elderly people represent a large group of digital products/services users that has increased steadily since the popularity of smart phones and tablets. However, elderly people's online behaviors let their digital privacy at a high risk situation. This paper uses the risk management theory to study the digital privacy risk of the elderly. First,presents an extensive empirical of privacy related behaviors of elderly residents form 3 residential communities in a large Chinese city. And then evaluates the impact of risk factors. Finally, the Borda count list of risk factors was given to help the elderly and their families protect digital privacy more effectively. The research shows that the digital privacy of the elderly were violated by the risk of incentives mainly from two aspects: First, privacy awareness is weak, they do not pay attention to the privacy options which provided by digital products/services, and prone to disclose too many personal information;Second, do not have enough IT knowledge to protect their digital privacy.


The invention provides a traditional Chinese medicine composition for curing chronic ulcerative colitis. Bulk drugs of the traditional Chinese medicine composition include prepared rehmannia roots, vine of multiflower knotweed, myrrh, Chinese yam, rhizoma polygonati, myrobalan, asarum, rheum officinale, roots of Chinese pulsatilla, radix gentianae, folium isatidis, zedoary, roots of common vladimiria, fructus viticis, roots of red-rooted salvia, grifola, rhizoma bletillae, gallnut, pinellia ternate, alpinia oxyphylla, wadalee-gum-tree, saururus chinensis, groundsel, birthwort and perfoliote knotweed herb. The invention has the advantages that the traditional Chinese medicine composition has excellent curative effect, is quick to be effective, has low possibility of recurrence, has no toxic and side effect or side reaction, and has no drug resistance.


We treasure both Gaius Valerius Catullus and Quintus Horatius Flaccus for their literary gifts and for their lyrics on the power of love and the pleasures of sophisticated urban living. We also, and often, treasure Catullus and Horace together; after all, both poets share a number of distinctive interests: metrically, stylistically, thematically, and what one might call professionally. Among these common professional interests is their shared literary debt to a female predecessor, the early sixth century BCE Greek poet Sappho. For this reason alone, one might expect Catullus and Horace to acknowledge the presence and activity of female poets, and especially women erotic poets, in their own Roman milieu. I would like to argue that both Catullus and Horace in fact make such acknowledgments, but do so in strikingly different ways.


Studies of outcome after intensive care suggest that death rates do not return to normal until 2-4 years after admission. Although some questionnaire studies have reported on morbidity, little published work exists on detailed clinical recovery or longer term residual effects of critical illness. The recovery process may present serious physical, psychological, and social problems for both patients and their families, and these may last for months or years. Although patients who have been in intensive care have often been extremely ill, been at high risk of death, and received care costing tens of thousands of pounds, detailed follow up and targeted support are still rare.

The 5 year mortality rate in intensive care patients is over 3 times that of the general population. However at 2 year survival rates are parallel. Adapted from Niskanen M et al. Crit Care Med 1996;24:1962-7.

Patients on mechanical ventilation are usually discharged from the intensive care unit to the ward when they can breathe unaided. However, several physical problems may still remain. Although these may not be serious enough to keep the patient in intensive care, if left untreated they could lead to readmission. Intensive care staff should therefore follow patients' progress on the ward for a few days to monitor recovery of multisystem disease and assure good continuity of care.

#### Examples of physical disorders after intensive care

The commonest physical problem reported by intensive care patients is severe weakness and fatigue. Patients in intensive care …


Membranes holomorphically embedded in flat noncompact space are constructed in terms of the degrees of freedom of an infinite collection of 0-branes. To each holomorphic curve we associate infinite-dimensional matrices which are static solutions to the matrix theory equations of motion, and which can be interpreted as the matrix theory representation of the holomorphically embedded membrane. The problem of finding such matrix representations can be phrased as a problem in geometric quantization, where ǫ ∝ l3 P /R plays the role of the Planck constant and parametrizes families of solutions. The concept of Bergman projection is used as a basic tool, and a local expansion for the action of the projection in inverse powers of curvature is derived. This expansion is then used to compute the required matrices perturbatively in ǫ. The first two terms in the expansion correspond to the standard geometric quantization result and to the result obtained using the metaplectic correction to geometric quantization.


The partition function of 2+1 Chern-Simons-Witten topological gravity has an attractive physical interpretation in terms of the unbroken and broken phases of gravity. We make this physical interpretation manifest by using the background field method.


The invention discloses a material electromagnetic parameter measuring system which comprises a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna and a sample bracket positioned between the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna. A measured sample is arranged on the sample bracket; and besides the surface on the sample bracket, which is occupied by the measured sample, other surfaces on the sample bracket are covered by wave-absorbing materials. According to the invention, the sample is clamped by the sampled sample bracket and the wave-absorbing materials are arranged at both sides of the sample bracket, so that the material electromagnetic parameter measuring system disclosed by the invention can obtain material electromagnetic parameters without adopting an expensive lens antenna. Furthermore, the wave-absorbing materials in the material electromagnetic parameter measuring system disclosed by the invention can be selected from commercially common wave-absorbing materials such as wave-absorbing sponges and the like; the wave-absorbing materials can also be designed by utilizing a metamaterial principle; and the wave-absorbing materials designed by utilizing the metamaterial principle has the advantages of small thickness, wide wave-absorbing frequency band and good wave-absorbing performance.


Using the TRI to understand polluting behavior can pose challenges due to the limited number of chemicals that are reported, the potential confounding effect of several regulatory programs that affect TRI substances, the lack of output information, and judgments regarding appropriate measures of releases. In an effort both to help illustrate and clarify these issues, I study TRI data from the petroleum refining industry using a balanced panel of 199 refineries from 1988-2003. I find that (1) although both aggregate and toxicity-weighted releases exhibited large declines over the period of study, the pattern of releases were substantially different, strongly suggesting that any inference that is drawn from the data will be sensitive to the measure of releases; and (2) regulatory programs can affect TRI releases both directly and indirectly. The direct effect occurs because emissions of several TRI substances are simultaneously regulated under the CAA and CWA (and other environmental programs and policies. The indirect effect occurs when regulatory programs induce changes in the set of inputs or the production process, leading to changes in TRI releases of substances that are not directly regulated under these programs. Thus, simply "netting-out" CAA and CWA substances from the TRI will not necessarily remove the confounding effects of these regulatory programs.


The relationships between epileptiform afterdischarges (EAD) and surface-positive burst responses recorded from neuronally isolated slabs of cerebral cortex were studied in 23 cats. The results suggest that a specific population of neurons participating in an EAD are facilitated by the afterdischarge activity. In their facilitated condition they can respond to weak electrical stimuli which had been ineffective previous to the EAD. The response of the activated neurons resembles the epileptiform bursts recorded toward the end of an afterdischarge; continued application of the weak stimuli at rates of from 0.5 to 2.0 per second can sustain the epileptiform activity for periods of up to 20 min. The initial epileptiform afterdischarge activity, and the sustained epileptiform bursts which can be evoked by the weak stimuli, are transmitted across an isolated cortical slab by a system of neurons which is distinct and separate from the neuronal networks which transmit the surface-positive burst response across th...


Internal textual evidence, as well as external evidence drawn from behavioural patterns in the ancient Near East, shows that the book of Job contains not only a theological conflict between man and God, but also one between man and the society to which he belongs. Job's physical affliction (שחין רע ) made him into a social outcast because of fear of contagion. The role of Job's wife has to be understood within this context. In particular, this paper is focused on the speech of Job's wife in the Prologue (2:9), allusions to her in 19:17, 30:12–13, 17–18, 31:1, 10, and her absence from the Epilogue. These sources suggest an image of Job's wife that is at variance with the negative character usually ascribed to her.


The fracture behavior of a PMMA toughened by small (0.2 μm diameter) rubber particles was investigated over a wide range of rubber particle volume fractions. Crack tip morphology, material toughness, and fracture surfaces were studied. Whereas isolated particles have no effect, interactions between particles strongly modify the fracture behavior. Interactions occur via two different mechanisms: (i) an overlap of the stress enhancements due to particles, which is a function of the ratio of the distance between particles versus particle diameter; (ii) a geometrical "sifter" effect, which occurs when the distance between particles is less than the craze thickness.


This paper presents the intermediate results of a research study on the accreditation of marine engineering programs. Similar to other higher education curricula, undergraduate marine engineering programs are routinely accredited by nation accreditation bodies. Various methods of program approval and accreditation are also analyzed in this ongoing project, but the program assessment by a specialized accreditation board or panel is the principal objective of the study. This accreditation of an engineering program is intended to improve its quality on one side, and to bring it on the level with other engineering specialties like mechanical, civil, aeronautical, and others. Obviously, only the programs that offer an engineering degree together with or without a maritime license are the subjects of the study. Yet the project recommendations might contain conditions and requirements for converting a strictly license program into a combined license/degree engineering curriculum.


Using chestnut shell as raw materials in the experiment,the orthogonal experiment and the variance analysis were conducted which obtained the best condition on return extraction of alcohol of food pigment extracted from chestnut shell:chestnut shell is soaked in pH8.0 and 50% aqueous ethanol,1:20 as the ratio of raw material to solvent for 3 hours at 80 ℃.


Background: Childbirth is accompanied with enormous physical and emotional changes in mothers. Anxiety is the most common problem among these patients. This study was aimed to determine the effect of the presence of trained husbands beside their wives during childbirth on their anxiety. Materials and Methods: In a randomized control trial, 84 primiparous women were enrolled in childbirth educational classes. Anxiety score was compared among three groups; without accompaniment (control), with accompaniment (doula), and with trained husband's support before hospitalization at the time of admission and during the 4th stage of delivery. Data was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and least significant difference tests. Results: The level of anxiety before hospitalization was not significantly different among the three groups (38.6, 39.2, and 38.4, respectively, in without accompaniment, with accompaniment (doula), and with trained husband's support groups). This level was significantly different among groups during hospitalization (36, 42.1, and 59.1, respectively, as per previous groups' order). The level of anxiety in the intervention group at 4th stage of delivery was significantly lower than other groups (31.4 versus 43.3 and 69.2, respectively with P< 0.001). Conclusions: According to the results of this study presence of trained husbands beside their wives during delivery decreased mother's anxiety. It is recommended to use this intervention during childbirth.


SUMMARY The aim of this study was to detect genetic and phenotypic trends for test day milk, fat and protein yields in Egyptian buffalo applying the random regression model (RRM) and determining the genetic and phenotypic trend. Data of 4971 test days (TD) milk yield traits were recorded for 691 Egyptian buffalo cows, daughters of 120 sires and 532 dams from four herds belonging to the Animal Production Research Institute, Egypt. Ten-month classes of lactation days were considered for the test-day yields. The model included the random effects of direct additive genetic, permanent environment and error, while the fixed effects were herd-test day, year and season of calving and parity as well as days in milk as a covariable, which was modeled by orthogonal Legendre polynomials. The additive genetic variance estimates at first test day for milk, fat and protein yields were respectively 0.035kg, 2.26g, 0.80g, increased until the fourth (0.807kg, 30.52g, 12.52g), decreased thereafter, reaching the lowest value at the ninth test day for milk and protein yields (0.238kg, 0.97g) and at the tenth test day for fat yield (7.28g).Heritability estimated at first test day was 0.05, increased until the fourth test day (0.30), and decreased thereafter and reached the lowest value at the tenth test day (0.06). The highest heritabilities were found to be 0.29 and 0.31 for fourth test day in fat and protein yields, respectively. The range in phenotypic values change decreased from 7.99 to 5.66kg, 53.37 to 35.07g and 30.86 to 21.54g, while the respective genetic values change increased from -0.22 to 0.17kg, -1.41 to 1.36g and 0.82 to 0.70g for milk, fat and protein yields, respectively. The genetic trends were slightly positive for all traits indicating that the selection program performs correctly. For all traits, the phenotypic trends showing deteriorating trends indicating the presence of some environmental inadequacies especially for nutritional level.


Thromboembolic events such as acute ischemic strokes are frequently seen in patients with infective endocarditis (IE). It is generally recommended that the administration of intravenous thrombolytics is avoided in these patients as they might encounter a higher risk of intracranial hemorrhages. In this setting, particularly with a large vessel occlusion (LVO), a mechanical thrombectomy may be an alternative option. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to investigate the outcomes and safety of mechanical thrombectomies for LVO stroke patients secondary to IE. A search strategy was developed and we searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Embase using the words "infective endocarditis", "stroke", and "mechanical thrombectomy". Including 6 studies and 120 patients overall, this study showed that a mechanical thrombectomy might reduce the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), with a weighted mean difference of −3.06 and a 95% CI of −4.43 to −1.70. The pooled rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhages and all-cause mortality were also determined to be 15% (95% CI: 4–47%) and 34% (95% CI:14–61%), respectively. The results of this study showed that a mechanical thrombectomy might be an effective and reasonably safe option for the treatment of LVO strokes caused by IE. However, more large-scale studies are needed to consolidate these results.


ABSTRACT This article investigates the existence of combined patterns of regional innovation and the information and communication technologies (ICT) use, and the factors explaining them at a regional level in the European Union (EU). The use of canonical correlation analysis (CCA) allows us to identify two differentiated patterns of regional innovation and ICT use. The main pattern is defined by those regions combining high levels of ICT use and innovation. This pattern is mostly explained by institutional factors, such as the quality of government, and by region-specific characteristics, such as total employment in knowledge-intensive services, total research and development (R&D), lifelong learning (LifeLong), and gross domestic product (GDP). We also identified a second pattern that corresponds with regions showing strong disparities between innovation and ICT use levels. This pattern is mainly determined by R&D and by institutional variables such as government quality and fiscal decentralization. Our findings shed light on the factors that jointly explain innovation and ICT diffusion, and could be useful in the design of innovation and ICT diffusion policies at both regional and national levels.


Vanadium mullite had been surprisingly observed in the phase transition of kaolin in the presence 1%-5% vanadium at about 700 ℃ ,and quite a pure vanadium mullite could be obtained through the process of acid base leaching reaction and separation. In addition, unit cell parameters of various mullites were especially determined by XRD and the unit cell volume of vanadium mullite formed at a low temperature was found to be greater than that of the common mullite, which could be deduced that vanadium incorporated into the mullite framework. Furthermore, the reaction process of vanadium mullite formation could be expressed as low melting vanadium kaolin eutectic transition.


2-Aminoethanethiol (aet) has been used to make self-assembled monolayer (SAMs) on gold electrodes, which are subsequently modified with 3,4-dihydroxy phenylalanine (dpa). Such modified electrodes having various types of Au/aet-dpa were employed in the electrocatalytic oxidation of NADH. The purpose of this study to characterize the responses of such modified electrodes in terms of the immobilization procedure, pH of the solution and applied potential. The reaction of the surface immobilized dpa with NADH was studied using the rotating disk electrode technique and a value of 2.2 × 10 4 M −1 s −1 was obtained for the second-order rate constant in 0.1 M Tris/NO3 − buffer (pH=8.0). The hydration behavior of the films was characterized by quartz crystal microbalance. When used as a NADH sensor, the Au/aet-dpa electrode exhibited good sensitivity and an excellent correlation (r ≥ 0.99) for NADH concentration which extended to 3.8 × 10 −3 M.


In the present experimental work, the energy and exergy for single slope passive solar still with different basin water depths are experimentally investigated under the Baghdad climate condition. The analysis is performed using the governing equations formulated according to the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Compared to solar still with 1 cm water depth, the obtained results indicated that raising the water depth to 2 and 3 cm caused an appreciable drop in water basin temperature, and high levels of water basin reduction were about 4% and 9%, respectively, from 8:00 a.m. to 14:00 p.m., which significantly affects heat and mass transfer and ultimately hinders further water productivity. The maximum evaporation and convection heat transfer coefficients are found (32 W/m2·k) and (2.62 W/m2·k), respectively, while the maximum productivity of solar still is found to be 1468.84 mL/m2 with 1 cm water depth. Conversely, stills with 2 and 3 cm water depth, exhibit an increment of the daily exergy efficiency after 14:00 p.m., this increment was the most for the still with 3 cm water depth. Therefore, we have concluded that the still with 1 cm of water depth attained the highest water productivity, while the still with 3 cm of water depth attained the best exergy efficiency with no additional costs.


Aim To find out the base of component track record format of the digital video signal, the DV-record format and the compressed principle in a single frame.Methods Discussing the DV-record format of the video component signal technique, sampling frequency and brightness signal for the DVCAM and DVCPRO record format.Results Selecting the popular record format, to quarantee system, opening and compatibility of the video record format.Conclusion The running cost was decreased and the video record quality was guaranteed.


A study was conducte in five different locations in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State, Nigeria between the months of April-June 2013 prevalence of Ticks of veterinary importance. The study area included Katarko, Goniri, Gujba, College of Agriculture farm and BuniYadi. A total of 561 heads of cattle comprising of 289 Females, 272 Males, 248 White Fulani Breeds and 313 Bororo were involved. The study revealed the existence of five different genera of ticks vizAmblomma, Hyalomma, Booplilus, Ornithodus and Rhipicephalus with prevalence rates of 39.63%, 10%, 6.39%, 6.62% and 1.25% respectively. Beside, some significant findings were also discovered by the study. These included a considerably higher prevalence rate and site of collection (location) as well cattle sex, an association between prevalence rate and cattle age, breed and months of collection.


For optimization of a measuring instrument's calibration interval, firstly, characters of historical calibration data were analyzed and the mathematic model of calibration data was described. Then a grey combined model was proposed to optimize calibration interval. Trend components of calibration data are predicted by GM (1, 1) model. Furthermore, random components are predicted by the combined model which is comprised by AR model, BP neural network model and Markov model. Experiments show the grey combined model adapts to small sample and non-linear characters of calibration data and it is fit for the prediction of calibration interval.


A method and an apparatus for processing packets in an IPv4/IPv6(Internet Protocol version4/Internet Protocol version6) integrated network are provided to identify a tunnel session through a flow label field of an IPv6 header in a tunnel section when the packet is transmitted in a tunneling manner according to the RSVP, thereby minimizing packet overhead. An apparatus for processing a packet in an IPv4/IPv6 integrated network comprises the followings: a transmitting host which transmits a path message for requesting a session resource according to the RSVP(Resource Reservation Protocol) and transmits the packet to an established endpoint session; a first node which establishes a tunnel session mapped to the endpoint session when the path message is provided from the transmitting host and transmits a tunnel path message including identification information for identifying each session, and transmits the packet, which is received through the endpoint session, to a mapped tunnel session; a second node which establishes the first node and the tunnel session, and transmits the packet, which is received through the tunnel session, to a mapped endpoint session according to the identification information included in the tunnel path message; and a receiving host which establishes the endpoint session by transmitting the reservation message to the transmitting host through each node when the path message is received through the each node.


The utility model discloses an energy-saving and frost-proof air conditioner which is characterized in that a group of heat exchangers composed of heat tube bundles (or any one energy recycling device selected from a plate type and a rotary wheel type full heat exchangers) are added in an air inlet passage which is arranged between a filter and a heater and through which the air passes after the fresh air enters the air conditioner, and an air discharge passage before the bad indoor air is discharged by a blower. The temperature difference between the fresh air which enters the air conditioner and the bad indoor air which is discharged by the air conditioner is utilized for the heat exchange; the effect of the energy saving can reach 60%-80%; the utility model is an air conditioning device used in modern buildings for optimal energy recovery and the prevention of the frost damage of the heater.


Panteleeva Tatyana Yurievna – candidate of philology, professor assistant of social-humanitarian, economic and law disciplines, deputy of the head of learning and scientific work branch. Novorossiysk Branch of Krasnodar University of Russian MIA.  In the article it is considered «feud speech» in the cognitive-semantic and legal aspects. Jurislinguistic as an interdisciplinary field, actively developing in recent time, uses the term «feud speech» that has not received, however, the terminological status, and full justification. Conducted cognitivesemantic analysis allows to identify in the texts of normative documents qualifying the semantic dominant language elements with the semantic attribute and the semantics of the action constituting the foundation of formation of the investigated phenomenon in the coordinates of linguistics and law. Crucial for determining the extent to which an element of «feude speech» becomes a sign of publicity, naturally manifestated in the properties of the recipient and use of communicative strategies. «Feud speech» is defined as a set of institutionally determinated negative speech practices based on the archetypal opposition «own – alien», and negative stereotypes. «Feud speech» is being implemented in the sphere of social and interpersonal relations. Kay words: jurislinguistic, «feud speech», making semantic dominants, attributive elements.


Silica is used for lining of the upper parts of glass furnaces and their regenerators and for lining of the lids of arc furnaces and for the coke oven batteries construction. Silica bricks represent 60% of refractory material used for a coke battery construction. Coke ovens are generally the largest oven aggregates, where silica material is used. The whole coke oven battery may reach the length up to 80 m due to the chamber sizes. A single coke oven battery contains up to 50.000 tons of refractories [1]. From the material science point of view, the durability of silica bricks depends on numerous parameters including first of all porosity and mineral composition. Microstructure of silica bricks changes during their application due to the heat load, repeated heating and cooling, and direct contact with the oven atmosphere. The paper discusses the possibility of reducing the apparent porosity and increasing of bulk density of coke oven silica bricks. It describes the effects of an iron dust, microsilica and influence of the compaction pressure on the coke oven silica microstructure. Functional characteristics of the material prepared according to the new standard recipes are compared with the properties of standard silica products.


The first paper addresses the problems of speech recognition and a solution has been found out using Discrete Wavelet Transform and Admissible Wavelet Packet Transform for recognition of phonemes. The second paper, for the first time, uses message passing interface and sharec;J memory routines to simplify the implementation of parallel algorithm for solving a linear system of equations. The third contribution, to this issue, describes synthesis of barium Cobalt Titanium ferrite materials and its characterization in the X-Band. Traffic in A TM Networks has been discussed with the help of modeling based on heavily tailed probability distribution function by the authors in the fourth paper. Design of a Microstrip Array Antenna has been presented by the authors in the subsequent paper, followed by experimental verification of the concept in a subsequent paper radiation through waveguide-backed apertures of arbitrary shape in a conductive screen has been described in detail using Green Function approach. Another paper on A TM Networks addresses the problem of congestion by developing buffered leaky bucket algorithm in a simply and efficiently way in the seventh paper. The last paper describes channel assignment strategies for the handoff and initial access in mobile communication networks with special features to improve the network throughput or the probability of call completion.


Surface water is the main drinking water source in Korea. Algal bloom caused by phytoplankton in reservoir is common event in every summer season. To prevent or control the algal blooms, artificial circulation system has been adopted in many reservoirs, including Hoengseung reservoir. Total 7 hydraulic-gun-aerators were installed around the intake tower in Hoengseung reservoir since 2000. This study is to elucidate the effects of hydraulic-gun-aerators on phytoplankton bloom, pH, DO, temperature and evaluate the selective withdrawal and vertical distribution of phytoplankton by means of submersible fluorescence probe, which features high correlation with a standard ISO method (r=0.90, P


ABSTRACT Although crizotinib (CZ) has clinical activity in ALK (+) Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), relapse is common due to the development of resistance. ALK and components of signalling pathways involved in resistance are client proteins of the chaperone, HSP90, offering an alternative method for targeting the disease. Onalespib[ON](AT13387), a potent 2nd generation HSP90 inhibitor had anti-tumor activity in CZ-sensitive and CZ-resistant xenograft models when combined with CZ (Courtin et al). Importantly, when combined upfront with CZ in a CZ-sensitive xenograft model, ON delayed the emergence of resistance observed with CZ monotherapy (Smyth et al.). These preclinical data suggest therapeutic potential for an ON/CZ combination in CZ-sensitive and –resistant disease. This is currently being investigated in a 3-part Phase1/2 randomised NSCLC study. The primary objectives of the Phase 1 part of the clinical study were the safety and tolerability of CZ and ON and selection of the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of ON. A rolling six design was used to determine the maxiumum tolerated dose (MTD)/RP2D of the combination. Patients received 250 mg BID oral CZ and IV ON weekly for 3 of 4 weeks of a 28 day cycle (dosing cohorts 150, 180 or 220 mg/m2). In Part A, 32 patients, who had prior CZ treatment, were treated with the combination in 3 dosing cohorts. ON was escalated up to 220 mg/m2 without DLTs and the combination was well tolerated (diarrhea was the only ON-related AE ≥ Grade 3 in > 5% of patients). The mean number of ON cycles was 4.2 (range 1-11+). ON exposures were similar to previous studies and CZ exposures were unaffected when co-administered with ON. Of 25 evaluable patients, there were 4 PR and over 50% of subjects had a decrease in tumor size. CZ/ON doses of 250 mg BID/220 mg/m2 were selected as the combination RP2D (Besse et al.). Preclinical data suggest that a CZ/ON combination has potential, upfront, to delay the emergence of resistance to CZ or, after relapse, to overcome resistance. A RP2D has been selected to continue evaluation of these hypotheses in Phase 2 studies of this combination in patients prior to or after progression on CZ.


The present invention discloses a method and mobile terminal for drawing the sliding track, field of communication technologies. The method of drawing the sliding track comprises: A) Get the total sliding distance and total time of sliding from the slide start position to the end position of the slide; B) drawing the sliding track in the current frame image starting position of the slide, the recording said current time frame of the current image drawing completion; C) acquired from the rendering time of the rendering start time to the current time, determining the rendering time is greater than or equal to the total time of sliding, if so, terminating said slide where to draw the sliding track of the last frame image; if not, the rendering time according to the time and the total sliding distance to get the current total sliding distance of the slide, and the sliding start position of the current and the sliding distance as the slide starting position, repeat steps B and C. The present invention improves the user experience.


This research looked at the teachability of "Communicative Competence" (CC) in the secondary level in Tunisia. Its aim was to investigate how three teachers understand the concept of CC as a target of instruction and whether and to what extent it reflects their ideas about CLT. Textbook evaluation, classroom observation (CO) and a semi-structured interview (SSI) were used as research tools. Three teachers were followed over 9 lessons. Analysis of the textbooks used in the lessons showed that the two textbooks were, to a great extent, based on CLT principles. By using them selectively, the three teachers tried to improve their learners' CC. However, how to accomplish that goal differed from one teacher to another. Moreover, their understanding of the CLT methodology differed. Their ideas and practice diverge. Sometimes the teachers' practice also diverge from the tenets of CLT by attempting to implement a personalized teaching style. Finally, it is worth noting that teachers in this research are, to a great extent, applying the teaching of CC primarily by integrating the four skills.


Lycopene most likely contributes to the positive health effects of tomatoes on the cardiovascular system. However, elucidation of underlying cellular mechanisms is hampered by the intricate solubility of lycopene in aqueous solutions. Cells relevant to the cardiovascular system, including bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs), the monocytic cell line THP-1, and RAT-1 fibroblasts, were treated for various time periods (0–72 h) with different concentrations of lycopene (1, 5, and 10 µM), solubilized either in tetrahydrofuran (THF) or micelles as solvents. Incubation of all three cell types led to a concentration- and time-dependent increase in cellular lycopene content. Both vehicles tested, THF and micelles, proved equally effective in the delivery of lycopene to cells. A marked difference in the amount of lycopene incorporated was observed among the various cell types. Compared with THP-1 cells, the uptake of lycopene using both solvents was higher in BAECs and RAT-1 fibroblasts for all concentrations and time points tested.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Epidemiological data indicate a beneficial effect for consumption of tomato products in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Only limited data are available on the cellular uptake of lycopene in vascular cells. Lycopene was successfully delivered to different cells relevant for the cardiovascular system. These results represent an important prerequisite for the study of molecular and cellular mechanisms by which lycopene may exert its beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system.


Hand rehabilitation aims to improve patients' hand and arm skills, improve adherence to training and increase their participation in activities of daily living (ADLs). A novel way of achieving this is to employ ADL-based interactive rehabilitation tools and show patients how their improved skills can be transferable to daily tasks. Hence, in this paper, we report the results of a set of studies carried out with six healthy individuals and two physiotherapists to discover the potential of integrating ADLs into interactive hand rehabilitation tools. Consequently, we designed two interactive drinking-based concepts and tested those with three stroke patients. We found that ADL-based training couples particularly well with functional training. Still, selecting appropriate functional exercises that match the ADL is an essential task to transfer training outcomes to a functional setting. Based on our findings, this paper highlights that ADL-based interactive hand rehabilitation training must minimally deviate from the original ADLs.


Abstract.
 Migration patterns of Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) wintering in the southeastern U.S. are poorly understood. Movement data were analyzed from 28 cormorants captured in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi and equipped with satellite transmitters. Four (three immature, one adult) cormorants did not migrate and stayed in the southeastern U.S. throughout the year. During spring, cormorants captured in Alabama migrated east of the Mississippi River and primarily west of the Appalachian Mountains. Cormorants from Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi migrated north along the Mississippi River Valley, the Missouri River Valley and/or the Ohio River Valley. The earliest departure for spring migration was 26 March, whereas the latest departure was 12 May. Adult cormorants departed for spring migration earlier than immature cormorants. The average departure date for fall migration was 1 October. Mean duration of spring migration was twelve days, and cormorants traveled an average of 70 km per day.


A novel approach to the sustainable management of potassium (K) resources in agro-ecosystems is through better exploitation of genetic differences in the K efficiency of crop plants. Potassium efficiency is a measure of genotypic tolerance to soils with low potassium availability and can be quantified as the K efficiency ratio (the ratio of growth at deficient and adequate K supply). This study investigated the magnitude of variation in K efficiency among wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes grown in a glasshouse and in the field. Genotypes differed significantly in response to low soil K availability in terms of shoot biomass during the vegetative growth phase and grain yield at maturity under glasshouse (144 genotypes) and field (89 genotypes) conditions. K-efficient and K-inefficient genotypes were identified. The main factor determining K efficiency for grain yield was the capacity of genotypes to maintain a high harvest index (grain yield/total shoot weight) at deficient K supply. Genotypes that had reduced harvest index under deficient K supply were K-inefficient. Capacity to tolerate low concentrations of K in shoot tissue where K supply was deficient was also important in determining K efficiency for grain yield. Potassium-efficient genotypes have the potential to enhance the productivity and sustainability of cereal cropping systems.


In many ways the (near) complete human genome sequence is only the beginning. We have still much to learn of the packaging and spatial organisation of nearly 2 metres of DNA within each cell nucleus. In recent years we have become increasingly aware that many important cellular factors are compartmentalised within the nucleus, and this is also true of chromatin. The nuclear position of chromosome territories can be correlated to the DNA sequence the overall gene density. Previous work has shown that chromosomes have a radial arrangement, gene-poor chromosomes are situated at or near the nuclear periphery, while more gene-rich chromosomes are in the centre of the nucleus at least in lymphoblast and fibroblast cells. It was not known if this pattern of chromosome territory organisation is particular to these cells and hence, I have investigated the nuclear distribution of chromosomes in a variety of different primary and transformed cell lines. I have also performed FISH and chromosome position analysis on histological tissue sections. The data suggest that the nuclear organisation in cultured cells reflects that of the nuclei in human somatic cells in vivo. It is possible that chromatin composition, especially histone modifications, is involved in the maintenance of chromosome spatial organisation. Using chemical inhibition of histone deacetylation with the drug Trichostatin-A (TSA), endogenous levels of histone acetylation in the nucleus were disrupted. I have then analysed the position of centromeres and chromosomes in cells treated with TSA. I found no detectable rearrangement of chromatin under these conditions. This suggests that histone acetylation does not play a vital role in influencing the spatial organisation of chromatin. Many nuclear membrane and lamina components have chromatin binding domains and are capable of binding chromatin and/or associated proteins in vitro. Interest in the nuclear lamina and a role in spatial organisation of chromatin has recently increased with the discovery of human 'laminopathies', syndromes caused by mutations in lamin A or emerin. Experiments have shown that the spatial organisation of chromosomes is not altered in lymphoblast cells that carry a null mutation of emerin. I have generated stable cell lines overexpressing disease-associated mutations of lamin A protein. Some peripheral chromosomes are no longer present at the nuclear periphery in cells over-expressing lamin A. I also followed the interphase dynamics of different lamin A disease-associated mutants and some mutant proteins are more mobile than the wild-type lamin A in FRAP studies.


This study of orthographic practices, concerning people with difficulties in writing, is part of a doctoral research project, funded by the Rhone-Alpes region, in which the results of a spelling test, proposed to the most disadvantaged writing respondents in the IVQ survey conducted by INSEE in 2011, is analysed. After presenting the survey protocol, we will present the variation in the corpus of the Rhone-Alpes region, from the analysis of a word and a no-word which have close linguistic characteristics. We observe that, despite the heterogeneity of the results, the writers seem to have a relatively effective phonemic awareness and the frequency effect seems to have an impact on the spelling success.


Measurements have been made over a wide range of speed and temperature of the thickness of the oil film between rotating crossed-cylinders of hardened steel lubricated with a hypoid base oil and with the base oil compounded with a range of E.P. additives. These values of the film thickness agree well with those found in previous studies of elastohydrodynamic lubrication. It has been shown that the addition of the E.P. additives has no appreciable effect upon the thickness of the film.It is deduced from these studies that an oil film of appreciable thickness must exist between the teeth of hypoid gears over a wide range of operating conditions; the major mechanism of lubrication in a hypoid gear is, therefore, elastohydrodynamic and the main function of E.P. additives is to prevent the initiation of catastrophic forms of failure by local penetration of this hydrodynamic film.


Two natural peptides whose sequences are partly unknown through Edman Degration were analyzed by de novo sequence method of nano ESI MSMS.Results indicated that this method can effectively solve the difficulty occurring in Edman Degration,such as losing of the last residue, unidentification between leucine and lysine residues.The established method is a good supplement for Edman Degration.


We study Schatten–von Neumann properties of multiple operator integrals with integrands in the Haagerup tensor product of L∞ spaces. We obtain sharp, best possible estimates. This allowed us to obtain sharp Schatten–von Neumann estimates in the case of Haagerup‐like tensor products.


The popularity and usefulness of the sound level meter have created a demand for a vibration‐measuring device of similar character—easy to use, accurate, and adaptable to a wide range of applications. To provide such a general‐purpose vibration‐measuring device a new and unusual type of instrument has been developed. Based upon the experience gained in the manufacture of hundreds of sound level meters, a stable, high gain amplifying circuit has been developed, giving a satisfactory response at frequencies as low as 2 cycles per second. The use of an acceleration‐type pick‐up plus two stages of electrical integration provides the user with the choice of acceleration, velocity, or displacement characteristics, all in a single instrument. Among the many other features are a stable internal calibration system, instantaneous push‐button control of the integrating circuits, a semilogarithmic meter with special damping characteristics, and a single‐control dual attenuator providing a wide range of sensitivity. T...


Motivated by a large health care data obtained from the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VHA), we develop a multivariate version of hierarchical structured additive regression (STAR) models that involves a set of health care responses defined at the lowest level of the hierarchy, a set of patient factors to account for individual heterogeneity, and a set of higher level effects to capture dependence between patients within the same medical home team and facility. We show how a special class of such models can equivalently be represented and estimated in structural equation modeling framework. We then propose a Bayesian component selection with a spike and slab prior structure that allows inclusion or exclusion single effects as well as grouped coefficients representing particular model terms. A simple parameter expansion is used to improve mixing and convergence properties of Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation. The proposed methods are applied to a real-world application of the VHA patient centered medical home (PCMH) data and help to provide a good prediction of clinical workload portfolio for a certain mix of health care professionals based on patient key demographic, diagnostic, and medical attributes.


In 2006 and 2010, the state Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards provided copies of the affirmative action plans adopted by Milwaukee area local joint apprenticeship committees (JACs) to the NAACP Milwaukee Branch. These plans are open to public review under the Wisconsin open records law. This paper examines the documents provided to the NAACP in light of standards established by federal and state regulations governing construction trade apprenticeship programs. A brief summary is included of the federal code of regulations (29 CFR 30) and the Wisconsin Administrative Code (DWD 296) governing affirmative action requirements for apprenticeship sponsors.


The characteristics of a dynamic reaction cell (DRC), used to reduce interferences from molecular or elemental ions in an inductively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometer (ICP-MS), were investigated for dry sample introduction. The dependence of the signals from molecular ions formed in the ICP or in the interface region was monitored with the variation of the concentration of reaction or buffer gas used. The differences between wet aerosols, generated with a standard cyclonic spray chamber and concentric nebulizer, to dry aerosols, generated by a desolvating nebulizer or laser ablation, were determined. The comparison of prominent background signals to ion signals from selected analyte ions was used to determine parameters that lead to optimum signal/background ratios and analytical performance for laser ablation analysis. Ammonia and hydrogen were used as reactive gases in these experiments. Additionally, He, Ne and Xe were used as a buffer gas to enhance thermalization in the DRC. The reaction rate with ammonia was found to be distinctly higher than with hydrogen. On the other hand, side reactions with analyte ions, leading to additional interferences and analyte loss through the formation of clusters, were severe with ammonia. Hydrogen, having a smaller reactivity, reduces cluster formation and retains analyte sensitivity even at a high gas concentration. It is therefore better suited for methods that allow only short measurement times, like laser ablation (LA) or electrothermal vaporization (ETV). The capabilities of the DRC for LA are demonstrated through the determination of Ca in a quartz sample and Nb in a chromium matrix, which suffer from either Ar-ions or Ar-based interferences. Reduction of the background intensities and use of the most abundant isotope led to a reduction of the limit of detection for Ca in quartz by two orders of magnitude and an improvement of accuracy for the determination of Nb in a chromium-matrix.


Objective To study the correlation between plasma efavirenz(EFV)level and CYP450 2B6 genotype among AIDS patients receiving HAART.Methods Sixty eight AIDS patients taking EFV were recruited from a HIV/AIDS clinic in Shenzhen.Their plasma EFV level was tested at 8-12 hours after the previous day's medication,using an HPLC system.RT-PCR was used to determine the frequency of CYP2B6 516 GT in the enrolled patients.Result There were 42 males and 26 females,aged 37.9±10.6 years.Of them 39,26 and 3 had genotype GG,GT and TT respectively at 2B6 position 516.The EFV level was 3.3±1.2μg/ml for GG,4.7±2.3μg/ml for GT,and 9.0±0.8μg/ml for TT,and the difference between them was statistically significant(P0.01).Conclusion CYP 2B6 516 GT genotype is relatively common in the Chinese population.Higher plasma EFV level may appear in GT genotype,but.plasma EFV may increase to an extremely high level in TT genotype which is relatively uncommon.Therefore,the detection of CYP 2B6 516 GT genotype may help determine clinical dosage of EFV for individual patients.


Rationale & Objective
                  Hemodialysis patients are at increased risk for COVID-19 transmission due, in part, to difficulty maintaining physical distancing. Our hemodialysis unit experienced a COVID-19 outbreak despite following symptom-based screening guidelines. We describe the course of the COVID-19 outbreak and the infection control measures taken for mitigation.

                  Study Design
                  Retrospective cohort study

                  Setting & Participants
                  237 maintenance hemodialysis patients and 93 hemodialysis staff at a single hemodialysis centre in Toronto, Canada.

                  Exposure
                  Universal screening of patients and staff with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

                  Outcomes
                  The primary outcome was detection of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal samples from patients and staff using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) .

                  Analytical Approach
                  Descriptive statistics were used for clinical characteristics and the primary outcome.

                  Results
                  Eleven (4.6%) of 237 hemodialysis patients and 11 of 93 (12%) staff members had a positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2. Among individuals testing positive, 12 of 22 (55%) were asymptomatic at time of testing, and 7 of 22 (32%) were asymptomatic for the duration of follow-up. One patient was hospitalized at the time of SARS-CoV-2 infection and four additional patients with positive tests were subsequently hospitalized. Two patients (18%) required admission to the intensive care unit. After 30 days follow-up no patients had died or required mechanical ventilation. No hemodialysis staff required hospitalization. Universal droplet and contact precautions were implemented during the outbreak. Hemodialysis staff with SARS-CoV-2 infection were placed on home quarantine regardless of symptom status. Patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection including asymptomatic individuals were treated with droplet and contact precautions until confirmation of negative SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing. Analysis of the outbreak identified two index cases with subsequent nosocomial transmission within the dialysis unit and in shared shuttle buses to the hemodialysis unit.

                  Limitations
                  Single centre study.

                  Conclusions
                  Universal SARS-CoV-2 testing and universal droplet and contact precautions in the setting of an outbreak appeared to be effective in preventing further transmission.


The previous chapter discussed how to construct surrogatemodels from evaluated design points. When using surrogate models for the purpose of optimization, it is often useful to quantify our confidence in the predictions of these models. One way to quantify our confidence is by taking a probabilistic approach to surrogate modeling. A common probabilistic surrogate model is the Gaussian process, which represents a probability distribution over functions. This chapter will explain how to use Gaussian processes to infer a distribution over the values of different design points given the values of previously evaluated design points. We will discuss how to incorporate gradient information as well as noisy measurements of the objective function. Since the predictions made by a Gaussian process are governed by a set of parameters, we will discuss how to infer these parameters directly from data.