Image acquired by an electro-optical system is spatially prefiltered by the optics, than sampled by the detector and finally postfiltered digitally during image processing. A method is presented for maximizing system performance by derivation of an optimal Whitening Matched post-Filter (WMF). The derivation of the WMF is based on combining clutter aliasing, misregistration, detector noise and target aliasing into a unified 'colored' noise. Further system optimization is achieved by modification of the optical point spread function (prefilter) so 'sampling balanced' configuration is achieved. In this configuration undersampling noise mechanisms (Aliasing and misregistration) and oversampling noise mechanisms (detector noise) are balanced to contribute equal magnitude. The performance of sampling-balanced system having WMF is compared to conventional systems for point target detection. It is shown that this system is the optimal and most robust in case of variations in scenario parameters.


Background

Chronic gastritis (CG) is an inflammatory disease which is one of the common diseases of the digestive system. To investigate the mechanisms of herbal pair Acoritataninowii Rhizoma(Shichangpu, AR) and Curcumae Radix༈Yujin, CR༉ in treatment of CG based on the network pharmacology.
Methods

The possible active ingredients and targets of AR-CR were obtained by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). The UniProt database was used to query the human gene corresponding to each target protein. The genes related to CG were collected from the GeneCards database, the OMIM database, the DisGeNET database and the PharmGKB database. Intersected the target genes of AR-CR and CG, then protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was constructed by STRING website. The overlapped genes were subjected to gene ontology༈GO༉enrichment and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes༈KEGG༉pathway enrichment analyses by David.
Results

45 intersection genes were obtained, and there were 40 targets in the PPI network for protein interaction, the kernel targets with Degree ≥ 10 included AKT1, TNF, JUN, MAPK3, MAPK8 and MAPK1. The Go enrichment analysis was mainly related to protein binding, enzyme binding, protein homodimerization activity, etc. The KEGG pathway enrichment analyses mainly involved the Pathways in cancer, TNF signaling pathway, Apoptosis, and VEGF signaling pathway.
Conclusion

AR-CR might delayed, blocked or reversed the atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia and canceration of gastric mucosa by targeting key proteins and signal pathways,achieved the effect of the treatment of CG.


Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a nosocomial pathogen responsible for many serious infectious diseases in humans. Finding the anti-S. aureus agents is a time-consuming and costly process. Recently, computational methods have provided a better understanding of the interactions between herbal medicine drug targets to help clinical practitioners rationally design herbal formulae. Methods: In this study, molecular docking simulation was applied to screen a list of natural secondary metabolites from Ganoderma sp. on the protein target S. aureus sortase A. Molecular dynamics models were used to assess the stability of protein–ligand complexes during the first 100 ns. To validate the computational results, 2 Ganoderma species, G. multiplicatum VNKKK1901 and G. sinense VNKKK1902, were tested for antibacterial activity against S. aureus using the disk diffusion method. Results: The results showed that, among the selected compounds, ganosinensin B and ganosinoside A generated the highest binding energy on S. aureus sortase A, and demonstrated strong and stable binding capacity to proteins. In addition, the extracts of G. sinense VNKKK1902 and G. multiplicatum VNKKK1901 were bactericidal, with minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ratios of 2. Conclusion: Our findings provide the first scientific report on the antibacterial activity of Ganoderma sp., which contain 2 promising compounds, ganosinensin B and ganosinoside A, as potential hits for developing novel drugs capable of supporting treatment of S. aureus infection.


Abstract Polylactic acid (PLA) and polyglycolide acid (PGA) are known for good biocompatibility. These features have resulted into significant academic and industrial research interest in various areas. However, in the acupoint catgut embedding therapy field, the existing PLA and PGA can't satisfy usage requirements due to their poor properties. This work designed novel melt-spinning system to produce different PLA and PGA monofilaments, and effects of spinning conditions on their comprehensive performances were characterized. The results showed that samples had the smooth surfaces and diameters decreased with spinning parameters. PLA-2 (Strength = 78.63 cN; Elongation = 57.28%) and PGA-2 (Strength = 57.34 cN; Elongation= 18.42%) perform the best mechanical properties. All the samples were non-toxicity, and PLA group degraded much slower than that of PGA group. In conclusion, this melt-spinning system showed potential in ACET application the optimum parameters (v = 150 m/min, n = 6) were proved to have the higher prospect.


A specific, accurate, precise and sensitive validated reversed phase liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of valacyclovir in the presence of its degradation products in bulk drug as well as tablet dosage form. As per ICH guideline Q1A (R2), drug was subjected to all stress conditions such as hydrolysis (acidic, neutral and alkaline), oxidation (3 % H2O2 v/v), photolysis (As per ICH guideline Q1B), thermal degradation and humidity study. All stressed samples were successfully analysed on C 8 column using mobile phase Acetonitrile: Phosphate buffer pH 3 (25 mM) in the ratio of 10:90 v/v. A flow rate was maintained at 1 ml/min and detection was made at 254 nm. The drug was found to degrade extensively in alkaline, acidic and oxidative conditions, and also in the presence of light (in alkaline environment). Mild degradation was found in neutral but the drug was stable to thermal, humidity stress. The developed method was validated over the linearity, precision, accuracy, ruggedness and specificity as per ICH guideline Q2B. The major degradants was identified as acyclovir through comparison with the standard. The developed method with good separation of all degradation products from drug could be successfully applied for the determination of valacyclovir in the presence of its degradation products in the bulk drug and tablets. It


The construction of Meninting Dam is undertaken to resolve the water needs in Meninting Watershed, West Lombok, Province of West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Therefore, creating a diversion tunnel is imperative to avert the river flow as the dam project commences. Also, engineering geology work on the soil and rocks, including the classification of physical and mechanical properties were conducted in the intended tunnel site. These considerations were necessary because of the unavailability of rock identification data using the GSI (Geological Strength Index) method which used to design the portal slopes as a significant factor in tunnel safety. The results show the proposed area for diversion tunnel construction to be in the lithology of the polymict breccia and the lapilli tuff units, and the soil conditions were included in the SM category (silty sand). The level of surface rock weathering was divided into 3 units, including: highly weathered residual soil lapilli tuff, and highly, as well as moderately weathered polymict breccias. Meanwhile, 4 units were identified on the rock cores (subsurface) comprising highly weathered residual soil of lapilli tuff, and highly, moderately, and slightly weathered polymict breccias. Based on GSI (Geological Strength Index) of rock and surface data from the area of study, the rock quality was grouped as poor (GSI values: 21-40) to very poor (GSI values: 0-20). However, drilling data classified the mass quality subsurface rocks in fair (GSI values 41-55), poor (GSI values: 21-40), particularly in tunnels, and very poor (GSI values 0-20). Therefore, the rock mass quality is possibly used to design the slope of the tunnel portal as 45⁰-55⁰, in order to ensure safety.


Pemphigus is an erosive disease of the skin and mucous membranes, characterized by intraepidermal blisters, acantholysis of epidermal cells and a serum antibody directed to an antigen at the intercellular space. Pemphigoid is a bullous disease primarily of the skin and usually seen in older individuals. The blister forms beneath the epidermis and the serum antibody is directed to the basement membrane zone. Both diseases may require systemic corticosteroids or cytotoxic agents for control.


To the Editor: Pure white cell aplasia (PWCA) is a very rare cause of profound neutropenia characterised by the total absence of granulocytic precursors in the bone marrow, with preserved, normal erythropoiesis and thrombopoiesis. There are few published papers on PWCA, most are case reports. The condition tends to have a relapsing and remitting course and immunosuppression has been the usual therapeutic strategy. We report the first use of rituximab in a case of PWCA to induce remission and the use of cyclosporin sequentially to maintain prolonged remission.


Informal learning, alongside competence-based learning and learning outcomes is getting a lot of attention lately. A large number of countries and organizations are busy defining guidelines for validating and evaluating informal learning experiences and formalizing its outcomes. In a globalized society where technology has brought together different cultures and educational systems, managing to keep track of a learner's competences is a daunting task, and especially when trying to take into account the competences acquired through informal means. We are proposing a framework to gather, organize, evaluate and showcase a user's informal learning using a largely social approach.


The topic of "statehood under international law" has long been a favorite with jurists. The problem of what constitutes a "state" has been extensively examined and discussed, but all too often in absolutist terms confined to drawing up lists of criteria which must be met before an entity may be deemed a "state." The very rigidity of this approach implies that the term "state" has a fixed meaning which provides an unambiguous yardstick for measuring without serious fear of error, the existence of international personality. The framework of examination being thus constricted, traditional inquiry has endeavored to meet some of its inadequacies by ancillary discussions on the possibility of a "dependent state" in international law, of the desirability of universality in certain organizations set up by the international community, and of the rights of peoples to national self-determination. It would appear, however, that these questions, far from being ancillary, are integral to any discussion of "statehood." Even the language of the law-or perhaps especially the language of the law-contains ambiguities which are inherent in any language system, and the difficulties presented by this fact can only be resolved by an analysis which takes full cognizance of the contextual background. Thus, when examining what is meant by the word "state," an appraisal of the community interests which will be affected by the decision to interpret it in one way rather than in another is necessary. Discussions, for example, of whether a "dependent state" can exist under international law become meaningless unless there is first an examination of whether the community of nations would find it appropriate, in the light of its long range objectives, to afford the rights which follow from "statehood" to entities fettered by restrictions which impair their independence. Consideration must also be given to whether some forms of dependency may give rise to an affirmative answer to this question, and others to a negative answer. It is equally necessary to emphasize


AbstractFlexural strengthening of reinforced concrete using near-surface mounted (NSM) fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites is a widely studied topic, and a promising technology. However, overlooked applications such as prestressed concrete and one-way slabs require further experimental investigation and theoretical refinement in order to develop comprehensive design guidelines. This paper investigates the behavior of prestressed hollow-core slabs strengthened in flexure with NSM carbon FRP strip reinforcement. Seven full-scale simply supported slab specimens were tested to failure under two-point monotonic load configuration. Experimental variables included two different internal prestressing reinforcement ratios, and three different NSM strengthening reinforcement ratios. This paper examines cracking behavior and modes of failure, load-strain relationships, deflections, and strengthened capacities. Also, a comparison between experimental results and theoretical predictions by relevant Canadian and ...


Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) were quantitatively determined by HPLC in several surface sediment samples collected in December 2012 from Xin'anjiang Reservoir.The results showed that 15 of the 16 US EPA priority controlled PAHs were detected.Total concentrations of PAHs in surface sediments of the studied reservoir ranged from 258 to 906ng/g dry weight(dw),with average 558ng/g dw,lower pollution level.The distribution of PAHs is found to be influenced by riverine discharge and point-source pollution.The PAHs in the sediments were dominated by high molecular weight PAHs.According to the ratio of feature components,the PAHs in surface sediment from the Xin'anjiang Reservoir originated largely from coal and biomass incomplete combustion in the surrounding areas and exhaustion of boats or cars.In addition,the ecological risk of surface sediment in Xin'anjiang Reservoir was assessed with the methods of sediment quality guidelines and sediment quality standards(SQSs),and the result indicated that there was no great biological impact associated with the PAHs in the surface sediment of Xin'anjiang Reservoir.However,the concentrations of some points have been exceeded the threshold effect level evaluated in accordance with SQSs.It is necessary to identify the contamination source and control the pollution input.


The Everything But Arms agreement, introduced by the EU in 2001, eliminated duties on most imports from the least developed countries. To avail of these benefits, however, the exported product must contain a sufficiently large share of local content. Thus, the agreement may have affected both the quantity and the factor content of exports from the least developed countries to the EU. Using a panel of sector-level data across countries, our estimates suggest that, contrary to expectations, the agreement may have increased the skill-content of these exports, benefitting the lowest-skilled EU workers at the expense of their highest-skilled counterparts. This result, however, is entirely driven by textile trade; when omitting this industry, we find no significant effects. This suggests that the EBA may have led to the local provision of higher-skill inputs in the textile industry.


The problem of unpaired infrared-to-visible image translation has gained significant attention due to its ability to generate visible images with color information from low-detail grayscale infrared inputs. However, current methodologies often depend on conventional style transfer techniques, which constrain the spatial resolution of the visible output to be equivalent to that of the input infrared image. The fixed generation pattern results in blurry generated results when translating low-resolution infrared inputs, and utilizing high-resolution infrared inputs as a solution necessitates greater computational resources. This spurs us to investigate the challenging unpaired image translation from low-resolution infrared inputs to high-resolution visible outputs, with the ultimate goal of enhancing image details while reducing computational costs. Therefore, we propose a unified framework that integrates the super-resolution process into our unpaired infrared-to-visible image transfer, yielding realistic and high-resolution results. Specifically, we propose the Detail Consistency Loss to establish a connection between the two aforementioned modules, thereby enhancing the quality of visual detail in style transfer results through the super-resolution module. Furthermore, our Texture Perceptual Loss is designed to ensure that the generator generates high-quality visual details accurately and reliably. Experimental results indicate that our method outperforms other comparative approaches when utilizing low-resolution infrared inputs. Remarkably, our approach even surpasses techniques that use high-resolution infrared inputs to generate visible images. Last but equally important, we propose a new and challenging dataset, dubbed as InfraredCity-HD, which comprises 512X512 resolution images, to advance research on high-resolution infrared-related fields.


The Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (RLICC) organises an advanced interdisciplinary and international study programme in architectural conservation, aimed mainly at architects, architectural engineers, civil engineers, art historians and archaeologists who intend to specialise in the field of the protection of monuments and sites. It is embedded in the postgraduate programmes of the departments of Architecture, Urban Design and Regional Planning and Civil Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering of the University in Leuven, Belgium. The Centre actively promotes international and interdisciplinary co-operation in its training and research programmes. Moreover the Centre maintains strong ties with international organisations concerning heritage, amongst others UNESCO, ICOMOS, the Getty Foundation, and the Council of Europe. Collaboration in research and training projects as well as in student exchange with these institutions results in an internationally renowned and modern study programme. English Heritage is the government agency responsible for the historic sites and buildings in the care of the state of England and is also the UK government's lead advisor on the built heritage. As part of the agency's mission to protect and promote England's spectacular historic environment and ensure that its past is researched and understood, their Metric Survey Team undertake a number of training and outreach initiatives both within the UK and internationally. The invitation from the RLICC to teach heritage documentation skills resultrd from the training expertise gained from the Metric Survey Team's delivery of the Measured Survey Summer Schools in England from 1989 onwards. The RLICC offers access to a truly unique student base: the international focus means that the skills taught are disseminated worldwide and feedback on the application of metric survey in local projects uniquely validates metric survey practice and procurement. The Metric Survey Team supplies a three-day module on preparing digital data sets for heritage documentation, involving the use of TheoLt for real-time EDM to CAD work, digital rectified photography with PhoToPlan and a live stereo demonstration of digital photogrammetry from photo acquisition to orthophoto generation. From the first teaching mission in November 2001 RLICC was keen to extend both practical 'hands on' skill transfer but also procurement skills in documentation. Therefore the Team's experience in managing contracts for the supply of metric survey is shared as part of the programme.


................................................................................................................... xvii CHAPTER 1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 1.1
   CO2 Mitigation: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century....................................... 1 1.2
   Routes Toward Reducing CO2 Emissions................................................................... 2 1.2.1
   Renewable Energy Economy............................................................................... 2 1.2.2
   CO2 Sequestration and Storage............................................................................ 3 1.3
   Hydrogenation of CO2 to CH3OH ............................................................................... 5 1.3.1
   Potential for Industrial Synthesis ......................................................................... 5 1.3.2
   Alternative Approach: Homogeneous Catalysis.................................................. 5 1.4
   Potential Impact of CO2 Conversion to CH3OH and Other Chemicals ...................... 6 1.5
   References ................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 2. Cascade Homogeneous Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol.............................................................................................11 2.1
   Introduction ............................................................................................................... 11


BioAssist S columns are eminently suitable for the analysis and purification of monoclonal antibodies at pH 6.0 where their stability is least affected. Similar high-resolution analysis of more-basic monoclonal antibodies is possible on BioAssist Q columns at pH 8.0.


In order to provide a theoretical basis for Sichuan Sun-cured tobacco breeding,the contents of K in young and mature tobacco leaves were measured,and their K accumulation efficiency were also analyzed.The results indicate that there were four varieties,whose efficiencies of K accumulation were more than 2.0%,Y1(2.91%),Y2(2.42%),Y3(2.23%),Y4(2.19%),respectively.There were two varieties whose utilizing efficiencies of K were greater than the average of 9.89g among the four varieties.These two were effective varieties whose K accumulation and efficiency were higher than others.


Superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome is a rare disorder that is caused by a reduction in the aortomesenteric angle causing a duodenal obstruction, most frequently occurring in patients who have had rapid weight loss. Identification of this syndrome can be a diagnostic dilemma and is frequently made by exclusion. The symptoms are caused by compression of the third portion of the duodenum against the posterior structures by a narrow angled superior mesenteric artery. When nonsurgical management is not possible or the problem is refractory, surgical intervention is necessary. We report a case of SMA syndrome in a 22 years old female patient, its diagnostic challenges and treatment options.


Ancient Rome was one of the greatest cities of the pre-industrial era. Like other such great cities, it has often been deemed parasitic, a drain on the resources of the society that supported it. Rome's huge population was maintained not by trade or manufacture but by the taxes and rents of the empire. It was the archetypal 'consumer city'. However, such a label does not do full justice to the impact of the city on its hinterland. This book examines the historiography of the consumer city model and reappraises the relationship between Rome and Italy. Drawing on archaeological work and comparative evidence, the author shows how the growth of the city can be seen as the major influence on the development of the Italian economy in this period as its demands for food and migrants promoted changes in agriculture, marketing systems and urbanisation throughout the peninsula.


Part I of this two-part paper analyzed the control characteristics of switched reluctance motor (SRM) drives for operation of the motor in the linear region of its magnetic characteristics. This part completes the analysis, presenting the control characteristics in the saturated region. A description of the motor operation in the saturated region is first formulated. Then the control variables, the relationships between the motor torque and the control variables, and the torque capability are determined for both current-fed and voltage-fed SRM drives. The basic schemes for the speed control of a SRM are also presented. >


Every day, people around the world make more than 2 billion digital payments.1 They pay for goods and services, borrow and save and engage in a multitude of financial transactions. Every time they do so, they rely on the monetary system – the set of institutions and arrangements that surround and support monetary exchange. At the heart of the monetary system stands the central bank. As the central bank issues money and maintains its core functions, trust in the monetary system is ultimately grounded in trust in the central bank. However, the central bank does not operate in isolation. Commercial banks and other private payment service providers (PSPs) execute the vast majority of payments and offer customer-facing services. This division of roles promotes competition and gives full play to the ingenuity and creativity of the private sector in serving customers. Indeed, private sector innovation benefits society precisely because it is built on the strong foundations of the central bank. The monetary system with the central bank at its centre has served society well. Yet digital innovation is expanding the frontier of technological possibilities, placing new demands on the system. Far-reaching innovations, such as those in the crypto universe, entail a radical departure. The crypto universe builds on the premise of decentralisation. Rather than relying on central bank money and trusted intermediaries, crypto envisages checks and balances provided by a multitude of anonymous validators so as to keep the system self-sustaining and free from the influence of powerful entities or groups. Decentralised finance, or "DeFi", seeks to replicate conventional financial services within the crypto universe. These services are enabled by innovations such as programmability and composability (see glossary) on permissionless blockchains. Such systems are "always on", allowing for global transactions 24/7, based on opensource code and knowing no borders. Key takeaways


Washing of organisms by phosphate buffer results in the decrease of their respiration, and the addition of divalent metal ions such as Mg⁺⁺ , Fe⁺⁺ , Mn⁺⁺ restores the decrease. This study is performed to determine the mechanism of action of such metal ions by observing the influence of these ions on the metablism of metal ion deficient organisms; some strains of Sh. flexneri, Sh. dysenteri, S. typhi, Staphyl. albus, Staphyl. aureus, Staphyl. citreus, E. coli, Pseudomonus aeruginosa. (1) The respiration in which glucose or pyruvate are substrates can be accelerated by metal ions and moreover in the case of Sh. dysenteri 3, succinate is the substrate in which respiration is accelerated too. (2) The action of metal ions seemed to cause the reaction to perfect oxidation and in the case of Sh, dysenteri 3 succinate → fumarate reaction is accelerated too. (3) It is concluded that metal ions act on enzyme system concerning phosphorus metabolism coupled with oxidation and this action results in the acceleration of respiration.


In Songshan Mountain area,Precambrian geological heritages are conserved,these strata are complete,and tectonic movements develop well. Tectonically speaking,it is one of the typical areas record the Precambrian geology in China. This paper analyzes and concludes the features,genesis and scientific value of its geological heritages in Songshan World Geopark; and designs the geological tourism route through researching on these factors,providing scientific guidance for geological internship and survey and reduce their blindness,making Songshan an ideal place for researching Precambrian geology.


To the Editor—Racial and ethnic differences in health and disease are real. For example, in the field of neurology, intracranial stenoses are more common among the Chinese population, and multiple sclerosis is uncommon, when compared with whites from Europe and North America. Studying various subgroups is important to detect different patterns of disease and to obtain aetiological clues; race also has implications in monitoring access to public health and in analysing treatment outcomes. In two of the five original articles in the February issue of the Hong Kong Medical Journal, the descriptive label 'Mongoloid race' appeared as a term in the 'key words'. The intention is to inform readers that the studies investigated a Chinese population and not, say, white Bostonians. Individuals belonging to the same race share a common biological inheritance, whereas members of an ethnic group are characterised by a distinctive history, culture, language, and sense of identity. It is, however, becoming clear that the relative environmental and genetic contributions to both these concepts are complex; it is also difficult to disentangle them from related problems such as poverty and poor housing.


In situ" changes in enzyme activity during Neurospora conidial germination This research note is available in Fungal Genetics Reports: https://newprairiepress.org/fgr/vol26/iss1/8 RESEARCH NOTES Chrirtensen, R. L. and J. C. Schmit. "In situ" changer in enzyme activity during Neurospora conidial germination. -


Haemblastomas o the cerebellum make up between 1.5 and 2 per cent of intracranial neoplasms (Olivecrona 1952, Ziilch 1957). In adult life they are the second commonest primary tumour in the posterior fossa, the first being acoustic neuroma (Jefferson 1953, Dandy 1928 wrote "Given a cerebellar tumour appearing in a patient between the ages of 25 and 40, symptoms rapidly progressive (less than a year) with variations in them from time to time and the absence of profound disturbance of a primary lesion of the brain stem a cyst, angiomatous or gliomatous, should be suspected".) Riddoch ( 1930) noted the long interval between the headaches and the appearance of papilloedema with the late development of gross cerebellar signs. A review of all the cases diagnosed as haemangioblastoma from the records of the Neurosurgical Unit, Dunedin Hospital, 1943-1964, has been carried out. Generally this material conforms to the above description but analysis shows some discrepancy between males and females, with a high incidence in pregnancy.


In this paper, it is proved that every triangle-free graph on $n \geq 4$ vertices has at most $2^{n /2} $ or $5 \cdot 2^{( n - 5 )/2} $ independent sets maximal under inclusion, whether n is even or odd. In each case, the extremal graph is unique. If the graph is a forest of odd order, then the upper bound can be improved to $2^{( n - 1 )/2} $.


Hernia Mesh Repair and Global Surgery To t h e Ed i t o r We would like to thank Forrester and colleagues1 for highlighting the important topic of groin hernia surgery. With more than 200 million people living with inguinal hernia worldwide, it is a tremendous public health issue for which there is a solution—surgery.2 Performed well, elective hernia repair often provides a lifelong cure. Using a mesh to reinforce the abdominal wall is generally recommended because it reduces the risk of recurrence compared with using tissue techniques.3 Polyethylene and polypropylene are inexpensive polymers that are commonly used for the construction of everyday plastic materials. They can be similarly fabricated into mosquito nets and meshes used for hernia surgery. Driven by limited resources in India, Dr Ravindranath R. Tongaonkar pioneered the use of a mosquito mesh to repair inguinal hernia 20 years ago.4 It has now been shown with the highest level of evidence that this low-cost mesh is a safe and effective option for elective inguinal hernia repair for men.5 Who manufactures the mesh is not important as long as it is consistently high quality. Three main issues have to be addressed to increase access to groin hernia mesh repair in low-resource settings. The first issue is safety. Sterility is a key safety concern in surgery. Using presterilized mesh, as suggested by Forrester et al,1 does not solve the problem of substandard sterility of surgical instruments and substandard practices of health care professionals. Instead, the focus should be on training surgical teams in mesh hernia repair, including practices that minimize the risk of surgical infections. The second issue is sustainability. A reliable procurement system for hernia mesh is needed. Depending on donations or waiting for industry to set fair prices is not an option. Thus far, the most promising method of mesh procurement, introduced by Dr Andrew Kingsnorth for Operation Hernia, is to partner with a reliable mosquito net manufacturer in India. The third issue is to drastically scale up health care systems to deliver high-quality surgery at an affordable cost for all. This is a herculean effort that will require dedication, research, and funding. We represent a multinational collaboration that will carry out research aimed at identifying solutions to these problems. If industry wishes to participate, we welcome the collaboration. Until then, we are seeking other ways to move the global hernia surgery agenda forward because this research cannot wait.


Objective: To assess the relationship between psychological illnesses and atypical chest pain in reported cases of soldiers serving in hard areas. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) & National Institute of Heart Diseases (NIHD) Rawalpindi from Nov 2012 to Oct 2013. Patients and Methods: Forty patients through non-probability convenience sampling were studied with complaints of chest pain besides no evidence of heart disease once assessed by ECHO, computerized tomography (CT) Angio, Thallium Scan and echocardiography (ECG), they were subjected to psychometric assessment. Results: Out of 40 patients 72.5% (n=29) were found to have psychiatric illnesses including, depressive disorder (n=26), adjustment disorder (n=2), and malingering (n=1). Of these 29 patients, 42.5% (n=17) appeared with mild (acute) symptoms of depression and 15% (n=6.6) with moderate and severe depression respectively. Conclusion: Psychiatric illnesses mostly go unrecognized and in order to over come the current stressor generally an individual tries to display it in socially acceptable organic disorders to avoid stigmatization.


Application of the attention model hybrid building based on the artificial intelligence in the course of the intelligent architecture history is studied in this article. A Hadoop distributed architecture using big data processing technology which combines basic building information with the building energy consumption data for the data mining research methods, and conduct a preliminary design of a Hadoop-based public building energy consumption data mining system. The principles of the proposed model were summarized. At first, the intelligent firewall processes the decision data faster, when the harmful information invades. The intelligent firewall can monitor and also intercept the harmful information in a timelier manner. Secondly, develop a problem data processing plan, delete and identify different types of problem data, and supplement the deleted problem data according to the rules obtained by data mining. The experimental results have reflected the efficiency of the proposed model.


A hermetic reciprocating compressor is the most energy consuming component of the refrigerators. Therefore performance improvement studies of the compressor play an important role to reduce overall energy consumption of the refrigerators. Design of bearings is one of the major study areas influencing reciprocating compressor performance. In this study crank pin and piston pin bearings in hermetic compressor applications are investigated and optimized. The effect of operating conditions, bearing offset between crank pin and piston pin, bearing clearance and bearing location along the shaft on the friction loss were investigated and optimal bearing designs were developed. Efficiency measurements of the compressor showed that the improved crank pin and piston pin bearing designs provide up to 3.8% increase in the COP as a result of reduction in mechanical loss that is significantly influenced by the length of the bearings, bearing location along the shaft and operating conditions.


The primary objective was to compare oropharyngeal leak pressures of streamlined liner of pharyngeal airway (SLIPA TM ) and Baska mask at different head and neck positions. Assessing the fiberoptic view of glottis and ventilation score of both devices in different positions were the secondary objectives. Sixty patients ASA I-II, 18-60 years of either sex scheduled for short ambulatory surgery were included. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the SLIPA TM or the Baska mask group. The effect of various head and neck positions was evaluated. Neutral position was maintained first then the patient was repositioned in the following positions: maximal extension, maximal flexion, and maximal rotation to the left. In each position, peak airway pressure and oropharyngeal leak pressure were noted. The ventilation score was assessed and fibreoptic views were noted. In both groups, oropharyngeal leak pressures and peak airway pressure were significantly higher with flexion. The fiberoptic score frequently decreased in flexion but with no effect on the ventilation. In comparison between the two devices, there was no significant change in the fibreoptic view of the glottis at different neck positions. So we concluded that, effective ventilation is possible with both Baska mask and SLIPA TM with the head in neutral, flexion, extension, and lateral rotation positions. But care should be taken with extreme flexion and the airway pressures need to be monitored. Baska mask has a better margin of safety than SLIPA TM due to better airway sealing pressures.


According to the principle of psychology measure and theory of stage of change,the writer adapts the Stage of Change(Continuous Measure) Scale into Chinese version.Three hundred students and five hundred and fifty students of college in Shanghai and Beijing are tested by using the first edition and the second edition.Then the writer employs the factor analysis and correlation analysis to analyze the reliability and validity of the data.The result shows that the Chinese version,College Students Exercise Stage of Change(Continuous Measure) Scale,has comparative high reliability and validity.So it is an effective tool to measure the college students exercise stage of change.


This article starts by considering the global framework of current open source migration. We show that the fight against software piracy is most likely speeding up the adoption especially in the developing countries. The situation is somewhat different in those parts of the world, which have lower piracy rates. There, political lobbying seems to offer the major push for open source software. This brings us to study the actual open source software adoption in the Finland, which is both the home of Linux and also one of the most advances information societies with little piracy. The outcome is rather surprising - the Finnish government is currently ignoring open source. The results we have got from our a survey to all Finnish municipalities and from additional expanded interviews shows that there is currently high demand and growing interest for open source solutions within the Finnish municipalities but the government (by ignoring the issue) and the private sector (being mainly committed to proprietary solutions) are not able to fill the needs. We propose that the governments in the rich countries should in fact learn from developing countries and have a more proactive policy approach to open source software.


1 VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2 Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA 3 Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong 4 HMDS, St. James's University Hospital, Leeds, United Kingdom 5 Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA 6 Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA 7 National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA 8 University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA


This paper presents a coordinated control of pitch angle of a wind turbine, flux control of permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) and voltage regulation of grid for low voltage ride through (LVRT) enhancement of PMSG based variable speed wind energy conversion system (WECS). Within this strategy, pitch angle controller is modified to adjust the pitch for power smoothing during variable wind speed as well as LVRT during repetitive grid fault. Flux controller is used to weakening the induced flux through providing negative field regulating current to keep the DC link voltage within the permissible limit in grid voltage dips. And reactive power control is used to provide voltage support during a grid fault. Extensive simulations of proposed method have been carried out under different repetitive fault. The proposed controller performance is validated by time series simulation. The results are compared with different conventional control for verification.


The main focus of this article is to investigate the theoretical interplay of magnetism and superconductivity in a two-band model for the iron-based superconductor Ba1−xKxFe2As2. On the basis of experimental results, the two-band model Hamiltonian was considered. We obtained mathematical statements for the superconductor Ba1−xKxFe2As2 superconducting (SC) transition temperature, spin-density-wave (SDW), transition temperature, superconductivity order parameter, and SDW order parameter from the Bogoliubov transformation formalism and the model Hamiltonian. Furthermore, an expression for the dependence of the SDW transition temperature on the SDW order parameter and the dependence of the SC transition temperature on the SDW order parameter was obtained for Ba1−xKxFe2As2. By substituting the experimental and theoretical values of the parameters in the derived statements, phase diagrams of the SC transition temperature versus the SDW order parameter and the SDW transition temperature versus the SDW order parameters have been plotted to demonstrate the dependence of the SDW order parameter on transition temperatures. By combining the two-phase diagrams, we depicted the possible coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism for the Ba1−xKxFe2As2 superconductor. The phase diagrams of temperature versus SC order parameter and temperature versus SDW order parameter were also plotted to show the dependence of order parameters on temperature for the Ba1−xKxFe2As2 superconductor.


In this study, I examine the impacts of demand‐driven vocational education and training (VET) reforms on access to training for people with disability. Impacts are estimated for Victoria using population enrolment data and difference‐in‐differences estimation, using enrolments in New South Wales as the counterfactual. I find that the Victorian reforms substantially increased access to VET for people with disability, but not to the same extent as for those who are not equity group members. Of particular interest, results suggest that up‐skilling requirements that limited publicly funded places in VET to higher level courses restricted access by more for people with disability.


ABSTRACT This article aims to analyze the challenges of a special education policy within the current inclusive education policy adopted by the Brazilian federal government. Firstly, the paper presents a brief history of the edu-cational guidelines based on the separation of pupils, which supported special education since its beginning until the adoption of a universaliza-tion method, with the adoption of mass enrollments of children with or without disabilities in public schools. It goes on to discuss the conditions of implementation of an "inclusive education system", proposed by the federal government, which is supported by a specialized educational service designed to complement and supplement school education. It then presents a case study, considered as a "success case" in a municipal public school, and points out the limits regarding the materialization of the policy proposed. The conclusion emphasizes the impasses established by the federal government choices related to the present educational policy.


In the present study the antiulcerogenic effects of aqueous extract of Pomegranate Peel (PP), was tested on male Sprague Dawley rats. Oral treatment with PP (200, 400 and 600 mg/kg) for 21 days protected the gastric mucosa against the damage induced by aspirin (200mg/kg). Anti-ulcer activity of PP was evaluated by measuring the Ulcer Index (UI), Volume of Gastric Guice (VGJ), PH of the gastric fluid and histopathologic changes .The best results were found in a dosage of 600 mg/kg of PP, which showed significant inhibition of UI (1.32±0.05) and VGJ (2.3±0.01ml), as well as showed significant increase of pH (4.09±0.07) in comparison with aspirin induced gastric ulcer group. Also the high dose of pp markedly reduced the severity of inflammatory reactions in lamina propria and muscularis in fore and glandular stomach. From the preliminary finding of our study it was concluded that the PP has a significant ulcer healing property. Further investigations are needed to fully understand the mode of action of the active constituents and to fully exploit pomegranate's preventive and therapeutic potential.


Carbonate mounds are reported throughout the stratigraphic scale from the Proterozoic to the Present. They developed on continental margins or intra-platform environments, in water depths ranging from 10 to 1000 m, and they represent targets for hydrocarbon exploration. In Kazakhstan (Figure 1), recent discoveries of giant hydrocarbon accumulations have generated renewed interest in these distinctive carbonate deposits (Grigor'yeva, 1992; O'Hearn et al., 2003; Lapointe and Glass, 2010). An understanding of ancient (Lapointe et al., 1999) and recent carbonate mounds systems provides a tool to appraise potential hydrocarbon-bearing subsurface mound carbonates as well as provides a complement to classic outcrops studies (De Mol et al., 2007; Foubert and Henriet, 2009; Foubert et al., 2008). The comparative analysis of mound evolution – focusing on early to late diagenetic processes, products and patterns – in the recent and ancient deposits provides new insights into reservoir porosity and permeability. In these carbonate reservoirs, heterogeneity is primarily driven by diagenetic patterns and karst processes are one of the most critical diagenetic phases for carbonate reservoir development.


Virtual product development puts high demands on data management solutions due to many dependent heterogeneous data sources, automatic data transformations, and fast changing requirements and meta information. In this work we will investigate how user-defined meta information, particularly annotations and folkosonomies, complement existing design management systems. At first, the work describes problems and information requirements caused by reusing automatically derived simulations. Subsequently, steps for introducing an annotation-based data management solution are presented.


We find the largest linear space of bounded linear operators on L 1 (Ω) that, being restricted to any L 1 (A), A C Ω, satisfy the Daugavet equation.


Summary
Transgenic plants of Florunner and Florigiant, two of the most widely cultivated peanut cultivars in the USA, have been developed using the ACCELL® gene delivery method. Shoot meristems of mature embryonic axes were bombarded with gold beads coated with DNA encoding β-glucuronidase (gus), phosphinothricin acetyl transferase (bar), and tomato spotted wilt virus-nucleocapsid protein (tswv-np) genes. Transgenic shoots were identified by screening for GUS activity, and independent transformants were recovered from both cultivars. Molecular analysis of two of these transformants in R0 and R1 generations demonstrated the stable integration of the foreign genes into the plant genome. One transgenic plant had one to two copies of the genes integrated into the genome of its progeny, whereas the other had multiple copies. Gus and bar genes exhibited predictable segregation ratios in the R1 and R2 generations and were genetically linked. Integration of the bar gene conferred resistance to BASTATM, a wide-spectrum herbicide, applied at 500 p.p.m. of active ingredient. Resistance of the transgenic plants to tomato spotted wilt virus is currently being tested under greenhouse conditions. The ACCELL® particle bombardment system is expected to be effective for transformation of a wide variety of commercial peanut cultivars.


The side effect of ionizing irradiation has been paid more attention with its widely using in tumor treating and mutation breeding. In recent years,untargeted effects induced by ionizing irradiation have become a hotspot of radiobiology. Here,according to reported results,we reviewed the types (genomic instability,bystander effect and adaptive response) and mechanisms of untargeted effects of ionizing irradiation in this paper.


In Northwest China, climate warming and drying dominated the past 100 a. In the middle Tianshan Mountains and the eastern Qilian Mountains, temperatures rose 1.3 ℃ and 1.0 ℃ and precipitation decreased 50~65 mm and 70~85 mm, respectively, until the 1980s. The result of tree-ring study shows that the negative precipitation departure in the north Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang reaches -11.8% during the period from 1920 to 1978. In the last 50 a, the measured hydrological and meteorological data indicate that air temperature in West China rises with a mean rate of 0.2 ℃ per ten years. In northern Xinjiang, air temperature rising even reaches 1.4 ℃ in the last 50 a, which exceeds greatly the mean rise range of 0.4~0.8 ℃ of global air temperature rising in near upon 100 a. The while, precipitation in the west part of Northwest China and North China decreased and many rivers in northwest arid areas of China all appeared a fluctuant downtrend during the period from 1951 to 1989. Water level of the Qinghai Lake has descended from 3 250 m a.s.l. in 1908 to 3 193.78 m a.s.l. in 1986, definitely showing a warm dry trend of climate change in the west of China. But the observed data of some meteorological and hydrological stations have showed that climate of Xinjiang, located in the west of Northwest China, send out a signal of climate shift from warm dry to warm humid. Hexi inland arid region is adjacent to Xinjiang. Especially, the Shulehe River basin, located in the west of the region, similar to Xinjiang, located in the middle latitude westerly belt, where precipitation is under the influence of Atlantic vapor carried by westerly; Again the Heihe River basin in the middle of the Hexi inland arid region is located in the transition area between westerly belt and east Asia monsoon zone, where precipitation is also under the influence of Atlantic vapor. So climate change in the Hexi inland region should have a quite consistency with Xinjiang, having a climate shift from warm-dry to warm humid. Water cycles will be exquisite with global warming, bringing on further precipitation. Global temperature has risen since the 20 Century, because of increase of CO 2 and other house gases in atmosphere, which accelerates global warming. Concretely,there appears a fluctuant, warming and drying trend in northwest arid regions of China. But analyzing the change process and trend of the mountainous runoff in the Hexi inland region revealed that the climate-environment of the region relates a clear signal of climatic environment shift from warm dry to warm humid beginning from the 1980s. The signal concretely shows an increase in mountain runoff with air temperature rising and precipitation increasing in mountainous area. Prediction and calculation from some regional climatic models and hydrologic statistic models also approve the shift. Besides, Shiyanghe River in the east of the region and under the influence of east monsoon still not occurs such a shift signal, where the mountain runoff has continuously decreased since the 1950s, indicating the climate environment still developing towards warm dry.


We propose a closed-form pricing formula for the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (CBOE VIX) futures based on the classic discrete-time Heston–Nandi GARCH model. The parameters are estimated using several sets of data, including the S&P 500 returns, the CBOE VIX, VIX futures prices and combinations of these data sources. Based on the resulting empirical pricing performances, we recommend the use of both VIX and VIX futures prices for a joint estimation of model parameters. Such estimation method can effectively capture the variations of the market VIX and the VIX futures prices simultaneously for both in-sample and out-of-sample analysis. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 37:641–659, 2017


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the applications of postponement strategy in the textile and apparel industry, with a particular focus on the supply chain structure, relationships and enabling activities supporting postponement strategy across the supply chain.Design/methodology/approach – For this research, a case study approach, supported by structured interviews, was adopted. The purpose was to explore the application of postponement with the objective of gathering considerable data from an organization or multiple organizations to develop the clearest possible picture of the phenomenon.Findings – The nature of product, downstream demand and the supply chain structure impacts the choice of postponement strategy. Companies operating with manufacturing and logistics postponement share data across their supply chain extensively, while companies adopting purchasing postponement work towards enhancing suppliers' capabilities and fostering relationships across their supply chains.Research l...


The assumption of independence is often only an approximation to the real correlation structure. Models with short-range memory are well known and often used in practice. However even for supposedly i.i.d. high~uality data slowly decaying correlations may occur. If not taken into account, they have disastrous effects on tests and confidence intervals. Stationary processes with a pole of the spectrum at the origin can be used for modelling such data. In this paper a review is given of results on statistical inference for such long-memory processes. STATISTICAL ASPECTS OF STATIONARY PROCESSES WITH LONG-RANGE DEPENDENCE Jan Beran Dept. of Stat., Dniv. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3260


Due to the broad successes of deep learning, many CPU-centric artificial intelligent computing systems employ specialized devices such as GPUs, FPGAs, and ASICs, which can be named as Deep Learning Processing Units (DLPUs), for processing computation-intensive deep learning tasks. The separation between the scalar control operations mapped on CPUs and the vector computation operations mapped on DLPUs causes the frequent and costly interactions between CPUs and DLPUs, leading to the Interaction Wall. Moreover, the increasing algorithm complexity and DLPU computation speed would further aggravate the interaction wall substantially. To break the interaction wall, we propose a novel DLPU-centric deep learning computing system consisting of an exception-oriented programming (EOP) model and the architectural support of CPULESS DLPU. The EOP model processes scalar control operations of a deep learning task as exception handlers to maximally avoid stalling the crucial and dominated vector computation operations. Together with the CPULESS DLPU which integrates a scalar processing unit (SPU) for scalar control operations and the parallel processing unit (PPU) for vector computation operations into a fused pipeline, the proposed DLPU-centric system can cost-effectively leverage the EOP model to execute the two kinds of operations simultaneously without disturbing each other. Compared with a state-of-the-art commodity CPU-centric system with discrete V100 GPU via PCIe bus, experimental results show that our DLPU-centric system achieves 10.30× better performance and 92.99 percent energy savings, respectively. Moreover, compared with a CPU-centric version of DLPU system where the SPU serves as the host with integrated PPU, the proposed DLPU-centric system still achieves 15.60 percent better performance from avoided interactions.


The present invention includes a polydiorganosiloxane polyamide, nonwoven webs and multicomponent fibers, as well as to method for preparing nonwoven webs and multicomponent fibers comprising a polydiorganosiloxane polyamide. .BACKGROUND


The invention discloses an online outside-diameter SPC detecting and data acquiring method for cables. The online outside-diameter SPC detecting and data acquiring method includes that a semiconductor laser emits laser beams to irradiate an octagonal prism, a motor drives the octagonal prism to rotate, and the laser beams reflected by the octagonal prism scan to pass the prism and are converted into parallel light passing a test area; when a cable to be tested passes the test area, part of parallel light is shaded, outer diameter of the cable to be tested in the scanning direction of the laser beams is calculated and transmitted to a computer through a communication line and is displayed on a screen in real time, a deviation relation of test values and standard values is displayed in real time via a curve chart, and data of the measured outer diameter are stored in the computer. By the online outside-diameter SPC detecting and data acquiring method, actual outer diameter of the cable on a cable production line is acquired in real time, and data of the outer diameter of the cable are stored, and traction speed or extrusion speed is controlled in real time, so that the outer diameter of cable production is controlled in real time.


The President of the United States has imposed a gag rule for health workers in government funded family planning clinics to prevent them from mentioning abortion to clients. In fact, the conservative dominated Supreme Court backs this rule. These workers had already been prohibited earlier from performing abortions. The gag rule forces them to say to any client who brings up abortion that the clinic regards abortion as an inappropriate family planning method. The government has now expanded from the bedroom to the examining room. President Bush has vetoed Congress' vote to overturn the rule. Yet later he announced that he added a modifier to the gag rule: physicians could mention abortion, but other health workers could not. It was brought to his attention that the modifier was elitist, sexist, and cynical since it allowed physicians who tend to be highly educated males to mention abortion and not allow less educated nurses who tend to be females to do so. So then de denied that he changed the gag rule. His contradictory position is further illustrated by the fact that he favors both the gag rule and a private physician patient relationship. The Republican party wants to force down the abortion issue at least until after the election in November since the majority of people are prochoice but passive. To remain in control, the party must appease the antiabortion fraction without taking away abortion rights of the prochoice fraction. Party members are betting that as long as the middle class still can obtain a legal abortion, it disregards the abortion limits since the limits apply to poor women, rural women, and young women. Abortion may very well be a campaign issue in 1992 unlike in 1988. Thus President Bush had no intentions of being clear on the gag rule.


Aims: To describe the factors associated with mortality of newborns hospitalized in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the period from 2012 to 2015.
Methods: This was a descriptive, quantitative study of secondary data, correlated with the causes of death and hospitalization according to classification by ICD-10.  The categorical variables were presented in absolute and relative frequencies, with measurements of central tendency and dispersion. Evaluation of the factors associated with neonatal death was made by the logit model of analysis with correction of robust errors by the statistical program Stata 12.0, considering values of p<0.05 and interval of confidence of 95%.
Results: Of the 563 newborns, 58.6% were of the male sex; 89.0% were early newborns, 73.0% were premature. 181 newborns died (32.3%). The main causes of hospitalization were: difficulties during birth, conditions of birth and immaturity (45.0%), pathologies associated with the respiratory system (21.1%), congenital malformations (9.7%). The main causes of death were: septicemia of the NB (40.4%), respiratory discomfort of the NB (22.4%). The significant associations for mortality were the use of ventilatory supports: Mechanical Ventilation (p=0.001), Hallo (p=0.000), CPAP (p=0.000), VNI (p=0.005).
Conclusions: The major risk factors for neonatal mortality were associated with septicemia and use of mechanical ventilation.


In the West, discussion about the Holodomor— the name given to the Ukrainian experience of the deadly famine which spread across several regions of the Soviet Union between 1932 and 1933 — has proved to be highly contentious.1 Much of the debate has focused on the genocidal "status" of the famine in Ukraine, with sharp divisions between the particular "schools" of thought. While many scholars have concluded that the famine was not a genocide, a significant body of literature has emerged which argues the opposite. In arguing for this genocidal interpretation, certain narratives about the Holodomor have developed which highlight important concerns about the "politics" of genocide and victimhood. One historian has suggested that "the word genocide has to be applied to the Ukrainian famine, the Holodomor", otherwise "the word genocide loses all useful meaning".2 The definitional parameters of the term are highly contested, however, and precisely what qualifies as "genocide" remains controversial. Furthermore, the discourse surrounding the Holodomor raises questions concerning the "attractiveness" of this classification, and the desire, as one commentator has phrased the issue, to "benefit from history" through claiming a particular type of victimisation.3 This paper will explore the nature of these "politics" and how they have found expression in the genocidal interpretation of the Holodomor. Overall, it cautions against allowing the agendas of the present to obfuscate ongoing efforts to adequately and appropriately come to terms with past atrocity.


Uncertainty over the potential detrimental effects of engineered nanomaterials on human health and the environment has fueled public debate and the push for additional regulatory oversight. For single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) the published data citing in vitro toxicity are particularly inconsistent and widely disputed. The underlying reasons for the discrepancies can be attributed to two causes: first, the wide variability in sample preparation and "purification" methods, including incomplete characterization of the SWNT materials following purification, such as minimal description about their post-purification solution behavior; and second, the use of nonuniform characterization methods and materials with different preparative protocols, viability assessment methods, and cell/species populations. Unfortunately, both points have rarely been addressed simultaneously in the literature and consequently have led to the wide variety of results. Even for well developed and optimized experimental protocols, insufficient characterization of samples makes identification of the toxic parameter(s) exceedingly difficult. Further complicating the elucidation of the physical properties causing in vitro and in vivo toxicity with SWNT materials is the wide distribution of tube diameters, lengths, and chiralities produced by current synthesis methods. Definitive discrimination of relative and synergistic effects with respect to these differences will continue to be impossible without implementation of precise measurements, complete characterization, and the use of well-defined materials. One of the main sources of the variation in the published toxicity and biocompatibility data is the wide variability in SWNT dispersion, which results from many different preparative protocols and methods. While there is broad agreement that biological studies should put more emphasis on detailed characterization of test nanomaterials, the role of the dispersion state as a definitive factor influencing the cellular exposure and response to the SWNTs has often been ignored. Given a constant dosage, differences in dispersion ranging from macroscopic aggregates to micrometer-scale clusters, bundles of multiple nanotubes or individually dispersed nanotubes will dramatically affect the absolute size and amount of surface area of the nanotube material to which the cells are exposed. Our previous work has demonstrated that different SWNT preparation methods yield materials possessing varying degrees of dispersion, with one common result being networks of tubes that do not readily exchange once clustered. Notable, however, is the use of small molecule surfactants to induce SWNT solubility and dispersion in aqueous solutions. Dispersion protocols involving surfactants are attractive, as the incorporation of the nanotube inside a surfactant shell does not appreciably alter the graphitic structure and desirable physicochemical properties of the SWNTs. However, many surfactant dispersions are only partially effective at dispersing SWNT material, and thus yield suspensions of aggregates and not singly dispersed nanotubes. Recently, DNA, peptides, and carbohydrates have been used in this surfactant/ wrapping polymer role and have been demonstrated to suspend SWNTs, with high individual dispersion of the nanotubes. These dispersions, in the case of DNA, are even stable enough to allow for separation of the dispersed material into well-defined subpopulations of the SWNTs. Recent reports have highlighted successes in separating polydisperse SWNT populations into well-defined length and chirality fractions using gel chromatography, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), ion chromatography (IC), or various forms of electrophoresis. This sorting affords opportunities to explore which fractions and/or properties in particular are contributing to the cellular toxicity. Herein we describe our efforts in generating well-dispersed, separated-length fractions by SEC, the exhaustive characterization of these fraction populations, and high-concentration in vitro toxicity data, which indicate a threshold on the length and corresponding toxicity of SWNTs that are uptaken into cells. Dispersion of SWNTs in aqueous solutions typically involves some detergent formulation and sonication protocol for both separating and suspending SWNT aggregates in solution. For our aqueous preparations, DNA wrapping was used as it imparts high-concentration solubility, successfully disperses individual SWNTs, and does not significantly alter the C O M M U N IC A IO N


The distribution of the prime numbers is of course a well-trodden path. The casual enquirer, working with small numbers, soon finds that the distribution has no obvious regularities, and sees that the primes thin out. The Prime number theorem (which is not elementary) helps to firm up this observation: Prime number theorem: If π(n) is the number of primes no greater than n, then i.e. π(n)/(n/ln(n)) → 1 as n → ∞. Thus for the proportion of prime numbers upto to n, π(n)/n, we have that which tends slowly to 0.


Blockade of the actions of urotensin‐II (U‐II) mediated by the urotensin (UT) receptor should improve cardiac function and prevent cardiac remodelling in cardiovascular disease. Here, we have evaluated the pharmacological properties of the recently identified UT receptor antagonist, 2‐(6,7‐dichloro‐3‐oxo‐2H‐benzo[b][1,4]oxazin‐4(3H)‐yl)‐N‐methyl‐N‐(2‐(pyrrolidin‐1‐yl)‐1‐(4‐(thiophen‐3‐yl)phenyl) ethyl)acetamide (KR36676).


Objective:To explore the relationship between expression of cyclin G1 in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical carcinoma and infection of human papillomavirus (HPV) subtypes.Methods:The expression levels of cyclin G1 in biopsy specimens or paraffin-embedded specimens after operation from 20 cases of normal cervical tissues (control group),44 cases of CIN (CIN group) and 28 cases of cervical carcinoma (cervical carcinoma group) were detected by immunohistochemical method,the HPV subtypes of cervical cast-off cells before operation were detected by flow-through hybridization and gene chip technique.Results:The positive rate of cyclin G1 expression showed a increasing trend in control group,CIN group and cervical carcinoma group,there was significant difference in multiple comparison (P0.05); the infection rates of HPV,high risk HPV and HPV16 increased,there was significant difference in multiple comparison (P0.05); in cervical carcinoma group,there was a positive correlation between expression rate of cyclin G1 and infection rates of high risk HPV (γ=0.382,P=0.045) and HPV16 (γ=0.519,P=0.005).Conclusion:The high expression of cyclin G1 in cervical carcinoma may be related to oncogenesis of cervical carcinoma; there is a positive correlation between cyclin G1 in cervical carcinoma and high risk HPV,and their synergy effect may induce the oncogenesis of cervical carcinoma.


Minimizing Risk. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2015. 3. "Reportable" post-market studies are those subject to the reporting requirements under section 506B of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs /GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/UCM080569.pdf. Accessed August 1, 2016. 4. Smithy JW, Downing NS, Ross JS. Publication of pivotal efficacy trials for novel therapeutic agents approved between 2005 and 2011: a cross-sectional study. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(9):1518-1520. 5. Quesada O, Yang E, Redberg RF. Availability and dissemination of results from US Food and Drug Administration-mandated postapproval studies for medical devices. JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176(8):1221-1223.


Following radiation exposure, the skin may exhibit various detrimental effects: deterministic (previously called non-stochastic), stochastic, or both. Which of these end-points is most important depends on the interplay of the spatial variation in energy deposition and the spatial distribution of the relevant critical biological structures in the skin. For beta rays in the commonly encountered energy ranges, and for soft x rays, the skin is subjected to a rapid decrease of absorbed dose with depth (Figure 3.1), which leads to a strong dependence of the various biological responses on the energies of the beta-ray spectrum. It is thus important to keep in mind the basic structure of the skin, especially the depths of the cells involved in the different biological effects. Such information influences dosimeter design and use and provides a basis for understanding the significance of exposure limits. A detailed account of skin radiobiology is given in ICRP Publication 59 (ICRP 1991a). Skin dose limits have been reviewed by Sowby (1986) and Fry (1990).


We consider equal mass free-fall three-body problem. We construct numerically symbolic sequences using close binary approaches and analyze two components revealed as peaks on the histogram for the Shannon entropy of these sequences.


The Dynamics of Revolution : A Cybernetic Theory of the Dynamics of Modern Social Revolution with a Study of Ideological Change and Organizational Dynamics in the Chinese Revolution


[1] We investigated the long-term variability of the meridional heat transport across 24°N in the Pacific Ocean in two ways: (1) by adding the surface net heat flux to the temporal change rate of the ocean heat content (OHC) north of 24°N and (2) by integrating the product of meridional velocity and potential temperature over the 24°N section in numerical models. Decadal-scale changes with amplitudes of approximately 0.1–0.2 PW were detected consistently in the 5-year running means of the meridional heat transport in the 1980s and 1990s from these different analyses. The heat transport increased during the 1980s, which is closely linked with the change in the OHC. While both the Ekman and Kuroshio transports were responsible for the change in the 1980s, the contribution of the former was dominant. On the other hand, the variation in the Kuroshio temperature transport dominated meridional heat transport in the 1990s. The air-sea net heat fluxes of the atmospheric reanalysis data sets integrated north of 24°N increased in the 1990s, which indicates that the increase of the lateral heat transport was distributed mainly to the atmosphere, particularly in the Kuroshio and Kuroshio-Oyashio Extension (KOE) regions. However, there are also large discrepancies in the surface heat flux among the data sets. To reveal the impact of the decadal-scale changes in meridional heat transport on the atmosphere, it is crucial to obtain more accurate values for the air-sea heat exchange and OHC by using a sustainable observing system and numerical models.


, , , and Abstract Background: Health and social care provision for an ageing population is a global priority. Provision for those with dementia and hip fracture has specific and growing importance. Older people who break their hip are recognised as exceptionally vulnerable to experiencing confusion (including but not exclusively, dementia and/or delirium and/ or cognitive impairment(s)) before, during or after acute admissions. Older people experiencing hip fracture and confusion risk serious complications, linked to delayed recovery and higher mortality post-operatively. Specific care pathways acknowledging the differences in patient presentation and care needs are proposed to improve clinical and process outcomes. Methods: This protocol describes a multi-centre, feasibility, cluster-randomised, controlled trial (CRCT) to be undertaken across ten National Health Service hospital trusts in the UK. The trial will explore the feasibility of undertaking a CRCT comparing the multicomponent PERFECTED enhanced recovery intervention (PERFECT-ER), which acknowledges the differences in care needs of confused older patients experiencing hip fracture, with standard care. The trial will also have an integrated process evaluation to explore how PERFECT-ER is implemented and interacts with the local context. The study will recruit 400 hip fracture patients identified as experiencing confusion and will also recruit " suitable informants " (individuals in regular contact with participants who will complete proxy measures). We will also recruit NHS professionals for the process evaluation. This mixed methods design will produce data to inform a definitive evaluation of the intervention via a large-scale pragmatic randomised controlled trial (RCT). Discussion: The trial will provide a preliminary estimate of potential efficacy of PERFECT-ER versus standard care; assess service delivery variation, inform primary and secondary outcome selection, generate estimates of recruitment and retention rates, data collection difficulties, and completeness of outcome data and provide an indication of potential economic benefits. The process evaluation will enhance knowledge of implementation delivery and receipt.


This research was conducted to find out whether organizational commitment variables such as: affective commitment, continuance commitment, and normative commitment have significant influence either partially or simultaneously to the job satisfaction of employees of the CV Karya Taruna Teknik. Data collection method using primary data and secondary data method. Primary data were collected, which is distributing questionnaires to 50 permanent employees of CV Karya Taruna Teknik. While the secondary data required obtained from web and internet. The research analysis was done by using multiple linear regression analysis. Data procrssing research using SPSS 23 for Windows. The result of hypothesis test shows that the affective commitment not have a significant influence on job satisfaction partially but affective commitment, continuance commitment, and normative commitment have a significant influence on job satisfaction simultaneously . Continuance commitment is found as the factor that has the most powerful influence on job satisfaction. Keywords: Employee Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment


Introduction. Part I: Development and Historical Background. The McMaster Model of Family Functioning. The Problem Centered Systems Therapy of the Family. Training in the Problem Centered Systems Therapy of the Family. Assessments Developed for the McMaster Model. Research Using the McMaster Model. Frequently Asked Questions. Conclusions. Part II: The Family Assessment Device. The McMaster Clinical Rating Scale. The McMaster Structured Interview of Family Functioning. The McMaster Adherence Scale. The McMaster Competency Scale. McMaster Family Functioning Concept Test. McMaster Family Functioning Percept Test. Related Articles. References.


A in the standby state, the power obtained from the commercial power supply, an electronic apparatus and a control method for substantially zero. An electronic device comprises a first power supply unit, and a second power supply unit, and a power supply control unit. The first power supply unit can maintain any state of the connection and disconnection between the commercial power source, at the time of connection and supplies necessary power to at least the video display and audio reproduction. The second power supply unit, when the first power supply unit is a commercial power source and disconnected receives a signal indicative of the commercial power supply connection to the first power supply, a commercial power supply the first power supply supplying power to connect to. Power control unit, during operation by the second power supply unit receives a signal indicative of the commercial power supply connection to the first power supply, connecting the commercial power source to the first power supply. .FIELD 4


The applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques in different medical fields is rapidly growing. AI holds great promise in terms of beneficial, accurate and effective preventive and curative interventions. At the same time, there is also concerns regarding potential risks, harm and trust issues arising from the opacity of some AI algorithms because of their un-explainability. Overall, how can the decisions from these AI-based systems be trusted if the decision-making logic cannot be properly explained? Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) tries to shed light to these questions. We study the recent development on this topic within the medical domain. The objective of this study is to provide a systematic review of the methods and techniques of explainable AI within the medical domain as observed within the literature while identifying future research opportunities.


The objective: to study features of restration of reproductive function of women after organ-preserving operations on ovaries. Materials and methods. Investigated morfofunctionale condition of ovaries at 100 patients with a simple serous cystadenoma (n=50) and a mature teratoma (n=50) – before organ-preserving operations (cystectomia, resection). Taking into account the volume of the executed operative measure, surveyed were distributed on groups. The complex of the conducted researches included clinical, endocrinologic, biochemical, morphological and staticsti methods. Results. The women who have undergone organ-preserving operations concerning benign tumors of ovaries, to the most vulnerable still have reproductive health. Results of the conducted research showed that patients with normal ovariale reserve in the majority of observations have not changed indicators of fecundity. Complications of pregnancy were more often taped at patients with moderate depression and low ovariale reserve that it is necessary to consider when conducting pregnancy at these patients. The data obtained by us confirm opinion that in connection with the high frequency of sterility at patients with the lowered ovariale reserve after an operative measure in the late reproductive period use of auxiliary genesial technologies for realization of reproductive function is shown. Conclusion. The obtained data need to be considered when developing algorithm of diagnostic, treatment-and-prophylactic and rehabilitational actions. Key words: benign tumors of ovaries, reproductive age, restoration of reproductive function.


This article examines the contexts of production of curriculum policy for the Elementary School in a non-retention program (schooling in cycles), as designed in the city of Belem, state of Para (Brazil) in the period from 1997 to 2004. The research was based on the investigation of the policy cycle approach (BOWE et al., 1992) and sought to incorporate discursive and textual aspects in the analysis of these politics. The research involved the analysis of documents produced by the City Council of Belem. The methodology considered that not only the contexts of development and influence are intertwined, but that they also embody meanings of the practices observed in the schools. The results indicated some ambiguity regarding the development of the above-referred policy, as the final text emphasized the importance of the context in which the practice takes place, while it also criticized the role of teachers in the process.


In North America, a number of efforts are underway to achieve high levels of energy efficiency in commercial and residential buildings. Most of these programs aim to increase the performance of the building envelope, efficiency of equipment, or to effect behavioral changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the building stock. One area generally overlooked by program managers is the source of energy supply to a building; district energy systems (DES) are a proven method to supply thermal energy to buildings while reducing peak demand, annual energy use, and total greenhouse gas emissions. This paper provides a background on the concept and configuration of district energy systems. It then reviews several systems (Toronto, St. Paul, and Cornell University) currently in operation. A section of the paper then provides an analysis of the operation and implementation of one DES-reliant sustainable community (Drake Landing Solar Community). Finally, the paper provides an overview of policies used to increase the presence of DES systems in the U.S. at the local, state, and federal levels. The paper concludes that DES can decrease waste heat, pollution, fossil fuel use, and long-term costs, and should be a technology considered alongside building-scaled improvements as part of an energy efficiency portfolio. In addition, as energy efficiency programs reduce the need for additional utility generation, the design, operation, and maintenance of DES represents a new business opportunity for electric and gas utilities. Overall, the paper finds that local communities should emphasize DES because they are the direct beneficiaries of these systems.


The female is generally stronger than male in Chinese sport.Admittedly,there are many reasons,but the most important is the Chinese women's wisdom and personality.In terms of average women,they are full of irrational thinking,possess the strong intuition ability,the very high savvy,imaginative,imitate force,and good memory.Their judgment is quick,reasoning is concise,insight is keen,thinking is exquisite,and personality is calm.Their behavior is flexible,witty,steady and calm,and seeking truth from facts.In addition,they form the indomitable spirit of the bear hardships and stand hard work,enduring humiliation in order to carry out an important task,firm and indomitable,working with perseverance,and having the courage to struggle for long time in the patriarchal society,and make they acquire the proud successes,and reach the international level in physical sport.As a result,it also actuates the profound reflection of women's status and role in the sports competition of China.


Abstract We report on a search for interstellar CH2D+. Four transitions occur in easily accessible portions of the spectrum; we report on emission at the frequencies of these transitions toward high column density star-forming regions. While the observations can be interpreted as being consistent with a detection of the molecule, further observations will be needed to secure its identification. The CH2D+ rotational spectrum has not been measured to high accuracy. Its lines are weak, as the dipole moment induced by the inclusion of deuterium in the molecule is small. Astronomical detection is favored by observations toward strongly deuterium-fractionated sources. However, enhanced deuteration is expected to be most significant at low temperatures. The sparseness of the available spectrum and the low excitation in regions of high fractionation make secure identification of CH2D+ difficult. Nonetheless, owing to the importance of CH3+ to interstellar chemistry, and the lack of rotational transitions of that molecule owing to its planar symmetric structure, a measure of its abundance would provide key data to astrochemical models.


Background: Nowadays more than 100 HPV types are well characterized. Of about 40 mucosal (genital) types approximately 15 are classified as high-risk (HR), which are the necessary etiological factor of cervical cancer. Accumulating epidemiological data also suggests that viral genome "variants", which diverge by about 2% within a given type and which differ geographically, could contribute to the carcinogenic potential of specific HR HPV types presumably by altering its transforming properties and/or immunogenicity. Most of the studies on HPV-16 variability were concerned with E6 and E7 regions that encode for well known HPV oncogenes. Such studies are very laborious and expensive as several genomic regions of each sample has to be sequenced to detect those few nucleotides that differ and separate the variants.Objectives: To try to simplify and reduce the costs of variant detection we investigated the prospect of possible application high resolution melt (HRM) analysis in determining HPV-16 variants in E6/E7 junction region.Materials and Methods: The method consists of adding a double strand specific fluorescent dye to the PCR reaction, post PCR thermal melting of the amplicon and reading of fluorescence emitted by the dye at each temperature point in high resolution. The resulting melting curves are subsequently analyzed by the software provided by manufacturer (Idaho Technology Inc., USA). In theory, HRM analysis enables the distinction of PCR amplicons differing in even a single nucleotide, and as such should be capable of indicating HPV variants. In this feasibility study, we tested the performance of HRM analysis with our regular HPV-16 type specific primers (E6/E7 region) on 81 HPV-16 positive cervical samples from Croatian women. Results: Eight amplicons exhibiting melting curves that were deviating slightly or not at all (dominant pattern) and only one amplicon deviating greatly from the average melting curves were sequenced. The sequence of the dominant pattern samples corresponded the European HPV-16 variant, while the clearly different one was related with the African HPV-16 variants. Thus, only those samples whose amplicon melting curves differ significantly from the dominant curves (in our case European variant) should be sequenced to identify the HPV variant.Conclusions: This approach seems to be very informative, saves time and significant cost of sequencing. The method will be optimized using amplicons from more variable regions of E6/E7 in respect to different HPV-16 known major variants.


In order to evaluate on the effect of kaempferol on the cytotoxicity of oxygen free radicals, XTT assay was performed to determine the cell viability after skin fibroblasts derived from human (Detroit 51) that were treated with various concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). And also, the effect of kaempferol on the cytotoxicity induced by H₂O₂ that was examined by cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity in these cultures. H₂O₂ decreased cell viability in dose-dependent manner in these cultures and the XTT?? and XTT?? values were determined at concentration of 35 μM and 90 μM of H₂O₂ after skin fibroblasts derived from human were treated with 15~90 μM of H₂O₂ for 6 hours, respectively. H₂O₂ was highly toxic on cultured skin fibroblasts derived from human by toxic criteria of Brenfreund and Puerner (1984). In the protective effect of kaempferol on H₂O₂-induced cytotoxicity, kaempferol increased DPPH radical scavenging activity and significantly decreased LDH activity. From these results, it is suggested that oxygen free radical, H₂O₂, was highly toxic on cultured skin fibroblasts derived from human, and also kaempferol of flavonoid showed the protection on H₂O₂-induced cytotoxicity.


We introduce an approach to image segmentation with a k-means algorithm by reducing the clustering problem to a continuous optimization problem, which is solved by metaheuristics algorithms using a gravitational search algorithm as an example. The approach is substantiated and numerical experiment results are discussed.


The growing concern regarding the level of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, led several countries to adopt investment policies promoting renewable energy sector, namely, wind power. The increased penetration of wind farms in the power system requires a detailed study, accessing its impacts in the normal functioning of electrical grids. In this article, it is developed a power flow computational algorithm, which allows anticipating the impact that the installation of wind farms causes in the power system. It is also developed a method that calculates the best location for new potential wind farms to be added to the grid, with the respective installed capacity. The developed program consists on an adaptation of the Continuation Power Flow method, which is an iterative method of successive predictions-corrections that allows the calculation of the system's point of collapse. The results obtained previously to the adaptation related to the incorporation of dispersed generation were properly validated. Thus, this work allows concluding that, within the taken considerations, the developed program has the capacity to calculate the best location and the installed capacity of the wind farms intended to be built in the grid.


Human resource management is part of organizational management that focuses on the elements of human resources. Employees as implementers in activities are required to have a good mental attitude, are dedicated, disciplined, and have good work performance. The purpose of this study was to analyze and examine the effect of work discipline on performance through job satisfaction. The population in this study were temporary employees (PTT) of SMK Negeri 1 Prajekan. The sampling technique used was saturated sampling. Data analysis and hypothesis testing in this study used the Structural Equation Model - Partial Least Square (PLS-SEM).
The results of the direct influence hypothesis test using the Smart PLS.3.0 application, show that work discipline has a significant positive effect on job satisfaction, work discipline has a positive effect on performance but is not significant, job satisfaction has a significant positive effect on performance, work discipline has an effect on performance through job satisfaction.


In this article, we describe all the possible discrete vertex transitive actions on ane buildings with dimension at least 4 over F a nonArchimedean local eld of characteristic zero. Indeed, we classify all the maximal such actions. We show that there are exactly eleven family of such actions and explicitly construct them. Moreover, we show that four of these families simply transitively act on the vertices. In particular, we show that there is no such actions if either dimension of the building is larger than 7, F is not isomorphic to Qp for some prime p, or building is associated to SLn;D0 where D0 is a non-commutative division algebra. Along the way we also give a new proof of Siegel-Klingen theorem on the rationality of certain Dedekind zeta functions and L-functions. 1


Judge Cudahy's involvement in the infrastructure industries began in the late 1950s, a tranquil time for this business when it was rife with government regulation. The struggle of industrial customers for lower power rates, together with the energy crisis of the 1970s, put these industries on the path to deregulation and competition which continue to mark these industries to this day. The sudden rise in fuel costs surprised many experts by showing that power is an elastic resource despite many saying that people would not sacrifice modern convenience in the face of sharply-rising costs. Nuclear energy had seemed to be the wave of the future and there were plans for "power parks", clusters of nuclear plants in out-of-the-way areas, to power the entire nation. These designs, which required heavy regulation, never approached fruition. Instead, big industrial customers pushed for competition between generating plants which "stranded" projects for high-cost generators such as nuclear plants. Presumably deregulation and competition will lead to sales on the basis of marginal cost.


The expand of integrated function with supported cubic spilne-wavelet in normal integral is discussed. After analysing and proving,a new useful numerical integration formula is obtained,and the error is O(h 4).


Silicon photonic technologies are poised to revolutionize clinical diagnostics. This talk describes the development of silicon photonic biosensors as a rapid, multiplexed, and cost-effective platform to detect disease-related biomarkers for applications in personalized medical diagnostics.


A semiclassical model of the helium atom is presented, which has as its basis the concept of classical non-linear resonances. A novel feature of the calculation is its incorporation of exchange effects, leading to singlet-triplet splittings, hitherto inaccessible by a semiclassical approach. Energies of a variety of singly and doubly excited states are given.


ABSTRACT Background Early Psychological First Aid (PFA) has been widely recommended for preventing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, its lack of empirical evidence of safety and effectiveness has been criticized. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of PFA-ABCDE, an original PFA protocol, for preventing PTSD one month after the intervention and decreasing PTSD symptoms at one and six months of follow up. Methods We assessed the eligibility of 1,140 adult survivors of recent trauma (≤ 72 hours) consulting five emergency departments in Chile. Two hundred twenty-one were randomized to receive either PFA-ABCDE (active listening, breathing retraining, categorization of needs, referral to ancillary services, and psychoeducation) or only psychoeducation. We used the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to assess PTSD diagnosis. The Posttraumatic Checklist (PCL), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and a 0–10 points analogue visual scale were used to assess PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and immediate distress relief after the intervention. Results We found no difference between the experimental and control groups in the frequency of PTSD one month after the intervention (PFA-ABCDE = 23/76 [30.3%], psychoeducation = 18/75 [24.0%], adjusted odds ratio = 1.39, 95% confidence interval = 0.63–3.07, p = .408). Immediately after the intervention, participants who received PFA-ABCDE reported greater distress relief (PFA-ABCDE mean = 9.06, psychoeducation mean = 8.55, Cohen's d = 0.30, p = .038). Fewer PTSD symptoms were reported by those who received PFA-ABCDE one month after the intervention (PFA-ABCDE mean = 36.26, psychoeducation mean = 43.62, Cohen's d = 0.42, p = .033). We found no difference in depressive symptoms at one-month follow up (p = .713) nor in PTSD symptoms six months after the intervention (p = .986). Conclusions PFA-ABCDE does not prevent PTSD diagnosis, but it provides immediate distress relief and decreases PTSD symptoms in the short term. HIGHLIGHTS Experts recommend Psychological First Aid (PFA) to prevent PTSD. Evidence of its effectiveness is lacking. We set up a Randomized-Controlled Trial in 221 adults to assess if PFA-ABCDE, an original PFA protocol, prevents PTSD. PFA-ABCDE decreased PTSD symptoms, but it did not prevent PTSD.


We report on the improvement in the microwave performance of metal-semiconductor field effect transistors (MESFETs) fabricated on GaAs/Si with a resistive layer at the GaAs-Si interface. This layer was obtained by using a p-type AlGaAs layer or an oxygen-doped AlGaAs layer grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Correlation between sheet carrier concentration in the resistive layer and the device performance was studied and a marked improvement was found by reducing the number of carriers in the layer to 4.1×1012 cm-2, which was about 1/5 of that for standard GaAs/Si. High cutoff frequency of 22 GHz, comparable to that of MESFETs/GaAs, was obtained for 0.8-µm-gate-length MESFETs/Si with a sheet carrier concentration of 1.5×1012 cm-2. On evaluating scattering parameters for improved MESFETs/Si, it was found that the parasitic pad capacitance, characteristic for standard GaAs/Si, became as small as that for MESFETs/GaAs. These results demonstrate that GaAs/Si with a resistive layer is applicable to GaAs electronic devices.