Research Center for High Altitude Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining, People's Republic of China; Breast Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Qinghai University, Xining, People's Republic of China; Department of Medical Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Qinghai University, Xining, People's Republic of China; Department of Medical Oncology, Yangquan No.1 People's Hospital, Yangquan, People's Republic of China; Department of Medical Oncology, Qinghai Red Cross Hospital, Xining, People's Republic of China; Department of Medical Oncology, People's Hospital of Qinghai Province, Xining, People's Republic of China; Department of Medical Oncology, The Fifth People's Hospital of Qinghai Province, Xining, People's Republic of China; Department of Surgical Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Qinghai University, Xining, People's Republic of China Background: Apatinib improves progression-free survival and overall survival with an acceptable safety profile in Chinese patients with chemotherapy-refractory advanced or metastatic gastric cancer. However, the efficacy and safety of apatinib are unclear for elderly patients. This study was undertaken to prospectively investigate the efficacy and safety of apatinib for elderly patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, who experienced progression to at least one lines of chemotherapy. Methods: This open-label, single-arm, phase II study enrolled patients aged ≥60 years with advanced gastric cancer, who experienced progression to one or more lines of chemotherapy at five centers in China. Patients received apatinib in an oral dose of 500mg or 250mg daily according to the research physicians' decision. The primary end point was progression-free survival, and the secondary end points were objective response rate, disease control rate, overall survival, and safety. Results: Forty-eight patients were enrolled between June 2017 and September 2019. The median age was 65.5 years (range 60–80 years). Twenty-seven patients (56.3%) started treatment with an initial dose of 500 mg and 21 patients (43.7%) with 250 mg. The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 3.00 months (95% confidence interval, 2.17–3.84) and 8.10 months (95% confidence interval, 4.35–11.85), respectively. The objective response rate and disease control rate assessed by the investigators were 16.7% and 72.9%, respectively. The common side effects were fatigue (58.3%), hypertension (47.9%), abdominal pain (33.3%), proteinuria (29.2%), leukopenia (22.9%), and neutropenia (20.8%). Hypertension (22.9%) was the major grade 3/4 toxicity. Conclusion: These data suggest that apatinib is effective and relatively tolerable for elderly patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic gastric cancer who have received at least first-line chemotherapy.


This special issue of American Journal of Tourism Management is about the significance of ecotourism landscapes as important components of the urban and sub-urban grain in developing nations. Identifying this fact, the papers document the characteristics, tourists' experiences and means of continual conservation of the landscapes studied towards enhancing their tourism values. While the papers presented centres on the potentials of these landscapes, they have a common aim at ensuring that tourists and potential tourists are focused as being central to the successful management of tourism industry. Essentially, the landscapes studied are either parks or gardens or cultural/historical sites in different contexts. This editorial sets out the overall scope of the special issue and considers the relationship between ecotourism landscapes and tourists satisfaction literature. It then outlines and summarizes some key points as well as commenting on each paper. It concludes by asserting that ecotourism landscapes are germane to the overall success of the ecological conservation movement and upholding the indigenous value-system of the local communities, with numerous social, economic and cultural benefits.


Homopolysaccharides produced from sucrose by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are of interest as natural additives to improve textural properties of foods. The production of exopolysaccharide (EPS) by Weissella strains, which had been isolated from a traditional Thai food (plasom), was investigated using sugarcane molasses and white sugar from sugarcane as substrates in comparison to analytical grade sucrose. EPS production was evaluated at 30°C for 48 h. EPS production and bacterial growth were influenced by the type of carbon source used in culture medium. The highest EPS concentration was obtained in the medium supplemented with white sugar from sugarcane as a sole carbon source by Weissella sp. PSMS4-4. The optimal concentration and factors affecting the production of EPS, that is, cultivation temperature and initial pH of medium, were determined. The highest EPS production of 8.65 g/l was attained in culture with an initial pH of 7.0, temperature of 30°C, and white sugar concentration of 5%. This study shows the first report on the production of Weissella EPS using low-cost substitutes for sucrose and provides knowledge of factors influencing the production of the polymer.

 Key words:  Exopolysaccharide, sucrose, white sugar from sugarcane, lactic acid bacteria, Weissella.


Yeltsin's choice to hand power over to Putin shows the will to preserve a strong presidential regime while working out a socio-economic policy inspired by the government of the "young reformers" in 1997. Since 1999, V. Putin has defined stability as the main challenge which the State and the society must take up. The restoration of the state authority goes along with the resumption of liberal reforms, with the result that Russian governance is reconfigured in 2005. The process of managed decentralization corresponds to the redefinition of interactions between the society and the State, controlled by the latter. The process introduces some global dynamics inside territorialized spaces, which modify former balances and underlie the current trajectory of Russia. At first, in these dynamics, we distinguish the principle of subsidiarity, which is presented by the State as a new way to inspire actions of the individuals in society, then how the actual needs of the society rebuild a kind of continuity between past and future, and last but not least the recognition of transcale territorial governance including the physical and symbolic territories. At first, we analize the concept, the appropriation and the significance of territorial reforms as the guarantees of stability since 2000. Then the evaluation of the reforms is made according to the realization of stability, which is perceived simultaneously as stagnation and as creation of new forms of partnerships. Finally, the analysis of places, regimes of temporality and legitimation of the state authority highlight a socio-spatial scale organization of the territorial governance as part of the managed decentralization.


Two new serial interfaces to disk drives are replacing two venerable parallel interfaces. The advanced technology attachment (ATA) interface will be succeeded by serial ATA (SATA), and the small computer system interface (SCSI) will be replaced by serial attached SCSI (SAS). These new point-to-point technologies provide greater dedicated bandwidth and smaller connectors, and SAS technology supports both SAS and SATA disk drives. While Fibre Channel interface technology will continue to be leveraged in the enterprise storage marketplace (specifically storage area networks), IDC believes that SAS technology also will find its place in this market. SAS and SATA disk drives will appear in the storage middle market, and SATA disk drives will become a wholesale replacement for any ATA drive that is used in PCs, workstations, and low-end servers. Continuing growth in the demand for storage capacity and performance is driving the need for faster point-to-point disk drive interfaces, as opposed to shared bus topologies. In addition to traditional categories of data, such as transactional data, reference data has emerged as a new class. Unlike transactional data, which is constantly changing and updated regularly, reference data remains unchanged after it is written. Among the many examples of reference data are corporate email, multimedia presentations, digital voicemail, and digital images. Storage systems for reference data need high-capacity disk drives, low cost per gigabyte, and only modest storage system performance. Using new SAS and SATA disk drives, OEMs can design storage systems that mix higher-performance, higher-cost SAS drives with higher-capacity, lower-cost SATA drives. These next-generation storage products will support both performance-intensive and capacity-intensive enterprise storage needs. While IDC believes that OEMs and customers will find next-generation storage products based on SAS and SATA valuable, some challenges lie ahead. First, the multiple suppliers of SAS and SATA products must meet their objectives for interoperability and their road maps for improved performance. Second, OEMs must accept and trust the new technology, and the products that drive vendors ship using SAS and SATA must meet customer expectations for cost, performance, and ease of use. Finally, SAS and SATA must find their place alongside an incumbent disk interface and storage interconnect technology: Fibre Channel. IDC encourages storage OEMs and storage system users to evaluate the deployment of new SAS and SATA technologies. These successor interfaces to SCSI and ATA will be important players in the storage market over the months ahead.


Reading is an important approach to studying English . Reading comprehension is a complicated process, which is controlled by linguistic factors and non-linguistic factors.


Technological advancements are essential for all fields of life particularly in health discipline to test and analyze the biological and biomedical samples. Biological micro electromechanical system (Bio-MEMS) based healthcare technologies are handy to make human life comfortable and snug by ease of use, eradicating pain, reducing risk of diseases, improving diagnosis process and treatments techniques. In this study the design, simulation and development of piezoelectricaly actuated microfluidic device (gold needle patch) has been presented. The simulation of skin insertion using gold needle into skin to study the effects of skin piercing and optimize the design of needle has been conducted in ansys autodyne by making 3D model with applied force 0.4 to 0.9 N at the tip area of needle. The microfluidic analysis of 3×3 microneedle patch has been carry out in ansys workbench using computational fluid dynamic (CFX) environment. The maximum velocity 2.015 e4 m/Sec has been achieved. After the successful development of gold needles patch, the fluid transport and insertion test of piezoelectricaly actuated patch also has been conducted using chicken skin.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


At Sites 367 and 370 (for locations see Figure 1) the oldest recovered sediments above the cored basalt are Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous. For study of the foraminifers, 144 samples (62 from the Upper Jurassic, 25 from the Lower Cretaceous of Site 367, the rest from the Lower Cretaceous of Site 370), were taken and partly washed by V. Krasheninnikov and U. Pflaumann during the cruise. These authors worked on samples corresponding to ours (see sample intervals in Tables 1, 2, and 4); we thus had a valuable opportunity for cooperation and comparison of results. They reached conclusions similar to ours about the general distribution, the age, and the depth of the sediments, and agreed with most of the determinations of species. Our results are marked K (Kuznetsova) or S (Seibold). Seibold gave special consideration to the Jurassic material; Kuznetsova studied the Lower Cretaceous material, in addition to her Jurassic samples.


Stephen Joyce, Ash Grove Cement Co., USA, outlines the company's plans with the Moapa Band of Paiutes for a new plant in a region of the USA where Portland cement is in chronically short supply.


Using ABAQUS finite element software,a finite element model was established on magnesium / titanium dissimilar metal cold metal transfer lap joint to numerically simulate the temperature distribution. The simulated temperature field was verified by experimental results. The variation of temperature field and microstructure at specified location of the joint were compared at different wire feed speeds. The results show that the distribution of temperature field was asymmetric on magnesium and titanium sides. At two locations with the same distance from the weld center, the temperature rose rapidly on magnesium side,a higher peak temperature in Mg sheet was reached than that in Ti sheet,and the rate of decline was also fast. As the wire feed speed increased,the peak temperature became higher and reached the molten temperature of titanium sheet,then the amount of molten Ti increased,finally sound Mg / Ti interface formed.


A new numerical method is applied to the simultaneous diffusion equations describing the anodic process of mercury in solutions in the presence of chloride ions. The terms corresponding to precipitation and dissolution of mercury(I) chloride are included in the differential equations. It is found that the differential equation for precipitate particles should be rewritten using the backward space difference method for successful computation.


The authors present an analysis of three phase DC to AC inverters with general deterministic pulse width modulations having randomized pulse positions within the modulation intervals. The analytical formulations for both the harmonic power spectrum and the continuous power spectral density are plotted for the often-used trapezoidal modulation, and these are compared with scope traces showing the actual microprocessor implementation of the scheme.<<ETX>>


The method of mode matching (MM) is used to construct ideal waveports in the context of the method of moments (MoM). The waveports can provide not only excitations as sources but also perfectly matched loads for traveling-wave slotted waveguide antennas. Additionally, the application of the higher order basis functions (HOBs) in MoM significantly reduces the number of unknowns compared to the RWG basis functions. Numerical results show that the proposed method is accurate and efficient for traveling-wave slotted waveguide antennas. Finally, a Ka-band waveguide array with 1976 narrow-wall slots is solved using a high-performance cluster.


SUMMARY Six experiments were carried out during 1973 and 1974 to study the effects of some cultural practices on tobacco. In Expts 1 and 2 effects of N, topping and suckering were studied. Leaf area was increased by N and topping in both experiments. Suckering significantly decreased, and slightly increased, the area in Expts 1 and 2, respectively. The number of leaves per plant was increased by topping and suckering in Expt 1, but decreased by both in Expt 2. N decreased the number of leaves in both experiments. Yield of cured leaf was increased by all three factors in Expt 1 and by suckering only in Expt 2, whereas both N and topping slightly decreased the yield in the latter experiment. Quality was significantly lowered by the higher rate of N, while generally improved by topping and suckering. In Expts 3 and 4, effects of plant density, N and stage of suckering were studied. The yield of cured leaf was increased by the higher plant density, by 9 and 15%, and decreased by the higher dose of N, by 15 and 7%, in Expts 3 and 4, respectively. Early suckering was beneficial in Expt 3 (16%), but harmful in Expt 4 (8%). Leaf quality was decreased by the higher rate of N, but improved by the higher plant density. Time of removal of suckers had no significant effect on yield or quality. In Expts 5 and 6 effects of supplementary irrigation at different stages of growth were studied. Both the number of leaves per plant and yield followed very similar trends. The best yield and quality were obtained when irrigation was not limiting during all three phases of growth. However, the last phase (C) was the most critical phase regarding irrigation in Expt 5, while the first two phases were the most critical ones in Expt 6, since withholding irrigation during phase C reduced yield by 44–50%, and only 6%, in the two experiments, respectively. Leaf quality seemed to be best when irrigation was applied throughout the growth period, particularly the first two phases of growth.


The nonlinear transmission and reflection of electromagnetic waves of different polarization which are incident obliquely on a plasma slab are studied. The effect is of second order in the field of incident waves and is due to the excitation of electromagnetic echo waves near the slab boundaries. The analysis is carried out for the cases of specular and quasidiffuse reflection of the electrons from the boundaries. The transmitted and reflected waves which are excited are of polarization s. The amplitudes of these waves are found. The results are compared with results found earlier for the case in which the two incident waves have the same polarization.


The scope of the study was the regional energy model of energy consumption in households in the County of Zadar. This was spatial analyses where County of Zadar was divided in 12 zones with separate energy models ; this zones was differentiated by geographical and climate conditions, energy consumption habits, structure of households, dwelling types, economic conditions and living standard. For each of this zones specific energy system was simulated with ENPEP model. In this way it is possible to analyse results for each zone or to sum all results and analyse whole County of Zadar. Simulation is performed using the results from MAFIOSY model for natural gas consumption analysis, in the way that this results served as input data for ENPEP model. In this way natural gas consumption was fixed in ENPEP model, for the households with different energy use (heating, hot water and cooking), in all category of dwellings (family houses and apartments) and with different type of heating (central and local). This complex analysis is provided by several scenarios of energy consumption (without and with natural gas). Separate analyses was performed for renewable energy (solar panels) in order to determine what subsidy is necessary for solar panels to obtain specific market share for hot water.


Mangrove forest is one of the natural resources that has the potential for protection and conservation of nature. Conservation can be defined as a system of management and sustainable use of the environment and natural resources. Tanjung Rejo Village, Percut Sei Tuan sub-district is one of the coastal areas with mangrove forest conditions that have been damaged. This study aims to identify the conservation efforts carried out by the people of Tanjung Rejo Village, precisely in the tourist area of the Mekar Bahari Mangrove Forest. The research was conducted by means of surveys, observations and interviews with the management community. The results show that the conservation efforts carried out by protecting and culturing mangrove plants and making mangrove forests as ecotourism and education of mangrove forests have not getting reached for maximum, if viewed from the presence of mangrove plants and the surrounding environment. Based on surveys and interviews about community perceptions of eco-edutourism development, the community agrees that in the near of future the mangrove forest in Tanjung Sari Village will be used as an eco-edutourism area. It can be said that conservation efforts do not reach the standard, so it is important to develop eco-tourism areas in mangrove forests by increasing public awareness of   mangrove preservation. Keywords: Conservation, eco-edutourism, Mangrove Forest


The within-farm prevalence of vulva biting in breeding sows in south-west England was investigated using a postal survey sent to 410 pig farmers in January 1997. The response rate was 65 per cent and there were 83 useable replies. The majority of farms where vulva biting was reported indicated a low within-farm prevalence of 1-9 per cent of sows affected, although prevalences as high as 30-60 per cent were reported. The injuries reported ranged from bleeding to removal of the whole vulva, the most commonly reported injuries being bleeding and superficial damage to the vulva. No long-term effects from this injury to service and dry sows were reported by 70 per cent and 76 per cent of farmers respectively. Competition for food, aggressive sows, closeness to farrowing and mixing of sows were the most common reasons suggested by these farmers as causes of vulva biting.


S. aureus bacteremia in Australia is increasingly caused by MRSA, which is likely to affect empiric prescribing of antimicrobial drugs in suspected cases.


We discuss properties of the subgroups of the group Zm Zn, wherem andn are arbitrary positive integers. Simple formulae for the total number of subgroups and the number of subgroups of a given order are deduced. The cyclic subgroups and subgroups of a given exponent are also considered.


This essay intends to examine the characteristics about Lee, Sang-hwa`s poems in the Korean literary history. Through this study, I will describe how the poetic subjects of his poems were changing depend on diachronic perspective. By clarifying the mode of diachronic change, I will look into the continuity and variation in his poems. This study tries to examine the poetry, being based on the concept of `double-sided intention` which contains two different aspects. The `conventional intention`, `foreign intention` and `internal intention`, `external intention` as a main topic in this study are the key concept to understand the 1920`s poetry which were presented in various styles. Lee, Sang-hwa composed his poems on the basis of the `internal intention` and `foreign intention.` At first he accepted Romanticism of Europe. But after middle of 1920`s his poems were composed on the basis of the `external intention.` He deeply realized that Korea was in colonial state. After all he was hoping for gaining integration between the reality and the fantasticality in literature.


Maximum inhibition of 48.15 and 55.56% was recorded due to the application of Azadirachta indica at 5 and 10% concentration, which were significantly superior to all other treatments. Trichoderma virens significantly suppressed growth of Drechslera maydis and recorded maximum mycelial inhibition (83.70%).


In this chapter, the problem of motion planning for an in-pipe walking robot is studied. One of the key parts of motion planning for a walking robot is a step sequence generation. In the case of in-pipe walking robots it requires choosing a series of feasible contact locations for each of the robot's legs, avoiding regions on the inner surface of the pipe where the robot cannot step to, such as pipe branches. The chapter provides an approach to localization of pipe branches, based on deep convolutional neural networks. This allows including the information about the branches into the so-called height map of the pipeline and plan the step sequences accordingly. The chapter shows that it is possible to achieve prediction accuracy better than 0.5 mm for a network trained on a simulation-based dataset.


Fremont (Ohio) Ross and St. Joseph Central Catholic high schools will be pulling for their share of the McDonald's giveaway.


The effect of N-chloro, side chain and sites of ring substitutions on the crystal structure of N-(trichlorophenyl)-2-chloro and 2,2,2-trichloroacetamides has been studied by determining the crystal structure of N-(2,4,5-trichlorophenyl)-2-chloroacetamide, 2,4,5-Cl3C6H2.NHCO.CH2Cl (N245TCPCA), N-chloro-N-(2,4,5-trichlorophenyl)-2-chloroacetamide, 2,4,5-Cl3C6H2.NClCO. CH2Cl (NC245TCPCA) and N-(2,4,5-trichlorophenyl)-2,2,2-trichloroacetamide, 2,4,5-Cl3C6H2. NHCO.CCl3 (N245TCPTCA). The crystal type, space group, formula units and lattice constants in Å are: N245TCPCA: monoclinic, P21/n, Z = 4, a = 4.732(1), b = 29.522(3), c = 7.734(1), β = 108.33(1)◦; NC245TCPCA: monoclinic, P21/c, Z = 4, a = 15.965(3), b = 9.398(1), c = 7.352(2), β = 91.51(2)◦; N245TCPTCA: orthorhombic, Pmc21, Z = 4, a = 6.945(1), b = 11.370(3), c = 15.555(3). The results are compared with the structure of N-(phenyl)- acetamide, N-(phenyl)-2,2,2-trichloroacetamide, N-(2-chlorophenyl)-2,2,2-trichloroacetamide, N-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,2,2-trichloroacetamide, N-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-2,2,2-trichloroacetamide, N-(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)-acetamide, N-(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)-2-chloroacetamide and N-(2,4,6- trichlorophenyl)-2,2,2-trichloroacetamide. The comparison of the bond parameters reveal that there are significant changes by substitution in both the ring and side chain of the amides and by N-chlorination. But to draw general conclusions further, substantial work is needed with varying substitutions


Customers' returning products is very common in online retailing and it significantly impacts on the seller's operations decisions.In this paper,we investigate an online retailer who simultaneously determines the retail price and order quantity while experiencing customer returns and price dependent stochastic demand with a multiplicative mode.We assume that the customer's returned product quantity is a function of both the quantity sold and the price and the online retailer's operations can be either single or multi-period with and without uncertainty in demand.We analytically derive results for optimal prices and order quantities under certainty demand in both the single and multi-period situations and demonstrate the unique solution existence in the single period stochastic situation.For the multi-period stochastic demand situation,we numerically analyze how the firm should change prices and inventory quantities in order to mitigate the negative effects of returns from customers in the stochastic demand situation.We also model the online retailer's expected profit with mean-variance to examine the change of the expected revenue with customer's returns.The risk preference of a retailer has a significant impact on the retailer's optimal decisions with customer's returns.


To obtain insight into transport phenomena in gas/liquid/solid catalytic microsystems, a theoretical model was developed to study heat and mass transfer at the microscale in such multiphase systems. In particular, systems were investigated in which the gaseous products nucleate and grow as microbubbles on the catalytic surface, whereas the reactants are dissolved in a liquid phase. A microfluidic platform providing spatial control on the bubble nucleation was designed and fabricated and applied to experimentally study the influence of bubbles on transport phenomena. The observations were compared with our theoretical model.


In most cases, it is difficult for an investor to make a choice of a particular enterprise for the investment due to the uncertainty of business development in a constantly changing market economy. It is recommended to invest in companies with a good reputation, since such investments are less risky in conditions of uncertainty. First of all they try to invest in companies that meet the basic needs of customers such as trade, food production, and construction. The main problem for an investor in decision making concerning money investment in a company is a correct evaluation of its investment attractiveness. The paper presents and approves two approaches to evaluating the investment attractiveness of a company to solve this problem. It allows an investor to make a choice in favor of those companies in which it is profitable to invest. A comparison of the results of the proposed approaches is given. A number of construction companies from Krasnoyarsk, a large industrial center in Central and Eastern Siberia, are used as a research object. The choice of the studied object is due to the rapid development of the construction industry in Krasnoyarsk. Note also that these approaches to evaluating investment attractiveness can be used for smaller companies and other manufacturing industries.


The influence of surface charges on the current/voltage characteristics of Baritt diodes is described and an improved Baritt diode geometry avoiding surface currents is suggested which leads to sharp I/V behaviour and hence to stable oscillation conditions.


Starting from a set of equations that lead to a linear dispersion relation coupling kinetic Alfvén waves and ion-acoustic waves, three-dimensional KdV equations are derived for these waves. These equations are then used to investigate the three-dimensional stability of solitary kinetic Alfvén waves and ion-acoustic waves by the small-k perturbation expansion method of Rowlands and Infeld. For kinetic Alfvén waves it is found that there is instability if the direction of the plane-wave perturbation lies inside a cone, and the growth rate of the instability attains a maximum when the direction of the perturbation lies in the plane containing the external magnetic field and the direction of propagation of the solitary wave.


Provided are a touch sensing circuit and method thereof, a touch screen and a display device. The touch sensing circuit comprises a touch sensing unit, an output control unit and a detecting unit; the touch sensing unit is connected with a first control wire, a first power supply, a second power supply and the output control unit and is used for providing a touch current and transmitting the touch current to the output control unit; the output control unit is connected with a second control wire, a read-out wire, the touch sensing unit and the detecting unit and is used for outputting the touch current to the detecting unit via the read-out wire; the detecting unit is connected with a reference voltage end, an output end, the read-out wire and the output control unit and is used for detecting a significant change of voltage outputted by the output control unit to determine the location where touch occurs. The touch sensing circuit can improve the detection precision when judging whether or not touch occurs.


A method based on gas and liquid chromatography was developed for analysis of wood pulp resins. Results obtained with sulphite and sulphate dissolving pulp resins are given and discussed.


Changes in demogaphics, employment and shoppinghabits, triggered by urbanisation and increasingmobility are important factors influencing Swedishcountryside. Answering the changing conditions isespecially important in the northermost counties,with very low population density and large distancesbetween settlements.Within the peripheries of V.sterbotten the availabilityof basic social and commercial services isdecreasing, as the economic viability of such businessesis too low and the former commercial modelbecame unsustainable. Most of the service functionsare associated to local grocery stores, and when oneis forced to close down, the village loses not only itsaccess to basic services, but most of all a meetingpoint for the community. The supply of food and errandsis not a problem for the inhabitants, but theneed for social activities and access to a neutralground to meet the neighbours remains unresolved.This thesis is investigating possible alternativesand proposing new models of hybrid service centresfor rural communities of V.sterbotten, that are capableof uplifting the countryside by focusing on themost important aspect: the people.


Objective
To investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of pediatric Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) with craniofacial bone involvement.

Methods
A retrospective analysis was performed on 145 pediatric LCH patients with craniofacial bone involvement registered at Beijing Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from January 2007 to July 2013.The patients were divided into 2 groups: central nervous system risk craniofacial bone involvement group(CNS-RISK) and non-central nervous system risk craniofacial bone involvement group(non-CNS-RISK). All patients were assessed at 5 weeks, 11 weeks, 25 weeks and 52 weeks respectively after chemotherapy started, and 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 3 years after chemotherapy withdrawal.Statistics and related risk analysis was performed respectively.

Results
A total of 145 craniofacial bone involved LCH cases were included, which was composed of 62.5% of 232 LCH cases hospitalized during the same period.The median age of these patients was 29 months, and median follow-up time period was 31 months.The most commonly involved craniofacial bone was parietal bone(78 cases, 53.8%), followed by temporal bone(59 cases, 40.7%) and frontal bone(57 cases, 39.3%). The onset age was significantly different (26 months vs.54 months, Z=-2.777, P<0.05) between CNS-RISK group (103 cases) and non-CNS-RISK group (42 cases). Moreover, compared with non-CNS-RISK group, CNS-RISK group showed higher ratio of patients classified as multisystem involvement of risk organs (72/103 cases, 69.9%)vs.(15/42 cases, 35.7%)(χ2=16.908, P<0.05), and a higher rate of overall relapse rate (45/103 cases, 43.7%) vs. (7/42 cases, 16.7%) (χ2=9.427, P<0.05), a lower survival rate of 3-year relapse-free survival rate [(66.9±5.7)% vs.(88.2±7.8)%, Z=2.205, P<0.05]. The incidence of diabetes insipidus was 13.7% in 232 LCH patients.Compared with patients without craniofacial bone involvement, patients with craniofacial bone involvement demonstrated a higher rate of diabetes insipidus [(27/145 cases, 18.6%) vs.(5/87 cases, 5.7%), χ2=7.579, P=0.006]. But the incidence of diabetes insipidus showed no statistical difference between CNS-RISK group and non-CNS-RISK group (21.3% and 11.9%, χ2=1.760, P=0.185). Diabetes insipidus was not found in single system LCH with Single-Bone CNS-RISK lesions.Till the end of follow-up, 1 out of 145 patients died.Among 145 patients, 5 cases had a single-bone CNS-RISK lesion.They received systemic chemotherapy.One showed reactivation, and none of them died.Multivariate analysis of variance showed that all the independent factors indicating diabetes insipidus included parietal bone, frontal bone, maxilla and mandible involvement(HR=2.697, 3.487, 5.425, all P<0.05), while independent factors indicating relapse included temporal bone, maxilla and mandible involvement(HR=3.712, 3.380, all P<0.05).

Conclusions
Among involved craniofacial bones, the parietal bone is most commonly involved.LCH occurs averagely at an earlier age in CNS-RISK group, along with lower 3-year relapse-free survival rate, high relapse rate, and more patients classified as multisystem LCH involvement of risk organs.The incidence of diabetes insipidus in children with craniofacial bone involvement with single system CNS-RISK is low.Patients with the parietal bone, frontal bone, maxilla and mandible involvement at diagnosis are at a increasing risk a significantly to develop DI during the course of disease.

Key words:
Langerhans cell histiocytosis; Child; Craniofacial bone; Clinical characteristics.


This paper discusses the research project that explored intercultural communication in library and information science education, more specifically in online learning environment. This research focuses on answering the following central question: What is the nature of successful intercultural communication and what are the factors and conditions which support this? Findings of this research project were used to develop a framework which identified a series of factors that needs to be considered in the process of facilitating intercultural communication in library and information science education.


Accumulation of microdamage can result in increased bone fragility and osteoporotic fracture in human bone.Microcracks in bone have been implicated in the development of stress fractures.The goal of this study was to investigate the human femur cortical bone microdamage during radial fretting and its stress and strain distribution. Modeling and analysis were taken for Haversian system using FEM soft. Analytical results indicated that stress concentration which occurred in the haversian canal and around circumferential lamellas and through the circumferential lamellas and the interstitial tissues could lead to microcrack initiation of multi-areas. In addition, microcrack could occur as a result of a rather large plastic area which crossed interstitial bone and connected adjacent osteon under high load condition. In the meantime, radial fretting behaviors of the fresh human axial femur compact bone were investigated under a flat-on-ball configuration in high accuracy hydraulic servo fretting experimental machine. The kinetics behaviors of the compact bone were revealed by the F-D curves. The surface damage was analyzed combined with the examinations by laser confocal scanning microscopy (LCSM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) . The morphologies showed that the microcracks were the primary damage form.The results showed that three typical types of cracks-radial microcrackannular microcrack and linking microcrack were observed. The test results and the FEM analysis results were of good consistency, and brought forth that most of microcracks run between the surrounding interstitial bone and the cement line.


453 consecutive Chinese adult recipients of bone marrow transplant (BMT) (including 317 allogeneic BMT, 42 matched-unrelated donor (MUD) BMT) for haematological diseases were followed with lung function tests before and after BMT at Days 90, 180, 360 and then annually plus additional tests if respiratory symptoms developed or abnormal lung functions were detected. 37 patients (35 allogeneic and 2 MUD BMT) developed significant airflow obstruction compatible with bronchiolitis obliterans, including 20 male and 17 female patients. The haematological diagnoses at BMT were: acute myeloid leukaemia = 10, acute lymphoid leukaemia = 2, chronic myeloid leukaemia = 22, myelodysplastic syndrome - 2, kappa-light chain myeloma. Significant airflow obstruction was first detected on 351 ± 250 days after BMT. Most of these patients also had chronic graft versus host disease involving the eyes, skin, liver and the gut despite having immunosuppressive therapy. Lung function at detection of airflow obstruction were: FEV, = 2.10± 0.67 L (76± 21 % of predicted), with a fall of 31± 19% compared to pre-BMT, FEV,/FVC = 68+ 11%, FEF 25-75 = 1.47±0.76 L (37± 19% of predicted) with a fall of 57±24% compared to pre-BMT . Mean duration of follow-up was 45±30 months. 4 patients (11%) developed bronchiectasis after the onset of bronchiolitis obliterans as evidenced by high-resolution CT scan of thorax. 6 patients (16%) died with progressive respiratory failure. Surviving patients have static or worse lung functions compared to onset. In summary, there is a high incidence of bronchiolitis obliterans (11%) in allogeneic BMT recipients. Flow rates at low lung volumes is a sensitive parameter. The airflow obstruction remains static or deteriorate despite immunosuppressive and inhaled steroid therapy. is the major cause of cancer death in Hong Kong and almost always presents in very advanced stages rendering curative treatment not feasible. NSCLC is increasingly being treated with chemotherapy although there has not been consensus in the choice of currently available combinations of newer and more effective therapy. We have, therefore, studied the response rate and safety profile of paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with metastatic or locally advanced NSCLC in both chemotherapy-naive and previously treated stage III and IV patients with good performance status. Patients with major organ failure, previous malignancies, active uncontrolled infection or definite contraindications for the use of corticosteroids were excluded. Paclitaxel 175gm/m 2 as 3hr IVI and carboplatin IVI AUC=6 over 30 mins. Were given in 3-weekly intervals for 6 cycles. Pre-medications with dexamethasone, cimetidine, and fluid hydration were given. Interim results were obtained from 17 patients (4F) with age 59± 10.2 yrs. There were 12 adenocarcinomas and 2 undifferentiated NSCLC 3 squamous cell CA with 6 in TNM stage IIIB and 11 in stage IV. The objective partial response rate after III course of chemotherapy occurred in 27% of patients 46% of cases had stable disease and 27% had progressive disease after assessment for tumor size by two-dimensional measurements of chest x-rays or lymph node and bronchoscopic assessment. 5 out of 14 patient completed 6 courses of chemotherapy. The overall response rate is (33%), stable disease (33%) and progressive disease (33%). Adverse reactions including allergy (17%), hepatotoxicity (6%), thrombocytopenia (12%),


Three sutures placed in a 2.8 mm clear corneal incision after wound burn in phacoemulsification, and their sequential removal at 1 month, the resultant corneal topographic changes, and refraction documented immediately have not been reported, making this case report unique. This case describes the timing of suture removal and stabilization of refraction in a case of corneal wound burn associated with phacoemulsification. A 70-year-old woman presented with diminution of visio in both eyes for 1 year. O/E lens opacification classification system grade NC4C3P2 cataract was present in both eyes with normal fundus. Primary diagnosis was cataract in both eyes. The left eye was planned for microincision cataract surgery by a trainee under local anesthesia. Corneal wound burn and iris chaffing were noted at the end of surgery, and 3 sutures were placed at the main port. At 15 days and 1 month postoperatively, the uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) was 20/80 with high regular astigmatism showing over cylinder on autorefractometer. Sequential suture removal was done 1 month postoperatively with an interval of 15 minutes between each suture and corneal topography performed after each suture removal. Topography exhibited reduction in astigmatism from 10.6 to 1.2 diopters after suture removal. The UDVA and corrected distance visual acuity after 1-hour postsuture removal was 20/32 and 20/20, respectively, with a refraction of −0.50 diopter sphere/−0.50 diopter cylinder @ 95 degrees, which was stable even at 1-month and 6-month follow-up. We conclude that suture removal can be planned as early as 4 weeks with refraction and keratometric readings being stable even after 6 months.


In Agriculture, mostly crops are loss due to the erroneous selection of the crop to be grown in a particular land holding. The farmers are generally not aware of the requirements of the crop i.e. the minerals, soil moisture and other soil requirements. This can cause a distress to farmer both mentally and financially. One more problem that a farmer generally encounters is the pest and diseases that can affect the crops they grow, which they are generally unaware of in an early stage. This problem of farmer is addressed in our paper and we have tried to solve it with the help of a Recommendation System. By the help of our model, we predict the best suitable crop to the farmer and detect the pest that may affect as well as suggest the pest control techniques. In this paper, we have applied SVM classification algorithm, Decision Tree algorithm and Logistic Regression algorithm and we have found that SVM classification model gives the better accuracy as compared to other algorithms.


The pseudo-SAW (PSAW) characteristics of sputtered glass films on substrates of 41/spl deg/ and 64/spl deg/ Y-X lithium niobate (LiNbO/sub 3/) and 36/spl deg/ Y-X lithium tantalate (LiTaO/sub 3/) have been measured from 30 MHz to above 1.0 GHz. Glass films in the 500 nm to 2000 nm thickness range were deposited by RF diode sputtering. Using suitably located thin-film aluminum interdigital electrode patterns at the film surface and interface, the PSAW velocity, propagation loss, resonator capacitance ratio (C/sub m//C/sub o/), and temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF), were measured. The properties of these layered structures were simulated using the matrix method including layer viscosity. The glass film material was assumed isotropic with finite viscosity (frequency dependent stiffness) in the simulations, whereas the substrates were assumed to have zero viscosity. The frequency dependent measurements and theory were well correlated. The theoretical results were sensitive to the choice of material constants, both film and substrate. The propagation loss was dominated by leaky-wave loss and the inclusion of film viscosity did not substantially alter the propagation loss properties.


Each day of a nurse's life presents opportunities for courage, growth, and caring. Although some opportunities are subtle and some are extraordinary, they all have their strongest impact on those who dare to enter into them with a heart open to the experience. The essence of this special and humbling moment that occurs when nurses risk entering "the between"—the empty spaces in the human heart caused by suffering, courage, and commitment—to answer calls for nursing. This paper presents a comparative analysis of caring from the perspectives of Mayeroff, Roach, and Paterson and Zderad and concludes that the intention of assisting the other to grow results in personal growth for the caring giver.


Many methods have been developed to search for homologous members of a protein family in databases, and the reliability of results and conclusions may be compromised if only one method is used, neglecting the others. This thesis introduces an integrative approach to homology search and shows that an effective combination of homology search methods reveals superior results (Alam et al., 2004). Two protein sequence database search methods (called CHASE (Comparative Homology Agreement SEarch) and GenCHASE (Genomic CHASE)) were developed, which serve as a major step to improve the detection of remote homology. CHASE combines methods that search proteins in protein databases. We implemented some improvements in CHASE that we now call CHASE2. An evaluation based on the SCOP database reveals that, on average, a coverage of 55 percent and 49 percent can be obtained by CHASE2 and CHASE respectively, in searches for distantly related homologues (i.e. members of the same superfamily, but not the same family - the most difficult task), accepting only 10 false positives, while the individual methods obtain a coverage of 31 to 44 percent. GenCHASE combines methods that search proteins in genomic sequences and predict gene structure. Using GenCHASE we have found several candidates for ABC, S100, and Cadherin proteins. Experimental verification of some of these candidates is underway.


Cherry and Forbes (Lancet October 14 1972) cricitized a Swedish registry report on mortality in smoking-discordant monozygotic and dizygotic twins for failing to provide data on deaths within individual pairs of twins; however concordant deaths were found in only 2 pairs making such an analysis meaningless. Also criticized is the proposal of worldwide twin studies on the grounds that they would not alter the main conclusions regarding smoking and health. However such studies could determine whether certain persons are more susceptible than others to the effects of smoking and provide a way to get enough numbers in different well-defined smoking-discordant groups. While large-scale twin studies have primarily focused on the health consequences of smoking the twin method has a broader applicability to a large number of medical and social problems regarding the interrelationships between genetic constitution and environmental agents.


Design principles and technical proposal of practical implementation of passive radars utilizing illumination signals of third-party transmitters are presented. The configurations of experimental model and experimental prototypes of passive coherent location radar (PCLR) are described. The main characteristics obtained during the experimental investigations of the developed PCLR operating with signals of DVB-T2 third-party transmitters are summarized.


Abstract The new solvency regime Solvency II represents a solid and harmonized prudential framework applicable by insurance companies in the European area. Solvency II was implemented in the European Union by adopting Directives 2009/138/EC respectively 2014/51/EU, replacing existing directives regulating solvency former regime, known as Solvency I. Thus, the new European legislation in insurance, applicable from 1 January 2016, was aimed at unifying the main European insurance market and ensuring consumer protection. The responsible authority at EU level with the implementation of the new solvency regime is EIOPA - European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, which dealt in previous periods of testing the European market insurance through organizing quantitative impact studies (last exercise - QIS5, organized in 2011). The main standards derived from Solvency II and also the new IFRS accounting provisions, intended to increase the transparency of risk management and investment, in order to pricing insurance products and profitability of the different classes of insurance rates. Solvency II brings both challenges and opportunities for companies, changing the concept of building protection programs for insured and generating additional concerns about capital requirements in the determination of own funds (basic, auxiliary and surplus) that can be used to meet this requirement. Also estimate realistic and prudent risk assumed by insurance contracts concluded transposed to the insurance companies by recording every technical reserves represent a very important element in order to establish an optimal balance of financial resources. Given the significant overlap between IFRS and Solvency II, insurers will have to improve disclosure requirements of additional information and adjust planning and forecasting. All these measures will increase the efficiency of financial management, a series of operational measures and by providing documented and tested processes. Also, increasing volatility related to financial results will cause insurance companies to deliver predictable results, a process that will produce changes in the financial management optics.


Purpose. To assess the stability of dryness symptoms after refitting patients wearing low-Dk/t hydrogel contact lenses with high-Dk/t silicone hydrogel contact lenses and to determine whether early dryness symptoms were predictive of discontinuation in the 3-year study. Methods. Two hundred seventy-eight hydrogel lens wearers were refitted with lotrafilcon A silicone hydrogel contact lenses for continuous wear of up to 30 nights. Self-administered questionnaires at baseline, 1 week, and 3 years captured the frequency and intensity of dryness symptoms during the day and at the end of the day. One-week and 3-year responses were compared to baseline by a Bowker test of symmetry and median change in response with Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results. Frequency of during-the-day and end-of-day dryness decreased from baseline to 1 week and 3 years (during the day, frequency ≥ "sometimes" 57.1% vs. 33.1% after 1 week and 58.5% vs. 28.8% after 3 years; end of day, 61.1% vs. 41.0% after 1 week and 64.0% vs. 35.9% after 3 years [P<0.0001 for all comparisons]). After refitting, the proportion of subjects with dryness symptoms was stable. After 1 week, the presence of frequency of at least "sometimes" and severity of at least "moderate" during-the-day and end-of-day dryness were significantly associated with study discontinuation (during-the-day frequency [P=0.007] and severity [P=0.017]; end-of-day frequency [P=0.002] and severity [P=0.003]). Conclusions. Dryness symptoms improved after 1 week of refitting with lotrafilcon A and remained stable through 3 years. The presence of dryness after 1 week was associated with discontinuation from contact lens wear. Refitting with silicone hydrogel lenses reduced the frequency and severity of dryness symptoms seen with hydrogel lens wear for many subjects.


A visual and quantitative study of the vortex flow field over a 70-deg delta wing with an external jet blowing parallel to and at the leading edge was conducted. In the experiment, the vortex core was visually marked with TiCl4, and LDA was used to measure the velocity parallel and normal to the wing surface. It is found that jet blowing moved vortex breakdown farther downstream from its natural position and influenced the breakdown characteristics.


This article summarizes the ubiquitous problems in the process of small and medium state-owned enterprises system reform in various areas of China, and points out that, "inside-transferred reform method" is the root of these problems. Then, the article further explores policy suggestions to solve these problems.


Abstract A computer-controlled pulsed-flow system for thermal lens spectrometric detection, 1s developed. Flow pulses are synchronized with the laser pumping and data acquisition periods, measurements being made in static conditions at the end of the stopped-flow half-cycles. A comparative study of the measurement of FIA peaks in continuous and pulsed flow conditions is made. Using the pulsed-flow system, the dependence of sensitivity and noise on the flow and on the presence of turbulences or irregular pump pulses in the flow, is reduced. With a methyl red solution injected into a 1:1 ethanol-water carrier at a flow rate of 2.7 mL min−1, limits of detection and peak area repeativities were 2.1×10−8 M and 6.0%, and 6.2×10−9 M and 4.3%, for the continuous and pulsed flows, respectively. Linear dynamic range extended up to 5×10−1 M.


AbstractThis study used simulated solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure of hairless mice to produce skin tumors and 12-o-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) to increase the likelihood of tumor expression. We evaluated the protection afforded by several concentrations of a sunscreen ingredient (by measuring reduction of "promotable" effects initiated by UVR); the data show that 2-ethyl hexyl-p-methoxycinnamate (2-EHMC) provided protection against photocarcinogenesis (the level of protection increasing with concentration of sunscreen). A second sample of 2-EHMC (drawn from a different production batch) also suppressed photocarcinogenesis but less effectively than the first sample. The study was also useful for evaluating whether the test agents could act as initiators in the two-stage process of tumorigenesis. The data show that repeated applications of TPA did not promote tumor growth in skin pretreated with any sunscreen ingredients alone (i.e., either sample of 2-EHMC in the absence of UVR).


Parkinson's disease (PD) is a disorder that affects the central nervous system, caused by the depletion of dopamine in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Cognitive impairment initially manifests as executive dysfunction, and may progress to dementia. Between 38% and 87% of patients with PD suffer at least one fall during the disease.
The objective was to analyze the relationship between the risk of falls and the overall cognitive function of patients with PD. To relate the occurrence of falls in the last 6 months and the risk of falls, with the global cognitive function, and the presence of gait freezing.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted, with 35 patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease aged 65 to 90 years, who attended the Neurology Service of the National Hospital of Clinics between May 2018 and 2019. Age, sex, presence of falls in the last 6 months and presence of freezing of the march were investigated. Applied instruments: Hoehn and Yahr stadiums. Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Tinetti scale for balance and walking.
The 66% were male. The average age was 71.37 years. The overall cognitive function, assessed with MoCA, averaged 22.2 points, with a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 28. 43% of patients reported the presence of freezing of gate. 31% reported at least one fall in the previous six months. Patients with MoCA values equal to or greater than 26 had higher scores on the Tinetti scale (p=0.04) and in the gait subscale (p=0.03). There was no significant difference between MoCA scores of patients with and without a history of falls. (p= 0.11). A significant difference was observed in the values of the tests assessing executive and visuospatial functions (p 0.05). The association between freezing of gait and occurrence of falls was statistically significant (p=0.02).
Patients with cognitive dysfunction had a higher risk of falls. In patients with a history of falls, performance in executive and visuospatial function was worse


Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has reshaped the field of pedagogy in many different ways. The increasing use of ICT tools in teaching and learning cannot be overlooked. Learners who are abreast with technology are independent and relieve overreliance on educators regardless of the geographical distance. ICT is important within the education sector as a means of enhancing the process of teaching and learning in a classroom. Despite the value of effective use of ICT tools, the South African government, having designed the curriculum to support effective ICT use in teaching and learning, and to some extent having provided ICT tools in public schools, there are still challenges in the effective adoption of ICT tools in teaching and learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate the barriers of ICT tools use in teaching and learning and propose guidelines in teaching and learning at public schools. The study used a mixed-method and data was collected from public school teachers through a questionnaire composed of both qualitative and quantitative variables. To gain further insight, educationalists were also interviewed. It was discovered that there are multiple challenges that hinder the adoption of ICT in public schools. Key challenges identified in the study include a lack of ICT relevant skills, lack of ICT infrastructure, poor IT support, lack of efficacy from the level of teachers, and attitude were amongst many other influencers to non compliance. The study recommends that the government adopt an ICT framework that will advocate for unison in ICT policy from all walks of government (district, provincial, and national) and also mandate and incentivize use of ICT by teachers in teaching and learning.


The goal of this study was to analyze the leaf anatomy and physiological behavior of Brachiaria grass plants (Urochloa decumbens) under different water conditions and with the application of sethoxydim herbicide. The used experimental design was the completely randomized one, with four replications, consisting of a 3 x 2 factorial scheme, with the combination of three water managements (-0.03, -0.07 and -1.5 MPa) with and without the application of sethoxydim herbicide + Assist mineral oil, at the recommended dose for the species (184 g a.i. ha-1). The assessed physiological and anatomicalal parameters were photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration, difference between leaf and room temperature, dry mass of plants, thickness of bulliform cells, adaxial and total epidermis. Under the conditions in which the experiment was conducted, it appears that Brachiaria grass leaves showed uniseriate epidermis, homogenous mesophyll, with radiated distribution of parenchymal cells around the vascular bundles. The adaxial epidermis presented bulliform cells; the vascular bundles are collateral and are present in different sizes. Water stress had a negative influence on herbicide effectiveness and decreased all physiological parameters. The application of the herbicide caused anatomical changes in plants with no water stress (-0.03 MPa), such as limitations in the growth of epidermic and bulliform cells, and in the total leaf thickness. However, in treatments with stress (-0.07 and -1.5 MPa), there were no differences in leaf anatomy, but an increase in the total thickness of leaves, probably as a result of the water stress conditions to which plants were submitted..


Real time measurements of the electric fields were made in the central cathode core region of an inertial-electrostatic confinement fusion (IECF) device by the laser-induced fluorescence method by use of Stark effects. Preliminary results show double well potential formation with a slight concave at the center and also the existence of energetic electrons in the localized region near potential peaks.


Design of optimal operation and control of a run-of-river hydro power plant depends on good models for the elements of the plant. River reaches are often considered to be shallow channels with free surface flow. A typical model for such reaches thus use the Saint Venant model, which is a 1D model based on the mass and momentum balances. This combination of free surface and momentum balance makes the problem numerically challenging to solve. Here, the finite volume method with staggered grid is used to illustrate the dynamics of the river upstream from the Gronvollfoss run-of-river power plant in Telemark, Norway, operated by Skagerak Energi. A model of the same river in the Gronvollfoss power plant has been studied previously, but here the geometry of the river is changed due to new information from Skagerak Energi. The numerical scheme for solving the model has been further developed. In addition, the behavior of the dynamic model is compared to data from experiments, carried out on the Gronvollfoss run-of-river power plant. The essence of the experiments is to consider the time taken from an increase in the input volumetric flow, to a measured change in level in front of the dam at Gronvollfoss. The model is manual ly tuned by changin g the Strickler friction factor, the river length and the type of river slope/width (constant/varying) in order to fit the water level ahead of the Gronvollfoss dam from experimental data. Least squares model fitting is also used for the model with the constant slope and width of the river and this model shows good fitting after the manual tuning. The results of the improved model (numerically, tuned to experiments), is a model that can be further used for control synthesis and analysis.


Abstract Duvendack and Palmer-Jones claim to replicate Chemin (2008) and Pitt and Khandker (1998) but obtain different results and hence challenge the two papers' estimates of the impact of microfinance in Bangladesh. This response details a number of reasons to demonstrate that Duvendack and Palmer-Jones is not a replication so their results provide no evidence about the validity of either of the earlier papers or on the effectiveness of microfinance.


Transverse polarization in the Hyperon (\Lambda) production in the unpolarized deep inelastic scattering and pp collisions is studied in the twist-three approach, considering the contribution from the quark-gluon-antiquark correlation distribution in nucleon. We further compare our results for deep inelastic scattering to a transverse momentum dependent factorization approach, and find consistency between the two approaches in the intermediate transverse momentum region. We also find that in pp collisions, there are only derivative terms contributions, and the non-derivative terms vanish.


The grand conflict located in Castile in the third quarter of the fourteenth century led to the inclusion of this Crown in a system of international alliances in which the political and economic primacy over Western Europe was the target of both contenders: France and England. This topic of our History however has been secondary thanks to ignorance or little treat of some titles mentioned in historiography in general, showing that Trastamaran Civil War, occurred between 1366 and 1369, was nothing more than an internal conflict that ended developing a important outreach.


Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) generally receive stereotypical treatment.1 For example, young patients receive cytarabine for 7 days and an anthracycline for 3 days (known as "7+3 induction"). Thus treated, some groups, predictably, have an approximately 50% chance of "cure" ("favorable risk") whereas others, also predictably, have a survival of 6 to 18 months ("unfavorable risk"). This nonrandom heterogeneity after homogeneous treatment suggests that, like pneumonia, AML is several diseases. Today, AML is primarily defined according to leukemia-cell karyotype and an increasing number of molecular aberrations.2 It follows that different types of AML should ideally be treated differently. This . . .


Stable water isotope ratios ( 18 O and D) in snow pit (Juneau Icefield) and fresh snow (Eclipse Icefield) samples are included in a compilation of all available snow isotope data from coastal Alaska, and used to evaluate observed isotope shifts in regional paleoclimate records. I compiled existing isotope data in coastal Alaska (primarily the Saint Elias Range) in order to better understand the elevation dependence of stable atmospheric water isotope ratios in the region. The values that make up the compilation are reflective of multiple fractionation regimes associated with synoptic scale cyclonic events, described using the Cyclone-Water Isotope Model (Holdsworth and Krouse 2002). Using this Cyclone-Water Isotope Model as a link between high frequency spatial and temporal variability, fresh snow data characterizing five different events within a 17 day time span from the Eclipse Icefield were analyzed for δ 18 O values. Average isotope values among these five events vary by as much as 8‰. Meteorological conditions over the domain are investigated with NCEP Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), and show that events with more depleted δ 18 O are associated with systems that have higher pressure and a zonal (northern) moisture source, whereas events with less depleted δ 18 O are related to events with lower pressure and a more significant component of southern moisture. These observations of event-based meteorological controls on δ 18 O variability shed light on paleoclimate interpretations of shifts in the isotopic record seen in the Mount Logan ice core and Jellybean Lake sediment core at around A.D. 800 and A.D. 1840. The findings in the paper support Fields et al. (2010) in the interpretation that the shift to lower δ 18 O values seen in the isotopic record is caused by a transition to a more zonal (northern) moisture source paradigm.


Use textural characteristics 3D modeling object.Disclose in a kind of chamber for being suitable for inserting patient or the method and system (720) of the 3D modeling of the 3D object (724) to be dressed by patient.3D modelling application is suitable for the information of one or more features of the collected 2D numeral of the data texturing of the position arranged from comprising 3D object (724).


Hyperthermia treatments of tumours are attracting more and more attention from physical doctors and researchers. In particular, invasive microwave coagulation (IMC) therapy is a newly developed and effective method for the treatment of liver tumours. Generally successful applications of IMC are based on accurate temperature measurements of the tissues as the microwaves take effect. As a noninvasive technology, ultrasonic thermometry is based on the correlation between temperature and ultrasound speed or ultrasound decay coefficients of tissues. This paper presents the design of a double ultrasonic pulse transmission/receiving circuit used in ultrasonic thermometry. The circuit can synchronously produce the double ultrasonic pulse required by ultrasonic thermometry and can successfully receive weak ultrasonic echo signals. Some key wave-shapes used in experiments are presented. The experimental results indicate that the circuit is reliable and has good functionality.


This paper analyzes some risks thoroughly that the investors in China are faced when they joine in the franchising organizations by means of comparative analysis and positive analysis.It is based on the theories of franchising and risk prevention.It expresses the viewpoints that the investors mainly face morality risks,investing risks,managing risks and risks in sharing responsibility when they joine in the franchising organizations.And it puts forward some suggestions on how to prevent those risks.


In order to improve the lateral conductivity in optoelectronic devices, we have investigated Si-doped AlGaN/AlN/GaN-superlattices. As a first step we performed calculations of the band structure of Al-GaN/AlN/GaN modulation doped multi heterostructures. Based on these results we worked on optimizing the growth of low Al content (xAl 20%) superlattices by MOVPE. Several tens of abrupt and graded AlGaN/AlN/GaN-layer pairs could be grown crack-free on 2 m thick n-GaN layers deposited on sapphire substrates with AlN nucleation. By Van-der-Pauw Hall measurements, we determined that the lateral conductivity of a 1.5 m thick superlattice structure is a factor of four higher than in highly n-doped bulk material with comparable thickness without compromising too much the vertical conductivity as confirmed by two step TLM-measurements. At 4K we could demonstrate an extremely high effective mobility of 18760 cm2/Vs at n=2×1014 cm-2 (R=1.6/®), a clear verification of our excellent crystal quality.


The present invention includes a battery cell 10 by the rotation of the rotor 22 constituting the safety bus bar 20 if directed to a safety device for a vehicle battery module, the battery cell 10 is expanded by the anomalies It is a so as to block the electrical connection between the.


Non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) continues to claim millions of lives worldwide. Although its poor prognosis is largely attributed to the lack of adequate and precise detection technologies, cancer cells' suppression of the immune system adds on to the difficulty of identifying abnormal NSCLC tumors in their early stages. Therefore, cancer immunotherapy, which activates the immune system and helps it fight tumors, has recently become the most sought‐after technique, especially in the advanced stages of NSCLC, where surgery or chemotherapy may or may not bring about the desired survival benefits in patients.


blood pressure (SBP) is the most important factor influencing cardiovascular risk. The results of clinical studies including the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) [1] preceded the changes in blood pressure goals proposed by hypertension societies. SPRINT showed that intensive lowering of the SBP to a goal of <120 mmHg could be beneficial and safe in contrast to the standard goal up to that point of <140 mmHg. In practice, it is unlikely that the SBP can be lowered without simultaneously reducing diastolic blood pressure (DBP). This may then limit how tightly the SBP can be controlled. For more than 30 years, investigators have argued as to whether lowering DBP increases the risk of myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease in patients with hypertension. From a pathophysiologic perspective, a low DBP may adversely affect myocardial perfusion because, unlike in other vascular beds, blood flow in the epicardial coronary arteries is maintained during diastole [2]. It is therefore reasonable to postulate that the positive effect on cardiovascular risk of achieving a low SBP target may be blunted by the increased hazard associated with a low DBP. Such concept was proven right in various studies however analysis of large population-based trials of individuals with high cardiovascular risk have been ambiguous. Ongoing analysis of SPRINT findings has indicated that the increased cardiovascular risk in for participants with a low DBP may be explained by factors other than simply the DBP, such as higher age and higher prevalence of cardiovascular or chronic kidney disease. This suggests that a low DBP is not an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events [3, 4]. This also seems to be the case in other studies of subjects with high cardiovascular risk [5]. In contrast to this view, however, analysis of the ONTARGET and TRANSCEND findings indicate that the benefit of intensive lowering of SBP may be limited because of concomitant DBP reduction [6]. Similar conclusions have been drawn by other investigators analyzing the SPRINT results showing that a DBP <55 mmHg recorded at a single visit was responsible for attenuation of the benefits of SBP reduction in both of the trial's treatment arms [7]. Thus, the discussion regarding the influence of lowering the DBP continues. The results being highlighted here do not apply to all age Editorial


Why does the US government and some of its allies persist in controversial defence procurement projects? Using the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) as a case study, this paper suggests that a contingency discourse created by key actors in the United States (US) military industrial complex has been internalized by policy makers. This is the case not only in the United States but also internationally among the decision-making elites of those countries involved in the production of the F-35. By focusing on the discursive evolution of key actors' responses to concerns of additional costs, delays, technical failures and waning innovative superiority inherent to the F-35, this paper attempts to comprehend how the US and its allies have justified continued investment in such a controversial defence procurement project. This paper shows that a contingency discourse on the spectre of China's military build-up and the resulting arms race between the US and China is being deployed by policy makers in the US, Australia and Japan to make the F-35 look like a continuing necessity.


This research focuses on investigating the high performance concrete durability containing slag with different fineness and dosage. For this purpose, the 28-day compressive strength, chloride ion penetration, and frost resistance were investigated, with slag surface area 420m2/kg, 530m2/kg, 610m2/kg, and 720m2/kg, and replacement percentage 0%, 20%, 40%, and 60%, respectively. It was found that chloride ion penetration resistance were affected by the fineness and dosage of slag, and concrete frost resistance property was mainly controlled by dosage of slag rather than the fineness, and the 28-day compressive strength increased with slag incorporation.


Objective:To analyze the structural characteristics of glutathione S transferase 1 gene from adult Spirometra erinaceieuropaei,and to predict the function of its encoded protein by applying the bioinformatics.Methods:Nucleic acid sequences of GST1 gene was obtained from cDNA library of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei adult worm,bioinformatics approach were applied to analyze GST gene's composition,the basic physical and chemical properties,multi-sequence homological alignment,tertiary structure of GST protein was established on its homology modeling.Results:GST1 gene encoded 221 amino acids,the theoretical molecular mass is 25767.39 Da,the theoretical isoelectric was 5.98,the theoretical formula is C1188H1786N304O330S5.There were two complete conservative domains,maybe play a role in the regulation of gene expression and signal transduction within the cell.Consistency of the screened gene with that of Taenia solium GST was 53%.In the process of evolution,it was close relative to the tapeworms but distant relative to the vertebrate.The three most likely potential antigenic epitopes are 35-46aa,87-94aa,215-221aa,which located out side of GST spatial structure and were far away from each other.Conclusions:It suggests that glutathione S transferase 1 of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei is predicted to be a cytoplasmic protein and may be have good application prospect for new immunodiagnostic molecular target,which provides the theoretical basis for further research.


Motivated by the work of Karami and Fehri (Phys. Lett. B, 684, 61 (2010)). We generalize their work with varying G. We investigate the new holographic dark energy model with varying G. We consider a spatially nonflat universe containing interacting new holographic dark energy with pressureless dark matter. We obtain the equation of state and the deceleration parameters. Also we reconstruct ωA for a = a0tn and H = [β/(α − 1)](1/t) in the late time universe. We also obtain q for a = a0tn and H = [β/(α − 1)](1/t) in the present time universe, which describes accelerated expansion of the universe.


Geometric mechanics is a branch of mathematics that studies classical mechanics of particles and fields from the point of view of geometry and its relation to symmetry. One of its most interesting developments was bringing together numerical analysis and geometry by relating what is known as discrete mechanics with numerical integration. This is called geometric integration. In the last 30 years this latter field has exploded with researchfrom the purely theoretical to the strictly applied. Variational integrators are a type of geometric integrators arising naturally from the discretization process of variational principles in mechanics. They display some of the most salient features of the theory, such as symplecticity, preservation of momenta and quasi-preservation of energy. These methods also apply very naturally to optimal control problems, also based on variational principles. Unfortunately, not all mechanical systems of interest admit a variational formulation. Such is the case of forced and nonholonomic mechanical systems. In this thesis we study both of these types of systems and obtain several new results. By geometrizing a new technique of duplication of variables and applying it, we were able to definitely prove the order of integrators for forced systems by using only variational techniques. Furthermore, we could also extend these results to the reduced setting in Lie groups, leading us to a very interesting geometric structure, Poisson groupoids. In addition, we developed new methods to geometrically integrate nonholonomic systems to arbitrary order preserving their constraints exactly. These methods can be seen as nonholonomic extensions of variational methods, and we were able to prove their order, although not through variational means. These methods have a nice geometric interpretation and thanks to their closeness to variational methods, they can be easily generalized to other geometric settings, such as Lie group integration. Finally, we were able to apply these new methods to optimal control problems...


We perform the first study of baryons in holographic QCD with multi-D-brane system in type IIA superstring theory. The baryon is described as a chiral soliton solution in the four-dimensional meson effective action derived from holographic QCD. We also present a brief review of the holographic model from the viewpoints of recent hadron physics and QCD phenomenologies.


The Thiadiazole & their derivatives shown the number of pharmacological activity as anti microbial ,anti inflammatory activity, anti tubercular activity, ant diabetic activity, diuretics, anti depressant & cytotoxic activity. these thiadiazole are the heterocyclic compound which contain the five member ring & nitrogen & sulphur. In this paper we mention the recent derivatives of 1,3,4thiadiazole & their activity.


In this work we study a system that consists of $2M$ matter qubits that interact through a boson sampling circuit, i.e., an $M$-port interferometer, embedded in two different architectures. We prove that, under the conditions required to derive a master equation, the qubits evolve according to effective bipartite $XY$ spin Hamiltonians, with or without local and collective dissipation terms. This opens the door to the simulation of any bipartite spin or hard-core boson models and exploring dissipative phase transitions as the competition between coherent and incoherent exchange of excitations. We also show that in the purely dissipative regime this model has a large number of exact and approximate dark states, whose structure and decay rates can be estimated analytically. We finally argue that this system may be used for the adiabatic preparation of boson sampling states encoded in the matter qubits.


The utility model discloses a double-S-strand cable preliminary twist device, which comprises a spiral conveyor, preliminary twist discs which are mounted on a spiral conveyor shaft and preliminary twist guide pulleys which are evenly arranged on the preliminary twist discs, wherein the preliminary twist guide pulleys are divided into 24 groups, each group is formed by three preliminary twist guide pulleys, and the preliminary twist guide pulleys are mounted on the periphery of three preliminary twist discs which can transversely move in a crossing way. A coaxial noseplate is mounted in front of the first preliminary twist disc, and a distributing hole is arranged on the noseplate. Compared with a single-S-strand cable preliminary twist device, the utility model has the advantages of simple structure, reasonable preliminary twist mode and excellent preliminary twist effect, which eliminates lateral and radial inner stress generated by an aluminum wire in the process of twisting, solves the phenomenon of rebounding and loosening of strand cables, and improves the quality and the percent of pass of products.


[Objective] To study the influence of sex ratio on habitat selection of lophura nycthemera.[Method] Habitat selection of lophura nycthemera at different sex ratios in non-breeding period was researched in Guangdong Xiangtoushan National Nature Reserve,with random and instantaneous scanning sampling methods.[Result]At different sex ratios,lophura nycthemera selected habitats in relatively fixed pattern.They stayed on dry soil for the longest time,then on grassland,and stay on stone for the shortest time.Obvious difference was existed in habitat time budget of lophura nycthemera.Significant difference in habitat time budget of dry soil,high grassland,low grassland and stone between the ratio(female:male) of 2∶2 and 3∶1 of the male lophura nycthemera was existed(P0.01).Significant difference in habitat time budget of dry soil and low grassland between the ratio of 2∶2 and 3∶1 of the female was existed(P0.01).Significant defference in habitat time budget of stone between the ratio of 3∶1 and 3∶0 of the female was showed(P0.01).Individual relationship was also influenced by sex ratio,Two female kept familiar relationship.[Conclusion] The habitat selection of lophura nycthemera was influenced by sex ratio.The female tended to aggregate,but the male tended to be single.


In particularly, 3 point bending and 4 point bending test not use strain gauge. So its test used cross head displacement and deflect meter. Digital Image Correlation measurement methods have many advantages. It is non contact-type measurement method to measure the object displacements and strain. In addition, it is possible to measure the Map of full field displacements and strain. In this paper, measured the 3 point bending deflection using the Digital Image Correlation methods. In order to secure the reliability, Digital Image Correlation method and universal test machine were compared.


causing Borden to insist upon early repatriation of Canadian troops from Russia. Apart from some minor editorial blemishes (it is S.R. Tompkins, not Thompson; Sgt Charleson, not Charleston, and Volgograd, not Volgagrad), the book is well written with clear maps and numerous photographs. It is the fullest and most balanced account of Canada's little-known r01e in Russia, and it is good to have the story so well told.


An analysis has been conducted to find out whether the management techniques developed in connection with the Apollo project could be used for dealing with such urgent problems of modern society as the crisis of the cities, the increasing environmental pollution, and the steadily growing traffic. Basic concepts and definitions of program and system management are discussed together with details regarding the employment of these concepts in connection with the solution of the problems of the Apollo program. Principles and significance of a systems approach are considered, giving attention to planning, system analysis, system integration, and project management. An application of the methods of project management to the problems of the civil sector is possible if the special characteristics of each particular case are taken into account.


A concept for implementing headway for commercial vehicles is introduced. Developing a headway system is motivated by the desire to improve safety and enhance mobility through the use of longitudinal control. Such control is carried out via two possible modes of operation: cruise control mode and headway control mode. The headway control system consists of range and range rate sensors, a cruise control capable of accepting velocity commands and a control unit using a heuristic algorithm for determining the appropriate mode of operation and for selecting that mode. When in a headway control mode, the system utilizes information from the range and range rate sensors to maintain a prescribed headway from a leading vehicle. When in a cruise control mode, the system maintains the speed selected by the driver. The equations of motion that mathematically represent the vehicle are derived, and a system model for simulation is constructed. An analysis by simulation is performed to demonstrate that reasonable performance of the system can be expected.


2 patients with long-standing and wide-spread pityriasis lichenoides chronica were treated with orally administered 8-methoxypsoralen and UVA irradiation (PUVA therapy). After 15–21 PUVA treatments th


In this paper we propose a new induced ordered weighted averaging (IOWA) operator for expert opinions aggregation, namely, the average‐induced OWA (AIOWA) operator. The AIOWA operator defines the order‐induced variable as the similarity of each individual expert's opinion with respect to the average opinion of the group, as the average opinion is notably an important piece of information of the group opinion and often used as an approximate estimate of the group opinion with equal weights. The new operator facilitates to capture the distribution characteristics of the opinion data with respect to the consensus and constructs a nonlinear aggregation of individual opinions. Further, we extend the new operator to the situation where the experts' opinions are represented by probability density functions (PDFs). Last, we incorporate the entropy‐orness optimization model into the proposed aggregation operator. The new operator makes the aggregation process more flexible in terms of application problems. Two case studies are conducted to show the effectiveness of the proposed operators. The result is promising.


Much has been made recently in managerialist literature of the notion of synergy as the driving force behind the current spate of merger and acquisitions activity. It is suggested that both the motives behind this activity and post-acquisition organizational changes arc driven by synergistic factors. Drawing on a number of case studies from Austria and the UK we acknowledge that in controlled circumstafices synergy is indeed a factor in acquisition and post-acquisition corporate strategies. However, it is less important in explaining these strategies than other factors such as levels of product-market congruency between acquiring and acquired companies, national location and pre-acquisition organizational structures. By identifying work organization, industrial relations and management systems as distinct proceses, we are able to outline the different levels of, and resistance to, change in acquired companies. We conclude that it cannot be assumed a priori that post-acquisition change is inevitable across...


High-power coherent millimeter-wave sources have been extensively studied for many applications including high-resolution radars, millimeter-wave electronic counters measures, material processing, and high- energy particle accelerators. This paper presents some recent experiment results in the development of this gyroklystron at IECAS.


The bachelor thesis deals with total hip joint endoprosthesis in terms of education and presents and evaluates the knowledge level of patients after total hip joint endoprosthesis.The theoretical part describes the anatomy of the hip joint, arthrosis and its indication for total hip joint endoprosthesis. Total hip joint endoprosthesis, types of implants, nursing care, rehabilitation and the education issue are also presented.The research part of the thesis was based on an empirical investigation of data obtained from completed questionnaires, which were distributed among the patients of the rehabilitation institute. The practical output of the thesis is a comprehensible and easy to understand educational material.


One hundred and sixty, 1-day old broiler chicks were  grouped into 4 equal groups,  at the 10th day birds of  groups 1- 3 were  s.c  inoculated with 0.5 ml containing y  1.5x 108 of  S.xylosis, S. sciuri and S.lentus; respectively and group 4 was noninfected control.
Clinical signs in infected groups started at 2-3dpi as general signs. Signs disappear in Ciprofloxacillin treated subgroups 24 hr post treatment and lasted to the 7th day in non treated.
Average body weight gain in S.xylosis infected non treated was the highest (813.90 gm), followed by S. scuiri  (778.50gm ) and 773.75  in S. lentus infected treated . FCR was the highest in control (1.69 treated  and  1.74 non treated) followed by   S. scuiri  infected (1.81  non treated and 1.82 treated) and the lowest 1.94 was in S.lentus infected non treated. S. sciuri was reisolated from intestine and spleen (5th dpi) and from intestine (7 and 10 dpi).  While  S.lentuswas reisolated from intestine , liver and spleen (3rd dpi) ; from intestine and spleen (5th dpi) and  intestine (10th dpi).
Histopathological lesion was recorded in infected group as hemorrhages with sinusoidal dilation, focal areas of vacuolar  degeneration , fatty degeneration and shrinkage of hepatocytes in liver,  necrotic changes of lymphocytes and vacuolion of corpuscle in  spleen. Leucocytic infiltration , degeneration and necrosis of epithelium surface  and intraepithelial as well as submucosal leucoytic infiltration were seen in intestine.
In conclusion the injected organisms induce mild subclinical disease with recording of histopathological lesions in liver, spleen and intestine.  This  area needs more investigation to explore pathogenicity of CoNS in chickens.


Background: HIT is a life-threatening complication that occurs in a subset of heparin-treated patients. To our knowledge, a large population-based estimate of HIT disease burden, complication rates and economic cost has not been reported previously. Based on small studies, wide variations in the incidence of HIT has been observed in some patient populations. For example, among patients undergoing knee and hip arthroplasties, rates of HIT were reported to be less than 0.5% in some studies, but others, including a recent study suggest a much higher risk (Blood. 2016 25;127(8):1036-43). Similarly, rates of HIT reported in patients undergoing hemodialysis are highly variable, with some reporting an incidence as high as 3.9% (AJKD 1996; 28(1):82-5). To better address these discrepant findings and to benchmark disease burden and complication rates, we performed an analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS). Methods: The NIS is a large inpatient healthcare database in the US. Unweighted, it contains data from >7 million hospital stays each year and weighted, it estimates >35 million hospitalizations. Full-year HIT data was available for 2009-2013, and this study period was queried to identify patients >18 years of age with a discharge diagnosis of HIT. Survey weighted domain analysis was conducted to estimate the incidence of HIT. HIT rates were also estimated in patients who underwent specific procedures (coronary artery bypass grafting [CABG, a known "high" risk setting for HIT development], hip and knee replacement, and dialysis. Incidence of thrombosis, bleeding, in-hospital mortality, and length and cost of hospitalization were also calculated. Outcomes in HIT patients were compared to those without HIT using ANOVA and Chi-squared test for continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Results: The annual HIT burden averaged ~22,000 annually over the study period with no change over that time frame ( Fig 1A , p=0.1). The incidence of HIT was highest in patients undergoing CABG at 0.51%, followed closely by dialysis at 0.43% ( Fig 1B ). HIT rates were low in knee and hip arthroplasty at 0.02% each, even lower than the 0.07% overall rate of HIT for all patients ( Fig 1B ). The incidence of thrombosis was high in HIT ( Fig 1B ) with venous thrombosis being the most common type (17.9%), followed by pulmonary embolism (8.3%) and arterial thrombosis (2.3%) ( Fig 1C ), consistent with the relative incidence reported in the published literature. Rates of major bleeding in HIT is estimated to be 10-20% with direct thrombin inhibitor therapy. Our analysis yielded much lower major bleeding rates of 2.5% and 0.7% for gastrointestinal and intracranial bleeding, respectively ( Fig 1D ). In-hospital mortality in HIT was 9.5%, almost five times higher than in patients without HIT ( Fig 1E ). Notably, the length of hospitalization and cost of care were approximately 3x higher in patients with HIT compared to those without ( Fig 1E & 1F) . Conclusions: Surprisingly, HIT disease burden was large and unchanged during the study period averaging >20,000 cases annually. A recent study suggests that an "avoid unfractionated heparin" protocol can significantly decrease the incidence of HIT (Blood. 2016; 127(16):1954-9). Large scale interventions of this type may be needed to tackle this common disorder. Our data also suggests that rate of HIT in knee and hip arthroplasty are low, while in patients undergoing dialysis it is more common than generally believed. We found that thrombosis, a serious complication of HIT is a very common finding, but major bleeding rates were low. HIT also resulted in a disproportionate utilization of resources with costs per patient of ~ $150,000. There are important limitations with use of data from the NIS, where missing/miscoded information are concerns. Additionally, the NIS has no information on drug use. For example, HIT incidence in CABG includes all patients who underwent the procedure whether or not heparin exposure occurred (both off- and on-pump). In addition, rates of thrombosis may be overestimates as heparin may have been used to treat thrombosis in some patients and caused HIT with isolated thrombocytopenia. Despite these shortcomings, in addition to disease benchmarking, this information may aid healthcare providers and public health professionals plan and implement broad preventative and therapeutic interventions to tackle this dangerous yet common disease. Disclosures Padmanabhan: Bloodcenter of Wisconsin: Patents & Royalties: A patent application has been filed on a Method of detecting platelet activating antibodies that cause heparin-induced thrombocytopenia/thrombosis; PCT/US14/62591; Fenwal (Fresenius Kabi): Research Funding; Terumo BCT: Consultancy, Honoraria; Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Honoraria; LEK Consulting: Consultancy, Honoraria; Schlesinger & Associates: Consultancy, Honoraria.


The overarching logistical challenge in microbial oceanography is acquiring enough samples to provide meaningful scientific interpretation. The number of samples collected during ship expeditions is limited by weather, time on station, and budget. Here we describe a robotic, autonomous vehicle platform equipped with a unique sampling instrument that mitigates some of these constraints. In a joint cruise on the R/V Falkor, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and the University of Hawaii deployed two of these vehicles in a mesoscale eddy north of the island of Maui. One vehicle collected contextual measurements while circling a freely drifting sampling vehicle. On the sampling vehicle we implemented several behaviors, including sampling every three hours for a 4-day underwater drift while maintaining position within the deep chlorophyll maximum layer (~100m). Results demonstrate the ability to remain with features of interest and point to an exciting future of long-term, directed, persistent sampling.


The production of fine particles via the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC–CO2) antisolvent process was carried out. The experiments were conducted at temperatures of 40–60 °C and pressures of 8–12 MPa with a 15 mL min–1 carbon dioxide (CO2) and 0.5 mL min–1 feed solution flow rate. As a feed solution, the curcumin and the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) powder were dissolved in acetone and ethanol at concentrations of 1.0 mg mL–1 and 2.0–4.0% in weight, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images described that most of the precipitated particle products have spherical morphologies with a size of less than 1 μm. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra exhibited that the curcumin structural properties did not shift after the SC–CO2 antisolvent process. Moreover, the PVP addition in the curcumin particle products can enhance the curcumin dissolution in distilled water significantly.


Multiple and complex aetiological factors contributes to anaemia in critically ill patients. This article sets out to examine the clinical evidence and physiological rationale for transfusion, traditionally based on an arbitrary haemoglobin trigger of 10 g=dL. Maintenance of haemoglobin concentration level of 10 g=dL or above may benefit only a small group of patients with an acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina or those who have severe coronary artery disease. However, most critically ill patients tolerate anaemia very well due to physiological compen satory mechanisms and clinical studies suggest that there is an increase in adverse outcome if transfusion is carried out using this traditional trigger threshold.