Since the end of 2019, the world has become aware of a new virus that has emerged in China, which in February 2020 was called by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2019) as Coronavirus disease (COVID19). Due to its fast transmission, at 18:32 (GMT) on March 29, 2020, the world has officially accounted for about 710,950 new confirmed cases with 33,553 deaths and 150,734 recovered cases (Worldometers, 2020). The pandemic has become the newest challenge for several nations, especially the USA, Italy, China, Spain, Germany, Iran, for being the most affected, and since Brazil is a continental country with disabilities in its Unified Health System, it could be in the next two months among the five most affected. Thus, the main objective of the research is analyze the evolution of new cases of COVID19 in 16 countries to present short-term scenarios and recommendations for Brazil to face the pandemic. The research is applied, as its results and recommendations can be applied with adaptation by government authorities, business managers and citizens. The research is descriptive, with a qualitative and quantitative approach, based on bibliographic and documentary research, involving the study of articles, reports, manuals and other technical documents related to the subject. For the creation of scenarios, data collection focused on the number of new cases registered in 16 countries, including Brazil, as well as in the development of an approach using metaphorical analysis of the Board, the Inverted Pyramid and Papyri. The main conclusion is that even though no country is prepared to face epidemics and pandemics (NTI, JHU and EIU, 2019), among the 16 countries investigated, Thailand, Finland, Australia, South Korea, Denmark and Sweden are benchmarks that Brazil could study in order not to repeat the scenarios of China, USA, Italy and Spain. At the end, ten recommendations are made for future research and also to public and private managers.


Guidelines on resource allocation, ethics, triage processes with admission and discharge criteria from critical care and palliative care units during the pandemia are here presented. The interdisciplinary and multi-society panel that prepared these guidelines represented by bioethicists and specialists linked to the end of life: clinicians, geriatricians, emergentologists, intensivists, and experts in palliative care and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The available information indicates that approximately 80% of people with COVID-19 will develop mild symptoms and will not require hospital care, while 15% will require intermediate or general room care, and the remaining 5% will require assistance in intensive care units. The need to think about justice and establish ethical criteria for allocation patients arise in conditions of exceeding available resources, such as outbreaks of diseases and pandemics, with transparency being the main criterion for allocation. These guides recommend general criteria for the allocation of resources relies on bioethical considerations, rooted in Human Rights and based on the value of the dignity of the human person and substantial principles such as solidarity, justice and equity. The guides are recommendations of general scope and their usefulness is to accompany and sustain the technical and scientific decisions made by the different specialists in the care of critically ill patients, but given the dynamic nature of the pandemic, a process of permanent revision and adaptation of recommendations must be ensured.


Nanomaterials often show very different sizes, shapes, and stability properties. They also facilitate electron transfer and can be easily modified with chemical ligands and biomolecules. These properties, combined with the ease of miniaturizing nanoscales and their application to sensing devices, make nanomaterials well suited for essential chemical/biochemical sensing applications.
Nanomaterials are superior materials not only with their structural properties but also with their functional properties. Using various methods makes it possible to change the available and stack properties.
Nano-sized materials are preferred in modern technological systems because they have a large surface area and different optical and electronic properties.
In this study, electrochemical biosensor applications based on sensors modified with various nanomaterials were evaluated in terms of analytical parameters such as detection limit, linear range, and features such as easy fabrication, storage stability, and reproducibility. Besides, the advantages of using nanomaterials were examined under 6 different headings as enzyme biosensors, immunosensors, nucleic acid sensors, cell, phage, and aptasensors.


The purpose of this research project is to explore and identify the specifics of system,
society and dominance (SSD) effects on the management practices of Bangladeshi apparel
suppliers, with a particular focus on their recruitment and selection practices. Supplier
firms' responses to structural forces were viewed by examining their strategic choices and
actions. The study used an analytical framework based on concepts of social capital and
the private regulation of social compliance standards, in conjunction with the original SSD
framework, as a holistic approach to understand supplier firms' changing management
practices. Primary research in Bangladesh was undertaken through case studies, individual
interviews, content analysis of recruitment advertisements and other secondary sources.
Through a detailed review of the findings in this study, a 'multilevel analysis' of structural
forces on suppliers' firms is established.
Findings of this research project reveal a mixture of international and local influences on
actions observed in supplier firms. It is found that the interactions of societal and
dominance effects are complex and variable in outcomes for management development in
the Bangladeshi garment sector. Analysis shows that superficial change to managerial
practices is apparent in many respects, but the degree of real or substantive concrete
change in the recruitment and development of workplace managers is very much
influenced by the relative strength of the local norms of social relations. The actual (as
opposed to claimed) practices are mediated through local actors' (employers) strategic
choices in response to international forces, and are both a function and a consequence of
local social norms and established local expectations.
The study has laid the foundation of future research in a number of directions through
contributions made at an empirical, theoretical and conceptual level. At an empirical level,
the study's contribution to the literature lies in its focus on the dominance effects flowing
from lead firms within an international supply chain to their independent suppliers located
in a developing country. This study draws out an under-researched topic of human
resource management (HRM) practices in Bangladesh, applies the SSD framework and
therefore complements research conducted in developed economies. It shows that firms in
developing countries are particularly influenced by multiple and different actors of the
global value chain and not just a single nation state or single dominant industry. At a
theoretical level this research project has elaborated the understanding of the SSD effects
through the identification of regulation in its different forms as elements within the SSD
framework. Findings contribute to understanding the specific ways in which dominance
effects work in individual workplaces. Through the pressure of international buyers' private
regulation of supplier firms, the creation of more formalised HR practices was found to be
an indirect result of dominance effects. The incorporation of social capital as a focal point
in the SSD effects offers a new insight or concept into the understanding of social capital in
a broad context. The study draws on social capital and its significance in unpacking the
meaning of societal effects on HR practices and employment relations.


Despite 30 years' experimentation and 20 years' availability of commercial products, the architecture, engineering, and construction industry in the mid-1990s had yet to achieve an effective integration of computer-based techniques into its business processes. Business processes in all industries are resistant to change, and people tend to use new tools in the same way they used their old ones: computers as pencils. In the architecture, engineering, and construction industry within the United States, this tendency has been aggravated by the segmentation of the work process into myriad specialties, frequently performed by separate companies, with the information flow obstructed by professional licensing, regulation, contracts, the profit motive, and even the training of design professionals. However, a number of developments-the emergence of object technology; industry standardization initiatives; widespread adoption of Internet technologies; and competitive pressures-are converging to create both the feasibility of and the necessity for rethinking and restructuring the industry. The article focuses on computer graphics precedents related to the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.


To understand the thrust and aims of the Andrea von Braun Stiftung (Foundation) one needs to go back to the year of its establishment, 2001. There were several founders at the time who shared two things: a reasonable inheritance, and that one idea widespread among donors of wanting to 'give something back', to society for the decent, challenging and safe environment in which they were brought up, for their personal fortune that granted them the opportunity to become donors in the first place, or simply in recognition of the things that had gone right in their lives. The founders differed, however, in their personal preferences for the causes to be supported by the new foundation. Most of these preferences were incompatible. For example, one of the founders is an astrophysicist and more concerned with the natural sciences than other areas of knowledge. Another is an artist in the field of information technology, with a major interest in questions of design and training, particularly in the new media. A third works in the area of problems of the developing world and was more given to supporting advances in organisational, legal and economic tools for sustainable development.


Patients with visual neglect show deficits in horizontal size perception in their neglected hemispace, as previously reported. The present study examined whether this size distortion can be modulated by visual background motion to the left or right while the patient performs a visual size judgment task. Six neglect patients and six normal subjects were investigated with a psychophysical size judgment task. All neglect patients showed a significant perceptual underestimation of horizontal bars in their left hemispace expressed as an overestimation of horizontal object size in the baseline (no motion) condition. Slow visual motion of background stimuli towards the right, ipsilesional side aggravated the deficit slightly, but not significantly, whereas leftward background motion completely normalized the size distortion (in four cases) or even led to an overcompensation (in two cases). This facilitatory effect was specific as it was obvious for the constant errors in the size judgments, but not in their accuracy as reflected by unchanged difference thresholds. These results suggest that coherent background motion restores temporarily the disturbed perception and representation of horizontal object size in spatial neglect.


The mullet species, Planiliza macrolepis and Moolgarda cunnesius, were collected seasonally from Mfolozi-Msunduzi Estuary on the east coast of South Africa in order to determine their diet. The gut contents of 178 fish with standard length (SL) ranging between 100 and 220 mm revealed strong evidence that in the Mfolozi-Msunduzi these fish rely heavily on benthic floc as a primary food source. Plant debris and small benthic organisms, including Assiminea, copepods, nematodes and ostracods also formed part of their diet. Some of these food items (e.g. Assiminea sp. nematodes) were only consumed by P. macrolepis. Differences in the occurrence of food items consumed by these two closely related species may be explained by their feeding ground preferences. Results suggest that P. macrolepis forages in substrata mostly dominated by fine-to-medium sand grain sizes (<50 to 450 µm), whereas M. cunnesius prefers substrata dominated by fine sand to muddy grain sizes (50 to 250 µm). Based on these findings, it is concluded that differences in substrate preference by these two mullet species is an important strategy by which they circumvent any possible interspecific competition for food resources within the system.


An experimental study of the equilibrium properties and of the surface rheology of Langmuir monolayers of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) at the air/water interface has been carried out as a function of polymer concentration (Γ) and molecular weight (M(w)). Dilational and shear complex elasticity moduli covering a frequency range from 10(-3) to 0.2 Hz have been discussed. It was found that the air∕water interface behaves as a poor solvent for PMMA monolayers, thus suggesting that the polymer coils take collapsed soft-disks (pancakes) shape at the interface. The equilibrium and dynamic results suggest a fluid-to-soft-glass transition as the polymer concentration increases above a critical packing fraction at constant temperature. This two-dimensional transition is in agreement with results previously discussed for the dilational rheology of poly(4-hydroxystyrene) [F. Monroy, F. Ortega, R. G. Rubio, H. Ritacco, and D. Langevin, J. Chem. Phys. 95, 056103 (2005)]. Furthermore, the Γ-dependence of the relaxation dynamics of the monolayers suggests that the gel state may be considered as a fragile soft glass.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma is typically avoided in patients with severe cirrhosis, as this may predispose patients to pronounced surgical risks and worse long-term outcomes. This study examined our results of hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with different degrees of impaired liver function.

METHODOLOGY
A retrospective comparison of background characteristics and operative results in patients with resected hepatocellular carcinoma was performed, with patients classified as having either severely impaired liver function (High Group, preoperative indocyanine green 15-minute retention rate > or = 30%; n = 22) or normal liver function (Low Group, indocyanine green 15-minute retention rate < or = 10%; n = 37).

RESULTS
The preoperative liver function of those in the High Group was significantly worse than those in the Low Group. Despite similar tumor diameters between groups, the amount of liver resected in the High Group was significantly smaller than in the Low Group, primarily because of more limited resections with narrow margins in the former. However, patients in the High Group had similar recurrence and survival rates when compared to those in the Low Group whose resections included wide surgical margins. In analyzing those that did or did not undergo transcatheter arterial chemoembolization prior to resection, a better disease-free and actuarial survival rate was observed in the High Group with preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization compared to those without transcatheter arterial chemoembolization or those in the Low Group with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization.

CONCLUSIONS
For patients with limited liver function reserve, such as those in the High Group, resection of hepatocellular carcinoma with preservation of liver parenchyma may take priority over a wide resection margin. In addition, we suggest the use of preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in selected patients with severe cirrhosis undergoing resection of hepatocellular carcinoma.


A decomposition of a programmable logic array (PLA) into two cascaded PLAs is considered. The problem is divided into two subproblems: a partition problem, which finds the partition of the input variables, and an encoding problem, which finds an encoding of signals between two PLAs. Multiple-valued decomposition theory is used to find a good partition of the input variables. Experimental results show that serial decomposition reduces the total PLA size by 10% to 30%.<<ETX>>


Climate change is a world wide phenomenon that has huge implications on economic, social and ecological challenges to the global community and to smallholder farmers especially in low income countries. In this paper we seek to provide information on the role of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) to climate adaptation based on the experiences with farmer communities from the climate change research project which was implemented in Sedumbwe Agricultural Camp of Southern Zambia. Data were collected mainly through focus group discussions. The paper points out the common indicators used to predict drought/rainfall and how reliable they are. Possible recommendations are also provided on how the IK weather forecasting could be integrated and operationalized in agriculture policies of many countries in the sub Saharan African region to climate adaptation.


An investigation was undertaken to determine whether the wine treatments for elimination of iron and copper used in Western Europe--with tetrapotassium hexacyanoferrate(II): K4[Fe(CN)6]--and in the United States--with iron(II) and potassium hexacyanoferrate(II) ('Fessler compound')--are suitable for lowering the concentration of lead to within legal limits. In both series of experiments the decrease in lead concentrations remained very poor. It was concluded that the treatments using hexacyanoferrates lowered lead levels but not sufficiently to reduce completely lead contamination in wines.


Objectives : The purpose of this study is to find out the effects of Chuna treatment on patients as diagnosed cervical sprain caused by traffic accidents. Methods : The therapies which used in patients were acupunture-therapy, herbal medication, moxa-therapy, physical therapy, Chuna Treatment. After being treatment, We measured Visual Analog Scale (V.A.S), Cervical Range Of Movement (R.O.M) and Pain Disability Index (P.D.I). Results : After being treated by our methods, Patients` R.O.M, V.A.S and P.D.I score were improved in cases. Conclusions : These cases has demonstrated that Chuna Treatment is useful on cervical sprain.


We consider the hypothesis that galactic dark matter is composed of ultra-light scalar particles and use internal properties of dwarf spheroidal galaxies to establish a preferred range for the mass mϕ of these bosonic particles. We re-investigate the problem of the longevity of the cold clump in Ursa Minor and the problem of the rapid orbital decay of the globular clusters in Fornax and dwarf ellipticals. Treating the scalar field halo as a rigid background gravitational potential and using N-body simulations, we have explored how the dissolution timescale of the cold clump in Ursa Minor depends on mϕ. It is demonstrated that for masses in the range 0.3 × 10−22 eV < mϕ < 1 × 10−22 eV, scalar field dark halos without self-interaction would have cores large enough to explain the longevity of the cold clump in Ursa Minor and the wide distribution of globular clusters in Fornax, but small enough to make the mass of the dark halos compatible with dynamical limits. It is encouraging to see that this interval of mϕ is consistent with that needed to suppress the overproduction of substructure in galactic halos and is compatible with the acoustic peaks of cosmic microwave radiation. On the other hand, for self-interacting scalar fields with coupling constant λ, values of mϕ4/λ≲0.55 × 103 eV4 are required to account for the properties of the dark halos of these dwarf spheroidal galaxies.


1. To understand the life cycle of an organism, it is important to understand the underlying physiological mechanisms of their life histories. We here use the theory of dynamic energy budgets (DEB) to investigate the close relationships between growth, reproduction and respiration in nematodes. 2. Using a set of simplified equations based on DEB theory, we are able to accurately describe life-cycle data from the literature for the free-living bacterivorous nematodes Caenorhabditis elegans, C. briggsae and Acrobeloides nanus, under different temperature or food regimes. 3. Nematodes apparently differ from other animals, as the initial growth is slower than expected. We explain this phenomenon by food limitation in the larvae, which is supported by more detailed physiological studies. 4. Food density and temperature are shown to have predictable effects on the growth curves (temperature affects only growth rate, whereas food density also affects ultimate size), although the reproduction patterns reveal some deviations from model predictions. 5. The presented model integrates the different aspects of the life cycle into a single framework, and can be applied as such to interpret the effects of various stressors


Blessed were the times when a man's decision about his fate lay in his own hands. Blessed were the times when he relied upon himself and was under no one's direct command and formed his life through his direct relationship to nature. These were times of transparent clarity; these were times of child-like belief in God; these were times of inner peace. The environment [Umwelt] of the man of that time existed outside of his horizon; its events passed him by or broke into his life naturally, suddenly, overwhelmingly. Wars and starvation, epidemics and bad harvests stood on the same plane—they were to man equally strange, equally incomprehensible, equally remote.… This assault of his environment into his existence, these catastrophes which from time to time would bring his life into turmoil, man could not explain to himself. For they were of a different type than he was; for they were covered by a thick impenetrable shroud…. Faith replaced knowledge at that time; prayer replaced action, and fear replaced circumspection.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.


This article is one of a series of Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) reviews that has appeared in this journal at ca. 3-4 year intervals. A comprehensive review of the recent theoretical developments, instrumental developments, electrospray ionization (ESI), and MALDI is given. Ion dissociation techniques are also discussed because of their contributions to gaining insight into chemical structure. Special sections have been devoted to discussing the emerging fields of surface analysis, polymer analysis, Buckminsterfullerenes (buckyballs), and hydrogen/deuterium exchange studies. This review, although not all-inclusive, is intended to be a starting point for those wishing to learn more about the current status of FTMS, and also as a representative cross-section of the literature for those familiar with the technique. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Introduction: The temporo mandibular dysfunction is a biomechanical change in the temporomandibular joint that has a multifactorial origin. The masticatory muscles has a great relationship with the body posture through neuromuscular connections. The correct posture is maintained by a harmony in muscle mechanism involving the muscles of the head, neck and shoulder girdle. Therefore changes in these structures may lead to a postural imbalance mainly related to cranio-cervical disorders causing forward head, cervical spine rectification and asymmetric shoulders established in the ATM dysfunction patients. Objective: To investigate the influence of temporomandibular disorders in neck pain and posture as well as the incidence postural changes. Method: This is a literature review article carried in databases such as Lilacs, Scielo, Medline and Bireme. The studied period was from 2004 to 2015 were used as search terms: temporomandibular joint, the temporomendibular joint syndrome and posture. Among 21 articles initially selected by electronic search in databases, 4 were excluded for the title. We selected 17 studies for a more detailed analysis through the summary, with 3 of them deleted. The remaining 14 articles were evaluated from the text reading. Result: It can be observed that there is a relationship between TMD and postural changes, patients with this disorder have postural deviations such as forward head, increased cervical lordosis and not leveling between his shoulders. Conclusion: Postural changes may be associated with temporomandibular dysfunction, although there are few studies that address physical therapy on the conduct of temporomandibular disorders in pain and posture, we can see that physical therapy is of great importance with positive results in the lives of these individuals .


In recent years, we can meet more and more often in various professional publications, magazines, conferences, but also in various reports in the media the term organizational culture. The fact is that gradually more and more organizations are dealing with issues of organizational culture because they have understood that organizational culture plays an important role in the life of organizations. And not only in formulating organizational strategy, setting goals, or making decisions, but also in fulfilling their mission, creating their image and overall functioning in today's dynamic times affected by deepening globalization. That is also why the author, in his research, deals with organizational culture, specifically, in the presented article he examines police culture. The author characterizes police culture as a specific type of organizational culture that fulfils important functions and missions in terms of police functioning. By analogy with other types of organizations, the author defines police culture as a set of socially typical views, attitudes, norms, and values that determine models of police behaviour, relations to society and the police organization. He points out that despite the generally similar characteristics with other cultures of the organization, there are certain specifics that distinguish the police culture from other organizations. It gives it uniqueness. It should be a priority for every organization to have a good organizational culture aimed at maximum efficiency and success. For this reason, it is important to know its current state by research and to evaluate its positive and negative aspects. The article deals with the theoretical basis of understanding key concepts such as organization, culture, subculture, and organizational culture. At the same time, it presents the theoretical basis for the study of this phenomenon in the environment of the Police Force.


Management of the subscapularis is an important component of total shoulder arthroplasty. This technique article describes a stem-specific approach to repairing the subscapularis.


This paper presents the use of Social Network Analysis (SNA) to study the interconnectedness and relationships between the main logistic assets from Panama, and to determine the critical elements of the Panamanian logistic system. SNA studies the dyadic relationships between nodes in a social network. In this type of networks, the nodes represent people, organizations or any type o entity, and the links are a social action between the nodes. As the result the project as shown the strong connectivity between the Panamanian logistic assets and the possibility of using al of them as part of a national logistic legion.


This study reviews the career development of students in multicultural families as they have been revealed in research undertaken in Korea. Firstly, the definition and characteristics of students in multicultural families in Korea and the current discussions in US on the issues related multicultural career development and counseling was reviewed. Secondly, the literature search with key words were undertaken. The literature searching process revealed the appearance of research from the year 2010 and the lack of research in area of career development of Korean students in multicultural families. With the searched studies content analysis was conducted and they were the empirical examinations of variables related career developments, the career development programs, and so on. Lastly discussion is focused on the meaning of these findings and the suggestions for the further studies.


In this paper an optimization procedure for the optimal design of a transverse-flux induction heating system is presented. Hooke and Jeeves (1961) direct search technique is used for the optimization procedure. The finite element method is used for the electromagnetic field calculation and the integral parameter determination. The results obtained by this procedure are compared with those available in literature. >


We report the case of a 25-year-old woman who developed a tracheocarotid fistula secondary to an infected endovascular stent placed in the right carotid artery after the patient experienced hemorrhage on her first tracheostomy change. The patient originally had the tracheostomy placed at an outside hospital in September 2014, due to prolonged intubation after a motor vehicle accident. The patient presented to the otolaryngology service with an acute tracheal hemorrhage. This necessitated a neck exploration, median sternotomy, right carotid stent removal with subclavian to carotid bypass, and sternocleidomastoid flap reconstruction. This paper addresses the epidemiology and anatomy of a tracheocarotid fistula and discusses methods to treat such a complication.


The Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer (COWVR) is new type of conical microwave sensor ideal for small satellite implementation. This paper provides an overview of the COWVR sensor, mission and provides perspectives for the future of this technology to enable low-cost sustainable passive microwave observations into the next decade.


The Value of Plains Cotton Cooperative Association is a teaching case that allows students to consider the cooperative business model and the impact of this unique form of organization in agriculture. The Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA), a highly successful, innovative, and dominant cotton cooperative, is considered in this case.The general question is whether the cooperative form of organization is viable and relevant in the face of intensifying economic competition. Cotton producers and long-time co-op members must decide if they will remain loyal to the cooperative in light of recent negative publicity and disappointing returns from its marketing operations. Copyright 2007, Oxford University Press.


Abstract: The Lisbon Treaty introduced changes to the ordinary revision process of EU Treaties. Article 48(3) TEU (Treaty of European Union) included the possibility of the President of the European Council summoning a Convention to analyse the projects to be revised and to adopt, by consensus, a recommendation to be put before the Intergovernmental Conference which would define the changes being introduced into the Treaties. This present work seeks to clarify the principal characteristics of this new stage in the revision process of EU Treaties. The main objective of this study is to set out how and why this new procedure evolved, how it works and what is new about what it brings to the revision process of the European Union. Key-Words: European Union Treaties; revision procedure; European Convention; history


The object of the study is software methods of the Earth surface images processing obtained from the VRSS-2 satellite to determine the spectral composition of the vegetation cover to detect the presence of carotenoids during prolonged exposure to hydrocarbons. The photosynthetic pigments of higher plants (chlorophylls, carotenoids and phytobiliproteins) were analyzed. In the chloroplasts of higher plants, chlorophyll and carotenoids are present in a ratio of about 3:1. The presence of hydrocarbons increases the amount of carotenoids. Carotenoids have absorption bands in the blue-violet region from 400 to 500 nm and a high reflection coefficient in the red-orange and yellow spectral regions, which corresponds to the multispectral MSS operating mode (B2) of the VRSS-2 satellite camera. An analysis of the vegetation growing in the study area of the Puerto Kumarebo settlement showed that the best indicator of the presence of hydrocarbons in the soil is Prosopis juliflora – CUJI with a deep root system of up to 50 m, growing in the study area. Using ENVI software, a comparative evaluation of the efficiency of photographs image processing was carried out using the normalized relative vegetation index (NDVI) and the structure-insensitive pigment index (SIPI) to detect changes in the color of green vegetation. It has been established that the SIPI index is more applicable for hydrocarbon search tasks. Moreover, the recorded index fluctuations in the area of uniform vegetation at the level of 2.5 % are characteristic of normal growing conditions and cannot serve as evidence of the presence of factors indicating the presence of hydrocarbons in the soil. For a more detailed assessment of the presence of carotenoids in the foliage and the presence of hydrocarbons in the soil, photographs with high optical resolution of objects on the surface are required.


Here we review currently available data showing that innate immune signs predisposing to recurrent and invasive pneumococcal infections were identified in children. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) belongs to Grampositive bacteria being the major cause of morbidity and mortality in infants, especially in developing countries and in communities with low socioeconomic status. Due to the lack of anti-pneumococcal vaccination, the significant proportion of pneumococcus carriers develop non-invasive (pneumonia, otitis media, sinusitis) and severe invasive (bacteremia/septicemia, meningitis) pneumococcal infection. A great deal of diverse factors related to pneumococcus biological features (virulence factors) as well individualized host-specific immunity are implicated in efficient bacterial penetration across the mucous membranes. The TLR signaling system plays a crucial role in the human nonspecific defense upon the first encounter with the pathogen. Various TLRs comprise the first pattern recognition receptor fami ly ever described which sense ligands derived from the outer bacterial wall. The complement system is the ancient innate immunity component mainly involved in intravascular elimination of bacterial agents. In addition, the complement proteins serve as a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity, ensuring optimal conditions for B- and T-cell maturation and differentiation. Because pneumococcus secretes the IgA protease, a local protective effects related to IgA antibodies might not be so prominent. Therefore, B-cell immunodeficiency and impaired complement system hold a lead place among congenital causes resulting in severe and recurrent pneumococcal infections in children. Thus, based on available data, we concluded that impaired B-cell function, the complement components deficiency as well as receptor-recognition receptors (TLR-2, -9, -4, MYD88 adapter protein, TLR cascade enzymes: IRAK4, NEMO, NOD-like receptors: NOD2, NLRP3; C-type lectins: MBL, Dextin-2, and, possibly, ficoline) play the most important role among congenital immunodeficiencies predisposing to invasive and recurrent pneumococcal infections play the most important role among congenital immunodeficiencies predisposing to invasive and recurrent pneumococcal infections, and should be used as a rationale for immunological surveillance and organizing immunogenetics screening in these patients.


The purpose of this paper is to expose female occupational composition, trends in designation portfolio and female visibility in the Board of Directors and Corporate Management in local licensed commercials banks in Sri Lanka. It is directed towards understanding common career advancement influences for female managers so as to increase their visibility in reaching executive positions, despite the debates about equal representation by gender. The paper identifies that most local licensed commercial banks in Sri Lanka have still not adopted dynamic corporate practices as they claim. Therefore, the standards of human resources functions in these banks are in question. Females at the top level in local licensed commercial banks are under-represented. Female visibility at board level in 2018 was reported as 13%, while visibility at corporate management level remained at 16%. Keywords: Gender diversity, licensed commercial banks, glass-ceiling effect, Sri Lanka


BACKGROUND
Major depression is often treated with medications in doses that are too low or too short in duration. We published an early version of the Antidepressant Treatment History Form (ATHF) that rates the adequacy of antidepressant treatment. The updated ATHF presented here includes newer medications and a computer algorithm to automate the evaluation of the adequacy of pharmacotherapy or electroconvulsive therapy for depression.

METHOD
The computer algorithm was written in MS-DOS Q-BASIC and in Visual Basic 5.0. Treatment data from 47 depressed (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R) patients were scored by the computer algorithm and assigned a number from 0 to 5 for the adequacy of antidepressant treatment. A psychiatrist blinded to the computer ratings manually rated the treatment using the ATHF.

RESULTS
The computer algorithm, based on an updated version of the ATHF, estimates the adequacy of treatment of unipolar and bipolar depression. Computer algorithm results agreed with those generated by a clinician completing the form manually (kappa = 0.88 to 1.00).

CONCLUSION
The computer algorithm can be used to analyze large databases and may help reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with major depression by improving the assessment of adequacy of pharmacologic treatments for research and quality assurance purposes. The availability of the updated ATHF on the Internet for downloading allows for modifications according to the user's purposes.


The rapid discovery of the molecular basis of a growing number of autoinflammatory diseases presenting early in childhood with fever and systemic and sterile organ inflammation, is providing us with novel insights into the workings of the innate immune system in coordinating inflammatory responses and their resolution. These discoveries have not only provided insights into the phenotypic disease expression and provided novel treatments of these rare disorders, but the principles learnt are suggesting hypotheses of how inflammatory processes can be triggered in common likely polygenic diseases such as gout, and those that were not considered inflammatory in the past, including diabetes, coronary artery diseases and Alzheimer's disease. The discovery that missense mutations in CIAS1/NLRP3, cause the clinical spectrum of the cryopyrin associated periodic syndromes (CAPS), which includes FCAS, MWS and NOMID/CINCA, has revealed an intracellular sensor of "danger", the NLRP3 inflammasome, that couples pathogen and cell stress recognition with IL-1 activation to coordinate an immune response to these danger signals. The finding that the inflammasome leads to caspase-1 activation and cleavage and activation of IL-1β, spurred early proof of concept studies that tested IL-1 blocking strategies and revealed the pivotal role of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1 in the pathogenesis of CAPS. These studies led to the establishment of anticytokine therapy with IL-1 blocking agents, that have changed patients life and disease outcomes, as standard of care therapies for these conditions. The discovery that the accumulation of molecular stress molecules in specific organs in gout, Type II diabetes and endothelial plaques in coronary artery disease can stimulate the inflammasome to produce IL-1, has led to the hypothesis that inflammasome activation may contribute to the inflammatory manifestations of metabolic diseases and provided the rationale to explore IL-1 blocking therapies in these conditions. However, a growing number of patients with autoinflammatory conditions are unresponsive to IL-1 blocking therapy and force the exploration of additional pathways beyond IL-1. The discovery of novel, IL-1 independent autoinflammatory disorders with systemic and organ specific inflammation has provided insights into additional inflammatory pathways that may shed light on molecular causes of fat, muscle, and pustular skin inflammation. Mutations in proteasome genes, i.e. PSMB8, cause a spectrum of proteasome-associated autoinflammatory conditions termed: Joint contracture, muscle atrophy and panniculitis induced lipodystrophy (JMP) syndrome, Nakajo-Nishimura syndrome and Chronic atypical neutrophilic dermatosis with lipodystrophy and elevated temperatures, (CANDLE). Recent mutation in genes that encode proteins that are mainly expressed in the skin, are providing new insights into pathways that regulate skin inflammation and reveal novel targets for therapy. Learning Objectives At the end of the session the listener will be able to: Recognize clinical signs and symptoms of autoinflammatory diseases Understand pathogenesis of the inflammasome mediated cryopyrin associated periodic syndromes (CAPS), and recognize disease pathology mediated by IL-1. Understand the presumed role of inflammasome mediated IL-1 release on the inflammatory manifestations of gout, and metabolic conditions such as diabetes, atherosclerosis and obesity and know the rational for the development of studies that treat patients with diabetes and coronary artery diseases with IL-1 blocking agents. Recognize a number of monogenic disorders that are not IL-1 responsive and provide us novel innate immune pathways that regulate inflammation including the proteasome associated autoinflammatory syndromes. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the frequency of drug resistance profiles of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) isolates of pulmonary tuberculosis patients, against both the first and the second line drugs.

STUDY DESIGN
An observational study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY
The multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) ward of Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases (OICD), Karachi, from 1996 to 2006.

METHODOLOGY
Culture proven MDR-TB cases (resistant to both isoniazid and Rifampicin) were retrospectively reviewed. Susceptibility testing was performed at the clinical laboratory of the Aga Khan University. Sensitivity against both first and second line anti-tuberculosis drugs was done. Susceptibility testing was performed using Agar proportion method on enriched middle brook 7H10 medium (BBL) for Rifampicin, Isoniazid, Streptomycin, Ethambutol, Ethionamide, Capreomycin and Ciprofloxacin. Pyrazinamide sensitivity was carried out using the BACTEC 7H12 medium. During the study period MTB H37Rv was used as control.

RESULTS
Out of total 577 patients, all were resistant to both Rifampicin and Isoniazid (INH). 56.5% isolates were resistant to all five first line drugs. Resistances against other first line drugs was 76.60% for Pyrazinamide, 73% for Ethambutol and 68.11% for Streptomycin. Five hundred and ten (88%) cases were MDR plus resistant to one more first line drug. Forty (07%) isolates were MDR plus Quinolone-resistant. They were sensitive to Capreomycin but sensitivity against Amikacin and Kanamycin were not tested.

CONCLUSION
There were high resistance rates in MDR-TB to remaining first line and second line drugs. Continuous monitoring of drug resistance pattern especially of MDR isolates and treatment in specialized centers is a crucial need for future TB control in Pakistan.


BaF2 doped with cerium in the 2.7-4.5 mol percent range has been shown to have a peak scintillation emission at 365 nm with a decay constant of approximately 50 nano-seconds. The relative light output decreases with increasing cerium content; in this work it ranged from 0.5 to 0.3 with respect to pure BaF2 and from 1.2 to 0.7 relative to CsF. Pulse height resolution for the BaF2(Ce) samples ranged from 1.7 to 2.0 times that for pure BaF2. Timing measurements show that coincident resolving times for BaF2(Ce) lie between those of pure BaF2 and CsF and those of BGO. The scintillation efficiency was found to be independent of temperature from room temperature to 70°C and to fall off moderately at higher temperatures.


Developments in the areas of micro propagation, "rejuvenation", cryogenic storage, in vitro selection, soma clonal variation, molecular genetics and genetic engineering offer potential new tools for forest tree improvement. Because of the technologies involved, these techniques are not widely employed in tree improvement programmes at the present. This paper summarises the current state-of-the-art of these techniques and provides some suggestions as to how they might be employed in tree improvement programmes in the future.


Background Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common type of peripheral nerves entrapment; It has a great socioeconomic impact. CTS may be idiopathic or secondary to many causes, especially diabetes mellitus. Insulin has anti-inflammatory effects1 and the effectiveness of local insulin Injection in diabetic patients with CTS has been previously evaluated 2. Local insulin Injection in idiopathic CTS has not been studied. Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of local insulin injection as a therapeutic tool in management of idiopathic CTS. Methods Twenty eight consecutive hands of mild & moderate idiopathic CTS (diagnosed clinically & electrophysiologically and classified according to American association of neuromuscular diagnostic medicine monograph) received two local injections of 10 IU NPH insulin into the affected carpal tunnel 2 weeks intervals after informed consent. Patients with severe or secondary type of CTS were excluded from this study. Evaluation of the patients at baseline, then at 1 & 3 months after 2nd insulin injection was done clinically [by measuring visual analogue scale (VAS), paraesthesia, Phallen and compression tests] and electrophysiologically (by measuring motor and sensory nerve conduction studies of the median and ulnar nerves using a standardized technique). Results Clinically; there was statistically significant improvement in VAS, paraesthesis, Phallen and compression tests at 1 & 3 months after 2nd insulin injection (p<0.01). Electrophysiologically; there was statistically significant improvement in distal motor latency (DML) and distal sensory velocity of median nerve 1 and 3 months after treatment (p<0.01), but the improvement was not statistically significant as regards median distal motor and sensory amplitudes (p>0.05). Conclusions Local insulin injection is a promising effective treatment for idiopathic CTS. This is the first study to detect the effect of local insulin injection in idiopathic CTS. References Sun Q, Li J, Gao F. New insights into insulin: The anti-inflammatory effect and its clinical relevance. World J Diabetes. 2014 Apr 15; 5(2): 89–96. Ashraf A, Yazdani A, Mirshams S. Evaluation of the effectiveness of local insulin injection in type 2 diabetic patients with CTS. Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol. 2009 May-Jun;49(4):161–6. Acknowledgement Thanks a lot to Dr. Samar Abd Alhamed for her great efforts in completing statistical analysis in this study. Disclosure of Interest None declared


The organoactinide-catalyzed monohydroboration of carbodiimides is reported herein. The catalytic reactions proceed under very mild conditions in a highly atom-efficient and highly selective fashion to afford the corresponding monohydroborated N-borylformamidine products in high yields. A plausible mechanism is proposed based on stoichiometric and kinetic studies.


Essay Scoring is a problem of sentences analysis. We have to be very careful to decide whether two sentences is matched or almost matched or not matched at all. We need to consider several input variables to support matching percentage. This research used number of words, keywords of sentences, and similarity of sentences to decide the concordance of two sentences. Meanwhile, fuzzy logic has tolerance on its input variables using membership function. This characteristic will be useful to decide the approximate percentage of matches. The input variables will be inserted into the fuzzy rule. Then a crisp grade will be the output of Sugeno fuzzy inference. This research will be very useful for lecturers to grade student's exam on essay test. The result show the proposed essay scoring is reliable to be considered as an alternative for scoring.


Abstract The paper dedicated to comparative gap of epidemiology data in Ukraine, Europe and North America, review of evidence-based researches of value of particular risk factors of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.


To achieve high-performance sensorless control of permanent magnet motors with non-sinusoidal back electromotive force (EMF), an improved sliding mode observer (SMO) adopting synchronous rotating low-pass filter (SRLPF) is proposed. The SRLPF is utilised to reduce the back-EMF harmonics and extract the fundamental component. Different from the traditional rotor position observer, the proposed observer can calculate the rotor position with the back-EMF fundamental component. Owing to the decrease in the influence of non-sinusoidal back-EMF, the estimated rotor position harmonic ripple error can be greatly reduced. Then, the high estimated accuracy and excellent sensorless control performance can be obtained. In addition, the proposed strategy is easy for implementation. With the comparison between the traditional SMO and the proposed observer, the experiments of the system steady-state error, the speed tracking performance, and the disturbance rejection ability in the speed range from 60 r/min to the rated speed 750 r/min are presented. The validity of the proposed method is conformed.


Professor Takeshi Ito, a researcher based in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Kansai University in Japan, has a particular interest in micro and nano fabrication technologies and their various applications. Ito is particularly interested in their applications in biotechnology
 and is working to develop biosensing devices and biomimicking materials using nanostructures. These devices and materials could have multiple applications in myriad settings. For example, nanostructure-based bactericidal material has the ability to kill bacteria with antimicrobial resistance
 and could have a number of applications, such as for medical apparatus in hospitals.


The tumor promoter, 12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol‐13‐acetate (TPA), has several effects on the immune system. The effect of TPA on the in vitro antibody response to sheep red blood cells (sRBC) was studied. Spleen cells treated in vitro with TPA resulted in a dose‐dependent inhibition of the IgM antibody forming cell (AFC) response with an IC50 of 0.74 nM. Nontumor promoting analogs at concentrations up to 1000 nM had no effect on this system. 2‐Mercaptoethanol (2ME), which is known to augment macrophage function in this assay, did not reverse the inhibition. Spleen cells were separated into plastic adherent cells (ADC) and nonadherent cells (NAC). When NAC were treated with TPA and cultured with untreated ADC, the inhibition was seen. However, treating the ADC alone did not result in an inhibition. These results show that TPA will suppress the in vitro antibody response in the mouse and that the suppression is due to a selective effect on the plastic nonadherent cell population. The study of these effects of TPA may allow us to gain insight into the mechanism of its tumor promoting activity and to use it as a tool to study the modulation of the immune system.


Parents serve as role models through the examples they set with their attitude and behaviour within the family. However, recently various domestic problems and family conflicts such as homicide, physical and sexual abuse and educational neglect are linked to the negative attitude of parents towards their children. This indicates that some parents are unaware of the effective parenting skills whereby accurate guidelines are necessary for improvements. Hence, a research was conducted to study their knowledge and understanding towards parenting skills in accordance to Islamic perspective. The research design employed survey questionnaires on selected 384 parents from Putrajaya. The collected data was then analysed using a descriptive statistical technique and software SPSS version 22. The research findings reveal that the respondents have shown understandings on the concept of Islamic Parenting Skills in terms of maintaining good relationships with Allah and people, being a main mentor to the children, positive child discipline methods, monitoring of childrens' freedom and parental authority. Through the implications of the research, it can assist parents in learning the basics of Islamic Parenting Skills to educate their children. Additionally, the research findings are used in the "Development of More Effective Parenting and Family" Program conducted by government parties including LPPKN, JKM and JAKIM.


Myeloperoxidase (MPO) belongs to the heme peroxidase family, which includes a set of enzymes with potent oxidoreductase activity. MPO is considered an important part of the innate immune system's microbicidal arm and is secreted by neutrophils and macrophages. Interestingly, this enzyme has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several diseases including atherosclerosis. MPO is ubiquitous in atherosclerotic lesions and contributes to the initiation and progression of the disease primarily by oxidizing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles. MPO is the only human enzyme with the ability to produce hypochlorous acid (HOCl) at physiological chloride concentrations and HOCl-LDL epitopes were shown to be present inside atheromatous lesions making it a physiologically relevant model for the oxidation of LDL. It has been shown that MPO modified LDL is not able to bind to the native LDL receptor and is recognized instead by scavenger receptors on both endothelial cells and macrophages, which can lead to endothelial dysfunction and foam cell formation, respectively; both of which are instrumental in the progression of the disease. Meanwhile, several studies have proposed MPO as a biomarker for cardiovascular diseases where high levels of this enzyme were linked to an increased risk of developing coronary artery disease. Overall, there is sufficient evidence supporting the value of MPO as a crucial player in health and disease. Thus, future research should be directed towards investigating the still unknown processes associated with this enzyme. This may assist in better understanding the pathophysiological role of MPO, as well in the development of therapeutic strategies for protecting against the deleterious effects of MPO in numerous pathologies such as atherosclerosis.


Lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs) are commoner in pediatric versus adult immunosuppressed transplant recipients, and frequently involve the central nervous system. In these circumstances, the justification for biopsy is heavily influenced by the likely diagnostic yield. The present study centers on a 12-y-old renal transplant patient who developed multifocal cerebral LPD and had serial magnetic resonance (MR) examinations during the course of her illness from which she has completely recovered upon reduction of immunosuppression. She underwent stereotaxic biopsy, which was analyzed by both immunocytochemistry and polymerase chain reaction to examine the general question of how to release the maximum amount of information contained within, as well as to obtain a tissue diagnosis in this particular case. We show that a combination of these methods permits identification of the immunophenotype, lineage, clonality, viral involvement, and origin of abnormal cellular infiltrates. The biopsy also showed a novel histologic pattern of LPD, comprising numerous benign T cells obscuring a tiny clone of B cells. The MR examinations documented, for the first time, the differences in signal that accompany clinical resolution at both biopsied and nonbiopsied sites, showing that the latter may be associated with reduction, but not elimination, of MR signal abnormality. We conclude: 1) a combination of conventional and polymerase chain reaction analysis offers the greatest diagnostic yield from stereotaxic biopsies, even when the available tissue is minimal;2) a focal polyclonal T cell infiltrate should prompt further investigation to exclude an underlying B cell lesion.


Focused ultrasound surgery (FUS) is showing significant potential as a non-invasive medical intervention without percutaneous access for ablation (cell destruction by heating) of tumours. MRI is frequently used to guide FUS surgery (MRgFUS). Although the MRI can acquire multiple slices per second, organ motion is not accounted for in the repositioning of the sonication using MRI. Ultrasound, with realtime imaging, and which is less costly and easier to use than MRI, may become an alternative. In this paper we present a real-time ultrasound image guidance method suitable for tracking the motion of organs and ablating tissue. To demonstrate the potential of ultrasound imaging for real-time guidance of FUS, a 6-degree-of-freedom (DOF) robot has been used to control a FUS transducer and position the focus at a target that has been segmented from a real-time ultrasound video. A moving phantom is designed to test the feasibility of the tracking and the control method.


This paper takes a critically reflective look at field research done in the early career of an academic and in so doing uncovers the dilemmas of a novice researcher that are rarely acknowledged in texts that address qualitative methods. It addresses issues of power in research associations surrounding different paradigms and the ways in which the study changed as boundaries were increasingly blurred. It also examines lessons learned about interviewing and challenges the notion of an un‐analytical informant as being necessary to quality and depth of data.


Introduction: To explore the value of serum sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) in the diagnosis and evaluation of joint mobility of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Materials and Methods: Serum was randomly obtained from 212 RA patients,210 non-RA patients and 58 healthy controls in a large tertiary first-class hospital in Jiangxi province from November 2021 to June 2022. The level of serum Sirt1,anti-cyclic citrulline polypeptide antibody (anti-CCP), anti-mutant citrulline vimentin antibody (anti-MCV), rheumatoid factor (RF),high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), collagen triple helix repeat containing 1 (CTHRC1), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were detected by ELISA, to explore the correlation between them and their value in the diagnosis and evaluation of joint range of motion of RA and statistically analyse their diagnostic efficiency. Results: ① The level of all markers was higher in the RA group than in the non-RA group and the healthy controls (p < 0.05). ② The AUC of the SIRT1 was 0.882, second only to the anti-MCV and anti-CCP. ③ The anti-CCP showed the highest sensitivity to RA diagnosis of 0.948. The specificity and positive predictive value of SIRT1 for the diagnosis of RA were the highest, which are 0.959 and 0.934 respectively. ④ In serial combination, SIRT1/anti-CCP、SIRT1/anti-MCV showed the highest specificity.SIRT1/anti-CCP in parallel combination had the highest sensitivity. ⑤ SIRT1 showed a significant correlation with other markers and DAS28 scores (p < 0.01). Conclusion: SIRT1 can be used as a new serological marker for RA diagnosis, which has a significant correlation with RA joint mobility and has a certain reference value in RA differential diagnosis, providing a new detection basis for RA differential diagnosis.


A unique family of chiral peraza N 6 -macrocyclic ligands, which are conformationally rigid and have a tunable saddle-shaped cavity, is described. Utilizing their manganese(I) complexes, the first example of earth-abundant transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric formal anti-Markovnikov hydroamination of allylic alcohols was realized, providing a practical access to synthetically important chiral γ-amino alcohols in excellent yields and enantioselectivities (up to 99% yield and 97% ee). The single crystal structure of a Mn(I) complex indicates that the manganese atom coordinates with the chiral dialkylamine moiety in a bidentate fashion. Further DFT calculation revealed that five of the six nitrogen atoms in the ligand were engaged in multiple noncovalent interactions with Mn, an isopropanol molecule, and β-amino ketone intermediate via coordination, hydrogen bonding, and/or CH∙∙∙π interactions in the transition state, showing a remarkable role of the macrocyclic framework.


Position and Orientation System (POS) is a key technology that provides motion compensation information for imaging sensor in airborne remote sensing. In-flight alignment (IFA) is an important alignment method that can improve reaction speed and accuracy of measurement for airborne POS. The traditional IFA methods based on the Kalman filter and the adaptive extended Kalman filter (AEKF) are severely affected by flight maneuver; severe maneuver may result in alignment accuracy degeneration or failure. On the basis of optimization-based alignment method for static base alignment, a novel IFA method based on quaternion optimization is devised in this paper, aiming to boost up the robustness and the accuracy of IFA, which extends the range of the application of optimization-based alignment method from static base alignment to IFA. The proposed algorithm has the advantage that it can avoid the affection from severe maneuver. The real-time implementation is given. Flight experiment demonstrates that, compared with the IFA method based on AEKF, the proposed algorithm is better in converging speed and robusticity with the same alignment accuracy.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate cathepsin D as a prognostic marker in invasive bladder cancer and to determine its relationship with stage, grade, lymph-node metastasis and survival too.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
An immunohistochemical staining of 32 radical cystectomy specimens suffering from transitional cell carcinoma was performed, using a monoclonal antibody anti-cathepsin D (Novocastra). We made a semicuantitative measurement of the cathepsin D expression in the tumor and in the peritumoral stroma in a 400 x microscopic high power field. Patient population was composed of 31 men and 1 woman with a mean age of 63.25 years. The mean follow up was 23.6 months. Stage was classified with the WHO 1997 classification. Grade was classified with the ISUP/WHO 1998 classification. For the statistical analysis the Chi-square test, Pearson's test R, the Kaplan Meier method and the log-rank test were used.

RESULTS
The pathological stages of the surgical specimens were as follows: pTo:3.1% (1), pT1:12.5% (4), pT2:15.6% (5), pT3:34.4% (11). (p < 0.001) A high cytologic grade was found in 81.25% of the tumors. There was a 43.8% progression rate and 40.6% mortality. There was no statistically significant relationship among Cathepsin's D levels in the stroma and lymph node metastases, stage, or grade (p = 0.473, p = 0.604, p = 0.2423). There was no statistically significant relationship among Cathepsin's D levels in the tumor and lymph node metastases, stage or grade (p = 0.496, p = 0.722 and p = 0.461). The cathepsin D levels, neither in the stroma nor in the tumor, showed no influence neither on the disease free intervals nor in the survival rates (p = 0.785; p = 0.355 and p = 0.614; p = 0.601 respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
Immunohistochemical Cathepsin D levels do not seem to play a role in the prognostic of transitional tumors of the urinary bladder.


The recursive least squares (RLS) adaptive algorithm is combined with the "adaptive threshold nonlinear algorithm" (ATNA) proposed by the author (Koike, S., IEEE Trans. Sig. Processing, vol.45, p.2391-5, 1997), to derive RLS-ATNA, resulting in improvement of the convergence rate of the ATNA that offers robust adaptive filters in impulse noise environments. For application of the RLS-ATNA to identification of random-walk modeled nonstationary systems, an adaptive forgetting factor (AFF) control algorithm is proposed that further improves the tracking performance in the steady state. Through analysis and experiments, the effectiveness of the AFF-RLS-ATNA is demonstrated. Fairly good agreement between the simulation and the theoretically calculated convergence validates the analysis.


On the basis of a series of seventeen cases it is concluded that diathermic coagulation is a satisfactory method of treating malignant melanomata provided the tumour is less than 8 disc diameters and is not situated near the optic disc. Of seven patients with a history of more than 10 years who were treated in this way, one has died of carcinoma of the prostate; of five patients treated between 1943 and 48 (5 to 10 years' history) one had died of acute rheumatism; all the patients treated since 1948 are alive. In no case was a renewal of intra-ocular growth observed. The fact that the mortality after this treatment (in this small series) is significantly less than after excision is striking, and raises questions (which cannot be answered) whether the dissemination of the break-down products of the coagulated neoplasm may perhaps inhibit metastases. Three cases of melanomata of the choroid suspected of malignancy were also treated, and no further growth resulted. With retinoblastoma, the results were less favourable. Of sixteen patients thus treated, only two have retained an eye with reasonable visual acuity, and both ofthese had treatment by x rays in addition. It is concluded that irradiation is the better method of therapy. On the other hand, five cases of angiomatosis of the retina responded well to diathermic coagulation; in early cases local cure can be obtained, in advanced cases, improvement. This is a carefully executed and unbiased monograph which well repays study.


The similarity theory and dimensional analysis were used to establish the mathematical dependences of the properties of chemical elements on their atomic numbers in the periodic system. Dimensionless quantities of the complex type (similarity criteria) were derived, which include, among other quantities, the first ionization energies and atomic radii in their structure. The values of the proposed dimensionless quantities for eighty-six chemical elements of the first six periods of the periodic system (1H–86Rn) were calculated, and the corresponding criterion dependences were analyzed. The obtained criterion dependences were expanded in Fourier series with a finite number of terms; the characteristic features of the corresponding spectral diagrams were discussed. Analysis of the dependences of the properties of chemical elements on the atomic numbers, carried out within the framework of the mathematical apparatus of the similarity theory and dimensional analysis, led to the conclusion that the fundamental chemical law, known as the periodic law, is better called the law of oscillations and formulated as follows: the dependences of the properties of chemical elements on their atomic number have the character of a superposition of a series of oscillations.


Intersections are a global traffic safety concern. In the Unites States, about half of the fatal road traffic accidents take place at intersections or were related to them. In the European Union, about one fifth of the road traffic fatalities occur at intersections. In Japan, crossing accidents resulting in fatality or severe injury account for over a quarter of all accidents. Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication seems to be a promising technology to encounter intersections accidents, because its functionality is unaffected by sight obstruction. However, conflict involved vehicles have both to be equipped with this technology, otherwise communication cannot take place. On-board sensing, such as information retrieval via vision systems or radar is operational on its own. Intersection AEB function based on on-board sensing can be designed with a wide range of parameter settings, affecting the real-world performance of such a system. This thesis investigates the effectiveness of four crash avoidance technologies with V2X communication and with on-board sensing using data from the United States National Automotive Sampling System Global Estimates System and from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. To estimate the number of saved lives for each of the technologies, quantities of addressable accidents derived in another study were taken as a reference and combined with a market penetration model. Using two different scenarios for market penetration increase per year it was shown, that on-board sensing has a substantial higher capability to save lives until 100 percent market penetration is reached. Therefore, the effect of different Intersection AEB system parameters on accident avoidance using on-board sensing was further analyzed. Data from the German In-Depth Accident Study and the associated Pre-Crash Matrix were used to re-simulate a sample of 384 left-turn across the path accidents with oncoming traffic. The result showed that driver comfort boundary settings have a strong impact on the ability of the Intersection AEB to prevent accidents. A substantial increase of avoidance potential was achieved, when escape paths could be excluded. At speeds higher than 40 km/h avoidance was hardly possible for the turning vehicle. Sight obstructions were not accurately represented in the input data, thus the resulting small decrease of system effectiveness by obstruction may not be accurate. It is expected, that Intersection AEB in combination with V2X shows a substantially higher benefit than AEB on its own.


The issue of the millennial generation is being widely discussed around the world due to their unique characteristics compared to the previous generations. Characters of this generation of 3C: creative, confident, and connected. Buying a product, especially apparel, not only meets the needs, but it is also the pleasure of the millennial family. The unique characters of the millennial family's behavior that differs from the family in previous generations, make marketers needs to focus on the overall process of purchasing decisions made by the millennial family. The purpose of this qualitative research is to explore the patterns of behavior of the millennial family when Shopping especially apparel products, including the factors that influence their product's awareness, search the information before buying the products, alternatives evaluation, purchase decision and post-purchase evaluation. The method of this research used exploratory approach. Data collection is done by depth interviews with four millennial families (the urban middle-class millennial) in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok and Tangerang. The result of this research indicated that millennial family is more creative and "smarter" than family in the previous generation. They seek "well" information before buying the products and millennial family more digitally to connected with others also actively and wisely giving advise and sharing products, retail store, and foods to others.


Nuclear factor (NF)- κB is one of the most important transcription factors that plays a crucial role in the regulation of a wide spectrum of genes involved in modulating the cell cycle, apoptosis, cell growth, angiogenesis, inflammation and the tissue invasiveness of highly malignant cells. NF-κB activity has been found to be constitutively elevated in a number of human tumors from either a haematological or solid origin, such as melanomas. In several studies, NF-κB activation was shown to be an adverse prognostic factor, and in melanoma it was proposed as an event that promotes tumor progression. This study aimed to evaluate whether NF-κB activation in tumor tissues, assessed by the expression of the NF-κB p65 subunit, has an effect on the survival of melanoma patients. The expression of NF-κB was immunohistochemically investigated, and the correlation with survival was analyzed. Furthermore, the immunostaining for p53 and survivin was evaluated, and the relationship of these apoptotic and anti-apoptotic factors with NF-κB expression was analyzed. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with low levels of NF-κB in the nuclei of tumor cells had a significantly longer survival compared to those with high levels. Multivariate analysis confirmed the predictive value of nuclear NF-κB, showing that its expression maintains significance after the model was adjusted using clinicopathological factors. The results demonstrate the correlation of NF-κB p65 nuclear staining with the disease-specific 5-year survival of melanoma patients and suggest that nuclear NF-κB p65 may be promising as an early independent prognostic factor in patients with primary cutaneous melanoma.


The main obstacle in adopting Ethernet-type networks for time-sensitive communications was the data transfer characteristic of these networks. With baud rates in the Gbyte per second range, the industry has started adopting the data packet based networks as a viable alternative, not only because of their lower cost. This paper presents an open-system approach, in which protective hardware equipment is designed to work in a clustered environment, sharing resources and diagnostic functions with similar units. The proposed network that connects the protective hardware is capable of accommodating transparently a wide range of protocols, and is well suited for industrial information technology applications. A suitable model was developed for the Ethernet network to be incorporated into power system simulation. This paper presents the performance of the proposed model using simulated power system data, confirming the viability of the proposed system.


Abstract. Lens-shaped slivers of Permian (Zechstein) amid Triassic
units appearing along the master fault of the Sontra Graben in central
Germany on the southern margin of the Central European Basin System (CEBS)
were studied by means of detailed map analysis, a semi-quantitative forward
model, and two balanced cross sections. We show how partial reactivation of
the graben's main normal fault and shortcut thrusting in the footwall during
inversion, combined with a specific fault geometry involving flats in low-shear-strength horizons, can produce the observed slivers of "exotic"
Zechstein. This conceptual model implies that the Sontra Graben was created
by about 1200 m of extension followed by some 1000 m of contraction,
resulting in the few hundred meters of net extension observed today. Gentle
dips and comparatively extensive exposure of some slivers suggest they are
backthrust onto the reactivated normal fault's hanging wall,
an interpretation corroborated in one location by shallow drilling.
Backthrusting appears to have wedged some Zechstein slivers into incompetent
Triassic units of the hanging wall. Based on regional correlation, extension
most likely occurred in Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous time, while the
contraction is almost certainly of Late Cretaceous age. The main aim of this
paper is to describe an uncommon structural feature that we interpret to
originate from inversion tectonics in an evaporite-bearing succession with
multiple detachment horizons but without the presence of thick salt.


A novel technique for skull implant diagnostics is presented in this paper. Specially designed highly directive antenna is used for osseointegration analysis with respect to the dielectric profile variation of the implant. The extreme dielectric constant variation of implant and bone gives a high degree of discrimination in the resonant frequency of the antenna. Special care is taken in antenna design to give a perfect matching and to keep the resonant frequency band width for different background properties. The antenna simulated on three different substrates is fabricated and experimentally verified with phantom models.


Cyclotetraphosphazanes (2) with three PIII and one Pv, and (3) with two PIII and Pv atoms are prepared from 1 with methyl iodide. NMR spectra of 2 are compared with those of the recently prepared [1] 4. The crystal structure of 3 shows the molecule to have a crystallographic inversion centre. Thus cis-trans isomerisation must have taken place during the working up procedure. Alkylation has severe consequences on bond distances and bond angles of the cyclotetraphosphazane ring system, in contrast to M(CO)5 complexation at the same positions as shown in a similar case recently [8]


Necrosis of surgically transferred flaps is a major problem in reconstructive surgery. We investigated efficacy of a new vector system—adeno-associated viral 2 (AAV2)-mediated bFGF gene transfer to enhance survival of the ischemic flap. Thirty-eight Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 gene therapy groups and 1 nontreated control of 9 or 10 each. 7.5 × 1010 AAV2-bFGF viral particles were injected to the dorsum of each of the 29 rats; these rats were divided into 3 groups according to the timing of flap elevation. At the time of surgery, 1 week, and 2 weeks after surgery, flaps of 3 × 7 cm were raised. One week after surgery, flap viability was measured. Vascularization and immunohistochemical staining of the bFGF were evaluated of histologic sections. Flap viability was significantly improved by the AAV2-bFGF gene therapy at the time of surgery, and the flaps with the greatest survival area were found in the rats injected with AAV2-bFGF, 2 weeks before surgery. However, flap viability was significantly decreased by the gene therapy 1 week before surgery. Histologically, vascularity was increased in the groups with AAV2-bFGF injection and immunohistochemical staining showed greatly enhanced bFGF expression by gene transfer. The novel approach of AAV2-bFGF gene therapy shows encouraging manifestations in improving survival of flaps when the flaps are prefabricated during or 2 weeks before surgery.


The agricultural biomass classification includes the biomass obtained from fast growing energy crops. One of these crops is the perennial grass Miscanthus x giganteus, which after the third and fourth year of plantation forms a high-density stand with exceptionally high and firm shoots. Thus, special emphasis should be put on the harvesting systems. For Miscanthus harvesting, haymaking and silage making machinery is mainly used by applying single-phase or multi-phase techniques. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the Miscanthus x giganteus biomass harvesting systems with regard to the form of harvested biomass, either shredded or/and baled biomass. In addition to application of fertilizers, biomass harvest is the only agro-technical measure that is used when a plantation reaches full maturity and it should be applied with the lowest possible energy input and biomass loss. Due to increased interest in production of energy from Miscanthus x giganteus biomass, the existing machinery is being adjusted to these new requirements and new specialised machines are being developed.


The physical properties of recycled polyester yarns according to recycling methods were investigated. Virgin polyester draw texturized yarn(DTY), material-recycled(MR) polyester DTY and chemical-recycled(CR) polyester DTY were prepared. Surface morphology, thermal property, micro-structure and mechanical property of recycled polyester yarns were estimated. SEM?EDS analysis showed that the CR PET yarn had better crimp and more stable structure than MR PET yarn. Tm of the MR PET yarn was higher than that of the CR PET yarn. The intensity of the crystallization peak of the CR PET yarn was a little higher than that of the MR PET yarn. Tensile strength of the MR PET yarn was slightly higher than that of the CR PET yarn. Breaking elongation of the CR PET yarn was slightly higher than that of the MR PET yarn.


A protein unfolding reaction usually appears to be so dominated by a large free energy barrier that identifying and characterizing high-energy intermediates and, hence, dissecting the unfolding reaction into multiple structural transitions have proven to be a challenge. In particular, it has been difficult to identify any detected high-energy intermediate with the dry (DMG) and wet (WMG) molten globules that have been implicated in the unfolding reactions of at least some proteins. In this study, a native-state thiol labeling methodology was used to identify high-energy intermediates, as well as to delineate the barriers to the disruption of side chain packing interactions and to site-specific solvent exposure in different regions of the small protein, single-chain monellin (MNEI). Labeling studies of four single-cysteine-containing variants of MNEI have identified three high-energy intermediates, populated to very low extents under nativelike conditions. A significant dispersion in the opening rates of the cysteine side chains has allowed multiple steps, leading to the loss of side chain packing, to be resolved temporally. A detailed structural analysis of the positions of the four cysteine residue positions, which are buried to different depths within the protein, has suggested a direct correlation with the structure of a DMG, detected in previous studies. It is observed that side chain packing within the core of the protein is maintained, while that at the surface is disrupted, in the DMG. The core of the protein becomes solvent-exposed only in a WMG populated after the rate-limiting step of unfolding at high denaturant concentrations.


Transition metal oxides are presently the focus of much attention in condensed matter physics because of the diverse phenomena exhibited by these materials. Examples include antiferromagnetism, superconductivity and colossal magnetoresistance. The origin of these phenomena lies in the strong electron correlations present in these materials which place them between the well understood limits of band insulators and simple metals. The presence of these correlations makes these materials hard to handle theoretically, and there is a need for more detailed experimental work, in particular in regard to the electronic structure and excitations.


We previously showed that adhesive aggregates were formed when levofloxacin hydrate tablets and lansoprazole orally disintegrating (OD) tablets were suspended in water in the clinical context. In this study, we have clarified the factors causing aggregate formation, focusing on the role of pharmaceutical additives and electrostatic interaction. Co-suspension of enteric-coated proton pump inhibitor (PPI) esomeprazole magnesium hydrate with levofloxacin resulted in aggregate formation, whereas the non-enteric-coated PPI vonoprazan fumarate did not. A comparison of pharmaceutical additive in the two PPIs highlighted polysorbate 80 and methacrylic acid copolymer LD as candidates causing aggregation. When these pharmaceutical additives were added to levofloxacin, only methacrylic acid copolymer LD induced aggregate formation. Since levofloxacin is zwitterionic, we examined another zwitterionic ingredient, ampicillin sodium, and found that it also formed aggregates with methacrylic acid copolymer LD, while benzylpenicillin sodium, which is not zwitterionic, did not form aggregates. When we next examined a series of zwitterionic quinolone antimicrobial drugs, we found that ofloxacin, which is highly soluble, formed aggregates with lansoprazole OD tablets, whereas poorly soluble quinolone antimicrobial drugs did not form aggregates. Further, although cefepime hydrochloride and cephalexin did not form aggregates with methacrylic acid copolymer LD in tap water, aggregates were formed when a suspension of cefepime hydrochloride or cephalexin with methacrylic acid copolymer LD was adjusted to pH 7.0. Our results indicate that electrostatic interaction between zwitterionic ingredients and methacrylic acid copolymer LD can result in aggregate formation under conditions where the drug and methacrylic acid copolymer LD are both sufficiently soluble.


It briefly recalls the theory of Bell's inequality and some experimental
measures. Then measurements are processed on one hand according to a property
of the wave function, on the other hand according to the sum definition. The
results of such processed measures are apparently not the same, so Bell's
inequality would not be violated. It is a use of the wave function which
implies the violation of the inequality, as it can be seen on the last
flowcharts.


The objective of this study was to develop a new process to desize, bleach, and dye starch-sized cotton fabrics in one bath using enzymes. Desizing was performed with an amyloglucosidase/pullanase enzyme (Dextrozyme DX, manufactured by Novozymes) instead of a conventional amylase enzyme in order to hydrolyze starch into single glucose units. Multifect GO 5000L (Genencor) glucose oxidase enzyme was used to yield hydrogen peroxide from the glucose generated during desizing; bleaching was performed by this enzymatically generated hydrogen peroxide. Decomposition of hydrogen peroxide after bleaching was done with Terminox Ultra 10L (Novozymes) catalase enzyme. The fabric was dyed in the same bath with the selected monochlortriazine reactive dyes (DyStar). The amount of glucose generated during desizing was 4000 ± 135 mg/l and it yielded 765 ± 15 mg/l hydrogen peroxide during glucose oxidase enzyme treatment. The whiteness index of the enzymatically bleached fabric was 71.0 ± 1.2 stensby degree. The color yields of the enzymatically treated samples were comparable to the conventionally treated samples. All enzymes used in this study were commercial grades having the advantages of easy storage and supply compared to the pure enzymes used in earlier studies. The advantages of the new one-bath process were: less auxiliary demand; lower environmental impact; and energy and water savings compared to the conventional desizing, scouring, bleaching, and dyeing sequence.


The mixed raster content (MRC) imaging model represents compound images as a superposition of layers. The model is very efficient for representing sharp text and graphics onto a background, but, since the mask layer is binary, it is difficult to deal with scanned data and soft edges. The edge transitions don't fully belong to the foreground neither to the background, and cause some "halo" to the object edges using the MRC model. We present a method to detect segmented soft edges and a method to correct and sharpen the image within the MRC model. An improved data filling algorithm for the redundant regions is also presented. The original "softness" and relative position of the edges are estimated and we present a method to attempt to recreate the edge softness effect at the decoder.


Background and objective The field of kidney transplantation in sub-Saharan Africa is still in the rudimentary stages. The majority of patients with chronic kidney disease have no access to renal replacement therapy, leading to very high mortality rates. Donor nephrectomy (DN) is an important aspect of kidney transplantation. Over the last two decades, open DN (ODN) has given way to minimally invasive techniques like laparoscopic DN (LDN) and robotic-assisted DN. In this study, we aimed to describe our experience with mini-flank incision donor nephrectomy (MIDN) at a Nigerian renal transplant center. Materials and methods We conducted a retrospective review of all DN cases performed at a single Nigerian kidney transplantation center over a three-year period. Information obtained from these patients was classified into pre-, intra-, and postoperative. The data included sociodemographic characteristics, preoperative preparation, details of intraoperative techniques, and postoperative findings. These were entered into a proforma and analyzed using SPSS Statistics version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results A total of 230 patients underwent ODN during the study period. The majority of the donors were males (92.8%) with a mean age of 30.83 ±8.43 years. The body mass index (BMI) of most (76.1%) of the donors was within the normal range (18.5-24.9 kg/m2). The duration of DNs ranged from 72 to 154 minutes with a mean duration of 130 ±28 minutes. The length of flank incisions ranged from 7.8 to 12 cm with a mean incision length of 10.8 ±1.0 cm. Donors who had MIDN attained satisfactory postoperative pain control with about 90% of them having a BMI of <30 kg/m2. Oral intake and ambulation were commenced on the first postoperative day, and the cosmetic outcomes were deemed acceptable in over 90% of kidney donors. Conclusion Mini-incision for DN through the flank approach is a suitable alternative to LDN in the developing world where facilities and skills for LDN or robotic nephrectomies are largely unavailable. It offers a short recovery time, early ambulation, and excellent allograft outcomes.


This paper aims at implementing an integrated super resolution reconstruction algorithm to interpolate the missing pixels in the grid to create a high resolution image for a specific purpose. One of the most important application areas of super resolution reconstruction is video surveillance for the purpose of public security. Although, the video surveillance technology are going under tremendous transformation from analog generation to IP-based systems. However, their replacement rate is still not encouraging due to installation and operating costs as well as low output video quality. To overcome this problem, we propose a new hybrid model to integrate super resolution reconstruction into video surveillance. Our proposed algorithm is based on interpolation of cropped low resolution frames extracted from a low quality video surveillance sequence for effective and efficient reconstruction of a high resolution license plate recognition image. Our super resolved image utilizing multiple frames provides far more detail information than any interpolated image from a single frame. The proposed algorithm requires a relatively small number of self extracted low resolution frames from a low quality input sequence. This is important for practical applications, because if a large number of low resolution frames were required the accumulation of imaging errors would adversely affect the reconstruction accuracy. We apply our proposed algorithm to a real sequence from video surveillance and compare our results with those obtained via well-established techniques. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm performs much better than the conventional MISO super resolution techniques. We also noticed significant reduction in the computational cost and memory requirement during the whole reconstruction process.


Solar energy conversion using molecular photoswitches holds great potential to store energy from sunlight in the form of chemical energy in a process that can be easily implemented in a direct solar energy storage device. In this context, we investigated the electrochemically triggered energy release of a solar thermal fuel based on the norbornadiene (NBD)/quadricyclane (QC) couple by photoelectrochemical IR reflection absorption spectroscopy (PEC-IRRAS). We studied the photo-induced conversion of the energy-lean 2-cyano-3-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-norbornadiene (NBD′) to the energy-rich 2-cyano-3-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-quadricyclane (QC′) and the electrochemically triggered reconversion using highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) as an electrode material. We compared our results with the results obtained previously using Pt(111) electrodes and we characterized the photochemical and electrochemical properties of the storage system. NBD′ can be photochemically converted and electrochemically reconverted with very high selectivity. HOPG largely suppresses the unwanted catalytic reconversion which was observed on Pt(111). We performed repetitive cycling experiments for 1000 cycles to determine the reversibility of the system. Our results show that it is possible to reach reversibility above 99.8% using HOPG as an electrode material.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to describe the enhancement patterns of mass-forming intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas on gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MR images using imaging-histologic correlation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We retrospectively evaluated the preoperative gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MR images of 19 patients with mass-forming intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas. Two readers independently interpreted enhancement patterns on arterial (globally high, rimlike), dynamic (washout, progressive), and hepatobiliary (target, nontarget) phase images. Dynamic enhancement was categorized as washout (hypoenhancement on later phase compared with arterial phase images) or progressive (persistent or gradually increased enhancement). Tumor enhancement ratio and tumor-to-liver signal difference curves were analyzed. The enhancement patterns were correlated with the extent of stromal fibrosis within the tumors.

RESULTS
Rimlike arterial enhancement (89%, reader 1; 84%, reader 2) and a progressive dynamic pattern (89%, both readers) were predominant. Tumor enhancement ratio increased gradually from the arterial to the equilibrium phase then decreased in the hepatobiliary phase, but the tumor signal intensities were lower than liver signal intensity in all phases. The two lesions that both readers considered to have globally high arterial enhancement and a washout dynamic pattern presented with minimal or scattered stromal fibrosis. Target appearance in the hepatobiliary phase (reader 1, 42%; reader 2, 47%) was more commonly seen in tumors with central stromal fibrosis (reader 1, p = 0.025; reader 2, p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION
Mass-forming intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas may be characterized by rimlike enhancement and a progressive dynamic pattern on gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MR images, and these features seem related to the extent of stromal fibrosis in the tumor. Furthermore, mass-forming intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas may have a pseudowashout pattern on gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MR images because of progressive background liver enhancement. Therefore, radiologists need to be aware of this pattern as a possible pitfall.


To make intangibles more `tangible' for empirical analysis, statistical cluster techniques are applied in the development of two new taxonomies of manufacturing industries. The first focuses on the distinction between exogenous, location dependent comparative cost advantages, such as the relative abundance of capital or labour, and endogenously created firm specific advantages resulting from intangible investments in marketing or innovation. The second taxonomy discriminates between industries according to their employment of skilled labour. Finally, econometric tests are used to investigate the presumed complementarity between intangible investments and human resources.


This paper addresses the mutual visibility problem for a set of semi-synchronous, opaque robots occupying distinct positions in the Euclidean plane. Since robots are opaque, if three robots lie on a line, the middle robot obstructs the visions of the two other robots. The mutual visibility problem asks the robots to coordinate their movements to form a configuration, within finite time and without collision, in which no three robots are collinear. Robots are endowed with a constant bits of persistent memory. In this work, we consider the FSTATE computational model in which the persistent memory is used by the robots only to remember their previous internal states. Except from this persistent memory, robots are oblivious i.e., they do not carry forward any other information from their previous computational cycles. The paper presents a distributed algorithm to solve the mutual visibility problem for a set of semi-synchronous robots using only 1 bit of persistent memory. The proposed algorithm does not impose any other restriction on the capability of the robots and guarantees collision-free movements for the robots. Keywords-Swarm robots, mutual visibility problem, semisynchronous, persistent memory.


Fleshy fruit acidity is an important component of fruit organoleptic quality and is mainly due to the presence of malic and citric acids, the main organic acids found in most ripe fruits. The accumulation of these two acids in fruit cells is the result of several interlinked processes that take place in different compartments of the cell and appear to be under the control of many factors. This review combines analyses of transcriptomic, metabolomic, and proteomic data, and fruit process-based simulation models of the accumulation of citric and malic acids, to further our understanding of the physiological mechanisms likely to control the accumulation of these two acids during fruit development. The effects of agro-environmental factors, such as the source:sink ratio, water supply, mineral nutrition, and temperature, on citric and malic acid accumulation in fruit cells have been reported in several agronomic studies. This review sheds light on the interactions between these factors and the metabolism and storage of organic acids in the cell.


Objective: To investigate the effects of maternal residential proximity to major roads on adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods: Major road networks in North West England were linked to the maternal residence of 190,909 births (2004 to 2008). Distance between the residence and the nearest major road was calculated and dichotomized at 200 m. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the association between distance to the major road with small for gestational age, low birth weight, and preterm birth. Analyses were adjusted for maternal age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, parity, birth season, smoking, and body mass index. Results: No significant associations were observed between preterm birth (odds ratio [OR] = 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.98 to 1.11), low birth weight (OR = 0.99; 95% CI = 0.93 to 1.05) and small for gestational age (OR = 1.00; 95% CI = 0.95 to 1.06) and living less than 200 m from a major road. Conclusions: These results, from a study with high statistical power, suggest that living less than 200 m from a major road per se does not pose any great risk of an adverse perinatal outcome. Nevertheless, it may be limited to this geographic location. Further work is needed to quantify individual pollutant effects in pregnancy.