Nowadays, numerous vaccines for infectious diseases are available and these vaccines contribute greatly to public health. Unfortunately, not all vaccines provide perfect protection. The aim of this thesis is to study the possibility to use lipids from pathogenic bacteria to create new vaccines or improve existing vaccines. Bacterial lipids can be presented to T cells by CD1 molecules. These T cells get activated when they recognize the CD1-lipid complexes with their T cell receptor. Members of the family of CD1 molecules have been identified in all mammalian species studied so far. In chapters 3, 4, and 5 we focused on presentation of bacterial lipids by the human CD1b molecule. Surprisingly, we found that several self-lipids can also bind to the CD1b molecule and are being recognized by T cells. These self-lipids can be lipids that are highly abundant in the cells, for example cell membrane lipids. We describe the mechanism by which one T cell can recognize a CD1 molecule with different lipids bound. Furthermore, we identified a T cell receptor that can recognize a lipid from Borrelia Burgdorferi, the bacterial species that causes Lyme disease. That same T cell receptor can also bind to CD1b when a related self-lipid is bound to the CD1 molecule. The ability to react both on a pathogen-derived and self-lipid suggests that vaccination with lipids can possibly trigger an auto immune reaction. Besides being presented to T cells by CD1 molecules, lipids can stimulate the immune system by triggering innate immune receptors. Using a lipidomics approach, we identified two previously unknown, structurally related lipids present in pathogenic Salmonella species, including S. Typhi. We identified a gene that is essential for the biosynthesis the two lipids. One of the lipids, which we named diphosphatidyl trehalose (diPT), is able to bind the monocyte-inducible C-type lectin (MINCLE) receptor and thereby is able to activate the innate immune system. The activation of the MINCLE receptor by lipid adjuvants is already used to increase vaccines efficiency. DiPT might be a good candidate to study as a new adjuvant.


Scenario games, board games and playful forms of protest were the precedents for a board game of our own design. Players take turns moving their pieces along the game board, following multiple paths that trace timelines organized into sustainable thematics such as water and energy. To win the game, players gain points by completing local activities inspired by events that are distant in time or place.


We report a study on learning ability of a deterministic Boltzmann machine (DBM) with neurons which have a nonmonotonic activation function. We use an end-cut-off-type function with a threshold parameter '/spl theta/' as the nonmonotonic function. Numerical simulations of nonlinear problems, such as the 2-parity problem and the 4-parity problem, show that the DBM network with nonmonotonic neurons has higher learning ability compared to the network with monotonic neurons.


Studies on the cultural and pathogenic variation of the anthracnose disease of grape , Studies on the cultural and pathogenic variation of the anthracnose disease of grape , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی


The samples were digested by wet method (HNO3, HClO4). The contents of trace elements (K, Cr, Cu) in Chinese traditional medicines of salvia miltiorrhiza, angelica sinensis, pilose asiabell root,herba houttuyniae and ginkgo leaves,which can cure disease of the respiratory system, were determined by FAAS. The contents of trace elements (K,Cr,Cu) in herba houttuyniae was the highest than others. The contents of trace elements(K,Cr) in salvia miltiorrhiza and the contents of trace elements (Cu) in pilose asiabell root were the lowest . There was difference in the contents of metallic elements between them(p0.05). The results offer a useful data for approaching the relation between element in Chinese traditional medicines and treatment of the respiratory disease and for reasonable use of medicines at clinic.


Protective devices are needed in electronic systems to protect against voltage surges. In this paper, a monolithic device incorporating both the functions of a capacitor and a varistor is described. The device has a capacitance of 1 μF and a dissipation factor less than 0.05 between 1 and 100 kHz. At voltages greater than the threshold voltage, V0, of about 15 volts, the device conducts a current, I, according to the power-law relation of varistors, I=AVα. The nonlinearity index, α, is 11.4. In this device, the capacitor function protects against the lowamplitude and high-frequency transients while the varistor function protects against the high-amplitude voltage surges. Appropriate capacitor and varistor composition can be found to have similar sintering temperatures, allowing the fabrication of monolithic devices with a range of sintering temperatures between 900° and 1350°C.


Abstract : Pilot workload, situational awareness (SA), and the pilot-vehicle interface (PVI) characteristics associated with the UH-60M Black Hawk crew station simulator were assessed during the Early User Demonstration No. 2. Additionally, simulator sickness was assessed to determine if the pilots experienced discomfort during missions and if the discomfort affected their perceived levels of workload and SA. Four highly experienced utility helicopter (UH)-60 pilots conducted a series of three different mission scenarios over the course of three days. Pilot feedback, which was obtained via a comprehensive questionnaire battery, showed that for the missions flown, workload in the UH-60M was comparable to the workload pilots experience in the UH-60A/L. Workload results showed that UH-60 aircrew training manual tasks related to digital messages and electronic radio navigation generated higher perceived workload in the UH-60M than in the A/L model. SA was reported to be similiar to the UH-60A/L, but major gains were reported from the digital mapping system. the pilots noted several problems with the PVI, which should be resolved. Pilots experienced very mild simulator sickness symptoms. A panel of subject matter experts independently observed and evaluated each mission and reported that pilots experienced low to moderated levels of workload during the missions and moderate levels of SA. Finally, and eye tracker system was used to assess visual gaze during several of the trials. The visual gaze data were used to assess visual workload.


This final work is based on work in the handball school Karlovac, and on the basis of working
 with children in the handball school. The paper presents the guidelines that a handball school
 must have for quality functioning. First of all, a handball school must have a financial
 structure, quality work with children and communication between coaches, parents and
 children. For the most part, the content shows the guidelines that the handball school
 implemented in 2019. From year to year, the school must strive to attract as many children as
 possible in order to grow, and prepare the same children for senior handball and the first team.
 For that, it is necessary to have quality coaches, enable children to work in normal conditions
 and organize a large number of matches and tournaments where children get used to the
 competition systems.


The invention relates to the field of molecular biology, particularly to a method for detecting whether a cis-acting element has methylated modification or not and a method for detecting methylated modification sites. The starting points of the two methods belong to an integral inventive concept which comprises the following steps: performing targeted enrichment on the cis-acting element; performing enzyme digestion through using restriction enzyme of special recognition methylated sites; selecting a template for designing a primer according to the difference characteristics before and after enzyme digestion; amplifying the DNA segments which are subjected to enzyme digestion and are not subjected to enzyme digestion, so as to amplify the difference signal; comparing the difference information of two groups, so as to know the methylated modification sites of the cis-acting element and whether the cis-acting element has methylated modification or not. According to the method for detecting the methylated modification sites, the use amount of a used sample is less, the problems that sulfite interferes follow-up data analysis and the experimental error is relatively large can be reduced or avoided, and the experimental result is reliable; the method for detecting whether the cis-acting element has methylated modification or not is easy and feasible, and is high in accuracy.


The mutual antithesis between contradiction and unity promotes the development of all things.There also exist a lot of unity and opposites of contradictions in football games.All the factors,such as offensive and defending,team and individual,necessity and contingency,etc,will influence the result of the game.How to deal with all these relationships? It is the most import research object of this essay.


Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a rare multigenic autoinflammatory disease of unknown aetiology burdened by life-threatening, such as macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) [1]. Considering the poor outcome of MAS patients, previous works tried to assess predictive factors of its occurrence during AOSD [2-4]. However, an integrated evaluation of clinical features with biomolecules, more reflecting the pathogenic mechanisms of the disease and its complications, is still missing.To multidimensionally characterise MAS complicating AOSD considering cytokine profile, inflammatory markers, and multi-visceral involvement of the disease. To perform a high-dimensional phenotypic analysis of circulating immune cells in AOSD patients with and without MAS. To assess interferon (IFN)-related pathways in AOSD synovial tissues by a bulky RNA sequencing.The present evaluation was designed to multidimensionally compare AOSD patients with or without MAS, considering cytokine profile, inflammatory markers, and multi-visceral involvement of the disease. Clinical and biologic data were collected and compared in AOSD patients with and without MAS. Sera biomolecules were analysed by Luminex multiplexing technology. Mass cytometry (CyTOF) was used to characterise circulating immune cells. A bulky RNA sequencing was performed in AOSD synovial tissues.In this study, 40 consecutive AOSD patients (47.7±15.0 years, 50.0% male gender) were assessed at the time of diagnosis before the administration of any immunosuppressive therapy. Out of those, 14 (35%) patients were complicated by MAS. Paralleling with increases of systemic score and ferritin, MAS patients were characterised by an increased concentration of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-1Ra, IL-2Ra, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, IFN-γ, G-CSF, MCP-1, MIP-1α, SCF. Among these biomolecules, IL-1Ra, IFN-γ, MCP-1, and SCF were correlated with MAS.Combining the discriminatory ability of these data in identifying MAS, the best model was composed by systemic score, ferritin, IFN-γ, and IL-10. This model was characterised by AUC=0.99 (Standard error: 0.008; 95%CI: 0.976–1.000), sensitivity=100%, specificity=95.45%. By CyTOF analysis, AOSD patients, who were complicated or not with MAS were characterised by a significant increase of circulating "classical monocytes" (CD14+CD38+). MAS patients were characterised by a significant reduction of NK cells (CD45RA+CD56dim) than AOSD patients. Finally, the transcriptomic profile, by RNA-sequencing analysis, showed that 3477 among type I, II, and III IFN-related genes (IRGs) were significantly different in AOSD synovial tissues.A multidimensional characterisation of AOSD patients was provided suggesting that IFN-γ, IL-10, ferritin, and systemic score discriminated MAS, thus identifying the occurrence of the cytokine storm syndrome. The inflammatory milieu of AOSD and MAS may be associated with a signature of circulating immune cells. Finally, our results about IRGs reinforced the role of IFN-γ in these patients.[1]Giacomelli R, Ruscitti P, Shoenfeld Y. A comprehensive review on adult onset Still's disease. J Autoimmun. 2018;93:24-36.[2]Ruscitti P, et al. Macrophage Activation Syndrome in Patients Affected by Adult-onset Still Disease: Analysis of Survival Rates and Predictive Factors in the Gruppo Italiano di Ricerca in Reumatologia Clinica e Sperimentale Cohort. J Rheumatol. 2018;45:864-872.[3]Di Benedetto P, et al. Ferritin and C-reactive protein are predictive biomarkers of mortality and macrophage activation syndrome in adult onset Still's disease. Analysis of the multicentre Gruppo Italiano di Ricerca in Reumatologia Clinica e Sperimentale (GIRRCS) cohort. PLoS One. 2020;15:e0235326.[4]Wan L, et al. Total metabolic lesion volume of lymph nodes measured by 18F-FDG PET/CT: a new predictor of macrophage activation syndrome in adult-onset Still's disease. Arthritis Res Ther. 2021;23:97.None declared.


Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has garnered immense attention as a minimally invasive clinical treatment modality for malignant cancers. However, its low penetration depth and photodamage of living tissues by UV and visible light, which activate a photosensitizer, limit the application of PDT. In this study, monodisperse NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ nanospheres 20 nm in diameter, that serve as near‐infrared (NIR)‐to‐visible light converters and activators of a photosensitizer, were synthesized by high‐temperature co‐precipitation of lanthanide chlorides in a high‐boiling organic solvent (octadec‐1‐ene). The nanoparticles were coated with a thin shell (≈3 nm) of homogenous silica via the hydrolysis and condensation of tetramethyl orthosilicate. The NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+@SiO2 particles were further functionalized by methacrylate‐terminated groups via 3‐(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate. To introduce a large number of reactive amino groups on the particle surface, methacrylate‐terminated NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+@SiO2 nanospheres were modified with a branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) via Michael addition. Aluminum carboxyphthalocyanine (Al Pc‐COOH) was then conjugated to NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+@SiO2‐PEI nanospheres via carbodiimide chemistry. The resulting NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+@SiO2‐PEI‐Pc particles were finally modified with succinimidyl ester of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in order to alleviate their future uptake by the reticuloendothelial system. Upon 980 nm irradiation, the intensive red emission of NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+@SiO2‐PEI‐Pc‐PEG nanoparticles completely vanished, indicating efficient energy transfer from the nanoparticles to Al Pc‐COOH, which generates singlet oxygen (1O2). Last but not least, NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+@SiO2‐PEI‐Pc‐PEG nanospheres were intratumorally administered into mammary carcinoma MDA‐MB‐231 growing subcutaneously in athymic nude mice. Extensive necrosis developed at the tumor site of all mice 24–48 h after irradiation by laser at 980 nm wavelength. The results demonstrate that the NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+@SiO2‐PEI‐Pc‐PEG nanospheres have great potential as a novel NIR‐triggered PDT nanoplatform for deep‐tissue cancer therapy.


The interactive effects of salinity water, 50, 100 and 200 mM) and 100 ppm of nicotinamide (Vit. pp) or ascorbic acid (Vit. C) either as grain soaking or shoot spraying on Zea mays plant were studied to study its response to salinity stress and the possible role played by vitamins (Vit. PP or Vit. C) in regulating salt-induced changes in growth, some relevant metabolic activities and oxidative 3 defense systems of Zea mays plant. All growth criteria, IAA, GA , photosynthetic pigments, insoluble sugar and total carbohydrate contents were significantly decreased with increasing salinity levels, while ABA soluble sugars and amylases activity were sharply increased as compared with the control. Applications of vitamins (Vit pp or Vit. C) as grain soaking or shoot spraying could alleviate the adverse 3 effects of salinity on growth parameters which were accompanied by marked increases in IAA, GA , photosynthetic pigments and carbohydrate contents, and decreases in ABA and amylases activity as compared with those of the reference controls. On the other hand, activity level of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) enzymes and lipid peroxidation (MDA) showed progressive significant increases with increasing salinity levels, while the behaviour of catalase (CAT) activity and reduced glutathione content showed an opposite response as compared with the control. Treatment with Vit. pp or Vit. C by any of the two methods (soaking or spraying) induced significant reduction in the activities of SOD, peroxidases and lipid peroxidation, and significant increases in catalase activity and reduced glutathione content under salt stress as compared with reference controls.


The utility model provides an intelligent ecological gas environment simulation experiment device which comprises an inclosed ecological gas experiment cabin, wherein an inclosed cabin door is arranged at the side face of the experiment cabin, and a net-shaped platform is arranged at the bottom of the experiment cabin and used for placing experimental animals or articles. The experiment device is provided with a vacuum pump, an air compressor and various air supply devices which are connected with the experiment cabin by a pipeline, and a computer can be used for adjusting a gas flow control valve, a gas parameter monitor and a temperature and humidity monitor according to experimental requirements and used for measuring various gas parameters in the experiment cabin so as to simulate the required ecological gas environment. The experiment device has the beneficial effects that for the purpose of the simulation of different ecological gas environments for animal experiments and scientific researches (such as the simulation of hypobaric hypoxia environment in plateau for researching as well as preventing and curing ''altitude reaction diseases''), the intelligent ecological gas environment simulation experiment device is provided, and the device has the advantages of simpleness, convenience, accuracy and high efficiency, can be widely applied to the field such as the medical research, the environmental science, the military aviation and the like and provides new methods and equipment for such researches.


Topological insulator surfaces support metallic surface states with closed Fermi contours, encircling an odd number of Dirac points. Experimental studies have so far concentrated on surfaces with only one Dirac point, but three Dirac points can be expected for certain surface orientations of several topological insulator materials. Here we experimentally realize the Bi1−xSbx(110) surface for which an electronic structure with three Dirac points has been predicted (Teo et al 2008 Phys. Rev. B 78 045426), in contrast to the closed-packed (111) surface of the same material that supports only one Dirac point. We study the electronic structure of Bi1−xSbx(110) with angle-resolved photoemission and tight-binding calculations. We observe several metallic surface states, confirming not only the expectation that a topological insulator should be enclosed by metallic surfaces on all faces, but also the prediction of the surface state topology. Tight-binding calculations of the electronic structure are found to reproduce the expected topology of the surface states but they show one Dirac point that is not observed in the experiment, in the mirror line of the surface Brillouin zone. As in the case of Bi1−xSbx(111), this can be ascribed to an incorrect value of the mirror Chern number in the tight-binding parameters employed for the calculation. The quantitative agreement of the tight-binding calculation and the experiment is poorer than in the case of the (111) surface, something that is ascribed to the existence of dangling bonds on the (110) surface.


The previously reported triphosphino/trithiolato-ruthenium anion, [tris-(2-diphenylphosphinothia-phenolato)ruthenium(II)](-), [Ru(DPPBT)(3)](-), has been isolated as the PPN salt (PPN = bis(triphenylphosphoranylidene) ammonium), 1, from chlorobenzene/ether as light-orange crystalline plates, and the X-ray crystal structure has been determined. In dichloromethane, the cis positioned thiolates are alkylated by solvent yielding the methylene-bridged triphosphino/dithioether/thiolato complex [(bis-(2-diphenylphosphinothiaphenolato)methane)(2-diphenyl-phosphinothiaphenolato)ruthenium(II)]chloride, [Ru((DPPBT)(2)CH(2))(DPPBT)]Cl (2). Dichloromethane solutions of 1 layered with hexanes yield 2 as orange cubes. The ruthenium-sulfur bond distances in the alkylated, thioether product are slightly shorter than in the thiolate precursor. Within 2, the iron-thioether bond distances are comparable to the iron-thiolate distances.


The article discusses the concepts of "youth policy" and "state youth policy", analyzes the main models of youth policy produced by world practice, namely: conservative (state support is given only to those who are in the most difficult financial situation, while the state tightly controls spending of funds and defining its recipients), model of social partnership (based on the principle of recognition of the special role of the state and clear regulation by law of measures to support young people actions and youth organizations), sociostate (the state assumes most functions and covers the regulation of all young people as a whole, but almost does not take into account the interests of civil society and business in the field of youth policy), communitarian (paternalistic state youth policy, characteristic of authoritarian politics regime, the state is fully responsible for regulating youth work). In addition, European models of such policy, which are distinguished depending on the regime of youth policy implementation (universalist, protectionist, community-based model and centralized), are considered. The first is based on the principles of youth autonomy and independence, as well as the active cooperation of civil society with the state in the implementation of youth policy. The second is characterized by a strong social orientation and is aimed at helping young people. The community-based model envisages minimal government involvement and broad powers for civil society. The last one is characterized by the fact that the leading role in the realization of youth rights belongs not to the state, but to the family and the church. It is established that the social partnership or universalist model, formed by the Scandinavian countries, is optimal for construction in Ukraine. In this model, the widest possible use of youth potential for the development of society and the state is possible.


The calcium ion (Ca2+) is a ubiquitous second messenger that is responsible for regulating a wide range of cellular and biological processes, including cell proliferation and cell death, gene expression, muscle contraction and neurotransmission. Here, we demonstrate the change of intracellular Ca2+ release in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in vitro by femtosecond laser stimulation using confocal microscopy combined with special fluorescence probe Fluo-3/AM. The results showed that relative fluorescence intensity increased significantly after the axons of DRG neurons was performed with photostimulation. It demonstrated that femtosecond laser stimulation could affect the intracellular Ca2+ release in the sensory neurons and might be used to treat pain by modulating intracellular Ca2+ release in DRG neurons.


We have previously presented a model for the distribution and transport of rare gases within the Earth [1,2,3,4] which explains the available observational data for mantle He, Ne, Ar, and Xe isotope compositions and provides specific prdctions regarding the rare gas isotopic compositions of the lower mantle, interactions between rare gas reservoirs, and mantle rare gas concentrations. Here we discuss the constraints on the acquisition and evolution of atmospheric rare gases that are derived from this model, and show that these constraints are compatible with planetary evolution processes put forth by others. Early losses of rare gases has occurred on both the Earth and Mars, and a late atmosphere was added to the Earth by accretion of gas-rich materials. Both atmospheres have suffered loss of rare gases, causing elemental and isotopic fractionation, as well as small additions by outgassing of the planetary interior. These processes are reflected in the relationship between the atmospheric and interior rare gases of both planets. The model for the Earth has two mantle reservoirs, an approximately closed system lower mantle and a highly depleted upper mantle that is open to interactions with the lower mantle by mass transport and atmosphere. It is assumed that rare gases in the upper mantle are derived from the mixing of three components: rare gases from the lower mantle, subducted rare gases, and ra&ogenic nuclides produced in situ over a residence time of -1.4Ga. The concentration of each rare gas isotope in the upper mantle is assumed to be in steady state. From the available data regarding the present composition of the upper mantle and the production of 4 ~ e , 2 1 ~ e , 4 0 ~ r , and 1 3 6 ~ e in the upper mantle through decay of 4'k, 2 3 8 ~ , and 2 3 2 ~ h , constraints are obtained on the composition of the lower mantle rare gas component. The lower mantle is assumed to have evolved as a closed system over -4.5Ga, and has been subject to isotopic shlfts from initial values due to decay of 4 k , 2 3 8 ~ , 2 3 2 ~ h , 1 2 9 ~ , and 244Pu. Concentrations of nomadiogenic rare gases in the lower mantle are calculated from the concentrations of parent elements and the constraints on the present isotopic compositions. For isotopes that are not presently generated in the mantle, isotopic variations are attributed to only mixing of atmospheric rare gases and lower mantle rare gases. For example, the upper mantle 1 2 9 ~ e / 1 3 0 ~ e ratio is greater than that of the atmosphere[5], and so the lower mantle ratio is constrained to be equal to, or greater than, the upper mantle ratio and more radogenic than atmospheric Xe. The model treats the atmosphere as a separate reservoir with rare gas isotope compositions that are distinct from those in the mantle and makes no initial assumptions regarding its orign. This differs from the approach of earlier models of mantle rare gas isotope evolution [6] which assumes that the atmosphere was formed by degassing of the upper mantle. In their model, rare gases presently in the upper mantle are then residual to this degassing, with isotopic compositions that reflect the integrated history of degassing and grow-in of radiogenic isotopes. Furthermore, the lower mantle is assumed to have isotopic compositions equal to those of the atmosphere. Other workers have argued that losses of atmospheric rare gases by hydrodynamic escape is the cause of the fractionation of nomadiogenic Xe isotope compositions [7,8] and possibly of Ne isotopes [9] relative to anticipated rare gas sources. Late addtions of gas-rich material have also been invoked [e.g.11,12]. These processes of open system behavior are incompatible with simple models of a closed system Earth. The present model has direct consequences for the evolution of the terrestrial atmosphere and its relation to rare gases retained in the lower mantle: 1. The atmosphere is derived from a rare gas reservoir with distinct radiogenic isotope characteristics and which is no longer represented in the Earth. Xe that has been preserved in the lower mantle since early Earth history has 129~e/13'%e and ' 3 6 ~ e / 1 3 0 ~ e ratios that is more radogenic than those of the atmosphere, and represents a reservoir with greater I/Xe and PuIXe ratios than the source of the atmosphere. 2. The atmosphere has suffered early losses of radiogenic 1 2 9 ~ e and 1 3 6 ~ e [13,14] that was necessarily accompanied by loss of nomadiogenic Xe. This has occurred over timescales of -108yrs. Lower mantle Xe has also suffered losses on a timescale similar to that of the atmosphere [3]. These loses may have been due to the effects of impact of a Mars-size body to form the moon [15,16]. Alternatively, t h ~ s may reflect accretional losses during late accretion of the Earth. The coincidence of the timescale of these losses with the young 'O'~b-~06pb age of the Earth and moon [17,18] suggests that Pb/U fractionation may have also been occurring during these events. 3. Subsequent to these losses, the nonradiogenic atmospheric rare gases were added by late accretion. The source of these gases is constrained to be more gas-rich than the lower mantle and CI chondntes, as these sources have isotope characteristics that are too radiogenic.


Highly anisotropic black phosphorus (BP) has recently attracted significant interest for electronic and optoelectronic devices. To date, in‐plane anisotropic properties of BP field effect transistors (FETs) have been reported only with top contact. However, the 2D top contact geometry is unable to measure the in‐plane electrical conductance precisely, due to the presence of the out‐of‐plane conductance, resulting in underestimation of anisotropy. Here, 1D edge contact method is employed to measure the in‐plane conductance precisely along the armchair and zigzag directions of BP without the contribution of out‐of‐plane conductance. The conductance and mobility anisotropies for BP FETs are measured with edge contact at 300 K to be ≈5.5 and ≈7.5, respectively. The results further show that the mobility of BP FETs with edge contact weakly depends on temperature, indicating that the edge roughness scattering limits the mobility. In contrast, the mobility of BP FETs with top contact strongly depends on temperature, showing that the impurity scattering and phonon scattering limit the mobility at below and above 150 K, respectively. Finally, a scattering phase diagram is demonstrated to understand the role of different scattering mechanisms on the modulation of mobility anisotropy in BP FETs with edge and top contacts.


The heat transfer characteristics of downflow in the single-phase forced-convection will be
investigated theoretically with narrow vertical annuli sub-channels (WWR-M2 channel)
using THMOD2 code. The main objective for this study is to investigate in turbulent flow
region the applicability of existing heat transfer equations (i.e. Dittus-Boelter, Colburn, and so
on) in the narrow vertical annuli channel, which is modelling and simulating sub-channel of 3
mm spacing (gap) and 600 mm in active length in the fuel elements for thermal hydraulic
analysis tasks of the WWR-M2 research reactor or any other type. As a result, it was revealed
that by use of equivalent hydraulic diameter, existing correlations are
applicable to a WWR-M2 channel as narrow as 3 mm in gap for turbulent flow though the precision and Reynolds
number are different among the heat transfer correlations. The New heat transfer equation
for sub-channels of WWR-M2 channel heated from one side or both sides will
be proposed.


This research characterize and compare the NIS of Brazil, Russia, India and China, pointing out differences and similarities, common bottlenecks and complementarities, as well as identifying current and potential connections. This paper compares several of the key economic parameters and social indicators between the four countries, summarizing a few broader economic and institutional characteristics; examines several of the support system's chief indicators, including production, trade, investment and education; outlines the characteristics of the main players of innovation (including enterprises, research institutes, technology talents and colleges) under three aspects: quantity, structure and innovation efforts; analyzes the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted patents and indexed data of the four countries between 1979 and 2006, focusing on innovation performance characteristics — innovation, field and innovative pattern — while attempting to discover what creates differences in performance. Finally, reviews the lessons that may be drawn from this comparison and the evaluation trends of Bric's national innovation systems.


Faculty members teaching social work research courses face a variety of challenges: The material is typically viewed by students as outside their interest area; the technical and complex content is not easy to teach to any audience, especially when students vary significantly in skill levels; and the course material is often taught in isolation from core curriculum areas, especially social work practice. This article describes a service-learning approach for teaching research that allows students to apply their research knowledge to the information needs of an agency while they are developing corresponding knowledge and skills. Additionally, this article highlights the unique features of this approach and presents student feedback from a recent section of this course. Finally, it describes the implications of this technique.


The main purpose of this study is to provide essential information regarding the molecular basis of insecticide resistance and to report candidate genes which are responsible for resistance in insects/pests. There are two basic resistance mechanisms existing in pests, i.e., target site resistance and metabolic resistance. During resistance of target site, the specific binding site of an insecticide is modified (mutated) and/or lost, which makes the target site incompatible for activation. Mutation occurs in most common pest (Myzus persicae, Musca domestica and Drosophila melanogaster) target regions, i.e., subunits like nicotinic acetylene choline receptors (nAChRs), knock-down resistance (KDR) etc. Due to these mutations, insecticides are unable to bind into the target region, resulting in loss of binding affinity. Furthermore, in metabolic resistance over production of enzymes occurs which break down (detoxify) insecticides and resulting resistance of pests. The amplification of metabolic enzymes, i.e., Cytochromes p450 monooxygenase, hydrolyses, and Glutathione S-transferase play a central role in evolving metabolic resistance. Various successful approaches are used to combat pests resistance such as insecticides, bio-pesticides and biological control agents. However, some of these strategies have certain limitations such as contamination of the environment, while others possess a low capacity in management of pests. Recent studies have highlighted some novel mechanisms of insecticide resistance that are part of the ongoing efforts to define the molecular basis of insecticide resistance in insect species.


The purpose of the research is to analyze the use of the Internet resources in distance learning of futureprofessionals in hotel and restaurant industry in higher educational establishments. Research objectivesare the following: to analyze the state of development of using Internet resources problem (IP) in distancelearning in higher education establishments, to systematize professionally oriented IP in distance learningof future specialists in hotel and restaurant industry. Methods. To clarify the concepts of "Internet resources","professionally oriented Internet resources" general scientific methodological approaches (system, competence)and abstract-logical methods, methods of analysis and synthesis were used. Results. We interpret the Internet resources as a set of integrated software and hardware means, as well as information intended for publicationon the World Wide Web, intext, graphics and multimedia forms. Information-factual and methodological basisof the research were domestic and foreign scientists' publications, IP, results of author's own research. Inthe course of the research, theoretical laboration of the problem of using Internet resources in the educationalprocess of higher education establishments is analyzed, the chart of Internet resources classification in distancelearning is compiled. Professionally oriented IP s in distance learning of future specialists in hotel and restaurantindustry are reviewed. Distance learning of these specialists is defined as a purpose fulprocess of interactionbetween a teacher (tutor) and a student, carried out at a distance, using computer technology, the contentof which is to form professional knowledge, skills, abilities of future hotel and restaurant professionals.Conclusions. Priority formal IP tools (an electronic textbook, a reference book, computer models, simulatorsand constructors, an electronic board, computer training programs, computer test systems) and informal(educational serials, movies, blogs) were studied.


Low vitamin D status is common in the United States and Europe with 8% and 13% of the population, respectively, reported to have serious vitamin D deficiency (i.e. serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration <30 nmol/L) [1,2]. There is a considerable mismatch between current intakes of vitamin D and recommended target intakes for the vitamin [3]. Fortification of a wider range of foods with vitamin D has been proposed as a strategy for increasing intake that would have the greatest impact on the population [4]. The use of 'bioaddition' which involves the addition of vitamin D to an animal's diet to increase the vitamin D content in the resultant food [5], deserves serious consideration as it may produce foods that are more acceptable to consumers as well as increase the intake of various vitamin D compounds leading to improved vitamin D status [6].


Compressive sensing (CS) theory have been proposed in the field of radar for target detection. The challenge of CS applied to passive bistatic radar (PBR) lies in the high-computational complexity aggravated by the transmitted signal dependent time-varying sparse model. So, we propose a transmitted-signal-free and time-invariant sparse model for passive radar based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing waveforms. We first generate the sparse model using the surveillance signal and pilot information only, and exploiting the sparsity of scene including only a few targets and clutter. Then, range-Doppler profile for target detection can be implemented based on our proposed sparse model. Finally, simulation and experimental results illustrate that our proposed sparse model has high detection performance.


Perovskite-type oxides are promising oxygen carriers in producing oxygen-enriched CO 2 gas stream for oxyfuel combustion. In this study, a new series of SrCo 1- x Fe x O 3-δ (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8) was prepared and used to produce O 2 /CO 2 mixture gas. The phase, crystal structure, and morphological properties of SrCo 1-x Fe x O 3-δ were investigated through X-ray diffraction, specific surface area measurements, and environmental scanning electron microscopy. The oxygen desorption performance of SrCo 1- x Fe x O 3-δ was studied in a fixed-bed reactor system. Results showed that the different x values of SrCo 1- x Fe x O 3-δ have no obvious effects on crystalline structure. However, the oxygen desorption performance of SrCo 1- x Fe x O 3-δ is improved by Co doping. Moreover, SrCo 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3-δ synthesized via a new EDTA method has a larger BET surface area (40.396 m 2 /g), smaller particle size (48.3 nm), and better oxygen production performance compared with that synthesized through a liquid citrate method.


In this article, Müntz spaces MΛ,C of continuous functions supplied with the absolute maximum norm are considered. An existence of Schauder bases in Müntz spaces MΛ,C is investigated. Moreover, Fourier series approximation of functions in Müntz spaces MΛ,C is studied.


INTRODUCTION
Low back pain (LBP) remains the leading cause of disability. The Low Back Pain and Disability Drivers Management (PDDM) model aims to identify the domains driving pain and disability to guide clinical decisions. The objectives of this study were to determine the feasibility of conducting a pragmatic controlled trial of the PDDM model and to explore its effectiveness compared to clinical practice guidelines' recommendations for LBP management.

METHODS
A pilot cluster nonrandomised controlled trial. Participants included physiotherapists and their patients aged 18 years or older presenting with a primary complaint of LBP. Primary outcomes were the feasibility of the trial design. Secondary exploratory analyses were conducted on LBP-related outcomes such as pain severity and interference at 12-week follow-up.

RESULTS
Feasibility of study procedures were confirmed, recruitment exceeded our target number of participants, and the eligibility criteria were deemed suitable. Lost to follow-up at 12 weeks was higher than expected (43.0%) and physiotherapists' compliance rates to the study protocol was lower than our predefined threshold (75.0% vs. 57.5%). A total of 44 physiotherapists and 91 patients were recruited. Recommendations for a larger scale trial were formulated. The PDDM model group demonstrated slightly better improvements in all clinical outcome measures compared to the control group at 12 weeks.

CONCLUSION
The findings support the feasibility of conducting such trial contingent upon a few recommendations to foster proper future planning to determine the effectiveness of the PDDM model. Our results provide preliminary evidence of the PDDM model effectiveness to optimise LBP management.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
Clinicaltrial.gov, NCT04893369.


Aim. To establish the influence of the structure, recruitment and placement of field crops in different rotations on the general productivity, yield and quality of sugar beets in particular. The research was carried out in the subzone of unstable moisture of the Left Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine on typical low-humus chernozem of the Panfil Research Station of the Institute of Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences. Methods. The technology of growing agricultural crops in the experiment is generally accepted and recommended for the research area. Chemical plant protection agents were used to produce competitive commercial sugar beet products. Results. The results of research carried out in a long-term stationary field experiment, which was established in 2001, to study crop rotations on typical chernozems of unstable moisture in the Left Bank Forest Steppe, convincingly indicate that during the 2016−2020 research period, the 8-field crop rotation turned out to be the most rational in this zone saturated with 62.5 % grain, 25 % fodder and 12.5 % technical crops: perennial legumes – winter wheat – sugar beets – corn for grain – corn for agriculture – winter triticale – spring wheat – spring barley for organic-mineral intensification systems (by-products of the predecessor + N100 P100 K100 for sugar beets). Conclusions. The yield of sugar beets, which were grown after winter wheat, as a precursor and a corresponding set of crop rotations, was in the range of: 50.86–53.21 t/ha, while the sugar harvest was at the level of – 13.5–13.7 t/ha. The economic efficiency of growing sugar beets in the structure of multi – rotational crop rotations is: conditionally net profit – 70.67–75.05 thousand UAH/ha with a high level of profitability – 338–362 %.


Abstract 3146 Although scarce, the results on the outcome of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in developing countries point to significant disparities compared to studies conducted in US and Europe. We have previously shown that AML patients in Brazil have shorter five-year overall survival (OS) in comparison to patients in developed countries, even considering the relative excess of acute promyelocytic leukemia cases. In addition, AML patients in developing countries have been poorly characterized for genetic abnormalities, despite their relevance. Our aim was to use the new European LeukemiaNet (ELN) recommendations (Dohner et al., 2010) to stratify Brazilian patients with AML and address its applicability to determine treatment outcome. Two hundred and twenty-one consecutive patients treated at two University Hospitals (University of Sao Paulo and Federal University of Minas Gerais) between 2001–2010 with age between 15 and 65 years were studied. Age, gender, WBC count, karyotype, NPM1 , FLT3-ITD and MLL-PTD mutations, and the BAALC gene expression levels were analyzed. Patients were treated with conventional chemotherapy consisting of daunorubicin (60mg/m 2 /d for 3 days) and cytarabin (200mg/m 2 /d for 7 days) as induction, followed by two or three courses of consolidation therapy with high dose cytarabin (above 1g/m 2 /d). Median follow-up time for surviving patients was 20 months (range: 4 – 110 mo). The median age was 42 years and 101 (46%) were male. Patients were assigned to the proposed genetic groups from the ELN recommendations as follows: favorable (n=82), intermediate I (n=66), intermediate II (31) and adverse (n=20). Direct sequencing of PCR products was performed to detect NPM1 mutations. FLT3-ITD detection was performed by PCR. MLL-PTD was detected by RQ-PCR. The relative expression levels of BAALC gene were measured by RQ-PCR, according to the comparative cycle threshold method, and patients were dichotomized in high or low expression groups using the median as cut-off value. The estimated five-year OS for all patients was 18±3% (mean±standard deviation). Univariate analyses determined that age, genetic risk group, FLT3-ITD, and MLL-PTD were significant risk factors. Patients older than 45 years presented shorter OS (18 mo; CI95%, 11 – 26) in comparison to those ≤ 45 years (31 mo, 22 – 39; P=0.01). The mean OS for favorable, intermediate I, intermediate II, and adverse groups were 41, 12, 17 and 13 months, respectively (P=0.02). Mean OS for patients harboring FLT3-ITD was shorter (12 mo; 7 – 17) in comparison to patients with wild-type FLT3 (27 mo; 20 – 34; P=0.04). Besides, FLT3-ITD was associated with NPM1 mutations (twice as often in NPM1mut as in NPM1wt, P=0.02) and higher percentage of bone marrow blasts (p=0.05). Finally, patients harboring MLL-PTD presented shorter OS (4 mo; 0.4 – 7) in comparison to patients with wild-type MLL (31 mo; 24 – 39; P=0.002). Multivariable analysis revealed that only MLL-PTD was an independent prognostic factor for OS. When only cytogenetically normal (CN-AML) patients were analyzed (n=77), NPM1 mutations predicted longer OS (34 mo; 17 – 50 vs. 11 mo; 7 – 14; P=0.03). The beneficial impact of NPM1 mutations on OS was seen independently of FLT3-ITD detection. Patients harboring MLL-PTD presented shorter OS (1.5 mo; 0 – 4) in comparison to patients with wild-type MLL (23 mo; 14 – 32; P=0.02). Finally, mean OS for patients presenting WBC count >50×10 9 /L at diagnosis was shorter (9 mo; 2 – 15) in comparison to those with WBC 9 /L (22.5 mo; 14 – 31; P=0.007). Multivariable analysis showed that MLL-PTD and WBC counts were independent prognostic factors for OS. In our cohort, the ELN recommendations were able to identify patients with more favorable outcome. However, patient stratification into intermediate I, intermediate II, and adverse groups failed to translate into clinical outcome. Molecular markers revealed significant prognostic information and should be routinely screened, at least in CN-AML cases. Our findings provide important insights into the characterization of AML patients in developing countries. Regardless the higher frequency of patients with favorable prognostic risk, which would not be diminished by the inclusion of CEBPA mutations results, treatment outcome for Brazilian patients was poorer than for those in US and Europe. Our results reinforce the necessity of multicentric collaborative initiatives involving developing countries. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


In this study,Liancheng ducks were used to analyze single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in 5′ regulatory region of GnRH gene by PCR-SSCP,and the correlation between the gene and laying traits had been discussed. The result indicated that there were three genotypes (AA,BB,AB) in Liancheng duck and the genotypes showed there was a significant difference in the number of eggs(300 days of age)(P﹤0.05) and no significant difference in age at first egg (P﹥0.05). It implied that GnRH gene could be used as a molecular mark to screen egg number in Liancheng duck.


The intention of this paper is to draw attention to recently observed developments in the application of "flexible working hours" or "flexitime" systems. The idea that organisations are changing from "fixed time" to a system involving less control may be an oversimplification: "flexitime" can offer a method of re‐establishing control or setting limits to a failing "fixed time" or "laxtime" system. Discussion of actual "flexitime" decisions is used to indicate why powerful "anti" lobbies may develop within some organisations and why some managements are now turning to "flexitime" as a useful control device.


The forgetting and remembering phenomena that Erdelyi outlines here have little to do with the concept of repression. None of the research that he describes shows that it is possible for people to repress (and then recover) memories for entire, significant, and potentially emotion-laden events. In the absence of scientific evidence, we continue to challenge the validity of the concept of repression.


This study about neological formations is part in a research whose goal is the investigation, under a discursive perspective, of drift cases (displacement) in the formal written use of Brazilian Portuguese, its normative implications and consequences for the pedagogy of the Brazilian native language. Its main reference are predominant grammatization apparatuses (grammars, dictionaries, manuals), which correspond to a presumed standard established along the Brazilian Portuguese formation. Taking into consideration the conditions of production and interpretation of the discourse, I introduce a way for understanding the rising of multiple neologisms, regarding their practices and social representations.


Presented are data that illustrate the effects of Mach number, Reynolds number, temperature ratio, hole spacing, and jet-to-target-plate distance on surface Nusselt numbers produced by an array of jets impinging on a fl at plate. The local and spatially averaged Nusselt numbers, and local and spatially averaged recovery factors are unique because: (i) data are obtained at constant Reynolds number as the Mach number is varied, and at constant Mach number as the Reynolds number is varied, (ii) data are obtained at constant Reynolds number and constant Mach number, as the temperature ratio is varied, (iii) data are obtained at constant temperature ratio, Mach number, and Reynolds number, as the impingement hole spacing is varied, (iv) data are obtained as the jet-to-target-plate distance is varied as Reynolds number, Mach number, hole spacing, and temperature ratio are constant, and (v) data are given for jet impingement Mach numbers up to 0.74, and for Reynolds numbers up to 60,000. Also included are crossfl ow-to-jet mass velocity ratio data and discharge coeffi cient data. Impingement hole spacings are 5D, 8D, and 12D in the streamwise and spanwise directions, with jet-to-target-plate distances of 1.5D, 3D, 5D, and 8D. Local spatially resolved and spatially averaged Nusselt numbers, measured using infrared thermography and energy balance techniques, show strong dependence on the impingement jet Reynolds number for each situation as the jet Mach number is maintained constant. Nusselt numbers show negligible variations with Mach number, between Ma = 0.1 and 0.2, however, data taken at Mach numbers greater than approximately 0.25 (as the Reynolds number is held constant) www.witpress.com, ISSN 1755-8336 (on-line) WIT Transactions on State of the Art in Science and Engineering, Vol 76, © 2014 WIT Press doi:10.2495/978-1-84564-907-4/003 64 IMPINGEMENT JET COOLING IN GAS TURBINES show that Mach number has a signifi cant impact on local and spatially averaged Nusselt numbers. This Mach number dependence changes with hole spacing, with greater Nusselt number increases with the less dense impingement arrays. These variations are described using new correlations, which account for the effects of Mach number for all three impingement hole spacings. In regard to the effects of temperature ratio, at constant Reynolds number of 18,000, and constant Mach number of 0.2, experimental results show that local, line-averaged, and spatially averaged Nusselt numbers decrease as the Twa/Tj temperature ratio increases. This is believed to be due to the effects of temperature-dependent fl uid properties, as they affect local and global turbulent transport in the fl ow fi eld created by the array of impinging jets. Data, which illustrate the effects of jet-to-target plate distance on the heat transfer from an array of jets impinging on a fl at plate, are presented for a Reynolds number Rej of 8,200. Jet-to-target plate distances Z of 1.5D, 3.0D, 5.0D, and 8.0D are employed. Steamwise and spanwise hole spacings are 8D. Local and spatially averaged Nusselt numbers show important dependence upon normalized jet-to-target plate distance, especially for smaller values of this quantity.


In the present study, we examined the hypoglycemic effect of two species of edible mushrooms which are widely cultivated in Egypt. Fifty-six male Swiss mice of average weight 25±5 grams were used in the study. Mice were randomly divided into two main groups. Group A that served as control did not receive any treatment and group B was sterptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic group. The latter was divided into three subgroups, B1 diabetic–insulin treated, B2 diabetic–oyster and B3 diabetic–button agaricus. Blood glucose levels were routinely determined every week. After 30 and 60 days, mice from all groups were sacrificed. Blood samples and livers were collected for determination of hepatic glycogen, hepatic glucokinase activity and mRNA expression levels of GK. Our results revealed a significant hypoglycemic effect of the two species of mushrooms. There was a significant change in the hepatic glycogen content with a marked increase in the expression level of GK in mushroom feeding groups. We can conclude that Oyster and Button mushrooms have a potent hypoglycemic effect on diabetic mice which gives us a new prospect to face diabetes mellitus with high effect and low cost.


SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -Surrozen, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRZN), a company pioneering targeted therapeutics that selectively activate the Wnt pathway for tissue repair and regeneration, announced today that a poster supporting the potential of SZN-413 for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy was presented on May 1 at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting in Denver.


We measure the absolute branching fractions of D{sub s} semileptonic decays where the hadron in the final state is one of {phi}, {eta}, {eta}{sup '}, K{sub S}{sup 0}, K*{sup 0}, and f{sub 0}, using 2.8x10{sup 5} e{sup +}e{sup -}{yields}D{sub s}D{sub s}* decays collected in the CLEO-c detector at a center-of-mass energy close to 4170 MeV. We obtain B(D{sub s}{sup +}{yields}{phi}e{sup +}{nu}{sub e})=(2.29{+-}0.37{+-}0.11)%, B(D{sub s}{sup +}{yields}{eta}e{sup +}{nu}{sub e})=(2.48{+-}0.29{+-}0.13)%, B(D{sub s}{sup +}{yields}{eta}{sup '}e{sup +}{nu}{sub e})=(0.91{+-}0.33{+-}0.05)%, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. We also obtain B(D{sub s}{sup +}{yields}K{sup 0}e{sup +}{nu}{sub e})=(0.37{+-}0.10{+-}0.02)%, and B(D{sub s}{sup +}{yields}K*{sup 0}e{sup +}{nu}{sub e})=(0.18{+-}0.07{+-}0.01)%, which are the first measurements of Cabibbo suppressed exclusive D{sub s} semileptonic decays, and, B(D{sub s}{sup +}{yields}f{sub 0}e{sup +}{nu}{sub e})xB(f{sub 0}{yields}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -})=(0.13{+-}0.04{+-}0.01)%. This is the first absolute product branching fraction determination for a semileptonic decay including a scalar meson in the final state.


Detection of vitamin C (VC) is necessary because of its wide use in chemical, biological, and pharmaceutical engineering. Here, we describe a sensing system for the determination of VC. Instead of a bare glassy carbon electrode (GCE), a prepared multi-walled carbon nanotube-polycation-GCE was used to detect VC in samples with higher sensitivity, better repeatability, and with a lower detection limit. Under the optimal conditions, the obtained sensor presented a linear response to VC in the range of 1–100 μM with a detection limit of 500 nM. The proposed electrode also successfully detected VC concentrations in real samples.


Text data is one of the most abundant types of data available, produced every day across all domains of society. Understanding the contents of this data can support important policy decisions, help us understand society and culture, and improve business processes. While machine learning techniques are growing in their power for analyzing text data, there is still a clear role for human analysis and decision-making. This seminar explored the use of visual analytics applied to text data as a means to bridge the complementary strengths of people and computers. The field of visual text analytics applies visualization and interaction approaches which are tightly coupled to natural language processing systems to create analysis processes and systems for examining text and multimedia data. During the seminar, interdisciplinary working groups of experts from visualization, natural language processing, and machine learning examined seven topic areas to reflect on the state of the field, identify gaps in knowledge, and create an agenda for future cross-disciplinary research. This report documents the program and the outcomes of Dagstuhl Seminar 22191 "Visual Text Analytics". Seminar 08.– 13. May, 2022 – https://www.dagstuhl.de/22191 2012 ACM Subject Classification Human-centered computing → Visualization techniques; Human-centered computing → Visual analytics; Human-centered computing → Information visualization; Computing methodologies → Natural language processing; Computing methodologies → Machine learning; Information systems → Information systems applications; Applied computing → Document management and text processing


The core /shell nanoparticles in solid matrix has received much attention because of its special and multiple properties in physics and chemistry.The growth of core / shell nanoparticles embedded in a host matrix can lead to substantial strain.Strain and its spatial distribution have pronounced influences on the properties of nanoparticles.In our studies,the growth strain of Ge / GeO2 core / shell nanoparticles embedded in the Al2O3 matrix was investigated.With the growth of Ge / GeO2 core / shell nanoparticles,the Ge core incurs weaker and homogeneous strain,while the GeO2 shell incurs stronger net deviatoric strain and the strain become more and more nonuniform,which will have much influence on the structure and morphology of Ge / GeO2 core / shell nanoparticles.Strain engineering is an effective tool for tailoring the properties of Ge / GeO2 core / shell nanoparticles.


ABSTRACT Choking under pressure describes suboptimal sport performance in stressful situations, which has led to two fundamental 'choking' models: distraction and self-focus. The purpose of this review was to provide an overview of empirical studies that have tested interventions used to alleviate choking. The systematic review includes 47 empirical studies published up to April 2017, including experimental, quasi-experimental, and single-case studies with athletes. These studies encompassed a variety of interventions (n = 13) that were either distraction based or self-focus based. In addition, a third group – acclimatisation interventions – was identified. The results indicate that, in general, choking interventions based on both choking models and on acclimatisation provide a benefit to performance under pressure. The most reported effective interventions were pre-performance routines, quiet eye training, left-hand contractions, and acclimatisation training. The use of dual task was beneficial for performance under pressure but harmful when used in training. Mixed evidence was found for analogy learning, and null effects were reported for goal setting, neurofeedback training, and reappraisal cues. These results may help athletes and coaches select and implement effective strategies and methods to improve performance under pressure.


Background Cow's milk allergy (CMA) affects 2.5% of children aged less than 2 years of age. Although β‐ and κ‐casein are considered among the major allergens responsible for CMA, no data are available on their allergenic epitopes in humans.


In recent 20 years,with the development of percutaneous coronary intervention treatment,the researches related to PCI are increasing.Many studies have shown that inflammation plays an important role in the prognosis of the patients who accepted the PCI treatment.The efficacy of myocardial reperfusion in these patients has attracted much attention,especially the damage and importa-nce of the no-reflow reperfusion.How to control the levels of inflammatory factors(such as hs-CRP,IL-6,TNF-α,etc),to benefits patie-nts undergoing PCI treatment,needs more prospective studies to observe.


Zn nanowires were fabricated by directelectro-deposition with porous aluminum oxide membrane as the templates, and ZnO nanowire arrays were prepared via the high temperature oxidation of Zn nanowires. The aperture of alumina template was altered by changing the process parameters of the preparation of alumina membranes. Therefore, the diameter of ZnO nanowires was changed, too. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope were employed to study the morphology and chemical composition of ZnO nanowires. It was found that the diffraction peaks increase with the diameters of ZnO nanowires increasing. The photoluminescence property of the sample was measured with an FLS920 spectrofluorimeter, and the effects of the morphologies of ZnO nanowires on the photoluminescence were analysed by gauss curve fitting method. The results indicate that the crystallinity and the stoichiometric proportion improve gradually with the diameters of nanowires increasing from 30 nm to 60 nm. The emission peaks of ZnO nanowires with diameters of 30 nm, 40 nm, 45 nm and 55 nm in the region of ultraviolet and blue band showed a blue shift with the diameters of nanowires increasing, however, the peaks of ZnO nanowires with a diameter of 60 nm exhibited an opposite tendency. It can be deduced that there is a critical value of diameter that makes the photoluminescence property of ZnO nanowires different.


The passage of cicer milkvetch (Astragalus cicer L.) through the digestive tract of cattle was examined in relation to recovery, germination, and establishment. About 86% of seed ingested was recovered over a 4-d period. Most seed was excreted 24–48 h after ingestion and soft seed was reduced by about 3% for every 24-h period spent in the digestive tract. However, the field observation of 20 established plants indicates low efficiency of this method for dispersal of cicer milkvetch. Key words:Astragalus cicer, digestion, germination, soft seed, establishment, cattle


Computer vision is now playing a vital role in modern UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) systems. However, the on-board real-time small object detection for UAVs remains challenging. This paper presents an end-to-end ViT (Vision Transformer) detector, named Sparse ROI-based Deformable DETR (SRDD), to make ViT model available to UAV on-board systems. We embed a scoring network in the transformer T-encoder to selectively prune the redundant tokens, at the same time, introduce ROI-based detection refinement module in the decoder to optimise detection performance while maintaining end-to-end detection pipeline. By using scoring networks, we compress the Transformer encoder/decoder to 1/3-layer structure, which is far slim compared with DETR. With the help of lightweight backbone ResT and dynamic anchor box, we relieve the memory insufficient of on-board SoC. Experiment on UAVDT dataset shows the proposed SRDD method achieved 50.2% mAP (outperforms Deformable DETR at least 7%). In addition, the lightweight version of SRDD achieved 51.08% mAP with 44% Params reduction.


The Dyadic Green's function about spherical-shell microwave windows is presented in this paper,with which the influence on radiation pattern caused by the hemispherical-shell microwave windows is analyzed.The results show that the effect on the radiation pattern is prominent with the enhanced side lobe and the narrowed main lobe when the beam waist of Gauss distribution field is large,while the effect weakens as the beam waist decreases,thus it is concluded that the hemispherical-shell microwave windows are fit for the Gauss feed with small beam waist but unfit for the feed with large beam waist.


We report electro-thermal investigation of 1×1 non-volatile switch operating at 1.55 µm, using reversible phase change in Ge2Sb2Te5. The switch provides 26.43 dB extinction ratio and 1.62 dB insertion loss with sub-nano joule switching energy.


This nation-scale, watershed-level analysis focuses on the major trends and the spatial pattern of land use and the impact on watershed health. We estimate a simultaneous equation system to analyze the impact of land use on aquatic health in watersheds across the United States.


The performance of first‐line supervisors normally has to be assessed without reference to objective indices. In practice, assessment is often carried out on the basis of ratings by immediate superiors. This paper examines ratings of supervisors' performance by their own managers in two Birmingham plants. A combination of factors together account for approaching half of the variation in these ratings. Only one of the predictive factors, the degree of personal flexibility expressed by supervisors, is independent of the managerial rater. Ratings of supervisory performance in fact appear to tell as much about the rater as they do about the person being rated. The findings of this study also suggest that the highly rated supervisor is the one who successfully protects his superior from the need to be involved with shopfloor activity and its disturbances.


Until medievaltime,Chinese science and technology was far advanced than that in Europe,but why the industrial revolution didn't appear in China?In fact,the phenomenon is connected with traditional culture,political institutions and commercial developing environment.


Cancer is a horrifying pathology, whose treatment (radiotherapy and chemotherapy) is accompanied by many side effects. The most challenging one is oral mucositis, which is sometimes so severe, that patient just refuses to take therapy anymore and gets ready to face the fatal consequences rather than living a compromised and painful life. As oral health care providers, we can help these patients by timely assessing, diagnosing, educating and making aware about oral mucositis and its management before, during and after oncotherapy. I wish to suggest through this paper that the dentist should be there full time or on call in every oncotherapy department for guiding management protocol for oral mucositis, prior to, during and after therapy, so that these patients can pass through the difficult phase of life with minimal stress and be able to win over this fatal disease by pursuing the treatment.


Black esophagus is a rare syndrome with a measured incidence of about 0.01 to 0.28% of the population, with very few reports in the literature [1]. Although rare, mortality reaches 30% of cases [2]. The main predisposing factors include male gender, old age, cardiovascular diseases, ischemic diseases, and thromboembolic diseases [3]. A 72-year-old man was admitted to the intensive care unit owing to pneumonia with sepsis and hemodynamic instability using noradrenaline. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy exam was performed because of massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding. On examination, a black esophagus with mucosal detachment and exposure of the muscular layer was found in about 75% of the organ lumen, which extended 20 cm from the upper dental arch to the esophagogastric transition. Voluminous active bleeding was also observed (▶Fig. 1). We decided to use an esophageal fully covered self-expandable metal stent by the "over-thewire" technique for the purpose of hemostasis (▶Fig. 2, ▶Video 1). After the 12-hour procedure, the patient was stable and without vasoactive drugs. Another upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed 72 hours later, which demonstrated success in achieving hemostasis and, after stent removal, the organ's surface showed no bleeding or signs of perforation (▶Fig. 3). Black esophagus has no indication for stent use [4]. Because of active bleeding in this case, however, it saved the life of the patient, who was discharged from the intensive care unit after 7 days of hospitalization. We emphasize that in these cases the patient tends to progress to a distal esophageal stricture, and early dilation is the key to successful treatment [2, 5]. Endoscopy_UCTN_Code_TTT_1AO_2AD


Besides cyprinids, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) are the most abundantly produced freshwater fish. Several production systems exist but for high gross profit margins only male monosex production is of interest. This is usually achieved by adding androgens to the diet of first feeding tilapia. The most abundant androgen used is 17α-methyltestosterone (MT), which is prohibited for use as feed additive in the EU. Furthermore, MT is carcinogenic for humans and MT-rich effluents can cause environmental problems. In our previous experiment, saponins extracted from Quillaja saponaria (M.) inhibited aromatase activity in vitro. It has been shown that aromatase inhibition leads to masculinisation in fishes. We report the results of an experiment in which three different saponins were tested for their effect on sex ratio and gonad histology of Nile tilapia. A saponin fraction extracted from Trigonella foenum-graecum, and commercially available saponins (Quillaja saponin and Diosgenin) were added in different concentrations (150– 1000 ppm) to the diets. A total of 1080 Nile tilapia fry were divided into nine groups and stocked at 40 fish per tank in 27 tanks in a flow-through system. Starting six days after hatching, tilapia larvae were fed a control diet and eight different experimental diets (150 and 300 ppm Trigonella saponins, 150, 300 and 1000 ppm each for Quillaja saponins and Diosgenin) for 28 days. There were three replicates for each treatment. At the end of the experimental feeding, fish were transferred into a recirculation system and fed for 10 more weeks with a commercial tilapia diet. Thereafter they were killed, sexed and random gonad samples taken for histology. Sex ratios in some treatments ranged from 28 % to 67 % males. No treatment group was, however, statistically different (p > 0.05) from control and the other treatments. There were no obvious differences in the histology of the gonads. The results of this study are different from those obtained in a previous study in which Trigonella foenum-graecum saponins showed a masculinisation effect in Nile tilapia. We conclude that the tested saponins in the applied concentrations are not suitable to be considered as an alternative to MT.


The Arctic Institute was called upon to evaluate certain aspects of the feasibility of offshore Alaska undersea port facilities for large-scale subsurface commercial shipping. This report deals with the project task that called for the Institute to explore the potential of the Alaska Natives (as defined by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act) to participate in the planning, financing, constructing, managing and operating of an oil--and later, possibly, liquefied natural gas--delivery system from northern Alaska to markets via submarine tankers. The technical and economic feasibility of submarine tankers themselves is not part of the task addressed. It was concluded that the Alaska Natives would have the incentive, land resources and funds to participate, and that additional funds might be available from federal, state and private sources in the form of loans, grants or investments.


Abstract In recent supply chain management, as the online use of inventory data becomes available with the development of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, it is now possible to monitor the performance measures in a timely fashion. Customer service level is a key performance measure that can be computed as the percentage of times that customer orders electronically received are fulfilled by on-hand inventory. Online monitoring of the service level enables the management paradigm to progress toward the closed loop based control which keeps revising the operation policy to reach a target service level. This paper proposes a closed loop supply chain control based on a direct neural network controller. Simulation based experiments were performed to test the performance of the controller against two kinds of unstable customer demand curves.


Objective To observe and compare the curative effects of laparoscopic surgery and laparotomy in the treatment of ectopic pregnancy. Methods 80 patients with ectopic pregnancy who were admitted to our hospital from January 2012 to January 2013 were selected as subjects in the clinical study. All patients were randomly assigned into control group and experimental group, with 40 in each group. The control group received laparotomy clinically, while the experimental group received laparoscopic surgery clinically. The conditions during and after the surgery between the two groups were then observed and compared. Results According to the results of the clinical study, surgery time, bleeding during surgery, time of passage of gas after surgery, length of stay, and exercise time in experimental group were all better than those in control group, and the differences were statistically significant(P 0.05). Conclusion According to the findings of the study, laparoscopic surgery for patients with ectopic pregnancy is effective, minimally invasive and fast in recovery, which is worthy of promotion and widespread application.


We report a case of a seventy years old lady of poor socioeconomic background who presented with painless swelling of the right upper lid since one year. No other local or systemic features were associated. An incisional biopsy was performed under local anaesthesia. Histopathological examination revealed epitheloid granuloma with Langerhan's giant cells suggestive of tuberculosis of lid skin. The clinical events and pathological findings were suggestive of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the cause of infection. After diagnosis, the patient was referred to physician for anti-tuberculosis therapy. The eyelid swelling resolved gradually and was completely normal after 9 months of chemotherapy.


Enormous quantities of softwood and hardwood tree bark are generated yearly in the pulp and woodworking industry. Chemical compounds which can be found in bark extracts have important biological properties and therefore a high potential for using in the production of special formulations. In the present study, extraction of Picea abies bark with organosolv solvents was investigated to achieve a high yield of desirable compounds. For the extraction four different solvent ratios of ethanol and water were applied. The temperature range of extraction was set between 40 and 100 °C and stirring velocity of 400 rpm. Extractions were performed with a solid/liquid ratio of 1:20. Yields of phenolics, flavonoids and tannins were determined using gallic acid for total phenolic content (TPC), quercetin for total flavonoid content (TFC) and tannic acid for total tannins content (TTC) as calibration compounds. Qualitative analysis of phenolic constituents was performed after their derivatization, by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry identification. The total yield of bark extract of 14.75 wt.% was achieved by using an ethanol/water ratio of 50% (v/v) and a temperature of 100 °C. Gas chromatography results show 9 aromatic carboxylic acids as phenolic acids and quercetin and (+)-catechin as flavonoid compounds. Highest concentrations of TPC = 3.21 mg gallic acid equivalent/g, TCF = 0.62 mg quercetin equivalent/g and TTC = 0.84 tannic acid equivalent/g were determined at the same process conditions by photometric method. This study determined the conditions for organosolv extraction of useful compounds and suggests that some of extractives, e.g., taxifolin and rhamnetin presented in the spruce bark extracts, have antiviral (SARS-CoV-2) effects. Therefore, this warrants further evaluation of the antiviral properties of spruce bark constituents.


Ultrastable gold substrates, which are composed entirely of gold, reduce the average movement of cryogeninc specimen under electron irradiation by about 50-fold during a typical exposure in the bright field transmission electron microscope. This reduces the motion-induced blurring of electron micrographs and improves the image quality. We demonstrate the use of these ultrastable gold substrates in high-resolution structure determination by single particle electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) and electron cryotomography. We show examples of high-resolution structure determination for several specimens. Apoferritin is a particularly challenging protein structure for single particle cryo-EM because sub-nanometer resolution is required in each particle image to successfully assign projection angles and thus calculate a 3D density. We compare structures of apoferritin calculated from images collected under the same conditions on conventional and ultrastable gold substrates. These demonstrate that for small and challenging proteins, the improved image quality on ultrastable substrates can make the difference between success and failure in solving a structure. We also show 3D reconstructed density maps for the eukaryotic 80S ribosome, and the hepatitis B viral capsid. Each show improved resolution on gold substrates as compared to traditional amorphous carbon based supports. In particular, ribosome density maps, calculated from several hundred micrographs collected using ultrastable substrates, show sub-3A features without the use of per-particle motion correction algorithms. Knowledge of how protein particles are displaced in three dimensions during irradiation allows revision of data acquisition strategies to minimise the in-plane components of movement and thus improve image quality on all substrates. Further, using ultrastable gold substrates for the collection of electron tomograms reduces specimen movement, particularly at high tilt angles, and thus improves the resolution of density maps calculated from 3D tomograms.


The fundamental role played by "new technologies" to enhance the manufacturing infrastructure, products and services is confirmed by the strategies, roadmaps and initiatives established by the developed countries such as EU-28, US, China and Japan. Putting the light on Europe, the key priorities for manufacturing are aligned with the Industry 4.0 strategy/program where the proliferation of cyber-physical systems (CPSs) and technologies like predictive data analytics, cloud and edge computing are creating the foundation for smart factory, i.e. the efficient and effective connection between products, processes and their related services. However, even if the smart factory vision is quite clear, in practice, it is still unclear how it can be implemented in a way to allow the transparent data exchange between all the layers of a manufacturing company, as well as, between the manufacturing company and the value chain partners. Within the German Industrie4.0 program, the Asset Administration Shell concept is defined to create a standardized digital representation of the asset while ensuring interoperability between all the applications within the manufacturing ecosystem. In this paper, an implementation of the asset administration shell is provided – also called NOVAAS – based on the deep usage of internet technologies, languages and software engineering techniques and methods (such as DevOps, microservices, continuous integration, etc.). The main goal is to contribute towards a generic and extensible reference implementation of the concept.


The Resin Infusion process (RI, also known as VARTM) is a subclass of the Liquid Composite Moulding (LCM) collective, which is increasingly applied in industry. As opposed to the other LCM processes, RI utilises only one rigid mould half, the upper mould half of the mould being a flexible plastic bag. This greatly reduces tooling costs, and makes the process suitable for medium to very large sized parts. However, the interaction between a flexible bag and the infusion of the laminate within, presents a significant challenge to model and understand. The University of Auckland LCM research group is developing SimLCM as a generic LCM mould filling simulation. SimLCM has recently been extended to simulate RI, focusing on resin flow and laminate thickness predictions throughout the process. To accurately predict filling times, and the evolution of fluid pressure and laminate thickness during filling and post-filling phases, a detailed knowledge is required of the complex compaction response of the fibre reinforcement. While significant research has been published on modelling of the filling in RI, the post-filling period has received much less attention. This phase is, however, significant as spatial variations in laminate thickness are removed, preferably before the infused resin gels. Extending on previous work on rectilinear filling, this paper will present a program of RI experiments in a range of 2D flow geometries and the results will be compared to the predictions made using SimLCM. Special attention is given to the post-filling stage, and the validation of the new models developed for SimLCM. A selection of radial, peripheral and more complex filling situations have been addressed.


In Korea, the population of patients with dementia exceeds 700,000 individuals and is assumed to be approximately 750,488 people. This leads to an assumed dementia care partner population of 891,035 individuals and an associated annual cost of 14,633,740 won(Korea National Institute Dementia, 2019).Thus, the prevalence of dementia has risen gradually and rapidly, as the number of dementia care families has reached 3.5 million(Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2018). Moreover, in the past, approximately 39% of patients with dementia had spouses in 2014(the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2018; the Seoul Metropolitan Medical Center, 2014), with an increase in the number of elderly spouses and partnersto due to the social environment. Families of dementia patients face many difficulties, including physical problems such as fatigue and poor health; psychological and social problems such as anxiety, depression, and social isolation; and economic problems (doctorsnews, 2018).Dementia family support programs should be developed to alleviate these difficulties and the burden that is associated with dementia support and depression(Lee & Kim, 2017).Furthermore, an article that was published by 'AaysiFamily guide for in-home dementia care' emphasized the importance of professional care for patients with dementia (Comfort home Care, 2019). Grigorovich et al. (2016) also published an article, entitled 'Adult sons and daughters differ on dementia care responsibilities; Caregiver SOS' in health and wellness that describes related difficulties. The report and the results of dementia family care suggest that the spouses of patients with dementia also tend to be elderly. Furthermore, 35.4% of dementia care families are aware of the poor health condition of the patients with dementia. Altogether, enabling "health-related consult with dementia care experts" and "health promotion for dementia care families" is imperative. This can be supported through exercise and physical activity programs (Dementia Center of Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2019).


Under circumstance of high competition intensity, offering distinguishes and action-oriented service for consumer satisfaction is the marketing goal of the company. How to build up the distinguish service? Service orientation is an effective tool to build unique competitive advantage. This study constructs a comprehensive basis to examine the influence of the impact from the internal and external of the organization to service orientation and how the service orientation affects the performance of each individual employee and the organization. The research objects is the first line staffs of Waterland stock company. The findings suggested: Firstly, environmental characteristics, company characteristics are positively related to enterprise's service orientation. Secondly, service orientation is positively related to employee's service performance. Thirdly, employee's service performance is positively related to company performance. Furthermore, the authors discuss several important research issues as well as managerial implications and future research avenues.


In the higher-dimensional space-time, the metric coefficients g_(00) and g_(11) of both the Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordstrom metrics satify the relation g_(00)g_(11) =-1. By
considering that rhe relation between the metric coefficients is valid inside a charged
perfect-fluid distribution, and assuming the mass density σ = σ_0r~b e~(-λ(r)/2), we
obtain an exact interior solution far a static charged sphere in the higher-dimensional space-time.


Abstract Power‐to‐X technologies have the potential to pave the way towards a future resource‐secure bioeconomy as they enable the exploitation of renewable resources and CO2. Herein, the coupled electrocatalytic and microbial catalysis of the C5‐polymer precursors mesaconate and 2S‐methylsuccinate from CO2 and electric energy by in situ coupling electrochemical and microbial catalysis at 1 L‐scale was developed. In the first phase, 6.1±2.5 mm formate was produced by electrochemical CO2 reduction. In the second phase, formate served as the substrate for microbial catalysis by an engineered strain of Methylobacterium extorquens AM‐1 producing 7±2 μm and 10±5 μm of mesaconate and 2S‐methylsuccinate, respectively. The proof of concept showed an overall conversion efficiency of 0.2 % being 0.4 % of the theoretical maximum.


First, the upper cover having a wafer engaging grooves on the carrier wafer, and wafer etched through the upper cover portion. Next, the upper cover wafer since the wafer carrier is removed, and the wafer bonded to the transparent cover wafer, and then removing a portion of the upper cover corresponding to the recess of the wafer, the wafer is not removed so that the upper cover is formed of a plurality of support blocks. Providing the wafer elements. Finally, the support block and the die bonding member, whereby the support block and the transparent wafer may be the wafer seal member engagement element gas.


Improved method for inspecting steam generators tubular reactors, new simple signal history artifacts have been removed by collecting historical data on tubesheet transition region of each capillary for use when later analysis the cause.


State-of-the-art fabrication and characterization techniques are nowadays able to experimentally control light–matter interaction at sub-nanometer scales. Thus, theoretical schemes able to overcome the limits of the classical vision and to fully take into account quantum mechanical effects are needed. In this work, we propose time-dependent density functional tight-binding (TD-DFTB) as a new workhorse for computational quantum plasmonics. DFTB has been demonstrated to be an efficient scheme for describing the structural, electronic, and optical properties of different biomolecules and carbon-based nanosystems. We report here on the absorption spectra of silver tetrahedral closed-shell Agₙ clusters within the framework of TD-DFTB and on their comparison with the reference ones, obtained within the first-principles time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) scheme. It is found out that, under an appropriate choice of the Slater–Koster parametrization, optical spectra result to be in a very good agreement with the reference ones and achievable within a total wall time less than 0.2% the TD-DFT one. This result offers a firm basis to overcome the bottleneck of computational cost in plasmonics and paves the way toward future developments in quantum plasmonics.


Finally, what Boyle knows she knows well, and she states it forthrightly in a flatfooted prose which is not the aptest mediator between the inquiring reader and a poet so calculatedly ambiguous, and so deft with layers of meaning. The largest objective of Boyle's book is to recall us to a sense of the theological context of Petrarch' 5 poetry in the Canzoniere, and in the end she is able to do so with revolutionary effect. But she also aspires to present us with the poet I as theologian.' In attempting this she has confused Petrarch's information about theology (and possibly her own) with the systematic thinking that characterizes the true theologian. Petrarch, we can be sure, was devout; in one of his copies of Horace, now in the Morgan Library, he annotated the poet's prayer to Apollo (Odes I, xxxi, 17) with the observation 'a good prayer, if it were made to Christ.' This note alone tends to confinn the direction Boyle takes in tracing Petrarch's Apollonian poetics. But Petrarch was not a systematic or creative theological mind. He was a systematic and creative poet, and with Petrarch, the poetry is where we have to begin. If Boyle's book may not answer the question it attempts to pose, it will nevertheless provide devastating annament for those who are willing to begin there.


A series of synthetic, semisynthetic and naturally occurring aporphine alkaloids were converted to the O-trimethylsilyl derivatives, and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. A discussion of structurally informative fragment ions along with gas chromatographic data is presented. Their applicability to the analysis of biological metabolites of apomorphine, a CNS active structural analog of dopamine, is discussed.


Background There is clinical importance to investigate the disease progression through potential biomarkers of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the present study, we aim to evaluate the significance of inflammatory markers in different categories of COVID-19 in admitted patients. Methods In a single-center, observational study of 50 in-hospital patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and admitted to the intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital in Peshawar, infection biomarkers, including hs-CRP, serum ferritin, serum creatinine, ALT, ALP, cardiac troponin-I, and IL-6 were analyzed. Results The median age was 61.3 years. 70% (35) were male while 30% (15) were female. We noted significantly increased hs-CRP (9.32 mg/dL ± 10.03) and ferritin levels (982.3 ng/ml ± 601.9). A noteworthy increase was observed in neutrophil count (11.05 × 109/L) and a decrease was observed in lymphocyte count (0.27 × 109/L) (P < 0.05), and the platelet count was borderline decreased (244.1 × 109/L). IL-6 levels were markedly increased in all admitted patients (100.2 pg/ml ± 122.2 pg/ml). Conclusion The serum levels of CRP, troponin-I, ALP, ALT, serum creatinine, and ferritin are markedly increased in COVID-19 patients. Increased CRP and ferritin levels were also associated with secondary bacterial infection and poor clinical outcomes.


Most single point mutations destabilize folded proteins. Mutations that stabilize a protein typically only have a small effect and multiple mutations are often needed to substantially increase the stability. Multiple point mutations may act synergistically on the stability, and it is not straightforward to predict their combined effect from the individual contributions. Here, we have applied an efficient in-cell assay to select variants of the barley chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 with increased stability. We find two variants that are more than 3.8 kJ/mol more stable than the wild-type. In one case the increased stability is the effect of the single substitution D55G. The other case is a double mutant, L49I/I57V, which is 5.1 kJ/mol more stable than the sum of the effects of the individual mutations. In addition to demonstrating the strength of our selection system for finding stabilizing mutations, our work also demonstrate how subtle conformational effects may modulate stability.


If class war is continual in capitalist society, there is no doubt that in recent decades in the United States it has taken a much more virulent form. In a speech delivered at New York University in 2004 Bill Moyers pointed out thatThis article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.


Objective To investigate the role and clinical significance of hypermethylation of adenomatous polyposis coli gene(APC) in the carcinogenesis of epithelial ovarian carcinoma.Methods Hypermethylation of APC was detected by using a methylation specific PCR(MSP) in 59 epithelial ovarian cancer patients,32 metastatic tissues of pelvic and abdomen cavity,12 adjacent non-cancerous ovarian tissues and 30 normal ovarian tissues.Results Hypermethylation of APC was detected in 32.2% ovarian cancer tissues and 40.6% metastatic sites respectively,in which the frequency was significantly higher than that in normal ovarian tissues(P0.01).Hypermethylation of APC was detected in 1 out of 12 adjacent non-cancerous ovarian tissues,and no hypermethylation was detected in normal ovarian tissues.The frequency of hypermethylation of APC was significantly lower in cancers of stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ than that in stage Ⅲ and Ⅳ(P0.05),and in well differentiated cancers than in poorly differentiated ones.Conclusion Promoter hypermethylation of APC plays an important role in the course of epithelial ovarian carcinoma,and it is related to clinical stage and histopathological grade in epithelial ovarian carcinoma.


The present invention relates to a nutritional composition comprising at least one fucosylated oligosaccharide and at least one N-acetylated oligosaccharide, for use in preventing and/or treating constipation and/or in improving stool consistency/frequency in an infant or a young child.


Tectaria yunnanensis(Bak.) Ching,a new recorded fern species in Guizhou and a new variety,Pteris deltodon Bak.var.monstrosa P.S.Wang et J.H.Zhao collected by the authors are now delivered as follows.


When this title was presented to the Program Committee in the early part of this year, there was an honest purpose of contributing to the development of public and professional opinion upon the qualification of specialists in radiology. Another idea contributed to the increasing tendency of hospital executives to absorb the functions and perquisites of the radiologist and to make technical x-ray procedures paramount. It seems that we no sooner succeeded in squelching commercial x-ray laboratories than another more highly organized group of modern business executives began placing obstacles in the pathway of radiologic progress. Surely radiology has had a stormy career but it requires far better pilots to guide ships through stormy weather than over calm seas. Evidently we have had some wise pilots in our midst and they have endowed the rest of us with some professional courage. Certain events of prime importance to radiology occurred this spring and summer. One was an informal demand by certain leaders in...


The invention discloses a power-adjustable four-hundred watt inverter which comprises a 12 V direct-current power source, a multivibrator circuit, a pulse width modulation circuit, a voltage comparing circuit, a push-pull power amplifying circuit, a booster circuit and an output rectangular voltage shaping circuit and is characterized in that the model number of a pulse width modulating oscillating circuit selected in the multivibrator circuit is SG3524. The inverter is fabricated through an inversion technology with a storage battery as a power source, which is feasible for temporary interruption of a power supply line. The power-adjustable four-hundred watt inverter is simple in circuit structure, few in peripheral elements, high in conversion efficiency and low in temperature rise in a rated power range; the output power of the power-adjustable four-hundred watt inverter reaches up to 400 W; and the output power of the inverter can be adjusted by modulating the pulse width through an external potentiometer. Furthermore, the power-adjustable four-hundred watt inverter is suitable for the electrical appliances such as universal lighting equipment, computers, electronic instruments and the like, and capable of serving as either an emergency power source for short-term power failure of the power supply line or an emergency lighting or fire-fighting emergency power source for various public places.


Soil particle-size distributions can provide valuable information on the processes and products of soil formation. The purpose of this study was to assess the pretreatment effect on the particle size distribution and corresponding fractal dimension of particle size (D s ). Twenty nine soil samples were collected from diverse climatic and pedogenic conditions with diverse particle size distributions, calcium carbonate and organic matter contents. To evaluate the effect of pretreatment on soil particle-size distribution, four different particle size distributions and fractal dimension values were obtained. Treatments included, 1) no pretreated, 2) organic matter removed with H 2 O 2 , 3) CaCO 3 removed with NaOAc, and 4) organic matter and calcium carbonate removed. Clay content ranged from 12.5 to 66.5%, organic matter varied from 0.05 to 7.35%, and calcium carbonate content ranged from 5.57 to 60.09%. The difference in clay content before and after pretreatment of organic matter was significant (P Dissolving calcium carbonate probably removed the clay sized calcium carbonate particles which were considered within the clay fraction. Therefore, the lowest mean fractal value (Ds c =2.82) was obtained after calcium carbonate removal. The study results revealed that pretreatments affected the rates of particle size distributions. However, the differences in clay, silt, and sand contents obtained when pretreated together with H 2 O 2 and NaOAc were not significantly different.