Background and Purpose:
 Palliative is increasingly used in critically ill patients which has lead to shorter length of stays, higher inpatient mortality and lower utilization of aggressive treatment. We performed analysis to evaluate trends in utilization of palliative care among patients with Ischemic Stroke and its effect on in-hospital outcomes over a 10-year period.

 Methods:
 We obtained data for patients admitted to hospitals in the United States from 2009 to 2018 with a primary diagnosis of Ischemic stroke (IS) using a large national database. We determined the overall and among different races, rate of utilization of palliative care in patients with IS and associated in-hospital outcomes consisting of mean hospital charges, mean length of stay and in-hospital mortality.

 Results:
 Out of 5525248 patients admitted with primary diagnosis of IS, palliative care was used in 150301 (2.72%). There was a 1.05-fold utilization of PC (1.69% in 2009 vs 1.78% in 2018; p<0.001) from 2009 till 2018. Similarly, there were 1.003, 1.4, 1.04 and 1.05-folds increase in utilization of PC among different races: whites, blacks, hispanics and others respectively, p<0.001. Overall rates of PC utilization among different races: whites, blacks, hispanics and others were: 3.0%, 1.6%, 2.03% and 2.69%, p<0.001 respectively. The length of hospitalization remained significantly higher (6.0±7.4 versus 3.8±5.2, p<0.001) in patients undergoing PC compared those who did not. The cost of hospitalization remained significantly higher ($55068 ± 84630 versus $ 40148 ± 53479, p<0.001) in patients undergoing PC compared with those who did not. Patients with PC utilization had significantly higher (42.9% versus 1.56%, p<0.001) in-hospital mortality compared ones with out.

 Conclusions:
 Between 2009 and 2018, there has been a significant increase in utilization of PC among patients with IS along with longer length of stay and higher hospital charges. Patients with PC had significantly in-hospital morality. The findings in this IS population are paradoxical to what has been seen in other critical illnesses which may be related to differences in natural history.


In this paper,five relations in documentation resource development were discussed,including the key subjects and general academic literature documents,electronic documents and paper documents,Chinese literature and foreign literature,documents distribution in the new campus and the old campus,self construction and joint construction.


Pithomyces sacchari was grown on media containing L-valine. Instead of the metabolite angolide (cyclo-L-α-hydroxyisovaleryl1-erythro-L-isoleucyl2-L-α-hydroxyisovaleryl3-threo-D-isoleucyl4), synthesized on un-supplemented media, it produced a mixture with very similar physical properties. Acid hydrolysis liberated erythro-L- and threo-D-isoleucines (1:1), and DL-valine in amounts proportional to the exogenous valine concentration; L-α-hydroxyisovaleric acid was the only other component. Radioactivity from L-valine-U-14C was incorporated without dilution into valine, and with extensive dilution into the hydroxy acid.Partial fractionation of the mixture was achieved by column chromatography. Mass spectra of two fractions, containing different proportions of valine, were compared with the spectrum of angolide. A simple mathematical treatment showed that the fractions contained angolide, its divaline homologue, and a homologue with only one isoleucine replaced by valine. This must be a 1: 1 mixture of the two ...


BACKGROUND
In the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in published literature on the topic of Internet use by healthcare professionals. Learners and organizations providing grants to the continuing education (CE) division of a medical education and publishing company have expressed increasing interest in the area of Internet CE. To quantify and analyze this trend, the company began using surveys to evaluate this growing area of interest.

METHOD
Since 1998, annual surveys at the annual meetings of the Oncology Nursing Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology were used to determine trends in educational use of the Internet for CE.

FINDINGS
Internet use and frequency of use, including use of the Internet for CE among both nurses and physicians, have been increasing. When asked what would make these professionals more likely to use the Internet for CE, both indicated making the activities low cost or free and easier access.

CONCLUSIONS
Nurses and physicians are looking to the Internet for quick access to reliable information, thus challenging CE educators to develop ways to implement Internet CE activities quickly. Ongoing needs assessment of target audiences and evaluation of the effectiveness of Internet CE is essential to optimizing the role of this educational format for healthcare professionals.


The reactions of pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylic anhydride and dimethyl pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylate with hydrazine have been shown to give products resulting from reduction of the pyrazino rings of theinitially formed pyrazino[2,3-d]pyridazine-5,8(6H,7H)-dione and 3,3'-hydrazodicarbonylbis(pyrazine-2-carboxylic acid). The level of reduction is substantially diminished when the reactions are carriedout in an inert atmosphere and it is therefore postulated that the reducing species is diimide.


2-(Meta-aminophenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-3-oxide-1-oxyl (mAPN) and 2-(para-aminophenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-3-oxide-1-oxyl (pAPN) were synthesized and subjected to magnetostructural analysis. Both form extended hydrogen bonding networks involving both amino NH bonds to radical spin-density bearing nitronylnitroxide NO groups. Their crystallographic assembly motifs and magnetic exchange properties are compared to those of tert-butoxylcarbonyl (BOC) and amide derivatives having only one NH bond. The conversion of pAPN to acid salt derivatives gives a solid that is essentially diamagnetic, although dissolution of the solid shows the radical spin units to be preserved.


Tar Baby, Toni Morrison`s fourth novel re examines the problem that black characters face in negotiatiating a place for themselves within a dominant culture, with respect their own history and culture. The novel critiques the dominant socio economic and commodifying cultural space from which the black woman seems to have no escape. Jadine is a colonized subject, for as a fashion model she has surrendered to an aesthetics of commodification, and as a student of art history, she has internalized the capitalist ethic of the white culture industry. Though she has ensured her freedom, Morrison`s critique of her separation from her family and culture is unmistakable. Interwoven with her narrative is Son`s predicament, the stereotype of a black racist and her 'love'. The novel ends with him at the crossroads of culture, yet signaling his passage to freedom through resistance. The paper arguments how Toni Morrison has envisioned the welfare of African American community by reconstructing the role of new black generation, as represented by Jadine and Son, whose new journey towards their self fulfillment just not bring their personal freedom but also regenerates African American community by resisting dominant commodifying cultural.


Interaction with head mounted displays is predominantly through use of additional controllers or the keyboard to initiate pointing, selections, and navigation. However, most modern head mounted displays have an orientation sensor to determine how the user's view should be displayed. There is the potential to use this sensor as an input mechanism. Our research explores a method of interaction using just head movements called Periphery Menus. These are menus triggered by looking quickly in predetermined directions to reveal a contextual menu from the periphery of a user's vision. We discuss a pilot study of this interaction technique, using a serious games approach to experimental testing. Experiment results indicated the interaction provided a successful, engaging, and repeatable experience.


Evaluation of genetic makeup is an emerging approach for identifying individuals with high potentials for production in a highly successful manner. More recently, the Arabian camel has joined the club of mammals that have undergone full genome sequence, which opens the door for a whole-genome scan using high-density markers in the context of specific traits. These are the new key features of genomic selection and predictions in livestock. Nowadays, the scientific community worldwide gives more attention to study dromedaries because of their unique morphological characteristics and physiological functions. Camels are widely used for transportation and as a source of meat, milk, hair, entertainment, and celebration. Moreover, its high potential for disease resistance is an interesting matter. The FAO estimates showed a significant increase in the camel population in Egypt from 111,000 in 2010 to about 149,500 in 2017. There are four camel breeds in Egypt; Sudany, Maghraby, Falahy and Mowallad, and all belong to Camelus dromedarius. So far, these breeds have been characterized phenotypically and geographically but little is known about their genetic makeup. The current article summarizes the features of the Egyptian camel breeds, different prospects of utilizing camels in the country, and future opportunities for genetic improvement of the Egyptian camels. Such opportunities could be quantifying the breeding values with higher reliability earlier in life when combining DNA genotypes for millions of loci with pedigree and phenotype databases for thousands of animals. Furthermore, this information is necessary for understanding the unique biology of camel, and may be an adjunct tool towards conservation and planning genetic improvement strategies for camels in Egypt and worldwide.


The purpose of this study was to characterize the prevalence and resistance profile to betalactam antibiotics of staphylococci isolated from canine and felin...


: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors influencing the self-efficacy for moderate drinking of undergraduate students. Data were collected through a survey of the undergraduate students from April 20 to June 4, 2019, self-questionnaires from Undergraduate Students. The research tool consists of employment stress, self-efficacy for moderate drinking, alcohol problem, academic stress, major aptitude, and other general characteristics. The collected data were analyzed using Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis. Based on the results, it was found that the more Employment stress (β =-.08, p=.001), Drinking problem (β =-.47, p<.001) and Academic stress (β =.15, p=.006) are the self-efficacy for moderate drinking level. Moreover, it was found that the self-efficacy for moderate drinking of undergraduate students' test is necessary to detect early drinking problems in undergraduate students. In addition, it is necessary to operate an in-university intervention clinic on the drinking problem, which is a factor affecting the self-efficacy for moderate drinking. It was found that it was necessary to find solutions to academic stress and employment stress through student counseling.It was found that it was necessary to find solutions to academic stress and employment stress through student counseling.


OBJECTIVE:To obtain an optimum formulation of clarithromycin dispersible tablets METHODS:The preparation process was set by way of screening formulation and a formula with substitution of LS-HPC for starch was adopted RESULTS:The results showed that the substitution of LS-HPC for starch was the most preferable formulation The hardness and the friability of the tablets were improved The external apperance of unfilled corner and torn edge of the unimproved tablets was resolved CONCLUSION:Modified formulation is favorable for improving the quality of the product


Water stress have the potenial to enhance the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites from mesophytes. Nevertheless, whether water stress can exert similar effect on Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn, a medicinally important plant with drought tolerance capabilities, is poorly investigated. The current study was conducted to assess how growth, yield and the whole plant biochemical profile in various plant organs of S. marianum is affected by drought stress. Results indicated that drought stress did not significantly affect shoots' dry weight, though some other growth indices were decreased. Drought decreased number of flowering heads (capitula), whereas capitulum diameter, number of seeds/capitulum, seeds weight/capitulum and seed yield/ plant were not significantly affected. In all plant organs, drought stress enhanced the accumulation of total as well as individual phenols and flavonoids. The major flavonolignans that represent silymarin components were silybin A, silybin B, isosilybin B and isosilybin A. Drought stress significantly increased silymarin content in plant organs compared with respective ones in control plants, especially in the seeds. Seeds of drought-stressed plants contain about 91% higher silymarin content comared with seeds of control plants. Invariably, total phenolics and silymarin contents were higher in seeds than leaves and were also higher in mature compared with immature state. It could be concluded that imposing drought could be an effective strategy for enhancing silymarin content in S. marianum without negatively impacted on plant growth and development and that plant organs other than the seed contain considerable amounts of flavonolignans which justifies their utilization in silymarin production.


The purpose of the study was to identify student summer activities and determine whether a relationship exists between the activities and mathematics testing change scores measured from spring to fall. This current effort built upon research conducted by Heyns (1978), Burkam et al. (2004), Downey et al. (2004), and Alexander et al. (2007). The commonality in findings that existed among all of these efforts was that learning loss occurred in the absence of instruction such as that experienced during the normal school term. A quantitative, correlational study was conducted using a survey method which requested that parents answer questions concerning the nature of activities and daily structure experienced by their children during the summer break. The Group Mathematics Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GMADE) testing platform was used to generate quantitative measurements of mathematics skills for exiting second graders in the spring of 2010 and for these same students as entering third graders in the fall of 2010. A voluntary sample of 57 students from elementary schools in a suburban school district in Southwestern Virginia participated in the testing process. At the conclusion of all testing and at the point at which all surveys were completed, student scoring differentials from spring to fall were compared to the activity and daily structure components reported in the survey for potential correlations between that information and mean gain test results. This study sought potential correlations between types of summer activities and documented change between mathematics spring and fall test scores. Results of data analysis from this research will assist leaders in understanding whether activities bear a relationship to mathematics score changes. Should those relationships be established, the findings would assist leaders in determining which activities should be encouraged or discouraged during the summer


This experiment was conducted to study the effect of dried plant extract (DPE) Lepidium sativum and Brassica juncae seeds on milk yield, chemical composition and nutritional properties in Awassi ewes' milk. Twenty ewes (3-4 years old and body weight (35-40 kg) were assigned randomly into 5 groups (n = 4). The DPE was prepared by dissolving 1.5 gm from ground dried extract material in one liter drinking water. Treatments were 0 (0-DPE), 2.5 (2.5-DPE), 5 (5-DPE), 7.5 (7.5-DPE) and 10 (10-DPE) ml of the solution which was added daily to 10 ± 0.5 liters of drinking water. Treated water and feed were provided ad libitum during the experimental period (10 weeks). Results showed that milk yield increased by15% in ewes fed 7.5-DPE compared to ewes fed 0-DPE; whereas milk protein and fat contents were not affected. The cholesterol level decreased (14.9-18.9ml/g) in all treated groups compared with the control group. Milk content of vitamins B12, B6 and amino acids (lysine, cystine, and methionine) increased (P<0.05) in DPE groups compared with 0-DPE group. Also CLA increased by 11-34%. From the results obtained in this study, it could be concluded that supplementing lactating Awassi ewes diet with 7.5-DPE in drinking water improved milk yield and composition.


Procuratorial supervision on judicial activism has a profound theory,practice,Policy and legal basis.The supervision of procuratorial organs can give full play to its function on preventing judicial power abuse to move,safeguarding the rights realized on judicial process and gaining effective relief if be violated by.The target of contemporary China construction of the socialist country ruled by law requires procuratorial supervision,which ensures Judicial Activism be in accordance with law,prevents move from judicial attribute and departure from judicial track.Procuratorial supervision on Judicial Activism is the proper meaning of procuratorial supervision,is the requirements of the current law,and the inevitable choice of the legalization and standardization of judicial activism.It is the common practice that the supervision and restraint on the subjectivity of judge.Otherwise,the current judicial ability of the judges and the courts in our country and the error risk in judicial activism,require effective regulation to judicial activism to the intervention of the procuratorial supervision


Reservoir characterization of Mesaverde meanderbelt sandstone outcrops in northwestern Colorado determines directional continuity of permeable zones and predicts the location of reservoir quality. Two types of point-bar deposits are recognized: Good quality sandstone similar to Recent deposits of the Brazos River, Texas. Chute channels cut upper bars bringing reservoir quality to the top of the sequence. Steeply dipping ripple-stratified point bars with poor reservoir quality. Permeability trends are reflected by 128 core-plugs taken in 5 outcrop panels. Permeability trends in Mesaverde point bars are a function of stratification type. Trough cross-beds and troughs with dewatering structures have the highest core-plug values. Rippled sandstone and troughs with clay drapes have medium permeability. Rippled siltstone associated with clay draped lateral accretion surfaces have the lowest permeability.


Vascular calcification, which involves the osteogenic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in patients with atherosclerosis, diabetes and end-stage kidney disease. We have shown that nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates attenuate vascular calcification by inhibiting farnesylpyrophosphate synthase, thereby depleting cells of farnesylpyrophosphate and geranylgeranylpyrophosphate which are essential for the prenylation and activation of small GTPases. This study aims to determine whether vascular calcification is regulated by protein prenylation. We demonstrate that a farnesyl transferase inhibitor, FTI-277, significantly inhibits β-glycerophosphate-induced calcification of VSMC in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.001). Pre-incubation of VSMCs with FTI-277 (10 μM) inhibits Ras activation and markedly enhances serum-induced Akt phosphorylation in VSMC. To determine whether FTI-277 inhibits mineralisation by promoting PI3K/Akt signalling, VSMCs were induced to mineralise in the presence of wortmannin (a PI3K inhibitor, 100 nM), FTI-277 (10 μM) or both wortmannin and FTI-277. Controls were incubated in the presence of vehicle. Wortmannin markedly promotes mineral deposition by VSMC, whereas FTI-277 inhibits mineralisation. Some mineralisation was detected in cells incubated in the presence of both reagents, demonstrating that the effects of FTI-277 can be negated, at least partially, by preventing downstream PI3K signalling. Using apoptosis assays and western blotting, we also demonstrate that FTI-277 inhibits high-phosphate-induced apoptosis of human VSMC and activation of caspase 3. These studies demonstrate that FTI-277 inhibits VSMC mineralisation, at least in part, by activating downstream PI3K/Akt signalling and preventing apoptosis. Studies are in progress to determine whether FTI-277 also regulates the osteogenic differentiation of VSMC.


Classically, the cardiovascular risk of individual is evaluated using phenomenological variables (PV)such as blood pressure, body mass, smoker status, gender, age etc. Here we show that, on prospective study (after 10–15 years)these PV display a poor agreement with case-control samples. We were able to obtain more accurate predictions using both DNA methylation data and PV as input features of a Random Forest model, achieving a ROC-AUC of 0.74. Furthermore, the Random Forest output correlates with the reliability of the predictions producing a ROC-AUC of 0.90 when only the most reliable predictions are taken into consideration.


Understanding learning culture based on learning activities is important for learning success in an e-Learning. As an effort that can be done for this purpose, it is necessary to build a student learning culture based on students activities. The study proposes a Cultural Framework for Learning in an E-Learning. It is called E-LEEP Culture because used in an e-Learning the Equality Education Program (E-LEEP). This framework has five key components, namely: Students, E-LEEP, Learning Activities, Learning Culture, and Digital Contents. Learning culture component in E-LEEP Culture Framework consists of sharing activities, getting information, discussingIndividualistic Learning, Collaborative Learning, Learning Time (learn a little), and Learning Time (learn a lot). Each of the components is expected as a basis for providing learning material that suits the needs of students.


According to the study of Islamic law, Bank Muamalat's services are unlawful because those services require interest and provide an offer for profit sharing. Therefore those services are unlawful because those only make promises. According to some scholars, those like usury. Bank Muamalat should have the legal variables that are binding on the banking laws under Bank Indonesia's regulations. Islamic law also becomes the main reference in akad mudharabah, so that akad mudharabah does not come out from fiqh scholars thought or does not come out from fiqh studies.


This study aimed to identify the physical activity barriers affecting college students and analyse how they differ between types of schools (private colleges-universities and government-state universities), and to improve schools'online distance learning physical education programmes in the Philippines. One hundred fifty (N=150) officially enrolled students participated in the study, from private and state universities, composed of athletes, non-athletes, and inactive athletes. With the use of the Barriers to Being Active Quiz, comprising seven (7) barriers (Lack of Time (LT), Social Influence (SI), Lack of Energy (LE), Lack of Willpower (LW), Fear of Injury (FI), Lack of Skill (LS) and Lack of Resources (LR)), responses were collected adapted through online administration. After the response collection, results show high mean scores in LR and significantly low scores in FI and LS barriers among private and state university students. Private and State University students differ from each other significantly (p<0.05) in the barriers SI, LW and LR, with state university students exhibiting greater mean scores. Active athletes possessed significantly lower scores during quarantine in most barriers (LT, SI, LE, LW, LS and LR), while inactive athletes exhibited the highest in FI. Further studies and examination of online physical education programmes are recommended to help students counter the reduced physical activity during quarantine, aside from strengthening government encouragement to those without access to exercise opportunities. © 2021 Montenegrin Sports Academy. All rights reserved.


The invention relates to novel plastic handiwork and a making method thereof and belongs to the technical field of handiwork. Cement serves as a main raw material component of the novel plastic handiwork, the source of the needed raw materials is wide, a making process is simple and quick, process conditions are easy to control, the novel plastic handiwork prepared by using the method is diversified in form and stable in quality, and requirements of people on the handiwork can be met.


Cold Spray (CS) exhibit unique features due to the low temperatures involved. However, the CS coating are harder than the corresponding powders and bulk alloys, which results in a low toughness and then greatly limits the application of CS. To overcome this shortage, preheat treatment of powder and post-heat treatment of CS coating are applied to improve the performance of cold-sprayed 7075 aluminum alloy coatings in this work. With increasing temperatures of post-heat treatment, the tensile strength of the coatings increased from 228 MPa to 309 MPa with elongation of 2.46%. Microstructure analysis of the heat-treated coatings revealed that the improvement in mechanical properties was primarily due to an increase in the secondary phase. Accordingly, 7075 aluminum alloy powder was preheat treated at 200 °C and then used for cold spraying, which resulted in improved mechanical properties in the resultant coatings exhibiting a tensile strength of 302 MPa and an elongation of 3.87%. These findings provide valuable insights into the practical application of cold-spraying technology in the aviation field.


OBJECTIVE: To quantify natalizumab's treatment effect on disability over 2 years using an area-under-the-curve (AUC) analysis of Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores in subgroups of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients in the phase 3 placebo-controlled AFFIRM study. BACKGROUND: Previous AUC analyses integrating repeated measures of all EDSS changes in AFFIRM patients showed net disability improvement with natalizumab (n=627) and net worsening with placebo (n=315). DESIGN/METHODS: AUC change in EDSS (expressed in EDSS-years) was calculated using EDSS assessments every 3 months. Positive AUC changes indicate net EDSS worsening; negative changes indicate net improvement. Patients were categorized by relapse status (0 or 蠅1 relapse) and by confirmed (3-month and 6-month) disability progression status (as progressors/nonprogressors) or improvement status (as improvers/nonimprovers). Progression and improvement were defined as a 蠅1.0-point increase or decrease from baseline EDSS score, respectively. Within each subgroup, mean AUC change was compared between treatment groups. RESULTS: Among patients with no relapses, net improvement in disability was greater with natalizumab than with placebo (difference: -0.21 EDSS-years; P =0.044). In patients with 蠅1 relapse, net worsening in disability occurred in both treatment groups but was numerically lower with natalizumab (difference: -0.31 EDSS-years; P =0.057). Findings were similar among progressors, with a positive AUC change of approximately 2 EDSS years (difference between treatment groups: -0.33 [ P =0.036] and -0.21 [ P =0.210] EDSS-years for 3-month and 6-month criteria, respectively). Nonprogressors had negative AUC changes in EDSS, with greater net improvement with natalizumab than with placebo (difference in EDSS-years: -0.25 [ P =0.001] and -0.22 [ P =0.006] for 3-month and 6-month criteria, respectively). AUC changes in improvers and nonimprovers will also be presented. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of AUC change in EDSS revealed that natalizumab has significant effects on total disability burden among relapse-free patients and highly significant effects among nonprogressors that conventional, categorical EDSS outcome measures failed to capture. Study supported by: Biogen Idec. Disclosure: Dr. Gioannoni has received personal compensation for activities with AbbVie as a steering committee member. Dr. Belachew has received personal compensation for activities with Biogen Idec as an employee. Dr. Dong has received personal compensation for activities with Biogen Idec as an employee. Dr. Rudick has received personal compensation for activities with Biogen Idec as an employee. Dr. Mikol has received personal compensation for activities with Biogen Idec as an employee. Dr. Shang has nothing to disclose.


This paper presents the development of a wave energy Oscillating Water Column (OWC) converter test-bed for validation of generator performance and control strategies. OWC converters utilize ocean wave motion to create a bi-directional airflow, which is in turn converted by an air turbine connected to an electric generator. The testbed has been developed at the Wallace Energy Systems and Renewables Facility (WESRF) at Oregon State University. The testbed combines both numerical and physical simulation, with the hydrodynamics and aerodynamics being numerically simulated, and the induction electrical generator and grid connection being physically realized. Experimental demonstration of the system in operation is presented.


1. We conducted experiments in a Colorado Rocky Mountain stream to measure the effect of foraging by predatory stoneflies (Megarcys signata) on fine sediment deposition and removal. 2. Cages containing one of four treatments were placed in the stream substratum and removed 3 days after fine sediment load to the stream was experimentally increased. Cages containing a stonefly but no prey accumulated less sediment than cages initially with no benthic invertebrates. Although cages with Megarcys plus prey also tended to have less sediment than controls, sediments were not reduced in cages with prey only. 3. Distance from sediment source, depth and current velocity at cages, final prey density and numbers of prey per predator gut at the end of the experiment had no effects on sediment accumulation in cages. 4. To determine the mechanisms underlying this effect, behavioural tests were conducted in a stream-side artificial stream system. To simulate the different hunger levels of stoneflies in cages, Megarcys were fed or starved for 3 days before behavioural trials that were repeated during high (night) and low (day) stonefly feeding periods. During night trials, foraging movements by starved Megarcys were more prolonged and active than those of fed stoneflies, regardless of the presence of prey. However, neither hunger level nor prey presence affected stonefly foraging behaviour during day trials. 5. Results of field experiments suggest that the presence of stoneflies enhances sediment removal from interstitial spaces. Behavioural observations indicate that nocturnal searching for prey by hungry Megarcys dislodges fine sediments from interstitial spaces. 6. Future studies should explore beyond the direct impacts of predators on stream invertebrate communities, and investigate the potential impact of predators on benthic microhabitat quality.


OBJECTIVE To study the effect of star silicon microneedle arrays on transdermal transport of chemicals with different octanol/water partition coefficient in vitro.METHODS Star silicon microneedle arrays were fabricated by the deep reactive ion ething technology.The model drugs,indomethacin,ketoprofen,methocarbamol and ganciclovir,were chosen. Cutaneous delivery in mice abdomen skin by silicon microneedle arrays was compared.RESULTS The microneedle arrays were star shape with 100 microneedles on 10×10 array,length 200 μm.The total flux of the drugs was increased by 4.05,4.77,6.06,12.49 times respectively with microneedles insertion for 5 min,compared with intact skin.Increased skin permeability appeared to occur after prolonging microneedles insertion.With the decrease of logP values of the drugs,microneedles pretreatment promoted transdermal drug delivery more effectively.However,the drug permeability through skin with microneedle pretreatment was less than that though skin with stratum corneum ablated.CONCLUSION Star silicon microneedle arrays can be used to deliver chemicals through the skin,and the permeability of the water soluble drugs was enhanced more significantly than that of the liposoluble ones.This study suggested that microneedles could be an effective means for deliverying chemicals and maximise drug flux combining with other transdermal techniques.


Stand-alone wind electric generation is an effective solution for many remote loads where connection to a power grid is not practical. Unfortunately, in many cases, the wind turbine is not operated efficiently at every wind speed. Research has demonstrated how changing the electrical load characteristics on a wind generator can be an effective method of improving efficiency. This paper presents a scheme for a simple and rugged wind energy controller which provides a relatively high system efficiency. The control method uses a fixed relationship between generator electrical frequency and generator terminal voltage to set the electrical loading characteristics. Simulation results are presented, demonstrating the control principle applied to a DC-DC converter with a fault tolerant topology.


This paper studies the application of evolutionary multi-objective optimization to path planning for mobile robots to move smoothly and safely along a shorter curvature-constrained path in completely known, planar static environments. The cost of travel is bi-objective: a new intrinsic cost of obstacle avoidance, which is designed as a weighted penetration depth to vertices of polygonal obstacles, and a length cost. The path is composed of a pre-specified number of control points, which are points of smooth turning, connected by three sub-paths composed of cubic spiral segments, where the intermediate configurations (locations and orientations) of these control points are design variables, subject to path smoothness constraint. We develop a Pareto-based evolutionary multi-objective optimization using island-based parallel genetic algorithm (IPGA) with nonsmoothness handling, aiming for searching smooth and shorter collision-free paths. To highlight the relative merit of IPGA in robustness to variations of environments, a comparative study on path planning performance based on simulations is conducted with two popular evolutionary multi-objective optimizers NSGA-II, SPEA-2 in terms of success rate in multiple runs and the shortest path length whenever a collision-free path can be successfully found. Results are presented for planar simulated rectangular environments composed of three distinct types of obstacles: polygons, walls as well as the combination of both. Our comparative study based on simulations shows that IPGA is more robust in all testing environments, while NSGA-II and SPEA-2 has a better distributed approximation to Pareto-front but sometimes the performance degrades greatly to be able to find a feasible path, especially in the environments containing wall-like obstacles.


Rationale New approaches to define factors underlying the immunopathogenesis of pulmonary diseases including sarcoidosis and tuberculosis are needed to develop new treatments and biomarkers. Comparing the blood transcriptional response of tuberculosis to other similar pulmonary diseases will advance knowledge of disease pathways and help distinguish diseases with similar clinical presentations. Objectives To determine the factors underlying the immunopathogenesis of the granulomatous diseases, sarcoidosis and tuberculosis, by comparing the blood transcriptional responses in these and other pulmonary diseases. Methods We compared whole blood genome-wide transcriptional profiles in pulmonary sarcoidosis, pulmonary tuberculosis, to community acquired pneumonia and primary lung cancer and healthy controls, before and after treatment, and in purified leucocyte populations. Measurements and Main Results An Interferon-inducible neutrophil-driven blood transcriptional signature was present in both sarcoidosis and tuberculosis, with a higher abundance and expression in tuberculosis. Heterogeneity of the sarcoidosis signature correlated significantly with disease activity. Transcriptional profiles in pneumonia and lung cancer revealed an over-abundance of inflammatory transcripts. After successful treatment the transcriptional activity in tuberculosis and pneumonia patients was significantly reduced. However the glucocorticoid-responsive sarcoidosis patients showed a significant increase in transcriptional activity. 144-blood transcripts were able to distinguish tuberculosis from other lung diseases and controls. Conclusions Tuberculosis and sarcoidosis revealed similar blood transcriptional profiles, dominated by interferon-inducible transcripts, while pneumonia and lung cancer showed distinct signatures, dominated by inflammatory genes. There were also significant differences between tuberculosis and sarcoidosis in the degree of their transcriptional activity, the heterogeneity of their profiles and their transcriptional response to treatment.


To explore the effects of combined CYP1A1 Msp1 genotypes with Ile/Val genotypes on susceptibility to lung cancer. Msp1 and Ile/Val genotypes of CYP1A1 gene were detected with the methods of PCR RFLP and allele specific amplification(ASA) in a case control study,including 92 cases of lung cancer and 98 hospital controls. Msp1 polymorphism site:The risk of lung cancer with the individuals of genotype B or genotype C was 1 85 times greater than that with the individual of genotype A ( χ 2=4 36,P0 05,OR=1 85,95% CI 1 04~3 30 ).Ile/Val polymorphism site:The risk of lung cancer of the individuals with genotype Val/Val was 3 3 times greater than the individual with genotype Ile/Ile ( χ 2=4 12,P0 05,OR=3 3,95% CI 1 02~10 72 ).The lung cancer risks of individuals with combined Ile/Ile genotype and A genotype were compared with these of individuals combined Ile/Val genotype and B ( χ 2=5 81,P0 05,95% CI 1 7~9 96 ),the individuals combined Ile/Val genotype and C genotype ( χ 2=4 74,P0 05,95% CI 1 11~20 9 ) and the individuals combined Val/Val genotype and C genotype ( χ 2=4 42,P0 05,95% CI 1 27~23 6 ). [Conclusion] The genotype C and genotype Val/Val of CYP1A1 gene may be susceptible to lung cancer,the individuals with two susceptible genotypes were more susceptible to lung cancer.


Ozone observations from ozonesondes, the lidars aboard the DC-8, in situ ozone measurements from the ER-2, and satellite ozone measurements from Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement III (POAM) were used to assess ozone loss during the Sage III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) 1999-2000 Arctic campaign. Two methods of analysis were used. In the first method a simple regression analysis is performed on the ozonesonde and POAM measurements within the vortex. In the second method, the ozone measurements from all available ozone data were injected into a free running diabatic trajectory model and carried forward in time from December 1 to March 15. Vortex ozone loss was then estimated by comparing the ozone values of those parcels initiated early in the campaign with those parcels injected later in the campaign. Despite the variety of observational techniques used during SOLVE, the measurements provide a fairly consistent picture. Over the whole vortex, the largest ozone loss occurs between 550 and 400 K potential temperatures (approximately 23-16 km) with over 1.5 ppmv lost by March 15, the end of the SOLVE mission period. An ozone loss rate of 0.04-0.05 ppmv/day was computed for March 15. Ozonesondes launched after March 15 suggest that an additional 0.5 ppmv or more ozone was lost between March 15 and April 1. The small disagreement between ozonesonde and POAM analysis of January ozone loss is found to be due to biases in vortex sampling. POAM makes most of its solar occultation measurements at the vortex edge during January 2000 which bias samples toward air parcels that have been exposed to sunlight and likely do experience ozone loss. Ozonesonde measurements and the trajectory technique use observations that are more distributed within the interior of the vortex. Thus the regression analysis of the POAM measurements tends to overestimate mid-winter vortex ozone loss. Finally, our loss calculations are broadly consistent with other loss computations using ER-2 tracer data and MLS satellite data, but we find no evidence for the 1992 high mid-January loss reported using the Match technique.


A significant simplification in the discussion of the structure of molecules can be achieved by referring the energies of molecules not to the energies of their constituent atoms in any one of the stationary spectroscopic states of the isolated atoms, but instead to a hypothetical valence state of each atom. [1] The valence state of an atom is defined as that state in which it has the same electronic structure as it has in the molecule. Thus in the valence state the spins of the electrons that are used for forming bonds in a molecule are considered to resonate between positive and negative values, corresponding to the resonance of each bofiding electron with another electron of opposite spin in the atom with which the bond is formed. For the bivalent oxygen atom, with six L electrons, two orbitals, one mainly 2s in character and one 2p, are occupied by unshared pairs, and the other two orbitals, mainly 2p but with a small amount of s hybridization, are occupied by one bonding electron apiece, the spins of which are parallel 50 per cent of the time and antiparallel 50 per cent of the time. In the following paragraphs values of the energy of this bivalent state of the oxygen atom relative to the normal state of the isolated atom, 3P, are derived by four different methods. It is found that the four values agree reasonably well with one another, and their average value, 0.74 v.e., is indicated to be reliable to about 0.05 v.e.


TCM and western medicine have their own way of thinking and so the way to criticize each other is not reasonable from self-centered perspectives. Both sides have their own philosophy bases, body views and methodologies. To explain TCM in the way of western medicine prevents the self-development of TCM. The way of their communication is the practical effect but not theoretical explanation. Only in the way to keep TCM explaining system, can TCM develop well.


This studies examines the effect of personality traits on brand loyalty through congruity and customer satisfaction as a mediating variables on the brand of Fore Coffee. This research design used quantitative methods with a descriptive approach. The sampling technique used purposive sampling, with 94 respondents which all of customers from Fore Coffee. Data were collected using questionnaire. The analysis used structural equation modelling (SEM) and SmartPLS 3 as a tool for analyzing data. The results of this study indicate that personality traits have a significant positive effect on consumer congruity on the Fore Coffee's brand, personality traits have a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction on the Fore Coffee's brand, personality traits directly have a significant positive effect on consumer brand loyalty on the Fore Coffee's brand, congruity have a significant positive effect on consumer satisfaction on the Fore Coffee's brand, congruity have a significant positive effect on consumer brand loyalty in the Fore Coffee's brand, customer satisfaction does not have a significant effect on consumer brand loyalty on the Fore Coffee's brand, congruity mediates the influences of personality traits on consumer brand loyalty on the Fore Coffee's brand, and customer satisfaction does not mediate the influence of personality traits on consumer brand loyalty on the Fore Coffee's brand. Penelitian ini meneliti pengaruh personality traits terhadap brand loyalty melalui congruity dan customer satisfaction sebagai variabel mediasi pada brand Fore Coffee. Desain penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif dengan pendekatan deskriptif. Teknik pengambilan sampel menggunakan purposive sampling, dengan responden sebanyak 94 yaitu seluruh konsumen dari Fore Coffee. Teknik pengambilan data dengan menggunakan kuesioner. Analisis yang digunakan adalah structural equation modelling (SEM) dan SmartPLS 3 sebagai alat untuk menganalisis data. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa personality traits berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap congruity konsumen pada brand Fore Coffee, personality traits berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap customer satisfaction konsumen pada brand Fore Coffee, personality traits secara langsung berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap brand loyalty konsumen pada brand Fore Coffee, congruity berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap customer satisfaction konsumen pada brand Fore Coffee, congruity berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap brand loyalty konsumen pada brand Fore Coffee, customer satisfaction tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap terhadap brand loyalty konsumen pada brand Fore Coffee, congruity memediasi pengaruh personality traits terhadap brand loyalty konsumen pada brand Fore Coffee, dan customer satisfaction tidak memediasi pengaruh personality traits terhadap brand loyalty konsumen pada brand Fore Coffee.


In this study, previously unreported cohort characteristics and seizure patterns for canine epilepsy were identified from a series of UK-based epileptic dogs containing 1260 cases from 79 known pedigree breeds and a group of crossbreed dogs.


Whilst protected by equality laws, lesbian gay and bisexual (LGB) teachers have varying experiences within United Kingdom schools. Schools are predominantly heteronormative, moreover LGB has been positioned as in conflict with discourses of childhood innocence. However, recently there is more expectation of inclusion of diverse gender and sexualities. Although how this is enacted is inconsistent within and between schools. By drawing on interview data conducted in 2020, this research analyses the experiences of LGB teachers. Moreover, it brings together two bodies of literature that do not often speak to each other—research that explores teacher identity and research that centers LGB teacher identity. Findings suggest there are commonalities between these bodies of research, for instance around the importance of 'being yourself' and of teachers' past experiences. However, there is special significance for LGB teachers whose identities have historically been denied in schools, because of their sexual identity. In addition, there is the expectation under neoliberalism of individuals actioning inclusion. As such, the LGB teacher may become a pedagogical resource. None of this is equally available, although marketized notions of diversity place responsibility onto the individual. In their actions, the LGB teacher identity is always professional, personal and political.


Advanced machine learning techniques are very powerful in predictive tasks. However, they are mostly weak in explaining the inference process and they are mostly treated as black-box models. Fuzzy Network (FN) is powerful white-box technique which is capable of dealing with complexity and linguistic uncertainty. In this paper, a method is introduced to optimise Rule Based Networks using Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) for rule reduction, Genetic Algorithms to tune the membership functions and Backward Selection to reduce the inputs and network branches. A case study in transport and telecommuting is used to illustrate the performance of the proposed method. The results show the FN ability to explain the internal process of decision making and its capabilities in transparency and interpretability as an Explainable AI method.


The nonlinear models of pavement base and subgrade were briefly reviewed. Subroutines of the three-dimensional finite-element analysis in the ABAQUS package were developed for nonlinear behavior of a coarse-grained base and subgrade. The programs were validated by comparing them with the theoretical-solution-based program BISAR and the 2D finite-element program ILLI-PAVE. Significant discrepancy was found between the 3D analysis and the 2D axisymmetric analysis, especially for the deformation results. It was also found that the stiffness matrices of the nonlinear materials were not symmetrical, which causes accuracy problems in those programs based on 2D axisymmetry formulations. The results of nonlinear analysis and linear analysis were also compared. It was concluded that the determinations of the resilient modulus for the linear models is critical to interpret the behaviors of nonlinear materials.


Summary: Purpose: Adult epilepsy studies have demonstrated cerebral and cerebellar volume reduction beyond the epileptogenic zone, correlating this with an inferior surgical outcome. We determined whether brain volumes were reduced in childhood epilepsy and the significance of this.


A pneumatic power tool that includes fluid conveying passageways formed by casting grooves in the tool exterior and then molding an elastomeric material over the grooves to enclose the passageways.


The usual formulation of quantum theory is rather abstract. In recent work I have shown that we can, nevertheless, obtain quantum theory from five reasonable axioms. Four of these axioms are obviously consistent with both classical probability theory and quantum theory. The remaining axiom requires that there exists a continuous reversible transformation between any two pure states. The requirement of continuity rules out classical probability theory. In this paper I will summarize the main points of this new approach. I will leave out the details of the proof that these axioms are equivalent to the usual formulation of quantum theory (for these see reference [1]).


The virtual absence of pathognomonic labo ratory investigations for psychiatric conditions forces the psychiatrist to base his diagnosis firmly on the clinical interview. Shepherd et at (1968) identified four major components of the psychiatric interview: (i) the interviewing technique of the psychiatrist; (2) perception of the patient's speech and behaviour; (@) in ferences and decisions made by the psychiatrist on the basis of what he has perceived; (4) attachment of a particular diagnostic label to the patient. These are useful distinctions and will be employed to structure this review. However, they are not strictly compartmenta lized and in practice are subject to mutual influences. In particular, the psychiatrist's diagnostic scheme strongly determines his inter viewing technique and, as we shall see, affects his perception of what the patient says and does, in addition to his decisions about the presence of symptoms. The importance of this pervasive influence cannot be overestimated, since it has been shown that psychiatrists confidently reach a conclusion about the diagnosis within the first few minutes of the interview (Sandifer et at,


The background of this paper is to attract society interest to know the beauty of mathematics that is represented by the diversity of mathematics geometry. Truncated Platonic Solid is one of those geometry which is expected to represent the beauty of mathematics. Truncated Platonic solid is a cut off Platonic Solid (not perfect). Platonic Solid is a geometry that was built by congruent polygon, all of the ribs have an equal lenght, also that same surface angle. Truncated Platonic Solid consist of cut off Tetrahedron, cut off Hexahedron, cutt of Dodecahedron, cut off Octahedron, and cutt off Icosahedron. Truncared  Icosidodecahedron is a cut off Icosidodecahedron


The design work on structures and engines begins with the
assumption of the shape and dimensions of the parts of them. At this level the
designer has nearly total freedom of choice but his skill in the assumption of
the layout of the planned item may influence the time and cost necessary to
obtain the final product. His choice may be supported effectively by the
observation of patterns of stress trajectories taken from different specimens
already investigated. Some typical examples of patterns of stress trajectories
are collected in this paper together with the explanation of the consequences
drawn from them.


The increase in population leads to increment in pollution and accident as well. Technological development makes great efforts to detect the accident and monitor the increasing pollution. This paper is based on enhancement in the smart vehicle system. Different units implemented in this paper which enhance the vehicular system. The main objective is to detect accidents in real time and minimize the response time of medical help. For accident avoidance, tire pressure is measured whereas in accident detection is implemented with the help of node MCU. MQ7 is used in order to monitor the pollution. The proposed system is useful in reducing the vehicular accidents and pollution monitoring will help to know the environmental status.


A competitive co-evolutionary genetic algorithm was successfully employed to determine an optimal silvicultural regime for the South African Pinus patula Schl. Et Cham. The solution to the silvicultural regime included: initial planting density; frequency, timing and intensity of thinnings; final crop number; and rotation length. The growth dynamics for P.patula were estimated using dynamical models, the building blocks of the combined optimal control and parameter selection formulation, with a single objective function that was maximised for value production. The results were compared against a silvicultural regime determined using Pontryagin's Maximum Principle. Both the regimes were then compared against the recommended silvicultural regime determined from years of experimental trials. The genetic algorithms regime was superior to the other two.


In "Postconvulsive central apnea as a biomarker for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP)", Vilella et al. found that in a cohort of patients with intractable generalized or focal epilepsy, 22% of seizures were followed by postconvulsive central apnea (PCCA), defined as ≥1 missed breath without any other explanation; one of these patients died of probable SUDEP, suggesting that the incidence of SUDEP is 5.1 per 1,000 patient-years. They concluded that PCCA may be a clinical biomarker for SUDEP. Pursuant to these findings, Rose et al. report a case of SUDEP in a patient with PCCA; however, they comment that although PCCA may be associated with SUDEP, they suspect that it is not a requirement for SUDEP, given that there is a known relationship between SUDEP and prone positioning (which can lead to obstructive apnea). They also question the proposed incidence rate of SUDEP, as it was based on only 1 death. Dasheiff notes that (1) it is not possible to distinguish between PCCA and central sleep apnea without advanced instrumentation, and (2) a threshold higher than 1 missed breath should be used to define PCCA. Vilella et al. respond that (1) the true incidence of PCCA and SUDEP, both individually and separately, is, indeed, unknown; (2) there may be a multitude of risk factors for SUDEP, including both prone positioning and PCCA; and (3) using a higher bar to define PCCA would, actually, better illustrate the relationship between PCCA and SUDEP in this series. Further research on the risk factors and incidence of SUDEP is needed.


The photodiode structures on a vision chip can be configured in either imaging (IM) or energy harvesting (EHM) mode. The upper voltage achieved with on-chip energy harvesting is below 0.5 V on standard CMOS technologies, thus DC/DC converters are needed to reach the power supply of today CMOS technologies. This paper addresses the design of a Dickson charge pump to this purpose on a standard 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The paper provides data on how the photoconversion characteristics of the photodiodes change, as well as on how the performance metrics of a CMOS vision chip are affected when the energy harvested in EHM is used as power supply in IM.


This paper studies the signaling system suitable for wireless link of the digital mine mobile communication system based on TRF6900 single chip, which operates in TDMA mode. The signaling system is composed of three hierarchies according to the functions of the system and OSI protocol, and the function and structure of each hierarchy are discussed.


In this paper, I introduce the Ridge approach (see Hoerl and Kennard (1970)) as a parametrization method for the MIDAS model, introduced by Ghysels et al. (2004). The low frequency and high frequency variables are sampled quarterly and monthly respectively. The Ridge approach assumes that the MIDAS parameters are equal to some function plus an error term. Furthermore, I investigate the performance of this method by comparing it with four benchmark methods that are in the common practice often used to estimate the MIDAS model. These are U-MIDAS, the Almon lag, the Exponential Almon lag and the Beta lag. Simulation results show that the Ridge approach is a very strong method. Its performance is always better or equal than the benchmark methods. In the empirical study, the GDP of the Netherlands is tried to be explained by some high frequency variable. The empirical results are less convincing. Although, the Ridge approach does not perform worse, it is not as dominant as it was in the simulations. This can be explained by the issue that it is still a big challenge to find the optimal shrinkage factor for the Ridge approach in the empirical study.


Because sub-Saharan African society is characterized by extended families, the horrendous effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic are felt at individual, household, community, and nationalleve/s. The pandemic has been spreading rapidly in rural and urban areas, reversing previous achievements in reducing mortality and increasing life expectancy since the i950s. it appears to strike at the most productive and reproductive segments of the population. But underlying socio-economic and cultural environments appear to favour the perpetuation of high fertility. This implies that the reproductive power of the African population will remain superior to the effects of HIV/AIDS during the foreseeable future, except in certain hard-hit small sub-national areas of some countries. National survival campaigns against HIV/AIDS are needed to sensitize and raise individual awareness and behavioural change, to improve institutional capacities, to undertake continuing analysis of demographic, socio-economic and epidemiological processes. Research on fertility in particular should question prior assumptions and consider antecedent variables other than HIV/AlDS.


This paper reports the growth and differentiation of the mouse embryonal carcinoma cell line F9 in completely defined culture media. The defined growth medium, referred to as EM-3, contains plasma fibronectin, insulin, and transferrin in place of serum. F9 cells cultured in EM-3 for over 15 generations retain their ability to form tumors and to differentiate. Fibronectin is essential for the attachment of F9 cells in defined media and its effect can be blocked with affinitypurified anti-fibronectin. When retinoic acid was added to EM-3, the F9 cells differentiated. The majority of the newly formed cells differed from the parent F9 cells in two major respects: (i) they were morphologically different; and (ii) they secreted plasminogen activator, and the secretion was stimulated by dibutyryl adenosine cyclic monophosphate. Numerous studies have demonstrated that embryonal carcinoma cells (ECC) can serve as a useful model system for studying mammalian embryogenesis (1, 2). Not only do these cells differentiate in vitro and in vivo (3-5), but certain ECC lines, when cultured under appropriate conditions, can mimic important stages of early mammalian development (6). Furthermore, when transferred to early mouse embryos, ECC can participate in normal development (7-10). These findings demonstrate the versatility of ECC and lead to a fundamental conclusion: the pattern of differentiation of ECC is affected by their environment. This point is clearly illustrated by the recent findings of Strickland and Mahdavi (11): the mouse ECC line F9 can be induced by retinoic acid to differentiate to a cell type that secretes plasminogen activator and is likely to be endoderm. All of the studies in vitro cited above were conducted in serum-containing media. Therefore, it would be useful to identify the required serum components in order to define their functions during cellular differentiation. Recently we have demonstrated that two mouse ECC lines (F9 and PCC.4 aza-1) can be cultured in a serum-free culture medium containing partially purified fetuin, insulin, transferrin, and 2-mercaptoethanol in place of serum (12). We have also found that this medium, referred to as EM-1, supports the growth of two endoderm-like cell lines (13): MB2A, established from cultures of early mouse embryos (14); and PYS-2, derived from the endoderm of teratocarcinoma embryoid bodies (15). One of the major components of EM-1, fetuin, has recently been employed by Rizzino and Sherman (16) in a serum-free medium for developing mouse embryos. This medium, EM-2, contains fetuin and bovine serum albumin instead of serum. In this medium, after the mouse embryo has hatched from its zona pellucida and attached to the culture dish, differentiation of both the trophoblasts and the inner cell mass occurs. Cells formed from the inner cell mass secrete plasminogen activator and have the morphology of endoderm. The major disadvantage of EM-1 and EM-2 is the use of partially purified fetuin. In order to identify, characterize, and study the active component(s) in fetuin, highly purified factors are necessary. Because fetuin appears to affect the attachment of both ECC and mouse embryos, we considered the possibility of replacing it with highly purified serum factors that are thought to influence attachment. A suitable candidate is fibronectin. Fibronectin is a large glycoprotein (400,000-460,000 daltons) composed of two subunits (17). It is known to influence the attachment and spreading of several cell types (18-22) and promotes cytokinesis of rat follicular cells in serum-free media (23). It is found in a cell-associated form, known as cellular fibronectin or large external transformation-sensitive protein (LETS), and as a free form in blood, known as plasma fibronectin or cold-insoluble globulin (CIG). These forms are similar but not identical (24). It has also been suggested that cellular fibronectin plays a role in cell-cell interactions (17), and its appearance is apparently regulated during the early stages of mammalian development (25-28). In this paper we have focused our attention on the formulation of a completely defined culture medium for one ECC line, F9. This medium will be referred as EM-3 and contains plasma fibronectin (CIG), insulin, and transferrin in place of serum. We report that F9 can be cultured in EM-3 for many generations without losing its ability to form tumors or to differentiate. F9 cells cultured in EM-3 can be induced by retinoic acid to differentiate to at least one cell type that secretes plasminogen activator. Thus cellular differentiation has been demonstrated in a hormonally supplemented defined culture medium. MATERIALS AND METHODS Materials. Materials were obtained from the following sources: Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DME), nutrient mixture F-12 (Ham's F-12), and dog serum from GIBCO; fetal bovine serum and horse serum from Reheis (Phoenix, AZ); bovine insulin, human transferrin, and fibrinogen (bovine fraction I type IV) from Sigma; highly purified porcine insulin courtesy of Eli Lilly; highly purified transferrin courtesy of Robert Holley (Salk Institute); human plasma fibronectin (GIG) from Collaborative Research; all-trans-retinoic acid from Eastman Kodak; N6,02'-dibutyryl cyclic AMP from Boehringer Mannheim; thrombin (plasminogen-free) from Calbiochem; and plasticware for cell culture from Falcon. Stock solutions of insulin and transferrin were prepared and stored as reported (12). Stock solutions of dibutyryl cyclic AMP (0.1 M) were prepared in calciumand magnesium-free phosphate-buffered saline (P1/NaCl) and stored frozen (-20°C). Abbreviations: ECC, embryonal carcinoma cells; CIG, cold-insoluble globulin; DME, Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium; P,/NaCI, phosphate-buffered saline. 457 The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be herebv marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U. S. C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. 458 Cell Biology: Rizzino and Crowley Stock solutions of retinoic acid (3 mM-10 nM) were prepared in absolute ethanol (protected from light) and stored at -200C. Cell Cultures. Stock cultures of F9 cells were grown as described (12). Cells grown in defined media were cultured in medium in which serum had been replaced by various factors, as indicated in the text. When CIG was used the culture medium was added after the tissue culture dish had been coated with CIG. This was done as follows: CIG was added to culture dishes containing Pi/NaCl, quickly mixed, incubated at 370C for 15 min, and washed once with Pi/NaCl. All short-term cultures were conducted on 35-mm culture dishes. Cells to be counted were removed from the culture dish with 0.1% trypsin in P1/NaCl/EDTA. Medium containing serum was used to stop the action of trypsin. The cells were then collected and counted in a Coulter Counter. The long-term cultures of F9 in defined media were maintained in 25 cm2 T-flasks with 7 ml of serum-free medium containing CIG (1 ,ug/cm2), insulin (10,qg/ml), and transferrin (5 ,tg/ml). To subculture these cells the culture medium was replaced with Pi/NaCl. The cells were then detached from the culture dish by forcing Pi/NaCl over the cells, using a sterile pasteur pipette. Cell densities were maintained at 2 X 104 cells per cm2 or higher. The medium was changed daily and the three factors were added at that time. Anti-CIG: Blocking Experiments. When used, CIG was added to 35-mm culture dishes containing 1 ml of P1/NaCl and incubated at 370C for 15 min; the culture dishes were then washed with DME. When used, antisera were added to the culture dish in a total volume of 50 ,l, covered with a glass coverslip, and incubated at 40C for 40 min. In those controls to which antisera were not added, 50 ,ul of Pi/NaCl was substituted. The coverslips were removed and the culture dishes were washed with DME. Defined medium containing insulin (10 ,ug/ml) and transferrin (5 jAg/ml) was added to the culture dishes before the cells. Affinity-purified rabbit anti-human CIG and the pre-immune rabbit serum were generous gifts of Joseph Orly (Univ. California, San Diego). The affinity-purified antibody was prepared by passing the serum of immunized rabbits through a Sepharose CL 6B column to which human fibronectin had been covalently linked. Plasminogen Activator Assay. The secretion of plasminogen activator was monitored by the procedure of Beers et al. (29). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Short-Term Growth of F9 ECC in a Defined Medium. When F9 cells are plated in medium lacking serum the majority temporarily attach and spread onto the culture dish. Within 8-12 hr the cells round up and eventually detach, usually before 24 hr. In contrast, when plated in serum-free media containing highly purified CIG (>95% pure), F9 cells attached and spread within 60 min and remained attached for over 60 hr. When insulin, transferrin, and CIG were present the cells not only attached (Fig. 1B) but proliferated to nearly the same extent as those in medium containing serum (Table 1). They continued to grow at this rate for several generations but then the growth rate decreased (see below). In all of the experiments presented here the medium was composed of equal amounts of DME and Ham's F-12, because this mixture supported optimal growth. We also wish to point out that the culture medium was changed daily after the first 48 hr in those experiments extending beyond 2 days. This was done to maintain optimal growth and to minimize cell death. We have verified that F9 cells respond to CIG, insulin, and transferrin rather than to contaminating serum components. Affinity-purified anti-CIG inhibits the attachment and spreading of F9 cells, whereas the rabbit pre-immune serum is without effect (Fig. 2), clearly demonstrating that CIG promotes the attachment and spreading of F9 cells as it does for several other cell types (17-21). The optimal dose for CIG is approximately 5 ,ug/ml


PurposeThe purpose of the study is to examine the dynamics in the troika of asset pricing, volatility, and the business cycle in the US and Japan.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a six-factor asset pricing model to derive the realized volatility measure for the GARCH-type models.FindingsThe comprehensive empirical investigation led to the following conclusion. First, the results infer that the market portfolio and human capital are the primary discounting factors in asset return predictability during various phases of the subprime crisis phenomenon for the US and Japan. Second, the empirical estimates neither show any significant impact of past conditional volatility on the current conditional volatility nor any significant effect of subprime crisis episodes on the current conditional volatility in the US and Japan. Third, there is no asymmetric volatility effect during the subprime crisis phenomenon in the US and Japan except the asymmetric volatility effect during the post-subprime crisis period in the US and full period in Japan. Fourth, the volatility persistence is relatively higher during the subprime crisis period in the US, whereas during the subprime crisis transition period in Japan than the rest of the phases of the subprime crisis phenomenon.Originality/valueThe study argues that the empirical investigations that employed the autoregressive method to derive the realized volatility measure for the parameter estimation of GARCH-type models may result in incurring spurious estimates. Further, the empirical results of the study show that using the six-factor asset pricing model in an intertemporal framework to derive the realized volatility measure yields better estimation results while estimating the parameters of GARCH-type models.


According to many sources, the development of a severe depression epidemic requires a new critical look at the efficiency of antidepressant medications and behavioral assessment scales in atheoretical psychiatry. This conception of clinical analysis is unable to identify false positives, and avoids the issue of meaning. For this reason, the diagnosis of depression is used by patients and by doctors, and the therapy goals encourage repression. Epidemic depression is based on hysterical identification.


For pt.I see ibid., vol.18, no.18, p.3557-37 (1985). A quantitative description of H(3s) atoms produced by laser excitation of a metastable hydrogen beam in an electric field is performed and compared with the recent experimental results of Claeys et al. (1985). The Stark effect for n=3 is calculated to obtain the relative intensities of the five Stark transitions as a function of the field strength. Good agreement with the experimental values is found. The dynamical behaviour of the 3s and 3p Stark states when the atoms leave the field is then analysed. Due to the adiabatic evolution we found that only one Stark state can produce H(3s) atoms.


Centre for Theoretical Physics, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India(Dated: August 28, 2012)We consider the Eddington-Born-Infeld (EBI) model here without assuming any cosmologicalconstant. The EBI scalar field is supposed to play a role of both dark matter and dark energy.Different eras in cosmology are reconstructed for the model. A comparison is drawn with ΛCDMmodel using Supernova Ia, WMAP7 and BAO data. It seems that the EBI field in this form doesnot give good fit to observational data in comparison to the ΛCDM model.I. INTRODUCTION


Objective: Iraq and Afghanistan war-era (OEF/OIF/OND) Veterans are at elevated risk for physical injuries and psychiatric illnesses, in particular comorbid mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and chronic pain. The gut microbiome has been implicated in modulation of critical processes such as digestion, immune system functioning, and stress responsivity, and may be an important factor in understanding physical and mental health outcomes following deployment and trauma exposure, yet minimal research to date has sought to characterize gut microbiome composition in this population. Methods: 26 male OEF/OIF/OND Veterans aged 18 to 65 who previously completed a VA Comprehensive TBI Evaluation were enrolled in this study. Participants completed self-report measures of PTSD symptom severity, pain intensity and interference, fatigue, cognitive symptoms, substance use, and sleep quality. Participants submitted fecal samples, and metagenomic sequencing was used to calculate alpha- and beta-diversity and taxonomic microbial composition. Associations between microbiome data and clinical variables was then examined. Results: Alpha and beta diversity measures were not significantly correlated with clinical outcomes. Fatigue, post-concussive symptoms, executive function symptoms, and cannabis use were associated with differences in gut microbial composition, specifically Verrucomicrobiota. Conclusion: This exploratory study demonstrated that altered gut microbiome composition is associated with psychiatric and cognitive symptoms in OEF/OIF/OND Veterans and highlights a potential new therapeutic target of interest. Future research is needed to examine whether probiotic treatment is effective for reducing symptoms common in this clinical population.


The paper presents results from a research study on a new distributed base isolation system for masonry buildings. This system consists of a layer of mortar interposed between the top face of foundations and the shear walls base. The mortar layer is reinforced with vertical mild steel bars. anchored both to masonry walls and to subside concrete of foundations. The proposed system is simple and inexpensive and it is capable of high degree of protection. To demonstrate its effectiveness, the seismic response of a masonry building is investigated by simplified 2 DOFs mathematical model performing numerical analyses in the time domain. Parameters involved in this study were: the fixed-base natural period of the building, the mass ratio. the isolation degree and, the ratio between the yield level of the soft base and the ultimate strength of the shear walls. Comparisons between dynamic responses of fixed-base and isolated models are presented in the form of spectral quantities. Results show that this type of isolation is capable of significantly reducing accelerations at the floor level, with performance comparable to FSI schemes. and a n additional advantage of reducing amplitude of residual displacements.


Previous analysis of the vaccinia virus (VACV) K7 protein showed that this protein has a Bcl-2 structure, inhibits the pathways leading to activation of IRF3 and NF-κB and contributes to virus virulence. Here we show that infection with a VACV lacking the K7 protein (vΔK7) induced weaker VACV-neutralising antibody responses 1 month post infection, but still provided better protection against intranasal challenge with VACV. This implied a role for cellular immunity. By transfer of NK cells or CD8+ T cells to recipient mice and subsequent challenge with VACV, it was demonstrated that the NK cells from mice infected with vΔK7 induced better protection against challenge, compared to NK cells derived from wild type immunised mice. In contrast, adoptive transfer of CD8+ T cells from mice immunised with either virus conferred equal protection. In recipient mice, the NK cells transferred from vΔK7-infected mice were more responsive to homologous virus challenge and showed enhanced migration to the site of infection. By staining donor cells with CFSE prior to adoptive transfer, it was seen that donor NK cells proliferated greater in response to VACV than influenza challenge, and NK cells from vΔK7-immunised mice enhanced this effect compared to NK cells from wild type immunised mice.
 This study shows that VACV-specific NK memory cells can confer protection against VACV challenge and that the production of these memory cells is enhanced by deletion of the VACV K7 protein.


Background: Dysmenorrhea refers to the occurrence of painful menstrual cramps of uterine origin. Dysmenorrhea has been estimated to be the greatest cause of time lost from work and school in the India. The study aim was to assess the effectiveness of Erythina variegata juice on dysmenorrhea among final year nursing students (B.Sc & DGNM). Methods: A pre experimental research design was carried out in Vinayaka Missions College of Nursing at Puducherry. The 30 sample was selected based on convenient sampling technique. The pretest was conducted by using visual analogue pain scale during menstrual cycle with dysmenorrhea. As an intervention of Erythina variegata juice was given to the same group prior to menstrual cycle on complete 5 days. Results: After the collection of posttest, the collected data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results shown that the 't' value is 5.133 and 'P' value is <0.000, it's highly significant. Conclusion: The study found that Erythina variegate juice is more effective for the dysmenorrhea.


Urban transport is a key support for urban economic and social development whose development is accompanied by the rapid and diversified development of cities. This study aims at systematically sorting out the process, pattern and goal of international typical urban transport development, summarizing its main development characteristics, and selecting index from 6 aspects such as supportability, maneuverability, safety, economy, sustainability and innovation etc. to analyze the development situation of urban transport in China and to compare it with international leading development level so as to identify the main difference, and to provide policy suggestions on healthy and sustainable development of urban transport in China.


Quick and timely dissemination of technological information from the agricultural research system to grassroots level and farmers' reaction in the form of feedback to the research system is one of the most critical inputs in technology transfer. Information and Communication Technology plays an important and crucial role where its potential can be exploited to strengthen the linkage amongst research and extension system. In this context, mobile application was developed on brucellosis prevention in dairy animals and it was tested for its effectiveness in terms of knowledge gain by the commercial dairy farmers (n=60) from six district of Haryana and Punjab states. The study revealed that, the overall mean knowledge gain on Brucellosis in dairy animals through mobile application was effective (p< 0.01) in terms of knowledge gain among the commercial dairy farmers (17.65). Pearson's correlation analysis of socio-demographic profile with knowledge gainrevealed that knowledge gain through Mobile application on brucellosis was positively and significantly correlated with education, landholding, income, herd size, milk production and experience in dairy farming at 5 % level of significance. It is evident from this study that Information Communication Technologies plays significant role in knowledge gain and empowerment of dairy farmers and hence still more institutional intervention, support and innovation is required in developing such technology transfer mechanisms in developing countries like India.


The San Andreas fault zone, the most prominent in California and one of the principal fault zones of the world, has attracted the attention of researchers for many decades. Interest has been more than local inasmuch as fault characteristics similar to those evident in the San Andreas zone have been described and mapped in Chile, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Turkey. First studied in the late nineteenth century and named in 1895 by Lawson for San Andreas Lake, a small sag pond just south of San Francisco, the zone has been the focus of a continuing series of papers probing for answers to its many mysteries.1 Researchers still seek solutions to basic questions on the zone. What is the San Andreas Fault? Is it apparent only through its continuous 700-mile recent trace from Point Arena to the Imperial Trough, or is it a zone containing several important mapped fault strands? Does it extend well out to sea at the north and south land extremities? To what depths does the fault reach? Do movements date only from Pleistocene time, or do they go back to the Jurassic? Have right lateral slips been the most important movements, or were dip-slip adjustments important in earlier stages? Has movement along the present trace amounted to the mile suggested by Taliaferro or the several hundred miles attributed to it by Hill?2 It is likely that most or all of the above queries will be solved eventually, since answers to such questions are important keys in establishing geotectonic history. Today seismic activity in the San Andreas zone is evident through visible linear traces of recent movements. This so-called "master break" lies within an elongated band characterized by branching and interlacing of roughly parallel fractures that make up the fault zone. Widths vary from a few hundred yards to approxi-


Friedman, Edward H. Cervantes in the Middle: Realista and Reality in the Spanish Novel from Lazarillo de Tormes to Niebla. Newark, DE: Juan de la Cuesta Hispanic Monographs, 2006.327 pp. ISBN: 1-58871-091-2 As is often the case with major celebrations, the 400th anniversary of Don Quixote, Part I got the better of the celebrants. Many of the assorted enterprises held during 2005 merely served to commercialize the novel and its protagonist, from the fabrication of a "Ruta del Quijote" that takes the knight's incautious fan to places never mentioned in the book, to the marketing of overpriced sandals etched with Don Quixote's doleful countenance, which, I confess, I couldn't resist buying. Yet the occasion was also marked by academic activities of a far more productive sort, among them, various excellent conferences attended by distinguished cervantistas and a number of publications that have brought renewed attention to the centrality of Cervantes' novel within the Western European literary tradition. One such publication is the book under review, which rescues Don Quixote from a superficially iconic status by tracing its theoretical interconnections with the realist novel and its antecedents. Situating Don Quixote at the center of a long tradition of realist fiction, Edward Friedman juxtaposes a series of canonical novels both diachronically and synchronically to stress the metafictionality of the texts that precede and follow Don Quixote in its comprehension (and apprehension) of idealist literature. Looking backward from the seventeenth century, the picaresque novel is seen to combine realism and self-reflexivity, attributes that create a radically new paradigm for the novel. In his first chapter "The Picaresque, Don Quijote, and the Design of the Novel," Friedman explains just how advantageous the model is for the modern novel, as not only the three infamous picaros, Lazarillo, Guzman, and Pablos, but Lozana, Justina, and other recalcitrant picaras, each in his or her own way and for different social, moral, and narrative purposes, mediate the author's voice through their own. This chapter exhaustively details the picaresque novel's textuality, what Friedman calls its "interplay among the genetic, generic, and functional principles" (94). Although the chapter reiterates much of what is already known to us about the picaresque (untrustworthy narrator, ironic discourse, social determinism, Baroque excess, etc.), it expertly directs our attention to the ways in which Cervantes reworks these characteristics in Don Quixote, exhibiting in the process his greater consciousness of the creative process. Friedman underscores particularly well how picaresque fiction instructs Cervantes in the use of metafiction when dealing with the historical coincidence of his and Mateo Aleman's victimization by plagiarism. Although numerous citations from other critical studies are footnoted in the text, it is at times difficult to ascertain Friedman's explicit reactions, whether positive or negative, to particular critical interpretations or literary theories. However, he obviously (and rightly, it seems to me) opposes both a unifying narrative perspective in the picaresque and the privileging of a different type of realism in Cervantes. …


Fire is a natural abiotic disturbance agent that is important in determining the vegetation patterns observed in many hardwood forests. Although natural fire was suppressed through much of the 20th century, in the late 20th century, fire was reintroduced into many ecosystems in the form of prescribed burning. The effects of fire on insect populations are not well understood. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of prescribed fire, tree species, and tree size on black carpenter ant abundance and distribution. The effects of prescribed fire, tree species group, and tree dbh on black carpenter occurrence were studied using a presence–absence baited test on 3,556 trees in the oak– hickory forests of the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Trees were distributed over unburned areas and areas burned in the dormant seasons of 2005, 2006, and 2007. Black carpenter ants occurred most frequently at baits on large red oaks and least frequently at baits on small hickories, suggesting that they preferentially forage on certain tree species and sizes. Occurrence of black carpenter ants varied by fire treatment. Habitat alterations are likely to be a cause of ant occurrence patterns in oak– hickory forests, but additional studies are necessary to understand the mechanism behind this trend.


An approach to the continued practice of tasks is proposed in the context of previous work on lifelong machine learning using a system of back-propagation neural networks. The method compensates for small numbers of training examples per practice session and the concurrent practice of unrelated tasks. Knowledge from each new practice session is integrated with past sessions in a long-term consolidation network using task rehearsal. Practice occurs in a short-term working network where the selective transfer of related consolidated knowledge is used to provide positive inductive bias. The experimentation reveals that consolidation and selective transfer of past practice knowledge promotes an increase in hypothesis accuracy over multiple practice sessions.


The objective of this program is to provide the engineering tools necessary for an authoritative assessment of the performance of industrial furnaces firing pulverized coal. The program incorporates two experimental tasks and is constructed around an analytical task (Task 1) which will identify and upgrade the family of computer programs required to undertake the performance analysis studies. These analytical tools will be used on combustor performance, and to identify those properties which have a major impact on thermal performance. The second task uses a combustion reactor to screen the key variables identified in Task 1 and to provide data on the properties of coal particulate matter which affect heat transfer performance. Verification of the engineering analytical approach will be provided by measurements made in a pilot-scale furnace in the third task. Technical progress during the second three months of the program effort (January to April 1981) is reported and considers the selection, documentation, and modification of the appropriate analytical tools and further details of the Task 2 experimental system. Details of the computer programs for the performance of analytical studies have been documented and presented in an interim report.


Polyethylene Polyamine (HPAX) loading attapulgite has been prepared successfully as a H2S sorbent at low temperature. The effect of prehumidification, temperature, H2S concentration and HPAX loading were investigated. The sorbent showed a highest breakthrough sulfur capacity of 2.55 mg/g-sorbent and a saturation sulfur capacity of 3.12 mg/g-sorbent at 25 o C. Prehumidification, decrease of temperature, lower flow rate and H2S concentration were in favor of sorption of H2S. The best conditions were as follows: the prehumidification time was 1 h, the temperature was 25 o C, the HPAX loading was 33.3%.


We are interested in the subtle variations of function among the members of a protein family. A protein family is usually subdivided into subfamilies based on functional differences. Existence of this functional diversity is essential for the successful performance of physiological roles expected of the family. This presents a unique problem: there must be preservation of the active site; simultaneously there should be specificity of protein action according to subfamily. Though the classification into subfamilies is by no means a formalized one, it is most times based on the character of regulation of the primary function. The function of a subfamily is a modification of when the protein performs its function, for example, by changing the protein's sensitivity to regulatory factors. Rarely, a subfamily possesses a function completely different for its family. A study of these details is necessary for understanding the fine-tuning of protein function. I describe a theory for studying subfamily-based functional specificity and then validate it with an example application to deciphering the residue-level basis of fine functional variations in the diverse set of K+-channel subfamilies. I provide specific results that will be useful to channel physiologists, whereas the strategy developed will be widely applicable to problems in comparative and functional genomics.


Background Increasing evidence shows that the cancer microenvironment affects both tumorigenesis and the response of cancer to drug treatment. Therefore in vitro models that selectively reflect characteristics of the in vivo environment are greatly needed. Current methods allow us to screen the effect of extrinsic parameters such as matrix composition and to model the complex and three-dimensional (3D) cancer environment. However, 3D models that reflect characteristics of the in vivo environment are typically too complex and do not allow the separation of discrete extrinsic parameters. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study we used a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogel-based microwell array to model breast cancer cell behavior in multilayer cell clusters that allows a rigorous control of the environment. The innovative array fabrication enables different matrix proteins to be integrated into the bottom surface of microwells. Thereby, extrinsic parameters including dimensionality, type of matrix coating and the extent of cell-cell adhesion could be independently studied. Our results suggest that cell to matrix interactions and increased cell-cell adhesion, at high cell density, induce independent effects on the response to Taxol in multilayer breast cancer cell clusters. In addition, comparing the levels of apoptosis and proliferation revealed that drug resistance mediated by cell-cell adhesion can be related to altered cell cycle regulation. Conversely, the matrix-dependent response to Taxol did not correlate with proliferation changes suggesting that cell death inhibition may be responsible for this effect. Conclusions/Significance The application of the PEG hydrogel platform provided novel insight into the independent role of extrinsic parameters controlling drug response. The presented platform may not only become a useful tool for basic research related to the role of the cancer microenvironment but could also serve as a complementary platform for in vitro drug development.


Recommended patch test concentrations are given for preservatives, biocides and antimicrobials, based on detailed reviews of the literature and the combined experience of the European Environmental and Contact Dermatitis Research Group.


Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has had one of the most successful steel mill startups in the world. The implementation ofadvanced CSP technology has enabled the company to achieve its initial objectives. SDI's thin slab products are entering new markets because ofincreased surface and dimensional product quality.


Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is an extremely rare vascular sarcoma with a very heterogeneous presentation and prognosis. We here present five cases of EHE emphasizing diversity in presentation, treatment, and prognosis. Furthermore, we present a review of the literature on EHE treatment options.


A new method for M13 single-strand purification has been developed and tested. The procedure gives sufficient DNA for one set of thermally cycled sequencing reactions when analysed on the Applied Biosystems 373A fluorescent DNA sequencer. For this report, 250 random M13 subclones with 1-2 Kb inserts were grown and prepared using this method.


*Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, # I Barnes Hospital Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63110; **Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Alabama Hospital Birmingham, 1813 6thAvenue South, MEB 601, Birmingham, AL 35294-3296; 7 Department of Radiology/Musculoskeletal, University of Alabama Birmingham, 619 19th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35243; $Department of Pathology, The Kracke Building, Suite 532B, Birmingham, AL 35243. Reprint requests to K. Jaffe, MD, Department of Surgery, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Alabama Hospital Birmingham, 1813 6th Avenue South, MEB 601, Birmingham, AL 35294-3296. which was within normal limits, and subsequent nerve conduction studies, which revealed a posterior tibial nerve defect. At that time, the patient also reported calf tenderness but denied having antecedent trauma. Physical examination revealed a 6 x 6 cm, left posterior calf mass, decreased sensation to sharp and light touch in the posterior tibial nerve distribution, and weakness of the flexor hallucis longus and flexor digitorum longus muscles. There was no palpable lymphadenopathy and no skin changes. Radiographs showed soft tissue fullness in the calf without evidence of calcification. The tibia and fibula were normal. Magnetic resonance images and an arteriogram are shown (Figs 1, 2).


Knowledge of piston and cylinder wall temperature is necessary to estimate the thermal stresses at different points; this gives an idea to the designer to take care of weaker cross section area. Along with that, this temperature also allows the calculation of heat losses through piston and cylinder wall. The proposed methodology has been successfully applied to a water-cooled four-stroke direct-injection diesel engine and it allows the estimation of the piston and cylinder wall temperature. The methodology described here combines numerical simulations based on FEM models and experimental procedures based on the use of thermocouples. Purposes of this investigation are to measure the distortion in the piston, temperature, and radial thermal stresses after thermal loading. To check the validity of the heat transfer model, measure the temperature through direct measurement using thermocouple wire at several points on the piston and cylinder wall. In order to prevent thermocouple wire entanglement, a suitable pathway was designed. Appropriate averaged thermal boundary conditions such as heat transfer coefficients were set on different surfaces for FE model. The study includes the effects of the thermal conductivity of the material of piston, piston rings, and combustion chamber wall. Results show variation of temperature, stresses, and deformation at various points on the piston.


The method of judging and requesting double limit of a binary function is translated in to the method of judging and requesting the limit of one-variable function by supremum and infimum and transformation of n-dimensional spherical coordi- nates.First,a theorem of requesting double limit with transformation of polar coordinates and some deductions are presented.Fi- nally,a theorem of requesting multiple limits with transformation of n-dimensional spherical coordinates is generalized.


The device previously known as STOP, now called the Essure™ pbc device, is a dynamic expanding microinsert, placed in the proximal section of the fallopian tube, occluding the tube. Initial reports about the device are promising with occlusion of the tubes in 100% with no reported pregnancies and a high rate of safety and patient acceptability. This report documents the first reported failure of tubal occlusion of an appropriately placed Essure™ pbc device.


A study exploring texts at different academic levels. Abstract 26 27 In this study we propose an integrated method to automatically evaluate very brief 28 summaries (around 50 words) using the computational tool Latent Semantic Analysis 29 (LSA). The method proposed is based on a regression equation calculated with a corpus 30 of a hundred summaries (the training sample), and is validated on a different sample of 31 summaries (validation sample). The equation incorporates two parameters extracted 32 from LSA: (1) the semantic similarity of the summary, measured using the Summary– 33 expert summaries method (Landauer et al. The study is based on a sample of 786 35 summaries by students at four academic levels. All of these students summarized either 36 an expository or a narrative text; their summaries were then evaluated by four graders 37 on a scale of 0-10. The results support three ideas. First, that incorporating both 38 parameters into the method is more successful than the traditional cosine measure. The 39 reliability of LSA for evaluating summaries rises above the 0.80 level for the expository 40 text. Second, that LSA shows practically the same level of sensitivity as the human 41 graders to the quality of the summaries at different academic levels. Third, that the 42 method overcomes a serious limitation of LSA: its difficulties evaluating very brief 43