Objective: The validity of the Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS) embedded in the Resident Assessment Instrument—Mental Health (RAI-MH) was evaluated among adult psychiatric inpatients. Methods: The CPS is a brief measure of cognitive performance, with scores ranging from 0 (intact) to 6 (very severe impairment). The CPS scores were compared with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores for 215 adult psychiatric inpatients. Results: The CPS scores were significantly correlated with MMSE scores (r = −0.69, P < 0.001) and MoCA scores (r = −0.69, P < 0.001). Higher scores on the CPS were associated with greater functional impairment, older age, and a greater prevalence of dementia diagnoses than lower CPS scores. Conclusions: Pilot data show the CPS is a valid screening measure of cognitive performance among adult psychiatric inpatients. Additional research is needed to replicate our study using a larger sample with more diverse mental health conditions.


Graphene has caught the attention of the electronic device community as a potential future option for More Moore and More Than Moore devices and applications. This is owed to its remarkable material properties, which include ballistic conductance over several hundred nanometers or charge carrier mobilities of several 100.000 cm2/Vs in pristine graphene. Furthermore, standard CMOS technology may be applied to graphene in order to make devices. Integrated graphene devices, however, are performance limited by scattering due to defects in the graphene and its dielectric environment and high contact resistance. In addition, graphene has no energy band gap and hence graphene MOSFETs (GFETs) cannot be switched off, but instead show ambipolar behaviour. This has steered interest away from logic to analog radio frequency (RF) applications. This talk will systematically compare the expected RF performance of realistic GFETs with current silicon CMOS technology. GFETs slightly lag behind in maximum cut-off frequency FT,max up to a carrier mobility of 3000 cm2/Vs, where they can achieve similar RF performance as 65nm silicon FETs. While a strongly nonlinear voltage-dependent gate capacitance inherently limits performance, other parasitics such as contact resistance are expected to be optimized as GFET process technology improves.


Reading this book has certainly made me pause for thought and is strong persuasion that there is a need to treat identification evidence with caution. No amount of simulated experiments, however realistic, can replace an act of crime, or the emotions and perceptions of anyone concerned or connected with it. This book, however, provides relevant exper imental data and much food for thought on a topic which is of interest to most people and extreme im portance to those directly concerned in the collection, presentation and examination of identification evi dence, not to mention the accused person.


In second language input studies, speaking speed is regarded as one of the most influential factors in comprehension. However, research in this area has mainly been conducted on written texts read aloud. The present study investigated temporal variables, such as articulation rate and ratio and frequency of fillers and silent pauses, in three university lectures given in Japanese. It was found that the total duration ratio of fillers was as great as that of silent pauses. It also became clear that, for individual speakers, articulation rate and frequency of fillers are relatively constant, while frequency of silent pauses varies depending on discourse section. Of total pause ratio, pause frequency and articulation rate, the latter correlated best with listener ratings of speech speed. The findings suggest that spontaneous speech requires methods of speech speed measurement different from those for read speech.


ABSTRACT Feminist scholarship on war and militarization has typically focussed on the making of militarized masculinity. However, in this article, we shed light on the process of 'unmaking' militarized masculinity through the experiences of veterans transitioning from military to civilian life. We argue that in the twenty-first century, veterans' successful reintegration into civilian society is integral to the legitimacy of armed force in Western polities and is therefore a central concern of policymakers, third-sector service providers, and the media. But militarized masculinity is not easily unmade. Veterans often struggle with their transition to civilian life and the negotiation of military and civilian gender norms. They may have an ambivalent relationship with the state and the military. Furthermore, militarized masculinity is embodied and experienced, and has a long and contradictory afterlife in veterans themselves. Attempts to unmake militarized masculinity in the figure of the veteran challenge some of the key concepts currently employed by feminist scholars of war and militarization. In practice, embodied veteran identities refuse a totalizing conception of what militarized masculinity might be, and demonstrate the limits of efforts to exceptionalize the military, as opposed to the civilian, aspects of veteran identity. In turn, the very liminality of this 'unmaking' troubles and undoes neat categorizations of military/civilian and their implied masculine/feminine gendering. We suggest that an excessive focus on the making of militarized masculinity has limited our capacity to engage with the dynamic, co-constitutive, and contradictory processes which shape veterans' post-military lives.


Objective Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a chronic, immune-mediated, inflammatory condition consisting of 2 clinical subsets: nonradiographic axSpA and ankylosing spondylitis, the latter having an estimated prevalence of 0.2% to 1% in Canada. Secukinumab (SEC) received Health Canada approval in 2016 for the treatment of adults with axSpA who have responded inadequately to conventional treatment, and has demonstrated efficacy and safety through extensive clinical trials. However, there is limited evidence on its real-world use in Canada. The objective of this study was to use the Canadian Spondyloarthritis (CanSpA) Research Network to describe real-world retention and effectiveness of SEC in the Canadian axSpA population. Methods This was an observational cohort study of Canadian patients with axSpA aged 18 to 65 years within the CanSpA network who had received treatment with SEC. Patients were indexed on the first date of SEC initiation. Retention and clinical effectiveness were assessed at 12 months postindex. Clinical effectiveness was measured as the proportion in remission and change in disease activity using multiple clinical indices. Results A total of 146 patients were included. Overall retention was estimated at 62.9%. Low disease activity (ie, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index < 4) was achieved in 29.2% of patients, and 2% had achieved remission based on the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score. Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index scores improved by more than 60% from baseline to 12 months. Conclusion The results of this real-world study of Canadian patients with axSpA, one of the first of its kind, support the effectiveness of SEC for treatment of axSpA. The CanSpA network presents an opportunity to continue building and improving the real-world evidence base for treatment of Canadian patients with spondyloarthritis.


The paper examines the development of e-commerce in the context of the burgeoning of the WorldWide Web. The key web service technologies that have supported this development are reviewed and certain limitations of these technologies are discussed. The paper argues that, if e-commerce services are to continue their rapid expansion, the underlying technologies will need to change to provide greater flexibility, scalability and integration with enterprise systems. The paper describes some recent developments in component technologies that have addressed these issues and proposes some guidelines for their exploitation.


Economies have long been based on systems that emphasize production and explain results. In today's increased global competitiveness, the maturing capitalism advocates varied and lasting spatial concentrations as well as country-specific characteristics, National Innovation Systems. Even entrepreneurship has been given more and more attention in economic development and its importance in the implementation of prior innovations. On the other hand, National Innovation Systems have overlooked entrepreneurial activity in the economy while the Entrepreneurial Ecosystems has been neglected from the impact of National Innovation Systems. This research defines, describes and locates the national elements that support entrepreneurship, and then investigates which mechanisms as in variations associated with nationally successful entrepreneurship. The paper concludes that the intensity of a nation's integration into the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem depends on the ability to invent and upgrade and above all; the aggregated engagement within the National Innovation System. (Less)


OBJECTIVE
To explore opinions of patients who undergone to complex ART towards gamete and embryo donation, as well as the reasons to do it or not.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The seat was the Hospital Clínico de la Universidad de Chile. There were interviewed ten participants (seven women, three men), who had undergone at least to one ART, without comprising of donation programs. It was a cross-sectional study of descriptive bioethics, done with ethnographic qualitative methodology with a semistructured interview applying speech analysis to the resulting text.

RESULTS
Regarding embryo donation, six participants would accept to donate them, five to fertility therapy and one to research. Regarding the cryopreservation, three participants would always accept it, and three with some restrictions, just one on them would rather to discard instead of donating a cryopreserved embryo.

DISCUSSION
It could be suggested: gamete donation is more commented and generally accepted; embryo donation is a more conflicting and less discussed subject, as much to donate as to accept; cryopreservation is a complex subject, commented but also conflicting, whose acceptance or not, as well as the destiny of the probably cryopreserved embryos, depends on the believes that participants have about the origin of the life, personal ethics, and the religion. It could be possible to say that a hypothesis constructed in this study (to be verified in future quantitative researches) is that embryo donation could take place, for therapy of fertility, and exceptionally to research.


Immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related disease is an inflammatory condition characterized by IgG4 positive plasma cell infiltration. It can affect any organ in the body and mainly involves the pancreas, liver, biliary tracts, orbits, salivary glands and lymph nodes. It can manifest as an inflammatory pseudotumor. Pseudolymphoma as an inflammatory pseudotumor is a group of benign tumors that exhibit histological and clinical features suggestive of malignant lymphoma. Studies on IgG4-related disease are rarely reported, and no case of the disease that involved the maxillary bone and adjacent soft tissue, except for the skin, has been reported. Therefore, we report herein a case of pseudolymphomatous IgG4-related disease that involved the maxilla, with a literature review.


BACKGROUND
Anxiety sensitivity (AS) and disgust sensitivity (DS) are transdiagnostic vulnerability factors for anxiety. Both correlate with blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia symptoms in several studies; however, there is ambiguity about their relative contributions, and studies investigating this have relied on unselected samples. Furthermore, although DS reliably predicts BII in studies that do not account for AS, this may be limited to domain-specific DS rather than DS more broadly.

AIMS
The aims of this study were to examine AS and DS as separate and simultaneous predictors of BII fears in a sample with a wide range of BII symptoms, and with attention to the specificity of DS to BII-relevant domains.

METHOD
Fifty-three participants who scored above a clinical threshold on a validated measure of dental anxiety, and who represented a wide range of BII severity, completed measures of AS, DS and BII symptoms.

RESULTS
AS and DS were moderately to strongly correlated with BII severity (r = .40 and .47, p = .004 and <.001), and both independently predicted BII severity when entered as simultaneous predictors (β = .32 and .35, p = .045 and .015). Furthermore, after omitting DS about injections and blood draws, domain-general DS was still moderately correlated with BII severity (r = .33, p = .017). However, domain-general DS did not significantly predict BII severity after accounting for AS (β = .20, p = .164).

CONCLUSIONS
AS and DS both predict BII symptoms, and prospective research is warranted to examine them as potential vulnerability factors.


The National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study (FFS) was established to monitor the impacts of fuel reduction treatments (prescribed fire-only, mechanical fuel reduction-only, and a combination of prescribed fire and mechanical fuel reduction) on a host of ecosystem properties at 13 sites across the United States. Treatment impacts were monitored on the Southern Appalachian Mountain FFS site for three to four years following treatment. Control and treatment means for forest floor C:N ratio, soil extractable calcium, and the Ca:Al molar ratio differed one to two years posttreatment. These differences were not noted three to four years posttreatment, but differences were noted for soil extractable iron and soil pH. Results from this analysis suggest that these treatments were applied under the appropriate conditions and guidelines to conserve forest soil resources.


A bullet which has been lodged in the body encapsulated by dense fibrous tissue for a long time without causing ill effects is a souvenir bullet. The bullet cartridge is divided into 3 parts: bullet, cartridge case holding bullet with gun powder and detonator at the base. Medicolegal consultation was done with Forensic Medicine Department where cartridge case acted as projectile and accidentally got embedded into the chest of the victim. In an attempt of making an ornament from the casing of bullet which was separated from bullet mechanically and gunpowder was partially removed from the bullet case. When he heated the bullet case to melt and mould, the remaining gun powder ignited with release of large amount of gas which resulted in forceful propulsion and acted as the projectile. An oval penetrating keyhole appearance injury measuring 2 cm x 1.5 cm was present on left side of the chest of the victim. The projectile was found just above the 6th rib and was confined within inter-costal muscle. Although late complications may arise from the metallic toxicity from the bullet case showing manifestations like abdominal pain, anorexia, chronic renal failure, abdominal pain, osteomyelitis, and fistula formation in bones, the projectile was left within the body as a souvenir to be intervened in case complications arise during follow-ups, as manipulating it could cause unanticipated therapeutic complications.


Background: Emerging evidence demonstrated that hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) therapy improved the locomotor dysfunction following spinal cord injury (SCI). Sirtuin1(SIRT1) has been characterized as neuroprotection in nerve system. However, whether SIRT1 is involved in alleviation of locomotor function by HBO therapy is unclear. Methods: The Basso, Beattie Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale was used to evaluate the open-field locomotor function. Western blot, real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, SIRT1 activity assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were performed to explore the molecular mechanisms in adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Results: We found that series HBO therapy significantly improved the locomotor dysfunction and ameliorated the decrease mRNA, protein and activity of spinal cord SIRT1 induced by traumatic SCI injury in rats. In addition, intraperitoneal injection SIRT1 antagonist EX-527 abolished the beneficial effects of series HBO treatment on locomotor deficits and SIRT1 activity loss caused by traumatic SCI injury. However, the rats undergone both series HBO therapy and SIRT1 agonist SRT1720 got the higher BBB score than that undergone series HBO treatment only. Importantly, series HBO treatment following the traumatic SCI injury inhibited the inflammatory cascade and apoptosis-related protein, which was retained by EX-527 and enhanced by SRT1720. Furthermore, EX-527 blocked the enhanced induction of autophagy series with HBO application. Conclusion: These findings demonstrated a new mechanism for series HBO therapy involving activation of SIRT1 and subsequent modulation of inflammatory cascade, apoptosis and autophagy, which contributed to the recovery of motor dysfunction. Key words: HBO, SIRT1, motor dysfunction, inflammation, autophagy, apoptosis


The conjugated frustrated phosphane/borane Lewis pairs formed by 1,1-carboboration of a substituted diphenylphosphino acetylene, undergo a synergistic 1,1-addition reaction to n-butyl isocyanide with formation of new B–C and P–C bonds to the former isonitrile carbon atom. Using tert-butyl isocyanide dynamic behaviour between the isocyanide–[B] adduct and the 1,1-addition product formation was observed in solution. The different modes of isocyanide binding to the FLPs in the solid state were characterized using X-ray crystal structure analyses and comprehensive 11B and 31P solid-state magic-angle-spinning (MAS-) NMR experiments. The free FLP, the Lewis adduct at the borane group, and the cyclic product resulting from isocyanide addition to both reaction centers, can be differentiated via11B and 31P isotropic chemical shifts, 11B nuclear electric quadrupole coupling constants, isotropic indirect 11B–31P spin–spin coupling constants, and 11B⋯31P internuclear distances measured by rotational echo double resonance.


In an earlier study, we have demonstrated the conversion of human fibroblasts (HF) to tissue macrophages (TM) by the Snyder-Theilen feline sarcoma virus (ST:(FeSV)) [1]. The present study shows that conversion of cultured HF by the ST:FeSV to TM resulted in the de-novo expression of interleukin-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, interferon-alpha, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, and CD4. The conversion of HF to TM was also associated with increased expression of non-specific esterases as well as increased amount of ingested lipid material by the TM. Clonotypic and organotypic analyses of cells infected with the ST:FeSV(FeLV) showed a similar degree of conversion to TM among eleven individual clones of skin fibroblasts, and among fibroblasts obtained from eight different organs. These findings bear on the origin (heterogeneity) of TM, the nature of TM-induced cytokines, and the potential role of ST:FeSV-recruited TM during immune reactions in vivo.


Torgesen (1977b) suggested that reading-disabled children exhibit passivity in learning situations; they fail to employ strategies that enhance learning. Such passivity resembles that of young children who lack awareness of the utility of strategies that enhance cognitive efficiency in a variety of situations (e.g., listening, reading, and memory tasks). Such awareness is one aspect of metamemory, and children with reading problems may lag behind other children with regard to this aspect. Good readers (second-, third-, and fifth-graders) and poor readers (third- and fifth-graders) were interviewed to determine their level of knowledge about a number of variables that affect memory in real-life situations. Each child was asked questions concerning his or her memory ability, and then was shown pictures depicting manipulations of the variables number, time, category, and strategy, as well as two-way combinations of the four variables. Results generally failed to support the developmental lag hypothesis. Poor readers did not resemble younger children in their awareness of variables that affect memory but exhibited knowledge commensurate with that of good readers in the same grade.


This research work seeks to examine the determinants for electricity demand in Nigeria via ADF, PP unit root testing and Johansen Co-integration techniques covering the period 1970-2015 with the objectives of ascertaining the relationship between electricity demand and economic growth. ELED was the dependent variables, while IPC, PPE, DU, PD, LD, NHP, NMP and ERP served as the independent variables. all the variables were stationary at first difference with ADF and PP, with the exception of ERP being at level. The study found the existence of a unique co-integrating relationship among the variables in the model using the trace statistics, which led us to determine the ECM, where three variables (PD, NMP, NHP) were significant at the short run, the remaining five (IPC, PPE, DU, LD, ERP) were not significant in the short run to explain ELED. The ECM coefficient divulges that the disequilibrium in the country is corrected at the speed rate of 118.8% annually, while all the coefficient of the independents variables conforms with the a prior expectations with 0.006384, 0.49117, 0.92357, 0.130045, 1.42573, 4.74446 for IPC, DU, PD, LD, NHP, NMP and ERP respectively. Prominent among the policy recommendation, is the need for government to undertake a guided process of liberalizing the electricity sector to allow new entrants into the market for competitiveness and improved efficiency as the insignificance of the electricity price. Keywords : Electricity Demand, Domestic Output, Economic Growth.


Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and demographic data of patients requiring revision surgery after lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) surgery and to provide a guide us in choosing primary surgical options. Material and Methods: This study was conducted as a single-center, descriptive, and retrospective study. LSS patients, who were operated upon using the same implant technique between 2012 and 2017, and subsequently underwent revision surgery due to implant failure and operated by the same surgeon were included. Medical records, preoperative and postoperative two-plan radiographs, and computed tomography (CT) scans of the primary and revision surgeries of the patients were evaluated. Results: A total of 19 patients (5 males, 14 females) with a mean age of 64.16 ± 7.9 years (range: 47 to 77 years) were included in the study. Most of the patients who underwent revision surgery were over 65 years of age and had a normal body mass index (BMI). In addition, 16 patients (84.2%) who underwent revision surgery were operated without transforaminal lumbar inter-body fusion (non-TLIF). L5-S1 was the most commonly seen level for spinal stenosis revision. The mean revision time was 245.26 ± 65.1 days (range: 135 to 342). Conclusion: Debates are ongoing between transforaminal lumbar inter-body fusion (TLIF) and non-TLIF surgery. In light of the data obtained through this study, we think that TLIF cage surgery should be included in the primary surgical procedure, especially at the lumbosacral junction, where it is difficult to obtain fusion to avoid revision in patients undergoing LSS surgery.


Departments of Transportation (DOTs) need to mobilize workers under harsh weather conditions for winter operations.Traditional snowplow driver training at INDOT is usually conducted annually before the snow season; therefore, it does not replicate the conditions which drivers will be exposed to during winter operations. To this point, some state DOTs have incorporated simulators in their snowplow driver training. Despite this raised interest, few studies have (1) surveyed other state DOTs about the use of this equipment in winter operations driver training, or (2) provided a systematic consideration of all factors involved in the decision to use driving simulators in snowplow driver training. To fill these gaps, the present study synthesizes information from previous literature, revises current information from INDOT, and surveys other state DOTs to identify the benefits and challenges of driving simulators for snowplow driver training. A mixed methods approach was utilized including a review of current INDOT practices, interviews with stakeholders, a survey of other state DOTs, and results from a pilot training. Based on the findings, the researchers recommend that INDOT continues to explore the use of driving simulators for training purposes in addition to the yearly snowplow driver training, due the ability to reinforce learning in a safe environment. Moreover, the research team suggests the following areas for further research: evaluating optimal simulator "seat time," peer learning in simulator training, and the impact of experience level and work assignment in the perception of driving simulator training effectiveness.


This article discusses the principles of two qualitatively different and somewhat competing instructional designs from the 1950s and 1960s, linear programmed instruction and programmed branching. Our hope is that an understanding of these ideas could have a positive influence on current and future instructional designers who might adapt these techniques to new technologies and want to use these techniques effectively. Although these older ideas do still see occasional mention and study (e.g., Brosvic, Epstein, Cook, & Dihoff, 2005; Dihoff, Brosvic, & Epstein, & Cook, 2004), many contemporary instructional designers are probably unaware of the learning principles associated with these (cf., Fernald & Jordan, 1991; Kritch & Bostow, 1998; McDonald, Yanchar, & Osguthorpe, 2005).


The aim of this study was to provide a detailed comparison of physique and physical fitness differences among Track and Field groups. The male athletes participating in this study consisted only of South Korean national track and field athletes. The Korean national athletes were divided into four groups (long-distance runner, sprinter, jumper, thrower). The long-distance runner group (n=7) consisted of three male marathoners and four male race walkers. The sprinter group (n=7) consisted of five male 100m athletes and two male hurdlers. The jumper group (n= 7) consisted of 2 male high jumpers, 2 male long jumpers, and 3 male pole vault athletes. The thrower group (n=8) consisted of 2 male shot put athletes, two male javelin throwers, 2 male discus throwers and 2 male hammer throwers. This study was designed to investigate the effects of physique (height, weight), muscular strength (grip strength), muscular endurance (push-ups, sit-ups), agility (side step), power (vertical jump), cardiopulmonary endurance (maximal oxygen uptake, Anaerobic Threshold %VO2max, rest heart rate), and flexibility (sit and reach). A one-way ANOVA was performed for the mean difference test among track and field athlete groups. A post hoc test method was conducted through the Scheffe Test. The results are as follows. The thrower athlete group showed significantly better results in weight, muscular strength (grip power) than the sprinter athlete group, long-distance runner group and the jumper athlete group. The long-distance runner group showed significantly better result in VO2max and AT (Anaerobic Threshold) than the sprinter group, thrower group and the jumper group. The sprinter group showed significantly better results in power (vertical jump) than the other three groups. There was no significant difference among the groups in the results for muscular endurance (push-up, sit-up), flexibility (sit and reach) and agility (side steps). In conclusion, the South Korean national long-distance runner group (VO2max: 72.6ml/kg/min, ATVO2max: 54ml/kg/min) was superior to the other three groups in cardiovascular endurance. The sprinter's group (vertical jump: 63.1cm) was superior to the other three groups in power. The thrower group (weight: 97kg, grip strength: 81kg) was superior to the other three groups in muscular strength and was heavier than the other groups. Korean national track & field athletes showed the characteristics of cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, and power in a detailed analysis of items. No differences were found in muscular endurance, flexibility, and agility. Differences in physique and physical fitness among detail event groups of Korean national athletes were in accordance with previous studies. In future studies, the sample size should be increased to improve the reliability and validity of the study results.


This briefing paper reports on research exploring four detailed case studies of rural livelihoods interventions operating in Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda. Analysing these interventions through an audit of sustainable livelihood 'principles' (as a proxy for best practice) reveals general lessons about both the practical opportunities and challenges for employing sustainable livelihoods approaches to the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development interventions. OVERVIEW


This paper discusses the origin and development of libraries and librarianship in the territories constituting Pakistan. Library development in independent Pakistan progressed without planning in the absence of a national library. The National Library was opened in 1993, Although irregulär, the Pakistan National Bibliography from 1962 onward has been published. Between 1000 and 1300 books are published each year. There is no library legislation. Maintained by local bodies; the 281 existing public libraries present a gloomy picture. The university libraries are the most developed in respect of resources, its organization and Services. The condition of 500 College libraries is unsatisfactory. The school library development is in its embryonic stage. Special libraries are in the process of transformation from their traditional approach to modernity. The concept of computer-oriented Information is gaining ground. Six post-graduate library schools turn out approximately 200 graduates annually. The Pakistan Library Association failed to provide an effective leadership.


Food-grade titanium dioxide (E171) particles, as a "whiteness" additive, are often co-ingested with lipid-rich foods. Therefore, we explored the impact of E171 on lipid digestion and vitamin D3 (VD3) bioaccessibility encapsulated within oil-in-water emulsions in a simulated human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) model. VD3 bioaccessibility significantly decreased from 80 to 74% when raising E171 from 0 to 0.5 wt %. The extent of lipid digestion was reduced by E171 addition in a dose-dependent manner. VD3 bioaccessibility was positively correlated with the final amount of free fatty acids (FFAs) produced by lipid digestion (R2 = 0.95), suggesting that the reduction in VD3 bioaccessibility was due to the inhibition of lipid digestion by E171. Further experiments showed that E171 interacted with lipase and calcium ions, thereby interfering with lipid digestion. The findings of this study enhance our understanding toward the potential impact of E171 on the nutritional attributes of foods for human digestion health.


Splash bridges are formed from the direct inelastic collision of gas-rich galaxies. Recent multi-wavelength observations of the Taffy galaxies, UGC 12914/15, have revealed complicated gas structures in the bridge. We have upgraded the sticky particle simulation code of Yeager et al., 2019, by adding: the ability to adjust the relative inclination of the gas discs, the ability to track cloud-cloud collisions over time, and additional cooling processes. Inclination effects lead to various morphological features, including filamentary streams of gas stripped from the smaller galactic disc. The offset of disc centres at impact determines whether or not these streams flow in a single direction or multiple directions, even transverse to the motion of the two galaxies. We also find that, across many types of direct collision, independent of the inclination or offset, the distributions of weighted Mach numbers and shock velocities in colliding clouds relax to a very similar form. There is good evidence of prolonged turbulence in the gas of each splash bridge for all inclinations and offsets tested, as a result of continuing cloud collisions, which in turn are the result of shearing and differentially accelerated trajectories. The number distribution of high velocity shocks in cloud collisions, produced in our low inclination models, are in agreement with those observed in the Taffy Galaxies with ALMA, Appleton et al., 2019.


Although pesticides are necessary inputs in cocoa production, inability of farmers to comply with safety precautions poses significant threat to their health and sustainable cocoa production in Cameroon. This paper analyzed the determinants of compliance with pesticide safety guideliness among cocoa farmers. Data were collected with structured questionnaires administered to 667 cocoa farmers and analyzed with descriptive statistics and Negative Binomial regression. The results showed that majority of the farmers were males, with more than 10 years of farming experience. Awareness of safety precautions in handling pesticides was high. Among the safety kits, boots were owned by 62.26% and 76.87% of the farmers from Ngoumou and Buea, respectively. Safety compliance in the use of insecticides increased significantly (p<0.05) with land areas, being married and compliance with manufacturers' instructions but reduced with farmers' age, practice of touching it with bare hand and residence in Nogoumou (region). However, compliance with safety while handling fungicides significantly increased with being married but reduced with practice of touching it with bare hands. It was concluded that addressing the health risks associated with inappropriate handling of pesticides by cocoa farmers is paramount, and educating them on the need to follow manufacturers' instruction is necessary.


Many studies have explored animals without providing its physical environment, whereas, this information can provide broad understanding for the importance of ecological components. This study tried to combine some studies on how importance the ecological means on the density and population as well as morphometric of the monitor lizards. Data was analysed using SPSS version 18.0 and presented descriptively using tables and graphics. Results show that density and population had association with wide areas of islands and distances from mainland. Morphometric as well had association with carrying capacity and richness of feeding.


Two English brothers, Harry and Ellis Black, have chosen different paths through World War II: Harry is a conscientious objector, serving with a fire brigade on the homefront; Ellis is an injured soldier, home to recover before returning to the Continent. They put bitterness aside briefly at a pub on Boxing Day; when Harry leaves for home, Ellis lingers at the pub, which is then obliterated by a bomb. A hospitalized Harry is certain Ellis is alive and needs rescuing, so he keeps sneaking out to the ruins, accompanied by a little girl from another ward who seeks her parents. Harry, an able illustrator, documents his efforts in a notebook filled with drawings and observations, and this notebook alternates with the prose narrative and with the poems of "Orpheus," who fills in details of Harry's descent into the underworld of London's underground and craters. Harry's right; Ellis is alive and needs him, and Harry sacrifices his life to save his brother. Then, in a final reveal, Ellis declares himself author of the Orpheus poems and editor of Harry's notebook. It's an intriguingly intricate story, conveying the disjunction of the shattered mosaic that is life in wartime. The overlay of the "Who is Orpheus?" mystery seems an extraneous flourish that's unnecessarily perplexing, though, and with the often forced rhymes of the novel's Orpheus sections, neither the wordsmith Ellis not Orpheus himself seems a likely candidate for their authorship. However, Deacon's black and white artwork, which deftly handles literal scenes of London under bombardment and the feverish imaginings of Harry's injured brain, is by turns moving and appropriately troubling, and it will lure fans of World War II fiction to this moody tale. EB


In this paper, we describe a method for estimating and compensating 3D camera motion in image sequences for applications to the video coding system. To effectively estimate camera motion parameters (zoom, pan, tilt, swing, and focal length) from image sequences, we propose a new linear motion parameter equation and use the Kalman filtering method to solve it. Unlike the existing linear techniques, the proposed linear method accurately estimates the large rotation angles and the focal length. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the conventional linear methods, especially for a large rotation angle.


Cadmium uptake in vitro was evaluated in everted duodenal, jejunal, and ileal segments of the rat small intestine. Washing the sacs with EDTA subsequent to cadmium exposure distinguished labile and nonlabile cadmium compartments. These compartments were distinct with respect to regional distribution, kinetics, and effect of calcium. Uptake into the nonlabile cadmium compartment but not into the labile cadmium compartment was time dependent, consistent with transport and adsorption processes, respectively. Initial uptake rates for the nonlabile cadmium compartment showed both saturable and first-order kinetics. Calcium inhibited only the saturable mechanism. Cadmium uptake rate and sensitivity to calcium were greatest in the duodenum due to the predominance of the saturable mechanism in this region. Distal to the duodenum cadmium uptake exhibited primarily first-order kinetics. The Vmax for the saturable process was reduced 90% by calcium. The absence of competitive inhibition indicates that calcium and cadmium do not share a common carrier-mediated uptake mechanism. The amount of cadmium bound in the labile compartment was comparable in all segments and could be described by a nonlinear function which was the sum of the saturable and second-order terms. Addition of calcium had an apparent cooperative effect on cadmium binding, increasing the second-order term of binding in the labile compartment. Thus calcium was found to have a dual effect on cadmium accumulation by intestinal tissue: inhibition of saturable duodenal uptake and stimulation of binding throughout the small intestine.


A finite element formulation for the bending of thin and thick plates based on least‐squares variational principles is presented. Finite element models for both the classical plate theory and the first‐order shear deformation plate theory (also known as the Kirchhoff and Mindlin plate theories, respectively) are considered. High‐order nodal expansions are used to construct the discrete finite element model based on the least‐squares formulation. Exponentially fast decay of the least‐squares functional, which is constructed using the L2 norms of the equations residuals, is verified for increasing order of the nodal expansions. Numerical examples for the bending of circular, rectangular and skew plates with various boundary conditions and plate thickness are presented to demonstrate the predictive capability and robustness of the new plate bending elements. Plate bending elements based on this formulation are shown to be insensitive to both shear‐locking and geometric distortions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Recently mobile stream control transmission protocol (mSCTP) has been proposed as a transport layer approach for supporting mobility. When a mobile terminal (MT) is not located in the home network, a terminal that wishes to communicate with the MT is not able to establish mSCTP association to the MT, since mSCTP does not include the location management mechanism. In order to solve this problem there has been an approach using the session initiation protocol (SIP) INVITE method. However, this approach has shown subsequent delay in acquiring the current location information of the MT when initiating mSCTP association establishment. In this paper, we propose an approach that minimizes the address acquisition delay (AAD) for the applications which does not require multimedia session. The features of proposed approach are follows: (1) SIP request message is not transmitted all the way to MT, but it is only transmitted up until the SIP server which has the current location information of the MT. (2) The final SIP server directly informs the requesting terminal (RT) of the current location information of the MT. The simulation results show that the proposed approach is more efficient than the previous approach in terms of AAD in all kinds of SIP environments


Abstract Crop wild relatives (CWR) are a vital source of traits for crop improvement – therefore, conserving CWR diversity is critical to ensure food, nutrition and economic security. Efficient CWR conservation planning is a critical first step to maintain this natural resource for future use. The development of National Strategic Action Plans (NSAPs) for the conservation and sustainable use of CWR is an effective means of conservation planning and also plays an important role in sensitizing policy makers and other stakeholders to the importance of CWR. Tools to guide and facilitate countries in CWR national conservation planning and NSAP development have been prepared, namely: an 'Interactive Toolkit for CWR Conservation Planning', a 'Template for the Preparation of a NSAP for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of CWR', a 'Template for the Preparation of a Technical Background Document for a NSAP for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of CWR', a 'CWR Checklist and Inventory Data Template' and an 'Occurrence Data Collation Template'. In this short communication, we briefly explain what these tools are, how they were developed, how they can be used and where they can be found.


The paper investigates the direction of knowledge flows and, more generally, the pattern of open innovation that is taking place within services across Europe. Using the Eurostat Fourth Community Innovation Survey (CIS4) dataset, on 17 service sectors across 18 countries, we find significant differences between service innovation leaders and followers. Key findings are that a concentration of radical innovation is to be found mainly in knowledge-intensive research and development sectors; that leading innovators across all sectors tend to use intellectual property rights to protect their ideas; and that leading service innovators engage in international sales. We do not find evidence that external sources of information acquisition are significant in radical service product innovation. By contrast, innovation followers rely more extensively on external sourcing of knowledge and new ideas (with decreasing returns to innovation performance), and tend not to export. These findings contribute significantly to our understanding of the knowledge flows and the asymmetries in knowledge sharing in service sectors across Europe.


Since 2020, humanity has been facing the COVID-19 pandemic, a respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2. The world's response to pandemic went through the development of diagnostics, vaccines and medicines. Regarding diagnostics, an enormous challenge was faced due to shortage of materials to collect and process the samples, and to perform reliable mass diagnosis by RT-qPCR. In particular, time-consuming and high cost of nucleic acid extraction procedures have hampered the diagnosis; moreover, several steps in the routine for the preparation of the material makes the extracted sample susceptible to contamination. Here two rapid nucleic acid extraction reagents were compared as extraction procedures for SARS-CoV-2 detection in clinical samples by singleplex and multiplex RT-qPCR analysis, using different transport media, samples with high and low viral load, and different PCR machines. As observed, rapid nucleic acid extraction procedures can be applied for reliable diagnosis using a TaqMan-based assay, over multiple platforms. Ultimately, prompt RNA extraction may reduce costs with reagents and plastics, the chances of contamination, and the overall time to diagnosis by RT-qPCR.


The male ofHeterodera zeae, the corn cyst nematode, is described and illustrated for the first time. Specimens were obtained from a culture originating from cysts collected in Kent County, Maryland, at the site of the first known infestation of H. zeae in the United States.


STUDY OBJECTIVE
Incremental withdrawal of serotonin during wake to sleep transition is postulated as a key mechanism that renders the pharyngeal airway collapsible. While serotonin promotion with reuptake inhibitors have demonstrated modest beneficial effects during NREM sleep on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), animal studies suggest a potential therapeutic role for selective serotonin receptor antagonists (5-HT3) in REM sleep. We aimed to test the hypothesis that a combination of ondansetron (Ond) and fluoxetine (Fl) may effectively reduce expression of disordered breathing during REM and NREM sleep in patients with OSA.

DESIGN AND SETTING
A prospective, parallel-groups, single-center trial in patients with OSA.

PARTICIPANTS
35 adults with apnea hypopnea index (AHI) > 10; range 10-98.

INTERVENTION
Subjects were randomized to placebo, n = 7; Ond (24 mg QD), n = 9; Fl (5 mg QD) + Ond (12 mg QD), n = 9; and Fl (10 mg QD) + Ond (24 mg QD), n = 10.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS
AHI was measured by in-lab polysomnography after a 7-day no-treatment period (Baseline) and on days 14 and 28 of treatment. The primary endpoint was AHI reduction at days 14 and 28. OND+FL resulted in approximately 40% reduction of baseline AHI at days 14 and 28 (unadjusted P < 0.03 for each) and improved oximetry trends. This treatment-associated relative reduction in AHI was also observed in REM and supine sleep.

CONCLUSIONS
Combined treatment with OND+FL is well-tolerated and reduces AHI, yielding a potentially therapeutic response in some subjects with OSA.


BACKGROUND
A number of studies have demonstrated reductions in the utilisation of psychiatric services, especially acute in-patient admissions, following therapeutic community treatment of personality disorder. These studies have, however, been of limited duration (1 year) and follow-up has not always been complete.

AIMS
To identify hospital admissions before and after therapeutic community treatment of personality disorder.

METHOD
A naturalistic clinical cohort of patients admitted between January 1993 and December 1995 was followed up for 3 years. All subjects were traced to their current consultant psychiatrist, general practitioner or death.

RESULTS
All patients were traced at 3-year follow-up. The significant reduction in in-patient admissions seen in the first year was maintained over 3 years. Those with the poorest outcomes, suicide, accidental death or prolonged admission were all in the quartile with the shortest admissions (under 42 days) to the therapeutic community.

CONCLUSIONS
Previously reported reductions in psychiatric admissions following therapeutic community treatment of personality disorder are maintained over 3 years.


Blood from calves sensitized to horse serum was fractionated to yield a suspension containing 94% granulocytes. These cells released up to 90% of their total histamine when exposed to the antigen. This is a noncytotoxic reaction similar to that observed in human beings, rabbits, and guinea pigs. Higher concentrations of antigen caused inhibition of histamine release. This immunologic reaction may be important in bovine hypersensitivity, especially in the lungs, where intravascular aggregations of granulocytes are found at the height of the anaphylactic response.


Abstract. Research on Relationship between Student Conformity and Career Decision Making was motivated by the discovery of students who experienced confusion, doubts in determining career choices. The tendency to take career decisions because of joining friends, encouraging parents and teachers who are too hard on one career choice and causing students to make career decisions. This is not in accordance with the potential, talents and interests possessed.This type of research is quantitative research. Ex post fact research method with a correlational approach. The hypothesis in this research are there relationship between student conformity and career decision making. The population used in this study were students of SMK Teuku Umar Semarang class XI 2017/2018 period. Software engineering class was used as a try out class. As for the accounting class and institutional finance as research samples. Sampling used is cluster random sampling technique. This research data is obtained through the scale of student conformity and the scale of career decision making.The results of the correlation analysis between the conformity of students with career decision making is the relationship of conformity of students with career decision making (rxy) of 0.465 strong enough categories. Contribution of conformity of students with career decision making is 21.62% and the remaining 78.38% is determined by other variables. Whereas there was found no significant relationship between students' conformity with career decision making. Because α = 0, 05 and n = 17. Test two parties; dk = n-2 = 17-2 = 15 so ttable 2, 131, it turns out that t count ≤ t table or 2.031 ≤ 2.131 then Ho is accepted which means that there is no significant relationship between the conformity of students and career decision making.Based on the results of this study the suggestions that can be conveyed are finding and helping students to make career decisions effectively and efficiently and maximize the role of BK teachers and related parties in realizing it. Keywords: Career Decision Making, Student Conformity


This comparative study explored Chinese family groups' dominant visit motivations in science museums and aquariums in order to understand the perceptions of these audiences, who are an under-represented cultural demographic in the literature. In this study, 503 Chinese participants—131 in the China Science and Technology Museum, Beijing; 127 in the Beijing Aquarium, Beijing; 136 in Science World British Columbia, Vancouver; and 109 in the Vancouver Aquarium, Vancouver—completed a Family Group Visit Motivation Questionnaire. The results report four dominant visit motivations for these Chinese family groups. Significant differences in a fifth motivation, social interaction, were detected in comparing the Beijing and Vancouver Chinese family samples. Also, Chinese family groups were more likely to perceive science museums to be settings that can satisfy their educational and personal interest needs, compared to aquariums. This study provides insights for science museums and aquarium practitioners to better understand this audience demographic.


Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is a structurally conserved neuropeptide, produced in the hypothalamus of all vertebrates where it probably serves as a central neurotransmitter/neuromodulator. In teleost fish it is also a neurohypophysial hormone with peripheral effects on skin colour but its central effects are less well understood. In mammals, MCH mRNA abundance changes in response to salt-loading or dehydration, suggesting an involvement in salt or water balance. The present study has used in situ hybridization to investigate the response of the MCH neurons in the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to progressive changes in ambient salinity. In trout, MCH perikarya are found in two hypothalamic sites: predominantly in the nucleus lateralis tuberis (NLT) and, to a lesser extent, in neurons above the lateral ventricular recess (LVR). Immersion in 50% salt water (SW) for 24 h had no effects on MCH transcripts, plasma osmotic pressure (OP) or cortisol concentrations, but after 24 h in 80% SW, plasma OP and cortisol were raised and MCH transcripts in the NLT were significantly increased (159% of controls, p < 0.01). LVR-MCH neurons remained unaffected. However, after 24 h in 100% SW, MCH mRNA was significantly reduced in both groups of neurons (NLT -62% of controls, p < 0.001; LVR -33% of control, p < 0.001). These responses were transient and were no longer apparent after 6 days in 100% SW, despite the fact that plasma OP and cortisol levels continued to rise. The relative importance of osmotic disturbance and stress on the differential responses of the 2 groups of MCH neurons to changing salinity is discussed, together with a consideration of the potential role of MCH in osmoregulation.


This study was conducted to estimate the determinants of flock size in broiler production in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Structured questionnaire and interview schedules were used to collect data from 120 broiler producers randomly selected from 10 purposively selected villages from the study area based on large number of producers in the area. The data were analyzed using frequency distribution and multiple regression analysis. The results of the study revealed that producers' household income, years of broiler producing experience, cooperative membership and major occupation showed direct relationship with their flock size and were significant at 1% test level. The number of years spent in school by the producers directly influenced their flock size and was significant at 5% test level. The producers' age, sex, marital status and family size showed an inverse relationship with their flock size but were not statistically significant. The results also revealed that the producers' flock sizes were constrained by seasonal and irregular broiler demand which were mainly high during festivals (most especially at Easter, Sallah and Yuletide). High feed and chick cost, unavailability and untimely delivery of farm inputs and inadequate capital and poor extension services were other constraints. These constraints, if addressed, would lead to increase in broiler flock size in the study area and also increase the producers' disposable income and well-being.


In December the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) proposed new regulations to prevent the abuse of sterilization while not making it unnecessarily difficult to obtain for those who sincerely want the operation. Included in the proposal are: 1) continuation of existing court-ordered bans on federal funding for sterilization of persons under 21 and mental incompetents, 2) prohibition of funding for hysterectomies to sterilize women, and 3) expansion of the current 72-hour waiting period to a 30-day period between the dates of consent and the operation. In the past year 2 sterilization trends have become apparent. The 1st is the growing acceptance of sterilization as a preferred form of contraception and the 2nd is the growing concern that sterilization is being forced upon poor and minority women. A recent HEW survey revealed that nearly 1/4 of all married couples now rely on sterilization of 1 partner for contraception; this is double the number of 1965. Despite this popularity, there is widespread evidence of different forms of abuse, and reports of abuse have motivated citizens and organizations to seek tighter control of local, state, and federal monies used for sterilization.


PURPOSE
To investigate an alternative approach to VMAT optimization for hypofractionation lung treatment which increases average aperture opening and results in lower total Monitor Units (MU) without significantly sacrificing plan quality.

METHODS
Benchmark Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (bVMAT) plans were generated for 10 lung Stereotactic Body radiotherapy (SBRT) cases using Eclipse Version 11.0.42 (Varian Medical Systems) without a maximum MU constraint. Prescriptions ranged from 40 to 54Gy in 3 to 5 fractions. AAA dose calculation and PRO fluence based optimization was utilized. Two comparison VMAT plans were generated for each case, one that forced an initial "open" mlc aperture conformal to the tumor as a starting condition (oVMAT) with similar optimization parameters and arc geometries, and one that repeated the bVMAT optimization but added a maximum MU constraint (muVMAT). All plans used two arcs with lengths between 168 to 230 degrees. PTV D 95% and Dmean, lung V20 Gy, chest wall V30 Gy, average aperture opening and MU's were compared. Statistical significance was evaluated using Wilcoxon signed rank test.

RESULTS
Average PTV D(95), PTV mean and lung V20Gy over all plans was 99.2 ± 1.7%, 103.3 ± 0.6% and 7.8 ± 2.4% respectively. The average chest wall V30Gy was 61 ± 61 cc and ranged between 0 to 166 cc. There were no significant differences between the three techniques for the dosimetric quantities. MUs were reduced by 11 ±11% (p<0.01) and 25 ± 5% (p<0.01) and the average aperture size was increased by 13.7 ± 14% (p=0.02) and 35.8 ± 10% (p<0.01) with muVMAT and oVMAT, respectively, compared to bVMAT.

CONCLUSION
oVMAT and muVMAT techniques were both able to increase average aperture size and reduce total MU compared to the benchmark VMAT plan, but the magnitude of the changes observed for oVMAT was larger.


ABSTRACT This paper examines the educational self-selection of immigrants to the United States across forty-two countries of origin and analyzes determinants of selectivity, including home-country gender status (as measured by the United Nations' Gender Empowerment Measure [GEM]). Measuring educational self-selection, the study uses data from the 2006 American Community Survey and the 2000 and 2014 Barro–Lee Educational Attainment Measure to construct the Net Difference Index between immigrants and nonmigrants. It compares the educational attainment difference between immigrants and nonmigrants who remain in the home country and demonstrates that immigrants to the US are more educated than their home-country counterparts across all immigrant groups (positive selection). Regression results further indicate that higher gender inequality in the home country influences more highly educated women to migrate. The paper also confirms that higher migration costs and lower income inequality in the home country influence more highly educated individuals to migrate.


ABSTRACT The atomic geometry and electronic structure of a single and double-layer of Thallium (Tl) on the Si(111)-() surface have been studied using density functional theory. For Tl layer, we considered three cases: (i) Tl single layer as H (Tl is directly above a fourth-layer Si atom) and T (Tl is directly above a second-layer Si atom) sites, (ii) Tl double layer as H–T (the first Tl layer at H site while the second layer at the T site) and T–H (the first Tl layer at T site while the second layer at the H site) sites, and (iii) Tl double layer as rectangular (rect) and hexagonal (hex) sites. We have calculated the electronic band structures and the electronic charge densities of the energetically favourable cases. While the Tl single-layer makes the Si(111) surface semiconductor character, the double-layer Tl makes electronically the Si(111) surface metallic which agrees with the recent experimental measurements.


A patient with a juxtapapillary hamartoma is described, in consideration not only for the scarcity of such cases described in the literature, but also for the clinical and echographic characteristics that were observed for the involvement of the right eye, and because the patient was female. Echography and especially standardized A-scan echography, showing a lesion at high reflectivity without acoustic shadowing, allowed us to exclude the presence of a malignant melanoma and retinoblastoma, and directing us to the diagnosis of a malformation of angiomatous type.


Studies on the Efficacy of Immunoglobulin M Enriched Intravenous Immunoglobulins against Bacterial Infections and in Neutralization of Bacterial Toxins. An essential component of the new i.v. immunoglobulin product Pentaglobin is immunoglobulin M (IgM), which is concentrated in this preparation. The efficacy of this IgM containing preparation in comparison to conventional i.v. immunoglobulins was demonstrated in mouse protection tests and by in vitro neutralization of bacterial toxins. The IgM containing immunoglobulin preparation has significantly higher protection rates against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in mouse protection tests compared to immunoglobulin G (IgG) preparations. Bacterial toxins of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are likewise more effectively neutralized by the IgM containing immunoglobulin preparation.


Importance
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common skin cancer. Dermoscopic imaging has improved diagnostic accuracy; however, diagnosis of nonpigmented BCC remains limited to arborizing vessels, ulceration, and shiny white structures.

Objective
To assess multiple aggregated yellow-white (MAY) globules as a diagnostic feature for BCC.

Design, Setting, and Participants
In this retrospective, single-center, case-control study, nonpigmented skin tumors, determined clinically, were identified from a database of lesions consecutively biopsied during a 7-year period (January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2015). A subset of tumors was prospectively diagnosed, and reflectance confocal microscopy, optical coherence tomography, and histopathologic correlation were performed. Data analysis was conducted from July 1 to September 31, 2019.

Exposures
Investigators evaluated for the presence or absence of known dermoscopic criteria. MAY globules were defined as aggregated, white-yellow structures visualized in polarized and nonpolarized light.

Main Outcomes and Measures
The primary outcome was the diagnostic accuracy of MAY globules for the diagnosis of BCC. Secondary objectives included the association with BCC location and subtype. Interrater agreement was estimated.

Results
A total of 656 nonpigmented lesions from 643 patients (mean [SD] age, 63.1 [14.9] years; 381 [58.1%] male) were included. In all, 194 lesions (29.6%) were located on the head and neck. A total of 291 (44.4%) were BCCs. MAY globules were seen in 61 of 291 BCC cases (21.0%) and in 3 of 365 other diagnoses (0.8%) (P < .001). The odds ratio for diagnosis of BCC was 32.0 (96% CI, 9.9-103.2). The presence of MAY globules was associated with a diagnosis of histologic high-risk BCC (odds ratio, 6.5; 95% CI, 3.1-14.3). The structure was never seen in cases of superficial BCCs.

Conclusions and Relevance
The findings suggest that MAY globules may have utility as a new BCC dermoscopic criterion with a high specificity. MAY globules were negatively associated with superficial BCC and positively associated with deeper-seated, histologic, higher-grade tumor subtypes.


Non-uniform weighted sampling (NUWS) is a simple method for multi-dimensional NMR spectroscopy in which window functions are applied during acquisition by sampling varying numbers of scans across indirect dimensions. While NUWS was previously shown to provide modest increases in sensitivity, here we describe a complementary application to enhance spectral resolution by increasing the sampling of later points of the time domain signal. Moreover, by combining NUWS with carefully constructed apodization functions signal envelopes can be modulated in an arbitrary manner while retaining a uniform noise level, permitting further signal manipulations such as linear prediction and non-uniform sampling (NUS). We leverage this to develop a combined NUWS-NUS scheme for broadband homonuclear decoupling, with substantially increased sensitivity in comparison to constant time experiments.


We think of information as property; law and economic structures, we argue, make it so. But this should not be the end of our inquiry. If we believe information is property, we must ask: What kind of property is information? While at times common use of information, even privately owned information, is accepted under the guise of fair use, private ownership of information forms the bedrock of our understanding of the information property regime. Common uses, when allowed, are perceived as infringements on the private owner's property rights. This Article argues that this perception is mistaken: we may think of information as owned, but ownership need not be based in a purely private ownership scheme. Information ownership is instead a semicommons, a property model that explicitly recognizes the dynamic relationship and interdependence of private and common property uses. Using the example of peer-to-peer file sharing, this Article applies semicommons theory to information, and shows that this application has broad implications for decisionmaking in the digital age. Through the lens of the semicommons, we realize that common uses are part of the very structure of an accurately described information ownership regime. As such, common uses increase the overall societal benefits that flow from information creation and should not only be tolerated, but encouraged. Information is not a private property regime: it is a semicommons.


BACKGROUND
Limited studies have shown a protective effect of very long chain saturated fatty acids (VLSFAs) on healthy aging, diabetes, heart failure and risk factors related to cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the role of VLSFAs on mortality risk is unclear. We aimed to investigate the association of serum docosanoic acid (C22:0) and serum lignoceric acid (C24:0) with all-cause and disease-specific mortality and to confirm the effect of VLSFAs on mortality risk in the whole, hyperlipidemia and hypertensive populations.

METHODS
A total of 4132 individuals from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were included in this study. There were 1326 and 1456 participants in the hyperlipidemia and hypertensive population, respectively. Mortality information was confirmed using the National Death Index (NDI). Multiple model calibration was performed using COX regression analysis for known risk factors to explore the association between circulating VLSFAs and all-cause or CVD or coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality.

RESULTS
In the whole population, individuals with higher circulating C22:0 and C24:0 as a percentage of total serum fatty acid levels reduced the risks of mortality of all-cause (C22:0: HR = 0.409, 95%CI = 0.271-0.618; C24:0: HR = 0.430, 95%CI = 0.283-0.651), CVD (C22:0: HR = 0.286, 95%CI = 0.134-0.612; C24:0: HR = 0.233, 95%CI = 0.101-0.538) and CHD (C22:0: HR = 0.401, 95%CI = 0.187-0.913; C24:0: HR = 0.263, 95%CI = 0.082-0.846). Similar to the whole population, individuals with higher circulating C22:0 and C24:0 as a percentage of total serum fatty acid levels in the hyperlipidemia and hypertensive populations were also protective for all-cause, CHD and CVD mortality.

CONCLUSION
Our results confirm the protective effect of high levels of circulating VLSFAs (C22:0 and C24:0) on CVD, CHD and all-cause of death in the whole, hyperlipidemia and hypertensive populations.


The General Medical Council recommends that chaperones must be offered during intimate examinations. Implementation of these guidelines may serve to protect both patients and staff within the genitourinary (GU) medicine clinic, but is likely to have major ramifications from a practical, financial and staffing perspective. The Virtual Chaperone (VC) is an objective device making audio and visual recordings of patients' consultations and examinations. Information cannot be manipulated and is encrypted for security. It would not replace the human chaperone. This study investigated the attitudes of GU medicine staff and patients to the VC in an inner city sexual health clinic. Voluntary, anonymized questionnaires were distributed to all members of the multidisciplinary team and 200 patients. The patient response rate was 90% (n = 180). Only 40% of respondents felt the VC was acceptable in GU medicine clinics. Two-thirds felt unsure or were against the VC recording during consultations, and fewer wished the examination to be recorded. Most opted to switch off the video entirely. Almost 50% of respondents felt that the VC was designed to protect staff, whereas only 41% thought it would protect patients. The staff response rate was 69% (n = 35). Almost three-quarters of respondents were unsure or felt the device was unacceptable. Less than half would feel comfortable with the VC recording during consults. Overall, three-quarters of respondents were either unsure or did not support the introduction of the VC. There was a clear feeling (>80%) that the VC would protect staff and patients, 71% indicating that the trust would also benefit. Despite its success in other outpatient specialties, GU medicine staff and patients do not favour the introduction of the VC.


ABSTRACT The relatedness of group A streptococcal (GAS) strains isolated from 35 Canadian patients with invasive disease of different severity was investigated by a variety of molecular methods. All patients were infected with M1T1 strains and, based on clinical criteria, were classified as severe (n = 21) and nonsevere (n = 14) invasive GAS infection cases. All the M1 strains studied had the emm1.0 allele and the same streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin (Spe) genotype,speA+ speB+ speC speF+speG+ speH smeZ+ ssa. All isolates had the same speA allotype, speA2. The randomly amplified polymorphic DNA banding pattern with two different primers was identical for all strains, and pulsed field gel electrophoresis analysis showed that 33 and 30 isolates had identical banding patterns after DNA digestion with SfiI or SmaI, respectively; the nonidentical isolates differed from the main pattern by only one band. A relatively high degree of polymorphism in specific regions of the sic gene was observed among isolates; however, this polymorphism was not associated with disease severity. Likewise, although the phenotypic expression of SpeA, SpeB, and SpeF proteins varied among the M1T1 isolates, there was no correlation between the amount of Spe expressed and disease severity. Importantly, mitogenic and cytokine responses induced by partially purified bacterial culture supernatants containing a mixture of expressed superantigens were very similar for isolates from severe and nonsevere cases (P > 0.1). Together, the data indicate that highly related invasive M1T1 isolates, some indistinguishable, can cause disease of varying severity in different individuals. These findings underscore the contribution of host factors to the outcome of invasive GAS infections.


Expression of the crp gene was studied in vivo by use of a crp-lacZ gene fusion first constructed on a plasmid and then transferred onto the chromosome. Our in vivo data confirm the in vitro findings that crp is negatively autoregulated via the cyclic AMP-catabolite gene activator protein complex. We present evidence that gene crp is repressed by glucose.


High-resolution, 36-fold seismic reflection data with penetration to 3 sec have been collected recently in the northeastern offshore Santa Maria basin, the northern Santa Barbara Channel, and off Point Conception, California. These profiles reveal major east-over-west thrust faults in areas previously interpreted as being characterized by strike-slip faults and/or high-angle normal or reverse faults. Like those in well known foreland thrust belts, these faults typically form an imbricate system in which they curve asymptotically downward to a common basal sole thrust. "Soling out" generally occurs at depths of 1.5-3 km (5,000-10,000 ft). Detailed mapping of faults and folds associated with these thrust systems coupled with fault-plane solutions suggest that (1) these thrusts formed within the last 5 m.y., (2) many have modern activity, and (3) compressive forces causing them are normal to the strike of the San Andreas fault. These observations agree with present-day plate motion studies which require that Pacific-North American relative plate motion include a component of compression orthogonal to the San Andreas fault. These overthrust regions are all sites of recent major petroleum discoveries. However, these discoveries have all been made on obvious anticlinal structures that generally are attributed to wrench tectonics. Recognition of thrust faulting in these areas may lead to additional discoveries from more subtle geologic traps associated with overthrusting. End_of_Article - Last_Page 467------------


Foreign body ingestion is common in children. The accidental ingestion is usually seen in children due to lingual curiosity. Most of the foreign body passes spontaneously through gastrointestinal (GI) tract; hence, requiring no removal. This is a case of impacted hairpin in the duodenum of a 4-month-old female child who accidentally ingested hairpin and was asymptomatic initially for 1 month and later presented with melena requiring surgical removal of hairpin. We failed to find in literature impacted hairpin in the duodenum associated with GI bleeding.


This is a uniquely dramatic account of life in the Papua New Guinea Highlands as told by a well-known leader of the Kawelka people of Mount Hagen. Set into context with a contemporary introduction that discusses the usefulness of biography in anthropology, the case study presents the already well-known autobiography of Ongka, a leader who witnessed the arrival of the first outsiders to the Highlands of New Guinea in the 1930s. By using a life history approach, this ethnographic account serves as a lens through which the student of anthropology will see the wider processes of conflict and change brought to the Kawelka people through contact with the outside world. Capitalizing on the growing awareness of the importance of writing history from an anthropological viewpoint, the book packages Ongka's account in a way that facilitates its use in the teaching of experiential anthropology. The voices of other Kawelka people, including one of Ongka's married daughters, adds new dimensions to the already rich account.


The recent rise in popularity of 'app store' markets on a number of different mobile platforms has provided a means for researchers to run worldwide trials of ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) applications with very large numbers of users. This opportunity raises challenges, however, as more traditional methods of running trials and gathering data for analysis might be infeasible or fail to scale up to a large, globally-spread user base. SGVis is a data analysis tool designed to aid ubicomp researchers in conducting trials in this manner. This paper discusses the difficulties involved in running large scale trials, explaining how these led to recommendations on what data researchers should log, and to design choices made in SGVis. The authors outline several methods of use and why they help with challenges raised by large scale research. A means of categorising users is also described that could aid in data analysis and management of a trial with very large numbers of participants. SGVis has been used in evaluating several mass-participation trials, involving tens of thousands of users, and several use cases are described that demonstrate its utility. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-2068-1.ch016


Few U.S. economic issues in the last half-century have engendered as frequent political controversies as the minimum wage. This article looks at both the politics behind efforts to make the minimum wage a "living wage" in recent elections, and the many relevant economic effects, such as inflation and unemployment, from both a macro- and a microeconomic perspective. The paper offers several original conceptual models, in various economic situations, which examine the regressions of eight U.S. states over the 1996-2016 period. The results show that high minimum wages can harm employment, but that moderation can aid stagnant wages in economically-improving inflationary settings without drastically reducing employment short-term.


Which is the identity of a traveler who is constantly on the move between cultures and languages? What happens with stories when they are transmitted from one place to another, when they are retold, remade, translated and re-translated? What happens with the scholars themselves, when they try to grapple with the kaleidoscopic diversity of human expression in a constantly changing world? These and related questions are, if not given a definite answer, explored in the chapters of this anthology. Its overall topic, narratives that pass over national, language and ethnical borders include studies about transcultural novels, poetry, drama and the narratives of journalism. There is a broad geographic diversity, not only in the anthology as a whole, but also in each of the single contributions. This in turn demand a multitude of theoretical and methodological approaches, which cover a spectrum of concepts from such different sources as post-colonial studies, linguistics, religion, aesthetics, art and media studies, often going beyond the well-known Western frameworks. The works of authors like Miriam Toews, Yoko Tawada, Javier Moreno, Leila Abouela, Marguerite Duras, Kyoko Mori, Francesca Duranti, Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo, Rībi Hideo, and François Cheng are studied from a variety of perspectives. Other chapters deal with code-switching in West-african novels, border-crossing in the Japanese noh drama, translational anthologies of Italian literature, urban legends on the US-Mexico border, migration in German children's books, and war trauma in poetry. Most of the chapters are case studies, and may thus be of interest, not only for specialists, but also for the general reader.


Catalytic hydrogenation can selectively destabilize and detoxify specific contaminants in water. Herein, to explore safer and more efficient hydrogen sources, hydrogen rich balls (HRBs) were researched and applied for hydrogenating p-chlorophenol and Cr(VI) over Pd/C catalyst. The results showed that HRBs can realize the sustained release of H2 by replacing the hydrogen in water, and generate the refined (micro/nano-sized) H2 bubble, which effectively improves the adsorption and activation effectively of H2 molecules on Pd/C catalyst, and the hydrogen atoms utilization efficiency during p-chlorophenol hydrodechlorination is as high as 3.5 %. Continuous flow experiments showed that rapid removal of p-chlorophenol with different concentrations could be achieved by adjusting the flow rate. Moreover, the high-toxic Cr(VI) was successfully reduced to the low-toxic Cr(III) in an appropriate pH range. This research is of far-reaching significance for realizing the detoxification of environmental pollutants and promoting the development of hydrogen economy.


Tropical Cyclone (TC) internal dynamics have emerged over recent decades as a key to understand their intensity variations, but are difficult to observe, as they are sporadic, multi-scale, and occur in areas of very strong wind gradients. The present work aims at describing the internal structure of TCs, as observed with newly available satellite synthetic aperture radars (SARs) wind products, and at evaluating relations between this structure and the TC life cycle. It is based on a unique dataset of 188 SAR high-resolution (1 km) images, containing 15 to 47 by intensity category. An extraction method is designed to retrieve and characterize, the TC radial profile, its azimuthal degree of asymmetry, and the energy distribution in the eyewall and maximum wind areas. Vortex contraction and sharpening of the eyewall wind radial gradient with increasing TC intensity are observed, as well as a symmetrization of energy distribution around the vortex. Eyewall high wave number structures show a dependence on the life cycle phase, supporting previous findings discussing the vortex rapid evolution with onset and propagation of eyewall mesovortices and associated vortex Rossby wave generation. A machine learning approach finally highlights that the eye shape and eyewall radial wind gradient fine-scale dynamics have the potential to improve the statistical prediction of TC intensity variations, compared to the sole use of vortex averaged parameters and synoptic information. The high-resolution radial and azimuthal coverage provided by SARs make these acquisitions a very valuable tool for TC research and operational application.


We have analyzed a 3D seismic survey acquired for a carbon sequestration project on top of the Moxa Arch in southwestern Wyoming. We observed a zone of discontinuous reflectors on vertical slices of seismic amplitude volume, whereas, the northwest–southeast lineations were observed on the time slices. We performed a seismic to well tie that suggested that the lineations occur within the Nugget Sandstone. The Nugget Sandstone is an eolian sandstone deposit of Early Jurassic age, deposited as a subtropical dune field, and equivalent to the Navajo Sandstone of southwestern Utah. Petrophysical analysis indicates that the Nugget Sandstone is dominated by clean sandstone (70%–80%), whereas evaporites, including halite and anhydrite, are present in certain zones. Previous outcrop studies on the Navajo Sandstone indicate the wind direction to be predominantly northeast–southwest. Seismic attributes, including coherence and curvature, displayed on stratal slices within the Nugget Sandstone interval indicate the presence of lineations in the northwest–southeast direction with irregular spacing. These lineations are approximately perpendicular to the inferred dominant wind direction. We computed the dominant wind direction from the average azimuth of the lineations as seen on the curvature attribute in the Nugget Sandstone interval. Geological feature: Eolian sand dunes with interdunal evaporites Seismic appearance: Parallel lineations with irregular spacing on seismic attribute horizon slices Alternative interpretations: Canyons at continental slopes; slope failures Features with a similar appearance: Marine bars; contourites Formation: The Nugget Sandstone — equivalent to the Navajo Sandstone


ABSTRACT Hung, N.T.; Vinh, B.T.; Nam, S.Y., and Lee, J.L., 2017. Cause analysis of erosion-induced resort washout on Cua Dai Beach, Vietnam. In: Lee, J.L.; Griffiths, T.; Lotan, A.; Suh, K.-S., and Lee, J. (eds.), The 2nd International Water Safety Symposium. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 79, pp. 214–218. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. On an eroding beach, high waves can completely wash out beaches, swimming pools, and resorts. Cua Dai shore, which is located immediately north of Thu Bon river mouth in central Vietnam, has eroded on the order of hundreds of meters in beach width. The present study estimated the erosion rate of sediment volume into the estuary through the Thu Bon river mouth by using recent satellite images, and utilized a shoreline change model to reproduce the erosion of shoreline near the river mouth. Results are in good agreement with observed data. The numerical model is modified by including the equilibrium angles that were obtained from a static shoreline equation of parabolic shape. Through the sediment conservation rule, the main cause of shore retreat is found to be sediment loss in the Thu Bon river estuary with the reduction in river sediment. The possible causes for this type of sediment loss are mining in the estuary and reduction of river flow action against waves in the river mouth with the reduced sediment supply. Proper management of Cua Dai beach requires the development of a monitoring system to fully understand beach dynamics and to mitigate the further resort washout owing to background erosion.


Harsha Walia, Undoing Border Imperialism (Oakland, CA: AK Press, 2013), 321 pages, $16.00, paperback. One December day in 2007, two thousand people showed up at Vancouver's International Airport. Unlike other days, these particular people had not come to catch a flight; they were there to stop a person from boarding one. Laibar Singh, a paralyzed refugee from India, was facing deportation. On the day he was to leave, those two thousand people, mostly Punjabi elders and aunties, shut down the international terminal, causing the cancellation of dozens of flights. They formed a protective circle around Singh for hours, finally forcing immigration enforcement to back down.… "This historic blockade in December 2007 is the only documented time in recent North American history that the violence of deportation has been prevented through the power of a mass mobilization and direct action," wrote Harsha Walia, one of the organizers responsible for this mass mobilization and the author and editor of Undoing Border Imperialism . This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.


The 2002 Minnesota Resident Physician Exit Survey was administered to 698 residents and fellows scheduled to complete training programs in Minnesota during 2002. The Resident Physician survey is 1 of 6 exit surveys administered annually to exiting students, residents, and fellows in a variety of health care disciplines in Minnesota. Of the 698 survey recipients, 387 (55%) returned completed surveys. The results confirm the importance of geographic area of origin in the practice decisions of new physicians. Respondents who had graduated from Minnesota high schools, colleges, or medical schools were significantly more likely to remain in Minnesota to practice than were respondents who had attended secondary, postsecondary, or professional schools in other states or countries. The results also indicate that for most new physicians, educational debt load is not a major factor in practice decisions.


Based on the assumption that the experiment confirms the STR, it is
 shown that the magnitude of the speed of light is an extremely slowly decreasing
 function of its frequency. However, at frequencies less than 1 hertz, the speed
 light begins to decrease sharply, and at a frequency of 4,6∙〖10〗^(-21) с-1, the speed
 of light becomes zero. Such light could serve as the Absolute Reference System,
 but due to their negligible mass, they do not have any effect on the processes
 taking place. This explains the postulate of Einstein's principle of relativity. The
 formulas for the change in the speed and frequency of light during the transition
 from one IRS to another remain unchanged, which proves Einstein's postulate of
 the constancy of the speed of light in any IRS.


Weight-based victimization (WBV) is a common and consequential experience for adolescents with overweight and obesity. The current study examined the relative contributions of different school-based sources of WBV (i.e., peers, friends, teachers, coaches) on academic grades, as well as the role of teachers in mitigating the academic consequences of WBV among a sample of 148 adolescents with high body weight (Mage = 15.97, SDage = 1.25; 50% female). Regression analyses revealed that the link between school-based WBV and lower grades among adolescents was due primarily to mistreatment from peers. However, this association was weakened when students perceived their teachers to be more helpful in preventing future WBV, but not as a function of how frequently students reported incidents of WBV to their teachers. These findings underscore the importance of teacher intervention in supporting the academic success of adolescents experiencing WBV from their peers in the school setting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).


SUMMARY Percutaneous transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus is a wellestablished procedure. Although it has been known as a safe treatment strategy, some complications have been reported. Embolization of the device, especially to the pulmonary artery, is one of these complications. In this report, we present a patient in whom an Amplatzer® duct occluder (ADO) II device embolized to the pulmonary artery and it was retrieved by using "Goose Neck" snare. We would like to notice the great importance of accurate preprocedural measurement of ductus arteriosus diameter during percutaneous transcatheter closure which seems to be a simple procedure.


: Results of traditional and video-laparoscopic relaparotomy at children with appendicular general peritonitis are analyzed. Design--one-center, retrospective, case-control study. It is demonstrated that variant of relaparotomy does not correlate with survival and intensive care content. Long-term results are more favorable after laparoscopic surgery.


Local institutions that encourage self-organization to achieve common goals are a form of social capital. In South Sulawesi, one form of social capital in peasant societies is tudang sipulungshrimp and appalili shrimp. The term "tudang sipulungshrimp" is sitting together in deciding various matters related to farming, whereasappalili is the origin of the palili term meaning to keep things away that will disturb rice plants. The research effort to further refine the focus of this scientific study, it can be described research questions, as follows: 1. Why the tradition of tudang sipulungshrimp and appalili shrimp undergo a process of social change in aspects and dimensions in the practice of farming rice farmers in Pinrang and Gowa regencies. 2. How did the actors and structures contribute to the tradition oftudang sipulungshrimp and appalili shrimp as social capital in the practice of farming rice farmers in Pinrang and Gowa districts ?. 3. How is the effort to generate new capacity to direct the creation of effective collective work for the role of social capital of tudang sipulungshrimp and appalilishrimp grass traditions in Pinrang and Gowa districts?
 The objectives of this research are 1. To analyze the process of changing aspects and social dimensions that occur in the tradition of shrimp and appalillary shrimp in organizing cultivation practices for rice farming communities in Pinrang and Gowa districts. 2. To know the contribution of actors and structures in making shrimp and appalili shrimp traditions as social capital in initiating the practice of farming rice farmer community in Pinrang and Gowa districts. 3. To find new capacity-generating efforts to guide the creation of effective collective work for the role of social capital of shrimp and apple cake traditions in Pinrang and Gowa districts. The research method is qualitative with the study unit is Kelurahan Data, Duampanua sub-district, Pinrang district and Gentungan village, West Bajeng district, Gowa district. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, field observations and document review.
 The results show that the cause of change is the abandonment of a number of customary rituals in the implementation of farming because the farmers consider such rituals to slow down the activity and require a cost so as to reduce the effectiveness and efficiency of farming. Behind that also shifted the position of the actor, where the determination of the planting schedule previously determined by indigineus knowledge possessed by customary figures, shifted to the role of climatologists and irrigation officials from the government. The process of social change lasts long and slowly in line with the social dynamics of rice farmers community that makes the tradition of shrimp and appalili shrimp as a place to work together to achieve the same goal for rice farmers. The occurrence of social change process that gives consequences to the hearing of the desire to give mutual trust and mutual trust among rice farmers. Contribution of actors and structures to social capital of shrimp and appalillary shrimp; 1. Internal consolidation is intended to build togetherness between actors and structures. 2. Maintenance efforts of traditional ceramic rituals of shrimp and appalili in the form of improvements and construction of infrastructure facilities supporting the implementation of such activities. 3. Conducting socialization in the family and community in building commitments to consistently implement the agreed outcomes in deliberations of shrimp and appalillary shrimp.

Keywords: Social Capital, Rice Farmer, South Sulawesi.


Satellite altimetry technology has unparalleled advantages in the monitoring of hydrological resources. After decades of development, satellite altimetry technology has achieved a perfect integration from the geometric research of geodesy to the natural resource monitoring research. Satellite altimetry technology has shown great potential, whether solid or liquid. In general, this paper systematically reviews the development of satellite altimetry technology, especially in terms of data availability and program practicability, and proposes a multi-source altimetry data fusion method based on deep learning. Secondly, in view of the development prospects of satellite altimetry technology, the challenges and opportunities in the monitoring application and expansion of surface water changes are sorted out. Among them, the limitations of the data and the redundancy of the program are emphasized. Finally, the fusion scheme of altimetry technology and deep learning proposed in this paper is presented. It is hoped that it can provide effective technical support for the monitoring and application research of hydrological resources.


Monocytes were enumerated by three different methods, cytochemical staining for alpha-naphthyl-acetate esterase-activity, immunofluorescence test using the monoclonal antibody BL-M/G and immunochemical staining for the enzyme thiol-proteindisulfide-oxidoreductase (TPO, EC 22.214.171.124) using a polyclonal rabbit anti-rat TPO immunoglobulin. For the comparison of these methods mononuclear cells from peripheral blood of healthy volunteers, patients with different diseases and adherent cell populations were tested. Statistical analysis showed no differences between the markers within these groups (H-test) and a significant correlation between the numbers of monocytes. TPO was found to be also valid for enumeration of monocytes obtained by adherence methods.


Research studying efficacy of Steinernema carpocapsae entomopathogenic nematode local isolate against army worm (Spodoptera litura F.) was conducted in the Laboratory of Plant Nematology, the Departement of Plant Pests and Deseases, Agriculture Faculty, Jenderal Soedirman University, Purwokerto. Both the efficacy test of S. carpocapsae against S. litura and the effect test of S. carpocapsae on S. litura development were designed by Split Plot Design based on Randomized Complete Block Design. Treatments tested were the origin of isolates, i.e., Cilacap and Brebes, and several invective juvenile nematode concentrations. Variables observed were larval mortality and numbers of pupae, adults, eggs, and hatched eggs. Results of the reserach showed that both local entomopathogenic nematode had low efficacy on S. litura, i.e., larval mortality for Cilacap and Brebes isolates of 25.5 and 28.2%, respectively. LC50 of Cilacap and Brebes isolates -1 was 1,695.36 and 1,908.31 nematode ml . The local isolate nematodes could not inhibit S. litura development.


The Mediterranean region, like other biogeographic regions located between continental plates, is rich in islands. Most of them are oceanic-like islands, Le., islands that have been previously connected to the surrounding continents and are faunistically similar, but not identical, to oceanic island (because the island continent connections occurred in a distant past, were of a short duration, and/or promoted a highly selective and limited faunal transfer). Insular (Le., non-continental) vertebrate faunas are known in several Mediterranean islands from the Lower Miocene to Recent times. This paper presents an overview of these faunas in the Western and Central Mediterranean. I will emphasize the following points: 1. Island's geological succession in the western Mediterranean area. 2. Faunistic successions occurring on the different islands. 3. Global analysis of the Mediterranean insular faunas. 4. Record and analysis of some extreme cases of insular evolution. 5. Extinction of the Mediterranean insular faunas. The Mediterranean region has changed substantially from Eocene to current times. A record of the transformation of Mediterranean islands during geological time is presented in this paper. Some territories that were islands in the past (e.g., Gargano, Scontrone, Baccinello, Las Murchas) have been integrated into the mainland and are now continental areas displaying insular fossil faunas. They are considered "fossil islands". Merging of islands have also occurred (e.g., Mallorca, Sardinia, Crete) as well as some island splitting (e.g., Gymnesic islands). In Sardinia, Mallorca, Menorca and Eivissa, there is a long fossil record documenting several faunistic successions. There, the faunistic turnover affected different taxonomic groups in different ways. Mammals were specially prone to extinction after new invasions. The fossil insular vertebrate faunas from Mediterranean islands are peculiar. They differ both from typical oceanic insular faunas (usually devoid of mammals and amphibians) and the typical continental faunas (lacking endemic species). They are characterized by three main traits: (1) absence of mammal predators, (2) presence of terrestrial mammals and in some cases amphibians, and (3) high rates of endemic species, including some very bizarre taxa. Even though there are some exceptions, it is possible to define several global faunistic patterns for Mediterranean insular faunas. Evolutionary changes in insular Mediterranean vertebrates have usually been small (Le., alterations in body size and proportions that do not change substantially the life style of the species). Nevertheless, in some cases insular evolution produced very big changes (changes not only in body size and proportions, but also in assemblages of structures, implying substantial changes in the life style of the species). Some of the most noticeable insular evolutionary changes produced a variety of unusual taxa. Among amphibians, the subterranean Hydromantes from Sardinia, with four species still living on the island, displaying a ballistic chameleon-like retractile tongue, might be considered as examples. Among birds, the enormous owl Tyto gigantea, and the gigantic buteonine falcon Garganoaetus, as well as the terrestrial and probably flightless Cygnus falconeri. Among mammals, the bizarre Myotragus balearicus from the Pleistocene of the Gymnesic Islands (Mallorca and Menorca), a new genus of leporid, still undescribed, from the Pliocene of Menorca, the anthropomorph ape Oreopithecus bambolii from the Miocene of Baccinello (and Sardinia), Hoplitomeryx matthei and Deinogaleryx koenigswaldi from the Miocene of Gargano, and the dwarf hippo Phanourios minor from the Pleistocene in Cyprus, as well as some Pleistocene dwarf elephants and deer scattered over the Eastern and Central Mediterranean islands.