Objective: The idea is to prompt reflection on nursing intervention in caring for the caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease, based on a literature review that addresses the different aspects of the quality of life enjoyed by this population. Method: A review of scientific and academic literature was conducted, featuring 40 articles published between 2000 and 2011 in databases (ISI Web of ScienANO 12 VOL. 12 No 1 CHIA, COLOMBIA ABRIL 2012 l 62-76 63 Aporte de enfermeria a la calidad de vida del cuidador familiar del paciente con Alzheimer l Lina Maria Vargas-Escobar ce, SciELO, Medline, Pubmed, ScienceDirect and Ovid) and the results of Google Scholar. Results: The review showed the chief physical, psychological, social and spiritual elements that contribute to the caregiver's quality of life, particularly in the subjective realm. Conclusions: The quality of life of a family caregiver of a patient with Alzheimer's disease is determined by the objective and subjective conditions that make up the concept. Nursing has the potential to participate, not only from the standpoint of clinical and community practice, but also through roles in education, research and public policy.


HFSP was founded on the initiative of the former Prime Minister of Japan, Yashuhiro Nakasone at a time when Japan wished to take a more active role in the international community following its post-war industrial success. The international credentials of HFSP are clear from its origin at the level of the G7 summit in Venice in 1987. It was established with funds from Japan and with the support of the G7 nations, the European Union (who traditionally represent the non-G7 EU members) and, in 1991, of Switzerland. Since 2004, HFSP has welcomed Australia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, India and Norway as contributing members and now has a broad intercontinental membership in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region.


Skin grafts of embryos and teratomas formed after the transplantation of ground tissues of embryos (18-20 day and 12-14-day) to neonatal syngeneic recipients were studied; it appeared that their growth was considerably delayed in comparison with analogous transplants in adult recipients. It is supposed that the organism of embryos and neonates has factors controlling the growth of embryonic tissues.


the lipid part. We agree that the peroxidation of lipids present in LDL is not the only way to generate LDL oxidation. Direct oxidation of the protein moiety of the lipoprotein also occurs. The process of LDL oxidation leads to the modification of the protein moiety of LDL, either directly—via aldehydes released from endothelial cells, as Holvoet described, or via myeloperoxidase-derived hypochlorous acid (1)—or indirectly—via peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (2). In turn, direct and indirect pathways can be related. For example, the tyrosyl radical generated by myeloperoxidase is also a physiologic catalyst for the initiation of lipid peroxidation in lipoproteins (3). The advantage of the antibody against oxidized LDL developed by Holvoet and colleagues is that it is directed against the most harmful of the LDLs, a modified apolipoprotein B-100 lipoprotein that can be recognized by the scavenger receptor of the macrophages and, hence, promotes the development of atherosclerosis. It is currently thought that oxidized LDL is more damaging to the arterial wall than is native LDL (4). Holvoet et al (5) showed that, with the exception of blood pressure, all components of the metabolic syndrome were significantly associated with high concentrations of oxidized LDL in US men and women aged 70–79 y. Most importantly, high concentrations of oxidized LDL increased the risk of myocardial infarction in this population. The central role of abdominal obesity in the metabolic syndrome and the increased risk of high waist circumferences with high oxidized LDL concentrations (6) underscore the need for routine medical examination of waist circumferences.


International debate on the measurement of economic well-being calls for integrating data on socioeconomic disparities in a national accounts framework. In recent years, possibilities to display income (and other) distribution figures from national accounts by socio-economic groups as important additional indicator for economic welfare have already been examined by some statistical offices and are currently promoted at the level of international organizations (Eurostat/OECD). This paper first presents an analysis of the income distribution in Germany, generated according to an international approach by integrating national accounts data and household budget survey figures for the year 2008. This requires that income broken down by component is conceptually harmonized, that grossed-up survey values are confronted with the national accounts level and that an adjustment coefficient for each single income component of disposable income is applied. The income divergences in Germany are assessed by comparing results before and after methodological adjustments. The second question addressed by the paper is in how far the adjustments carried out to the micro data have an impact on distribution indicators like the S80/20-ratio, the median or the Gini-coefficient. This enables to conclude on how statistical techniques in the process of micromacro-integration are influencing income distribution indicators. Given the high priority assigned to distribution issues by international organizations (eg. OECD, Eurostat), this paper is providing a contribution to assess these endeavours against the background of available data resources.


Strategic communication has gained much attention from academics across communication disciplines since the 2007 publication of Hallahan, Holtzhausen, van Ruler, Verčič, and Sriramesh's article, Defining Strategic Communication. In China, however, strategic communication scholarship is still relatively underdeveloped compared to that in North America and Europe. To facilitate the scholarship development in communication subfields in China, the Public Relations Society of China (PRSC) annual conference and the annual International Forum on Public Relations and Advertising (PRAD) have provided a platform to stimulate regional and international discussions among and with scholars in the Chinese community. The conferences have attracted hundreds of presentations by authors from more than 20 countries and produced academic papers in conference proceedings, journal special issues, and journal articles over the years. This special issue publishes selected papers from the first PRSC and ninth PRAD presentations in 2016. Strategic communication is broadly defined as purposeful communication by organizations (of all sorts) to achieve their goals. Hallahan, Holtzhausen, Van Ruler, Verčič, and Sriramesh (2007) argued that the strategic element of this developing discipline is multidimensional and emphasizes management (communication process), decision making (how the decision is made and evaluated), tactics (what to say), agency (who to say)/networks (information flow) and power (resources and control). The communication element of the term focuses on meaning (consensus building) and influence (persuasion). Thus, strategic communication research aims to inform how organizations present themselves in communication with constituencies to create consensus or exert influence for goal achievement. To reach that end, the research examines the contexts (the audiences and the political, economic, media, cultural, and social systems of the organizational environment), processes, and outcomes of strategic communication using organizationor constituency-centric data by various methodologies (Christensen & Svensson, 2017). The foci of strategic communication studies reflect significant changes in the environment in which organizations operate (Hallahan et al., 2007; Zerfass & Werder, 2017). Recent development of strategic communication research in China, as evident in published international journal articles, centers strongly on the effect of digital media in the context of corporate-consumer communication, crisis management, political participation, and social movements. This special issue on strategic communication in China, on the other hand, aims to provide a broader platform to examine other confounding factors that may influence the circumstances, processes, and outcomes of Chinese strategic communication theoretically, practically, and methodologically, in addition to the effect of digital media. Two articles in this special issue examine strategic communication in the context of crisis management theoretically and empirically. In a conceptual piece, Zhao, Falkheimer, and Heide argue that crisis communication in China is a consensus-building process that goes beyond information dissemination. The authors propose a social constructionist approach for organizations to


This project investigates intermodalism and the benefits of an integrated transportation interface. The study attempts to identify the design aspects (or lack thereof) at Pacific Central Station (PCS) that contribute to a number of rail passengers becoming disoriented when entering the station. The research question asks: What specific design elements are needed in PCS to create a smoother intermodal connection and an overall better travel experience for rail passengers? The conceptual framework for this study views intermodalism through a Transit-Oriented Development (TOO) lens in conjunction with New Urbanist and Smart Growth principles. The study employs a mixed-method approach to collecting data on station intermodalism and wayfinding devices that includes the following: direct observation; passenger counts; in-depth, qualitative interviews; and an interview survey. Data is analyzed and recommendations are given for improving wayfinding and intermodal connections at the station. This study seeks to advance 'best practices' in station intermodalism and wayfinding for PCS and other similar stations.


The atmosphere of the earth restricts the resolution of conventional astrophotography to about 1 arcsec. Much higher resolution can be obtained by using speckle methods. The speckle masking method (triple correlation method) yields images of general astronomical objects with diffraction-limited resolution, for example, 0.03 arcsec resolution for a 3.6-m telescope. True images are obtained since speckle masking reconstructs both the modulus and the phase of the object Fourier transform. Therefore, speckle masking is a solution of the phase problem in speckle interferometry. The limiting magnitude of speckle masking is about 20m. Speckle spectroscopy is a speckle method that yields objective prism spectra with diffraction-limited angular resolution. Finally, speckle masking can recon-struct high-resolution images from optical long-baseline interferograms. A 1-km telescope array on the earth would yield images with 10 arcsec resolution. With a 40-km array in space a fantastic resolution of 10-6 arcsec can be achieved at λ-200 nm. We show speckle masking observations of NGC 3603 and Eta Carinae and computer simulations of optical aperture synthesis.


The Tsunami disaster was the first and the biggest disaster in Banten Province, but preparedness in the response to the health crisis was still lacking, even though in an emergency response situation the management of disaster management carried out was quite good. The method of research based on data reports that include quantitative and qualitative methods. Analyzing health facilities and the impacts that occurred in the field during the tsunami period is the basis for this article and at the same time a discussion of describing problems that can be anticipated in the future.


The monocot mannose-binding lectin belongs to the superfamily of plant lectins and exhibits exclusively specificity toward mannose and mannose-binding proteins.As structurally and evolutionary related glycoproteins,MBL is of highly similarity and exerts diverse biological roles.It selectively and efficiently inhibits a wide variety of human and animal viruses(including HIV)and suppresses syncytium formation between persistently HIV-I infected cells and uninfected T cells thus deters virus entry.As the translator of mannose,MBL plays an important role in the research of glycomics.Up till now,upcoming the success of transgenic rice,wheat,tomato and tobacco of GNA which shows potential value of exploitation and prospective application in medicine and agriculture.The distribution,binding specificity,biological activity and molecular evolution of MBL are outlined in this paper.


The present invention discloses a method of manufacturing the manufacturing device and the cover window of the cover window, the cover window. The present invention, is disposed between at least a film layer which is a portion bent be formed, and the resin layer being at least partially curved be formed, the film layer and the resin layer comprises an adhesive layer for adhering the film layer and the resin layer do.


The structure of the phosphorylated form of the histidine‐containing phosphocarrier protein HPr from Escherichia coli has been solved by NMR and compared with that of unphosphorylated HPr. The structural changes that occur upon phosphorylation of His 15, monitored by changes in NOE patterns, 3JNHHα‐coupling constants, and chemical shifts, are limited to the region around the phosphorylation site. The His 15 backbone torsion angles become strained upon phosphorylation. The release of this strain during the phosphoryl‐transfer to Enzyme II facilitates the transport of carbohydrates across the membrane.


Scholars have long recognized that Central Asia played a key role in trans-Eurasian trade, positioned as it was at the crossroads of the overland "Silk Road" network of caravan routes. The economic advantages associated with the region's geography are presumed to have supported the great nomadic empires of the Eurasian interior in the classical and medieval eras, and to have come to an abrupt end in the early modern era. This generally has been attributed to the rise of European commercial interests in the Indian Ocean, which signaled the end of the overland Silk Road trade and sent Central Asia into a centuries-long period of decline. This essay draws attention to a number of foundational assumptions that have informed this interpretation, and it advocates for moving beyond the decline paradigm to employ an integrative method of analysis that more effectively situates the region in its global context and invigorates the study of early modern Central Asian history.


The invention provides a destructive road shape fusion method based on a traveling direction, comprising the following steps of: (1) traveling direction grouping: grouping track shape points according to the traveling direction of a floating vehicle; (2) first point matching: finding out a common start section of tracks to be fused; (3) shape fusion: fusing shape points of each track which matches with each traveling direction according to the respective traveling direction; (4) smoothing process: carrying out smoothing process on the fused track shape to remove noise points; and (5) shape point compression: removing unnecessary shape points on the basis of keeping the basic shape of the road. In the floating vehicle traveling track data mining process, each track shape has larger distortion along with the increment of the floating vehicle track quantity, but a quite actual track shape can be obtained through fusing the shape of each track by adopting the method disclosed by the invention.


William Caxton's prologues perform a double duty. In them Caxton constructs a specifically merchant readership for his works and instructs these readers in the art of assimilating the content of the books he offers them for their own purposes. At the same time, he appeals to an aristocratic public. Merchants of the time were especially susceptible to the appeal of his conduct books, in large part because contemporary literature offered them little in the way of a positive group identity of their own. Caxton attempts to fill in this gap, teaching merchants how to make originally aristocratic works their own.


In this contribution we jointly optimize the number of activated MIMO layers and the number of bits per symbol under the constraint of a given fixed data throughput and integrity. In analogy to bit-interleaved coded irregular modulation, we introduce a Broadband MIMO-BICM scheme, where different signal constellations and mappings were used within a single codeword. Extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) charts are used for analyzing and optimizing the convergence behaviour of the iterative demapping and decoding. Our results show that in order to achieve the best bit-error rate, not necessarily all MIMO layers have to be activated.


dangers of smoking.1 In France it was widely believed that the government could regulate smoking and control some of the tobacco industry's strategies. For example, in January 1991 a law was passed which banned the use of cigarette brand names in advertising. However the fight continues. For example in June 1996 the tobacco industry launched an extensive campaign in the lay press. Documents were sent to leading health care professionals to encourage them to train media personnel to interpret scientific data. It is often suggested that the results of research are misunderstood. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) was chosen as an example by the industry (while admitting that ETS causes cancer). Health care professionals were provided with a selected bibliography of reports and expert opinion which showed that ETS was not a significant risk for non-smokers. They concluded that neither 'scientific data', nor 'European opinions' (they excluded North American and Japanese opinions) gave strong reasons for banning smoking in private and public work places. They also encouraged private and public institutions to set up appropriate policies to enable smoking in the workplace. The tobacco industry's campaign in the lay press started on 17 June 1996 and used six different advertisements at a cost of US$ 1.3 million to target nine different newspapers. They graded the public health risk of ETS compared with other risk factors according to Table 1. Using the notion of relative risk to compare figures it was argued that a relative risk of between 1.0 and 2.0 did not give strong evidence of a causal association between ETS and lung cancer. Table I gives false or incomplete information and should have been completed by researchers who performed the data collection for each topic and by those who critically appraised the studies. It might be asked what is the relevance of information on the association between vegetarian diet and heart disease or biscuit consumption and heart disease, or pepper consumption and mortality. The articles covering the association between ETS and lung cancer give estimates of relative risk as follows: 1.3 (CI 95%: 1–1.8) Am J Public Health 1992; 82: 1525; 2.11 (CI 95%: 1.13–3.95) JNCI 1981; 66: 1061; 2.07 (CI 95%: 1.16–3.68) NEJM 1990; 323: 632; 3.33 (P 0.03) Am J Epidemiol 1987; 125: 17; 3.2–4 (P 0.01) Tokoku J Experiment Med 1988; 154: 389; 2.4 (CI 95%: 1.1–5.3) JNCI 1992; 84: 1417. However, these figures are not quoted in the advertisements published in the lay press. Most of these studies concern groups of women exposed to ETS who had never smoked themselves. Perhaps the industry is suggesting that these population groups do not exist in France. There is evidence from the US2 that population groups exposed to ETS have high serum cotinine levels and that the environment at home and in the workplace significantly contributes to ETS exposure. In France it is likely that such exposure is as bad if not worse. The scientific community should not allow this misleading information to continue to be published in the lay press. The selected use of scientific data to mislead the public should be prohibited. Public health funding is insufficient to fight such strong lobby groups. As stated by Radford 'people tend to get most of their information beyond work and family horizons from the press, radio and television'.3 The tobacco industry is aware of this. Even tenuous evidence can be supported in people's minds by repetition and old adages such as 'mentez, il en restera toujours quelquechose' (go ahead and lie, there is always something to be gained from it). The tobacco industry is also aware that when journalists decide that a story is 'going down well', all the newspapers start telling the same story and since the general public tend not to read the medical press there is no way of correcting misleading information. In France one particular tobacco firm has now been successfully sued by the French National Committee 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 2011 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 3011 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 4011 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 5011 51 52 53


Abstract : Hoff was created to be a function-level hardware design language and the highest level input language for the High-Level Device Compilation System (HLDCS). This technical report is the preliminary definitive reference for the syntax and semantics of the Hoff language, version I(1). A tutorial with an expanded explanation of the implications of Hoff at the hardware level is in preparation. (Author)


In Brief During the past 30 years, diabetes management has witnessed changes in
glucose measurement, insulin administration, and types of insulins. These
changes have improved the lives of people with diabetes. This article is a
critical review of these changes and an assessment of the current state of
diabetes care and technology.


High-power high-brightness broad-area diode lasers have poor lateral beam quality, which has limited the application range of this kind of device. To improve the lateral beam quality, a sawtooth microstructure laser was proposed and the microstructures were carefully designed according to the profiles of each lateral mode and their dependence on the self-heating induced thermal lens effect. As a result of selective mode loss adjustment, a 42% improvement in lateral beam quality was achieved under the power-maintained condition. This technology enables us to develop high-brightness direct-diode laser systems.


Objective To investigate the plasma homocysteine(Hcy) levels and hypertension and its relationship with cerebral hemorrhage.Methods A simple hypertension as A group;alone in patients with cerebral hemorrhage as the B group;hypertensive patients with cerebral hemorrhage as the C group;elect the same period in healthy volunteers as control group D group,measured their fasting plasma homocysteine (Hcy) concentration.Results A group,B group and C group,plasma Hcy levels than those in the control group D was significantly higher,the difference was statistically significant(P0.001).C group respectively with A,B group are also statistically significant differences(P0.01).Conclusion Plasma homocysteine levels in patients with hypertension and cerebral hemorrhage was significantly increased.The data show that are independent risk factors in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease


For using machine vision technology to detect textile image,segmentation way of textile image is researched.By the minimum risk Bayes decision theory,this paper develops a new way of image segmentation: establish the mathematics model of image segmentation;estimate the probability density of grey scales and figure out its math-expectation and square difference that accord with normal distribution and the loss function;and judge the every pixel dot in the image according to the minimum risk Bayes decision theory and determine whether it is of target or non-target images,thereby realizing the extraction of the target image.The experimental results indicate that the method is efficient and practicable.


Given the increasing pressure from customers who require an improved service, electric utilities have to ensure their quality of supply is at least maintained and if possible enhanced. Correct protection operation in the event of a power system fault has been highlighted as being of particular importance. In the event of a false protection operation, or isolation of a larger part of the network than required when clearing a power system fault, many customers can be disconnected unnecessarily, increasing the customer minutes lost (CML). Similarly, quality of supply can suffer if a power system fault is cleared slowly causing voltage dips throughout parts of the power network. Hence, it is important that protection scheme operations are validated following a disturbance allowing any possible problems to be identified and rectified quickly. In response to the need to fully understand how the power system behaved during a fault, many data gathering systems have been or are currently being implemented. Under normal operating conditions these systems provide a valuable insight into the power system behaviour. Unfortunately, during extreme conditions, when such data is invaluable, the sheer volume of data can lead to important events being overlooked. This paper reports on a decision support system (DSS) for protection engineers which collates and interprets the large volumes of available data in order to monitor and, when required, diagnose the transmission network's protection schemes.


The sections in this article are

Overview
Introduction
Colloidal Nanocrystals
Size-dependent Optical Properties
Chemical Synthesis

Nanocrystal Functionalization for Biosensing
Surface Capping Exchange
Coating with a Silica Shell
Surface Modification through Hydrophobic Interactions

Optical Techniques
Colorimetric Tests
Fluorescence
Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
Fluorescence Lifetime
Multiphoton Techniques
Metal-enhanced Fluorescence
Surface Plasmon Resonance
Surface-enhanced Resonance Spectroscopy

Advantages and Disadvantages of Nanocrystals in Optical Detection
Applications
Biosensing with Semiconductor Nanocrystals
Biosensing with Metallic Nanoparticles

Towards Marketing
Conclusions


Summary From brain death to brain chip – do we need "neuroethics"? Neuroethics is an area of applied ethics that evaluates the moral implications of neuroscience, its technological products, health care applications and effects on society. While neuroethics has evolved rapidly over the last decade, the idea that it should be regarded as a distinct ethical discipline contributing specific expertise to ethical inquiries is still controversial. We approach this question by examining four major areas of neuroscience that have significant ethical implications: (1) brain death and disorders of consciousness, (2) neuroimaging, (3) deep brain stimulation and brain-computer interfaces, and (4) neuroenhancement. Our analysis shows that the clinical applications of neuroscience can be comprehensively assessed by primarily using the wellknown four principles of medical ethics. Basic neuroscience research, however, challenges many traditional ethical tenets as well as raising significant social and anthropological questions. While it may not be best practised as a novel and distinct discipline of ethics, neuroethics benefits most from the cooperation of ethicists, clinicians and scientists focusing on the vexing problems of neuroscience and its profound impact on society.


Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry(MALDI-TOF-MS), in combination with immunoaffinity provided a powerful tool for determining epitope (antigenic determinant) in protein. The linear epitope of the beta(2)-microglobulin was characterized in the paper. The method as follows: at first beta(2)-microglobulin was digested by a proteolytic enzyme to produce an appropriate set of peptide fragments, then peptide fragments containing the linear epitope were selected and separated from the pool of peptide fragments by immunoprecipitation with the monoclonal antibody. The agarose beads were collected carefully after the reaction. Unbound peptides would be washed away, while the peptides containing the epitope would remain bound to the immobilized antibody after. the beads were washed several times with appropriate buffer. At last the masses of the bound peptides were identified directly by MALDI-TOF MS. Using Endoproteinase Glu-C Endoproteinase Lys-C and Trypsin in the experiment, the linear epitope of beta(2)-microglobulin was located within peptide fragment 59-69, that is, DWSFYLLYYTE.


calendar month and for the whole year. As these monthly frequency tables were compiled irrespective of the time of day, all diurnal trends were averaged out. Revealing diurnal trends requires binning by hour of day, but revealing their seasonal dependence – that is, 'seasonal-diurnal' effects – requires binning by month and by hour of day. The procedure is to count the number of observations of each 1kn wind speed and 10° direction that occurs for a given hour of day (in local time) and calendar month. There being 24h in the day and 12 months, this gives 288 tables in the sequence, from 0000h in January to 2300h in December, which may be designated the 'monthhour' index. The long observation periods of hourly observations now archived make the compilation of these tables a practical proposition, but the large number of tables makes locating seasonal-diurnal trends within them very difficult.


This study addresses the little studied context of English language education in Eritrea. Despite the teaching of English as a subject and the forward-looking mother tongue policy implemented in Eritrean elementary education, Eritrean students struggle to cope with English as the medium of instruction from the start of junior school to the end of tertiary education. This qualitative study analyses sixteen sophomore student interviews and six teacher interviews to critically explore the conditions of English language education in Eritrea. Using an ecological perspective, the findings from this study highlight how the affective, didactic, study and linguistic conditions interrelate with one another to form the characteristic features of the English language education ecosystem and provide insights into the different ways participants within this ecosystem respond to these conditions. The aim of this study is to better understand what supports and hinders students' language development in order to be able to support the reformation and transformation of English language education in Eritrea.


In a solid-state imaging device is disclosed, comprising a support substrate; forming a semiconductor chip having a pixel array disposed on said supporting substrate; and an image processing semiconductor chip, which is disposed on the supporting substrate, wherein said semiconductor imaging the image processing chip and the semiconductor chip through a through hole formed on said substrate and connected to each other to support the connection.


BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was the evaluation of pharmacokinetic parameters, biomarkers, clinical outcome, and imaging parameters in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients treated with FOLFIRI plus sunitinib.

METHODS
mCRC patients with liver metastases were treated with FOLFIRI and sunitinib as 1st line therapy. At protocol-defined time points, multicontrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)measurements, computed tomography (CT) scans, pharmacokinetics (PK), and biomarker analyses were performed during the first and second treatment cycle. Thereafter, patients were treated until tumor progression, investigator's decision due to toxicity, or patient withdrawal.

RESULTS
28 patients were screened, 26 were included, and 23 received at least one study medication. Full safety analysis was performed in 23 patients. Full PK and biomarker analyses were performed in 21 patients. Strong responses in tumor size reduction forced a change from the original imaging timing scheme. This unforeseen change in the timing scheme resulted in subgroups too small for meaningful statistical analysis of most imaging parameters. Thus, only a descriptive analysis of the MRI data was possible. In 21/22 patients, MRI showeda decrease of the liver metastases. Best response was partial remission (PR) in 8/17 patients. Plasma concentrations of sVEGFR-2 and sVEGFR-3 decreased in all patients. The majority of the patients developed some kind of toxicity not always deducible to FOLFIRI or sunitinib.

CONCLUSIONS
Due to the observed side effect profile, FOLFIRI plus sunitinib 37.5 mg per day cannot be recommended for previously untreated mCRC.


Decision makers use Data Warehouse (DW) for performing analysis on business information. DW development is a long term process with high risk of failure and it is difficult to estimate the future requirements for the decision-making. Further, the current DW design does not consider the early and late requirements analysis during its development, especially by using Unified Modeling Language (UML) approach. Due to this problem, it is crucial that current DW modeling approaches covered both early and late requirements analysis in the DW design. A case study was conducted on Malaysia Rural Health Care (MRH) to gather the requirements for DW design. The goal-oriented approach has been used to analyze the early requirements and later was mapped to UML approach to produce a new DW modeling called Goal-UML (G-UML). The proposed approach highlighted the mapping process of DW conceptual schema to a class diagram to produce a complete MRH-DW design. The correctness of the DW design was evaluated using expert reviews. The G-UML method can contribute to the development of DW and be a guideline to the DW developers to produce an improved DW design that meets all the user requirements


The invention relates to a method for producing a cork particle - containing film (100) or a cork particle - containing synthetic leather (200) having a layer structure (120; 220) with at least one layer (126; 224) based on polyurethane or polyvinyl chloride and a surface finish (130; ). The method comprises pretreating the cork particles (128; 228) to reduce the water content in the cork particles, preparing a starting material for producing the layer, producing the layer structure (120; 220), wherein at least one layer (126, 224) of the layer structure (120 220) is formed from the starting material and forming the surface coating (130; 230) by applying a paint on the layer structure (120; 220), wherein the cork particles (128, 228) in the starting material or in the paint or in the starting material and the paint are mixed. Furthermore, the invention relates to a cork particle-containing film and a cork particle-containing artificial leather.


The effect of Pb in La3Te4−xPbx on the thermoelectric properties in the temperature range 300–1100 K was studied on samples synthesized by the melting, ball milling and hot-pressing method. The samples crystallize in the Th3P4structure. A small amount of Pb substitution for Te in La3Te4 reduced the electrical conductivity, but the impurity phase introduced by more Pb significantly enhanced the electrical conductivity. The electrical conductivity of the La3Te3.6Pb0.4 sample reached 2.06 × 105 S m−1 at room temperature. The expansion of crystal lattice confirmed from x-ray diffraction patterns and the slight reduction in electrical conductivity all verify the fact that Pb substitutes a Te site when x is small. The Seebeck coefficient increases linearly with temperature for all samples. While the thermal conductivity varies slightly with temperature, the lattice thermal conductivity approaches the minimum value at high temperatures. For La3Te3.7Pb0.3, a power factor of 1.4 × 10−3 W m−1 K−2 at 1100 K was achieved with a thermal conductivity of 1.86 W m−1 K−1, giving a maximum figure-of-merit ZT ≈ 0.8 at 1100 K.


The Albendazole is the drug of reference in the med ical treatment of hydatidosis, but its efficacy is limited by its poor bioavailability. Two series of ester and amide potential prodrugs of albendazole ( 1a-d and 2a-f) were synthesized. Other set of the new benzimidazole der ivatives as alkyl derivatives were synthesized from the albendazole 3a-j. The compounds thus prepared were characterized by their physical (TLC) and spectral data (IR and NMR).


The dynamic nonlinear dielectric response of relaxor ferroelectric (PbMg 1 / 3 Nb 2 / 3 O 3 ) 0 . 6 8 -(PbTiO 3 ) 0 . 3 2 thin films was qualitatively analyzed. The dielectric response of epitaxial thin-film heterostructures deposited on La 0 . 5 Sr 0 . 5 CoO 3 /(001)MgO was measured as a function of the amplitude of the ac drive. In thin films, the temperature and frequency dependences of dynamic linear, third-order nonlinear and scaled third-order nonlinear, dielectric permittivities (e 1 ,e 3 ,a 3 ) were reconstructed from the measured dielectric response of the heterostructures. The behavior of e 1 , e 3 , and a 3 was in qualitative and quantitative agreement with that experimentally observed in single-crystal relaxor ferroelectrics. The peaks in e 1 and e 3 , and the increase in a 3 with decreasing temperature below that of the dielectric maximum corresponded to the recent modeling and could indicate a glassy state in the films.


Article history Received: January 07, 2020 Revised: March 11, 2020 Accepted: April 21, 2020 Yellow (stripe) rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, is a serious problem of wheat (Triticum aestivum) production in many parts of the world including Egypt. The pathogen is capable to produce new physiological races that attack resistant varieties and develop epidemic under optimal environmental conditions which results in a serious yield loss. Host resistance is the most economical way to manage wheat stripe rust. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the reaction of 53 wheat genotypes, delivered to Egypt by International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) by artificial inoculation against the major virulent races at adult plant stage at two locations; Itay El-Baroud and Sakha Agricultural Research Stations; during three growing seasons i.e. 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19. Results of the current study showed that 34 wheat genotypes; No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45 and 48 were resistant and had the lowest values of FRS, ACI, and AUDPC. Therefore, we can select these genotypes as resistant lines in the breeding program for resistance to yellow rust. As for 1000 kernel weight, 10 wheat genotypes i.e. 4, 6, 11, 14, 17, 28, 33, 34, 41 and 48 showed the highest values of 1000 kernel weight and were also resistant to yellow rust. Correlation analysis of different parameters also showed a high correlation between FRS, ACI, RRI and AUDPC with 1000 kernel weight of the tested wheat genotypes. Intensive genetic and molecular studies are useful for developing high yielding and disease resistant wheat cultivars in Egypt.


Improving elemental education of college in computer must start from the fact of college.That is to start from training aim of college,different demands of every major,the fact of students and nowadays condition of teaching.


1. Notes on contributors 2. Preface 3. Calling for help: An introduction (by Firth, Alan) 4. Technical assistance 5. Calibrating for competence in calls to technical support (by Baker, Carolyn) 6. Collaborative problem description in help desk calls (by Houtkoop, Hanneke) 7. The metaphoric use of space in expert-lay interaction about computing systems (by Kraan, Wilbert) 8. Emotional support 9. The mitigation of advice: Interactional dilemmas of peers on a telephone support service (by Pudlinski, Christopher) 10. Four observations on openings in calls to Kids Help Line (by Danby, Susan) 11. 'I just want to hear somebody right now': Managing identities on a telephone helpline (by Molder, Hedwig te) 12. Healthcare provision 13. Callers' presentations of problems in telephone calls to Swedish primary care (by Leppanen, Vesa) 14. Constructing and negotiating advice in calls to a poison information center (by Landqvist, Hakan) 15. Consumer assistance 16. Opportunities for negotiation at the interface of phone calls and service-counter interaction: A case study (by Chappell, Denise) 17. Institutionality at issue: The helpline call as a 'language game' (by Torode, Brian) 18. Aspects of call management 19. Some initial reflections on conversational structures for instruction giving (by Murtagh, Ged M.) 20. Working a call: Multiparty management and interactional infrastructure in calls for help (by Whalen, Jack) 21. Name Index 22. Subject Index


New technologies such as MPLS, DWDM, Digital Wrapper, Wavelength routing, WDM protection ring introduces the network functions only provided by a high layer,WDM becomes a multiwavelength optical network technology Which has a real internetworking function. This, therefore, enables a WDM network to carry IP services and gets quit of SONET / SDH thoroughly.


Tn optimal experimental design theory there are well-known situations, in which additional constraints are implied to the design set. These constraints destroy in general the simplex structure of the set of feasible points of the design set. Thus the available iteration procedures for the unrestricted case are no longer applicable. In this paper a penalty approach is suggested which transforms the restricted problem to the unrestricted case and allows the application of well-known algorithms such as the Fedorov-Wynn-type or the projected gradient procedure.


SUMMARY Neutral and polar lipids of Smittium culisetae were separated by silicic acid column and thin-layer chromatography. 76.3% of the total lipids was found to be neutral lipids and 23.7% was polar. Triglycerides were the most abundant (26.6%) of the lipids with lesser amounts of free fatty acids, steroids and diglycerides. The major phosphatide was phosphatidyl choline (17.8%) while phosphatidyl ethanolamine and phosphatidyl serine were present in smaller amounts. Gas chromatography of methyl esters of the fatty acids obtained from the individual lipid classes showed that the most abundant unsaturated fatty acid was palmitoleic (38.7%) and the predominant saturated fatty acid was palmitic (34.3%). The genus Smittium is included in the Harpellales of the Trichomycetes. The latter comprise a group of unusual fungi typically found in various arthropods as commensals in the digestive tract (Litchwardt, 1960). Species of Smittium like all other Harpellales are restricted to the guts of Diptera larvae where they complete their life cycle attached to the chitinous gut lining. Smittium culisetae Lichtwardt was first isolated by Lichtwardt (1964) from mosquito larvae. Smittium remains the only endozoic genus of the Trichomycetes cultured axenically and to our knowledge no information is available in the literature on the lipid composition of any of the species of Smittium. This report presents an examination of the lipid composition of Smittiumz culisetae. The individual lipid classes and phosphatides were separated and a quantitative determination was made. The total fatty acid content and the fatty acids in each class were determined.


One of the measures proposed to mitigate iron loss in blood donors is monitoring of their ferritin levels. Occasionally, high ferritin levels are found in monitored donors. We report the results of the clinical and laboratory investigation of 80 double red blood cell (DRBC) donors with high ferritin levels.


Sir, The perforator-based anterolateral thigh flap was first described by Song et al.[1] Minimal donor site morbidity and functional impairment has led various authors to use this flap for a wide variety of defects.[2] The management of the donor site poses a unique problem as a large area of skin (upto 800 cm2) can be harvested. Primary closure of the donor site with mobilization of surrounding skin is possible only in a few cases when the size of the defect is less than 8 x 8 cm2. [2]


One of the primary challenges in language acquisition in general, and second language acquisition in particular, is learning how to mentally represent the grammatical structure of a target language. Prior research has indicated that in some domains – like adjective-noun ordering (Gass and Ard 1984) or grammatical gender agreement (White et al 2004; Montrul 2004) – it is possible for second language learners to quickly acquire a very native-like representation of the target language. But, in other linguistic domains, like filler-gap resolution (Marinis et al 2005), anaphor resolution (Felser and Cunnings 2011), or subject-verb agreement (Parodi et al 2004), native-like acquisition of the target grammar seems comparably more difficult. At stake, then, is not simply the question of whether any particular linguistic phenomenon is transferred from a first language (L1), but more specifically, what contributes to the strength and durability of L1 interference in a second, non-native, language (L2). The current work contributes to research on the nature of transfer by investigating how native Spanish speakers acquire Subject-Verb Inversion (SVI) – the requirement that a verbal element precede the subject in interrogative sentences – in English. Both English and Spanish require SVI in wh-questions, as illustrated in (1).


Resolution enhancement techniques (RETs) such as attenuated phase shifting masks (Att-PSMs) and alternated phase shifting masks (Alt-PSMs) show great promise as a means of realizing 70 nm node 157 nm lithography, for which expectations are high for being the next generation of lithography. [rf1,rf2] Att-PSMs are particularly advantageous for application to ultra large-scale integration (ULSI) devices, because they are easier to fabricate than Alt-PSMs. However, their transmittance is an issue that requires evaluation. This paper reports our examination of high-transmittance Att-PSMs in both aerial image simulation and experiments to evaluate their potential. All of the simulated evaluations were performed by means of Prolith/3D (ver.6.1), and the experiments were performed with a 157 nm microstepper. As a result of our study, we identified the optimum transmittance of Att-PSMs and confirmed that the resolution obtained using high-transmittance Att-PSMs was improved more than 10% over that using the binary mask.


internal psychological incentives), and unspecified psychotic disorder1. Two studies of patients diagnosed as having 'feigned psychosis' showed at ten to twenty year follow-up that many individuals had subsequently been rediagnosed as having schizophrenia or an affective psychosis2'3. These reports should be interpreted with caution since they are retrospective and the numbers are small. Also, because it is easier to capture data about patients rereferred to psychiatric services because of psychosis, but difficult to identify what has happened to patients who have not been readmitted to mental health services, a selection bias may be operating. However, these observations do suggest that some patients who seem to feign psychotic disorders do so as part of a prodromal phase of a genuine psychotic illness. Secondly, whatever the underlying psychiatric diagnosis, it is clear that both patients misled doctors into inappropriately prescribing depot antipsychotic treatment. In case 1 this led to a long hospital admission requiring intensive nursing input. In case 2, the treatment caused a second episode of a potentially fatal illness, neuroleptic malignant syndrome4. In case 2 the first protracted episode of neuroleptic malignant syndrome is also likely to have been caused by the inappropriate administration of a depot antipsychotic. Thirdly, the two cases had features in commonconstant changes of address/general practitioner; limited educational achievement; extensive forensic history; knowledge of specific psychiatric medications; a superficial knowledge of psychiatric services (names of consultants or hospitals). When an unknown patient requests depot antipsychotic medication, the presence of these features might act as warning to take particular care. Relapse in patients with a chronic psychosis on depot medication tends to occur in weeks or months, not hours or days after stopping antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotic drugs are detectable in blood or tissues up to twelve months after a depot is discontinued. Patients with a chronic psychosis should be able to give a history of acute episodes of psychotic illness with symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions. Corroborative history from psychiatric hospitals or general practitioner notes should be obtained before a depot is given. Short courses of oral antipsychotics could be prescribed to an unfamiliar patient claiming to have a psychotic disorder while information is being sought.


The mechanism of action of aldosterone and its links with the mineralocorticoids receptor (MR) are described. The physiologic importance of the MR structure is emphasized, in relation with the preferential activation of the receptor by aldosterone.


Parapharyngeal space tumors (PSTs) have been studied in 14 cases treated in our clinic between 1960 and 1983. The results obtained are as follows: 1. The incidence of malignant PSTs predominated in males aged 40 years or over.2. Though subjective symptoms of PSTs are generally lacked, 80% of the malignant cases suffered from severe and persistent pain.3. The incidence of malignant PSTs in our clinic, 35.7%, was much higher than those described in other reports.4. The area from the paratopharyngeal to postpharyngeal wall was hyperemic and swollen only in the malignant cases.5. As indicative from the above 1-3, preoperative biopsy seems unnecessary, except when malignancy is strongly suspected etiologically and clinically.6. The combined CT-sialogram was very useful in revealing the size, extent and origin of tumors and in determining the best surgical approach for complete and safe excision.


"The Superlative City: Dubai and the Urban Condition in the Early Twenty-First Century." Ahmed Kanna. Harvard University Press. August 2013. --- In the last few years, the Persian Gulf city of Dubai has exploded from the Arabian sands onto the world stage. Oil wealth, land rent, and so-called informal economic practices have blanketed the urbanscape with enormous enclaved developments attracting a global elite, while the economy runs on a huge army of migrant workers from the labour-exporting countries of the Indian Ocean and Eurasian regions. In The Superlative City, contributors analyse some remarkable aspects of Dubai, such as the size and theming of real estate projects and the speed of urbanization. Elaine Housby finds that this will be of interest to anthropologists and architects alike.


We show that some results introduced in Girish and John (2011) are incorrect. Moreover, a counterexample is given to confirm our claim. Furthermore, the correction form of the incorrect results in Girish and John (2011) is presented.


Abstract Drought stress was evaluated with polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG 6000) treatment in Dunaliella salina, a microalga known for its great ability to withstand salinities of more than 30%. The aim was to explore the acclimation mechanisms used by the microalga to regulate its growth and physiology during coping with drought stress. The microalga was subjected to culture mediums containing 2 and 5% PEG for 25 days and was compared with a control culture medium. Significant decrease in growth parameters such as specific growth rate, biomass and number of divisions per day was demonstrated in PEG-treated algae. During PEG treatment, chlorophylls slightly increased, while β-carotene and total protein were not affected. Osmolytes, as well as carbohydrates, were found to be significantly higher in PEG-treated algae than in control. Increased catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activities were proportionally related to PEG concentrations in the cultures. The PEG-treated cells accumulated a considerable amount of hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde, especially at higher PEG concentrations. Electrolyte leakage increased, regardless of the PEG concentrations applied, while DNA fragmentation was not observed after 25 days of treating with PEG. It was concluded that Dunaliella cells could respond to the drought stress, probably by using a higher accumulation of a range of osmolytes and also more stimulation of the antioxidant enzymatic system.


The application of the modern technique makes the cataloging work of the library convenient and rapid,and many libraries have abolished the card-catalogue.In the light of the problems existing in the abolishment of the card-catalogue,this paper puts forward some suggestions of maintaining the official bibliographic catalogue temporarily,and some classified catalogues of the readers' section and other sections.


A fundamental feature of spin currents is that spin, at variance from electric charge, is a non-conserved quantity. For this reason, a pure spin current is, typically, rapidly dissipated by irreversible spin-dependent scattering. We show that non-conservation of spin can be exploited to \textit{enhance} spin currents injected into a paramagnetic lattice of mutually interacting localized magnetic moments. The enhancement is due to the exchange interaction between the lattice sites and the non vanishing spin density associated with the spin current, which partially aligns the magnetic moments of the lattice. We also discuss how such enhanced spin currents could be exploited to increase the spin-transfer torque exerted on a ferromagnetic layer.


Context Patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy are at increased risk of some anaesthesia-related hazards such as rhabdomyolysis, fever and hyperkalaemia. Objectives To evaluate the management of anaesthesia in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, including preoperative evaluation, intraoperative performance, critical events and postoperative care. Design We performed a retrospective case review study of anaesthesia in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy covering the period between April 2000 and December 2008. Patients 91 Duchenne patients undergoing 232 general anaesthetics for orthopaedic surgical interventions. Setting University hospital. Results Anaesthesia was performed using propofol, opioids and, if required, a non-depolarising muscle relaxant. Eight difficult direct laryngoscopies were reported. All patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery received transfusion of homologous blood products and required postoperative invasive ventilatory support for an average of 19 h. There was no severe anaesthesia-related complication and no case of unexplained fever or rhabdomyolysis. Conclusion This retrospective survey confirms clinical experience that total intravenous anaesthesia can be used safely in Duchenne patients without major concern. Further prospective studies are necessary to establish evidence-based clinical guidelines for daily practice.


The fascia lata was used for the intracapsular reconstruction of experimentally ruptured cranial cruciate ligament in dogs. In gross appearence, 90 days after surgery, the autografts were thick in intracapsular portion, presented bigger diameter than the normal ligament, and showed tendon aspect. Microscopicaly, collagen fibers were involved by slack conjunctive fibers, they were more intense in the intracapsular portion, and, later in time, presented an arragement of longitudinally oriented collagen fiber bundles. The elastic fibers were present in small amount, sparse and around the collagen fibers and prevailed in graft extremities.


Mass proliferation of IP networks and the maturity of standards has enabled the creation of sophisticated image distribution networks that operate over Intranets, Extranets, Communities of Interest (CoI) and even the public Internet. Unified monitoring, provisioning and management of such systems at the application and protocol levels represent a challenge. This paper presents a web based monitoring and management tool that employs established telecom standards for the creation of an open system that enables proactive management, provisioning and monitoring of image management systems at the enterprise level and across multi-site geographically distributed deployments. Utilizing established standards including ITU-T M.3100, and web technologies such as XML/XSLT, JSP/JSTL, and J2SE, the system allows for seamless device and protocol adaptation between multiple disparate devices. The goal has been to develop a unified interface that provides network topology views, multi-level customizable alerts, real-time fault detection as well as real-time and historical reporting of all monitored resources, including network connectivity, system load, DICOM transactions and storage capacities.


A plethora of strategies and initiatives have been proposed to address the development deficits in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the resulting analyses have failed to converge on the actual causes of these shortfalls and to identify optimum solutions. As a result, disparities between the rich and poor have widened. According to scholarly works on development practice, journal and newspaper articles, as well as primary sources, part of the problem lies with the elite groups that are involved in the task of spearheading development. This article discusses some elements of the classic elite theory and the structural– functional theory of stratification, and suggests that a more robust role for communication has enabled stakeholders to participate in agenda-setting for development, subsequently ushering in a new class.


I may, as a result of long endeavors to trace the destructive effect which the invocation of 'social justice' has had on our moral sensitivity, and of again and again finding even eminent thinkers thoughtlessly using the phrase, have become unduly allergic to it, but I have come to feel strongly that the greatest service I can still render to my fellow men would be that I can make... speakers and writers...thoroughly ashamed...to employ the term 'social justice'. -F.A. Hayek1


We study homology groups of posets with functor coefficients and apply our results to give a novel approach to study Khovanov homology of knots and related homology theories.


Motion, independent of forces, is described by kinematic parameters (usually using Denavit-Hartenberg convention) that have been used widely in biomechanical fields. Examples of these fields include robotics, human motion studies, and biomechanical structures' design and control; e. g. for exoskeleton and artificial human arm. A common way to precisely measure the joints movements is by using a motion capture system. Until now, the most successful motion capture technology is optical motion capture; this is due to its highly accurate measurement of small reflective markers that are attached to some relevant body landmarks. This paper addresses the problem of estimating the human arm kinematics parameters from video or captured images of human arms. We introduce a new robust framework that leads to reliable and accurate estimation of shoulder and elbow center of rotations along with the arm kinematics parameters.


The peasant uprising, which occurred in Kaei Era (1848-53) in the tcrritory of the Nanbu Clan, was one of the largest of its kind.Losing the uprising, Meisuke Miura, one of the leading ideologues of that peasant uprising, had to run away from the Nanbu Clan to the Sendai Clan, from the forces of the Nanbu Clan warrior class.In the Sendai Clan, he thought over the peasant uprising and the gloomy life in the future, and entered into the "Shugendo" in the process of the wandering life.It is to be noted that Meisuke Miura had a close relationship with the Shugendo", because it was the distinctive features not only of Meisuke Miura, but also of the characteristics of the peasant uprising in general.This article tries to make an analysis of the relationship of Meisuke Miura with the "Shugendo", more specially, to trace the ideology of Meisuke Miura by his diary in the wandering time, and to look upon the psychological aspects of his memorandum in prison.


The bicycle is the most energy efficient vehicle. Among Japanese people, it is used as one of the most important means of transportation for commuting compared with US. But the safety environment for bicycle user is very sever in Japan. We can get many lessons from the US policy, because of its progressiveness and strength.US Transportation policy gives priority on non-mortorized vehicle, especially on the bicycle. According to US Code 23 (High Way), the bicycle is considered as means of transportation. And financial assistances by federal government to the States for multi modal transportation are very hospitable, and accordingly every state shall make comprehensive and long term transportation plan which includes a bicycle plan. And in addition to this, every state shall put the bicycle and pedestrian coordinator in the State department of transportation. There are no such policy situations in Japan.Bicycles have the same rights and duties as motor vehicles, and are treated as a means of transportation on the road by vehicle laws of many state. The motor vehicle users must share the road with bicycle. There are the same obligations to give attention to each other for both motor vehicle drivers and bicycle riders. As a result, the number of the traffic accident fatalities of bicycle riders is much smaller compared with that of Japan and decreasing in these years. Japanese Policy needs to learn the fundamentals of those of US.Lessons from US bicycle policy are as follows. The Bicycle must be considered clearly as the means of transportation by law, and at the same time, had better be given the same rights and duties as motor vehicle. And through these actions, the bicycle policy can be put more priority among Japanese transportation policies. To realize these points, such legislation and financial measures needs to be taken by the Japanese government.


Generally, it is believed that higher education lowers the risk of unemployment. However, in developing countries including Ethiopia despite the expansion of higher education graduate unemployment has become a concern. It is threatening the stability and peace of the counties. Accordingly, the study had an objective of identifying determinantsof graduate unemployment and its duration based on data collected from 600 graduates in selected towns of Oromia National Regional State. To analyze the data, logistic regression and Weibull regression were employed. The result from the logistic regression model identified that level of education, specialization, place of residence (town), and year ofgraduation significantly affect the employability of graduates. The findings from the Weibull regression for survival analysis also showed that level of education, specialization, year of graduation, and place of residence were important in determining the duration of graduate unemployment. The result further revealed that graduates of engineering had 33.5% less hazard rate compared to graduates of natural science. Similarly, the hazard rate of level I graduates was higher than that of the other levels of graduates. These results imply the need for considering employability when opening a program and inclusion of entrepreneurship in the curriculum to make graduates innovative and forward looking.


We show that distinct emergent symmetries, such as partial dynamical symmetry and quasi dynamical symmetry, can occur simultaneously in the same or different eigenstates of the Hamiltonian. Implications for nuclear spectroscopy in the rare-earth region and for first-order quantum phase transitions between spherical and deformed shapes, are considered.


Hicks and Domínquez (2020) propose a 'feature-based' minimalist model for grammatical late first language (L1) attrition, extending Lidz and Gagliardi's (2015) model of L1 acquisition to the domain of late L1 attrition and following Putnam and Sanchez (2013) on early L1 attrition. In this commentary, I briefly summarize the essentials of attrition research to illustrate the complexity of the phenomenon and include recent developments, which formal models need to account for. Thereafter I comment on the Attrition via Acquisition model (AvA), raising some questions with regard to the model itself and the linguistic domain exemplified, the realization of pronominals. Individual L1 attrition has only recently become subject of more extensive research since L1 grammars have been long viewed as stable systems in the absence of language contact or change as well as instances of language pathology. Cross-linguistic transfer has been considered unidirectional and the realization that native languages are also influenced by languages learned later in life originated much later, giving rise to the holistic view of bilingualism (Grosjean, 1989). Language processing in bilinguals is viewed as more demanding than monolingual processing. Bilinguals establish and maintain processing routines based on less input and possibly weaker representations in at least one of their languages and due to the competition of the two systems with varying levels of activation (Abutalebi et al., 2011; Green, 1986). L1 attrition is associated with changes in processing and/or knowledge, generally taken to set in after prolonged exposure to and extensive use of a dominant second language (L2), further dependent on the level of L1 entrenchment and age of initial exposure (AoA) to the L2 (Schmid and Köpke, 2007). L1 stability is taken to set in after 12 years of typical L1 acquisition (Schmid and Köpke, 2013) and two kinds of attrition arise, early and late, as to the pre-/post-puberty L2-AoA. Generally, early attrition is viewed as severe and associated with representational deficits, while the L1 in post-puberty bilinguals is


Since the digital works was spread extensively via internet, the digital watermark technology became especially important as a way of copyright protection. An algorithm which embed digital watermark in Word document is proposed. The algorithm makes full use of the redundant space in Word document, can better implement the operation of embedding and detecting of watermarking. It shows robust performance against traditional attacks in practice.


Four different methods for measuring ultrafine particle size distributions in the 3-10-nm particle diameter range are compared and discussed. These methods all use an ultrafine condensation particle counter (TSI Inc. Model 3025 or its prototype) as the detector, but use different approaches to determine the size of the particles counted. Size classification was achieved using a Hauke Model VIE-06 differential mobility analyzer, a specially configured TSI Model 3040S diffusion battery, an ultrafine condensation particle counter with a variable condenser temperature, and an ultrafine condensation particle counter with a pulse height analyzer for signals produced by the optical detector. The response of these systems to ultrafine particles of known size and composition was studied during a workshop held in Lund, Sweden, during July 1991. After this workshop, measurements of ultrafine particles were made on the Swedish icebreaker Oden during the International Arctic Ocean Expedition 1991 (August 1, 1991 through October 7, 1991). In this article, the results of these laboratory and field measurements are discussed. The strengths and limitations of these measurement methods are emphasized. 30 refs., 9 figs., 3 tabs.


This paper reported a rapid method for the determination of residual effective alkali in black liquors from eucalyptus alkaline pulping.In this method the black liquor after addition of BaCl2 was titrated directly by a 0.100 mol/L HCl standard solution,the procedures for precipitate sediment and sample filtration used in the conventional titration method are omitted.The results showed that the destination pH in the direct titration for residual effective alkali in black liquor was 10.2 and the measurement accuracy is acceptable for the pH range of 10.2±0.05.The present method is simple and accurate;and it is suitable for rapid determination of residual effective alkali in black liquors on mill sites.


Drawing an analogy with the ill-fated Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of the pre-eurozone era, Paul De Grauwe argues in a new CEPS Commentary that the creation of a sovereign debt default mechanism is a very bad decision that will make the eurozone more fragile by making financial crises an endemic feature.


Efferent duct ligation was used to assess seminiferous tubule fluid (TF) production and studies of the kinetics of TF production following this procedure were performed on 25-day-old rats. The rate of TF production was linear for 48 h, thereafter reached a plateau until 72 h and began decreasing at 96 h post-ligation. Using a 16-h ligation period, the onset of TF production was investigated in groups of immature rats from 15 days of age. TF secretion was not detected prior to 15 days but rose rapidly after Day 20 coincident with the prepubertal rise in serum FSH. The acute effect of hormone on TF production following unilateral efferent duct ligation (EDL) was evaluated in 25-day-old rats in which interstitial fluid production (IF) was also assessed in the unligared testis by the method of Sharpe (1977). Single subcutaneous injections of the following hormones were given to groups of rats at the time of EDL: or following FSH treatment but no effect was noted in any of the other groups. In contrast, a marked stimulation of IF production occurred in rats treated with LH or hCC.


Low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma (LGMS) of the larynx is a very rare disease. It occurs in the glottic, supraglottic, and subglottic regions, with glottic being the most common. Hoarseness is the initial symptom of LGMS in the glottis region, while dyspnea is usually associated with increased tumor size. Low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma in the supraglottic and subglottic regions usually manifests as throat pain, progressive dysphagia, foreign body sensation, cough, and laryngeal perichondritis. The tumor looks like polypoid mass with smooth surface, broad base, and clear boundary at its early stage. It is easily misdiagnosed as a benign tumor, which results in delayed treatment. The patient was a 74-year-old male who was treated in our hospital due to progressive hoarseness without obvious cause that lasted over 10 months. Laryngoscopy revealed that there was a dark, red mass on the anterior one-third of the left vocal fold which was smooth, with clear boundary, broad base (Figure 1A), and vocal fold movement was normal. The tumor was misdiagnosed as ''vocal fold polyp,'' thus biopsy was not performed. No treatment was prescribed because the hoarseness was not severe. Two months later, the patient returned due to worse hoarseness. Laryngoscopy showed that the mass was slightly larger without obvious changes in the overall morphology (Figure 1B). The patient refused surgery due to small size of the tumor. No drug treatment was prescribed. Twelve months later, the patient returned complaining about worsening hoarseness combined with progressive dyspnea and aggravated dyspnea following physical (talking) activities. Laryngoscopy indicated a large tumor on the left vocal fold, occupying almost the whole length of the left vocal fold, including the anterior commissure and the laryngeal ventricle. The tumor size was about 2.5 cm 1.5 cm with unclear bounds and a smooth surface. Necrosis was present on some of the surface, and left vocal fold movement was restricted (Figure 1C). A vertical laterofrontal subtotal laryngectomy was performed under general anesthesia. The tumor was completely resected with a 5-mm margin. The resection included the left vocal fold, tissue of the paraglottic space, the left laryngeal ventricle, part of the left ventricular bands, part of the subglottic tissue, the left vocal process, the anterior commissure, and the front one-third of the right vocal fold. The laryngeal ventricle was repaired by sternohyoid myofascial flap. Frozen sections of the surgical margins and basal tissues were free of tumor. Postoperative, pathological examination confirmed that there was no tumor in the surgical margins and basal tissues. The patient did not undergo radiation or Figure 1. A, Patients larynx image obtained using electronic laryngoscopy during first hospital visit. B, Patients larynx image obtained using electronic laryngoscopy during second hospital visit. C, Patients larynx image obtained using electronic laryngoscopy during third hospital visit.


In the present work, two different classification methods, a dissimilarity-based clustering approach (DBC) and the model-based latent class analysis (LCA), were used to analyse responses to a questionnaire designed to measure children's mental representation of the Earth. It contributes to an ongoing debate in cognitive psychology and science education research between two antagonistic theories on the nature of children's knowledge, that is, the coherent versus fragmented knowledge hypothesis. Methodology-wise the problem concerns the classification of response patterns into distinct clusters, which correspond to specific hypothesised mental models. DBC employs the partitioning around medoids (PAM) approach and selects the final cluster solution based on average silhouette width, cluster stability and interpretability. LCA, a model-based clustering method achieves a taxonomy by employing the conditional probabilities of responses. Initially, a brief presentation and comparison of the two methods is provided, while issues on clustering philosophies are discussed. Both PAM and LCA attained to detect merely the cluster which corresponds to the coherent scientific model and an artificial segment added on purpose in the empirical data. The two methods, despite the obvious deviations in cluster-membership assignment, finally provide sound findings as far as hypotheses tested, by converging to identical conclusions.


Abstract In this paper, we give the definition of the generalization of spacelike Bertrand curves and obtain the characterization of these curves in Minkowski 5-space . Moreover, we define three types special spacelike Bertrand curves in Minkowski 5-space


The invention discloses a welding machine for a circular disc cutter. The welding machine comprises a machine frame, a circular disc cutter carrying regulating mechanism, a welding mechanism, a temperature measuring instrument, a cutter head clamping and conveying mechanism and a first regulating mechanism, wherein the machine frame is provided with a horizontal seat frame and a vertical seat frame, the circular disc cutter carrying regulating mechanism comprises a first installing seat, a speed reduction box, a connecting support frame, a carrying shaft and a rotating operation handle, the rotating operation handle is arranged at an input shaft, one end of the connecting support frame is arranged at an output shaft, the other end of the connecting support frame is connected with a carrying shaft, the first regulating mechanism comprises a regulating frame body, a vertical regulating assembly and a horizontal regulating assembly, the regulating frame body comprises a vertical installing plate and a horizontal carrying plate, the horizontal carrying plate is provided with an arc-shaped regulating through groove, the horizontal seat frame is provided with a first screw, the first screw optionally blocks or allows the horizontal carrying plate to pivot relative to the horizontal seat frame, the vertical regulating assembly is assembled on the horizontal carrying plate and is connected with the vertical installing plate, and the horizontal regulating assembly is arranged on the vertical installing plate and is connected with the cutter head clamping and conveying mechanism, so that the cutter head is matched with cutter edges of a circular disc cutter.


Following the social‐media rule that "it is not an official relationship unless it is on Facebook," I posted a message there on 16 July 2013, the day after I officially became the next editor‐in‐chief (EIC) of Seismological Research Letters ( SRL ). In response, I got feedback and encouragement saying that my new post will come with lots of positive aspects (one from former EIC Sue Hough)—and some warnings that it will be time consuming or sometimes I may receive calls from angry authors whose manuscripts were turned down. About two months have passed, and I have experienced a mixture of most of these things—except the angry phone calls. Perhaps it is safe to say, "So far so good."

I would like to thank the Seismological Society of America (SSA) for giving me this chance to serve the community. In my view, SRL is a unique journal that helps seismologists around the world to better communicate among us and with the general audience. SRL has enhanced its reputation by increasing its impact factor and broadening its readership, through the leadership and hard work of previous EICs, associate editors (AEs), and managing editors. I feel honored and somewhat humbled (and slightly terrified) to take the helm from the former EIC Jonathan Lees.

> One of the questions I ask most frequently these days is: "Is this manuscript suitable for SRL , or is it better suited for a more research‐oriented journal?"

One of the questions I ask most frequently these days is, "Is this manuscript suitable for SRL , or is it better suited for a more research‐oriented journal?" After talking with several former EICs and others, I think I have a better idea which articles belong to SRL . First, an SRL article should be informational and of interest to a broad cross …


Large or complex incisional hernias require more than just mesh placement.There are techniques such as component separation, retromuscular techniques (Rives-Stoppa, transversus abdominis muscle release-TAR), which help to repair the hernia and physiologically rebuild the abdominal wall.However, this type of technique can present a higher incidence rate of complications, such as hematomas, seromas, SSI, skin necrosis.We present our initial experience in complex abdominal wall reconstruction using the retromuscular sublay technique (RST).

 Retrospective study analyzing our database of patients with complex incisional hernia undergoing abdominal wall surgery using the RST, during November-2018 to October-2020.In addition, we conducted a comparative analysis with patients undergoing hernia repair using the onlay-technique.

 44 patients underwent RST (male:56.8%, age:66(IQR: 52–73years)). Hospital stay:4(IQR: 2–6days).Pathological history: diabetes mellitus (4.5%), arterial hypertension(20.5%), dyslipidemia(36.4%), smoking(34.1%), alcohol consumption(27.3%), cardiovascular disease(9.1%).ASA-classification:I(9.1%), II(59.1%), III(31.8%). BMI: 29.3±2kg/m2.
 Hernia location: midline(95.5%), others(4.5%). Preoperative botulinum toxin (PBT): 20.45%. Preoperative progressive pneumoperitoneum (PPP): 9.1%. Type of surgery performed: Rives-Stoppa(68.2%), TAR(31.8%).
 Postoperative complications: global(13.6%), Clavien-Dindo≥III:0%, clinical seroma(13.6%) and ultrasound-seroma(22.7%), SSI(0%). Hernia recurrence:0%.
 In the bivariate analysis of patients undergoing hernia repair using the RST compared to patients undergoing onlay repair, we observed that the RST presented lower incidence of global complications, both clinical and ultrasound seromas, surgical site infections and recurrences (13.6% vs 39.1% p=0.004; 13.6% vs 33.3% p=0.019; 22.7% vs 39.1% p=0.07; 0% vs 14.5% p=0.008; 0% vs 5.8% p=0.1; respectively).

 In our enviroment, the management of complex incisional hernias using RST and the use of PBT and PPP is effective and safe, with a lower incidence of complications and recurrences.


ABSTRACT The properties of the cysteines in the pBR322-encoded tetracycline resistance protein have been examined. Cysteines are important but not essential for tetracycline transport activity. None of the cysteines reacted with biotin maleimide, suggesting that they are shielded from the aqueous phase or reside in a negatively charged local environment.


Because of the existence of channel noise, channel coding serves as an indispensable part of mobile communication system and the essential guarantee for the reliable, accurate, and effective transmission of information. As one of the most competitive channel code candidates for the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication, polar codes are the first codes which can provably achieve the symmetric capacity of binary-input discrete memoryless channels (B-DMCs). In this paper, the segmented CRC- aided successive cancellation list (SCA-SCL) polar decoding scheme is proposed for better tradeoff of performance and complexity. Numerical results on binary-input additive white Gaussian noise channel (BI-AWGNC) have shown that, at SNR of 0.5 dB, this approach successfully provides as high as 41.65% complexity reduction and similar decoding performance compared to state-of-the-art ones.


Gifted children should receive an education that is appropriate to their potential, but the question is whether this is possible without a great deal of teacher competence. This project aims to increase the professional competence of mathematics teachers in gifted education. They were provided with training on the appropriate strategies for gifted students. In this study the knowledge and views of the teachers about the giftedness and the information used in gifted education is investigated. In the training process, seminars were provided regarding the teaching strategies used in gifted education, challenging mathematical tasks to be used to reveal and develop potential, and the differentiation of teaching with the help of technology. The participants of the study were 25 middle/high school in-service mathematics teachers from 17 provinces throughout the country. Teachers learned the teaching strategies for the gifted, and they provided enrichment using challenging mathematical tasks and technological tools.


Although malicious software (malware) has been around since the early days of computers, the sophistication and innovation of malware has increased over the years. In particular, the latest crop of ransomware has drawn attention to the dangers of malicious software, which can cause harm to private users as well as corporations, public services (hospitals and transportation systems), governments, and security institutions. To protect these institutions and the public from malware attacks, malicious activity must be detected as early as possible, preferably before it conducts its harmful acts. However, it is not always easy to know what to look for—especially when dealing with new and unknown malware that has never been seen. Analyzing a suspicious file by static or dynamic analysis methods can provide relevant and valuable information regarding a file's impact on the hosting system and help determine whether the file is malicious or not, based on the method's predefined rules. While various techniques (e.g., code obfuscation, dynamic code loading, encryption, and packing) can be used by malware writers to evade static analysis (including signature-based anti-virus tools), dynamic analysis is robust to these techniques and can provide greater understanding regarding the analyzed file and consequently can lead to better detection capabilities. Although dynamic analysis is more robust than static analysis, existing dynamic analysis tools and techniques are imperfect, and there is no single tool that can cover all aspects of malware behavior. The most recent comprehensive survey performed in this area was published in 2012. Since that time, the computing environment has changed dramatically with new types of malware (ransomware, cryptominers), new analysis methods (volatile memory forensics, side-channel analysis), new computing environments (cloud computing, IoT devices), new machine-learning algorithms, and more. The goal of this survey is to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of existing methods used to dynamically analyze malware, which includes a description of each method, its strengths and weaknesses, and its resilience against malware evasion techniques. In addition, we include an overview of prominent studies presenting the usage of machine-learning methods to enhance dynamic malware analysis capabilities aimed at detection, classification, and categorization.


The invention discloses a kind of based on MGB probe identification donkey skin, Corium Equi and the test kit of mule skin and detection method thereof, test kit includes the PCR reactant liquor for real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR detection, described PCR reactant liquor includes donkey and horse ckm gene versatility primer ckm F/ckm R, donkey MGB probe MGB Lv, horse MGB probe MGB Ma, Quality Control primer, Quality Control probe, Taq archaeal dna polymerase, anhydrous D (+) trehalose;KCl;MgCl 2 ;dNTPs;Glycerol;Bovine serum albumin;ROX reference dye.Novelty of the present invention uses MGB probe technique, and MGB probe can be completely combined with template DNA, thus stability is more preferable, and result is more accurate;Additionally, this test kit is by optimizing reactant liquor composition, reduce the technical quality requirement to testing staff, simplify practical operation step, the actual application of the Colla Corii Asini manufacturing enterprise that is more convenient for.


Objective — To examine different sick-leave measures used in sickness absence research, and to suggest a systematic way of assessing sickness absence. Methods — A review and analysis of five major studies on sick-leave performed 1983—1988 with an epidemiological approach. Results — Terminology and measures used varied in the different studies reviewed. The choice of a certain measure was seldom discussed in relation to the aim of the study. Based on the review five measures are suggested: frequency, length, incidence rate, cumulative incidence and duration. The definition of incidence rate is new and is a measure useful in studies of recurrent events within epidemiology. Conclusions — We have reviewed sick-leave measures previously used in the literature and suggested five basic measures for assessing sick-leave.


The aims of this paper are the estimation of demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, and the description of methodological problems arising in the process of its implementation. Population censuses, which represent the entire population of Canada, including those of Ukrainian origin, are considered as the most comprehensive, informative and reliable source of information on Ukrainians in Canada. The paper shows that methodological problems are caused both by the specifics of the ethnic group and by changes in census procedures. The article focuses on the changes in Canadian ethnic terminology in early population censuses. It is noted that census statistics experienced a significant change in the definition of ethnicity. Starting in 1986, the question on ethnicity includes descendants of mixed ethnic marriages; this makes it impossible to compare numbers of Ukrainians in previous years. A map of the distribution of ethnic Ukrainians was constructed based on data from the 2016 Canadian population census. The paper analyzes changes in the age and sex structures of the population of Ukrainian origin and their language characteristics. Trends in the number of persons of Ukrainian origin, who consider Ukrainian as their mother tongue, are assessed. We show that the proportion of persons over 65 years of age with Ukrainian mother tongue is constantly increasing, while the respective proportion of younger persons is decreasing. The number of Canadian Ukrainians who know Ukrainian is decreasing. Their distribution by age groups has a clearly defined right-sided asymmetry, i.e., the top of the curve is constantly shifting towards the older age groups. The article shows that the overwhelming majority (90 % and more) of ethnic Ukrainians know and use English, while French is much less prevalent. The proportion ISSN of persons who know both official languages is increasing and this proportion among ethnic Ukrainians is similar to the proportion for the whole population of Canada. The proportion of persons who do not speak any of the official language is decreasing and is less than one percent. We show that Ukrainians have fairly good socio-economic positions relative to the Canadian population as an ethnic group. For example, their position in the labor market is in some cases more advantageous compared to the national average.


Mussel and seagrass beds are characteristic of the shallow nearshores of the western Baltic Sea, forming a mosaic of habitat. The diverse physiological activities of seagrasses and mussels are affected by seawater carbonate chemistry and in return locally modify it. Seagrass photosynthesis decreases seawater CO2 concentration at daytime and increases it at night through respiration. This dynamic creates very favorable chemical condition to calcification at daytime but turn the habitat corrosive to calcium carbonates at night. In contrast, mussel respiration releases CO2, with the potential of locally changing the carbonate chemistry, turning the environment more favorable for photosynthesis by adjacent seagrass. Mussel calcification has the potential for reducing alkalinity (uptake of CO32-) thereby increasing CO2 concentration in seawater and reciprocally once dead, due to the dissolution of the shells. To capture these interactions between habitats, we 1) used a combination of state-of-the-art technologies to create an in-situ high precision carbonate sensor suite and 2) deployed it in August and September 2013 at the interface between a seagrass and a mussel patch submitted to series of down- and upwelling events.


The effect of modulation p-doping of 1.3μm quantum dot lasers is studied by spectrally resolved small-signal modulation. We describe the effect of modulation p-doping and temperature on their recombination coefficients, of importance for temperature-insensitive lasers.


A space $X$ is said to have the set star Hurewicz property if for each nonempty subset $A$ of $X$ and each sequence $(\mathcal{U}_n: n \in \mathbb{N})$ of sets open in $X$ such that for each $n\in \mathbb N$, $\overline{A} \subset \cup \mathcal{U}_n$, there is a sequence $(\mathcal{V}_n: n \in \mathbb{N})$ such that for each $n \in \mathbb{N}$, $\mathcal{V}_n$ is a finite subset of $\mathcal{U}_n$ and for each $x \in A$, $x \in {\rm St}(\cup \mathcal{V}_n, \mathcal{U}_n)$ for all but finitely many $n$. In this paper, we investigate the relationships among set star Hurewicz, set strongly star Hurewicz and other related covering properties and study the topological properties of these topological spaces.


The essay presents an analysis of the novel Lavoura Arcaica , by Raduan Nassar. From the point of view of the narrator-protagonist, the text demonstrates how his words of subversive nature – full of controversial meanings as incestuous relationship, familiar coercion, religious punishment – have their origin in the familiar tradition, represented by the father.


The invention relates to a preparation method of steel fiber with rough surface. The preparation method comprises the following steps: (1) deoiling the surface of a steel wire with diameter of 0.30-0.90mm, and washing with water until the surface of the steel wire is neutral; (2) coppering the steel wire in an electrobath tank; (3) after coppering is finished, cleaning residues on the surface, and drying the surface of the steel wire; and (4) carrying out pressure molding on the steel wire with roughness not less than 25 mum, and cutting. According to the invention, the method is simple in processing process and high in production efficiency; and when the prepared steel fiber with rough surface is applied to concrete, the bonding strength with the concrete base and the self rust protection capability are improved, and the overall performance of the steel fiber reinforced concrete is improved.


Dr. Michael P. Morrissette offers a comparison between popular double-chin treatments to help determine the best option for your practice and patients.


Aim: The goal is to simulate different stages of the endovascular procedure in the preoperative phase. Methods: We have developed a numerical model of the endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) using finite element analysis (FEA), we took into account the geometry of the biological region reconstructed from scans, a local characterization of the guidewire/catheter mechanical properties, a mapping of material properties depending on the degree of calcification, a real behavior of the vascular walls, and a projection of the aorta environment. Results: Our results present the endovascular system navigation from the femoral artery to the neck of the aneurysm, predict the deformation of femoral, iliac and aortic arteries while driving flexible and stiff endovascular devices, and detect stress concentration due to tortuous and calcified artery zones. A given group of patients with very angulated and calcified arteries were validated, based on a tuning between clinical data and our endovascular simulation. Conclusion: Our model allows controlling with accuracy the delivery system rise during surgery, predicting the feasibility of the surgery with reliability as well as choose the best guide for each patient, taking into account the risk of rupture of calcified areas in the case of high angulations, and using planning simulated images with deformation of artery walls to propose stent sizing.


Following the Cramer approach, consistency of the maximum likelihood estimator of a parameter vector is considered in this paper. The observations are assumed to form a discrete time stochastic process. The main emphasis is on results on consistency imposing only weak restrictions on the heterogeneity of growth of information for different linear functions of the parameter vector. All consistency results are given in the sharper form of order results.


Poster: "ECR 2018 / C-1337 / Evaluation of deformable image registration using diffeomorphic transformation models for three-dimensional temporal subtraction of chest tomography images" by: "P. Yan, Y. Kodera, K. Shimamoto; Nagoya/JP"


Regarding the issue of role reversal (News Comment June 24), how can nurses protect advanced nursing roles when we are giving away nursing anyway?


Abstract Objective Early detection of frailty is essential to prevent or delay disability. The most appropriate screening tool for frailty among home-dwelling older adults is under debate. The present study estimates the prevalence of frailty among older adults, first-time applicants of public home care service in Norway, and investigates the appropriateness of gait speed and Short Physical Performance Battery as screening-tools for frailty. Design and setting We conducted a cross-sectional study of 116 older adults >65 years applying for public home care service for the first time. Frailty was assessed by an adapted version of the Fried Frailty Phenotype. The test accuracies of gait speed and Short Physical Performance Battery to detect frailty were calculated for a general population >70 years in Norway. Results 62.1% of the participants were frail, 29.3% were prefrail, and 8.6% were robust. Mean gait speed and Short Physical Performance Battery-scores were significantly lower in frail compared to prefrail individuals, and significantly lower in prefrail compared to robust individuals. The sensitivity and specificity of gait speed at a cut point of 0.8 m/s to detect physical frailty phenotype was 99% and 68%, respectively. Conclusions The high prevalence of frailty in the present study indicates that screening for frailty should be considered at an earlier time point than when older adults apply for public home care service for the first time. Gait speed may be an appropriate screening tool for frailty in a general population >70 years in Norway. KEY POINTS The prevalence of frailty among older adults, first-time applicants of public home care services in Norway is major. Screening for frailty should be considered before older adults apply for public home care service for the first time. Gait speed at a cut point at 0.8 m/s may be an appropriate screening tool for frailty in a general population >70 years in Norway.


Overozonized wheat flour was added to unozonized wheat flour at three different ratios (M1: 1 : 1; M2: 1 : 2; and M3: 1 : 3), and the mixed flour was evaluated for quality properties, including pH, protein component, dough property, pasting property, and steamed bread quality. The pH of the mixed flour gradually increased as the addition content of overozonized flour decreased. The three mixed flour had higher insoluble polymeric protein (IPP) content than unozonized flour. Compared with overozonized flour, M1 and M2 flour did not show a significant difference in IPP content, but M3 flour exhibited a decreased IPP content. Three mixed flour had higher dough development time and dough stability time than both unozonized and overozonized flour, and there was no significant difference among three mixed flour in these two dough parameters. Peak, trough, and final viscosities of the three mixed flour were between those of unozonized and overozonized flour. Steamed bread of three mixed flour had larger specific volume and better texture than that of overozonized flour, with steamed bread of M3 flour showing the best attributes. Among the three mixed flour, M1 flour was the closest to overozonized flour in volatile compounds of steamed bread. These results suggested overozonized flour can be mixed with unozonized flour to decrease the deterioration of overozonization on the dough and food-making properties of wheat flour, but the mixing ratio should be taken into consideration to obtain a better quality.