ABSTRACT Background: peripheral arterial disease has smoking as its main avoidable vascular risk factor. However, most studies do not focus on smoking as the main exposure variable. Objectives: to assess the impact of smoking cessation interventions versus active comparator, placebo or no intervention, on peripheral arterial disease outcomes. Methods: we will use the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions to guide whole this review process. We will consider parallel or cluster-randomised controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-RCTs, and cohort studies. We will search CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, LILACS and IBECS. We will also conduct a search of ClinicalTrials.gov and the ICTRP for ongoing or unpublished trials. Each research step will involve at least two independent reviewers. We will create a table, using GRADE pro GDT software, reporting the pooled effect estimates for the following outcomes: all-cause mortality, lower limb amputation, adverse events, walking distance, clinical severity, vessel or graft secondary patency, and QoL. Conclusions: we will assess these outcomes according to the five GRADE considerations to assess the certainty of the body of evidence for these outcomes, and to draw conclusions about the certainty of the evidence within the review.


ABSTRACT This paper, using an illustrative case study, presents the hypothesis that cyclical spouse abusers suffer from a dissociative condition (or perhaps a personality disorder in which dissociation is a prominent feature) that results from disorganized attachment. The partner of the spouse abuser tries various unsuccessful strategies to appease her spouse in order to change his behavior. If the relationship lasts for years, she adapts by developing a milder but parallel dissociative process, developing chains of state-dependent memory and resultant ego states for the different phases of the domestic abuse cycle. The children suffer from attachment disruption which can potentially continue the process to the next generation.


A new method is proposed to transform the time series gained from a dynamic system to a symbolic series which extracts both overall and local information of the time series. Based on the transformation, two measures are defined to characterize the complexity of the symbolic series. The measures reflect the sensitive dependence of chaotic systems on initial conditions and the randomness of a time series, and thus can distinguish periodic or completely random series from chaotic time series even though the lengths of the time series are not long. Finally, the logistic map and the two-parameter Henon map are studied and the results are satisfactory.


thyroidectomy for moderately enlarged, nontoxic, diffuse nodular goitre, a hissing sound was heard, and the patient became cyanotic with laboured respiration. A diagnosis of bilateral tension pneumothorax was made, and later con- firmed by x-ray. The patient responded well to pleural decompression. Moriarty, G.: Harper Iosp. Bull., 7: 301, 1949.


Impurity (Li and C) pellet injection experiments on TFTR have produced a number of new and significant results. (1) We observe reproducible improvements of TFTR supershots after wall-conditioning by Li pellet injection (`lithiumization`). (2) We have made accurate measurements of the pitch angle profiles of the internal magnetic field using two novel techniques. The first measures the internal field pitch from the polarization angles of Li{sup +} line emission from the pellet ablation cloud, while the second measures the pitch angle profiles by observing the tilt of the cigar-shaped Li{sup +} emission region of the ablation cloud. (3) Extensive measurements of impurity pellet penetration into plasmas with central temperatures ranging from {approximately}0.3 to {approximately}7 keV have been made and compared with available theoretical models. Other aspects of pellet cloud physics have been investigated. (4) Using pellets as a well defined perturbation has allowed study of transport phenomena. In the case of small pellet perturbations, the characteristics of the background plasmas are probed, while with large pellets, pellet induced effects are clearly observed. These main results are discussed in more detail in this paper.


One of the key problems for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is the design of energy-efficient routing algorithm, because sensor energy is limited. The energy-efficiency routing algorithm has a strong impact on the network performance. In this paper, we present an energy-efficient minimum routing algorithm (EEMR) of wireless sensor networks. EEMR improves energy utility by changing the activity of wireless communication module of sensor nodes, energy model and state transition of sensor nodes. EEMR employs the minimum angle of source node and goal node, source node and Sink node to prolong network lifetime. Simulation results show that EEMR performs better than DD and EER algorithm for wireless sensor network with high-density deployment and low traffic.


The process of restoring signal resolution to data recorded from a sluggish measuring device may be accomplished by appropriate mathematical operations on the data using a large digital computer. Smoothing techniques may be applied in the transform domain to derive an inverse convolver to be used in real space. The inverse convolver, a non-physically realizable filter function, when convolved with the output of the device, restores high-frequency components necessary for sharp detail. Only knowledge of the impulse response of the device and the recorded data is required. In applications to data of the type found in many geophysical systems impressive results are obtained even in the presence of considerable random noise. This procedure represents a different approach to the approximation required by the process and has advantages in the ease and simplicity with which it may be applied.


The conventional method for user authentication is a password known to the user only. There is no security in the use of passwords if the password is known to an imposter and also it can be forgotten. So it is necessary to develop a better security system. Hence, to improve the user authentication passwords are replaced with biometric identification of the user. Thus usage of biometrics in authentication system becomes a vital technique. Biometric scheme are being widely employed because of their security merits over the earlier authentication system based on records that can be easily lost, guessed or forged. This is because the biometrics is unique for every individual and is complex than passwords. Commonly used biometrics is fingerprint, iris, retina, face, hand geometry, palm, etc. The two issues to be considered for user authentication system are recognition of the authorized user and rejection of the impostor. So a better classifier is necessary to perform this task. Some of the widely used classifier is based on fuzzy logic, neural network, etc. Among those, neural network can be efficient in classification. This survey provides various biometrics based authentication system based on neural network.


The plant kingdom includes many species producing a diversity of phytochemicals and bioactive molecules. Medicinal plants have long been utilized in traditional medicine and worldwide ethnomedicine. Despite the advancement reached in modern medicine and pharmaceutical industries. Medicinal plants currently are still employed in cosmetics, food, teas, as well as alternative medicine. The growing interest in medicinal plants and their ability to offer economical uses is gaining more attention. This world attention stem from the fact that they play a vital role in the greener economy and their potential in curative medicine. This paper adopts a systematic literature review to analyze studies that investigate impacts of environmental challenges on medicinal plants and the possibilities for increased sustainable agriculture. This study reviews the emerging importance of medicinal plants and how their production and sustainability is affected by environmental factors. This study concludes that, the growing demand and interest in medicinal plants and their potential to increase greener economics and life style correlates with the need for increased investment on drug policy, safety research programs and innovative solutions focusing on effectiveness of medicinal plants to preventing, curing, and treating of health-related problems in society.


Aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Tylophora indica leaves were tested for diuretic activity in rats. The parameters studied on individual rat were body weight before and after test period, total urine volume, urine concentration of Na + , K and Cl . In the present study alcoholic and aqueous extracts of Tylophora indica leaves (100mg/kg of body weight) showed increase in urine volume, cation and anion excretion. Furosemide was used as reference diuretic.


Purpose: To examine the effectiveness of heating contact lens cases after disinfection on reducing microbial contamination. Methods: One strain each of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (071) and Staphylococcus aureus (31) were used to set up robust biofilms in polypropylene contact lens cases. The effect of dilutions (from 1:10 to 1:1000) of trypticase soy broth (TSB) in phosphate-buffered saline and incubation time (24 to 48h) on the ability of strains to from biofilms with high levels of bacteria were first examined. Then the effect of increasing the temperature of incubation (from 14°C to 60°C) of biofilms during drying was examined. In the final set of experiments, biofilms of strains were subjected to heating in a warming device set to deliver 60°C for 3 hours, and the effect of this temperature after disinfection with a multipurpose disinfecting solution (MPDS; containing polyquat and Aldox) was examined by culturing the number of viable bacterial cells remaining. Results: A dilution of 1:100 TSB for S. aureus 31 and 1:1000 TSB for P. aeruginosa 071 together with an incubation time of 24 hours gave high numbers of viable cells of these 2 strains adhered to the contact lens cases. Having established the biofilms of bacteria, heating these to 60°C for 3 hours resulted in significant reductions in the number of viable cells that could be cultured (1 log reduction for S. aureus 31, P=0.0003; 3.5 log reduction for P. aeruginosa 071, P=0.002). Exposing the biofilms of cells to a disinfection cycle (6h at ambient temperature) in the presence of the MPDS and air drying at ambient temperature resulted in 2441±1237 colony-forming units/lens well for S. aureus 31 and 7401±4374 colony-forming units/lens well for P. aeruginosa 071. Increasing the drying temperature to 60°C resulted in zero viable cells (i.e., ≥4log reduction) for either bacterial type. Conclusions: Using a warming device for contact lens cases after a disinfection cycle with an MPDS during drying for 3 hours results in substantial kill of biofilms of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus that have been formed in the wells of the cases.


A novel method of dimensional measurement using machine vision, which is called Landmark Tracking System, has been developed. Its advantages come form tracking only the bright, standard shaped "landmarks" which are made from retroreflective sheets. In the design of the LTS, it is essential to know the relationship between optical parameters and their influence on system performance. Such optical parameters include the brightness of landmark image, the illumination system design, and the choice of imaging optics. And the performance of retroreflective material also plays important role in the LTS performances. Influences of such optical parameters on LTS's dimensional measurement characteristics are investigated, with respect to the retroreflective material, the imaging optics, and the illumination system. Measuremtn errors due to parameter variations are also analyzed. Experiments are performed with a LTS prototype. Retroreflective characteristics are verified, and the LTS's measurement performances are measured in the form of repeatability and accuracy. Experimental results shgow that the LTS has repeatability better than 1/30,000 of a field of view(30 degrees), and accuracy better tha 1/3,000 of a field fo view.d fo view.


The objective of this paper was to establish a chemical method for simultaneous determination of contents of Fe(Ⅲ),Ni(Ⅱ) and Cu(Ⅱ) in wastewater.It proposed that coordination compound of Fe(Ⅲ),Ni(Ⅱ) and Cu(Ⅱ) with 5-Br-PADAP and OP could be obtained in buffer solution at pH 3.5.Then simultaneous determination was conducted within certain scope of wavelength.By applying the algorithm of Hierarchical clustering,the problems of spectra over-lapping and optimization of calibration model for calculation in photometry were solved effectively.Through optimization the structure and parameters of Elman neural network were defined.The proposed method had been applied to determine the contents of Fe(Ⅲ),Ni(Ⅱ) and Cu(Ⅱ) in simulated and practical wastewater with recovery rates ranging in 97%~102.8% and 97.4%~102.6% respectively.It was a satisfactory result.


The subject of intestinal parasites in children is one that I believe has not been given the care and attention that it rightly deserves. Generally speaking, only those patients are examined for parasites who come with a definite history referable to the parasites, such as the finding of a segment of tenia in the stools, or when the mother of the patient makes the statement that she believes that her child has worms, do we ask for a specimen and examine or have the stools examined. That this was true was forcibly brought to my attention by the number of cases that came to me, both in my private practice and in the West End Dispensary, either with the statement by the mother that the child had worms, or with the child complaining of other symptoms not referable to a parasitic disease; yet on routine examination these cases were found


Quantum dot (Qdot) biosensors have consistently provided valuable information to researchers about cellular activity due to their unique fluorescent properties. Many of the most popularly used Qdots contain cadmium, posing the risk of toxicity that could negate their attractive optical properties. The design of a non-cytotoxic probe usually involves multiple components and a complex synthesis process. In this paper, the design and synthesis of a non-cytotoxic Qdot-chitosan nanogel composite using straight-forward cyanogen bromide (CNBr) coupling is reported. The probe was characterized by spectroscopy (UV-Vis, fluorescence), microscopy (Fluorescence, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering. This activatable ("OFF"/"ON") probe contains a core–shell Qdot (CdS:Mn/ZnS) capped with dopamine, which acts as a fluorescence quencher and a model drug. Dopamine capped "OFF" Qdots can undergo ligand exchange with intercellular glutathione, which turns the Qdots "ON" to restore fluorescence. These Qdots were then coated with chitosan (natural biocompatible polymer) functionalized with folic acid (targeting motif) and Fluorescein Isothiocyanate (FITC; fluorescent dye). To demonstrate cancer cell targetability, the interaction of the probe with cells that express different folate receptor levels was analyzed, and the cytotoxicity of the probe was evaluated on these cells and was shown to be nontoxic even at concentrations as high as 100 mg/L.


We have studied the characteristics of 1.65-mum InAs self-organized quantum-dash lasers grown on InP (001) substrates, wherein special techniques of p-doping of quantum dashes and tunnel injection are incorporated for the first time. We measured a very large T0 (196 K) in p-doped quantum-dash lasers, accompanied by an increase in threshold current density (Jth~1600 A/cm2 ), compared to the undoped quantum-dash lasers (T0=76 K and Jth~950 A/cm2). The p-doped lasers exhibit a maximum 3-dB bandwidth of 8 GHz, chirp ~1.0 Aring, and alpha-parameter ~1.0 (measured at subthreshold bias conditions) at a temperature of 278 K. Similar undoped quantum-dash lasers exhibit a 3-dB bandwidth of 6 GHz. A self-consistent model, that includes Auger recombination in quantum dashes, is developed to calculate the threshold current at various temperatures. A comparison of the calculated threshold current and T0 with measured values reveals that Auger recombination in quantum dashes plays a major role in determining the values of threshold current and T0 in both undoped and p-doped quantum-dash lasers. While p-doping increases the gain and differential gain, the presence of wetting layer states, the relatively large inhomogeneous broadening of quantum dashes, and the substantially increased Auger recombination upon p-doping severely limit the potential benefits. Superior characteristics, including large modulation bandwidth (f-3 dB~12 GHz), near-zero alpha-parameter, and very low chirp (~0.3 Aring), are achieved when the technique of tunnel injection is also utilized


The use of an audiographic environment such as Lyceum allows multimodal communication between language learners. In particular, they can hold conversations in real time both orally and in writing. In this article the author asks how best to promote multimodal conversing in support of language learning. After analysing the way in which learners as well as teachers have been found to appropriate the different functionalities of the system, the author offers pedagogical recommendations.


Policy discussions and corporate strategies on machine learning are increasingly championing data reuse as a key element in digital transformations. These aspirations are often coupled with a focus on responsibility, ethics and transparency, as well as emergent forms of regulation that seek to set demands for corporate conduct and the protection of civic rights. And the Protective measures include methods of traceability and assessments of 'good' and 'bad' datasets and algorithms that are considered to be traceable, stable and contained. However, these ways of thinking about both technology and ethics obscure a fundamental issue, namely that machine learning systems entangle data, algorithms and more-than-human environments in ways that challenge a well-defined separation. This article investigates the fundamental fallacy of most data reuse strategies as well as their regulation and mitigation strategies that data can somehow be followed, contained and controlled in machine learning processes. Instead, the article argues that we need to understand the reuse of data as an inherently entangled phenomenon. To examine this tension between the discursive regimes and the realities of data reuse, we advance the notion of reuse entanglements as an analytical lens. The main contribution of the article is the conceptualization of reuse that places entanglements at its core and the articulation of its relevance using empirical illustrations. This is important, we argue, for our understanding of the nature of data and algorithms, for the practical uses of data and algorithms and our attitudes regarding ethics, responsibility and regulation.


Invasive species spread rapidly and their eradication is difficult. New methods enabling fast and efficient monitoring are urgently needed for their successful control. Remote sensing can improve early detection of invading plants and make their management more efficient and less expensive. In an ongoing project in the Czech Republic, we aim at developing innovative methods of mapping invasive plant species (semi-automatic detection algorithms) by using purposely designed unmanned aircraft (UAV). We examine possibilities for detection of two tree and two herb invasive species. Our aim is to establish fast, repeatable and efficient computer-assisted method of timely monitoring, reducing the costs of extensive field campaigns. For finding the best detection algorithm we test various classification approaches (object-, pixel-based and hybrid). Thanks to its flexibility and low cost, UAV enables assessing the effect of phenological stage and spatial resolution, and is most suitable for monitoring the efficiency of eradication efforts. However, several challenges exist in UAV application, such as geometrical and radiometric distortions, high amount of data to be processed and legal constrains for the UAV flight missions over urban areas (often highly invaded). The newly proposed UAV approach shall serve invasive species researchers, management practitioners and policy makers.


[1] The data set of Reynolds and Smith [1994] is used to describe temporal variability in sea surface temperature (SST) at South Georgia. Time series analysis indicates that high levels of autocorrelation are present, with periodicity evident in temperature anomalies at lag periods of approximately 4 years. Cross-correlation analyses with data describing the El Nino regions of the Pacific indicate that variability at South Georgia reflects temperature fluctuations in the Pacific. This relationship is temporally separated, with the Pacific leading South Georgia by approximately 3 years and with the west Pacific showing the strongest cross correlation. Historic data describing the west Pacific show that patterns of variability have evolved through time and that the strong 4 year periodicity evident in recent years was not present in earlier records. The correlation between the west Pacific and South Georgia has also varied through time and the relationship is currently weaker than it has been over the past 19 years. The results are discussed in the context of a circumpolar precession of anomalies, transferring variability from the Pacific into the Atlantic.


Discourse parsing is a sub-field of natural language processing which involves understanding the structure, information flow, and modeling the coherence of a given text. It forms the basis of several natural language processing tasks, including, but not limited to, question-answering, text summarization, and sentiment analysis. One of the fundamental tasks in discourse parsing is discourse unit segmentation and connective identification. Discourse unit segmentation refers to identifying the elementary units of text that combine to form a coherent text. Connectives signal the presence of explicit discourse relations in text. Connective identification is the task of identifying these discourse connectives. Language has always played a significant role in human interaction and the evolution of society. With the increasing amount of text data being generated every day on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Reddit, etc., helping machines understand and analyse this data is going to be the fundamental task which will further enable us to improve the performance of systems for downstream NLP tasks. In this thesis, we explore the sub-field of shallow discourse parsing, compare approaches towards segmentation and connective identification, and build a dataset and connective identification system for Hindi data. First, we look at approaches towards shallow discourse parsing to identify individual discourse relations that are present in text. This involves given a text, identifying the span of the explicit discourse connective, labelling the two text spans that act as the arguments of the connective and predicting the sense of the discourse relation. We compare and analyse several approaches for these tasks. We then look at an approach towards shallow discourse parsing in Hindi and analyse the tasks of the identification of explicit discourse connectives and their arguments. Further, we work on building a multilingual model for discourse unit segmentation and connective identification. Early approaches towards segmentation and connective detection relied on rule-based systems using POS tags and other syntactic information to identify discourse segments. Recently, transformer based neural systems have shown promising results in this domain. We establish a baseline using a bidirectional LSTM model. We then look at transformer based neural systems and train our model on 16 datasets encompassing 11 languages and 3 discourse annotation frameworks. This model gives state of the art performance for the English dataset. We then present a curated dataset and model for connective identification in


A new hybrid approach is presented which outperforms the regular grid technique in scenes with highly irregular object distributions by a factor of hundreds, and combined with an area interpolator, by a factor of thousands. Much has been said about scene independence of different acceleration techniques and the alleged superiority of one approach over another. Several theoretical and practical studies conducted in the past have led to the same conclusion: a space partitioning method that allows the fastest rendering of one scene often fails with another. Specialization may be the answer. This has always been pursued, consciously or not, in developing various ray-tracing systems. Despite our new algorithm's impressive efficiency, we don't interpret the new method as the fastest ray-tracing scene decomposition possible. This is because our recent groundwork experiments with a derivative method produced in some of the test scenes presented in this article produced timings that were better by approximately 50%.


MACROH2As are core histones that have a unique hybrid structure consisting of an amino-terminal domain that closely resembles a full-length histone H2A followed by a large nonhistone region. The human MACROH2A1 gene, on chromosome 5, encodes two MACROH2A subtypes, MACROH2A1.1 and MACROH2A1.2, produced by alternate splicing. Here we report the identification of MACROH2A2, a new MACROH2A subtype encoded by a separate gene on human chromosome 10, MACROH2A2. The amino acid sequence of human MACROH2A2 is 68% identical to human MACROH2A1.2. We show by immunofluorescence on mouse tissue sections that MACROH2A2, like MACROH2A1.2, is concentrated in the inactive X chromosome. However, MACROH2A2 has a very different pattern of expression in the cell types present in the liver and kidney. When MACROH2A2 and MACROH2A1.2 are present in the same nucleus, they have a similar, though nonidentical, pattern of localization, with both subtypes present in the inactive X chromosome. Our results suggest a developmental role for MACROH2A subtypes.


The triboelectric nanogenerator is a state-of-the-art device for addressing the growing problem of meeting the world's ever-increasing energy needs by converting mechanical energy into electrical energy. Using the popular semiconductor SnO2 nanostructured thin films as a triboelectric layer over contact regions, as opposed to polymers with lesser performance, increases the output power and life time of nanogenerators. In order to design a triboelectric nanogenerator, deposited thin film SnO2 is used as a friction layer with Ag electrode after heat-treatment at 623 K with a contrary layer of PMMA poly (methyl-methacrylate) with ITO electrode. The structural and electrical properties were analyzed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electro-impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements. The increased output power of the triboelectric nanogenerator is attributed to the nanoscale PMMA contact charge created by tunneling electrons in the SnO2/Ag nanocomposite thin film layer. Due to its proximity to the PMMA/ITO surface, the SnO2/Ag layer causes electron field emission, and tapping the SnO2/Ag layer may result in electron cloud overlap. Similar to a semiconductor/insulator interface, the Fermi level of SnO2 plays a crucial role in electron transport. The system efficiency stated as a touch detector in a conventional keyboard that generates its own power is revealed in part by an analysis of its operating state up to the 4V.


Extracting entities and relations from the unstructured text has attracted increasing attention in recent years. The existing work has achieved considerable results, yet it is difficult to solve entity overlap and exposure bias. To address cascading errors, exposure bias, and entity overlap in existing entity relation extraction approaches, we propose a joint entity relation extraction model (SMHS) based on a span-level multi-head selection mechanism, transforming entity relation extraction into a span-level multi-head selection problem. Our model uses span-tagger and span-embedding to construct span semantic vectors, utilizes LSTM and multi-head self-attention mechanism for span feature extraction, multi-head selection mechanism for span-level relation decoding, and introduces span classification task for multi-task learning to decode out the relation triad in a single-stage. Experiments on the classic English dataset NYT and the publicly available Chinese relationship extraction dataset DuIE 2.0 show that this method achieves better results than the baseline method, which verifies the effectiveness of this method. Source code and data are published here(https://github.com/Beno-waxgourd/NLP.git).


Proper histogenetic classification of pulmonary tumours is most important in choosing the best possible treatment. Since this is very difficult especially in case of anaplastic or poorly differentiated tumours, additional pointers on histogenesis, supplied by complementary histochemical examinations, are very helpful. 105 bronchial carcinomas were examined cytochemically by means of air-dried smear preparations (imprint, brush an puncture smears). Cytochemical examinations were performed in respect of alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, PAS reaction and unspecific esterase. It was found that the dedifferentiated squamous cell carcinomas were alkaline phosphatase-negative and weakly positive to acid phosphatase and unspecific esterase, whereas dedifferentiated adenocarcinomas were strongly positive to acid phosphatase and unspecific esterase. The PAS reaction was always slightly to moderately positive. Small-cell bronchial carcinomas were negative in all cytochemical examinations.


The subject of this paper is a flow-adaptive measurement grid developed for pneumatic probe measurements in turbomachinery flows. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated by a circumferential traverse at a constant radial position with a pneumatic 5-hole probe in an annular cascade wind tunnel. Compared to a conventional equidistant measurement grid, the algorithm automatically computes the amount of measurement points needed for a high resolution of the pressure distribution in steady flow fields. The algorithm is fully automated and approximates the pressure distribution of a preliminary transient measurement very accurately. Even though the spacing of the computed measurement points differs significantly from an equidistant grid, post-processing corrections related to the probe head geometry can still be applied. Accompanying a redistribution of the measurement points is a reduction in the overall points needed for the measurement. The commonly encountered problem of data oversampling is therefore avoided. Compared to a conventional equidistant measurement grid, the adaptive grid showed a significant reduction in the overall measurement points and a reduction in the duration of the measurement — while maintaining the accuracy in the computation of flow parameters.The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the performance of an automatic detection of measurement points so that valuable measurement time can be saved without a loss in quality of the obtained data.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


Yellow fever virus (YFV) was isolated from Haemagogus leucocelaenus mosquitoes during an epizootic in 2001 in the Rio Grande do Sul State in southern Brazil. In October 2008, a yellow fever outbreak was reported there, with nonhuman primate deaths and human cases. This latter outbreak led to intensification of surveillance measures for early detection of YFV and support for vaccination programs. We report entomologic surveillance in 2 municipalities that recorded nonhuman primate deaths. Mosquitoes were collected at ground level, identified, and processed for virus isolation and molecular analyses. Eight YFV strains were isolated (7 from pools of Hg. leucocelaenus mosquitoes and another from Aedes serratus mosquitoes); 6 were sequenced, and they grouped in the YFV South American genotype I. The results confirmed the role of Hg. leucocelaenus mosquitoes as the main YFV vector in southern Brazil and suggest that Ae. serratus mosquitoes may have a potential role as a secondary vector.


ABSTRACT There has been a strong degree of interest over the last 30 years towards immigrant segregation in Europe. This paper aims to contribute towards the existing body of research by extending the multi-scalar analysis of patterns of immigrant residential segregation into a coherent international comparative study of cities of different sizes. We investigate the patterns of immigrant-native segregation at different geographical scales, along with their correlates, in more than a hundred cities in 2011 across Germany, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Our findings suggest that cities in the UK are the most highly segregated in Europe. The positions of the other countries in the 'European segregation ranking' depend upon the considered immigrant group and spatial scale. The national context is consistently the most important factor in understanding segregation at multiple spatial scales. However, even while taking into account the national contexts, the structural-ecological factors remain important predictors of segregation patterns in Europe.


This paper examines issues of social justice and culturally responsive teaching. I present empirical data from an ethnographic study of ethnic and religious minority students in rural schools in Australia to ask: how does teachers' knowledge of students and 'self' impact schooling discourse and practice in ways that create students in states of unbelonging? This question is examined through an exploration of the lived experiences of two ethnic and religious minority students - Saeed and Hanif. Saeed is a 16 year old Australian-born Muslim of Pakistani heritage. Hanif is a 16 year old Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. I present vignettes of interview and observation data to illustrate how teachers' talk and practice can lead to schooling exclusions. I take up Judith Butler's (1997) work on performativity, and de Certeau's (1984) work on spatial legislation, to highlight the way discourses 'form the objects of which they speak' and have productive capacity. Such regimes of power and knowledge have implications for understanding how students experience belonging. Put simply, teacher discourses 'make' what they 'name' as they circulate in social and cultural practice in schools. In this paper, teacher 'talk' about 'normal' and acceptable' ways of being is argued to construct ethnic and religious minority students in states of unbelonging. I argue that this effect is a consequence of teachers' failure to know themselves as ethnic and encultured. Along with discourse, I provide examples of teaching practice that produces ethnic and religious minority students in circumstances of unequal access to schooling. These practices, I suggest, are a result of teachers' failure to know their students. The results of this study suggest that teachers appear to be unaware of the exclusionary effects of discourses that construct student identity in deficit terms, and of treating all students as if they are the same. Such understandings perpetuate the belief that equality is created through a regime of equal treatment. There is a false belief that 'special' measures are a privilege resulting in the unfair treatment of majority students. To this end, an important next step in the creation of socially just classrooms is replacing pedagogies that privilege a false homogeneity with pedagogies that are responsive to heterogeneity. In this paper, I explore pedagogical possibilities for educators seeking to disturb these injustices in schooling, considering the role of a 'pedagogy of belonging' in troubling schooling exclusions. I conclude by considering the The implications of this endeavour for teacher education.


Learning sentence vectors from an unlabeled corpus has attracted attention because such vectors can represent sentences in a lower dimensional and continuous space. Simple heuristics using pre-trained word vectors are widely applied to machine learning tasks. However, they are not well understood from a theoretical perspective. We analyze learning sentence vectors from a transfer learning perspective by using a PAC-Bayes bound that enables us to understand existing heuristics. We show that simple heuristics such as averaging and inverse document frequency weighted averaging are derived by our formulation. Moreover, we propose novel sentence vector learning algorithms on the basis of our PAC-Bayes analysis.


Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) is characterized by increased pulmonary vascular tone and remodeling of the pulmonary vasculature including muscularization of vessels. PH is often associated with underlying chronic lung diseases (CLD) such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The adenosine (Ado) A2B receptor (R) expression is increased in patients with COPD and IPF. Activation of the A2BR by Ado has been shown to regulate fibrosis through its action in inflammatory and structural cells. However, the role of Ado and the A2BR in the pathogenesis of PH is not known. Hypothesis: Ado acting on the A2BR modulates the development of PH in CLD. Ado deaminase (ADA)-deficient mice have increased levels of Ado in the lung tissue that lead to CLD. On day 30, once lung injury was established, mice were provided with chow containing placebo or GS-6201, an A2BR antagonist, for the next 10 days. On day 41, right ventricle systolic pressure (RVSP), systemic blood pressure, heart rate and lung function measurements were performed. ADA-deficient mice had increased RVSP compared to control mice. Lung function measurements revealed increased airway resistance and a reduction in airway and tissue compliance in ADA-/- mice. Blockade of the A2BR by GS-6201 inhibited the increased RVSP and restored lung function. No change in systemic systolic blood pressure or heart rate was observed in mice treated with placebo or GS-6201. These results highlight the role of the A2BR in the pathogenesis of PH associated with elevated tissue Ado and CLD. The results suggest that targeting the A2BR could be a potential target for the treatment of PH secondary to CLD.


ABSTRACT:When central authority fails in socially crucial tasks, mutual aid, solidarity, and grassroots organization frequently arise as people take up slack on the basis of informal networks and civil society organizations. We can learn something important about the possibility of horizontal organization by studying such experiments. In this paper we focus on the rationality, care, and effectiveness of grassroots measures to respond to the pandemic and show how they illustrate core elements of anarchist thought. We do not argue for the correctness of any version of anarchist politics, nor claim that the bulk of this grassroots work was done with anarchist ideas explicitly in mind. Nonetheless, the current pandemic, like many social crises before it, serves as a sort experiment in political implementation.


Despite the importance of school connectedness and bullying victimization in students' school burnout, to our knowledge, very few studies have analyzed their reciprocal associations, and most of them have used cross-sectional designs. So, the nature and directions of these relations have not been established yet. The general aim of this study was to address this gap by testing a longitudinal model of the association between the mentioned variables in a group of Italian students. The participants are 363 students from Italian secondary schools (34% females; Mage = 13.35, SD = 1.47), who took part in three waves of data collection. One hundred and eighty-four students attended middle school (45% females; Mage  = 12.01, SD = 0.46), and 179 students attended high school (22% females; Mage = 14.62, SD = 0.836). The adolescents filled out a questionnaire containing self-report measurements of studied variables three times, with an interval of 6 months. At both school levels, the results show the reciprocal and longitudinal role of school connectedness in reducing burnout, and of school burnout in reducing the sense of connectedness to school, both directly and indirectly. On the contrary, bullying victimization is not longitudinally associated with school burnout, whereas it negatively predicts the level of students' connectedness to school. The study findings have revealed the importance of considering longitudinal and reciprocal associations among school burnout, connectedness, and bullying victimization, and are discussed referring to their implications for research and intervention efforts aimed at promoting students' school well-being.


This study aimed at analysing concentrations of heavy metals including arsenic, lead, cadmium, aluminium and mercury in commonly consumed seafood species belonging to Echinodermata (Anthocidaris crassispina and Stichopus japonicus) and Chordata (Halocynthia roretzi and Styela plicata). The samples were digested by a microwave system and analysed for As, Cd and Pb by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, for Al by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer and Hg by Direct Mercury Analyser. The analytical method was validated by determining sensitivity, linearity, precision, spiking recoveries and analysis of the Standard Reference Material (SRM) NIST 1566-b, an Oyster Tissue. Results showed considerably higher accumulation of Al and As in analysed samples, compared to Pb and Cd, while Hg had the lowest contamination. On comparison, the obtained results with the recommended standards by the Food and Agriculture Organization, European Commission and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea, it was concluded that the analysed seafoods were safe and thus would not pose a threat to consumers.


Bearing faults appear to be one of the main factors that cause the interruption of automation processes. In this paper ldquoWavelet Analysisrdquo and ldquoApproximate Entropyrdquo was applied to vibration data taken from a shaft-bearing setup to predict the presence and development of bearing faults. The purpose is to distinguish the normal and the defective bearing sorted by the degree of defectiveness, using wavelet packet analysis and approximate entropy with high frequency demodulated raw vibration data. Normal bearing with low amplitude but numerous frequency components, and defective bearing with a characteristic of high amplitudes and certain frequency components can be distinguished by approximate entropy. Wavelet packet analysis can be applied to the derived data to get which frequency components are more essential for getting better results.


In the early 1980s, adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was a rarely curable disease with overall survival < 10%. After adapting combinations employed by pediatric groups, the outcome improved to 30-40%. A period of stagnation followed with improvement only in distinct subgroups. In the past 5 years, however, striking new developments have been noticeable. Progress has been made in molecular diagnostics of ALL. Improvements to standard therapy including stem cell transplantation (SCT) have occurred and a variety of new drugs for ALL are under evaluation. Rapid diagnosis and classification of ALL is increasingly important to identify prognostic factors and molecular genetic subsets that will be the focus of "targeted" therapies as we enter the era of subset specific treatment. In the following review we will discuss treatment of adult ALL (excluding elderly patients,(1) adolescents(2) and patients with Ph/BCR-ABL positive ALL(3)).


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

Introduction: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is characterized by extensive collagen-rich but hypovascular desmoplasia that impairs drug delivery. Desmoplasia is driven by complex tumor-stromal interactions. Anti-desmoplastic strategies may improve therapeutic responses to existing agents. We examined the role of the membrane protein SIDT1 in mediating pro-desmoplastic signaling between tumor and stromal cells.

Methods: Pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) and adenocarcinoma cells were isolated from surgical patients, characterised and maintained in culture. SIDT1 and collagen I expression was quantified by realtime PCR and Western blotting. SIDT1 fluorescence immunocytochemistry and immunohistochemistry was performed. Collagen I production was quantified in direct and indirect adenocarcinoma/PSC coculture. The effects of SIDT1 gene silencing on collagen I expression were examined using doxycycline-inducible shRNA generating vectors and compared to non-silencing control transfectants

Results: SIDT1 is expressed at relatively high levels in PSC. Adenocarcinoma cells and patient specimens show heterogeneity in SIDT1 expression. Adenocarcinoma/PSC coculture enhances collagen I expression. SIDT1 gene silencing, but not control shRNA, attenuates collagen I production in direct but not indirect coculture.

Conclusions: SIDT1 is abundant in PSC and variably expressed in patient samples. SIDT1 gene silencing limits collagen I production driven by contact dependent tumour-stromal intercellular communication. Disruption of SIDT1-dependent adenocarcinoma/PSC communication may represent a means of limiting desmoplasia.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3119. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3119


BACKGROUND/AIMS
The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential and significant applications of Sertoli cells (SCs) transplantation, and to explore the effect of transplantation on spermatogenesis process, in azospermic mice.

METHODS
In this study, we utilized 18 adult mice (28‒30 g), divided into four experimental groups: (1) control, (2) vehicle (DMSO 2%) (10 µl) (3) busulfan and (4) busulfan+ SCs (1×104 cells/μL). SCs were isolated from the testis of 4-week-old mouse and after using anesthetics, 10 μl of SCs suspension (1×104 cells/μL) was injected over 3-5 min, into each testis and subsequently, sperm samples were collected from the tail of the epididymis. Afterward, the animals were euthanized and testis samples were taken for histopathology experiments, and RNA extraction, in order to examine the expression of c-kit, STRA8 and PCNA genes.

RESULTS
Our data showed that SCs transplantation could notably increase the total sperm count and the number of testicular cells, such as spermatogonia, primary spermatocyte, round spermatid, SCs and Leydig cells, compared to the control, DMSO and busulfan groups. Furthermore, the result showed that the expression of c-kit and STRA8 were significantly decreased in busulfan and busulfan/SCs groups, at 8 weeks after the last injection (p<0.001), but no significant decrease was found for PCNA, compared to the control and DMSO groups (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION
These findings suggest that SCs transplantation may be beneficial as a practical approach for therapeutic strategies in reproductive and regenerative medicine. We further highlighted the essential applications that might provide a mechanism for correcting fertility in males, suffering from cell deformity.


attention of the author as he has elaborated them in the seventh chapter and not the first one. This is one of the major deficiencies in this chapter. He should have also dealt with the first aspect of the subject on the combined testimony of all those sources which he has utilized for his purpose so as to present a coherent picture of the subject. He should have also taken note of the fact that the modem international law and diplomacy, the foreign policies of non-alignment and neutrality, the concept of power blocs and the doctrine of balance of power are greatly based on the theories of ancient Indian political thinkers. The contribution of political thinkers in ancient India to the development of modem political thought has been acknowledged by all distinguished authorities on the subject.


Those factors that may predispose to a severe odontogenic infection requiring intensive care were analyzed. An observational descriptive study was conducted among 100 patients that were consecutively admitted with severe odontogenic infection at "Manuel Ascunce Domenech" Hospital, in Camaguey, from 1999 to 2001. Different variables, including medical and social parameters and previous dental procedures were studied based on the medical histories. Special emphasis was made on the results of the bacterial cultures. The mean age of the 59 male patients and 41 female patients was of 41 ± 15.8. 18 patients needed intesive care. 41 % of the patients had a low educational level. 11 severe patients (61.1 %) and 42 non-severe (51.2 %) were smokers. 2 patients (11.1 %) of the severe and 8 (9.8 %) of the non-severe drank alcoholic beverage excessively. The prevalence of chronic diseases was higher among the non-severe (31.7 %). The most common underlying affection was periapical osteitis (70 % of the infectious episodes ) followed by tooth extraction in 27.5 % of the severe and 10.9 % of the non-severe. None of these factors predicted the need of intensivce care. There were no significant differences concerning symptoms , delay to request medical attention, previous dental procedures or antimicrobial therapeutics. The aerobial streptococcus (S. Milleri group) associated with varied anaerobial bacteria predominated. No social or clinical variables prediciting a severe course in odontogenic infections were found. All the patients should be carefully monitored to prevent severe complications.


Recognition and further study of existing retinal atheromatous plaques in the central retinal artery may be enhanced by pressure on the globe. This simple maneuver should be used when patients with transient ischemic attacks (cerebral or ocular) are examined with or without atheromatous disease of the carotid artery. Previously unseen or suspected plaques may be brought into view. Plaques already visible may appear larger or vary greatly in both color and texture giving indication of their composition. The recognition of these atheromatous plaques is important in the diagnosis of atheromatous disease.


Objective To study the correlation between syndrome elements of Chinese medicine (CM) and KRAS, BRAF, NRAS gene mutations in advanced colorectal cancer patients. Methods Syn- drome elements of CM, KRAS, BRAF, NRAS gene mutations (mutation " +" & wild type/non-mutation " --") were collected in 33 advanced colorectal cancer patients. The correlation between gene mutations and syndrome elements of CM was analyzed using binary Logistic regression. Results Wild type KRAS (KRAS-) was negatively correlated with Gan depression syndrome (P =0. 043, P <0. 05), while KRAS mutation (KRAS + ) was positively correlated with Gan depression syndrome (P =0. 043, P <0. 05). KRAS-and KRAS + had no significant relation with Pi deficiency, Fei deficiency, Shen deficiency, yang deficiency, yin deficiency, qi deficiency, blood deficiency, phlegm turbidity, qi stagnation, and blood sta- sis (P>0. 05). BRAF-and NRAS-had no significant relation with Gan stagnation, Pi deficiency, Fei defi- ciency, Shen deficiency, yang deficiency, yin deficiency, qi deficiency, blood deficiency, phlegm turbidi- ty, qi stagnation, and blood stasis (P >0. 05). Positive BRAF and NRAS were seldom found in this study, so they were not statistically analyzed. Conclusions There existed correlations between gene mutations and Gan stagnation. KRAS-was negatively correlated with Gan depression, while KRAS+ was positively correlated with Gan depression. Whether there exists mutation of BRAF or NRAS was not correlated with syndrome elements of CM.


The hemidiaphragm technique has been critically examined as a quantitative assay for small amounts of insulin, to determine the insulin activity in plasma. It was found that over the range of insulin concentration 0.01-10.1 milliunits per ml. there was a linear regression between the extra glucose uptake of the hemidiaphragms and log-concentration of insulin added to the incubation medium. The slope of this regression line was 0.751 and the standard deviation of the points about the standard regression line was 0.212. The index of precision was 0.270. The extra glucose uptake by the isolated rat diaphragm in various dilutions of plasma was determined. Occasionally, the values calculated from the responses to two-fold dilutions were found to be low, while those to twenty-fold and two hundred-fold dilutions were always identical with each other. The possible reasons for this difference were discussed briefly and it was concluded that over twenty-fold dilutions of plasma should be used for the assay of the insulin activity in plasma. By this technique the insulin activity of plasma taken from normal and alloxanized dogs was determined. The insulin activity of plasma was found to be 0.27 x 0.11 mu. per ml. in normal fasted dogs, 2.30 ± 0.41 mu. per ml. in dogs 4 hours after the injection of alloxan, and 0.00 mu. per ml. 48 hours later.


In this paper, we clarify human perception of force by carrying out quality of experience (QoE) assessment in cooperation between two remote robot systems with force feedback. In the cooperation, robot arms of the two remote robot systems grasp both ends of each wooden stick, and then one side of the stick is moved only in one direction of front and back, left and right, and up and down. A user can perceive force sensed by a force sensor attached to the tip of the robot arm via a haptic interface device. Then, we investigate to what extent humans can accurately perceive the force direction via the haptic interface device. We also examine the influence of the length of the wooden stick on the human perception of force direction.  


This study has examined exercise capacity and muscle morphology in patients with different severities of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Twenty‐three patients and 12 healthy matched controls were recruited. Based on the severity of airflow obstruction, patients were divided into two subgroups. Exercise capacity was determined using a 6‐min walk test. Muscle fiber composition, fiber area and number of satellite cells/muscle fiber were determined in muscle biopsies using immunohistochemistry. A progressive decline in exercise capacity was noted with ascending disease severity. Furthermore, a correlation between reduction in exercise capacity and changes in muscle fiber composition was observed in COPD. The group with severe and very severe COPD had a lower proportion of type I and a higher proportion of type IIa fibers compared with the other groups. In severe and very severe COPD, a reduction in fiber area of type IIa fibers was also seen. The number of satellite cells/muscle fiber did not differ between the groups. In conclusion, a decline in exercise capacity occurs already in mild and moderate COPD, indicating that the 6‐min walk test is a reliable indicator of disease severity. Furthermore, changes in skeletal muscle morphology are associated with disease severity while muscle regenerative capacity is not altered.


The authors presented the results of population study of specific IgG-antibody-forming cells (AFC) in the pool of mice splenocytes performed in the time-course of simulated influenza with the help of experimental mathematical approach which permitted making a detailed observation of the functional structure of the population and analysing the changes in the spectrum of the AFC subpopulations in the time-course of viral disease. Mathematical simulation of the main stage of immunopointed identification of AFC on +nitrocellulose filters (NCF) permitted the verification of the ratio between the characteristic features of the spots on the NCF and the number and affinity of cell-secreting IgG antibodies. New data are obtained on the formation of the population of +virus-specific IgG-AFC which are featured by discreteness of the AFC +affinity ++ spectrum, cyclic changes in their activity and shifts in the stages of the AFC subpopulation activity. The authors substantiated the necessity to revise the existing theoretical models of the formation of humoral immune response to viral infections.


Trivalent europium-ion-doped Y2SiO5 phosphors are synthesized by using the reverse micelle and the sol-gel processes. The crystallinity, morphology, and chemical states of the ions are characterized, and the photophysical properties are studied by taking absorption, excitation, and emission spectra for various concentrations of europium. Y2SiO5:Eu3+ is a red-emitting phosphor, has a higher efficiency for operation under near UV excitation, and may be a promising candidate for photonic applications.


Extrathymic T cell tolerance to Ags can be achieved through clonal deletion by activation-induced programmed cell death as well as by functional unresponsiveness (anergy) of Ag reactive-T cells. Previous studies demonstrated that in vivo administration of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) induces SEB-specific T cell anergy. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of T cell anergy, we analyzed the TCR-mediated signal transduction in normal and anergic T cells. Anergic T cells exhibited impaired protein tyrosine phosphorylation on TCR-mediated stimulation. The altered tyrosine phosphorylation in anergic T cells may be caused by a defect in tyrosine phosphorylation of TCR zeta-chain and its subsequent association with ZAP-70 tyrosine kinase. Our data demonstrated that TCR zeta-chain phosphorylation and its sequential interaction with ZAP-70 are essential for the initiation of TCR-mediated signal transduction.


Five kinds of side chain liquid crystalline polymers with a chiral component in the pendant group were synthesized and characterized by GPC, polarizing microscopy, DSC, X-ray diffraction ano Dielectric Relaxation Spectroscopy. The liquid crystalline behaviour of the polymers is affected by the length of flexible spacer, which links the mesogenic side chain to the polymer backbone and mesogenic moiety. The characteristic of smectic phase is observed for all the polymers.


Real estate surveying data has features of mass, multi type, multi temporal, complex relationships between various data, organize and manage these data well will be helpful to real estate data sharing. According to urgent and actual needs of management and sharing of real estate surveying result data, from the perspectives of centralized management and data sharing, designed real estate surveying database and developed it's application system. Through establishing multi-level map object model, solved associated query problem for multi-level maps, convenient for map retrieval and statistics; through establishing conversation model of heterogeneous data, effectively solved the data uploading problem between different departments; through developing and applying software system for real estate surveying data management, verified the rationality, practicality and high-efficiency of data organization methods, improved management efficiency of real estate surveying data.


The present work is devoted to the radiative electron capture by 28.4 MeV O8+ ions channelled through single crystals of silver. We show that the emission spectrum for binary O8+-Ag+ collisions can be calculated as a function of impact parameter. As the impact parameter can be determined from the standard statistical theory of channelling, we have been able to calculate the K-REC spectrum for channelled ions. Our conclusion is that the radiative electron capture takes place primarily from the N-shell of silver and not from the valence electron gas.


Background and Purpose: Osteitis pubis (OP) is an inflammatory disease of the pubic symphysis most often associated with young athletes, but it can also occur in older individuals. Conservative management is usually successful, but on rare occasions surgery is required. A gap in the literature exists regarding the rehabilitation of older individuals in the acute care setting. Case Description: This case report describes the 2‐week acute and skilled nursing facility physical therapy for a 61‐year‐old woman who underwent pubic symphysis resection secondary to OP. Outcomes: This patient made progress toward achieving the stated anticipated goals. Initial post‐operative surgical pain slowed improvement with functional mobility activities. Conclusion: This case report describes the elements of physical therapy management for a patient with symphysis resection due to OP. The description follows the APTA's Guide to Physical Therapy Practice in outlining the physical therapy examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, and intervention for this patient. Physical therapists may be unfamiliar with this patient population due to the infrequency of the surgery. This highly motivated patient made significant improvement in a short amount of time in the acute care and skilled nursing facility settings receiving treatment based on conventional principles of physical therapy management.


This study was conducted to obtain students' mental models after learning using multiple representations. The application of learning based on multiple representations is carried out through the interconnection between the three levels of chemical phenomenon (macro, sub-micro, and symbolic). The research samples are taken from the 2011 year of Physics Education (3 class) randomly selected from 8 available classes. The number of students from whom the samples were taken is 96 students. The students' mental model is confirmed through the procurement of essay test questions encourage them to think at the three levels of chemical phenomenon. The results of this research show that the students' mental models towards chemistry reaction stoichiometry was mirrored in various questions from the interpretation down to the verbal-to-symbolic transformation and verbal-to-visual transformation (sub-micro diagram) and vice versa. Findings indicated that macro-submicro- symbolic teaching by used multiple representation method could be enhancing student mental models and learning effectivity of chemical reactions. It indicates that there has been a statistically significant change on the students' mental models after multiple representations learning method was implemented.


Increased consumption of dairy products has been associated with positive health outcomes including a lower risk of hypertension, improved bone health and a reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes. The Trinity Ulster Department of Agriculture (TUDA) ageing cohort study recently reported that more than 96% of older Irish adults do not consume the recommended 3 portions of dairy per day. This may be explained, at least in part, by the concern that dairy intakes (especially cheese) can negatively impact on cholesterol and lipid concentrations. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between frequency of total and component dairy intakes and lipid concentrations in older Irish adults (>60 yrs). Participants (n 2,071; after excluding those with severe frailty (reported cannot feed ownself) or cognitive impairment i.e. Mini Mental State Examination score <25 and those prescribed statin medications) were from the TUDA ageing cohort, a large study of older Irish adults (aged >60 yrs) designed to investigate gene-nutrient interactions in the development of chronic diseases of ageing. Participants completed a modified food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) on the frequency of consumption of milk, cheese and/or yogurt in addition to meat, fish and eggs. The daily intake portion for milk, cheese and yogurt was calculated from the FFQ responses (once per day intake response equaled 1 portion). Cholesterol (including high density (HDL) and low density lipid (LDL) and triglyceride concentrations (mmol/L) were measured using a Roche Cobas C analyzer with QC controls. In a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, total intakes of dairy, yoghurt and milk did not predict any lipid measure. Total daily cheese intake was a significant predictor of HDL and triglyceride concentrations such that with each unit increase in cheese intake (i.e., an increase of one serving per week), HDL concentrations increased by 0·127 mmol/L (P < 0·0001) while triglycerides decreased by 0·139 mmol/L (P = 0·012) after adjustment for covariates. In a multinominal logistic regression analysis, neither total dairy nor the components (cheese, milk, yogurt) predicted elevated (≥5 mmol/L) vs. normal (<5 mmol/L) serum total cholesterol. In this large study of older adults, dairy intake frequency was not adversely associated with lipid concentrations or high cholesterol. Contrary to popular perception, cheese intake frequency was a predictor of a better lipid profile with higher HDL and lower triglyceride concentrations. This work adds to the growing evidence that dairy intakes have either neutral or positive benefits for indictors of cardiovascular health though further studies are needed to understand the potential biological mechanisms (e.g. cheese matrix, gut microbiota, etc.).


Forced isolation induced by COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted individuals' well-being, reducing the opportunities for social encounters, consequently resulting in a greater use of social media in order to maintain social relationships. Although the range of friend-related activities appeared to be severely constrained during quarantine, the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) needs to be carefully examined, especially in relation to problematic social networking site use (PSNSU). Indeed, FoMO might enhance individuals' need to stay connected and communicate with other people, leading to PSNSU, in order to face the fear of being invisible in the world of social media in circumstances of physical isolation. The present study sought to evaluate the predictive role of FoMO on PSNSU during the COVID-19 pandemic, testing the mediating effect of online relational closeness and online communication attitude. A total of 487 Italian adults (59.3% women), aged between 18 and 70 years (mean age = 29.85 years; SD = 9.76), responded to an online survey during the period of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Italy. The survey included self-report measures assessing perceived FoMO, online communication attitude, relational closeness with online friends, and PSNSU. Participants declared they spent significantly more time social networking during the pandemic, particularly women. The total model accounted for a significant amount of variance in participants' PSNSU [R2 = 0.54; F(9, 447) = 58.285, p < 0.001). Despite the other people's social rewarding experiences had been drastically reduced by the lockdown, findings showed a direct effect of FoMO on PSNSU. Moreover, FoMO had an effect on online communication attitude and online relational closeness, although only online communication attitude predicted, in turn, PSNSU. Conversely, relational closeness on social networking sites did not predict PSNSU. The present study suggests that, during COVID-19 lockdown, FoMO levels may have strengthened attitudes toward online communication, which, in turn, may have put some individuals at risk of PSNSU.


Modern computer displays and printers enable the widespread use of color in scientific communication, but the expertise for designing effective graphics has not kept pace with the technology for producing them. Historically even the most prestigious publications have tolerated high defect rates in figures and illustrations [Cleveland, 1984],and technological advances that make creating and reproducing graphics easier do not appear to have decreased the frequency of errors. Flawed graphics consequently beget more flawed graphics as authors emulate published examples. Color has the potential to enhance communication, but design mistakes can result in color figures that are less effective than grayscale displays of the same data.


A 0.135 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ trench-capacitor DRAM cell with a trench-sidewall vertical-channel array device has been fabricated using 150 nm groundrules and optical lithography. This 6F/sup 2/ cell features a novel active area layout, a trench-top-oxide (TTO) isolation between trench capacitor and trench gate, maskless self-aligned buried strap node contact, shallow trench isolation (STI), a self-aligned poly-plug bit contact, and two levels of bitline interconnect, both formed using a W dual-damascene process.


Giant cell arteritis (GCA) often presents with symptoms of headache, jaw claudication, polymyalgia rheumatica, and blurred vision. GCA is relatively rare and may have atypical manifestations in Asians, including multiple cranial nerve palsy and reversible proptosis. A high suspicion of GCA is suggested when any older Asian suffers from headache that is new‐onset or different from the previous pattern, even without other typical manifestations of GCA.


The Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) at NSTL, Miss., collects, analyzes, and displays oceanographic and hydrographic data to support naval operations. The Fleet Numerical Oceanography Center (FNOC) in Monterey, Calif., serves as the production center for most analysis and forecast fields of oceanographic and meteorological parameters, including daily environmental tactical support products for the operating forces. Until 1985, FNOC was responsible for the Master Oceanographic Observation Data Set (MOODS). NAVOCEANO has obtained MOODS from FNOC in order to provide for its maintenance and updating. The term "maintenance" in this case means making data contained in MOODS available to investigators at NAVOCEANO and available to other data requestors that NAVOCEANO is obligated to serve. "Updating" means adding to MOODS both recent observations and data not already contained in MOODS, as well as improving the quality of the data in MOODS. NAVOCEANO is in the process of developing a computer-based system to perform those functions.


The plasma HDLs represent a major class of cholesterol-transporting lipoprotein that can be divided into two distinct subfractions, HDL2 and HDL3, by ultracentrifugation. Existing methods for the subfractionation of HDL requires lengthy ultracentrifugations, making them unappealing for large-scale studies. We describe a method that subfractionates HDL from plasma in only 6 h, representing a substantial decrease in total isolation time. The subfractions so isolated were assessed for a variety of lipid and protein components, in addition to their susceptibility to oxidation, both alone and in combination with VLDL and LDL. We report for the first time a prooxidant role for HDL during VLDL oxidation, in which HDL donates preformed hydroperoxides to VLDL in a cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP)-dependent process. Examination of the participation of HDL in LDL oxidation has reinforced its classic role as a potent antioxidant. Furthermore, we have also implicated the second major HDL-associated enzyme, LCAT, in these processes, whereby it acts as a potent prooxidant during VLDL oxidation but as an antioxidant during LDL oxidation. Thus, we have identified a potentially duplicitous role for HDL in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, attributable to both CETP and LCAT.


A planar segmented circular loop antenna is designed for operation at 5.8 GHz with omnidirectional radiation pattern. This novel printed antenna, fabricated on a low-loss substrate, is composed of alternating top- and bottom-layer conducting segments of annular geometry, with the regions of conductor overlap functioning as planar capacitors to minimize phase variation in the electrical current. Measurements reveal an omnidirectional pattern with gain of 1.58 dBi, efficiency of 81%, bandwidth of 6%, and input impedance close to 50 Ω. The antenna is proposed as a transceiver for applications that use the 5.8-GHz ISM band.


The paper presents the existing situation of the local networks of the former USSR. The existing exchange structure, and the main signalling principles and peculiarities are described. The introduction of digital networks is supported by the development of Russian urban digital exchanges. The main development points are briefly described. >


r 2002 The British Society for Surgery of the Hand doi: 10.1054/jhsb.2002.0779, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on The main part of this book systematically addresses the treatment of arthritic joints starting at the distal interphalangeal joint and going up to the distal radioulnar joint. There are introductory chapters on the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis, the pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis, and an excellent chapter by McAuliffe on ''General Clinical Considerations in Rheumatoid Surgery'' (certainly one of the highlights of the book). The chapter on pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis has a section on ''Nonsurgical treatment'' which covers newer therapies, such as antiT-cell therapy and anti-cytokine therapy, in more detail than most hand surgeons would be aware of. Curiously it does not mention treatment with corticosteroids and the problems that such drugs can cause to the surgeon. The editorial brief to the authors writing about individual joints appears to have been to produce an introduction, including an historical perspective, and sections on indications and contraindications for nonoperative and operative treatments, surgical techniques, results/outcomes for each technique, complications and salvage procedures. The important aspect worth highlighting is the detailed review of published results. Some authors have managed to keep to this format better than others. Fortunately, most have used common sense. While it is appropriate to discuss the results of different techniques for fusing an interphalangeal joint together, it is obviously inappropriate to discuss the results and complications of a Darrach's distal ulnar resection and a Sauve–Kapandji procedure together as the indications for the two procedures are different. Some authors have repeated reference literature in the introduction and technique sections, and then again in the results section, which could probably have been overcome by tighter editorial control. As so often in American textbooks there are some authors who insist on using three words instead of one, leading to irritating prose (for example, ''an 'S'-shaped curved incision'' (I have never seen a straight S-shaped incision)). There are also examples of unfamiliar ''jargon'' (what are ''fluffs''?) and some inaccuracies in the references in several chapters: in one some of the numbering appears incorrect. However, these are all minor details which I am certain will be cured. One of the things I liked about the book was the section of colour plates demonstrating operative techniques and, while realizing that there are frequently cost considerations to using colour, this could probably have been expanded. There are some ''gems'' of information which are new to the reviewer, such as the detailed advice by Berger on smoking cessation prior to attempting any limited wrist fusion. There seemed to be two curious omissions. In the chapter on the carpometacarpal joint of the thumb only osteoarthritis is reviewed. In the reviewer's experience, treatment of painful rheumatoid arthritis at this joint provokes much controversy and should perhaps be discussed. The other is that with the book working systematically through joints there is no chapter on soft tissue rheumatism (though this is mentioned in the chapter by McAuliffe). This book is recommended for hand surgeons to have on their bookshelves for when patients ask for the published results of treatment procedures. However, it is tempting to tell senior hand surgery trainees to wait for a second edition with better proof reading before purchasing it for themselves.


The protective effects of alfalfa seeds and leaves as a natural antioxidant on carbon tetrachloride (CCL4) induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity investigated in experimental rats. Thirtysix male rats were divided into six groups. The first group(6 rats) is the negative control (-ve) feeding on standard diet. Second group (30 rats) were injected by (CCL4) (2 ml/b.w/rats) (previously diluted in liquid paraffin oil 1:1) to induce hepato and renal disorders, then classified evenly into, positive control (+ve) fed on basal diet only. Groups (3&4) protective with alfalfa seeds at (2 or 4 g/kg/diet/day). Groups (5&6) protective with alfalfa leaves at (2 or 4 g/kg/diet/day) for 28 days. In day 29, protective groups were injected with the same dose of CCL4 to trader main the protective effects of alfalfa in rats. The results showed the presence of phenolic acids such as gallic, protocatechuic, chloic, p.hydroxybenzoic, alpha-ecdysone and hyphal elongation (6.05 & 4.82 – 7.54 & 5.10 – 16.00 & 20.90 – 18.22 & 15.04 – 42.17 & 39.02 and 3.01 & 2.36 mg) GAE/g dry matter in alfalfa seeds and leaves respectively . The results indicated that uric acid, creatinine, urea levels were increased in positive control compared with the negative group and decreased in all the protective groups. In addition, the level of MDA was increased, while decrease activity of SOD and total antioxidant in positive group were reversed with alfalfa seeds and leaves powder. An increase in of AST, ALT, and ALP activities in positive group corrected by treatment with alfalfa seeds and leaves powder were observed in toxicity rats. The findings of this study suggest that treatment with alfalfa seeds and leaves powder ameliorates metabolic derangement by enhancing the antioxidant defense against (CCL4)induced toxicity in rats, the antioxidant activities may be related to their phenolic compounds.


Under technogenic pollution, phytotoxicity of heavy metals (HM) becomes a factor limiting yield and quality of crop production. In breeding, an intraspecific polymorphism of resistance to technogenic factors should be estimated with the analysis of its formation and maintenance. Using spring barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) Zazerskii 85, Gorinskii and Chelyabinskii 1 varieties, we studied the influence of different Pb(NO 3) 2 concentrations (1,0; 1,5; 2,0; 2,5; 3,0; 3,5; 4,0; 4,5; 5,0 mg/ml) on the growth of roots and offsprings in seedlings. Then, a testing concentration of Pb(NO 3) 2 found out was applied to investigate an intraspecific polymorphism of barley plant tolerance to the toxicant. The cultivars from the VIR World Collection (N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry, St. Petersburg) were tested using seeds reproduced in 2008, 2009 and 2010 (36, 100 and 24 varieties, respectively). The varieties were divided into classes according to Sturgis's rule. The lead sensitive and lead tolerant forms were separated basing on a depression coefficient. According to root growth, the highest tolerance was observed in the Gorinskii variety, and the Zazerskii 85 variety was the most sensitive. The influence of lead resulted in a shift of distribution of 100 cultivars to less offspring length, but according to Kolmogorov-Smirnov criterion there were no significant differences between the empiric distributions (D = 0.17 0.05 = 0.26). The tolerance to lead in varieties from the first and the last classes differed 2.0-4.5 times (i.e. from total suppression to growth stimulation). According to the length of the offsprings from the seeds reproduced in 2008 and 2010, there were no reliable differences from control (D = 0.167 0.05 = 0.434 and D = 0.125 0.05 = 0.531, respectively). A statistically unreliable stimulation of the seed germination also occurred (D = 0.306 0.05 = 0.320 and D = 0.208 0.05 = 0.392, respectively), probably because of less number of the tested samples. Lead caused multiple changes of the root morphology. Basing on morphological parameters, the varieties with a contrast tolerance to lead was revealed. Possible mechanisms of polymorphic tolerance of barley cultivars and other plants to HM are discussed. These data can be used under creation of agricultural plants tolerant to heavy metals.


less" because so many statements would become undecidable. He proposes treating a predicate applicable to such a vague impression or image as an indeterminate set of more precise predicates, "• • -p, q,r• • ." The properties of such a set would resemble an incomplete disjunction, " • • • p v g v r , " save that the set could be t rue though the values of all disjuncts were indeterminate. Though these are alternatives to the traditional logic, none of them contradicts it for in each of them some crucial term such as " t r u e " or "proposit ion" undergoes modification. Waismann suggests that our preference for Aristotelian logic may be due to the exigencies of living which require us to make decisions. Hence we tend to fashion our s tatements in such a way that the largest possible range of them shall be decidable. But under other circumstances we might prefer a logic which stresses undecidability. CHARLES A. B A T L I S


A 950-2150 MHz zero IF (direct conversion) tuner for worldwide application and a simplified 950-1450 MHz version for the North American market are presented. A comparison to earlier digital satellite architecture, including adjacent channel filtering, matched filtering, and analog-to-digital conversion, is presented. An integrated circuit including many of the functions of a direct conversion tuner is detailed.


Purpose: The purpose of this research is to conduct a comparative analysis of CAR determinants between Islamic and conventional banks.Design/methodology/approach: The analysis is conducted using GMM on annual data for 38 Islamic banks (IBs) and 75 conventional banks (CBs) in 10 MENA countries during 2009-2013. CAR is used as a dependent variable and is measured by the Basel framework. The independent variables are: profitability; liquidity risk; credit risk; bank size; deposits to assets; operational efficiency; portfolio risk; and two macro-economic variables (GDP growth rate and average world governance indicators for each country).Findings: The results show that both IBs and CBs have a significant association between CAR and (bank size, operational efficiency, and GDP growth rate) and CAR is affected retroactively on the long-run. In IBs the results show a significant association between CAR and deposits to assets ratio. However, CBs results show an association between CAR and (profitability, credit risk, and portfolio risk). Practical implications: The empirical evidence accentuates the difference between both banking systems and the importance to enforce the application of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) proposal on IBs based in different jurisdictions. This will enhance the IBs stability and efficiency; and achieve standardization of CAR calculation between IBs. Originality/value: Filling the gap in the Islamic finance literature by trying to examine whether factors influencing CAR are similar between both banking systems or to confirm on the view that they are completely different and should not adhere to the same regulatory bodies.


Background and Objectives: Balance dysfunction is one of the major incapacitating symptoms of Parkinson's disease. This is further associated with a loss of equilibrium, sudden falls, progressive loss of independence and immobility. Aquatic therapy and Landbased therapy, both the methods work on different physiological principles to improve balance. Hence, objective of the study was to compare the effect of Aquatic therapy and Land based therapy on Balance in persons with Parkinson's disease (PD). Subjects:22 subjects, after filling the written informed consent, were divided into 2 groups by Convenience sampling method. Method: Group A received Aquatic Therapy and Group B received Land-Based therapy. Both the groups received the treatment for 6 weeks. Pre and post intervention BBS score and TUG time was documented. Data were analyzed for both the groups. Result: There was a statistically significant difference in both the groups (p <0.05) while the mean difference was higher in Group A compared to Group B. Conclusion: The present study concludes that exercises performed on both the environments i.e. water and land are beneficial to PD patients but Aquatic therapy is more effective in improving balance as compared to the Land –based therapy.


So far, application of fertilizer to mitigate problems of nutrient-limited yields in farmers' fields in the Highlands of Ethiopia has been based on conventional blanket fertilizer recommendations, without taking into account indigenous soil nutrient supply. In this study an attempt was made to take into account indigenous soil nutrient supply, internal nutrient use efficiency at maximum nutrient accumulation and dilution, and actual uptake and recovery fractions of applied fertilizers in order to parameterize the nutrient requirement of barley in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia. For parameterization of fertilizer requirements, factorial field experiments have been carried out with different application rates, in soils identified as Cambisol, Luvisol-1 and Luvisol-2, characterized by different soil nutrient contents, in three replicates in four fields. Coefficients for estimation of potential supply of N, P and K, respectively, Nq = 6.0, Pr = 0.55, and Ks = 166, were estimated by using transfer functions calibrated for barley in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia on the basis of soil OC content, exchangeable K, and P-Olsen. Yields at maximum accumulation and dilution, internal nutrient use efficiency and agronomic efficiency have been estimated for barley. The results show that different rates of fertilizer application are required for different soils with different indigenous soil nutrient supplies for different objectives, that is, either to attain maximum agronomic efficiency of a given nutrient or maximum yield. The coefficients used to quantify indigenous soil nutrient supply and parameterization of nutrient requirements of barley would help to consider different NPK combinations for different soils with different values of indigenous soil nutrient supply for targeted barley yields in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia in stead of applying blanket fertilizer recommendation.


The endo-β-1,4-glucanase gene celE from the anaerobic fungus Orpinomyces PC-2 was placed under the control of an alcohol oxidase promoter (AOX1) in the plasmid pPIC9K, and integrated into the genome of a methylotrophic yeast P. pastoris GS115 by electroporation. The strain with highest endo-β-1,4-glucanase activity was selected and designed as P. pastoris egE, and cultivated in shaking flasks. The culture supernatant was assayed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and showed a single band at about 52 kDa. Furthermore, the recombinant P. pastoris egE was proved to possess the ability to utilize sodium carboxymethyl cellulose as a carbon source. The recombinant endoglucanase produced by P. pastoris showed maximum activity at pH 6.0 and temperature 45 °C, indicating it was a mesophilic neutral endo-β-1,4-glucanase, suitable for denim biofinishing/washing. Further research was carried out in suitable fermentation medium in shaking flasks. The most favorable methanol addition concentration was discussed and given as 1.0%. After methanol induction for 96 h, the endo-β-1,4-glucanase activity reached 72.5 IU mL−1. This is the first report on expression and characterization of endo-β-1,4-glucanase from Orpinomyces in P. pastoris. The endo-β-1,4-glucanase secreted by recombinant P. pastoris represents an attractive potential for both academic research and textile industry application.


Abstract Little is known about Se intakes and status in very young New Zealand children. However, Se intakes below recommendations and lower Se status compared with international studies have been reported in New Zealand (particularly South Island) adults. The Baby-Led Introduction to SolidS (BLISS) randomised controlled trial compared a modified version of baby-led weaning (infants feed themselves rather than being spoon-fed), with traditional spoon-feeding (Control). Weighed 3-d diet records were collected and plasma Se concentration measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In total, 101 (BLISS n 50, Control n 51) 12-month-old toddlers provided complete data. The OR of Se intakes below the estimated average requirement (EAR) was no different between BLISS and Control (OR: 0·89; 95 % CI 0·39, 2·03), and there was no difference in mean plasma Se concentration between groups (0·04 μmol/l; 95 % CI −0·03, 0·11). In an adjusted model, consuming breast milk was associated with lower plasma Se concentrations (–0·12 μmol/l; 95 % CI −0·19, −0·04). Of the food groups other than infant milk (breast milk or infant formula), 'breads and cereals' contributed the most to Se intakes (12 % of intake). In conclusion, Se intakes and plasma Se concentrations of 12-month-old New Zealand toddlers were no different between those who had followed a baby-led approach to complementary feeding and those who followed traditional spoon-feeding. However, more than half of toddlers had Se intakes below the EAR.


Integral imaging, as an excellent light-field three-dimensional (3D) imaging technique, is considered as one of the most important technologies for 3D encryption because of its obvious advantages of high robustness, security, and computational feasibility. However, to date, there is no effective cryptanalysis technology for the light-field 3D cryptosystem. In this Letter, a cryptanalysis algorithm based on deep learning for the light-field 3D cryptosystem is presented. The 3D image can be optically retrieved by the trained network model without encryption keys. The experimental results verify the feasibility and effectiveness of our proposed method.


Hallucinations constitute an intriguing model of how percepts are generated and how perception can fail. Here, we investigate the hypothesis that an altered perceptual weighting of the spectro-temporal modulations that characterize speech contributes to the emergence of auditory verbal hallucinations. Healthy adults (N=168) varying in their predisposition for hallucinations had to choose the 'more speech-like' of two presented ambiguous sound textures and give a confidence judgement. Using psychophysical reverse correlation, we quantified the contribution of different acoustic features to a listener's perceptual decisions. Higher hallucination proneness covaried with perceptual down-weighting of speech-typical, low-frequency acoustic energy while prioritising high frequencies. Remarkably, higher confidence judgements in single trials depended not only on acoustic evidence but also on an individual's hallucination proneness and schizotypy score. In line with an account of altered perceptual priors and differential weighting of sensory evidence, these results show that hallucination-prone individuals exhibit qualitative and quantitative changes in their perception of the modulations typical for speech. Author summary Hallucinations -- that is, percepts in the absence of an external stimulus -- are prevalent in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, but also occur in the general population. To date it is unknown whether the emergence of hallucinations is rooted in an altered perception of sounds. Fusing the psychophysical technique of reverse correlation with concepts from computational psychiatry, this research reveals alterations of sensory processing in hallucination-prone adults. We show that the higher nonclinical adults' predisposition to hallucinations, the more they prioritise the sound features atypical for speech such as higher frequencies. At the same time, they express higher confidence in their perceptual judgements. The present approach may contribute to improving early diagnosis and prevention strategies in individuals at risk for psychosis.


Lung cancer is one of the leading forms of cancer in developed countries. Interleukin-8 (IL-8), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, exerts relevant effects in cancer growth and progression, including angiogenesis and metastasis in lung cancer. Mesoporous silica particles, functionalized with newly extracted fish oil (Omeg@Silica), are more effective than the fish oil alone in anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines. The mechanisms that explain this efficacy are not yet understood. The aim of the present study is therefore to decipher the anti-cancer effects of a formulation of Omeg@Silica in aqueous ethanol (FOS) in adenocarcinoma (A549) and muco-epidermoid (NCI-H292) lung cancer cells, evaluating cell migration, as well as IL-8, NF-κB, and miRNA-21 expression. Results show that in both cell lines, FOS was more efficient than oil alone, in decreasing cell migration and IL-8 gene expression. FOS reduced IL-8 protein release in both cell lines, but this effect was only stronger than the oil alone in A549. In A549, FOS was able to reduce miRNA-21 and transcription factor NF-κB nuclear expression. Taken together, these data support the potential use of the Omeg@Silica as an add-on therapy for NSCLC. Dedicated studies which prove clinical efficacy are needed.


The educational process, especially in childhood, is of vital importance for the development of the adult. In this work, this principle is based on the problem of the intervention on road education as part of the solution to reduce traffic accidents, especially in school zones. Based on knowledge of the context, information was collected through surveys that allow justifying that the intervention model in Ecuador easily distinguishes between provinces, especially those whose school zones are crossed by main land transport routes. The applied buffer model allows to easily distinguish the fact of the importance of the zones of influence on schooling, without neglecting the possibility of applying other algorithms such as clustering or regression that allow us to improve our proposal made in a single study for the Ecuadorian context.


Air Jet Impingement Rotary Dryer(called AJIRD for short)comes from Traditional Rotary Dryer(called TRD for short). A greatest characteristic of AJIRD is the application of the air jet impingement technology. This paper mainly introduces the field of application and the structural features of AJIRD by comparing with TRD. Simultaneously,this paper also elaborates the operating principle and major influential factors of drying effects.


In this article, we consider an optimal control problem governed by a biharmonic equation with clamped boundary conditions. We use the Ciarlet--Raviart formulation combined with a biorthogonal system to obtain an efficient numerical scheme. We discuss the a priori error analysis and present results of the numerical experiments that validate the theoretical estimates.
References

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Economical operation of integrated power systems with energy storage has been attempted as a dynamic programming formulation (DPF). The dimensionality of the problem may be unacceptable especially when a large number of storage devices and interconnected power plants are used. This paper suggests another method, based on the generalised network programming formulation (GNP), to solve the problem with minimum computational requirements. The proposed method can be used to find the optimum energy interchange between multiple area systems over a period of 24 h. This method can represent the power losses between the generating units and the storage system, losses of the transmission network and the nonlinear production cost functions. The power system security is also incorporated in this method. For the sake of comparison, the problem is also solved by the DPF, and the results show that the proposed method is computationally efficient and is suitable for practical applications.