Introduction: Many researchers have highlighted a reciprocal link between depression and obesity. This study was an attempt to analyze the effect of various lifestyle factors on the degree of depression assessed using Beck's inventory. Objectives: To analyse the incidence of depression in obese individuals using a standardised tool named Beck's depression inventory and to analyse the correlation of different lifestyle and dietary factors with depression. Methodology: The study was conducted in two health care centres in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. This experiment was part of a research on obesity and was done among respondents having higher grades of BMI who attempted either bariatric surgery or conventional weight loss methods to reduce weight. The criterion for inclusion in this experiment were BMI of 33 Kg/m2 - 50 Kg/m2 and age range 18-65 years. Those having BMI more than 50Kg/m2, history of nephropathy, food allergy and uncontrolled diabetes were excluded. The samples included 10 respondents who opted conventional method and 18 respondents who opted Bariatric surgery for weight loss. The base line data were collected through a structured questionnaire and the depression status was assessed using Beck's depression inventory. A comparative analysis was done using percentage distribution, Pearson correlation coefficient, ANOVA, and Paired t test. Results: The major variable for this experiment was the depression score which generated a mean value of 7.4±3.9 in the surgery group and 13.7± 8.2 in the non surgery group. Age, monthly income, sitting time in hours, sleep apnoea score, waist circumference, Family obesity score and morbidity score were influencing depression status. Body Mass Index and body fat percentage were the most correlating anthropometric parameters with the depression score. Sitting time lower than 5 hours and sleep duration greater than 6hours were related to higher depression score whereas sleep apnoea score did not have any linear relation with depression score. Sedentary occupation and sleep initiation time later than 10'o clock also related to higher score with depression inventory. Respondents who had a history of obesity from childhood had higher incidence of depression. The diet analysis revealed that higher intake of protein, carbohydrates and fiber produced a negative trend in the case of depression score while higher intake of fat was producing a positive correlation. The intake of Methionine, phenyl alanin, tryptophan and tyrosine were higher than requirement and had a negative influence on depression. Deficient intake of omega three and omega six fatty acids and excess intake of PUFA and MUFA related to higher scores in depression while adequate or higher intake of EPA and DHA related to lower scores of depression. When the intake of anti oxidant water soluble vitamins were low, the scores obtained with the depression inventory were high. The intake of calcium was close to requirement and was showing somewhat positive influence on depression score. The intake of other important minerals and trace elements were lesser than requirement and had negative influence on depression status. The mean intake of sodium was found to be higher than the recommended intake and produced proportional rise in the depression score. Summary and conclusion: It is clear from this study that unhealthy lifestyle patterns and poor diet quality have a strong influence on depression score obtained through Beck's inventory


The most widely used technologies for profiling microbial communities are 16S marker-gene sequencing and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Interestingly, many microbiome studies have performed both sequencing experiments on the same cohort of samples. The two sequencing datasets often reveal consistent patterns of microbial signatures, highlighting the potential for an integrative analysis to improve power of testing these signatures. However, differential experimental biases, partially overlapping samples, and differential library sizes pose tremendous challenges when combining the two datasets. Currently, researchers either discard one dataset entirely or use different datasets for different objectives. In this article, we introduce the first method of this kind, named Com-2seq, that combines the two sequencing datasets for the objective of testing differential abundance at the genus and community levels while overcoming these difficulties. We demonstrate that Com-2seq substantially improves statistical efficiency over analysis of either dataset alone and works better than two ad hoc approaches.


Predicting the evolution of nitrate pollution at the catchment scale implies a global evaluation of residence times
and denitrification rates in the aquifer. Data acquired in wells only result from processes occurring in their capture
zone and are rarely representative of the whole aquifer [1]. Stream data, on the opposite, integrate the processes
occurring along all contributing groundwater flowpaths and thus could be more relevant for upscaling. But stream
signal is also controlled by soil, hyporheic zone and in-stream processes. Here we investigate the possibility of
extracting groundwater signature from such a complex stream signal.
In-stream spatially-distributed measurements were performed during low flow over a 35 km2 crystalline
agricultural catchment in Brittany, Western France. Groundwater inputs into the streams were localized and
quantified using radon mass balance. In conjunction with radon, dissolved gases (O2, CO2, N2, N2O, CH4, Ar),
wet chemistry and nitrate isotopes were measured at each site. Quantification of in-stream processes was further
realized by performing tracer injections in three selected reaches. Injections were coupled with continuous in-situ
measurement of dissolved gases using membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS). Helium injections allowed
to calculate gas exchange rates, while nutrient injections (acetate, nitrate) allowed to characterize in-stream
biological activity (oxygenic respiration, denitrification).
Radon mapping reveals a high localization degree of groundwater inputs into the streams. Groundwatersurface
water exchanges are strongly concentrated after a major topographic slope that separates two geological
units, showing that geomorphology is a major control of hydrogeological circulations. These results are consistent
with a 3D-groundwater flow model of the catchment calibrated with age tracer data acquired in wells [1]. Close to
groundwater input zones, stream chemistry is strongly impacted by groundwater signature. Helium and nutrient
injections evidence that gas exchanges between stream and atmosphere constitute the main eraser of groundwater
signature as water is flowing dowstream. Groundwater signature is lost specifically at highly turbulent sites, such
as small cascades, where measured gas exchange rates are one to two orders of magnitude higher than in calm
reaches.
[1] Kolbe, T., J. Marcais, Z. Thomas, B. W. Abbott, J. R. de Dreuzy, P. Rousseau-Gueutin, L. Aquilina,
T. Labasque & G. Pinay, 2016. Coupling 3D groundwater modeling with CFC-based age dating to classify
local groundwater circulation in an unconfined crystalline aquifer. Journal of Hydrology 543:31-46
doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.020.


The OCAW's Worker-to-Worker Training Program was established with one of the first grants awarded under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986. The union intended the program to serve as a model to industry and to raise the standard of safety and health training throughout the industry. The program, which requires trainees to actively participate in learning activities, has garnered praise from its participants.


Background: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the major public health problem in india .HIV estimates report (2019)(1) of the Government, India is estimated to have around 23.49 lakh people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in 2019 . in Chhattisgarh it is 42520&HIV incidence per 1,000 uninfected population is 0.1 .with the recent advancements in therapy early mortality in HIV cases are significantly reduced but cardiovascular abnormalities are frequently seen as the disease progress and is associated with decreased quality of life.
Aims and objective: To know the pattern and prevalence of various cardiovascular manifestations in HIV positive patients and its association with CD4 count, WHO stage of disease and ART
Material and Methods: for the period of 1.3 years from JANUARY 2019 TO APRIL 2020studyis conducted in the Department of Medicine, PT.JNM Medical College and Dr. BRAMH, Raipur. A total of 137 HIV positive patients of age>18 years, all are on ART are included.patients included in the study underwent detailed history taking, clinical examination and investigations. Details of the history, clinical examination and investigations were noted in the proforma. The cardiovascular examination in the form of chest x-ray, ECG, 2D echocardiography and NT-ProBNP was done and their correlationswith CD4 count and WHO disease stage is studied accordingly. Electrocardiogram, chest x-ray and 2D echocardiography was done immediately following blood investigation.
Result: Majority (45.25%) of the patients involved in this study were in age group of 31-45 year with the overall average mean age of 38.86 years. Male to female ratio was 3.1:1. On x-ray cardiomegaly found in 25.5% pts  baseline ECG abnormalitities seen in 47.4% pts . echocardiographic abnormality seen in 56.2% pts .The commonest finding in our study is valvular abnormalities in 55 pts (40.1%) followed by diastolic dysfunction in 45 pts(32.8%). Other less common cardiac manifestations in decreasing order of frequency were reduced LVEF in 33 pts(24%), pericardial effusion in 15 pts (10.9%),left ventricular hypertrophy in 13 pts (9.4%), pulmonary arterial hypertension in 10 pts (7.2%)and regional wall motion abnormality in 9 pts (6.5%). We found A strong statistical correlation found between CD4 count and pericardial effusion in 2D-ECHO (p= 0.0410023). Also strong statistical correlation (p=0.016456) is found between the WHO stage of disease and cardiomegaly, strong statistical correlation found between WHO staging of disease and QRS abnormalities (p= 0.02551) and inverted T wave (p= 0.000528), strong statistical correlation found between WHO stage of disease and pulmonary arterial hypertension in 2D-ECHO (p=0.006832). And statistical association found between WHO stage of disease and regional wall motion abnormality (RWMA) in 2D-ECHO (p=0.002541).
Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that cardiovascular abnormalities in HIV infected patients are common. Cardiac involvement and cardiovascular complications are commonly seen in HIV-infected patients and can present without any clinical manifestation. The common cardiovascular manifestation seen in our study patients is valvular leaks, regional wall motion abnormality, pericardial effusion, reduced EF etc. The incidence of cardiovascular manifestations increases as the disease progresses and CD4 count decreases.
Keywords: Prevalence, Cardiovascular, Abnormalities & HIV.
Study Designed: Cross Sectional Observational Study.


Cost effective loss prevention requires an optimizing strategy to prevent, moderate (relieve) and contain runaway reactions. Ensuring that an emergency relief system design will either avoid or accommodate two-phase vapor-liquid flow is of particular importance. Use of adiabatic runaway reaction test information in combination with digital computer simulation is a powerful method to design an emergency relief system.


Aims: Little information exists on the associations of cardiovascular health, a new metric proposed by the American Heart Association, and executive function, particularly in children. We aimed to explore this topic. Methods: We studied 3,798 children aged 6–12 years from 5 schools in Guangzhou, China. The executive function of children was evaluated using parent reports of the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function, which included 2 composite indexes and 8 subscale scores. We calculated the number of ideal cardiovascular health (range: 0–7) based on smoking, body mass index, physical activity (PA), diet, blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose. A generalized linear mixed model was used to assess the association of the number of ideal cardiovascular health metrics and executive function. Results: Compared with children exhibiting 1–3 ideal cardiovascular health metrics, decreases of 1.37–2.63 points (indicating better performance) in metacognition index and its 5 subscale indexes (initiate, working memory, plan/organize, organization of materials, and monitor) were observed in children who attained 5 or 6–7 ideal metrics (all p for trend <0.001). Ideal diet and ideal PA were independently associated with lower indexes of behavioral regulation and metacognition. Conclusions: The number of ideal cardiovascular health was positively associated with performance of executive function in children.


Magnetic and conducting Fe_3O_4-polypyrrole nanoparticles with core-shell structure have been prepared in the presence of Fe_3O_4 magnetic fluid in aqueous solution containing dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid sodium salt (NaBS) as a surfactant and dopant. Interaction and interactive mechanism between Fe_3O_4 nanoparticles and polypyrrole were studied by XPS, IR, UV and TG. The magnetic Fe_3O_4 nanoparticles can improve the thermal stability of Fe_3O_4-polypyrrole nanocomposites due to interaction between Fe_3O_4 particles and polypyrrole chains. The interaction between Fe and N, which mechanism may be the lonepair electrons of N atom in PPY chain interact with 3d orbit of Fe atom to form corm coordinate bond, which could reduce the energy level interval of pyrrole ring.


Abstract The so-called apparent ionization constants of various acids (mainly indicator dyes) in versatile organized solutions are analyzed. Aqueous micellar solutions of colloidal surfactants and related lyophilic colloidal systems display a strong differentiating influence on the acidic strength of indicators located in the dispersed pseudophase, i.e., non-uniform changes of pKa on going from water to the given system. This concept allows the influence of such media on acid-base properties of dissolved reagents to be rationalized. It is demonstrated that the differentiating phenomenon is the main reason for limitation of the common electrostatic model of acid-base interactions, and is the principal hindrance to exact evaluations of the interfacial electrical potentials of ionic micelles by means of acid-base indicators. Salt effects, i.e., the influence of supporting electrolytes on the apparent ionization constants of acid-base indicators in the Stern region of ionic micelles, are considered. These salt effects can be conventionally divided into two kinds, namely, general (normal) and special (specific) effects. While the first type adds up to screening of the surface charge, the second one consists in micellar transitions caused by hydrophobic counterions.


The effects of two regulated deficit-irrigation (RDI) strategies pre- and postveraison on soil-plant water relations and their influence on leaf area development, cluster microclimate, yield, and berry quality were evaluated during two years in field-grown Monastrell grapevines under semiarid conditions in southeastern Spain. Three treatments were applied. The control was irrigated at 60% ET c (crop evapotranspiration), or 319 mm water over the full season. Regulated deficit-irrigation treatment 1 (RDI-1) received the same irrigation as the control before fruit set, 30% ET c from fruit set to harvest, and 45% ET c postharvest. Regulated deficit-irrigation treatment 2 (RDI-2) was the same as RDI-1, but with 15% ET c from fruit set to harvest. RDI-1 maintained soil water content and vine water status adequate for sustaining leaf gas exchange, without affecting sugar accumulation or increasing polyphenols at harvest. Moreover, RDI-1 reduced yield and berry size and improved cluster microclimate by reducing leaf area and increased water use efficiency. However, RDI-2 suffered more stress, mainly postveraison. This severe water stress substantially reduced root-vine hydraulic conductance and leaf gas exchange, decreasing gas exchange efficiency, leaf nitrogen, and chlorophyll content. Excessive postveraison water stress advanced leaf abscission, reducing leaf area development and yield. Lower leaf photosynthesis and higher leaf abscission significantly decreased yield and sugar in RDI-2 berries compared with RDI-1. Polyphenol and anthocyanin content also decreased significantly in RDI-2 compared with RDI-1. To avoid severe root and leaf function damage and increase polyphenols in this cultivar, we identified optimum physiological thresholds for several vine water indicators pre- and postveraison.


Intestinal intussusception in adults occurs infrequently. In this study we describe two cases of acute surgical events characterized by abdominal pain, masses and obstructive symptoms. One of these cases occurred in an 18 year old woman with jejuno-jejunal intussusceptions due to a hamartomatous polyp. The other case was a 40 year woman with a colo-colonic intussusception due to a submucosal lipoma in the descending colon.


It is difficult for traditional search methods to solve multi-objective optimization problems. Based on the idea of clonal selection principle, we present an adaptive multi-objective immune optimization algorithm (AMIOA) for function optimization problems and analyze its powerful performance from the immune system point of view. The main feature of the algorithm is the global search performance and the solution sets produced are highly competitive in terms of convergence, diversity and distribution. The comparative simulation results show that the proposed algorithm not only can obtain a set of solutions including the global optimum and multiple local optima, but also has much less computational cost than other algorithms.


Background Negative symptoms represent an unmet therapeutic need in many patients with schizophrenia. In an extension to our previous voxel-based morphometry findings, we employed a more specific, vertex-based approach to explore cortical thinning in relation to persistent negative symptoms (PNS) in non-affective first-episode of psychosis (FEP) patients to advance our understanding of the pathophysiology of primary negative symptoms. Methods This study included 62 non-affective FEP patients and 60 non-clinical controls; 16 patients were identified with PNS (i.e., at least 1 primary negative symptom at moderate or greater severity sustained for at least 6 consecutive months). Using cortical thickness analyses, we explored for differences between PNS and non-PNS patients as well as between each patient group and healthy controls; cut-off threshold was set at p<0.01, corrected for multiple comparisons. Results A thinner cortex prominently in the right superior temporal gyrus extending into the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), right parahippocampal gyrus, and left orbital frontal gyrus was identified in PNS patients vs. non-PNS patients. Compared with healthy controls, PNS patients showed a thinner cortex prominently in the right superior temporal gyrus, right parahippocampal gyrus, and right cingulate; non-PNS patients showed a thinner cortex prominently in the parahippocampal gyrus bi-laterally. Conclusion Cortical thinning in the early stages of non-affective psychosis is present in the frontal and temporo-parietal regions in patients with PNS. With these brain regions strongly related to social cognitive functioning, our finding suggests a potential link between primary negative symptoms and social cognitive deficits through common brain etiologies.


Asseses "the scope of Shakespeare's bibliographic presence" from 1594 to 1660 by comparing the number of editions of Shakespeare to those of his contemporary playrights, as well as the number of reprints and title-page ascriptions. Concludes that his substantial popularity in print contradicts the belief that Shakespeare was indifferent to the publication of his plays and anticipates "his authorial pre-eminence in later centuries." ERNE, Lukas Christian. Shakespeare's Popularity in Print. Shakespeare Survey, 2009, vol.


The Middle Dutch manuscript from Borgloon is written in a common variety of late fifteenth-century Central Southern Dutch. The manuscript also contains linguistic elements that are in all probability from Limburg, the area where Borgloon is situated. Most of the Limburgian elements occur in the songs and burlesque sermons at the end of the manuscript. This may be due to the nature of these genres: the oral transmission and public performance of such texts made them more liable to the influence of the local dialect.


When a criminal defendant flees from one state (often referred to as the requesting state) to another (often referred to as the asylum state), the requesting state can demand that the asylum state return the defendant through a process called extradition. Only a handful of states have considered a fugitive's right to be competent to proceed with an extradition hearing. Those states fall into three categories. Some states apply the same standard as in criminal trial competency cases. Others apply a more limited competency standard. Two have found that a fugitive has no right to be competent to proceed in an extradition hearing. The particular legal test adopted affects the nature and scope of the competency evaluation conducted by the psychiatrist or psychologist in the extradition hearing. In addition, we are not aware of any state that has considered what happens to the fugitive if he is ultimately found not competent to proceed. Legislation, either state by state or through amendments to the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, can provide the legal and psychiatric communities with guidance in assessing competency initially and in taking appropriate steps if the fugitive is ultimately found not competent.


Mucin glycosylation and individual susceptibility to disease is linked to the in situ microenvironment that de- termines features of the individual- and disease-specific glycans. In tissue culture paradigm, the in situ environment is not recreated and the synthesis of signature glycans vanishes. To evaluate the impact of the in situ-specific gastric epithelial environment on mucin glycan synthesis we investigated gastric mucin collected from 36 individual rats subjected to the same conditions and diet. The secretion collected during 3 hours of gastric perfusion contained from 67.7 to 1096.6 nmol mucin glycans and from 42.0 to 245.8 nmol glycosphingolipids (GSL). We identified four groups, each consisting of 6 animals, that contained O-glycans interacting with apical epithelial mucin receptor comprised of N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc), galactose (Gal), N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and fucose (Fuc ) in the ratio of 1:2:2:1, 1:2:3:1, 1:3:2:1, and 1:4:2:1. The remaining 10 rats produced glycans containing GalNAc, Gal, GlcNAc, Fuc in ratio 1:1:1:1, partially fucosy- lated glycans, and Fuc-free glycans consisting of GalNAc:Gal:GlcNAc in ratio of 1:4:2. The data support our hypothesis that individual-specific-gastric epithelial environment and individual-specific metabolome provide final imprint on the quantity, composition, and termination of mucin O-glycans.


Part of the symposium on Nanostructured Materials at the Fourth International Congress on Ceramics (ICC4) dealt with health aspects related to these materials. Major issues discussed included definitions and measurements of nanoparticles, best test protocols, collaboration and communication between, for example, materials scientists and biologists, and the plethora of information and regulations (that is sometimes even conflicting). Emerging opportunities were identified in terms of obtaining uniformity of nomenclature and testing standards, education and training of a new generation of multidisciplinary researchers, and understanding and then fully exploiting the positive aspects of nanomaterials, including improvements to human health.


Scarcity, high price and environmental footprints of water and energy resources are well‐recognized and wicked issues in irrigated agriculture. Water and energy are principal inputs for agricultural production systems. Efficient use of these resources is vital for the productivity and economic competitiveness of agriculture as well as for environmental sustainability. Modern irrigation application systems are on the one hand highly water efficient, but on the other they require a high energy input. This paper explores the water–energy nexus of irrigation modernization by presenting a case study from a large irrigation area in the Murray‐Darling Basin. A dynamic node–link model was developed to model various combinations of irrigation supply systems and irrigation application technologies. Comparison of modelled water savings and additional energy consumed to realize those savings indicates that more water savings (2.98 ML ha−1) can be achieved by conversion to drip irrigation at the expense of an additional 146 kWh ha−1 as compared to furrow irrigation. For a sprinkler system 1.19 ML ha−1 can be saved by expending an additional 353 kWh ha−1. These water savings result in additional GHG emissions of up to 1027 kgCO2‐e ha−1. The water and energy use indicators show that pressurized irrigation systems are in fact more efficient and more productive than traditional irrigation approaches. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This essay reconsiders the "Arthurian" identification of a number of the scenes that compose the ornamental program of the painted ceilings above the northern and southern alcobas of the Alhambra's Hall of Justice, proposing a reading that privileges Castilian versions of well-known courtly romances over French ones. The scenes are read as representations of the stories of Flores y Blancaflor , as well as Tristan de Leonis . Both tales, however, have been further altered and adapted in order to privilege the ideological concerns of the Nasrid court, both as an Islamic political entity with an agenda of jihād and—in a fashion that could easily be viewed as contradictory—as a participant in medieval Iberia's much-discussed frontier culture, which involved a "marriage of convenience" with Castilian allies.


As part of a continuing major prospective survey, the outcome of 5530 pregnancies in former oral contraceptive (pill) users was compared with the outcome of 11 009 pregnancies in the control series of women who had never used the pill. In former pill users there was a significantly higher induced abortion rate. There was no increase in the leported spontaneous abortion rate, and there is evidence to suggest that the true spontaneous abortion rate may be materially lower in former pill users. The previous use of oral contraceptives appeared to have no adverse effect on subsequent births.


Objective: To investigate the effects of egg white protein hydrolysate (EWH), obtained after enzymatic hydrolysis with Pepsin, on vascular effects caused by chronic Aluminum (Al) exposure. Design and method: 32 three-month-old male Wistar rats were divided into four groups and treated orally for 42 days: a) Control - ultrapure water; b) AlCl3 - 100 mg/kg bw (Basic & Clin Pharm & Toxicol 105: 98–104, 2009); c) Hydrolysate - 1 g/kg/day of EWH (Food Chem 104:163–168, 2007); d) Hydrolysate plus Aluminum. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured by plethysmography. Vascular function was studied in aortic and mesenteric resistance arteries (MRA) in isolated organ bath (J Pharmacol Exp Ther 321: 381–388, 2007 and Circ Res 41:19–26, 1977). Concentration-response curves to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside were performed. Vasoconstrictor response to phenylephrine (PHE) in presence and absence of endothelium and in presence of NOS inhibitor (L-NAME), potassium channels blocker (TEA), NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitor (apocynin), superoxide dismutase (SOD), non-selective COX inhibitor (indomethacin), selective COX-2 inhibitor (NS 398), and AT1 selective receptor blocker (losartan), were analyzed. Systemic and vascular reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation and antioxidant capacity were measured. Results were expressed as mean and SEM, compared by t–test and ANOVA followed by Bonferroni test (P < 0.05). Ethics Committee Approval 028/2014 - Unipampa. Results: EWH prevented: a) the increased SBP observed after Al exposure (Ct: 117. 2 ± 1.09; Al: 132.4 ± 5.20*; Hydrolysate: 117.6 ± 3.12#; Hydrolysate + Al: 118.4 ± 1.93# mmHg, n = 8 * vs Ct; #vs Al); b) the endothelial relaxation dysfunction; c) the increased vasoconstrictor response to PHE; d) restored the endothelium vasoconstrictor – modulation, nitric oxide bioavailability and potassium channels involvement; e) prevented the increased ROS production from NAD(P)H oxidase and contractile prostanoids from COX-2; f) inhibited the increased plasmatic and aortic ROS production and lipid peroxidation as well as the imbalance on antioxidant capacity after Al exposure. Conclusions: The EWH seems to be able to counteract the vascular toxic effects of AlCl3. Which points to a possible therapeutic effects based on functional food against a highly widespread environmental contaminant.


The increasing quality of computation and connectivity on mobile devices has motivated a need for data-sharing between resident services. Most such services rely on the user to transfer data manually between them. This approach is not only prone to input error but also creates a significant data-entry burden for the user on a mobile device. With AppBus, we envision a cooperative data-sharing facility that provides the equivalent of a "short-term memory" for the mobile device. By leveraging this transient data store, services can collaborate in a loosely-coupled manner that makes their combined operation appear more intuitive and seamless. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of AppBus for a mobile phone and initiate a discussion on both the utility and the limitations of this paradigm in mobile computing.


The infrared vibrational absorption (VA) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectral features of L-(+)-lactic acid (LA) in CDCl3 solution are concentration dependent, showing evidence of oligomerization with increasing concentrations. To understand the observed spectra, geometry optimizations, vibrational frequencies, and VA and VCD intensities were evaluated for (LA)n with n=1-4 using density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP6-311++G(d,p), B3LYP/cc-pVTZ, and in some cases, B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ levels of theory. Comparisons with the experimental spectra indicate that the lowest energy LA dimer (AA), formed by two C Double Bond O...HO hydrogen bonds, is one of the dominating species in solution at room temperature. Possible contributions from the LA trimer and tetramer are also discussed. To model the VA and VCD spectra of LA in water and in methanol, both implicit polarizable continuum model and explicit hydrogen bonding considerations were used. For explicit hydrogen bonding, geometry optimizations of the AA-(water)n and AA-(methanol)n complexes, with n=2,4,6, were performed, and the corresponding VA and VCD spectra were simulated. Comparisons of the calculated and experimental VA and VCD spectra in the range of 1000-1800 cm(-1) show that AA-(water)n with n=6 best reproduces the experimental spectra in water. On the other hand, AA-(methanol)n with n=2 reproduces well the experimental results taken in methanol solution. In addition, we found evidence of chirality transfer, i.e., some vibrational bands of the achiral water subunits gain VCD strength upon complexation with the chiral LA solute. The study is the first to use VCD spectroscopy to probe the structures of LA aggregates and hydrogen bonding solvation clusters in the solution phase.


The book's greatest strength is approaching the subject through the lens of design thinking. There is a need to emphasize design thinking at early foundation levels in interior design." Lee Keen, Louisiana State University, USA
 Learn the basics of interior design, design thinking, and the design process. Envision yourself in the role of professional designer as you learn about design phases, spatial well-being, color theory, professional practice, finishes, furnishings, lighting, environmental systems, and more. Case studies, review questions, and exercises in every chapter will help you see how the topics will affect your career.


Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal cancers in the female reproductive system. Previous study suggested that long term treatment of estrogen such as hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) may increase the risk of ovarian cancer, however the role of estrogen in ovarian carcinogenesis is still controversial. To decipher this complicated process, we generated a mathematical model and found that estrogen-mediated up-regulation of E2F6 could upregulate the ovarian cancer stem/initiating marker, c-kit by two means one through epigenetic silencing of their co-targeted miR193a by binding of E2F6 which subsequently recruit EZH2 to miR-193a promoter; and second, by competing endogenous (ceRNA) mechanism. To confirm this model, treatment of E2 or environmental hormone, BPA resulted in upregulation of both E2F6 and c-kit but down-regulation of miR-193a in immortalized ovarian surface epithelial cells. Further bisulfite pyrosequencing, ChIP-qPCR and epigenetic treatment found that miR193a was epigenetically silenced by DNA methylation and H3K27me3 in CP70 but not HeyC2 ovarian cancer cells. Overexpression of miR193a inhibited tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Depletion of EZH2 or E2F6 in CP70 restored miR-193a expression and decreased the number of "ovo" spheroid by reversing the repressive chromatin status of miR-193a promoter. To further explore the biological significance of this E2F6 ceRNA network, integrative RNA-Seq and computational analysis found that PBX1, a miR-193a target and transcriptional activator of the immunosuppressive cytokine IL-10, was down-regulated in E2F6 and EZH2 knockdown CP70 cells. Overexpression of E2F6 39UTR containing miR-193a MRE but not MRE mutant increased the expression of PBX1 and IL10 in ovarian cancer cells. Importantly, co-culture of conditional media from E2F6 39UTR overexpressing CP70 cells inhibited the differentiation of THP-1 monocytes into dendritic cell and the T-cell activating function of this THP-1 derived DC. This phenomenon can be rescued by incubation of anti-IL-10 antibody or pretreatment of CP70 cells with EZH2 inhibitor. Finally, clinical studies demonstrated that patients with higher promoter methylation of miR193a were associated with poor survival. Serum IL10 level was found to be higher in high staged ovarian cancer patients and patients with higher E2F6 mRNA level. Additional analysis from TCGA ovarian cancer expression microarray dataset demonstrated that ovarian cancer patients with low expression of EZH2, showed a positive correlation between E2F6, c-KIT and PBX1 resembling the ceRNA phenomenon between these mRNAs. Taken together, our results showed that estrogen-mediated E2F6 ceRNA network can regulate cancer stemness and anti-tumor immunity of DC through epigenetic silencing of miR-193a. Anti-estrogen therapy together with the EZH2 inhibitor may be a novel strategy against this deadly cancer. Citation Format: Frank Hsueh-Che Cheng, Hon-Yi Lin, Yin-Chen Chen, Tzy-Wei Hwang, Rui-Lan Huang, Chia-Bin Chang, Ru-Inn Lin, Ching-Wen Lin, Gary C.W. Chen, Jora M. J. Lin, Yu-Ming Chuang, Jian-Liang Chou, Chin Li, Alfred S.L. Cheng, Hung-Cheng Lai, Shu-Fen Wu, Je-Chiang Tsai, Michael W.Y. Chan. E2F6-mediated ceRNA and epigenetic silencing of miR193a lead to cancer stemness and anticancer immunity in ovarian cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 74.


The paper aims to re-think the similar and contrasted parts of contemporary Sino-French diaspora through the extended perspective of Chinese self-image from the methodology of comparative literature, by analyzing the Post-colonialism and Marginal Discourse to Diaspora Discourse. How these diaspora writers/artists both acknowledge and challenge the attachment/memory in a diaspora framework as their cross-cultural identities? How the identity intended to eliminate the concept of national borders? How the identity by describing the cross-cultural elements to carry out the dual identities of Sino/ French?

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Collaborative Augmented Reality (CAR) systems allow multiple users to share a real world environment including computer generated images in real time. Currently, the hardware features of most mobile phones not only provide excellent multimedia services, but it also includes wireless network capabilities that provides a natural platform for CAR systems. However, the wide variety of these hardware features can have important effects on the performance of the mobile CAR applications. This paper presents the experimental characterization of CAR applications for mobile phones in regard to well-known performance metrics in distributed systems. Characterization results show that the most time consuming stage in a CAR application is the marker detection stage. Moreover, the rendering stage is decoupled on some devices. This decoupling process allows avoiding low refresh rate, facilitating the collaborative work. These results can be used as the basis for an efficient design of CAR systems and applications.


Monitoring the tissue sodium content (TSC) in the intervertebral disk geometry by MRI is sensitive measure to diagnose degenerative disk disease (DDD) and of lumbar back pain (LBP) in intervertebral disks. However, application of quantitative sodium concentration measurements in 23Na-MRI is highly challenging due to the lower in vivo concentrations and smaller gyromagnetic ratio. Moreover, imaging the intervertebral disk geometry places higher demands because the necessary RF volume coils produces highly inhomogenous transmit field patterns. In this study, we reported for the first time quantitative sodium concentration in the intervertebral disks at clinical field strengths (3T).


There are many evaluation models to measure the informatization level of an organization and information system project in the ministry of National Defense of Korea. A information system has to keep up with the environment change as well as the advanced recent information technology (IT). Therefore, the evaluation of an information system project to enhance the performance of the information system should be different from the existing evaluation methods. This study suggests an evaluation case of information system projects to enhance the performance of an information system. In order to achieve the objective of this study, the following steps are taken. First, it reviews the background and the scope of the project to enhance the performance of the Defense Material Information System (DMIS). And it sets up the evaluation logic and develops performance indexes. Then it applies these newly developed performance indexes to the information system project and measures the performance. From this study, we found that both the diffusion and the experience accumulation by its continuous use are significant factors in such evaluations.


This paper proposes an interdisciplinary framework of mass communication and economic theory to examine the role of the media in economic decision-making. The recent expansion of business-financial news in the mass media and the development of specialized information sources for the general public is linked to the democratization of the stock market, which is related to the development of managerial capitalism. Speculative bubbles are also examined in this context of general economic transformation. Media coverage of the 2000 speculative bubble in France and Quebec illustrates the double trend of « economization » of media discourse and « popularization » of business-financial news.


OF DISSERTATION INTERNATIONALIZATION OF AN AFRICAN UNIVERSITY IN THE POSTCOLONIAL ERA: A CASE STUDY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI This case study uses post-colonial and dependency theoretical lenses to investigate the forces influencing policy, procedures, and participation in international activity in the post-colonial African university environment of Kenya's first national public university—the University of Nairobi (UoN). The research addresses (1) the approaches and strategies adopted by UoN to engage in international activity; (2) the changes that have taken place over time in international activity engagement at UoN since the attainment of political independence by the Republic of Kenya; and (3) the rationales driving participation in international activity. This investigation included library research, document analysis, multiple campus visits, and 20 formal interviews with the faculty and administrators of the University of Nairobi, Kenya. I argue that even though the University of Nairobi now exhibits some degree of agency in her international engagement as an independent post-colonial African University, limitations to this agency are evident given her colonial genesis as a university college linked to the University of London. Despite the fact that greater control has been realized in curricula issues, institutional level governance, income generating projects, and joint research collaboration and international partnerships, the road to independence in international engagement in a post-colonial university environment is still under construction. The University of Nairobi faces many challenges in her efforts to find a place in the global community of higher education. These challenges include, but are not limited to, lack of resources for human capacity building, shortage of faculty and staff, heavy teaching load, bureaucracy, loss of faculty control in setting their research agendas, commercialization of higher education, intellectual property rights violations, and brain drain. Rationales driving internationalization at the University of Nairobi are a consequence of contextual factors, some of which are external to the university and others internal and individual in nature. For example, whereas the academic rationales for participation, including research outlet, professional development, and networking are commonly cited as key motivators for international engagement, equally powerful economic motivators drive participation. I conclude this investigation by questioning the assumption that there can be balanced interdependence between marginalized African institutions of higher education (IHEs) and the developed world, as internationalization proponents suggest, arguing that these institutions are yet to break away from the colonial mold that led to their creation.


A promising signature of coalescing black holes is their spin angular distribution. We consider the aLIGO collaboration gravitational wave measurements of the binary black hole spins and the predicted modified gravity (MOG) preference for misaligned spins of the coalescing black holes. In MOG, during the merger of two black holes, the enhanced strength of gravitation reduces the effective spin parameter $\chi_{\rm eff}\sim 0$ in agreement with the measured spin misalignment of the merging black holes observed in the gravitational wave detections by the aLIGO collaboration.


The article sheds light on relations between Muslim and Christian Arabs in Israel in day-to-day life from 1967 until 2010. This period is characterized by significant ideological and socio-economic changes, with Islamization being particularly evident. The article is based on a field study of 91 in-depth interviews, as well as field surveys and documents from private collections. Findings indicate a deterioration in Muslim–Christian relations among Arabs in Israel during the research period. The two populations drew apart and tensions arose between them, sometimes escalating into violence. Socio-economic changes played an important role in the escalation, among them, privatization and commercialization, both of which increased economic competition. The demographic growth and urbanization in the Arab municipalities increased alienation between these two Arab subgroups and in so doing exacerbated the deterioration in relations.


Background: Strategies to prevent the development and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) are important in clinical practice due to increased life expectancy. The present study investigated the prevalence of CKD as well as lipid profiles affecting CKD, especially triglyceride (TG) levels.Methods: In total, 5,169 subjects were eligible for a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the Jichi Medical School Cohort Study. We examined CKD subjects with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 59 mL/min/1.73m2 or lower and independent factors associated with reductions in eGFR.Results: The prevalence of CKD was 17.7%. Age, systolic blood pressure, and hyperlipidemia were defined as related factors for CKD. The lowest, second, third, and highest quartile ranges of total cholesterol (TC) and TG were 0-166, 167-188, 189-212, and 213 mg/dL or higher and 0-71, 72-100, 101-148, and 149 mg/dL or higher, respectively. The odds ratio (OR) of Q2 to Q4 of TC relative to that of Q1 for CKD increased linearly (OR [95%CI]: Q2, 1.3 [1.0-1.7]; Q3, 1.38 [1.1-1.8]; Q4, 1.5 [1.4-2.4]). The ORs of Q2 and Q3 of TG for CKD did not increase, whereas that of Q4 did (OR [95% CI]: Q2, 0.95 [0.7-1.2]; Q3, 0.98 [0.8-1.2]; Q4, 1.21 [1.0-1.5]). Conclusion: Increases in TC and TG levels were both independently associated with CKD. The relationship with CKD became stronger as TC increased, and the TG had threshold was 149 mg/dL.


Abstract As front runners in the EU accession process, Serbia and Montenegro have failed to control corruption yet managed to advance along the path to EU integration. Although they have stronger state capacity compared to other Western Balkan countries, the two have recently reverted to previous poor governance practices after initial headway meeting EU good governance conditions. An in-depth analysis of the two countries explains this paradox as the result of the combination of the EU accession process and increasing Chinese finance. While the EU's stability-oriented strategy helped to consolidate these authoritarian regimes, Chinese funding policies have further strengthened patronage networks, fuelling corruption in the EU's 'stabilitocracies'.


This research aims to find out how professional teachers of Islamic religious education subjects in the MIN 2 Model Samarinda. This research uses an emics perspective, which is trying to understand, internalize, and describe the professional image of the teacher according to the phenomena and data, so it is also called the phenomenological fact. Data Collection techniques using observations, interviews and documentation, while the data analysis techniques to be used in this study, "descriptive analytic" and in qualitative research generally began since data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and withdrawal of conclusions or verification. The results of the study is that the teacher  is quite professional on the grounds that from the 11 indicators that are determined most have been able to be mastered/implemented well that is able to master the teaching materials, able to understand and interpret the results of educational research for the purposes of teaching, able to manage teaching programs, able to use the media and learning resources, able to plan teaching programs, able to manage the interaction of learning teaching, mastering various methods of teaching, able to recognize and organize the administration of the school (curriculum or learning administration), able to assess the achievement of students for the sake of teaching as well as the ability to master the education foundations, ability to know the functions and services of guidance and counseling that can not recognize children who have special characteristics and ability to manage classes Thus, the learning evaluation of teachers has the ability to assess students ' achievements for the sake of teaching. In this case the teachers of the most specific special PAI class in MIN 2 Model Samarinda have been able to assess well the proven list of values, group books, and analysis of the results are organized neatly and document the governance.


C3H/He mice obtained from different suppliers developed tail lesions shortly after arrival. Histologically no inclusion bodies could be shown. A serological survey of diseased mice was negative for those viruses which may cause skin lesions. The disease could not be transmitted to healthy mice and no virus could be cultured from the skin lesions. It is concluded that the syndrome was induced by stress, in this case transport from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands.


The peculiarities of the legal status of sports coach, who attributed labor law to a particular category of employees whose work requires special legal regulation. The author analyzes the foreign practice and concludes that overseas status of a sports coach is not differentiated. According to a Russian labor law legal status coach divisible by teaching staff and sports coach directly. Determined substantial specificity sports labor product of sports coach - as a result of labor produced athletic trainer, the performance of his functions under the labor contract.


To understand the long-term stability of nitrifying granules in a membrane bioreactor (GMBR), a membrane module was submerged in an airlift reactor to eliminate the hydraulic selection pressure that was believed to be the driving force of aerobic granulation. The long-term monitoring results showed that the structure of nitrifying granules could remain stable for 305 days in the GMBR without hydraulic selection pressure; however, the majority of the granule structure was actually inactive due to mass diffusion limitation. As a consequence, active biomass free of mass diffusion limitation only inhabited the top 60–80 µm layer of the nitrifying granules. There was a dynamic equilibrium between bioflocs and membrane, i.e., 25% of bioflocs attached on the membrane surface within the last nine days of the backwash cycle in synchronization with the emergence of a peak of soluble extracellular polymeric substances (sEPS), with a concentration of around 47 mg L−1. Backwash can eventually detach and return these bioflocs to the bulk solution. However, the rate of membrane fouling did not change with and without the biofloc attachment. In a certain sense, the GMBR investigated in this study functioned in a similar fashion as an integrated fixed-film activated sludge membrane bioreactor and thus defeated the original purpose of GMBR development. The mass diffusion problem and sEPS production should be key areas of focus in future GMBR research.


The purpose of the present investigation was to examine strength performance of 6 common resistance training exercises using free weight bars of different thickness. Eleven resistance-trained men (8.2 ± 2.6 years of experience; age: 22.1 ± 1.6 years; body mass: 90.5 ± 8.9 kg) underwent 1 repetition maximum (1RM) strength testing on 6 occasions in random order for the deadlift, bent-over row, upright row, bench press, seated shoulder press, and arm curl exercises under 3 conditions using: (a) a standard Olympic bar (OL), (b) a 2-inch thick bar (5.08 cm grip span), and (c) a 3-inch thick bar (7.62 cm grip span). Significant (p < 0.05) interactions were observed for the "pulling" exercises. For the deadlift and bent-over row, highest 1RM values were obtained with OL, followed by the 2- and 3-inch bar. Significant 1RM performance decrements for the 2- and 3-inch bars were ∼28.3 and 55.0%, respectively, for the deadlift; decrements for the 2- and 3-inch bars were ∼8.9 and 37.3%, respectively, for the bent-over row. For the upright row and arm curl, similar 1RMs were obtained for OL and the 2-inch bar. However, a significant performance reduction was observed using the 3-inch bar (∼26.1% for the upright row and 17.6% for the arm curl). The reductions in 1RM loads correlated significantly to hand size and maximal isometric grip strength (r = −0.55 to −0.73). No differences were observed between bars for the bench press or shoulder press. In conclusion, the use of 2- and 3-inch thick bars may result in initial weight reductions primarily for pulling exercises presumably due to greater reliance on maximal grip strength and larger hand size.


As the Internet slowly transitions towards IPv6, the routing protocols that are used to forward traffic across this global network must adapt to support this gradual transition. Two of the most frequently discussed interior dynamic routing protocols today are the IETF's OSPF and Cisco's EIGRP routing protocol. A wealth of papers have compared OSPF and EIGRP in terms of converge times and resource usage, however few papers have assessed the performance of each when implementing their respective security mechanisms. Therefore a comparison of OSPFv3 and EIGRPv6 will be conducted using dedicated Cisco hardware. This paper will firstly introduce each protocol and its security mechanisms, before conducting a comparison of OSPFv3 and EIGRPv6 using Cisco equipment. After discussing the simulation results, a conclusion will be drawn to reveal the findings of this paper and which protocol performs the best upon implementing their respective security mechanisms within a small IPv6 enterprise network.


Machine learning techniques always aim to reduce the generalized prediction error. In order to reduce it, ensemble methods present a good approach combining several models that results in a greater forecasting capacity. The Random Machines already have been demonstrated as strong technique, i.e: high predictive power, to classification tasks, in this article we propose an procedure to use the bagged-weighted support vector model to regression problems. Simulation studies were realized over artificial datasets, and over real data benchmarks. The results exhibited a good performance of Regression Random Machines through lower generalization error without needing to choose the best kernel function during tuning process.


Diacetyl is a potentially harmful chemical that is used as an artificial flavouring in the food industry and may also be generated during processing of some natural products including coffee. In Europe, an 8-h time weighted average occupational exposure limit (TWA-OEL) of 20 ppb has been adopted for diacetyl, together with a short-term exposure limit (STEL) of 100 ppb. A new measurement method involving sampling on thermal desorption tubes and analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has been used to investigate potential exposure to diacetyl, and the related compound 2,3-pentanedione, at eight companies involved in the coffee industry including large- and small-scale manufacturers and coffee shops. A total of 124 static and personal samples were collected. In the majority of personal samples airborne concentrations of diacetyl were <5 ppb, with those at coffee shops generally <1 ppb. However, diacetyl concentrations in ~40% of the long-term personal samples, mainly originating from one site, were found to be in excess of the newly adopted European TWA-OEL of 20 ppb. Diacetyl concentrations up to 400 ppb were detected on the static samples, with the highest values occurring during grinding of roasted coffee beans. 2,3-Pentanedione was also detected in most of the samples at airborne concentrations around half of those for diacetyl. A significant number of other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were also detected at sub-ppm concentrations, including acetoin, aliphatic carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones and esters, methylfuran, furfural and furfuryl-based alcohols and ketones, and nitrogen containing compounds, such as pyridines and pyrazines. In laboratory tests, diacetyl emissions generated during heating of whole beans were found to be significantly lower than those from heating the same beans after grinding. Diacetyl emissions from both ground and whole beans were also found to be significantly dependent on temperature.


I am not unmindful of the diversity of opinion among otologists as to the essentials of treatment of an acute inflammation of the middle ear; and in giving my personal opinions, based on considerable observation and experience, it is possible that I shall advocate some measures which may seem somewhat radical and not thoroughly approved by some of you. It is gratifying to know, however, that the trend of medical teaching to-day is in favor of more radicalism in the treatment of acute middle-ear inflammations and that the so-called conservative treatment, in the management of these cases, is considered by most progressive otologists as carrying with it a decided element of danger. Most authors divide acute inflammation of the middle ear into two forms, the catarrhal and the purulent. Clinically, the two forms should be considered as different stages of the same disease, the difference in the character of the


Mean flow quantities have been investigated for the equilibrium boundary layer evolving over the rough wall with a roughness height that is proportional to streamwise distance. The wall shear stress measured by drag balance with a floating element device of a zero displacement mechanism. The local skin friction coefficient is independent of both streamwise distance and momentum thickness Reynolds number and has a value of 0.00826. The boundary layer thickness is proportional to the streamwise distance. The relative roughness height then maintains a constant value. The log-law profile has the same slope of that of the smooth wall turbulent boundary layer in the logarithmic liner part. The value of the roughness function increases in the streamwise direction. The wake parameter approaches to a constant value of approximately 0.70. In addition, the value is consistent with the result determined from the analytical method using the momentum integral equation and Coles's wake law. For the analytical result, the wake parameter decreases with increasing friction parameter.


This paper proposes and carries out a two-stage analysis of the determinants of desired family size, using data gathered from a sample of women in the city of Ilorin, Nigeria. The analysis first focuses on differences between women who report numerical family size desires and those who report nonnumerical desires. Findings suggest that there are important differences between these two groups, but there is little variation in the actual number reported by those expressing numerical desires. Implications of these findings for survey design are discussed. In particular, the practice of forcing numerical responses by instructing interviewers to probe when women report nonnumerical desires is questioned.


On the NASA Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom), we observed a sharp hemispheric contrast in the concentration of ultrafine aerosols (3-12 nm diameter) in the lowermost stratosphere that persisted through all four seasons. Exploring possible causes, we show that this is likely caused by aircraft, which emit both ultrafine aerosol and precursor gases for new particle formation (NPF) in quantities that agree well with our observations. While aircraft may emit a range of NPF precursors, we focus here on sulphur dioxide (a major source of atmospheric sulphuric acid), of which we have observations from the same mission.  We observe the same hemispheric contrast in sulphur dioxide as ultrafine aerosol, and find that the observed concentrations are in alignment with inventoried aircraft emissions. We present box modeling and thermodynamic calculations that support the plausibility of NPF under the conditions and sulphur dioxide concentrations observed on ATom.

While the direct climate impact of ultrafine aerosol in the lowermost stratosphere (LMS) may currently be small, our observations show a definitive size distribution shift of the background aerosol distribution in the northern hemisphere. This is important for assessing aviation impacts, and the expected impacts of increased air-traffic. Furthermore, climate intervention via injection of sulphate or aerosols into the stratosphere is a current subject of research. Our study shows that NPF is possible and likely already happening in the LMS, which must be accounted for in models for stratospheric modification, and points out that we must consider that any intentional stratospheric modification will be applied to two very different hemispheres: a largely pristine southern hemisphere; and an already anthropogenically modified northern hemisphere.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of the combined use of Shenmai Injection (SMI) and enteral nutrition on postoperative fatigue syndrome (POFS) in patients with gastric cancer (GC).

METHODS
Fifty-eight GC patients were randomized into the parenteral nutrition group (PNG, 19 cases), enteral nutrition group (ENG, 19 cases) and combined treatment group (CTG, 20 cases). The post-operative recovery in patients was observed; patients' conditions of fatigue, mood and sleep were evaluated respectively by visual analogue scale of fatigue, profile of mood states (POMS) and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). Meanwhile, nutritional variables, such as serum contents of total protein, albumin, pre-albumin, were measured at different time points: before operation (d0) and the 1st, 5th, and 9th day (d1, d5 and d9) after operation. Immune variables such as subsets of lymphocytes (CD3, CD4, CD8), serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM, IgA) were also determined.

RESULTS
Conditions of recovery, POMS and PSQI were better and the postoperative fatigue reduced more significantly in CTG than those in the other two groups (P < 0.05). On d9, levels of pre-albumin, CD3, CD4, CD4/CD8 in CTG were significantly higher than those in the PNG and ENG (P < 0.05), meantime, levels of albumin and IgA were higher in CTG than those in PNG (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Combined treatment of SMI and enteral nutrition can regulate mood and sleep to some extents, and reduce the postoperative fatigue through improving nutritional status and immune function, thus speeding up the recovery of patients.


We investigate properties of ABA+, a formalism that extends the well studied structured argumentation formalism Assumption-Based Argumentation (ABA) with a preference handling mechanism. In particular, we establish desirable properties that ABA+ semantics exhibit. These pave way to the satisfaction by ABA+ of some (arguably) desirable principles of preference handling in argumentation and nonmonotonic reasoning, as well as non-monotonic inference properties of ABA+ under various semantics.


This work deals with joint data detection and channel estimation for single input single output systems in presence of inter symbol interference. Therefore, deterministic methods, the Gibbs-sampler and combinations between deterministic and Monte Carlo approaches are compared. The examined methods belong to the class of block by block iterative algorithms alternating between channel estimation and data detection. It will be shown that the deterministic method might get trapped in a local maximum of the likelihood function, whereas the Monte Carlo methods theoretically almost converge to a global maximum. Based on simulation results it will be shown that a performance gain can be achieved at the expense of slower convergence speed or an increased computational effort.


A mosaic of ravine forest, evergreen bush, cliffs and rocks. karroid patches and mountain grassveld provide, breeding and! or feeding habitats for 277 resident or migrating bird species on the Korannaberg in the eastern O.F.S. This, in some places strongly dissected, Cave Sandstone mesa lies in the 700 mm yearly rainfall zone and biogeographically, in the overlap of the South African Highlands and the Woodland Savanna provinces. As a transitional area. the Korannaberg carries a mixed mesophytic - xerophytic vegetal cover and in its avifauna shows several endemic species which characterize either the Karoo or the Drakensberg mountains. This avifauna has been surveyed part-time between 1911 and 1983. The species recorded during the survey are presented according to the cladistic system of Wolters, and each species' local breeding season, habitat and other preferences are briefly summarized.


The problem of constructing a canonical representation for an arbitrary continuous piecewise-linear (PWL) function in any dimension is considered in this paper. We solve the problem based on a general lattice PWL representation, which can be determined for a given continuous PWL function using existing methods. We first transform the lattice PWL representation into the difference of two convex functions, then propose a constructive procedure to rewrite the latter as a canonical representation that consists of at most n-level nestings of absolute-value functions in n dimensions, hence give a thorough solution to the problem mentioned above. In addition, we point out that there exist notable differences between a lattice representation and the two novel general constructive representations proposed in this paper, and explain that these differences make all the three representations be of their particular interests.


The US Senate Committee that investigated the Enron disaster assessed the role of analysts. At issue was whether analysts misled the public by ignoring warning signals that included a high proportion of non-operating income. Non-operating income derives from secondary activities like investments, but operating income is from the primary business activities like manufacturing. While the analysts admitted their limited ability to forecast Enron's earnings, they denied any intentional deceit and claimed that they were misled by Enron. This study asks whether analysts' ability to predict earnings is generally negatively associated with the proportion of non-operating income. The rationale is to determine whether the limited ability of analysts to predict earnings for Enron was an isolated incident or a pervasive one that applies to other firms. If pervasive, then another such disaster could occur without a warning from analysts. First, I examine the incentives for firms to resort more to non-operating income rather than focus on Operating income. Then I examine the association between analysts' forecast attributes and the ratio of nonoperating to operating income. The results show that non-operating income and operating income are negatively associated, suggesting that firms use non-operating income to manage their operating results. Also, analysts' forecast inaccuracy and dispersion are positively associated with the ratio of non-operating income to operating income. These results imply that analysts are generally inefficient in predicting earnings of firms with a high proportion of non-operating income.


In Reply.— Physicians who perform preplacement medical examinations for industry or business at the time of hire or job transfer should be aware of the legal obligations placed on management by the EEOC regulations; §503 and §504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974. This can be accomplished by consulting with the personnel and legal departments or consultants of the company for whom the physician is performing the medical evaluations. I agree with Dr Lerner's advice to physicians expressed in the second paragraph of his response to Dr Fisher. A physician who accepts responsibility for this type of examination is urged to review carefully an article published in the Journal of Occupational Medicine , 1 as well as the reference listed by Dr Lerner.


We report a case of pericarditis following aorto-coronary by-pass surgery which gradually developed into chronic constrictive pericarditis. The disease was a long time ignored because symptoms are not specific. In our case the clinical presentation looked like a cirrhosis especially that our patient developed an hepatitis after blood transfusion. In this occasion criteria of diagnostic are reminded. Hemodynamic investigation is still the best method of diagnosis and the only treatment is surgical and consists of pericardial decortication.


We present high-speed optical photometry from SAAO and SALT on the black hole LMXBMAXI J1820+070 (ASSASN-18ey), some of it simultaneous with NICER, Swift and Insight-HXMT X-ray coverage. We detect optical Quasi-Periodic Oscillations (QPOs) that move to higher frequencies as the outburst progresses, tracking both the frequency and evolution of similar X-ray QPOs previously reported. Correlated X-ray/optical data reveal a complex pattern of lags, including an anti-correlation and a sub-second lag that evolve over the first few weeks of outburst. They also show correlated components separated by a lag equal to the QPO period roughly centered on zero lag, implying that the inter-band variability is strongly and consistently affected by these QPOs at a constant phase lag of roughly ±π. The synchronisation of X-ray and optical QPOs indicates that they must be produced in regions physically very close to each other; we thus propose that they can be explained by a precessing jet model, based on analogies with V404 Cyg and MAXI J1348-630.


Almost all states and the federal government have statutes designed to protect sexual assault victims from harassing and intimidating questions regarding their past sexual experiences and reputations for chastity. During the Kobe Bryant's sexual assault preliminary hearing, Bryant's attorney was accused of violating Colorado's rape shield statute when she asked whether the alleged victim's reported injuries could have been caused by having sex with three men in a short period of time. Bryant's attorney was immediately -attacked for attempting to smear the victim and violating Colorado's rape shield statute. Unknown to many persons, all rape shield statutes have exceptions; and some exceptions are constitutionally required. A complete ban on questions regarding victims' past sexual experiences would violate defendants' Sixth Amendment right to confront the evidence against them and the Fourteenth Amendment right to due process of Jaw of the U. S. Constitution. The authors discuss the right to confrontation, including a table that shows the exceptions for all states and the federal government.


Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease in which defective T cells, immune complex deposition and other immune system alterations contribute to pathological changes of multiple organ systems. The vitamin D metabolite c is a critical immunomodulator playing pivotal roles in the immune system. Epidemiological evidence indicates that vitamin D deficiency is correlated with the severity of SLE. Our aim is to investigate the effects of 1,25(OH)2D3 (VitD3) on the activation of myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) by autologous DNA-containing immune complex (DNA-ICs), and the effects of VitD3 on immune system balance during SLE. We purified DNA-ICs from the serum of SLE patients and isolated mDCs from normal subjects. In vitro studies showed that DNA-ICs were internalized and consumed by mDCs. VitD3 blocked the effects of DNA-ICs on RelB, IL-10 and TNF-α in mDCs. Further analysis indicated that DNA-ICs stimulated histone acetylation in the RelB promoter region, which was inhibited by VitD3. Knockdown of the histone deacetylase 3 gene (HDAC3) blocked these VitD3-mediated effects. Co-culture of mDCs and CD4+ T cells showed that VitD3 inhibited multiple processes mediated by DNA-ICs, including proliferation, downregulation of IL-10, TGF-β and upregulation of TNF-α. Moreover, VitD3 could also reverse the effects of DNA-IC-induced imbalance of CD4+  CD127-  Foxp3+ T cells and CD4+  IL17+ T cells. Taken together, our results indicated that autologous DNA-ICs stimulate the activation of mDCs in the pathogenesis of SLE, and VitD3 inhibits this stimulatory effects of DNA-ICs by negative transcriptional regulation of RelB gene and maintaining the Treg/Th17 immune cell balance. These results suggest that vitamin D may have therapeutic value for the treatment of SLE.


Some modern treatment‐planning systems (TPSs) provide for input of wedge factor (WF) tables covering the entire range of square and elongated fields available on the LINAC. Depending on the field size increment chosen and the number of available wedge orientations, one may have to take more than 100 measurements per wedge and photon energy to commission the TPS. To expedite TPS commissioning while maintaining high accuracy, we demonstrate a simple method that requires only a few measurements per wedge, from which the remaining wedge factors can be found through linear interpolation based on field area. For the externally mounted wedges of two common LINACs, we have shown that WFs are proportional to field area and are nearly independent of field elongation and wedge orientation. Wedge factors computed from five to seven measurements comprised of square fields and a single, large rectangular field agreed with direct measurements throughout the entire range of achievable field dimensions within 0.6% at 6 MV and within 1% at 15 MV. Making the same set of measurements and using the equivalent square method to find WFs at other field sizes leads to errors up to 2%. Measuring the WF for a 10×10cm2 field and applying the same value to all field sizes can lead to errors of up to 10% at both 6 MV and 15 MV. PACS numbers: 87.53.Bn, 87.53.Mr


The use of animations as teaching aids has long found its place in teaching and learning processes following its positive results. However, it is usually a computer-based animation that is being used which implies desk-bound learning and may not satisfy the 'anywhere, anytime' learning offered by mobile learning approach. Mobile learning employs mobile technologies and has proven to be an effective approach to facilitate learning as the learners go. This research work, adopts the use of animations in mobile platform to enhance teaching and learning of numerical simulations. A mobile learning system, NuSim was implemented on Android Platform to teach Euler Method, EulerCauchy Method, and Fourth-Order Runge-Kutta Method of numerical methods. NuSim was installed on some randomly selected students for testing purpose and found to be easy to use and also enhanced their learning.


A comnprehensive process which combines chemical with thermal treatment by controlled counterflow oxidation has been developed for disposal of PCBs in transformer oil. PCBs which not completely removed by chemical treatment, after being filtered with appropriate adsorbent during the oil circulations, was thermally treated. Destruction efficiencies of better than 99.99% was obtained, with no measurable formation of PCDDs (polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins) or PCDFs (polychlorinated dibenzofurans). The combination also permits high recovery of oil and inorganic supports from scrap power transformers. The process is environmentally benign, easy to use and less capital intensive than other available technologies.


Infected-cell protein 4 (ICP4), the major regulatory protein specified by herpes simplex virus 1 in infected cells, binds to homologs of the sequence ATCGTCnnnnYCGRC (A sites, where n is any nucleotide, Y is a pyrimidine, and R is a purine) and to unrelated sequences for which no consensus sequence has been derived (B sites). We have examined the binding of ICP4 to each of two A and two B binding sites by using Fab fragments of a monoclonal antibody that is reactive with an epitope located at the N terminus of ICP4 and that decreases the mobility of ICP4-DNA complexes in non-denaturing gels. The results indicate that each type of site binds two monomers of ICP4. Methylation-interference studies on the type B sites mapped the guanines whose methylation interfered with the binding of ICP4. The methylation-interference pattern obtained with one of the B sites was similar to that obtained on an A site but differed from that of the other B site. The ability of ICP4 to bind to DNA fragments containing the binding site appears to be dependent on length and on the proximity of the binding site to the fragment end. Short DNA fragments did not form stable complexes with ICP4 even though they contained all of the purines whose methylation interfered with the binding of the regulatory protein.


There is currently no effective therapy for patients with advanced ovarian cancer. To address the need for a more effective treatment for this deadly disease, we conducted preclinical tests in ovarian tumor-bearing mice to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of using a cationic biodegradable poly(beta-amino ester) polymer as a vector for nanoparticulate delivery of DNA encoding a diphtheria toxin suicide protein (DT-A). The promoter sequences of two genes that are highly active in ovarian tumor cells, MSLN and HE4, were used to target DT-A expression to tumor cells. Administration of DT-A nanoparticles directly to s.c. xenograft tumors and to the peritoneal cavity of mice bearing primary and metastatic ovarian tumors resulted in a significant reduction in tumor mass and a prolonged life span compared to control mice. Minimal nonspecific tissue and blood chemistry toxicity was observed following extended treatment with nanoparticles. DT-A nanoparticle therapy suppressed tumor growth more effectively than treatment with clinically relevant doses of cisplatin and paclitaxel. Our findings suggest that i.p. administration of polymeric nanoparticles to deliver DT-A encoding DNA, combined with transcriptional regulation to target gene expression to ovarian tumor cells, holds promise as an effective therapy for advanced-stage ovarian cancer.


Skin disruptions account for 20% to 30% of pediatric primary care visits [1]. These disruptions may result from skin infections, inflammatory responses, insect bites, and infestations. This article focuses on the identification and management of skin disruptions related to inflammatory dermatoses. The most common dermatoses in infancy are seborrheic dermatitis, (also known as cradle cap); diaper or primary contact dermatitis; and atopic dermatitis, more commonly referred to as eczema, an entity that has yet to be clearly defined. Recognition and appropriate treatment of these common pediatric dermatoses must not just focus on the skin disruptions; it is important that the infant be assessed within the context of the family. The primary care provider must be aware that these conditions have the potential to affect the developing relationship between the infant, parent(s), and family. The practitioner within the provider-family relationship, through education and support, can empower the parent(s) to provide the necessary care for their infant.


In this paper, we present two mobile platforms in an interactive learning context for children. The first system is the BlueCube, a wirelessly networked tangible computer using acceleration sensors built into a cube, the second is a modern mobile phone with Bluetooth capabilities and J2ME support. Both devices use different input modalities for the same task: a supportive and general learning platform. We present the hardware platform built for the BlueCube and the system architecture. The goal of this work is to compare the impacts of both systems on the experience and learning success. We conclude by giving an outlook on the evaluation of the presented system in a real school.


This research aims at determining the strategic reinforcements of Civics literacy in sustaining the learning in the 4.0 industrial era. The 4.0 education is a response to the needs of the 4.0 industrial revolution where humans and technology are mutually sustaining the educational advancements. This research was designed with qualitative research methods using purposive sampling technique. The subjects were the teachers of Civics Education subject and students of Junior High School. The data were collected by using the techniques of document study, interviews, and observation. Those data analysis techniques were conducted following the data reduction, data presentation, drawing conclusions, and verification. This research explored the 4.0 education trend that concerns with its several learning strategies of HOTS (higher thinking order skills), 4C (critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity), reinforcing character education, and literacy. Civics literacy reinforcement has been a demand along with the development and the information technological advancements progress in fostering the critical citizens. The results indicated that the Civics literacy reinforcement in sustaining the learning in the 4.0 industrial era were carried out using several strategies, among others; 1) Civics knowledge through the development of digital literacy-based Civics education material; 2) Civics skills through the HOTS and 4C learning process; 3) Civics dispositions through character education reinforcing programs.


The famous Lotka-Volterra equations play a fundamental role in the mathematical modeling of various ecological and chemical systems. A new modification of these equations has been recently suggested to model the structure of marine phage populations, which are the most abundant biological entities in the biosphere. The purpose of the paper is: (i) to make some methodical remarks concerning this modification; (ii) to discuss new types of canards which arise naturally in this context; (iii) to present results of some numerical experiments.


At the University of California Patch Test Clinic at San Francisco during 1975-78, 26 patients examined for suspect plant dermatitis showed 20 positive patch test reactions to plants. Fourteen patients showed positive patch test reactions to juniper extract (Juniperus) (Hollister-Stier Laboratories). Some of the 14 patients also had positive patch test reactions to Tanacetum (tancy), Dahlia, Achillea (milfoil), feverfew (Parthenium), marshelder (Iva), chicory (Cichorium) and to other extracts of the species of the Compositae (Chrysantbemum family). We suspect that juniper extract is irritant in many instances. These positive reactions were lacking in clinical relevance in most cases, judged by absence of relevant clinical history of exposure. Juniper extract should probably be tested at half its commercial strength or possibly at lower concentration, depending on further patch test experience with the extract. Some Compositae extracts are marginally irritant or frankly irritant in tbe presence of otber positive patch test reactions.


Background : Trauma is the main cause of spinal fractures and dislocations in humans and large animals. Clinical signs present with acute onset and vary according to the location and severity of the spinal cord injury. The treatment of fractures in large animals depends on economic value, cost of procedures, prognosis, location and type of fracture. However, although spinal fractures in large animals are not uncommon, the literature about their clinical aspects and treatment is scanty. Therefore, the purpose of this report is to describe a surgical stabilization of atlantoaxial subluxation, fracture of the third cervical vertebra and C2-C3 subluxation. Case : An approximately 2-year-old Ile-de-France sheep, weighing 101 kg, with a history of cervical trauma and non-ambulatory tetraparesis was treated at the Veterinary Hospital of the Institution (UNIPAMPA). During physical examination, the animal presented good general physical condition and heart rate, respiratory rate and temperature was according to physiological parameters for the species. The animal remained in lateral decubitus, with minimal head and limb movements, and exhibited deep pain sensitivity. Clinical treatment with dexamethasone, limb physiotherapy and change in lateral decubitus position were employed, but failed to improve the animal's condition. After five days of unresponsive to clinical treatment, the patient was referred to the neurology department, where it underwent neurological examination and radiographic examination of the cervical region was performed under general anesthesia. The radiographic examination revealed atlantoaxial subluxation, by displacement of the odontoid process into the vertebral canal, fracture of the third cervical vertebra and C2-C3 vertebral subluxation. The surgical planning aimed cervical vertebral instability repair using atlantoaxial arthrodesis associated the stabilization of C1-C2 and C2-C3 vertebrae with Schanz pins and bone cement, due facility and versatility this association. The postoperative radiographic examination showed incomplete insertion of the Schanz pin into the left Atlas wing and a cervical collar was recommended. The clinical evaluation was performed daily, and after 23 days of surgery the animal could crawl in lateral decubitus besides assisted walking ability. However, the animal died 36 days after surgery due to severe dyspnea. A necropsy revealed pulmonary edema and hepatic lipidosis, besides hepatic septic thrombus. Moreover, the vertebral canal of C1-C2 and C2-C3 segments stayed realigned and stabilized, without spinal cord injury and trachea compression. Discussion : Non-ambulatory tetraparesis, and minimal head and limb movements confirm severe spinal cord injury. The failure of clinical treatment, craniocervical instability in C1-C2 and C2-C3 and the high economic and genetic value of patients was definite for the surgical indication, besides reserved prognosis. The surgical treatment aim is recovery motor function from spinal cord decompression, vertebral canal realignment and the stabilization of vertebral instability. The cervical collar was placed on the patient after the surgery was intended to prevent rotation of the atlantoaxial joint, aiding vertebral stability. It is believed that the recovery of large animals with spinal cord injuries like in this case report is slower due to their heavy weight and the difficulty in managing such patients. This case report confirms that the techniques employed here achieved the proposed objectives of spinal canal alignment and spinal stabilization, showing improvement of clinical signs and recovery of the animal's limb and neck movements.


In this paper, the strictly passivity performance and its control problem for T-S fuzzy descriptor systems is addressed. Sufficient conditions are derived for analysis in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Based on the analysis condition, the LMI synthesis condition of a fuzzy static state feedback controller is proposed. The conditions are not only simplifies the design procedure, but also consider the interactions among the fuzzy subsystems.


During the last decades several lines of evidence reported the association of an adverse intrauterine environment, leading to intrauterine restriction, with future disease, such as obesity and metabolic syndrome, both leading to increased cardiovascular and cancer risk. The underlying explanation for this association has firstly been expressed by the Barker's hypothesis, the "thrifty phenotype hypothesis". According to this hypothesis, a fetus facing an adverse intrauterine environment adapts to this environment through a reprogramming of its endocrine-metabolic status, during the crucial window of developmental plasticity to save energy for survival, providing less energy and nutrients to the organs that are not essential for survival. This theory evolved to the concept of the developmental origin of health and disease (DOHaD). Thus, in the setting of an adverse, f. ex. protein restricted intrauterine environment, while the energy is mainly directed to the brain, the peripheral organs, f.ex. the muscles and the liver undergo an adaptation that is expressed through insulin resistance. The adaptation at the hepatic level predisposes to future dyslipidemia, the modifications at the vascular level to endothelial damage and future hypertension and, overall, through the insulin resistance to the development of metabolic syndrome. All these adaptations are suggested to take place through epigenetic modifications of the expression of genes without change of their amino-acid sequence. The epigenetic modifications leading to future obesity and cardiovascular risk are thought to induce appetite dysregulation, promoting food intake and adipogenesis, facilitating obesity development. The epigenetic modifications may even persist into the next generation even though the subsequent generation has not been exposed to an adverse intrauterine environment, a notion defined as the "transgenerational transfer of environmental information". As a consequence, if the increased public health burden and costs of non-communicable chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes have to be minimized, special attention should be laid to the healthy lifestyle habits of women of reproductive age, including healthy diet and physical activity to be established long before any pregnancy takes place in order to provide the best conditions for both somatic and mental health of future generations.


Air pollution is one of the most important problems threatening the organic life and ecosystem throughout the world. Among the components of air pollution, the most important ones are the heavy metals that can be toxic and carcinogenic even at low concentrations and even the nutrient elements can be harmful when at high concentrations. Thus, monitoring the heavy metal pollution in the air is very important and plants are widely used as biomonitor for this purpose. However, which plants and organs are more suitable for monitoring which heavy metal pollution can be determined with detailed studies. In the present study, it was aimed to determine which plant species and which organ of that species would be more suitable for monitoring the concentration of magnesium (Mg) in air. For this purpose, five organs of five species grown in regions having different traffic densities were examined. In conclusion, it was found that Mg concentration in washed bark of Robinia pseudoacacia, wood of Platanus orientalis, washed leaves of Ulmus minor, and non-washed leaves of Acer negundo and Nerium olender increased with increasing traffic density.


This study investigates the characteristics of metallic and ionic elements concentration, concentration according to transport path, and factor analysis in at Guducsan in Busan in the springtime of 2015. concentration in Guducsan and Gwaebeopdong were and , respectively. Contribution rate of water-soluble ions and secondary ion in concentration in Guducsan were 37.0% and 27.8% respectively. [] ratio and contribution rate of sea salt of in Guducsan and Gwaebeopdong were 0.91 and 1.12, 7.0% and 5.3%, respectively. The results of the backward trajectory analysis indicates that concentration, total inorganic water-soluble ions and total secondary ions were high when the air parcels moved from Sandong region in China than non-Sandong and northen China to Busan area. The results of the factor analysis at Guducsan indicates that factor 1 was anthropogenic source effects such as automobile emissions and industrial combustion processes, factor 2 was marine sources such as sea salts from sea, and factor 3 was soil component sources.


Retrospectively evaluated patient with thoracic trauma who were hospitalized and treated at chest surgery clinic from january 2005-july 2009 A total of 255 patient(220 male-35 female mean age 38.2) with thoracic trauma were evaluated with respect to etiology¬ thoracic pathologies assosiated injuries and treatment methods. Blunt and penetrating thoracic injuries were found in 167 and 88 patients .Respectively the most common cause were traffic accidents (%78) and stab wounds, (%92) for blunt and penetrating thoracic injuries.The most frequent thoracic pathologies were soft injuries(%35) followed by pneumothorax(%24), multpl rib fractures ,(%21) hemopneumothorax(%20) and hemothorax(%17).Extrathoracic injuries were seen in 60(%23.5) patients .The most common being cranial(%45) ,extremity injuries(%38) and abdominal (%18.3). Treatment was conservative 53 patient (%20.78) tube thoracostomy (n- 167 %67.49)diapragmatic repair or bleeding control with thoracotomy (n-35 %13.7). Mortality occured in 3 patients (%1.17) It is important that thoracic trauma patients with increased risk of mortality and morbidity should recieve immidiate and systematic treatment


We used a longitudinal design to examine factors associated with Canadians' (1) early adoption of maskwearing and (2) attitudes toward mask mandates before mandatory mask mandates were issued. In May 2020, 1,712 Canadians began a 28-day daily diary study tracking their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined the associations between people's political affiliation, psychological reactance, pre-existing risk factors, attitudes about the pandemic's severity, attitudes about mask mandates, and public mask-wearing frequency. Growth curve analyses indicated that, over time, Canadians' mask-wearing frequency and attitudes supporting mask mandates both increased. Those who perceived the pandemic as more serious had higher initial levels of both positive attitudes about mask mandates and mask-wearing frequency. Political affiliation was an important predictor of mask mandate attitudes, but only after May 20th, 2020: The first day Prime Minister Trudeau and Teresa Tam publicly stated they would be wearing masks in public. Subsequently, more liberally leaning participants reported more positive attitudes toward mask mandates compared to those with more conservative political views. These findings suggest the importance of cohesive, non-partisan messaging during a public health crisis to avoid political fractures in the uptake of recommended health behaviours. We provide recommendations for public health messengers toward improving voluntary compliance with public health measures, both during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.


This paper presents, for the first time, the integration of conformal paper-based RFID's with a Single Walled Carbon Nanotube (SW-CNT) composite for the development of a chipless RFID-enabled wireless sensor node for toxic gas detection and breathing-gas-content estimation. The electrical performance of the inkjet-printed SWCNT-based ultrasensitive sensor is reported up to 1GHz. The whole module is realized by inkjet-printing on a low-cost "green" paper-based substrate designed to operate in the European UHF RFID band. The electrical conductivity of the SWCNT film changes in the presence of ultra-small quantities of gases like ammonia and nitrogen dioxide, resulting in the variation of the backscattered power level which can be easily detected by the RFID reader to realize reliable early-warning toxic gas detection or breathing monitoring with potentially profound effects on ubiquitous low-cost "green" quality-of-life applications


During the research on the division of modes based on the analysis of the manners of dissolution and combination of property right of PPP projects, it is found that there are three basic modes in public-private partnerships according to the different ascriptions of property rights. The main feature of Mode I is that the government owns the project property rights in the total life cycle; Mode II is the ownership belongs to the folk entity during the concessionary operation period, and the government in other phases; Mode III is characterized as the property remaining with the folk entity both during and after the concessionary operation period. In the end, the basic thread of the selection of Chinese PPP projects is put forward on the basis of comparing Sino-Japanese PPP projects practices.


Subjects enrolled in the Autopsy Program at the University of Southern California Alzheimer's Disease Research Center may receive clinical diagnoses from primary care providers in the community or from specialists in neurology. We reviewed the autopsy concordance rates for 463 subjects for diagnoses made by both groups of clinicians. Seventy-seven percent of the sample met neuropathological criteria for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The overall diagnostic accuracy for this sample was 81 percent. Neurologists assessed 200 of the subjects (43 percent). The diagnostic accuracy for any clinical diagnosis among the non-neurologists was 84 percent, and 78 percent (p = 0.07) among neurologists. For AD, non-neurologists had a diagnostic concordance rate of 91 percent and neurologists 87 percent. Where neuropathological AD was missed, non-neurologists had failed to detect any cognitive impairment; neurologists had diagnosed Parkinson's disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Erroneous clinical diagnoses of AD missed dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) or AD concurrent with Parkinson's disease (PD). Our findings identify specific foci for improving clinical diagnosis of dementia among all physicians managing dementia.


The present study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory potential of Amycolatopsis thermoflava producing 1-O-methyl chrysophanol (OMC), a member of the hydroxyanthraquinone family. The anti-inflammatory potential was evaluated initially through in silico analysis against tumor necrosis factor- α and cyclooxygenase-2. The same activity was further confirmed based on the in vitro protein denaturation method as well as in vivo by a carrageenan-induced paw edema model in rats. The OMC compound was isolated, purified, and characterized from the fermentation broth of Amycoloptosis thermoflava. In vitro data revealed that the OMC possesses significant protein denaturation properties with an IC50 of 63.50±2.19 µg/ml higher than the standard drug, with an IC50 value of 71.42±0.715 µg/ml. The percentage of inhibition in paw swelling was observed to be 40.03±5.5 in OMC-treated group, which is comparable to the standard group (52.8±4.7). The histopathological evaluation and immunohistochemistry revealed the anti-inflammatory potential of OMC.