We analyze the role of temperature in the rate-independent cohesion and decohesion behavior of an elastic film, mimicked by a one-dimensional mass-spring chain, grounded to an undeformable substrate via a onedimensional sequence of breakable links. In the framework of equilibrium statistical mechanics, in both isometric (Helmholtz ensemble) and isotensional (Gibbs ensemble) conditions, we prove that the decohesion process can be described as a transition at a load threshold, sensibly depending on temperature. Under the classical assumption of having a single domain wall between attached and detached links (zipper model), we are able to obtain analytical expressions for the temperature dependent decohesion force, qualitatively reproducing important experimental effects in biological adhesion. Interestingly, although the two ensembles exhibit a similar critical behavior, they are not equivalent in the thermodynamic limit since they display dissimilar force-extension curves and, in particular, significantly different decohesion thresholds.


This study makes use of inpatient mortality in CHQIS, and conducts comparative analysis of health quality of five large general hospitals in Beijing. The results indicate that the inpatient mortality can analyze the inpatient mortality status of different levels from different perspectives. The study applies transverse comparison of multi-hospitals, with reference to the outcomes of analysis with mortality indicators in CHQIS. Thus, it can evaluate health quality problems of each hospital more accurately.


A wide variety of animals are known to form simple hierarchical groups called social queues, where individuals inherit resources or social status in a predictable order. Queues are often age-based, so that a new individual joins the end of the queue on reaching adulthood, and must wait for older individuals to die in order to reach the front of the queue. While waiting, an individual may work for her group, in the process often risking her own survival and hence her chance of inheritance. Eventually, she may survive to reach the head of the queue and becomes the dominant of the group.
 Queueing has been particularly well-studied in hover wasps (Hymenoptera: Stenogastrinae). In hover wasp social groups, only one female lays eggs, and there is a strict, age-based queue to inherit the reproductive position. While the dominant individual (queen) concentrates on breeding, subordinate helpers risk death by foraging outside the nest, but have a slim chance of eventually inheriting dominance. Some explanations for this altruistic behavior and for the stability of social queues have been proposed and analyzed [1, 2]. Since both the productivity of the nest and the chance to inherit the dominant position depend critically on group size, queueing dynamics are crucial for understanding social queues, but detailed analysis is lacking.
 Here, using hover wasps as an example, we demonstrate that the application of Little's formula [3] and quasi-birth-and-death (QBD) processes are useful for analyzing queueing dynamics and the population demographics of social queues. Let (L(t),M(t)) be the number of adults and brood (eggs, larvae and pupae) in a nest at time t. We model the vector (L(t),M(t)) as a QBD process starting from the state (L(0),M(0)) = (1, 0) to analyze the nest history of a social queue. The boundary state {L(t) = 0}, which corresponds to the termination of the nest, is regarded as the taboo state of this QBD process. Let Q be the transition rate matrix of the taboo process. By choosing different Q, we can set various conditions for the social queue. By using standard technique such as calculating Q?1, we can estimate and compare the productivity of the nest in wide variety of social queues in different queueing and environmental conditions.
 Our work leads to better understanding of how environmental conditions and strategic decision-making by individuals interact to produce the observed group dynamics; and in turn, how group dynamics affects individual decision-making.


work in determining the marked alteration in the proportion of deaths from disease to deaths from wounds in the Russo-J apanese war as com-. pared with the immediately preceding wars. A recent announcement in a Japanese newspaper, the Koknmin, states that preparations have been made for writing the medical history of the war under different sections, one of which is statistical. The compilation of this work is estimated to take eight years, and until then one can only make approximate comparison of the medical results of the RussoJapanese war.]


Abstract Objectives The purpose of this proof-of-concept study was to investigate whether a commercially available urine dipstick may provide potentially useful information for screening plasma glucose and bilirubin in human plasma samples. Methods Glucose and bilirubin were assayed in 60 anonymized lithium-heparin residual plasma samples using the Roche COBAS 8000 or after pipetting 10 µL of plasma onto the pads of a commercial urine dipstick. Semiquantitative urine test results obtained with the dipstick were directly compared to paired test results obtained with COBAS. Results Median plasma glucose values between COBAS and dipstick were slightly different (5.8 vs. 5.6 mmol/L; p=0.040), while no significant difference was found in bilirubin values between COBAS and dipstick (11.2 vs. 8.6 μmol/L; p=0.090). The Spearman's correlation between COBAS and dipstick was 0.83 (95% CI, 0.73–0.90; p<0.001) for plasma glucose and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.66–0.87; p<0.001) for plasma bilirubin, respectively. Cumulative agreement between COBAS and dipstick was high for both glucose (88%; kappa statistic statistics, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.58–0.92; p<0.001) and bilirubin (88%; kappa statistics, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.60–0.92; p<0.001). Conclusions The results of this proof-of-concept study indicate that the commercial urine test strip used in our study provides acceptable performance for screening plasma glucose and bilirubin levels compared with reference laboratory assays.


In this letter, we report multiple-channel longitudinal optical guiding of microparticles using an array of Bessel beams generated from a composite hologram fabricated by ultraviolet lithography. The optical guiding efficiency of each Bessel beam in the optical array is investigated experimentally. The rod-like core of each Bessel beam, with its nondiffracting and self-reconstruction property, has been shown to offer strong capability for optical guiding along the propagation axis possibly even in multiple-microfluidic channels massively.


In this research the Nile Decision Support System (NILE-DST) was tooled to assess the variability of the inflows at Aswan High Dam (AHD) due to the outflow changes from Victoria Lake resulting fiom climate changes and the increase in water demands. Different scenarios were established where the outflow fiom Victoria Lake was decreased by 3,10,18,25,37,55,75 and 100%. The scenarios considered a time span of 63 years (1913-1976) in which a natural flow period (19 13- l976), a dry period (1920-1960) and a wet period (1961-1976) were distinguished. The model was run and results of inflows at the different river nodes (i.e. Victoria Lake, Packwash, Mogalla, Sudd Exit, Malakal, Gab1 El-Aulia, Dongola and AHD) and the properties of the reservoirs (i.e. storage capacity, water level and evaporation)] were obtained. These results were analyzed and plotted. Fmm these plots the impact of the variability in the outflow fiom Victoria on the AKD was assessed. On the other hand, an adaptive solution (constructing a diversion canal "Jonglie Canal" to by-pass the swamps in order to decrease the evaporation losses) was proposed in order to compensate for the inflow reduction at AHD. As a concluszon from this research, it was found that the AHD will be considerably affected by the variability of the outflows fiom Victoria Lake. It was also found that Jonglie Canal would serve as a compensator.


Mathematics had been taught from the lower level of education to the higher level of education. Basic mathematics had been exposed since pre-school to give a good foundation on mathematics so that they can learn better in primary school and also in secondary school. At a higher level of education, the basic calculus is offered and it is one of the core components in mathematics that needs for technical studies. With the advancement on information technology, the students are no longer bound to the face-to-face learning. A plenty of online sources are available to help them learn anytime they want. The text based documents and tutorial videos can be accessed easily. In this research, we had studied the existing recommender system features and the recommendation techniques. Here, we had emphasized on finding the tutorial video based on the user's preferences particularly on basic calculus topics. A YouTube API is used to retrieve the basic calculus online videos. The YouTube API will send back a list of videos based on the searched keywords. The content-based recommendation technique known as keyword-based vector space model has been chosen because the results tend to show lots of similar videos than any other recommendation techniques. The keyword-based vector space model will convert the video title into a vector space and it will calculate the cross multiplication of the term frequency and the inverse document factor and it will also determine the closeness of the title by using the cosine similarity. The aim of the video recommender system is to help the students in searching an online video tutorial from the internet especially from YouTube and also to give a recommendation of a video based on it's suitability.


The ultraviolet-induced polarization-mode dispersion and polarization-dependent loss of fiber Bragg gratings in single-mode fibers (SMF-28) are characterized in a real-time and in situ fashion during grating inscription. For the first time, the growths in birefringence of both the effective mode index and the index modulation are presented.


A field experiment was conducted with 8 genotypes of vegetable pea and 3 levels of rhizobial inoculation for two consecutive years. Inoculation with Rhizobium leguminosarum @ 20 g kg −1 seed made the plants taller and enhanced biomass production through branching, but delayed maturity. It resulted in more pods, enlarging them to contain more seeds, leading to higher test weight and enhanced harvest index. It increased nodulation, the benefit of which was reflected in most of the yield traits. It also enriched the seeds with nitrogen and protein, as well as activating nitrogenase enzyme in the root nodules to fix more atmospheric nitrogen.


As far as we know, engineering is a uniquely human enterprise. No other species passes on detailed knowledge of the physical world from generation to generation, amassing a growing foundation of techniques to bend the world to its will. And also as far as we know, no other species feels a sense of responsibility about the changes its ingenuity has wrought, and reflects on them with the purpose of responding to the promptings of conscience. Most of the papers in this Centennial Special Issue focus on technique: the technical aspects of electrotechnology. In this section, the focus is shifted from technique to society, and how technologies of many kinds (not just electrotechnology) have shaped the species that has given them birth. The IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT) has been considering these kinds of questions since its founding in 1982, in its conferences and its peer-reviewed publication, the IEEE Technology and Society Magazine. The following article provides a whirlwind tour of the past, the present, and the future according to SSIT. It first reviews the major topics of concern that SSIT has addressed since its founding. These tend to fall into four major categories: war, military, and security technologies; energy and environmental concerns; information and communications technologies (ICT); and the effects of technology on underprivileged groups such as ethnic or racial minorities, women, the young, and the ill. It considers several present technologies such as mobile, wearable, and pervasive computing that promise to have major impacts on society in the near future. The paper considers the implications for society of human–machine interface technologies which are currently at very early stages, but which if fully implemented would lead to individuals that are not Bnatural[ humans, or machines, but something in between. For example, if direct network-to-brain interfaces are perfected that bypass the fingers on the keyboard and the eyes on the screen, what will the effects be on conscious experience? Will we become brains in vats a la The Matrix? Or will hooking up to the Internet be as routine and ho-hum as making a telephone call was in 1930? No one knows the answers to these questions, but simply raising them is the first step in deciding what to do about them. Finally, the prospect of Btranshumanism[ is considered: a line of thought that claims human evolution will accelerate exponentially in the near future and allow us to leave ordinary biological bodies behind as we upload our minds into unimaginably powerful computer networks of the future, and take over the universe. These matters are not the ordinary stuff of engineering as it is practiced today. But if any or all of them come about, it will be because engineers helped make them happen, whether or not they should happen. Most members of IEEE spend most of their time doing engineering or something related to engineering, electrotechnology, or allied fields, and do not have much time to consider the wider contexts of their work. The following section examines those contexts in detail. While no single person is Bin charge[ of the future of technology, it is the small privileged class of engineers who are the ones that will bring it about. With privileges comes responsibility. Considering the social implications of technology can help us to shoulder that responsibility in a way that later generations will thank us for. h Considering the social implicationsof technology can help engineers understand and fulfill their responsibilities in a way that later generations will appreciate as technology continues to evolve into the future.


Abstract Soils from agricultural areas are under anthropic pressures, one of the causes being atmospheric deposition of heavy metals. In order to prevent that diffuse pollution affects the soil for long term it is important to reduce the releases of pollutant from air and water. In this paper it was analysed a potential method of chemical remediation applied to the case of an accidental situation of arable soil pollution with heavy metals. The technology of remediation proposed is based on a chemical fixation by adding a reagent into the contaminated soil where it reacts with heavy metals and form insoluble complexes. The organic reagent is one of the best-known and most frequently used in extraction and trace analysis. So, the chemical remediation proposed could decrease the migration of heavy metals in soil and subsequently, in water, plant and other environmental media.


ABSTRACT Klebsiella quasipneumoniae is a recently described species, formerly identified as K. pneumoniae phylogroup KpII. Information on pathogenic and virulence potential of this species are lacking. We sequenced the genome of a hypermucoviscous K. quasipneumoniae clinical isolate showing a virulence genes content (allABCDRS, kfuABC, and mrkABCDFHIJ) peculiar to hypervirulent K. pneumoniae strains.


Minimum entropy spectrum extrapolation techniq ue does not depend on any model. Entropy is used as a measure of signal resolution . The smaller entropy, the higher signal resolution is. The signal spectrum is e xtrapolated basing on the minimum entropy criteria to increase signal resolution . In this paper, this method is used to achieve range super-resolution in stepp ed-frequency radar. The simulation results of this method and the method based o n the AR model demonstrate the advantage of this method. Similarly, minimum entr opy spectrum extrapolation technique is used to achieve azimuth super-resolutio n in ISAR and good result is obtained.


In the present work, the influence of deep-trap levels on the dark current of silicon PIN photodiodes under 1 MeV neutron radiation has been investigated by means of a complete numerical analysis. The computational code used for simulations, developed by the authors, numerically solves the coupled Poisson and continuity equations on a 2D domain to obtain the behavior of electronic devices. Recombination through deep levels in the bandgap is described by the Shockley–Read–Hall (SRH) theory. Defects caused by radiation are quantified in terms of the damage coefficient K for the minority carrier lifetime. The effects of the radiation studied are atomic displacement damages. Results corroborate that the dark current is strongly affected by energy levels close to the midgap. A relationship between the current damage rate and the trap level location in the silicon bandgap was obtained. A model to calculate the dark current of irradiated devices doped with deep impurities is presented. Simulations have allowed the comparison of radiation tolerances of undoped and gold-doped devices. The higher gold density has shown a marked improvement of the hardness of the devices to radiation effects.


This paper is a contribution to the current debate about the origins of the scramble for West Africa. It analyses the internal dynamics of French expansion and argues that the crucial change in French African policy occurred not in 1882–3, as commonly assumed, but in 1879–80. The policies adopted at this time, although their roots can be traced back to the governorship of Louis Faidherbe in Senegal, were distinguished by a new willingness on the part of the government in Paris to establish political as well as economic claims to West African territory, and by its readiness to bear the financial and military burdens of territorial expansion. Changes in French domestic politics or foreign relations cannot adequately account for this transition from informal to formal expansion, nor can it be explained solely in terms of commercial agitation in France or West Africa. The influence of public opinion and of colonial agents on the formulation of policy was more significant, but the crucial decisions were taken by the policy-makers themselves, and in particular by Charles de Freycinet (Minister of Public Works and later Prime Minister) and Admiral Jean Jauréguiberry (Minister of Marine and Colonies). They, above all, were responsible for inaugurating the era of French imperialism in West Africa. The new imperialism was most apparent in the drive to create a vast territorial empire in the Sudanese interior. But it was also evident in the intensification of commercial rivalries along the West African coast, and the paper argues that French actions there in 1882–3 were the continuation of policies adopted three years before rather than immediate responses to the British occupation of Egypt or to the growth of popular support for African expansion. Accordingly, the beginnings of French imperialism in West Africa are advanced as the principal cause of the scramble.


Background and Objectives: Nonfermenting gram-negative bacilli (NFGNB), are a taxonomically diverse group of aerobic, nonsporing, bacilli that are saprophytic in nature. They have emerged as an important healthcare-associated pathogens. They have exhibited resistance clinically to a variety of antibiotic groups. Thus, the present study was conducted to isolate, identify and carry out in vitro susceptibility antibiogram of NFGNB from various clinical specimens and also to highlight their clinical significance among the in-patients admitted at Basaveshwar Teaching and General Hospital, Gulbarga, Karnataka. Materials and Methods: 120 isolates from various age groups of both male and female patients were included in the study. A detailed history was elicited and the clinical specimens were collected under aseptic precautions and subjected to preliminary biochemical test and further speciation was done. Results: NFGNB were most frequently isolated from local infections, with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumanii and Pseudomonas fluorescens, being the more common. These species showed variability in their antibiotic susceptibility results, most of them exhibiting resistance to Penicillin group of drugs and high sensitivity to Carbapenem group of drugs. Conclusion: P.aeruginosa had shown good sensitivity to imipenem, carbenicillin and of loxacin. A. baumannii showed good sensitivity to imipenem, amikacin and gentamicin. As, the sensitivity pattern varies from hospital to hospital and population to population, it is essential to establish the clinical relevance of the isolated NFGNB. This would avoid unnecessary usage of antibiotics and emergence of drug-resistant


Despite being one of the most widely grown, valuable and research crops in the Pacific Northwest, little is known about one of the most commonly treated for insect pests of potatoes. An exerpt from the 2008 Integrated Pest Management Guidelines for Insects and Mites in Idaho, Oregon and Washington Potatoes by Alan Schreiber and Andrew Jensen states "Little is known about the biology and management of worms in PNW potatoes. The economic threshold for when to treat for worms is unknown. In the absence of a threshold, growers should consider the level of defoliation by worms to be approximately similar to that of Colorado potato beetles. CPB rates of development and feeding patterns are different from worms, so do not make predictions of expected damage using your knowledge of beetle outbreaks. Also, different worm species can infest potatoes, so your experience for one field may not be appropriate for another field unless the species, environment and other conditions are the same or similar. It is important to scout for living worms in your fields, rather than applying treatments in response to damage. Sometimes worms are absent by the time damage is noticed. Also, some species have nocturnal habits and may not be easily found during the day."


DEROGIS, P. B. M. C. Study of Docosahexaenoic acid non-enzymatic oxidation products as biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseas e . 2014. 151 p. [Ph. D. thesis (Biochemistry) Instituto de Química da Universida de de São Paulo, São Paulo, 2014 The n-3 and n-6 are two polyunsaturated fatty acids families. The long chain fatty acids such as arachidonic (AA) and docosahexaenoic acid ( DHA) have important roles in the development and function of the brain. Polyunsatura ted fatty acids (PUFAs) oxidation products are present or increased during the progre ssion of neurodegenerative diseases. The characterization of DHA oxidation products is c riti al to understand their roles in the development of such diseases. In the present study, we sought to develop a sensitive and specific analytical tool for the detection and quan tification of AA hydroperoxides and hydroxides (HPETE and HETE), its precursor linoleic acid (HPODE and HODE) and DHA (HpDoHE and HDoHE). These hydroperoxides were s ynthesized by photooxidation and the corresponding hydroxides wer e obtained by reduction with NaBH4. The isolated isomers were characterized by LC-MS/ MS, and unique and specific fragment ions were chosen to construct a selected r eaction monitoring (SRM) method for the targeted quantitative analysis. It should be em phasized that the data obtained in the form of lipidomics and oxy-lipidomics libraries m ay be used to assist in several diseases. Using the standardized method, we investigated the rol of hydroperoxides and hydroxides of DHA, LA and AA in an animal model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease that affects mot or neurons. Increased levels of 13HPODE, 9-HPODE and 12-HETE were observed in the ani m ls motor cortex. Additionally, results show changes in lipogenic and lipolytic rates in adipose tissue for ALS animals when compared to their respective contr ols. Altogether, the data presented herein corroborate with the literature by linking a ltered levels of PUFAs oxidation products in neurodegenerative diseases with altered en rgetic metabolism in ALS. In the future, a more extensive investigation of the hydro pe xide and hydroxide level in different tissues as well as the lipid metabolism m ust be done, which could lead to new therapeutic options for ALS patients.


Several studies utilizing adult subjects have indicated that static stretching may reduce subsequent strength and power production, possibly for as long as an hour following the stretch. This observation has not been evaluated in children, nor in athletes accustomed to performing static stretches during strength/power type training sessions. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if an acute bout of passive, static stretching of the lower extremity would affect jumping performance in a group of young, female gymnasts. Thirteen competitive gymnasts (age 13.3 − 2.6 yrs) performed drop jumps under two conditions: immediately following stretching and without prior stretching. The jumps were performed on separate days. The conditions were randomly ordered among the subjects. Time in the air (AIR) and ground contact time (CT) were measured during the drop jumps using a timing mat. Three different stretches of the lower extremity were conducted on each gymnast twice, each stretch being held for 30 se...


The battle against tuberculosis (TB) is being successfully fought in most areas of the world but in Africa the disease has reached alarming proportions with an increasing number of cases and deaths linked to HIV said the World Health Organization in its WHO Report 2005 Global Tuberculosis Control: Surveillance Planning Financing released on 24 March to coincide with World TB Day. The WHO Report focuses on five principal indicators: incidence prevalence deaths case detection and treatment success. It finds that its prevalence has declined worldwide by more than 20 per cent since 1990 and that incidence rates are falling or stable in all regions except in Africa where TB rates have tripled since 1990 in countries with high HIV prevalence and continue to rise at 3 to 4 per cent annually. (excerpt)


a real αβ-geometry we mean a four-dimensional manifold M equipped with a neutral metric h such that (M,h) admits both an integrable distribution of α-planes and an integrable distribution of β-planes. We obtain a local characterization of the metric when at least one of the distributions is parallel (i.e., is a Walker geometry) and the three-dimensional distribution spanned by the α- and β-distributions is integrable. The case when both distributions are parallel, which has been called two-sided Walker geometry, is obtained as a special case. We also consider real αβ-geometries for which the corresponding spinors are both multiple Weyl principal spinors. All these results have natural analogues in the context of the hyperheavens of complex general relativity.


This article analyses psychological factors, determining the development of ischemic heart disease, it also singles out the mechanisms of the influence of mental sphere on the genesis and development of the disease, and in particular it highlights the patients' distinctive personal features. As a result of the carried out research the risk factors of ischemic heart disease among able-bodied citizens in the region of Gomel were specified. The article gives the recommendations for the psychological prevention and correction.


ABSTRACT The RSMC Tokyo - Typhoon Centre was designated by the WMO and established in 1989. The Centre provides tropical cyclone information via GTS, Typhoon Centre Website, and/or other means. The Centre also implements several regional initiatives in the western North Pacific mostly as part of activities of the Typhoon Committee. This report summarizes tropical cyclone analysis and forecast products and recent activities at the RSMC Tokyo – Typhoon Centre.


Robert Caiming Qiu, Professor, Dept. of ECE, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN, USA. Professor Qiu was Founder-CEO and President of Wiscom Technologies, Inc., manufacturing and marketing WCDMA chipsets. Wiscom was acquired by Intel in 2003. Prior to Wiscom, he worked for GTE Labs, Inc. (now Verizon), Waltham, MA, and Bell Labs, Lucent, Whippany, NJ. He holds 5 U.S. patents (another two pending) in WCDMA. Professor Qiu has contributed to 3GPP and IEEE standards bodies, and delivered invited seminars to institutions including Princeton University and the U.S. Army Research Lab. Dr. Qiu was made an IEEE Fellow in 2014.


Distributed-memory machines have been recognized as a cost effective avenue to high performance computing. Although several commercial distributed-memory machines have been introduced in recent years, use of these machines has not been widespread, in large part due to the difficulty of programming them. To address this problem, languages such as high performance Fortran (HPF) have been defined to be portable parallel programming platforms for these machines. An HPF program is a single address space program annotated with specifications for mapping arrays to processors of the distributed-memory machine. In HPF, array statements are used to express data-parallelism. In this thesis, we develop methods for the efficient execution of array statements on distributed-memory machines.
In compiling array statements for a distributed-memory machine, efficient generation of communication sets and local index sets is important. We show that for arrays distributed block-cyclically on multiple processors, the local memory access sequence and communication sets can be efficiently enumerated as closed forms using regular sections. First, closed form solutions are developed for arrays that are distributed using block or cyclic distributions. These closed forms are then used with a virtual processor approach to give an efficient solution for arrays with block-cyclic distributions. Performance results on a Cray T3D system demonstrate the efficacy of the virtual processor approach.
To efficiently perform array redistribution, precise closed forms for enumerating the communication sets are developed for two special cases of array redistribution involving block-cyclically distributed arrays. The general case for array redistribution involving block-cyclically distributed arrays can be expressed in terms of these special cases. Using the closed forms, a distributed algorithm for scheduling the communication for redistribution to eliminate node contention is developed. The algorithm has a lower communication and scheduling overhead than those presented in the literature. Based on the closed forms, a cost model for estimating the communication overhead for array redistribution is developed. Using this model, a multi-phase approach for reducing the communication cost of array redistribution is presented. Experimental results on the IBM SP2 and Cray T3D validate the proposed cost model and demonstrate the efficacy of the multi-phase approach.


During the Republic of China,Peking Union Medical College Hospital,Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital and Jinan Qilu Hospital had established the Department of Social Services to carry out the medical and social work.The medical and social work started not later,but not widely distributed.The work had economic aid as its primary content and social case work as its main means.The work and the school interacted to form the virtuous circle of practice and teaching.Carrying out the medical and social work highlighted distinct humanitarian spirit and strong sense of social responsibility of Peking Union Medical College Hospital as a representative of the relevant hospitals.The medical and social work of Republic has positive effects on the recovery and development of contemporary medical and social work.


This article analyses the prominent international legal historian, CH Alexandrowicz, known largely for his advocating of the East's imprint on international law. It places his perspective of the East and South, and his diachronic narrative—the rise of naturalism, its fall to positivism, and eventual promise of return from positivism—in the context of his own traversing of geographies and his intellectual commitments, including his study of the Indian Constitution.


Background : Riskesdas data in 2018 showed a 57.6% dental and oral problems prevalence. One of the abnormalities of the teeth and mouth is malocclusion. Malocclusion can be fixed by performing orthodontic treatments performed by orthodontist dentists. However, because orthodontic care requires a considerable cost, those with low economy and education look for alternatives by performing orthodontic treatments to dental artisans. Objectives: This study evaluates the patient's quality of life (QoL) with fixed orthodontic treatment by dental artisans (denturists) using the OHIP-14 questionnaire. Methods : The research method used is descriptive observational, where samples are taken by random sampling of the 67 patients who used fixed orthodontic treatment by denturists. This research applied a cross-sectional study conducted by collecting data only using the OHIP-14 questionnaire at a time without further investigation. The data analysis applied was the Univariate Statistical test. Results : The results of the total score obtained from the dimensions of functional limitations are 238 (moderate category), physical pain is 220 (moderate category), psychological discomfort is 205 (moderate category), physical disability is 232 (moderate category), psychological disability is 225 (moderate category), social disabilities is 230 (moderate category), the barriers is 246 (bad category). Conclusion : Several factors caused denturists' impaired QoL of patients in fixed orthodontic treatment, with six as moderate categories and one as poor.


Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a heterogeneous population of immune cells with two defining characteristics: 1) they have lymphoid origin, differentiating from the common lymphoid progenitor (CLP) and dependent on IL-2Rgc signaling. 2) They lack antigen-specific receptors and therefore do not require the RAG proteins for development. Although ILCs have been extensively studied in model organisms, little is known about these "first responders" in humans, especially their lineage and functional kinships to cytokine-secreting T helper (Th) cell counterparts. We investigated gene regulatory circuitries for four human ILC-Th counterparts derived from mucosal environments. We found that each ILC subset diverges as a distinct lineage from Th and circulating natural killer cells but shares circuitry devoted to functional polarization with their Th counterparts. Super-enhancers demarcate cohorts of cell-identity genes in each lineage, uncovering new modes of regulation for signature cytokines, new molecules that likely impart important functions to ILCs, and potential mechanisms for autoimmune disease SNP associations within ILC-Th subsets.


: in this paper, a recycling process of post-consumer poly(ethylene terephthalate)modified with ethylene glycol (PeT-G) towards regranulate pellets was described. After prints washing and drying, foil was extruded in a lab conditions what allows to obtain uniform regranulate pellets. The thermal stability and glass transition temperature were examined using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (dsC), respectively. it was found that thermal stability is decreased in the presence of prints and also lower for PeT-G regranulates than for starting PeT-G. viscoelastic properties were analyzed by an oscillatory rheometer. The viscosity of post-consumer foil was slightly lower than for regranulates while their dependence between storage and loss modulus was the same as for starting PeT-G.


Several papers have documented a convex relationship between past performance and money flows in the U.S. mutual fund industry. This paper shows that the observed relationship is consistent with a simple rational portfolio allocation model where the main determinant is the inflow of new money to mutual funds. The effect of new money is shown by empirically testing how the relationship becomes steeper in periods when inflow of new money into mutual funds is high.


The article provides a modern view on the diffusive toxic goiter a systemic autoimmune disease. A clinical case analysis of severe diffusive toxic goiter with systemic autoimmune manifestations is presented.


Abstract In this paper, an idealized framework based on a cloud-topped mixed layer model is developed for investigating feedbacks between subtropical stratocumulus (Sc) and global warming. The two principal control parameters are Sc-region sea surface temperature (SST) and intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) SST (which controls the temperature and mean subsidence profiles above the Sc). The direct effect of CO2 doubling (leaving all other parameters fixed) is tested and found to somewhat reduce liquid water path; discussion of this effect on the SST-change simulations is included. The presence of a cold boundary layer is found to significantly affect the temperature and subsidence rate just above cloud top by enhancing lower-tropospheric diabatic cooling in this region. A simple representation of this effect (easily generalizable to a more realistic boundary layer model) is developed. Steady-state solutions are analyzed as a function of local and ITCZ SST. Two climate change scenarios are considered. Th...


We have investigated the planar Hall effect (PHE) and the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) in La0.67Sr0.33MnO3/LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (LSMO/LAO/STO) and LSMO/STO structures, where the LSMO (LAO) thickness was 13 unit cells (u.c.) and 18 u.c. (8 u.c. and 6 u.c.). The LAO/STO structures under the LSMO layers are conductive, which is consistent with the formation of a two-dimensional electron system (2DES) at the LAO/STO interface. The magnetotransport measurements show that the sign of the PHE coefficient for the LSMO/LAO/STO structures is opposite to that for the LSMO/STO structures, whereas the AMR coefficient, which is generally correlated with the PHE coefficient, is negative for both structures at temperatures below ∼175 K. The LAO/STO structures show no apparent PHE or AMR, and the coefficients obtained thus originate from the LSMO. These results suggest that the 2DES and/or the LSMO/LAO interface affect the PHE in the LSMO layer.We have investigated the planar Hall effect (PHE) and the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) in La0.67Sr0.33MnO3/LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (LSMO/LAO/STO) and LSMO/STO structures, where the LSMO (LAO) thickness was 13 unit cells (u.c.) and 18 u.c. (8 u.c. and 6 u.c.). The LAO/STO structures under the LSMO layers are conductive, which is consistent with the formation of a two-dimensional electron system (2DES) at the LAO/STO interface. The magnetotransport measurements show that the sign of the PHE coefficient for the LSMO/LAO/STO structures is opposite to that for the LSMO/STO structures, whereas the AMR coefficient, which is generally correlated with the PHE coefficient, is negative for both structures at temperatures below ∼175 K. The LAO/STO structures show no apparent PHE or AMR, and the coefficients obtained thus originate from the LSMO. These results suggest that the 2DES and/or the LSMO/LAO interface affect the PHE in the LSMO layer.


A bonded magnet of this invention, containing an excellent direct current superimposition characteristic and core loss characteristic of the magnetic core provided to the magnetic core is disposed in a gap suitable for the bias magnet, the magnet powder and the resin of 20% by volume of a resin content of at least in order to, 0.1Ω · relates to a permanent magnet having a specific resistance ㎝ or more, wherein the magnet powder is a rare-earth magnet powder having an average particle size of 1 to 5 KOe or more 50㎛ range intrinsic coercive force, at least 300 ℃ Curie point (Tc) and 2.0㎛. As the reflow soldering for the magnetic core of the inductor component to be treated, the resin content is 30% or more, the magnet powder, the intrinsic coercive force of 10 KOe or more, Sm- or higher Curie point (Tc) is more than 500 ℃, the average particle diameter is 2.5㎛ Co uses a magnetic powder. For small inductor component due to the bonded magnet of the present invention, it is possible to realize a thickness of not more than 500㎛ thin plate magnet.


This paper presents an offline LED driver based a low-frequency boost converter and its application to street lighting luminaires. The analysis of the boost pre-regulator is revised and two simplified methods of microcontrolled control are proposed. Experimental results are shown to an LED luminaire operating in 165W.


Photo-excited charge carrier dynamics in hematite (α-Fe2O3), ranging from 10–8 to 10–5 s, was investigated using the heterodyne transient grating technique in combination with the randomly interleaved pulse-train method. We observed four components in this time scale, and each component was successfully assigned by scavengers and the responses of oxygen-abundant and -deficient samples were compared. Particularly, we found components which have not been discussed so far with an aid of the combination method, and they were assigned to recombination arising from trapped electrons. In addition, the effect of an amorphous NiFeOx coating on the dynamics in this time scale was also investigated under the bias condition and demonstrated that the coated sample strongly depended on the applied bias voltage, while the bare sample did not, implying that the Fermi-level pinning effect in hematite was reduced by the amorphous NiFeOx coating.


At present, the fuel assemblies of Light Water Reactors require mainly cost-effective production of electricity. The objective of in-core fuel management is to achieve the objective of minimizing the cost of fuel cycle using advanced models of core loading strategies. Current development is focused mainly on optimizing the design of gadolinium fuel, thereby to reduce the average enrichment of fuel assemblies and the binding of the excess reactivity at the beginning of the fuel cycle. This paper deals with the different ways to optimize fuel assemblies containing burnable absorber for PWR and VVER reactors. These calculations were made in SCLAE 6 code through TRION module.


ABSTRACT We herein discuss our commentary in light of Wang and Liu's response and clarify our suggestions regarding their original content analysis. Revisiting the methodological decisions that impact the reliability and validity of moral content codings, we focus on the selection and separation of coding and context units, the importance of keeping the annotations of codebook creators and coders independent for obtaining unbiased reliability estimates, the advantages of intuitive, context-aware text highlighting tasks executed by an optimally trained crowd, and on using the recommended moral dictionary scoring options when automatically coding textual documents. We thank Wang and Liu for their engagement with our commentary and in joining our efforts to improve guidelines for conducting reproducible, reliable, and valid moral content analyses.


Recent years, advances in the internet and communication technology have enabled the proliferation of digital medical devices with innovations in health applications, including for visual acuity examination. However, the validity of these applications remains unclear. The limited mobility and health service during the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the urgent need to conduct research that validates these electronic device-based applications. Thus, this study aims to critically analyze whether the electronic device-based application can provide a valid and high-quality visual acuity examination. A systematic review was conducted through studies searching PubMed, MEDLINE, Springer, and Cochrane Library using specific keywords. After the studies were selected through inclusion and exclusion criteria, extraction was carried out. Publications from 2011 to the end of 2021 were reviewed, yielding in 1409 studies, of which 19 were included. The results showed a lower systematic bias for distance visual acuity testing with electronic device-based applications than standard reference tests with a mean difference of -0.08 to 0.10 logMAR. The validity of the near visual acuity examination with the application shows better results than the distance examination, which is marked by smaller 95% limits of agreement range. The results of the analysis of Bland-Altman plots in all the studies reviewed showed that the accuracy of the examination results tended to increase in patients who had better visual acuity. In practice, the use of electronic device-based applications for visual acuity examination can increase the work effectiveness of medical personnel and the proliferation of digital medical devices. It can also be one of the breakthroughs in remote medical services and support the implementation of telemedicine policies.


From the time of Hippocrates, Galien and the first alienists, physicians have
observed the astonishing "oscillation" between mental illness and somatic illness. Yet,
epidemiological studies during the twentieth century have globally shown a strong
"surmortality" and a certain "comorbidity" in psychotic states. The study of a group of
psychotic cases who had been followed for a long period of time showed, beyond their level of mentalization, the effectiveness of psychotic defenses in their equilibrium with the environment.


This paper presents the reliability-oriented design of a two-terminal active capacitor proposed recently. The two-terminal active capacitor has the same level of convenience as a passive capacitor with reduced requirement of overall energy storage. In order to fully explore the potential of the proposed concept, a comprehensive design procedure is necessary to optimally sizing the key components of the active capacitor in terms of cost and reliability. Moreover, the inherent condition monitoring capability of the active capacitor is discussed by utilizing the existing feedback signals. A 500 W single-phase rectifier is built up to experimentally verify the theoretical studies.


SUBTITLE: OVER THE PAST 100 YEARS AIRPORTS HAVE DEVELOPED FROM A BASIC GRASS FIELD TO HUGE COMPLEX BUSINESS CITIES. BILL READ LOOKS AT THE CHALLENGES AIRPORT WILL HAVE TO FACE UP TO IN THE FUTURE.


This paper presents a novel decentralized framework for the Multi-Agent dynamical coverage problem subject to anti-collision constraints. The control objective is to authorize each agent operating strictly in its safety zone and then enhance the coverage. These zones are the result of a spatial Voronoi partition of the common working space of the Multi-Agent system based on the current positions of the agents. Each zone provides the local information to design the control policies that make each agent converging to a fixed point inside its Voronoi cell. The performance/effectiveness of the proposed techniques will be demonstrated via numerical examples.


: In computer word reverse engineering a very important topic..In today's computer system there are many changes like Performance, capacity of ram, hardisk and many changes in devises ,security of computer systems and human interaction between client and server , simultaneous multiple operation between them etc reverse engineering is done mostly on old systems whose documentation is not up to date. reverse engineering is a process reconstituting the system, keeping in view of its current functionality, in order to its understandability, hence easing its maintenance. Since it is easy to change the design of a system then its implementation, it is reasonable to change the recovered design In this paper, we try to find the scope of the reverse engineering, this paper mainly highlight about reverse engineering process using that we are able to understand hardware, software, operating system, requirements, documentation and maintain our database ,using that we know about internal operations of program.


A very-high resolution multispectral television camera system is being developed for NASA for use on the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) program. There are three cameras in the system, each viewing the same area but operating in the blue-green, red and near-infrared spectral bands. In the laboratory the cameras' limiting resolution is 4500 TV lines over the 25 x 25-mm image format of the Return Beam Vidicon (RBV). Analysis of typical ERTS scenes shows that actual contrast ratios will be much lower than those of laboratory test targets. A model was developed to predict the resolving power performance of the RBV camera under realistic conditions. The methods used are applicable to all types of imaging systems. To verify the model, tests were conducted using the RBV camera, a laser-beam image reproducer and a series of AF tribar test patterns of known values of contrast. As a more graphic demonstration, simulated multispectral images were generated using color-IR photographs from Apollo 9.


Fault detection is very important in ensuring the high reliability of integrated navigation system.In this paper we present a kind of method that is neural network fault detection based on state chi-square test.This method uses BP neural network model to ascertain the position of fault and to carry through fault isolation through real-time fault detection result of state chi-square.The simulation results prove that this method is very validity.


The Single Column Atmosphere Model (SCAM) is a single column model version of the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM). Here we describe the functionality and features of SCAM6, available as part of CAM6 in the Community Earth System Model, version 2 (CESM2). SCAM6 features a wide selection of standard cases, as well as the ability to easily configure a case specified by the user based on a particular point in a CAM 3‐D simulation. This work illustrates how SCAM6 reproduces CAM6 results for physical parameterizations, mostly of moisture and clouds. We demonstrate how SCAM6 can be used for model development through different physics selections, as well as with parameter sweep experiments to highlight the sensitivity of cloud properties to the specification of the vapor deposition process in the cloud microphysics. Furthermore, we use SCAM6 to illustrate the sensitivity of CAM6 cloud radiative properties and precipitation to variable drop number (cloud microphysics properties). Finally, we illustrate how SCAM6 can be used to explore critical emergent processes such as cloud feedbacks and show that CAM6 cloud responses to surface warming in stratus and stratocumulus regimes are similar to those in CAM5. CAM6 has a larger response in the shallow cumulus regime than CAM5. CAM6 cloud feedbacks in the shallow cumulus regime are sensitive to turbulence parameters. SCAM6 is thus a valuable tool for model development, evaluation, and scientific analy sis and an important part of the model hierarchy in Community Earth System Model, version 2.


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 This Article demonstrates that modern courts have uncritically deferred to conventional wisdom debunking recanted testimony, and it proposes a new analytical framework. This new framework acknowledges grounds for judicial skepticism but requires courts to consider whether corroborating circumstances lend credence to any particular recantation. Part I of this Article reviews the reasons the courts have historically viewed recantations with suspicion and why some of those reasons have become outdated. Part II considers the principal procedural contexts in which recantations arise, the differing legal standards that correspond to each procedural setting, and some problems inherent with those procedures. Part III examines the Bermudez and Davis cases as a vehicle for highlighting some of the problems with judicial practice in this area. Part IV discusses various scholars' past efforts to address this problem. Part V offers this Article's proposed framework for analyzing recantations, in which we suggest statutory reform that could help mitigate the effects of courts' reluctance to consider recanted testimony. Part VI applies the proposed framework to the Davis and the Bermudez cases to show how those two cases could have been handled differently. There are many competing interests in this area of law. It is our hope that under the statutory scheme proposed in this Article, we can create a more precise system of filtering the unreliable recantations from the reliable ones, and come one step closer to our society's ultimate goal of convicting only the truly guilty.


CO2 captured species with aqueous metal phosphates are converted to methane in an integrated hydrogenation process over a heterogeneous catalyst.


A freshly graduated student who experienced the stay at the American University in Cairo as an undergraduate student for five and a half years, shares his point of view about how the university as a whole has changed throughout these years.


In this paper, a hollow fabric membrane unit is used to purify the extract of Acanthopanax. After flocculated by chitosan, the liquid is treated by UF. The operating conditions, such as pressure, recirculation rate, concentration ratio, temperature etc. have been optimized. The washing method of membrane is also studied in this paper.


This article hopes to provoke a reflection on the teaching of grammar at school, based on the historical process through which it was institutionalized. We intend to clarify the concept of grammar, which is not clear and argue that this entails many consequences in terms of teaching and aim validity. Three aspects are considered: What is the objective of teaching grammar at school? What concepts of language underlie the grammatical theories? To which audience is the teaching of grammar aimed at?


Tourists usually do an online search of tourist destinations before determining their destinations. The Internet provides media to share information and experiences on tourism through electronic communication channels, such as social media, travel blogs and tourist review sites. The tourism sector has a strong influence from social media in the decision-making process and has big potential for promotions. However, it is difficult to filter the vast amount of information on the Internet. It takes a lot of time to be able to read all the reviews that are on the Internet, but reading only few reviews lead to biased evaluation. Therefore, we proposed an application that can perform sentiment analysis on travel destination reviews, especially in Indonesia.


Systematic natural ventilation effects on measured temperatures within a standard large wooden thermometer screen are investigated under summer conditions, using well‐calibrated platinum resistance thermometers. Under low ventilation (2 m wind speed u2 < 1.1 m s−1), the screen slightly underestimates daytime air temperature but overestimates air temperature nocturnally by 0.2°C. The screen's lag time L lengthens with decreasing wind speed, following an inverse power law relationship between L and u2. For u2 > 2 m s−1, L ∼ 2.5 min, increasing, when calm, to at least 15 min. Spectral response properties of the screen to air temperature fluctuations vary with wind speed because of the lag changes. Ventilation effects are particularly apparent at the higher (>25°C) temperatures, both through the lag effect and from solar heating. For sites where wind speed decreases with increasing daytime temperature, thermometer screen temperatures may consequently show larger uncertainties at the higher temperatures. Under strong direct beam solar radiation (>850 W m−2) the radiation effect is likely to be <0.4°C. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society


Advancements in electric propulsion and the emergence of Advanced Air Mobility are driving the evolution of new aircraft designs. Since electric propulsion enables flexibility in propeller location, there is an increasing need for reliable, quick analyses of propeller-airframe interactions during the conceptual design phase. Many existing analysis tools capable of accurately modeling propeller-airframe interactions are computationally expensive and require a high level of expertise and significant time investment for setup. VSPAERO is a NASA-developed, open source, computational analysis tool that runs a Vortex-Lattice Method (VLM) solver and is targeted at conceptual design. This paper assesses the applicability of the VSPAERO VLM in the conceptual design phase by comparing VSPAERO predictions to predictions by OVERFLOW, a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Computational Fluid Dynamics solver, and RoBIN, another VLM tool. The paper details the modeling, meshing, and analysis techniques used within VSPAERO. Analyses were performed for a wing in isolation, a propeller in isolation, and then for two propeller-blown wing configurations: one with a propeller located at the midspan and another with a propeller located at the wingtip. The propeller was modeled both as an actuator disk and as rotating blades.


Manner of hand clasping was investigated in 688 Spaniards. The analysis of the series of unrelated individuals suggests a sexual bimodality in the trait, the female series containing higher R frequency than the male. The frequency of R individuals in both sexes increases with age. The analysis of family data shows some parental influence on the type of hand clasping, but no simple Mendelian mechanism is found. There is no assortative mating.


Resonance crossing during beam acceleration in a NonScaling FFAG could cause beam blow-up when the acceleration rate is slow. This could potentially constraint the lattice design of proton NS-FFAG. Therefore, an understanding of the beam dynamics of resonance crossing acceleration is crucially important to establish the design strategy of proton NS-FFAG. This paper describes the beam blowup process of an NS-FFAG and discuss the blow-up rate quantitatively.


A novel following the sufferings and hardships of a family of slate miners during the First World War. First published in 1936. New edition 2001.


A graphene nanosheet‐TiO2 nanoparticle composite (L‐GNS‐TiO2) was prepared for an application as a high‐performance lithium storage device (or lithium‐ion battery anode). The composite features a well‐defined hybrid structure of GNS and homogeneously distributed anatase TiO2 nanoparticles due to nanoparticulation and modification by organic ligands (polyacrylic acid, tartaric acid, and diethylene glycol). Despite its low overall carbon content (~8.4%), the L‐GNS‐TiO2 composite‐based anode exhibited highly reversible lithiation/delithiation (Coulombic efficiency >97%), excellent capacity retention (206 (92%) and 331 (147%) mAh g−1 after 50 and 450 cycles, respectively, at 0.15 A g−1) and decent rate capability (164 mAh g−1 at 0.75 A g−1). In addition, the stable morphology/structure of the composite after lengthy cycle tests reflected its mechanical robustness and electrochemical reversibility. The excellent performance of L‐GNS‐TiO2 was attributed to the enhanced electronic conductivity, retained charge storage sites, and a short Li+ diffusion pathway enabled by the unique composite structure constructed through optimized ligand mediation.


OBJECTIVES
We investigated whether the Na+-H+ exchange inhibitor, HOE642 (Hoe), and/or the Na channel blocker, mexiletine (Mex), enhance a cardioprotective effect on St. Thomas' Hospital cardioplegic solution (STS) to clarify the mechanism by which intracellular Na+ is accumulated after cardioplegic arrest.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Isolated working rat hearts were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit bicarbonate buffer (KHBB). The hearts were then arrested with STS and subjected to normothermic global ischemia (30 min). This was followed by Langendorff reperfusion (15 min) and then a working reperfusion (20 min). In study A, we added Hoe (5, 10, and 20 microM), Mex (70 microM), or a combination of Hoe (20 microM) and Mex (70 microM), to STS. In study B, we added Hoe (20 microM), Mex (70 microM), or a combination of Hoe (20 microM) and Mex (70 microM) to KHBB during the first 3 min of Langendorff reperfusion.

RESULTS
In study A, the addition of Hoe (10 and 20 microM) to STS showed a significantly greater postischemic recovery of cardiac output compared to the control group [63.1+/-5.7% (10 microM), 62.7+/-4.7% (20 microM), and 55.5+/-4.6% (control), respectively]. The postischemic recovery of cardiac output was significantly greater in the group of the combined addition (Hoe and Mex) to STS than that in the control, 20 microM Hoe, 70 microM Mex groups [70.3+/-3.7 (Hoe and Mex), 55.5+/-4.6% (control), 62.7+/-4.7% (Hoe 20 microM), and 60.2+/-4.7% (Mex 70 microM), respectively]. The myocardial water content in the postischemic period was 565.1+/-29.1, 525.8+/-2.9, 509.4+/-19.6, and 532.2+/-20.1; it was 497.3+/-9.1 mL/100 g dry weight in the control; and 10 microM Hoe, 20 microM Hoe, and 70 microM Mex in the combined use groups. In study B, there was no significant difference in the postischemic recovery of cardiac output in all experimental groups.

CONCLUSION
The combined use of the Na+-H+ exchange inhibitor and Na+ channel blocker during cardioplegia may achieve a superior cardioprotective effect on myocardial damage because of ischemia and reperfusion.


Bt-corn hybrids are expected to play an important role in future southern corn production. Cost and yield advantages are the potential incentives for producer adoption. Using stochastic dominance analysis, this study indicates that development of this technology for southeastern production has not yet been successful from a risk-adjusted perspective.


Signal transduction is initiated at the cell membrane by the interaction of membrane-anchored receptors (such as growth factors or integrin) with extracellular stimuli (ligands). The availability of these receptors for their ligands and how the activated receptors triggers intracellular signaling cascades are regulated, at least in part, by cholesterol and sphingolipids of the plasma membrane. Gangliosides, sialylated glycosphingolipids, were first shown to regulate epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signal transduction at the membrane level of epithelial cells in the mid-1980's. Since that time gangliosides have been shown to influence the signaling of a variety of other growth factor receptors. Regulation of signaling by gangliosides involves ganglioside-induced shifts of signaling components at the membrane level that either promote or disrupt signaling complexes. To decrease phosphorylation of the EGFR, ganglioside GM3 has been shown to promote the formation of a complex in which the caveolin-1 and tetraspanin CD82-dependent association of PKC- with EGFR leads to increased threonine phosphorylation of the EGFR and EGFR internalization, making it unavailable for ligand stimulation. The lack of available EGFR at the membrane may also impact EGFR crosstalk with other signaling pathways, such as those triggered by activation of integrins and the urokinase-like plasminogen activator receptor. As an interface between the extracellular environment and living cells, glycosylated proteins and lipids of the outer leaflet of the cell membrane serve as sensors for extracellular stimuli, initiating a cascade of cellular responses to stimuli via membrane-anchored receptors. One of the important classes of receptors is epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR 1 ). EGFR is a 170 kDa transmembrane glycoprotein comprised an 1186 amino acid polypeptide chain. EGFR is composed of three domains: an extracellular ligand-binding domain, a single transmembrane lipophilic region, and an intracellular domain that exhibits intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity (1-3). The EGFR family has four members (EGFR or ErbB1; ErbB2; ErbB3; and ErbB4), and the family of EGFR ligands includes at least 13 members, among them EGF, transforming growth factor- (TGF- ), amphiregulin, and heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) (for reviews, (4, 5)). The EGFR contains 11-12 potential glycosylation sites in its extracellular domain which are critical for both its ligand binding and ability to signal. Binding of EGFR with its ligands activates EGFR signaling by phosphorylation of its intracellular tyrosine kinase sites (1, 6). EGFR and its ligand binding induces receptor dimerization, activation, and internalization with recycling (7). EGF ligand induced cell proliferation involves a signaling cascade that requires downstream activation of


Long ago, I remember people who loved and encouraged me. With (almost) unconditional love,my parents, extended family, and friends taughtme to breathe in the love of God and love of life; their images and voices live in me still. My early teachers also included church leaders and neighbors of varied faiths, all teaching me about the preciousness of people created in the image of God. One Jewish neighbor was president of the local Young Women's Christian Association and, when I interviewed her for a school project, she explained that her Jewish faith made her passionate to work with people of all faiths to make the community better. She helped me breathe faith more deeply. Over many summers, I went to camp, eventually as a counselor. At camp, people expected me to do things that I thought impossible; I repeatedly surprised myself by reaching beyond my best. More important, camp awakened me to the sacredness of the natural world, other people, and evenmyself. Further, I discoveredmy love for youthministry. Overmore than five decades, I have worked continually with youth—counseling; leading youth groups, retreats, and mission trips; teaching Sunday school; and studying youth as they live in diverse congregational contexts and as they share their life stories. Young people have taught me so much. First, they are incredibly talented and wise, a term that I do not reserve for older folk. Their wisdom arises in the tensions, joys, and struggles of their daily lives, and it converts into compassionate action, cynicism, social critique, idealistic visions, and designs for action. As I worked with youth in churches and academia, I also faced some limits—the limits of being a woman, a sidelined leader, and low-status academic colleague (as one in religious education and youth ministry). I also learned the joy and creativity made possible by living on the margins. I had some hurtful experiences in the early days, like seeing our church selected as a flourishing congregation and then seeing the published article, which gave special credit to the contribution of youth ministry to our church's excellence, but made no mention of me (the only staff person omitted). On the other hand, I had funny experiences of the margins, like the youth counselor who greeted me on my first Sunday in a new church with the daunting words, "I don't think a woman can do youth ministry." I explained calmly that I thought I could do it and was looking forward to it. After a few weeks, he had become an anchor in our youth ministry and a very supportive colleague.


In light of the problem of low use rate of the foreign language books in university library, based on the statistics and investigation on the of our library, this paper analyses the causes of the low use rate of foreign language books, and puts forward some feasible advice raise the use rate of the foreign language books in sample book stack room.


Colorimetric sensor based on plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) is a promising and convenient detection tool, but its reproducibility and adjustability remain a challenge because the NPs are mainly random and uncontrollable. Herein, a colorimetric sensor with good reversibility and reproducibility was prepared by embedding the two-dimension (2D) Au NP arrays on the surface of the polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogel film to form 2D Au NP arrays attached hydrogel composite. For this composite, with the change of the interspacing distance of Au NPs driven by swelling-shrinking behavior of the hydrogel carrier, the diffraction peaks faded away and plasmonic coupling (PC) peaks appeared, and accompanied by a series of obvious color change (iridescence ↔ violet ↔ golden yellow ↔ red), which can be correlated to the applied water content. Importantly, the composite had good reproducibility due to highly ordered array structure. Additionally, this colorimetric sensor with dynamically tunable plasmonic band can be used as a high-quality SERS substrate because the gap distance of the Au NPs can be uniformly controlled. We demonstrated that as the active gap distance decreased, the SERS signals can be significantly intensified. When the water content reached to 40%, this SERS substrate exhibited high sensitivity (10-10M for 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) and 10-9M for thiram) and good reproducibility (RSD < 20%) using the excitation laser of 785 nm because of small gap between two adjacent Au NPs and the highly ordered periodic structure. Such 2D Au NP arrays attached hydrogel composite could be a new strategy to obtain high-quality colorimetric sensor and dynamic SERS substrate.


*Department of Dermatology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Department of Dermatology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio © 2016 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. ISSN: 1076-0512 · Dermatol Surg 2016;42:251–253 · DOI: 10.1097/DSS.0000000000000516


Abstract The crystal structure and dielectric properties of wet-chemically prepared Ca2YbNbO6 ceramics have been investigated. It is difficult to obtain a single phase of Ca2YbNbO6 by conventional solid state reaction with the appropriate oxides or carbonates. In this work, it was prepared by the wet-chemical method with Ca- and Yb-nitrates, Nb-chloride and citric acid. We obtained a single phase powder by heat treatment at 1000°C for 10 hrs. X-ray diffraction results show that Ca2YbNbO6 has an orthorhombic structure (a 0 = 0.556 nm, b 0 = 0.575 nm, c 0 = 0.800 nm), which is based on the B-site ordered perovskite structure. Investigation of the crystal structure and dielectric properties as a function of temperature showed no structural phase change.


This paper discusses the pedagogical curriculum of Hong Kong Educational College, including training objective, teaching method, evaluating method and curriculum content, which the author expects to be useful for reference to pedagogical education in the mainland. \ \


An efficient and convenient protocol for the synthesis of ABT-869, which is a multiple target receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors with novel structure and high inhibitory activity, was developed in seven steps from cheap and commercially available of 3-fluoroaniline. The target molecular was obtained in 42.3% overall yield without any traditional purification (column chromatography or crystallization). Ultrasonic reaction technology was introduced in the Suzuki coupling reaction which is the key step of the preparation of ABT-869. The synthetic process was more suitable for industrialized production due to the advantages of available starting material, simplicity and cheapness, well yield and purity (HPLC>99.0%).


DOES PARENTS WITH CHILDREN WITH ASPERGER'S SYNDROME NEED SUPPLEMENTARY ASSISTANCE?- a descriptive studyAuthor: Renate HarkonenTutor: Bjorn JohanssonAsperger's syndrome (As) is a neuropsychiatric ha ...


Capital structure is related to firm market value,and the relation between capital structure and firm value is systematically discussed by the theory of time marketing.Different from previous research,this paper examined the effectiveness of time marketing theory according to the cross-section data of Chinese listed companies.The results of positive study showed that current difference of horizontal cross-section has great influence on capital structure;however,the aggregate change of market-book ratio has almost no explanation on capital structure.Such results demonstrated that the financing behavior of Chinese listed companies has a short-term tendency.


We have developed a half-height, 90 mm magneto-optical disk drive with composite continuous servo format, using a digital servo system with a single Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The drive has a rotational speed of 3600 rpm and an average access time of 50 msec with a average rotational latency. The use of DSP makes it possible to reduce the size of circuitry.


7 Live-cell imaging has provided the life sciences with insights into the cell biology and 8 dynamics. Fluorescent labeling of target molecules proves to be indispensable in this regard. In 9 this review, we focus on the current fluorescent labeling strategies for nucleic acids, and in 10 particular messenger RNA (mRNA) and plasmid DNA (pDNA), which are of interest to a broad 11 range of scientific fields. By giving a background of the available techniques and an evaluation 12 of the pros and cons, we try to supply scientists with all the information needed to come to an 13 informed choice of nucleic acid labeling strategy aimed at their particular needs. 14


ABSTRACT: For a strategy to be effective it must be communicated and widely understood throughout the organization. Our study addresses which of two Strategic Performance Measurement Systems (SPMSs) approaches is more successful at communicating strategy and generating consensus on strategy among managers: (1) the BSC, which makes explicit the links among measures and categories in a hierarchical mode, and (2) an alternative SPMS design, which splits measures into financial and nonfinancial, but lacks this hierarchical structure of links. We conducted a field experiment in a savings bank and monitored two groups of middle managers working with each of the two SPMS designs. Our results show that (1) middle managers treated with the BSC exhibit a statistically significantly greater effect regarding consensus with respect to top management than those treated with the alternative SPMS, (2) this increased consensus is more pronounced as we move down the list of the BSC perspectives, where the majority of nonfi...


The object of cryptology has historically been the provision of tools (cryptosystems) by which communicating parties may achieve confidentiality over insecure channels. With the advent of public-key cryptography and large-scale computer networks, cryptology has shifted its gaze towards the replication of a number of trust-related activities into settings where information is not available in any tangible form. Much of this activity has been shielded from any critical appraisal by the political and cultural dramatization of cryptological research, and its mediatic staging as defender of electronic free speech. In this paper, I offer a critical examination of the discourse of cryptology from two separate vantage points: the first, afforded by cryptological artifacts such as digital signatures and cryptographic protocols, and the social arrangements they embody; the second, by the socio-technical texts of the cryptological research community. I argue that the design of cryptological technologies might be enriched by a better perspective on usage, as well as by a critical understanding of the power and limitations implicit in representational work. I conclude by suggesting that privacy has provided a misleading and conceptually poor framework for discussing cryptological artifacts, and that a better framework is afforded by considering social and interpersonal trust, and its management through law, accounting, and other social mechanisms.


The concept of internal equity in the customer relationship management is often overlooked by Burkina companies, causing thereby a reduction in profitability. Equity and ethical marketing practices are essential to the survival of Burkina companies, especially in this context of the globalization of the economy, where fair trade values are advocated, and competition is tough. On the basis of this observation, to help identify the contribution that fair business-to-customer practices could bring not only to the economic development of enterprises, but also to the eradication of poverty in the subsistence markets, this article presents the results of an exploratory research concerning three companies in Burkina Faso (two small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and a very small company (VSE)). The results show current practices as well as challenges and limitations observed within these companies. The data collection was carried out using an interview guide addressed to the customers of these three companies in Burkina Faso. The data is collected with an audio voice recorder and then transcribed by hand using SONY audio software. The total number of interviewees is 51. The research has helped to make OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Management & Entrepreneurship Research ISSN: xxxx-xxxx (Print)| ISSN xxxx-xxxx (Online) Vol. 1(1), pp. 42-58, March, 2019 Fair East Publishers Journal Homepage: www.fepbl.com/ijmer


We present high-resolution optical HST Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) observations made with two slits crossing four of the optically brightest starburst clumps in the vicinity of the nucleus of M82. These provide Hα kinematics, extinction, electron density and emission measures. From the radial velocity curves derived from both slits we confirm the presence of a stellar bar. We also find that the super star cluster M82-A1 has a position and radial velocity consistent with it being at the end of one of the unique x2 bar orbits formed by an inner Lindblad resonance. We derive a new model for the orientation of the bar and disc with respect to the main starburst clumps, and propose that clump A has formed within the bar region as a result of gas interactions between the bar orbits, whereas region C lies at the edge of the bar and regions D and E are located further out from the nucleus but heavily obscured. We derive extremely high interstellar densities of 500–900 cm, corresponding to ISM pressures of P/k ≈ 0.5–1.0 × 10 cm K, and discuss the implications of the measured gas properties surrounding the nuclear star clusters on the production and evolution of the galactic wind. Despite varying pressures, the ionization parameter is uniform down to parsec-scales, and we discuss why this might be so. Where the signal-to-noise (S/N) of our spectra are high enough, we identify multiple emission-line components. Through detailed Gaussian line-fitting, we identify a ubiquitous broad (200–300 km s) underlying component to the bright Hα line, and discuss the physical mechanism(s) that could be responsible for such widths. We conclude that the evaporation and/or ablation of material from interstellar gas clouds caused by the impact of the high-energy photons and fast-flowing cluster winds produces a highly turbulent layer on the surface of the clouds from which the emission arises. Subject headings: galaxies: individual(M82) – galaxies: ISM – galaxies: starburst – galaxies: star clusters – galaxies: kinematics and dynamics – ISM: evolution


We study approximations of modules of finite Gorenstein flat dimension by (projectively coresolved) Gorenstein flat modules and modules of finite flat dimension. These approximations determine the Gorenstein flat dimension and lead to descriptions of the corresponding relative homological dimensions, for such modules, in more classical terms. We also describe two hereditary Hovey triples on the category of modules of finite Gorenstein flat dimension, whose associated exact structures have homotopy categories equivalent to the stable category of projectively coresolved Gorenstein flat modules and the stable category of cotorsion Gorenstein flat modules, respectively.


Apesorgia nera is an ancient Sardinian grape variety present not only in the old vineyards, but also in courtyards and gardens, throughout the island, mainly in Southern and central Sardinia. This work aims to contribute to the ampelographic, chemical and genetic characterization of this autochthonous variety. The comparison of microsatellite profiles obtained with the main "on line" databases did not allow to identify other vines with the same profile. Apesorgia nera is a variety currently being registered in the National Register of Vine Varieties. The long tradition of cultivation, the presence in historical documents, the qualitative and productive characteristics make it an interesting variety, mainly for the local market.


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Digital vector maps are an expensive commodity. Like any digital data, they are also very easy to copy. Piracy (or unauthorised reselling) of maps will become increasingly common in the future. This project looks at embedding a hidden message or watermark in a digital map so that its original authorship can be ascertained. This information enables a 3rd party to verify a seller's rights to the map and aid in the resolution of copyright disputes. Some other vector watermarking schemes, look at vector maps as a cloud of coordinates, to be perturbed in some way that is independent of actual usage. These papers generally do not discuss how large a subset of the map is needed to reliably retain the watermark. Instead, we concentrate on watermarking map feature lines, so that feature extraction from a watermarked vector map may not necessarily compromise watermark integrity.


In the current research, we have utilized sol-gel electrophoresis technique to grow Lead Titanate (PbTiO3) nanotubes in porous anodic alumina template channels. The templates were prepared through two-step anodizing of pure aluminum foils in phosphoric acid. The porous templates were filled with a highly stabilized PbTiO3 sol prepared using titanium tetra-butoxide and lead acetate trihydrate, as the Ti and Pb precursors. A DC electric field was applied to drive the sol into the template channels. Tube formation was realized after etching of the template pores with 5wt. % caustic soda solution. Sol-gel electrophoresis method has already been used for preparing PbTiO3 thin films and nanowires, and by using it, high quality and more condenses layers than other usual sol-gel methods have been produced. But, to the best of our knowledge, this method has not been used for growth of PbTiO3 nanotubes. The heat treatment condition was evaluated based on the simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) results of the prepared and crystallization of the tetragonal perovskite structure by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the grown nanotubes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigations showed that close-packed PbTiO3 nanotubes have been grown in the template channels.


In fact, among all the mutations that have affected the knowledge of things and their order ... only one ... has made it possible for the figure of man to appear. And that appearance ... was the effect of a change in the fundamental arrangements of knowledge. If those arrangements were to disappear as they appeared ... one can certainly wager that man would be erased. As the archaeology of our thought easily shows, man is an invention of recent date. And one perhaps nearing its end.


than did the former. This was manifested by such characteristics among the delinquents as a history of developmental difficulties, recent major failure experiences, overtly aggressive delinquent acts, an absence of feelings of guilt, a disruptive attitude toward the diagnostic group, and the high level of psychopathology of the offenders and their mothers. All these factors differentiated constructive from destructive parental coping mechanisms more sharply than they did highfrom low-delinquency areas of residence. These factors, therefore, cannot be attributed solely (or perhaps even primarily) to sociocultural influences. The findings suggest that the assessment of parental coping mechanisms is a valid diagnostic procedure. They further suggest that current parental coping mechanisms may reflect earlier child-rearing patterns, and so reflect stable and persisting aspects of family structure.


The MHC determines susceptibility and resistance to type 1 diabetes in humans and nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. To investigate how a disease-associated MHC molecule shapes the T cell repertoire in NOD mice, we generated a series of tetramers from I-A g7 /class II-associated invariant chain peptide precursors by peptide exchange. No CD4 T cell populations could be identified for two glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 peptides, but tetramers with a peptide mimetic recognized by the BDC-2.5 and other islet-specific T cell clones labeled a distinct population in the thymus of young NOD mice. Tetramer-positive cells were identified in the immature CD4 (cid:1) CD8 low population that arises during positive selection, and in larger numbers in the more mature CD4 (cid:1) CD8 (cid:2) population. Tetramer labeling was specific based on the use of multiple control tetramers, including one with a single amino acid analog peptide in which a critical TCR contact residue was substituted. The T cell population was already present in the thymus of 2-wk-old NOD mice before the typical onset of insulitis and was detected in B10 mice congenic for the NOD MHC locus, but not B10 control mice. These results demonstrate that a T cell population can expand in the thymus of NOD mice to levels that are at least two to three orders of magnitude higher than estimated for a given specificity in the naive T cell pool. Based on these data, we propose a model in which I-A g7 confers susceptibility to type 1 diabetes by biasing positive selection in the thymus and later presenting peptides from islet autoantigens to such T cells in the periphery. The Journal of Immunology, 2003, 171: 4175–4186. control. Thrombin-cleaved I-A g7 incubated biotinylated mouse transferrin peptide (1 (cid:3) M) the of nonbiotinylated competitor peptides (40 nM to 30 (cid:3) M) overnight at 37°C.


This paper is a survey about the status quo and progress of sentiment polarity classification of online reviews.First of all,we summed up the division of sentiment types,and commented the positive and negative sentiments involved in online reviews from three aspects.To research the business value of sentiment polarity classification,we collated and commented how the online reviews effected on consumer buying behavior and sales performance of businesses.At last,the direction of future research was discussed.


The objective of this research is to analyze the antecedents of Behavioral Intention to use mobile payment platform. Specifically, the researchers expanded on UTAUT2 (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology) by incorporating Perceived Security and Trust to better explain the endogenous variable. The sample of this study was limited to the users of mobile payment platforms in the Greater Jakarta area, and the data were collected using online questionnaires (n=144). The data in this study were examined using quantitative research by utilizing the SEM-PLS analysis. This research found that Social Influence, Hedonic Motivation, and Trust directly and significantly affected Behavioral Intention, while Effort Expectancy, Perceived Security, and Performance Expectancy had an indirect relationship with Behavioral Intention. Finally, the adjusted R of Behavioral Intention in this study is 71.6%. The results of this study contributed to the ongoing discussion on mobile payment adoption as the next digital disruptor by incorporating two important user privacy constructs.


Abstract Novel O- S,O- S,S- N,N- and N,S-substituted naphthoquinone compounds were prepared by reaction of 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone and the corresponding nucleophiles in the presence of chloroform and triethylamine or ethanol solution of Na2CO3. The structures of the novel naphthoquinone compounds were characterized by micro analysis, FT-IR, UV/Vis, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS, and fluorescence spectroscopy. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


Risk is highest in the early stages of the project lifecycle. This research focuses on practices of risk management in construction companies in order to submit competitive bids which achieve the project constraints and project success criteria within the acceptable profit margin. 1 Background for the Research problem Construction companies tend to win bids in order to achieve their profit margins and business goals. It is the responsibility of estimation departments to write the bids and achieve the awarding of projects. The problem background arises due to the tremendous pressure to consider the global business challenges facing construction companies and to encounter for the high severity of risks in the industry. Risks from business challenges need to be considered in the top management strategy plans and risks from construction need to be dealt with in an effective risk management framework plan to avoid overruns and losses. 2 Research question  How do we achieve accuracy, accountability, and consistency in risk-based cost estimation at tender stage?  How can value engineering address a specific risk event or a series of events when implemented effectively during tendering processes as a risk response tool?


The purpose of image fusion is to merge complementary information from multi\|sensor data for visual perception, such as in surveillance and reconnaissance. According to the theory of multi\|resolution analysis of wavelet transform, a new approach of image fusion is proposed. Experimental results show that the image fusion method based on multi\|resolution analysis is very effective and can be applied to wide research fields.


The invention discloses a rubber-insulated wire optical cable connector. The rubber-insulated wire optical cable connector comprises an outer body, an inner body and a pin insertion body; the outer body is sleeved on the inner body; the pin insertion body passes through a central through hole of the inner body and the front end of the pin insertion body is extended out of the outer body; the connector also comprises a rubber-insulated wire optical cable, a stop sleeve which is sleeved on the rubber-insulated wire optical cable, a rubber-insulated wire optical cable clamping and fixing piece which is used for clamping the rubber-insulated wire optical cable and an inner lining sleeve which is arranged at the front ends of the pin insertion body and the stop sleeve, and is used for connecting the pin insertion body and the stop sleeve; the front parts of the rubber-insulated wire optical cable are peeled to form a bare fiber section at the front end and a coated fiber section which is positioned on the rear part of the bare fiber section; the bare fiber section is inserted into a ceramic ferrule of the pin insertion body; and the front end of the coated fiber section is inserted into a metal tail handle of the pin insertion body and is connected and fixed with the pin insertion body by glue, and an axial extending spring is also arranged between the pin insertion body and the stop sleeve. The rubber-insulated wire optical cable connector has a simple and reasonable structure, is easy to assemble, and ensures that optical cables can be connected easily and quickly.


The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in the Republic of Korea (ROK) peaked around March 20, 2022. COVID-19 is now highly likely to become endemic, and accordingly, the government is making policy changes informed by the following considerations. First, the vaccination rate is very high. The primary and secondary vaccination rates are 87.7% and 86.8%, respectively, and approximately 45 million and 44.5 million people have been vaccinated. The vaccination rate is 89.3% in those 60 years of age or older [1]. Second, although vaccine escape has increased due to mutations and the transmissibility of COVID-19 has increased, the fatality rate is decreasing. More specifically, the cumulative fatality rate is 0.09% [2], even though the proportion of unvaccinated children and adolescents exceeds 30% and the rate of breakthrough infections in people who have received the third dose has reached 16% [3]. This low fatality rate is considered to be the effect of vaccination. According to government reports, the third vaccination was 75.0% effective for preventing infection (95% confidence interval [CI], 74.1%–75.8%), 91.6% effective for preventing severe disease (95% CI, 89.2%–93.4%), and 92.3% effective for preventing death (95% CI, 89.2%– 93.4%) [1]. The use of oral therapeutics may also have helped reduce mortality. In light of these decreases in the number of patients and the fatality rate, the government significantly relaxed social distancing, while maintaining some restrictions related to mask-wearing, shared eating, and events; however, these restrictions will gradually be lifted to normalize each sector of society. We are then faced with several questions: How long will this decline last? Will new mutations occur again? If so, how should we prepare for the next outbreak? These issues are the focus of substantial debate. There is a high likelihood of a temporary resurgence of Omicron variants this year. From January 2022 to the present, almost one-third of the population has been infected; thus, there is a meaningful possibility that variants may appear in the ROK. Furthermore, rather than COVID-19 being eliminated, it is possible that small-scale outbreaks will continue in the community and then re-emerge when immunity wanes. Accordingly, evidence supporting policy initiatives should be presented more accurately through an immunity survey to improve the secondary booster and basic vaccination rates in children before re-emergence. Considering the waning of vaccine-induced immunity, it will be necessary to raise the immunity level of target groups starting around October to prevent the circulation of COVID-19 and to simultaneously establish a booster vaccine Received: April 24, 2022 Accepted: April 26, 2022


One of the major role of the Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Section (HPBS) of the Royal Belgian Society of Surgery is to take care of the continuous medical education of belgian general surgeons in HPB diseases. The annual organization of Postgraduate Courses (PGC) is aimed to achieve this goal, serving as "State of the Art" on the different aspects of HPB diseases. The subject of the first PGC organized in September 2001 in Brussels, under the hospitality of the ERASME team, was «Management of bile duct injury during cholecystectomy». This topic was chosen because this complication remain encountered in 0.5% of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (1) for a kind of surgery which is considered as a «benign procedure». On the other hand, the mortality and morbidity associated to this complication is high and an increasing number of medico-legal litigation are going on. Early detection of bile duct injury and adequate primary repair are considered as the most important factors to achieve satisfactory long term results. Despite being controversial for a routine use, intraoperative cholangiography is recognized to be an important tool (but not the sole) to diagnose intraoperatively the occurrence of bile duct injury when the procedure is properly done and interpreted. Despite a long history of education in biliary surgery, missing the diagnosis of bile duct injury by misinterpretation of intraoperative cholangiography is still encountered in 23% of the patients (1). In the Belgian national survey, immediate detection of bile duct injury during the primary operation was achieved in 45% of the patients, with a significant improvement of results when IOC was used (68%) and when IOC was correctly interpreted (91%). The cause of bile duct injury during laparoscopic cholecystectomy are multifactorial, including lack of adequate surgical expertise, presence of local anatomic risk factors, use of inappropriate surgical technique, reluctance to liberal conversion to laparotomy in difficult cases and not completed or misinterpreted intraoperative cholangiography. Thermal injury must be considered as an additional and specific risk factor of the laparoscopic approach. Several Belgian and European experts have accepted to give us their experience and philosophy regarding the different aspects of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of such bile duct injuries. The purpose and the dream of the whole HPB Section is to decrease the prevalence of such complications and improve overtime the management of these patients. This is the purpose of this special issue of ACTA CHIRURGICA BELGICA.