This year, U.S. growers planted 45 million acres of genetically engineered crops, primarily corn, soybeans, cotton and potatoes (Pollan 1998). These transgenic "smart crops" can produce their own insecticides, or withstand broad-spectrum herbicides such as Roundup or Liberty. Some say these developments signal the coming of age of the most profound technological revolution since the advent of computer technology.
But while transgenic crops promise new options for California farmers, they raise questions as well. For instance, a series of laws, legal judgments and Patent Office decisions during the last two decades have transformed property rights and incentives in the seed industry. Today genetic materials ranging from DNA sequences to whole plants, as well as essential biotechnology tools and techniques, are being patented by private and public research entitles. At the same time, a series of mergers and acquisitions in the agrochemical and seed industries have led to increasing dominance by a small number of transnational corporations in these fields. Such industrywide changes signal a profound shift in the ownership of life forms and the recombinant DNA tools needed to manipulate them. How will the existing options for assigning "ownership" change the way in which germplasm development will occur? How will those changes affect farmers?


The article deals with post-crisis development in Russian regions. Dynamics of regional output, investments and employment in 2008—2011 was determined by objective factors (economic specialization, level of development and location) and specific government policy measures. The impact of objective factors was stronger for the most regions, and competitive regions overcame the crisis easier. For a number of underdeveloped territories federal aid again turned out to be the safety cushion. Top-priority government projects played the same role for some regions. The crisis hasn't affected their development as much as it could have.


In ther mid-20th century, Venezuela was an attractive destination for the immigrants that took advantage of the benefits generated by the so called modernization and oil exploitation process. During the 70's and 80's, the migration profile towards our country changed due to the political scenarios that took place inside the countries that belonged to the Southern Cone: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay went through dictatorial processes that forced their citizens to look for new destinations. During the first two decades of the XXI century, the migration flow changed. Venezuela, a place that received immigrants became a country in which a significant part of its population has emigrated during the last five years. The topic has been in the agenda of the authorities that represent the governments in charge of different countries that became frequent destinations for Venezuelan immigrants, such as Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Chile y Peru, which have designed a series of actions to protect immigrants. The phenomenom that has been called as the Venezuelan Diaspora, as every migration process, comes with a very important emotional charge. As evidence of the above, there is a wide production of images expressed in photographs, cartoons and different types of visual creations, which were ellaborated in the context of Carlos Cruz Diez artwork, Chromointerference of Additive Color ( Cromointerferencia de color aditivo in Spanish), a multicolored mosaic which covers the central and lateral hall of Simon Bolivar International Airport. This artwork has become a farewell scenario that is constantly exposed in social media. The main goal of this proposal is to look into the emotions involved in the communication of this virtual speech, which is digitally-built by the Sociedad Red (Castells, 2000), and aims to show the visual data production in social media: Facebook and Instagram.


Much of the fascination—and complexity —of the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales may be attributed to the elusiveness of Chaucer's point of view. Is the "I" of the General Prologue Chaucer the man, Chaucer the poet, or a persona created for the situation by the poet? In order to arrive at a satisfactory interpretation of either the Prologue or the Tales as a whole, we have first to decide as best we can who it is that is reporting to us the appearance, characters, actions, conversations, and stories of himself and his fellow pilgrims.


In modern day society we are bombarded with electronic information in many forms, for example diagrammatically, where we may be expected to make important decisions. It is not always the case that the author of such information conveys the message to a minority of readers due to accessibility issues. Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD) (or colour-blindness) can cause considerable difficulty in interpretation of information given diagrammatically. In this paper we undertake a survey using a number of pie-charts and gather participants' responses. We then apply two statistical techniques to the obtained data-set to demonstrate the credibility of a novel software technique that is designed to help the CVD with improvement of diagrammatic interpretation. We call the technique the 'Halo-Effect Algorithm' (HEA). The two statistical techniques we use to demonstrate credibility are the Pearson's Chi-Square test and the Student's T-test.


We present a simulation study of the adsorption mechanism of water in a realistic carbon structure. Water molecules are modeled using a recently developed fixed-point charge water model optimized to the vapor−liquid coexistence properties.1 Reverse Monte Carlo techniques2 are used to generate a realistic porous carbon model composed of graphitic microcrystals consisting of rigid basal plates. Arrangements of the carbon plates are driven by a systematic refinement of simulated carbon−carbon radial distribution functions to match experimentally measured radial distribution functions. The adsorption of water in activated (having oxygenated surface groups) and nonactivated (graphitic) carbon is investigated using the grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation method. The adsorption behavior is found to be strongly dependent on the presence of activated sites. No appreciable adsorption occurs in the graphitic carbon until the pressure approaches the bulk gas saturation pressure. Effects of the surface site density...


This paper describes a Middle Eastern power system which would appear to have failed to meet its reliability objectives because it underwent several brownouts within a few years. The paper outlines the failure investigations, the computer-based simulations and the recommendations made to improve power system performance.


There are five virus diseases of rice plant in Thailand; yellow orange leaf, ragged stunt, gall dwarf. transitory yellov,ing and graisy stunt. They are kept un<l,,rcontrol by the use of suitable insecticides and resistant \·arieti.es. Important virus diseases of soybean are caust'd bv soybean mosaic virus and soybean crinkk' leaf virus. The most importam \'irus disease of groundnut is caused bv peanut mottle virus and that of mungbean is caused by rnungbean yellow mosaic virus. A,i for vegetable leguminou~ crops, a$paragus bean is severely attacked by rnwpea aphidborne mosaic virus, blackt•ye cowpea musaic \'irus and an unidentified virus which causes bnnchy stunt di,;e;i,;e.


We quantify the important effect of strong final state interactions in the weak $K\to2\pi$ amplitudes, using the measured $\pi$--$\pi$ phase shifts with J=0 and $I=0,2$. The final rescattering of the two pions provides a strong enhancement of the $\Delta I =1/2$ amplitude, which so far has been neglected in the theoretical predictions of $\epsilon'/\epsilon$. This correction increases the Standard Model prediction of $\epsilon'/\epsilon$ to values in good agreement with the experimental measurements.


The notion, introduced 50 years ago, that electrons could be affected by electromagnetic potentials without coming in contact with actual force fields was received with a skepticism that has spawned a flourishing of experimental tests and expansions of the original idea.


This research was conducted in response to the North Central Texas Council of Government (NCTCOG) commitment to incorporating Title VI and Environmental Justice Considerations into the transportation planning process specifically as related to toll roads. Sample questions to be included in NCTCOG's 2011 Travel Survey are recommended in order to help NCTCOG obtain survey findings that would be a representation of low income residents in the North Texas area. The research team studied existing literature and documented the current state of environmental justice practices in the transportation planning process. The team also evaluated past efforts at capturing accurate data, the results were then accessed for sufficiency and effectiveness. Questions were then developed and refined. The research team developed a list of significant characteristics to survey. Recommended characteristics to survey focused primarily on behavioral modifications by EJ populations in response to toll roads. Environmental Justice continues to be relevant because it requires integration in every aspect of the planning process and an understanding of the community affected.


In power line communications, the existing in-house or in-office power distribution network can be used as a communications channel. Current broadband power line communication systems in the market deploy frequency range up to 86 MHz with transmission speeds up to 1 Gb/s. To increase the capacity even further, an extension of the frequency range above 100 MHz has been proposed in the published literature. This thesis presents an empirical study of radiated interference of high frequency broadband power line communications. Utilization of high frequencies for power line communications will cause unwanted radio interference which needs to be treated with caution. The preliminary results obtained in this work show how the components and structures of a power grid segment will contribute to the overall interference radiation when frequencies above 100 MHz are used for power line communication. The results indicate that the peak levels of radiated interference from a typical cabling in in-house or in-office power line networks reach their maximum on frequencies near 300 MHz and remain on a relatively same level on above. The peak levels are approximately 13 dB above the EN 55022 limit in the 230 MHz – 1000 MHz frequency range with an injected power spectral density of -80 dBm/Hz. The results will provide valuable information when designing and making more comprehensive measurement campaigns for deciding on the national transmission levels for power line communications in UHF and higher frequencies.


Influencers on social networking and social media share their experiences of using products and services through their own content. This sometimes influences the consumption behavior of their followers. Influencers are increasingly introducing products in video media, and some are being asked by companies to introduce their products. In addition, the appearance of influencers is becoming more diverse, and we believe that the amount of information received by users varies depending on differences in agent representation. Therefore, this study examines whether differences in agent representation in product endorsement videos have different influences on advertising effectiveness (purchase intention after viewing the video, understanding of the product, and attitude toward brand) and viewers' eye movements. Participants watched one of the following videos: one with a human, one with an avatar, and one with an image of a default icon. The participants then answered a questionnaire. The results of the experiment showed that there was no difference in advertising effectiveness among the three types of agent representations, but there were differences in the likability, and trustworthiness of the agents. And, there was a difference in the physical attraction of the agents between human and avatar. In addition, it was found that the participants' gaze during video viewing differed between the human video and avatar video.


Abstract Contaminated soil containing 3 wt. % hydrocarbons rich in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been cleaned to environmentally acceptable levels by the use of the supercritical water oxidation system. Supercritical water oxidation is an emerging technology that exploits the supercritical properties of water as a reaction medium. A combustion reaction takes place unhindered in the homogeneous supercritical water phase using oxygen or air as an oxidant. Since most organics dissolve readily in supercritical water, the oxidation reaction can proceed at very high kinetic rates. These kinetic rates allow for very short reactor residence times. The accelerated reaction makes supercritical water oxidation an ideal form of treatment for site remediation of hydrocarbon contaminated soil. Experiments conducted on the soil show a twofold beneficiation process, where hazardous material is extracted from the soil and completely destroyed by an oxidation reaction. The resulting bottoms produce a clean so...


Lead zirconate titanate/IPN piezoelectric composites with 1-3 connectivity consisting in Interpenetrating Polymer Networks (IPN) matrix and Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) fibers with length of 50um fabricated by the sol-gel route were prepared through solution mixing method. The process of PZT gel fibers formed and the changes of crystal grain sizes during thermal treatment were traced and analyzed by TG-DTA and XRD methods. Then the composites were polarized at 100°C for 45min. The micro patterns of PZT fibers and PZT fibers/IPN composites were observed by polarizing microscopes. The electrical properties studies of 1-3 composites in function of temperatures and frequencies indicate that, the values of electrical parameters of composites detected were all smaller than that PZT and larger than that IPN matrix. Also, the polarized process and polarized mechanism of PZT fiber/IPN composites were discussed in view of dielectric constant results detected. And the detection results of electrical properties show consistency of the theoretical analysis results of composites.


The posture stability driving control of a human riding-type unicycle has been realized. The robotic unicycle is considered as a biomechanical system using an internal world representation with a description of emotion, instinct and intuition mechanisms. We introduced intelligent control methods based on soft computing, and confirmed that such an intelligent control and biological instinct as well as intuition together with a fuzzy inference is very important for emulating human behaviors or actions. For the fitness function of the generic algorithm, a new physical measure of the minimum entropy production for a description of the intelligent behavior in a biological model is introduced. The calculation of robustness and controllability of the robotic unicycle is presented. This paper provides a general measure to estimate the mechanical controllability both qualitatively and quantitatively, even if any control scheme is applied. The measure can be computed using a Lyapunov function coupled with the therm...


"In addition, the organic electrolyte used in a [Li]-ion battery accounts for over 20% of the total cost, whereas the water in the Li-I 2 battery is almost free. The assembly process for solid-state Li-ion batteries is also more expensive than that for the aqueous Li-I 2 battery, and because the iodine is easily recycled we can save the cost of environmental penalties," they added.

Although the RIKEN team has demonstrated that aqueous Li-I 2 batteries offer significant advantages over conventional Li-ion technology, Yu and Byon do not believe that the aqueous chemistry will take market share away from the Li-ion battery industry.

"Many batteries, such as Li-ion, lead-acid, nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) and sodium sulphur (Na-S) batteries, have been used for different markets because of their unique chemistries and characteristics. We expect that Li-I 2 batteries with an aqueous electrolyte reservoir can be applied for large-scale grid storage, and, perhaps, for future EVs, if the solid electrolyte separator can be further developed."


Introduction:

CD38 is a type II transmembrane glycoprotein expressed on immature T and B lymphocytes (thymocytes and hematogones), NK cells, activated T-cells, plasma-cells, monocytes and red blood cells. This ectoenzyme is a ribonucleosyl cyclase (Cyclic ADP ribose hydrolase) involved in the regulation of calcium fluxes.

CD38 is absent from quiescent lymphocytes. The lowest levels are present on erythrocytes while CD38 is brightly expressed by hematogones and plasma-cells. The latter has led to the development of daratumumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody used in the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Because of the wide distribution of this antigen, other diseases could be considered for such a therapy. Among them, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) could represent an interesting target.

We thus investigated the level of expression of CD38 in a cohort of 128 samples from B-lineage ALL (113 at diagnosis and 15 at relapse). We also compared it to that of the normal counterpart of these blasts, hematogones, because of the potential use of CD38 as a leukemia associated immunophenotype (LAIP). Moreover, in 15 paired samples of diagnosis/relapse, we examined the stability of this expression during disease evolution.

Patients, Material and Methods:

A total of 62 females and 66 males were included in the cohort, with a median age of 20 years old (range 4 months to 90 years). There were 57 children (below 15 yo), 13 adolescents and young adults (15-25 yo) and 58 adults. CD38 expression was investigated in 45 bone marrow (BM) samples and in 83 peripheral blood (PB) samples. The median level of blasts was 62% in BM and 48% in PB. According to EGIL classification, there were 19 B-I, 66 B-II, 38 B-III, 2 B-IV and intracytoplasmic mu chain was not investigated in 3 cases.

In parallel, 26 samples of BM with morphologically evidence hematogones were used to compare the level of expression of CD38 on these cells. Immunophenotyping panels comprised CD38 antibodies conjugated to allophycocyanin and all samples were analyzed on a Canto II flow cytometer (BD biosciences, San Jose, CA).

Results:

CD38 was always present on hematogones. It was expressed by 122 of the 128 B-ALL samples tested (95,3%). Partial expression, between 20 and 70% of the blasts was noted for 9 patients (7%) while 113 patients (88%) had more than 70% positive blasts. For 102 patients (79,7%), the whole population was stained (100% of the blasts). Among the 15 samples obtained at relapse, CD38 was always expressed, partially only in one case.

The mean fluorescence intensity (MFI), expressed using the flow cytometer arbitrary units (AI) ranged between 510 and 1396 AI (median 878 AI) in the group of patients with 20-70% CD38+ blasts (n=9) and between 317 and 26466 AI (median 4704 AI) for the 113 patients with more than 70% CD38+ blasts (n=113).

The level of fluorescence was always higher on hematogones compared to blasts, with a median MFI of 14915 AI (range 3834-34501 AI). CD38 expression is also used as a LAIP, to discriminate minimal residual disease (MRD) from regenerating hematogones. In our department, a threshold of 6300 AI (median of hematogones - 2 SD) is used to define the LAIP of CD38low blasts. In the cohort reported here, 82 patients presented this LAIP (64%). Conversely, high expression of CD38 with an MFI >10 000 AI was present for 23 of the 128 patients.

For the 15 patients with paired samples of diagnosis and relapse, 9 had low levels of CD38 (LAIP). In none of these cases modulation of CD38 was observed, this LAIP remaining stable over time.

Conclusion:

CD38 has been reported by several authors as one of the best LAIP marker for the detection of MRD in B-ALL, allowing a good follow-up of the patients because of its stability. Moreover, this study confirms that CD38 could be a valuable therapeutic target in most of B-ALL cases, being expressed in over 95% of the cases. Used together with chemotherapy, daratumumab could thus be useful to treat B-ALL both in first line or at relapse.

Disclosures Moreau: Amgen: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau.


Cancer is one of the most prevalent and disruptive diseases affecting the population, and as such, is the subject of major research efforts. Recently, these efforts have been put towards understanding the role that exosomes can play in the progression of cancer. Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles ranging from 40–150 nm in size that carry bioactive molecules like proteins, DNA, RNA, miRNA, and surface receptors. One of the most important features of exosomes is their ability to easily travel throughout the body, extending the reach of parent cell's signaling capabilities. Cancer derived exosomes (CDEs) carry dangerous cargo that can aid in the metastasis, and disease progression through angiogenesis, promoting epithelial to mesenchymal transition, and immune suppression. Exosomes can transport these molecules to cells in the tumor environment as well as distant premetastatic locations making them an extremely versatile tool in the toolbelt of cancer. This review aims to compile the present knowledge and understanding of the involvement of exosomes in the progression of cancer as well as current production, isolation, and purification methods, with particular interest on flow perfusion bioreactor and microfluidics systems, which allow for accurate modeling and production of exosomes.


In recent times the informal sector of the economy has been receiving attention. This is the case in some European countries (mostly Italy) and more especially in the so called third world countries in different employment programs, especially those of the United Nations effort is geared towards the mobilization of this sector. This is considered as a means of creating employment opportunities and a way of contributing towards the reduction of poverty in the world. The UN conference on social development that was held in Copenhagen brought along a list of recommendations with regards to this issue.


ABSTRACT This research is a descriptive qualitative or using verbal data from respondent information about the certification policy implementation analysis to improve the competence of teachers in junior high school teachers in the district Jatiwangi . Key informants in this study are the Head of the District Education Office Majalengka , Head of Civil Service District Education Office Majalengka , and supporter informant was Staff Officer Majalengka District Education Office and Teachers Participant Teacher Certification. Data collection techniques that are used ie Library Studies and Field Studies. This study uses the theory of Van Metter implements and Horn. In theory, the success of policy implementation is influenced by six factors: the size and purpose of the policy, resources, characteristics of the implementing agency, attitude/ tendency (disposition) the executor, the executor of communication between organizations and activities, and the economic environment, social, and political. Furthermore, to analyze the implementation of teacher certification policies to improve the competence of teachers Junior High School in District Jatiwangi , this research will focus on observing such factors as the phenomenon of observations. Based on the results of the study showed that the implementation of teacher certification policies to improve the competence of teachers Junior High School in District Jatiwangi already well underway. However, there are still some obstacles. Barriers such as lack of clarity of the information received by teachers as teacher certification participants, this obscurity in the form of lack of clear information on the requirements and certify the first step, a lack of infrastructure to support certification requirements, such as the lack of space for storing files certification participants, the lack of incentives for employees who take care of the activities of participants of certification that there is still budget manipulation. District Education Office needs to conduct socialization Majalengka better to teacher certification participants by empowering school principals and school coordinators for the utilization or use of the database in order to process the certification submission can run effectively and efficiently.


8.2-Anhydro-9-β-D-arabinofuranosyladenine (I) was converted to 5'-tosyl derivative (II) in a yield of 75%. When Compound (II) was heated with sodium hydrogen sulfide in dimethylformamide (DMF) 8, 5'-S-cyclonucleoside having arabinosyl configuration (IV) was obtained in a yield of 46%. From the ditosyl derivative (III) analogously a cyclonucleoside having 3'-tosyl group (VII) was obtained. 8, 3'-Anhydro-9-β-D-xylofuranosyladenine (VIII) was converted to 5'-tosyl derivative (IX) and heated with sodium hydrogensulfide in DMF. In addition to a 8, 5-S-cyclonucleoside of xylofuranosyl configuration (X), two compounds, 8, 3'-anhydro-8-oxy-9-(5'-deoxy-5'-mercapto-β-D-xylofuranosyl) adenine disulfide (XI) and 5'-deoxy-5'-mercapto-8-oxy-9-β-D-xylofuranosyladenine (XII) was obtained. Compound (XII) was also obtained from X by the treatment with 0.01N sodium hydroxide. Thus, the OH group of xylo configuration in the sugar moiety of 8, 5'-S-cyclonucleoside was found to be able to cleave the S-hydro linkage even in a mild condition.


Octopodid classifications have been traditionally, and are currently, based on a few readily apparent characters. In this analysis, I examine methods that have contributed to octopodid classifications from a cladistic perspective that emphasizes the recognition of monophyletic groups, and I apply parsimony algorithms to the data set reported by Voss (1988a) for the Octopodidae. I reject current and previous subfamily classifications of the Octopodidae as having created paraphyletic groups. Use of the category subfamily should be avoided, as it implies our knowledge of octopodid evolution has reached level that is as yet unattained. To further our knowledge of octopod phylogeny, we must define primitive and derived characters states by objective criteria, consider only monophyletic species groups in our analyses and expand the range of characters considered


This paper describes the control architecture for lower limbs rehabilitation robot system and its implementation. The system has exoskeleton structure with 10 DOF (Degrees Of Freedom) and is pneumatically actuated.


In 2006, Saidi Mwema, Tanzania's newly appointed Inspector General of Police, launched a long-term reform program that sought to address the rising incidence of crime, the negative public perception of the police, and the lack of police personnel and resources. The police service suffered from decades of financial neglect and a poor reputation. Its initial mandate emphasized regime policing, which oriented the police toward maintaining law and order for the protection of the state rather than the protection of the citizenry. On taking office, Mwema took bold steps to set a new tone for the police, including releasing the private telephone numbers of the police hierarchy and initiating investigations into suspected donors to the ruling Revolutionary State Party. He followed these initial reforms with a strategy—delineated by a "team of experts" comprising senior police officers and academics from the University of Dar es Salaam—to address the weaknesses of the police service. Though the reform process remained in its early stages in 2009, some progress was evident, primarily in the improved reputation of the police and more amicable relations between the police and the public. The case offers lessons for police services seeking to overcome poor reputations and community distrust through the adoption of a community-based ethos after decades of state-oriented policing.


Objective:To probe the CT manifestations and diagnostic value of giant cell tumor.Methods:The CT features of 24 patients with giant cell tumor we re retrospectively analyzed,the diagnosis was proved by operation and pathology. Results:Giant cell tumor occurs most commonly in distal end of femurs and the pr oximal end of tibias.Its CT features were as follows:the bony destructions appea red eccentric,cystic expansile.Bony cortex were complete or destructed,some of w hich had irregular sclerotic rim;The densities within the bony destructions were heterogeneous,in some cases associated soft tissue mass were seen in enhanced s canning,tumor tissues showed obvious enhancement.Conclusion:Giant cell tumor has characteristic appearances on CT which is more effective than X ray in the dia gnosis of giant cell tumor.CT combined with conventional X ray film can improve the correct diagnostic rate.


During the late phase of the large West-African Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak, the majority of patients were cared for in designated treatment centers. However, the pre-existing health care infrastructure was overwhelmed with EVD in the first place. This had a huge impact on other, non-EVD related diseases, causing an un-preceded mounting of morbidity and mortality, which most likely exceeded the toll directly due to EVD. Consequently, one of the crucial questions is how to provide appropriate health care and safeguard functionality of a healthcare system also for all those patients not suspected or diagnosed to have EVD.We report here on the Lion Heart Medical Center experience in Sierra Leone and describe that a case definition broader than those commonly applied may be better suited in a scenario where it is of greater importance to identify atypically presenting, pauci-symptomatic cases.


The optical properties and the peculiarities of the electron energy spectra of polycrystalline and amorphous TaSi/sub 2/ FeSi/sub 2/, MoSi/sub 2/ and CrSi/sub 2/ films were investigated by means of ellipsometric technique. Polycrystalline state in these disilicides was produced by the annealing of as deposited amorphous films at different temperatures and various gas media. The peculiarities of the experimental optical conductivity and imaginary part of the dielectric function spectra were explained on the basis of comparison with the results of the theoretical first-principle calculations of the corresponding functions using LMTO method. It was shown that optical properties of the investigated disilicides in amorphous state differ drastically from the crystalline ones: absorption bands of crystalline phases are smeared, decreased in intensity; the appearance or vanishing of the absorption bands is possible. The analyses of the changes of the interband absorption caused by polycrystalline-amorphous phase transition allows study of the evolution of the corresponding electronic states, It was determined that the series of amorphous states of the investigated silicides, which are indistinguishable using the traditional X-ray methods, possess significantly different optical properties. The reason for such a phenomenon we connect with differences in the short range order of these amorphous states. This fact opens new perspectives of using the optical spectroscopy as a sensitive indirect tool for registration of slight changes in atomic structure of silicides during heat treatments.


Cachectic COPD patients exhibit apoptotic nuclei and signs of injury in their peripheral muscles. These findings are associated with maintenance or even a rise in the number of satellite cells but a blunted myogenesis. This abnormality, however, is absent when muscle precursor cells of the same patients are cultured ex vivo . We hypothesized that systemic signals present in COPD provide an inappropriate environment to satellite cells, affecting myogenesis efficiency.


Implicit Tagging is the technique to annotate multimedia data based on user's spontaneous nonverbal reactions. In this paper, a study is conducted to test whether user's facial expression can be used to predict the correctness of tags of images. The basic assumption behind this study is that users are likely to display certain kind of emotion due to the correctness of tags. The dataset used in this paper is users' frontal face video collected during an implicit tagging experiment, in which participants were presented with tagged images and their facial reactions when viewing these images were recorded. Based on this dataset, facial points in video sequences are tracked by a facial point tracker. Geometric features are calculated from the positions of facial points to represent each video as a sequence of feature vectors, and Hidden Markov Models (HMM) are used to classify this information in terms of behavior typical for viewing a correctly or an incorrectly tagged image. Experimental results show that user's facial expression can be used to help judge the correctness of tags. The proposed is effective in case of 16 out of 27 participants, the highest prediction accuracy for a single participant being 72.1%, and the highest overall accuracy being 77.98%.


Drawing on qualitative research into the design, delivery and organisation of Christmas grottos, this article offers a critical understanding of the role that a functional belief in organisational magic plays in their manufacture and operation. Utilising classic anthropological research into the cultural production of magical belief systems, I attend to how such magic is produced through a network of sociomaterial practices conducive to the commercial values of the Anglo-American Christmas. I additionally draw on contemporary literature on aesthetic and atmospheric organisation in order to analyse the practical accomplishment of organisational magic as a mode of captivation and re-enchantment. This article concludes by emphasising the increasingly commercial utility of a functional belief in magic as an organisational resource, highlighting the need for further empirical scrutiny, as well as conceptual and theoretical analysis.


Modified Sequencing batch reactor is anaerobic mostly in wastewater treatment process. Oxygen demand is relative to organic matter degradation.Dissolved oxygen in reactor is dependent on concentration of influent,aeration,and MLSS.This experiment and research shows: higher concen- tration in fluent needs more oxygen and longer reaction time;higher aeration produced faster organic matter degradation and shorter reaction time;DO variation can reflect process and endpoint of wastewater treatment;and it is feasible to use DO as a control parameter in MSBR.


This thesis dealt with one of the main side-phenomena, which can occur during or after a seismic event, namely earthquake-triggered landslides. These phenomena involve both natural and man-made slopes, whose occurrence is very common and widespread as testified by several recent earthquakes. Their consequences can be dramatic, as they can strongly contribute to the death toll, since they often affect buildings and infrastructures, preventing effective post-emergency strategies. Hence it appears relevant to consider earthquake-induced landslides into the framework of seismic risk, which can also be carried out from regional to the scale of the single slope.
The area selected for the present study is the Molise Region, (Central-Southern Italy) within the Southern Apennines, which is one of the Italian areas struck by earthquakes in the last decade, suffering damages both in building heritage and physical environment. It is characterized by medium-high seismicity and high landslide susceptibility. In particular, the most abundant landslides are represented by coherent landslides, i.e. rotational and translative slides, on which this dissertation focused. The main issues concerned the development of stability analyses at territorial scale; within this framework several side-issues were explored. In particular, the implementation of a database of geological and geotechnical tests permitted the physical and mechanical characterization of the materials at issue, to produce seismic soil class map and empirical correlations between geotechnical parameters. The stability analyses were calculated as Permanent Ground Deformations (PGD) at territorial scale through two methodologies, which found validation in a detailed analysis of a case study.


Photolysis of 2-naphthylenemethyl-1-naphthylacetate (NMNA) and 9-anthracenemethyl-9-anthrylacetate (AMAA) yields radicals of methylnaphthalene and methylanthracene, respectively. The longevity of these radicals makes them suitable probes for studying primary and secondary cage recombination processes in solution, and in polymeric matrices. 2,2-Di-(4-tert-octylphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) (DPPH) is utilized as a radical trap to report on radicals which escape from the solvent cage. Quantum yields for photolysis of NMNA and AMAA were determined in solution and in poly(methyl methacrylate) films. Both unimolecular and bimolecular processes are suppressed as a result of the greater effective viscosity in polymeric media.


Composition comprises at least one double stranded RNA oligonucleotide (I) associated with a cationic particle of =1 mu m in size and 10-80 mV of zeta potential. Composition comprises at least one double stranded RNA oligonucleotide (I) (SEQ ID No. 1-48 comprising one of 48 fully defined 19-25 amino acid sequences given in the specification) associated with a cationic particle of =1 mu m in size and 10-80 mV of zeta potential. An independent claim is included for cosmetic process to bleach, clear up the color and/or uniform the color of a browned skin comprising topical application of (I). - ACTIVITY : Dermatological. - MECHANISM OF ACTION : Tyrosinase expression inhibitor. The ability of (I) on the degradation of tyrosinase messenger RNA was tested. The results showed that the double stranded RNA oligonucleotide of SEQ ID No. 43 comprising a fully defined 25 amino acid sequences given in the specification, exhibited 99.1% inhibition of tyrosinase.


Expansion chamber mufflers are commonly used as noise control devices in piping systems, when the application of passive silencers is not possible. Single expansion chamber mufflers has been studied extensively. Lamancusa (1988) conducted a parametric study on the transmission loss of double expansion mufflers. However, insertion loss is more meaningful than transmission loss for the effect of the inlet and tail pipe lengths are properly taken into account. A parametric study on the insertion loss of two chamber and three chamber mufflers was conducted and preliminary results of our study are presented. The results assume anechoic termination at the tail pipe exit and hence the tail pipe effects are neglected. Further, the damping due to the flow medium and the pipe walls is negligible


Through the investigation,observation and experimental research,some problems and their reasons that exist in the classroom instruction of specialized course are analyzed,and the ways of increasing information amount of classroom instruction are put forward.


We took some RCC Gravity Dam as an example and studied the effects of temperature change on structure stress at the time of water storage.The RCC Gravity Dam 3-D finite element modeling were also set up by ANSYS software,and the temperature and structure coupling field were also analyzed.We obtained the temperature-time curve of feature points,the temperature field and thermal stress before water storage,the structural stress distribution after water storage of the RCC Gravity Dam.The result shows that the maximum principal tensile stress is 1.8 MPa,which is more than the maximum permissible stress and necessary measures should be taken to prevent the dam from cracking and the maximum crushing stress is 24.3 MPa which is less than the utmost permissible crushing stress.The initial temperature and the adiabatic temperature rise were considered in the calculation of layer of RCC placement.This method can simulate the stratification of RCC construction process of rolling,and it's easy to calculate the temperature field of the finite element and to provide reference for the similar practice engineering.


Nineteen Bacillus licheniformis strains and four strains of the closely related species Bacillus paralicheniformis were isolated from a variety of Irish medium-heat skim milk powders. The draft genome sequences of these 23 isolates provide valuable genetic data for research work relevant to dairy products and process development. The isolates are available at Teagasc. ABSTRACT Nineteen Bacillus licheniformis strains and four strains of the closely related species Bacillus paralicheniformis were isolated from a variety of Irish medium-heat skim milk powders. The draft genome sequences of these 23 isolates provide valuable genetic data for research work relevant to dairy products and process development. The isolates are available at Teagasc.


Lupus erythematosus (LE) is an autoimmune disorder commonly affecting the skin; cutaneous lesions may indicate systemic involvement, warranting further evaluation. Photosensitivity, which may result in hyperpigmentation, is a well-known feature of the disease. In contrast, the prevalence of primary hyperpigmentation as a presenting sign of LE is not well established. Here, we compare 3 unique cases of diffuse facial hyperpigmentation as the primary manifestation of LE (cutaneous or systemic) and review previously reported cases. Our data highlight the need for considering LE in the differential diagnosis of facial hyperpigmentation and substantiate the importance of this unique lupus variant in early diagnosis and patient evaluation.


ABSTRACT Following the delivery of fetuses at laparotomy (18–20 weeks' gestation) the placentas were perfused in situ with labeled estriol (E3), estriol-3-sulfate (E3-3S) and estriol-16-glucosiduronate (E3-16G). In each experiment the placenta was perfused for a single cycle with 2 forms of E3, one labeled with 3H and the other with 14C, and the radioactive material present in the maternal urine, placenta and perfusate was identified and quantitated. Twenty-three to 38% of the radioactivity perfused as E3 was recovered from the mother's urine during the subsequent 12 hr. The corresponding figures for E3-3S and E3-16G were less than 3%. In 2 experiments in which 3H-E3-3S and l4C-E3-16G were compared directly, the percentage of 3H transferred was 2–3 times greater than 14C. A significant part of the E3-3S, but little if any of E3-16G, was converted by the placentas into E3. This provides an additional mechanism for the disposal of the sulfate not available to the glucosiduronate. Because of differences in s...


The study of morphogenesis and embryotopography of skull bones is important not only in understanding the normal development of the human embryo but also will improve existing methods of invasive treatment and visualization of various pathologies of the central nervous system in children.The aim was to investigate the peculiarities of morphogenesis and topography of some skull bones during the early stages of human ontogenesis.Material and methods. We have studied 14 series of consecutive histological sections of human embryos and pre-fetuses aged 6 to 11 weeks of intrauterine development by using a set of topical morphological methods (anthropometry, morphometry, histology, three-dimensional reconstruction).Results. The frontal and parietal bones appear at the end of the embryonic period as mesenchymal rudiments that gradually expand upwards from primary points of ossification (starting from the basolateral parts of the head). During 8th week of IUD, the germ of the ectomeningeal capsule is detected in the form of a thin plate, close to the brain. At the beginning of the pre-fetal period, histological signs of membranous ossification are revealed; frontal and parietal bones develop from paired rudiments, which gradually fuse, which was accompanied by active angiogenesis.Conclusions. The primary ossification centers in frontal and parietal bones of the human embryo appear at the beginning of embryological period and develop by membranous type. Two ossification centers appear in frontal and parietal bones and they gradually merge. At the beginning of the prenatal period, the rudiment of a small wing of the sphenoid, spheno-ethmoidal cartilage and signs of merging of both ossification centers in the parietal bone are detected.


In the present study the characterization of aquatic macroinvertebrates was carried out in order to measure the water quality according to the land uses present in the San Pablo river banks, which includes the cantons Pujili, La Mana, Valencia and Quevedo, taking as central part of the investigation the canton La Mana. Complementing the results obtained was the analysis of the physicochemical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, temperature and dissolved oxygen) and hydromorphological of the river by applying the IHF and QBR indexes.
This study was carried out in the months of January, February, and March 2018. For this, 9 sampling points were established distributed in three zones: forest zone (Pujili canton), urban area (La Mana County) and zone agricultural sector (Valencia and Quevedo cantons). The collection of the benthic macroinvertebrates was carried out every 15 days during the three months, using a type D network and identifying the aquatic macroinvertebrates up to the taxonomic gender level. To evaluate the current ecological status of the river, the biological index BMWP-Cr was applied. The indices of diversity (Shannon, Margalef and Simpson).
According to the results obtained by applying the biological index BMWP-Cr, it was determined that the quality of the water that predominates in the San Pablo River is of poor quality or contaminated. The Simpson dominance index indicates that in the three land uses there is a dominance of low species with values ranging between 0.5 and 0.8; while the Shannon diversity index indicates that the forest area has a greater biodiversity in comparison to the other zones with a score of 2.28 and finally the Margalef index reveals that in the forest area it reaches a score of 3, 21 which indicates that this area has a moderate richness of aquatic macroinvertebrate species. These results are associated with the river's increase due to heavy rains, causing a spatial and temporal difference in the abundance and richness of aquatic macroinvertebrates.


The physical and geographical characteristics of the lake Schuchye has been given. The allocation of functional zones and arrangement of recreational area have been substantiated.


http://hfs.sagepub.com/content/55/4/747 The online version of this article can be found at: DOI: 10.1177/0018720812469224 published online 27 December 2012 2013 55: 747 originally Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Melissa R. Beck, Benjamin A. Martin, Emily Smitherman and Lorrie Gaschen Development and Its Effects on Visual Working Memory Eyes-On Training and Radiological Expertise : An Examination of Expertise


A 36-year-old man was diagnosed with AIDS when he presented with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. HIV viral load was 196,000 copies/ml with a CD4 lymphocyte count of 3 μL −1 . After completion of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole therapy, highly active antiretroviral therapy with zidovudine, lamivudine, and nelfinavir was begun. Maximal viral suppression occurred after 9 weeks of therapy. Two months after the episode of P. carinii pneumonia, he developed recurrent fever and dyspnea due to a new left upper lobe pneumonia caused by Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC). Therapy with ethambutol and clarithromycin was initiated with improvement of symptoms. Two weeks into treatment, fever and pleuritic chest pain developed with progression of the infiltrates. Bronchoscopy showed a polypoid lesion occluding the associated segmental bronchus that, on biopsy, revealed poorly formed granulomas. Paradoxical worsening of pulmonary MAC disease may occur after initiation of HAART therapy. The pathogenesis, presentation, evaluation, and management of this entity will be reviewed.


FIELD: information technologies. SUBSTANCE: method is realised through rejection to send information on excitation signal along information channel, which is synthesised directly at the moment of reception by data on parameters of synthesising model. Information on parameters of synthesising filter comprising information on coefficients of prediction or linear spectral frequencies is sent along communication channel, as well as value of excitation signal amplification coefficient. At the moment of reception these parameters are used to calculate amplitude-frequency characteristic of synthesising filter at phase angles of its poles, and spectrum of amplitudes and phases of excitation signal is generated. Signal of excitation is formed on the basis of data on spectra of its amplitudes and phases and amplification ratio. EFFECT: reduced speed of data transfer along communication channels due to efficient coding of speech signals on the basis of linear prediction. 2 dwg


Deterioration in quality of platelet concentrates (PCs) during storage results from the appearance of storage lesions affecting the hemostatic functions and posttransfusion survival of platelets. These lesions depend on the preparation and pathogen inactivation methods used, duration of storage, and platelet additive solutions (PASs) present in storage bags.


has been.85 to 96. No evidence of organic disease in the heart can be detected. There is much exophthalmos (bilateral, symmetrical), and both von Graefe's and Stellwag's signs are well marked. The pupils react normally to light and accommodation. The knee-jerks can be obtained, but are not excessive. There is a variable degree of fine tremor in the hands and fingers. Over a circumscribed area of the sclerotic at the outer angle of each eye the loose conjunctiva is thickened, and contains dilated blood-vessels. This condition is probably of an angiomatous nature, and may be congenital, though the patient apparently was unaware of its existence until his attention was recently directed to it.


A series of morphometric and meristic analyses conducted on specimens of sand smelt, Atherina, from populations around the British Isles, and including classic A. boyeri and A. presbyter forms, has shown that the characteristics variously used in the past to distinguish these two species are invalid. Multivariate analyses showed no significant splitting of the material into two groups which might correlate to these two species; classic A. boyeri and the very large Atlantic coast A. presbyter individuals represent the tails of a continuum of form. From these and published data, it is concluded that the A. boyeri morphology varies under the influence of conditions of temperature and salinity during embryo development, and the isolation of populations maintains comparative morphological distinctions resulting from local selection and random genetic drift.


Hollow sub-micrometer sized cubes of perovskite CaTiO3 with twinned and textured orthorhombic (pseudocubic) nanodomains in three dimensions are prepared via a facile solvothermal route from calcium nitrate and titanium n-butoxide in poly(ethylene glycol) solvent.


Background: Vagus nerve (VN) stimulation has shown the potential to improve the disease development in animal models of arthritis and in patients with RA. However, the VN can affect respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine and gastro-intestinal physiology. The splenic nerve (SpN) has been confirmed to be the principal effector nerve for the VN-mediated immune control. Previous studies have shown that stimulating the splenic nerve resulted in an increase of norephiniphrine in the spleen, as well as a significant reduction in LPS-induced TNF (1). Objectives: To test the therapeutic efficiency of splenic nerve stimulation (SNS) in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice alone or in combination with anti-TNF treatment. Methods: CIA was induced in DBA1/J mice by immunization with bovine type II collagen at days 0 and 21. At day 11, mice were implanted with micro-cuff electrode (CorTec) onto the SpN or VN. From day 16 to day 45, SNS were applied as rectangular charged-balanced biphasic pulses with 650 μA pulse amplitude, 200 µs pulse width at 10 Hz frequency for 2 min 1 or 6 times a day using a Plexon stimulator. In order to investigatedthe mechanism of action in more detail, propranolol, a beta-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) antagonist, was added to the drinking water of mice receiving SNS. In addition, a control group was treated with anti-TNF (etanercept, 3 times/week; 10mg/kg i.p.). In curative settings, SNS and/or anti-TNF treatment was applied starting when mice scored positive for 3 consecutive days. Clinical arthritis was determined by visual examination of swelling and redness of the paws and measurement of paw thickness. Sham mice were undergoing the same procedure but did not receive stimulation. Results: In CIA in mice all sham animals developed arthritis, compared to only 14% following six times per day SNS (p Conclusion: These studies demonstrate that SNS suppresses pro-inflammatory cytokine production, and reduces clinical symptoms in mice with CIA which is at least partially mediated by the β-AR. The additive effect of anti-TNF in reducing the clinical scores demonstrates that that mechanism of action of SNS is not primarilys mediated by reducing TNF levels. Moreover, anti-TNF potentiating the inhibitory effect of SNS is supporting a combined use of these treatments, or even a combination of SNS with other biologicals, to treat RA, potentially getting more patients closer to remission. In conclusion, the data is providing compelling scientific rationale and pre-clinical evidence that splenic neuromodulation might be a new treatment modality for RA. References: [1] Guyot M et al, Brain Behav Immun. 2019;80:238. Disclosure of Interests: Thomas Simon Grant/research support from: research grant from Galvani Bioelectronics, Clara Panzolini Grant/research support from: Working on research grant Galvani bioelectronics, Julien Lavergne Grant/research support from: working on research grant Galvani Bioelectrocnics, Nicolas Hypolite Grant/research support from: Working on research grant Galvani Bioelectronics, Nicolas Glaichenhaus: None declared, Margriet Vervoordeldonk Employee of: I am an employee of Galvani Bioelectronics, Philippe Blancou Grant/research support from: Received research grant from Galvani Bioelectronics


Public Health Emergencies" (hereinafter referred to as the "Consensus") was developed by the Department of Pharmacy, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and Centralized PIVAS Expert Group of National Pharmaceutical Affairs Management Professional Quality Control Center, discussed and revised repeatedly by pharmacy experts in several meetings. The "Consensus" aimed at clarifying the significance of centralized PIVAS for medical institutions at all levels when responding to public health emergencies and providing reference on optimizing and reforming work processes, ensuring the safety of intravenous agents, improving the quality of pharmaceutical services, and ensuring the health of medical staff for medical institutions at all levels under different infrastructure conditions.


The present invention provides a biodegradable mulch film, which comprises the following components by weight: 12-15 parts of gelatinized potato starch, 15-20 parts of polyvinyl alcohol, 8-10 parts of low-density polyethylene, 1-2 parts of glycerin, 0.8-1.2 parts of glyoxal, 0.3-0.5 part of nano silica, 3-5 parts of urea and 0.5-0.8 part of a photolysis agent. The present invention also provides a preparation method. The method conducts modification on potato starch, so that difficultly compatible components with different polarities can well integrate into one; and the method not only can increase the starch content of the feedstock, and more importantly can improve the mechanical properties and usage performance of the plastic film product.


The use of fire-resistant steel is an effective way to alleviate fire safety issues in steel structures. Considering the limited research on bolted joints fabricated from fire-resistant steel, this study presents the results of the experimental investigation on the mechanical behavior of 40 specimens of bolted joints at room temperature and elevated temperatures (20°C∼700°C). These specimens are assembled with fire-resistant steel plates and fire-resistant high-strength bolts (or ordinary high-strength bolts). The mechanical behavior of these specimens was investigated, which included the failure mode, deformation performance, and degradation of bearing capacity. The experimental results show that the treatment of the friction surface (specifically, impeller blasting and sprayed hard quartz sand) has a negligible effect on the ultimate strength of specimens and a relatively significant effect on the slip strength. In addition, reduction factors of the tensile strength (KN) and slip strength (KS) for both fire-resistant bolt specimens and ordinary high-strength bolt specimens decrease with the increase in temperature, especially in the case of elevated temperatures ranging from 400°C to 700°C. Prediction models with different reliability degrees are proposed to calculate the degradation of tensile strength under elevated temperatures, which has the potential to be used for the fire-resistant design of steel connections and structures.


Bacteria of the genus Sinorhizobium are plant‐growth promoting microbes that form symbiotic relationships with legumes. These bacteria are important in agriculture because of their ability to convert atmospheric nitrogen gas to ammonia. Ammonia is used to synthesize proteins that are essential for plant growth. Bacteriophages are bacterial viruses that decrease microbial populations in soils and other environments. Despite extensive research on the molecular mechanisms governing the process of nitrogen fixation in Sinorhizobium, little is known about the biotic factors that influence the persistence of these bacteria in soil and impact their ability to fix nitrogen. The presence of bacteriophages in soils has been shown to select for specific types of Sinorhizobium strains and to affect the populations nitrogen‐fixing bacteria. In spite of this observation, there are only a limited number of Sinorhizobium phages that have been characterized. The goal of this project was to carry out a molecular characterization of phage HMSP‐1, a bacteriophage isolated from an agricultural soil that infects strains of Sinorhizobium. Viral DNA was isolated and used to obtain the complete nucleotide sequence of HMSP‐1. Genome analyses revealed that HMSP‐1 is a double stranded DNA virus of 52 kb in size. The genome has a GC content of 52.5% and encodes 96 proteins. 83% percent of these proteins were classified as hypothetical proteins of unknown function. HMSP‐1 did not have significant DNA sequence homology to known bacteriophages; these data suggest HMSP‐1 is novel bacterial virus. We investigated the effects of bacteriophage HMSP‐1 on plant growth and the numbers of Sinorhizobium associated with the model legume, Medicago truncatula. No significant differences in growth or microbial numbers were found between the plants exposed to the phage and unexposed the controls. These data suggest that under the conditions tested, HMSP‐1 does not affect the bacterial populations associated with Medicago truncatula.


The new Ford Fiesta is the result of a new way of Ford development called System Engineering. This includes the strategy of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) where cars are built to customer requirements. QFD translates customer subjective car ratings into objectives. System Engineering is based on three levels. Full vehicle targets are directly derived from customers requirements. Based on full vehicle level the targets are cascaded to subsystem and component level. The advantage of system engineering is the possibility to achieve subsystem targets before evaluating system performance. This approach helps to minimise development time and cost. These Process has enabled the new Fiesta to become the overall B-segment leader, above examples noise comfort and driveability.


The exact mathematical treatment of the problem is possible by replacing the propeller blade by a homogeneous prismatic rod. Conclusions can them be drawn as to the behavior of an actual propeller, since tests on propeller blades have indicated a qualitative agreement with the homogeneous rod. The natural frequencies are determined and the stressing of the systems under the various vibration modes are discussed.


Background—Oxidation of LDL produces a series of biologically active, oxidized lipids. Among them, isoprostanes, and in particular iPF2&agr;-III, seem to be crucial in mediating some of the key cellular events seen in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods and Results—Minimally modified LDL (MM-LDL) triggers a dose-dependent, very rapid neutrophil adhesion to human fibrinogen. Rapid adhesion triggering correlates with degree of LDL oxidation and accumulation of isoprostanes. Isoprostanes accumulated in MM-LDL are major determinants of the proadhesive effect of oxidized LDL, as shown by experiments of receptor functional deletion. Moreover, evidence is provided of expression on human neutrophils of a biological active isoprostane receptor distinct from the classical thromboxane A2 receptor. Conclusions—These data suggest that isoprostanes are major contributors to the proadhesive effect induced by MM-LDL on neutrophils and provide additional evidence for the involvement of isoprostanes in the pathogenesis of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury.


The idea behind the AMPed database is to create an annotated collection of information about antimicrobial peptides derived from several existing larger and heterogeneous databases with the goal of uniformity and coherence. It will be an open source bioinformatics tool that researchers will be able to use in order to find and download genomic sequences relevant to their research, as well as obtaining links to the original data source. This thesis will discuss the original AMPed concept, the database's conceptual (ER – Entity-Relationship) design, the design and implementation of the database tables, and the Bioparser software tool for importing the data into the database. Before this work Dr. Martin of the University of Rhode Island and her students began this project by creating a preliminary design of the database. In addition a tool to extract relevant data from PDB (Protein Data Bank) XML files was developed. This work was informative, but none of the previous solutions were ultimately used in this project. Along with the design of the AMPed database, a bioparser software tool to parse and import bulk data was built by our team. In the future, prediction tools that are tailored to the needs of the peptide research community will need to be developed, but this is outside of the scope of this thesis. Furthermore, the AMPed group is developing a secure web interface alongside the completion of the thesis. This web interface work is supervised by Dr. Martin and advised by George Konstantinidis.


Microstrip patch antennas are very popular in many fields as they are low-profile, low weight, robust and cheap. In last years new techniques employing fractal geometries have been studied and developed. One of them is the fractalizing of antenna boundaries which has some advantages over conventional designs such as the potential for miniaturized designs and existence of higher-order localized modes that result in directive radiation patterns. In this paper two versions of quadratic Koch island patch antenna with different fractal iteration levels are introduced. And their characteristics are compared numerically.


Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have been attracted widely attention worldwide for its low toxicity and good therapeutical performance. However, it is difficult to explain the curative mechanism of TCMs due to the complexity of TCMs. A high-throughput method has been developed in order to accelerate the study of TCMs. The whole of TCMs were separated into a serious of small fractions containing several compounds by high-throughput preparative chromatography. Then these small fractions, what is called screening multi-components (SMCs), were screened by high-throughput screening (HTS). After biological screening, active multi-components were obtained and could be studied deeply further. This method will accelerate the process of explanation of the curative mechanism of TCMs, which simplifies the complex TCMs by concentrating on those interesting compounds from hundreds of thousands of compounds in TCMs. Standard libraries of SMCs are constructed, which will not only satisfy the need of TCMs, but also will speed up drug discovery by supplying persistent source for HTS.

High-throughput preparation of SMCs consists of two steps. Firstly, high-throughput parallel four-channel preparative high-performance liquid chromatography was applied to obtain small fractions. Secondly, high-throughput concentration by trapping the fraction onto a solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridge was developed, which could deal with 48 fractions simultaneously.

High-throughput characterization of SMCs can present these SMCs with adequate information that allows for rapid searching and location of components of interest. A high-throughput method with high power in separation has been developed on the application of UPLC/Q-TOF to characterize SMCs, with a run time of 10 min per sample.


Abstract Seventy‐one forage samples were analyzed for their macromineral composition and forage in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) in three agricultural zones of Benue State, Nigeria. The zones consisted of Northern, Eastern, and Central zones, each of which were made up of four Local Government Areas. In each Local Government Area, grazing animals were monitored and forages corresponding to those consumed were collected during the peak of the wet season (June) and analyzed for their macromineral composition and IVOMD. Fewer number of forage samples were harvested from Northern and Eastern zones due to greater agricultural activities and infra‐structural land use which limited land space for grazing animals. Forage IVOMD ranged from 32% to 78.3% across all classes of forage and from 43.5% to 62.8% in the Local Government Areas. About 18% of total samples, exclusively from the Northern zone, showed forage IVOMD concentrations below 20%, probably resulting from grazing pressures and agricultural ...


We study different aspects of the Hořava-Lifshitz inspired Bianchi-II cosmology and its relations with the mixmaster universe model. First, we present exact solutions for a toy model, where only the cubic in spatial curvature terms are present in the action; then we briefly discuss some exotic singularities, which can appear in this toy model. We study also the toy model where only the quadratic in spatial curvature terms are present in the action. We establish relations between our results and those obtained by using the Hamiltonian formalism. Finally, we apply the results obtained by studying Bianchi-II cosmology to describe the evolution of the mixmaster universe in terms of the Belinsky–Khalatnikov–Lifshitz formalism. Generally, our analysis gives some arguments in favour of the existence of the oscillatory approach to the singularity in a universe governed by the Hořava–Lifshitz type gravity.


With rapid increase in internet traffic over last few years due to the use of variety of internet applications, the area of IP traffic classification becomes very significant from the point of view of various internet service providers and other governmental and private organizations. Now days, traditional IP traffic classification techniques such as port number based and payload based direct packet inspection techniques are seldom used because of use of dynamic port number instead of well-known port number in packet headers and various encryption techniques which inhibit inspection of packet payload. Current trends are use of machine learning (ML) techniques for this classification. In this research paper, real time internet traffic dataset has been developed using packet capturing tool and then using attribute selection algorithms, a reduced feature dataset has been developed. After that, five ML algorithms MLP, RBF, C4.5, Bayes Net and Naïve Bayes are used for IP traffic classification with these datasets. This experimental analysis shows that Bayes Net and C4.5 are effective ML techniques for IP traffic classification with accuracy in the range of 94 %.


From the aspects of the development of China tea industry as well as the development and regional advantage of tea science speciality of Huazhong agricultural university,the necessity of the cultivation of applied talents in tea science combining with cooperative education was analyzed. In order to enhance students' practical skill,innovation potential as well as social adaptability,to improve practical teaching conditions and promote teachers' construction,cooperative education was an important way to cultivate applied talents in tea science. It was also explored that cooperative education closely combining with applied talents in tea science was the road to success to foster high quality application-oriented talents,through optimizing the course system,increasing the talents introduction force and improving the practical teaching link.


Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Xylopia aethiopica an Anacarduim occidentale obtained from Abraka main market, Delta State were analysed for their activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.  The phytochemical analy- sis of the plants showed that they contain Alkaloids, Tannins, Saponins, flavonoids, Glycosides and chalcones. The antibiotics sensitivity pattern of S.aureus revealed resistance against Aug- mentin, Amoxycillin, Cloxacillin, Cotrimoxazole while E. coli, K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa were all resistant to Nalixidic and Ampicillin and had varying degrees of resistance to other antibiotics. S. aureus was sensitive to all the extracts at a minimum concentration of 12.5 % (v/v) of A. occidentale and at 50% (v/v) of x. aethiopica at minimum inhibitory concentration of 25% (v/v). E. coli was resistant to all the extracts but growth of all the organisms was inhibited when the extracts were applied in combination.


This paper includes the following parts:• Ship Structure Optimization: methodology to perform ship scantling optimization, decreasing steel weight and keeping the production cost at an acceptable level. We first review the links between "Design" and "Optimization" and secondly define the place of "Ship Structure Optimization" within the general framework of a "Ship Optimization".• Ship impacts (Collision), with applications to navigation lock and dry dock gates: these gates have to be designed taking into account accidental loads, such as ship collisions. A new simplified analytical method is proposed, based on the so-called super-element method. This method was developed to rapidly assess the crashworthiness of the collided structure and avoid high computational effort of numerical simulations.• Inland waterway Navigation and the development in South America of Inland Waterway Classifications.• EMSHIP, European ERASMUS MUNDUS education program (www.emship.eu): the unique master's degree in Ship & Offshore Structures awarded by the prestigious European Erasmus Mundus Program. EMSHIP shares the outstanding experiences of educators, trainers, industrial partners and students in the rapidly developing areas of marine and offshore engineering industry.


Recent work in Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL) has resulted in development of strategies and exercises for implementation of PLTL in the first course in Computer Science as well as two higher-level u...


The corrosion and electrochemical behavior of high strength Al alloys 6061 and 7075 in simulated marine atmospheric environment was studied with scanning electrochemical microscope.The morphology of the corroded Al alloy surfaces was observed with a scanning electron microscope,and the composition of the corroded products was analyzed with an energy dispersive spectrometer.Results showed that,under simulated marine atmospheric environment,different zones on the surfaces of the Al alloys exhibited different degree of activation dissolution,and the surface oxidation current peaks were distributed randomly.The different corrosion mechanisms of the two kinds of Al alloys were attributed to the different corrosion potential of their secondary phases.Moreover,a small amount of corroded products with non-uniform distributions was generated on the surfaces of the Al alloys,and the corroded spots were mainly consisted of spherical shape.


A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in 1 742 patients over 15 years, in whom the video endoscopy of upper gastrointestinal tract was successfully performed at the Diagnostic Medical Center of High Technology "Las Heroinas de Merida" of Merida state (Venezuela), from 2008 to 2011, with the purpose of describing the findings through this procedure. Female sex (63.3%) and age group of 46-61 years with a mean age of 55.8 years predominated in the case material, and 30.6% of the tests were normal. Epigastric pain (48.6%), dyspepsia (43.5%) and gastroesophageal reflux (8.6%) were the main reasons for referrals, while gastritis (32.4%) constituted the most frequent endoscopic diagnosis, specifically its erythematous and erythematous-erosive varieties, with 66.0 and 13.0%, respectively. Of the total, 10 patients had gastric cancer and 9, esophageal cancer. It was concluded that the procedure allowed accurate diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal tract diseases as well as an appropriate therapeutic care.


Generalized integrated interleaved (GII) error-correcting codes nest sub-codewords to form codewords of more powerful codes. They can achieve hyper-speed decoding with good error correction capability. For GII codes built on BCH codes, the first decoding stage is to decode individual BCH sub-words. This stage largely determines the throughput and dominates the area of the overall decoder. Unlike that in traditional BCH decoding, longer polynomials need to be kept in the key-equation solver (KES) step of the first stage in order to continue the KES step in the second-stage nested decoding of GII codes. To take advantage of the very fast storage class memories (SCMs), GII codes with 3-error-correcting BCH sub-codewords can be utilized. This brief proposes a low-complexity and high-speed design for the KES of 3-error-correcting BCH sub-word decoding. Formulas are developed to compute the KES results directly instead of utilizing the traditional iterative process. More importantly, through analyzing the properties of the involved variables, the coefficients are scaled and reformulated to substantially reduce the complexity. Detailed hardware implementation architectures are also developed in this brief. Our design achieves three times throughput with 20.2% smaller area than the best prior design for a code over $GF(2^{10})$ .


Many companies are implementing different product development practices to become more efficient, to shorten lead-time and reduce development cost. But, the research on comparing different practices, and their effects, is still limited. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent companies use different practices to increase the product development efficiency, and how this affects the success of the product development projects. The data was collected through a questionnaire targeting the Swedish manufacturing industry, including all firms with more than 100 employees and having product development within their business unit. The final sample was 160 business units, a response rate of 48.5 percent. A principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the different practices could be clustered into two groups, denoted 'methods & tools' and 'working processes'. We also identified a paradox regarding the practices because a larger focus on 'methods & tools' was found to have a significant positive impact on perceived product development efficiency, but no significant effect on the product development project success. On the other hand, a larger focus on 'working processes' had a significant positive impact on development project success, but no significant effect on perceived product development efficiency.


We theoretically investigate the stability and nature of metal−ligand multiple bonding between the tetravalent lanthanide element cerium and a number of different ligand sets that commonly form metal−ligand multiple bonds in transition element chemistry. A comparison of electronic structure and bonding in a homologous series of bent metallocene complexes Cp2CeF+, Cp2CeO, Cp2Ce(NH), Cp2Ce(CH2), and Cp2Ce(CH)- and the Lewis base adduct Cp2Ce(CH2)(NH3) is presented. A direct comparison of bonding between Cp2CeO and the transition element analogue Cp2HfO is also discussed. We present an analysis of the Ce 4f and 5d orbital contribution to metal−ligand σ and π bonding interactions in Cp2CeZ complexes and suggest the types of ligand systems that might support metal−ligand multiple bonds between 4f series and main group elements. In Cp2CeZ systems, we find that the Ce−Cp interactions are best described as largely ionic in nature, whereas the Ce−Z interactions have a stronger covalent component. The optimized Ce−...


v LIST OF TABLES vi Frequency and Percentage Summaries of Demographic Characteristics 14 Descriptive Statistics of Principal's Age 15 BACKGROUND 1 LITERATURE REVIEW 2 Identified Studies 3 Discussions 8 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 9 Project Setting Description 10 Sample 11 DESIGN AND METHODS 11 Data Collection 11 Materials 12 IMPLEMENTING A CULTURALLY SENSITIVE FLUID v Educational Intervention 12 Statistical Analysis 12 RESULTS 13 Participant Demographics 13 Influence of Educational Intervention on Patients' Knowledge 15 QUALITATIVE DATA 16 Learning Experience 16 Risk Perception 17 Visual Learners 17 Limited Understanding of Culturally Appropriate Renal Foods 18 Conflicting Messages 18 Family Involvement 19 DISCUSSION 19 Limitations 22 Implications for Practice 23 Conclusion 24


The persistent 3− 4σ discrepancy between the experimental result from BNL for the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, (g − 2)μ, and its Standard Model (SM) prediction, was confirmed recently by the "MUON G-2" result from Fermilab. The combination of the two measurements yields a deviation of 4.2σ from the SM value. Here, we review an analysis of the parameter space of the electroweak (EW) sector of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), which can provide a suitable explanation of the anomaly while being in full agreement with other latest experimental data like the direct searches for EW particles at the LHC and dark matter (DM) relic density and direct detection constraints. Taking the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) (the lightest neutralino in our case) to be the DM candidate, we discuss the case of a mixed bino/wino LSP, which can account for the full DM relic density of the universe and that of wino and higgsino DM, where we take the relic density only as an upper bound. We observe that an upper limit of ∼ 600 GeV can be obtained for the LSP and next-to (N)LSP masses establishing clear search targets for the future HL-LHC EW searches, but in particular for future high-energy e+e− colliders, such as the ILC or CLIC. ∗Talk presented at the International Workshop on Future Linear Colliders (LCWS2021), 15-18 March 2021. C21-03-15.1. ar X iv :2 10 5. 06 40 8v 1 [ he pph ] 1 3 M ay 2 02 1


In recent years the role of phenolic compounds and sesquiterpene lactones, particularly parthenolide, in the anti‐migraine and anti‐inflammatory effects of Tanacetum parthenium (Asteraceae) has attracted much attention. However, the closely‐related cosmopolitan species T. vulgare has remained outside the mainstream of research in this field.


Abstract A listen‐before‐transmission random access technique using priority structure is proposed in this paper. The ALOHA community is divided into several priorities. Any ready user is allowed to release a packet only if he feels that none of the higher priority users has a packet to transmit. This priority scheme is particularly useful for a community consisting of users of nonuniform traffic characteristics. It is found that the performance is greatly improved compared to that of the slotted ALOHA. The performance is also comparable to that of the Carrier Sense Multiple Access technique proposed by Kleinrock and Tobagi.


The invention relates to an electric connector assembly for a socket. The electric connector assembly comprises an electric connector, wherein the electric connector can be insertedfrom both the front surface and the back surface ; the electric connector comprises an insulating body, a row of first conducting terminals and a row of second conducting terminals which are fixed in the insulating body, and a metal plate which is clamped between the first conducting terminals and the second conducting terminals; the insulating body comprises a substrate and a tongue plate with an upper surface and a lower surface extending forwards from the substrate; the first conducting terminals and the second conducting terminals are symmetrically arranged on the upper surface and the lower surface of the tongue plate ina reverse way. The electric connector assembly for the socket also comprises a shell coating the outside of the insulating body, and the shell is made of a plastic cement material.


The evaluation of public policies took a major turn in France with the introduction in 2008 of the High Commission on Youth Affairs, which largely promoted the so-called "randomized" method, based on econometric principles and techniques. This article accounts for the experience of a sociologist-cum-evaluator and the methodological adjustments that had to be made to a theoretical model of intervention which, in practice, cannot be applied to most situations.


Revised: 30 April 2002 Accepted: 14 May 2002 Published online: 4 July 2002 © Springer-Verlag 2002 Abstract Purpose: To determine the phenotypic variability in patients with compound heterozygous or homozygous ABCA4 mutations, and to correlate the phenotypes with the functional properties of the altered protein. Methods: Sixteen patients from 13 families with signs of Stargardt macular dystrophy/fundus flavimaculatus and known mutations on both alleles of the ABCA4 gene (15 compound heterozygous, one homozygous) were characterized by clinical examination, fundus autofluorescence, psychophysics (color vision, kinetic and two-color darkand light-adapted static threshold perimetry), and electrophysiology (Ganzfeld, multifocal ERG, EOG). Results: The homozygous 5917delG mutation resulted in the earliest disease manifestation (at 5 years) and a general cone–rod dysfunction, whereas the compound heterozygous mother (5917delG, G1961E) exhibited a very mild phenotype. Compound heterozygotes for the IVS40+5G→A and the C1488Y or Y362X mutation showed also an early age of onset but only a central dysfunction. The effect of the 2588G→C mutation, the G1961E mutation, and the complex mutation L541P-A1038V depended on the mutation in the second allele. Genotype–phenotype correlation appeared possible in most instances. Psychophysics revealed a simultaneous yet not necessarily congruent cone and rod dysfunction. Conclusions: The type and combination of ABCA4 mutations in compound heterozygous patients determined were compatible with the severity of the phenotype as to age of onset and the functional consequences in the majority of patients. Unexplained phenotypic differences indicate the influence of other factors. ABCA4 mutations result in cone and rod dysfunction. Different disease durations limit the power of presently available genotype–phenotype correlations. Graefe's Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol (2002) 240:628–638


With the onset of Covid 19 disease, the vertical transmission of the disease from mother to neonate was unknown. In this case, a mother affected by a severe Covid 19 a few days before delivery, was examined whether her baby get the disease without breastfeeding and close contact with his mother or not. Finally, the case study show corona virus did not transmitted through blood from mother to the baby and he was completely healthy.


The design of tuning elements, operation mechanism and experimental results for seamlessly autoscanning 10THz in a computer-controlled ring dye laser are described in this paper.


The extensive application of radioisotopes in the study of malignancy has encouraged the hope that these methods might be of value in the diagnosis of intraocular neoplasms. The use of 32P-labelled compounds (Thomas et al. 1952, Thomas et al. 1965, Leopold et al. 1964, Gorskii 1964) has been unsatisfactory because of the limited range of tissue penetrance of the , emission, i.e. 3-8 mm. Satisfactory results were obtained only when the counter probe was placed directly over the lesion; this was not very often feasible, or comfortable for the patient. An isotope emitting the longer range y-radiation allows a counter to be placed in front of the eye, thus obviating this difficulty. 1251-diiodofluorescein and '97Hg-chlormerodrin were chosen for our projects because of recent encouraging reports of their use in the investigation of ocular tumours (Sodee 1963, 1964). Methods of scanning, both past and present, have been inadequate on account of the limited resolving power of the available apparatus, necessitating the taking of measurements over the whole eye.


This paper is devoted to the numerical solution of constrained energy minimization problems arising in computational physics and chemistry such as the Gross-Pitaevskii and Kohn-Sham models. In particular, we introduce the Riemannian Newton methods on the infinite-dimensional Stiefel and Grassmann manifolds. We study the geometry of these two manifolds, its impact on the Newton algorithms, and present expressions of the Riemannian Hessians in the infinite-dimensional setting, which are suitable for variational spatial discretizations. A series of numerical experiments illustrates the performance of the methods and demonstrates its supremacy compared to other well-established schemes such as the self-consistent field iteration and gradient descent schemes.


If a person is compassionate and gentle with strangers , this will appear to be a citizen of this world


Historians will know that research is never completed. It is more often than not terminated or, we like to think, merely suspended because of the constraints of time or the law of diminishing returns. Fortunately there are always others willing to resume the research and to advance it, maybe long after we have moved on, to other topics if not to other realms. Shortly after the publication of my piece on Dirk Reitz,1 I had the pleasant surprise of receiving correspondence2 from Dr Kees Briët of Rotterdam, on whose excellent work on the High Court of the Dutch Indies3 I had relied heavily for background to Reitz's judicial career in Batavia. Dr Briët filled in some gaps on the Batavian period, and also provided a quite significant piece of information on Reitz's qualifications. With his permission, I recount the information he provided and also add some further shards I uncovered in following up on his references.


The design of mechanisms for building micro-tools can be viewed as a shape optimization problem with a peculiar objective function. We propose such an optimization method based on homogenization, which is called topology optimization.


The analysis of anions cations balance in rainwater samples, were carried out in the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Laboratory at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi during 2015. The rainwater samples of three different location viz. Lanka, Mirzamurad and Babatpur places of BHU, Varanasi, which are relatively free from industrial pollution were examined during south-west monsoon period (July to September) in Varanasi using standaralize selection and analytical methods for evaluation of anions cations balance of rainwater. It was revealed from the Tables 1-3 that the total mineralization varied from 53.65 to 171.38 mg L-1 in Lanka, 25.49 to 153.55 mg L-1 in Mirzamurad and 73.32 to 286 mg L-1 in Babatpur, respectively. In an average total mineralization was highest in Babatpur followed by Lanka and Mirzamurad.


Smith's The Right Talk is an impotent expose simply because there's no fucking or god in it (or rather, there is no fucking god at all). Let me explain. The author sets out to debunk common assumpt...


A difficulty encountered by modern clinics is the necessity to buy a separate optical coherence tomography (OCT) device for anterior/posterior segment imaging and another for optical biometry. Optical biometry was employed into a commercially available anterior/posterior segment OCT with the new software for Optopol Revo NX OCT (OPTOPOL Technology Sp. z o.o., Zawiercie, Poland). OCT utilises the principle of lowcoherence interferometry; it obtains crosssectional images by analysing the echo time delay and quantity of the backscattered light of a projected profile. The first widely used clinical applications date back to the 1990s when OCT was used for the imaging of the anterior segment of the eye, the optic disc, and a wide spectrum of macular diseases (including macular oedema, epiretinal membranes, macular holes and age-related macular degeneration). Based on the method employed for light profile analysis, OCT can be divided into timeand spectral-domain (SD). In contrast to the older generation time-domain OCT, SD-OCT implements Fourier analysis to facilitate greater sensitivity and faster image acquisition. Swept-source OCT is a modality of SD-OCT that uses a rapidly tuned laser and a longer wavelength (1,050 nm), thereby allowing increased depth imaging. OCT has the benefits of noninvasiveness, permitting a high degree of repeatability and quick image acquisition. In addition, it does not require mydriasis for examination. Commercially available systems exhibit a speed of over 100,000 scans per second with axial resolution of 1–8 μm. This resolution is far higher than that of conventional clinical technologies such as ultrasound, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging. We observe a wide-scale adoption of OCT, which soon might become a standard of ocular assessment. Significantly, the first OCT devices were used for measuring the axial length of the eye. However, for several years mainly ultrasonography was applied for preoperative biometry. The first applicable optical biometry system appeared on the market in autumn 1999. Optical methods for biometry have several advantages. They are less invasive, more userand patientfriendly, less dependent on the examiner, and demonstrate high levels of accuracy and repeatability. Currently, optical biometry is considered to be the gold standard for pre-operative biometry. Optopol Revo NX is an SD-OCT device which has an axial resolution of 5 μm, transverse resolution of 12 μm, single scan depth of 2.4 mm, and obtains 110,000 scans per second. A superluminescent laser diode (830 nm) is employed as the light source in this device. The penetration of light through ocular tissues might be similar to that of low-coherence optical reflectometry and better than in partial coherence interferometry biometers. Although currently keratometric measurements and intraocular lens calculation is not available directly within the application, it is to be implemented in future versions of the software. In Figure 1 we present biometry of patients obtained with Optopol Revo NX.


This paper proposed a method for motion deblurring by estimating parameters length and angle in Point Spread Function (PSF) with the gradient descent method based on an absolute gradient magnitude. These parameters are used to restore the blurred image to be sharp by using wiener filter. The experimental results show that the proposed method is effective for estimating parameters and improves a quality of the blurred image. Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Structural Similarity index (SSIM) are applied to test the efficiency of the method.


Objective:To investigate the therapeutic effect of Mucosta on chronic erosive gastritis for 8 weeks period. Methods:This study enrolled 60 patients with CEG diagnosed by gastroscopy. After 8 weeks of therapy, the changes of symptoms were observed, and the level of PGE2 and MDA were examined. Results:Fifty-six patients with CEG completed 8 weeks of treatment. In the study group and the control group, symptom scores were significantly decreased(P 0.05), but there were no significant difference between two groups. A better mucosa restoration on gland density and morphology were observed in the study group(P 0.05)at the end of 8 weeks. In both groups, the concentration of PGE2 increased significantly and MDA decreased more than before(P 0.05), and there was significant difference between the study group and the control group in 8 weeks. Conclusion:The gastric protective drug Mucosta can better relieve the symptoms of the patients with CEG, healing the erosive lesion in the stomach, increasing the level of PGE2 and decreasing the level of MDA. Mucosta is an effective drug for CEG.


Aurora is the typical ionosphere track generated by the interaction of solar wind and magnetosphere, whose modality and variation are significant to the study of space weather activity. This paper proposes a novel aurora pattern recognition method based on static image classification of day-side aurora. In the feature extraction phase, X-gray level aura matrices (X-GLAMs) are designed to extract the feature of the original aurora images. For classification, models of texture classes are learned using support vector machine (SVM), then a given texture of aurora image can be classified into one of the pre-learned classes. It compares two sets of features: X-GLAMs and basic gray level aura matrices (BGLAMs), both of which are based on different windows on the real aurora image database from Chinese Arctic Yellow River Station. The experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed dayside aurora classification algorithm.


"After growing wildly for years, the field of com puting now appears to be approaching its infancy." This is the opening sentence of the "Pierce report" (Presi dent's Science Advisory Committee, 1967) which was prepared for President Johnson. The profundity of this statement is clearly evident to those who are aware of the tremendous advances in technology and application that have occurred in the area of computing since the time of the report. There is little reason to think that the pace will abate, particularly in the area of applications. How ever, signs indicate that much of the academic commu nity, including the social and behavioral sciences, is not adequately preparing students to live in a world per meated by computers. The Pierce report minces few words in its discussion of the widespread need for the development of computer training in all areas of academia.


Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is curative for transfusion‐dependent thalassemia, but mixed chimerism (MC) may herald graft rejection. We report a child who failed bone marrow transplant (BMT) from matched unrelated donor (MUD) successfully salvaged with haploidentical peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT), but had MC in T‐lymphocyte compartment despite near‐complete donor chimerism in myeloid compartment. MC was successfully improved by repeated CD45RA‐depleted donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI). A 2‐year‐old Chinese girl with beta‐thalassemia major underwent 12/12‐MUD BMT with HU/AZA/Cy/Flu/Bu/TT conditioning resulted in graft rejection. As donor refused second donation, rescue haploidentical PBSCT was performed with alemtuzumab/fludarabine/treosulfan conditioning. Harvest product was CD3/CD45RA depleted with extra products cryopreserved. Split cell chimerism performed 1‐month after haplo‐transplant showed 97% mother, 3% MUD, and 0% host for granulocytes but 38% mother, 62% MUD, and 0% host for CD3 + T cells. In view of low haploidentical donor chimerism in T‐lymphocyte compartment, CD45RA‐depleted DLI using cryopreserved product was performed on day + 38, after thymoglobulin 3 mg/kg given as T‐cell depletion 3 days beforehand. T‐cell chimerism improved to 51% mother and 49% MUD post‐DLI. Second cryopreserved CD45RA‐depleted DLI was given 17 days after the first DLI (day + 55), and 100% full chimerism of mother's T cells was gradually established without significant graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) or viral reactivation. To conclude, split lineage chimerism determination is beneficial to guide management strategy. For MC in T‐cell compartment, CD45RA‐depleted DLI is a potential alternative to unselected T cells as it carries lower risk of GVHD and infection.


A removable partial denture fabrication technique that uses custom-constructed porcelain fused-to-metal (PFM) pontics is described. PFM pontics enhance the dentist's shade matching effort in esthetically demanding situations.


Abstract Distractions are a major cause of error in healthcare, especially during the process of medication delivery. Yet, in the healthcare setting, distractions or interruptions are often expected as a "way we do business." In response to these threats, the authors suggest the development of methods that will reduce interruptions and distractions during critical patient care events; in effect, to develop a healthcare "sterile cockpit." This paper discusses recommendations for this process including assessment, identification of prevention strategies, implementation, evaluation, and sustainability.