A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Article history: Received: 22 October, 2019 Accepted: 23 December, 2019 Online: 27 January, 2020 This paper shows a method applied during the reconstruction of an existing middle size Italian hospital. In fact, during this delicate phase, the project had a significant decrease in storage space and access gates for goods, medicines and medical devices. This aspect has a negative impact on road traffic. There was no consensus among the management on how to deal with this problem. In addition, a great tension between engineers and warehouse managers made it impossible to find a solution. For the best of our knowledge there is no available literature on this topic. Hence, a deep analysis had been carried out according to the Business Process Reengineering (BPR). For this reason, a hospital lean group has been created and a statistically study on storage volume inside the warehouse and a monitoring of trucks and goods arrival has been implemented. Three different solutions had been identified through data collection, design of experiments and lean application. The first one was focused on an exclusively internal management, the second one on an exclusively external management whereas the last one was focused on a partially internal scenario. Advantages, disadvantages, costs and the impact on the road traffic has been highlighted for each scenario. Afterward the Management had all the elements to make the best decision. The method reported in this study could be extended during the construction or reconstruction of any company that needs a warehouse or to face a problem in a tense atmosphere.


Five variant configurations of a coal-burning open-cycle magnetohydrodynamic electric power generating facility were studied for evaluation as candidate first-generation power plants. A material and energy balance and cycle analysis was performed for each case to provide information for the conceptual designs and costing of all major MHD-related components and subsystems as well as specification of other state-of-the-art components. An economic comparison was made of each design by developing the cost-of-electricity based on component costs, estimates of operation and maintenance requirements and the performance of each plant from the system analyses. An overall description of each plant is provided along with discussions of critical component and process development. An oxygen-enriched OCMHD plant design was identified as an attractive candidate for first-generation utility service. This plant design appears to offer competitive costs of electricity and minimizes development risk.


In this paper, the effect of cutting parameters during micromilling on surface finish and material removal rate is presented. Inconel 718 alloy and high-speed steel micro end mill are used as work material and cutting tool, respectively. High-speed steel end mill of 1 mm diameter is subjected to cryogenic treatment. Machining studies are performed on Inconel alloy using untreated and cryogenic treated cutters. The milling tests are conducted at three different values of feed rate, cutting speed and depth of cut. Also, tool wear, microstructure and microhardness of different treated and untreated end mill are investigated and discussed in detail. The results showed that cryogenic treatment significantly improved the tool wear. The surface finish produced on machining the work-piece is better with the cryogenic treated tools than when compared with the untreated tools. The material removal rate is better with the cryogenic treated tools than when compared with the untreated tools. Improvement in tool life was up to 53.16% for Inconel 718 material when machined with cryogenically treated micro end mill.


MATRASCSummaryPaperChrisWatson. Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) radio occultation (RO) measurements are well suited to address the incomplete global observational picture of irregularities, including their structure in the vertical dimension. A climatological database of ionospheric irregularities and their characteristics (e.g. magnitude, scale size, gradient, and associated scintillation) has been developed through detection of total electron content (TEC) perturbations by COSMIC precise orbit determination (POD) antennas and associated receivers of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Vertical scale sizes ranging from ∼2 to 50 km were resolved from 1 Hz TEC measurements. The irregularity database will be developed into a climatological data product available to the scientific community, which will describe the global or regional occurrence and characteristics of irregularities based on user input. This paper highlights results of the initial climatological study at equatorial to mid latitudes, as well as the potential applications of the forthcoming data product. The irregularity climatology provides insight into the source and generation mechanisms of irregularities observed at particular local times and geographical regions.


In the new technology of the Internet of Things (IoT), the integration of 5G networks and wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are crucial for a wide range of applications. Thousands of sensors are often used in wireless sensor network platforms, which are powered by limited energy resources. The energy consumption of sensor nodes is the most critical issue in a wireless sensor network since it has a direct influence on the network's lifetime. Since wireless sensor network is primarily used to gather information from the environment, it is essential to keep sensitive data safe from unauthorized users. Due to the broadcast nature of radio transmission, sensor nodes are subject to different security attacks. This form of attack may decrease the sensor lifetime from years to days, and have a severe impact on a sensor network. This paper proposes a Detect and Compare Packet Nonce (DCPN) algorithm and Packet Count Detection (PCD) algorithm for wireless sensor networks. These algorithms efficiently identify and isolate attacks like wormhole and replay attacks while avoiding possible service degradation like energy consumption in sensor nodes. The simulation results show that our mechanism can outperform existing techniques in terms of energy consumption. By applying these algorithms, we achieved a maximum energy saving of 33% per hour. Finally, the study also shows the temperature monitoring of some mobile sensor nodes.


Novel mixed-anion compounds Na3BH4B12H12 and (Li0.7Na0.3)3BH4B12H12 show superionic conduction corresponding to highly disordered cations and continuous migration paths in the structure. Na-rich Na3BH4B12H12 with a room-temperature conductivity of 0.5 × 10−3 S cm−1 provides a light-weight solution for the electrolyte in Na-based all solid-state batteries. (Li0.7Na0.3)3BH4B12H12 favors ionic conductivity for both Li and Na cations, but only above 500 K.


The following extract is taken from a little unpublished handwritten journal prepared by an ancestor of mine, Thomas Dann, who was born in 1741 at Nuffield, Surrey, England. He says that his motive in writing the journal was "chiefly for my own perusal and that of my Children when I may be laid in the silent Grave." In his introduction he says: "My Grandfather's name was Thos. Dann,1 lived in the house where I now dwell, he was convinced of the Truth in the early part of Friends, and lived and died a steady and serviceable Member of Society, as I have been informed." Most of the farmers in the community were Friends and used to attend Reigate Meeting, which was several miles distant. The original of this journal, "Some Accounts of the Lord's Tender Dealings With Me Thomas Dann of Nuffield," is in the possession of an uncle of mine. I recently came into possession of a hand-written copy evidently made shortly after the journalist's death in 1810, for it contains a record of this event and a copy of the memorial accepted by Dorking Monthly Meeting. The copy is written into a book which is an exact duplicate of the original. The section extracted seems to show real parental understanding and skill in dealing with the family in a critical matter.


This investigation was carried out at Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry-University of Duhok/Kurdistan-Iraq. Three experiments were included in this investigation: (1) First experiment was a bioassay related to the germination performance, shoot and root development of corn (Zea mays L.) and peanut (Arachishypogaea) at two concentrations of root (3% and 1.5%) and shoot (12% and 6%) aqueous extracts of corn medium; (2) The second experiment dedicated to the intercropping of corn and peanut at four treatments; (3) While the third experiment involved the effect of peanut root exudation on growth of corn. Experiment results revealed that corn shoot and root water extracts highly inhibited seed germination of both corn and peanut, the inhibitory of shoot extract was more than root aqueous extract. While its effect on the seedling growth was vice versa as compared with control treatment, there was an increase in root and shoot length of both corn and peanut when grown in corn aqueous extracts. Intercropping experiment results has stimulated most traits of peanut under studying. Also for corn, there was apparent and significant increase in all characteristics as compared with control. It was further confirmed from the results of peanut root exudates that had all studied characters of corn were stimulated than the control treatment.


A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF Doctor of ipfulos'optip IN CHEMISTRY NADEEM AHMAD SIDDIQI M. Sc . ,M . Phil (Alig.) ^3399 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) August 1 9 8 6


Objective To investigate anatomic features of vastus medialis(VM) insertion and its surface projection,and provide implication for the preoperative assessment of subvastus approach in total knee arthroplasty(TKA).Methods A total of 20 cadaveric knees were used to explore the morphologic features and surface projection area of the patellar insertion of the vastus medialis,while,80 healthy volunteers were chose to measure surface projection of patellar insertion of the vastus medialis,followed by the measurement comparision with that from knee specimens.Results For most of knee specimens,patellar VM insertion located in patellar midpoint,which were extremely few reaching high and low in patella.The ratio of the length of VM insertion on patella and patella vertical axis were recorded as follows by three groups according to their different methods: cadaveric surface projection group(47.8±15.1)%,cadaveric dissection group(48.7±15.4)% and vivo surface projection group(46.7±14.8)%.There was no significant difference among the three groups.Conclusions The surface projection measurement can substitute for the dissection measurement which is of clinical reference when choosing the subvastus approach in TKA.


The Information technology industry in India has gained a brand identity as a knowledge economy due to its IT and ITES sector. The IT–ITES industry has two major components: IT Services and business process outsourcing (BPO). The growth in the service sector in India has been led by the IT–ITES sector, contributing substantially to increase in GDP, employment, and exports. People in China dream working in manufacturing industry, People in Thailand love to work in tourism sector, People in Africa dream to become a teacher and in India it's all about IT. Depending on the country you are in and opportunities available drives people towards a particular profession. It can be combination of both social status and financial incentives. Stress is the reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed upon them. It arises when they worry that they can't cope. Stress may not always be created by others in our life; we may be a contributing factor in the stress full moments in our life. It is a good idea to communicate with others during the difficult moments, or the place like foster homes, hospitals, nursing homes, and care facilities during the stress full moments. Industrial stress is important on account of distress caused not only to individuals but to society as a whole. Stress in industry occurs at every level. It is usually of psychological rather than physical origin and may originate outside industry. They usually involve injuries to self-esteem, or insecurity, isolation or responsibility. Thus the aim of the paper is to bring out the various factors of stress in IT industry and the coping strategies for stress.


I N T R O D U C T I O N Gentiana L . , an interesting perennial (rarely annual) Genus of Gentianaceae is most ly in the temperate regions and even extends to the arctic and alpine zones. GRISEBACH (1839) and KUSNEZOW (1896-1904) v i v i d l y desc r ibed the sy s  t emat ic and geographica l range of Gentiana. m o r e p a r t i c u l a r l y detai ls of the d i s t r i b u t i o n of German and Russian species. Hungar ian Gentiana has been worked out i n deta i ls by J A V O R K A (1925), SOÓ and JAVORKA(1952) and SOO (1966) i n t he i r f l o r i s t i c manuals. O r i g i n a l l y s ix species of Gen t iana were r e p o r t e d f r o m Hungary : G. c i l i a t a L . , G, asclepiadea L . , G. pneumonanthe L . , G. c r u c i a t a L . , G. l i v o n i c a (Ledeb. ) Esch . , G. aus t r i a c a A. and J. K e r n . SOÓ (1 . c. ) f o l l o w i n g KUSNEZOW ( I . e . ), however , t r a n s f e r r e d two species: G. l i v o n i c a and G. aus t r iaca to the genus Gen t i ane l l a . In ou r n u m e r i c a l eva lua t ion of Gentiana, we discussed in de t a i l the separa t ion of Gentiana and Gentianel la ( S Z U J K O L A C Z A SEN 1976, 19 77). In the present paper we have made an at tempt to s tudy the pa t t e rn of d i s t r i b u t i o n , d i v e r s i t y and e q u i t a b i l i t y of three species of Gentiana and one species of Gent ianel la (G. c i l i a t a ) r e p o r t e d f r o m Hungary. A l l our observat ions are based on the d r i e d specimens of the H e r b a r i u m of the Hungar ian N a t u r a l H i s t o r y Museum, Budapest which embodies a huge c o l  l e c t i o n of Gentiana species f r o m va r ious par t s of Hungary since the midd le of the 19th century . The h e r b a r i u m sheets f requent ly contain a good deal of i n f o r m a t i o n r ega rd ing the type of c o m m u n i t y i n wh ich the plants occur , the exact l o c a l i t y , a l t i tude , etc. F r o m the avai lable i n f o r m a t i o n we have s u m m a r i z e d the frequency of each species i n d i f fe ren t commun i t i e s and fac tor gradients (a l t i tude, annual p r e c i p i t a t i o n ) and ca lcula ted the d i v e r  s i t y and e q u i t a b i l i t y of each species. The commun i t i e s have, however , not been designated here acco rd ing to B R A U N B L A N Q U E T ' s sys t em, as mos t of the sheets, p a r t i c u l a r l y the o ld ones, are not l abe l l ed acco rd ing ly . We have, the re fo re , used the t e r m habi ta t as d i f ined and d i f fe ren t ia ted f r o m niche and ecotype by W H I T T A K E R , L E V I N and ROOT (1973) to desc r ibe the range of env i ronments and communi t i e s over which a species occu r s . Th i s t e r m comes nea re r to the o ld European t e r m f o r m a t i o n . M A C A R T H U R (1961) pointed out that the t e r r i t o r i e s of mos t species are sca t t e red ra the r spa r se ly over the area, and the t e r r i t o r i e s of v e r y few species f o r m a mosa ic . We, the re fo re , bel ieve that w i t h i n the area of a species the d i scon t inu i ty of i t s d i s t r i b u  t ion is m o r e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c than con t inu i ty , because, as we suppose, eve ry species is regula ted by m o r e than one env i ronmen ta l fac tors i n d i f fe ren t degree. In other words , mos t of the species can and have to adapt to d i f fe ren t habitat and env i ronmen ta l f ac to r s w i th in a to le rance range. There fo re , we have made an a t tempt to f ind out the fac tor wh ich produces the m i n i m u m d i v e r s i t y and n e a r l y m a x i m u m equ i t ab i l i t y i n four species w i t h i n the Carpathians and Grea t Hungar ian P l a i n . S i m i l a r l y , we have ca lcu la ted the d i v e r s i t y i n the f l o w e r i n g frequency of the species. L a s t l y , the m u  tua l i n f o r m a t i o n between one examined fac to r and species has been de te r


Mouse and human white blood cell interferon are specifically complexed to concanavalin A covalently linked to Sepharose 4B beads. This reaction does not take place when α-methyl-D-mannoside is added prior and simultaneously to interferon. After fixation, murine interferon can be displaced from concanavalin A by this sugar. Similarly, in a sensitive tissue culture system, contact with cell membranes detaches the active interferon molecule which, after diffusion, induces the antiviral state in cells located at distant sites from the beads. The Sepharose-concanavalin A interferon complex is more stable at 4°C than uncomplexed interferon.


The 2 micron plasmid of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a relatively small multi-copy selfish 28 DNA element that resides in the yeast nucleus at a copy number of 40–60 per haploid cell.


In this issue of Blood , [Kozloski et al][1] identify microRNA (miR)-181a as a novel negative regulator of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling in the activated B-cell (ABC)-like subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).[1][2]

![Figure][3]

Molecular mechanisms that regulate NF-κB


In 2005, the World Health Organization adopted the revised International Health Regulations, or IHR (2005), to establish obligations for detecting and responding to public health emergencies of international concern. The success of the IHR (2005) rests on the ability of states to implement the objectives and to execute the regulations in a legal and politically acceptable manner. Implementation of the IHR (2005) may be challenging for federalist nations, where most public health regulatory power lies in local rather than in national governments. We examine the implementation strategies of 4 nations: Australia, Canada, Germany, and India. The methods currently being considered by these nations for executing the IHR (2005) are potentially applicable models for the United States to consider.


In accordance with the need of designing large welded hollow spherical joints (WHSJ) of an arch steel roof in a gymnasium,a finite element nonlinear analysis and a full-scale experiment on the joint are carried out.The WHSJ connects two cables and twelve bars,three of which are overlapped.Through the finite element analysis,the distribution of surface stress of the joint was obtained;the bars were found yielding at their bottoms in the overlapped area under 1.4 times of the designed loads.Full-scale experimental research also indicated that the stress at the bottom of the ninth bar reached the yielding strength under 1.4 times of the designed loads.The result of the experiment is basically consistent with the analysis results.The study can provide references for the design of engineering joints.


PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the quality of the credit process is sensitive to reaching a particular threshold level of non-performing loans (NPLs) and, more importantly, whether higher NPLs ratios could make the monitoring activity ineffective.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical design is composed of two steps: in the first step, the authors introduce a monitoring performance indicator (MPI) of the credit process by combining the non-parametric technique Data Envelopment Analysis with some financial ratios adopted as input and output variables. As second step, the authors apply a threshold panel regression model to a sample of 298 Italian banks, over the time period 2006–2014, and the authors investigate whether the quality of the credit process is sensitive to reaching a particular threshold level of NPLs.FindingsThis paper finds that, first, when the NPLs ratio remains below the threshold value estimated endogenously, an increase in the quality of monitoring has a positive impact on the NPLs ratio. Second, if the NPLs ratio exceeds the estimated threshold, the relationship between the NPLs ratio and quality of monitoring assumes a positive value and is statistically significant.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the lack of data, the investigation of NPLs in the Italian industry across loan types combined with the monitoring effort by banks management was not possible. The authors plan to investigate this topic in future studies.Practical implicationsThe identification of the threshold has a double operational valence. The first regards the Supervisory Authority, the threshold approach could be used as an early warning in order to introduce active control strategies based on the additional information requested or by on-site inspections. The second implication is highlighted in relation to the individual banks, the monitoring of credit control quality, if objective and comparable, could facilitate the emergence of best practices among banks.Social implicationsA high NPLs ratio requires greater loan provisions, which reduces capital resources available for lending, and dents bank profitability. Moreover, structural weaknesses on banks' balance sheets still persist particularly in relation to the inadequate internal governance structures. This means that bank management must able to recognise in advance early warning signals by providing prudent measurement together with an in-depth valuation of loans portfolio.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper is twofold: the authors introduce a new proxy of credit monitoring, called MPI; the authors provide an empirical proof of the Diamond's (1991) economic intuition: for riskier borrowers, the monitoring activity is an inappropriate instrument depending on the bad reputational quality of borrowers.


This paper explores the practicability of dynamic pricing, and in particular the incentives and possibilities for consumers to respond to such pricing. Using a unique and highly detailed data set from Sweden, price elasticities at the monthly level are estimated; the estimated price elasticities are insignificant. In addition, using a SUR framework, end-use specific load curves are estimated, with a view to analyzing how these correlate to possible restrictions on load shifting (e.g. the oce hours schedule). Based on these results, it is not evident that in the short-run, households have the possibility of shifting heating and lighting consumption to o-peak hours. Further, the cost reduction from shifting load from "expensive" to "cheap" hours is computed to be very small ; roughly 2-5% daily cost reduction from shifting load up to 7 hours ahead. These results have important implications for Swedish energy policy, in particular for the Swedish government's stated goal of real-time pricing. The success of real time pricing depends heavily on demand response which, the results here indicate, are unlikely to be large without modest investments in technology and a substantial focus on it from the retailers, who appear to have little to gain from this switch in the short run.


A method in which the microstructure of thin films of zinc oxide can be controlled through the use of readily available additives is presented. This paper will discuss the use of a range of tetra-alkyl quaternary ammonium bromides as additives during the aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition of zinc oxide, synthesised primarily from a solution of zinc acetate in methanol. Using a combination of single and dual source aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition and analysis using scanning electron microscopy, we will present a range of morphologies, including plates with rough edges, plates with well-defined hexagonal structures, and organised stacks growing perpendicular to the substrate. Powder X-Ray diffraction techniques reveal that films grown in the presence of the additives also display high levels of preferred orientation when compared to zinc oxide films formed in the absence of any quaternary ammonium bromides. We will also demonstrate the influence of additives on the thickness of the films.


A photometric apparatus was devised by modifying a design by Kogan and Goeden (1969). It has subsequently been used with considerable success in tests of host selection by the alligatorweed flea beetle, Agasicles , n. sp.


The basic medical security in China combines the system of basic medical security of cities' workers and staff and the cooperating medical system in the countryside.It is not easy to evaluate scientifically the reform of the medical system.But all kinds of problems have emerged with the reform of the medical system,which cannot be ignored.This paper puts forward that it is necessary to relocate the governmental functions,adjust and merger reasonably the different governmental functions in the field of basic medical security,and then the current system of basic medical security can be innovated and improved.


The 'Skills Towards Employment and Productivity Employer Survey' (or STEP Employer Survey) provides new and important insights into measuring the transversal skill sets valued by employers. The STEP Employer Survey is part of a multicountry research program launched by the World Bank to provide comparable measures of cognitive, noncognitive, and technical skills and assess how different skill sets affect individuals' labor market opportunities. This report presents findings from the Albania STEP Employer Survey, a nationally representative survey conducted between April and October 2017 on a sample of 600 registered firms drawn on the 2016 business register in Albania. The STEP Employer Survey provides new and important insights into the mix of cognitive, socioemotional, and technical skills valued by employers, the extent of skills gaps among employers, the skills constraints among job applicants, the extent to which skills gaps affect firms' hiring decisions, and what firms are doing to address possible skills gaps; it also examines the functioning of the education and training systems based on employers' perceptions. This report aims to provide policy makers in Albania with new evidence to inform the design and implementation of public policies on postsecondary education, vocational education and training (VET) system labor market information and intermediation, and labor policies. The STEP Employer Survey adds value to other ongoing efforts in Albania (e.g., by the Institute of Statistics in Albania [INSTAT], United Nations Development Program [UNDP], and the National Employment Services [NES]) aimed at assessing occupational demand by focusing on: (i) the labor demand side, employers, which often tends to be disconnected from formal skills development systems; (ii) actual skills, rather than education levels, diplomas, or years of schooling as proxies for skills; and (iii) the broader set of skills, not just job-technical skills associated with one occupation or another. The findings of the report are expected to be relevant to inform public policies looking to narrow skills gaps, but also for firms, private and public education providers, and youth and adult jobseekers looking to develop and reinforce labor market-relevant skills.


The paper presents a methodology for the design of antenna based on Luneberg lens, implemented using different topologies of transmission stripline characterized by use of electrostatic model of feeder lines at synthesis of PCB layout, and Weiland finite integration method when analyzing input characteristics and directional properties of the antenna


The presence of heavy metals in the wastewater is harmful for human being. The waste water containing metal ions can contaminate soil and water resources. These metals enter human bodies through food and water. In order to understand the heavy metal concentration from wastewater, it is desired to have effective, accurate but simpler and low cost method for heavy metals. Various methods such as atomic absorption spectroscopy, X ray diffraction, chromatography and other advanced analysis techniques are available for this purpose. These methods and equipments are costly. U.V. spectrophotometer promises cost effective solution to the analysis of heavy metals. Cadmium and nickel are two key heavy metal pollutants. The current review summarizes selective research on spectrophotometric determination of heavy metals, especially cadmium and


INTRODUCTION. Diffuse gliomas are the most frequent and devastating primary CNS tumors in adults. Standard treatment has limited efficacy and without exception these gliomas recur. The evolutionary processes that drive progression in glioma of the IDH-mutant astrocytoma subgroup, remain unclear. The GLASS-NL consortium was initiated to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying glioma evolution and to identify markers of progression in IDH-mutant astrocytomas. Such markers can ultimately assist clinical decision making. Here, we present the results of genome wide DNA-methylation profiling of samples included in the GLASS-NL study.
 METHODS. 110 adult patients were identified with an IDH-mutant, 1p19q non-codeleted, astrocytoma at first diagnosis. All patients underwent surgical resection of the tumor at least twice, separated by >6 months with a median of 41.9 months (IQR:26.5-65.9). After surgical resection of the initial tumor, 63% and 22% of the patients were treated with radiotherapy or chemotherapy respectively. DNA-methylation profiling was performed on 235 samples from 103 patients, using the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip array. Copy number alterations (CNAs) were extracted from these data. Methylation subclasses were determined according to Capper et al. (Nature, 2018). Overall survival (OS) was measured from date of initial surgery.
 RESULTS. Of all primary tumors, 85 (87%) of the tumor samples were assigned to the A_IDH ('low grade') methylation subclass and 10 (10%) to the A_IDH_HG ('high grade') subclass. The relative proportion of high grade tumors increased ~three-fold at tumor recurrence (32/101, 32%) and even further in the second recurrence (15/29, 52%). The high grade subclass of the recurrent, but not the initial tumor sample, was negatively associated with OS (p < 0.0001). The overall DNA-methylation levels of recurrent samples were lower than that of initial samples. This difference is explained by the increased number of high grade samples at recurrence, since near identical DNA-methylation levels were observed in samples that remained low grade. Analysis of CNAs revealed several chromosomal arms and bands that were more frequently altered in samples of the high grade methylation subclass compared to low grade. In addition, gains and losses of specific genes, such as homozygous deletion (HD) of CDKN2A/B, were more frequent in high grade samples. Overall DNA-methylation levels of recurrent samples with CDKN2A/B HD were lower than that of samples without this deletion. However, CDKN2A/B HD alone does not fully explain DNA-demethylation at malignant progression and other molecular aberrations are likely to contribute as well.
 CONCLUSION. Longitudinal methylation profiling analysis of IDH-mutant astrocytoma reveals a shift towards a higher grade at tumor recurrence coinciding with reduced genome-wide DNA-methylation levels.

 Citation Format: Wies Rijan Vallentgoed, Anneke Niers, Karin van Garderen, Martin van den Bent, Erik van Dijk, Kaspar Draaisma, Paul van Eijk, Iris de Heer, Mathilde Kouwenhoven, Johan Kros, Wendy de Leng, Ivonne Martin, Pierre Robe, Marion Smits, Mircea Tesileanu, Hinke van Thuijl, Roel Verhaak, Bart Westerman, Mark van de Wiel, Bauke Ylstra, Pieter Wesseling, Pim French. Methylation analysis of matched primary and recurrent IDH-mutant astrocytoma; an update from the GLASS-NL consortium [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 4020.


It's very important for land readjustment applying spatial and property data reasonably. The paper discusses the method of collecting land readjustment basic data and building up land readjustment basic information database based on GIS.


All over the world trauma is the leading cause of death in persons under 45 years. Functional
limitations are consequences that occur regularly. For the patient that is treated within 48 hours after
their accident the National Trauma registration is founded. In this registration, different clinical data of
the patient and their treatment is stored. The Netwerk Acute Zorg regio Zwolle is employed with
collecting these data from the different hospitals in the region. At the moment, the main outcome that
is measured is the morality of the patient. However, this doesn't show how the situation of the patient
is after they leave the hospital. Both the Landelijk Netwerk Acute Zorg and the Landelijke
Beraadsgroep Traumachirurgie deem quality of life a very important outcome in trauma care. This
shows the condition the patient is in at the moment this is registered. The purpose of this research is to
research how quality of life can be added to the National Trauma registration in the most efficient way
and which way of approach results in the highest level of response.
Next to the research into how quality of life can be added to the National Trauma registration in the
most efficient way and research how quality of life compares before and one year after the accident it
is also important to make clear how the data collection is operationalized and how much time it has
cost. According to these results recommendations are made.
The research question is as follows: In what way can quality of life of trauma patients one year after
the accident best be added to the National Trauma registration in the most efficient way and with the
highest percentage of response and how does the quality of life in trauma patients develop one year
after the accident in comparison to before the accident?


Abstract This article explores how Derek Walcott's Omeros (1990) critically engages with the concepts of home, roots and identity, and dismantles their essentialized constructions. Its interpretation of the poem illustrates how filial determinacy and the quest for genesis are bound to fail in the Caribbean context of massive transplantations and dislocations. Drawing on Édouard Glissant's concepts of errance, digenesis, rhizomic identity, relation and creolization, the article demonstrates how the African Caribbean protagonist Achille comes to understand that any stable association of roots and home with genealogy and geography will fracture in this landscape. Instead of locating an ancestral home/land, Achille learns that the New World inhabitants should try to develop a sense of rhizomic at-homeness in the ambivalences of their new location.


Objective To analyze the effect of leflunomide(LEF) treating rheumatoid arthritis patients.Methods 70 patients were randomly assigned to receive LEF or methorexate(MTX).The patients in the treatment group(n=38) received LEF(20mg,qd,po),and those in the control group(n=32) received MTX(15mg,qw,po),totally three months as a course of treatment.Results The total effective rates of the treatment group and the control group were 89.47 % and 87.50 % respectively.There was no significant difference between the two groups in the effectiveness(P0.05).Conclusion The LEF can relieve clinical symptoms and is satisfactory in clinical practice.


Patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) often present limitations in daily life due to unpredictability, severity and chronicity of the disease, reduced functional ability and health-related quality of life. Moreover, sleep disturbances or disorders have been reported in up to 40-90% of patients with IA [1-3]. Sleep disturbances are further associated with pain, fatigue, mental well-being and disease activity [4]. As chronic us of hypnotic drugs are associated with tolerance and side effects, there is growing interest in non-pharmacological management to improve sleep.With a systematic review and meta-analysis, our primary objective was to evaluate the evidence of non-pharmacological interventions targeting sleep in patients with IA. Primary outcome was sleep domains, while secondary objectives were based on the core outcome domains for IA trials and harms.Following protocol closure, a systematic search was undertaken in MEDLINE, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov, ACR and EULAR in September 2020. Eligible studies were randomised trials with adults with IA and concomitant sleep disturbances or disorders, comparing a non-pharmacological intervention targeting sleep disturbances or disorders to another non-pharmacological intervention, a pharmacological intervention or standard care. Screening of titles, abstracts, and subsequent full text assessment were conducted independently by two reviewers using the Covidence tool. Randomisation, blinding, and adequacy of analyses was assessed using the Cochrane's RoB tool and the overall quality of evidence was rated using GRADE methodology. Disagreements were resolved at consensus meetings with last authors. Effect sizes for continuous outcomes were based on the standardised mean difference (SMD), combined using standard random-effects meta-analysis (all with 95% CIs).Six trials (308 patients) were included in the quantitative synthesis. Two trials included patients with the sleep disorder insomnia and the remaining four trials included patients with sleep disturbances. Sleep domains were measured with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) or Insomnia Severity index (ISI). Three trials reported improvement on sleep following foot reflexology, auricular plaster therapy, and exercise. The overall meta-analysis presented in the figure of forest plot for self-reported sleep suggests that non-pharmacological interventions have a potentially large effect size of -0.80 (95% CI, -1.33 to -0.28) on sleep. However, the quality of the evidence was assessed as corresponding to low, given that the body of the evidence was rated down twice, due to serious study limitations and inconsistency.Although the effect of non-pharmacological interventions targeting sleep disturbances or the sleep disorder insomnia was statistically highly significant, the implication for clinical practice is questionable because of the overall quality evidence. None of the core outcomes used in contemporary IA trials have indicated clinical benefit in favour of non-pharmacological interventions targeting sleep disturbances or disorders.In conclusion, more rigorous research on non-pharmacological management of sleep disturbances and disorders is urgently needed, also aimed at specific sleep disorders, in order to fully reveal the clinical utility of these novel treatment options. At this point, non-pharmacological treatment of sleep disturbances or disorders is promising and potentially highly effective, and may have the potential to persistently decrease the symptom burden and increase the quality of life of patients with IA.[1]Li et al., Psychol Health Med. 2019 Sep;24(8):911-924[2]Haugeberg et al., Arthritis Res Ther. 2020 Aug 26;22(1):198[3]Wali et al., J Clin Sleep Med. 2020 Feb 15;16(2):259-265[4]Løppenthin et al., Clin Rheumatol. 2015 Dec;34(12):2029-39Kristine Marie Latocha: None declared, Katrine Løppenthin: None declared, Safa Al-Bazy: None declared, Tannie Albrechtsen: None declared, Helle Jensen: None declared, Mikkel Østergaard Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Celgene, Eli-Lilly, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi and UCB, Consultant of: Abbvie, BMS, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Celgene, Eli-Lilly, Hospira, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Novo, Orion, Pfizer, Regeneron, Roche, Sandoz, Sanofi and UCB, Grant/research support from: Abbvie, BMS, Merck, Celgene, Novartis, Poul Jennum: None declared, Bente Appel Esbensen: None declared, Robin Christensen: None declared


This article sets out findings from a grounded theory analysis of the professional training and accreditation requirements for solicitors, accredited specialist family law solicitors and family mediators in England and Wales as set by their professional bodies: the Law Society of England and Wales and the then UK College of Family Mediators. 1 It examines the roles that the professional bodies ascribe to themselves with respect to their profession and their members, considering the extent to which professional regulation fulfils gate-keeping, supervisory or mentoring roles. In conclusion it suggests that in the light of the cues transmitted by the professional bodies in England and Wales in respect of divorce cases and clients, the very nature of professional practice as a family law solicitor and as a family mediator is being transformed into a form of hybrid practice that draws upon two radically different epistemological traditions, with important consequences for solicitors, family mediators and their clients.2 Thus, it challenges the largely accepted dichotomy of adversarial divorce practice on the part of solicitors in opposition to the consensus-based approach practised by family mediators.


In a previous study' we examined the possible relations between the Perlesvaus and the Vengeance Raguidel, an inquiry which led us to a discussion of the parallels existing between the prose romance, and the Wauchier continuation of Chr6tien's Perceval. We will now turn our attention to the Manessier section of the last-named romance, and examine the nature of the connection between the story of the Coward Knight as there related, and the more elaborate version of the same adventure as given in the Perlesvaus. The prose romance is much the fuller, falling into two distinct and separate parts, while the Manessier parallel affects only a portion of the later section. Thus the Perlesvaus claims priority of treatment. At an early point in the romance2 we read how Gawain, after his


This research aims at investigating the antecedents of stock markets investors' intention to use home broker web-based systems. Based on a review of the literature on information systems adoption models, diffusion of innovation theory, trust in virtual environments, and user satisfaction, a theoretical model was developed and research hypothesis set forth to be tested. PLS multivariate analysis was employed to assess the proposed model with data collected via web from 152 Brazilian investors. The results suggest that compatibility, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are antecedents of user satisfaction with home broker systems, which, in its turn, was an antecedent of investors' intention to use the system. The paper concludes with the academic and managerial implications of the findings, the associated limitations, and a research agenda for this important knowledge area.


The present distributions of stonefly genera in North America, their occurrence as endemics, or as shared with the Far East, Europe and South America, are considered in conjunction with geological history. It is concluded that the Plecoptera of North America have four sources of origin.There was an ancient eastern fauna shared with Europe before the formation of the North Atlantic Ocean. A second group moved in from the west during the formation of the western mountains. After formation of the isthmus one genus moved northward from South America. After the Pleistocene period several species migrated from the Bering Strait region, possibly from an Alaskan refugium. Some of these have clearly moved eastward, but a few may have moved westward.


Escalating demand in the oil and gas industry has led offshore structures to be installed in ever deeper waters and under severe environmental conditions. As the mooring system is a crucial element in floating offshore structures, a reliable estimation of its long-term response is a decisive step in any usual design procedure. In the long-term scenario, the environmental actions to which these structures are subjected to, such as waves, wind and current, are non-stationary processes. However, this long-term behavior is usually modeled as a series of short-term stationary conditions (typically 3-h). In a full long-term analysis approach, an estimate of the long-term N-year response can be obtained through a multidimensional integration over all these short-term environmental conditions. In this paper, this multidimensional integral is numerically evaluated by means of the Importance Sampling Monte Carlo Simulation (ISMCS) method, where the uniform distribution is used as the sampling function. Thus, all short-term environmental conditions have the same probability of being sampled, which assures that conditions with very low original probability of occurrence, but with knowingly higher contributions to the long-term response, are efficiently accounted for. The random variability of the short-term environmental parameters and their interdependencies are represented by a simplified joint probabilistic model which comprehends both wind sea and swell waves. The methodology is numerically validated for an idealized single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model and later investigated for a mooring line connected to an FPSO installed in Brazilian deep waters. It is shown that ISMCS provides good estimates for the long-term N-year response with a moderate amount of required simulations and can be a powerful tool in order to account for simultaneous occurrence of wind sea and swell waves in structural response evaluations.


In this paper,it is dealt with the data collection and data processing forsix yeing machinos and the machine control based on a real time controlled microcom-pute system.This system is with manual control features capable of immediateresponse and data record to effectively prevent any mal operations.The safety prote-tion measure in this system ensures safe production and improves factory productionmanagement.It's application raised output 8% higher.


We studied whether the use of sirolimus with reduced‐dose tacrolimus, as compared to standard‐dose tacrolimus, after liver transplantation is safe, tolerated and efficacious. In an international multicenter, open‐label, active‐controlled randomized trial (2000–2003), adult primary liver transplant recipients (n = 222) were randomly assigned immediately after transplantation to conventional‐dose tacrolimus (trough: 7–15 ng/mL) or sirolimus (loading dose: 15 mg, initial dose: 5 mg titrated to a trough of 4–11 ng/mL) and reduced‐dose tacrolimus (trough: 3–7 ng/mL). The study was terminated after 21 months due to imbalance in adverse events. The 24‐month cumulative incidence of graft loss (26.4% vs. 12.5%, p = 0.009) and patient death (20% vs. 8%, p = 0.010) was higher in subjects receiving sirolimus. A numerically higher rate of hepatic artery thrombosis/portal vein thrombosis was observed in the sirolimus arm (8% vs. 3%, p = 0.065). The incidence of sepsis was higher in the sirolimus arm (20.4% vs. 7.2%, p = 0.006). Rates of acute cellular rejection were similar between the two groups. Early use of sirolimus using a loading dose followed by maintenance doses and reduced‐dose tacrolimus in de novo liver transplant recipients is associated with higher rates of graft loss, death and sepsis when compared to the use of conventional‐dose tacrolimus alone.


Experiments were conducted under controlled environmental conditions to study the effects of temperature, duration of wetness, relative humidity (RH) and light on the discharge and germination of ascospores of Venturia nashicola, the causal agent of pear scab in China. Discharge of ascospores from pseudothecia required free water or 100% RH. A period of soaking in water as short as 10 s was sufficient to initiate the discharge of ascospores. Temperatures from 10 to 30°C did not significantly affect the temporal trend of ascospore discharge. A greater proportion of ascospores was discharged under light than in the dark. However, a period of light as short as 10 min, either during the initial wetting of pseudothecia or interrupting the darkness, was sufficient to reduce the inhibitory effect of darkness on ascospore discharge. Ascospores were discharged within 10 min after pseudothecia were wetted and most ascospores (c. 80%) were discharged within the first hour. The temporal pattern of ascospore discharge could be well described by a logistic model, which estimated that 50% of ascospores were discharged within half an hour of wetting. Ascospores germinated over a wide range of temperatures from 5 to 30°C, with an optimum at c. 20°C. Temporal dynamics of ascospore germination at six temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30°C) were satisfactorily described by logistic models.


Scientists are working to develop new and innovative alternatives to animal testing that don't rely on the use of animals. Takao Ashikaga, Hajime Kojima and Yoko Hirabayashi are part of JaCVAM which works to promote the use of alternatives to animal testing. The goal is to replace,
 reduce or refine (3Rs) the use of animal under International harmonization. Hirabayashi is also the representative of a research group that is funded by the AMED and the representative of a research group funded by the MHLW. A challenge the researchers are facing in their quest to ensure the
 welfare of experimental animals and also ensure the safety of various pharmaceutical and chemicals is the lack of biomarkers to more accurately predict toxicity for regulatory acceptance. This means that without animal testing more costly and complex non-animal methods are required and presents
 a barrier to the adoption of non-animal methods for international standerisation. As such, there is a need to develop an easy way to obtain a lot of information. Hirabayashi and the team are working on the development of AI that can be used to evaluate the safety of different compounds. The
 researchers are developing in vitro assays such as ordinary 2-dimensional culture, 3-dimensional culture including organoids or spheroids, reporter gene assay and organ-on-a chip; and in silico assays such as computer toxicology using QSAR and Read Across. The researchers hope that their innovative
 work will contribute to the 3Rs, benefiting animal welfare for regulatory use.


A growing body of research indicates that entertainment-education programming can be an effective way to deliver prosocial and health messages. Some have even speculated that entertainment-education may be more effective than overtly persuasive messages in certain circumstances. Despite empirical advances in this area, more work is needed to understand fully what makes entertainment-education unique from a message-processing standpoint. To this end, the present article has three objectives. First, the article examines the involvement with narrative storylines and characters that is fostered by entertainment programming. This includes a much-needed explication and separation of several related constructs, such as identification, parasocial interaction, similarity, and others. Second, the article reviews and synthesizes existing theories that have addressed entertainment-education message processing. Third, the article builds on these theories, presenting an expanded theoretical framework. A set of propositions is advanced and directions for future research are discussed. In total, the article offers a clarification of existing concepts that are critical to the study of entertainment-education, a synthesis of relevant theory, and a set of propositions to guide future research in entertainment-education message effects.


Effective evaluation on layout and service quality of emergency shelters can make great references for risk reduction and emergency management. However, spatial layout of emergency shelters in urban spaces are quite difficult to be made clear, in particular some open spaces located among multi- storied buildings were usually neglected. This is quite a big problem for evaluation. Our paper firstly proposed an identification model to pick out candidate emergency shelters from concentrated cities based on urban land-use, buildings, and so on. Considering potential risk of topographical features, geographical conditions, and other danger sources, emergency shelters suitable for evacuation were filtered out from those candidate shelters by safety index we built. Secondly, considering the distance and capacity of emergency shelters, accessibility and adequacy model was designed to evaluate service quality of emergency shelters. Finally, all the models were tested in Haidian District, Beijing in China.Several conclusions can be drawn as follows.(1) The layout of emergency shelters and spatial pattern of population distribution cannot match each other in some region, for example, the emergency shelters are quite dispersed in the southeast where the population density is quite high.(2) Many regions were inaccessible in the south of Haidian within 1 minute after earthquake, and these regions reduced highly when it extended to 5 minutes.(3) Compared with the conditions in daytime, the capacity of emergency shelters at night seems worse,especially the Xiaonanzhuang residential area in the middle of Haidian. However, it is quite interesting that some street blocks of higher or lower capacity of emergency shelters have good connectivity with each other. Spatial planning of labeling system of emergency shelters in these blocks in future may play an important role in guiding people towards different shelters, which may improve service equality of emergency shelters.


In the regulation of Trafikverket there is many technical requirements that the railway facility should face. The reason for its existence is to create a standardized facility with well balanced requirements that includes implementation and management. But still, sometimes there is a need for violating some requirements, for example when the motive of the requirements are not holding against the motive of the violations. Furthermore there is a possibility that some questions and uncertainties comes along the requirements. This very topic is what the report is about, i.e. to investigate how two technical requirements that belongs to the regulation of Trafikverket are holding against the reality. By reality for one requirement it means incorrect statistics and for the other it means what knowledgeable people say is the most appropriate thing. The report is divided in to two parts where each part includes one requirement. Within each part there is several questions that will be answered. The parts and the questions are as follows: 1. Rail transitions in curves There is a requirement that limits the curve radius to 1500 meters for rail transitions, why? Are there any arguments that can be used to violate the requirement in a dispensation application? Is the requirement motivated? Are there any other geometries than this curves that is in more need for a regulation? 2. Neutralization against switches How close is it possible to neutralize against switches to affect their components as little as possible? Are there any difference to neutralize against FSK respective BKS in a switch? Is the requirement of Trafikverket, that says the most favourable for the switch that you shouldn't place the cape or move closer than 20 meters from the FSK/BKS, correct? And finally, is the requirement motivated? To investigate the first part incorrect statistics primarily been used. Computer system as BIS, Ofelia and BESSY been applied to solve where the rail transitions are located and how the incorrect statistics differ with the curve radius. It turned out that the requirement that says you should not place rail transitions in curves with radius less than 1500 meters can not be motivated by incorrect statistics. To investigate the second part knowledgeable people that has years of experience in track and track forces has been interviewed. The answers got compiled and and later compared to each other and some earlier studies. The neutralization requirement can finally be motivated because the answers of the interviews is unambiguous, i.e. you should not neutralization close to switches. (Less)


Objective To study changes in posterior corneal elevation after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and related factors.Methods It was a retrospective case series study.One hundred and two eyes of 51 myopic patients undergoing LASIK were examined with a Pentacam preoperatively,and 1 month and 3 months postoperatively.Analysis included posterior corneal elevation of the corneal apex,temporal superior,temporal inferior,nasal superior and nasal inferior quadrants (7 predetermined points in each quadrant) in a 4mm area of the central cornea.Results The changes in posterior corneal elevation in the corneal apex,temporal superior,temporal inferior,nasal superior and nasal inferior quadrants were-0.12±1.50 μm,0.18±1.70 μm,-0.16±1.50 μm,0.15±1.62 μm and 0.01±1.45μm,respectively,at 1 month,and were 0.58±1.49 μm,0.42±1.85 μm,-0.50±1.99 μm,0.59±1.67 μm and-0.36±1.70 μm,respectively,at 3 months.Between postoperative 1 month and 3 months,there was a significant difference in changes in the posterior elevation of the corneal apex,but there were no statistically significant differences in the 4 quadrants.At 1 month postoperatively,changes in the posterior corneal elevation in every area did not correlate with central corneal thickness (CCT),residual bed thickness (RBT),ablation depth (AD) or spherical equivalent (SE).At 3 months postoperatively,there was a significant positive correlation between changes in posterior elevation in the corneal apex and SE,but there was no significant correlation between changes in posterior corneal elevation in 4 quadrants and CCT,RBT,AD,SE.Conclusion LASIK surgery induces tiny changes in posterior corneal elevation in the central 4 mm area.Higher refractive errors may increase the trend of a forward shift of the posterior surface of the corneal apex.

Key words:
Keratomileusis,laser in situ;  Keratectomy;  Posterior corneal surface;  Elevation; Myopia


Financial control over the sub-companies of an enterprise group is an important method for effective control,and it is also the key approach for the group to uplift its operation efficiency.Therefore the implementation of the financial control is important to the group.This article analyzes the problems and the causes concerning the control,studies some approaches and methods to solve the problems,and proposes some tentative countermeasures as the basis for further study.


Is the coronary stent here to stay? Have interventionalists crossed the Rubicon? Or after the initial hype will the stent follow the course of many earlier intracoronary devices: with initial enthusiasm leading to increased use, followed by appreciation and then by familiarity, which will lead inevitably to contempt, disillusionment, and a decline in use? The first stents were implanted in human coronary arteries in 1986 in an attempt to overcome two major limitations of coronary balloon angioplasty-early abrupt occlusion and late restenosis. I At that time our ideas about stenting were rather primitive: to tack back dissections and flaps against the vessel wall and push aside late restenosis. We soon learned that use of the first generation of stents was limited by imprecise deployment, frank misplacement and even loss of stents in the arterial system. Furthermore, the unpredictable occurrence of subacute and acute thrombosis, invariably leading to serious clinical sequelae, caused great concern. The stringent anticoagulation regimens that were instituted to prevent this had the side effect of major bleeding complications, most often occurring at the femoral puncture site. These difficulties were the main reasons that in the early nineties the further use of stent implantation was seriously questioned. However, knowledge of the appealing simplicity and the attractive immediate post-procedural result of stenting, which has been generally propagated through the perseverance of pioneering believers, appears finally to have tipped the balance in favour of stenting.


Deterioration of city transport conditions as result of lack of coordination; need for effective cooperation efforts and solutions among municipal agencies and civic planning groups.


x, 62 leaves%%%%Seiches or long-wave oscillations in harbors are normally the result of nonlinear interactions within groups of narrow-banded wind waves and swell. These oscillations may cause excessive vessel motions and disrupt loading and unloading operations at port facilities. Accurate prediction of harbor oscillation patterns is therefore an important aspect in harbor design. Most previous studies have used linear models to predict these nonlinear oscillation behaviors. This study uses an extended Boussinesq model that is applicable from deep to shallow water and takes into account the generation mechanism of these oscillations along with their interaction with the wind waves or swell. The finite difference model utilizes a predictor-corrector scheme to march the solution forward in time. It has a moving boundary algorithm to account for wave swashing, thereby allowing the correct boundary condition to be imposed at shorelines. The model is applied to examine the natural oscillation modes at Barbers Point Harbor and Kahului Harbor located on the West and North shores of Oʻahu and Maui respectively. The computed responses at each harbor are compared with previous linear model results and data gathered from pressure sensors. The analysis shows that harbor oscillation is primarily excited by infragravity waves, which can be simulated by a Boussinesq model.


Disclosed are a wireless power transmitter and a method of controlling power thereof. A wireless power transmitter includes a power supply device to supply AC power to the wireless power transmitter; and a transmission coil to transmit the AC power to a reception coil of a wireless power receiver by resonance. The wireless power transmitter controls transmission power to be transmitted to the wireless power receiver based on a coupling state between the transmission coil and the reception coil.


A legal collective guarantee cannot be measured neither divided into equal parts by those entitled to it. Such juridical guarantee, as the environment, shall hardly be injured or even placed into danger of injury by a single human action. From this comes, by means of scientific empirical studies, the idea that micro harmless actions may cause harm to the collective legal guarantee. Within the Penal Law there are cumulative crimes. They are "harmless crimes" with a "new" justified legitimacy that is the harmful accumulation of misconducts. Because of this, as a natural concern, there are doubts about the lack of legitimacy for such incrimination.


Purpose
Maintaining a balanced neutral point, reducing power loss, execution time are important criteria for the controlling of neutral point clamped (NPC) inverter. However, it is tough to meet all the challenges and also supplying the load current within the harmonic limit. This paper aims to maintain load current quality within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 519 standard and meet the above-mentioned challenges.

Design/methodology/approach
The output load current of a three-level simplified neutral point clamped (3 L-SNPC) inverter is controlled in this paper using model predictive control (MPC). The 3 L-SNPC inverters is considered because fewer semiconductor devices are used in this topology; this will enhance the reliability of the system. MPC is used as a controller because it can handle the direct current-link capacitors' voltage balancing problem in a very intuitive way. The proposed 3 L-SNPC yields similar current total harmonic distortion (THD), transient and steady-state responses, voltage stress and over current protection capability as the conventional NPC inverter. To reduce the computational burden of the proposed SNPC system, two simplified MPC strategies are proposed, namely, single voltage vector prediction-based MPC and selective voltage vector prediction-based MPC.

Findings
The system shows a current THD of 2.33% at 8.96 kHz. The overall loss of the system is reduced significantly to be useful in medium power applications. The required execution times for the simplified MPC strategies are tested on the hardware dSPACE 1104 platform. It is found that the single voltage vector prediction-based MPC and the selective voltage vector prediction-based MPC are computationally efficient by 8.28% and 62.9%, respectively, in comparison with the conventional MPC-based conventional NPC system.

Originality/value
Multiple system constraints are considered throughout the paper and also compare the SNPC to the conventional NPC inverter. Proper current tracking, over-current protection, overall power loss reduction especially switching loss and maintaining capacitor voltages balance at a neutral point are achieved. The improvement of execution time has also been verified and calculated using hardware-in-loop of the dSPACE DS1104 platform.


This paper investigates the long-run and causal relationships of technology spillovers on manufacturing performance in Nigeria using the share of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in gross fixed capital formation as a proxy for technology transfer for the period 1981 to 2019 in a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The FDI stock appears to be too low at less than 1% of capital formation to generate any significant positive spillovers on manufacturing performance, resulting in an insignificant negative long-run relationship and the absence of causal relationships. The size of the local market has the most significant positive long-run effect on manufacturing performance, and the causality for this effect is one-way from manufacturing. A one-way causality was also observed from manufacturing to income per capital, though the long-run effect was significantly negative. The paper concluded that FDI technology spillover is presently not a major factor in Nigeria's manufacturing performance. This may be redressed with policies aimed at increasing FDI inflows, increasing the technology-learning capacity of local firms and their vertical integration with foreign firms, and the creation of national infrastructure for technology development and diffusion


Evaluations are made concerning the use of supplemental gas turbines at a boiler-fired system. The decision to buy the gas turbine units may have been due to the availability of no other systems. Unexpected load demands, short lead times, and insufficient time for the installation of nuclear or fossil-fired plants are advantages discussed. Calculations are shown that the huge savings in capital coats associated with a gas turbine can buy hours and hours of burning even the most expensive fuel. The savings are compared with the basic operating advantage of fossil-steam and the operating cost disadvantage of gas turbines. Similar calculations are made for nuclear-steam units. (MCW)


A large-signal model for Read-type diode structures with narrow generation-region widths where mixed tunneling and avalanche exist is given. The generation region is modeled by use of a modified Read equation along with effective ionization rates. The injected current pulse, which is formed in the generation region, is calculated in isolation from the drift region in order that the effects of tunneling current can be clearly shown. The drift region is modeled by use of difference-equation versions of the device equations and is suitably interfaced to the generation region. The large-signal model of the total device is used to calculate the device admittance and efficiency. Large-signal results for GaAs and Si devices are given and the results are discussed and compared.


Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) deposited from an Ar-C2H2 expanding thermal plasma chemical vapor deposition (ETP-CVD) is reported. The downstream plasma region of an ETP is characterized by a low electron temperature (∼0.3 eV), which leads to an ion driven chemistry and negligible physical effects, such as ion bombardment (ion energy <2 eV) on the depositing surface. The material properties in ETP-CVD can be controlled by varying the plasma chemistry. In this article we investigate the change in a-C:H material properties by varying the Ar/C2H2 gas flow ratio over a wide range (1.33–150), with emphasis on low gas flow ratios (1.33–5). By changing the Ar/C2H2 gas flow ratio, the gas residence time in the ETP expansion can be tuned, which in turn defines the chemistry of the ETP-CVD. Soft polymerlike a-C:H to moderately hard a-C:H films have been deposited by lowering the Ar/C2H2 gas flow ratio. Recently, under very low Ar/C2H2 gas flow ratios, a hard graphitelike a-C:H material has been deposited. Th...


Sexual violence is a significant trauma for anyone, but its frequency and impact on mental health of adolescents have not been well mapped. This might at first seem a little surprising, but much of the existing work has been on broader adverse childhood experiences at a younger age, or sexual and intimate partner violence in university populations. The work that does exist on midadolescence often comes from populations that have suffered assault, hindering generalisability of findings, or cross-sectional work that limits findings to associations rather than causes. Writing in Lancet Psychiatry, Bentivegna and Patalay took data from the nationally representative longitudinal UK Millennium Cohort Study of children born between 2000 and 2002. They explored the occurrence of sexual violence – whether a sexual assault or unwelcome sexual approach – in the previous year in 5000 girls and approximately the same number of boys, all of whom were aged 17. Over a fifth of the young women reported such an experience in the previous year, including 5.3% who had experienced a frank sexual assault. The rates were lower in young men, but still 5.4% had experienced some form of sexual violence in the prior year. Sexual violence created distress in both sexes, including increasing rates of self-harm and suicide attempts. When various confounders were redressed, the authors estimated that perhaps a fifth of serious mental health problems in young women and a tenth of those in young men were likely to be directly caused by sexual violence. As well as the clear need to support those who have suffered such violence, this raises the obvious target, and challenge, of preventive work. Vulnerable individuals – including where there are histories of intergenerational and intimate partner violence – and their families, schools and local communities are all appropriate avenues to explore. Given that there are evidencebased interventions and educational programmes available, the outstanding question is how prepared our local services are for safe, trauma-informed disclosure and support.


As part of a reform of the medical care system, the reorganization of long-term care beds is underway, and the long-term care beds for medical care will be reduced and long-term care beds for nursing care eliminated by the end of 2011. This policy is based on the results of a survey which show there is no difference between the functions and state of the users of long-term care beds for medical care and long-term care beds for nursing care, and that there are many users with little need to be provided with medical care by physicians. After the reorganization of the long-term care beds, of those patients receiving longterm care, those with a high need for medical care will use long-term care beds covered by medical care insurance, and those with a low need for medical care will be accepted in long-term care insurance facilities such as long-term care nursing facilities or care houses, etc. To smooth the conversion, a variety of mitigation measures will be taken so that the present long-term care beds for medical care and long-term care beds for nursing care facilities can be reused as long-term care nursing facilities and as fee-charging nursing homes and other types of facilities, permitting the care beds to be converted with small investment considering the structural standards for buildings. Facilities such as nursing medical care type long-term care nursing facilities with


A solid phase extraction system has been developed for the speciation of chromium(III) and chromium(VI). This method is based on the adsorption of chromium(III) on D2EHPA impregnated with multiwall carbon nanotubes and has been compared with commercially available activated carbon impregnated with D2EHPA. The chromium concentration has been determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The effect of parameters such as pH of the aqueous solution, amount of adsorbent, contact time, initial ion concentration, sample volume, eluent type and D2EHPA concentration have been investigated. The results indicate that the maximum adsorption of chromium(III) is at pH 4.5 ± 0.1 on the multiwall carbon nanotubes. Desorption studies have been carried out with 0.25 M Br 2 in 1.0 M NaOH wherein quantitative recovery of the chromium(III) has been observed. The adsorption capacity of MWCNTs- D2EHPA is found to be 0.96 mg g -1 for chromium with detection limit of chromium 0.05 μg mL -1 . The highest pre-concentration factor of 60 could be obtained for 300 mL of sample volume. The developed method has been applied for the speciation of chromium in natural water sample and the pre-concentration method is satisfactory (recoveries > 98 %, rsd < 10 %, n = 5) for chromium species determination.


A computer model is used to study the affect of several interference related factors, on the traffic capacity of a small telepoint network based on UK CT2. For small service areas, it is found that the traffic capacity may be limited by receiver intermodulation performance. Handset power control can be beneficial in such cases. Dual antenna diversity was found to give an increased capacity for all sizes of service area.


Laboratory studies using the spore of the fungus Beaueria bassiana were carried out at different concentrations to assess its influence on the survival of the larvae of groundnut caterpillar, Spodoptera litura (Fab.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) as well its impact on the larval gut microflora. In the contaminated food bioassay, a spore density of 10 9 spores/ml caused 100% larval mortality while LC 50 value was found to be 0.5x10 6 spores / ml. The heterotrophic bacterial population and the generic composition in the digestive tract of the larvae treated with the entomopathogenic fungi were analyzed. Nine species of bacterial genera Bacillus sp., Proteus sp., Enterobacter sp., Salmonella sp., Pseudomonas sp., Escherichia sp., Klebsiella sp., were identified in the digestive tract. The ingestion of fungal spores eliminated three genera of bacteria in the digestive tract


An all-fiber thulium/holmium laser has been demonstrated using a high numerical aperture fiber for intracavity dispersion management that permits operation in the stretched-pulse regime. With a net normal cavity dispersion the bandwidth is 15 nm.


Telemedicine is the use of information and communication technologies to extend healthcare work to the vulnerable in the rural areas. It is unfortunate that telemedicine is yet to be deployed in sub Sahara Africa where there is acute shortage of medical professionals with many rural dwellers without medical facilities. This paper proposes an electronic Patient's Case-Note to replace existing manual method so as to mitigate the challenges associated with manual record keeping. The tree theory was used to motivate the information follows which the basis for the theoretical framework for the study also presented is the Cyclic structure that depicts information flow in the system. The conceptual model and the algorithms to implement the model are presented. The Model was implemented and few screenshot presented.


Many attempts have been made in the last fifteen years for the better understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying dental tissue response to an injury i.e. caries, dental trauma, restoration and/or preparation, providing for new dentin formation, tertiary dentin. Tertiary dentin represents dental tissues of two variants "reactionary" and "reparative" ones, sharing the inductive nature but characterized by different healing processes, related to the extent of tooth injury. This paper discusses the current knowledge about tooth response to injury by reviewing the literature.


— The present study was conducted from January to June 2014, in Gangachara Upazila of Rangpur District, Bangladesh. A sample of 60 cross-bred dairy cows: Local × Holstein Friesian (L×HF) = 30 and Local × Sahiwal (L×Sh) = 30 were selected for in depth study. The average age at first heat, services per conception, age at first calving, post-partum heat period, the average milk production, the average lactation period were observed after feeding three types of feed: type-I (Sweet jamboo grass), type-II (Jomjom Dairy feed) and type-III (Advance Chemical Industry) feeding system. Local × Holstein Friesian (L×HF) cross and Local × Sahiwal (L×Sh) cross cows showed significantly (p<0.05) better results by type-III feeding system compare with the type-I and type-II feeding system.


The purpose of this research is to find out the effectiveness of small group discussion technique in improving the students's speaking ability. It will be conduct at SMA Negeri 1 Poigar in one class of the first-year students of the school as the sample. The data were  collected using test in the form of pre-test and post-test. Teaching speaking skill by using small group discussion technique can improve the students' ability in speaking. Small group discussion technique can give the students opportunity to practice their language. In small group discussion, they can express their ideas and thought freely. It will be better for English teacher to vary the techniques of teaching to avoid boredom that might appear to the students.


This report is about Grobner bases. It is an attempt to explain a little what Grobner bases are about without introducing commutative algebra, and to show how to use them for solving equation syste ...


Chapter 1: Overview of Zinc Nutrition S99 1.1 Biological functions of zinc S99 1.2 Tissue zinc distribution and reserves S99 1.3 Zinc metabolism S100 1.4 Importance of zinc for human health S101 1.5 Human zinc requirements S105 1.5.1 Adult men S106 1.5.2 Adult women S109 1.5.3 Children S110 1.5.4 Pregnancy S111 1.5.5 Lactation S112 1.6 Dietary sources of zinc and suggested revisions of Recommended Daily Intakes S112 1.6.1 Dietary sources of zinc and factors affecting the proportion of zinc available for absorption ........ S112 1.6.2 Revised estimates of dietary requirements and recommended intakes for zinc S114 1.7 Zinc toxicity S118 1.8 Causes of zinc deficiency and groups at high risk S121 1.9 Summary S123


This study intends to describe and analyze the readiness of teachers in the implementation of learning disaster risk reduction for students with hearing impairments in Padang city, which consists of several aspects, including: characteristics, planning, implementation, and assessment of learning process outcomes. This type of research is quantitative descriptive research, with a sample of twenty-four teachers who educate students hearing impairments, and the instruments used in this study is a Likert scale questionnaire. The results showed that teachers are less prepared in the implementation of learning disaster risk reduction for students with hearing loss, especially on aspects of characteristics learning and plan to learn. Seen from a low percentage, but on aspects of implementation learning and assessment of teacher learning process, outcomes are ready in implementing learning disaster risk reduction for students with hearing impairments.


This paper analyzed the problems like the lubricating oil leak from the bearing box and the oil gauge failure in measuring while the centrifugal pump is running. A new self-made oil control tray is installed in bearing box to build up an integrative labyrinth seal together with the original labyrinth seal, and a self-made oil gauge is installed to ensure safety running of centrifugal pump.


Autoxidation activity of substituted styrenes (aryl alkenes) and their product formation were studied in the temperature range of 65–125 °C using cumene or chlorobenzene as solvent. It was observed that higher reaction temperatures, inert solvent, electron donating substituents, and bulky sterical groups at α-, ortho- and para- positions promoted radical formation of epoxides and led to C=C oxidative cleavage. In contrast, electron accepting substituents and using cumene as the solvent favored the formation of oligomeric peroxides. The relative activity of all investigated styrenes could be correlated to the linear free energy (LFE) relation and the ionization potential. For α-substituted styrenes and ring substituted α-methylstyrenes LFE correlation for the reactivity of aryl alkenes and formation of epoxides was found to depend on the polar and steric factors. A general pathway for product formation by autoxidation of aryl alkenes has been proposed.


Significance The IL-1 cytokines, IL-1α and IL-1β, are proinflammatory cytokines that are implicated in numerous inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. This study demonstrates that dysregulated immune responses centrally contribute to the pathogenesis of osteomyelitis and identifies a critical role for IL-1β in driving the inflammatory cascade that provokes bone destruction. Caspase-1 activation in the inflammasome complex is the most well established mechanism for IL-1β secretion. Interestingly, inflammasome-independent sources of IL-1β were found to provoke inflammation and osteolytic bone disease. Our findings establish a unique role for inflammasome-independent IL-1β in autoinflammatory bone disease and osteomyelitis, and identify proline–serine–threonine phosphatase interacting protein 2 as a negative regulator of inflammasome-autonomous IL-1β. The immune system plays an important role in the pathophysiology of many acute and chronic bone disorders, but the specific inflammatory networks that regulate individual bone disorders remain to be elucidated. Here, we characterized the osteoimmunological underpinnings of osteolytic bone disease in Pstpip2cmo mice. These mice carry a homozygous L98P missense mutation in the Pombe Cdc15 homology family phosphatase PSTPIP2 that is responsible for the development of a persistent autoinflammatory disease resembling chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis in humans. We found that improper regulation of IL-1β production resulted in secondary induction of inflammatory cytokines, inflammatory cell infiltration in the bone, and unremitting bone inflammation. Aberrant Il1β expression precedes the development of osteolytic damage in young Pstpip2cmo mice, and genetic deletion of Il1r and Il1β, but not Il1α, rescued osteolytic bone disease in mutant mice. Intriguingly, caspase-1 and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3 activation in the inflammasome complex were dispensable for Pstpip2cmo-mediated bone disease. Thus, our findings establish a critical role for inflammasome-independent production of IL-1β in osteolytic bone disease and identify PSTPIP2 as a negative regulator of caspase-1–autonomous IL-1β production.


The articles in this special issue emerged from a symposium, organized by Sally Shaywitz and Bennett Shaywitz, at the International Dyslexia Association meeting November 12, 2003, titled "Imaging the Brain: A New Tool For Overcoming Dyslexia: How Functional Imaging Informs Us About the Neural Basis and Treatment of Dyslexia." Historically, our understanding of the neural systems for reading dates back more than a century to reports by the great French neurologist Jules Dejerine of the neural systems responsible for acquired alexia. In 1891 and 1892 Dejerine proposed two posterior systems for reading, systems that a century later, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies would confirm. In preparing the articles, the participants were asked to focus on four general questions:


This paper strives to demonstrate the strong link between current discourses on nature and the tourist imaginaries of nature practices. Indeed, there is a dominant common discourse on nature which affirms that being in nature and its practice would be beneficial for the body and the mind. Currently, national parks seem to offer the ideal space for people to "get away from it all", because nature—and the wilderness more particularly—is becoming more and more important within tourist imaginaries as it symbolize a break with the stress of everyday life. This study, carried out in Banff National Park, in Canada, tries in particular to illustrate these new ways of Visiting the Wilderness of Banff National Park: Achieving Touristic Well-Bein... Journal of Alpine Research | Revue de géographie alpine | 2023 19


In her earlier novels about Cold War frontiers, Joan Didion has developed her signature style of minimalist writing attentive to a bare narrative surface. This essay will try to show that in The Last Thing He Wanted, her latest novel about an obscure incident related to Iran-Contra, Didion deploys her minimalist narrative style, not to reduce political realities to romantic personalities as she has often been criticized to do so in her previous novels, but this time to reveal the cost of romantic self-delusion, certain fundamental dislocation in the personalities of Cold War romancers who have lived too completely immersed in the perennial myth of the New Frontier. In The Last Thing He Wanted, Didion no longer idolizes romancers' personalities immune from history and political milieu. Instead, Didion reveals that their dislocated personalities are nothing other than casualties of history.


This study aims to point out the successes of private railway in Japan and offer theoretical and actual evidences for China to develop its private railway in the context of its market economy and approval of private ownership.The authors analyze the history of Japan's private railway and review its financial and management systems.It is found that urbanization induces enough market for urban railway and private railway could make success during urbabization.It is pointed out that government support and multiple businesses are necessary for private railway to develop and compete with motorization.Finally,by referring to Japan's experience, some suggestions for China to develop its private railway are presented.


The length of time that pollen remains viable after being removed from the anther may be subject to species-specific selection pressures, e.g., when the average transit time between anther and stigma is long, long-lived pollen may be favoured. Flowering plants that provide no reward to pollinators are predicted to have relatively long-lived pollen, because pollinators are less likely to immediately revisit flowers of a nonrewarding species. I studied the effect of pollen age on fertilization success in three species of orchids that provide little or no reward. Pollen was aged 0, 1, 2, 4, or 8 days outside of the anther and then placed on the stigmas of conspecific flowers. I collected and weighed all resultant fruits and used a subsampling technique to determine the number of embryonated seeds per fruit and the percentage of all seeds that had embryos. There was no evidence that pollen age affected fruit set, fruit weight, embryonated-seed number, or percentage of embryonated seeds in two species (Calopog...


Estimation of change in total body fat can be approached by several methods. One utilizes successive measurements of body density, preferentially combined with measurement of total body water to circumvent abnormality of Another depends upon serial changes in body weight, total body water and nitrogen balance? Previous studies reported from this laboratory concerned evaluation and comparison of these two techniques-termed "densitometric" and "compartmental."5 While the densitometric approach to estimation of body fat appears reasonable, difficulties in its application to sick individuals and concern regarding constancy of density of the fat-free bodys render application of "compartmental" techniques increasingly important. This study concerns further exploration of the utility of volume distribution and balance methods to assess change in fat and this report illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of such an approach, but particularly its dependency on frequent and very accurate measurements of total body water.


Time-sharing performance was evaluated as a function of the structural configurations of the time-shared tasks and strategic resource-allocation training. A secondary task technique was employed with five task pairs that varied in their structural similarity. The primary task difficulty was time-varying within a trial. Consistent with a common finding in the literature, the global performance measures showed that the degree of task interference increased as the degree of shared resources between the time-shared tasks increased. The moment-by-moment performance, however, revealed that small task interference did not necessarily indicate that the primary task performance was consistently protected against the time-varying difficulty changes. Subjects' failure in protecting the primary task performance was attributed to two possible causes: a skill limitation in the control of resource allocation and a structural limitation inherent in the dual task configuration. This distinction was reinforced by the findi...


Removal of lead (II) from aqueous solutions was studied by using pretreated fish bones as natural, cost-effective, waste sorbents. The effect of pH, contact time, temperature, and metal concentration on the adsorption capacities of the adsorbent was investigated. The maximum adsorption capacity for Pb (II) was found to be 323 mg/g at optimum conditions. The experiments showed that when pH increased, an increase in the adsorbed amount of metal of the fish bones was observed. The kinetic results of adsorption obeyed a pseudo second-order model. Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models were applied to experimental equilibrium data of Pb (II) adsorption and the value of for Pb (II) was found to be 0.906. The thermodynamic parameters related to the adsorption process such as , °, °, and ° were calculated and , °, and ° were found to be 7.06, 46.01 kJ mol−1, and 0.141 kJ mol−1K−1 for Pb (III), respectively. ° values (46.01 kJmol−1) showed that the adsorption mechanism was endothermic. Weber-Morris and Urano-Tachikawa diffusion models were also applied to the experimental equilibrium data. The fish bones were effectively used as sorbent for the removal of Pb (II) ions from aqueous solutions.


The main cause of jaundice in full-term neonates in the absence of hemolytic process is thought to be a defective conjugation of bilirubin in the liver (1). It may be due to the presence of conjugation inhibitors in breast milk. The purpose of our study has been to investigate in a prospective study, if high fat content in human milk, measured by "Creamatocrit", can be considered as a risk factor for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in breast-fed infants (24 ) . Ninety-eight full-term infants >38 weeks of gestation (40+ 1.2) and birthweight of 3418+398 g were studied. They were divided into two groups. Fifty were healthy neonates without secondary forms of hyperbilirubinemia but with neonatal jaundice and 48 were normal healthy term infants without hyperbilirubinemia and comprised the control group. At our department breast feeding begins within six hours after delivery and infants being supplemented with bottle feeding after this time were eliminated from the study. Breast milk from mothers feeding their own infant was collected in the morning. The method for "Creamatocrit" measurement corresponded to the one described by Lucas et al. (2) using a standard hematocrit centrifuge and standard hematocrit glass capillary tube. Approximately 75 pl of milk were drawn into the capillary tubes from a well mixed sample of milk for triplicate determination and centrifugated for 15 min. The cream layer was then measured and expressed as a percentage of the length of the milk column in the tube. The chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. A total of 294 samples of human milk were analysed. The results show a significant difference between the two groups of patients 01'test: 9.279, p<0.002). Babies with hyperbilirubinemia had significantly higher creamatocrit values (7.38f3.01) than the control group (5.32f4.15). Recently particular attention was paid to the role of risk factors that may contribute to the development of jaundice of undetermined etiology in healthy full-term newborns (5 ,6 ) . An important variable in these studies on breast milk composition concerns its fat concentration (7-10). A rapid method of estimating fat content of human milk was described by Lucas et al. (2). With this method we were able to demonstrate a good correlation between high fat concentration of human milk (>5 %) and hyperbilirubinemia in breast-fed term infants (p<0.002). Our results also suggest, that "Creamatocrit" can be considered as a good screening method helping the clinician in the diagnosis of breast milk jaundice.


Abstract. Phaenoglyphis villosa (Hartig, 1841) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Charipinae) is a secondary endoparasitoid of Aphidiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a subfamily which are important primary parasitoids of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae). It is here registered for the first time in Brazil, collected from primary parasitoids in field-exposed aphids. Phaenoglyphis villosa was recorded during wheat crop season (winter and spring), emerging from Rhopalosiphum padi (Linnaeus, 1758) mummies (n = 35♀). It was also recorded from Sitobion avenae (Fabricius, 1775) mummies, in wheat crop season (late winter) (n = 13♀) and black oat crop season (late autumn) (n = 1♀). We suggest three possible primary braconid parasitoids as hosts to this hyperparasitoid: Aphidius platensis Brethes, 1913, Aphidius rhopalosiphi de Stefani- Perez, 1902, and Aphidius uzbekistanicus Luzhetzki, 1960. Keywords: hyperparasitoid, cereal aphids, trophic interactions, wheat.


Objective To observe the curative effect of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase / ganciclovir(HSV-tk / GCV) system mediated by bifidobacterium on bladder cancer in rat model and investigate the possible mechanism.Methods Rat model of bladder cancer was established by intravesical perfusion with N-methyl-nitrosourea(MNU).The mode rats were divided randomly into three groups,and injected i.v.with physiological saline,bifidobacterium / pGEX-5X-1 and bifidobacterium / pGEX-tk(containing 4.4 × 109 bacteria of Bifidobacterium infantis) respectively.Meanwhile,the rats in three groups were treated with GVC at a dosage of 50 mg / kg by intraperitoneal perfusion.After treatment,the weights of bladders in each group were weighed,while the apoptosis of bladder tissue cells was determined by TUNEL staining,and the mRNA transcription and protein expression levels of cytochrome C(Cyt C) and caspase-9 by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively.Results After treatment,the weights of bladder of rats in bifidobacterium / pGEX-tk group were significantly lower,while the apoptosis indexes(AIs) of bladder tissue cells were significantly higher,than those in physiological saline control and bifidobacterium / pGEX-5X-1 groups(each P 0.001).However,both the mRNA transcription and protein expression levels of Cyt-C and caspase-9 in bladder tumor tissue were significantly higher than those in physiological saline control and bifidobacterium / pGEX-5X-1 groups(P 0.001).Conclusion Bifidobacterium-mediated HSV-tk / GCV system showed significantly curative effect on bladder cancer in rats,which induced the apoptosis of bladder cancer cells via endogenous apoptosis pathway.


The empoascan leafhoppers affecting fruit and vegetable plants have been studied from various parts of Pakistan. Apart from recording three species Velu caricae Ghauri, Empoasca punjabensis Pruthi, and Amrasca devastans (Distant), seventeen new species have been described in the present account. The new species are Empoanara ghulami, Empoasca cicerae, Empoasca planata, Empoasca syedi, Empoasca karachiensis, Empoasca bostanensis, Empoasca apodema, Empoasca mardanensis, Empoasca capsicae, Empoasca khaliquei, Austroasca tuberosa, Austroasca jamkandensis, Austroasca viniferae, and Amrasca elongata.


Abstract. The aim of this clinical, endoscopical study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and the gastric tolerability of etodolac, a new anti‐inflammatory, non‐steroidal drug, compared with naproxen. The study was conducted on 48 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, 44 of whom completed the trial. After an initial oesophago‐gastroduodenoscopy to exclude the presence of gastric mucosal lesions, patients were randomly allocated to double‐blind treatment with either etodolac 200 mg b.i.d. or naproxen 500 mg b.i.d. for a period of 4 weeks. Endoscopic control followed this treatment period. Both drugs proved effective in relieving clinical symptoms, without a statistically significant difference. Gastric mucosal lesions were observed in 15% of etodolac‐treated patients and in 46% of patients treated with naproxen (P < 0.05) (95% CI 0.01‐0.60). Painful dyspepsia was observed in 15% of patients treated with etodolac vs. 38% of patients on naproxen therapy. This study demonstrates that etodolac is at least as active as naproxen in relieving rheumatic symptoms, and its administration results in a significantly lower degree of gastric damage.