The most recent explanations for the existence of committee systems in legislative chambers have posited that committees are the agents of one of three very different principal actors: (1) individual members (distributive theory), (2) the full chamber (informational theory), or (3) the major political party (partisan theory). In addition to defining and operationalizing the concept of institutional committee system autonomy, I put forth and test several hypotheses linking these three explanations to committee system autonomy. In the end, the results show empirical support for the informational theory over the distributive and partisan theories.


The exponential growth in scholarly publications necessitates advanced tools for efficient article retrieval, especially in interdisciplinary fields where diverse terminologies are used to describe similar research. Traditional keyword-based search engines often fall short in assisting users who may not be familiar with specific terminologies. To address this, we present a knowledge graph based paper search engine for biomedical research to enhance the user experience in discovering relevant queries and articles. The system, dubbed DiscoverPath, employs Named Entity Recognition (NER) and part-of-speech (POS) tagging to extract terminologies and relationships from article abstracts to create a KG. To reduce information overload, DiscoverPath presents users with a focused subgraph containing the queried entity and its neighboring nodes and incorporates a query recommendation system enabling users to iteratively refine their queries. The system is equipped with an accessible Graphical User Interface that provides an intuitive visualization of the KG, query recommendations, and detailed article information, enabling efficient article retrieval, thus fostering interdisciplinary knowledge exploration.


We have examined transferrin receptor-1, ferroportin, ceruloplasmin, ferritin light and heavy chains, iron regulatory proteins (IRP)-1 and -2, and hepcidin for mutations that might modulate the iron burden of individuals harboring the common mutant hemochromatosis HFE genotype C282Y/C282Y or cause hemochromatosis independent of mutations in the HFE gene. In a group of white, Asian, and African-American normal and iron-overloaded individuals, the coding and flanking regions of these genes were completely sequenced. Numerous coding region and promoter polymorphisms were detected. These were further examined for association with differences in iron accumulation as measured by plasma transferrin saturation and ferritin levels, but no such association could be documented.


Federated learning (FL) is able to manage edge devices to cooperatively train a model while maintaining the training data local and private. One common assumption in FL is that all edge devices share the same machine learning model in training, for example, identical neural network architecture. However, the computation and store capability of different devices may not be the same. Moreover, reducing communication overheads can improve the training efficiency though it is still a challenging problem in FL. In this paper, we propose a novel FL method, called FedHe, inspired by knowledge distillation, which can train heterogeneous models and support asynchronous training processes with significantly reduced communication overheads. Our analysis and experimental results demonstrate that the performance of our proposed method is better than the state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of communication overheads and model accuracy.


Renal cell carcinoma is the most common cancer in the kidney, affecting nearly 30,000 Americans every year and is associated with over 12,000 deaths annually. If detected early, renal cell carcinomas can be cured surgically. However, once metastatic disease develops the prognosis for long-term survival is poor. Unfortunately, one-third of patients have metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis and approximately 50% of the patients undergoing surgical resection for less advanced disease eventually relapse. This review examines the clinical and molecular prognostic tools currently available or under investigation for kidney cancer.


Abstract Objective We evaluated the early impact of a new hospital-based health technology assessment (HB-HTA) program, called Smart Innovation, at the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC). Methods We compared the UWMC's utilization trends for two surgical procedures to control hospitals by evaluating the difference before and after adoption decisions: (i) a new filter for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures that treat aortic valve stenosis and (ii) microwave ablation (MWA) for treating hepatocellular carcinoma. We used descriptive statistics to assess the difference between the UWMC and controls for TAVR and MWA procedures and multivariate difference-in-differences (DID) analyses to test for statistical significance. Results The UWMC experienced a 10 percent reduction in TAVR procedures compared with controls following the implementation of the TAVR Sentinel filter. The DID regression model indicated a 1.5 reduction in the number of TAVR procedures per quarter at the UWMC between the pre- and post period, which was not statistically significant (p-value: .87). The UWMC experienced a 51 percent reduction in utilization when compared with controls for MWA procedures in the pre- and post periods. The DID model for MWA indicated an 18.8 decrease in utilization per quarter during the study period for the UWMC, which was statistically significant (p-value: .0007). For MWA procedures, the UWMC experienced a $647,658 dollar reduction in total costs in the post period compared with controls. Conclusions When the UWMC used HB-HTA methods for technology adoption, there was a reduction in utilization and total costs when compared with controls; however, when the UWMC adopted a new technology without using HB-HTA methods, there was no difference in utilization.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the preparation of the cervical two thirds of curved canals after using two different endodontic rotary instruments, i.e., Gates-Glidden drills and Orifice Shaper. 20 mesial roots of mandibular molars were used and analyzed before and after instrumentation. The teeth were then placed in clear resin blocks and thus it was possible to remove the resin blocks from the mold, cut them 3 mm below the root bifurcation, and analyze the teeth. The blocks were then reassembled in the mold so that the canals could be instrumented. The area of the mesial canal and the least radicular thickness between furcation and mesial root were measured using an image analyzer computer program. The amount of dental tissue removed by the two instruments was greater towards the furcation. The mean area of the canals prepared with the GG drill was 0.63mm2 and the mean area of the canals prepared with the OS was 0.47mm2 . The average thickness between the mesiobuccal canal prepared by the GG drill and the furcation was 0.72mm and the average thickness between the mesiolingual canal instrumented by the OS and the furcation was 0.81mm. The remaining radicular thickness between the distal wall of the mesial root and the lumen of the canals prepared with either the Gates-Glidden drills or the Orifice Shaper was not significant (P>0.05).


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the etiology of renal artery stenosis changed. To investigate the clinical characteristics and current therapeutic situation of atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS).

METHODS
Retrospective analysis was performed in 144 cases of renal artery stenosis diagnosed by angiography (> or = 50% luminal narrowing) from 1979 to 2003. Eighty-seven of them were diagnosed as ARAS by special characteristics of angiography and clinical features. The clinical data of ARAS was compared with RAS caused by other diseases.

RESULTS
The proportion of ARAS in all RAS was 60.4%. The proportion of ARAS was 28.9% during the period of 1980 to 1990 and 71.7% from the year of 1991 to 2003, respectively. The prevalence of hypertension was 90.8% among ARAS patients. Newly-progressive hypertension was more common among ARAS patients compared with RAS patients with other causes (37.9% vs 21.0%, P = 0.044). Renal dysfunction were more commonly seen among ARAS than non-ARAS patients in those with the same degree of stenosis (11.2% vs 6.9% for stenosis 50%-74%, P = 0.038; 35.8% vs 15.4% for stenosis > or = 75%, P = 0.046). Among ARAS cases, 60.9% were managed with antihypertensive agents only, 18.8% were managed by angioplasty with or without stents. After 1990, the improvement rate of blood pressure rose significantly but not for renal function. The improvement rate of blood pressure by angioplasty was similar with that by medication (84.1% vs 92.6% for stenosis 50%-74%, P = 0.39; 76.6% vs 80.1% for stenosis > or = 75%, P = 0.61). And the improvement or stable rate of renal function was not different (85.4% vs 85.7% for stenosis 50%-74%, P = 0.91; 77.8% vs 76.9% for stenosis > or = 75%, P = 0.83).

CONCLUSION
ARAS is the predominant cause of RAS nowadays in stead of Takayasu arteritis. Medication is the mostly used management for ARAS, though more angioplasty with or without stents appear. The effect of medication for ARAS has improved since 1990. Most cases of ARAS could achieve ideal blood pressure control and similar renal function protection with either rational medication or angioplasty.


A novel sequence of (19E)-(3-(benzo[b]thiophen-3-yl)-N′-((Z)-5-benzyliden-4-oxo-3-phenyl thiazolidin-2-ylidene)propanehydrazides (6a-f) was synthesized in moderate to good yields from the final intermediate, (E)-(3-(benzo[b]thiophen-3-yl)-N′-(4-oxo-3-phenylthiazolidin- 2-ylidene)propane hydrazide (5). In present work, 3-(benzo[b]thiophen-3-yl)propanoic acid (1) was selected as raw material and  compounds such as 1-(benzo[b]thiophen-3-yl)pentan-3-one (2), 3-(benzo[b]thiophen-3-yl)propanehydrazide (3) and 1-(3-(benzo[b]- thiophen-3-yl)-propanoyl)-4-phenylsemicarbazide (4) were materialized as intermediates. All the isolated intermediates and target  compounds have been characterized with the data obtained from different spectroscopic methods. The products were also examined  against few microorganisms. According to the screening results, the tested targets performed satisfactory growth of inhibition.


This study examined the effects of egg weight and storage time on egg weight loss and hatchability traits. Egg were stored for 1, 3, 5. 7. 9 and 11 days, and collected into 3 egg weight groups (light, medium and heavier). Storage room temperature was 18-20°C and relative humidity was 55-58%. Eggs were weighted individually at laying, before placing into hatching, on days 5, 10, 14 and 18 of the hatching period to determine egg weight loss. Fertility and hatchability values decreased with the storage time. Higher fertility and less hatching were observed in heavier egg weight group. There was no significant differences between egg weight groups in terms of egg weight loss, while egg weight loss was higher in especially 9 and 11 days storage time groups (P


In Kenya, dry onion, Allium cepa L., is among the most important vegetable crops for domestic market. However, records indicate that onion production does not meet the local market demand resulting to imports. To identify onion production constraints experienced by onion growing farmers, a field survey was conducted in Kirinyaga District of Central Kenya, an area where commercial production of onions was promoted since 1950s. Insect pests were significantly rated as the most limiting factor in production of onions followed by diseases, lack of capital, unreliable onion market, weed control and inadequate supply of water for irrigation in that order. The findings of the present study were expected to provide baseline information upon which solutions to the many problems affecting onion production would be addressed. The second part of this study involved evaluation of the level of susceptibility of onion varieties to attack by onion thrips (Thrips tabaci Lind.). Field trials were conducted at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) centres at Mwea and Thika. Results indicated that different onion varieties available in Kenya had different levels of susceptibility to attack by onion thrips. BSS 230 Hybrid and Red Comet onion varieties significantly harboured the highest and the lowest number of onion thrips respectively. Red Creole, Bombay Red and Texas Grano had medium levels of susceptibility. Highly leafy onion varieties tended to harbour a higher number of thrips compared to the less leafy ones. Infestations of onion varieties by large number of onion thrips adversely affected the growth of onion crop. Red Comet although significantly harbouring the least number of onion thrips displayed the highest loss of growth and was, therefore, the least tolerant to damage by thrips. Onion varieties grown in Kenya had the capacities of producing over 30 t/ha. Texas Grano onion variety significantly produced higheryield than all other varieties tested. BSS 230 Hybrid was also high yielding despite the high number of thrips harboured by the variety. Red Creole and Bombay Red had moderate yield capacities. Red Comet significantly produced the lowest yield. Increased thrip load led to increased yield loss for all the varieties. However, Red Comet onion variety recorded the lowest thrip load but had the highest percent yield loss implying that it was least tolerant to damage by onion thrips. Infestations of various onion varieties by thrips were found to peak three months after transplanting. High temperatures and low rainfall tended to encourage higher levels of onion thrips on onion plants. It was revealed that the damage of onion leaves by onion thrips depended on their numbers. BSS 230 Hybrid and Bombay Red onion varieties were found to significantly show the highest foliar damage score compared to the rest of the varieties. There were no significant differences in the mean frequencies of onion foliar disease incidences among the varieties. However, infestations by onion thrips had the potential of increasing incidences of onion foliar diseases. Results indicated that Texas Grano and Red Comet onion varieties significantly produced the highest and the lowest quality onion bulbs respectively. Arising from the above findings, it could be recommended that regular outreach programmes should be conducted in the onion growing area by relevant stakeholders to address the identified production constraints. The present study should closely be followed by another survey to evaluate the impacts of the implementation of intervention strategies. On the other hand, Texas Grano could be recommended as an important variety to be grown in Kenya for markets where pungency was not an important quality factor. BSS 230 Hybrid, Red Creole and Bombay Red could also be recommended to farmers in Kenya. BSS 230 Hybrid and Red Comet required improvements through plant breeding programmes.


This paper estimates measures of potential output for Israel, with the aim of providing evidence on whether the recent growth slowdown is principally a cyclical slowdown or a structural shift toward a slower growth path after the dramatic developments associated with the years of heavy immigration. Israel poses a challenge because traditional methods of measuring potential output assume relatively stable conditions over an extended period of time. We employ five methodologies to derive estimates and find that four of the measures imply the slowdown stems largely from reduced growth of potential output rather than a cyclical slowdown.


DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and short telomeres are structurally similar, yet they have diametrically opposed fates. Cells must repair DSBs while blocking the action of telomerase on these ends. Short telomeres must avoid recognition by the DNA damage response while promoting telomerase recruitment. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Pif1 helicase, a telomerase inhibitor, lies at the interface of these end-fate decisions. Using Pif1 as a sensor, we uncover a transition point in which 34 bp of telomeric (TG1-3)n repeat sequence renders a DNA end insensitive to Pif1 action, thereby enabling extension by telomerase. A similar transition point exists at natural chromosome ends, where telomeres shorter than ~40 bp are inefficiently extended by telomerase. This phenomenon is not due to known Pif1 modifications and we instead propose that Cdc13 renders TG34+ ends insensitive to Pif1 action. We contend that the observed threshold of Pif1 activity defines a dividing line between DSBs and telomeres.


Liposomes have become a popular supramolecular structures used to deliver highly toxic drugs. In order to fulfill commercial handling requirements, the lipid-drug aggregate has to form stable and reproducible preparations. When applied as a therapeutic agent, its behavior must ensure proper drug distribution and well controlled release. The aggregate should have such properties built into its structure. Those properties depend mainly on aggregate's lipid composition and current external environmental conditions. It is not possible to precisely predict the behavior of the aggregate, since currently there are no theories sufficiently accurate to describe such complex structures. Nevertheless, some parameters of the lipid-drug aggregate can be elucidated based on simplistic semi-empirical theories. The paper presents general outline of molecular shape approximation and the zone model for the lipid bilayer. These two approximations were used as a starting point in the discussion of the effects of various membrane modifications on global aggregate behavior, as well as their relevance to the ability to carry drugs.


This paper describes the system organization of a digital computer whose purpose is to activate simultaneously more than one cockpit of an operational flight trainer. The simulated aircraft are assumed to be all of the same type, but each is simulated independently. The computer is drum-sequenced and represents an application of the theory of multiple computers, since there are several different kinds of memories and more than one arithmetic unit in the system.


In the millimeter wave region several communication and sensor systems are emerging which presently are served only by III/V based technologies. First sensor systems of relevant volume market are tested at 76 GHz for automotive sensors, with other systems operating at 60 GHz and 94 GHz. For mm-wave communication systems volume applications arise at 38 GHz for the interconnection of PCN cells. This paper describes GaAs based technologies and components which are available to serve the requirements of mm-wave communication sensor systems up to 80 GHz.


: This study aims to determine and analyze the workload and career development variables to be the main factors in influencing the high turnover intention of employees with management who think they have carried out organizational commitment well. This research is a quantitative study with data collection techniques using questionnaires that are distributed directly. The sampling technique used is a saturated sample (census) with all employees as respondents as many as 93 respondents. The method used in this research is PLS SEM. Based on the results of hypothesis testing, there is an effect of career development and organizational commitment on turnover intention, career development affects organizational commitment and careers development affects turnover intention through organizational commitment. While workload has no effect on turnover intention and organizational commitment and workload has no effect on turnover intention through organizational commitment.


Background :
 Thrombosis is a characteristic feature in essential thrombocythemia (ET) and polycythemia vera (PV). Previous studies had focused on thrombotic events occurring after diagnosis and did not always distinguish between arterial and venous thrombosis. Arterial thrombosis in ET has been associated with age >60 years, JAK2 mutations, leukocyte count >11 x 109/l, history of thrombosis and cardiovascular risk factors, and venous thrombosis with male sex (Blood 2011;117:5857). In the current two-enter study, we looked for associations between both driver and other mutations, with first incidences of arterial and venous thrombosis in ET and PV, analyzed together and separately.
 Methods :
 Study patients were recruited from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA and the University of Florence, Florence, Italy, based on availability of next-generation sequencing-derived mutation information. Diagnoses were according to the 2016 World Health Organization criteria (Blood. 2016;127:2391). Conventional statistics was employed to examine significance of associations, with separate analysis of arterial vs venous thrombosis, occurring at any time before or after formal diagnosis of ET or PV. For the purposes of the current study, only first events were considered.
 Results:
 906 molecularly-annotated patients (416 from Mayo and 490 from Florence), including 502 ET and 404 PV cases, were included in the current study. The Mayo/Florence cohorts included 270/232 ET (median age 57/54 years, 60%/59% females) and 146/258 PV (median age 63/58 years, 52%/44% females) patients; median follow-up was 9.9/12.9 years for ET and 10.7/12.4 years for PV. Driver mutation distribution in ET was 55% JAK2, 27% CALR, 5% MPL and 13% triple-negative. Most frequent mutations, other than JAK2/CALR/MPL, were TET2 (14%; 11% in ET and 18% in PV) and ASXL1 (13%; 13% in ET and 13% in PV).
 301 (33%) patients experienced first time thrombosis, before or after diagnosis, including 152 (30%) in ET and 149 (37%) in PV (p=0.03); arterial events occurred in 174 (19%) patients, including 96 (19%) in ET and 78 (19%) in PV (p=0.9); venous events occurred in 177 (20%) patients, including 82 (16%) in ET and 95 (24%) in PV (p=0.007). The number of vascular events after diagnosis was 174 (19%) for arterial and 154 (17%) for venous thrombosis, with no significant difference between ET and PV.
 Associations with arterial thrombosis:
 In multivariable logistic regression analysis that included both ET and PV (n=906), age >60 years (23% vs 16%; OR, 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.2) and absence of ASXL1 and RUNX1 mutations (21% vs 9%; OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.4-4.8) were associated with arterial thrombosis; these associations remained significant (or near significant) when ET and PV were analyzed separately; in addition, JAK2 mutations in ET displayed borderline significance (p=0.05). Overall incidence of arterial events in ET was estimated at 27% in the presence of all three risk factors (i.e. older age, presence of JAK2 mutations and absence of ASXL1/RUNX1 mutations), 21% with two risk factors, 13% with one risk factor and 9% in the absence of all three risk factors (p=0.01).
 Associations with venous thrombosis:
 In multivariable analysis, including both ET and PV (n=906), JAK2 mutations (p<0.001), higher leukocyte count (p=0.03) and younger age (p=0.04) were identified as being significant. Analysis of ET patients only (n=502) identified JAK2 mutations (p<0.001; OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.4-4.1), absence of SRSF2 mutations (p=0.03) and younger age (p=0.04) as independent risk factors and in PV patients (n=404), higher leukocyte count (p=0.06).
 Prognostic interaction between JAK2 mutations and age:
 In ET, the overall frequency of venous events was 27% for young patients with JAK2 mutations vs 13% for older JAK2 mutated cases vs 10% for JAK2 unmutated young patients vs 13% for JAK2 unmutated older patients (p<0.001). The corresponding percentages for arterial events were 20%, 24%, 14% and 19%, respectively (p=0.1).
 Conclusions: JAK2 mutations contribute to the risk of both venous (younger patients) and arterial (young and older patients) thrombosis, in an age-dependent manner; the association with venous thrombosis might explain the higher incidence of venous thrombosis in PV, compared to ET. Additional studies are required to confirm the observed lower risk of thrombosis in patients with ASXL1, RUNX1 and SRSF2 mutations and provide insight into the underlying biological explanation.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


We perform systematic Langevin molecular dynamics simulations of interacting skyrmions in thin films. The interplay between the Magnus force, the repulsive skyrmion-skyrmion interaction, and the thermal noise yields different regimes during nonequilibrium relaxation. In the noise-dominated regime, the Magnus force enhances the disordering effects of the thermal noise. In the Magnus-force-dominated regime, the Magnus force cooperates with the skyrmion-skyrmion interaction to yield a dynamic regime with slow decaying correlations. These two regimes are characterized by different values of the aging exponent. In general, the Magnus force accelerates the approach to the steady state.


Despite the noticeable progress in perceptual tasks like detection, instance segmentation and human parsing, computers still perform unsatisfactorily on visually understanding humans in crowded scenes, such as group behavior analysis, person re-identification and autonomous driving, etc. To this end, models need to comprehensively perceive the semantic information and the differences between instances in a multi-human image, which is recently defined as the multi-human parsing task. In this paper, we present a new large-scale database "Multi-Human Parsing (MHP)" for algorithm development and evaluation, and advances the state-of-the-art in understanding humans in crowded scenes. MHP contains 25,403 elaborately annotated images with 58 fine-grained semantic category labels, involving 2-26 persons per image and captured in real-world scenes from various viewpoints, poses, occlusion, interactions and background. We further propose a novel deep Nested Adversarial Network (NAN) model for multi-human parsing. NAN consists of three Generative Adversarial Network (GAN)-like sub-nets, respectively performing semantic saliency prediction, instance-agnostic parsing and instance-aware clustering. These sub-nets form a nested structure and are carefully designed to learn jointly in an end-to-end way. NAN consistently outperforms existing state-of-the-art solutions on our MHP and several other datasets, and serves as a strong baseline to drive the future research for multi-human parsing.


Current cultural and political changes have prompted the theatre to play a significant role in staging the transformations of the Irish identity. Over time, it has provided an impetus for expressions of the collective new self-image of the Irish. Re-inventing the self requires a manifestation of space and the production of space whether geographical, metaphorical or a physical stage representation. 'Space' has been utilised in Irish drama in terms of geographical location, cartography, social media, technology, immigration, and the theatre stage. Globalisation has also played a crucial role in terms of creating overlapping spaces and multiple belongings. This study will examine through Henri Lefebvre's theory of space, how this type of spatial awareness manifests itself in Brian Friel's Translations (1980); Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane (1996); Marina Carr's By the Bog of Cats (1998); Michel Tremblay's Solemn Mass for a Full Moon in Summer (2009) and Emma Donoghue's adapted stage play Room (2017).


Background: Sleep disturbances are very common in elderly people. Back massage a noninvasive technique has been used to promote health and increase comfort recently. Objectives: This is a quasi-experimental study carried out to investigate the effect of back massage on sleep quality in older people who had poor quality of sleep in a rest home. Methods: This research was carried out in a rest home in Izmir, Turkey. The sample of the study was composed of 33 older persons. Research data were collected by using Elderly Information Form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Sleep Log and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index for three days. The older people received 10 minutes of back massage in their beds prior to bedtime over three days by the same researcher. Results: The subjects' PSQI total mean scores were lower before massage (11.87 ± 2.11) than on the days when the massage (9.78 ± 2.17) was done (t = 8.07, p = .000). It was found that the massage increased the participants' quality of sleep. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that back massage has a positive effect on improvement of sleep quality. The findings provide evidence for the use of back massage for sleep in older people.


This is a progress report on an experiment to build a compile-time metaobject protocol for Scheme. The compilation setting raises issues not present in runtime oriented MOP's, due to the complexity of the domain and the coupling between di erent parts. To address the complexity of the domain, we have developed a structure that decomposes the description of an implementation into a combination of many small, partially interacting, choices. To address the coupling, we have developed a decision making process that allows implementation choices to be made by a collaboration between user interventions and default decision making.


By exposing low-density polyethylene to an atmosphere of fuming sulfuric acid, sulfonated low-density polyethylene (SPE) was prepared and the degree of surface sulfonation for the treated films was determined as the weight-increase per unit area. Polypyrrole (PPy) films were grown on the surface of SPE using the molecular self-assembly process and the properties of PPy/SPE composite films have been investigated. Functional applications of PPy/SPE composite films have also been proposed and in particular, the movement properties of actuators using PPy/SPE composite films have been mentioned.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate clinical effects and possible mechanisms of various growth factors on impaired healing ulcers of patients with diabetic disease.

METHODS
Seventy-eight patients were divided into three groups; saline control, epidermal growth factor(EGF) experimental group, and platelet-derived wound healing factor (PDWHF) experimental group. General healing conditions, wound closing index, healing rates and histological changes of the patient's ulcer wound were observed during 1-8 weeks after treatment.

RESULTS
The wound closing index and healing rate of ulcers were significantly increased in the EGF and PDWHF experimental groups compared with the control group, while the angiogenesis, fibroblast hyperplasia, and collagen deposit were more obvious in EGF and PDWHF experimental groups than that of control group. The promoting effects on wound healing in PDWHF experimental group were better than in EGF group.

CONCLUSION
It suggests that local application of certain growth factor alone or various growth factors together is an effective method to improve the condition of impaired healing of diabetic ulcers.


The first half of this report describes direct evidence for the interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R)-inducing ability of human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV). When an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed human B-cell line, LCL-Kan was infected with HTLV or transfected with plasmid DNA containing defective HTLV genome (long terminal repeat (LTR)-gag-pX-LTR), LCL-Kan cells were altered to express IL-2R which was indistinguishable from that of normal activated T cells. The second half of this paper reports that IL-2 could inhibit proliferation of HTLV-carrying T-cell lines which were spontaneously immortalized from IL-2-dependent cells or peripheral blood cells containing ATL leukemia cells. These results suggest that expression of IL-2R may be induced by HTLV in HTLV-transformed cells, where the IL-2R plays an important role in transduction of continuous cell growth signal.


Long COVID is a post-COVID-19 condition characterized by persistent symptoms that can develop after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Estimating and comparing its prevalence across countries is difficult, hindering the quantitative assessment of massive vaccination campaigns as a preventive measure. By integrating epidemiological, demographic and vaccination data, we first reconcile the estimates of long COVID prevalence in the U.K. and the U.S., and estimate a 7-fold yearly increase in the global median prevalence between 2020 and 2022. Second, we estimate that vaccines against COVID-19 decrease the prevalence of long COVID among U.S. adults by 20.9% (95% CI: -32.0%, -9.9%) and, from the analysis of 158 countries, by -15.7% (95% CI: -18.0%, -13.4%) among all who had COVID-19. Our population-level analysis complements the current knowledge from patients data and highlights how aggregated data from fully operational epidemic surveillance and monitoring can inform about the potential impact of long COVID on national and global public health in the next future.


Ciliated protozoa have been widely used as water quality indicators because their main morphological characteristics are relatively simple to identify microscopically. The species and individual numbers in wastewater treatment systems are a consequence of the operational and environmental conditions of the process. The main objective of this research was to relate the effluent quality of a pilot aerated biofilter with the presence and relative abundance of ciliated protozoa when operated under different organic loading rates. The experimental work was done in a pilot aerated biofilter using 12 mm volcanic porous stones as filtering media and it was fed with municipal wastewater adjusting the experiments to 3 organic loading rates (3, 7, and 9 gCOD/m2 x d). Temperature in the filter varied from 11 to 14 degrees C during the experimental work. COD and BOD removal rates do not change significantly with the different organic loads. Nitrification improves inversely to the organic load and it does not show dependence on the slight temperature changes observed. Eighteen species were identified as typical residents in wastewater systems. Free swimming species prefer higher organic loads. Crawling and attached species did not show significant changes with the organic load. According to the saprobity index of Pantle and Buck, the system, independently of the organic load, presented typical alpha-mesosaprobe level.


in this article, i examine how Wencheng Gonghzu, the Chinese consort to the first Tibetan emperor Songtsen Gampo, served as a contentious rhetorical site for Tibetan and Chinese historiographers for over 1,000 years. i argue present exile Tibetan and Chinese propaganda on such topics as Tibetan political, cultural, and hereditary independence from China is at least analogous and possibly influenced by historiographic traditions found in texts such as the Tang Annals and postimperial Tibetan buddhist works like the Vaseshaped Pillar Testament. However, as Central Tibetan and Chinese historians used Wencheng to index the complex relationship between Tibet and China, eastern Tibetan historians preserved lesserknown, potentially subversive narratives of Wencheng's travels, especially regarding her possible loveaffair with the Tibetan minister Gar Tongtsen and their illegitimate child. After briefly reviewing Central Tibetan and Chinese metanarratives, i focus on eastern Tibetan narratives, including the apparently lost Secret Autobiography of Wencheng Gongzhu, which i argue point to the former political autonomy and cultural hybridity of areas of eastern Tibet, especially Minyak and Powo. My investigation into Wencheng narratives from eastern Tibet demonstrates that her journey from China to Tibet should not be thought of as a mere liminal period of her life, but rather central to debates among Tibetans and Chinese regarding the politics of national unity (minzu tuanjie) and constructions of panTibetan identity.


On 19 September 2003, 40 landslides of 140–18 000 m3 volume occurred within 2·5 km2 on the slopes of Dooncarton Mountain (Republic of Ireland) during a storm that may have exceeded 90 mm within 90 minutes. The landslides were investigated to determine the reasons for such a high density of slope failures. All of the landslides were surveyed within four months, and nine of them were investigated in detail. The six largest landslides, all peat failures, accounted for 57% of the more than 100 000 m3 of material displaced during the event. A consistent sequence of superficial materials was found on the failed hillslopes, including an extensive iron pan at the base of a buried soil horizon 0·3 m below the base of the peat. Morphologically, almost all of the landslides occurred on steep planar slopes or around sharp convexities, with the latter failures developing retrogressively upslope. The only significant relationship found from analysis of 371 subsurface pipes and 142 seepage cracks (defined here as contiguous fissures conducting concentrated subsurface flow) across all the failures was that the thinner the peat cover, the deeper the pipes and seepage cracks occurred below the base of peat. It is concluded that most of the landslides were probably caused by a combination of excess water pressures in the buried soil horizon and the thinner overburden of peat or peaty soil associated with the steeper slope segments. Pipes and seepage cracks formed on the iron pan probably existed prior to the failure event and may have contributed to the high water pressures as rainwater inputs exceeded their discharge capacities. One large peat slide was probably triggered by excess water pressures developed within and between artificial tine cuts. The properties of the blanket peat were generally of little consequence in the occurrence of the landslides, but relict desiccation cracks and other structural weaknesses through the peat mass were probably highly significant. Although several aspects of the peat failures correspond to previously published examples, the context of these failures in terms of the topography and upland catena is distinctive. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Introduction: Neonatal sepsis is a clinical syndrome characterized by multiple symptoms and signs of infection during the first month of life. The objective of this study is to determine the frequency of commonly isolated bacteria from patients of neonatal sepsis and their susceptibility patterns in POF hospital at Wah.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in POF Hospital Neonatal intensive care unit and Microbiology laboratory from January 2018 to December 2019. The blood samples of patients suspected with neonatal sepsis were processed as per standard methodology.
Results: Out of ninety blood samples, fifty-one (56.7%) yielded the growth of Gram-negative rods and thirty-nine (43.3%) yielded Gram-positive cocci. Among Gram-positive bacteria, coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most common pathogen isolated from 53.8% cases followed by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (15.3%). Among Gram-negative bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniae (54.90%) was the most frequently identified bacteria followed by Serratia marcescens (27.45%). The Gram-positive cocci were the most susceptible to linezolid (100%) followed by vancomycin (87.2%). The Gram-negative rods depict remarkable resistance to ciprofloxacin (92.2%), gentamicin (100%), and meropenem (54.9%).
Conclusions: The study concluded a predominance of Gram-negative bacteria as a causative agent of neonatal sepsis in our setup. The bacterial isolates are highly resistant to commonly prescribed oral as well as injectable antibiotics. Implementation of infection control policies is a dire need to combat the grave situation of increasing antibiotic resistance.


Cytokinins (CKs) are considered one of the critical phytohormones with an important role in plant response to abiotic stresses. One of the key enzymes in regulating CK levels is CK oxidase/dehydrogenase (CKX), which catalyzes the irreversible CK degradation. Although CKX gene members in soybean (Glycine max) have been identified, their importance in plant tolerance against salinity has not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, GmCKX13, a gene with upregulated expression in various tissues of soybean at various stages under water deficit condition as shown in previous investigation, was selected for exploring its role in relation to photosynthetic performance under salt stress conditions. The results showed that the transgenic soybean overexpressing GmCKX13 could maintain a better assimilation rate compared to their wild-type (WT) counterparts under the salinity condition. This could be explained by the higher chlorophyll content and the less damage caused by the stress in the photosynthetic machinery of the transgenic plants. According to the analyses, the transformers displayed higher values of maximal photosystem II (PSII) photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm), maximal quantum yield of primary PSII photochemistry (φPo), quantum yield for electron transport (φEo) and efficiency for electron being transferred from QA- to plastoquinone (ψEo). The evaluation for the overall photosynthetic performance using performance index in absorption basis (PIABS) also supported the differential photosynthesis potential between the two genotypes. Collectively, these findings suggested that appropriate GmCKX13 modulation could enhance photosynthetic adaptation to salt-stressed conditions in soybeans.


The bush-warbler Bradypterus mandelli (Brooks, 1875) was described from Sikkim, and numerous specimens from India were identified with it, but it was synonymised with the brown bush-warbler Bradypterus luteoventris (Hodgson, 1845) in 1881. In 1952, east Asian populations were grouped under the name of the Luzon form of the russet bush-warbler, Bradypterus seebohmi (Ogilvie-Grant, 1895). This taxonomy, however, failed to associate the Indian form and its available name mandelli, which received limited usage until 1919, with seebohmi, a matter reviewed and corrected herein. Specimens prove that mandelli has long been known from India, Bhutan, and Myanmar (Burma). The Thai population, previously placed in idoneus (Riley, 1940), belongs instead with the nominate race mandelli. The eastern Chinese race melanorhynchus (Rickett, 1898) is valid but not very distinctive. The nominate race probably occurs in Laos and northern Vietnam. Vocalisations are stereotyped, being extremely similar across Asia from north-eastern India to eastern China. The name idoneus is herein restricted to the southern Vietnamese population, as this race is evidently somewhat distinct vocally and morphologically. The common name 'russet bush-warbler' should continue to be used only for Bradypterus mandelli of mainland Asia. The Luzon form seebohmi was known only from the type specimen, other 20 th century reports having been erroneous, until it was rediscovered in February 2000 near the type locality. Its song, while recognisably similar to that of mandelli, has several consistent structural differences, and we tentatively reallocate to it species rank as the 'Benguet bush-warbler' B. seebohmi. Both Javan and Timorese forms are morphologically distinct, and are provisionally treated as separate species, the 'Javan bush-warbler' B. montis (Hartert, 1896) and the 'Timor bush-warbler' B. timorensis (Mayr, 1944). A form on Bali for which no specimen material is available is evidently somewhat different vocally from B. montis. We address the issues of the synonymy of all potentially relevant names older than mandelli; the priority of the name Horornis flaviventris, Hodgson, 1845 over B. t. thoracicus (Blyth, 1845), of which the latter nevertheless takes precedence; and the designation of a lectotype for Cettia russula Slater, 1897, because the type series includes one mandelli. Reassessment of the range and taxonomy of luteoventris showed that its occurrence in Nepal, Laos, and Thailand is unproven, and that it is probably monotypic.


In 1988, facing a total fertility rate of over four births per woman, the Vietnamese government introduced a new policy that required parents to have no more than two children. Using data from the Vietnam Population and Housing Censuses from 1989, 1999, and 2009, I apply a differences-indifferences framework to assess the effects of this policy on family size, son preference, and maternal employment. I find that the policy decreased the probability that a woman has more than two children by 15 percentage points for younger women and by 7 percentage points for middle-aged women. The policy reduced the average number of living children by 0.2 births per woman. Low-education women and women in rural areas were more affected by the policy. The policy had no effects on mothers' age at first birth and gender of mothers' last birth. The reduction in fertility caused by the policy was associated with a 1.2 percentage point decrease in the proportion of sons in each family. The policy increased maternal employment by 1.3 percentage points. Instrumental variables estimates of the effects of fertility on maternal employment and child education suggest a negative relationship between the number of children and female labor supply and a trade-off between child quantity and child quality in Vietnam.


Recent studies on the public communication of science in the press have stressed not only the increase of science news but also the singularities of this kind of communication. The approach advocated in this presentation suggests that the analysis of the precise linguistic formulations in texts can provide insight into, and thus improve the practices of popularization. The analysis of our data shows that there are different types of recontextualization: on the one hand it means that journalists introduce an orientation in their discourse through the citation of different voices; on the other hand it means to relate scientific results to a social situation where the focus is on personal, economic, social and political consequences. Such science news is in general well understood by the readers. And finally, contextualization involves providing information about technical aspects, generally difficult to understand for ordinary people. These are the contents that have to be explained through various strategies, in order to bridge the epistemic gap between what the scientific community knows and what non experts know.


Despite positive effects on nutrition, it has been reported that milk causes allergic reactions and many health problems. Allergic reaction to milk is called lactose intolerance, but it is estimated that this is not caused by lactose, but by the β -casein structure of milk, which varies depending on animal species. Although there are many fractions of β-casein in the structure of milk, especially A1 and A2 casein attract attention. A1 β -casein causes many health problems because it plays a role in the formation of the bioactive opioid peptide β-casomorphin-7 (β-CM-7). These health problems are allergic reactions, weakening of the immune system and slowing down of the gastro-intestinal system and some systemic diseases (cardiovascular disease, type 1 diabetes, autism, schizophrenia). The underdevelopment of gastro-intestinal system, especially in newborns, causes us to encounter these health problems more frequently. For this reason, the consumption of milk containing A1 β-casein, especially cow's milk from culture breeds, is not recommended. Since BKM-7 (β-casomorphin-7) formed by A1 β-casein cannot occur in A2 β-casein, these health problems cannot be expected to be observed. However, A2 β-casein causes DPP4 (dipeptidyl peptidase 4) enzymes to be regulated in the body and a non-opioid effect is observed. It is recommended to consume goat's milk and dairy products containing A2 β-casein in newborns, people with celiac disease and stomach disorders. Despite the lack of studies on the subject of A1 and A2 β-casein and the ongoing discussions, in this review, the importance and differences of A1 and A2 β-caseins in cow and goat milk were discussed and their effects on human health.


125I has an energy of 27-35 keV which permits highly effective screening and makes it eminently suitable for treating ophthalmic tumours. It was first used for this in 1974 (Sealy et al., 1976), and since then a flexible system has been developed to treat a variety of such tumours including localized retinoblastoma. A gold foil backed plaque is custom built to cover the tumour(s). The turned edges reduce the dose and thus protect vital adjacent structures such as the optic nerve and lens. The iodine seeds are sealed in the plaque in a predetermined position to give the required dose. A range of doses and times have been used but the authors now aim to give a TDF of 100 to the apex of the tumour in two to three days. Ten tumours in the remaining eye of seven patients with bilateral retinoblastoma were treated. The size ranged from 3 X 3 X 2 to 10 X 10 X 6 mm. There were nine complete responses from 17-90 months and a partial response in one patient who died of metastases at ten months. Vision was maintained in all. Eight recurrent tumours in seven patients were also treated together with a subsequent new tumour in one of the patients. There were three complete responses at 28-39 months and six tumours persisted. Vision was maintained in three of seven patients. The only complication was a vitreous haemorrhage which was mild in two patients, moderate in one patient and severe in three previously treated patients. These latter three patients subsequently had the eye enucleated and were found to have recurrent tumour.


The following article denotes the result of research. It tries to explain the curriculum and competencies of graduation that have been produced by Islamic law program in three Islamic universities of Yogyakarta , the State Islamic Universitas Sunan Kalijaga (UIN SUKA), Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII) and Universitas Tjokroaminoto (UCY). The research has been conducted by tracing documents and interviews with stakeholders in the three- universities. The results of this study has revealed that there are dynamics of the learning curriculum of Islamic law in three universities of Yogyakarta. The Competence of graduation from the curriculum of Islamic law is the result of the application of three universities of Yogyakarta can be categorized into two basic competencies both academic competence and professional competence. The basic of epistemological bases of Islamic jurisprudence in three universities of Yogyakarta still yet to be established form. Therefore, in order to produce the graduation, it takes the courage of stakeholders in three universities of Yogyakarta above mentioned to choose the alternative development of the study of Islamic law in the future.


Objective: To assess the attitude of Jordanian health care workers toward surrogacy. Materials and methods: Three municipalities in Jordan were randomly selected, one from each region: north, south and central of Jordan. A total of: four public hospitals, three private hospitals, one university hospital, 40 health centers and 40 private clinics were included in the study. Healthcare workers in the selected facilities were randomly approached using a self– administered questionnaire to collect data. Distributions of attitude by gender, job title, and physician's specialty were used to describe participants' attitude toward surrogacy. Results: Responses of 382 participants were reported, of whom, 230 (60.2%) were females. Three in every four participants didn't support legalizing surrogacy in Jordan. Majority reported negative attitude toward commercial surrogacy (85.1%) and noncommercial surrogacy (76.4%). Religious considerations were the main reason (71.1%) for the attitude toward surrogacy. Most items describing attitude toward surrogacy were significantly distributed across different job titles: nurses, medical doctors, and other healthcare workers (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Negative attitude among health care workers toward surrogacy was mainly driven by religious beliefs. However, there are core cultural changes in the community which might alter the attitude toward surrogacy in the future.


Medical leech therapy has enjoyed a renaissance in the world of reconstructive microsurgery during recent years. Especially venous congestion is decreased using hirudo medicinalis application such as following replantation of amputated fingers or congested flaps. They provide a temporary relief to venous engorgement whilst venous drainage is re-established. Living in symbiosis with Aeromonas hydrophila, who can digest the sixfold blood meal related to their body weight, and a broad number of anticoagulant agents such as the thrombin inhibitor hirudin, apyrase as well as collagenase, hyaluronidase, Factor Xa inhibitor and fibrinase I and II, leeches decrease venous congestion. Laser Doppler flowmetry could demonstrate a significant increase in superficial skin perfusion following leech application 16 mm around the biting zone. Following the initial blood meal accounting for about 2.5 ml, the anticoagulant effect of the various leeches enzymes follows within the next 5-6 hours, which both account for the beneficial effects. Infection associated with leech therapy is a documented complication of leech application, with reported incidences ranging from 2.4 to 20 % and a chinolone antibiotic is currently recommended to face the potential Aeromonas hydrophila infection. Anemia is a second adverse effect during medicinal leech application which has to be taken account with repetitive blood samples. Besides the successful applications of leeches in various applications in plastic and reconstructive microsurgery, randomized-controlled trials are pending to elucidate the value of hirudo medicinalis according to evidence-based criteria above from case series and case studies.


Potentially, the introduction of exotic natural enemies or mass release of biological control agents may lead to unwanted non-target effects. Whether or not such effects occur will depend mainly upon the host range of the biological control agent and the presence of non-target species in the areas of release and dispersal. To predict non-target effects, risk assessments for release of exotic natural enemies have been developed and applied during the modern era of biological control. Although methods to determine host ranges of natural enemies have been proposed during the past decades, decisions about release of exotic natural enemies are often still based on short-term decisions strongly influenced by financial benefit and tend to ignore environmental ethics, especially where risks are difficult to quantify. Here, we propose a framework for host-range testing of arthropod biological control agents, and suggest methods for evaluating possible effects on those non-target species considered to be at risk. Several factors should be incorporated into a host-range assessment, including literature and museum records, field observations in the area of origin, as well as physiological, behavioural and ecological observations and experiments. Usually, laboratory-based manipulative experiments will form the core of host-range assessments. In this chapter we concentrate on the question of how to determine host ranges. Several important considerations involved in designing host-range testing are presented. Next, a framework for step-wise host-range testing is given with levels of increasing complexity that should allow over- and underestimation of the host range of a biological control agent to be avoided. Finally, the interpretation of data obtained with host-range testing is discussed and conclusions are drawn about the importance of host-range testing within the framework of future biological control projects.


Objective: The number of women with HIV infection has been on the rise in recent years, making studies of the psychiatric aspects of this condition very important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of major depression in women with HIV infection. Method: A total of 120 women were studied, 60 symptomatic (with AIDS symptoms) and 60 asymptomatic (without AIDS symptoms). Sociodemographic data were collected, and depressive disorders were identified. The instruments used to evaluate the depressive disorders were the SCID, DSM-IV, 17-item Hamilton depression scale, Hamilton depression scale for nonsomatic symptoms and the Beck depression scale. Results: The prevalence of major depression was 25.8% and was higher in the symptomatic group than in the asymptomatic group (p = 0.002). Conclusions: The prevalence of major depressive episodes in women with HIV infection is high, and women with AIDS-related symptoms are more often depressed than are those who have never presented such symptoms.


The present socio-environmental research is based on conventional and participatory research observations. It demonstrates the dynamics of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of using paisang (Quercus griffithii) trees' leaves in cultivation of indigenous crops under rainfed agroecosystem. Research highlights the role of community in conservation of forest species and agrobiodiversity by the Monpa community in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, eastern Himalaya. A study area was selected purposively while respondents were selected randomly from Dinarng West Kameng district. Results indicated that for Monpa community, local cultures, traditional values and beliefs, social and ethical norms tied with local ecosystems and are the essence of their social capital. For economically poor people living in remote areas, the TEK and their strong cultural capital plays a pivotal role in conservation of paisang tree and indigenous agrobiodiversity. The indigenous agrobiodiversity are conserved under rainfed conditions and varying microecosystems for the subsistence survival. Monpa have rich and diverse socio-cultural, economic and spiritual perceptions about paisang and its related landscapes. The diverse knowledge systems about paisang trees biodiversity and location specific microecosystems significantly help in management practices pertaining to conserve the indigenous agrobiodiversity, thus help in fulfilling the food and nutritional security of Monpa. The strong cultural ethics and social capitals governed through the traditional institutions are still in vogue and valuable property of Monpa which contribute to the livelihood system and subsistence survival in rainfed ecosystem.


Interest in informed decision making (IDM) has grown in recent years. Greater patient involvement in decision making is consistent with recommendations to improve health care quality. This report provides an overview of IDM; clarifies the differences between IDM, shared decision making (SDM), and informed consent; and reviews the evidence to date about IDM for cancer screening. The authors also make recommendations for research. We define IDM as occurring when an individual understands the disease or condition being addressed and comprehends what the clinical service involves, including its benefits, risks, limitations, alternatives, and uncertainties; has considered his or her preferences and makes a decision consistent with them; and believes he or she has participated in decision making at the level desired. IDM interventions are used to facilitate informed decisions. The authors reviewed the evidence to date for IDM and cancer screening based primarily on published meta‐analyses and a recent report for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Guide to Community Preventive Services. IDM and SDM interventions, such as decision aids, result in improved knowledge, beliefs, risk perceptions, and combinations of these. Little or no evidence exists, however, regarding whether these interventions result in 1) participation in decision making at a level consistent with patient preferences or 2) effects on patient satisfaction with the decision‐making process. These variables generally either were not assessed or were not reported in the articles reviewed. Results of interventions on uptake of screening were variable. After exposure to IDM/SDM interventions, most studies showed small decreases in prostate cancer screening, whereas four studies on breast and colorectal cancer screening showed small increases. Few data are available by which to evaluate current practices in cancer screening IDM. Patient participation in IDM should be facilitated for those who prefer it. More research is needed to assess the benefits of IDM/SDM interventions and to tailor interventions to individuals who are most likely to desire and benefit from them. There are many system barriers to IDM/SDM and few tools. More work is needed in this area as well. In addition, research is needed to learn how to incorporate IDM into ongoing clinical practice and to determine whether there are unintended negative consequences of IDM. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.


The golden jackal Canis aureus occurs in south-eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Africa. In Serbia, jackals neared extinction; however, during the last 30 years, the species started to spread quickly and to increase in number. Few studies in the past have revealed their potential role as carriers of zoonotic diseases. Animal samples were collected over a three-year period (01/2010–02/2013) from 12 sites all over Serbia. Of the tissue samples collected, spleen was chosen as the tissue to proceed; all samples were tested for Leishmania species and Brucella species by real-time PCR. Of the 216 samples collected, 15 (6.9%) were positive for Leishmania species, while four (1.9%) were positive for B. canis. The potential epidemiologic role of the golden jackal in carrying and dispersing zoonotic diseases in Serbia should be taken under consideration when applying surveillance monitoring schemes.


This study deals with the optimization of the location of a synthetic jet on the suction side of an airfoil to control stall. The optimal location is found by coupling a time-accurate flow solver with adaptive mesh refinement/coarsening techniques and an automatic optimization algorithm. The flow and jet are modeled by the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations (URANSE) with a near-wall low-Reynolds number turbulence closure. An unstructured grid refinement/coarsening method is used to automatically generate meshes adapted to the presence of the synthetic jet at a prescribed location. An optimization algorithm modifies the location of the synthetic jet to determine the best actuator location to increase the time-averaged lift for high angles of attack. The proposed methodology is applied to optimize the location of a synthetic jet on the suction side of the NACA 0012 airfoil at a Reynolds number Re=2X10 6 and incidences of 18 deg and 20 deg. Finally, a physical analysis of the influence of the synthetic jet location on the control efficiency is proposed to provide some guidelines for practical jet positioning.


We present experimental and theoretical evidence that varying the local environment and physical structure of dried DNA has a direct impact on its electronic structure. By preparing samples of DNA in various solutions, it was possible to alter the type of ions present during the production of the DNA samples. These variations resulted in differences in the local chemical environment of the dried DNA molecules. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) were used to probe the variations in the electronic structure of DNA samples. DFT calculations of a stack of 10 adenine (A)-thymine (T) nucleobase pairs show that slight structural variations in stacking height have a direct influence on the electronic structure and result in changes to the HOMO-LUMO gap. The effects of these differences in the local environment on the electronic structure are discussed and are related to the results of conductivity measurements of DNA.


This is a guide to provide research direction to students enrolled in College Writing I at Great Falls College MSU.


We study the problem of analyzing the effects of inconsistencies in perception, intent prediction, and decision making among interacting agents. When accounting for these effects, planning is akin to synthesizing policies in uncertain and potentially partially-observable environments. We consider the case where each agent, in an effort to avoid a difficult planning problem, does not consider the inconsistencies with other agents when computing its policy. In particular, each agent assumes that other agents compute their policies in the same way as it does, i.e., with the same objective and based on the same system model. While finding policies on the composed system model, which accounts for the agent interactions, scales exponentially, we efficiently provide quantifiable performance metrics in the form of deltas in the probability of satisfying a given specification. We showcase our approach using two realistic autonomous vehicle case-studies and implement it in an autonomous vehicle simulator.


Molybdenum (Mo) plays an important role in increasing chickpea yield. In 2009, we studied the effects of different Mo application times and techniques on the response of the Kabuli chickpea ( Cicer arietinum ) to Mo nutrition. Pot experiments were conducted under natural conditions using two different soils from northwest Spain and following a factorial statistical pattern (7 × 2) with six replicates for each soil. A treatment of 2 mg Mo pot–1 was added to the pots at six different moments, 1 to 6 weeks after emergence (WAE), using two different application techniques (soil and foliar). Both growth and yield were affected by Mo application, but yield was more affected than total dry matter. The response was greater in the medium acid soil than in the neutral-slightly basic soil. At maturity, plants fertilized at 4 WAE produced a greater seed yield, mainly due to an increase in the number of pods per plant. Foliar Mo application was more effective, and soil Mo application should be carried out earlier in the cycle. An interaction was found between time and technique of Mo application, with the highest  yield being obtained when Mo was applied at 4 WAE using foliar fertilization


Computational Auditory Scene Analysis (CASA) is challenging problem for which many different approaches have been proposed. These approaches can be based on statistical and signal processing methods such as Independent Component Analysis or can be based on our current knowledge about human auditory perception. Learning happens at the boundary interactions between prior knowledge and incoming data. Separating complex mixtures of sound sources such as music requires a complex interplay between prior knowledge and analysis of incoming data. Many approaches to CASA can also be broadly categorized as either model-based or grouping-based. Although it is known that our perceptual-system utilizes both of these types of processing, building such systems computationally has been challenging. As a result most existing systems either rely on prior source models or are solely based on grouping cues. In this chapter the authors argue that formulating this integration problem as clustering based on similari- ties between time-frequency atoms provides an expressive yet disciplined approach to building sound source characterization and separation systems and evaluating their performance. After describing the main components of such an architecture, the authors describe a concrete realization that is based on spectral clustering of a sinusoidal representation. They show how this approach can be used to model both traditional grouping cues such as frequency and amplitude continuity as well as other types of in- formation and prior knowledge such as onsets, harmonicity and timbre-models for specific instruments.


The amount of green water and the associated loads that an ocean-going vessel may encounter during its service life are important aspects to consider in the vessel's design and classification. As green water is typically a highly non-linear phenomenon, commonly the maritime industry relies on model tests to predict green water loads and their occurrence. In recent years, however, a lot of progress with Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been made in predicting non-linear flows and associated loads at a high level of accuracy. Especially in the field of wave impacts on (moored) offshore structures at zero speed, significant progress has been made and documented using CFD. A natural extension of this progress is to expand the obtained confidence in the applicability of CFD for simulating extreme wave events to applications involving vessels at forward speed. To that end, this paper presents a validation study towards the prediction of green water loading on a (typical) container vessel at forward speed by CFD.
 For validation, two extreme green water events were selected from a model test campaign carried out at MARIN within the context of the CRS (Cooperative Research Ships) working group 'green water dynamics'. In these tests a KRISO Container Ship (KCS) is sailing in head seas when encountering severe green water. As CFD tool, the Cartesian-grid based Volume-of-Fluid CFD solver ComFLOW was selected. Furthermore, a deterministic approach is taken for the validation, by reconstructing the non-linear incoming wave in a high amount of detail and imposing the 6 degrees of motion of the vessel using the wave basin measurements. Time traces of the green water flow on deck and local- and global impact loads on the breakwater are presented and compared against the experimental data. Detailed visualizations of the CFD results are presented to further illustrate the obtained match with the model test results and emphasize the additional value of complementing model tests with deterministic CFD analysis.


Motivated by the future need of intelligent systems for vehicle-to-passenger communication in autonomous vehicles, we implement two models for automatic image caption generation based on the neural encoder-decoder framework. Following an extensive hyperparameter search, our non-attention based model achieves performance on the MSCOCO dataset highly comparable to that of its reference model. Our attention based model does however fail to exceed this performance, despite the attention mechanism appearing to function as intended. This leads to a discussion of possible causes and what architecture modifications that might be needed.


Chlorella is one of the most nutritionally important microalgae with high protein content and can be a good source of potential bioactive peptides. In the current study, isolated proteins from Chlorella sorokiniana were subjected to in silico analysis to predict potential peptides with biological activities. Molecular characteristics of proteins were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and proteomics techniques. A total of eight proteins were identified by proteomics techniques from 10 protein bands of the SDS-PAGE. The predictive result by BIOPEP's profile of bioactive peptides tools suggested that proteins of C. sorokiniana have the highest number of dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP IV) inhibitors, with high occurrence of other bioactive peptides such as angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, glucose uptake stimulant, antioxidant, regulating, anti-amnestic and antithrombotic peptides. In silico analysis of enzymatic hydrolysis revealed that pepsin (pH > 2), bromelain and papain were proteases that can release relatively larger quantity of bioactive peptides. In addition, combinations of different enzymes in hydrolysis were observed to dispense higher numbers of bioactive peptides from proteins compared to using individual proteases. Results suggest the potential of protein isolated from C. sorokiniana could be a source of high value products with pharmaceutical and nutraceutical application potential.


Let $X$ be a normed linear space. We investigate properties of vector functions $F\colon [a,b] \to X$ of bounded convexity. In particular, we prove that such functions coincide with the delta-convex mappings admitting a Lipschitz control function, and that convexity $K_a^b F$ is equal to the variation of $F'_+$ on $[a,b)$. As an application, we give a simple alternative proof of an unpublished result of the first author, containing an estimate of convexity of a composed mapping.


Rationale and Objectives Studies suggest an association between chest CT findings assessed with semiquantitative CT score and gravity of Covid-19. The objective of this work is to analyze potential correlation between visual quantification of lesion severity at initial chest CT and clinical outcome in confirmed Covid-19 patients. Materials and Methods From March 5 th to March 21 st , 2020, all consecutive patients that underwent chest CT for clinical suspicion of Covid-19 at a single tertiary center were retrospectively evaluated for inclusion. Patients with lung parenchyma lesions compatible with Covid- 19 and positive RT-PCR were included. Global extensiveness of abnormal lung parenchyma was visually estimated and classified independently by 2 readers, following the European Society of Thoracic Imaging Guidelines. Death and/or mechanical ventilation within 30 days following the initial chest CT was chosen as the primary hard endpoint. Results 216 patients (124 men, 62 years-old, range 22 ; 94 yo) corresponding to 216 chest CT were included. Correlation between lesion severity and percentage of patients that met the primary endpoint was high, with a coefficient p; of 0.87 (p = 0.05). A greater than 25% involvement was significantly associated with a higher risk of mechanical ventilation or death at 30 days, with a Risk Ratio of 5.00 (95% CI [3.59- 6.99]). Conclusion This retrospective cohort confirms a correlation between visual evaluation of lesions severity at initial chest CT and the 30 days clinical outcome of Covid-19 patients and suggests using a threshold of greater than 25% involvement to identify patients at risk.


The Izu Island arc is located south of Japan on one of the most active plate boundaries on earth. Since subduction began, phases of arc front volcanism alternated with phases of backarc spreading, rear arc volcanism and rifting. 40Ar/39Ar laserdating and step heating experiments from single crystal and glass particles from drilled forearc ash layers reveal volcanic activity in the Izu volcanic front for more than 40 million years. The Sr, Nd and Pb isotope ratios from the ash layers <17 Ma show nearly constant isotope ratios, while the isotope ratios of the older ash layers show larger variations and on average tend to less radiogenic Nd and Pb isotopic compositions with age. The spatial variations of the Izu arc system were investigated on lavas from the <17 Ma volcanic front, the active rift (<3 Ma), submarine rear arc volcanoes (13-3 Ma) and lavas and glass particles drilled in the Shikoku backarc basin (25-17 Ma). Trace element and isotope ratios reveal distinct geochemical signatures for each zone of the arc. Assuming a corner flow model for the streaming of mantle material, the isotope ratios can be explained by two component mixing between the underlying asthenospheric mantle wedge and a subduction component consisting of fluids from the subducted plate. The spatial geochemical variations reveal that both components must be heterogeneous across the arc. The temporal geochemical evolution shows that depletion of the mantle wedge beneath the volcanic front started when the Shikoku Basin began to spread about 25 Ma ago. With the exception of the state of enrichment or depletion of the mantle wedge and the subduction component, the input into the arc as well as the structure of the subduction zone are reflected in the arc output. The input into the arc is reflected in the temporal evolution and the Pb isotopes. These data possibly reflect a less radiogenic input in the Eocene and Oligocene due to the lesser age and smaller sediment carapace of the subducting plate.


SYNOPSIS
Studies have shown that organically farmed fields promote natural predator populations and often have lower pest populations than conventional fields, due to a combination of increased predation pressure and greater plant resistance to pest damage. It is unknown how pest populations and predator efficacy may respond in these farming systems as global temperatures increase. To test these questions, we placed enclosures in eight alfalfa fields farmed using conventional (n = 4) or organic (n = 4) practices for 25 years. We stocked enclosures with pea aphids and 0, 2, or 4 predaceous ladybeetles. Half of the enclosures per field were then either left at ambient temperature or plastic-wrapped to warm them by 2 °C. Aphid abundances were similar in conventional and organic fields under ambient conditions, but were significantly more abundant in conventional than in organic fields when enclosures were warmed. Predator efficacy was reduced under low predator abundance (Hippodamia convergens = 2) in conventional fields under warming conditions; predation strength in organic fields was unaffected by warming. Alfalfa biomass increased with increased predators in all farming and temperature treatments. Our study suggests that biological control may be more easily maintained in organic than in conventional systems as global temperature increases.


This paper presents the orthogonal extension of the recently introduced complementary matching pursuit (CMP) algorithm for sparse approximation [1]. The CMP algorithm is analogous to the matching pursuit (MP) but done in the row-space of the dictionary matrix. It suffers from a similar sub-optimality as the MP. The orthogonal complementary matching pursuit algorithm (OCMP) presented here tries to remove this sub-optimality by updating the coefficients of all selected atoms at each iteration. Its development from the CMP follows the same procedure as of the orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP). In contrast with OMP, the residual errors resulting from the OCMP may not be orthogonal to all the atoms selected up to the respective iteration. Though the residual energy may increase over the OMP during the first iterations, it is shown that, compared with OMP, the convergence speed is increased in the subsequent iterations and the sparsity of the solution vector is improved.


This invention relates to a hysteretic input-regulating high-output impedance power converter for converting the energy output of power-limited power sources such as solar cells to provide output current at voltages useful to operate electronics or charge batteries. This invention also relates to a power combiner that combines the output of multiple power sources into a single output. The power combiner is comprised of multiple circuits, one for each power source. These circuits are either complete input-regulating high-output impedance power converter circuits or, when connected to shared elements, form complete input-regulating high-output impedance power converter circuits. The power combiner can be used to combine the power from power sources that are alike or different.


The theory of (t, s)-sequences leads to powerful constructions of low-discrepancy sequences in an s-dimensional unit cube. We generalize this theory in order to cover arbitrary sequences constructed by the digital method and, in particular, the Kronecker-type sequences introduced by the second author. We define diophantine approximation constants for formal Laurent series over finite fields and show their connection with the distribution properties of Kronecker-type sequences. The main results include probabilistic theorems on the distribution of sequences constructed by the digital method and on the diophantine approximation character of s-tuples of formal Laurent series over finite fields.


ABSTRACT. There has been a surge of rhino-orbital mucormycosis cases in India in the wake of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been widely suggested that dysglycemia resulting from diabetes which is a common comorbidity in COVID-19 patients, and indiscriminate steroid use has resulted in this surge. We report a series of 13 cases of rhino-orbital mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients admitted to our center between mid-April and early June 2021. The cases showed a male preponderance, two patients had loss of vision, and four of them showed intracranial extension of disease. Twelve patients had received steroids and 12 had preexisting or newly diagnosed diabetes, both steroid use and diabetes being the most common identified risk factors. Considering other possible risk factors, immunosuppressed state, antiviral or ayurvedic (Indian traditional) medications, and oxygen therapy were not associated with a definite risk of mucormycosis, because they were not present uniformly in the patients. We propose that COVID-19 itself, through molecular mechanisms, predisposes to mucormycosis, with other factors such as dysglycemia or steroid use increasing the risk.


Quantifying the response of vegetation cover change (VCC) to climatic variables is a gap that is mandatory for the conservation and rehabilitation of natural landscape to ensure sustainability. This study aims to assess the response of VCC to temperature and rainfall change in Bangladesh. We used (i) Landsat images to analyze VCC using image classification method, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) (ii) temperature and rainfall statistics to investigate the spatiotemporal variations (SV) of meteorological factors, urban lands, VCC in all the 64 districts of Bangladesh during 1990-2018 and examined their correlation. To quantify the impact of urbanization on VCC, two regression models were built between growing-season NDVI (GNDVI) and urban land proportion (PLU). Results show that the SV of precipitation, temperature, GNDVI, and PUL varied greatly among the districts. GNDVI was found closely related to climatic variables and less sensitive to climatic factor changes. There has been found a significant correlation between the trend of GNDVI and GP while the negative correlation between GNDVI trend and GT, ΔPUL. Strong sensitivity of GNDVI change to GP was calculated in the range of precipitation 2200-3000mm and GNDVI to GT change in the range of temperature 300C-310C. Besides, urban expansion was found mostly responsible for VCC in the study area.


Following the recommendation of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (16 votes Yes [94%], 1 abstention, 2 votes not received), the Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Turonian Stage of the Cretaceous System is defined as the base of bed 86 of the Bridge Creek Limestone Member of the Greenhorn Limestone Formation at the western end of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad cut near the north boundary of the Pueblo Reservoir State Park Recreation Area, west of Pueblo, Colorado, USA. This GSSP horizon is also exposed and protected in the adjacent state recreation area. It coincides with the first occurrence of the ammonite Watinoceras devonense, is in the middle of a global positive excursion in Carbon-13 isotopes, and is bracketed by widespread bentonites that have yield edages of 93 to 93.5 Ma.


Inertial navigation allows tracking and updating the position and orientation of a moving object based on accelerometer and gyroscope data without external positioning aid, such as GPS. Therefore, inertial navigation is an essential technique for, e.g., indoor positioning. As inertial navigation is based on integration of acceleration vector components, computation errors accumulate and make the position and orientation estimate drift. Even though maximum computation precision is desired, also efficiency needs consideration in the age of Internet-of-Things, to enable deployment of inertial navigation based applications to the smallest devices. This work formulates the Direction Cosine Matrix update algorithm, a central component for inertial navigation, in fixed-point and analyzes its precision and computation load compared to a regular floating-point implementation. The results show that the fixed-point version maintains very high precision, while requiring no floating point hardware for operation. The paper presents execution time results on three very different embedded processors.


We propose an automatic approximation of the intrinsic manifold for general semi-supervised learning problems. Unfortunately, it is not trivial to define an optimization function to obtain optimal hyperparameters. Usually, pure cross-validation is considered but it does not necessarily scale up. A second problem derives from the suboptimality incurred by discrete grid search and overfitting problems. As a consequence, we developed an ensemble manifold regularization (EMR) framework to approximate the intrinsic manifold by combining several initial guesses. Algorithmically, we designed EMR very carefully so that it (a) learns both the composite manifold and the semi-supervised classifier jointly; (b) is fully automatic for learning the intrinsic manifold hyperparameters implicitly; (c) is conditionally optimal for intrinsic manifold approximation under a mild and reasonable assumption; and (d) is scalable for a large number of candidate manifold hyperparameters, from both time and space perspectives. Extensive experiments over both synthetic and real datasets show the effectiveness of the proposed framework.


The nucleoprotein (NP) of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was selected to study the relative importance of an internal structural protein in the avian immune response. The NP gene of the virulent, neurotropic NDV Texas GB (TGB) strain was cloned and sequenced. Nucleotide sequence data for the NP gene allowed comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences for the NP genes of NDV-TGB and the avirulent duck isolate NDV-D26. These comparisons demonstrated an 89% nucleotide sequence homology and a 97% homology between the deduced amino acid sequences. The NDV-TGB NP expressed in recombinant vaccinia virus (rVAC) was electrophoretically and immunologically identical to the wild-type NDV-TGB. Although inoculation of chickens with the recombinant vaccinia virus expressing the NDV NP gene elicited anti-NDV antibodies in higher titers than in birds inoculated with live LaSota NDV, this strong anti-NDV response did not protect against lethal challenge with NDV-TGB.


Cytometrographic studies and urethral pressure profiles were performed to objectively assess the functional status of the urinary bladder and urethra in 9 dogs with congenital ectopic ureters. Functional abnormalities of the urinary bladder or urethra were detected in 8 of 9 (89%) dogs. Cystometrographic evidence of reduced bladder capacity was detected in 4 (44%) dogs, and abnormalities in urethral pressure profiles were consistent with urethral incompetence in 6 (67%) dogs. Dogs with urethral pressure profile abnormalities were treated with phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride, and the urethral pressure profile was reevaluated. Urethral pressure measurements obtained before surgery (3 dogs) and after phenylpropanolamine (6 dogs) were used to predict the likelihood of continence after surgery. Predicted outcomes included continence maintained without medication (3 dogs), continence maintained with phenylpropanolamine (2 dogs), and persistent incontinence despite phenylpropanolamine administration (4 dogs). After surgical repair of ectopic ureters, 2 of 9 (22%) dogs were continent without medication, and 2 (22%) maintained continence with phenylpropanolamine treatment. Various degrees of incontinence persisted in 5 of 9 (56%) dogs, 4 of which had urethral incompetence that had been documented as poorly responsive to phenylpropanolamine administration prior to surgery. Predicted outcomes were consistent with actual outcomes in 8 of 9 (89%) dogs, with predictions of incontinence proving accurate in 4 of 4 (100%) dogs and predictions of continence proving accurate in 4 of 5 (80%) dogs. Urodynamic assessment of dogs with ectopic ureters appears to be valuable for identifying concurrent functional abnormalities of the urinary bladder and urethra and for predicting postoperative outcome.


Mitochondrial DNA variation among 1246 individuals of Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) from 81 populations spanning 2600 km from the Skeena River, British Columbia, to the Ventura River, California, was surveyed using five restriction enzymes. A total of 29 composite haplotypes was detected in two gene fragments (ND2 and ND5). The three most common haplotypes, occurring in 91% of all samples, were present at similar frequencies in all regions. Samples were divided into six biogeographic regions based on sample distribution and geographical landmarks to assess geographic genetic structure. Analysis of molecular variance indicated that 99% of the genetic variation was explained by variability within drainages. The lack of geographical population structure is likely related to a life-history pattern that includes a prolonged larval freshwater stage, migration to oceanic feeding and return to fresh water to spawn. The lack of strong natal homing apparently promotes gene flow among drainages and regions.


alternative sources of cotton, and when southern planters returned to production after the war, they faced powerful new competitors. Richard Follett's essay traces the development of an unlikely sugar industry, which emerged after the revolution in Saint-Domingue created a significant demand. By 1803 "a sugar plantation complex emerged under the command of leading Francophone and Creole families" (65) in the lower Mississippi River valley, in part because of the development of innovative processes. The industry spread, in part, because of federal protection and periodic drops in cotton prices. The growing world demand for sugar seemed to promise a bright future, but there were limits to growth (climate, geography, etc.). Ultimately, the acquisition of Hawaii, a major competitor, and favorable trade policies with Cuban producers depressed prices for lower Mississippi River valley producers. Barbara Hahn expertly traces the growth and development of tobacco from the early seventeenth century through the mid-twentieth century. She focuses on the growing scientific understanding of varietal types of tobacco, the influence of regulations and favorable or unfavorable trade policies, and the influence of fluctuating prices in both the colonial and postcolonial period. The Civil War's influence on the tobacco industry was transformative and, ultimately, the war became the captive of all big business. Knowledgeable scholars on southern agriculture will find this volume useful, even though it does not introduce any challenging new ideas. This is not meant as a criticism. The book will not only serve as a most expedient source for information but it will also likely be assigned to classes in agricultural and southern history.


BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS
Cognitive deficits in visuospatial learning (VSL) are highly associated with an increased risk of developing psychosis among populations with clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis. Early interventions targeting VSL enhancement are warranted in CHR but remain rudimentary. We investigated whether personalized transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the left parieto-hippocampal network could improve VSL performance in CHR patients and if it could reduce the risk of psychosis conversion within 1 year.

STUDY DESIGN
Sixty-five CHR patients were randomized to receive active or sham TMS treatments using an accelerated TMS protocol, consisting of 10 sessions of 20 Hz TMS treatments within 2 days. TMS target was defined by individual parieto-hippocampal functional connectivity and precisely localized by individual structural magnetic resonance imaging. VSL performance was measured using Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised included in measurement and treatment research to improve cognition in schizophrenia consensus cognitive battery (MCCB). Fifty-eight CHR patients completed the TMS treatments and MCCB assessments and were included in the data analysis.

STUDY RESULTS
We observed significant VSL improvements in the active TMS subgroup (Cohen's d = 0.71, P < .001) but not in the sham TMS subgroup (Cohen's d = 0.07, P = .70). In addition, active TMS improved the precision of VSL performance. At a 1-year follow-up, CHR patients who received active TMS showed a lower psychosis conversion rate than those who received sham TMS (6.7% vs 28.0%, χ2 = 4.45, P = .03).

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings demonstrate that personalized TMS in the left parieto-hippocampal network may be a promising preventive intervention that improves VSL in CHR patients and reduces the risk of psychosis conversion at follow-up.


Urban parks planning and management is a crucial issue in the context of the urban environment and community development by creating space for social interactions, recreation, aesthetics and provide natural habitats. Apart from that, the value of the ecological functions such as air purification, storm water regulation and carbon storage are also crucial for biodiversity conservation within the urban context. This study provides a case study of the quantification of carbon sequestration rate by a selected urban park with a hybrid design landscape setting in Putra Heights, Mukim Damansara, Selangor. The carbon sequestration rate was calculated by biomass equations, using field data inventory, measurements, plan analysis and survey data analysis. This study aimed to discuss the influence of urban park green spaces, plant materials specifications and spatial design organization and pattern towards carbon sequestration rate. The significant outcome of this study is the determination of key factors that influenced the Carbon Sequestration Rate. This study proved that higher plants specification plays an important role in sequestering more carbon. The larger green area also contributes to higher carbon sequestration rate. These findings will become a novel landscape design approach to neutralize carbon emission with cost-effective and environmentally friendly.


After achieving independence from the Spanish colonial dominion, a process of political development began in Mexico, tending towards setting up the nation-state while creating and consolidating its own institutions following a liberal political model. This resulted in the beginning of the parliamentarization of Mexican political life and the changing of the ruling classes – with certain filtering – opening up the way to a new political/parliamentary elite linked to diverse liberal options. This article sets out to propose some initial thoughts and debate around one of the most overlooked aspects of the first liberalism in Mexico: the political protagonists of the Mexican parliamentary stages that witnessed the consolidation process of the liberal state model that was representative in the country. To do so, as one of the main research methodologies in terms of the parliamentary participants, basic biographical profiles and prosopographical analysis are set out in this article. In this case, partial results are presented of a specific case study, from which partial conclusions and comparative guidelines are presented. This case focuses on parliamentary representation of the State of Puebla in the Mexican National Congresses, during the period 1833–56.


OBJECTIVE
Innovative approaches to the treatment of war-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are needed. We report on secondary psychological outcomes of a randomized controlled trial of integrative exercise (IE) using aerobic and resistance exercise with mindfulness-based principles and yoga. We expected-in parallel to observed improvements in PTSD intensity and quality of life-improvements in mindfulness, interoceptive bodily awareness, and positive states of mind.

METHOD
A total of 47 war veterans with PTSD were randomized to 12-week IE versus waitlist. Changes in mindfulness, interoceptive awareness, and states of mind were assessed by self-report standard measures.

RESULTS
Large effect sizes for the intervention were observed on Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire Non-Reactivity (d = .85), Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness Body Listening (d = .80), and Self-Regulation (d = 1.05).

CONCLUSION
In a randomized controlled trial of a 12-week IE program for war veterans with PTSD, we saw significant improvements in mindfulness, interoceptive bodily awareness, and positive states of mind compared to a waitlist.


The prevalence of speech and/or language delay in twins is higher than in singletons. Because of the specificity of the triadic situation in which twins acquire language, we wanted to analyze family interactions in order to identify situations that could facilitate the child's speech and be worked on in the context of a parental guidance. Video recordings were made at the home of one family of twins aged 6;2, in different situations: a family meal, a picture book reading, and a play time. Our analyses focused on one of the twins diagnosed with a speech and language delay. The child produced more and longer utterances in the picture book reading. This situation is also the situation where the rhythm of the interaction is slower, the child was most spoken to, with more open questions, and errors (in particular lexical errors) were almost all repaired by the adult (all repairs being in turn taken up by the child). The family meal is the situation where the child spoke the least and produced the shortest utterances; in this situation, although central in the child's everyday life and for his social and linguistic development, the child was rarely spoken to, questions were mostly closed, and errors less taken up.