OBJECTIVE It was suggested that the cause of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a spontaneous change in configuration of the prion protein. The acceptance of the influence of the misfolded protein chains which present in neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson on the development of a second protein misfolding provides a possible link between the occurrence of neurodegenerative diseases and prion diseasses. The purpose of this retrospective study was to analyze the clinical and diagnostic features of sCJD patients with Parkinsons disease or dementia in the family history in an aim to improve the diagnosis. METHODS Data of 133 patients with definite or probable sCJD with a known expression at codon-129 were collected. The siblings, parents or grandparents from maternal or paternal side presented a Parkinson's disease or a dementia illness. A control group was added after allocation by gender, age (+/- 5 years) and PRNP codon-129 genotype. The work focuses on
the clinical symptoms, the biochemical CSF markers and the results of imaging techniques such as electroencephalography, cerebral computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS First neurological symptoms were cerebellar disorders (ataxia), psychiatric and visual disturbances, while a dementing development took place only during the course. With the disease progress pyramidal tract sings were frequent whereas extrapyramidal disorder diagnosed much less frequently. Overall, the clinical response was more noticed in the group FA-Parkinson (for example, frequent occurrence of drive faults) while FA-Dementia was mostly equal to the control group. With the detection of PSWC in EEG in 53% FA-Dementia and 61% FA-Parkinson the sensitivity of EEG investigation does not exceed that of for sCJD of 64% (Steinhoff et al. 2004). With a detection of proteins 14-3-3 in the cerebrospinal fluid in 96% (FA Dementia) and 100% (FA Parkinson) it is assumed to result in a high sensitivity for sCJD as well (94%, Zerr et al. 2000a). The sensitivity of the NSE is very high in the patients in this study, while the S100B protein in FA Parkinson patients significantly less reaches the cut-off value. A CJD typical MRI findings (hyperintense basal ganglia or cortical signal increase) was found only in 52% of FA Dementia and 49% with FA Parkinson. CONCLUSION According to the findings of this study, ist can be stated that in these patients, dementia is not primarily groundbreaking for the diagnosis, but attention must be paid to the presence of cerebellar or psychiatric symptoms. In the diagnosis the EEG with a high sensitivity is of great importance, while the MRI examination is less groundbreaking. In Parkinson's disease running in the family, the CSF does not support the diagnosis much while suggesting pathological values of tau protein and amyloid-s 1-42 in patients with dementia in the family suggest a sCJD.


The work was done in the survey to develop taxonomic record of sand flies Grassomyia indica (Theodor) collected for the first time from the endemic localities of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sindh and Punjab Provinces. In view of the published reports about the detection of encephalitis viruses from the species of the genus Sergentomyia Franca and Theodor from the Indian localities and their possible role in kala-azar transmission, the correct identification of the species becomes of significant value in the study of epidemiology of leishmaniasis and other viral diseases. Therefore, in order to facilitate Zoologists and Medical researchers in correct identification of sand flies, morphology of taxonomic characters especially wings, cibarium, mouth parts, male and female genitalia of Grassomyia indica is studied and results are presented in this paper. A key is also given to this species and its closest allies. Its phylogenetic relationship with them is also briefly discussed.


DM acquires pressing clinical and economic significance due to work loss and disability leading to increased expenditures on medicines and hospital stay. Therefore, there is a need to identify cost-effective prevention and management strategies and the use of mind–body therapies may hold promise for its prevention and treatment. Yoga offers holistic solution to the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications involving lifestyle changes encompassing kriyas, various asana, changes in diet, management of stress, meditation. Various studies suggest that yoga may improve indices of risk in adults with type 2 DM, including blood sugar levels and reduced resistance to insulin, lipid profiles, anthropometric characteristics.The effect of yoga incorporating asanas, pranayamas, meditation, kriyas, satvik diet, attitudinal and behavioral modification, and mental discipline is beneficial to patients of type 2 Diabetes mellitus. used in India for the management of diabetes and related chronic insulin resistance conditions [5-9]. In adult diabetic patients, yoga therapy has shown more beneficial effects and very few adverse effects [10]. Still, the researches on yoga therapy as a complimentary alternative medicine in patients of diabetes mellitus are few. As yoga is holistic living incorporating social and lifestyle changes which are subjective measurements therefore, studies on the contribution of yoga in preventing and reducing complication of lifestyle diseases like diabetes are even fewer. Yoga offers holistic solution to the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications. Yogic management of diabetes mellitus involves lifestyle changes encompassing kriyas, various asana, changes in diet, management of stress, meditation and leading a holistic life. The comprehensive yoga, an approach incorporating body postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayamas), meditation (affecting the manomayakosa), cleansing (kriyas), nutrition (satvik diet), attitudinal and behavioral modification, and mental discipline, (affecting the vijnanmaya and anandamayakosha) is more beneficial and loyal to its ancient inhabitants [11-14]. is primarily to review the published research literature for the effectiveness of therapy as a modality for diabetes management and to examine important factors in the social environment that affect the practice of yoga, leading to a change in life style and health behavior among adults with or at risk for type 2


EVALUATION OF: Faraco G, Moraga A, Moore J, Anrather J, Pickel VM, Iadecola C. Circulating endothelin-1 alters critical mechanisms regulating cerebral microcirculation. Hypertension 62(4), 759–766 (2013). This article reviews a study by Faraco and colleagues that attempts to elucidate the mechanism of modulation of the cerebral blood flow by endothelin (ET) 1. ET1 is one of the most powerful vasoconstrictors and plays an important role in cerebrovascular disease and traumatic brain injury. However, the details of the mechanism of action of ET1 are still unknown. The study used a mouse model with a skull window through which the cortical cerebral blood flow was measured with a laser Doppler probe while various agents were applied. The role of reactive oxygen species and integrity of the blood–brain barrier were also assessed. In addition, the location of the ET receptor was determined by incubation of cortex samples with specific antibodies. ET1 increased mean arterial pressure and attenuated the cerebral ...


The influencing factors of power transmission and transformation engineering are technology risk, natural risk, economic risk, contract conditions and the professional quality risk. According to a large number of references, an analy- sis model based on matter-element theory to evaluate the engineering change risk of power transmission project has been developed, aiming at China's current change management situation, and proposing the corresponding control measures.


The present invention relates to food processing and preservation technology field, disclose a kind of dewatering process of oenanthe stolonifera, comprise the following steps: (1) raw material; (2) clean; (3) secondary cleaning; (4) sterilize, protect look; (5) dry; (6) weigh, pack.Dewatering process of the present invention is simple, can slough the moisture of Chinese celery, improve the mouthfeel of old Chinese celery, can preserve 1 year, be convenient for people to eat through band drier; Remain the green appearance of Chinese celery and original local flavor and nutritional labeling to greatest extent.


A wireless pressure monitoring system was developed by Florida Institute of Technology to measure wind induced pressure on low-rise structures during hurricanes. This study presents tests made to evaluate the performance of the sensors and their ability to measure accurate pressure variations. To test the reliability of the pressure sensors, a series of tests were designed. The resulting measurements were then compared to secondary references. The measurements were also compared to the basic Bernoulli theory. Further, the wind tunnel measurement allowed for the development of the first comparative computational fluid dynamics simulation and experimental results. Due to the components packaging in the remote, the sensor case cannot be completely streamlined. The resulting shape caused some aerodynamic disturbances. In order to study the sensor shape's influence on the pressure measurements, different experiments were set up. Specifically, by using a roof shaped ramp model mounted on a van, a highway test was performed, allowing examination of the error caused by the sensor's shape. Another test was performed at the University of Florida Hurricane Simulator to study the gust (unsteady) effects. This test revealed that the sensors were sensitive to mechanical vibrations. The paper addresses the sensor network systems topic of the conference.


Aeromonas dhakensis is the most virulent Aeromonas species in tropical and 30 subtropical areas and causes a variety of human diseases. Owing to its resistance against 31 some antibiotics, there is an urgent need for new strategies against this pathogen. This is the 32 first study to isolate and characterize lytic phages against A. dhakensis . Of Aeromonas 33 isolates, only isolate AM could be used to isolate phages using the enrichment technique. 34 This strain was identified via biochemical tests, 16S rDNA sequencing, and whole-genome 35 analyses. All results confirmed that strain AM was A. dhakensis. In silico detection of 36 antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence factors corresponding to the main bacterial 37 virulence determinants were observed in A. dhakensis AM, which was then used as the host for 38 phage isolation. Four lytic phages, designated


Accurately assessing volume status in acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF) can be challenging. Inferior vena cava (IVC) dynamics by echocardiography allow indirect assessment of volume status in these patients. Recently introduced hand‐held ultrasound devices are promising. We aimed to describe the clinical correlates of volume status assessment using a hand‐held ultrasound device in ADHF.


Understanding the relationship between land attributes and soil erosion processes is very important as the resource conservation and developmental programmes are being taken up increasingly on watershed basis. This research integrates the MUSLE within a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment to investigate the spatial distribution of annual soil loss potential in the Timmapur watershed of Raichur Taluk. Both magnitude and spatial distribution of potential soil erosion in the catchment is determined GIS data layers including, Runoff and Peak Runoff (Q and Qp), soil erodability (K), slope length and steepness (LS), cover management (C) and conservation practice (P) factors were computed to determine their effects on average annual soil loss. The runoff factor was obtained using SCS-CN method, the topographic factor was developed from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM); the K factor was determined from a combination of the soil map and the geological map; and the land cover factor was generated from IRS LISS III images. The resultant map of annual soil erosion shows a maximum soil loss of 77.49 t h-1 y-1.


Abstract: This chapter provides an overview of cord blood stem cell technology beginning with an historical perspective of the development of the technology in the treatment of haematological disease. This is then followed by a description of current cord blood collection, processing and storage techniques and a discussion of the pros and cons of both private and public cord blood banking. The state-of-the-art use of cord blood as a source of stem cells in the treatment of haematological disease is then discussed, followed by current concepts in the use of cord blood mesenchymal stem cells in regenerative medicine. The chapter closes with an overview of current research in cord blood stem cell technology, including the use of cord blood as a transfusion product.


The basic aim of this work is to present a numerical model to analyses 3D structural pavements using finite elements procedures with contact mechanics techniques. This study is performed just putting two tires on the structural pavement with several soil layers. These tires and the structural pavement are discretized by finite elements under large 3D elastoplastic deformation. The real loads (of aircrafts, trucks or cars) are applied directly on each tire and by contact mechanics procedures, the real contact area between the tires and the pavement surface is computed. Furthermore, the pressure developed at the contact surfaces is automatically calculated and transferred to the structural pavement by contact mechanics techniques. The friction phenomena developed between the tire and the pavement during the lockwire is taking into account. In the end of this work, numerical results in term of stress, strain and displacements are presented to show the ability of the algorithm. These numerical results are also compared with other finite elements programs.


BACKGROUND Otolaryngology deals with a multitude of surgical cases, making it one of the most essential fields in medicine. Postoperative pain, nausea, and vomiting can lead to complications and delayed healing. Therefore, perioperative patient care is essential. Traditional treatments make use of potent analgesics and antiemetics. However, these options often are expensive, invasive, and may introduce adverse side effects. Consequently, it is important for physicians to consider alternative treatment plans that provide similar beneficial effects, either as adjunctive or primary forms of care. Complementary medicinal approaches, such as acupuncture, may be effective forms of alternative care. Is acupuncture effective when used within otolaryngology procedures?


BACKGROUND
The efficacy and toxicity of gemcitabine (GEM) and irinotecan (CPT-11) is evaluated in previously untreated patients with inoperable or metastatic pancreatic cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
From January 1999 to July 2001, 60 patients with pancreatic cancer (85% stage IV) were enrolled in a two-step extended phase II trial. Patients were treated with gemcitabine (1,000 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8) and CPT-11 (300 mg/m2 on day 8) in cycles of 3 weeks. No prophylactic use of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) was initially planned.

RESULTS
In an intention-to-treat analysis one (1.7%) complete and 14 (23.3%) partial responses were achieved [objective response rate (ORR) 24.7%; 95% confidence interval 14.04% to 35.96%]. Twenty-two (36.7%) and 23 (38.3%) patients had stable and progressive disease, respectively. The median duration of response was 5 months, the median time to tumor progression (TTP) was 7 months and the median overall survival 7 months. One-year survival was 22.5%. Pain improvement and asthenia during treatment were observed in 45% and 43% of patients, respectively; weight gain occurred in 19.5% of patients. Grade 3 anemia occurred in three (5%) patients who required transfusion of six packed red blood cell (RBC) units. Ten (16.7%) additional patients with grade 2 anemia were treated with recombinant erythropoietin. Grade 3 thrombocytopenia occurred in seven (11.7%) patients and grades 3 and 4 neutropenia in 27 (45%). Ten patients developed febrile neutropenia, two of whom died due to sepsis. Prophylactic use of rhG-CSF was eventually required in 93 (28.3%) of 329 administered cycles. Other toxicities were mild.

CONCLUSIONS
The combination of gemcitabine and irinotecan is an active chemotherapy regimen against pancreatic cancer with a 25% ORR. Toxicity was acceptable for the great majority of patients but with a high percentage of hematopoietic growth factor administration.


Trypanosomiasis is one of the neglected tropical diseases and continues to
cause serious morbidity, mortality and economic loss. Current anti-trypanosomal drugs are antiquated
and suffer from a number of serious setbacks, thereby necessitating the search for new
drugs. Stigmasterol has previously demonstrated in vitro and in vivo anti-trypanosomal activity.

Herein, stigmasterol was docked into three validated anti-trypanosomal drug targets;
uridylyl transferase, farnesyl diphosphate synthase and sterol 14α-demethylase, in order to elucidate
the possible biochemical targets for the observed anti-trypanosomal activity.

The binding free energy between stigmasterol and the enzymes was in the order; sterol
14α-demethylase (-8.9 kcal/mol) < uridylyl transferase (-7.9 kcal/mol) < farnesyl diphosphate synthase
(-5.7 kcal/mol). At the lowest energy docked pose, stigmasterol interacts with the active site
of the three trypanosomal enzymes via non-covalent interactions (apart from hydrogen bond) while
highly hydrophobic stigmasterol carbon atoms (21 and 27) were crucial in the interaction with varying
residues of the three anti-trypanosomal targets.

Therefore, results from this study might suggest that stigmasterol mediated the antitrypanosomal
activity through interaction with the three anti-trypanosomal targets but with more
preference towards sterol 14α-demethylase.


Introduction: Diabetes can adversely affect the feto-placental circulation. This can cause complications such as congenital malformations of the fetus, fetal demise, fetal growth abnormalities, pre-eclampsia, and preterm labor. The objective of this study was to compare the uterine artery Doppler indices (resistance index (RI), plasticity index (PI), and peak systolic velocity (PSV)) among pregnant women with diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes, with healthy pregnant women. Methodology: In this study, 60 pregnant women within gestational age of 20 to 40 weeks were consecutively selected. They were in three groups: diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes, and healthy mothers. They were examined by Doppler ultrasound of the uterine artery and the RI, PI, and PSV were recorded. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: There was no significant difference in terms of the uterine artery RI among the three studied groups (P> 0.05). There was a significant difference regarding PI among the three groups (P< 0.05). No significant difference existed with regard to PSV among the three studied groups (P> 0.05). Conclusion: There was a difference regarding PI between mothers with diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes, and healthy mothers.


Gianni Versace's homes--the lakeside villa in Como, the baroque palazzo in Via Gesu, his sun-filled deco fantasy in Miami, and his neoclassical Manhattan touwnhouse--reflect his sensual appreciation of style, comfort, and beauty. Do Not Disturb provides a playful peek behind the closed doors of Versace's homes, as seen through the lens of some of the world's most accomplished photographers, including Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, and Steven Meisel. 650 illustrations, 500 in color.


An object of the present invention is the provision of an image display device capable of ensuring a predetermined display quality regardless of the type of the input image. The present invention relates to a color image display device having a display device and a driving circuit having the delta arrangement display, that determines whether the input image on either side the of the predetermined plurality of types of image determination circuit, one frame of the input image data at least storage circuit 72 for temporarily storing a portion, on the basis of image data of a plurality of pixels comprising the picture data read out from the storage circuit 72, the calculation circuit 73 performs a calculation process of the predetermined information, and install the operation control circuit 74 for switching the arithmetic processing contents of the arithmetic circuit in accordance with an output image determination circuit. Delta arrangement display, the display device, the driving circuit


Strongly Coupled Dark Energy plus Warm dark matter (SCDEW) cosmologies are based on the finding of a conformally invariant (CI) attractor solution during the early radiative expansion, requiring then the stationary presence of ∼ 1 % of coupled-DM and DE, since inflationary reheating. In these models, coupled-DM fluctuations, even in the early radiative expansion, grow up to non-linearity, as shown in a previous associated paper. Such early non-linear stages are modelized here through the evolution of a top-hat density enhancement. As expected, its radius R increases up to a maximum and then starts to decrease. Virial balance is reached when the coupled-DM density contrast is just 25–26 and DM density enhancement is 𝒪(10 %) of total density. Moreover, we find that this is not an equilibrium configuration as, afterwards, coupling causes DM particle velocities to increase, so that the fluctuation gradually dissolves. We estimate the duration of the whole process, from horizon crossing to dissolution, and find zhorizon/zerasing ∼ 3 × 104. Therefore, only fluctuations entering the horizon at z ≲ 109–1010 are able to accrete WDM with mass ∼ 100 eV—as soon as it becomes non-relativistic—so avoiding full disruption. Accordingly, SCDEW cosmologies, whose WDM has mass ∼ 100 eV, can preserve primeval fluctuations down to stellar mass scale.


Objective To observe the effect of Danggui Shaoyao San (DSS) on the amyloid granules in senescence accelerated mouse brain, and provide scientific basis for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease by it. Methods Sixteen SAM-P8 mice were randomly divided into treatment group and control group. The treatment group were administered with decoction of DSS for 1 month. Then the mouse brains were stained by Gomori′s methenamine sliver nitrate. The density (grey scale), diameter and area of the methenamine sliver strain granules (MSSG) of hippocampus were analyzed by photographs auto-analyzing system. Results MSSG clustered predominantly in the hippocampus. The mean diameter and density of MSSG and the mean number of the clusters were significantly decreased in treatment group and prevention group. Conclusion Danggui Shaoyao San can diminish the clusters of MSSG in the hippocampus, it suggests that the deposition of the amyloid granules in senescence accelerated mouse brain is probably inhibited by Danggui Shaoyao San.


Gases and the kinetic-molecular theory translational and transport phenomena first law of thermodynamics thermochemistry entropy free energy chemical equilibrium statistical thermodynamics electrochemistry heterogeneous equilibria solutions rates of chemical reactions reaction kinetics introduction to quantum mechanics atomic structure and spectroscopy electronic structure of diatomic molecules spectroscopy of diatomic molecules electronic structure of polyatomic molecules spectroscopy of polyatomic molecules symmetry and group theory intermolecular bonding crystals phenomena at interfaces macromolecules.


A bacterial strain was isolated from a wastewater lagoon and identified as Pseudomonas fluorescens. This isolate was able to utilize linalool as a sole carbon and energy source. The ability was found to be encoded on a 60-megadalton transmissible plasmid, pSRQ60. The plasmid was also mated into a commercial waste treatment strain, which expanded its ability to utilize other isoprenoid compounds.


The cranial morphology of theropod dinosaurs has been used to examine the phylogeny, ontogeny, ecology, and biomechanics of the clade. Previous studies have recognized that paedomorphosis and peramorphosis occurred multiple times throughout theropod evolution, with skull paedomorphism being one of the major changes during the transition from non-avialan theropods to birds. This study supplemented previous works with more detailed sampling of the morphological data of non-avialan paravians. Principal component analyses based on the cranial geometry confirm that the small-bodied non-avialan paravians have paedomorphic skulls compared with the early-diverging theropods, but independent peramorphosis is also observed in various groups. The secondary elongation of the preorbital portion of the cranium was present in both the late-diverging troodontids and the late-diverging dromaeosaurids, but it was achieved through different morphological configurations in these two lineages.Supplementary material at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5849285


The diagnostics for a fusion reaction of the product registration at the Gas dynamic trap facility during the deuterium neutral beam injection is described in this review. Both 3.02 MeV protons and 2.45 MeV neutrons registrations are used in GDT experiment. The advantages of the registration of these two products are discussed in the paper. Also the fusion reaction intensity and the neutron flux parameters are presented in the article. In addition, the new multichannel diagnostics with the improved parameters are discussed here.


sophistication of the conversation and the following funeral ~a~ al~ the ~ore moving. Later though, when Claudius and Laertes plotted their intrigue like a meeting of Dick Dastardly and Terminator, this emotional intensity was dispelled. The final duel was nicely paced but two-dimensional and the scene flagged until Hamlet prevented Horatio taking his own life by slugging back the last of the poisoned wine. The entry of David Joyce as Fortinbras and his perfunctory response to Horatio's moving chronicle of unnatural acts meant that the production ended without managing to resolve the stylistic extremes that it had set up nor adequately accounting for them.


This paper studies the constructive interference (CI) precoding under per-antenna power constraint (PAPC) in the downlink of multi-user multiple-input single-output (MU-MISO) systems. The scenario of PAPC is more practical than that under sum power constraint (SPC) in actual systems. In this paper, we extend the mathematical precoding structure analysis of CI precoding under SPC to PAPC. By analyzing the formulated optimization problem with KKT conditions and generalized matrix inverse theory, we obtain the closed-form structure of the CI-PAPC precoder as a function of introduced variables and simplify the problem. Then, the primal-dual interior point method (IPM) is employed to solve this simplified problem more efficiently. Simulation results verify our mathematical derivations and show that the proposed method enjoys much lower complexity while maintaining the same communication performance, which promotes the practical implementation of CI precoding in realistic scenarios.


Sorption gravimetric and volumetric techniques performed at 25°C and at atmospheric pressure were employed to study the preferential and total sorptions from binary liquid mixtures of toluene + lower aliphatic alcohols (C1 – C6) in a high-pressure low-density polyethylene membrane and the volume of the swollen membrane. Toluene was preferentially sorbed in all six systems. The total sorbed amount increased from pure alcohol to pure toluene. The experimental volume of the swollen membrane was compared with that calculated under the assumption that interactions between the polymer and liquid mixture were negligible. The composition of the binary liquid mixture sorbed in the polymer as a function of the composition of the bulk solution surrounding the membrane is presented. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011


In this paper,we consider the three-point singular boundary value problems with p-Laplacian operator by using the fixed point theorem,some multiplicity results of the symmetric positive solutions are obtained.


The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for channel allocation unit, the method comprising: mapping between the network side indicates the CQI control channel PDCCH physical downlink rate according to channel quality determination control channel element CCE aggregation level; network side according to the CCE aggregation CCE degree of resource allocation. By this method, to achieve the effect of improving the CCE resource utilization, ensure PDCCH decoding success rate.


Molecular design and synthesis of organic ferroelectric materials with a -OCH2CF2CH2O- moiety as the basic molecular structure were conducted in order to improve the high coercive field value of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). The synthesis of the designed molecules were based on the half ester 2,2-difluoro-l,3-propanediol N,N-diethylcarbamamic acid. The sequence of alkylation of alcohol, deprotection, and the second alkylation efficiently produced the desired polyethers except in the case of the Williamson ether synthesis, which occurs between a fluorinated alcohol and a fluorinated tosylate. The dielectric constants of the prepared polyethers at room temperature were relatively high, although no ferroelectric properties were observed. Another method had functional groups at the end of the molecules for intermolecular interaction. Hydrogen-bonded bisacetamide showed dielectric relaxation and ferroelectricity.


The interaction of a magnetic vortex with a rotating magnetic field causes the nucleation of a vortex--antivortex pair leading to a vortex polarity switching. The key point of this process is the creation of a dip, which can be interpreted as a nonlinear resonance in the system of certain magnon modes with nonlinear coupling. The usually observed single-dip structure is a particular case of a multidip structure. The dynamics of the structure with $n$ dips is described as the dynamics of nonlinearly coupled modes with azimuthal numbers $m=0,\pm n,\pm 2n$. The multidip structure with arbitrary number of vortex antivortex pairs can be obtained in vortex-state nanodisk using a space- and time-varying magnetic field. A scheme of a possible experimental setup for multidip structure generation is proposed.


The role of cytokines in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis is increasingly valued, in which the tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α) as an important factor in pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis process and its role in dis-ease are equally valued. TNF alpha not only in the pancreas, intestinal, liver and so on multiple organ damage, causing severe inflammation, the body also mediates the release of inflammatory cytokines and other heavier damage on the body.


We present the detection and characterization of the two new transiting, close-in, giant extrasolar planets KOI-200 b and KOI-889 b. They were first identified by the Kepler team as promising candidates from photometry of the Kepler satellite, then we established their planetary nature thanks to the radial velocity follow-up jointly secured with the spectrographs SOPHIE and HARPS-N. Combined analyses of the whole datasets allow the two planetary systems to be characterized. The planet KOI-200 b has mass and radius of 0.68 +/- 0.09 M-Jup and 1.32 +/- 0.14 R-Jup; it orbits in 7.34 days a F8V host star with mass and radius of 1.40(-0.11)(+0.14) M-circle dot and 1.51 +/- 0.14 R-circle dot. The planet KOI-889 b is a massive planet with mass and radius of 9.9 +/- 0.5 M-Jup and 1.03 +/- 0.06 R-Jup; it orbits in 8.88 days an active G8V star with a rotation period of 19.2 +/- 0.3 days, and mass and radius of 0.88 +/- 0.06 M-circle dot and 0.88 +/- 0.04 R-circle dot. Both planets lie on eccentric orbits and are located just at the frontier between regimes where the tides can explain circularization and where tidal effects are negligible. The two planets are among the first ones detected and characterized thanks to observations secured with HARPS-N, the new spectrograph recently mounted at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. These results illustrate the benefits that could be obtained from joint studies using two spectrographs as SOPHIE and HARPS-N.


Using a new layout, the microstrip line layout, to screen the RF noise generated by a lossy substrate, a noise figure (NFmin) of 0.46 dB at 10 GHz has been directly measured for 8-gate-finger 90-nm-node MOSFETs (LG=65 nm). This was achieved without the need for de-embedding. The low NFmin in metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) with a small number of gate fingers can also reduce DC power consumption. The data was found to be consistent with a simulation of the DC current–voltage (I–V), S-parameter, and NFmin characteristics.


We present several observations of a random fiber lasing effect induced by Rayleigh backscattering only. A reflective semiconductor optical amplifier re-amplifies the non-coherent light fed back by 25km of SMF acting as a scattered mirror.


It was the Western books written in Chinese characters, introduced from the European Catholic missionaries into diplomatic delegation of Joseon dynasty as a present or as a being purchased in the street of bookshops Yoorichang in Beijing China that made the Korean intellectuals see and understand th...


by the physical juxtaposition of rjavxv^o a., words which represent very readily associated ideas, a reader taking these words together would then necessarily misunderstand the in any case difficult ovre co-ordination, since, whereas 'he could neither persuade nor hold his peace' is sense, 'he could neither persuade nor keep-quiet-because-of-bad-weather' is obvious nonsense. Such a reader would separate rjcrvxa^ev from the second ovre clause and so be forced to interpret it as part of the apodosis, to which it would then require to be joined by a conjunction. At the same time, if he took varepov . . . KOIVOHJCXS with rjovxa-Cev, he would need to suppose a lacuna after the second ovre.


A man walked out from the baths and leaned over the railing that surrounded the entrance. He had a beautifully-developed sun-tan and wore neat khaki shorts. H e was bored. He had been a baths-attendant for three weeks and nothing had happened. Then he saw the children and knew he was looking at an offence.


A physics-based compact model describing the electrothermal behavior of polysilicon resistors considering both the roles of the grain-boundary potential barriers and the transport inside the silicon decananocrystallites is presented. The model accurately captures the resistivity modulation as a function of temperature, dopant concentration, and grain size, including also the self-heating-induced nonlinear effects in the current-voltage relationship. An accurate agreement of the model against the experimental characterization is reported.


Based on in-depth interviews, the paper analyzes activities of organized animal protectors from four regional center in Russia. A typology of animal protection nonprofit organizations is attempted as well as that of initiative groups. Problems of consolidating these activities inside their community are analyzed as well as contacts with other social and political agents.


Background: Urinary incontinence followed surgical prostatectomy generates embarrassment and depression; patients avoid social gatherings and lose self-confidence so it is a great concern for patients and a challenging problem for clinicians. Objectives: To invistigate the effect of electrical stimulation of posterior tibial versus sacral nerve in urinary incontinence post prostatectomy. Methodology: Thirty adult male patients who complaint from urinary incontinence post prostatectomy were participated in this study, their ages ranged from 45 to 65 years. They were rondomly divided into two equal groups. Group (A): Received 12 weeks of treatment with posterior tibial nerve electrical stimulation with frequency 1-10HZ, pulse with 200μ sec, intensity according to the patient's tolerance, duration of treatment 15 minutes three times/week in addition to routine medical treatment and traditional care (fesoterodine, tolterodine and oxybutynin) while Group (B): Received 12 weeks of treatment with sacral nerve electrical stimulation with frequency 1-10HZ, pulse with 200μ sec, intensity according to the patient's tolerance, duration of treatment 15 minutes three times/week in addition to routine medical treatment and traditional care (fesoterodine, tolterodine and oxybutynin). Results: Both posterior tibial and sacral nerve stimulation were effective, minimally invasive option for treatment of patients complaining of post prostatectomy urinary incontinence. Both posterior tibial and sacral nerve stimulation produced subjective improvements which are improvement of quality of life parameters, leakage episodes and frequency. Conclusion: There was a significant decrease in mean values of Revised Urinary Scale Results (RUIS) of posterior tibial nerve stimulation group compared with sacral nerve stimulation group post treatment.


The development of high-performance and low-cost electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of great importance for renewable energy technologies. Herein, a highly efficient and stable self-supported electrocatalyst with V-Co4N...


Examination of the biochemical and physiological responses of organisms to xenobiotic chemicals has been an area of scientific investigation for many years. Historically, these techniques have been used in the development and screening of natural and synthetic pharmaceuticals, biocides, and other biologically active chemicals and in elucidating their modes of action. However, only recently have these techniques been applied as indicators of the nature and extent of chemical pollution of aquatic ecosystems. Today, research on the effects of chemical contaminants at the molecular level of biological organization is one of the most rapidly developing and intensively studied areas in the field of environmental toxicology. In this paper, we discuss the relationship of biochemical and physiologic responses to effects at higher levels of biological organization, examine general categories and provide specific examples of techniques that are presently being applied to aquatic systems, and provide recommendations for implementation of biochemical and physiological techniques in aquatic contaminant assessment programs.


Jai NicAllen describes what it is like for patients who are transgender in the NHS and what life is like as a transgender medical student


The present invention relates to the use of ascorbyl phosphate and niacinamide for suppressing the crystallization of biotin in cosmetic or dermatological compositions. The invention further ascorbyl phosphate, niacinamide, relates biotin and cosmetically comprising an acceptable carrier cosmetic or dermatological composition. .BACKGROUND


We show that information on the weak phase γ can be extracted from the K * π and ρK decays. Less hadronic uncertainty is involved when the observables of four of these modes are combined together. We further point out two approximate relations in these decay modes can help us determining whether there are new physics contributions in ∆I = 1 transitions, as hinted in the Kπ modes.


Age-related declines in hearing abilities are common and can be attributed to changes in the peripheral and central levels of the auditory system. Although central auditory processing is enhanced in younger musicians, the influence of lifelong musicianship on age-related decline in central auditory processing has not yet been investigated. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to investigate whether lifelong musicianship can mitigate age-related decline in central auditory processing. In the first experiment, age-related declines on four hearing assessments were compared between musicians and non-musicians. Speech-in-noise and gap-detection thresholds were found to decline at a slower rate in musicians, providing an increasing advantage with age. Furthermore, musicians had a lifelong advantage in detecting a mistuned harmonic, although the rate of age-related decline was similar for both musicians and non-musicians. Importantly, there was no significant effect of musicianship on pure-tone thresholds, suggesting that lifelong musicianship can mitigate age-related decline in central but not peripheral auditory processing. To test this hypothesis, a second experiment compared auditory evoked responses (AERs) between groups of older and younger musicians and iii non-musicians. Results indicated that exogenous neural activity was enhanced in musicians, but that age-related changes were similar between musicians and non-musicians. Furthermore, endogenous, attention-dependent neural activity was enhanced in older adults, suggesting a compensatory cognitive strategy. Importantly, endogenous activity was preferentially enhanced in older musicians, suggesting that lifelong musicianship enhanced cognitive processes related to auditory perception. In the final experiment, the ability to segregate simultaneous sounds was tested in older and younger musicians and non-musicians by using a mistuned harmonic paradigm, where AERs to harmonic complexes were compared to AERs when one of the harmonics was mistuned. Results indicated that musical training in older adults has little effect on early automatic registration of the mistuned harmonic. In contrast, late attention-dependent activity, associated with the perception of the mistuned harmonic as a separate sound, was influenced by musical training in older adults, suggesting that lifelong musicianship preserves or enhances cognitive components of concurrent sound segregation. In summary, musical training was found to reduce age-related decline in hearing abilities due to enhanced central processing of auditory information. iv Acknowledgments


The warm extrusion of 7A04 aluminum alloy deep cylinder conical part is used to replace the method of machining the rod material, which significantly improves the material utilization. The compound extrusion of forward and backward extrusion is designed. Two or more basic deformation processes on a suit of mould and single press stroke are realized. By the finite element calculation method of metal plastic forming process the product development cycle is shortened, manpower and material resources are saved significantly. It provides guidance for forming of metal parts with complex shape.


This paper explores ancient myth and mythological figures in contemporary advertising as a means of communication with consumers. In a hermeneutical and analytical way, through psychologic and semiotic theories, we classify and analyze the most recurrent themes: mythical time; beauty and eternal youth; success and power; idyllic environment, the search for the lost paradise. Based on universal archetypes, we see how advertising becomes an excellent vehicle to effectively reach the receiver's subconscious and act as an inciter to consumption.


Halide perovskite materials have come to the forefront of optoelectronics recently owing to their excellent light absorbing and emitting properties. Despite their excellent properties there are still problems that need to be overcome such as short operating lifetimes, and an observed hysteresis behavior in their current–voltage characteristics. It is found that these challenges could be overcome by developing a deterministic nucleation process using gold as a nucleation promoter to control the grain size of the perovskite layer. It is shown that this deterministic nucleation process can be expanded across multiple perovskite systems and can be used to achieve extremely uniform and large grain sizes within the perovskite layer. These large perovskite grains exhibit enhanced stability compared to current state‐of‐the‐art nanocrystalline films, and exhibit no hysteresis in their I–V characteristics which is key if commercialization of perovskites is to be realized.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#am


Effects of the hydraulic retention time (HRT) and loading rate on thermophilic methane fermentation of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) were investigated by using a semi-continuous flow completely-mixed reactor. The experiment was conducted at a temperature of 55 °C and a constant influent TS level of 10% by changing the HRT from 5 days to 30days. The results indicate that the HRT of thermophilic digester could be shortened to 5 days without significant decrease in both the organic matter degradation and methane production, and that the digester was successfully operated at the high loading rate up to 31 kg-CODCr·m-3·d-1. The removal efficiencies of TS, VS and total CODCr were, respectively, in the ranges of 73-78%, 76-78%, and 72-75%, and 1 kg of influent TS produced about 0.75 m3 of digestion gas with the methane content of 57-59%. The Stoichiometric formula of the methane fermentation of OFMSW was identified as: C17H29O10N + 6.5H2O → 9.25CH4 + 6.75CO2 + NH4+ + HCO3-, which is in accordance with the experimental results of this study. The first-order reaction was found suitable for describing the degradation of the OFMSW, and kinetic constants for TS, VS and total CODCr were summarized in a table. It is suggested that the applicable HRT for the high-solids digestion of OFMSW could be shortened to at least of 7.5 days, corresponding to the CODCr loading rate of 20 kg-CODCr·m-3·d-1, by adding mineral nutrient to the feed. In addition, the relationships between HRT and various operation parameters were determined quantitatively based on the experimental results.


The normal modes of a cloud of confined ions forming a strongly-correlated plasma were investigated. The results of molecular-dynamics simulations were compared to predictions of a cold fluid mode. Mode frequencies are observed to shift slightly compared to the cold fluid predictions, and the modes are also observed to damp in time. Simulations also reveal a set of torsional oscillations which have no counterpart in cold fluid theory. The frequency shift, damping, and torsional effects are compared to a model that treats trapped plasmas as a visco-elastic spheroid. It may be possible to measure high-frequency bulk and shear moduli of a strongly-correlated plasma from mode excitation experiments on trapped non-neutral plasmas. An example of the results of the calculation is presented.


We report on a patient who presented on the ear, nose and throat (ENT) clinic with swelling on the right temporal region. Imaging studies revealed an expansive process of the skin and subcutaneous tissues of the right preauricular region. Post intravenous contrast administration revealed an ovoid mass with high enhancement without affecting the parotid gland. The patient underwent tumor resection, and a biopsy confirmed the presence of a Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans (DFSP). In addition, as part of the treatment the patient received radiation therapy and is currently disease-free without signs of recurrence.


The study investigated the causes of poor performance in English language among secondary school students in Dutse metropolis of Jigawa state. Responses were elicited from students and teachers in five secondary schools in Dutse metropolis. The study sample was 379, in which 300 were students and 79 were teachers. The descriptive survey design was used and questionnaire was used in collection of data. Frequency and simple percentage were used in the analysis of data. The findings of the study led to the conclusion that the dominance of mother tongue, inadequate qualified teachers of English language, negative attitudes of students toward English language, improper use of method in teaching English language, inadequate instructional media and facilities, lack of language laboratory for teaching English language are the causes of poor performance in English language among secondary school students of Dutse metropolis of Jigawa state.. The study also found out that provision of qualified teachers of English language, using the right approach to teaching of English language, provision of language laboratory, engaging of students in debating and listening to English programmes are some of the ways that can improve secondary school students' performance in English language. The study also recommended that qualified teachers of English language should always be employed to teach it, adequate facilities and instructional media/materials need to be provided and where they are not available teacher are to improvise, proper supervision by all stakeholders should be imbibed and so on.


Credit cards have been viewed as a competitive banking product that helps to improve a bank's financial position while at the same time improving financial transactions among customers of a bank. The present study explores the factors influencing the attitude of bank customers in the context of the Malaysian banking system. The study examines the effects of knowledge, media awareness, perceptions, family influence and religious factors on attitudes towards credit card usage. The study finds that knowledge, media awareness, perceptions and family influence are instrumental in determining consumer attitudes toward credit card usage. In more detail, perceptions are ranked highest, followed by family influence and knowledge. Identifying such factors helps to provide better information to direct future planning of credit card services. Importantly, this study provides valuable insight for bank managers to effectively oversee credit card services.


Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic not only causes morbidity and mortality around the world, but also causes anxiety and fear among people. Healthcare workers are one of the groups most commonly affected during the epidemic process. It has been determined that the main transmission in COVID-19 is through droplets. This study aimed to measure the fear and anxiety about COVID-19 and evaluate the quality of life in two physicians' groups;ENT physicians with direct contact and psychiatrists without direct contact with the respiratory tract while examining patients. Materials and Methods: One hundred twenty-seven physicians accepted to fill in the online questionnaire were included in the study. The questionnaire form consisting of sociodemographic data form, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and SF-36 was applied online. Results: The presence of a psychiatric disturbance diagnosis and the rate of receiving psychiatric support in the past were higher in the psychiatrist group. All other demographic data were similar in both groups. When the Fear of COVID-19 Scale subscales and total score, SF-36 subscales were compared, no significant difference was found between the two groups. Conclusions: Our findings emphasize that both groups of physicians' fears about the pandemic and their quality of life are affected at similar rates. Longitudinal studies are needed to investigate other factors affecting healthcare professionals in public health emergencies such as pandemics. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Annals of Medical of Research is the property of Annals of Medical Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)


In geography teaching,it is helpful to use audiovisual means and objects for students. They Become more active and wirk harder and learn better.


The oscillations in the antenna extrapolation measurement data due to multiple reflections between the antennas have proved difficult to fit accurately by the least squares procedure. This report describes a method for digitally filtering the data prior to fitting to remove these oscillations. A Pascal program has been written to perform the filtering and the process has been shown to be effective.


The utility model discloses an instant-heat type drinking water heating device which comprises an instant-heat type pipeline heater, a balance water tank, a backflow water tank and a water pump. A water inlet, a water outlet and a backflow opening are formed in the balance water tank, a backflow inlet and a water draining opening are formed in the backflow water tank, the water pump is provided with a water draining end and a water pumping end, the water inlet of the balance water tank is connected with the water draining end of the water pump, the water outlet of the balance water tank is connected with the instant-heat type pipeline heater, the backflow opening of the balance water tank is connected with the backflow inlet of the backflow water tank, a water pumping end of the water pump is divided into two branches, one branch is connected with the water draining opening of the backflow water tank, and the other branch serves as a water source inlet. The instant-heat type drinking water heating device is characterized in that a switch device which can automatically open or close the water draining opening through buoyancy is arranged in the backflow water tank. The instant-heat type drinking water heating device has the advantages of being simple and reasonable in structure, avoiding the situation that the water pump pumps air to affect water pumping work of the water pump due to the fact that the backflow pipeline is communicated with the air and guaranteeing that the temperature of outlet water meets the set requirement.


The therapeutic effects of bovine articular cartilage on adjuvant-induced arthritis in Kunming mice were investigated in the present study.Animals were divided into control group,model group and treatment groups (bovine articular cartilage,polysaccharide from bovine articular cartilage,polysaccharide from bovine laryngeal cartilage;administered orally by gastric intubations,180 mg/kg/d,for 20 days after induction).The arthritis model was induced by injection of Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) into the left hind footpad.Arthritis index as well as the index of liver,spleen and thymus was analyzed.Corresponding kits were used in determining superoxide dismutase (SOD),malondialdehyde (MDA),nitric oxide (NO) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels in serum.The results indicated that bovine articular cartilage could obviously attenuate the paw swelling response.Liver and thymus index,MDA and NO levels were significantly (P0.05) lowered by bovine articular cartilage-treatment.The serum level of IL-1β was significantly (P0.01) decreased by the treatment.Our results indicated that bovine articular cartilage had a therapeutic effect on adjuvant-induced arthritis and its efficacy was higher than those of polysaccharide groups.Bovine articular cartilage may be a viable therapeutic candidate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.


Nanoclay was synthesized by hydration of local clay deposit samples, functionalized and characterized using Raman Spectroscopy, Thermogravimetry, Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) and Particle sizer. Samples were studied for their mineral types and in vitro antibacterial activities. The results proved significant for the classification of the studied clay deposits into natural healing or non-healing clays. Modification of nanoclay conferred antibacterial properties against clinical isolates: Escherichia Coli (E. Coli), Pseudomonas aeroginosa1 (Wound swab), Pseudomonas aeroginosa2 (Ear Swab), Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus Sp. Findings of the study showed that nanoclay was successfully synthesized as revealed by the pore width and volume in the range of 0.03675-5.349 nm and 0.033520.0914 cm/g, with a BET surface area of 432.6 m/g for the control sample (DNCC). Whereas Arginine/phenylalanine modified nanoclay had 0.03675-5.3490 nm and 0.005877-0.04399 cm/g each with a BET SA of 102.1 m/g and 310.3 m/g respectively. The surface coverage by the two different organocations (Arg, Phe) were 76.4 and 28.3 % respectively. Study revealed that the deposits were composed of a mixture of clay minerals (quartz, crystallite, tridymite and opal, feldspar, hematite, Kaolinite and Illite). Absorption peak around 17741784 cm was due to C=O stretch. The peak around 801-820 cm was due to modification. Degradation temperature range was from 450-800 C. The novelty in this that the Nigerian clay sample from the Dogon-ruwa deposit exhibited no in vitro antibacterial activities. However, modification hugely enhanced the degree of antibacterial activities of the nanoclay. While Kaffin-koro nanoclay exhibited in vitro antibacterial activities and these were enhanced due to modification with amino acids. The study demonstrates that modification with appropriate organic cations could increase the antibacterial robustness of the studied clay deposits for useful biological applications.


An implicit finite-volume numerical scheme has been developed to solve the three-dimensional transport equations that govern the electroosmotic and electrophoretic phenomena. The scheme consists of solving the ion transport equation and electro-neutrality condition coupled with Navier-Stokes equations for fluid flow in a sequential fashion until convergence is achieved. This capability is used for accurate modeling of electrokinetic focussing and of sample injection in cross-channels, and band-broadening in microchips. The simulations show that sample injection using electrokinetic switching technique produces sample plug with a large tail which has been observed in experiments. The simulations also show the sample plug broadening due to turns in the separation channel.


We provide the expression of the exchange-correlation potential in the adiabatic connection fluctuation-dissipation (ACFD) framework, for arbitrary time-dependent (TD) kernels. We investigate the asymptotic behavior of the ACFD potential in three relevant approximations: the random-phase approximation, the exact-exchange kernel in two-electron systems, and the adiabatic local-density approximation. We show that these potentials have the expected -1/r+Q/r(3)-alpha/(2r(4)) tail (in closed-shell systems with spherical symmetry), where Q and alpha depend on the TD kernel and reflect the physics included in each approximation. We also discuss approximate ACFD potentials that are much simpler to compute than the exact ones while being likely of reasonable accuracy.


In this paper we investigate Feldstein Horioka puzzle for 14 CEE countries (Albania, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia,
Estonia,Poland,Romania,Serbia). In our paper when we investigate the whole sample fo 14 CEE
countries we find less positive association between investment and savings meaning that capital
is highly mobile. While when we regress the subsample of those countries from the sample
which are EU members we find the lowest coeffcient of association between investment and
saving therefore capital is highly mobile in those countries.While in the Non-EU members from
this CEE countires the coeficient is highest 0.13 ,meaning there is lowest capital mobility. Unit
root tests proved that in this sample of countries savings are I(1) or I(2) process, and
investments are stationary.


Motivated by recent studies of supersymmetry in higher-dimensional spaces, we discuss the experimental signatures of a superlight gravitino (mass ≤ 10 −3 eV). We concentrate on the process e − γ → ˜ e R ˜ G as a probe of supersymmetry, where a single heavy superpartner and a superlight gravitino are produced. The fact that there is only one heavy superpartner in the final state in this process would require a lower center-of-mass energy for on-shell production compared to conventional pair production. If no positive signal is found, this process puts a bound on the supersymmetry breaking scale.


Review of: Narrating Migration: Intimacies of Exclusion in Northern Italy, Sabina Perrino (2021)
New York and London: Routledge, 188 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-03208-450-3, p/bk, £36.99


Objective: To explore clinical effects ofspleen-invigorating decoction and triple therapyin treating upper gastrointestinal perforation on the foundation of endoscopic hemoclip. Methods: Eighty patients were randomized into the observation group and the control group, both groups were given with endoscopic surgery and triple therapy, the observation group with spleen-invigorating decoction. Results: Total effective rate of the observation group was 95.0%, superior to 82.5% of the control group with significant difference(P0.05). The scores of the symptoms such as abdominal pain, heartburn, sour regurgitations and others were decreased in both groups significantly(P0.05), the decrease of the observation group was more notable(P0.05). The observation group was shorter than the control group in recovery time of intestinal peristalsis after the surgery and hospitalization time after the surgery(P0.05). Complication incidence of the observation group was 5.00%, less than 17.50% of the control group with notable difference(P0.05). Conclusion: Based on the treatment of endoscopic hemoclip,spleen-invigorating decoction combined with triple therapy are effective in treating upper gastrointestinal perforation with lower incidence of the complications.


There is growing interest in defining the aberrant molecular differences between normal and tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs) that support tumor progression. For this purpose, we recently conducted a genome-wide DNA methylation profiling of TAFs and paired control fibroblasts (CFs) from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, and reported a widespread hypomethylation concomitantly with focal gain of DNA methylation; in addition, we found evidence that a fraction of lung TAFs are fibrocytes in origin. Of note, the aberrant epigenome of lung TAFs had a global impact in gene expression and a selective impact on the TGF-s pathway. To get insights on the functional implications of the latter impact, we analyzed the response of lung TAFs to exogenous TGF-s1 in terms of activation and contractility. We found a larger expression of a panel of activation markers including a-SMA and collagen-I in TAFs compared to control fibroblasts. Likewise, TGF-s1 elicited a larger contractility in TAFs than in CFs as assessed by traction force microscopy. These findings reveal that lung TAFs are hyperresponsive to TGF-s1, which may underlie the expansion and/or maintenance of the tumor-promoting desmoplastic stroma in lung cancer.


The singing and dancing performances called be among the Baka were studied. The singing and dancing can be classified into two categories: one, informal and playful performances participated by women and children, and the other, formal and dramatic ones directed by men. Three types of performances (zaiko, kpalam, jengi )a re described in detail. An analysis is made on Baka participatory behavior and the social relationships embodied in these performances.


Sterol-regulatory element binding proteins(SREBPs) can activate gene′s expression,such as cholesterol,which is closed to the synthesis of milk fat.This paper constructed a Cholesterol-SREBP System Model according to SREBPs′ function in Cholesterol′ metabolism,to explain the controlment and adjustment mechanisms of cholesterol in cells and the significance of milk fat′s synthesis.


Main methods of preparing high-purity lithium fluoride were discussed,which included direct preparation method,ion-exchange preparation method and extracting preparation method.Lithium fluoride analysis methods used commonly were reviewed,which included graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and flame atomic absorption spectrometry.


Objective: To explore reflection as a learning tool in undergraduate medical education.Study Design: Cross-sectional survey.Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted among MBBS and BDS undergraduate students of CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan from 1st January 2022 to 30th June 2022.Materials and Methods: In this online cross-sectional survey, the Reflective practices questionnaire (RPQ) was administered to 290 medical (fourth and final year) and dental (third and final year) undergraduates. Data were analyzed through SPSS 24.Results: Out of 290 participants, the majority were female (179, 61.7%). Most of the participants were from MBBS (188, 64.8%). The overall mean score of the questionnaire was 73.493 ± 17.407 (95% CI: 16.286 ± 18.439) out of a total score of 96. The highest score of critical appraisal was 18.790 ± 4.248 (95% CI: 4.064 ± 4.608). There was no difference of the mean score of different domains based on gender, specialty or year of education.Conclusion: The undergraduate medical and dental students demonstrated good reflective practices. However, there is a need to improve critical thinking and appraisal among students to achieve better outcomes.


With reinforced concrete rectangular parallelepiped girder sample and accelerating electric erosion experiment,the protective layer rust expansion crack time and rust expansion crack width expansion were influenced by various factors were studied when erosion current,steel bar diameter,concrete intensity and protective layer thickness was different,the influencing mechanism of various factors were analyzed,so as to carry out proper structural durability evaluation.


Objective To investigate the expression of serum mannose-binding lectin(MBL) and urinary membrane attack complex(MAC) in type 2 diabetics and their correlation with onset and progression of diabetic nephropathy.Methods 60 patients with T2DM were divided into three groups according to their urinary albumin excretion rate(UAER):normal albuminuria group(NA,UAER30mg/24h,n=20),micro-albuminuria group(MA,UAER 30~300mg/24h,n=20) and clinical proteinuria group(CA,UAER300mg/24h,n=20).Double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to detect serum MBL and urine MAC,serum creatinine(SCr) and other test index were also detected in each group of patients.Results Serum MBL and urine MAC were significantly higher in CA group than in MA group(P0.05).They were also higher in MA group than in NA group(P0.05);In all patients,serum MBL was positively correlated with urinary MAC(P0.05);both serum MBL and urine MAC were positively correlated with UAER and serum creatinine(P0.05).Conclusion MBL complement pathway activation may be closely correlated with the onset and progression of diabetic nephropathy.


The diploma thesis explains the therapeutical value of photography and describes the method called phototherapy, which uses photography for therapeutical purposes. Phototherapeutic techniques, which include the act of creating photographs as a therapeutic activity, are described. The examples of phototherapeutic programs abroad and in Slovenia are listed. In the research part of the thesis, the works of two such phototherapeutic projects in Slovenia are described. Clients' opinions of the method are included. In the conclusion of the thesis, different uses of phototherapy are compared and the possibilities for further development of the method and its integration into the social pedagogical work are suggested.


This research aims to determine students' critical reading skills, how they can write scientific papers, and how critical reading relates to students' ability to write scientific papers in class XI at SMK Negeri 6 Padang. Because these two skills are fundamental to master, this quantitative research uses a correlation approach. The population of this research is students in class XI at SMK Negeri 6 Padang who are registered in 2023/2024. The sample in this research was class XI students, totaling 31 people. The data collection technique uses a questionnaire and the data analysis carried out is correlation analysis between variables. The results of this research are first, the reading habits of the class secondly, the scientific work writing skills of the class third, there is a significant relationship between reading skills and scientific writing skills of class XI students at SMK Negeri 6 Padang. Based on these conclusions, teachers who teach Indonesian language subjects must be more innovative in improving students' reading and writing skills at SMK Negeri 6 Padang


In this paper, we fabricated the micro hotplate which consisted of a thin film heater(Pt/Cr bilayers) sandwiched with the thermal oxide and E-beam evaporated oxide. And we studied the electrical and the structural properties of Pt/Cr bilayers due to annealing temperature. When we compared the temperature measured from type k thermocouples with the temperature acquired from I.R. thermo-vision system according to the variations of emissivity, the emissivity of I-beam evaporated oxide was 0.5. The sheet resistance of Pt/Cr bilayers didn't depend on the Cr layer thickness, and it was considered as the existence of CrO between the Pt and the Cr layer. When the annealing temperature was increased from to , the out-diffusions of Cr were increased(which was confirmed by AES depth profile) and the grain size of Pt(220) phase was enlarged also(analyzed by XRD and SEM photographs). From the results of XRD analysis and AES depth profile, the Pt/Cr bilayers annealed at were more stable than any other cases in structural properties.


Three sequential surveys of exchangeable potassium (Exch. K) in the surface 10 cm of major Tasmanian soils are presented, together with data from surface samples of profiles collected earlier. Soils with Exch. K less than 0.4 m.equiv 100 g-1 are considered to be low or marginal in potassium readily available for pasture growth. Lateritic podzolic soils were lowest in Exch. K, with four-fifths of the sample sites below 0.4 m.equiv 100 g-1 (median value 0.21 m.equiv 100 g-1). Podzols and humus podzols were similarly low. Available potassium was low to marginal in yellow podzolic soils on sandstone and solodized solonetz and solodic soils. Moderate contents were found in yellow podzolic soils on mudstone, the only soils with appreciable illite, and in organic alluvial soils. On basalt, krasnozems had moderate available potassium but black earths and prairie soils were marginal. On dolerite, non-calcic brown soils had ample potassium (median Exch. K 0.93 m.equiv. 100 g-1) but grey-brown podzolic soils had much less. Most soils showed high variability between farms and one krasnozem soil series had high variability between paddocks within farms. Coefficients of variation ranged from 42 to 58%, in agreement with corresponding values reported by other workers. The contents of Exch. K found are interpreted in terms of factors of soil formation and of land use.


An analysis method of antiferromagnetic powder patterns in spin-echo NMR under external fields is shown. Spin-echo spectra for powdered antiferromagnets under external fields have been calculated in both the field- and frequency-sweeping cases on the assumption of the random distribution of the direction of antiferromagnetic internal fields. In this calculation, the effect of the non-perpendicularity between the axis of the sample coil and the resonance field is taken into account. From the comparison with the observed spectra which have been measured for proton in the antiferromagnetic CsMnCl 3 ·2H 2 O in the powdered state, the present analysis method is shown to be applicable to the analysis of the spectra of real antiferromagnetic materials.


Automotive abnormal sound is an important manifestation of the automotive system components early malfunction. It can effectively improve safety and reliability of the vehicle system by characteristics extraction of abnormal vehicle sound and prediction of the development trend of fault. What's more, it can solve the problem that ECU can't identify tire failure and other problems. As a result, it will reduce the number of traffic accidents, protect human safety and property.


Objective Metachromatic leukodystrophy disorder (MLD) is one of the rare neurometabolic diseases caused due to lack of saposin B and arylsulfatase A enzyme deficiency. Materials & Methods Eighteen patients diagnosed as metachromatic leukodystrophy in the Neurology Department of Mofid Children's Hospital in Tehran, Iran between 2010 and 2014 were included in our study. The disorder was confirmed by clinical, EMG-NCV, arylsulfatase A enzyme checking and neuroimaging findings along with neurometabolic and genetic assessment from reference laboratory in Iran. We assessed age, gender, past medical history, developmental status, clinical manifestations, and neuroimaging findings of 18 patients with metachromatic leukodystrophy. Results From 18 patients, 80% were offspring from consanguineous marriages. A family history of metachromatic leukodystrophy disease was positive for four patients. Twelve patients had late infantile form of this disorder and six patients had juvenile form. A history of tonic type seizure was positive in 20% of the patients and tonic spasm was confirmed with clinical information. Electromyographgraphy (EMG) in 96% of patients was abnormal with demyelinating sensorimotor neuropathy pattern. MRI in all patients showed the leukodystrophic pattern as arcuate fibers sparing and subcortical rim in white matter and periventricular involvement. Our diagnosis was confirmed by EMG-NCV findings with sensorimotor neuropathy pattern and the assessment of arylsulfatase A enzyme function. Conclusion MLD is an inheritance metabolic disorder, which was confirmed by the assessment of arylsulfatase A enzyme function, peripheral blood leukocyte that assessed in a referral laboratory in Iran.


The dependency link has an important role in the robustness of interdependent networks, which is assigned by the degree, the betweenness and random coupling in previous works. To enhance the robustness and overcome the limitation in existing methods, coupling preferences with the harmonic closeness are proposed, i.e., assortative coupling with the harmonic closeness (ACH) and disassortative coupling with the harmonic closeness (DCH). We investigate cascading failures on interdependent scale-free networks with different values of the average degree and the coupling strength under intentional attacks. We find that interdependent scale-free networks with DCH are more robust than the ones with ACH. Moreover, increasing the coupling strength leads to the more serious cascading failures. Another striking finding is that our method significantly reduces the impact of cascading failures compared with the methods concerning the degree and the betweenness in interdependent scale-free networks regardless of the average degree and the coupling strength. These findings may be useful for the construction of the dependency links in interdependent scale-free networks to resist the cascading propagation.


Although it is known that grasping without vision affects kinematics, it is unclear whether this extends to both the early and late stages of grasping. We tackled this issue by exposing participants to the Uznadze illusion (a medium stimulus appears larger or smaller after exposure to smaller or larger inducers). After seeing smaller or larger disks, participants grasped a medium disk with (closed-loop, CL) or without (open-loop, OL) vision. The main aim was to assess whether the time course of the illusion from the movement onset up to the grasp differed between OL and CL. Moreover, we compared OL and CL illusory effects on maximum grip aperture (MGA) and checked whether preparation time, movement time, and time to MGA affected the illusion magnitude. Results revealed that CL illusory effects decreased over the movement time, whereas OL ones remained constant. At the time of MGA, OL and CL effects were however of similar size. Although OL grasps were longer to prepare and showed earlier and larger MGAs, such differences had little impact on modulating the illusion. These results suggest that the early stage of grasping is sensitive to the Uznadze illusion either in CL or OL, whereas the late phase is sensitive only in OL. We discuss these findings within theoretical models on the functional properties of the dorsal stream for visually-guided actions.


The invention provides a biped robot walking plan and control method. The method comprises the steps of establishing an equivalent model of a robot; determining a phase change graph meeting the requirement of the equivalent model; determining a phase change graph of a single-step horizontal movement track according to a human gait walking formula, namely, calculating a relationship between the speed of a single step and the step length/period of the single step; calculating a foothold according to the horizontal movement track of the single step; and controllably converting the position of the calculated foothold into an angle required for finishing motion of each joint. According to the method, the human gait formula is associated with the relationship between the walking speed and the step length/period of the single step, so that the calculation of the step length/period of the single step can be simplified; the period of the single step serves as a trigger event of single-step starting and ending, so that the end speed of the single step can be well predicted and the real-time calculation and adjustment of the foothold can be facilitated; and based on the motion description of the phase change graph, the analysis of a motion law of the biped robot can be more visual.


In this continuing discussion on the role of industrial improvement areas the author extends the arguments to suggest how IIAs could be a progressive planning tool linking economic, property and land-use strategies.


Thisstudymakes improvementstothetropical cyclone(TC) initializationmethodintroducedbyNguyenand Chen(i.e.,theNC2011scheme). The authorsfound thatprescribing sealevelpressureassociatedwiththe initial vortex using a modifiedFujitaformula has verylittleimpactonthe vortex structure and intensityduringaseries of 1-h model integration and relocation. On the other hand, inserting an artificial warm core makes the vortex spin up much faster. When a warm core is inserted during the initial spinup process, the computational time required for model initialization is reduced by 1 /2‐ 1 /3. Because prescribed sea level pressure is not required to spin up the vortex, information on vortex size, such as radius of maximum wind, is no longer needed. The performance of the improved NC2011 scheme with an initial prescribed warm core during the initial spinup process istestedfor typhoonsthat madelandfallover southern ChinaorVietnam in2006. Before landfall, these stormswereovertheopenoceanwhereconventionaldataweresparse,withoutspecialobservations.Twosetsof model runs, with (NC2011-CTRL) and without (CTRL) vortex initialization, are performed for comparison. The initial and time-dependent boundary conditions are from the NCEP Final Analyses (FNL). There are twelve 48-h simulations in each run set. Results show that the vortex initialization improves TC track and intensity simulations.


We present new estimates on the fraction of heavily X-ray-obscured, Compton-thick (CT) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) out to a redshift of z ≤ 0.8. From a sample of 540 AGNs selected by mid-infrared (MIR) properties in observed X-ray survey fields, we forward model the observed-to-intrinsic X-ray luminosity ratio ( RLX ) with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the total fraction of CT AGNs (f CT), many of which are missed in typical X-ray observations. We create model N H distributions and convert these to RLX using a set of X-ray spectral models. We probe the posterior distribution of our models to infer the population of X-ray-nondetected sources. From our simulation we estimate a CT fraction of f CT = 0.555−0.032+0.037 . We perform an X-ray stacking analysis for sources in Chandra X-ray Observatory fields and find that the expected soft (0.5–2 keV) and hard (2–7 keV) observed fluxes drawn from our model to be within 0.48 and 0.12 dex of our stacked fluxes, respectively. Our results suggests at least 50% of all MIR-selected AGNs, possibly more, are CT (N H ≳ 1024 cm−2), which is in excellent agreement with other recent work using independent methods. This work indicates that the total number of AGNs is higher than can be identified using X-ray observations alone, highlighting the importance of a multiwavelength approach. A high f CT also has implications for black hole (BH) accretion physics and supports models of BH and galaxy coevolution that include periods of heavy obscuration.


This study deals with lenition processes according to the theoretical framework of generative phonology to answer the cited questions: How phonological processes are applied in Persian phonological system as lenition? In other words, how do the data support the application of lenition processes in Persian? In which contexts do lenition processes apply in Persian? Synthetic process typology of phonological processes is investigated according to the phonological pattern of Persian; finally the most frequent lenition processes are selected. To see how these processes are applied in Persian as lenition, Standard Persian and six dialects out of twenty five dialects which show these processes are selected. The data are gathered in field study. Then, each of the lenition processes is probed on the Persian varieties to find the alternatives and underlying forms which are important to decide how the lenition processes are applied; and to find the positions in which lenition processes take place. The collected data support the lenition processes in Persian. The data show that the lenition processes tend to occur in postvocalic, intervocalic and final positions; and the final position has the highest frequency for lenition processes to occur. This support Kenstowichz's idea that mentions word final is the typical position for lenition. Keywords: lenition processes, generative phonology, synthetic process typology, Persian phonological system


Ipilimumab (Yervoy®) is a fully human monoclonal immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 antibody that can block the interaction between B7 and CTLA-4 proteins and consequently activates a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-mediated immune response against cancer cells. Recently, ipilimumab was approved for the adjuvant treatment of patients with high-risk stage III melanoma by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. This report is based on the analysis of the EORTC 18071 trial, a randomised double-blind phase III trial, which was conducted to assess the efficacy of adjuvant therapy with ipilimumab on all survival endpoints of patients with high-risk stage III cutaneous melanoma after complete regional lymph node dissection. Between 10 July 2008 and 1 August 2011, a total of 951 patients were randomly assigned to receive either ipilimumab (n=475) or placebo (n=476). The stratification of randomisation was based on disease stages and geographic regions. On 31st January 2016 (cut-off date), 506 events of distant metastases or death and 376 deaths had occurred. At a median follow-up of 5.3 years, the primary endpoint; recurrence-free survival rate at five years (+10.5%), as well as the secondary endpoints; overall survival rate (+11.0%) and rate of distant metastasis-free survival at five years (+9.4%) were significantly improved in the ipilimumab group compared to the placebo group. However, no data on median OS and median progression-free survival were available at the time of data cut-off. In terms of safety, there was a 40.0% difference in grade ≥3 immune-related adverse events in the ipilimumab group, and five patients (1.1%) died due to immune-related adverse events, before the start of the maintenance therapy. In total, 240 of 471 patients (51.0%) discontinued treatment due to an ipilimumab-induced adverse event. Moreover, no clinically relevant differences in global health status scores were observed during or after induction therapy between the two treatment groups. Overall, even though the administration of ipilimumab increases the rate of toxicities, no statistically significant differences in health-related quality of life scores between the treatment groups have been observed. Nevertheless, the identification of predictive biomarkers may be crucial in order to further improve response rates and outcomes, and to reduce severe adverse events. In addition, ongoing studies remain to be seen in order to gain comparable results. Finally, aiming for a reduction of immune therapy costs (annual ipilimumab therapy costs: € 435,850.10) may be a crucial step in the near future.


The information about node location of wireless sensor network plays an important role to the application of network,however,it's limited of sensor network resources,therefore,this paper puts forward a kind of effective defense method to the wormhole attack of DV-Hop,which is directed to the short comings of that the safety performance of DV-Hop algorithm poor,and the location process easily attacked by the destructive worm hole and so on.The method is that introducing EPWDV-Hop algorithm which is an effective detection defense algorithm against the wormhole attack into the DV-Hop algorithm.According to the simulation test of Matlab software,it shows that the modified algorithm can not only improve the precision of location,but also is very good to prevent the wormhole attack in algorithm.


The recent years have seen an increase in identity fraud and accessing online services when communication devices such as computers, mobile phones and card based credentials (e.g. credit cards) are involved. This has prompted most governments and business organizations to change the way they do business and manage the user's identity information. However Internet users are vulnerable to identity fraud, which is on the increase and costing the global economy excessive amounts. With the advent of wireless technologies, peer-to-peer communication, GSM networks, it is becoming more challenging to build systems to authenticate users more efficiently. Traditional methods of authenticating a user with passwords and PIN numbers only are slowly proving ineffective since these credentials are easy to guess and steal. This paper proposes a distributed multimodal authentication system as a solution for managing digital identity information on most wireless networks. The proposed system uses artificial intelligence methods and biometrics to improve the security and privacy of users and service providers in a transparent, reliable and efficient way. The system is implemented using a technique of information fusion to combine the user's credentials for optimum recognition and authentication.


With "Driving-force/Pressure/State/Impact/Response(DPSIR)" conceptual model as the goal and guideline of sustainable development of old city renovation,the old city renovation behaviors were analyzed.And on this basis,the evaluation system for renovation sustainability of old city was built.With the case of Qinhuai District as an example,Nanjing,the renovation was evaluated quantitatively with the method of composite index evaluation in 2003-2008.The evaluation results were analyzed in detail combined with the practice of renovation in Qinhuai District,Nanjing.Finally verified were the feasibility and rationality of the evaluation system.


Abstract This essay is a reflection on the experiences of a Latino Associate Professor in higher education. I consider the trajectory from immigrant to graduate student and then professor, to entering the academy, the challenges of being a Latinx scholar and professor, and the support structures that have nurtured me throughout my career. I reflect on how I have changed throughout this journey and the lessons I have learned as a student, scholar, and teacher.


Metal films have been used extensively in very-large-scale integration (VLSI) devices. They are used to build interconnects, field-effect transistor gates, diffusion barriers, and conduction pads for input or output leads. Metals such as aluminum, tungsten, titanium and platinum are deposited on an insulating layer [1,2]. The metal film thicknesses range from 100 A to 1 ~. Due to the ever-growing need for high speed, high density, and low power dissipation in integrated circuit (IC) technology, accurate control of the metallization process becomes essential to ensure the quality and yield of the final product. One of the important parameters in the metallization process control is the film thickness.


Growth factors have proved to be an effective therapeutic strategy. However, some controversies have arisen concerning their efficacy in topical wound treatments. Stabilization of epidermal growth factors at the wound site and long‐lasting receptor occupancy are important factors for wound repair. This study evaluated the cumulative profiles of two jellies containing 10 or 20 μg of 125I‐rhEGF per gram of jelly, in a rat full‐thickness skin lesion model. The prolonged time‐courses at the wound sites for both strengths compared with saline solutions previously evaluated using a similar skin lesion model are reported. It seems that these two topical formulations that provide more sustained amounts of 125I‐rhEGF over the period of sampling, would probably achieve the required wound healing response in terms of cell proliferation, collagen deposition and protein synthesis. Further studies need to be developed in order to elucidate whether such an in vivo disposition pattern is consistent with an earlier and stronger promotion of wound healing events. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The primary source of funding for transportation infrastructure is the taxes that are imposed on motor fuels. One aspect of fuel tax collections is the process that requires consumers to apply for refunds of taxes paid on fuels used for tax-exempt purposes. Few studies on fuel tax evasion have focused on the refund process. The Montana Department of Transportation has expressed concern over the possibility of fraud, errors and inefficiencies in the current fuel tax refund process. This report summarizes a project that focused on estimating the current level of fraud and errors and examining the current laws and processes for motor fuel tax refunds in Montana. The project focused primarily on three refund types; agriculture, power take-off units (PTO) and refrigeration units (reefer). The project included a literature review, a survey of peer states in the region, development of a model to estimate what portion of the state's fuel consumption might reasonably be considered tax exempt, a review of over 500 refund claim forms, and recommendations for improving the tax refund process in Montana.


Microsimulation is increasingly being applied to larger networks to model major transport interventions and provide forecasts for scheme appraisal. This has highlighted a need for a variable demand modeling (VDM) capability for use with microsimulation that meets the requirements of Department for Transport (Great Britain) WebTAG guidance. The methodology described in this paper represents what is probably the first application of S-Paramics microsimulation in conjunction with VDM. The procedures were developed in response to a Brief issued by Wiltshire Council to assess the demand for parking and public transport associated with development scenarios in the town of Chippenham.


: Recent advances in MEMS systems, intelligent sensors, wireless communications, and digital electronics make it possible to build small, low-power, low-cost sensor nodes that can communicate wirelessly. These tiny sensor nodes consist of three sensor parts, data processing, and wireless data transmission. In general, a wireless sensor network contains a large number of these nodes. For measuring a parameter, their data are considered collectively. In wireless sensor networks, sensor nodes with a large number of intrinsic or very close to target sensors are used to measure the parameter. Sending data by clustering improves quality and reduces energy. Along with the transmission of information, its security should also be considered. In the proposed scheme, the Distributed Fault-Tolerated Clustering Algorithm (DFCA) and the Elliptic Curve Distributed Sign Algorithm (ECDSA) are used. The ECDSA algorithm is handy for the wireless sensor network because of its simplicity and low overhead.


Graph Neural Network (GNN) inference is used in many real-world applications. Data sparsity in GNN inference, including sparsity in the input graph and the GNN model, offer opportunities to further speed up inference. Also, many pruning techniques have been proposed for model compression that increase the data sparsity of GNNs.We propose Dynasparse, a comprehensive hardware-software codesign on FPGA to accelerate GNN inference through dynamic sparsity exploitation. For this, we decouple the GNN computation kernels from the basic computation primitives, and explore hardware-software codesign as follows: 1) Hardware design: We propose a novel unified accelerator design on FPGA to efficiently execute various computation primitives. We develop a customized soft processor that is tightly coupled with the accelerator to execute a runtime system. Moreover, we develop efficient hardware mechanisms to profile the data sparsity and perform on-the-fly data format transformation to prepare the input data for various computation primitives; 2) Software design: We develop a runtime system that works synergistically with the accelerator to perform dynamic kernel-to-primitive mapping based on data sparsity. We implement Dynasparse on a state-of-the-art FPGA platform, Xilinx Alveo U250, and evaluate the design using widely used GNN models (GCN, GraphSAGE, GIN and SGC). For the above GNN models and various input graphs, the proposed accelerator and dynamic kernel-to-primitive mapping reduces the inference latency by 3.73× on the average compared with the static mapping strategies employed in the state-of-the-art GNN accelerators. Compared with state-of-the-art CPU (GPU) implementations, Dynasparse achieves up to 56.9× (2.37×) speedup in end-to-end latency. Compared with state-of-the-art FPGA implementations, Dynasparse achieves 2.7× speedup in accelerator execution latency.


We propose a concept for reconfigurable robotics, which is to analyze a robot configuration in syntax and to give semantics to robot components. We call it "syntactic-semantic analysis of robot configuration". The motivation for this concept arises when we consider a reconfigurable robot platform, which allows us to build various styles of robots. We would like to establish a method which enables us to develop a portable application software on various styles of robots. Making an analogy to syntactic theory of natural language processing, we propose a syntactic analysis of the robot configuration, which also gives semantics to robot components. We implement the proposed method on a reconfigurable robot platform, which allow us to configure a quadruped robot and a wheel-based robot.


Taking tree peony'Zangzhihong'as material,the effect of infection by Cylindrocladium canadense on physiological characteristics of leaves were estimated.The results showed that,the net photosynthetic rate(Pn)and the photosynthetic pigments decreased significantly after infection.In the same time,the apparent quantum yield and carboxylation efficiency of tree peony leaves both decreased greatly after infection.This indicated that the infection of C. canadense enhanced the photoinhibition.Antioxidant enzymes activity changed greatly in infected tree peony leaves.The activity of SOD and CAT increased slightly in 5dafter infection,but had declined significantly from then.That of POD and APX had been decreased greatly after infection.In the same time,the content of MDA increased and was in agreement with the accumulation of ROS.All of this showed that infection of C.canadenseled to decline of antioxidant enzymes activity in different degrees and resulted in the accumulation of ROS,damaging the membrane system of cell and thus reduced the photosynthetic capacity of tree peony leaves.


Resource allocation, as the main objective of managerial science, requires analyzing the long- and short-term effects of a policy, although this analysis would be more difficult in dynamic and volatile industries such as financial technology. Moreover, the integration of industries leads to more diverse product categories for a single company and makes it difficult for the implementation of decision making about resource allocation. In this regard, systemic PPM (PPM) models can be applied to balance long- and short-term generated values of the company by adopting policies about resource allocation for different products with respect to risk management concepts. The proposed systemic model should include interrelationships between different products, time relevant, and most importantly the potentials of dynamic analysis of product strategies, which is the main purpose of this research. The research strategy is to conduct a case study on the Iranian financial technology industry, by using systemic PPM modeling. In this research, a dynamic model was used in the payment industry, due to its competitive forces. Thus, system dynamics methodology was the research tool for analyzing data. Further, four cycles of risk management, resource allocation, innovation, and development were identified and then, analyzed in a dynamic approach to evaluating their efficiency for business development. Based on the results, the system dynamics methodology provided great outcomes for this problem. Finally, scenario analysis, focus, deep understandings of the decision-making process with respects to mental models, and stock and flow diagrams were among the most significant findings of this article.