Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns result in global climate change. Human activities that burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas have been identified as the main driver of climate change. The extreme weather events of climate change, especially floods and droughts, have already caused severe economic impacts. These impacts will continue to intensify unless transformative and holistic adaptations are put in place. The Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) aims at keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5° Celsius. To achieve the targets, balancing between anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) sources and sinks needs strong efforts and long-term low emissions development strategies of the participating countries. Thailand's long-term low GHG emissions development strategy (LT-LEDS) submitted to UNFCCC in 2022 included national adaptation and economy-wide GHG mitigation in the energy, industrial processes and product use, waste, agriculture and land use, land-use change and forestry sectors, and international supports needed to meet the net zero emissions targets. Thus, this paper reviews several low-carbon development strategies in Thailand to meet the targets of carbon neutrality and net zero emissions. The impacts of LT-LEDS include GHG emissions reduction and the macroeconomic impacts. Results of several low-carbon development strategies in Thailand show that achieving the nationwide carbon neutrality and net zero GHG emissions is possible; but all feasible options and measures need to be implemented immediately.


It is well documented that urbanization modifies the natural watershed and stream hydrologic and geomorphic processes by altering the landscape, modifying vegetation and soil characteristics, and introducing impervious surfaces and drainage infrastructure. The resulting increases in the volume, frequency, and duration of runoff from development projects are known as hydromodification. Hydromodification of natural runoff processes intensifies sediment transport and often leads to stream bank erosion and channel incision. These types of changes have occurred in San Francisco Bay Area streams. Stormwater management programs in the Bay Area are being required to address the impacts from new and redevelopment projects on the beneficial uses of streams resulting from erosion caused by hydromodification. The Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP) NPDES permit requires co-permittee agencies to develop a Hydromodification Management Plan (HMP) that describes how they plan to manage increases in runoff volume and peak flow from development projects and protect stream systems. The HMP will establish in-stream stability criteria and runoff control design criteria, and provide guidance on management measures, which include a combination of on-site, in-stream, and regional control strategies. The HMP will also consider water quality and habitat impacts in evaluating and recommending control measures. To date, the project team has conducted a literature review, developed a conceptual model and defined the assessment method. Characterization of streams and future development, field data collection, and hydrologic/hydraulic modeling is underway, and an HMP assessment report is scheduled for completion in June 2003.


Estimation of causal eects in regression discontinuity designs relies on a local Wald estimator whose components are estimated via local linear regressions centred at an specic point in the range of a treatment assignment variable. The asymptotic distribution of the estimator depends on the specic choice of kernel used in these nonparametric regressions, with some popular kernels causing a notable loss of effciency. This article presents the asymptotic distribution of the local Wald estimator when a gamma kernel is used in each local linear regression. The resulting statistics is easy to implement, consistent at the usual nonparametric rate, maintains its asymptotic normal distribution, but its bias and variance do not depend on kernel-related constants and, as a result, is becomes a more effcient method. The effciency gains are measured via a limited Monte Carlo experiment, and the new method is used in a substantive application.(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)


By Aaron Hamrick, biology
 Advisor: John Layne
 Presentation ID: CC_8
 Abstract: Certain properties throughout the animal kingdom are experienced similarly such as size and shape however; color is not universally perceived the same for all organisms. Differences in number, type and sensitivity of cones in the visual system will determine the processing, discrimination and color perceived by the vision pathway. The amount of different cone types present in a visual system determines whether the organism is dichromatic or trichromatic. Most mammals and crustaceans are dichromatic, their cones sensitive to green and blue, while humans and few other species are trichromatic, sensitive to red/green/blue wavelength of light. Having the extra cone makes these organisms more sensitive to a wider range of wavelengths. This gives these organisms a greater complexity of color discrimination throughout a wider range of colors. We are interested particularly in the range of sensitivity of the visual system of the Atlantic sand fiddler crab, Uca pugilator. Uca pugilator was behaviorally tested to varying gray scale stimuli in the 470nm wavelength spectrum, a near blue color they see extremely well. These tests allow us to determine to what degree of discrimination this organism has visually in this wavelength. We chose this stimulus because it stimulates an inherent and natural response from subject in the form of eye tracking and keeps the signal output from the LEDs uniform, only altering the contrast. Preliminary results show consistency in sensitivity in line with the Weber Theory.


The literature on the industrialization process in East Asia and Latin America South Korea is like the fable of the three blind men who were asked to describe an elephant after touching it. The literature has now evolved from the debate between the Washington Consensus framework and the Developmental State framework to their fusion in late 1990s to the currently dominant growth paradigm of Institution Fundamentalism. We argue here that Institution Fundamentalism is gravely flawed because it pays inadequate attention to the role of geography and science in economic growth. The outcome is that Institution Fundamentalism does not recognize the existence of growth traps, and hence advocates self-help as the best cure for poverty.

The neglect of geography has meant denial of the virulence of diseases and the limited potential for large gains in agricultural productivity in the tropics as key obstacles to growth in most of Africa. This is why Institution Fundamentalists ignore the obvious biology-based explanation for the upward income gradient that begins at the equator and, propose the alternate explanation that the distance from the equator proxies for the relative penetration of European economic institutions (and European-style economic institutions are the ultimate engines of growth).

We note that there was nothing automatic about the catching up phenomenon in the United States; it occurred because of the massive state investments in the poor regions e.g. rural electrification, an extensive national transportation system, large-scale water works projects implemented through the Army Corp of Engineers. If we take an extremely destitute medium-size landlocked country (surrounded by poor neighbors) that has no vibrant income growth in any of its provinces, the scope for cross-region subsidies is non-existent. Hence, some extremely poor countries are caught in poverty traps because they are too poor to make the critical amount of investments that will free them from the interlocking vicious cycles of illiteracy, disease, physical isolation and poverty. The self-help logo of Institution Fundamentalism can unfortunately serve as a cover for moral callousness.

One effective instrument that the Federal government used to promote growth in the poorer US states was the land grant state university system. The state universities not only increased human capital formation but also mobilized science to overcome the ecology-specific barriers to higher productivity yield in agriculture and to better health within the local populations. Thus, for many of the least developed economies, where agricultural would continue to be the mainstay of their economies, the developed countries should focus a large part of their increased aid to raise agricultural productivity and demand for the agricultural output through the application of science, establishing regional agriculture research centers for each of the distinct ecosystems in the least developed countries (e.g. tropical monsoon region of East Asia, high plateau area of Latin America, and tropical grassland territory of Africa).

In short, we must now add the three ingredients of 'get the physical infrastructure right', 'get the external assistance right' and 'get the science right' to the existing recipe of 'get the prices right', 'get the macro balances right' and 'get the institutions right'. We predict that many more principles will be added to the recipe book for growth as we understand more about the development process in different growth stages and in different time periods with different international environment.


Nano-objects with chiral properties attract growing interest due to their relevance for a wide variety of technological applications. For example, chiral nano-objects may be used in characterization platforms that involve chiral molecular recognition of proteins or in the fabrication of nanomechanical devices such as screw-gears or nanoswimmers. Spatial ordering of emitters of circularly polarized light might greatly benefit from the utilization of chiral shapes. Tools developed in DNA nanotechnology now allow precise tailoring of the chiral properties of molecules and materials at various length scales. Among others, they have already been applied to control the handedness of helical shapes (configurational chirality) or the chiral positioning of different-sized nanoparticles at the vertices of tetrahedra (compositional chirality). This work covers some of the key advances and recent developments in the field of chiral DNA nanoarchitectures and discusses their future perspectives and potential applications.


Cervical glial polyps or gliosis of uterine cervix are rare. These are rare polypoidal mesenchymal tumours and usually manifest with vaginal bleeding, post-coital bleeding or cervical discharge. Microscopically these polyps show heterotopic glial tissue with varying degree of gliosis. Immunoperoxidase staining with Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) confirms the glial nature of the polyp. Controversies remain regarding the origin. Some consider them to be foetal implants following termination of pregnancy whilst others consider them to be metaplastic in nature. We report a rare case of cervical gliosis that was diagnosed after histological examination of the resected specimen in a 32-year-old lady who presented with irregular per vagina bleeding.


Collecting and labeling training data is one important step for learning-based methods because the process is time-consuming and biased. For face analysis tasks, although some generative models can be used to generate face data, they can only achieve a subset of generation diversity, reconstruction accuracy, 3D consistency, high-fidelity visual quality, and easy editability. One recent related work is the graphics-based generative method, but it can only render low realism head with high computation cost. In this paper, we propose MetaHead, a unified and full-featured controllable digital head engine, which consists of a controllable head radiance field(MetaHead-F) to super-realistically generate or reconstruct view-consistent 3D controllable digital heads and a generic top-down image generation framework LabelHead to generate digital heads consistent with the given customizable feature labels. Experiments validate that our controllable digital head engine achieves the state-of-the-art generation visual quality and reconstruction accuracy. Moreover, the generated labeled data can assist real training data and significantly surpass the labeled data generated by graphics-based methods in terms of training effect.


Talaromyces marneffei is a thermally dimorphic fungal pathogen that causes serious infections particularly in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Although the mould form typically produces a characteristic red-diffusing pigment, and conidia from penicillate heads, several nonpathogenic Talaromyces/Penicillium species are morphologically and phenotypically similar. While those other species do not exhibit thermal dimorphism, conversion of T. marneffei to the distinctive fission yeast form in vitro is arduous and frequently incomplete. Here we show that T. marneffei can be rapidly and unambiguously discriminated from related nonpathogenic Talaromyces/Penicillium spp., either by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry or conversion to fission yeast after introduction into Galleria mellonella. Conversion of T. marneffei conidia to the fission yeast form in G. mellonella larvae occurred as early as 24 h post inoculation at 37oC. Identification by MALDI-TOF was possible after supplementation of the commercial Bruker database with in-house mass spectral profiles created from either the yeast or mycelial phase of T. marneffei. In addition, we show that in-house generated mass spectral profiles could be successfully used to identify T. marneffei with a recently published on-line MALDI-TOF database, circumventing the need to create extensive in-house additional databases for rarely encountered fungal pathogens.


In clinical practice, breast cancers with lymph node positive, ER/PR-negative and overexpressed human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (LN+ER/PR-Her2+) have high risk of recurrence, but the effective biomarkers of prognostic for this type tumor are still lacking. Since breast cancers with LN+ER/PR-Her2+ is at higher risk of recurrence than those with LN-ER/PR+Her2-. The differential proteins between those two groups could be related to the risk of recurrence. Herein, we report that serum soluble CD14 (sCD14) was revealed as the stable differential protein between LN+ER/PR-Her2+ (n=50) and LN-ER/PR+Her2- (n=50) breast cancer patients by proteomics analysis. To validate sCD14 as a biomarker for predicting recurrence of breast cancer, 90 breast cancer patients with LN+ER/PR-Her2+ and 93 patients with LN-ER/PR+Her2- were recruited. The patients with higher level of serum sCD14 at primary surgery showed to be at significantly lower risk of relapse in 3 years follow-up than those with lower level of serum sCD14 at primary surgery. The levels of serum sCD14 at primary surgery were significantly correlated to the risk of 3-year recurrence of LN+ER/PR-Her2+ breast cancer and the corresponding AUC of the ROC curve was 0.833 (95% CI, and 0.742 to 0.920). Therefore, we surmise that serum sCD14 could be a potential biomarker for predicting the prognosis of breast invasive ductal carcinoma with LN+ER/PR-Her2+.


Allwood, M. J.; Ginsburg, Jean; and Paton, A. (Sherington Sch. of Physiol., St. Thomas's Hosp. Medical Sch., London S.E. 1, England): THE EFFECT OF INSULIN HYPOGLYCAEMIA ON BLOOD FLOW IN INTACT AND SYMPATHECTOMIZED EXTREMITIES IN MAN. J. Physiol. 139:97-107, Nov. 14, 1957Blood flow was measured in the limbs of seventeen intact and fifteen sympathectomized human subjects during insulin hypoglycemia, using venous occlusion plethysmography. In 'skin' segments—hand and foot—there was a variable response to hypoglycemia in intact limbs. A vasoconstriction occurred in sympathectomized limbs. In 'muscular' segments—fore-arm and calf—there was an increase in flow during hypoglycemia in both intact and sympathectomized limbs. The onset of flow changes following intravenous insulin was retarded by the infusion of a glucose-saline solution. Flow changes were absent in three subjects who failed to develop clinical evidence of hypoglycemia. The variable response in the skin of the intact limb is believed to result from the constrictor response to circulating adrenalin being opposed by a dilatation mediated by the sympathetic nerve supply. It is suggested that the increased vasoconstrictor response seen in the sympathectomized 248 DIABETES, VOL. 7, NO. 3


CONTEXT
The renin-angiotensin system is activated in patients with acute severe heart failure, and increased levels of angiotensin II could contribute to microcirculatory defects in these patients.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the microcirculatory effects of angiotensin II antagonists in critically ill patients with severe heart failure.

METHODS
After Ethics Committee approval and signed consent, we conducted a prospective observational study using sidestream darkfield (SDF) imaging to evaluate changes in the sublingual microcirculation of 25 adult patients with severe heart failure (ejection fraction < 40% or cardiac index < 2.5 L/min.m2) who received angiotensin inhibitors during their ICU stay. SDF images and global hemodynamic data were obtained immediately before and 4 h, 24 h, and 48 h after the first administration of the drug.

RESULTS
Already 4 h after administration, there was a significant improvement in the proportion of perfused small (<20 μm) vessels (PPV) (from 78 [72-84] to 89 [82-94]%, P < 0.05) and the microvascular flow index (MFI) (from 2.25 [1.95-2.50] to 2.80 [2.39-2.95] points, P < 0.05), which persisted over subsequent hours. Large vessel perfusion remained constant. There was no correlation between changes in the PPV and changes in the mean arterial pressure (R2 0.02, P = 0.50), cardiac output (R2 0.004, P = 0.85), or central or mixed venous oxygen saturation (R2 0.03, P = 0.53).

CONCLUSIONS
In patients with severe heart failure, introduction of angiotensin antagonist therapy was associated with an early improvement in the microcirculation that persisted over subsequent hours. The microcirculatory effects were independent of global hemodynamic variables. The improvement in microcirculatory perfusion observed with angiotensin inhibitors in patients with severe heart failure may partially explain the beneficial clinical effects of this intervention in such patients.


RDF can be viewed as a meta-model to represent on the Web other languages and models, and in particular their abstract graph structure. The general research question addressed in this document is "How to transform RDF into other languages" and, in particular, how to generate the concrete syntax of expressions of a given language from their RDF representation. We show how SPARQL can be used as a generic RDF transformation rule language, independant from the output language. We define an RDF transformer as a set of transformation rules processed by a generic transformation rule engine. We present a lightweight syntactic extension to SPARQL in order to facilitate the writing of transformation rules and an implementation of a generic transformation rule engine. We show the feasability of our approach with several RDF transformers we have defined for various output languages.


Apoptosis is a distinctive form of cell death that reflects cleavage of a subset of intracellular polypeptides by proteases known as caspases. Two major intracellular caspase cascades, one activated predominately by death receptor ligands and the other triggered by various cellular stresses, including DNA damage and microtubule disruption, have been delineated. Activation of these protease cascades is tightly regulated by a number of polypeptides, including Bcl-2 family members, inhibitor of apoptosis proteins, and several protein kinases. The demonstration that many antineoplastic agents induce apoptosis in susceptible cells raises the possibility that factors affecting caspase activation and activity might be important determinants of anticancer drug sensitivity. Here, we review recent studies describing the regulation of apoptotic pathways and identify potential implications of these findings for resistance to antineoplastic agents.


While neural sequence learning methods have made significant progress in single-document summarization (SDS), they produce unsatisfactory results on multi-document summarization (MDS). We observe two major challenges when adapting SDS advances to MDS: (1) MDS involves larger search space and yet more limited training data, setting obstacles for neural methods to learn adequate representations; (2) MDS needs to resolve higher information redundancy among the source documents, which SDS methods are less effective to handle. To close the gap, we present RL-MMR, Maximal Margin Relevance-guided Reinforcement Learning for MDS, which unifies advanced neural SDS methods and statistical measures used in classical MDS. RL-MMR casts MMR guidance on fewer promising candidates, which restrains the search space and thus leads to better representation learning. Additionally, the explicit redundancy measure in MMR helps the neural representation of the summary to better capture redundancy. Extensive experiments demonstrate that RL-MMR achieves state-of-the-art performance on benchmark MDS datasets. In particular, we show the benefits of incorporating MMR into end-to-end learning when adapting SDS to MDS in terms of both learning effectiveness and efficiency.


Objectives: Peak troponin Ic (cTnI) level could be influenced by renal function. We evaluated the effect of moderate to severe renal failure on peak cTnI level during acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods: One hundred and twenty-five consecutive patients admitted to the coronary care unit of a university hospital in France for primary angioplasty during AMI were retrospectively studied. Results: The correlations between peak cTnI level, peak creatine phosphokinase (CK) level, peak cTnI/peak CK ratio and creatinine clearance (CrCl) were assessed. The peak cTnI/peak CK ratio was considered in order to standardize the peak cTnI level with the extent of myocardial necrosis. There was no significant correlation between CrCl and peak CK (r = 0.01, p = 0.95), peak cTnI (r = –0.08, p = 0.38) or the peak cTnI/peak CK ratio (r = –0.14, p = 0.13). There was a trend towards higher peak cTnI in patients with moderate to severe renal failure. The peak cTnI/peak CK ratio did not significantly differ among patients according to CrCl stratification, whereas the ratio of log-transformed values was significantly higher in patients with moderate to severe renal failure. Conclusion: In patients with AMI, the peak cTnI level seemed to be influenced by renal function.


Tall buildings make up the urban fabric and cannot be viewed in isolation from the city. They also bring up ethical, social, and cultural issues, and they impact the local community – their social needs and what the neighborhoods can gain from creating a new tall building. As with the buildings themselves, the urban context in which tall buildings have evolved has changed dramatically since their Chicago origins, reflecting both social and technological developments. A tall building has been variously called a "city within a city," "a vertical city," and a "city in the sky." Thus it is apparent that a tall building is a microcosm of a large city. It is an integral part of the urban habitat having a close relationship with it. In a way it is a vertical progression of a horizontal city. The two are interactive and connected by the transportation, power grid, water supply, and waste production and disposal systems. The tall building can therefore play a vital role in defining livable and sustainable cities. Both cities and skyscrapers must use fewer natural resources; create less waste; and impact less on the natural world. Technology will continue to improve the physical systems of the skyscraper and the city; however, their future will be defined by human interests and values.


Background: Malocclusion is problem since antiquity. But people's perception about the problem varies with their geographical location and cultural background. The problem seems to be more acute in developing countries like Bangladesh. Objectives: The present study was undertaken to assess the awareness about aesthetic problem of malocclusion and treatment seeking behavior among the patients attending in orthodontic department of BSMMU. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Orthodontic, Faculty of Dentistry, BSMMU, over a period 24 months from January 2008 to December 2009. A total of 110 participants who were suffering from malocclusion and came for dental treatment were the study population. Results: The mean age of the patients was 21 years and the youngest and the oldest patients were 8 and 32 years old respectively with female to male ratio being roughly 3:2. Graduate or postgraduate level educated patients were predominant (53.6%). Over 70% of the respondents viewed malocclusion as an aesthetic problem, 50% as functional problem, 55.5% social problem and 69.1% oral problem. Two-third (67%) told that malocclusion was a treatable condition. Approximately 43% of the patients identified trauma as a cause of malocclusion, 40% gingivitis or periodontitis and 35.5% dental caries. About one-third (32.7%) of the respondents was of the opinion that certain habits should be avoided to prevent malocclusion, 15.5% told timely treatment of malocclusion, 30% told prevention of early loss of teeth due to caries, 12.7% were in favour of the use of a space maintainer in places of premature loss of a deciduous tooth. Over 90% of the respondents held the view that symptoms of malocclusion, its prevention and different treatment options should get the priority in educating the society about malocclusion. However, 80% of the respondents told that causative factors should discussed. Regarding ways of behaviour change communication (BCC), TV got the first priority (94%) followed by newspaper (92%), teacher (88%), school health programme (84.5%), friends (76%), health educators (43.6%) and poster got the least priority (30.9%). Conclusion: The study concludes that a substantial proportion of the patients of malocclusion are not aware of the causes and consequence of malocclusion. However, the patients are aware that malocclusion is an aesthetic problem and can be corrected. Key words: Malocclusion; aesthetic problem; treatment seeking behavior. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bsmmuj.v4i2.8637 BSMMU J 2011; 4(2):94-98


This paper presents an overview of the evolution of computer simulations in vehicle collision and occupant kinematic reconstructions. The basic principles behind these simulations, the origin of these programs and the evolution of these programs from a basic analytical mathematical model to a sophisticated computer program are discussed. In addition, a brief computer development history is discussed to demonstrate how the evolution of computer assisted vehicle accident reconstruction becomes feasible for a reconstructionist. Possible future research in computer reconstruction is also discussed.


Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are well-characterized for their involvement in tumor progression. Herein, the current study set out to unravel the association of HDAC8 with colorectal cancer (CRC). Bioinformatics analyses were carried out to retrieve the expression patterns of HDAC8 in CRC and the underlying mechanism. Following expression determination, the specific roles of HDAC8, IRF1, and SUCNR1 in CRC cell functions were analyzed following different interventions. Additionally, tumor formation and liver metastasis in nude mice were operated to verify the fore experiment. Bioinformatics analyses predicted the involvement of the HDAC8/IRF1/SUCNR1 axis in CRC. In vitro cell experiments showed that HDAC8 induced the CRC cell growth by reducing IRF1 expression. Meanwhile, IRF1 limited SUCNR1 expression by binding to its promoter. SUCNR1 triggered the growth and metastasis of CRC by inhibiting cell autophagy. HDAC8 blocked IRF1-mediated SUCNR1 inhibition and thereby inhibited autophagy, accelerating CRC cell growth. Lastly, HDAC8 facilitated the development of CRC and liver metastasis by regulating the IRF1/SUCNR1 axis in vivo. Taken together, our findings highlighted the critical role for the HDAC8/IRF1/SUCNR1 axis in the regulation of autophagy and the resultant liver metastasis in CRC.


BACKGROUND
There are no published data characterizing burnout rates for pediatric orthopaedic surgeons. The primary purpose of this study was to identify the rates of self-reported personal and team burnout among members of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA). A secondary aim was to determine whether specific demographic variables were more likely to be associated with self-reported burnout.

METHODS
During its 2018 annual meeting, the POSNA Wellness Taskforce launched a web-based survey in which members were asked to respond to 2 previously validated questions related to personal and team burnout. The survey was distributed by a closed POSNA membership e-mail list and responses were analyzed anonymously. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Pearson χ testing was used to analyze differences in burnout rates as a function of age and sex.

RESULTS
A total of 615 POSNA members completed the survey, a 47% response rate. Overall, 38% reported personal burnout and 46% reported team burnout. Women were more likely to report both personal (P<0.001) and team burnouts (P<0.005). Members aged 40 to 59 years were more likely to report personal burnout, irrespective of sex (P<0.001). Members aged 50 to 59 years were more likely than those in other age groups to report team burnout (P<0.001). There was no significant association found between the presence of burnout and either race, ethnicity, LGBTQ status, or educational background.

CONCLUSIONS
As a group, pediatric orthopaedists report moderately high rates of both personal and team member burnout. Individual-specific factors such as age and sex may play an important role in determining one's risk for experiencing burnout. Recognizing that burnout affects a significant minority of POSNA members is a crucial first step.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Level III.


In recent years, the design of computer circuits has become a thorough and complex job. Factors such as logical design, behavior of components, manufacturing techniques, and life tests are playing an even more important role in the design of an efficient circuit. This paper will discuss how circuit optimization techniques and use of the UNIVAC® I computing system aided in reducing cost and avoiding many of the pitfalls in the design and production of efficient high-speed circuitry for UNIVAC-LARC.


Disability is an important public health problem especially in developing countries like India. The problem will increase in future because of increase in trend of noncommunicable diseases and change in age structure with an increase in life expectancy. The issues are different in developed and developing countries, and rehabilitation measures should be targeted according the needs of the disabled with community participation. In India, a majority of the disabled resides in rural areas where accessibility, availability and utilization of rehabilitation services and its cost-effectiveness are the major issues to be considered. In modern society, making a holiday trip is one of most popular leisure activities which enhance the quality of life not only for non-disabled individuals but also for individuals for disabilities. As more and more people with disabilities are keen to travel "accessible tourism" has emerged as a potential market segment for the tourism industry. The Indian government is also working hard to elevate the situation of people with disabilities. As a result of the implementation of several laws regarding people with disabilities, their social and economic status has improved. In spite of the Indian government's effort to develop India as a barrier-free destination, the market of traveler with disabilities has been given little attention by India's tourism industry. Therefore this study attempts to investigate the current situation of tourist facilities and service for visitors with disabilities in tourist destinations to improve barrier-free tourism in India. Several problems concerning accessibility to serve disabled visitors and a few recommendations to minimize the accessibility barriers were discussed. It is hoped that this paper will assist the development of barrier-free tourism in India by providing useful guidelines to improve the facilities and service for the tourist with disabilities. Foreign direct investment in the field of accessible tourism is a keen and important step to improve the quality of tourism development in India.


The seed galactomannan of Leucaena leucocephala Lam. de Wit var.K-8 (family Leguminosae), a natural polysaccharide, with properties comparable to guar gum, was evaluated as a pharmaceutical binder. Characterization was done using studies of compressibility, micromeritic, and mechanical properties of granules prepared by wet granulation and subsequent studies on compacts, both containing 5% w/w of binder. The seed gum was subsequently used as a binder with a badly compressible material, paracetamol, and studied likewise. The seed gum compared will with standard pharmaceutical binders (starch and polyvinyl pyrrolidone [PVP] K30), at least for properties studied herein.


Internationalization of higher education has increased the diversity of the student body at higher education institutions. There is evidence that the experiences of international students vary according to their region of origin, but trends on a larger scale remain underexamined. Drawing on Eurostudent VI data from the Republic of Ireland, this article investigates how academic satisfaction varies between students from different global regions of origin and from national settings with distinct cultural distance characteristics. Results suggest that international students have higher levels of academic satisfaction than Irish students, but that differences between students from diverse regions of origin persist. In addition, international students originating from a national context with high power distance, irrespective of levels of individualism, have higher levels of academic satisfaction compared with Irish students. Furthermore, self-perception of being a detached customer rather than an equal partner in education has the strongest association with academic satisfaction, suggesting that commercialization trends affect both international and domestic students.


Abstract The functionality of modern smartphones can easily be enriched by a huge number of available apps. Studies have shown that many of these apps leak private information of their users to third parties. In this article, we demonstrate how a user can ensure that the apps he installs keep his private information confidential. By means of a concrete example, we show how an informal confidentiality requirement can be formalized in the specification language RIFL and how this requirement can be verified in the app store Cassandra using the RSCP security analyser. In particular, we demonstrate how Cassandra integrates the information-flow analysis by the RSCP security analyser into the installation process of an app from the perspective of a user.


Childhood obesity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in adulthood, leading to substantial healthcare cost. There is an urgent need to promote early prevention and develop an accompanying surveillance system. In this paper, we make use of electronic health records (EHRs) and construct a penalized multi-level generalized linear model. The model provides regular trend and outlier information simultaneously, both of which may be useful to raise public awareness and facilitate targeted intervention. Our strategy is to decompose the regional contribution in the model into smooth and sparse signals, where the characteristics of the signals are encouraged by the combination of fusion and sparse penalties imposed on the likelihood function. In addition, we introduce a weighting scheme to account for the missingness and potential non-representativeness arising from the EHRs data. We propose a novel alternating minimization algorithm, which is computationally efficient, easy to implement, and guarantees convergence. Simulation shows that the proposed method has a superior performance compared with traditional counterparts. Finally, we apply our method to the University of Wisconsin Population Health Information Exchange database.


This paper presents a new method for decomposing environments of complex geometry into a navigation mesh represented by bounding geometry and a connectivity graph for real-time agent usage in virtual worlds. This is accomplished by the generation of a well-defined and high-coverage set of convex navigable regions and the connected gateways between them. The focus of this paper is a new automated algorithm developed for decomposing a 2D representation of world-space into arbitrary sided high-order polygons. The DEACCON (Decomposition of Environments for the Creation of Convex-region Navigation-meshes) algorithm works by seeding a 2D polygonal representation of world-space with a series of quads. Each quad is then provided with the opportunity to grow to its maximum extent before encountering an obstruction. DEACCON implements an automatic subdividing system to convert quads into higher-order polygons while still maintaining the convex property. This allows for the generation of navigation meshes with high degrees of coverage while still allowing the use of large navigation regions, providing for easier agent navigation in virtual worlds. Compared to the Space-filling Volumes and Hertel-Mehlhorn navigation mesh decomposition methods, DEACCON provides more complete coverage, controllable mesh sizes, and better overall algorithmic control to desired decomposition quality with an improvement in agent navigation speed due to better decompositions.


Objectives: This study presents a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography- pulsed amperometric detection(RP-HPLC-PAD) method for the determination of puerarin and daidzin in Puerariae Radix extract and Chinese medicinal preparations. Methods: Chromatographic separation was performed using a 10% acetonitrile with a reversed-phase column(Unison UK-C18, I.D.; ). The analyses were detected by pulsed amperometric detector(PAD) in alkaline conditions by combining with post-column NaOH solution. Geniposide was used as an internal standard. Results: The limit of detection(S/N=3) and the limit of quantification(S/N=10) were 0.025 ng, 0.075 ng for puerarin, and 0.05 ng, 0.15 ng for daidzin, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precisions(RSDs) were less than 6.5% and average recoveries of puerarin were 99.7-101.3% and those of daidzin were 101.0-102.8%. Conclusions: According to above results, we developed a determination method for puerarin and daidzin in Puerariae Radix with high sensitivity and selectivitely.


Population growth is directly associated with increase in energy demand. Amplification in industrial activity has led to a drastic escalation in greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming. The major gas involves carbon dioxide, accounting for 76% emitted from different industrial sectors. The oil and gas industry alone is responsible for 90% of these emissions. Removing CO2 is a vital process in the gas industry which must be undertaken. Carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies have evolved through the years due to the necessity of the current world-wide shared goal, to attain net zero.
 Several combustion methods have been developed to capture CO2 during actual operations at fossil fuel power plants, at natural gas processing plants and at coal gasification plants. However, methods that are based on chemical and physical absorptions have been most widely used. One example is the gas absorption-based method which requires low energy consumption and has been proven to be cost-effective. Using certain water types, mixed with minute concentration of chemical solvent, it can readily absorb CO2. This approach will be used in the following research study to investigate gas absorption rate using different water samples that pass through a packed column, thereby enhancing the mass transfer of gas component.
 In this study, the gas absorption experiments were carried out using SOLTEQ gas absorption unit containing DN 80 packed column with glass Raschig rings and with an effective column height of 1000 mm (Figure 1). Under constant operating conditions, the temperature and pressure were set to 24°C and 2 bars, respectively, to investigate the impact of pH level and conductivity of various types of water on CO2 absorption at different gas flow rate.
 The statistical analysis indicates that TDS and conductivity have a stronger correlation with gas absorption (P=0.99) than pH (P=0.76). The average CO2 absorption of the three samples at different flow rates (e.g., 0.8, 1.3, and 2.2 LPM) ranged from 36.40 in sample 1 to 69.50 in sample 2 at flow rate 2.2 LPM. Overall, samples 2 and 3, neutral to base with pH value of 7.25 and 8, respectively, have a statistically significant negative correlation with average CO2 absorption, whereas the acidic (pH = 5.42) sample 1 has significant positive correlation between the two variables (R2 = 0.99).
 Overall, samples 2 and 3, which are neutral to base with pH values of 7.25 and 8, have a statistically significant negative correlation with average CO2 absorption. In contrast, the acidic (pH = 5.42) sample 1 has a significant positive correlation between the two variables (R2= 0.99). This study provides optimal operating conditions for the CO2 absorption process. However, additional research is required to investigate the effect of other physical and chemical properties of water on CO2 absorption.


Purpose: This review aimed to investigate the effectiveness of digital school-based mental health interventions for adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa. Method: The authors conducted a comprehensive search of digital school-based mental health interventions to identify studies conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa targeting adolescents between the ages of (10–19) years. Peer-reviewed studies published in English between 2009 and May 2023 were obtained through electronic bibliographic databases. Result: Only one study met the full inclusion criteria for this review. The included study tested a digital mental health intervention ("Shamiri Digital") for treating depression, anxiety, and well-being in adolescents. The "Shamiri Digital" intervention demonstrated positive outcomes on depressive symptoms within the full sample. Discussion: The dearth of studies investigating digital mental health solutions for adolescents in low-income countries demonstrates a critical gap in intervention and research for adolescent mental health in resource constrictive settings


The occur of resecable retroperitoneal tumours invading into inferiér vena cava is rare. The authors report in detail a case of fibrosarcoma of the inferior vena cava In article is presented case of 49-year-old female presented with echographic and computed tomographic evidence of solid formation below porta hepatis and ower head of pankreas, behinde duodenum, growed into inferior vena cava with trombus. Treatment of the abdominal and retroperitoneal tumours closely related to major blood vessels must be interdisciplinary, considering diagnostics, operability estimation and additional measures. The radical resection rate for involving important vesel may bee improved with vascular technique.


In this study we examined the association between longitudinal changes in schoolchildren's
physical strength with their build, health habits, and psychophysical health index scores.
Students (n= 195) were followed for three years, from the fifth to the eighth grade. Setting as a
baseline the students' results on the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology's new physical strength test, we extracted data on those students whose physical
strength relatively improved (improved group: 28 boys, 53 girls) and on those whose strength
relatively declined (declined group: 15 boys, 16 girls). Build, health habits, and psychophysical
health index scores were compared between the two groups. It was found that, although there
were no significant differences in eating habits or sleeping habits between the two groups,
compared to the improved group, the declined group was more likely to be either obese or
underweight, have short durations of intense exercise and total exercise, and longer duration of
watching television or videos. The declined group also showed poorer psychological health
status, such as lower self-efficacy and higher anxiety.
 These findings indicate that children with good exercise habits, such as consistently
engaging in a adequate physical activities that include intense exercise, will have improved
physical strength outcome over time, whereas those children with few regular exercise habits
and whose strength will not improve over time, will show outcomes such as polarization of
body weight (obesity and underweight tendencies) and poorer psychological health status.


Background: Escherichia coli, Enterobacter spp., Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterococcus spp., common gut bacteria in giant pandas, include opportunistic pathogens. The giant panda is an endangered species, classified as vulnerable by the World Wildlife Foundation. Continuous monitoring for the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among bacterial isolates from giant pandas is vital not only for their protection but also for public health. Results: A total of 166 E. coli, 68 Enterobacter spp., 116 K. pneumoniae and 117 Enterococcus spp. isolates were collected from fecal samples of 166 giant pandas. In the antimicrobial susceptibility tests, 144 E. coli isolates, 66 Enterobacter spp. isolates, 110 K. pneumoniae isolates and 43 Enterococcus spp. isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial. The resistant isolates carried antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs), including sul3, blaTEM, blaSHV and tetA. The differences in the prevalence of the bla types implied that the genetic basis for β-lactam resistance among the E. coli, Enterobacter spp. and K. pneumoniae isolates was different. The strain K. pneumoniae K85 that was resistant to sixteen antimicrobials was selected for whole genome sequencing. The genome contained Col440I, IncFIBK and IncFIIK plasmids and altogether 258 ARGs were predicted in the genome; 179 of the predicted ARGs were efflux pump genes. The genetic environment of the β-lactamase genes blaCTX-M-3 and blaTEM-1 in the K. pneumoniae K85 genome was relatively similar to those in other sequenced K. pneumoniae genomes. In comparing the giant panda age groups, the differences in the resistance rates among E. coli, K. pneumoniae and Enterobacter spp. isolates suggested that the infections in giant pandas of different age should be treated differently. Conclusions: Antimicrobial resistance was prevalent in the bacterial isolates from the giant pandas, implying that the gut bacteria may pose serious health risks for captive giant pandas. The resistance genes in the genome of K. pneumoniae K85 were associated with insertion sequences and integron-integrase genes, implying a potential for the further spread of the antimicrobial resistance.


Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase couples the exchange of a hydride-ion equivalent between NAD(H) and NADP(H) to the translocation of protons across an energy-transducing membrane. Peripheral components of 380 and 200 residues bind NAD(H) (dI) and NADP(H) (dIII), respectively, while a third component forms a membrane-spanning region (dII). The NAD(H)-binding component dI of Rhodospirillum rubrum transhydrogenase has been crystallized in a form which diffracts to beyond 3.0 A resolution and is in space group P2 or P2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 69.3, b = 117.8, c = 106.6 A, beta = 107.2 degrees and two dimers in the asymmetric unit. The sequence of the dI component is similar to that of alanine dehydrogenase. A full structure determination will lead to important information on the mode of action of this proton pump and will permit the comparison of the structure-function relationships of dI with those of alanine dehydrogenase.


The study fulfils the gap in teachers' scientific paper writing skills, which benefits both the academic community and pupils. Teachers' competence can be improved so that they can engage in evidence-based practices, contribute to academics, and deliver engaging educational experiences that develop critical thinking in their pupils. Scientific paper writing training is critical for developing high school teachers' professional competency. The purpose of this study was to look into the efficiency of such training in improving teacher abilities and knowledge. A quantitative descriptive method was employed in the study to evaluate the efficiency of a scientific paper writing training programme for high school teachers. Data was gathered by assessing the quality of the teachers' papers using a quality assessment form. The data was analysed using statistical procedures such as the t-test and N-Gain analysis. The t-test compared preand post-treatment scores, while the N-Gain analysis assessed the training's effectiveness. These methodologies aided in determining the program's impact on teachers' writing skills and quantifying the level of development in their scientific paper writing competence. These data indicate the training program's effectiveness in improving teachers' understanding and skills in scientific paper writing. Training in scientific paper writing improves high school teachers' professional competency by increasing their understanding of article components, scholarly practices, and writing abilities. It emphasizes the importance of continuing professional growth and filling gaps in critical thinking and interdisciplinary writing.


We study charged Higgs production in the process γγ→ A0 → W-H+. The processes γγ → A0 are loop mediated in a 2HDM. This is due to the fact that photons only couple directly to charged particles and the Higgs only couples to particles with mass acquired via Higgs mechanism. Although in MSSM the contribution from the process γγ→ A0 is too small, it has been found that in a more general 2HDM it could be enhanced. On the other hand, the boson A0 can decay in W-H+ at tree level and the charged Higgs can decay in fermions. So, the whole process under study is γγ→ A0 → (W- → lν) (H+ →ƒiƒj) in 2HDM-III. Evidence about charged Higgs existence could demonstrate that structure of the Higgs sector has several multiplets.


It has often been suggested that the high curvature of transport intermediates in cells may be a sufficient means to segregate different lipid populations based on the relative energy costs of forming bent membranes. In this review, we present in vitro experiments that highlight the essential physics of lipid sorting at thermal equilibrium: It is driven by a trade-off between bending energy, mixing entropy, and interactions between species. We collect evidence that lipid sorting depends strongly on lipid-lipid and protein-lipid interactions, and hence on the underlying composition of the membrane and on the presence of bound proteins.


Psychometric data are presented which examine the validity of using the concentration of benzoylecgonine in urine, a major metabolite of cocaine, as a measure of drug use, in studies of drug abuse treatments. In such research the standard biological indicator of drug use is usually a qualitative urine drug test, which merely indicates the presence or absence of a drug or its metabolite. A quantitative (i.e. continuous) outcome measure, such as the concentration of a drug or its metabolite in a biological fluid, has substantially more statistical power than a dichotomous measure and should, therefore, prove a more sensitive measure of drug use when viewed from a measurement perspective. Data from two placebo-controlled clinical trials of fluoxetine as an adjunct to treatment for cocaine abuse are analyzed to address this issue. Results indicate that urine benzoylecgonine level is closely related to self-reports of drug use and is independent of levels of anxiety, depression and hopelessness.


Nano drug delivery systems are a research hotspot in the field of tumor therapy. In this work, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets were selected as the base material and a natural red blood cell membrane (RBC membrane) was camouflaged on the nanosheets to enhance their dispersibility and tumor targeting profile. The camouflaged molybdenum disulfide nanocomposites (MoS2-RBC) were successfully prepared by incubation. This nanomaterial has good stability and biocompatibility with a good immune evasion ability. MoS2 has a large specific surface area and unique layered structure, which provides favorable conditions for the loading of anticancer drugs. Adriamycin hydrochloride (DOX) was used as the model drug and the drug loading capacity was 98.98%. In the tumor microenvironment, the red cell membrane modified MoS2 drug delivery system (MoS2-RBC-DOX) showed obvious pH-dependent release behavior. In addition, the excellent photothermal properties of MoS2 are conducive to the release of drugs, thus improving the efficacy. According to the cell tests, MoS2-RBC had no cytotoxicity toward tumor cells, while DOX loading induced dose-dependent cytotoxicity. Furthermore, MoS2-RBC has a favorable photothermal effect, and chemotherapy combined with photothermal therapy is more effective than any single therapy. In vivo fluorescence imaging and in vivo photothermal imaging experiments confirmed the promoted accumulation of carrier materials at the tumor site after RBC membrane modification. Finally, in vivo antitumor studies showed that photothermal/chemotherapy combined with MoS2-RBC could completely inhibit tumor growth, and the body weights of mice fluctuated within the normal range without significant decrease. In summary, this MoS2-RBC drug delivery system provides a safe, rapid and effective option for future treatment of breast cancer.


The purpose of this investigation was to develop a brief self-report inventory which could be used to evaluate treatment outcome for anorexia and bulimia nervosa. The Multifactorial Assessment of Eating Disorders Symptoms (MAEDS) was constructed to measure six symptom clusters which have been found to be central to the eating disorders: depression, binge eating, purgative behavior, fear of fatness, restrictive eating, and avoidance of forbidden foods. The factor structure of the MAEDS was found to be stable and it was found to have satisfactory reliability and validity. Normative data were collected so that raw scores could be converted to standardized scores. While still in the experimental stages, the MAEDS shows promise as a valid and economical measure of treatment interventions for anorexia and bulimia nervosa.


This article follows prevailing trends in research on the archival practices of the premodern Middle East by emphasizing the importance of documentary life cycles. Specifically, it examines the afterlives of a microsample of documents from an underexplored historical context: the administration of amirs who held iqṭāʿ land grants in areas of Egypt outside Cairo. Though iqṭāʿ holders (muqṭaʿs) were key administrative actors in the Mamluk sultanate, we know little about their activities on the ground. The material investigated here is related to the administration of justice in far-flung districts of Egypt, one of the less-known roles of these muqṭaʿs, and is preserved in the Papyrus Collection of the Austrian National Library in Vienna. Contextualizing the documents by relating them to the activities of several named amirs, I delineate three stages in the documents' afterlives: archiving, reuse, and disposal. I rely on the materiality of the documents, an indispensable tool for identifying the more enigmatic aspects of documentary life cycles. I then turn to reflect on what these afterlives can tell us about the archival spaces of this administrative setting. By examining the muqṭaʿs' paperwork, I highlight shifts in meaning that documents underwent over time, calling attention to the phenomenon of casual storage, or "documents lying around."


The total phase measured from a polarisation-diversity radar is the sum of differential propagation phase and backscatter phase. An algorithm is presented to obtain differential propagation phase from the total phase by separating the back-scatter phase. This algorithm is independent of raindrop size distribution and frequency.


Purpose The aim of this study was to describe evaluation of the Early Essential Newborn Care (EENC) seminar with regard to: 1) hand washing technique, 2) knowledge test, and 3) practical skills in childbirth and neonatal care before and after teaching facilitators to coach midwives and nurses in developing countries. Methods The four-day EENC seminar was held in October 2016. We invited 2 instructors from the World Health Organization/Western Pacific Regional Office (WHO WPRO) to coach healthcare workers became a leader in the future, and practiced EENC at own facilities in developing countries and Japanese healthcare workers who would be working in developing countries. The main program contents were the evaluation of care techniques: hand washing technique, pre-post test of knowledge on EENC, practical skills of childbirth, neonatal care, and resuscitation. Result There were 18 participants (5 in developing countries, 13 in Japan) and 15 participated in both pre-test and posttest. Pre-/post-evaluation of hand washing technique indicated decreased contamination at post-test. The mean knowledge test scores increased from about 60% at the pre-test to over 90% at the post-test. During the skill practice, participants were separated into 3 groups, 6 participants each, and repeatedly carried out the skills in role plays. As for performance, all participants scored more than 90% at the post-test. Conclusion After the seminar, hand washing techniques improved, and the knowledge and performance scores became over 90%. Because the knowledge and skills gained in short-term education may diminish over time, it is important to devise a plan that ensures the continuation of training facilitators in each targeted developing country and longitudinal follow-up. We need to consider practicing EENC seminar and developing adequate number of facilitators so that they can provide coaching in their own countries and longitudinal follow-up.


Abstract The doctrine of Chalcedon is sometimes criticized for being "static" and "ahistorical". This article discusses the stimulus that an interesting expression found in the writings of the 6th century author Leontius of Byzantium – "the prosopon of the hypostasis of Christ" – can give to re-narrativising Christology. However important it is to identify the hypostasis in Christ, and explore how this hypostasis can also be human, it is also important to draw attention back to the historical role that this hypostasis plays at the centre of the narrative of salvation found in the gospels. Chalcedonian Christology learned to identify Jesus as the Eternal Son, "one of the Trinity", but needs also to insist that he has taken on not just a human nature but also the specific prosopon of the Christ within human history.


We studied adsorption of copper and zinc on three different soils: a brown silty soil, an Oxisol, and a Podzol. We determined the amounts adsorbed and the shapes of adsorption isotherms as a function of the pH of the adsorbing medium at a constant ionic strength. The adsorbed amount-pH relationship depended strongly on the natures of the metallic cation and of the soil. The pH greatly influenced the characteristics of adsorption isotherms. We based interpretation on the variations with the pH of both adsorbent affinity for the metal in relation to the surface electric charge and chemical speciation in solution. The adsorption mechanism in the Oxisol probably involves monohydroxylated cations but is more determined by bivalent cations in the brown silty soil and the Podzol. From a general point of view, adsorption of copper and zinc cannot be represented with a single adsorption constant, but should be described by adsorption isotherms obtained at various pH values.


Cryptography is the fascinating science that deals with constructing and destructing the secret codes. The evolving digitization in this modern era possesses cryptography as one of its backbones to perform the transactions with confidentiality and security wherever the authentication is required. With the modern technology that has evolved, the use of codes has exploded, enriching cryptology and empowering citizens. One of the most important things that encryption provides anyone using any kind of computing device is 'privacy'. There is no way to have true privacy with strong security, the method with which we are dealing with is to make the cipher text more robust to be by-passed. In current work, the well known and renowned Caesar cipher and Rail fence cipher techniques are combined with a cross language cipher technique and the detailed comparative analysis amongst them is carried out. The simulations have been carried out on Eclipse Juno version IDE for executions and Java, an open source language has been used to implement these said techniques.


Current software visualization tools are inadequate for understanding, debugging, and tuning realistically complex applications. These tools often present only static structure, or they present dynamics from only a few of the many layers of a program and its underlying system. This paper introduces "PV", a prototype program visualization system which provides concurrent visual presentation of behavior from all layers, including: the program itself, user-level libraries, the operating system, and the hardware, as this behavior unfolds over time. PV juxtaposes views from different layers in order to facilitate visual correlation, and allows these views to be navigated in a coordinated fashion. This results in an extremely powerful mechanism for exploring application behavior. Experience is presented from actual use of PV in production settings with programmers facing real deadlines and serious performance problems.<<ETX>>


The relationship between mean left atrial pressure (LAm) and P-wave abnormalities in lead V1 of standard 12-lead electrocardiograms was evaluated in 30 patients with acute myocardial infarction. In each patient pulmonary artery diastolic pressure or pulmonary wedge pressure was measured, and these values were used as an estimate of LAm. Electrocardiograms recorded at the time of the pressure measurements were used for P-wave analysis. Patients with a history of hypertension were excluded from analysis. There was a significant correlation between the magnitude of the P terminal force in lead V1 (PTF-V1) and the estimated LAm (r = −0.78, P < 0.001). Sixteen patients had a normal PTF-V1 on admission; 11 of them had a normal LAm. All 14 patients with an abnormal PTF-V1 (more negative than −0.03 mm-sec) on admission had an elevated LAm (>12 mm Hg). Thus, in 25 of the 30 patients, the PTF-V1 correctly identified whether the LAm was normal or abnormal on admission. On subsequent days, simultaneous measurements of PTF-V1 and estimated LAm were made in 27 of the patients. Significant changes occurred in both PTF-V1 and LAm; discordant changes were observed on only seven of 56 occasions. Measurement of PTF-V1 appears to be a useful and reliable estimate of left ventricular filling pressure in patients with acute myocardial infarction.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiology and microbiology of severe acute bacterial rhinosinusitis in patients admitted to a Danish tertiary hospital.

METHODS
A retrospective study was performed including all cases of acute rhinosinusitis admitted to the ENT-department of Aarhus University Hospital, in the period 2001 to 2011.

RESULTS
In total, 143 cases of acute rhinosinusitis were identified of which 51% were children. The most prevalent bacterial strains were Staphylococcus aureus followed by group A streptococcus, Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumonia. Morexella catarrhalis was only rarely cultured. Anerobes were not assessed routinely. Of all patients, 47.8% presented with orbital complications and 2.1% developed intracranial complications. Patients infected with group A streptococcus had significantly higher leukocyte and neutrophil counts than other patients. All cultured S. aureus were resistant to penicillin, but sensitive to methicillin.

CONCLUSION
Our results imply that S. aureus and group A streptococcus are important pathogens in severe and complex cases of ABRS, in addition to the accepted pathogens S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae. On the contrary M. catarrhalis appears less significant. These findings have important implications regarding the selection of relevant treatment strategy in secondary care, which may currently be underestimating the role of S. aureus.


Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 have the distinction of being the only human-made objects to have left or be on track to leave the Solar System (other than the recently launched New Horizons mission). While their scientific work is significant, the history of these four missions reveals a deeper cultural legacy. One of the primary public faces of these missions was science communicator Carl Sagan. By exploring how Sagan defined the significance of these missions in his work, we reveal the impact of these missions on our collective imaginings of spaceflight and space exploration (i.e. "astroculture"). We find that the twin Pioneers and Voyagers inspired self-reflexive ideas of human isolation and fragility within the cosmos, introduced communication with extraterrestrials as a serious aspect of spaceflight efforts, and supplemented the image of the astronaut with the robotic probe as the symbol of the human spirit of exploration.


Government policy toward provision of sex education and contraception for adolescents is influenced by public opinion. This is reflected in the fact that recent program formulation appears to follow the conventional wisdom of a general conservative shift among the American public; i.e. recent policy toward adolescent pregnancy is conservative in the sense of being reactive rather than preventive. The validity of this conventional wisdom was checked by examining available data on public opinion toward sex education and birth control services for teenagers. However these data reveal an upward not a downward trend in public approval of such services for adolescents which runs counter to the conventional wisdom. The available data on American opinions and values demonstrate that the overall movement in attitudes decisively contradicts the idea of a simple conservative swing. Provision of more and better contraceptive services and sex education to teenagers is an important policy goal that would lower the incidence of adolescent pregnancy and would be supported by the American people. (authors modified.)


Twenty cases of acute monoblastic leukemia are studied according to definite criterias: cytology, cytochemical staining, lysozyme production. The study points out the tumoral characters: hematodermy, gingivitis, central nervous system leukemia and the lack of important bone marrow incompetence. 47 per cent of complete remissions are obtained with daunorubicin, aracytin combination therapy. Other useful chemical agents, and prospects for maintenance therapy are discussed.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the role of interleukin (IL)-18 and IL-18 receptor (IL-18R) in the predominant Th1 type cytokine response in patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).

METHODS
Fifteen patients with active phase ITP, eighteen in remission and thirteen healthy controls were enrolled in this study. T-bet and GATA-3 mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononucleated cells (PBMNC) were measured by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR); the plasma IL-18 level by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the expression of IL-18R on CD3(+) lymphocytes and total lymphocytes by flow cytometry(FCM).

RESULTS
The T-bet mRNA levels in patients with active phase ITP was 3.572 fold as much as that in the controls (P < 0.05), while the GATA-3 mRNA levels were 0.378 fold of that in controls (P < 0.05). The levels of plasma IL-18 and IL-18R on CD3(+) lymphocytes were significantly increased in active phase ITP than in remission phase and controls. There was no difference in ratio of T-bet/GATA-3 between remitted ITP and controls and so was for T-bet mRNA, GATA-3 mRNA, plasma IL-18 and IL-18R on CD3(+) lymphocytes.

CONCLUSION
ITP as a disease of Th1-dominant response there is an unbalance between T-bet and GATA-3 in its active phase; IL-18 and IL-18R being upregulated.


Microfluidic is a field of considerable interest. While significant research has been carried out to develop microfluidic components, very little has been done to integrate the components into a complete working system. We present a flexible modular system platform that addresses the requirements of a complete microfluidic system. A microfluidic stack system is demonstrated with the layers of the stack being modular for specific functions. The stack and accompanying infrastructure provides an attractive platform for users to transition their design concepts into a working microfluidic system quickly with very little effort. The concept is demonstrated by using the system to carry out a chemilumiscence experiment. Details regarding the fabrication, assembly and experimental methods are presented.


Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rapidly becoming a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Concurrent to an increase in NAFLD prevalence, there is an increase in the obesity epidemic and the correlated insulin-resistant state. It is a challenge to diagnose NAFLD because many patients are asymptomatic until the later stages of disease. The most common symptoms include fatigue, malaise, and discomfort in the right upper quadrant. The major and most accurate tool to clinically diagnose NAFLD is a liver biopsy, followed by histological analysis. However, this procedure is invasive and often carries a high risk of complications. Currently, there are no officially approved medications for the treatment of NAFLD. Although lifestyle modifications with proper diet and exercise have been shown to be beneficial, this has been difficult to achieve and sustain for many patients. Effective pharmacological treatments are still lacking; therefore, additional research to identify novel drugs is clearly warranted. PPARs are promising drug targets for the management of NAFLD and its related conditions of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. In this review, we provide an overview of recent studies on the association of PPARs and NAFLD.


On 12 November 2019, The Hague International Space Resources Governance Working Group adopted the Building Blocks for the Development of an International Framework on Space Resource Activities by consensus.
The Working Group was established in 2016 with the purpose to assess the need for a governance framework for space resource activities and lay the groundwork for such framework. The Building Blocks reflect four years of discussions among the members and observers of the Working Group, representing industry, space agencies, international organizations, governments, academia and civil society.
The first draft of the Building Blocks was presented in 2017 in order to solicit feedback from the international community. This draft was also published this Journal (Developments of the Hague Space Resources Governance Working Group, 42(6) Air & Space L. 625–634 (2017)). The comments received, as well as input from the Technical and the Socio- Economic Panels of the Working Group, were taken into account for subsequent revisions of the Building Blocks.
The final version of the Building Blocks presented here below will be complemented by a Commentary, to be published in the Spring of 2020.
Space resources, space mining, adaptive governance, priority rights, sharing of benefits


The current study aimed to build on past research investigating the link between behaviors associated with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and poor peer relations. This study utilized the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) to address limitations of prior work, which has mainly utilized either third-party ratings or aggregated peer data, by examining concordance in peer nominations between inattentive or hyperactive/impulsive behaviors and peer disliking. Participants were 387 fourth and fifth graders from rural classrooms in the southeastern United States. Students were instructed to respond to questionnaires where they chose three classmates they felt best fit each behavioral descriptor and the "like least" item. Results indicated a stronger association between behaviors of interest and dislike within QAP correlations compared to Pearson correlations (i.e., using aggregated data). Regression analyses revealed links between these behaviors and dislike with no one behavior as a consistent predictor across classrooms, indicating the importance of context and classroom norms. INDEX WORDS: Peer Dislike; Quadratic Assignment Procedure; AttentionDeficit/Hyperactivity Disorder AN ANALYSIS OF THE LINK BETWEEN INATTENTION/IMPULSIVITY AND PEER DISLIKING THROUGH THE QUADRATIC ASSIGNMENT PROCEDURE


Two experimental models were used to simulate the motion of a valve leaflet and atrial myxoma in order to investigate the echocardiographic images produced. Both support the view that an endogenous contrast effect, i.e. surfaces of different acoustic densities that are produced as a result of turbulence in a fluid medium and give rise to echo images, contributes to the echocardiographic M-mode appearance of the atrial mass.


This paper presents an application of topology optimization in the analysis of the thighbone with an inserted endoprosthesis. A variational minimum compliance approach with mass constraints is employed to solve the problem. Changes in the bone structure depending on the implant's mechanical parameters are studied. Numerical results for mass distribution in the modelled thighbone with an inserted endoprosthesis are analyzed using an original numerical algorithm and a program developed in Matlab. It is numerically proven that owing to the use of an implant with material properties similar to those of the bone no degradation of the latter in the vicinity of the implant occurs. The endoprosthesis will serve longer and the postoperative complications connected with the accelerated degradation of the bone in the neighborhood of the implant will be avoided if the implant has similar material properties as the bone.


The industrial cluster concept has become a subject of intense research studies and economic analysis starting with the study conducted by Michael E. Porter regarding the competitive advantage of nations. This concept is an economic phenomenon that is placed in a competitive context in which many businesses simultaneously compete and collaborate to gain different economic advantages. The economic advantages of successful real economic clusters has proves an important reason for the increased attention that this economic model has received from the scientific community and the governmental structures. Despite the advances in cluster research, its model remains a complex one and something that it's hard to reproduce in a real economic environment. The paper highlights typologies of clusters, models of determinant factors and its characteristics by doing a survey of the cluster literature. The research is conducted starting with the analysis of the cluster concept, based on different accepted descriptions. From this point there are summarized the main characteristics and are described models of cluster determinants. The objective of the paper is to highlight the importance and advantages of clusters but also the complexity of the cluster model mainly because of its complex determinant factors.


This study aimed to analyze academic activity reports about the structure and mental abilities developed by graduate students of two nursing curriculum proposals at a Brazilian university. The study was based on 83 students: 39 from the Transition Curriculum (group I) and 44 from the Integrated Curriculum (group II). Data were collected through a registration card with topics from the December 2002 report by group I and the December 2003 report by group II. The results, presented as frequency percentages, showed that group II elaborated the academic activity report with a better structure than group I. This group also developed a more complex reasoning, especially in the "development" topic. Interventions with group II present a better development in this teaching strategy.


This article investigates agreement as a number marking mechanism in Persian. The mechanism differs from number marking on nominals in that with an inanimate plural subject, the SG verbal ending signals a collective conceptualization of the experience where the members of the group are considered together as a single unit. The PL ending, on the other hand, signals a distributive conceptualization where the entities are individuated; hence, they are considered to be dispersed over space, or distinct in sort or time. Autonomy - whether the entity is conceived of as governing the course of events or not - seems to underlie the choice between SG and PL.


Background: Infant feeding is crucial for growth and development of the child. It varies from one context to another including maternal HIV infection. Anthropologists examine infant feeding considering cultural, economic, political and historicalvariables in a single framework. Archival evidence showed reduced mortality among children breastfed from1860-1930. Historical sources provide evidence for variation of infant feeding practices and can be triangulated with ethnographic studies to suggest the best infant feeding options. Team research by anthropologists and health professionalscould generate data that complement one another thus producing evidence that best informs policy makers on young infant feeding. Method: Using Cochran library, PubMed, Medline and Google scholar search engines and terms "Research on infant feeding among HIV-infected mothers co-authored by anthropologists and pediatricians from 2000 – 2014''. A narrative literature review was conducted to determine the magnitude of anthropological and pediatric research triangulation to create an awareness of the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration on young infant feeding. Results: No studies were co-authored by anthropologists and pediatricians. Conclusion: There is insignificant collaboration between anthropologists and pediatricians in research on young infant feeding. Recommendation: Infant feeding policy changes need research collaboration betweenpediatricians and anthropologiststo enhance understanding of cultural and ecological contextual variation.


In the realm of modern service-oriented architecture, ensuring Quality of Service (QoS) is of paramount importance. The ability to predict QoS values in advance empowers users to make informed decisions. However, achieving accurate QoS predictions in the presence of various issues and anomalies, including outliers, data sparsity, grey-sheep instances, and cold-start scenarios, remains a challenge. Current state-of-the-art methods often fall short when addressing these issues simultaneously, resulting in performance degradation. In this paper, we introduce a real-time QoS prediction framework (called ARRQP) with a specific emphasis on improving resilience to anomalies in the data. ARRQP utilizes the power of graph convolution techniques to capture intricate relationships and dependencies among users and services, even when the data is limited or sparse. ARRQP integrates both contextual information and collaborative insights, enabling a comprehensive understanding of user-service interactions. By utilizing robust loss functions, ARRQP effectively reduces the impact of outliers during the model training. Additionally, we introduce a sparsity-resilient grey-sheep detection method, which is subsequently treated separately for QoS prediction. Furthermore, we address the cold-start problem by emphasizing contextual features over collaborative features. Experimental results on the benchmark WS-DREAM dataset demonstrate the framework's effectiveness in achieving accurate and timely QoS predictions.


The process of storing liquor in wooden barrels is a practice that aims to improve the sensory characteristics, such as color, aroma and flavor, of the beverage. The quality of the liquor stored in these barrels depends on wood characteristics such as density, permeability, chemical composition, anatomy, besides the wood heat treatment used to fabricate the barrels. Brazil has a great diversity of forests, mainly in the north, in the Amazon. This region is home to thousands of tree species, but is limited to the use of only a few native species to store liquors. The objective of this study was to determine some of the physical and chemical characteristics for four Amazon wood species. The results obtained in this study will be compared with others from woods that are traditionally used for liquor storage. The species studied were angelim-pedra (Hymenolobium petraeum Ducke) cumarurana (Dipteryx polyphylla (Huber) Ducke), jatoba (Hymenaea courbaril L.) and louro-vermelho (Nectandra rubra (Mez) CK Allen). The trees were collected from Precious Woods Amazon Company forest management area, in Silves, Amazonas. Analyzes such as: concentration of extractives, lignin amount, percentage of minerals (ash) and tannin content, density, elemental analysis (CHNS-O) and thermal analysis were done. It was observed that the chemical composition (lignin, holocellulose) and elemental analysis (percentage of C, H, N and O) of the woods have significant differences. The jatoba wood presented higher tannin content, and in the thermal analysis, was that which had the lowest mass loss.


Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles have recently attracted significant interest in the field of biomedicine. In the past 2 years, our group has been studying the applications of upconversion nanoparticles in biomedical imaging and drug delivery, as well as imaging-guided novel cancer therapies.


BACKGROUND: In 2012,Uzbekistanratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which states that price and tax measures are an effective means of reducing tobacco consumption. We aimed to explore the effect of taxation policies on revenues and cigarette consumption. METHODS: Data on tax rates, revenues, cigarette sales were taken from national reports. To forecast potential revenues, a scenario analysis was performed. RESULTS: In 1991-2004, ad valorem excise system was in place in Uzbekistan, which was later replaced by the specific excise system. In 1997-2011, the nominal average excise has increased by a factor of twenty, but in real terms, after a sharp increase in 1999, average excise declined annually and increased only in 2010-2011. Annual cigarette sales per capita of adult population in 1999-2007 constituted 17-25 cigarette packs, while in 2008-2011 it increased to 30-37 packs. Four scenarios of excise tax increases in 2012 were developed: one actual scenario based on the rates effective in Uzbekistan in 2012, and three hypothetical ones anticipating excise rates increase by 1.5, 2 and 3-fold. With actual excise increase in 2012, the inflation-adjusted budget revenues would grow by 5%, and with three hypothetical - by 17%, 35% and 66% respectively, despite the decline of tax-paid cigarette sales. CONCLUSION: Stabilization or reduction in cigarette excises in Uzbekistan in 2002-2008 led to a decline in real excise revenues and the growth of cigarette sales. In 1999 and 2010-2011, excises were significantly increased and the real revenues have risen, despite the decline in cigarette sales. As cigarette prices are low, the illegal outflow of cigarettes from Uzbekistan apparently exceeds the illegal inflow. A significant increase in cigarette excise (1.5-3 fold) can both increase budget revenues and reduce cigarette consumption, with greater increase yielding more benefits. KEYWORDS: Uzbekistan; tobacco; excise; cigarettes; revenue.


This paper introduces two special issues of the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters focused on teaching and learning. Though there is much recent literature on teaching from other fields, the hazards and disasters community has produced little written scholarship on pedagogy and on curriculum design. To address this gap, we produced a call for papers for a special issue and received many submissions. In this paper, we introduce the need for more scholarship on teaching and learning on the hazards and disaster field. This includes classroom exercises, experiential learning activities, service-learning and citizen science approaches, and explorations of curricular design. We also introduce the papers that make up the two special issues. The first issue focuses on "Innovative Teaching Techniques and Practices in Hazards and Disaster Studies" and the second on "Curricular Innovations in Hazards and Disaster Studies." We hope that the papers contained in these two special issues will creat a sustained dialogue on best practices in teaching about hazards and disasters.


Visual domain adaptation aims to learn robust classifiers for the target domain by leveraging knowledge from a source domain. Existing methods either attempt to align the cross-domain distributions, or perform manifold subspace learning. However, there are two significant challenges: (1) degenerated feature transformation, which means that distribution alignment is often performed in the original feature space, where feature distortions are hard to overcome. On the other hand, subspace learning is not sufficient to reduce the distribution divergence. (2) unevaluated distribution alignment, which means that existing distribution alignment methods only align the marginal and conditional distributions with equal importance, while they fail to evaluate the different importance of these two distributions in real applications. In this paper, we propose a Manifold Embedded Distribution Alignment (MEDA) approach to address these challenges. MEDA learns a domain-invariant classifier in Grassmann manifold with structural risk minimization, while performing dynamic distribution alignment to quantitatively account for the relative importance of marginal and conditional distributions. To the best of our knowledge, MEDA is the first attempt to perform dynamic distribution alignment for manifold domain adaptation. Extensive experiments demonstrate that MEDA shows significant improvements in classification accuracy compared to state-of-the-art traditional and deep methods.


Customers will always remain the primary focus of every business because without customers there will be no reason for a business to operate. Fast-food companies offer products which are perishable hence there is a need to retain existing customers who are loyal and frequent purchasers. The fast-food industry in South Africa is experiencing numerous market-related changes, which ranges from intense globalisation forces to heightening competition levels. Consequently, as a result of these forces, fast-food outlets in South Africa are intensifying their production and marketing strategies as a defensive way to counter the impact imposed by these environmental changes. The population for this study included all the visitors to Something Fishy, Nandos and Steers fast-food outlets in the Gauteng, Western Cape and Kwazulu-Natal provinces of South Africa as well as the managers of the different branches in the selected provinces. The sample under study was seven hundred and fifty (750) respondents. Data analysis was done by calculating averages and standard deviations, Explorative factor analysis (EFA), Cronbach Alpha-values and practical significance by means of effect sizes. All the managers included in the study admitted that they make use of the CRM concept. They implement the concept of CRM by focusing on aspects such as individual attention, ongoing marketing (promotions), a focus on staff and customers training, swift complaints handling, the provision of a friendly service, as well as the offering of the best quality services and products.

 Key Words: Customer relationship management, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer service, customer retention.


Kyu-Soo Park wrote the book "Gur Ga Jap Bok Ko" (Proposition for Household Casuals) around A.D. 1865. He was a widely-learned man and a proponent of Korean self-consciou-seness like his fellow Pragmafist against then prevailing Chinese influence, which had already penetrated deeply into ordinary life style. According to this fact we can see not only the general dress-cystoms but the new customs of some high-birth People with evident self-consciouseness like him at that time. For example, they wore "Sim Eui" and "Bok Gun" as the dress of their ordinary life in spite of the general dress custom wearing the "Do Po" (Traditional Korean full-dress attire) and "Gat" (Traditional cylindrical Korean hat) as an ordinary or a ceremonial dress irrespective of rank at that time. Women wore an overcoat with "Chima" and "Jur. Go Ri" instead of the shortened "Jur, Go Ri" and buttock exagerating "Chima" largely popular at that time too. And also wore "So Eui" instead of "won Sam" or "Dang Eui" prevailing for the psychological resemblance of higher ranking group. Male yougnsters wore "Sa Gyu Sam" as an ordinary life dress and Girls wore "Chima and Jur Go Ri".


To the Editor.— Dr. Bean, writing in theArchives(99:705, 1969, and 106:72, 1972), has made an excellent study of hyperkeratosis lenticularis perstans (HLP). Since 1970, eight patients with HLP have been reported in the Japanese literature, but most of theArchivesreaders would not have the opportunity to read the original Japanese articles. The purpose of this letter is to record an additional case of HLP and to review the reported cases of HLP in Japan. Report of a Case A 48-year-old Japanese man had noted for the past two years an asymptomatic eruption with scales affecting the dorsa of the feet and hands. No family member was known to have a similar eruption. Examination revealed multiple lenticular, yellowish-brown papules with a keratinous mass on the dorsal aspects of the feet and hands and on the ankles (Figure). Some of the papules had a central depression with glistening surface.


ABSTRACT Urban vegetable production is an intensive agricultural strategy through which urban dwellers secure income and improve their livelihoods. An ethnographic study was conducted in Tamale, Northern Ghana, to understand whether vegetable gardening was a sustainable form of intensification. The study used an updated version of the Food and Agricultural Organization's International Framework for Evaluating Sustainable Land Management. Accordingly, qualitative data were collected on the security and access to land, political acceptability and human and environmental health implications of urban patch farming. Changes between 2008 and 2014 in the spatial area of the vegetable sites were measured. Cabbage farmer incomes were quantified. The study found that urbanization has prompted an increase in the cultivation of highly profitable vegetables like cabbage. However, they are irrigated with grey and waste water while eaten raw. This, and the use of pesticides in high dosages, poses health and environmental hazards. Industrial growth has reduced the area of open space urban agriculture by 8.7% between 2008 and 2014. Farmers cope with this by cultivating on interstitial spaces and moving to periurban fringes. There, farmers develop institutional liaisons to gain access to intensification technologies and commercialize their production. This production system is dynamic but not yet sustainable.


The VXIplug&play Systems Alliance is an organisation formed in September, 1993 that is committed to increasing the ease of use and cost-effectiveness of VXI systems. This paper will give you some insight into the objectives of this organization, the technology and standards that have been produced, and the benefits that VXIplug&play offers to instrumentation users.


Pair bonding has independently evolved numerous times among vertebrates. The governing neural mechanisms of pair bonding have only been studied in depth in the mammalian model species, the prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster. In this species, oxytocin (OT), arginine vasopressin (AVP), dopamine (DA), and opioid (OP) systems play key roles in signaling in the formation and maintenance of pair bonding by targeting specific social and reward-mediating brain regions. By contrast, the neural basis of pair bonding is poorly studied in other vertebrates, and especially those of early origins, limiting our understanding of the evolutionary history of pair bonding regulatory mechanisms. We compared receptor gene expression between pair bonded and solitary individuals across eight socio-functional brain regions. We found that in females, ITR and V1aR receptor expression varied in the lateral septum-like region (the Vv/Vl), while in both sexes D1R, D2R, and MOR expression varied within the mesolimbic reward system, including a striatum-like region (the Vc); mirroring sites of action in M. ochrogaster. This study provides novel insights into the neurobiology of teleost pair bonding. It also reveals high convergence in the neurochemical mechanisms governing pair bonding across actinopterygians and sarcopterygians, by repeatedly co-opting and similarly assembling deep neurochemical and neuroanatomical homologies that originated in ancestral osteithes.


Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is an essential supplement for culture media to support the proliferation of human pluripotent stem cells, while preserving their pluripotency. However, it is extremely unstable under cell culture conditions at 37 °C. Therefore, a culture medium supplemented with bFGF needs to be changed every day to maintain an effective concentration of bFGF. This study aimed to create a bFGF-releasing material via simple bFGF adsorption following oxygen plasma treatment by using a water-floatable polyethylene (PE) nonwoven fabric sheet as a bFGF-adsorbent material. Preliminary oxygen plasma treatment enhanced bFGF adsorption onto the sheet by increasing its surface water wettability. Based on the bFGF concentration in the adsorption solution, the resulting bFGF-adsorbed sheet showed different bFGF-release profiles in the culture medium. The bFGF-adsorbed sheet prepared under optimum conditions released bFGF in a sustained manner, maintaining the bFGF concentration in the culture medium of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) at ≥10 ng mL−1 even without medium change for as long as 3 d. The bFGF released from the sheet retained its biological activity to support colony formation of iPSCs while preserving their pluripotency. This type of bFGF-releasing sheet can be used as a new form of bFGF supplement for the culture media of stem cells and would make a significant contribution to stem cell-based research and development.


PurposeThe purpose of this research is to assess the current level of systems literacy of air force logisticians in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThis research undertook an assessment of the knowledge of air force logistics officers on systems thinking with the aid of a qualitative questionnaire. The questionnaire featured questions on the level of literacy and application of systems thinking by air force logisticians in Nigeria.FindingsThe research finds that the majority of the air force logistics officers have very low levels of knowledge and training in systems thinking.Originality/valueThe research is a unique effort to ascertain the level of systems thinking literacy and training in air force logistics in Nigeria. The study presents a baseline and justification for intervention through an improvement of the logistics curricula used in air force training institutions in Nigeria.


The dependency on rainfed agriculture and weak adaptability of the agricultural sector to climate change threaten food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Biochar has widely been touted as a relatively easy means of increasing the soil water storage capacity of soils and thereby improving or maintaining crop yields. In this study we simulated the effect of biochar amendment on sorghum aboveground biomass and grain yield at a site in South Sudan. We used the model AquaCrop parameterized using site, soil, and cropping management data from a field experiment carried out at the site in 2011 and 2012, which were both wet years. Changes in soil hydraulic properties due to biochar were based on a published meta-analysis study. In order to investigate whether the response to biochar differed in dry years, simulations were also carried out for 1990, which was the driest year during the period 1979–2014. Measured and modelled biomass and yields with and without biochar for 2011 and 2012 were compared. Simulated and measured yields depended on growing season rainfall and distribution. The simulations showed that biochar amendment had an effect on rooting zone soil water content and sorghum biomass and grain yield in 1990, but not in 2011 and 2012. In view of expected climate change, the results have important implications for sorghum production and the potential use of biochar in SSA. Given the limited response of grain yield to biochar shown in our simulations, careful selection of sorghum variety and cultivar and consideration of planting date may be a more effective means of improving yields than applying biochar.