An outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) began in China during December 2019 which unexpectedly spread to other countries and caused high mortality all over the world. COVID-19 disease primarily manifests as a respiratory tract infection. However, emerging data indicate that it should be regarded as a systemic disease for affecting multiple systems such as cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal and immune system. There is an accelerated need for detecting the laboratory tests that can aid in identifying infected people and asymptomatic carriers to control the virus transmission process. Although the clinical manifestation of COVID-19 has been widely defined, an overview of the most significant laboratory findings in patients with COVID-19 infection is still limited. Elevation was the predominate result among most of the laboratory parameters while a few decreased in value. Laboratory data have shown that most patients had a decrease in lymphocyte count, Eosinophils count and albumin level. Also, laboratory data recorded an elevation in Leukocyte, ESR, PT, D-dimer, PCT, CRP, ALT, AST, Bilirubin, Creatinine, CK, LDH, Ferritin, Troponin, Myoglobin, IL-6, IL10 and TNF. In general, the parameters had more prominent laboratory abnormalities in severe cases than with non-severe cases. It is well known that laboratory tests results play an important role and can support the early diagnosis of many diseases. This study was carried out to review the abnormalities among the laboratory tests and track the parameters that showed a frequently significant result supporting the primary detection of SARS-COV-2 infection.


Introduction: The Rostral Ventromedial Medulla (RVMM) is one of the nuclei controlling cardiovascular system. This study was performed to delermine the effects of 17β-estradiol (E), on the GABA and Glutamate cardiovascular responses of RVMM of female rats. Material and methods: Experiments were performed on 40 anaesthetized and paralyzed rats, divided into two groups of ovarictomized (OVX) and ovarictomized-estrogen treated (OVX+E) rats. Drugs (50 nl) bicuculline methiodide (BMI) an antagonist GABAA receptor (1 mM), phaclophen an antagonist GABAB receptor (5mM), and kynurenic acid a nonselective antagonist glutamate receptors (5 mM), were microinjected by micropipette into the RVMM using stereotaxic system. Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded before and throughout each experiment. The means of maximum changes of mean arterial pressure and heart rate were compared between groups of OVX and OVX+E and saline using ANOVA. Results: In the OVX+E group, estrogen decreased the mean arterial blood pressure (P<0.05) and heart rate (P<0.001) compared to those of OVX group. Microinjection of BMI resulted in an increase of heart rate (HR) with no significant effect on the blood pressure (BP) in both OVX and OVX+E, but the increase of HR was significantly higher than in the OVX+E group (p<0.05). Microinjection of phaclophen and kynurenic acid had no significant effect on HR and BP in either the OVX or the OVX+E group; not did microinjection of saline have any significant effects on HR and BP. Conclusion: The present data suggest that estrogen decreased the mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate, and in the RVMM of female rats augments the inhibitory effect of the GABAergic system on the heart rate via the GABAA receptors.


Modern business companies are investing large sums in information and communication technology (ICT) due to the fact that various aspects of this highly dominant technology have a great impact on business and the competitive position of the company on the market. Use of IT is no longer adequate on operative level only ; ICT investments are expected to yield better business processes, connected value chain in organizations and expanded business. Furthermore, IT organizations have to provide the quality of IT services related to the business requirements and to concentrate on customer oriented approach. In order to accomplish these goals, the companies must develop adequate IT management methods and establish systems of measurement, monitoring and evaluation of the effects of the ICT investments. It will raise the maturity level of IT function as well as to provide a higher business value of ICT investments. The purpose of the paper is to conduct an assessment of the current maturity level of IT function in the higher education institution in Croatia using the one of the most comprehensive good-practice framework such as CobIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology). Furthermore, the paper presents whether the current role of ICT deliver business value to the institution and suggests improvements to the optimal level of informatization in accordance with the institution's objectives.


John Morrison reviews the possibility for a 'business case for migration' based on international human rights standards and assesses existing business interests in all stages of the migration process. He takes Europe as a case study and concludes with some thoughts about how the business-human rights-migration interface might be progressed, if at all.


AbstractFifty patients attending a private psychiatric practice were chosen at random and examined with an audioscope combined with an audiometer that delivers a 40-dB tone at frequences of 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz. Thirty-five (70%) had hearing impairment, and 10% had severe bilateral deficits. Deficits were more common among older patients and among those with history of physical disabilities that usually affect hearing.


In this paper, the first-order semi-infinite electron gas (FOSEG) model of quantized carriers is presented by extending previous theories to take into account both the potential gradient and the vanishing boundary condition. This first-order theory is applicable to the semiconductor-insulator interface at finite temperatures. With the FOSEG, the quantized carrier density at the interface can be calculated without having to explicitly solve the Schrodinger equation.


Summary Recent years have seen mounting evidence for the role of melatonin in mediating programmed cell death, with a protective, anti-apoptotic effect in healthy cells, but an anti-tumoural, pro-apoptotic action in many tumour cells. In this study, we evaluated the effect of melatonin on the programmed cell death induced by thapsigargin (TG), on lymphocytes and neutrophils, and on various tissues obtained from rats injected with human promyelocytic leukaemia cells (HL-60), treated with melatonin in their drinking water (20 μm), and fed ad libitum. Melatonin treatment significantly reduced caspase-3 and −9 activity, and caused the proportions of lymphocytes, neutrophils, and eosinophils to revert to their basal values. No histological differences were observed. In conclusion, melatonin has anti-apoptotic effects on lymphocytes and neutrophils obtained from rats injected with HL-60 leukaemia cells.


The authors present a rare case of panniculitis ossificans (PO) in a 30-year-old woman. Differential diagnoses and treatment are discussed. PO is an important differential diagnosis to sarcomas.


111 patients with purulent-septic diseases of soft tissues. Cellulitis and abscesses of soft tissues were diagnosed in 74 (66,7%) patients, TSS 11 (9,9%), hydradenitis in 9 (8,1%), posttraumatic purulent wounds in 7 (6,3%), ulcers at other sites in 10 (9,0%). In all patients was used sodium succinate. Surgical treatment of these patients should be separated into two phases. The first cut is carried out extensive ulcer, in combination with drug therapy and the use of sodium succinate, and avtorom the imposition of secondary sutures in 10-14 days after the first phase. Terms of hospital stay reduced by an average of 10 days. The analysis showed that the use of sodium succinate in conjunction with activators suktsinagderogenazy and traditional cardiovascular drugs improves microcirculation in the skin and deep circulation.


I present the results of an original survey experiment designed to understand the complex relationship between policy information, attitudes, and evaluation. Parents of children attending schools identified for improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) are exposed to basic, context-specific, policy information on a randomized basis and then asked to complete an attitudinal survey. Treatment parents are significantly more likely than control group peers to report familiarity with NCLB and correctly identify the policy status of their child's school. An increased depth of policy understanding enables these parents to bring evaluations of their child's educational experience, policy, and government into alignment. Findings demonstrate the potential for careful policy framing and delivery to encourage enlightened opinion formation and political participation.


Abstract For a p -group generated by permutations, an algorithm is presented to compute generators of a subnormal series with the strong generating property required by Holt's algorithm.


We study classical control problems like pole assignment, stabilization, linear quadratic control and H∞ control from a numerical analysis point of view. We present several examples that show the difficulties with classical approaches and suggest reformulations of the problems in a more general framework. We also discuss some new algorithmic approaches.


The utility model discloses a clamp for surface milling. The clamp is suitable for a numerically controlled machine tool and used for clamping and fixing a workpiece to be machined. The clamp for surface milling comprises a mounting frame, a linear actuator, a fixed clamping piece and a movable clamping piece, the fixed clamping piece is arranged on the mounting frame, the linear actuator is arranged on the mounting frame, the movable clamping piece can slide in the direction towards the fixed clamping piece or the direction away from the fixed clamping piece, the movable clamping piece is connected to the output end of the linear actuator, a clamping area used for clamping and fixing workpieces is formed between the fixed clamping piece and the movable clamping piece, and the mounting frame is provided with a locating portion which is used for locating the workpieces and is located below the clamping area. The clamp for surface milling is simple and compact in structure, the workpieces can be automatically clamped and fixed, clamping operation is simple and convenient, workpiece clamping time is greatly shortened, and consumption of physical power of workers is greatly reduced; moreover, the clamp for surface milling has the advantages that it can be guaranteed that workpieces are stably and firmly clamped, clamping and locating errors are reduced, and machining precision is improved.


There are more and more people who use two languages and have a good knowledge of two cultures in multicultural society.Cultural psychologists have paid much attention to this phenomenon.On the basis of reviewing the model of cultural frame switching and the theory of second language acquisition in view of social culture,this study pointed out the implication of the two theories for the value,target,implementing model and research approaches of bilingual education for ethnic minorities in China.


A conduction-cooled 3 T 100 mm winding bore multi-width and no-insulation (NI) all-REBCO magnet was designed, constructed and tested at 13 K. The magnet consists of a stack of double pancake (DP) coils wound with, for the first time, REBCO tapes having a 1 μm thick layer of stainless steel, named 'metallic cladding', that surrounds the tapes in a hermetic way to substantially reduce the NI charging delay. After construction, the magnet was cooled down to the target operating temperature of 13 K using a two-stage pulse-tube cryo-cooler. During charging–discharging tests up to 200 A, magnetic center field, voltage of each DP coil, power supply current, and magnet temperature were monitored. The charging time constant of the magnet was measured to be about 10.1 s, 13 times smaller than that of its NI counterpart. The magnet experienced, due to an unexpected power supply trip, a sudden discharge at a peak coil current density of 353 A mm2, yet it survived without any degradation. The results demonstrated strong potential of the metallic cladding NI-REBCO magnet for significant charging-delay reduction and self-protecting operation.


The last decade witnessed increased usage of web browsers to access virtual reality (VR) worlds such as Decentraland, Somnium Space and Cryptovoxels. As these VR worlds become more popular, it is no surprise for them to be used as avenues for adverse and criminal purposes, where unknowing users could be targets for malicious activities. To the best of our knowledge, there is no literature providing insight into the kinds of artefacts that could be left behind on users' systems after the use of such web-based VR worlds. To close this gap, we provide foundations for digital forensic investigations on web-based VR worlds using Decentraland as a case study. We performed experiments on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge web browsers. Findings revealed that details of the real-world user as well as their avatar activities within the VR world could be recovered from the web browser data files on disk, in memory, and in network traffic which could be used to reconstruct the chain of activities.


A method for preparing soap using salicornia herbacea and white lotus is provided to ensure excellent deodorizing effects for fishes or meat with raw materials easy to find through simple processes. A method for preparing soap using salicornia herbacea and white lotus comprises the following steps of: inputting salicornia herbacea and Lentinus edodes in a vessel with water to age the salicornia herbacea and Lentinus edodes for a predetermined period to obtain an aged liquid of salicornia herbacea; inputting white lotus and Lentinus edodes in a vessel with water to age the white lotus and Lentinus edodes for a predetermined period to obtain an aged liquid of white lotus; and mixing the aged liquid of salicornia herbacea to the aged liquid of white lotus and aging a mixture of the aged liquid of salicornia herbacea and the aged liquid of white lotus for a predetermined period to obtain a liquid composition.


Technological importation in Japan gauge and industrial standards international comparison of automobile industries production and technology and productivity growth in the electrical machinery industry semiconductors steel intra-firm transfers of engineers in Japan overseas research and development activities of Japanese firms patent system and research and development in Japan co-operative research in Japanese manufacturing industries environmental problems the Japanese higher education system and industry.


Under γ irradiation of TBP-n-dodecyl-nitric acid system,the "do-bads" is formed,which seriously interferes in separation of nuclear fuel from fission products and is difficult to wash out. The constituents of the "do-bads" have been studied with the chemical method,IR spectrum and MS. It is found that the "do-bads" is a mixture of long chain acid phosphate ester,oligomer of phosphate,and nitro,nitroso, nitric acid ester of tributyl phosphate. The nitro, nitroso and nitric acid ester groups can be added


GTP-binding (G) proteins regulate the flow of information in cellular signaling pathways by alternating between a GTP-bound "active" state, and a GDP-bound "inactive" state. Cdc42, a member of the Rho family of Ras-related small G-proteins, plays key roles in the regulation of cell shape, motility, and growth. Here we describe the high-resolution X-ray crystal structure for Cdc42 bound to the GTP-analog GMPPCP (i.e. the presumed signaling-active state) and show that it is virtually identical to the structures for the signaling-inactive, GDP-bound form of the protein, contrary to what has been reported for Ras and other G-proteins. Especially surprising was that the GMP-PCPand GDP-bound forms of Cdc42 did not show detectable differences in their Switch I and Switch II loops. Fluorescence studies using a Cdc42 mutant in which a tryptophan residue was introduced at position 32 of Switch I also showed that there was little difference in the Switch I conformation between the GDPand GMP-PCP bound states (i.e. <10%), which again differed from Ras where much larger changes in Trp32 fluorescence were observed when comparing these two nucleotide-bound states (>30%). However, the binding of an effector protein induced significant changes in the Trp32 emission specifically from GMP-PCP-bound Cdc42, as well as in the phosphate _________________________ * Phillips, M. J., Calero, G., Chan, B., Ramachandran, S., and Cerione, R. A. (2008) J. Biol. Chem. 283, 14153-14164


Objective To evaluate the role of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) in detecting regional cerebral metabolic changes and changes of water molecular motion in rabbits after explosive brain injury at different time points of injury after being treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Methods Ninety New Zealand white rabbits were divided into control group, trauma group and hyperbaric oxygen treatment group. The injured models in the later 2 groups were established using 600 mg TNT equivalent of paper detonators in the rabbit brain at the top of 6.5 cm vertical distance. Rabbits in the trauma group and hyperbaric oxygen treatment group were sub-divided into 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 d treatment groups, respectively. The survival of these rabbits was observed at these time points. Hyperbaric oxygen treatments lasting for 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 d were given to each hyperbaric oxygen treatment sub-groups, respectively. Performance under MRS was detected and dynamic changes of N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr) ratio and NAA/choline(Cho)+Cr value were observed with MRS. DWI was employed to detect the dynamic changes of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. Results The NAA/Cr ratio in the trauma group markedly decreased right after the injury and slightly rose 7 d after the injury. Compared with that in the trauma group, the NAA/Cr ratio in the hyperbaric oxygen treatment group was significantly increased (P〈0.05). The NAA/Cho+Cr value in the trauma group was markedly decreased right after the injury, while that in the hyperbaric oxygen treatment group was obviously increased as compared with that in the trauma group (P〈0.05). ADC values in the region of interest of the trauma group was decreased after 1 d of treatment and gradually increased after 3 d of treatment; the ADC values in the hyperbaric oxygen treatment group was obviously higher than those in the trauma group (P〈0.05). Conclusion Hyperbaric oxygen might improve the prognosis by improving local metabolism of neurons, inhibiting brain edema, and enhancing local gliosis repair;, ultra-early intervention (within one week of injury) may be much favorable for animals/patients after explosive brain injury.

Key words:
Brain injury;  Blast injury;  Magnetic resonance spectroscopy;  Diffusion-weighted MRI;  Hyperbaric oxygen


Due to its very specific set of material properties, silicon nitride based ceramics have gained a lot of interest in the past 20 years. Many new approaches in technical equipment like gas turbine engines, motor engines, cooking systems, bearings, cutting tools, substrates and ... and many more were investigated with corresponding national and international research activities. However, except of bearings and cutting tools, none of these expected high volume application yet went into industrial production. On the other side, many less spectacular applications are state of the art today and have opened a wide field for niche products and led to new technical solutions with higher service time, less wear and corrosion and improved process and product properties.


Deals with a study that explored whether the wage bargaining efforts of unions of production workers influence the salary levels of nonproduction workers. Model to identify the earnings levels of production and nonproduction workers; Results and discussion; Conclusion. (Abstract copyright EBSCO.)


The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) are deeply shocked by the brutal murder of Victoria Marinova, a 30-year-old Bulgarian ...


The structure of metallurgical- or smelter-grade aluminas (MGAs) is complex and poorly understood. Ultra-high-field solid-state 27Al NMR results on industrial as well as on laboratory-prepared aluminas are discussed in relation to XRD results. It is demonstrated that high-field NMR can effectively be used to quantify the proportion of the thermodynamically stable alpha-alumina phase in these materials. The results demonstrate that 27Al NMR is a vital adjunct to XRD methods to quantify the transition alumina phases that invariably dominate the MGAs. The nature of the disorder in these materials, determined by 27Al NMR, is also compared with literature data, such as XANES and EXAFS studies, on typical laboratory-prepared materials. The utility of 27Al NMR studies to provide new insight into the structural complexity of metallurgical aluminas is shown.Key words: solid-state magic-angle-spinning NMR, metallurgical-grade alumina, transition alumina, gamma-alumina, coordination number.


The application discloses a passive tag which comprises a copper-clad substrate, an antenna and a dielectric slab, wherein the antenna and the dielectric slab are all positioned on the copper-clad substrate; the antenna comprises an antenna upper arm and an antenna lower arm; the antenna upper arm and the antenna lower arm are positioned on the same straight line; a gap is formed between the antenna upper arm and the antenna lower arm; a plurality of metal wires which are parallel to each other and between two of which a gap is formed are arranged on the dielectric slab; the extending direction of the metal wire is parallel to the antenna upper arm and the antenna lower arm; and the separated end parts of the antenna upper arm and the antenna lower arm are respectively connected with two ends of a metal wire in the plurality of metal wires. The passive tag does not have a working threshold, is long in communication distance, safe, reliable, small in size, convenient to process, low in cost and convenient to popularize and use, wherein the cost of a reader-writer can be reduced obviously.


Abstract. 101 Chinese, 72 Malays and 91 south Indians, resident in Singapore, were investigated for the distribution of the Xga blood group. The Xga gene frequencies for Chinese, Malay and Indian subjects were 0.45, 0.54 and 0.57, respectively.


The present invention belongs to health wine, discloses a system and method Huajiu Purple dendrobium. The Purple Dendrobium flowers and dried Cordyceps proportion immersed rice wine and then aging kiln reservoir 1--3 years made, the pale purple brightly colored wine, rice wine and both floral Dendrobium; glycol aftertaste, often drink physical fitness effect.


This study explores the types of actors visible in the digital science communication landscape in the Netherlands, Serbia and the UK. Using the Koru model of science communication as a basis, we consider how science communicators craft their messages and which channels they are using to reach audiences. The study took as case studies the topics of climate change and healthy diets to enable comparison across countries, topics and platforms. These findings are compared with the results from a survey of over 200 science communication practitioners based in these countries. We find that although traditional media are challenged by the variety of different new entrants into the digital landscape, our results suggest that the media and journalists remain highly visible. In addition, our survey results suggest that many science communicators may struggle to gain traction in the crowded digital ecology, and in particular, that relatively few scientists and research institutions and universities are achieving a high profile in the public digital media ecology of science communication.


Crude powder of papain is very irritative and unstable, thus it should be formulated in emulgel using factorial design 2. The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of gelling agent (2.5% HPMC, 1 % Carbomer 940 ), oil phase ( liquid paraffin 5% to 7.5 % ), emulsifier ( 1.5% -2% Tween 80 - Span 80) and determine the optimum formula. Viscosity, ease of spread, proteolytic activity and antimicrobial activity of papain emulgel were used as the parameters in formula optimization. Each parameter had a contour plot. With the use of superimposed countor plot, the shaded area could be determined as the optimum formula. The results of the factor effect analysis and its interactions were that gelling agent gave significant effect (p<0.05) and dominant in increasing the viscosity of emulgel and the activity of papain proteolytic enzyme. However, it decreased the diameter of the dispersing area and the inhibition zone diameter. The increase in the concentration liquid paraffin concentration had a dominant and significant effect towards the improvement of the emulgel's dispersive power and the proteolytic activity of papain. The increase in the combination of Tween 80-Span 80 emulgator had a dominant and significant effect towards the improvement of viscosity and the decrease in the dispersive power, the proteolytic activity, and the inhibition zone diameter. From the superimposed contour plots analysis and response optimizer, the optimum formula was achieved by 2.5% of HMPC gelling agent, 5.6% of liquid paraffin, and  2.4% of emulsifier combination.


Investigates the efficiency of finite capacity scheduling tools within companies which employ them. Presents research findings of the Liverpool STS Research Group into "best practice" in short‐term scheduling. Concludes with a list of key points drawn from the research.


• Adjustment does not necessarily increase poverty • Adjusting before a crisis reduces social costs • Refusal to adjust and the suspension of imports leads to self-centred underdevelopment, which is socially much more costly • The choice of macroeconomic stabilisation measures is important: the same result can be obtained with higher or lower social costs • Some structural adjustment measures have beneficial social effects but others, like the reorganisation of public enterprises, involve high costs • Action by donor countries is indispensable to offset the increase in poverty linked to stabilisation measures and to the reduction of employment in public enterprises


The housing is an important component in the construction of gear reducers, having the role of fixing the relative position of the shafts and toothed wheels. At the same time, the housing takes over, via the bearings, the shaft loads resulting when the toothed wheel is engaging another toothed mechanism (i.e. power transmission through belts or chains), and conveys them to the foundation on which it is anchored. In this regard, in order to ensure the most accurate gearing, a high stiffness of the housing is required. In this paper, we present the computer-aided 3D modelling of the housing (in cast version) of a single stage cylindrical gear reducer, using the Autodesk Inventor Professional software, on the principle of constructive sizing. For the housing resistance calculation, we carried out an analysis using the Autodesk Simulation Mechanical software to apply the finite element method, based on the actual loads, as well as a comparative study of the stress and strain distribution, for several tightening values of the retaining bolts that secure the cover and the foundation housing.


Abstract: Purpose: This research describes the efforts to promote entrepreneurial motivation through shadow puppet performances. Research Methodology: This research used a project-based approach, and the activities are initiated by: 1) diagnosing the problems of performing arts entrepreneurship, 2) creating art incubation designs, 3) implementing activity plans, and 4) evaluating activities through performances. The participants were students with educational backgrounds in dance, music, and fine arts at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, as well as partners in the Indigo Moon Theater, a community-based in London. Results: A production of shadow puppet performance art with a Jungle Book story can foster students' entrepreneurial motivation, shown through paid performances and business planning sales of show packages, merchandise, and a shadow puppet workshop model for children and families. Limitations: This research cannot assist the participants in managerial work to continue their business. Contributions: This research contributes to developing art entrepreneurship in the performing arts field as part of Indonesia's creative industry sub-sector. Keywords: 1. entrepreneurial motivation 2. art entrepreneurship 3. performing arts 4. shadow puppet 5. arts education


The present study aims at determining the reliability and validity of self administered General Health Questionnaire (GHQ: 12) among Pakistani university teachers by distributing it among 400 teachers working in three public and three private universities. Initially reliability statistics were calculated, which showed that Inter-Items Correlations ranged from (0.60 to 0.90), similarly the Cronbach alphas also ranged between (0.80) to (0.95), where as inter scale Correlations ranged from (0.52 to 0.90), thus confirming the reliability of scale. On other side validity was check by Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor analysis, which showed that the factor loadings ranged from (0.70) to (0.90) and also factor gave better model fit. The overall results showed that the 12-items GHQ-12 demonstrated good psychometric properties following its administration among the Pakistani university teachers. Therefore it can be utilized as a reliable and valid self administered instrument for assessing the mental health of teachers in Pakistani universities.


TikTok is a popular platform that enables users to see tailored content feeds, particularly short videos with novel content. In recent years, TikTok has been criticized at times for presenting users with overly homogenous feeds, thereby reducing the diversity of content with which each user engages. In this paper, we consider whether TikTok has an ethical obligation to employ a novelty bias in its content recommendation engine. We explicate the principal morally relevant values and interests of key stakeholders, and observe that key empirical questions must be answered before a precise recommendation can be provided. We argue that TikTok's own values and interests mean that its actions should be largely driven by the values and interests of its users and creators. Unlike some other content platforms, TikTok's ethical obligations are not at odds with the values of its users, and so whether it is obligated to include a novelty bias depends on what will actually advance its users' interests.


METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for the years 1998–2014. Women aged 40–54 years were included. Race and ethnicity were categorized as non-Hispanic white, nonHispanic black, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, Native American, other, and unknown. Temporal trends in severe maternal morbidity and overall comorbid risk by race in women aged 40 years or older were evaluated as were common pregnancy complications including preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and cesarean delivery. Adjusted models were created to assess factors associated with severe morbidity.


There is a growing demand to preserve transportation infrastructure utilizing limited funds, and the modeling of flexible pavement deterioration has become an integral component of any pavement preservation model. Markov chains have been used to model the performance of pavements in various pavement management systems (PMSs). The Markov property may be considered restrictive when modeling the deterioration of transportation assets, primarily because of the "memoryless" property and assumption of exponential distribution for sojourn times in the condition states. This paper outlines a semi-Markov model for modeling pavement deterioration in which the sojourn time in each condition state is assumed to follow a Weibull distribution and, thus, is more flexible than the traditional Markov chain model. The semi-Markov model does not possess the memoryless property if the sojourn time distribution is not exponential. Monte Carlo simulations are generated for the deterioration of flexible pavements over time based on both the traditional Markov chain model and the proposed semi-Markov model. The results of the work show that in some cases the semi-Markov model appears to be superior to the Markov chain model in modeling the actual deterioration patterns of the flexible pavements.


Thin films of fluorinated chromium phthalocyanine were prepared using spin coating techniques and annealed at 100, 200, 300, and 400 °C. The prepared films were investigated using UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The band gap characteristics were evaluated to study the difference electronic transitions between the prepared thin films under different annealing temperatures. Films were exposed to ammonia vapor in a concentration range of 40–100 ppm to demonstrate the gas sensing activity of prepared devices. Resistance versus voltage behavior was investigated upon the exposure of ammonia gas and the samples show an increase in the resistance towards the existence of ammonia molecules. The dependency of the sensors on time was studied to evaluate the response and recovery time, which were found to be 10 and 13 s respectively.


Heart transplanted patients are mainly monitored with invasive diagnostic techniques for detecting cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). However coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is a new promising tool that brings clinical and economical benefits.

 primary aim: demonstrate the non-inferiority of CCTA in comparison to invasive coronary angiography (ICA), in terms of radiation and contrast dose, costs, in-hospital stay and complications. Other aims: analyse in the subgroup of patients undergoing CCTA the role of immunological and non-immunological risk factors and the role of pericoronary-fat-attenuation-index (pFAI) in predicting CAV.

 Between March 2021 and May 2022, 179 consecutive heart transplanted patients underwent either CCTA (78 patients) or ICA (101 patients) based on medical preference to study CAV. The 78 patients who underwent CCTA were also divided in patients with no previous CAV (npCAV, previous ISHLTV=0) and patients with previous CAV (pCAV, ISHLTV≤1). CAV progression was considered if there was any progression in ISHLTV.

 CCTA delivered lower radiation doses in comparison with ICA (3,52 mSV [1.46-7.23] versus 10,8 mSV [8.8-20.3]; p=0.03) and required also less in-hospital stay (0.5 ± 0,2 hours versus 23.7 ± 12.31 hours; p<0.001), lower costs (120 euros versus 2800 euros; p<0.001) and less contrast agent (60.4 ± 8.7 ml versus 95.68 ± 47.6ml; p<0.001). The rate of complications of CCTA and ICA was low in both of them (0 (0%) vs 3 (3%); p=0,258). Among the non-immunological risk factors for CAV, only smoking was related with the progression of CAV (0% with ISHLTV=0 and 15% with ISHLTV 1; p=0.015). Among immunological risk factors, TNF was the only independent predictor in the progression of CAV (HR 8.23; IC 95% 1.47-45.81; p=0.019). PFAI either as a continuous variable or as a categorical variable (>-70.1HU) did not show a statistically significance in the progression of CAV (p=NS).

 CCTA is superior to ICA in terms of radiation and contrast dose, costs and in-hospital stay. TNF was the only independent predictor related with the progression of CAV. PFAI, didn't reach statistically significance probably due to the small sample size. Further studies are necessary to understand the role of pFAI in this subset of patients.


The invention discloses an application of zinc glutamate and derivatives thereof as animal feed additive for promoting growth. In the invention, the zinc glutamate is found to have low water-solubility, high acid resisting ability and high bioavailability; used as the feed additive for promoting growth, the zinc glutamate has higher safety and higher antibiotic activity compared with other zinc sources such as oxide zinc, basic zinc chloride and zinc glycinate, and the addition of zinc ions can be reduced by 80-90 percent. The invention can reduce the production cost as well as the environmental pollution, and simultaneously reduce the toxic and side effects of high zinc content on animals.


Introduction Over the last century, remarkable advances have been made in our understanding of gestational trophoblastic neoplasms. In 1895, Marchand first suggested that these tumors were derived from trophoblastic cells. Then, in 1956, Li et al demonstrated the sensitivity of the tumors to chemotherapy. Since Li's landmark discovery, the survival rates for gestational trophoblastic tumors have steadily increased. Cure rates for patients with metastatic trophoblastic tumors now exceed 90%. While improvements have been made, a subset of patients, primarily those with high-risk tumors, will still succumb to their disease. The optimal management of these high-risk patients depends on prompt diagnosis, proper treatment, and referral to individuals or centers with expertise in the management of such tumors.


In this study, we report an ultra-fast C-V (>4 GHz) measurement methodology for characterizing the high-frequency polarization phenomena in high-k dielectric films (HfO2 and Al2O3). It is confirmed that the methodology based on the displacement current measurement could be applied for GHz CV measurements of high-k dielectric films. Both HfO2 and Al2O3 films show a significant permittivity de-crease under GHz frequencies due to the suppression of ionic polarization. It is the first direct observation of separating ionic and electronic polarization in ultra-thin high-k dielectric films, so far. The phenomena found in this study could be very important for understanding relative physical mechanisms in advanced electron devices, such as ferroelectric and analog devices using high-k dielectric films.


All the islands flew apart recreating exactly the void between the stones, refueling themselves with wind at every stop. The boulders sprang off whistling like slings as far as my frozen feet and breathing was a bristling trunk to swallow with eyes tight shut as far as the roots. At first there was the house, grey and perfect in the sunlight, but out of kilter old nails, a chair then that whistling interspersed with voices, two children and a dog's tongue like a touch of the infinite at my throat.


Professor PAN Jia-zheng is a ministerial adviser to the Ministry of Electric Power, the Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Director of the Technology Committee for the Chinese Three Gorges Project Development Corporation. Professor Pan was bom in Shaoxin county, Zhejiang province in 1927. Educated at Zhejiang University, he graduated with a bachelor degree in civil engineering in 1950. Since 1950, Professor Pan has been working on hydro-power development and dam engineering for over 47 years in China. He has contributed to almost every famous hydro-power project in China and is recognised as one of the pioneering dam and hydro-power engineers in China.


The invention relates to a device (10) and a method for single-axis adjustment / rotation of a support structure (13) about a main axis (HA) for use in a with planar elements or surfaces (2) equipped installation, in particular by solar panels or PV modules as planar elements or surfaces which consists of a fixed part and a means of the device (10) adjustable part, in particular said device (10) the investment in one axis, preferably, is suitable in rotation to adjust in about a horizontal axis, and so the elevation angle (Ω) changes, characterized in that the device (10) is configured for rotation as at least one swivel unit (10), each pivot unit (10) two mutually concentric annular structures (19; 21), which bear against each other and the mutual relative displacement with at least one drive (15) are coupled or can be coupled, and The adjustment is performed as a rotation via at least one swivel unit (10), each pivot unit (10) two mutually concentric annular structures (19; 21), which are stored together and moved in rotation relative to one another by at least one coupled or couplable drive (15).


During the study on a biocontrol program by releasing a parasitoid,Sclerodermus pupariae Yang et Yao(Hymenoptera:Bethylidae),for control of Massicus raddei(Blessig)(Coleoptera:Cerambycidae),a wood borer with long generation period and developmental uniformity of Quercus liaotungensis Koidz and Q.mongolica Fischer in northeastern China,it was found that the parasitoid preferred to parasitize the 1st-3rd instar larvae of the pest with high parasitization rate,but not on elder host larvae(over 3rd instars).In order to understand the maintenance of the parasitoid population and whether sustainable control effect after its release,an investigation on alternative hosts of the parasitoid was carried out in oak forests.We found several alternative hosts in the oak trees attacked by M.raddei,including Moechotypa diphysis(Pascoe),Masosa myops Dalman(Coleoptera:Cerambycidae),and Lamprodila virgata(Motchulsky)(Coleoptera:Buprestidae).The parasitoid inoculation test indicated that there were significant differences in parasitism on different potential hosts with the high parasitization rates on both M.diphysis(76.67%) and L.virgata(73.33%).When the bethylid parasitized the four host species above,between them the differences in preoviposition period,number of eggs laid,number of females produced and the emergence rate,body length and life-span in the 2nd generation were not significant,and only the larval and pupal duration as well as the rate of females with wings and the ratio of female to male showed a little difference.The parasitization rates on larvae of M.diphysis and M.myops were higher than those on other hosts,and the biological observation in forests indicated that the larvae of the two cerambycids always existed during the unfavorite developmental periods(i.e.,over 3rd instar larval and pupal stages) of M.raddei for the bethylid to parasitize,clearly suggesting that the two cerambycid species are the main alternative hosts of S.pupariae in oak forests.The results of the present study indicated that the biocontrol program using S.pupariae could have sustainable control effects on M.raddei for the bethylid after releasing of the parasitoid,M.diphysis,M.myops and other wood pests can be used as alternative hosts to keep its high population,and when the proper larval stage of M.raddei in the next generation appeared,it could transfer to the main host for parasitization.


With the people in the pursuit of material life and spiritual life,multimedia computer technology is trying to change with each passing day,the traditional multimedia technology on the 2 d image only make works,and as people demand change,multimedia two- dimensional technology can't fully describe all scenarios in a three- dimensional space,based on this,this article discusses the multimedia animation technology to bring some new phenomena,analysis of synthetic animation brings new vitality to the development of multimedia technology,so that the public in the application of multimedia animation as references are provided for the reasonable operation.


Tradmonal logics suffer from the "monotomclty problem"' new axioms never mvahdate old theorems One way to get nd of this problem ts to extend traditional modal logic in the following way The operator M (usually read "possible") is extended so that Mp is true whenever p is consistent with the theory Then any theorem of this form may be mvahdated if ~p ~s added as an axiom This extension results m nonmonotomc versions of the systems T, $4, and $5 These systems are complete in that a theorem is provable in a theory based on one of them just if it is true m all "noncommittal" models of that theory, where a noncommittal model ts one m which as many thmgs are possible as possible Nonmonotomc $4 is probably the most interesting of the three, since it is stronger than ordinary $4 but has all the usual inferential machinery of $4 There is a straightforward proof procedure for the sententlal subset of nonmonotomc $4. This approach to nonmonotonlc logic may be applied to several problems in knowledge representation for arUficml mtelhgence Its main advantages over competmg approaches are that tt factors out problems of resource hmltattons and allows the symbol M to appear m any context, since M is a meaningful part of the language


court to investigate family matters and to order a psychiatric examination of an adult not charged with crime. This power is especially needed in children's and family proceedings, where, for example, questions of custody can hardly be decided rationally without an investigation of parental ability to care for the child. 4. Mr. Bates objects that the word &dquo;probation&dquo; is mentioned only once, and that the importance of the probation officer is weakened in this Act. The Standard Family Court Act proposes a very substantial enlargement of probation staff and other professional personnel, and, most important, it calls for this service to be organized on a statewide basis under the


The recycling of particulate discharge from the furnace back into the glassmaking process has come of age, believes D Boothe & Co. We describe two of the company's custom designed systems for handling the dust generated from electrostatic precipitators installed at the Niles (Ohio) and Lexington (Kentucky) plants of GE Lighting


2001 Background: While primary systemic therapy (PST) has gained considerable attention, it is impossible to predict sensitivity of primary breast cancer (PBC) to specific drugs. This study was designed to discover a gene expression profile that predicts pathologic complete response (pCR) to treatment with gemcitabine (G), epirubicin (E) and docetaxel (Doc) administered either as triple therapy (GEDoc) or sequentially (GE→Doc) for a total of 18 weeks as PST. Patients and Methods: Patients (pts) with PBC T2–4 N0–2 M0 underwent pretreatment core needle biopsy to collect snap frozen tissue for microarray analysis. Small amounts of isolated breast tumor RNA were amplified with a newly developed amplification protocol. Comprehensive RNA expression profiles were generated using DNA microarrays carrying 21.329 unique gene specific 70mer oligonucleotide probes. Analysis was started with a training data set of 22 pts (pCR n=5; non-pCR n=17). Several supervised learning methods were tested to identify the best clas...


This LibGuide contains information about health as it pertains to the body and mind as well as alternative ways to be well Information on the effect of proper nutrition on health


In this paper a report about investigations of a wet scrubber technique for the separation of particles smaller than 2.5μm from exhaust gas by a Gas-liquid Cross-flow Array (GLCA) will be given. The cleaning water of the separator flows vertically down along many regularly configured wires and the generated water film acts as an independent sink for collecting the particles. Due to the surface orientated horizontally particle movement, caused by diffusiophoresis (DP) and thermophoresis (TP), the particles can be captured by the water films. For industrial application, instead of the recyclable cleaning water, also waste water from the same production process can be used, which saves the necessary cleaning water recycling costs, due to the already available water treatment device. Experiments on a lab-scale test rig show the particle grade removal efficiency (PGRE) for different inlet gas-water temperature gradients and for a constant vapor injection. A theoretical model is developed for the prediction of the DP and TP contribution to the PGRE over the down flowing water film. The model calculations and the experimental results show, that DP and TP, can enhance the PGRE.


Cichorium (Cichorium intybus subsp. intybus var. foliosum L.) comprises diploid plant species (2n=18) belonging to the Asteraceae family.
These species are biennial or, in the wild, perennial species. They are naturally allogamous due to an efficient sporophytic self-incompatibility system. In addition, outcrossing is promoted by a floral morpho-phenology unfavorable to selfing in the absence of pollen donors (i.e., proterandry, wherein the anthers mature before the pistils) and a favorable competition of allo-pollen grains and tubes (i.e., pollen that is genetically diverse from that produced by the seed parents, usually called auto-pollen).
Long appreciated as medical plants by the ancient Greeks and Romans, Cichorium spp. are currently among the most important cultivated vegetable crops. They are generally used as components in fresh salads or, more rarely, cooked according to local traditions and alimentary habits.
Although this crop does not contribute greatly to the total agricultural income of each country, it is very important at the local level, as it characterizes the agriculture of limited areas, where from 80 to 90% of the country's production is concentrated. This is indeed the case of Italy, where the Veneto region accounts for 66% of the national acreage and 59% of the national production of the particular type of red or variegated chicory known as "Radicchio".
Radicchio production was for a long time based on farmer's populations, which are yearly selected and maintained and whose seed is usually reutilized on farm but may also be sold through private and not officially registered transactions. All these populations, obtained by mass selection and maintained through the inter-crossing of selected parents, have to be considered highly heterozygous and genetically heterogeneous whose behaviour and level of adaptation to different environments and/or cultural conditions depend on the frequency of favourable genes or gene combinations.
In each breeding program, selection schemes and methods that can be used and the varietal types than can be breed, depend on plant reproductive barriers (e.g. self-incompatibility) and pollination system (e.g. allogamous), and thus on the genetic structure of populations.
As a matter of fact, the strong self-incompatibility system found in chicory hinders obtaining highly homozygous parents, made it generally difficult to propose an efficient F1 seed production scheme.
Despite the difficulties encountered in obtaining inbred lines by repeated selfing, the recent discovery of spontaneous male-sterile mutants increased the interest towards the production of F1 hybrid varieties. Indeed, male-sterility, or the inability of plants to produce functional pollen, is needful to the commercial production of hybrid seed by crossing parental inbred lines appropriately selected through progeny tests for assessing their specific combining ability.
In this project we developed a genotyping method using molecular markers, useful for assessing the homozygosity and genetic stability of single inbred lines and for measuring the specific combining ability between maternal and paternal inbred lines on the basis of their genetic diversity. This information could be exploited for planning crosses and predicting the heterosis of experimental F1 hybrids on the basis of the allelic divergence and genetic distance of the parental lines. Knowing the parental genotypes would enable not only to protect newly registered varieties but also to assess the genetic purity and identity of the seed stocks of commercial F1 hybrids, and to certificate the origin of their food derivatives.
Modern marker-assisted breeding (MAB) technology based on traditional methods using molecular markers such as SSRs and SNPs, without relations to genetic modification (GM) techniques, will now be planned and adopted for breeding of vigorous and uniform F1 hybrids combining quality, uniformity, and productivity traits in the same genotypes.
Furthermore, this research project deals with the discovery and genetic analysis of four male-sterile mutants in this species. These mutants, which to the best of our knowledge are the first spontaneous male-sterile mutants ever discovered and described in Radicchio, were characterized in great details for the developmental pathway of micro-sporogenesis and gametogenesis, and the inheritance pattern of the gene underlying the male-sterility trait. A quick molecular diagnostic assay was also developed for the early marker-assisted selection of the genotype associated to male-sterile plants. Hence, male-sterile mutants object of this PhD project were demonstrated to be controlled by a single nuclear gene (ms1) that acts at the recessive status. We were able to map the male-sterility gene on a well saturated and characterized linkage group in a chromosomal region spanning 7.3 cM and 5.8 cM from the ms1 locus. On the whole, this information was crucial to plan a Genotyping-by-Sequencing experiment based on BC1 progenies with the aim of narrowing down the genomic window containing the gene for male-sterility in leaf chicory.
Finally, the sequencing and assembly of the first genome draft of leaf chicory, will contribute to increase and reinforce the reliability of Italian seed firms and local activities of the Veneto region associated with the cultivation and commercialization of Radicchio plant varieties and food products; the seed market of this species will have the chance to become highly professional and more competitive at the national and international levels.
We assembled a genome draft of an estimated size of 760 Mb. We obtained 58,392,530 and 389,385,400 raw reads through the MySeq and HiSeq platforms, respectively. Overall, we identified 66,785 SSR containing regions. Original data from the bioinformatic assembly of the first genome draft of Radicchio, along with the most relevant findings that emerged from an extensive de novo gene prediction and in silico functional annotation of more than 18,000 unigenes are critically discussed.
To uncover the sequence of a given genome means to gain a robust scientific background and technological knowhow, which in short time can play a crucial role in addressing and solving issues related to the cultivation and protection of modern Radicchio varieties. In fact, we are confident that our efforts will extend the current knowledge of the genome organization and gene composition of leaf chicories, which is crucial in the development of new tools and diagnostic markers useful for our breeding strategies, and allow researchers for more focused studies on chromosome regions controlling relevant agronomic traits of Radicchio.
In conclusion, the present work is a sort of handbook to better understand the world of a non-model species, i.e. leaf chicory, and it is mainly directed to breeders and seed producers dealing with leaf chicory.


The latest developments in the conceptual modular coil design for UWTOR-M stellarator reactor are presented. The emphasis in the design is toward the modularity, maintainability and technology feasibility of the discrete windings. The stress and deformation of the coils are calculated and overall compatibility of the various components studied. The results show that all the preliminary design objectives can be met with reaaonable cross sectional dimensions of the magnet structure. Although more refined studies are needed for the structural details, the study indicates that the envisaged design is feasible with moderate extrapolations to the present day technology.


A major challenge in ecology and evolutionary biology is to explain the dramatic differences in species richness among clades. Much variation in richness is explained by the differences in diversification rates among clades, and variation in diversification rates is often linked to various traits. But what types of traits are most important for explaining diversification? Here, we compared the impacts of different types of traits on diversification rates among lizard and snake families and tested predictions about the relative importance of ecology vs. morphology, static vs. dynamic traits and alpha vs. beta niche traits.


Learning in school the teacher has the main task in determining the success of a lesson. The purpose of this study are: to improve being active learn education citizenship through a strategy Student Team Achievement Division (STAD) on the students of class IV SDN Wonokerso 02. Kind of research is research action class with the design of the research consisting of four stages is planning, the implementation, observations, and reflection. Subject this research is teacher and studentsof class IV SDN Wonokerso 02 that amounts to 22 students. The techniques collecting data done with observations, the interview, and the documentation. Data anaalysis technique used in this study is analysis interactive covering: the reduction of the data, display/the presentation of the data, and took the conclusion then of verification. The results of tesearch showing with the implementation of a strategyStudent Team Achievement Division (STAD) can increase being active learn education citizenship on the students of class IV SDN Wonokerso 02 2015/2016 academic year. An increase in being active learn from pre-cycle of 16%, I encounter of 23%, cycle I meeting II of 50%, II meeting I of 74%, then cycle II meeting II of 80%. Always be an increase in each of the meeting on each cycle. In an II meeting II has reached the indicator being active learning and don't have to proceed next cycle.


This chapter surveys some evolutionary games used in biological sciences. These include the Hawk-Dove game, the Prisoner's Dilemma, Rock– Paper–Scissors, the war of attrition, the Habitat Selection game, predatorprey games, and signalling games.


Water cycle Waternet is Amsterdam's water cycle company that controls the area's water cycle in an integral and socially responsible manner, based on four values: safety, customer orientation, sustainability and innovation. It means that Waternet focuses on providing inexpensive and clean water to its customers and at the same time aims to increase the sustainability of water treatment. In particular, one of Waternet's strategic goals is the completion of CO2 neutral water treatment plants by 2020. However, in order to achieve this goal, the water treatment plant needs to be operated in an efficient way that would minimise the impact on the environment. As a result, re-use of materials and minimisation of the use of chemicals in all water treatment steps is necessary. Waternet has an annual 90 million m3 production of drinking water and uses liquid-solid (Figure 2) fluidised bed pellet softening reactors. This takes place at the Leiduin and Weesperkarspel water treatment plants and is aimed to reduce the calcium content of drinking water.


At present, sometimes there is a need to use the main methodological tools of management science that form the vision and support the choice of management approaches to research, construction and reform of objects in various fields of activity in social and economic environments. The scientific literature of management theory and empirical research allowed us to choose the main approaches that are most productively used in economic systems of the «organization» type. Model representations of system, process, functional, and situational approaches to the formation of structures, relationships and content of objects in social and economic environments are developed.


According to one embodiment, a system and method for resource separation and consumption in the application server environment is described in this specification. System may be provided in one or more computers to which the application server environment includes an application server environment is running, and a plurality of resources that can be used in the application server environment, and one or more partitions . Each partition is provided with a management and execution time subdivision domain. The system also can be configured resource consumption management module to monitor the use of each partition of the plurality of resources. Resource consumption management module, resource reservation may comprise at least one member of the group consisting of resource constraints and resource notification.


【Objectives : To clarify the possible effect of Lycium chinese Mill (LC)., Morus alba L (MA)., and Lycium chinese Mill. +Morus alba L. (LC+MA), we have examined their influence on the development of pulmonary eosinophilic inflammation in the asthmatic murine model. Methods : Female Balb/c mice (5weeks) were immunized on two different days (21 days and 7 days before inhalational exposure) by intraperitonial injections of 0.2ml alum-precipitated Ag containing $100{\mu}g$ of OVA bound to 4 mg of aluminum hydroxide in PBS. Seven days after the second sensitization, mice were exposed to aerosolized ovalbumin for 30 minutes/day on 3 days/week for 8 weeks (at a flow rate of 250 L/min, 2.5% ovalbumin in normal saline) and, LC, MA, and LC+MA (500 mg/kg) were orally administered 3 times per a week for 8 weeks. Results : The suppressive effect of LC, MA, and LC+MA were demonstrated by the accumulation of eosinophills into airways, with the reduction of eosinophil, total lung leukocytes numbers. These were correlated with the marked reduction of IL-5, IL-13 and IL-4 levels in the BALF and serum. OVA-specific IgE levels were also decreased in serum and BAL from these mice. LC, MA, and LC+MA decreased eosinophil CCR3 expression and CD11b expression in lung cells. Conclusions : These results indicate that LC, MA, and LC+MA have high inhibitory effects on airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness in the asthmatic murine model. The suppression of IL-5, IgE, eosinophil CCR3 expression and CD11b expression, and the increase of IFN- ${\gamma}$ production in BALF seem to contribute to this effect. Hence, the results indicated that LC, MA, and LC+MA could act as a immuno-modulator which possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-asthmatic property by modulating the imbalance between Th1 and Th2 cytokines.】


Parastomal hernias are frequent and highly recurrent. The sandwich technique (ST) (Berger et al. [2007]) uses a double intraperitoneal mesh, whereas the retromuscular technique (RMT) (Pauli et al. [2016]) dissects the retromuscular space, releases the transversus muscle, and lateralizes the stoma to place a retromuscular mesh. The aim was to evaluate the results of these interventions.

 Observational retrospective study of patients with parastomal hernia intervened by our Abdominal Wall Unit in a tertiary referral centre. The intervention performed was the ST from February 2016 to September 2020, and the RMT from September 2020 to March 2022.

 A total of 12 patients were intervened with the ST, eight laparoscopically and four robotically, and 7 patients were intervened with the RMT, all robotically. There were no statistically significant differences in basal characteristics between groups. According to the European Hernia Society classification, the parastomal hernias intervened in the ST were 16.7% type I, 33.3% type II, 16.7% type III, 33.3% type IV, while in the RMT most were type II (85.7%). The surgical time was more prolonged in the RMT.
 There were no statistically significant differences in early complications. Long term follow-up was longer in the ST (median: 24 months vs. 1.6 months), and the recurrences observed were 25% (3/12) for ST and 14.3% (1/7) for RMT (p:1.000).

 RMT is a challenging procedure with similar rate of early complications and promising relapse results despite a shorter follow-up. It is currently our procedure of choice for parastomal hernia.


To the Editor: We read with great interest the paper of Stefano et al. (1). The authors assessed the immunoexpression of survivin by tissue microarray (TMA) along the full spectrum of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) including steatosis, non-cirrhotic non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), NASH-related cirrhosis and NASHrelated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Survivin is a multifunctional protein. It is the smallest member of the inhibitor of apoptosis proteins family, a group of proteins that specifically inhibit caspase 3, 7 and 9 (2). Moreover, recent studies reported that survivin may regulate microtubule dynamics and contribute to accurate sister chromatid segregation during mitosis (3). In addition, survivin may have differential subcellular distribution (cytoplasm and nucleus), which may explain its different intracellular functions (4, 5). Therefore, it would be expected that survivin may play a pivotal role in the genesis and progression of HCC. Survivin, in fact, is overexpressed in proliferating HCC cells and during hepatocarcinogenesis (6). In the study by Stefano et al. (1), two diverse intracellular localizations of survivin, cytoplasm and nucleus, were evaluated. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated that in steatosis, non-cirrhotic NASH, NASH cirrhosis and NASH HCC, as well as in normal liver tissue, survivin is expressed exclusively in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes. In particular, TMA data showed a significant reduction of cytoplasmic immunoexpression of anti-apoptotic survivin in NASH cirrhosis and NASH HCC compared with either simple steatosis or NASH. In contrast, HCC related to other aetiologies (i.e. HCV and non-viral hepatitis) showed both a nuclear and cytoplasmic expression of survivin. It is to be noted that cytoplasmic survivin expression in HCC unrelated to NASH was significantly higher than NASHrelated HCC. The authors suggest that this different pattern of survivin expression in NASH-related HCC might emphasize a preferential anti-apoptotic and cytoprotective role of the protein during hepatocarcinogenesis associated with NAFLD. However, the absence of nuclear expression also in steatotic and NASH livers seems to exclude a potential mitotic role of survivin during NAFLD pathogenesis. Although these results and their analysis are very interesting, we recently found further original data in our dietinduced experimental model of NASH. We treated Sprague-Dawley rats for 14 weeks with a standard diet (SD), a high-fat/low-carbohydrate diet (HFD-LC), a normal-fat/high-fructose diet (NFD-HF) or a high-fat/ high-fructose diet (HFD-HF), which, as reported in a previous article (7), induce different patterns of metabolic and histological alterations that resemble human NAFLD. Here, we report the protein expression levels of survivin in primary hepatocytes isolated from animals treated with hypercaloric regimens. As shown in Figure 1A, total extracts of hepatocytes from HFD-LC, NFD-HF and HFD-HF rats exhibit survivin expression lower than SD hepatocytes, constitutively expressing survivin. Furthermore, a similar reduction was observed also in cytosolic and nuclear extracts of hepatocytes from rats treated with hypercaloric regimens compared with SD (Fig. 1B and C). These results, consistent with the study by Stefano and colleagues, confirm a potential significance of reduced survivin in NAFLD development and its progression to cirrhosis and HCC, but highlight some other relevant issues. In fact, the reduced expression of survivin in NAFLD, because of its cytoplasmic and nuclear localization, might be associated with both an increased apoptosis and a decreased proliferation.


According to Sir William Osler, Mouth is the mirror of the body which reflects systemic diseases. The oral mucosa may be affected by a variety of muco cutaneous diseases and oral les ions may occur first or very early in several muco - cutaneous disorders. Pemphigus is a group of potentially life threatening, chronic auto immune disorder characterized by epithelial blistering affecting muco - cutaneous surfaces. Autoantibodies in pemphigus vulgaris are directed against desmoglein in epithelial desmosomes, and the immune deposits result in intra - epithelial splitting (acantholysis). Oral lesions in the form of blisters and erosions are the first to manifest, and diagnosis is made by positive nikolsky's sign, coupled with characterstic histopathology and immunofluorescent features. Corticosteroids form the mainline of treatment, but adjuvant and newer therapies are also been used at an increasing rates. This article deals about the etio pathoge nesis, clinical characterstics, diagnosis and treatment strategies for pemphigus vulgaris.


Opioid analgesics are potent pain-killer and are widely used in clinical practice. Opioid receptors are classified into μ, δ,κ subtypes. Most of the currently available opioid analgesics are μ opioid receptor agonists,but they cause undesired side effects such as physical dependence,respiratory depression and constipation and so on. The antalgic activity of δ receptor agonist is weaker than that of μ agonist,but it can modulate the activity of μ receptor and prevent its addiction. Therefore,discoveringand designing compounds with μ/δ dual action is a new way for finding analgesics with low toxicity and less side effects. This review summarizes the development of compound with dual μ/δ activities and provides a new strategy for designing analgesics with low toxicity and less side effects.


ABSTRACT In settler colonial societies such as Australia, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people have turned to constitutional reform as a means of addressing historical exclusions and colonial injustice. In practice, however, the promise of constitutionalism has revealed clear limits. This article explores these limits in the context of the current Australian campaign for the constitutional 'recognition' of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, where the loudest dissenting voices have come from Indigenous people themselves. In light of this, this article proposes a more agonistic engagement of diverse and dissenting opinions, with a view to opening up a more radical, decolonising space for constitutional politics.


Nine cembrane-type diterpenes were isolated from the lipid extract of the soft coral, Sinularia mayi. Of these, seven α-methylene-γ-lactone derivatives (1-7) had been previously isolated from various soft corals. The structures of the two new cembrane diols, sinulariol A (8a) and sinulariol B (9), were determined by means of spectroscopic analyses, and compound 9 was chemically correlated with nephthenol (11) whose absolute configuration is known. Compounds 8a and 9 are plausible precursors to the cembrane lactones found in various soft corals.


A static contention-free differential flip-flop (SCDFF) is presented in 28-nm CMOS for low-voltage and low-power applications. The SCDFF offers fully static and contention-free operation without redundant internal clock transitions with footed differential latches and the same area as a conventional transmission-gate flip-flop (TGFF). The fully static and contention-free operation allows high variation tolerance at a low supply voltage regime, achieving wide-range voltage scalability (1–0.3 V). The measurement results with a test chip fabricated in 28-nm CMOS technology show that power consumption is reduced by 64%/56% with a 0%/10% activity ratio at 1 V compared to that of a TGFF. All 100 dies from five process corners were functional with supply voltage as low as 0.28 V.


In order to study the effect of constant magnetic field on rats during the blood reperfusion after cerebral ischemia. we formed the cerebral ischemia model according to smith's method, then treated them by 40 mT constant magnetic field. Ten days later, the hemorrheology, NO, NOS and GSH-PX were observed. The results show that constant magnetic field can improved GSH-PX activity and hemorrheology, reduce No and NOS level. It has treatment effect for the reperfusion damage after ischemia.


The aim of this paper is to provide a convergence analysis for a preconditioned subspace iteration, which is designated to determine a modest number of the smallest eigenvalues and its corresponding invariant subspace of eigenvectors of a large, symmetric positive definite matrix. The algorithm is built upon a subspace implementation of preconditioned inverse iteration. i.e., the well-known inverse iteration procedure, where the associated system of linear equations is solved approximately by using a preconditioner. This step is followed by a Rayleigh-Ritz projection so that preconditioned inverse iteration is always applied to the Ritz vectors of the actual subspace of approximate eigenvectors. The given theory provides sharp convergence estimates for the Ritz values and is mainly built on arguments exploiting the geometry underlying preconditioned inverse iteration.


This paper is underpinned by an understanding of bodily sensation as integral to the study of dress, hence having an essential impact on the way dress and dressing can be actively and temporally experienced. It argues for a sensual and dynamic connection between dress, movement, and sensation as a trigger for an embodied experience. The bodily sensation of the elaborately-structured dress which framed the everyday existence of nineteenth-century women, for example the active encounters of the body with dress - the rubbing, slapping, sliding, stretching, brushing, ruffling, and swelling of dress against the form and fleshiness of the body - will be speculated upon as another way of learning about the intimacies between dress and the body. Out of the rich and varied multiplicities of the Victorian wardrobe, this paper picks out, as its subject of interest, the often-overlooked female peasant wardrobe which includes the field or work dress, the everyday garb, and the modest Sunday best. The ambition of this paper is not to provide an historical or socio-cultural analysis of Victorian peasant dress. Rather, the central idea is to put forward an impression of the bodily experience of peasant dress through Thomas Hardy's nineteenth-century novel, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, through Hardy's poeticism and acute sensitivity towards the most delicate details of the lives of late-Victorian peasantry. By speculating on Hardy's arousal of dynamic multi-sensorial impressions of Tess, through what she wears and how she moves in accordance with the rhythm of the season and across the spectrum of her immediate environment, the paper suggests how bodily sensation of late-Victorian peasant dress is inherently tied to the experience of that particular time and place.


As a trend,non-standard labor relation has appeared in practice.Non-standard labor relation is different from the traditional labor relation in many aspects,so there are some troubles in using traditional labor law theory and methods.We should change concepts according to their flexibility and complexity.


A large literature investigates the institutional legacies of European colonialism around the world. However, in linking contemporary outcomes to colonial antecedents, most works seldom identify specific institutions or their temporal evolution. This paper examines the institutional legacies of colonialism in Africa through the lens of colonial legislatures. Cross-country analyses show that the correlation between colonial antecedents and contemporary measures of legislative strength is tenuous and sensitive to measurement. A comparative study of legislative development in Ghana and Kenya explains the mixed legacies of colonial legislatures. Beyond colonial institutional design, temporal variation in intra-legislative factional politics explains legislative development in the two countries. This article highlights the importance of understanding the specific mechanisms behind colonial institutional persistence and change.


A compound of formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof ** Formula ** wherein m, p and q each independently represent 0 or 1; n represents an integer equal to 1 or 2; R1 is selected from hydrogen, fluorine, cyano, hydroxyl, amino, and a non-aromatic C1-C9 hydrocarbon group which is optionally substituted with one to six fluorine atoms and wherein one, two or three carbon atoms of the hydrocarbon group may be optionally substituted by one, two or three heteroatoms independently selected from nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur; R2 is hydrogen or a non-aromatic C1-C6 hydrocarbon group which is optionally substituted by one to six fluorine atoms and wherein one, two or three carbon atoms of the hydrocarbon group may be optionally substituted by one, two or three independently selected heteroatoms of nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur; R3 represents a 5-membered monocyclic aromatic heterocyclic group containing 1, 2, 3 or 4 ring heteroatoms independently selected from nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur, heterocyclic group which may be optionally substituted by at least one substituent selected from halogen, cyano, -NR4R5, -C (O) NR6R7, C1-C6 haloalkyl, C1-C6 haloalkoxy, -R8, -OCH2R8, C1-C6 alkoxy, C3-C8 cycloalkyl and C1-C6 alkyl, the alkyl substituent itself being optionally substituted by minus one substituent selected from cyano, -C (O) NR9R10, C1-C6 alkoxy and -NHC (O) R11, or R3 represents a 6-membered monocyclic aromatic heterocyclic group containing 1, 2, 3 or 4 selected ring heteroatoms independently of nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur, heterocyclic group which may be optionally substituted by at least one substituent selected from halogen, cyano, oxo, -NR4R5, -C (O) NR6R7, haloalkyl C1-C6, haloalkoxy C1-C6, -R8 , -OCH2R8, alkoxy C 1- C6, C3-C8 cycloalkyl and C1-C6 alkyl, the alkyl substituent itself being optionally substituted by at least one substituent selected from cyano, -C (O) NR9R10, C1-C6 alkoxy and -NHC (O) R11, or R3 represents a group of formula (II) ** Formula wherein X represents a bond, C (O), C (O) O, C (O) NR13 or SO2, and R12 represents a C1-C6 alkyl group or carbocyclic or saturated or unsaturated heterocyclic ring system of 3 to 10 members, each of which may be optionally substituted by at least one substituent selected from halogen, hydroxyl, cyano, oxo, C1-C6 alkyl, C2-C6 alkenyl, C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl, C 1 -C 6 hydroxyalkyl, C 1 -C 6 alkoxy, C 1 -C 6 haloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 alkylthio, C 1 -C 6 alkylsulfinyl, C 1 -C 6 alkylsulfonyl, C 1 -C 6 alkylcarbonyl, C 1 -C 6 alkylcarbonyloxy, C 1 -C 6 alkoxycarbonyl, -N (R14) 2, -CON (R15) 2, C3-C6 cycloalkyl, C3-C6 cycloalkyloxy and C3-C6 cycloalkylmethyl; R4, R5, R6 and R7 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, C1-C6 alkyl, C3-C6 cycloalkyl or C3-C6 cycloalkylmethyl. R8 represents a 5- or 6-membered monocyclic aromatic group optionally containing 1, 2, 3 or 4 ring heteroatoms independently selected from nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur, the aromatic group being optionally substituted by at least one substituent selected from halogen and C1-alkyl -C6; R9, R10 and R11 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, C1-C6 alkyl or C3-C6 cycloalkyl; and each R13, R14 and R15 independently represents a hydrogen atom or C1-C6 alkyl group; wherein the compound is selected from the group consisting of:


If an optimisation algorithm performs a search in an environment that changes over time, it should be able to follow these changes and adapt itself for handling them in order to achieve good results. Different types of dynamics in a changing environment require the use of different approaches. Hyper-heuristics represent a class of methodologies that are high level heuristics performing search over a set of low level heuristics. Due to the generality of hyper-heuristic frameworks, they are expected to be adaptive. Hence, a hyper-heuristic can be used in a dynamic environment to determine the approach to apply, adapting itself accordingly at each change. This study presents an initial investigation of hyper-heuristics in dynamic environments. A greedy hyper-heuristic is tested over a set of benchmark functions.


The invention provides a multi-channel sampling device. The sampling device comprises at least two sampling containers, sampling pipelines corresponding to the sampling containers in number, and a sampling pump, wherein the sampling containers are provided with inlets and outlets; the outlets are formed in hollow installation parts at one ends of the sampling containers; flow metering devices are arranged on the sampling pipelines; the sampling pipelines are provided with inlet ends suitable for penetration of the installation parts; sealing parts are arranged in the inlet ends; elastic components are connected with the sealing parts so that the sealing parts seal the inlets of the sampling pipelines; sealing rings are arranged at the inlets of the sampling pipelines and matched with the installation parts; the sampling pump is communicated with all the sampling pipelines. The multi-channel sampling device provided by the invention has the advantages of simple structure, prevention of foreign body invasion and the like.


This paper proposed the combination of existing Ant Colony Algorithm and the recommendation algorithm. And it introduced the concept of pheromones and volatile in Ant Colony Algorithm. Combines the browsing behavior and the preferences of similar user in recommended process, and calculate the score of each page. And proposed the solutions of specific problems when the algorithm applying in recommender system.


A residue method based on microcoulometric gas chromatography is described for 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T in tomato plants and other commercial crops. Intensive cleanup includes extractions with two different buffers and, after conversion of the free acids to the methyl esters, final cleanup is achieved with a Kontes Sweep Co-distillation Apparatus.

With a sample weight of 100 g of tomato plant, 0.5 μg can be determined with a recovery of 72 to 96% for 2,4-D and 94 to 100% for 2,4,5-T.


Oligosydnone imines are strongly bound to albumine (α < 1%) in pure water. In saline, however, this effect is abolished (α ˜ 80%). 4,4′‐Propylene‐bis‐3‐hexyl‐sydnone‐5‐imine hydrochloride (1) moderately binds to phosphatidylcholine liposomes (PC, α ˜ 34%). This is increased by phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). In PC/PE vesicles α is about 7%. The binding is further enhanced by the incorporation of negatively charged phospholipids (PL) like phosphatidylserine (PS). In PC/PE/PS liposomes complete binding of 1 can be achieved. This holds especially true if the composition of the liposomes is similar to the PL composition of platelet membranes. The results suggest that the antiplatelet activity of 1 is mediated by the bindings to negatively charged PL in the platelet membrane.


In a configuration where a server transmits location information based on identification information of at least one access point in response to the reception of the identification information, the time of reception of identification information of an access point that is associated with a location indicated by the location information received from the server can be associated with the indicated location, irrespective of the time of reception of the location information. An access point ID receiving unit 30 receives identification information of an access point. A location information management unit 32 associates identification information of at least one access point with reception time information that indicates the time of reception of the identification information. A location information requesting unit 34 transmits the identification information associated with the reception time information to a location information providing server. A location information receiving unit 36 receives location information based on the transmitted identification information from the location information providing server. The location information management unit 32 associates the received location information with reception time information that is associated with the transmitted identification information.


We thank Dr Hutchinson and Dr Davies for their comments1 regarding the use of alternative options in patients with cirrhosis and refractory ascites. The use of other potential therapies for patients with refractory ascites is attractive and should perhaps be considered in selected cases. Therapies such as clonidine, a centrally acting α2-agonist and sympatholytic agent, and the use of vasoconstrictors such as midodrine have been …


Sir, In the year 2004–2005, the Government of India decided to extend the focus of attention under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme from endemic states to certain high-priority districts and blocks under a special situational plan called Block Leprosy Awareness Campaign.1 Specific activities are planned and being followed for highand low-endemic districts and blocks with an objective of achieving elimination of leprosy in the 12th 5-year plan period (2012–2017).2 Every year, the Central Leprosy Division publishes an annual progress report containing details of the number of districts reporting annual new case detection rate (ANCDR) of less than 10 per 100,000 population. Any district with annual new case detection rate of less than 10 per 100,000 population is considered non-endemic and the number of such districts is regularly monitored. The annual new case detection rate at the district level has remained stagnant in most of the states in the last few years. The state leprosy officers have shown concerns that programme activities as designed for the National Leprosy Eradication Programme are not being fully carried out at the block primary health centre level, resulting in inability to deliver quality services as desired.2 Hence, the National Leprosy Eradication Programme of India, in its plan for the year 2013–2017, has proposed special search activities for high endemic blocks to be carried out twice in a year.2


This paper details the development of a relationship between Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and the Building Integration Software Company (bisco) and how projects have been initiated that add value to the bisco product range by conducting applied research utilising students from AUT. One specific project related to producing optimal layout designs is discussed.


An analog sampled data low pass third order Butterworth filter has been realised in a buried channel CCD technology. This Charge Domain Filter, composed of transversal and recursive CCD filter sections, has been tested at clock frequencies up to 20 MHz.


Hypothesis / aims of study Maximum urethral closure pressure (MUCP) and abdominal leak point pressure (ALPP) are thought to be a measure of intrinsic urethral function and predictors of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and urodynamic stress incontinence (USI). We have recently been able to show that midurethral (more so than bladder neck) mobility also is a predictor of SUI and USI (1). In this study we set out to to determine whether urethral mobility confounds the relationship between MUCP and continence. The hypothesis was: "Midurethral mobility acts as an effect modifier in the relationship between MUCP and stress urinary continence".


There are more people living with dementia worldwide, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) and minority ethnic groups. In high‐income countries (HICs), evidence‐based psychosocial interventions can improve outcomes for people with dementia and family carers. To consider their efficacy in other settings, we investigated whether there are culturally tailored interventions for LMIC populations and minority ethnic groups, with tested acceptability, feasibility and efficacy.


This paper presented to the 4th Commonwealth Pacific Forum of Central Agencies, on the theme "Strengthening Public Policy Development and Implementation Process", held in Samoa in May 2015, argues that the main public sector challenges in the Small Island Developing States of the Pacific Islands are to establish and maintain a clear vision, to build capability, strengthen connectivity, and to innovate judiciously.


Finger touch interface has been less popular for desktop touchscreens than for mobile IT devices, and it could be attributable to difficulties in reaching and conducting touch gestures comfortably and accurately. In the current study, performance variation of tap gesture by target location and display position was quantitatively evaluated to generate empirical data that can be used to determine proper target location and display position for improving usability of desktop touchscreen interface. Twenty one participants in three handedness groups participated in a laboratory experiment. Touch error, time to complete a single tap gesture, and a hand of choice for tap gesture were measured while conducting repetitive tap gestures on fifteen distributed targets in two positions (upright, near flat) of a 23" touchscreen display. Results found significant differences (p<0.05) in the performance measures and hand preference between target locations. Greater touch error and shorter completion time were observed from targets on the lower area of the display. To improve the usability of desktop touchscreen, it is recommended to place targets in lower areas with larger sensing area or target size. It is also recommended to determine proper target location and size depending on user's individual handedness.


For copyright protection, the bit pattern is embedded in discrete wavelet transform (DWT) domain by using a secret key sequence. For security, it is desirable to be hard to counterfeit the key sequence. In this work, we consider a watermarking method with a key sequence which is difficult to counterfeit. Additionally, we show the design method of the key sequence based on the genetic algorithm (GA) so that the robustness of the watermark is strong. Finally, we show the robustness against JPEG attack by computer simulation.


Dijstelbloem's view on science and truth seems to support post-truth politics. The relativistic view on science is logically inconsistent and mostly irrelevant to practical science and its contribution to society. Post truth politics should be challenged by better science and better education.


Because of uncertainty load and high vitality of electricity spot price, the participators such as generators and distributors will face great risks under the environment of electricity markets than regulated case. The forward contracts and other derivatives have flexible characters and the participators select them as the effective instruments to avoid the risks. The behaviors of participators in the two stages wholesale electricity market including spot and forward markets are studied, and the distribution of trade quantity between two markets is discussed, the analytic distribution quantities of generators and distributors and forward price are derived under the equilibrium of spot market and contracts market, and hedging strategy of participators are also be discussed. The effective of the varying mean, standard deviation, skewness and risk averse factor are also be studied through examples.