Postoperative bacterial infections are one of the main reasons for unsuccessful implantation of long-term implants. The development of bacterial infection requires antibiotic therapy, in extreme cases a reimplantation procedure is necessary. In order to provide materials for implants with antibacterial properties, they are subjected to modifications to create a coating that will release the drug substance, when the inflammation occurs. Significant interest is now gained by the so-called smart polymers, that react to the stimuli from the external environment such as pH change, temperature change, the influence of UV-VIS radiation or interaction of electric and magnetic fields. When designing drug delivery systems, the characteristics of the inflamed tissue may be taken into account, because they are characterized by increased temperature and reduced pH. It would, therefore, be reasonable to create biopolymer coatings that under these conditions degrade and release the drug substance. However, the problem is the controlled release of the drug substance trapped in the biopolymer matrix. This review paper presents most often used methods of smart biopolymer coatings production, which release the drug substance in a controlled manner. Methods such as electrophoretic deposition, dip-coating, spincoating, and layer-by-layer are discussed, including process parameters, steps of the coating production, possible post-processing and examples of smart coatings produced using these methods. Each of these methods offers a wide range of process parameters, by changing these parameters it is possible to fine-tune the properties of the coatings produced to the desired values. Extensive research is needed to determine the optimal process parameters that will allow the production of coatings with the desired properties. Łukasz Pawłowski, Michał Bartmański, Andrzej Zieliński Gdansk University of Technology, Department of Materials Engineering and Bonding, Biomaterials Division, Gdansk, Poland European Journal of Medical Technologies 2019; 3(24): 53-59 Copyright © 2019 by ISASDMT All rights reserved www. medical-technologies.eu Published online 29.09.2019 EJMT 3(24) 2019 • European Journal of Medical Technologies 54 Copyright © 2019 by ISASDMT Introduction The body's biological response to implant placement depends mainly on its chemical composition and surface morphology. The surface properties of metallic biomaterials are modified, among others, by the production of nanotubular oxide layers, laser treatment or the deposition of bioceramic and biopolymer coatings improving the biocompatibility and bioactivity of the implant. In addition, obtained through modification coatings and layers, they can act as a barrier separating the implant from the body fluid environment, providing protection against corrosion [1]. These surfaces can also act as a local drug delivery system. Because bacterial infections and biofilm formation on the surface of implants are one of the main reasons for unsuccessful implantation, hence numerous research works are carried out on the design of systems that release the drug substance in a controlled manner [2]. At present, so-called intelligent coatings gain a  lot of interest. They show a  reaction to the influence of the external environment like pH change, temperature changes, UV-VIS radiation, electric field or magnetic field and can release the drug substance in a controlled way. They are usually biopolymer materials [3]. In designing this type of coatings, it may be considered the characteristics of inflamed tissues such as elevated temperature and reduced pH value [4]. There are many methods for making coatings that are used to cover implants and provide them antibacterial properties. The most commonly used are electrophoretic deposition, electrochemical anodization, dip-coating, spin-coating, layer-by-layer method, thermal spraying, sol-gel and biomimetic deposition [1]. Some of them are discussed in more detail in this manuscript. Electrophoretic deposition Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is a procedure that allows the manipulation of charged particles or molecules forming a suspension and their deposition on a given electrode in the form of a coating. The deposition process takes place in two stages. In the first stage, charged particles or molecules are moved into an oppositely charged electrode under the influence of an external electric field. The second step is the deposition and consolidation of the particles that form the coating on a particular electrode [5]. The instrumentation needed to carry out the EPD process consists of a power source, an electrode and a beaker with homogeneously dispersed particles or molecules. Depending on which electrode the coating is formed on, cathode and anodephoresis are distinguished. Particles charged positively under the influence of the external electric field will be deposited on the cathode, while the particles charged negatively on the anode [5,6]. The EPD process is characterized by a significant number of parameters determining the quality of the produced coatings. There are parameters related directly to the suspension and parameters related to the technical aspects of the process. Regarding the suspension, the following parameters should be taken into account: particle size, surface properties of the powder particles and degree of dispersion, pH and viscosity of the suspension, and concentration of additives (mainly dispersants). The technical parameters of the EPD process include setting time, applied voltage, temperature and type of substrate. A  common approach is to set fixed parameters relating to the suspension and fine-tune the quality of the coatings created by changing parameters related to the technical aspects of the EPD process [5]. Compared to other techniques, EPD is a simple and inexpensive method allowing the creation of a variety of coatings on a  wide range of substrates. It is possible to uniformly cover irregularly shaped materials, which may be important in the case of, for example, dental implants. In addition, this technique allows the simultaneous deposition of several components and the creation of composite coatings or laminates. One of the main disadvantages of the EPD method (when the particles are dispersed in water) is the electrolysis of water leading to the formation of cracks in the coating. The formation of bubbles on the electrode can be overcome by using an organic liquid medium to prepare the suspension [7]. EPD is a promising coating method for biomedical applications. Performing the deposition process at room temperature allows the introduction of biological agents into the coating D o w nl o ad ed f ro m m o st w ie d zy .p l EJMT 3(24) 2019 • European Journal of Medical Technologies 55 Copyright © 2019 by ISASDMT to accelerate osseointegration or provide protection against bacteria. Electrophoretic deposition is most often used to produce bioceramic coatings for orthopedic implants (from hydroxyapatite or bioactive glasses), composite coatings (biopolymer-ceramics), coatings from carbon nanotubes, scaffolds for tissue engineering and deposition of peptides, proteins and other biological compounds to create biosensors [8]. Ma et al. [9] fabricated Ag-containing nanocomposite coatings on pure titanium (grade 2) via EPD process. Authors proposed coatings of Ag2O/AgCl mixed with chitosan/gelatin polymers. Gelatin was used for the improvement of the biocompatibility and bond strength of the chitosan coating. The coatings were characterized by an initial burst release of Ag ions, followed by a  decrease in the release rate. Qi et al. [10] prepared dexamethasone-loaded gelatin nanospheres/chitosan coatings also using this method. This type of structure showed a two-stage release profile. For the first two days, the burst release phenomenon dominated, then the drug was released in a sustained manner for 28 days. Song et al. [11] also produced coatings made of gelatin nanospheres filled with a medicinal substance – vancomycin, and moxifloxacin – dispersed in a chitosan matrix on a 316L stainless steel substrate using the EPD method. In this case, vancomycin was released in a  sustained manner for two weeks, however, moxifloxacin was released in a burst-type manner, which may be due to the poor interaction of this substance with gelatin nanospheres.


This paper deals with the design of a robust hierarchical multiloop control scheme to solve motion control problems for robot manipulators. The key elements of the proposed control approach are the inverse dynamics-based feedback linearized robotic multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) system and the combination of a model predictive control (MPC) module with an integral sliding mode (ISM) controller. The ISM internal control loop has the role to compensate the matched uncertainties due to unmodeled dynamics, which are not rejected by the inverse dynamics approach. The external loop is closed relying on the MPC, which guarantees an optimal evolution of the controlled system while fulfiling state and input constraints. The motivation for using ISM, apart from its property of providing robustness to the scheme with respect to a wide class of uncertainties, is also given by its capability of enforcing sliding modes of the controlled system since the initial time instant, allowing one to solve the MPC optimization problem relying on a set of linearized decoupled single-input-single-output (SISO) systems that are not affected by uncertain terms. The proposal has been verified and validated in simulation, relying on a model of a COMAU Smart3-S2 industrial robot manipulator, identified on the basis of real data.


On reaction of the 1,1-diiodoalkane 1 with isopropyl Grignard reagents at −78 °C a long-lived intermediate is generated, which was characterized by its UV−vis spectrum, 1H and 13C NMR data, and the apparent isotope effect kH/kD = 2.8 on protonation with CH3OH/CH3OD. Arguments are presented that led us to assign the structure of the α-iodoalkyl iodine ate complex 4 to this intermediate.


Abstract. Occlusion is a major problem for real-time position and orientation measurement with distributed optical large-scale metrology systems. This paper presents two novel methods with occlusion handling to address this issue, which should be used in combination for practical applications. These two approaches are based on the constraints established by three control points and six control points, respectively, and then the position and orientation can be calculated through iterative optimization algorithms. In this paper, all the work is carried out by using the workspace measuring and positioning system as a verification platform. The experimental results show that the orientation accuracies of the three-point method and the six-point method are kept within 0.1 and 0.04 deg, respectively, and the position accuracy exceeds 0.15 and 0.08 mm.


Modified starches have been widely used as an excipient in matrix tablets to control drug release. A new processing method for the production of modified starch, high power ultrasonic treatment (400 W), was applied to native tapioca starch. The spray drying technique was used after modification (i.e., by ultrasonic or heat treatment). Matrix tablets were then prepared by direct compression using theophylline as a model drug. The effect of starch modification on swelling, erosion and in vitro drug release behaviors of compressed matrices was investigated in 0.1 N HCl or phosphate buffer (pH 6.8). The matrix tablets of modified tapioca starch formed a continuous gel layer while in contact with the aqueous medium undergoing a combination of swelling and erosion. The ultrasound-treated starch swelled and eroded less than the native starch and heat-treated starch, thus the drug release from matrix tablets using ultrasound-treated starch was slower. For these results, it can be concluded that the ultrasound-treated starch was a promising excipient for controlled drug release.


This paper addressed the spatial distribution characteristics of organic matter, total nitrogen, extractable phos phorus and extractable potassium in agricultural soils of Northeast China. The related factors were explored using geostatistics and geographic information systems. The results showed that the log-transformed data of the four soil nutrients followed a normal distribution. Soil extractable phosphorus had a higher coefficient of variation. The ex perimental variogram of the log-transformed data of soil organic matter, total nitrogen and extractable phosphorus was fitted with an exponential model, while soil extractable potassium was fitted to a spherical model. Soil samples from smaller slope gradients had higher organic matter and total nitrogen. Soil type affected the four soil nutrients significantly. Soil samples from dry farming land had significantly higher total nitrogen and extractable potassium than soil from paddy fields, while the contrary was found for extractable phosphorus. Along the Yinma River, soil samples from the western part have statistically higher values for organic matter, total nitrogen and extractable potassium than those collected from the eastern part.


To check the validity of the recently proposed kinetic energy (KE) functional of the pair density (PD) functional theory, we perform the numerical calculation for the neutral Ne atom. This is the first computational trial for the PD functional theory which includes the KE functional that is approximately derived on the basis of the rigorous expression with the coupling-constant integration. In this work we adopt the correlated Thomas-Fermi functional as the approximate KE functional. Although it is shown that non-negligible errors exist in the resulting PD, the present results will be useful as reference data in cases of developing further the approximate KE functional.


Conjugated polymers have been the subject of much interest owing to their unique electronic properties which can be technically exploited e.g., as doping induced electrical conductors and light emi ...


Can elastic scaling service and dynamic pricing bring more profits to cloud service providers? If so, under what circumstances can the benefits be maximized? In this article, a decision support model based on Markov process is proposed for pricing of cloud service oriented to elastic scaling. This service is only provided to Long-term contract customers with different time sensitivities, which will be used to divide the market into four categories: no time sensitivity, low time sensitivity, high time sensitivity, and scattered time sensitivity. The purpose of this article is to show whether elastic scaling service is necessary for cloud service providers. Through the experimental simulation, it can be found that the elastic scaling service can bring more profits to the supplier when the customer's time sensitivity is high or scattered. Dynamic pricing strategy is particularly important when facing the scattered time sensitivity of customers.


Elastic scaling enables dynamic and efficient re-source provisioning in Network Function Virtualization (NFV) to serve fluctuating network traffic. Scaling detection determines the appropriate time when a virtual network function (VNF) needs to be scaled, and its precision and agility profoundly affect system performance. Previous heuristics define fixed control rules based on a simplified or inaccurate understanding of deployment environments and workloads. Therefore, they fail to achieve optimal performance across a broad set of network conditions.In this paper, we propose a chain-aware scaling detection mechanism, namely CASD, which learns policies directly from experience using reinforcement learning (RL) techniques. Furthermore, CASD incorporates chain information into control policies to efficiently plan the scaling sequence of VNFs within a service function chain. This paper makes the following two key technical contributions. Firstly, we develop chain-aware representations, which embed global chains of arbitrary sizes and shapes into a set of embedding vectors based on graph embedding techniques. Secondly, we design an RL-based neural network model to make scaling decisions based on chain-aware representations. We implement a prototype of CASD, and its evaluation results demonstrate that CASD reduces the overall system cost and improves system performance over other baseline algorithms across different workloads and chains.


SUMMARY We describe a nonlinear analysis scheme capable of directly treating observations which have a nonGaussian error distribution. This non-Gaussian analysis scheme is shown to be a generalization of the familiar optimum interpolation scheme and must be solved iteratively. The approach to the treatment of gross errors is compared with a more traditional approach in which a quality-control step precedes the analysis. Simulation experiments are performed in which the observations have many of the characteristics of observations from the proposed space-borne atmospheric laser Doppler instrument and a 50% probability of gross error. Both approaches are shown to perform well, with the non-Gaussian analysis giving the better results.


The purpose of this paper is to construct a control algorithm for improving the driving efficiency of 4-wheel-drive in-wheel electric vehicles. The main parts of the vehicle were modeled and the input-output relations of signals were summarized using MATLAB/Simulink. A performance simulator for 4-wheel-drive in-wheel electric vehicles was developed based on the co-simulation environment with a commercial dynamic behavior analysis program called Carsim. Moreover, for improving the driving efficiency of vehicles, a torque distribution algorithm, which distributes the torque to the front and rear wheels, was included in the performance simulator. The effectiveness of the torque distribution algorithm was validated by the SOC simulation using the FTP-75 driving cycle. * Corresponding author: email@example.com 1 School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea Copyright C 2014, KSFC This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License(http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Subscripts  : vehicle speed/throttle pedal value  : throttle pedal value  : brake pedal value  : vehicle speed  : desired vehicle speed


A study of the arterial architecture of the orbit, especially the ophthalmic artery and the course of the posterior ciliary artery in the retroocular space, was carried out in 198 cadavers by three‐dimensional arteriographic analysis. The posterior ciliary arteries were classified into three types: lateral posterior ciliary, medial posterior ciliary, and accessory posterior ciliary arteries. Both the lateral and medial posterior ciliary arteries reach the eyeball in three ways: (1) they run antero‐inferiorly in a winding course to the posterior margin of the eyeball, then shift upward vertically at a 60–90 degree angle and reach the eyeball, where they divide into several ciliary branches (69%); (2) after a similar course, others branch to the eyeball from the superior side (29.3%); or (3) they reach the eyeball in an almost straight course along the optic nerve (1.7%). The fundamental characteristics of these three types of posterior ciliary artery pattern also exist in subhuman primates. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In order to drive the development strategy in response to innovate and promote the construction of sponge city in Changde, the green industrial chain model of new biomass material was constructed based on the byproducts of spongy city construction, such as reed and pennisetum were used as substrates. 18 invention patents were created, such as "A herbaceous plant based weatherproof stealth plate and its preparation method". The technical principles based on the series of invention patents were expounded, the innovation of core patent technology was analyzed, some works of patent technology transformation and application were presented, and the technical economic value and application prospect of core patents were discussed. The results show that the new biomass materials, such as 3D printing consumables, outdoor weatherproof materials, absorbing stealth plates and mechanical engineering materials, which are the base material for the construction of the spongy city, have a broad application prospect and great technical and economic value 1 .


We study the homogeneity of Pythagorean orthogonality in normed linear spaces. It is proved that Pythagorean orthogonality is unique at x if x is a homogeneous direction of Pythagorean orthogonality. At the same time,we study the ralation between homogeneous direction of Pythagorean orthogonality and other notions including isometric reflection vectors and L2-summand vectors,and show that a Banach space X is a Hilbert space if and only if the relative interior of the set of homogeneous dierections of Pythagorean orthogonality in the unit sphere of X is not empty. We introduce a geometric constant NP X to measure the non-homogeneity of Pythagorean orthogonality. It is proved that NP X= 0 if and only if X is a Hilbert space.


Research at the molecular level aims to integrate neurobiological information in a more detailed manner on behavioral phenotypes associated with the judgment of time intervals. The genetic polymorphisms SLC6A4 5-HTTLPR and 5HTR2A T102C as modulators of serotoninergic levels are associated with several neurobiological aspects inbuilt in sub-second and suprasecond timing. In this sense, a state-of-the-art review was performed with 60 studies, among them experimental and reviews, to synthesize the main findings on the action of genetic bases of the serotoninergic system in timing. The findings indicate that the level of expression of serotonin receptors and transporters change neural inputs in neurobiological domains related to the time perception.


Laser photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to study the CuO − anion and neutral CuO molecule. Analysis of the photoelectron spectrum yields an electron affinity of 1.777 (6) eV for CuO. Equilibrium bond lengths and vibrational frequencies are obtained from a Franck-Condon analysis of the relative intensities of the observed transitions, yielding a CuO − bond length of 1.670 (10) A and a CuO − vibrational frequency of 739 (25) cm −1 . The analysis also yields a bond length (1.704 (10) A) and a vibrational frequency (682 (25) cm −1 ) for the Y 2 Σ + excited state of CuO


Mosque has gone through a long and complex development throughout the Muslim's history which involved the interrelation between its functions and its design. During the process, many aspects of its design were reconfigured including the female facilities in the mosque. In Malaysia, there is a progressive movement to transform the roles and functions of the mosque from exclusive place for prayers and seclusion to a community center. Nevertheless, there are still a numbers of muslim women voices their frustration towards the facilities provided to them in the mosque. Indirectly, this has discourage participation of women in the mosque. The objective of this paper is to investigate the opinions and needs of muslim women in a mosque and to propose appropriate features and facilities for a female-friendly mosque. The study explored through a field observation and a set of questionnaires, which involves a case study of Masjid Sultan Ibrahim in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia. The field observation was carried out to analyze its current conditions, facilities, design and features. On the other hand, a set of questionnaire was distributed to the women visitors who were mainly students and staffs as to get their insight on this issue. From the field observation and the survey distributed, it was clearly seen that the facilities provided for the female users were still not up to the standard of a 'women-friendly mosque'. Some proposals were provided to improve on the current condition and to be taken into consideration by future designers in designing a mosque.


The vegetable oil, as the main part mixed with 150BS, is chosen as base oil of biodegradable gasoline engine oil. The sensibility and compatibility of functional additives degrade pour, detergent, anti-oxidant, anti-wear are analyzed and the optimal amount of the additives are determined. The results can be referred to further research biodegradable gasoline engine oil(15W/40SF).


. We consider random n -covers X n of an arbitrary compact hyperbolic surface X . We show that in the large n regime and small win-dow limit, the variance of the smooth spectral statistics of the Laplacian ∆ ρ twisted by a unitary abelian character, obey the universal laws of GOE and GUE random matrices, depending on wether the character ρ preserves or breaks the time reversal symmetry. We also prove a gener-alization for higher dimensional twists valued in compact linear groups. These results confirm a conjecture of Berry [2, 3] and is a discrete analog of a recent work of Rudnick [23] for the Weil-Petersson model of random surfaces.


To effectively pre-treat the alkaline inorganic waste by carbonation reaction with CO 2 , it is neces- sary to understand a mineralogical change. This is because mineralogical changes serve as an impor tant key to leaching behavior or stabilization of heavy metals, such as Pb, Cu, Cr, and Ni, contained in the inorganic waste, at the point of environmental influence. Therefore, in this study we investigated the chemical composition and mineralogical characteristics of municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash, which is a type of alkaline inorganic waste, and the material changed by the carbonation reaction in bottom ash. In addition, minerals affected by carbonation reactions were identified based on the ternary diagram of Ca-Al-Si in bottom ash. The relationship between mineralogical changes caused by carbonation reactions and stabilization of heavy metals was also examined.


The purpose and significance of surveying and mapping skills competition held in university are described;The contents of individual competition are detailly introduced,including equipment operation skills,specific process,observation requirements and performance evaluation;The experances and problems gained in the contest are summarized,which can provide a reference for similar competitions.


The main requirement for powders for additive 3d technologies is the spherical shape of the particles. Such particles are most compactly packed into a certain volume and ensure the "fluidity" of the powder composition in the supply systems of the material with minimal resistance. The wide use of the EED method for processing metal waste into powders for the purpose of their reuse and application in additive technologies is hampered by the lack in the scientific and technical literature of full-fledged information on the effect of the initial composition, regimes and media on the properties of powders and technologies of practical application. Therefore, in order to develop technologies for the reuse of electroerosive powders and to evaluate the effectiveness of their use, complex theoretical and experimental studies are required. The aim of the work was to develop a model for the production of metal powder compositions on the basis of Co-Cr alloys by electroerosive dispersion. Based on the results of the conducted studies, it has been established that the optimum parameters for the process of obtaining powder materials by the method of electroerosive dispersion of butyl alcohol are: capacitance of discharge capacitors 48 μ F, voltage on electrodes 100 V, repetition rate of pulses 120 Hz.


Let G = (V, E) be a connected graph. A set D ⊂ V is a set-dominating set (sd-set) if for every set T ⊂ V − D, there exists a nonempty set S ⊂ D such that the subgraph 〈S ∪ T〉 induced by S ∪ T is connected. The set-domination number γs(G) of G is the minimum cardinality of a sd-set. In this paper we develop properties of this new parameter and relate it to some other known domination parameters.


Objective To explore the effects of family environments on interpersonal sensitivity of medical students. Methods A total of 627 medical students of Soochow University were investigated by the Family Environments-Chinese Version(FES-CV) and one factor for Symptom Checklist 90(SCL-90).Results Based on sex,the female students reported higher level than the male in expressiveness and conflict,and lower level in independence,achievement,and organization,but there were no significant differences in other factors.There were no differences between the different grades in family environments and interpersonal sensitivity.Compared with the normal,there was no difference in expressiveness,but the rest was low,and interpersonal sensitivity was high.Expressiveness and active recreational orientation had negative effect on interpersonal sensitivity,but achievement orientation had positive effect on it,and the others did not influence it,and so do the sex and the grades.Conclusions The family environments have an important influence on interpersonal sensitivity in medical students,which are different from the normal.Expressiveness and active recreational orientation have negative effect on interpersonal sensitivity,but achievement orientation has positive effect on it.It is necessary to give special psychosocial tutorship in medical students.


Abstract : In the Summer of 1969 the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the USSR Academy of Sciences carried out a series of oceanographic investigations using the underwater laboratory of the Institute, CHERNOMOR-2. In the course of the investigations, a crew of four aquanauts stayed underwater at a depth of 25 meters for 14 days. Decompression which was conducted directly in the underwater laboratory upon completion of the crew's activity lasted for 39 hours. In the process of conducting underwater investigations, divers from the crew spent 2.5 to 3.5 hours each in the water. The successful completion of the 1969 scientific program with the use of the CHERNOMOR-2 underwater laboratory confirms the correctness of the chosen design of the underwater laboratory systems.


As the above heading suggests, I would like to resubmit my article to your journal concerning co-prescription of antimalarial with antibiotics in rural settings of Tanzania. I have made some changes as requested, changes include the ethical clearance reference number and how the consent was obtained. However changes have been done with the reference to abide with the journal format and the font type to Arial for better readability.


The progression of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers on multistage stabilization stage has been monitored by following the variations in density, elemental composition, morphological aspect, and mechanical properties. The effects of various processing conditions during the multistage stabilization on the mechanical properties of final carbon fibers were evaluated in detail. To achieve an optimal extent of stabilization of PAN fibers is critical as the final mechanical properties of carbon fibers are concerned. This aim can be realized by adjusting and matching the temperatures in each step and the processing rates during multistage stabilization. Imposing stretching on multistage stabilization is beneficial to mechanical properties of carbon fibers. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


The government is helping the legalised opposition parties to relaunch their publications, but the Islamic opposition is not invited to the party


Optical burst transport networks employ burst transmission in WDM ring architectures and are promising candidates for MANs. We investigate QoS differentiation in OBT, and compare its performance to IEEE 802.17 resilient packet ring (RPR) standard.


Ultra‐light buyers, those who, on average, buy a brand once a year or less, are important by number and their contribution to brand purchase occasions. The initial research, however, was limited in scope and did not measure the contribution of these buyers to sales volume or value. By examining over 850 brands in almost 60 categories, we identify that ultra‐lights make up 62% of a brand's buyer base over 5 years and contribute 32% of purchase occasions and 31% of sales volume and value. In line with previous findings that brands with higher loyalty exhibit more repeat purchases and thus fewer ultra‐light buyers and private label brands often exhibit higher than expected loyalty for their market share—we find the prevalence of ultra‐light buyers is higher for national brands than private labels, likely reflecting the higher loyalty often observed for private labels. We also find no difference in ultra‐light buyers' contribution between high and low‐price brands, indicating that price is not a significant factor affecting the contribution of ultra‐light buyers. Finally, we find that both growing and declining brands have fewer ultra‐lights than stable brands. As growth occurs via increasing penetration and loyalty, for growing brands, new buyers may be more 'light' than 'ultra‐light' in terms of their loyalty; while for declines, these findings imply that there are not enough ultra‐light buyers to maintain brand sales. A failure to recruit ultra‐light buyers may be very dangerous for brand health.


Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is a leading technology option for manufacturing at the 22nm half pitch node and beyond. Implementation of the technology will require continued progress on several key supporting infrastructure challenges, including EUV photoresist materials. The main development issue regarding EUV photoresists is simultaneously achieving the high resolution, high sensitivity, and low line width roughness (LWR) required. This paper describes our strategy, the current status of EUV materials, and some integrated post-development LWR reduction efforts. Data collected utilizing Intel′s Micro-Exposure Tool (MET) is presented in order to examine the feasibility of establishing a resist process that simultaneously exhibits ≤22nm half-pitch (HP) L/S resolution at ≤11.3mJ/cm2 with ≤3nm LWR


The Semanggol Formation is a group of sediments that exposed on the Semanggol range in North of Perak. Introduced by Alexander (1959), it was then being grouped by Burton (1973) into three informal group, the chert, rhythmite and the conglomerate member. Formed during the closing of the Paleotethys Ocean and the collision of Sibumasu plate and the Indochina plate, the observation of Pseudoalbaillella sp. and Permian radiolarians extend the age of the sediment from Early Permian to Late Triassic. The sediments formed in deep marine depositional environment. Metcalfe (2000) however recognized that the Semanggol Formation is not simple layer cake formation but rather a sedimentary complex and need reassessment. Thus, this project is intended to cover the unsolved mistery of Semanggol Formation on the North of Perak. The result from the fieldwork conducted shows a great findings, there was a diatreme on the foot of the Gunung Semanggol. It has been developed as quarry but now abandoned, another finding is the presence of sandstone interbedded with siltston overlain by the conglomerate on an unconformity. Some samples are taken for laboratory analysis and based on the studies; two of the samples from the quarry are volcanic breccia while three others are granite, the sandstone raft presence is proofed. The quartz vein observed proved that the quarry is diatreme. Fossil found from siltstone provide good evidence that the siltstone and sandstone interbed are belong to the rhythmite member. The diatreme presence indicate that granite beneath the clastic sediments helps in providing tectonic force that give shape to the present of Gunung Semanggol.


Disposal of unused and expired medicines has become a major concern for not only local and national health authorities but also the environmental authorities. Many individuals in various households do not have any idea on how to properly dispose of such medicines. A study has therefore been carried out to investigate how and why households in two suburbs, namely Bohyen and Kaase, in Kumasi (Ghana) acquire medicines, and how those that are unused and/or expired in their custody are disposed of. Structured questionnaire were distributed to solicit for information on why and how individuals acquired medicines and why the acquired medicines were not used. Additionally, the questionnaire also sought to find out how the unused and expired medicines are disposed of. The study showed that most people acquired medicines from hospitals, pharmacies, licensed chemical shops and from friends and relatives. These medicines were acquired when sick or when one wanted to improve on well-being. Unused and expired drugs were mainly generated as a result of failure to complete the dosage given because of improvement in the disease condition or undesirable side effect of the medicines. Most of the respondents claimed that they dispose of unused and expired drugs mainly through the trash, and few flush them down the sink. Some keep them as they do not know what to do with them and very few incinerate the solid and semisolid ones. The study has shown that most of the respondents used improper methods to dispose of unwanted medicines, and this can pose a great danger as children and some unscrupulous adults could lay hands on them. Some of these products could also be found in water bodies and may harm some aquatic lives. Health and environmental authorities should enact policies that will help avoid improper disposal of medicines.


O ne hundred and six ty -five type specim ens, described by G. Enderlein, o f four fam ilies o f Hymenoptera: Aulacidae, Evaniidae, Gasteruptiidae and Stephanidae, housed in the M useum and Institute o f Z oology o f the Polish A cadem y o f Sciences in W arsaw are listed.


The rapid development of market economy in recent two hundred years has brought about not only social and economic prosperity,scientific and technological advancement,growth of material wealth and perfection of democracy and legality,but the natural and ecological change of the earth as well,resulting in global warming and rising sea levels and caused ecological disasters and threats to human survival.In order to defend the natural ecology of the earth and safeguard the sustainable development of human being,ecological values should be rebuilt to strike a balance between consumption and low carbon,and to change our ways of life and production.


This paper proposes a new threshold de-noising method for a closed-loop fiber optic gyro,and constructs a new wavelet threshold de- noising function. The threshold of the improved wavelet threshold function can change with the change of the wavelet resolution scale,and the improved wavelet threshold can automatically adjust the compression level of wavelet coefficients. The text and data processing results show that,compared with the fixed threshold,the proposed wavelet threshold can improve the utilization rate of useful signal in the high frequency noise and the signal-to-noise ratio,reduce the mean square error,and have good noise reduction effect.


Through an analysis of high-resolution, high signal-to-noise data, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen abundances are investigated in 19 G and K Ib stars. The final analysis yields abundances for 16 of these objects; the other three have to be eliminated due to heavy blending of (C I) with a previously undetected line of FeH. The derived abundances show that, relative to solar values, these stars are heavily deficient in carbon and enhanced in nitrogen, and that there is also a moderate oxygen deficiency. The internal accuracy of the abundances is shown to be about 0.2-0.3 dex.Precise interpretation of the derived abundances is difficult, as the initial abundance distribution among carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen is uncertain. Assuming reasonable initial values, comparison with evolutionary theory indicates that these objects have been more heavily processed than would be expected on the basis of present calculations. There is a tendency for lower carbon abundances to be associated with low /sup 12/C//sup 13/C ratios.


Computer science uses abstractions as a tool for reasoning. It is no surprise that computer science might have something valuable to lend to the world of decentralized stablecoin design, as it is a "computing" problem. In this paper, we examine the possibility of a decentralized and capital-efficient stablecoin using smart contracts that algorithmically trade to maintain stability. By exploiting traditional abstractions from computer science, we show that a capital-efficient algorithmic stablecoin cannot be provably stable. Additionally, we provide a formal exposition of the workings of Central Bank Digital Currencies, connecting this framing to the space of possible stablecoin designs. We then discuss several outstanding conjectures from both academics and practitioners and finally highlight the regulatory similarities between money-market funds and working stablecoins. Our work builds upon the current and growing interplay between the realms of engineering and financial services, and it also demonstrates how ways of thinking as a computer scientist can aid practitioners. We believe this research is vital for understanding and developing the future of financial technology.


The bigger tadpole is currently eating from the limited food source. And he is not letting the other tadpoles near. Therefore the smaller ones can not reach the food and will not be able to grow as well. Competition can be defined as an interaction between species or individuals, in which the fitness of one is lowered by the presence of another. Through competition and a limited supply of at least one resource ‐ such as food, water, and territory ‐ used by competing entities required (Steinwascher 1978). Competition both within and between species is an important topic especially in community ecology. Competition is one of many interacting biotic and abiotic factors that affect community structure. Dramatic differences in growth and development rates (growth dispensation) between individual amphibian larvae are common in ex situ environments. These include mass rearing for conservation breeding programs and are consequently of high conservation significance. Competition among members of the same species is known as intraspecific competition, while competition between individuals of different species is known as interspecific competition. Competition can occur by both direct and indirect behavior (Tilman 1982). We consider two main categories of competition between amphibian larvae, these being interference and exploitative competion. Interference competition occurs directly between individuals when the individuals interfere with foraging, survival, reproduction of others, or by preventing their physical presence in a portion of the habitat. Mechanisms for interference competition include pheromones, and violent behaviors extending to cannibalism. Exploitation competition on the other hand occurs indirectly through a common limiting resource which acts as an intermediate. For example the use of the resource(s) depletes the amount available to others, or they compete for space (Van Kampen et al., unpublished). Therefore, both interference and exploitative competition may affect the growth and development of amphibian larvae in experiments or in conservation breeding programs. Steinwascher (1978) researched interference and exploitative competition among tadpoles of the Southern leopard frog (Rana utricularia). Steinwascher found that scarce resources can be distributed among individuals in a population by processes of intraspecific competition. Furthermore, Park 1954 showed that competitive interactions are mediated by: (1) interference mechanisms (such as allelopathy or territoriality), (2) differential consumptive abilities only, or (3) some combination of these two categories.


Elementary school students in Grades 3 to 8 in eight schools that had exemplary library programs were surveyed about their perceptions of the school library program and the teacher librarian. Students reported that the teacher librarian was knowledgeable and helpful and taught them key information literacy concepts. The library program supported them in reading for pleasure. The physical space of the library was significant to them and they perceived the library as a welcoming place used for multiple activities.


Three lymphocytoid cell lines established from peripheral leucocytes of a single individual were found to produce IgG of the kappa light chain type and of the G1-heavy chain subclass. These IgG globulins showed a limited electrophoretic mobility in slow γ2 region. Rabbit antisera against each IgG revealed the presence of idiotypic determinants in each IgG indicating the clonal nature of IgG-producing cells in these cell lines. The idiotypic determinants in one IgG were clearly distinguishable from those in the other two IgG globulins, while those in the latter two could not be distinguished one from the other. Thus, the two cell lines producing these mutually indistinguishable IgG globulins seem to have been derived from stem cells belonging to the identical or very closely related clones although they were established from different blood samples. The idiotypic determinants were found to be present in the Fab portion of the IgG molecules.


In this paper, we analyze different nominal infinitive, gerund and participle constructions in Spanish. First, we consider the better studied constructions in literature: verbal and noun infinitive, adverbial and adjectival gerund and agreed and not agreed participle constructions. Secondly, we note the existence of some nominal constructions nucleated by these non personal forms which we have called false infinitives, false gerunds and false participles. These false non personal forms of the verb accept pluralization as ordinary nouns (cf. los decires and los haberes, los doctorandos and las agendas, los presupuestos and las queridas). The semantic analysis of these false non personal forms is led via the principles of the semantic blocks theory (in particular those related to external and internal arguments). We pose that in all cases, the internal arguments of these false forms is the internalization of the external arguments of the verb from which they derive.


Large quantities of ZnS dentalation nanostructures were synthesized successfully at low temperature using a simple chemical vapor deposition method, and the microstructures and field emission properties of the dentalation structures were investigated. The results indicated that the stem of the dentalation structures is single-crystalline but the surfaces of the teeth are amorphous. The photoluminescence properties show a strong green emission at 520.89 nm due to S vacancy. Investigations on the field emission properties of the ZnS dentalation nanostructures imply that the turn-on field is about 5.56V/μm at an anode-cathode distance of 150μm, which should be attributed to the specific sharp tips and high aspect ratios of the present needle-shaped structure. The field emission behavior of the ZnS obeys Fowler-Nordheim relationship. The results could be valuable for using the ZnS nanostructure as cold-cathode field-emission materials.


Report presenting an analysis derived for the three-dimensional boundary-layer flow over a flat surface with a leading edge under main-flow streamlines that are translates and representable by polynomial expressions. The boundary layers are laminar and incompressible and the profiles of their velocity components have similarity with respect to rectangular coordinates.


A facile and fast synthesis of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA)/silica hybrid was achieved using in situ polymerization method under microwave irradiation, in which the polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) was carried out together with the sol-gel reaction of methyltrimethoxysilane (MeTMOS). The preparation rate of the hybrid under microwave irradiation was accelerated rapidly relative to that under conventional heating due to the activation of hydroxyl groups of HEMA and silanol groups of alkoxysilanes by microwave irradiation. When acetic acid was used as a catalyst for the sol-gel reaction of MeTMOS, the transparency of the hybrid was improved. The transparency, homogeneity, and formability of the hybrid prepared under microwave irradiation were better than those prepared under conventional heating. In addition, it was found that the degree of polymerization of HEMA under microwave irradiation is higher than that under conventional heating by using FT-IR spectroscopy due to the activation of the polymerization of HEMA. Thermal properties of the hybrids prepared under microwave irradiation were almost identical to those under conventional heating.


Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation is a critical event in the development and progression of vascular diseases, including atherosclerosis. We investigated whether the activation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) could suppress VSMC proliferation and inhibit cell cycle progression. Treatment of human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) or isolated rabbit aortas with the AMPK activator 5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR) induced phosphorylation of AMPK and acetyl Co-A carboxylase. AICAR significantly inhibited HASMC proliferation induced by both platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) and fetal calf serum (FCS). Treatment with AICAR inhibited the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma gene product (Rb) induced by PDGF-BB or FCS, and increased the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21CIP but not that of p27KIP. Pharmacological inhibition of AMPK or overexpression of dominant negative-AMPK inhibited both the suppressive effect of AICAR on c...


This note reports phoresy between larvae of Rheotanytarsus Thienemann & Bause, 1913 (Chironominae, Tanytarsini) and adult of Hexacylloepus Hinton, 1940 and Microcylloepus Hinton, 1935 (Coleoptera, Elmidae). The specimens had been collected in streams from State Park Campos do Jordao, Sao Paulo State, Brazil.


Aldo‐keto reductase 1B10 (AKR1B10) is upregulated in breast cancer and promotes tumor growth and metastasis. However, little is known of the molecular mechanisms of action. Herein we report that AKR1B10 activates lipid second messengers to stimulate cell proliferation. Our data showed that ectopic expression of AKR1B10 in breast cancer cells MCF‐7 promoted lipogenesis and enhanced levels of lipid second messengers, including phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP2), diacylglycerol (DAG), and inositol triphosphate (IP3). In contrast, silencing of AKR1B10 in breast cancer cells BT‐20 and colon cancer cells HCT‐8 led to decrease of these lipid messengers. Qualitative analyses by liquid chromatography‐mass spectrum (LC‐MS) revealed that AKR1B10 regulated the cellular levels of total DAG and majority of subspecies. This in turn modulated the phosphorylation of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms PKCδ (Thr505), PKCµ (Ser744/748), and PKCα/βII (Thr638/641) and activity of the PKC‐mediated c‐Raf/MEK/ERK signaling cascade. A pan inhibitor of PKC (Go6983) blocked ERK1/2 activation by AKR1B10. In these cells, phospho‐p90RSK, phospho‐MSK, and Cyclin D1 expression was increased by AKR1B10, and pharmacological inhibition of the ERK signaling cascade with MEK1/2 inhibitors U0126 and PD98059 eradicated induction of phospho‐p90RSK, phospho‐MSK, and Cyclin D1. In breast cancer cells, AKR1B10 promoted the clonogenic growth and proliferation of breast cancer cells in two‐dimension (2D) and three‐dimension (3D) cultures and tumor growth in immunodeficient female nude mice through activation of the PKC/ERK pathway. These data suggest that AKR1B10 stimulates breast cancer cell growth and proliferation through activation of DAG‐mediated PKC/ERK signaling pathway.


The application of neural network is considered in solving the inverse problem at high speed in producing maps of neuron current densities, resulting from brain activity, with magnetic field data measured by superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) sensors. Neuron activity in the brain is modeled as current dipoles. The dipoles are located in a 2-dimensional reconstruction plane which is separate but parallel with the sampling plane. Each coordinate component of a vector dipole is assigned to a neuron. If zero is selected as the initial state of each neuron, and if the distance (=Dd) between the reconstruction plane and the sampling plane is short, the location of dipoles is obtained correctly by a Hopfield type neural network after a small number of iterations. For the assurance of the spontaneous energy minimization process, coefficients of energy function are selected to cancel out the diagonal elements of connectivity matrix. Boltzmann machine makes it possible to obtain the correct location with no relation to Dd and the initial state of each neuron under a priori information about the true number of dipoles.


A questionnaire survey on sex knowledge of 930 female vocational students (17-18 year olds) was done to assess future needs in sex education. Main points in the questionnaire were sex upbringing and education received; peer groups, couple and contraceptive behavior; and attitude to family and family planning. Socioeconomic factors, parents' occupation, and size of residence were considered. Results showed: 70.4% had some kind of sex upbringing before age 12; 24.5% after age 12. Whereas up to 80% wanted sex education from parents, only about 55% actually received this (mothers mostly); 80% of actual sex information came from books and TV. Peers proved closer to the girls in confidence than parents. Although teachers were 3rd in line to provide actual sex education they were last as persons desired by the girls to provide this. Nearly 60% of the subjects desired more information in the areas of love and marriage, sex in adolescence, effects and side effects of the pill, general contraceptive methods and sex behavior. Conclusions from the survey point to the need to start sex education at an early age and extend it into adolescence and beyond; it should be direct, continuous and goal-oriented. Teenagers desire interpersonal dialogue with concerned adults. There should be cooperation in sex education between parents, teachers, and youth organizations. Teachers are insufficiently prepared to assume the role as sex educator. Teenagers need more factual information on conscious family planning and contraceptive methods.


A survey conducted in various parts of Tamil Nadu for the collection of infected banana fruits and isolation C. musae was performed. Fourteen isolates of Colletotrichum musae were isolated purified and confirmed by morphological methods. The comparison of protein profile among them showed a coomon 65 kDa protein. The monospecific fractionated mycelial protein 65 kDa present in all the isolates were tested for the production of PCA. Standardization of optimum titre value for the detection represents antigen dilution of 1: 1000 and antigenic dilution at 1: 5000. The PCA produced against 65 kDa mycelial protein exhibited the specific reaction with C. musae which was confirmed by ELISA and western blotting. PCA was allowed to react with flowers, bracts, remnants under field conditions. The infected fruit tissues recorded highest absorbant values followed by inoculated fruits. By utilizing these PCA, presence of latent infection was detected in inoculated mature green fruits and matured ripened fruits.


In HIV-infected patients Mycobacterium simiae infection usually mimics a disseminated Mycobacterium avium infection. We describe a case of M simiae lung infection in an HIV-infected patient receiving HAART. The patient may have presented with localized infection because his immunologic status was good as a result of HAART. The infection responded well to a regimen of clarithromycin, ethambutol, and ciprofloxacin.


Some linear evolution problems arising in the three-di\-men\-sio\-naltheory of thermoviscoelasticity with memory are considered.Assuming mixed boundary conditions,the associated evolution systems are formulated in a history space setting.Making use of semigroup techniques, well-posedness results are discussed,as well as asymptotic behavior of the solutions. When mechanical and thermalmemory kernels decay exponentially, the longtime behavior of solutions is provedto be of the same type.Restrictingour attention to a one-dimensional solid, the same decay is proved for alinearized thermoelastic model based on the Gurtin-Pipkin heat conduction law.


This report presents a table detailing EPA appropriations for FY2006 and FY2007. Among individual activities, both the full House and the Senate Appropriations Committee approved decreases and increases throughout EPA's eight appropriations accounts in their respective versions of H.R. 5386, when compared with the President's FY2007 request and the FY2006 appropriation.


PSA@Fe3O4 doped CdS core/shell nanocomposite was prepared for the first time by a simple wet-chemistry route.The as-made samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction(XRD),transmission electron microscope(TEM),physical property measurement system(PPMS) and photoluminescence(PL).Results show that the prepared nanocomposite has uniform size and good dispersibility.The nanocomposite has also good superparamagnetic responsiveness in a magnetic field and exhibits photoluminescence characterization at room temperature.In addition,properties of the ferrofluids prepared with these composite particles were studied.


Objectives The primary objectives are to determine nitrogen fertilizer best management practices (BMPs) for broccoli production in the San Joaquin Valley through field research, to determine if BMPs change for fall versus spring harvested broccoli, and to identify nitrate movement and potential nitrate leaching losses of applied nitrogen fertilizer under furrow irrigation. A secondary objective is to evaluate the effectiveness and utility of the "Cardy meter" for quick test nitrate values for decision-making in broccoli nitrogen management during fall and spring growing seasons. Additional objectives include conducting grower/industry education programs to discuss the research results obtained and to influence and emphasize best management fertilizer practices.


Preface Introduction: The Character of Polish Nationalism: It's Literary Foundations Before 1795 The Formation of Nineteenth-Century Nationalism in Polish Literature Messianism and the National Cause The Poetry of Suffering and Rebellion The Domestic Utopia of Rural Paradise Populistic Nationalism in Fiction and Henryk Sienkiewicz Anti-Insurrectionism: The Ideas of Universality, Labour and Political Realism Apologists and Revisionists From the Assault on National Myths to the Cult of Proletariat Afterword Index


mechanisms of placenta accreta, time of delivery, operative treatment of this pathology has been described. Risk factors of placenta accreta are highlighted. The algorithm of outpatient and inpatient management of pregnant women with placenta accreta has been presented. Understanding the pathogenesis, knowledge of risk factors and modern methods of delivery, timely diagnosis and staged hospitalization in hospitals of the 3rd degree of risk, will reduce the number of vitally dangerous complications caused by bleeding during placental ingrowth, the proportion of obstetric hemorrhages in the structure of causes of severe obstetric injuries and maternal mortality.


The one dimensional modified Hubbard model, which is a simplest model showing the neutral-ionic (NI) transition, is investigated by the quantum Monte Carlo simulation. The physical quantities concerning the ground state (the kinetic energy, the degree of charge transfer, the probability of the double occupancy), correlation functions and excitation energies (charge transfer gap E CT and magnetic gap E MAC ) are calculated as functions of the site energy difference Δ . It is concluded that the model shows two phases according to Δ. The ionic phase (Δ<Δ c ) is characterized by the gapless spin wave which leads to the divergence of the correlation functions in the same manner as the case of Δ=0 (the Hubbard model). When Δ exceeds Δ c , E MAG starts to rise continuously (neutral phase), while E CT has a minimum around Δ c . Within the statistical accuracy, our simulation does not exclude the appearance of the metallic state at the transition point.


Abstract : Rulemakings under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) and GAO's role in rulemaking are discussed. Congressional oversight of rulemaking as contemplated by SBREFA can be an important and useful tool for balancing and accommodating the concerns of American citizens and businesses with federal agency rulemaking. It is important to assure that Executive branch agencies are responsive to citizens and businesses about the reach, cost, and impact of regulations without compromising the statutory mission given to those agencies. SBREFA seeks to accomplish this by giving the Congress an opportunity to review rules before they take effect and to disapprove those found to be too burdensome, excessive, inappropriate, duplicative, or otherwise objectionable. Under SBREFA, before a rule can take effect, the federal agency must submit the rule to both Houses of Congress and the GAO. GAO'S primary role in this new mechanism is to provide the Congress with a quick review of all 'major' rules submitted to determine if the promulgating agencies have complied with the procedural steps governing the regulatory process. For rules that are determined to be 'major,' GAO must provide its report to the congressional committees of jurisdiction within 15 calendar days.


OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the effectiveness of early initiation of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) in patients with scleroderma renal crisis (SRC).

METHODS
This was a retrospective cohort study using a nationwide inpatient database in Japan from July 2010 to March 2020. All hospitalized patients with SRC were divided into those who received ACEi within two days of admission (early ACEi group) and those who did not (control group). Propensity-score overlap weighting analysis was performed to adjust for confounding factors. The primary outcome was the composite of in-hospital mortality or hemodialysis dependence at discharge.

RESULTS
Of the 475 eligible patients, 248 (52.2%) were in the early ACEi group and 227 (47.8%) were in the control group. After overlap weighting, the primary outcome was significantly lower in the early ACEi group than in the control group (40.1% vs. 49.0%; odds ratio, 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.48-1.00; P= 0.049).

CONCLUSIONS
The present study showed that early initiation of ACEi was associated with lower composite outcome of in-hospital mortality or hemodialysis dependence at discharge in patients with SRC. Further prospective studies are warranted to verify the present findings.


Individual returns to schooling have been examined intensively but social returns to schooling have received less attention. If schooling yields not only individual returns but also social returns ‐ such as a reduction in crime ‐ then the rationale for policies which encourage individual investments in schooling is strengthened. In this paper, we explore the effect of schooling on juvenile delinquency. To address endogeneity of schooling, we use exogenous variation in schooling caused by a policy intervention in specific municipalities after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, which occurred in the Midwestern part of Japan in 1995. Using the Instrumental Variable estimator, our results indicate that higher school attainment significantly reduces both violent and property crimes comitted by youth. The negative impact of schooling supports a theoretical prediction that more education reduces crimes through a higher opportunity cost of committing crimes.


The present invention provides novel agents and methods for treating or preventing a disease (neovascular maculopathy) caused by neovascularization in human choroid. The present invention comprises an amino acid sequence derived from the VEGFR-1 protein, and peptides having an activity of inducing the cytotoxic T cells, and comprises an amino acid sequence derived from the VEGFR-2 protein, and the cytotoxic T cell including by at least one of the peptides having an activity to induce provides pharmaceutical compositions and vaccines for the treatment and / or prevention of diseases (neovascular maculopathy) caused by neovascularization in human choroid .


A novel ultrawideband (UWB) tapered slot antenna with high directivity is presented. It operates in the frequency range from 2.2 GHz up to 8.5 GHz. The antenna consists of three parts. As feed, a tapered slot on a PCB is used. Additional corrugations at the lateral metallic borders of the tapered structure lead to reduced side lobe levels and a flat gain in the main direction. The PCB is inserted into a cylindrical dielectric rod to increase the directivity. Finally a metallic reflector is added at the back of the antenna structure to reduce the backward radiation. With this design, a mean gain of 9 dBi and a stable main beam direction with a nearly constant 3 dB beam width, both in the E- and H-plane, were achieved. The antenna shows excellent time domain behavior with a high and sharp peak as well as low ringing of the impulse response.


It analyses the relationship between city ecological construction and ecological city,discusses the principles and thoughts of city ecological construction,points out city ecological construction should pay attention to historical protection,spread the excellent historical tradition,so as to offer reference for the city ecological construction of China.


Banana tree trunk waste is considered as wasted material rather than being used as a material with high economic value. whereas the banana tree trunk waste is a material that is easily found in the community or villages, so it does not rule out the possibility of utilizing this banana trunk waste as head material. This study aims to try to find more value from banana tree trunk waste to be used as a head accessory, by utilizing banana tree trunk waste as material, the head accessories that will be made are brooch patches, headpieces, bandanas, and hats. The study was conducted to determine the production process of the utilization of banana tree trunk waste for the head accessories. The method used is the method of observation to the banana tree stem midrib to find out the production process from the beginning to become a product, this production process uses weaving technique. The product that will be produced in the process of producing banana tree trunk waste is in the form of head accessories, namely brooch patch, headpiece, bandana, and hat. The results of research on the production process of banana tree trunk waste can reduce waste and can become a renewable resource into the utilization of banana tree trunk waste. The resulting product can be ahead of the accessory product and increase the economic and aesthetic value and function of the waste.


In different countries and over time, electoral features such as statistics of candidates' performance and turnout rates show universal behaviors. Are voters as predictable as atoms?


[1] Linear streak film, video, current, and electric field records from nine triggered-lightning flashes are analyzed to examine the process of cutoff and reestablishment of current during the initial stage of rocket-triggered lightning. All of the data were acquired at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing at Camp Blanding, Florida, in 2002 and 2003. It is shown that in some rocket-triggered lightning events, the process of current cutoff and reestablishment during the initial stage is similar to a leader/return-stroke sequence, although the currents in this process are typically an order of magnitude smaller (1 kA or so) than those in a triggered or natural lightning subsequent stroke (10–15 kA). The events were separated into two groups based on observed characteristics, with the duration of the current cutoff interval being the primary differentiating characteristic. In some cases, two or three failed attempts at current reestablishment prior to the successful resumption of current flow in the channel were observed. Currents associated with the unsuccessful attempts were typically an order of magnitude smaller (100 A or so) than in the process which finally reestablished the current.


ABSTRACT
This study explores teacher identity among four newcomer teachers who are taking their master degree in English education. Specifically, it engages a holistic perspective to research the connection between personal and professional life experiences that shaped their teacher identity. This study tries to look into to what extent the teacher identity is constructed during English education master program. The researcher gathered reflection writing from the participants about their life stories, journey, and their motivation of continuing study. Their institution and formal courses are not the only aspect that could construct their identity. Work experiences and others' sharing stories also give the big influence on their teacher identity.
Keywords: teacher identity; reflective writing; newcomer teacher


This work of conclusion esteem the models of volatileness for the series of prices of the Valley of the River Candy, for a series of sub-periods of 1998 up to 2004. It is organized in four chapters, having icluindo the introduction and the conclusion. The first chapter, makes a general presentation of the work. The chapter second, makes a description of the Valley of the River Candy and argues the stock market, as well as its relation with the economic development. The third chapter make reference to reference the empirical procedures that will be used in the last chapter and makes an empirical revision for Brazil. Finally, in the room and last chapter a econometrical analysis for the action of the Valley of the River is carried through Candy.


Golek puppet is traditional art that developed in Indonesia especially in West Java province. Golek puppet has become one of entertainment for West Java people. But in this era, many people has forget about golek puppet. It causes the youth generation starting to leave about this culture. One of the reason why this can be happened is golek puppet has to many category and it makes hard to remember all of them. With the number of Golek puppet category, the classification of category Golek puppet automatically is needed through recognition of Golek puppet image. Deep learning can be used to recognize Golek puppet images. The best method to classifying image is using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). This study resulted accuracy with CNN method in amount of 100% accuracy to classifying Golek puppet image. Which can be decided as the best method in classifying image.


Cyclosporin A(CsA),one of the most powerful immunosuppressant,has been widely used to prevent organ rejection and treat certain autoimmune diseases. CsA at low concentrations can increase the proliferation and reduce the apoptosis of trophoblast cells,as well as promote the trophoblastic migration and invasion in vitro. The study in vivo has showed that administration with low dose CsA at the early stage of pregnancy can reduce fetal resorption rate and improve the pregnancy outcome in murine abortion-prone CBA/J× DBA/2 matings. These results above suggest that CsA appears to have favorable effect on the biological behaviors of trophoblast cell,and might be used as a unique therapeutics for miscarriage,preeclampsia,and other pregnancy-related diseases caused by trophoblast cell dysfunction.


Malaria is one of the principal causes of sickness and death in Nigeria, and puts a huge socioeconomic burden on the country. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, more than 50% of Nigerians suffer at least one bout of malaria per year. Irrespective of incessant efforts by government, a high level of control has not been achieved. This study discussed the application of Self Organizing Maps (SOMs) for prioritization of malaria endemic zones in Nigeria. 35 Public Health Centers (PHCs) and 15 government-owned health centers were randomly selected. Five malariometric parameters were considered, as these reflected the intensity of malaria transmission in the country. SOMs, a type of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was used in this study for prioritization of malaria endemic zones in Nigeria. It yielded nine clusters based on neighborhood distance, which reflected on zones based on status of intensity of malaria epidemiology. The results obtained reinforced SOM's efficiency than other methods formally used. SOM made targeting control measures at high-risk areas possible and greatly increased the cost efficiency of malaria control programs.


An attempt has been made to resolve an apparent disagreement between two very similar calculations, by Thomas et al. (1974) and Madison and Shelton (1973), for the electron impact excitation of He 21P at 80 eV impact energy. The present results are in good agreement with those of Thomas et al. Another parameter is calculated which has not been calculated previously in the first-order many-body theory, and the angular rate of the calculation is extended to compare it with newly obtained experimental data.


An image processing device for three-dimensional images and a method thereof are disclosed. The image processing device includes a parameter setting unit setting a first parameter relates to color images and a parameter determining unit determining an optimal second parameter related to depth images by using the first parameter.


The invention discloses a bismuth/carbon supercapacitor battery and a preparation method thereof. The bismuth/carbon supercapacitor battery uses a bismuth electrode for providing Faraday capacitance, uses a carbon electrode for providing electric double-layer capacitance, and uses an alkaline solution as an electrolyte; the bismuth is metal bismuth powder with the particle size of 0.005-5 microns and has the specific surface area of 5-500m /g; a preparation method of the metal bismuth powder comprises the following steps: mixing an auxiliary agent and bismuth ions with a certain concentration in a proper molar ratio to obtain a mixed solution, then dropwise adding a reducing agent into the mixed solution, and reacting to prepare metal bismuth powder material. When the bismuth/carbon supercapacitor battery is prepared, the bismuth electrode is used as a capacitance limiting electrode, and the capacitance of the carbon electrode is 0-30% higher than that of the bismuth electrode. The bismuth/carbon supercapacitor battery has the working voltage of 0-1V, and has the specific capacitance of 258mAh/g when the current density is 0.5A/g. The bismuth/carbon supercapacitor battery has good electrochemical performance, is environment-friendly, and is a novel chemical power supply with a wide application prospect.


We discuss the different signals, in gravitational and electromagnetic waves, emitted during the merger of two compact stars. We will focus in particular on the possible contraints that those signals can provide on the equation of state of dense matter. Indeed, the stiffness of the equation of state and the particle composition of the merging compact stars, strongly affect e.g. the life time of the post-merger remnant and its gravitational wave signal, the emission of the short gamma-ray-burst, the amount of ejected mass and the related kilonova. The first detection of gravitational waves from the merger of two compact stars in August 2017, GW170817, and the subsequent detections of its electromagnetic counterparts, GRB170817A and AT2017gfo, is the first example of the era of "multi-messenger astronomy": we discuss what we have learned from this detection on the equation of state of compact stars and we provide a tentative interpretation of this event, within the two families scenario, as due to the merger of a hadronic star with a quark star.


This report is on Annual Appropriations Acts: Consideration During Lame-Duck Sessions. The considerations of annual appropriations have been an important element of sum, but not all, of these lame-duck sessions.


In each of the four rings the acceleration will be provided by a single RF cavity consisting of two ferrite-loaded quarter-wave coaxial lines. The four cavities are superposed in the same straight section in order to save space for future developments, and are thus severely limited in height (< 360 mm). To help ensure high reliability, and ease of cavity replacement, forced air cooling was chosen. Ferrite biasing is achieved by means of two figure-of-eight loops. The final stage of the RF amplifier is located at the cavity while the driver and preamplifier stages are centralised. Special problems encountered are reported and the adopted solutions described.


Edited by Amanda Ogilvy-Stuart and Paula Midgley. Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2006, £35.00 (paperback), pp 228. ISBN 0-5218-3849-5.

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Interpretation of endocrine function in the newborn period can be difficult, and it is often an area of confusion. This book certainly clears the muddy waters. It offers concise and practical guidelines, and acts as a handbook with a hands-on, how-to approach.

The book itself is small and thin, and therefore not daunting. Unfortunately, the cover is somewhat unexciting and offers the only, if slightly mundane, photographs. The layout inside the book cannot be faulted. Each chapter covers a different endocrine problem. There are 25 of these in total, and they …

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Investment services and integrated one stop services (DPM-PTSP) delegated 17 licensing and non-licensing Kampar regent by regulation No. 2 of 2013 regarding the delegation of authority to the Head of Department of Investment and Integrated One stop services . One licensing namely Trade Permit (License), Handling of Trading Business License at districts Bangkinang City more than Districts Bangkinang.The research aimed is to dtermine the effectiveness of service busines license in the investment services and integrated one stop services (DPM-PTSP) in Kampar. According to Duncan, there are three criteria for measuring the effectiveness is achievement of objectives, integration, and adaptation. While the factors that influence the effectiveness of service is leadership, personnel resources, public awareness and facility. This study use description based on the data that was collected in the field, them the presentation of data can describe the results of interviews and observation will then be deduced.The results of this study indicate that the investment services and integrated one stop services (DPM-PTSP) in Kampar have been effective in providing services to the public especially busines lisence. More subdistrict Bangkinang City manage licensing because for subdistric Bangkinang city more aware of the importance of licensing, and often follow socialization conducted by in the investment service and integrated one stop service, as well as many community businesses domiciled in the district of the Bangkinang City.


Background: Follow-up consisting of the measurement of nonstimulated serum thyroglobulin (Tg) combined with neck ultrasonography is recommended for patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma without indication for radioiodine ablation. There is no recommendation of thyrotropin suppression during this follow-up. New-generation Tg assays have been increasingly used, but few studies involve patients submitted only to thyroidectomy and they have several limitations. The objective of this prospective study was to define expected concentrations of nonstimulated Tg measured with a second-generation assay after total thyroidectomy in the absence of tumor. Methods: Serum Tg was measured using a second-generation assay in 69 patients without tumor and serum thyrotropin between 0.5 and 2 mIU/L, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after total thyroidectomy. All patients had undetectable anti-Tg antibodies. Results: Serum Tg was undetectable in 44.4%, 57%, 62.5%, and 62.1% of the patients 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after thyroidectom...


Background: Skin incisions have usually been made using a scalpel. Electrocautery, a more recent alternative, is thought to increase the risk of infection, impair healing and decrease cosmesis. Recent studies suggest that electrocautery may offer potential advantages with respect to blood loss, incision time and postoperative pain. Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of electrocautery incisions versus conventional scalpel incisions in orthopedic surgeries using internal implants. Methods: The study was conducted as a prospective study in a tertiary care center in the Department of Orthopaedics, BPKIHS, Dharan, Nepal. Patients with closed fracture of the forearm bones admitted for surgery from April 2014 to September 2014 was included in the study. Each incision was divided into two halves, proximal half to be opened by steel scalpel blades and the distal half to be opened by an electrocautery blade. Proximal half and distal half of incision were compared on operating day and on days 2, 14 and again on 6 weeks and 3 month. Results: A total of 60 patients were enrolled in the study. Forearm skin incisions using electrocautery were significantly quicker than scalpel incisions (p<0.05). Postoperative wound complication rates did not differ significantly between the Scalpel and Electrocautery groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: There is no difference in healing of two halves of skin incision made by electrocautery and scalpel in orthopedic surgeries using internal implants.


Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among females worldwide. Surgical resection is the most common treatment option for women diagnosed with breast cancers. Many women with in situ disease or early invasive breast cancer are candidates for breast conserving surgery (BCS), which involves removing the lesion of interest and preserving the rest of the breast. One of the greatest challenges a breast cancer surgeon faces is to achieve negative margins while optimizing aesthetic outcomes. Negative margins are highly desirable as they offer the greatest potential for prolonged disease-free survival. Accurate intraoperative surgical margin evaluation is therefore critical during BSC. Molecular technologies offer the opportunity to incorporate cancer-specific biomarkers into clinical decision-making for improved cancer detection. Our team has reported the development of an innovative handheld mass spectrometry (MS) probe, the MasSpec Pen (MSPen), for rapid and gentle molecular analysis of human tissues, including breast cancer tissues. The MSPen uses water to gently extract molecules from tissues upon contact, which are then analyzed by MS and statistical classifiers to provide a predictive classification within seconds. Here, we evaluate the performance of the MSPen for intraoperative detection of breast cancer.

 The MSPen coupled to an Orbitrap Exploris 120 (Thermo Scientific) is being used to analyze both normal breast and invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) banked tissues. Tissue samples are first thawed prior to analysis. After analysis, the region analyzed is demarcated, and the samples snap-frozen, sectioned, H&E stained, following evaluation by a pathologist. We will then apply the least absolute shrinkage and selector operator (lasso) method to build classification models for distinguishing normal breast and ILC using the histologically validated mass spectra. The MSPen system is also implemented in the operating room for testing within surgical workflow. Analyses will be carried out during BCS surgeries for patients with ILC. The ILC classifier generated from banked tissues will be used to predict on data obtained from the intraoperative analyses and validated against final histopathological reports.

 To date, we have analyzed 213 banked human breast tissues using the MSPen, including healthy breast (n = 79), invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) (n = 64), healthy lymph nodes (n = 26), and lymph nodes with metastatic IDC (n = 44). The rich mass spectral data obtained from breast tissues showed high relative abundance of various metabolites and lipid species that have been previously described as potentially diagnostic of breast cancer. Using this data, we built classifiers that discriminate cancer and normal breast tissues with high accuracy (overall 94%) for primary breast IDC. In a pilot clinical study, we demonstrated feasibility for ex vivo and in vivo tissue analysis using the MSPen platform during 29 breast surgeries. We are currently expanding our study to detect ILC using banked tissues and in patient tissues intraoperatively.

 Our study in breast cancer provides evidence that the MSPen enables molecular-based diagnosis of IDC tissues using excised specimens and in in vivo and ex vivo analysis performed by surgeons intraoperatively. Current effort including ILC is expected to show similar capabilities for patients with ILC.


The analysis of the draft concept and content of the professional standard of the teacher made the conclusion about the necessity of specification of the requirements and criteria of assessment of the level of qualification of teachers of mathematics. To partially address this problem is proposed model of the methodological training system of teachers to practice-oriented teaching of mathematics at school. The project together with methodical system is a subsystem of the whole system of professional preparation of teachers of mathematics and consists of the following components: target, informative, methodical and effective evaluation. During its construction the author formulates special competence: cognitive, determining the content of theoretical preparation of the teacher, and the context, focused on the creation of a teacher´s own educational products for students practical applications of mathematics. In the work of selected types of educational products that are implemented in practice-oriented teaching mathematics at school. In the model methodical system defined approach to teaching students to create such educational products.


The principle of natural history of disease is essential to conceptualize disease entities and ways of intervention. In this regard, two complement views can be used in depicting the whole spectrum of the disease called as clinical and preventive perspectives. In this editorial, the two views have discussed with their implication toward creating healthy communities.


Hydrodynamic size of sub-10 nm particles determined by the Stokes-Einstein relation (SER) is typically twice their structural size. Recent studies found that viscosity of liquids near a surface is larger than that of the pure liquids. In Chapter 2, thus we assume that an increased local viscosity exists around diffusing particles, a few nanometers in size, in order to derive a new SER. A new expression for the hydrodynamic size is then obtained by solving the Naiver-Stokes equations to the leading order based on the assumption, instead of using the viscosity of pure solvent which results in the traditional SER. This new theory could improve the accuracy of size determination for nanoparticles. Molecular dynamics simulations of simple nanoparticles and dendrimers in Lennard-Jones liquids are performed to test the new SER. Then the diffusion coefficient of solutes and viscosity of solvent are calculated from time correlation functions to obtain the hydrodynamic radius (rh) by the traditional SER. We find that the rh of particles with rough surface and high internal density grows faster than the true size. This suggests deviation of the traditional SER. The deviation is consistent with the increases in viscosity found by applying the new SER to the simulated simple particles. Experimental size data of cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots in literatures is also discussed in Chapter 2. Appropriate agreement between the experiments, simulations and the new theory is found. The assumption of increased local viscosity is independently confirmed by persistence times of solvent particles, with motions regarded as a continuous-time random walk (CTRW). It has been reported that these time intervals, obtained from the sampled trajectories by simulations, are proportional to the local viscosities. We detect changes in the viscosity of solvent near the simple nanoparticles and dendrimers. The shear viscosity of solvent is found between 1.5 and 2.5 times of the pure solvent viscosity.


Objective To evaluate the long-term outcome of overdenture after partial odontectomy to retain the left teeth in the patients with severe periodontitis.Methods A total of 141 subjects with severe periodontitis were selected and treated with overdenture from 2001 to 2006.The inflammation of abutment gingival,depth of periodontal pocket,height of alveolar bone,and the stability of masticatory function were measured.Results Abutment gingival inflammation subsidised,periodontitis gained proper control,mobility degree relieved to certain extent,and masticatory function of the denture was favorable.Conclusion The long-term outcome of overdenture is fairly good.


[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to identify the improvement factors of hip joint pain in patients with early stage hip osteoarthritis. [Participants and Methods] The participants were 39 patients with early stage hip osteoarthritis whose numerical rating scale of hip joint pain was over 4. The factors of hip joint pain at the 2-month assessment were examined using multiple logistic regression analysis. [Results] The minimal joint space (odds ratio: 0.1), the range of motion of hip abduction at the first assessment (odds ratio: 1.5), subjective stiffness score at the 2 month assessment (odds ratio: 3.0), and the frequency of implementation of home exercise at the 2 month assessment (odds ratio: 0.3) were identified as factors of hip joint pain. [Conclusion] This research provides information which will lead to the establishment of a treatment strategy for pain in the early stages of osteoarthritis.


Isosurfaces are commonly used to visualize scalar fields. Critical isovalues indicate isosurface topology changes: the creation of new surface components, merging of surface components or the formation of holes in a surface component. Therefore, they highlight interesting isosurface behavior and are helpful in exploration of large trivariate data sets. We present a method that detects critical isovalues in a scalar field defined by piecewise trilinear interpolation over a rectilinear grid and describe how to use them when examining volume data. We further review varieties of the marching cubes (MC) algorithm, with the intention of preserving topology of the trilinear interpolant when extracting an isosurface. We combine and extend two approaches in such a way that it is possible to extract meaningful isosurfaces even when a critical value is chosen as the isovalue.


Manufacturing firms have witnessed an unexpected high operating cost with the attendant reduction in profitability, operating costs are expenses associated with the maintenance and administration of a business on a day to day basis and as such businesses have to keep track of operating costs as well as the costs associated with non-operating activities. However, in recent years, difficulties in adopting green product design, inefficient green processes, unreliable green supply chain, and lack of green recycling have been identified as significant factors affecting the operational cost. Despite various research on green manufacturing and operational cost in developed economies, few studies have been conducted in Nigeria. Hence, this study examined the effect of green manufacturing on operational cost of selected fast-moving consumer goods in Lagos State, Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted. The population for the study was 3512 employees from three of the leading fast-moving consumer goods companies in Lagos State, Nigeria from which a sample of 451 employees was selected using the Cochran formula. Stratified random sampling technique was adopted. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients for the constructs ranged from 0.72 to 0.93. The response rate was 80.4%. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that that Green Efficient Processes (β = 0.234, t = 3.554, p<0.05) and Green Recycling (β = 0.391, t = 5.869, p<0.05) have significant, positive, and direct effect on the operational cost of selected fast-moving consumer goods companies in Lagos State, Nigeria while Green Product Design (β = 0.071, t = 0.980, p>0.05) and Green Supply Chain (β = 0.041, t = 0.615, p>0.05) has an insignificant direct effect on operational cost in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study concluded that green manufacturing components have a significant effect on the operational cost of the selected fast-moving consumer goods companies in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study, therefore, recommends that the management of fast-moving consumer goods companies should insist on and practice continued green manufacturing to improve the overall operational cost in their companies.


A case of multicentric giant-cell reparative granuloma in the foot of a 17-year-old boy is reported. Initially, there was a calcaneal lesion and 6 months later, three additional lesions in the forefoot. The calcaneal lesion was treated by curettage and bone grafting, and those in the forefoot by wide excision. The patient has now been free of disease for 18 months.


Taiwan investment in MainlandChinaover the last 20 years has shown uneven distribution characteristics in the eastern, central and western regions. What factors led to this type of investment pattern? Did this characteristic continue or change after ECFA? Based on statistical data and the investment conditions, this paper used Moran's I index analysis method to measure the heterogeneity of the spatial distribution ofTaiwaninvestment in MainlandChinaover 20 years. Then the study applied ordinary and spatial panel analyses to discuss impacting factors of nearly three years ofTaiwaninvestment in MainlandChina. The outcome shows thatTaiwaninvestment in MainlandChinahad a double-fixed timing effect and special effect during the last three years, which impactedTaiwaninvestment in different regions. Finally, this study proposed the regional strategy choices of theTaiwaninvested enterprise in MainlandChinain the future at four levels.


BACKGROUND
Impaired autophagic flux contributes to cardiomyocyte death in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Restoring the impaired autophagic flux by using agents may be a promising strategy that alleviates myocardial I/R injury. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of exogenous calreticulin (CRT) postconditioning on impaired autophagic flux induced by Hypoxia/Reoxygenation (H/R) injury in H9c2 cells.

METHODS
Rat myocardial I/R injury model was prepared. CRT postconditionging was fulfilled by an intraperitoneal injection of CRT (0.5 mg/kg body weight) 5 minutes before reperfusion. Hemodynamics, serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and Cardiac troponin T (TnT) content, and infarct size were measured. The H/R injury model of H9c2 cells was prepared. CRT postconditioning was performed by adding 25pg/ml CRT to the medium at the onset of reoxygenation. Cell death rate, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were assessed. Autophagic flux was monitored by mRFP-GFP-LC3 adenovirus infection. The number of autophagosomes and autolysosomes in cells were determined by counting the fluorescence dots. Western blot assay was used to determine the expression of autophagy-related proteins.

RESULTS
CRT postconditionging improved cardiac function, reduced serum LDH activity and TnT content, and limited myocardial infarct size after myocardial I/R injury in rat. H/R induced H9c2 cells injury and autophagosomes accumulation in cells. CRT postconditioning attenuated H/R-induced cell death, LDH leakage and the increase of intracellular ROS and MDA. Meanwhile, CRT postconditioning suppressed H/R-induced excessive formation of autophagosomes, as shown by a decrease of autophagosomes and the ratio of LC3-II/LC3-I, LC3-II and Beclin1. It also improved H/R-induced impaired autophagosomes clearance, as shown by an increase of autolysosomes and the level of LAMP-2, and a decrease of the level of p62.

CONCLUSION
These findings suggested that CRT postconditioning reduced myocardial I/R injury. CRT postconditioning also inhibited the excessive formation of autophagosomes, promoted the clearance of autophagosomes, and resorted the autophagic flux, consequently reduced the H/R injury in H9c2 cells.


"The whole purpose of magic is the fulfilment and intensification of desire," claims the ventriloquist-narrator as he tells his stories of love and catastrophe. The novel is a parable of miscegenation and racial exclusiveness, of nature defying culture and of the rebellious nature of love.


An object of the present invention is to provide a collagen and hyaluronic acid production promoting agent and an antiwrinkle agent comprising a course tunol lead.


Crystal field calculations for d3, d7 square pyramidal complexes are carried out via the strong field formalism and in the limit of zero spin-orbit coupling. The field produced by the lone axial ligand is treated as an integral part of the crystal field potential. In the ionic model approximation the three crystal field parameters: Dq, Ds, and Dt; depend markedly on the angle of distortion, β, defined as that portion of the La—M—Lb bond angle in excess of 90°. The square pyramidal d3 symmetry eigenfunctions are constructed from the one-electron crystal field eigenfunctions. Spin is only implicitly included, but both types of doublet wavefunctions are identified. The crystal field matrix in parametric form is strictly diagonal, but Coulombic interactions connect states arising from different strong field configurations. Coulombic calculations are performed in terms of the Slater–Condon–Shortley parameters: F0, F2, and F4; then converted to the Racah parameters: A, B, and C, The complete (crystal field and ...