Background Sub-Saharan Africa, is a region that records high rates of TB infection. Mycobacterium tuberculosis mixed strain infection, especially when the strains involved are of different susceptibilities, is an area of great interest because it is linked with an increased risk of treatment failure and transmission of resistant strains within the population. This paper reviewed original studies that reported MTB mixed infection and heteroresistance in the region between 2010 and 2020 to understand the extent of mixed strain infection and heteroresistance in the region. This information is very critical in the control of TB and ending the TB epidemic by 2035 as per the World Health Organization's vision. Methods pubmed, Scopus, JSTOR, AJOL, and Google Scholar databases were searched through both key terms and subject headings. The literature was screened, assessed for the quality and evidence synthesized. Results Eighteen original articles were included in this review after having met the inclusion criteria. The frequency of mixed strain infection reported in these studies varied between 2.8% and 21.1% while drug resistance range between 0.06% to 19% depending on the study design and the drug susceptibility screening technique utilized. The majority of the studies (50%) utilized Spoligotyping in conjunction with MIRU-VNTR typing in the detection of mixed infections. Conclusion Despite the scarcity of data on mixed infections and heteroresistance in sub-Saharan Africa, various studies have revealed that these conditions are frequent in the region than previously thought. Given the evidence of the effect of mixed infections on drug resistance and treatment outcome, we conclude that mixed infection is an unavoidable topic for future studies.


Fragmentation is a fundamental material process that naturally spans spatial scales from microscopic to macroscopic. We developed a mathematical framework using an innovative combination of hierarchical material modeling (HMM) and adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) to connect the continuum to microstructural regimes. This framework has been implemented in a new multi-physics, multi-scale, 3D simulation code, NIF ALE-AMR. New multi-material volume fraction and interface reconstruction algorithms were developed for this new code, which is leading the world effort in hydrodynamic simulations that combine AMR with ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian) techniques. The interface reconstruction algorithm is also used to produce fragments following material failure. In general, the material strength and failure models have history vector components that must be advected along with other properties of the mesh during remap stage of the ALE hydrodynamics. The fragmentation models are validated against an electromagnetically driven expanding ring experiment and dedicated laser-based fragmentation experiments conducted at the Jupiter Laser Facility. As part of the exit plan, the NIF ALE-AMR code was applied to a number of fragmentation problems of interest to the National Ignition Facility (NIF). One example shows the added benefit of multi-material ALE-AMR that relaxes the requirement that material boundaries must be along mesh boundaries.


The aim of the present study was to investigate the regulation of the apoAI gene by dietary saturated fat and cholesterol. Saturated fatty acids and cholesterol raise low density- and high density lipoprotein particles in humans. Increased LDL is attributed to the down-regulation of LDL-receptor gene, but the mechanism of increased plasma HDL levels is unknown. To study the mechanism of HDL elevation by saturated fat, male rats and male mice were employed as animal models, since they also raise their plasma HDL levels when fed high lipid diets. Animals were divided in four groups and fed the following diets: control (5% corn oil); high cholesterol (0.5%); high fat (20% coconut oil); and high fat plus cholesterol diets. The high cholesterol diet did not alter plasma and HDL-cholesterol levels. However, the high fat diet increased HDL levels by 20% in rats and 55% in mice. A combination of saturated fat and cholesterol diet raised plasma HDL levels by 36 and 67% in rats and mice, respectively. Plasma apoAI levels increased parallel to HDL concentrations. Mechanism of HDL elevation by saturated fat was investigated. Hepatic and intestinal apoAI mRNA did not change with any of the test diets in mice. Rat hepatic apoAI mRNA was also unchanged by the high cholesterol diet, but was decreased on high fat and fat-cholesterol combination diets. These results suggest that transcriptional regulation of the apoAI gene was not responsible for increased plasma apoAI and HDL. The translational efficiency of apoAI on isolated polysomes was also measured, and it was found that apoAI synthesis increased about 20% on high fat and fat-cholesterol combination diets. This partially explains the elevated levels of plasma HDL. Additional regulation through impaired catabolism of HDL particles by high fat diet feeding may be another pathway for increased HDL levels. Unlike apoAI mRNA, the mRNA of other HDL apoproteins, apoAII and apoAIV, were increased by high fat and combination diet feeding. These results suggest that saturated fatty acids regulate plasma HDL levels by translational and posttranslational mechanisms.


The effect of natural catastrophic events, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, on the genetic structure of species has been infrequently studied. The 1999 Chi-Chi Earthquake of Taiwan resulted in population extinction of Lithocarpus konishii (Fagaceae), an endangered species, and provides a case study for assessing impacts of natural catastrophes on genetic diversity. Genetic diversity of the atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer of opDNA and the intron 2 of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 7 gene of mtDNA in L. konishii was determined before and after the earthquake. Loss of rare polymorphisms due to extinction of an entire population at the earthquake epicenter contributed to the reduction of genetic diversity within species in both cpDNA and mtDNA. Star-like phytogenies and significantly negative Tajima's I) statistics suggest a history of recent expansion of the species, which, however, is not confirmed by a nested clade analysis. Phylogeographical inferences were made before and after the earthquake; differences in the phylogeographic analysis suggest that long-range dispersal inferences may be misidentified due to loss of haplotypes and clades in geographical regions of population extinction. Tests of genetic and ecological exchangeability indicate that Lithocarpus populations should be recognized as different conservation units that should be managed separately.


Gastric cancer and colorectal cancer are malignant tumors found in the human gastrointestinal tract. Bidirectional communication between tumor cells and their microenvironment can be realized through the transmission of exosomes—small, cell-derived vesicles containing complex RNA and proteins. Exosomes play an important role in the proliferation, metastasis, immune response, and drug resistance of cancer cells. In this review, we focus on the role and application of exosomes in gastric and colorectal cancer. We also summarize the role of exosomes secreted by different types of cells in tumor development and as drug carriers in cancer treatment.


Two duplex coatings, Cr(N)/S and Cr(C)/S, were deposited on 316 L stainless steel by magnetron sputtering. The effectiveness of these duplex coatings in improving the tribocorrosion behavior of medical alloys under elastic contact conditions has been demonstrated in a recent publication. The present work focused on the response of these duplex coatings to tribocorrosion under plastic contact conditions. Tribocorrosion tests were conducted in 0.89% NaCl solution at 37°C at an initial contact pressure of 740 MPa and under unidirectional sliding conditions for sliding duration up to 24 h. The results showed that during sliding in the corrosive solution, the duplex coatings were plastically deformed into the substrate to a depth about 1 μm. The Cr(C)/S duplex coating had sufficient ductility to accommodate the deformation without cracking, such that it was worn through gradually, leading to the gradual increase in open circuit potential (OCP) and coefficient of friction (COF). On the other hand, the Cr(N)/S duplex coating suffered from cracking at all tested potentials, leading to coating blistering after prolonged sliding at OCP and stable pit formation in the substrate beneath the coating at applied anodic potentials. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 1503-1513, 2017.


Agricultural products including rice, yam and cowpea play significant roles in the food consumption of urban dwellers. However, increase in crop production cost has continued to threaten urban food price in Nigeria. This study analyzed the determinants of demand for food commodities among urban households in Minna metropolis. Data were collected from 110 household heads of urban residences, which were selected through a three-stage random sampling technique. Data collected for the study were analyzed using multiple regression technique. The results showed that rice, yam and cowpea were price in-elastic. The cross-price elasticities for rice, yam and cowpea were -0.132, 0.028 and 0.005 respectively. The computed own price, cross price and income elasticity of demand for rice were –0.308, -0.132 and 0.018 respectively. For yam, the computed values were -1.262, 0.028 and 0.289 respectively. While for cowpea, these values were -0.530, 0.005 and 0.002 respectively. For the income elasticity, rice and cowpea were proven to be normal goods and yam as a luxury good. The social protection strategies in form of food aids policy should be put into action to minimize the inflationary pressure on food items in the urban areas.


OBJECTIVE
The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of an online education program used to implement the Australian (New South Wales) whiplash guidelines with general practitioners (GP). The secondary aim was to identify factors associated with learning.

METHODS
An online educational and evaluation activity was developed to reflect the key messages for GP from the Australian whiplash guidelines. The educational activity was hosted on the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners' website (www.gplearning.com.au) for a period of 3 years. Participants were recruited through advertisement and media releases. Participants completed a baseline evaluation of their knowledge, participated in the interactive educational activity and completed a post-knowledge questionnaire. The primary outcome was change in professional knowledge, predictors of learning were computed using linear regression.

RESULTS
Two hundred and fifteen GP participated. Knowledge significantly improved between baseline and post-knowledge questionnaire scores (P < 0.00001). A total of 57.2% of participants improved their knowledge by more than 20%, indicating a large effect. Low baseline knowledge predicted learning, accounting for 71% of the variance.

CONCLUSIONS
Online education of GP significantly improved their knowledge in relation to guidelines for whiplash. Those with low baseline knowledge improved their knowledge the most, suggesting that implementation strategies should be targeted at this group.


We prove the global well–posedness and regularity of the (isotropic) Lagrangian averaged Navier–Stokes (LANS–α) equations on a three–dimensional bounded domain with a smooth boundary with no–slip boundary conditions for initial data in the set {u ∈ Hs ∩ H10| Au = 0 on ∂Ω, div u = 0}, s ∈ [3, 5), where A is the Stokes operator. As with the Navier–Stokes equations, one has parabolic–type regularity; that is, the solutions instantaneously become space–time smooth when the forcing is smooth (or zero). The equations are an ensemble average of the Navier–Stokes equations over initial data in an α–radius phase–space ball, and converge to the Navier–Stokes equations as α → 0. We also show that classical solutions of the LANS–α equations converge almost all in Hs for s ∈ 2.5, 3), to solutions of the inviscid equations (ν = 0), called the Lagrangian averaged Euler (LAE–α) equations, even on domains with boundary, for time–intervals governed by the time of existence of solutions of the LAE–α equations.


Research suggests that context influences judgments and implicit evaluations (e.g., attitudes toward a person depend upon the context in which we encounter that person). Importantly, previous research presents contextual cues at encoding, such that participants learn about a target person in context. Here, we decouple the process of learning about targets from manipulations of context. Participants in our studies learned about the intelligence and athleticism of a novel male target in a neutral context. Subsequently, we implicitly measured participants' attitudes toward the target in an intelligence-related or neutral context (Study 1) and in intelligence-related and athletic-related contexts (Study 2). In both studies, contextual cues (which were absent during encoding) influenced attitudes at retrieval.


BACKGROUND
The distribution of the attachment of the maxillary labial frenum in the children of different ethnic backgrounds has not been studied extensively.

AIM
The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence of the various types of maxillary labial frenum attachment in the children of different ethnic backgrounds.

DESIGN
Children (aged 1-18) attending a public health clinic in Lavrion, Greece, were clinically examined for maxillary frenum attachment location. Demographic information was recorded. Parents provided written informed consent.

RESULTS
The examined children were 226, with mean (± standard deviation) age of 8.5 ± 3.0 years. They were of Greek (51%), Albanian (20%), Turkish (12%), and Afghan (11%) descent. The prevalence of the maxillary labial frenum attachment was mucosal (10.2%), gingival (41.6%), papillary (22.1%), and papillary penetrating (26.1%). Frenum attachment differed significantly by age (P = 0.001). The age of children with mucosal- or gingival-type frenum was significantly greater than the age of children with papillary penetrating-type frenum. Frenum attachment did not differ by gender or ethnic background (P ≥ 0.20).

CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study suggest that, in children, ethnic background and gender are not associated with maxillary labial frenum attachment type, whereas age is strongly associated.


BACKGROUND
A working party of specialists and GPs recently published their consensus on recommended treatments for chickenpox. These are the closest to recommended guidelines available in the UK. They offer a rational basis for targeting those groups most at risk of complications with antiviral treatment.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of the present study was to compare current practice by GPs in the management of chickenpox, particularly in targeting of antiviral therapy, with the working party recommendations.

METHOD
A questionnaire survey was conducted of all GP principals within a single London Health Authority Responses to nine chickenpox clinical scenarios were compared with the working party recommendations.

RESULTS
The response rate was (69.2%) 227/328. In five of the nine scenarios, fewer than 70% of GPs selected the correct response according to the recommendations. There was both underuse and overuse of antivirals according to the recommendations, with only 42% (96/227) advising oral antivirals or referral for an asthmatic treated with oral steroids 1 month previously, and 24% (53/221) advising oral antivirals 3 days after the chickenpox rash appeared.

CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest some high risk groups may be being undertreated with oral antivirals and there may be considerable use of oral antivirals in situations where they are of no proven benefit.


A unique micropore foaming technique was used to enhance the thermoelectric properties of polycrystalline aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO). Silicon carbide (α-SiC) and aluminum nitride (AlN) were used as foaming precursors. Thermoelectric conductivity, κ, decreased on addition of both precursors, increasing the porosity. Electric conductivity, σ, decreased upon addition of α-SiC, and subsequent addition of AlN reversed the effect. This phenomenon is due to the chemical reactions that occur upon addition of each precursor: the active oxidation of α-SiC and the decomposition reaction of AlN. The Seebeck coefficient, S, for 0.5 mol% AlN-doped AZO (Al0.005Zn0.995O, AZO-0.005) was more than twice that of conventional non-doped AZO. Accordingly, the power factor and the figure of merit, ZT, for the porous AlN-doped AZO-0.005 were 4.9 and 5.8 times those of the conventional polycrystalline AZO, respectively, demonstrating that the compositionally optimized porous AZO exhibited excellent thermoelectric properties at high temperatures.


This paper proposes an indexing scheme based on t- mixture model and ICA, which is more robust than Gaussian mixture modeling when atypical points (or outliers) exist or the set of data has heavy tail. This indexing scheme combines optimized vector quantizer and probabilistic approximate-based indexing scheme. Experimental results on large-scale graph database show a notable efficiency improvement with optimistic precision.


This study determined the level of happiness and teaching performance of Monograde and Multi-grade teachers. Furthermore, the researchers explored therelationship between happiness and performance among teachers. The subjects of the study consisted of 171 teachers across 8 towns in the province of Antique, Philippines and were selected using the multistage random sampling. The instrument used in data collection was the personal profiles of the teachers, theHappiness Index questionnaire, and the Performance Appraisal Standard for Teachers (PAST). Results showed that in the level of happiness teachers teachingin mono-grade had higher happiness level than multi-grade teachers. While monograde teachers had higher teaching performance than multi-grade teachers but when categorized by age, older teachers in multi-grade had a higher teaching performance. Further result of the study showed that performance was notsignificantly correlated with happiness (rho = .029, p=.704). In the sources of Happiness only family (rho = .158, p = .040) and friends (rho = .166, p = .030) werefound to have significant correlation. There is a significant difference in the teaching performances of teachers teaching when classified by type of classes (U =994.000, p = .038) using Mann-Whitney U test.


Functional assessment refers to the evaluation of performance in basic activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, professional duties, and hobbies. This assessment is particularly relevant in the evaluation of cognitive impairment. In fact, functional decline represents a core feature of dementia according to the DSM-IV criteria. Clinically, functional deterioration represents a diagnostic marker, can be used to chart the course of the disease, and as a prognostic marker as it contributes significantly to caregiver burden and institutionalization. For all these reasons, functional assessment has been widely used as an outcome measure in intervention trials of Alzheimer disease (AD). Appropriate function assessment scales have been developed for use in clinical trials of AD. Studies have shown that functional decline benefits from pharmacological interventions in AD and some other cognitive syndromes. This benefit translates into a stabilization ranging between 6 to 12 months compared to a gradual deterioration in the placebo group. There is rarely reversibility for IADL's lost. There are no functional scales specifically designed for assessment of subjects with non-AD cognitive impairment. Scales specifically developed for Mild Cognitive Impairment and other dementias are needed.


This paper tackles the problem of stratified autocalibration of a moving camera with Euclidean image plane (i.e. zero skew and unit aspect ratio) and constant intrinsic parameters. We show that with these assumptions, in addition to the polynomial derived from the so-called modulus constraint, each image pair provides a new quartic polynomial in the unknown plane at infinity. For three or more images, the plane at infinity estimation is stated as a constrained polynomial optimization problem that can efficiently be solved using Lasserre's hierarchy of semidefinite relaxations. The calibration parameters and thus a metric reconstruction are subsequently obtained by solving a system of linear equations. Synthetic data and real image experiments show that the new polynomial in our proposed algorithm leads to a more reliable performance than existing methods.


This study examines the factors that influence the willingness to contribute information to online communities from the perspectives of the discretionary database and expectancy theory. The study identified four groups of variables and tested their predictive value on the willingness to contribute information to online communities. The findings confirmed the effect of the perceived value of contributing and the likelihood of getting a reward for the willingness to contribute. Cost of contribution was not a significant predictor of the willingness to contribute information. Benefit from, and interest in, the community were significant predictors, but community affinity was not. Among the four groups of variables, social approval was the strongest predictor of the willingness to contribute.


This study determined the bone growth into pretreated poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF) scaffolds implanted into a subcritical size, rabbit cranial defect. PPF scaffolds were constructed by using a photocrosslinking-porogen leaching technique. These scaffolds were then either prewetted (PPF-Pw), treated with RF glow-discharge (PPF-Gd), coated with fibronectin (PPF-Fn), or coated with rhTGF-beta1 (PPF-TGF-beta1). One of each scaffold type was then placed into the cranium of nine rabbits. The rabbits were sacrificed after 8 weeks, and the scaffolds were retrieved for histological analysis. The most bone formation was present in the PPF-TGF-beta1 implants; the newly formed bone had a trabecular appearance together with bone marrow-like tissue. Little or no bone formation was observed in implants without rhTGF-beta1. These histological findings were confirmed by image analysis. Bone surface area, bone area percentage, pore fill percentage, and pore area percentage were significantly higher in the rhTGF-beta1-coated implants than in the noncoated implants. No statistical difference was seen between the PPF-Fn, PPF-Pw, or PPF-Gd scaffolds for these parameters. Quadruple fluorochrome labeling showed that in PPF-TGF-beta1 implants bone formation mainly started in the interior of a pore and proceeded toward the scaffold. We conclude that (a) PPF-TGF-beta1 scaffolds can indeed adequately induce bone formation in porous PPF, and (b) PPF scaffolds prepared by the photocrosslinking-porogen leaching technique are good candidates for the creation of bone graft substitutes.


As the awareness of social problems and environmentally related issues in particular becomes widespread, companies have been called to participate in the resolution of these, given that they are the main economic agents with impacts on the society and on the environment. Considering that corporations face pressures from their stakeholders to contribute to solving the social global issues that are affecting them, this theoretical paper analyses the role of stakeholder theory, a new management paradigm, and the importance of social marketing to achieve the aims of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The key point of this study is the possible contribution of social marketing to ensuring the companies' voluntary involvement in promoting social and environmental well-being, supporting them to respond to stakeholders' requests, due to its capacity of providing, over time, quantifiable improvement on social issues. In this context, this study explores the linkage between stakeholder theory, CSR and social marketing concepts, giving particular attention to the social marketing contribution to solving environmental issues.


This case is about an employee newly promoted to manager who confronts workplace bullying from a subordinate. The subordinate slowly undermines the manager's authority, encouraging others to do likewise. The senior director, to whom the manager reports, does not see the divisive nature of the subordinate and does not address the building interpersonal issue. The manager is gradually traumatized by the erosion of her authority. For purposes of confidentiality details of the case have been disguised.


Distributed storage engages customers to distantly store their records and admire the on interest first class cloud applications without the heaviness of neighbourhood equipment and programming management. Despite the way that the beneficiaries are clear, such management is similarly surrendering customers' physical responsibility for farmout data, which inflexibly postures new security perils toward the exactness of the information in cloud. To state this new issue and also finish an ensured and reliable conveyed stockpiling administration, we propose in this paper a versatile spread stockpiling uprightness assessing framework, using the homomorphic token and eradication coded data for Customer Relationship Management (CRM for short) System. The proposed arrangement grants customers to review the dispersed stockpiling with particularly trivial correspondence and handling cost. The inspecting outcomeconfirms strong dispersed stockpiling rightness guarantee, and also at the same time achieves snappy data botch limitation, i.e., the recognizing evidence of getting out of hand server. Taking the cloud information is in dynamic in nature, the suggested arrangement further sponsorships secure and viable component operations on farm out data, including square change, cancellation, and attach. Examination exhibits the suggested arrangement is incredibly capable, poisonous data modification strike, and much server conniving


The close-out checklist describes a range of activities for helping ensure that research data are properly managed at the end of a project or at researcher departure. Activities include: making stewardship decisions, preparing files for archiving, sharing data, and setting aside important files in a "FINAL" folder. Two versions of the checklist are available: a Caltech Library branded version and a generic editable version.


To achieve exascale computing, fundamental hardware architectures must change. This will significantly impact scientific applications that run on current high performance computing (HPC) systems, many of which codify years of scientific domain knowledge and refinements for contemporary computer systems. To adapt to exascale architectures, developers must be able to reason about new hardware and determine what programming models and algorithms will provide the best blend of performance and energy efficiency in the future. An abstract machine model is designed to expose to the application developers and system software only the aspects of the machine that are important or relevant to performance and code structure. These models are intended as communication aids between application developers and hardware architects during the co-design process. A proxy architecture is a parameterized version of an abstract machine model, with parameters added to elucidate potential speeds and capacities of key hardware components. These more detailed architectural models enable discussion among the developers of analytic models and simulators and computer hardware architects and they allow for application performance analysis, system software development, and hardware optimization opportunities. In this paper, we present a set of abstract machine models and show how they might be used to help software developers prepare for exascale. We then apply parameters to one of these models to demonstrate how a proxy architecture can enable a more concrete exploration of how well application codes map onto future architectures.


This paper presents a new data set on constitutional commitments to social rights (CCSR) for 68 countries. Quantitative indices are constructed for five social rights: the right to social security, education, health, housing and workers rights. We find two clear groups classified by legal origins: countries which share the tradition of French civil law generally have a higher CCSR than those that share the tradition of English common law. The CCSR in socialist countries is closer to French civil law, whereas countries with a German or Scandinavian tradition resemble the English common law countries more closely. Then the paper addresses the following question: is the constitution a binding constraint on public policy? We have not found a robust effect of CCSR on public policy except for the constitutional right to social security. Journal of Comparative Economics 36 (1) (2008) 103-119.


At Kharrouba (near Tunis City in northern Tunisia), on the southern margin of the Tethyan realm, the Paleocene-Eocene (P-E) transition interval deposition is continuous and complete. Based on high-resolution analysis and quantitative data of planktonic and benthic foraminifera at the Kharrouba section, this transition interval records expanded deposition of the relevant standard planktonic foraminiferal biozones with indicative index species i.e.: Morozovella velascoensis for the latest Paleocene P5 zone, and Acarinina sibaiyaensis for the earliest Eocene E1 zone, Pseudohastigerina wilcoxensis for the E2 zone, Morozovella marginodentata for the E3 zone and Morozovella formosa for the E4 zone. This complete section contains benthic foraminiferal assemblages which include calcareous and agglutinated cosmopolitan deep-water species (DWBF). Among the calcareous deep benthic foraminifera Aragonia velascoensis Anomalinoides rubiginosus, Oridorsalis umbonatus, Nuttallides truempyi, Pullenia coryelli and Tappanina selmensis, are relatively abundant. These species are the main representatives of the Velasco fauna indicative of a bathyal-abyssal environment. Moreover, within this section, the agglutinated species e.g., Glomospira charoides, Karrerulina horrida, Rzehakina epigona, Ammodiscus spp. and Gaudryina pyramidata, assumed to be restricted to deep-sea palaeoenvironments, constitute an important proportion of the benthic foraminiferal assemblages. Therefore, during the Paleocene-Eocene transitional period, the Kharrouba area hosted many cosmopolitan deep-sea benthic foraminiferal species as was the case at Zumaya and several DSDP sites. The depth range tolerances of these deep-marine taxa, both with calcareous and agglutinated test, indicate that close to the P/E boundary, the Kharrouba area was located in the lower bathyal environment in the southern Tethys margin.


Abstract The water balance of the mountainous Durance river catchment, French Alps, is simulated from 1981 to 1994 with a soil-vegetation-atmosphere transfer (SVAT) model. Particular attention is paid to the snow-cover evolution using a detailed model of the snowpack evolution. The results are validated by comparison of the simulated discharges calculated by the SVAT with daily observations at three gauging stations located in the watershed. Three different spatial resolutions are used (1, 8 and 46 km) in order to evaluate the impact on the surface-water-budget results. Comparison with the finest resolution indicates the need for sub-grid-scale parameterization for the model with larger resolution.


The research aimed to examine the intention of Generation Z when using e-wallet for payments and the influence of discounts towards using e-wallet in the time of pandemics. The research applied a qualitative method with total data of 22 students, collected using in-depth interviews through WhatsApp free call. The result shows that discount gives an impact on Generation Z in choosing the e-wallet, but a long-term loyalty is not guaranteed. The finding demonstrates that there are other influential factors for Generation Z to choose e-wallet, namely ease of use, interrelated apps with the e-wallet, the security system, and cashless society. The limitations of the research lie in the relatively small numbers of respondents. Due to pandemics with physical distancing requirements, the research only carries out on data collected from 22 students from Economics Faculty in the State University of Malang, Indonesia. However, the research provides an insightful analysis for digital payments industry as a reference. It is expected that fellow researchers and academicians use the research as a fundamental to further investigate digital payments, especially amongst Generation Z in Indonesia or other parts of the world.


Bird strikes are a continuing problem in aviation. Despite the number and severity of reported bird strikes, quantification of the effect of contributory factors has been limited because of the absence of data, especially data on bird activity around airfields. The purpose of this study is to provide initial insight into this important problem by combining a number of databases and information resources available at the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in Washington, including airplane operations, bird strike reports, and the avian radar data on bird movements. Logistic regression and multinomial regression models were used to analyze, respectively, bird strike occurrence and severity. The results indicate that bird track density and airplane movement frequency significantly correlate with bird strike occurrence. High altitude and cloudy weather increase the probability of serious damage. Airplanes weighing less than 27,000 kg and those with turbofan engines and struck positions including tail and light move the propensity toward minor damage compared with no damage. Factors such as single-engine airplanes, medium and large birds, and strikes occurring at engines and wings increase the chance of both serious and minor damage. The findings of this study could provide support for potential changes in airport bird hazard management, airplane operations, and engineering designs of engines and airframes. The study highlights the importance of managing accurate bird strike reports and applying new statistical approaches as more data become available.


A voiding the development of hypophosphatemia during the first week of life could be a major issue for very-low-birthweight (VLBW) infants (1,2). Phosphate content is abundant in the cells because it represents the main anion in the intracellular space. It enters into the composition of the nucleic acids, the adenosine triphosphate, and the cell membrane (3,4). In addition to its role in bone mineralization, phosphorus (P) plays a major role in energy metabolism, acid-base status, and cellular growth, and P depletion could be associated with potential deleterious outcomes, such as nephrocalcinosis, insulin resistance (5), and nosocomial infection (6). Christmann et al (7) provide an illustration of the physiology of the mineral metabolism in preterm infants during parenteral and enteral nutrition (1,2). Calcium (Ca) and P supplies in parenteral and enteral routes are not metabolically equivalent. In parenteral nutrition, Ca and P are directly available for bone deposition as hydroxyapatite with a Ca/P molar ratio of 1.66. In addition, P is necessary for lean body mass accretion accounting for 0.33 mmol (10 mg) of P per gram of protein retention. In cases of relative P deficiency, available P is primarily oriented to the cellular metabolism, reducing bone mineralization or inducing bone resorption. Biochemical signs of P deficiency are the development of hypophosphatemia, hypophosphaturia, hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, and an increase in the renal tubular reabsorption of P (TrP) > 95%. During the first week of life, Christmann et al (7) provided parenteral nutrition with a Ca/P molar ratio of 1.6 combined with human milk enriched from a starting intake of 50 mL/day onward. The combined use of a parenteral solution (PS) with a Ca/P molar ratio in the range of the bone deposition and unfortified human milk with a relative P deficiency could explain the development of the mineral metabolic disorder. Similar data were reported with the use of a PS with a Ca/P molar ratio of 2.0 and 1.2, respectively (3,6). Optimal P content in PS could be estimated on the basis of the Ca and the amino acid contents (1,3). An adequate Ca/P molar ratio would be close to 1.0 or below 1.0 in the case of high amino acid intake > 2.5/kg/day from the first day of life (1,4). Early P


The subgingival microflora of adult periodontitis was studied in 8 adults (36-47 years) and compared with that of 10 periodontally healthy individuals (36-43 years). A total of 64 periodontal lesions were examined, and classified according to the attachment level in three categories: attachment loss > 6 mm, attachment loss 4-6 mm and attachment loss < 4 mm. Also for comparative purposes 20 gingival sulci were evaluated. Samples were taken using three standardized paper points and were incubated anaerobically in selective and non-selective media. The results showed a statistically significant association of Capnocytophaga gingivalis and Capnocytophaga sputigena with moderate periodontal lesions, while Haemophilus segnis has been correlated to severe periodontal lesions. We concluded that C. gingivalis, C. sputigena and H. segnis might be potentially conductive to periodontal deterioration in adult periodontitis.


This research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Three Step Interview (TSI) and Numbered HeadsTogether Techniques (NHT) to enhance speaking skill for the students having different motivation levels and to show if there is any interaction between teaching techniques and motivation. The participants of the research were the students of survival English Class Level of Nissan Fortuna English Course, Kudus. The research method of this study was quantitative by using 2x2 factorial experimental research designs. The data collection was done by giving questionnaire and conducting pre-test and post-test and was analyzed by using ANOVA. This study found that (1) TSI and NHT are effective to enhance speaking skill of students with different motivation level, (2) Enhancing speaking skill of the high motivated students using TSI is more effective than using NHT, (3) Enhancing speaking skill using TSI to the low motivated students is more effective than using NHT, (4) There is no interaction between the techniques and students' motivation. This study concluded that TSI and NHT can be used as techniques to enhance the students' speaking skill no matter how students' motivational level is.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of ginsenoside-Rg2 on mechanical allodynia, heat hyperalgeia, depressive state of rats with chronic sciatic nerve constriction injury.

METHODS
Fifty SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: blank control group (Normal, normal + saline),sham operation group (Sham, sham operation + saline),chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve group (CCI, CCI + saline),ginsenoside-Rg2 low dose group (CCI + Rg2 5 mg/kg), and ginsenoside-Rg2 high dose group (CCI + Rg2 10 mg/kg).After the CCI model was established,drug were injected into the abdominal cavity through the syringe once a day,for 14 consecutive days.The mechanical shrinkage foot reflex threshold (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency(TWL) were determined at 1 d before the operation and at 1,3,5,7,10 and 14 d after the operation.Light-dark transition test, forced swimming test were determined at 1 d before the operation and at 14 d after the operation.

RESULTS
Compared with the sham group, the MWL and TWL of the CCI rats were decreased significantly (P<0.01), time in the light compartment and number of transition were decreased (P<0.01), the immobility time in FST was also prolonged significantly (P<0.01). At 14 days after CCI operation, the MWL and TWL of the ginsenoside-Rg2 groups were increased significantly (P<0.01), time in the light compartment and number of transition were also shortened significantly (P<0.01), the immobility time in FST was also shortened significantly (P<0.01).

CONCLUSION
Intraperitoneal injection of ginsenoside-Rg2 can inhibit the mechanical and thermal pain sensitivity of CCI rats,and can relieve depressive state.


OBJECTIVE
To conduct a pilot feasibility and physiologic efficacy study of high-dose vitamin C in patients with vasoplegia after cardiac surgery.

DESIGN
Prospective, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial.

SETTING
Two tertiary intensive care units (ICUs).

PARTICIPANTS
Post-cardiac surgery patients with vasoplegia.

INTERVENTIONS
The authors randomly assigned the patients to receive either high-dose intravenous vitamin C (1,500 mg every 6 hours) or placebo. The primary outcome was time from randomization to resolution of vasoplegia. Secondary outcomes included total norepinephrine equivalent dose in the first 2 days, ICU length of stay, ICU mortality, and in-hospital mortality.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
The authors studied 50 patients (25 patients in each arms). The mean (standard deviation) time to resolution of vasoplegia was 27.0 (16.5) hours in the vitamin C group versus 34.7 (41.1) hours in the placebo group (mean decrease with vitamin C of 7.7 hours, 95% confidence interval -10.5 to 25.9, p = 0.40). The median (interquartile range) norepinephrine equivalent dose in the first 2 days was 64.9 (23.5-236.5) µg/kg versus 47.4 (21.4-265.9) µg/kg in the vitamin C and placebo group (p = 0.75). The median duration of ICU admission was similar (1.4 [0.5-2.5] days and 1.5 [0.5-3.3] days in the vitamin C and placebo group; p = 0.36). Only 1 patient, in the vitamin C arm, died.

CONCLUSION
In patients with post-cardiac surgery vasoplegia, high-dose vitamin C infusion was feasible, appeared safe, and, within the limitations of a pilot study, did not achieve statistically faster resolution of vasoplegia.


It is demonstrated that the simplest model of a surface, assuming step-like variation of the dielectric permeability at a vacuum-matter interface, does not permit the quantitative description of all the features of x-rays reflection and scattering observed in experiment, even though the effects of the surface roughness are taken into consideration accurately. These features are much more pronounced for metals having a large number of the conductivity electrons which are bound slightly with individual atoms. Evidently, the wave function of the electron gas of a metal cannot abrupt sharply at a surface but decreases gradually into vacuum at a distance of several angstroms. To validate or disprove the hypothesis for the presence of a near surface transition layer of the electron density in metals, a set of experiments is performed. Reflection and scattering of hard and soft x-rays, and cold neutrons (which are sensitive to nuclear density distribution and insensitive to the electron one) from metal samples are measured. The independent measurements of the surface micro-topography are performed with the use of atomic force microscopy. The results obtained demonstrate the presence of a near surface layer, which is caused by gradual change of electron density, with a thickness of several angstroms.


The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the applicability of the Choquet integral, a well-known fuzzy integral, in the Maximal Covering Location Problem (MCLP). Possible benefits of the used integral, which is based on monotone set functions, include the flexibility of а monotone set function, which is in the core of the Choquet integral, for modeling the Decision Maker's behavior. Various mathematical models of the Maximal Covering Location Problem are given. The approach, based on the Choquet integral versus the standard approach, is thoroughly discussed and illustrated by several examples.


We scaled up a bio-inspired control architecture for the motor control and motor learning of a real modular robot. In our approach, the Locally Weighted Projection Regression algorithm (LWPR) and a cerebellar microcircuit coexist, in the form of a Unit Learning Machine. The LWPR algorithm optimizes the input space and learns the internal model of a single robot module to command the robot to follow a desired trajectory with its end-effector. The cerebellar-like microcircuit refines the LWPR output delivering corrective commands. We contrasted distinct cerebellar-like circuits including analytical models and spiking models implemented on the SpiNNaker platform, showing promising performance and robustness results.


Brequinar sodium is one of a new group of immunosuppressive drugs currently being developed for the prevention of organ graft rejection. The preclinical and clinical characterization of brequinar sodium has clearly demonstrated that this drug is a compound with highly effective immunosuppressive activity that is the result of its interference with pyrimidine biosynthesis and the disruption in cell proliferation. The antiproliferative activity of the drug influences both T and B cell immune function, thereby providing the potential for the use of this compound in combination with other immunosuppressive agents for more specific and effective prevention of allograft and xenograft rejection. Experimental studies with brequinar and cyclosporin or FK 506 have shown that the use of these agents in combination provides a synergistic effect for the prevention of graft rejection, and studies are now in progress to evaluate the application of this drug in clinical transplantation.


As the pandemic SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread globally its genome has diversified to an extent that distinct clones can now be recognized, tracked, and traced. Identifying clonal groups allows for assessment of geographic spread, transmission events, and identification of new or emerging strains that may be more virulent or more transmissible. Here we present a rapid, whole genome, allele-based method (GNUVID) for assigning sequence types to sequenced isolates of SARS-CoV-2 sequences. This sequence typing scheme can be updated with new genomic information extremely rapidly, making our technique continually adaptable as databases grow. We show that our method is consistent with phylogeny and recovers waves of expansion and replacement of sequence types/clonal complexes in different geographical locations. GNUVID is available as a command line application (https://github.com/ahmedmagds/GNUVID).


An integrative food-grade expression system with tandem repeat target genes was constructed for the expression of d-psicose 3-epimerase (DPEase; EC 126.96.36.199). The DPEase gene fused with the P43 promoter constituted an independent monomeric expression cassette. Multimers of the expression cassette were constructed in vitro using the isocaudamer strategy. The recombinant integration plasmids pDG-nDPE (n = 1, 2, 3), which contained one, two, or three consecutive P43-DPEase tandem repeats, were integrated into the genome of B. subtilis. Then, the antibiotic resistance gene was deleted by the Cre/lox system, and the food-grade recombinant B. subtilis 1A751-nDPE (n = 1, 2, 3) with integrated tandem repeats of the P43-DPEase expression cassette were generated. The specific activity of the B. subtilis 1A751-3DPE was the highest among the recombinant strains and was ∼2.2-fold that of the 1A751-1DPE strain. Under the optimal conditions, 8 g/L of freeze-dried enzyme powder could convert 20% d-fructose (300 g/L) into d-allulose after 1 h.


The fracture type differentiation, quantification, and source identification are desirable and yet intractable in the acoustic emission (AE) testing of a complex coating system. In this letter, a technique combining wavelet transform and conventional AE parameter analysis was developed to study the tensile failure process of thermal barrier coatings in real time. It is demonstrated that the failure of thermal barrier coatings originates from surface vertical cracking and follows interface cracking, and that the AE count increases with tensile load following a power law. The cracking source identified from AE signals agrees well with that observed by optical microscopy. This technique provides a powerful tool for the study of failure processes of a wide range of coatings and thin films.


Introduction: Breastfeeding for > 6 months is associated with protection from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (OR 0.81 95% CI 0.72-0.91), the most common pediatric cancer in the United States. These data are based on any breastfeeding. There is little research concerning infant formula or solid food consumption patterns and risk of pediatric ALL. We previously identified greater duration of milk formula feeding and later age at introduction to solid foods as risk factors for ALL. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the increased OR of ALL was confined to children who began receiving solids after 4 or 6 months of age. Methods: 172 incident cases of ALL aged 0-14 years were recruited at Texas Children9s Cancer Center (TCCC) and matched on sex, age at diagnosis/interview and ethnicity to 344 healthy population-based controls from Houston, San Antonio and Austin, Texas. Data were collected on sociodemographics, infant feeding patterns and known or hypothesized risk factors for ALL. Logistic regression was used to model the OR of ALL according to quartile of age at introduction of solids with the first/earliest quartile as the reference group. Results: In adjusted models, the OR of ALL among children in quartile 3 (7-9 months) was 3.43, 95% CI 1.66 - 7.09; for children in quartile 4 (≥ 10 months) the OR was 4.19, 95% CI 2.00 - 8.75. Each additional month of milk formula feeding was associated with a 7% increase in the OR of ALL (95% CI 1.02 - 1.12). The OR of ALL among non-Hispanic compared to Hispanic children was 1.76 (95% CI 1.10 - 2.84). Discussion: These results support our published findings that later introduction to solids is positively associated with ALL. Our finding of lower risk among Hispanic children contrasts with previous research indicating this group is at greater risk than non-Hispanics. Citation Format: Jeremy M. Schraw, Michael Scheurer, Michele R. Forman. Age at introduction to solids is associated with the odds ratio of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1877. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1877


The dry root of Scutellaria baicalensis, has traditionally been applied in the treatment of cerebral ischemia in Chinese clinics. Baicalin (BA) is considered the key ingredient in it for the brain protection effects. The bioavailability of BA is very low because of its poor lipid and water solubility, which limits the therapeutic effects and clinical application. The aim of the present study was to develop a novel BA-loaded liposome (BA-LP) formulation to improve the drug lipophilicity and further to enhance the drug-concentration in the brain tissues. This study is also designed to investigate the pharmacokinetics of BA in the pathological conditions of stroke and evaluate the pharmacokinetic differences of BA caused by stroke after intravenous administration with BA and BA-LP. In this study, the novel BA-LP prepared in early stage were characterized by morphology, size, zeta potential, encapsulation rate and the in vitro release. The pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of BA and BA-LP were investigated by intravenous administration in rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model and normal group respectively. BA-LP had a mean particle size of 160–190 nm, zeta potential of −5.7 mV, and encapsulation efficiency of 42 ± 1%. The BA-LP showed a sustained-release behavior, the in vitro drug-release kinetic model of BA-LP fit well with the biphasic dynamic model equation: Q = 1 − (60.12e0.56t − 59.08e0.0014t). Pharmacokinetic behavior in MCAO rats is not consistent with that of normal rats. The middle cerebral artery occlusion rats got higher Cmax and AUC0–t, which were about 1.5–2 times to normal rats both in BA and liposome groups. In addition, it got especially higher distribution in brain, while BA were not detected in brain tissues on normal rats. The Cmax and AUC0–t values were significantly greater with liposome than BA on both normal and MCAO rats. The tissue distribution behavior was significantly altered in the case of liposome administrated in comparison with BA, which the concentrations in the heart, liver, spleen, lungs and brain were all increased after administrated liposome, but decreased in kidneys. The TI values showed that the target of liposome was improved especially to heart, spleen and brain, and the brain's target was higher in striatum and cerebellum. In conclusion, BA-LP might be a potential drug delivery system to improve the therapeutic efficacy of BA. In addition, these results also suggest that the pathological damages of ischemia-reperfusion have a significant impact on the pharmacokinetic traits of BA.


Previous observations have localised an antidiuretic peptide factor to the ventral ganglia (VG) of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. Homogenates of VG increase active ion transport and fluid reabsorption across locust ilea in vitro. There is evidence to suggest that the VG peptide employs cAMP as a second messenger. As it is unstable at high temperatures and at low pH, the VG peptide is probably not Scg-ITP, an ileal transport peptide previously isolated from the corpora cardiaca (CC). Using a short-circuit current (Isc) bioassay, a direct measurement of active CI" transport across locust ilea, further characterization of the VG peptide was conducted. The peptide is unstable below pH 6.0 and loses all activity at pH 4.75. Extreme loss of activity under reducing conditions suggests the VG peptide requires intact disulfide bridges for its biological activity on assay. Reverse-phase cartridges and a high-performance chromatography column did not prove to be useful in purifying the VG peptide, owing to near complete losses of activity. Recovery of activity improved somewhat on anion-exchange cartridges, but results did not suggest useful separation of the peptide. Partial purification (36-fold increase in specific activity) of the VG peptide was accomplished using a combination of gravity-driven and high-performance size exclusion chromatography. These methods also provided an estimation of the peptide's molecular weight as 38 kDa.


Injury patterns of fatally injured motor vehicle occupants in side impact crashes were examined based on crashes in the United Kingdom during 1981-85. Detailed Coroners' records for 91 struck side and 49 opposite side fatalities were assessed. The characteristics of the side impact crashes and the fatally injured occupants were described, and possible countermeasures that could have prevented the fatality based on existing technology were identified. Occupants killed in side impact crashes had a high incidence of head and chest injuries; severe injuries to multiple body regions were common. Opposite side fatalities were more likely to sustain serious head injuries than were struck side fatalities. Forty-four percent of the fatalities were judged preventable using existing technology. In the present study stronger side structure and energy absorbing padding was the most common potential vehicle design countermeasure identified; this countermeasure alone was estimated to be capable of preventing 6 percent of the fatalities and an additional 11 percent when combined with other countermeasures. Additional design features addressing head injury in side impact crashes are needed to achieve further reductions in fatalities.


We examine theoretically the behaviour of the inner accretion disk in GRS 1915+105 when soft X-ray dips are present in the X-ray light curve. We assume the presence of a radial shock in the accretion disk, as in some of the Two Component Advective Flow (TCAF) solutions. We discuss the behaviour of the flux tubes inside a TCAF (which we name Magnetized TCAF or MTCAF model for brevity) and compare various competing forces on the flux tubes. In this MTCAF model, we nd that the magnetic tension is the strongest force in a hot plasma of temperature>10 10 K and as a result, magnetic flux tubes entering in this region collapse catastrophically, thereby occasionally evacuating the inner disk. We postulate that this magnetic \rubber-band" eect induced evacuated disk matter produces the blobby components of outflows and IR/radio jets. We derive the size of the post-shock region by equating the time scale of the Quasi-Periodic Oscillations to the infall time of accreting matter in the post-shock region and found the shock location to be45 66 rg. We calculate the transition radius rtr, where the Keplerian disk deviates into a sub-Keplerian flow, to be320 rg. Based on the derived X-ray spectral parameters, we calculate the mass of this region to be 10 18 g. We conclude that during the X-ray dips the matter in the post-shock region, which manifests itself as the thermal-Compton component in the X-ray spectrum, is ejected, along with some sub-Keplerian matter in the pre-shock region.


Complications of Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) infection are liver cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), and albumin may be used as indicators of hepatocyte damage. This study aimed to determine differences between AST, ALT, and albumin in CHB patients without complications with CHB patients with cirrhosis and HCC complications. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in March-May 2019 on 62 CHB patients with or without cirrhosis or HCC complications using the total sampling method. AST and ALT were calculated using the Siemens Dimension device and IFCC method. The data were analyzed using independent samples T-test Albumin in CHB patients without complications was higher than CHB patients who had complications of liver cirrhosis (p=0.002). The AST and ALT were not significantly different. Aspartate aminotransferase in CHB with cirrhosis complications differed from CHB patients who had HCC complications (p=0.015), however, not different in ALT and albumin. Aspartate aminotransferase, ALT, and albumin in CHB patients without complications were different from those with HCC complications. Albumin in CHB patients without complications was different from CHB patients with cirrhosis complications. Aspartate aminotransferase in CHB patients with cirrhosis complications was different from CHB patients who had HCC complications. As a result of these differences, an integrated approach to intervening liver damage may be needed to prevent the progression of the disease from becoming more severe.


Aim: The mammalian brain has been known to respond to both acute and chronic changes in diet and nutritional research has focused mainly on the effects of long-term, dietary manipulation on the brain.
The present study was designed to determine the effect of different local carbohydrate (CHO) diets in Enugu, Nigeria, on plasma and brain tryptophan and brain serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) metabolism, in male albino wistar rats.

Methods: Twenty (20) weanling male albino wistar rats weighing between 80-85 grams were divided into four groups (A-D) of five rats each and allowed to acclimatize. They were fed on balanced diet containing the same quantity (73.75g) of garri, rice, yam and sucrose (control) respectively, in a 100g diet for two weeks. The body and brain weights were obtained and the concentrations of blood sugar, plasma and brain tryptophan (TRP), whole brain protein, 5-HT and 5-HIAA were determined using standard analytic methods. Data obtained was analysed by student's t-test at 99% confidence interval using SPSS computer software package and the results presented as mean ± SEM.

Results: The results showed that yam significantly increased (P<0.001) brain 5-HT metabolism whereas rice significantly increased body and brain weights and also blood sugar concentrations (P<0.05). However garri showed significantly lowered values (P<0.05) in all the measured parameters.

Conclusions: Local CHO influence serotonin metabolism. Thus in diet therapy, yam should be the preferable dietary CHO for conditions involving diminished 5-HT release. Similarly, garri should be considered as the CHO of choice in individuals requiring CHO restriction to lower blood sugar, especially in diabetics.


The general structure of the tube is shown and a brief description of the electrode disposition given. Variation of noise figure is described as a function of the first anode voltage with beam current as a parameter. The independence of current is pointed out. A plot is shown of noise figure as a function of the perveance of the cathode to first-anode region and the possible significance of the beam shape in this region is described. The variation of noise figure with frequency is described and some results are given on the effect of helix size.


ABSTRACT Advances in sequencing technology and phylogenetics have revolutionised avian biology by providing an evolutionary framework for studying natural groupings. In the parrots (Psittaciformes), DNA-based studies have led to a reclassification of clades, yet substantial gaps remain in the data gleaned from genetic information. Here we provide an overview of published genetic data of parrots, characterise sampling depth across the phylogeny, and evaluate support for existing systematic treatments. We inferred a concatenated tree with 307 species from a 30-gene supermatrix. We recovered well-supported relationships among recently proposed clades. Taxonomic groups were more stable towards the base of the tree and increased sampling will be required to clarify relationships at the tips, particularly below the generic level. Only a third of species have been sampled intraspecifically in population genetic or phylogeographic surveys. Intraspecific sampling has not been geographically or phylogenetically even across Psittaciformes, especially poor in the cockatoos, Southeast Asia, and parts of Australo-Papua. Threatened species are poorly sampled in the Neotropics. We highlight where effort should be focused to improve sampling based on geography and conservation status. In sum, phylogenetic relationships among the major parrot clades are robust, but relationships within and between genera and species provide opportunities for future investigations.


The effects of three commonly performed cardiac procedures on cognitive performance were evaluated in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery (N = 20), percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) procedure (N = 8), or cardiac valve repair (N = 11). Patients completed a neuropsychological test battery on the day prior to their surgery and at discharge. Results showed that valve and CABG patients exhibited declines in performance on the Digit Symbol subtest, while PTCA patients did not change. Reaction time performance improved for the PTCA patients but declined significantly for valve patients. These results suggest that common cardiac procedures may have measurable effects on cognitive performance, as assessed by a relatively brief test battery.


Introduction: Evidence-Based Practice can be defined as the use of relevant scientific evidence to guide clinical decision making and optimize health outcomes of patients. Objectives: To identify, to evaluate and to describe the assessment tools of Evidence-Based Practice in the training of physiotherapists that are translated and adapted into Brazilian Portuguese, through a systematic review. Methods: We carried out systematic searches in electronic databases: Embase, SciELO, CINAHL, PubMed and ERIC, and four groups of search terms were used. Results: Of the 707 studies identified, only five were selected for review in full text and of these, none met the inclusion criteria for the study. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated the lack of tools assess the Evidence-Based Practice in Physical Therapy, translated and adapted into Brazilian Portuguese.


The article draws attention to the serious intensification of Turkey's foreign policy, which seeks to become the most influential state in the Middle East region and to receive the status of one of the world's leading powers in the foreseeable future.
Ankara's area of special attention is neighboring Syria. Turkey raises the question of the need to conduct military operations in northern Syria areas under the pretext of creating conditions for protecting its territory from Kurdish paramilitaries.
The various directions of activities of the Turkish authorities aimed at expanding their presence in these regions are also considered. Syrian leadership believes that Ankara is leading the matter to the absorption of these territories, changing their ethnic composition.
It is emphasized that Russia consistently stands for ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria. In pursuing this line, Moscow naturally takes into account the realities of the region and the situation in Syria. It is in Russia's interests to refrain from aggravating relations with the current leaders of Turkey and to use the potential of the Astana negotiation format.
At the same time, the Russian Federation considers the return of all Syrian territories under the control of the legitimate government in Damascus as a condition for achieving a lasting settlement of the crisis in the SAR and around it. From the point of view of creating a predictable, stable situation in the region, such a development of events also corresponds to the national interests of Turkey itself.


Introduction: Embryo transfer into the uterus during IVF/ICSI treatment is followed by embryo implantation, which depends on the receptivity of endometrium and is a pre-requisite for the initiation of a successful pregnancy. The endometrium proliferates under the hormonal influence (estrogen and progesterone), which is reflected by its thickness which is measurable by transvaginal ultrasonic scanning (TVS). The thickness of the endometrium less than 8 mm has been linked with implantation failure.11 Endometrial thickness of 9-14 mm on the day of progesterone supplementation has been shown to have a higher implantation rate. Thus, the implantation potential of a good embryo remains low during IVF treatment despite ovarian stimulation methods of assisted fertilization and improved culture condition.Objectives: This study was planned to determine the impact of endometrial thickness on ET and pregnancy rate in Pakistani patients undergoing IVF/ ICSI.Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional study conducted at a private fertility clinic (Lahore institute of fertility and endocrinology, LIFE) in Lahore, Pakistan, from January 2015 to December 2015. In this study, all those cases were included that reached oocytes pickup and embryo transfer (ET). Two protocols, agonist and antagonist, were used. In all cases, human menopausal gonadotrophin (hMG) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were used for stimulation. Follicles development was monitored; at least 3 follicles were reached at the diameter of ≥16mm.Results: Thickness of endometrium on decision day was calculated at various ranges concerning both groups and find pregnancy rates. When endometrial thickness was ≤ 6mm, PR was 2.22%, 7mm pregnancy rate (PR) was 1.11%, 8 mm PR was 3.33%, 9mm PR was 17.78%, 10mm PR was 33.33%, 11mm PR was 32.22%, and more than 11 mm PR was 10%. So, PR was higher from 2.22% to 10%. The overall pregnancy rate was 45.45%.Conclusion: The study concluded that endometrial thickness has significant effects on embryo transfer and outcomes.


Colouring sparse graphs under various restrictions is a theoretical problem of significant practical relevance. Here we consider the problem of maximizing the number of different colours available at the nodes and their neighbourhoods, given a predetermined number of colours. In the analytical framework of a tree approximation, carried out at both zero and finite temperatures, solutions obtained by population dynamics give rise to estimates of the threshold connectivity for the incomplete to complete transition, which are consistent with those of existing algorithms. The nature of the transition as well as the validity of the tree approximation are investigated.


The article assesses the ecological status of shallow Gorbacz Lake (NE Poland) in the last stage before complete drying up. For last few years hydrological regime of the lake catchment has been changed dramatically which was caused by functioning nearby peat mine and longer autumn drought periods for following years. Progressing macrophytes succession leaded complete emergent macrophytes overgrowth of the lake beginning from 2000. The analyses include records of previous samples and data for morphology, water quality, phytoplankton, zooplankton and macrophytes. The trophic status of Gorbacz Lake was verified compare to the previous studies. The results indicate that even with minimum amount of water Gorbacz Lake itself still keeps its dystrophic character with increasing of water color and of DOC, biogenic substances, chlorophyll a concentrations. Humic State Index (HSI) and hydrochemical dystrophy index (HDI) confirm the dystrophic status of the lake with values 71.3 and 76.2 respectively. Both typical phytoplankton representatives of eutrophic and dystrophic waters were recorded. Very high diversity of desmids in the telmatoplankton, indicates the observed process of shallowing in the reservoir. Planktonic crustacean fauna was represented by small filtrators. Rotifera community was strongly dominated by Trichocerca simonei. The article concludes with the main causes of the observed changes and some future remarks for the lake state.


In this Article, I focus on how employees can respond and address excessive bargaining power issues when employers require individual employees to agree to arbitrate employment disputes as a condition of employment. My thesis is that individual employees can and should seek self-help through collective action to level the playing field for bargaining about arbitration. Furthermore, I contend that the best collective action would be for unions to play a major role in how individual employee disputes, including the various statutory and tortbased exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine, are negotiated and resolved in arbitration.
Section II of this Article reviews the Supreme Court's analysis of mandatory arbitration agreements involving statutory employment discrimination claims and its lack of concern for bargaining power in enforcing these agreements. Section III addresses the underlying concerns that led employers to excess when seeking mandatory arbitration agreements, and why that response now appears so insidious to many employee advocates. Section IV offers a solution to the dilemma of bargaining power excess engaged in by employers through mandatory arbitration-the use of collective employee activity with the assistance of unions. Finally, this Article concludes that creative uses of unions as assistants to groups of employees can chill employer excess and ultimately level the bargaining playing field with respect to decisions to arbitrate employment disputes.


The aim of this study was to analyse the reason that five patients associated with bloodstream infections by K. pneumoniae in a surgical ward using Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and the repetitive-sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) employing the DiversiLab system. In July 2010, eight isolates were collected from the same surgical ward of a hospital, and the specimens from sputum, blood and abdominal drainage fluid, respectively. The PFGE patterns after XbaI digestion and rep-PCR profiles produced by the DiversiLab system were determined for eight isolates. The Rep-PCR profiles produced by using the DiversiLab system showed that the eight isolates can be divided into two groups; the K8-02 as a group and the other seven strains is the other group. The eight strains of K. pneumoniae can be divided into two groups (A and B), seven strains were type A which the subtype A1 is the main-type (K8-01, K8-03, K8-04, K8-06, K8-08), and one is type B (K8-02). The PFGE and rep-PCR interpretations were concordant for the eight strains of K. pneumoniae. This data suggest that the DiversiLab system may be a reasonable alternative to PFGE for investigation and control of nosocomial infection outbreaks caused by K. pneumoniae, since it is easy to use, rapid and does not require highly skilled operators (Mazzariol et al., 2012).

 Key words: Klebsiella pneumoniae, outbreak, pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), rep-PCR, DiversiLab system.


There is a dearth of information on the effect of price distortion on the welfare of cocoa farmers. This study therefore investigated the impact of price changes on cocoa farmers' welfare. The study was carried out in the Southern Nigeria specifically Ondo, Oyo and Cross River States. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 250 cocoa farmers from the study area and the data collected from the selected respondents were analysed using descriptive statistics and Partial Equilibrium Model (PEM). The result indicated that the mean age of the farmers was 48 years while 80.8% of them had formal education. Furthermore, the result showed that the Net Social Loss in Production (NSLp) was ₦308,411.24 per tonne while Welfare Loss in Production (WLp) was ₦429,432.36 per tonne. The study concluded that the existing policies on agriculture in the study area did not favour cocoa producers.


ABSTRACT The acquisition of noun gender on articles was studied in a sample of 21 young German-speaking children. Longitudinal spontaneous speech data were used. Data analysis is based on 22 two-hourly speech samples per child from 6 children between 1 ; 4 and 3 ; 8 and on 5 two-hourly speech samples per child from 15 children between 1 ; 4 and 2 ; 10. The use of gender marked articles occurred from 1 ; 5. Error frequencies dropped below 10% by 3 ; 0. Definite and indefinite articles were used with similar frequencies and error rates did not differ in the two paradigms. Children's errors were systematic. For monosyllabic nouns and for polysyllabic nouns ending in -el, -en and -er errors were more frequent for nouns which did not conform to the rule that such nouns tend to be masculine. Furthermore, children erred in the direction of the rule overgeneralizing der. Correct gender marking was also associated with adult frequency of noun use. The present data is evidence for the early use of phonological regularities of noun structure in the acquisition of gender marking.


Objective: The sedentary endoparasite Meloidogyne incognita is an important plant parasitic nematode that infects cotton causing significant yield losses. The objective of this study was to evaluate reproduction of M. incognita in Bt cotton (06Z604D), isoline (99M03) and HART 89M (local non-Bt cotton cultivar) under greenhouse conditions. Methods and results: Plant height, number of squares/bolls, fresh shoot and root weight were determined before root knot nematode (RKN) screening at 90 and 180 days after planting (DAP). Galling severity, egg mass index, number of juveniles and the presence of Bt protein in roots and soil were also determined. The ELISA detected Bt protein in soil and roots of Bt cotton but not in HART 89M and isoline plant tissues and soil. Reaction of Bt cotton and isoline to M. incognita was different with the transgenic cotton being more susceptible to RKN. HART 89M was more resistant to RKN infection compared with the isoline. Conclusion and application of findings: The study has demonstrated that Bt cotton (06Z604D) is susceptible to M. Incognita . The results indicate the importance of integrating nematode management practices such as the use of organic amendments and nematicides with other cultural practices in future Kenyan Bt cotton agroecosystems.


The oxidation of cold copper films in vacuum using a flux of oxygen radicals is reported. Also atomic hydrogen can be usefully employed to remove surface contaminants and to reduce the oxide controllably.


In the article, the issues of asymptotic adaptive tracking control for the uncertain nonlinear systems in the presence of actuator faults and unknown control directions are investigated. By using the properties of Nussbaum function and backstepping technique, the problems resulted from the unknown signs of the nonlinear control functions are circumvented successfully. Moreover, a new adaptive asymptotic tracking control method is presented with the fault tolerant control framework, which is capable of realizing zero-tracking performance. The stability of the controlled system is ensured through fractional Lyapunov stability analysis. Finally, the validity of the raised scheme is verified by a simulation example.


The theory of the two-stream instability is used to validate the initial phase of a developing code which ultimately aims to simulate the generation of VLF chorus. A one dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulation shows that waves are generated when a warm electron beam is injected into a cold background plasma with components of the electric field being excited. After a few time steps the phase space reveals a distortion of the beam and the creation of potential holes, causing electrons to oscillate.


Leaves of bread tree (Sukun/ Artocarpus communis Forst.) can be used to cure skin diseases, heart, kidneys, and inflamation. The advantageous of bread might be related with its secondary metabolite compounds. The purpose of this research was to detect and compare the content of alkaloid, flavonoid, and terpenoid compounds in bread leaves and pulps using Thin layer Chromatography (TLC) methods. The coloring reagents were dragendorf for alkaloid, sitroborat for flavanoid and sulfate vanillin for terpenoid. Reference compounds used for alkaloid is quinine, rutine for the flavonoid, and terpeniol for terpenoid. The result indicated that alkaloid were detected in chloroform extracts of leaves with Rf score 0.76 and methanol extracts with Rf 0.8, while the alkaloid in pulps weren't detected. This showed that the leaves were contain of polar and nonpolar alkaloid. Flavonoid were detected in leaves with Rf value 0.89 and in pulps with Rf value 0.9. This result indicated that flavonoid in the leaves and pulps possibly the same compound. Terpenoid were detected in the methanol and chloroform extract of leaves (4 spots) and pulps (2 spots). Moreover, there were spots which have the same Rf value in chloroform and methanol extracts of the leaves (Rf :0,625 and 0,99). In addition, the pulps extracts (chloroform and methanol) have the same Rf values with reference, that was 0,31. It was proved that the pulps contain terpeniol. It can be concluded that alkaloid was only detected in leaves, while flavonoid and terpenoid present in leaves and pulps of bread tree. Keywords : Artocarpus communis Forst., alkaloid, flavonoid, terpenoid, TLC.


This paper reports tunable emission of trivalent (Eu3+) and divalent (Eu2+) europium (Eu) from SiOxNy films fabricated by integrated electron cyclotron plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition and magnetron sputtering. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of intense red emission from Eu3+ around 600 nm and blue (cyan) broadband emission from 400 to 750 nm of Eu2+ are observed under daylight conditions with the naked eye. The spectra reveal a strong dependency of the PL on the atomic concentration of the dopant and the silicon/nitrogen ratio. The atomic composition of the films is investigated by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and elastic recoil detection analysis. Values of the refractive indices are obtained by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. To confirm the presence of crystalline phases of europium silicate Eu4.67(SiO4)3O [Eu2(Si2O7)] and europium silicon oxynitride (EuSi2N2O2) distributed in the amorphous host matrix of SiOxNy, high-resolution x-ray diffraction is used. The findings of this work are promising toward the realization of europium-doped Si-based materials for photonics and lighting technologies.


Thinking of the risk analysis of modeling biomedical physics (BP's) from a probabilistic perspective, leads to the conclusion that probability is a measure of expressing uncertainty about the process seen through the point of view of the assessor (i.e. the controller of the process), and based on some background information and knowledge that we have at the time we quantify our uncertainty.

A distinction between objective, real risk, and perceived risk cannot be made. Risk is primarily a judgment, not a fact. As risk expresses uncertainty about the process outcomes, risk perception has a role to play to guide the decision of the controller. A number of different types of models are used in risk analysis. These include both quantity-oriented models and event oriented models. It is difficult to give a detailed specification of what a satisfactory model is. How accurate must a model be in order to be considered satisfactory? One may say that a necessary requirement for a risk model is that any improvement in the model to make it more accurate, as judged by the controller, should not lead to a change in the conclusions considered.

Also, when analyzing BP's performance, human and organizational factors need to be taken into account. For instance, the conventional reliability analysis is based on the premise that increasing the reliability of a system will decrease the losses from failures; but an inappropriate increase of the reliability of the system may determine the risk of a simultaneous increase of the losses from the failure.

In order to avoid these situations, an efficient discrete-event simulation model has been proposed for modeling the immune system of mammalians.


This study aimed to know the influence of non performing financing in
Mudharabah system and non performing financing in musyarakah system toward
the profitability of the the Islamic banks. A financing channeled to customers
potentially leads to financial problems. Financing problematic in the Islamic
banks can be seen from the level of non performing financing. The data used in
this study was the secondary data in the form of annual financial report in islamic
banks during period 2009 up to 2013.
The method of data analysis used in this research was multipel linier
regression analysis. The samples taken were 33 of data includes 8 Islamic banks
during the period of 5 years. The samples taken by using the purposive sampling
technique. The results showed that simultan eously non performing financing
Mudharabah and non performing financing Musyarakah affected on the
profitabilty og Islamic banks, while partially non performing financing
mudharabah didn't affect negatively, but positively affected financing with the
significance 0,018 and non performing financing musyarakah didn't affect the
profitability of Islamic banks.


Several Candida albicans morphological mutants were obtained by a procedure based on a combined treatment with nitrous acid plus UV irradiation and a double-enrichment step to increase the proportion of mutants growing as long filamentous structures. Altered cell morphogenesis in these mutants correlated with an altered colonial phenotype. Two of these mutants, C. albicans NEL102 and NEL103, were selected and characterized. Mutant blastoconidia initiated budding but eventually gave rise to filamentous hypha-type formations. These filaments were long and septate, and they branched very regularly at positions near septa. Calcofluor white (which is known to bind chitin-rich areas) stained septa, branching zones, and filament tips very intensely, as observed under the fluorescence microscope. Wild-type hybrids were obtained by fusing protoplasts of strain NEL102 with B14, another morphological mutant previously described as being permanently pseudomycelial, indicating that genetic determinants responsible for the two altered phenotypes are different. The mutants characterized in this work seemed to sequentially express the morphogenic characteristics of C. albicans, from blastoconidia to hyphae, in the absence of any inducer. Further characterization of these strains could be relevant to gain understanding of the genetic control of dimorphism in this species.


Introduction Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) should be a positive diagnosis rather than a diagnosis of exclusion. However, in unselected patients presenting with IBS type symptoms it is important to recognise other differential diagnosis. Bile acid malabsorption (BAM) has been reported as a possible cause of diarrhoea predominant (D)-IBS type symptoms. For this reason we aimed to determine how commonly patients with D-IBS type symptoms had a diagnosis of BAM as demonstrated by a positive SeHCAT (75Selenium HomotauroCholic Acid Taurine) test (retention <10% at 7 days). Methods (Group A) A retrospective analysis was undertaken of patient's records for all patients who underwent a SeHCAT scan in a 9-year period between 2001 and 2010 in a tertiary Gastroenterology Department. Patient demographics, symptoms, previous medical and surgical history, as well as laboratory investigations (including full blood count, serum folate, vitamin B12, ferritin and albumin) were analysed. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (version 19.0 for windows) with χ2 analysis used to compare the data. Concurrently a cohort of patients (Group B) with D-IBS type symptoms (fulfilling Rome II criteria) was examined to determine the potential utility of SeHCAT test. Results In Group A of the 415 patients who underwent a SeHCAT, 368 patient records were located and analysed (mean age 49.3, 114 male). 153 patients (41.6%) had a positive result. The mean time from first hospital visit to SeHCAT result was 32 weeks. Patient characteristics predictive of a positive SeHCAT were: terminal ileal Crohn's (p<0.01), terminal ileal resection (p<0.01), inflammatory bowel disease (p<0.01), previous small bowel surgery (p<0.01) and previous cholecystectomy (p<0.01). 47 of the 153 patients (30.7%) of the patients referred with D-IBS type symptoms had a positive SeHCAT scan. In Group B the D-IBS control cohort (n=316, mean age 46.1 years, 96 males) only 6/316 (1.9%) patients had been referred for a SeHCAT scan (p<0.001 compared to Group A) meaning that potentially 96 patients could have been missed. Conclusion BAM is common and should be considered earlier in patients with predisposing factors (including inflammatory bowel disease, terminal ileal disease, previous small bowel surgery and post cholecystectomy). Consideration should also be given for BAM when investigating unselected patients with D-IBS type symptoms.


In this article, we propose a new method of multi-class classification in the framework of error-correcting output coding (ECOC). Misclassification of each binary classifier is formulated as a bit inversion error with a probabilistic model for each class and dependence between binary classifiers is incorporated into our model, which makes a decoder, a type of Boltzmann machine. Experimental studies using a synthetic dataset and datasets from UCI repository are performed, and the results show that the proposed method is superior to other existing multi-class classification methods.


We investigate the time evolution of quantum correlations, which are measured by Gaussian quantum discord in a continuous-variable bipartite system subject to common and independent non-Markovian environments. Considering an initial two-mode Gaussian symmetric squeezed thermal state, we show that quantum correlations can be created during the non-Markovian evolution, which is different from the Markovian process. Furthermore, we find that the temperature is a key factor during the evolution in non-Markovian environments. For common reservoirs, a maximum creation of quantum correlations may occur under an appropriate temperature. For independent reservoirs, the non-Markovianity of the total system corresponds to the subsystem whose temperature is higher. In both common and independent environments, the Gaussian quantum discord is influenced by the temperature and the photon number of each mode.


A continuum model based on a drift-diffusion approach is applied to describe the dynamics of electronic excitation, heating and charge-carrier transport in metals and dielectrics under near-infrared femtosecond laser irradiation. The dependence of laser-induced charging of the targets on laser fluence and pulse duration is investigated. Various aspects concerning the mechanism of Coulomb Explosion (CE) are discussed. The CE threshold as a function of pulse duration is evaluated numerically for dielectric materials (sapphire and ULE glass). A special attention is paid to studies of interconnection between the electron emission yield and surface charging dynamics. It has been found that in dielectrics the photoemission yield saturates with increasing laser fluence as a result of self-regulation of the free-electron population. By contrast in metals, due to effective supply of electrons to the charging zone on the target surface, electron emission becomes unwarrantably high for short laser pulses and high fluences. However, photo- and thermionic emissions can be suppressed by the generated electric field whose amplitude is a function of pulse duration and laser fluence. The question on self-consistency of electron emission and surface charging is analyzed with outlining further studies.


Objective To describe the ground-glass opacities (GGO) seen in chest CT scans of COVID-19 patients and to estimate the association between these opacities and the time of clinical presentation Methods A cross-sectional study involving 81 COVID-19 confirmed patients in Imam Al-Hussein Medical city in Karbala-Iraq during the period from March 1 to April 20, 2020 Chest CT scan findings were evaluated by two radiologists and categorized accordingly Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis and a p-value of less than 0 05 was considered statistically significant Results The mean age +/- standard deviation of patients was 53 5 +/- 17 1 years, with male predominance as 63 (77 8%) of cases were males Nearly half of the patients were presented within the second week of starting the sign and symptoms GGO was present in 79 scans (97 5%), followed by consolidation opacity in 29 patients (35 8%) Four types of GGO were described Bilateral multiple subpleural GGO was the most prevalent type There was a significant association between late time of patient presentation and more extensive GGO type Conclusion Chest CT scan is valuable in diagnosis and management of COVID-19 cases The presence of GGO in CT scan of a patient that previously had no chest illness is highly suggestive of COVID-19 disease, different types of GGO were seen Bilateral confluent type of GGO is associated with more serious and delayed status and warns the need for intensive care unit admission


The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of individuals in a small sized military unit in regards to feedback. Specifically, the current perception of feedback from supervisors to employees was examined with focus on the areas of timeliness and effectiveness. The aim was to assess the effectiveness of the current supervisory feedback situation to determine whether or not feedback standards and expectations were being met. Where gaps in the existing feedback process were found, recommendations were given on how to improve. Using a phenomenological approach, the study consisted of interviewing unit members to determine the existence and potential effectiveness of feedback. The research study findings suggested that although there were some positive aspects of feedback within the unit, there were some gaps in areas as perceived by the study participants. Additionally, the results of this study have provided six major themes that supervisors may consider as important to subordinates. Supervisors should consider these themes in the future while formulating and providing feedback: strength/weakness identification, leadership development, frequency & timing, content, authenticity, and feedback method. As part of a plan for improving feedback, a six-prong approach was recommended. This included conducting workshops, having quarterly training, developing a roadmap, creating a tracking system, holding team building events, and allowing for and encouraging self-reflection. This study has provided awareness of both the positive and negative areas within the feedback situation as well as given insight for future supervisors within this organization as to how feedback should be conducted.


During marine seismic acquisition, obtaining complete subsurface coverage may require combining data from different acquisition dates. The time gaps between the overlapping coverage may vary from hours separating subsequent boat passes, to months when large surveys are acquired in sections. Time-lapse data are an extreme example of overlapping data sets acquired at widely varying acquisition dates.

Unfortunately, between the different times of acquisition, changes in physical ocean properties, such as temperature or salinity, can cause variations in water velocity. The result is a dynamic change in recorded traveltimes that makes accurate combination of the data difficult. In shallow water, the distortions are small and do not affect data quality. However, in deepwater, the cumulative distortions can pose a serious impediment to accurate imaging.

The existence of water-velocity variations has been documented previously (Barley, 1999). Water temperature changes are the primary cause of velocity variations. Figure 1 shows an area just south of Nova Scotia (coastline in red). The outlined seismic survey area is approximately 3600 km2. The satellite images show surface temperature variations, with each color contour representing 1°C. In the approximately two-week period shown, surface temperatures varied as much as 10°. Figure 1.
Surface temperature variations offshore Nova Scotia; each color contour is 1°C. The survey area is outlined. In the approximately two-week period shown, up to 10° of temperature variation can be seen.

The temperature structures evident in Figure 1 are caused by eddies in the Gulf Stream and are indicative of deepwater temperature variations. Significantly, each degree of change causes over 3 m/s of water-velocity variation. The effect of such changes on seismic data collected in deepwater can be significant. Figure 2 shows two midpoint gathers after moveout correction. The gathers are from the Nova Scotia survey outlined in Figure 1. The shallowest event is the …


: Continuous casting of high-carbon steel containing 1% carbon tends to be operated with low mold flux consumption, resulting in insufficient lubricity. In this study, a mold flux was developed by increasing the viscosity to form a glassy film easily and improve the lubricity between the mold and the solidified shell. In the casting with the developed mold flux, a film with a thickness of 3 mm was stably formed inside the mold to cover the meniscus, bleeding was prevented, and the frequency of surface crack defects on the bloom was reduced by 80%. In the film of the developed mold flux, a 1.2 mm liquid layer lubricated the initial solidification shell.The increased thermal resistance at the film-mold interface reduced the heat flux in the mold, which contributed to the uniform initial solidification. The formation and the growth mecha-nisms of the crystalline layer in the film were as follows. Firstly, the mold flux flows into the gap between the mold and the initial solidification shell and forms a glassy film. Subsequently, crystallization of the glassy film starts from the mold plate side. Thereafter, the crystallization progresses in the thickness direction of the film until the position of the solidification temperature of the mold flux. The existence of two phases, a liquid layer and a solid layer, played an important role to achieve high lubricity and uniform initial solidification.


Abstract : The selective molecular recognition capability and high binding affinity of nucleic acid aptamers is integrated with the signal transduction methodology of molecular beacons for real-time monitoring of a surrogate protein toxin, thrombin. An aptamer recognition element was modified to exist in a stem-loop configuration in the absence of a protein target, and in the presence of the protein target change conformation. Upon binding to the target, a physical separation of the attached fluorophore and quencher molecules is achieved, allowing for an engineered, single-step recognition and signaling system. The aptamer signaling probe was found to exhibit a maximum 12-fold change in signal when hybridized with a complement control, and a 3-fold change in signal with an excess of thrombin. The fluorescence increased with increasing concentration of thrombin, until probe saturation where the fluorescence signal did not increase further, but leveled off in intensity. The signaling probe produced a rapid response, with 70% of the maximum signal achieved within 15 seconds.


A particular importance will be given to how the principle ideas were managed to achieve an optimal mechatronic product if certain conditions imposed. Schemes in principle on the whole mechatronic product was designed, conducted and completed in detail. The present study attempted to design a robot for the detection of metal objects, being the preferred transportation system with tracks. This system has a high stability and provides a backup speed high enough for such applications. As a result, the mobile robot those covered by this paper will adopt this system.