The M3 Serotype of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is one of the three most frequent serotypes associated with severe invasive GAS infections, such as necrotizing fasciitis, in the United States and other industrialized countries. The basis for this association and hypervirulence of invasive serotype M3 GAS is not fully understood. In this study, the sequenced serotype M3 strain, MGAS315, and serotype M28 strain, MGAS6180, were characterized in parallel to determine whether contemporary M3 GAS has a higher capacity to invade soft tissues than M28 GAS. In subcutaneous infection, MGAS315 invaded almost the whole skin, inhibited neutrophil recruitment and TNF-α production, and was lethal in subcutaneous infection of mice, whereas MGAS6180 did not invade skin, induced robust neutrophil infiltration and TNF-α production, and failed to kill mice. In contrast to MGAS6180, MGAS315 had covS G1370T mutation. Either replacement of the covS 1370T gene with wild-type covS in MGAS315 chromosome or in trans expression of wild-type covS in MGAS315 reduced expression of CovRS-controlled virulence genes hasA, spyCEP, and sse by >10 fold. MGAS315 covS wt lost the capacity to extensively invade skin and to inhibit neutrophil recruitment and had attenuated virulence, indicating that the covS G1370T mutation critically contribute to the hypervirulence of MGAS315. Under the background of functional CovRS, MGAS315 covS wt still caused greater lesions than MGAS6180, and, consistently under the background of covS deletion, MGAS6180 ΔcovS caused smaller lesions than MGAS315 ΔcovS. Thus, contemporary invasive M3 GAS has a higher capacity to evade neutrophil and TNF-α responses and to invade soft tissue than M28 GAS and that this skin-invading capacity of M3 GAS is maximized by natural CovRS mutations. These findings enhance our understanding of the basis for the frequent association of M3 GAS with necrotizing fasciitis.


Turbid water has a significant harmful effect on water pollution which is included suspended solids and colloidal materials such as clay, silt and its contents of organic, inorganic materials and microorganism. Sedimentation method by coagulants is the best and least expensive process comparison to other methods, it is recommended for primary water treatment. Inorganic compounds such as aluminum sulfate (alum) are widely used as a coagulant, but it has caused many problems for human's health .Therefore many studies attempt to find eco-friendly natural coagulant as an alternative of chemical material for water treatment. This study comprised using cactus mucilage extract as a mainly coagulant as well as used a coagulant aid with alum by jar test apparatus to treat three levels of turbid water 53,100 and200 NTU at pH ranging between 4–10,varoius temperatures and several intervals of settle were examined in study. Results indicated that the optimum dosages of natural coagulant were 5,10 and30 ppm at pH 7 and the best period of sedimentation was 2 and 5 hours with significant turbidity removal 79.3%, 78.7%, 82% and 84.7%, 86.6%, 87.9% for two time and three levels of turbid water respectively, while there is non-significant difference between various temperatures in treatment. This study shows integrated natural coagulant with alum obtained maximum turbidity removal at ratio (0.5:0.5) (coagulant aid: alum) that were 74.1%, 84.7% and 89.8% for three levels of turbid water respectively.


Objective(s): Gallbladder interstitial Cajal-like cells (ICLCs) are known as some of the players in the complex motility mechanisms affecting gallbladder motility. This study aims to explore the mechanism of guinea-pig gallbladder motility disorders during Acute Cholecystitis (AC), focusing on the relationships between neutrophil alterations, gallbladder ICLCs, and smooth muscle contractility. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight guinea pigs were randomly divided into four groups: normal, sham, common bile duct ligation (CBDL), and anti-PMN (anti-polymorphonuclear antibody treated +CBDL). Hematoxylin and eosin-stained slides from each gallbladder sample were examined for inflammation, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity was evaluated. The contractile response of gallbladder muscle to Ach, CCK-8, and KCl was registered by a tension transducer, and ultrastructure features of ICLCs were observed. Results: Pretreatment with anti-PMN significantly reduced the circulating neutrophils by 80% and also considerably decreased the gallbladder MPO activity by 52.9% compared with the CBDL group (P<0.05). After adding Ach, CCK-8, and KCl, the contraction ability in CBDL and anti-PMN groups was lower than those of normal and sham groups (P<0.05), and they were increased substantially in the anti-PMN group compared with the CBDL group (P<0.05). Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that the cytoplasm of the neutrophils was full of granules, and neutrophils contacted closely with ICLCs. The ultrastructure of ICLCs in the anti-PMN group was less inflamed and the endoplasmic reticulum was mildly dilated, and cell processes also increased. Conclusion: Anti-PMN could relieve the ultrastructure injury of ICLCs and alleviate gallbladder dysmotility during AC. Neutrophils may damage gallbladder ICLCs at first followed by dysmotility.


Opportunistic multicast scheduling (OMS) requires the subscribers to feed back their instantaneous channel conditions frequently, and the feedback load increases linearly as the number of subscribers in the system increases. In this letter, we propose a Weakly Consistent OMS scheme for feedback reduction. The contribution of the proposed scheme is twofold: 1) feedback load is reduced while the multicast throughput performance remains comparable with the case of full feedback, and 2) no precise knowledge of the wireless fading channel is required. Performance evaluation through realistic WiMAX simulations shows that our proposed scheme can significantly reduce 65% of the feedback load while achieving 98% multicast throughput performance compared with the case of full feedback.


After addition of any of six penetrant aldoses to suspensions of washed human erythrocytes at body temperature, serial samples were taken for analysis of sugar distribution between cells and medium. The progress of equilibration was analyzed in terms of a simple carrier model previously proposed for monosaccharide transport in these cells, by which the sugar movements are characterizable by two constants, one of which defines the affinity of the sugar for the transport system9s reactive site, the other expressing the rate of diffusion of the sugar-carrier complex through the cell membrane. The experiments show the latter constant to be nearly invariant among the several sugars, although the affinity constants and the net transfer times cover a wide range. This finding implies that the identity of the passenger sugar molecule does not seriously influence the diffusivity of the sugar-carrier complex. Certain contrary results recently published are questioned on the basis of an oversimplification in the formal analysis by which the data were interpreted.


The demand for clean fuels is increasing throughout the world, with more stringent environmental regulations for transportation fuels including marine fuels, particularly regarding their sulfur content. Moreover, the quality of crude oil and derived petroleum cuts is getting lower while fossil fuels are still in high demand. Heavy oils are characterized by high sulfur content where most sulfur is found in bulky thiophenic structures difficult to remove using conventional high pressure hydrodesulfurization process. However they appeared more reactive in oxidative desulfurization (ODS) process, carried out at mild conditions without hydrogen pressure. This review focuses for the first time on the heavy fuels initially containing more than 0.5 wt.%S and upgraded by the ODS process. Different attractive approaches of the literature towards ODS are reported using homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. Recent developments in ODS assisted with ultrasound technology and the use of ionic liquid to enhance ODS efficiency will be fully detailed and discussed to better understand their viability when applied to high sulfur content, high viscosity, and high boiling point feeds.


Background and objective: In the academia, controversy over the transformation of Panseokbo has continued.Methods: To analyze changes in the name, shape, and structure of Panseokbo from the 1970s to 2021, a survey was conducted based on reliable data including excavation, repair and maintenance reports. Academic papers and books were also reviewed where additional fact-checking was required.Results: The results of the study are as follows. First, "Panseokbo" was called by different names from the 1970s to the 1990s, including "Gul-ttuk-da-ri," "Mul-mak-ee Jebang," "Seokje" and "Panseok Jebang." Since then, "Panseokbo" has been established as its proper name. By examining the origin of its name through Bogildoji (甫吉島識, 18C), it was found that Panseokbo had a distinct character of "Je (隄)" which served as both a bridge and an embankment, not "Bo (洑)" which was simply installed for the purpose of watering rice fields. Second, Panseokbo was severely damaged in 1972, so the exact plane shape could not be confirmed, but in 1981, data showed a greatly curved shape downstream. In particular, a triangular flagstone was used to connect the bent central part. After that, in the 1984 data, the triangular top stone disappeared, and the plane shape changed to a gentle curve toward the upstream. This shape was transformed into a much straighter line than in 1984 during the renovation in 1990. The current plane shape of Panseokbo has been maintained since it was repaired in 1990. Third, considering various environmental factors including quantity and depth of water storage, direction of streamflow, water pressure, and frequency of overflowing, Panseokbo was designed to have a structure in which "L"-shaped cutouts were made on side stones and upper stones were placed on them. In addition, as a large number of seokchok holes were found on natural bedrocks around Seyeonji pond and the east end of Panseokbo, it seems that seokchoks were used as a binding joint for far more members than those currently identified in the central part.Conclusion: Therefore, the results of this study are expected to contribute to setting the direction for future repair and maintenance of Panseokbo, and to establish the traditional manufacturing method or technology of landscaping facilities.


Classes are an integral part of all semantic data models. Despite this, class formation in these data models is ad hoc due to the varied treatment of classes and because the issue of grouping instances into classes is considered an art rather than a science. It is the view of this paper that class formation be based on category theory through the use of an aJtribute-based purpose-dieected conceptual clustering technique. Several issues concerned with category theory, especially exception handling, are discussed. The emphasis in this approach is on reasoning at the instance level. Schema generation occurs as a result of conceptually clustering the underlying data instances and guiding this process by specifying a context in the form of a clustering seed. The use of this approach in the areas of schema integration, schema evolution and querying will be discussed. These facilities have been implemented on a database system based on the CANDIDE [3] semantic data model. CANDIDE is essentially an extended version of the tenn-subsumption languages known as the KL-ONE family of languages.


This paper presents the empirical study of coping with stress in car drivers after road traffic accident (N=64) age 20 to 48 years-old (37 males and 27 females). Methods: Lazarus coping — strategies scale with modified instruction for the road accident; hardiness survey, S. Maddi and author's questionnaire. Results show that all drivers feel fear, anger and frustration in traffic accident. Leading coping strategies among female drivers were "seeking of social support" and "positive reappraisal". At the same time female drivers were more vulnerable to the posttraumatic emotional reactions and were looking for professional help after accident more often. The lack of traffic accident experience was linked with "distancing" coping strategy and low level of control among female drivers. "Positive reappraisal" coping strategy helps female drivers to feel less fear after traffic accident. In our study male drivers used "confrontation" and "escape" strategies which were primary associated with considerable financial damage as a result of the accident, feeling of anger and less driving experience.


We investigate electron-correlation effects in the $g$-factor of the ground state of Li-like ions. Our calculations are performed within the nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamics (NRQED) expansion up to two leading orders in the fine-structure constant $\alpha$, $\alpha^2$ and $\alpha^3$. The dependence of the NRQED results on the nuclear charge number $Z$ is studied and the individual $1/Z$-expansion contributions are identified. Combining the obtained data with the results of the all-order (in $Z\alpha$) calculations performed within the $1/Z$ expansion, we derive the unified theoretical predictions for the $g$-factor of light Li-like ions.


Objectives To explore the prognostic value of magnetic resonance image compilation (MAGiC) in the quantitative assessment of neonatal hypoglycemic encephalopathy (HE). Methods A total of 75 neonatal HE patients who underwent synthetic MRI were included in this retrospective study. Perinatal clinical data were collected. T1, T2 and proton density (PD) values were measured in the white matter of the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe and occipital lobe, centrum semiovale, periventricular white matter, thalamus, lenticular nucleus, caudate nucleus, corpus callosum and cerebellum, which were generated by MAGiC. The patients were divided into two groups (group A: normal and mild developmental disability; group B: severe developmental disability) according to the score of Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley III) at 9–12 months of age. Student's t test, Wilcoxon test, and Fisher's test were performed to compare data across the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of poor prognosis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were created to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy. Results T1 and T2 values of the parietal lobe, occipital lobe, center semiovale, periventricular white matter, thalamus, and corpus callosum were higher in group B than in group A (p < 0.05). PD values of the occipital lobe, center semiovale, thalamus, and corpus callosum were higher in group B than in group A (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the duration of hypoglycemia, neonatal behavioral neurological assessment (NBNA) scores, T1 and T2 values of the occipital lobe, and T1 values of the corpus callosum and thalamus were independent predictors of severe HE (OR > 1, p < 0.05). The T2 values of the occipital lobe showed the best diagnostic performance, with an AUC value of 0.844, sensitivity of 83.02%, and specificity of 88.16%. Furthermore, the combination of MAGiC quantitative values and perinatal clinical features can improve the AUC (AUC = 0.923) compared with the use of MAGiC or perinatal clinical features alone. Conclusion The quantitative values of MAGiC can predict the prognosis of HE early, and the prediction efficiency is further optimized after being combined with clinical features.


We discuss two different approaches for the approximate treatment of the bremsstrahlung (BrS) process of non-relativistic electrons on many-electron atomic/ionic targets, described by a total amplitude which is a sum of ordinary and polarizational BrS amplitudes. The approaches are based on the so-called `stripping' effect; they are useful for calculation of the BrS spectra for photon energies greater than the outer shell thresholds.


Fe3O4 known as magnetite is one of the oxides of iron which plays a major role in various fields of sciences. Fe3O4 was synthesized by precipitation method using NH3.H2O, FeCl2.4H2O and FeCl3.6H2O as precursor materials. For synthesis of 5% Ag-Fe3O4, the green synthetic method was used for immobilization of Ag nanoparticles on Fe3O4 using leaves extract of Calotropis gigantea plant. The synthesized Fe3O4 and 5% Ag-Fe3O4 were employed as catalyst in degradation of methylene blue. The photo catalytic activity of Fe3O4 was remarkably enhanced by doping of Fe3O4 with Ag nanoparticles. Advanced instrumental techniques including XRD, EDX, TGA and SEM were used for characterization of synthesized particles. The immobilization of Ag on Fe3O4 enhanced the photo degradation of methylene blue from 40 to 72% at 40 °C which confirms that 5% Ag-Fe3O4 is an active catalyst for treatment of dye contaminated water. Ag-Fe3O4 exhibited almost same catalytic activity in two successive cycles.

Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2020, 34(1), 123-134.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v34i1.11


Machine learning models have been deployed in mobile networks to deal with the data from different layers to enable automated network management and intelligence on devices. To overcome high communication cost and severe privacy concerns of centralized machine learning, Federated Learning (FL) has been proposed to achieve distributed machine learning among networked devices. While the computation and communication limitation has been widely studied in FL, the impact of on-device storage on the performance of FL is still not explored. Without an efficient and effective data selection policy to filter the abundant streaming data on devices, classical FL can suffer from much longer model training time (more than 4 × ) and significant inference accuracy reduction (more than 7%), observed in our experiments. In this work, we take the first step to consider the online data selection for FL with limited on-device storage. We first define a new data valuation metric for data selection in FL: the projection of local gradient over an on-device data sample onto the global gradient over the data from all devices. We further design ODE , a framework of O nline D ata s E lection for FL, to coordinate networked devices to store valuable data samples collaboratively, with theoretical guarantees for speeding up model convergence and enhancing final model accuracy, simultaneously. Experimental results on one industrial task (mobile network traffic classification) and three public tasks (synthetic task, image classification, human activity recognition) show the remarkable advantages of ODE over the state-of-the-art approaches. Particularly, on the industrial dataset, ODE achieves as high as 2 . 5 × speedup of training time and 6% increase in final inference accuracy, and is robust to various factors in the practical environment.


This UNESCO-sponsored Regional Meeting of MAB drew wide publicity on what went on both inside and outside the conference halls. While it raised issues—too many, in fact—on the question of maintenance and preservation of ecological balance of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya mountain system which spreads over 1,500 miles (2,400 km) from Afghanistan to Burma, the Meeting also brought into sharp focus problems of resources—technological, financial, and human—which need to be solved before rational and integrated ecological research programmes can be carried out in each of the countries of the region. All countries of the region except China, Mongolia, and Bhutan, were represented at this Meeting; moreover, besides the official participants from Afghanistan, Iran, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, there were observers from Australia, Austria, France, Japan, U.K., U.S.A., and U.S.S.R. In all, 65 people participated. The excursions, organized by the local preparatory committee, to places in and around Kathmandu, provided the participants with an opportunity to study at first hand the environmental problems that affect large parts of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas region—such as soil erosion, deforestation, and terracing along steep hill-sides. These and other factors have contributed to degradation of the mountain environment. The Kathmandu Meeting was the third international meeting in the series under MAB Project No. 6: 'Impact of Human Activities on Mountain Ecosystems', the earlier ones having been held in Austria (Salzburg), Norway (Lillehammer), and Bolivia (La Paz). The Meeting was organized by UNESCO within the framework of its intergovernmental and interdisciplinary programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB), and thus formed part of UNESCO's efforts to promote regional cooperation. The following were the main items discussed:


By what means the papers out of which I have made a connected story came into my hands is the last point which the reader will learn from these pages. But it is necessary to prefix to my extracts from them a statement of...


Abstract Aims. The aim was to compare the fracture strength of porcelain fused to metal crowns with copings fabricated in Co-Cr using different manufacturing techniques (casting, milling and laser-sintering) with crowns manufactured in a high-gold alloy. Methods. A total of 50 identical crowns were fabricated and sub-divided into five groups; cast Co-Cr, milled Co-Cr, two groups of laser-sintered Co-Cr and a control group cast in a high-gold alloy. After thermocycling (5000 cycles, 5–55°C) and pre-load (30–300 N, 10,000 cycles) the crowns were loaded until fracture. Load (N) and fracture mode were recorded. Results. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in fracture strength between the control group and one of the laser-sintered groups. The mean values (N) for the groups were as follows: cast Co-Cr, 1560 ± 274; milled Co-Cr, 1643 ± 153; laser-sintered Co-Cr 1, 1448 ± 168; laser-sintered Co-Cr 2, 1562 ± 72; control group, 1725 ± 220. Conclusion. There is no difference in strength between Co-Cr crowns produced using the different production technologies: casting, milling or laser-sintering. Metal ceramic crowns made with copings fabricated in a high-gold alloy present numerically higher fracture strength than crowns made with copings fabricated in Co-Cr alloys. The difference is confirmed when analyzing the fracture surfaces, but the difference in fracture strength value is limited and is only significant with regard to one of the two laser-sintered groups.


The signaling pathways mediating sustained contraction of mouse colonic longitudinal smooth muscle and the mechanisms involved in hypercontractility of this muscle layer in response to cytokines and TNBS-induced colitis have not been fully explored. In control longitudinal smooth muscle cells, ACh acting via m3 receptors activated sequentially Gα12, RhoGEF (LARG), and the RhoA/Rho kinase pathway. There was abundant expression of MYPT1, minimal expression of CPI-17, and a notable absence of a PKC/CPI-17 pathway. LARG expression was increased in longitudinal muscle cells isolated from muscle strips cultured for 24 h with IL-1β or TNF-α or obtained from the colon of TNBS-treated mice. The increase in LARG expression was accompanied by a significant increase in ACh-stimulated Rho kinase and ZIP kinase activities, and sustained muscle contraction. The increase in LARG expression, Rho kinase and ZIP kinase activities, and sustained muscle contraction was abolished in cells pretreated with the Jun kinase inhibitor, SP600125. Expression of the MLCP activator, telokin, and MLCP activity were also decreased in longitudinal muscle cells from TNBS-treated mice or from strips treated with IL-1β or TNF-α. In contrast, previous studies had shown that sustained contraction in circular smooth muscle is mediated by sequential activation of Gα13, p115RhoGEF, and dual RhoA-dependent pathways involving phosphorylation of MYPT1 and CPI-17. In colonic circular smooth muscle cells isolated from TNBS-treated mice or from strips treated with IL-1β or TNF-α, CPI-17 expression and sustained muscle contraction were decreased. The disparate changes in the two muscle layers contribute to intestinal dysmotility during inflammation.


This book is intended for radiation and medical physicists , biomechanical engineers, radiation oncologists and clinicians who are involved in the assessment and treatment of patients requiring close-distance radiation, which is defined as "brachytherapy". This book is a very comprehensive description of brachytherapy with emphasis on physics. It is an excellent book for physicists and biomed-ical engineers on understanding the detailed principles of brachytherapy and equipment, and for radiation oncolo-gists for a detailed description of radiation sources and dosing of cancer patients. It emphasizes the two most commonly used applications for oncological patients with prostate and gynecological malignancies. It is less suitable for the oncologist who is looking for detailed clinical trials or patient selection and follow-up. It is even less suitable for the cardiologist who uses brach-ytherapy in patients with stent restenosis. The intravascu-lar brachytherapy chapter describes the details for the treatment of instent restenosis but does not mention any clinical trial or indications for this technique in cardiac patients [1]. Furthermore, the cardiac application of this therapy is neglected and the radiofrequency ablation chapter does not even mention the use of this technique for the treatment of arrhythmias [2]. Therefore, this book has limited usefulness for the cardiologist. The Vascular Brachytherapy book written by Waksman would certainly be more suitable for cardiovascular physicians [3]. Chapters were written by leading scientists with excellent qualifications in the relevant subjects. The book contains 54 chapters divided into six major sections: Fundamentals , Dosimetry, Interstitial Fundamentals, Interstitial Applications, Intercavitary Applications for Gynecological Cancers and Unconventional Delivery Systems. The book contains many excellent diagrams and illustrations accompanied by a CD-ROM version of the book. The important strengths and weaknesses are summarized below: The Fundamentals includes a comprehensive review of brachytherapy physics and radiobiology. It is a well-written chapter especially for medical physicists or radiation oncologists. For the clinician, the details could be somewhat overwhelming. The dosimetry and interstitial fundamental sections contain excellent comprehensive explanations of dosing and instrumentation of brachytherapy techniques with diagrams and illustrations. The other chapters contain details on clinical application of brachytherapy in mostly cancer patients. Depending on the cancers described in this book, the chapters markedly differ. For example, the chapters describing brachytherapy principles and treatment of prostate and gynecological malignancies are very comprehensive and detailed. On the other hand, the chapters explaining this technique in other oncological patients with brain, eyes, head and neck which permits unrestricted use, …


Renal tissue obtained from 8 patients with reflux nephropathy was studied by immunofluorescence with well-defined mono- and polyclonal antibodies to extracellular matrix, intermediate filament proteins, membrane attack complex of complement (MAC), and immune cells. In both unscarred and scarred areas of the tissue, intrinsic components of the human glomeruli, such as Type IV collagen, laminin, and fibronectin, accumulated in the expanded mesangium of the glomeruli. Those components were diminished or absent in the hyalinized glomeruli. Type III collagen was occasionally localized to the mesangium and synechiae in the glomeruli and was frequently observed within the nearly hyalinized glomeruli. MAC was co-deposited with C3, C5, C9, and properdin in the sclerotic area of the glomeruli, along with a decrease in the reactivity of podocytes with anti-vimentin antibody. Numerous suppressor/cytotoxic T cells were identified in the glomeruli and widened interstitum. Monocytes/macrophages also infiltrated the glomeruli. The present study suggests that accumulation of extracellular matrix, activation of the complement system, and infiltration of suppressor/cytotoxic T cells and monocytes/macrophages are closely associated with the glomerular obsolescence and the progression of reflux nephropathy.


Migration is many Mozambicans' preferred employment option (and sometimes last resort). Rural southern Mozambique, short of resources and traditionally less productive agriculturally than other regions of Mozambique, is now more developed and better off than other rural areas. An inter-regional analysis of the South, Centre and North of Mozambique demonstrates developmental differences largely attributable to labour migration (mainly to South Africa) and remittances. However, although migrant worker households, usually deficit agricultural producers largely dependent on migrant remittances, are often better off than non-migrant ones, many are still vulnerable to poverty. Migration has changed significantly over the last 15 years, with the eclipsing of mine migration and the increasing scarcity of jobs available to young Mozambicans. Despite the overall positive economic impact of migrant labour in southern Mozambique, as remittances decrease because earnings are lower and mechanisms for transfer are limited, its benefit may diminish.


In this work, the Doppler signals obtained from the cases of the healthy and pathologic aortic valve have been studied for determining the chaotic behaviour of the aortic valve blood flow. The Doppler signals gathered from the subject groups of healthy, stenosis and insufficiency have been evaluated by using the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) calculation. The LLE is accepted as an indicator of the chaos. LLE is a measure of the sensitive dependence to the initial conditions of a dynamical system and its value is positive for chaotic systems. The student-t test has been applied to the results obtained from LLE calculation of subject groups. The LLE values are positive for all groups. The LLE values of the subjects suffered from aortic insufficiency and stenosis have been found higher than those found in healthy group, significantly. The results show that the chaotic behaviour of aortic valve blood flow in stenosis and insufficiency cases is higher than healthy case.


The University of Calgary Archives has adopted the continuum of care in its approach to providing records services. In order for this system to succeed, active participation by all record-keepers throughout the institution is a vital and necessary component. The Information Management Program and the Archival Program of the University Archives work together in an on-going partnership with record-keepers to ensure the creation, maintenance and preservation of complete and reliable records. Records Coordinators have been appointed to act as liaison between their offices and the University Archives in all matters related to records management and archives. Two training modules have been developed that address the principles and practice of keeping and managing records. Together, these modules form the core of a continually evolving training program. This presentation gives an overview of the developing partnership between the University of Calgary Archives and the institution's record-keepers. The presentation will focus on what has worked in the past, what is changing today, and what is evolving for the future.


This paper aims to review variables that affect behavioral intentions of environmental concerns tourist segment on marine destination tourism. The role of creative experience to improve behavioral intention has already been discussed by many scholars before, but the one that related to marine tourism destination in remote area such as Sabang, the reference is limited. Of the six hypothesis tested, all of them were accepted, hypothesis no 6 the effect of Creative Tourist Experience to Behavioral Intention has been rejected because it has Critical Ratio value <1.96 and P value > 0.005. Meanwhile, when viewed from estimate coefficient, the variable that has bigger contribution to increase behavioral intention of tourist is Tourist Satisfaction. The contribution is up to 40,6%


Abstract. Chloroquine remains the first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria in Haiti, and until recently, sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine was the second-line treatment. A few studies have reported the presence of molecular markers for resistance in Plasmodium falciparum parasites, and in vivo therapeutic efficacy studies (TESs) have been limited. Recognizing the history of antimalarial resistance around the globe and the challenges of implementing TESs in low-endemic areas, the Ministry of Health established a surveillance program to detect molecular markers of antimalarial resistance in Haiti. Sentinel sites were purposefully selected in each of Haiti's 10 administrative departments; an 11th site was selected in Grand'Anse, the department with the highest number of reported cases. Factors considered for site selection included the number of malaria cases identified, observed skills of laboratory technicians conducting rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), stock and storage conditions of RDTs, accuracy of data reporting to the national surveillance system, and motivation to participate. Epidemiologic data from 2,437 patients who tested positive for malaria from March 2016 to December 2018 and consented to provide samples for molecular sequencing are presented here. Of these, 936 (38.4%) patients reported self-treatment with any medication since the onset of their illness before diagnosis; overall, 69 (2.8%) patients reported taking an antimalarial. Ten patients (0.4%) reported travel away from their home for at least one night in the month before diagnosis. Establishing a molecular surveillance program for antimalarial drug resistance proved practical and feasible in a resource-limited setting and will provide the evidence needed to make informed treatment policy decisions at the national level.


Digit tip regeneration is one of the few examples of true multi-tissue regeneration in an adult mammal. The key step in this process is the formation of the blastema, a transient proliferating cell mass that generates the different cell types of the digit to replicate the original structure. Failure to form the blastema results in a lack of regeneration and has been postulated to be the reason why mammalian limbs cannot regrow following amputation. Understanding how the blastema forms and functions will help us to determine what is required for mammalian regeneration to occur and will provide insights into potential therapies for mammalian tissue regeneration and repair. This review summarizes the cellular and molecular mechanisms that influence murine blastema formation and govern digit tip regeneration.


Characterizing materials with low surface areas or with very small sample sizes requires innovative approaches beyond traditional N2 and Ar adsorption measurements. The measurement of Kr adsorption isotherms is often employed to serve this purpose, yet its potential remains limited by the lack of models for the interpretation of the experimental results in terms of pore size distribution. In this work, simulated adsorption isotherms of Kr onto graphite in slit-shaped pores are generated with a Grand Canonical Monte Carlo method. The pore size distributions of nuclear-grade graphite samples and activated carbon are modelled by fitting simulated isotherms to the experimental data. The resulting distributions are favourably compared with those generated by commercially available modelling packages, based on the use of N2 adsorption isotherms using GCMC and BJH methods. The new GCMC-Kr kernel developed in this study offers an alternative method for the evaluation of the distribution of pore sizes in nuclear graphite and other low surface area materials, which can be employed when N2 and Ar adsorption measurements cannot be carried out.


Abstract Using the most advanced anisotropic (2D) Fokker-Planck (FP) models, we calculate the evolution of the mass functions of the Galactic globular cluster system (GCMF). Our models include two-body relaxation, binary heating, tidal shocks, dynamical friction, stellar evolution, and realistic cluster orbits. We perform 2D-FP simulations for a large number of virtual globular clusters and synthesize these results to study the relation between the initial and present GCMFs. We found two probable IGCMFs that eventually evolve into the Milky Way GCMF : truncated power-law, and log-normal model with higher initial low mass limit and peak mass than the earlier studies.


Purpose of review The purpose of this review is two-fold. (a) Highlight recent research, practice and policy developments in the field of young people, victims of crime across home, school and community. (b) Increase awareness across health, education, justice and social care about the need to recognise psychopathology in young victims and to refer on for appropriate interventions. Recent findings Recent findings include developing early identification, recognition and reporting mechanisms in A&E services. There is under-reporting of assaults against young people to juvenile justice services. The importance of utilizing the young user's perspective to inform this field of practice and research. The complex interactions of community and family violence, including the impact of siblings and peers, influence of ethnic and cultural background and under-recognition of the impact of dating violence on adolescent girls. Differences and similarities of violence perpetrated by girls and boys. The rise in gun-related crime and involvement of youth in hate crime. Refined understanding of the process of victims into victimizers, including sexual victimization. The importance of secondary prevention strategies targeting young people at risk of violent behaviours and good outcomes in spite of threats to adaptational development, resilience limited by co-existing vulnerabilities. Developing programmes in neighbourhoods and schools and specific approaches for traumatized young people. Summary The recent evidence base in the field of young people as victims of violence is beginning to identify processes, mechanisms and interventions that can start to counteract the damage done to the individual, families, communities and generations of children.


Based on the analysis of existing responsibilities, the formation of specialist nurse hospice care ability framework, develop the items of hospice care course knowledge system, using literature research method, and through the depth interview of hospice care related experts and patients' families, understand the specialist nurse hospice care knowledge level and learning needs, build the hospice care course knowledge system, form a talent training plan. The specific content includes the training objectives, content, methods and the corresponding assessment mechanism.


Human-to-human infection, as a type of fatal public health threats, can rapidly spread, resulting in a large amount of labor and health cost for treatment, control and prevention. To slow down the spread of infection, social network is envisioned to provide detailed contact statistics to isolate susceptive people who has frequent contacts with infected patients. In this paper, we propose a novel human-to-human infection analysis approach by exploiting social network data and health data that are collected by social network and e-healthcare technologies. We enable the social cloud server and health cloud server to exchange social contact information of infected patients and user's health condition in a privacy-preserving way. Specifically, we propose a privacy-preserving data query method based on conditional oblivious transfer to guarantee that only the authorized entities can query users' social data and the social cloud server cannot infer anything during the query. In addition, we propose a privacy-preserving classification-based infection analysis method that can be performed by untrusted cloud servers without accessing the users' health data. The performance evaluation shows that the proposed approach achieves higher infection analysis accuracy with the acceptable computational overhead.


A machine learning method for remote operation system recognition through their detection signatures with support vector machine (SNM) is proposed. A vector space model of Nmap fingerprint database and techniques for translating the host responses to SVM input vectors are also suggested. Experimental result on identification of signatures in the fingerprint database of Nmap 4.90RC1 but not known for Nmap 4.76 show that our method is effective in the discovery of new signatures not included in current fingerprint database.


SIMD hardware accelerators o er an alternative to manycores when energy consumption and performance are critical. For scienti c computing, GPGPUs are used in many computers of the top-500. But embedded processors also use accelerators. However such heterogeneous platforms trade ease of developments for performance: The application code and the data must be split between the host and the accelerator, synchronizations and communications between host and accelerator must be added, and accelerator hardware constraints must be taken into account by the programmer. To ease application development, we present an algorithm to automatically externalize the execution of a parallel loop using a synchronous master/slave protocol. The source-to-source transformation process is incrementally consistent and the transformed code can be executed at any step of the transformation algorithm, which make application and compiler debugging easier and possible without the target hardware. This article details the source-to-source parallel loop externalization algorithm and the new elementary program transformations which are used. Unlike previous work based on annotations or polyhedral model, it relies on interprocedural array region analysis, which embraces more situations than the polyhedral model while still not relying on user input. It has been implemented in the PIPS framework and its results are given at each transformation step for an image processing example.


Stand density index (SDI) was developed to quantify relative stand density in even-aged stands. Application of SDI in uneven-aged stands has been described mathematically but not justified biologically. Diameter-class trends in SDI and sapwood area across 14 uneven-aged ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws.) stands in eastern Montana were examined to elucidate the biological underpinnings of the SDI summation method. Results indicate that the SDI summation method is biased in its apportionment of relative stand density across diameter classes in uneven-aged ponderosa pine stands. SDI apportions greater relative density to small trees than to larger ones. Therefore, SDI may overpredict site occupancy for reverse J-shaped diameter distributions with more small trees than large ones, and it may underpredict occupancy with nonreverse J-shaped diameter distributions. Application of the SDI summation method in uneven-aged ponderosa pine stands may be biologically justified only if site occupancy - diameter class trends are taken into account when interpreting SDI values. Replacing the self-thinning scaling factor of the SDI summation method with more biologically relevant scaling relationships may create improved relative density measures for uneven-aged stands.


Simulations have been introduced in teacher training in recent times to prepare preservice teachers for teaching. This review aims to search for and analyze studies on the use of human- and computer-based virtual simulations (i.e., where humans act with avatars) in teacher training, in order to better understand how the use of such simulations may support the development of preservice teachers, as well as to identify potential gaps in the literature and suggest potential routes for future research. A categorization of 26 included articles shows that 22 articles investigate rule management competence, 3 articles investigate didactic competence, and 1 article investigates relational competence. Research about preservice teachers' experience of virtual simulations gives an overall positive picture. The studies included show several important advantages of virtual simulations. The disadvantages that are described in the studies are almost exclusively caused by technical limitations.


The features of InAs quantum dots obtained on GaAs(001) single-crystal substrates by ion-beam sputtering were investigated. It has been shown that in the range of ion energies of 150 to 200 eV at a temperature of 500 °C and a beam current of 120 µA InAs quantum dots with average dimensions below 15 nm and a surface density of 1011 cm−2 are formed. The technique of controlled doping of InAs/GaAs nanostructures using a SnTe solid-state source was proposed. It has been established that a maximum donor concentration of 8.7·1018 cm−3 in the GaAs spacer layer is reached at an evaporation temperature of 415 °С. At the same time, impurity accumulation in the growth direction was observed. We have shown that increasing the impurity doping of the GaAs barrier layer increases the intensity of photoluminescence peaks of the ground state and the first excited state of the InAs quantum dots.


The United States Congress is considering reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. This Article compares recent reforms in Europe and Canada in order to draw lessons for TSCA reform. In 2006, the European Union enacted the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation while Canada used existing authority under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) of 1999 to initiate the 2006 Chemicals Management Plan (CMP). Focusing on the tens of thousands of industrial chemicals now in use in the US, we offer several suggestions for TSCA reform based on the European and Canadian experiences. Congress should consider applying the Canadian approach to prioritization, where high-priority chemicals are identified for assessment and regulation based on limited data and modeling/screening exercises. To facilitate more expedient safety determinations, TSCA reform legislation should separate risk assessment from risk management decisions. Under either approach, improved chemicals governance will require significant new public and private investments in safety information and deliberations. Finally, Congress should consider applying European-style chemical registration to high-priority substances, placing the burden of generating data and proving the safety of specific uses on industry. In summary, an industry obligation to register high-priority chemicals and defend the safety of specific uses would bring new life to TSCA, enhance public health and environmental protection, and buttress public confidence in federal regulation of industrial chemicals.


The lesson of physical education is more vulnerable to the problems of attracting attention as it is in a
wider area and includes freedom of movement and flexibility in dealing in the classroom and sometimes
the distraction in the physical education school increases due to the large number of female students, thus
providing the opportunity to practice such behavioral problems, since the practice of sports activity, especially
the physical education lesson, is appropriate for free behavior and from it turns into an abnormal behavior
as a result of being affected by the family circumstances to which the female students belong, Hence the
importance of this research shows that the problems of attracting attention If the professors, educators, and
researchers do not work with research to determine it, which leads to female students' personal and social
maladjustment in and outside the school, then when these problems are left without supervision, it may lead
to their increase and the difficulty of dealing with them, In addition to the inability of female students to
agree in the school, and therefore, a barrier between them and benefiting from the school's educational and
educational services that achieve integrated and balanced growth for all aspects of personality, to qualify
them for the right citizenship in line with the goals of society, As for the research methodology, the researcher
used the descriptive approach in the survey method to suit the nature of the research problem. As for the
research sample, the research community was identified as physical education female teachers in Dhi Qar
Governorate for the preparatory stage as shown in table (1) so the number of schools reached (50) schools,
while the number Female teachers reached (235) Female teachers. As for the research findings, the most
important of them is the scale that was prepared by researchers as a tool to uncover problems of attracting
attention in the lesson of physical education for the preparatory stage from the point of view of female
teachers. They resort to attract the attention of others With negative behavior.


This paper investigates the effect of selected macroeconomic factors viz. remittances, money supply, exchange rate, and interest rate on stock market performance based on literatures available in international and Nepalese context. The major objective of this paper is to find out the new area of research in Nepalese perspective with the help of literature review. The study demonstrates that remittance and money supplypositively affect the stock market whereas interest rate and exchange rate negatively affect the stock market performance. However, there is lack of consensus on the effect of each macroeconomic variables on stock market performance as it has number of literatures available which are similar as well as opposite to these findings. Thus, similar study can be extended employing different methodology with this combination of variables in Nepalese context that may better describe and analyze the performance of Nepalese stock market and helps to reduce the confusion among the literatures.NCC JournalVol. 3, No. 1, 2018, page: 134-142


An elliptic theory is constructed for operators acting in subspaces defined via even pseudodifferential projections. Index formulas are obtained for operators on compact manifolds without boundary and for general boundary value problems. A connection with Gilkey's theory of η-invariants is established.


The process of structural dynamic modelling of the flexible rotor blade in a multibody system is demonstrated for the BO105 and ERATO rotors. Flexibility of the non-rotating blade is described in the multibody system SIMPACK with a modal approach which is gained from a real modes solution and additional geometric stiffness contributions for the rotating blade are considered by static load cases, both computed in a preprocessing step with the finite element software MSC.NASTRAN.


During the braking process, because of difference between the wheel velocity and the linear vehicle velocity, the slip occurred and it is made vehicle to lose steering control and the friction force, which stops the vehicle, is greatly reduced. To solve this problem, the Antilock Break System (ABS) was proposed, which monitors the wheel velocity and the vehicle velocity to detect and control the slip. The main stage in slip evaluation is vehicle velocity estimation and there are several methods for it, where each one has its advantages and drawbacks. In this paper, an analytical and practical solution to estimate the accurate vehicle velocity estimation based on the data fusion algorithms and during the breaking process is developed. Finally, simulation results show the effectiveness of the new methodology.


Why is there international trade in newspapers? Why do even very small countries both import from and export to large nations? New trade models founded on transport costs and increasing returns fail to explain the high degree of bilateral trade in cultural goods like newspapers and periodicals. I argue that immigration is complementary to newspaper trade, with small cosmopolitan countries having the largest trade as a percentage of GDP. These predictions are empirically confirmed, with a 10% increase in bilateral immigration inducing a 4.4% increase in newspaper trade between nations. While increased immigration has lead to greater trade, this effect is decreasing in internet usage. The trade-immigration elasticity is 8.5% smaller for high-internet usage countries, reflecting the fact that immigrants increasingly get their foreign news fix online. These results suggest that cultural goods need not be protected from trade as a country's economic presence on the global stage creates a market for its products.


Imaging of crystalline phase distributions in heterogeneous materials, either plane projected or in virtual cross sections of the object under investigation, can be achieved by scanning X-ray powder diffraction employing X-ray micro beams and X-ray-sensitive area detectors. Software exists to convert the two-dimensional powder diffraction patterns that are recorded by these detectors to one-dimensional diffractograms, which may be analysed by the broad variety of powder diffraction software developed by the crystallography community. However, employing these tools for the construction of crystalline phase distribution maps proves to be very difficult, especially when employing micro-focused X-ray beams, as most diffraction software tools have mainly been developed having structure solution in mind and are not suitable for phase imaging purposes. XRDUA has been developed to facilitate the execution of the complete sequence of data reduction and interpretation steps required to convert large sequences of powder diffraction patterns into a limited set of crystalline phase maps in an integrated fashion.


Author(s): Brager, JB | Abstract: To work with images of atrocity is a fraught project. Sedimented constructs shaped through racist and settler colonial violence continue to define the production and consumption of the visual, as well as memory practice and scopic politics. These retinal sedimentations must be looked at plainly and addressed openly, to name the ways in which history and identity shape the function of the eye. I turn to the understudied visual archive of German colonialism in South West Africa, with an emphasis on colonial photography, with the aim of tying the visuality of colonial violence in German South West Africa to broader studies of colonial photography, images of racial violence, and the ways in which these images circulated as discourse. I am particularly concerned with the location of witnessing, and the ways in which things look differently from different positions—what I refer to through the concept of parallax—and the effects of this on visual consumption. Images of violence travel, through a visceral witnessing that can be grotesquely pornographic—in the words of Claudia Rankine, "the dead body as an object that satisfies an illicit desire"—or evidentiary. I use viscerality in this context to think about a methodology of witnessing that attends to embodiment, experience, and feeling. The resignification of images, however didactic and captioned, depends on the eye and the gut of the viewer—the transhistorical viewer is not a passive or innocent witness. This is especially important in the context of the pornotroping tendency of white supremacist culture to fetishize the image, particularly of Black injury and death, and the ability of images of violence to re-traumatize survivors.


Comparisons of skeletal data on diet, disease, and trauma in elite and non-elite population samples from Mississippian sites throughout the Southeast have yielded a variety of patterns, some contradictory and some paralleling expectations based upon ethnohistoric accounts of elite sumptuary behaviors. Although trace element analyses of human bone from Alabama and Tennessee sites suggest that elites ate relatively more meat than their presumed social inferiors, non-elite health does not seem particularly compromised. The high prevalence of trauma in elite males at Chucalissa may reflect the role of warfare in male status advancement. The lords of the Southeast and their families may have been in effect 'overnourished' relative to everyone else, but probably not to the extent of historically documented African and Polynesian chiefly lineages whose literally weighty embodiment of superior social status impressed visiting travellers and ethnographers alike.


We report mass resolved photoionization yield spectra of a molecular-beam cooled sample of HN(3) using photoionization mass spectrometry based on high-resolution monochromatized synchrotron radiation. Spectra are reported at mass-to-charge ratios of 14(N(+)), 15(NH(+)), 29(N(2)H(+)), 42(N(3)(+)), and 43(HN(3)(+)) in the region of each ionization threshold. The thresholds observed here are all lower than the previously reported ones obtained with electron impact ionization, which were the only ones available in the literature prior to this work. The appearance energies can be used to evaluate four key thermochemical quantities of relevance to HN(3): D(0)(H-N(3)), D(0)(N-N(2)), D(0)(N-H), and IE(NH). We observe the appearance energy of the parent ion (HN(3)(+)) to be 10.56 +/- 0.02 eV, somewhat below the reported ionization energies derived from photoelectron spectroscopy. Great care was taken to evaluate the importance of vibrational hot bands to the photoionization yield spectra. This experiment also provides a lower limit to the proton affinity of N(2) allowing us to bracket this quantity with improved certainty: 119.3 kcal/mol </= PA(N(2)) </= 121.4 kcal/mol. We also derive an upper limit to the ionization energy of N(2)H (IE(N(2)H) </= 7.92 eV), a molecule that has yet to be observed. We hope that knowledge of this ionization energy might help in future attempts to detect this interesting radical. We also take this opportunity to review the status of the thermodynamics of many molecules and ions containing N and H within the context of these new results and make new recommendations. In particular, we recommend a new value for Delta(f)H degrees (0)(HN(3)), nearly 5 kcal/mol larger than prior evaluations.


Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) are an important type of pollutant, causing constant and far-reaching concerns around the world due to their increase in the mining process. Bentonite formed by the alteration of glass-rich volcanic rocks is a smectite clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite. Bentonite is an important mineral used in a wide range of applications in many fields such as oil and gas, agriculture, food, pharmacological, cosmetic, and construction industries due to its unique qualities. Given the widespread distribution of bentonite in nature and its use in a wide variety of consumer products, it is inevitable that the general population will be exposed to PTEs contained in bentonites. In this study, concentrations of PTEs in 69 bentonite samples collected from quarries located in different geographical regions of Turkey were analyzed by an energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometric method. The average concentrations of Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Zr, and Pb in bentonite samples were found to be 3510, 95, 129, 741, 30,569, 67, 168, 25, 62, 9, 173, and 28 mg/kg dry weight, respectively. Results of the enrichment factor relating to Earth's crust average indicated moderate enrichment with Cr, Ni, and Pb and significant enrichment with Co and As.


Novel diamine ligands with spiro indane-2,2′-pyrrolidine scaffold were synthesized starting from Seebach's oxazolidinone 6 and were subsequently employed in asymmetric Henry reaction. Following the initial experimental findings, further synthesis resulted in two types of spiro diamines, with varying substituents at both nitrogen atoms. Ligands of type A, containing a small substituent at N-1′ atom, and a large group at N-1 atom gave predominantly the S-configured β-nitroalcohol, while ligands of type B, with the reversed location of small and large substituents furnished the R-configured product. Both types of ligands turned out to be versatile catalysts for the Henry reaction between nitromethane and an assortment of aryl as well as alkyl aldehydes offering either S- (lig. A) or R-configured (lig. B) nitroalcohols in a good to high chemical yield and an excellent enantioselectivity up to 99% ee.


Resolution of urban and suburban deer problems often depends on learning and co-management. Local newspapers may reflect the learning occurring in a community. Past authors have identified 4 primary types of learning (technical, conceptual, social, and political). We studied newspaper content related to deer management for insights about the types of learning occurring in selected regions in New York State. We analyzed 263 newspaper articles published between 2000 and 2006. We found that the majority of content related to learning focused on conceptual and technical learning, but relatively little, particularly early in the evolution of deer management issues, focused on social or political learning. Our results suggest that additional attention to social learning focusing on collaborative relationships and constructive dialogue among stakeholders by both communities and newspapers could be beneficial in the resolution of deer problems. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.


CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2008 Abstracts

Abstract #804

Background: Histological assessment is the gold standard technique for identification of lymph node involvement in breast cancer. However, this may only be performed ex vivo and will often result in the unnecessary excision of healthy lymph nodes. In axillary clearance, this will result in lymphedema in approximately 26% of patients. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a real-time imaging modality with the potential to perform in vivo optical biopsy of lymph nodes. We undertook ex vivo imaging of excised lymph nodes to identify which aspects of the lymph node micro-architecture could be imaged using OCT, and to identify differences between cancerous and normal nodes. Materials and Methods: 18 lymph nodes were taken from 13 patients undergoing axillary clearance or sentinel lymph node biopsy. Fresh excised lymph tissue was dissected into 2mm slices. A 3D-OCT scan was acquired, with a resolution of ∼11μm in both axial and lateral dimensions. Each sample underwent subsequent histological analysis using Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining and matched against the 3D-OCT data sets. Results: OCT images demonstrated differentiation of the three major tissue types found in the lymph node: adipose, lymph cortex and lymph capsule. Adipocytes demonstrated a characteristic honeycomb structure that was also visible in H&E stained histology. The cortex, containing a high concentration of lymphocytes, was found to give a strong level of optical backscatter in the OCT image. The capsule, consisting of less dense stroma tissue, could generally be differentiated from the cortex. Small blood vessels in the stroma and cortex presented as areas of low backscatter. Sinuses were identified as contributing to variation in intensity within the cortex. Germinal centers could be distinguished from resting lymphoid tissue by a characteristic circular structure apparent in both OCT and histology. Cancerous regions were found to be devoid of these characteristic micro-architectural structures, as the malignant cells replaced normal lymph tissue. Figure 1 shows the H&E histology image and corresponding OCT scan of a normal lymph node. Adipose, cortex, stroma and small blood vessels are all apparent in this sample. Discussion: These results demonstrate that OCT is able to differentiate relevant structures within lymph nodes. Our findings suggest that lymph node metastasis is evident by the lack of these structures. This corresponds well with histological findings. This work forms a basis for future in vivo studies aimed at assessing lymph node involvement prior to excision. ![][1]

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 804.

 [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif


High-resolution, high-throughput direct in vivo screening of functional genetic factors in native tissues has long been challenging. Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are powerful carriers of transgenes and have been shown to mediate efficient genome editing in various organs in mice. Here, we developed a new technological approach, Pooled AAV-CRISPR Screen with Targeted Amplicon Sequencing (PASTAS), and demonstrated its application for directly mapping functional cancer driver variants in the mouse liver in an autochthonous manner. Intravenous delivery of an AAV-CRISPR library targeting a set of the most frequently mutated tumor suppressor genes into fully immunocompetent conditional Cas9 knock-in mice consistently generated highly complex autochthonous liver tumors. The molecular landscapes of these genetically diverse tumors were mapped out by deep direct readout of Cas9-generated variants at predicted sgRNA cut sites using molecular inversion probe sequencing. Co-occurrence and correlation analyses as well as validation with lower complexity minipools further confirmed the potency of various co-mutated drivers. The PASTAS method can be applied to virtually any gene sets, any cancer types, or any type of in vivo genetic studies other than cancer.


Objective: There have been many personality traits, which are related with physical and mental health of individuals. One of these traits is perfectionism. The aim of this study is to investigate relationships between goal striving and multi-dimensional perfectionism.
Method: This study has been carried out as a cross-sectional and quantitative method. In this study, 116 female and 110 male university students were included. The data were collected with Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale and Goal Striving Scale. Multiple regression analysis method was used to analysis of data.
Results: According to results, self-oriented perfectionism was found related with commitment of goals and persistence in goal striving (R2=0.20; F=18.21; p


The structure and the dynamics of the fast electron tail generated in Tore Supra during lower hybrid current drive experiments are investigated by means of a microwave transmission diagnostic at frequencies close to the electron cyclotron frequency, installed on a vertical chord. Measurements have been performed both in steady state and during the relaxation phase following the end of the lower hybrid power pulse. The measured transmission spectra are compared with simulations performed by means of a 3D Fokker-Planck code and are found to be in excellent agreement with them, both in the general structure and in the level, as well as in the dynamical behaviour. It is shown that this diagnostic yields the extension of the lower hybrid wave spectrum actually sustaining the non-inductive current, as well as substantial indications on its radial location. These results support the use of vertical transmission measurements as the most specific diagnostic method for lower hybrid current drive experiments.


Abstract Asphalt-treated base (ATB) is a widely used base course material in flexible pavements. Due to its lower binder content and lower quality granular material, resilient modulus (MR) of ATB exhibits a stress dependent property. While most of the pavement analysis software used in the current routine design tasks is based on Burmister's multi-layer elastic theory, in which the MR is the primary fundamental material property, the software cannot truly deal with the stress-dependent MR of paving material. In this study, MR model in the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide was adopted to accommodate the stress-dependent MR of ATBs and the model was implemented in pavement mechanistic analyses through Abaqus finite element software and its user programmed subroutine. The comparison of critical pavement responses was made among pavements with three types of ATBs. Pavement responses obtained using the multi-layered elastic theory and based on resilient moduli recommended by Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, were also included for comparison.


Wireless power transfer (WPT) using energy beamforming is a promising solution for low power devices in the future Internet of Things (IoT). In this work, we propose a WPT scenario with a retrodirective antenna at the energy transmitter (ET) and ambient backscatter at the energy receiver (ER). The retrodirective WPT at the ET eliminates the requirement of knowing the channel from the ET to ER, and the use of ambient backscattering (as opposed to active transmission) minimizes the energy consumption at the ER. We propose a training sequence design, i.e., the pattern of varying the reflection coefficient at the ER, to eliminate the direct-link interference from the ambient source. We show that when the ambient symbol duration is known, the ambient interference is fully cancelled by using the proposed design. We analytically model the system and derive a closed-form expression for the average harvested power at the ER, assuming that the retrodirective array size is large. Our results show that with practical parameter values, the proposed solution is robust to a small timing offset mismatch at the correlator and allows the ER to successfully harvest tens of $\mu$W of power, which is an important improvement for low-power IoT devices.


The goal of high-energy nuclear physics is to create and study quark-gluon plasma (QGP), the predicted deconfined state of QCD matter at energy densities greater than 1 GeV/fm that permeated the universe a microsecond after the Big Bang. Contrary to original expectations, the properties of the QGP seem best described by the strong-coupling, phenomenological string theory methods of the AdS/CFT correspondence instead of the usual weak-coupling, Feynman diagram methods of perturbative QCD (pQCD). In particular, the AdS/CFT paradigm predicts a very small value for the viscosity to entropy ratio of the QGP, in remarkable agreement with data collected from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In search of a consistent description for all observables related to QGP, we extend the AdS/CFT theory to that of high-momentum probes of the plasma and compare our results to data from LHC.


We met late one night in the pediatric intensive care unit. He was the patient; I was the intern. Earlier that day he had been exploring his world with a vigor that only a 3-year-old could know. He had found a parked motorcycle, tried to climb aboard, and succeeded only in pulling it over, pinning himself beneath it. He was found moments later, nearly lifeless. The wonders of basic and advanced life support restored his heartbeat, but he was still in a deep coma when he arrived in the ICU that night. At first glance he seemed the prototypic 3-year-old: three feet tall and thirty pounds. He was just beginning to lose his toddler's potbelly. Blond and fair skinned, he had blue eyes that hours before must surely have twinkled with warmth and excitement. But now they were glazed, his stare empty and searching. His brain had begun to swell,


IMPORTANCE
Clinical evidence supports the beneficial effects of lowering blood pressure (BP) levels in community-living, robust, hypertensive individuals older than 80 years. However, observational studies in frail elderly patients have shown no or even an inverse relationship between BP and morbidity and mortality.

OBJECTIVE
To assess all-cause mortality in institutionalized individuals older than 80 years according to systolic BP (SBP) levels and number of antihypertensive drugs.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This longitudinal study included elderly residents of nursing homes. The interaction between low (<130 mm Hg) SBP and the presence of combination antihypertensive treatment on 2-year all-cause mortality was analyzed. A total of 1127 women and men older than 80 years (mean, 87.6 years; 78.1% women) living in nursing homes in France and Italy were recruited, examined, and monitored for 2 years. Blood pressure was measured with assisted self-measurements in the nursing home during 3 consecutive days (mean, 18 measurements). Patients with an SBP less than 130 mm Hg who were receiving combination antihypertensive treatment were compared with all other participants.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
All-cause mortality over a 2-year follow-up period.

RESULTS
A significant interaction was found between low SBP and treatment with 2 or more BP-lowering agents, resulting in a higher risk of mortality (unadjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.81; 95% CI, 1.36-2.41); adjusted HR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.34-2.37; both P < .001) in patients with low SBP who were receiving multiple BP medicines compared with the other participants. Three sensitivity analyses confirmed the significant excess of risk: propensity score-matched subsets (unadjusted HR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.32-2.93; P < .001; adjusted HR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.37-3.06; P < .001), adjustment for cardiovascular comorbidities (HR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.29-2.32; P < .001), and exclusion of patients without a history of hypertension who were receiving BP-lowering agents (unadjusted HR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.33-2.48; P < .001; adjusted HR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.28-2.41; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The findings of this study raise a cautionary note regarding the safety of using combination antihypertensive therapy in frail elderly patients with low SBP (<130 mm Hg). Dedicated, controlled interventional studies are warranted to assess the corresponding benefit to risk ratio in this growing population.


Split Decisions: How and Why to Take a Break from Feminism. By Janet Halley. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006. 418p. $29.95. Simone de Beauvoir's Political Thinking. Edited by Lori Jo Marso and Patricia Moynagh. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2006. 136p. $50.00 cloth, $18.00 paper. Dispelling the myth of the given, probing the tacit presuppositions of dominant discourses, challenging the naturalization of oppressive relations, investigating processes that produce invisibility, demonstrating the deficiencies of reductive arguments, and engaging difference and plurality have been hallmarks of feminist scholarship in general and of feminist theory in particular. Through sustained engagement with canonical texts, disciplinary discourses, and historical and contemporary events, feminist theorists have enabled new ways of seeing and thinking. Has feminist theory exhausted its potential, or worse, become an impediment to emancipatory projects? These two works provide markedly different responses to these questions.


The surface and pseudosurface acoustic wave properties of berlinite (α‐AlPO4) have been theoretically predicted in order to evaluate the merit of using this material in related surface acoustic wave devices. The surface and pseudosurface acoustic wave velocities, an estimate of the electromagnetic to acoustic coupling, the temperature coefficient of delay, the powerflow angle, and the attenuation have been determined for several standard crystallographic cuts. These results supplement the results given by Carr and O'Connell. This material is shown to possess several temperature‐compensated cuts and about four times the coupling of α‐quartz. It is pointed out that α‐AlPO4 may be only one of many potentially temperature‐compensated materials with a silica derivative‐type structure.


The effect of pokeweed fruit extract on hatching of the potato cyst nematode, Globodera rostochiensis, and the British root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne artiellia, was studied in Italy under laboratory conditions at 20 ± 1 °C. Cysts of G. rostochiensis were exposed to a series of increasing pokeweed fruit extract aliquots of 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 ml, which were added to 3 ml of sodium metavanadate 0.6 mM. Egg masses of M. artiellia were exposed to the same series of increasing fruit extract aliquots that were instead added to 3 ml of water. Controls were the hatching agent sodium metavanadate 0.6 mM, pokeweed root leachate and an aliquot of 1 ml of pokeweed fruit extract added to 3 ml of water for G. rostochiensis, and distilled water only for M. artiellia. The control treatment sodium metavanadate induced 20.7% hatching of G. rostochiensis, whereas the other two controls, pokeweed root leachate and 1 ml fruit extract in 3 ml of water, did not induce any hatching. The hatching of G. rostochiensis was not enhanced by adding to sodium metavanadate aliquots of 0.01-0.05 ml of pokeweed fruit extract, but was significantly increased by adding larger aliquots of 0.1-0.8 ml and suppressed (7.2%) by 1 ml. The greatest hatch increase of G. rostochiensis (81.6%) was provided by adding an aliquot of 0.4 ml of pokeweed fruit extract to 3 ml of sodium metavanadate. Hatching of M. artiellia was of 80.5 % in the control distilled water alone and was not enhanced by adding 0.01-0.2 ml of pokeweed fruit extract. However, water enrichment with increasing aliquots of 0.4-1 ml fruit extract significantly suppressed (17.5-37.7%) M. artiella hatching compared to the control. Pokeweed was a very good host for M. incognita and M. javanica and a non-host for M. artiellia.


The history before arrivaling islam women or female  didn't have a decent dignity and also didn't have value of dignity women were as merchandise  that was worth trading and even as inheritance. The arrival of Islam by Muhammad SAW has brought the women into the better life and revolusion for women. Islam was extending the good position for women that are respected them by the revelation of Rosulullah SAW and it gave chance for them to build their career and also to excite the society. In women's Islam it is likened to the pillar of the state, if the womens are good, the country will be good, and if it is damaged, the country will be  damaged. Women   have a set of rights and obligations that are closely related to the role they carry out, both roles in family, society and nation and state in realizing the best future generation of the nation.


Broadband wireless access (BWA) must make sound business sense to be a successful 'last-mile' solution technology, for it faces stiff cost competition from phone-line and cable broadband-access alternatives. The challenge to modem designers is to develop technology which improves the BWA return-on-investment (ROI), to wit: minimize the installed equipment (total system, not just modem) cost while maximizing the data-bearing capacity of millimeter-wave links. BWA links exhibit pathologies and cost models distinct from those of wired links, and these distinctions should be reflected in a well-designed BWA modem. This tutorial paper discusses BWA ROI within the context of a system-level cost concept relates this model to primary LMDS link pathologies, and suggests several modem-level features which will be required to address BWA ROI challenges. A few specific modem design approaches are noted to demonstrate that these BWA design challenges are readily addressable.


Purpose
PARP inhibition is an exciting new anticancer strategy. As the first PARP inhibitor approved for the treatment of advanced BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer, olaparib has proven to be effective in the treatment of several solid tumors. We performed a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of olaparib in cancer patients.

Methods
PubMed, Embase, and oncology-conference proceedings were searched for relevant studies. End points were overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), overall response rate (ORR), and grade 3/4 adverse events. Pooled hazard ratio (HR)/risk ratio (RR) and 95% CI were calculated using random or fixed-effect models.

Results
Eight trials involving 1,957 patients were ultimately identified. The pooled analysis demonstrated that olaparib treatment significantly improved PFS (HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.47-0.82; P=0.001), OS (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.73-0.93; P=0.001), and ORR (RR 1.38, 95% CI 1.16-1.65; P<0.001) when compared with therapy not containing olaparib. This association was further confirmed by sensitivity analysis. Additionally, olaparib treatment offered a significant survival benefit for patients with BRCA mutation. Moreover, treatment with olaparib was associated with a significant increase in risk of severe anemia.

Conclusion
Olaparib treatment has better treatment response compared with therapy not containing olaparib, whereas olaparib can increase the risk of severe anemia.


A particulate enzyme fraction capable of catalyzing the transfer of glucose from UDP-glucose to β-glucan was prepared from the mycelium and protoplasts of Pyricularia oryzae P2. An assay method for the β-glucan synthase was developed. About 80% of the β-glucan synthase activity was found in the pellet obtained on centrifugation at 28,000 × g for 30min. The particulate enzyme preparation showed β-glucan and glycogen synthase activities, in a ratio of 7:3. The optimum temperature and pH of the enzyme were found to be 20°C and 7.0, respectively. The glucan synthase activity increased 5.7-fold in 5 hr after the onset of protoplast regeneration.


This paper presents a novel machine learning technique in a logic programming environment: Inductive Prediction by Analogy (IPA). IPA learns the description a target predicate similar to a source predicate from examples of the target predicate. Akey feature of IPAis that it uses analogies to constrain the space of hypotheses using taxonomic information represented by first-order predicate logic. ~pical problems addressed by IPA are to decide whether a given ground atom is valid or not, when no concept descriptions for the goal are available in a knowledge base. This is attained by the steps: l)recognitlon of candidate analogous source, 2) elaboration of an analogical mapping between source and target domains, 3) evaluation of mapping and inferences to given examples of the target predicate, and 4) consolidation of the outcome of the analogy. IPA can be applied to a wide variety of problems including classification problems in inductive learning. An experimental system of IPA is implemented in Prolog in order to use it as a knowledge acquisition tool for knowledgebased systems. The effectiveness of the technique is validated by a real world problem in molecular biology: the function prediction of proteins from their amino acid sequences.


Experimental works managing electrical injection of spin polarization in n-type and p-type silicon have been recently carried out up to room-temperature. In spite of these promising experimental results, a comprehensive theoretical framework concerning the influence of transport conditions on phonon-induced electron spin depolarization in silicon structures, in a wide range of values of lattice temperature, doping concentration and amplitude of external fields, is still at a developing stage. In order to investigate the spin transport of conduction electrons in lightly doped n-type Si crystals, a set of semiclassical multiparticle Monte Carlo simulations has been carried out. The mean spin depolarization time and length of drifting electrons, heated by an electric field, have been calculated. A good agreement is found between our numerical findings and those computed by using different theoretical approaches and recent experimental results obtained in spin transport devices. Our Monte Carlo outcomes, in ranges of temperature and field amplitude yet unexplored, can be used as a guide for future experimental studies oriented towards a more effective optimization of room-temperature silicon-based spintronic devices.


1. Marr R, Boyle G, Blythell V. Antibiotic prophylaxis for caesarean section: exchanging one risk for another? Anaesthesia 2012; 67: 678–9. 2. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence clinical guideline 132. Caesarean Section, November 2011. http:// www.nice.org.uk/cg132 (accessed 09 ⁄ 06 ⁄ 2012). 3. Webster CS, Merry AF, Larson L, McGrath KA, Weller J. The frequency and nature of drug administration error during anaesthesia. Anaesthesia and Intensive Care 2001; 29: 494–500.


&NA; A multidimensional behavioral program was developed for the treatment of essential hypertension. Over a course of 6 weeks, 108 patients of a rehabilitation center were treated with this program consisting of health education, self‐monitoring of blood pressure, relaxation techniques, and a social skill training in addition to standard medical treatment alone. Blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors were monitored for a period of 12 months. Blood pressure levels became normotensive in both groups at the end of the 6‐week training program. However, the blood pressure reduction in the behavioral treatment group was achieved with fewer patients taking antihypertensive medication than in the control group. The number of patients taking antihypertensive drugs in the treatment group was 60.2% prior to treatment and 44.4% after treatment; figures for the control group were 68% and 73.8%, respectively (p less than or equal to 0.01). Almost identical data were obtained at the 6‐ and 23‐month follow‐up examinations. No consistent changes were observed in weight, smoking, or blood lipids. These results demonstrate beneficial and long‐lasting effects of a combined medical and psychologic treatment of essential hypertension as compared to medical treatment alone.


Mobile agents are a powerful approach to develop distributed systems since they migrate to hosts on which they have the resources to execute individual tasks. In a dynamic environment like a peer-to-peer network, Agents have to be generated frequently and dispatched to the network. Thus they will certainly consume a certain amount of bandwidth of each link in the network if there are too many agents migration through one or several links at the same time, they will introduce too much transferring overhead to the links eventually, these links will be busy and indirectly block the network traffic, therefore, there is a need of developing routing algorithms that consider about traffic load. In this paper we seek to create cooperation between a probabilistic manner according to the quality measure of the network traffic situation and the agent's migration decision making to the next hop based on decision tree learning algorithms. Keywords—Agent Migration, Decision Tree learning, ID3 algorithm, Naive Bayes Classifier


The decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants is a national urgent problem in Japan. The distribution and characteristics of the fuel debris inside the nuclear reactor must be investigated to safely retrieve them. This study describes a 10 m-long articulated manipulator for investigation inside the primary container vessel. We employed a coupled tendon-driven mechanism and a gravity compensation mechanism using synthetic fiber ropes to design a lightweight and slender articulated manipulator. After discussing the basic principle and control algorithm, we focus on the detailed mechanical design of a prototype model. We confirmed its feasibility through basic motion experiments.


A series of TiO2 supported iron-manganese mixed oxide catalysts were studied for catalytic oxidation of NO to NO2. The oxidation activity was greatly enhanced with the addition of iron, by about 34% at 300°C. Mn(subscript 0.1)Fe(subscript 0.15)/Ti with the molar ratio of Mn:Fe = 1:1.5 showed the best oxidation activity. It was also found that the addition of iron oxide increased the resistance to H2O and SO2. The formation of byproduct N2O could generally be disregarded. A combination of various physico-chemical techniques was used to characterize the physical and chemical properties of these catalysts. The surface area did not change very much with the addition of iron. The XRD (X-ray diffraction) and HR-TEM (high-resolution transmission electron microscopy) results suggested that there was an interaction between manganese and iron, leading to the formation of manganese-iron composite oxides, which were in the amorphous phase. The XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and H2-TPR (temperature-programmed reduction) investigations demonstrated that this composite oxide with an amorphous structure increased the surface active oxygen, facilitated oxygen mobility and enhanced the oxidation-reduction ability over the catalysts, all of which were crucial factors for the increase in NO oxidation activity. The FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) results showed that nitrates worked as intermediiates which could be easily decomposed to nitrogen oxides. The introduction of iron into manganese oxides increased the formation of intermediates and reduced the formation of sulfates on the surface of the catalysts.


There is limited evidence for the association of specific malignancies with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Monoclonal gammopathies can occur in RA. Their predictive value for the development of a lymphoproliferative disorder remains unclear and disputed. We reviewed charts of 214 RA patients all of whom had at least one serum protein electrophoresis. We performed a retrospective study of 12 patients with RA and an M spike. We further characterized the M spike by serum immunofixation and bone marrow studies. The median age at which the M spike was identified was 69 years. IgG was the predominant gammopathy in 50% of patients, with no difference in the amount of kappa (&kgr;) and lambda (&lgr;) chains.One patient was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, one with an undefined primary lymphoproliferative disorder, one with T-cell leukemia, five with myelodysplastic syndrome, and four with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance at most recent evaluation. Of our patients, 42% had a myelodysplastic syndrome, which has not been previously reported, and, in contrast to previous reports, no lymphomas were identified. The follow-up evaluation of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance is important because they may progress to an overt neoplasia.


Rhetoric is an important art of discourse for any individual who wants to succeed as an orator, to have a political career or even to become a president. This thesis analyzes the choice of words and the rhetoric of Donald Trump, the current president of the United Sates. His rhetoric has received varied response as some look at it as a breath of fresh air from the traditional political rhetoric and others see it as an atrocious approach to the English language. The thesis delves, first, into what rhetoric is and into its history, focusing in particular on one of its most famous representative, Aristotle, and his modes of persuasion. Secondly, Trump's language mechanism is explored and his most often used rhetorical devices, framing, grammar and syntax, as well as his utilization of the mentality of 'us vs. them' notion in his rhetoric. There follows an analytic comparison between Trump's 2017 inauguration speech and Obama's 2009 inauguration speech. Additionally, Trump's populist approach to the English language is explored, demonstrating how his rhetoric affects his base and who his target base is. Lastly, the thesis looks into some data from studies that researched Trump's articulacy compared to other presidential candidates and former presidents. Trump's rhetoric has made him one of the most controversial presidents in history. Consequently, many feel that he is dividing the U.S. instead of uniting it as his rhetoric heavily relies on patriotism, isolationism, and anti-immigration. Table of


Oscillations in the solar atmosphere have long been observed in quiet conditions, and increasingly also in data taken during solar flares. The chromosphere is known for its 3-minute signals, which are particularly strong over sunspot umbrae. These signals are thought to be driven by photospheric disturbances and their periods determined by the chromosphere's acoustic cut-off frequency. A small number of observations have shown the chromospheric 3-minute signals to be affected by energetic events such as solar flares, however the link between flare activity and these oscillatory signals remains unclear. In this work we present evidence of changes to the oscillatory structure of the chromosphere over a sunspot which occurs during the impulsive phase of an M1 flare. Using imaging data from the CRISP instrument across the H$\alpha$ and Ca II 8542 {\AA} spectral lines, we employed a method of fitting models to power spectra to produce maps of areas where there is evidence of oscillatory signals above a red noise background. Comparing results taken before and after the impulsive phase of the flare, we found that the oscillatory signals taken after the start of the flare differ in two ways: the locations of oscillatory signals had changed and the typical periods of the oscillations had tended to increase (in some cases increasing from $\lt$100s to $\sim$200s). Both of these results can be explained by a restructuring of the magnetic field in the chromosphere during the flare activity, which is backed up by images of coronal loops showing clear changes to magnetic connectivity. These results represent one of the many ways that active regions can be affected by solar flare events.


Fashion gives distinctive meanings. These meanings however subject to constant change because of the context in which any message is transmitted influences its interpretation. There are three kinds of contexts which can be considered in relation to generating meanings in fashion the appearance context, the social context, cultural and historical context in which people lived and interacted. The Kotte era of Sri Lanka from the 15th Century to the 17th Century was a turning point in fashion history where the western fashion (Portuguese) directly influenced. It brought many social and cultural changes due to the changing of the state religion into Christianity. The newly introduced Christian social context led to many changes in royal dresses in the succeeding eras in history because the royalty formed a novel piece of dress fashion by mixed and matched with traditional Sinhala dress features with western dress fashion items. (Hybrid formation) The new fashion brought many new meanings to the Sri Lankan fashion arena. The objective of the research is to find out in what ways the 'context' affect the meanings of fashion. A qualitative method has been adopted for this research. Data were gathered from temple murals, cloth paintings, wood and stone carvings, sculptures and special ivory carvings at Munich Treasury in Germany. Literary data gathered from manuscripts, chronicles, books, original records of foreign travelers, published research and inscriptions. Validity was much concerned. The study reveals that the meaning of dress heavily rely on social contexts in order for a meaning to be comprehended. KEYWORDS: Fashion, meanings of dress, context, hybridization, Kotte period


This paper investigates the impact of lameness on milk yield. The dataset used included approximately 8,000 test day milk yields from 900 cows collected over IS months from 1997 to 1999. The data were analysed to account for this auto-correlation. Farm of origin, stage of lactation, parity and whether a cow ever became lame influenced milk yield. In clinically lame cows, milk yield was reduced for up to four months before a case of lameness was diagnosed and treated and, for the five months after treatment. The total mean estimated reduction in milk yield per 305 day lactation was approximately 360kg. It was concluded that clinical lameness has a significant impact on milk production. This is important information for assessing the economic impact of clinical lameness and its impact on cow health. This finding adds weight to the importance of early identification of clinical lameness and the urgency required for techniques to improve the definition of this highly subjective diagnosis.


A 'reversed' geometry mass spectrometer, in which the ion beam passes through the magnetic sector before the electric sector, offers several advantages for the study of large organic molecules. The method used is to select individual ionic species formed in the ion source in turn by using the magnet and to study the fragmentation of these species in the field-free region in front of the electric sector. Either unimolecular or collision-induced fragmentations can be investigated, the masses of the daughter species being determined by scanning the electric sector. By selecting a variety of individual ions, a comprehensive fragmentation ' map' of the molecular species can be constructed. Because it is a voltage that is scanned, the instrument can readily be computer controlled which gives improved reproducibility of scanning, together with other advantages. The several pathways that often link a particular fragment ion with the molecular ion provide complementary information concerning ion structure. The fragmentation pattern of any ion is often sufficiently characteristic of the ion structure to allow direct identification of structural features present to be made by comparing the pattern from the relevant ion with that of an ion formed from a known reference compound. By using these methods the molecular structure of large organic molecules can often be deduced. Large isomeric molecules such as steroids, differing only in the structure of a side chain, can be distinguished by selecting only ions containing the side chain for study. The new methods also offer advantages for the detection and identification of individual components in mixtures.


Gender role issues have been an integral part of psychology since the 1970s. More recently, theories and research have surfaced concerning the issues of maleness in our society. Most of these theories focus on masculine gender role and how it affects men in various ways, e.g., their psychological well-being, substance use, relational abilities, and help-seeking behaviors. One area of maleness that has consistently been left out of the Masculine Role Conflict (MRC) debate is that of homosexuality. As a gay man develops, he finds himself at odds with society over something that he experiences biologically as normal and appropriate. It is the contention of this paper that MRC is an issue related to psychological distress among gay men and not psychological weakness in gay men, per se.