The physiological processes associated with genetic differences in shoot elongation rate (SER) and leaf area expansion rate (LAER) of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) are poorly understood. Our objective was to examine the relationships among SER, LAER, and the concentration and utilization of nonstructural carbohydrates in roots and meristematic shoot tissues of alfalfa. Two genotypes selected for contrasting SER were sampled after 7 d of herbage regrowth in 15-h photoperiods. Remaining plants were placed in continuous darkness and sampled periodically during the next 144 h (Exp. 1) or 33 h (Exp. 2) of regrowth. In Exp. 1, LAER, concentrations total nonstructural carbohydrate (TNC), and dark respiration rates (RD) of expanding leaves decreased during the first 48 h of regrowth in continuous darkness. In Exp. 2, LAER declined to 40% of mid-photoperiod values after 17 h of continuous darkness, while RD of expanding leaves declined to 75% of mid-photoperiod rates. Concentrations of TNC in expanding leaves declined by Hour 17 of darkness to 19% of mid-photoperiod concentrations, reflecting trends in RD and especially LAER. In expanding leaves, TNC concentrations greater than 28 g kg⁻¹ dry wt. were necessary for maximum LAER and RD to occur. Averaged over experiments, root TNC concentrations were 185 g kg⁻¹ dry wt. during the initial 17 h of continuous darkness and did not decline significantly. Although roots contained high concentrations of TNC, LAER decreased rapidly within 17 h of continuous darkness. This indicates that expanding leaves may rely upon sources of carbohydrate other than that in roots for growth under C-limited conditions. Contribution from the Purdue Univ. Agric. Exp. Stn. Journal Paper no. 11751.


Professional Learning Community (PLC) is a school improvement process that requires a school community to work collaboratively to enhance students' academic excellence. Under the National Education Blueprint 2013 – 2025, a full-time position was created at the District Education Office (PPD) which is known as School Improvement Specialist Coaches (SISC+) implement PLC through instructional coaching strategy with the goal of improving the professional practice of teachers in low-performing schools. This study was conducted using a combined approach of quantitative and qualitative methods based on QUAN-qual explanatory design which aimed to determine the effectiveness of PLC instruction through instructional coaching strategy implemented by SISC+ personnel. The respondents sampled in this study consisted of 100 teachers from schools in Kuala Muda / Yan District, Kedah. The SISC+ Coaching Instruction set of questionnaires adapted from the Teacher Education Division (2011) were used in the survey and supported by the findings of interviews using focused group interview protocol. Descriptive and statistical analysis using SPSS 22.0 were used to answer the research questions about the implementation of the PLC through instructional coaching strategy. Next, the professional practice of teachers were also measured using the mean and standard deviation analysis. While, the perception of teachers towards the instructional coaching by SISC+ were based on the mean scores obtained. Inferential statistics were used to analyse the relationship between the instructional guidance and teachers' professional practice in the classroom using the Pearson correlation coefficient. The results showed that the implementation of PLC in schools Bands 4, 5 and 6 in Kuala Muda / Yan district is at a significant high level. Through the PLC activities carried out, teachers' professional practice in teaching and learning has also improved. The survey also showed the positive perception of teachers on the implementation of SISC+ instructional coaching. These findings are supported by interviews conducted on selected respondents who gave the similar responses consistently. Furthermore, this study also found that there was a significant relationship between SISC+ instructional coaching and teachers' professional practices.


The rapid development of the transport industry requires the operation of technically complex systems and high-tech equipment. This is typical for all types of transport. The publications of a number of experts are considered, according to which the industry transport universities of the Russian Federation are assigned a leading role in the innovative development of transport. The features of industry transport education, foreign models of staffing in the transport industry are analyzed. The author's map of the distribution of major transport universities in the world and universities that have transport faculties is presented. Analysis of expert opinions, trends in the field of vocational education and the characteristics of industry transport education, made it possible to identify trends in the development of transport education: blurring the boundaries between transport educational programs (EP); increasing the role of additional EP in the field of transport; increased demand for individual EP, implemented using the means of electronic information educational systems; development of forms of cooperation and collaboration of universities implementing programs in the field of transport; the emergence of new professions in the field of transport; demand for new competencies needed to solve non-routine analytical and non-routine interpersonal tasks. The key factor in the influence of education on technological development and economic growth is the quality of education. In this regard, the content of the EP in the field of transport becomes relevant. In the EP in the field of transport, it is necessary to take into account the following trends and technologies: acceleration of digitalization; development of virtual and augmented reality; automation of the entire life cycle; new materials; the emergence of new transport systems and supply chains; development of low-carbon and carbon-free energy systems.


This study integrated the Spiral Curriculum approach into the Robust Learning Model as part of a continuous improvement process that was designed to improve educational effectiveness and then assessed the differences between the initial and integrated models as well as the predictability of the first course in the integrated learning model on a wide range of educational effectiveness indicators for online master degree programs. Meaningful improvement in educational effectiveness was validated by the study. The importance of the first course's predictors in predicting and explaining the various degree program educational effectiveness indicators was also very instrumental. The theoretical and practical implications of the study's findings for online faculty, university administrators


Inhibition of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) ultimately limits ATP production and depletes cellular ATP. However, the individual complexes of the ETC in brain mitochondria need to be inhibited by ∼ 50% before causing significant depression of ATP synthesis. Moreover, the ETC is the key site for the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inhibition of one or more of the complexes of the ETC may increase the rate of mitochondrial ROS generation. We asked whether partial inhibition of the ETC, to a degree insufficient to perturb oxidative phosphorylation, might nonetheless induce ROS production. Chronic increase in mitochondrial ROS might then cause oxidative damage to the ETC sufficient to produce prolonged changes in ETC function and so compound the defect. We show that the exposure of astrocytes in culture to low concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) induces an increased rate of O2·− generation that outlasts the presence of NO. No effect was seen on oxygen consumption, lactate or ATP content over the 4–6 h that the cells were exposed to NO. These data suggest that partial ETC inhibition by NO may initially cause oxidative stress rather than ATP depletion, and this may subsequently induce irreversible changes in ETC function providing the basis for a cycle of damage.


Rape myths are beliefs, stereotypes, and attitudes usually false, widespread, and persistent about rape, victims, and perpetrators. They aim to deny and justify men's sexual assault against women. This study evaluates the mediating effect of modern rape myths on the relationship between gender system justification and attribution of blame to both victim and perpetrator in a fictional case of sexual violence. A total of 375 individuals residing in Chile, 255 women and 120 men, 19–81 years (M = 37.6 SD = 13.06) participated in the study. Results from a Structural Equation Model show that gender system justification is directly related to the attribution of blame to the victim, showing an indirect relationship throughout the modern rape myth. However, gender system justification and attribution of blame to the aggressor are indirectly related, being mediated by modern rape myths. The study of the relationship between the acceptance of modern rape myths, gender-specific system justification, and victim and aggressor blame for rape is a contribution to understanding beliefs justifying sexual violence against women.


Public transport customer amenities cover a range of measures that can enhance the quality of the passenger experience, such as information provision and station quality. While much research has determined the value that users place on amenities, there is little understanding of current practice in the use of customer amenity valuations in project appraisal. A survey of transit agencies in 11 cities (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, London, Paris, Toronto, Vienna, Oslo and Singapore) was undertaken showing that Australasian cities, albeit Melbourne, generally have widespread inclusion of customer amenities as part of advanced appraisals for all relevant types of public transport projects. Australasian practice tends to include customer amenities more frequently in project appraisal than London, Singapore and Oslo. Paris, Toronto and Vienna, although they adopt advanced appraisals for some projects, rarely (if at all) include customer amenities in these appraisals. While agencies generally use published sources of customer amenity values specific to their country, Toronto and Singapore tend to use customer amenity values from London, highlighting a lack of local customer amenity values.


Insulin-like growth factor I is a human plasma peptide with strong homology to human proinsulin. Many lines of evidence suggest that somatomedin-C and insulin-like growth factor I are identical molecules. However, no structural data regarding the carboxy-terminal end of somatomedin-C has yet been produced. We report a region-specific immunoassay directed against the carboxy-terminal end of insulin-like growth factor I. Somatomedin-C and insulin-like growth factor I are indistinguishable in this region-specific immunoassay. Insulin-like activity II and multiplication stimulating activity show partial cross reaction in this immunoassay. This study provides the first evidence about the carboxy-terminal portion of somatomedin-C and re-emphasizes that somatomedin-C and insulin-like growth factor I should be considered identical molecules.


The purpose of this study was to analyze patterns of time usage of the retired elderly so as to improve their quality of life. The subjects of this study were 225 elderly people in Jeonnam Province. The statistics used for data analysis were frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, and multiple regression. The major findings were as follows : (1) The retired elderly spend more time in physiological activities and leisure, and there was no day difference in time use. (2) On weekdays, the variables affecting labor time were age, former job, health state, and education. On the weekends, education, health state, and former job had significant effects on the amount of time spent on labor. (3) The variables affecting participation and volunteer time were: monthly living expenses, age, spouse, former job, and house, on weekdays, and on the weekends, significant factors were spouse, age, and former job. (4) The variables affecting leisure time were education, age, monthly living expenses, religion, and economic state, on the weekdays, and on weekends, the significant factors were education, economic state, house, religion, and former job.


Herein, the synthesis and application of copper-incorporated sulfated zirconium oxide supported on CuFe2O4 NPs (CuFe2O4@SiO2@ZrO2/SO42−/Cu NPs) as a novel Lewis/Brønsted acid nanocatalyst were studied for the Sonogashira C–C cross-coupling reaction. The fabricated CuFe2O4@SiO2@ZrO2/SO42−/Cu catalyst exhibited efficient activity for a large variety of aryl iodides/bromides and, most importantly, aryl chlorides in water and in the presence of NaOH as a base in short reaction times. The catalyst was fully characterized by FTIR, TG-DTG, VSM, XRD, EDX, FE-SEM and TEM analyses. A synergetic effect could be considered to have arisen from the various Lewis acid and Brønsted acid sites present in the catalyst. The efficient incorporation of copper into zirconia provided a robust highly stable hybrid, which prevented any metal leaching, whether from the magnetite moiety and/or Cu sites in the reaction mixture. Moreover, the catalyst was successfully recovered from the mixture by a simple external magnet and reused for at least 9 consecutive runs. Zero metal leaching, stability, consistency with a variety of substrates, fast performance, cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and preparation with accessible and cheap materials are some of the advantages and highlights of the current protocol.


Of all the skin cancer that is prevalent, melanoma has the highest mortality rates. Melanoma becomes life threatening when it penetrates deep into the dermis layer unless detected at an early stage, it becomes fatal since it has a tendency to migrate to other parts of our body. This study presents an automated non-invasive methodology to assist the clinicians and dermatologists for detection of melanoma. Unlike conventional computational methods which require (expensive) domain expertise for segmentation and hand crafted feature computation and/or selection, a deep convolutional neural network-based regularised discriminant learning framework which extracts low-dimensional discriminative features for melanoma detection is proposed. Their approach minimises the whole of within-class variance information and maximises the total class variance information. The importance of various subspaces arising in the within-class scatter matrix followed by dimensionality reduction using total class variance information is analysed for melanoma detection. Experimental results on ISBI 2016, MED-NODE, PH2 and the recent ISBI 2017 databases show the efficacy of their proposed approach as compared to other state-of-the-art methodologies.


The MS Functional Composite (MSFC) is a continuous scale of neurological disability for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Cognition is represented by the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), although the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) has been proposed as a promising alternative. MSFC scores were calculated using either the PASAT or the SDMT with the following reference populations: National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) Task Force, 400 MS patients, and 100 normal controls. A subgroup of 115 patients was followed longitudinally, with a test—retest interval of 2.3 ± 1.2 years. Pearson correlations were calculated and analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to assess relationships among the MSFC components and composite scores, and differences in performance between patients and controls. Longitudinal changes were also assessed. Logistic regression was performed to determine which MSFC scores are most predictive of diagnosis, course, and work disability. All MSFCs had similar test—retest reliability and correlations with other measures including neurological disability, depression, and fatigue. The SDMT showed slightly better validity with respect to predicting diagnosis, course, and work disability, although the amount of variance accounted for was similar for each version of the MSFC. Our data, derived from a large sample of MS patients and normal controls, supports the validity of both PASAT and SDMT versions of the MSFC. Because the SDMT has slightly better predictive validity and has a relatively easier administration procedure, some clinicians and researchers may wish to replace the PASAT with the SDMT in future calculations of the MSFC using the calculation methods provided in this manuscript.


In this article, we compare bureaucratic change in the European Commission with developments in the public administrations of the member states of the European Union using two standard features of the study of comparative public administration: the degree of politicisation of the higher management and the degree of openness of the career system. The empirical data shows that the Commission started as a public administration in the Continental tradition and over time partially moved towards the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian models. At the same time, the majority of the member states remained rather stable with regard to their position along the two administrative dimensions under study. We argue that none of the mechanisms commonly invoked to explain organisational change–functional adaptation, path dependency, isomorphism or policy windows–can convincingly account for the complete pattern and the magnitude of change that we observe in the case of the European Commission. While we find no convincing support for the relevance of functional adaptation or path dependency, the concepts of isomorphism and policy windows provide a more promising basis for understanding at least some aspects of the empirical development.


The financial crisis and economic crisis has resulted in the adoption of a large number of tax measures. Member States tended to increase consumption taxes more in those countries where the tax burden on consumption was below-average. One area were the onset of the economic and financial crisis has clearly had an impact was consumption taxation. Stagnant since 2002, VAT standard rates have often changed from 2009 onwards, in the vast majority of cases upwards. The speed and extent of the growth is impressive, two percentage points on average in the past three years. That increases took place in more countries and for significant amounts, highlights up to 1.5% of GDP. The overall level of taxation in the EU seems likely to increase in the medium term. Budgetary consolidation is needed to bring government deficits down to sustainable levels, and this consolidation is likely to be carried out not only through cuts in public expenditure but also by increasing taxation. Accordingly, the latest point towards an increase of the share of general government revenue on GDP. .


Hydrophobic thiazolium and imidazolium coenzyme mimics in the presence of modified-polyethylenimine enzyme mimics catalyze the benzoin condensation 2300-3300 times faster than the coenzyme mimics alone. Polycationic enzyme mimics provide not only a hydrophobic binding domain for coenzyme and substrate, but also electrostatic stabilization of anionic species that arise along the reaction pathway of the benzoin condensation.


The synthesis, as well as the in vivo and in vitro disposition, of 3-[2-(4-methylphenyl)thioethyl]-sydnone-5-14C (5) in the rat is described. After intraperitoneal injection of a single dose of 5 in female Sprague-Dawley rats, the distribution and excretion of radioactive substances was monitored (24 h). Radioactivity in the blood declined in a biphasic manner with half-lives of 0.55 and 15.2 h for the alpha- and beta-phase, respectively. About 8% of the administered radioactivity was detected in feces and approximately 90% in urine (24 h). In 3.75 h, 50% of the radio-dose was excreted in the urine. Tissue distribution studies demonstrated a selective uptake of radioactivity only by the adrenal glands and the ovaries. The radioactivity in these organs reached a maximum approximately 1 h after dosing and then declined rapidly. None of the parent drug was excreted from such a single dose (i.p. injection) which indicated rapid in vivo metabolism. Nor could there be found any metabolites related to the whole structure, for example, the sulfoxide or aromatic hydroxy compounds. The sydnone 5, its sulfoxide and unconjugated metabolites were detected and quantitated by GC/MS methodology using unlabelled authentic samples. Radioactive carbon dioxide was not detected during the in vivo or in vitro experiments, nor was it released from alkaline urine samples upon acidification. Radiolabelled urinary metabolites were glycolic acid-1-14C 9 (34%), its glycine conjugate 10 (52%) and 3-vinylsydnone-5-14C 11 (4%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


We introduce a novel modulation signal set defined over a signal space that consists of L Euclidean signal planes, and the synchronous trellis-coded CDMA system based on it. Whereas conventional schemes utilize a limited number of orthogonal sequences due to delay and power control error, this scheme fully and efficiently utilizes the N orthogonal signature sequences (i.e. the processing gain N) such that power and/or bandwidth efficiency is improved. The proposed scheme could be highly adaptable to the dynamic channel conditions, because for a single data rate we can choose the best signal constellation from a multi-planar signal space.


We extend the DSP-based optical channel estimation to ultra-fast, high-resolution, and linear characterization of passive optical components. In experiment, we realize sub-MHz resolution with a measurement time bounded by the theoretical limit.


Terrestrial cyanobacterial strains were isolated from the Nishihara campus of the University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan. The 13 sampling sites were distributed in a 200 m radius and appeared as dry, blackened stains. From these small areas, 143 cyanobacterial strains were established. The strains were divided into five morphotypes, including unicells, unicells with baeocytes, non-branching filaments, false-branching filaments, and heterocystous strains. From the strains, 105 partial 16S rRNA gene sequences were obtained and could be classified into 30 generic types. Among them, 22 unique strains and over 1100 bps of data were selected for further phylogenetic analyses. These sequences were positioned into six main clades corresponding to cyanobacterial orders: Nostocales, Chroococidiopsidales, Chroococcales, Oscillatoriales, Pleurocapsales, and Synechococcales. Almost all sequences had no identical matching data in GenBank and many of them had no closely related data. These data suggest that the terrestrial cyanobacteria are very divese even within close sampling areas, such as within the campus of the University of the Ryukyus. The established strains are not only important for classification of terrestrial cyanobacteria but also for possible application studies in the future.


Alveolar macrophages (AM) synthesize secretory and cytosolic phospholipases A2 (cPLA2) – main pulmonary surfactant phospholipids metabolizing enzymes. cPLA2 activity is also important as a first step in prostaglandin biosynthesis. Purpose of research was to define phospholipases A2 activity during acute lung injury and to estimate the possibility of its correction by glucocorticoids. Methods: intratracheal administration of bleomycin to rats and radioassay of cytosolic (cPLA2) and secretory phospholipase(sPLA2) activity in AM. Results. We found increased activity of cPLA2 and sPLA2 in AM at all periods of bleomycin-induced lung injury in rats. At the first inflammatory period activity of cPLA2 was 167% (p ≤ 0.01) above control. Activity of sPLA2 exceeded the cheking level on 22%. Glucocorticoid dexamethasone (1µM) was found to significantly reduce the activity of cPLA2 (on 35%) and further to inhibit (on 27%) the activation of sPLA2 in AM during inflammatory phase of lung damage. The most prominent effect of dexamethasone on phospholipase activity was found at the period of fibroproliferation (21day), when it decreased activity of cPLA2 on 41% and sPLA2 on 48% Experiments show, that dexamethasone is an effective inhibitor of intra- and secretory phospholipases from alveolar macrophages, and can prevent the enzymatic degradation of surfactant during the lung injury.


The interaction of intense laser beams with plasmas created on solid targets involves a rich non-linear physics. Because such dense plasmas are reflective for laser light, the coupling with the incident beam occurs within a thin layer at the interface between plasma and vacuum. One of the main paradigms used to understand this coupling, known as Brunel mechanism, is expected to be valid only for very steep plasma surfaces. Despite innumerable studies, its validity range remains uncertain, and the physics involved for smoother plasma-vacuum interfaces is unclear, especially for ultrahigh laser intensities. We report the first comprehensive experimental and numerical study of the laser-plasma coupling mechanisms as a function of the plasma interface steepness, in the relativistic interaction regime. Our results reveal a clear transition from the temporally-periodic Brunel mechanism to a chaotic dynamic associated to stochastic heating. By revealing the key signatures of these two distinct regimes on experimental observables, we provide an important landmark for the interpretation of future experiments.


Cadmium is a highly toxic metal that can disrupt a number of biological systems. The cadmium is responsible for the generation of reactive oxygen species, glutathione depletion, lipid peroxidation, proteins cross-liking, and DNA damage; ultimately result in oxidant induced cell death. Cadmium stimulates and binds to various biological components such as proteins and non-protein sulfhydryl groups, macromolecules and metallothionein. Cadmium intoxication can lead to kidney, bone, and pulmonary damage, damage to the lungs, liver, and kidneys in animals and humans in cadmium-exposed conditions.This review gives detail about mechanism and diseases of cadmium induced toxicity.


The virtual channel flow control (VCFC) provides an efficient implementation for on-chip networks. However, allocating the virtual channels (VCs) uniformly results in a waste of area and significant leakage power, especially at nanoscale. To remedy this situation, the paper proposed a novel approach for customizing the virtual channels allocation based on the traffic characteristics of the target application. Towards this end, the authors first develop an algorithm that calculates the port contention rates and expected bandwidth at each router in the network. Using this information, the authors add VCs only to the channels with the highest bandwidth usage. The simulation results involving synthetic and real applications show more than 40% buffer savings compared to uniform VC allocation, while achieving similar performance levels


There are different aspects and spheres of unconventional computations. In this paper, we analyze philosophical and methodological implications of algorithmic issues of unconventional computations. At first, we describe how the algorithmic universe was developed and analyze why it became closed in the conventional approach to computation. Then we explain how the new models of algorithms changed the algorithmic universe, making it open and allowing higher flexibility and superior creativity. As Godel undecidability theorems imply, the closed algorithmic universe restricts essential forms of human cognition, while the open algorithmic universe eliminates such restrictions.


Capsaicin, the irritating agent of red pepper, produces ocular inflammation through a neurogenic mechanism. The present study is concerned with the long-term effects of capsaicin pretreatment on the capacity of the eye to respond to different inflammatory stimuli. Following retrobulbar injection of capsaicin to rabbits the aqueous flare response induced by subsequent infrared irradiation (IR) of the iris, subcutaneously administered alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) and exogenously administered prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was reduced greatly. In the case of IR and alpha-MSH the reduced responsiveness was manifest for several weeks after capsaicin pretreatment, involving first the capsaicin-treated eye, but later also the contralateral control eye. After 2-3 months the aqueous flare response was normal in both eyes. In the case of PGE2 the responsiveness was reduced for a shorter time; after 3 weeks the response was normal in both eyes. The results indicate that all three stimuli tested are at least partly dependent upon an intact sensory innervation to disrupt the blood-aqueous barrier, but that the mechanism of action of PGE2 is different from that of IR and alpha-MSH.


This study investigated rare variants associated with atopic dermatitis. We performed exome analyses on 37 patients who were diagnosed with atopic dermatitis by board‐certified dermatologists and had total serum IgE levels greater than 1000 IU/ml. The exome analysis identified seven variants with <1% allele frequency in Asian (ASN) population of 1000 Genomes Project phase 1 data and >5% allele frequency in the atopic dermatitis exome samples. We then conducted a replication study using 469 atopic dermatitis patients with total serum IgE ≥1000 IU/ml and 935 Japanese controls to assess the presence of these 7 candidate variants. The replication study confirmed that CYP27A1 rs199691576 (A/G) was associated with atopic dermatitis with high serum IgE levels (P = 0.012, odds ratio = 2.1). CYP27A1 is involved in the metabolism of vitamin D3, which plays important roles in modulating immune function. Previous studies have reported polymorphisms in vitamin D pathway genes that are associated with allergy‐related phenotypes. Our data confirm the importance of genes regulating the vitamin D pathway in the development of atopic dermatitis.


The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that Lean principles and methodology should be applied on a regular basis to the entire process flow of healthcare delivery systems. With reference to an actual case-based research, this article demonstrates how patient flows can be successfully optimized if Lean is not limited to single processes/contexts only, and it is applied to achieve holistic process improvement of an entire system. The complexity of healthcare delivery systems requires inclusive investigation from various points of view. This is why case-study-based research has been used to investigate dynamic, experiential and complex processes and areas, such as the ones featured by this article. The methodological basis for this research has been a twelve-step optimization approach outlined by the authors during a previous successful Lean programme. This same approach has been applied to optimize patient flows in the emergency departments of four different hospitals in Northern Italy. The research has involved teams composed of medical, nursing, technical and administrative staff. The results outlined in the article suggest that inclusive application of Lean tools leads to effective process optimization and a better working environment, when in connection with a systematic and holistic optimization approach. Feedback from participants was obtained through a satisfaction survey and a project assessment; it reported enthusiastic project acceptance and good teamwork climate. Among the results of the research performed in the four hospitals, several measures have been effectively implemented to reduce the lead-time for patients from registration to discharge. At the same time, patient-staff ratio and quality of care have been either maintained or even improved. However, lack of a definite conclusive evaluation can be explained by the research project still being implemented. The value of this paper lies in demonstrating how Lean contributes to achieve better process performance and high staff satisfaction, when implemented within the whole supply chain of a healthcare delivery system on a regular basis.


Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) have been widely used to solve partial differential equations in a forward and inverse manner using deep neural networks. However, training these networks can be challenging for multiscale problems. While statistical methods can be employed to scale the regression loss on data, it is generally challenging to scale the loss terms for equations. This paper proposes a method for scaling the mean squared loss terms in the objective function used to train PINNs. Instead of using automatic differentiation to calculate the temporal derivative, we use backward Euler discretization. This provides us with a scaling term for the equations. In this work, we consider the two and three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations and determine the kinematic viscosity using the spatio-temporal data on the velocity and pressure fields. We first consider numerical datasets to test our method. We test the sensitivity of our method to the time step size, the number of timesteps, noise in the data, and spatial resolution. Finally, we use the velocity field obtained using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) experiments to generate a reference pressure field. We then test our framework using the velocity and reference pressure field.


Large-signal models for ion-implanted, MMIC-compatible GaAs FET's are reported using different techniques. There are (i) S-parmneter meawrements, (ii) low-frequency capacitances combined with dc Z-V characteristics, and (iii) physical data. The results obtained with each model are compared to high-frequency power measurements, and the relative merits of each technique are discussed. The models permit investigation of the influence of frequency, implantation energy, doping density, drain bias, recess depth and gate length on the small- and Iarge-signal FET parameter and saturation mechanisms. FET's fabricated with these data give optimum gain and power characteristics at the desired frequency of operation.


Density functional electronic structure calculations are employed to examine hydrogen for a variety of configurations in silicon. A novel complex is found for hydrogen in amorphous silicon. The complex involves the breaking of a weak silicon bond to form two Si-H bonds with both hydrogens in between the original silicon atoms. This complex provides a microscopic model for new metastable complexes observed in amorphous silicon. Mechanisms for hydrogen-related metastability are discussed for amorphous and polycrystalline silicon.


This thesis presents operational semantics and an abstract machine for a point-to-point asynchronous message passing language called LIPS (Language for Implementing Parallel/ distributed Systems). One of the distinctive features of LIPS is its capability to handle computation and communication independently. Taking advantage of this capability, a two steps strategy has been adopted to define the operational semantics. The two steps are as follows:
• A big-step semantics with single-step re-writes is used to relate the expressions and their evaluated results (computational part of LIPS).
• The developed big-step semantics has been extended with Structural Operational Semantics (SOS) to describe the asynchronous message passing of LIPS (communication part of LIPS).
The communication in LIPS has been implemented using Asynchronous Message Passing System (AMPS). It makes use of very simple data structures and avoids the use of buffers.
While operational semantics is used to specify the meaning of programs, abstract machines are used to provide intermediate representation of the language's implementation. LIPS Abstract Machine (LAM) is defined to execute LIPS programs. The correctness of the execution of the LIPS program/expression written using the operational semantics is verified by comparing it with its equivalent code generated using the abstract machine.
Specification of Asynchronous Communicating Systems (SACS) is a process algebra developed to specify the communication in LIPS programs. It is an asynchronous variant of Synchronous Calculus of Communicating Systems (SCCS). This research presents the SOS for SACS and looks at the bisimulation equivalence properties for SACS which can be used to verify the behaviour of a specified process.
An implementation is said to be complete when it is equivalent to its specifications. SACS has been used for the high level specification of the communication part of LIPS programs and is implemented using AMPS. This research proves that SACS and AMPS are equivalent by defining a weak bisimulation equivalence relation between the SOS of both SACS and AMPS.


A new coverless image information hiding method based on generative model is proposed, we feed the secret image to the generative model database, and generate a meaning-normal and independent image different from the secret image, then, the generated image is transmitted to the receiver and is fed to the generative model database to generate another image visually the same as the secret image. So we only need to transmit the meaning-normal image which is not related to the secret image, and we can achieve the same effect as the transmission of the secret image. This is the first time to propose the coverless image information hiding method based on generative model, compared with the traditional image steganography, the transmitted image does not embed any information of the secret image in this method, therefore, can effectively resist steganalysis tools. Experimental results show that our method has high capacity, safety and reliability.


Overages, or yield spreads, are common in the pricing of mortgages. However, few customers realize that such yield spreads exist. Given that overages often constitute a significant portion of the income of the mortgage loan officer, one would assume that the loan officer seeks to maximize the yield spreads. Our analysis finds that overages are seldom maximized and in most instances are not included in the price of the mortgage. We find that the bargaining abilities of the loan officers and the borrowers are important in determining the amount of overages paid by borrowers. In particular, we note that there are differences in the incidence of overages and the amount of overages by the race of the applicants. Thus, such behavior would lend itself to scrutiny by the regulatory authorities. The data set is unique and is proprietary data from a national mortgage lending institution located in a major U.S. city with a high population of Hispanics and African-Americans. We find that bargaining power of market participants is an important determinant of overages. We find that the yield spreads of Hispanic applicants who purchase homes are larger than those of whites. We also find that there are no differences by race for black applicants when compared to white applicants. We also find significant racial differences in overages for Hispanics and blacks for houses that are refinanced.


A model for a calculable AC-DC thermal transfer device is described. It is based on the transmission-line theory, augmented by corrections for skin effect and connection admittance. Experimental verification on four devices shows good to excellent agreement between the calculated and measured results. This enables the establishment of AC-DC transfer standards with total uncertainties ranging from less than 5 p.p.m. at 1 MHz to 100 p.p.m. at 30 MHz. Potential for extension to higher frequencies is discussed. >


A local representation of the free nucleon-nucleon $t$ matrix has been determined for several projectile bombarding energies between 100 and 800 MeV/nucleon and is presented in tabular form. The form of the interaction has been tailored for use in calculations of elastic and inelastic proton scattering in this energy range. The technique used to derive the interaction is outlined and some of the resulting uncertainties are discussed. A number of the most important properties of the interaction and their roles in the calculation of nucleon-nucleus scattering observables are discussed. A few applications of the interaction are made to a variety of ($p$,${p}^{\ensuremath{'}}$) transitions within a single-scattering context.


Writing has become one of important skills in English language acquistion since a long time ago. Without leaving aside the importance of using active English to communicate, the passive one also plays important role to convey the message. Writing, as a way to explore our passive English is not merely intended to describe any topic without purposes. In this case, writing is a progressive activity. Oshima and Hogue (1997:2) explain the meaning of progressive in writing is when we want to start the first step to write about a certain topic, actually we have already known what we are going to write and how we explore it. After that, we read over our writing than we will do some corrections and also changes. In short, in order to have a better writing we should never stop only in one step. The more particular and specific urgency in writing is how to make our writing academic. This is what the most college students face in their writing tasks such as essays and final projects which become the requirement for them to finish their study in a university. In fact, academic writing is not as easy as the students think that they will just ask to write a passage freely. In this case, academic writing gives full description and complete guidance on how to make their writing sounds academic. So that is what the researcher tried to explained to the readers especially for students who need to shape their ability to in doing such academic writing.


The purpose of this study was to determine the current status of multicultural music education in Korea. This primary research questions were based on 1) the music teacher education programs; 2) music textbooks used in grades 1 through12 music classrooms; and 3) perceptions of music education faculty and music teachers. Data were gathered through document analysis, music textbook analysis, and interviews with four music education faculty and six music teachers. The result showed that only seven courses were offered at four universities among their undergraduate and gradate courses. The data analysis of music textbooks from grades 1 through 12 identified several problems: 1) unclear origins of the songs, 2) mistranslation, 3) the lack of non-musical contextual information, 4) the lack of diversity in the regions, 5) limitation of the performance style, and 6) poor quality of photos and other illustrations. The perceptions of music education faculty were identified: (1) definitions of "multicultural music"; (2) issues of authenticity; (3) the need for multicultural music education; (4) the most propitious time for starting multicultural music education; 5) the problems of pre- and in-service teacher education; 6) limited understanding of multicultural music education; 7) quantity and quality of multicultural music materials; and 8) the lack of funding. Professors suggested: 1) change perceptions regarding multicultural music education; 2) offer multicultural music classes specifically for pre-service teachers; 3) systemize materials and academic resources for multicultural music education; 4) provide opportunities for concerts and workshops in multicultural music education; and 5) devote more funds. Music teachers pointed to six problems: 1) the problems of teaching songs in their native language; 2) shortage of time; 3) the absence of cultural context in a music class; 4) the deficit of materials; 5) the lack of pre- and in-service teacher education; and 6) limited understanding of multicultural music education. Music teachers suggested: 1) offer pre- and in-service teacher education for multicultural music education; 2) systemize and offer materials for music class; 3) increase the time for music instruction; and 4) include accurate information of multicultural music in music textbooks. The recommendations of the professors and teachers suggest that with the increasing number of immigrants from various parts of the world now settling in Korea, that Korean schools are facing a multicultural future. The schools are the perfect medium in which world cultures can be explored to the greater understanding of Korean students. this expansion of cultural information depends greatly on music as an important universal feature of all societies.


The satisfactory rationalization of complex reactive pathways in solution chemistry may greatly benefit from the combined use of advanced experimental and theoretical complementary methods of analysis. In this work, we combine X-Ray Absorption and 1 H-NMR spectroscopies with state-of-the-art Multivariate Curve Resolution and theoretical analyses to gain a comprehensive view on a prototypical reaction involving the variation of the oxidation state and local structure environment of a selected metal ion coordinated by organic ligands. Specifically, we investigate the 2-cyano-2-phenylpropanoic acid reduction of the octahedral complex established by the Cu 2+ ion with terpyridine to the tetrahedral complex formed by Cu + and neocuproine. Through our interdisciplinary approach we gain insights into the nature, concentration time evolution and structures of the key metal (XAS measurements) and organic ( 1 H NMR measurements) species under reaction. We believe our method may prove to be useful in the toolbox necessary to understand the mechanisms of reactive processes of interest in solution.


The procurement process is an important process in supply chain management as it is the spearhead of the entire process. In carrying out the procurement process, there are often problems with the supplier selection activities. This is because the supplier selection process spends a lot of time and resources collecting data and conducting careful analysis that will affect the entire decision alternative. In making decisions relating to the many criteria and the number of alternative suppliers, it requires an effective and uncomplex assessment technique, but it provides accurate results. A mapping and determination of supplier selection criteria is required as a basis for valuation to obtain a qualified supplier. This study focused on PT. XYZ is a construction company in South Tangerang. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to determine the best supplier, there are 4 variables that are reference in conducting the selection of suppliers, such as: cost, quality, delivery, and service. The result in the selection of the supplier company is cost with a weight of 0.268, quality with a weight of 0.290, delivery with a weighting of 0.248, and the service with a weight of 0.194 where conclusions obtained from the analysis of the selection of the best suppliers and in accordance with the criteria, namely PT. CBL for iron suppliers, PT.SAS for cement suppliers, and PT. Citra BSD for suppliers of natural materials


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Actinomycin D (Act D) is an anti-tumor antibiotic commonly used in the treatment of cancer in children and adults. As part of a multimodal approach, Act D is a key component in the treatment of Wilms tumor, where cure rates as high as 90% have been achieved, Ewing sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. However, although treatment with Act D is often successful, one of the main challenges associated with Act D therapy is treatment-related severe hepatic toxicity, which occurs in up to 15% of cases. Act D has been used clinically for over 50 years, however, only limited information is known about its pharmacokinetics, with only one substantive pediatric patient population studied. In addition, in contrast to many other established anticancer drugs, no studies have currently been performed to investigate the impact of pharmacogenetic variation on the pharmacokinetics of Act D in cancer patients. An increased knowledge of the clinical pharmacology of Act D may allow the development of more rational dosing regimens in children.The current study was therefore carried out to explore the influence of pharmacogenetics alongside a more definitive characterization of the pharmacokinetics of Act D in children with cancer. Act D (0.4 - 1.6 mg/m2) was administered to 117 patients ≤21 years recruited over an 8 year period, with samples for pharmacokinetic analysis collected over 24h. A total of 650 valid plasma samples were used to characterize a population pharmacokinetic model. Polymorphisms in ABCB1 were analyzed in 140 patients. A 3-compartment model provided a good fit to the data. Median values for Act D clearance and volume of distribution (V1) obtained from the model were 5.3L/h and 1.9L (13.9 L/h/70kg and 7.5 L/70kg), respectively. There was substantial inter-subject variation in all pharmacokinetic parameters (coefficients of variation 53-81%). Body size was a major determinant of Act D clearance, such that dose capping at 2mg in larger children at a protocol dose of 1.5mg/m2 resulted in significantly lower AUC values (mean AUC values: 9.3 versus 12.8 mg/L.min; P<0.0001). No significant relationships were found between ABCB1 genetic variants and Act D pharmacokinetic parameters, nor between CL, V1 or dose and incidence of grade 3 or 4 toxicity. We have defined the pharmacokinetics of Act D in a pediatric patient population, providing robust estimates of key pharmacokinetic parameters. In addition, pharmacokinetic data bring into question the clinical validity of dose capping at 2mg in larger patients. Pharmacogenetic variation in candidate drug transporter genes identified from preclinical studies does not significantly impact on Act D exposure in a clinical setting.

Citation Format: Gareth J. Veal, Christopher R. Hill, Michael Cole, Julie Errington, Ghada Malik, Alan V. Boddy. Characterization of the clinical pharmacokinetics of actinomycin D and the influence of pharmacogenetic variation in children with cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4651. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4651


deserved tribute to a Jewish scholar who, though fairly conservative, promoted both Jewish-Christian scholarship and Jewish-Christian relationships. Sandmel the man and Sandmel the writer are gracefully celebrated. The other contributions to the volume are essays which are mainly about various aspects of Philo by Jewish and Christian scholars. The use of Greek allegories in his biblical expositions, the important Philonic concept of 'seeing God', Philo on the symbolism of circumcision, Greek rhetoric's place in Philo's scriptural exegesis, are only some of the subjects treated. Further fragments of the Quaestiones, the possibility of Philo's descent from a priestly line, a Philonic fragment of the Decad, a historical study of the Seleucid era, are other contributions. Finally, an account is given of Sandmel's final correspondence with his friend, Valentin Nikiprowetzky, revealing his 'humanity, insight and courage'. The list of Sandmel's writings reaches almost 250.


Background: atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common form of alteration in cardiac rhythm and associated with more severe episodes of stroke. Treatment with oral anticoagulants vitamin K antagonists (VKA) such as warfarin, is nowadays the therapy of choice for stroke prevention in patients with AF, but dabigatran etexilate (DE) 150 mg twice daily was more clinically effective than warfarin in reducing the risk of stroke or systemic embolism, ischaemic stroke and vascular mortality whereas DE 110 mg twice daily was non-inferior to warfarin. Aim: to assess the affordability of the use of DE for the Italian NHS, in patients with non-valvular AF (NVAF) through a budget impact analysis (BIA). Methods: the BIA in a timeframe of 5 years was divided into 3 scenarios (1: current management of patients with NVAF; 2: all patients with NVAF treated with VKA; 3: all patients with NVAF treated with DE). The population considered is the one with indication for anticoagulation. Analysis is from the NHS perspective: therefore, indirect costs are excluded. Results: the underuse of oral anticoagulation, associated with the difficulty in keeping the patients treated with VKA within an acceptable therapeutic range, results in an enormous social and human cost, represented by a total of more than 63,000 strokes cumulated in the 5-year period considered. The cumulative cost for the scenario 1 over the 5-year period is over € 2.3 billion. In the scenario 2 the number of strokes avoided per year increases by -5,219 compared to no treatment (-2,368 compared to scenario 1), although the number of events remains high (about 10,000 events/year). In the 5-year observation period the scenario 2 would result in a reduction in the total number of strokes (-12,323 events vs. scenario 1), and savings for the NHS of around 95 million Euros compared to scenario 1. In the Scenario 3 there is a reduction of more than 38,600 of the total cumulative number of strokes vs. the scenario 1 and over 26,200 vs. scenario 2, and savings for the NHS at the fifth year of observation of circa 174 million Euros vs. scenario 1 and 123 million Euros vs. scenario 2. Conclusion: DE in Italy is economically sustainable, as it allows savings for the NHS in the management of patients with NVAF from the second year vs. no treatment and vs. treatment with VKA


This study aims at evaluating the financial institutions and their roles in the development of the Nigeria economy. Two variables where selected by the researcher to explain the roles of financial institutions in the development of the economy. The analytical tool used was the simple linear regression involving the use of the ordinary least square [OLS]. Data for the period of [2001-2011] was used. From the result of the regression, we found out that there is significant relationship between the roles of financial institution [credit to the private sector] and the development of the Nigeria economy because about 65% variation in Gross Domestic Product [Y] was explained by the total bank loans to the private sector [X] while about 35% of the variation was unexplained due to some internal and external factors listed in the work. The researcher further recommended that the financial institutions in the country should increase their participation in areas of investment and development lending and also engage in the sponsorship of capital intensive projects in order to bridge the 35% unexplained gap and also a consistent monitoring of borrowers to ensure compliance and reduce the risk of nonpayment to the barest minimum.


The author has investigated the mixed state of a superlattice of superconducting sheets, which is a model for the cuprate superconductor and the superlattices made from them. He has also studied the relevant length scales. It is shown that only when the separation between the sheets l is larger than lambda eff= lambda 2/d can the system be viewed as a collection of separate sheets; here lambda eff is the screening length for a single sheet. It is argued that there are two Abrikosov lattices; one is associated with the component of the field which is parallel to the sheets, while the second corresponds to the field component perpendicular to the sheets. It is shown that the two lattices interact and can form a commensurate structure with novel properties similar to those found experimentally.


Dust deposition is extremely variable over all timescales. Yet the impact of this variability on ocean biogeochemistry is currently not known, at least on the global scale. Here, we force a global model of ocean biogeochemistry over 1996 to 2001 with daily fields of dust deposition simulated by an atmospheric aerosol model. Our model results suggest that dust deposition explains a large part of the temporal variability of surface iron in the tropical regions and in part of the subarctic Pacific. However, while dust deposition is dominated by daily events, its impact on surface iron is maximal on interannual timescales. The largest fluctuations of surface iron produced by dust occur in oligotrophic regions where phytoplankton growth is not primarily controlled by iron availability. Consequently, the variability of surface chlorophyll induced by aerosol iron is predicted to be very small everywhere, especially relative to the impact of the ocean dynamics.


In this study, we demonstrate that engineered topological features can distinguish time series sampled from different stochastic processes with different noise characteristics, in both balanced and unbalanced sampling schemes. We compare our classification results against the results of the same classification on features coming from descriptive statistics and the wavelet transform. We conclude that machine learning models built on engineered topological features alone perform consistently better than those built on the standard statistical and wavelet features for time series classification tasks. We also apply dimension reduction techniques to our engineered features and compare the result of our classification models before and after dimensionality reduction. Finally, we also show that in our calculations of the engineered topological features, employing parallel computing methods does yield significant improvements in run time and memory footprint.


Checklist of Pyrenean alpine-stage macrofungi Macrofungi from the alpine stage of the Pyrenees are poorly known. In this paper we first describe the alpine habitats of this mountain chain, then provide an overview with bibliography for all known taxa, with information on distribution and habitat. In addition to the 214 taxa of macrofungi previously known from the Pyrenees, 83 new taxa are reported from the French side of the Pyrenees. The total number of taxa reported for the alpine stage of the Pyrenees is now 297, of which 19 are Ascomycetideae, 260 Agaricomycetideae, 11 Gasteromycetideae and 7 Aphyllophoromycetideae. The genera richest in species are: Inocybe (53 taxa), Entoloma (41 taxa), Cortinarius (36 taxa), Hygrocybe ss. lato (20 taxa) and Melanoleuca (12 taxa). Of the 297 taxa reported, 103 are true arctic-alpine fungi.


This article tackles the problems arising from the breaking of the matrimonial bond due to the death of one of the spouses and how the different Spanish legal systems have regulated this transition and its personal and economic effects on the surviving spouse. Tempus lugendi, second marriages, dowry restitution, curtsey rights and custody are some of the problems studied. The legal systems of the "Foral" Valencia, Catalonia and the territorial law of Castile have been the backbones of this piece of research, with some occasional references to Aragon and Navarre. Notwithstanding the partiality of this approach, I think that a clear view is offered of what is both the unity and diversity of the legislations, the common roots and specifi c solutions.


Introduction Prehospital haemorrhage control has saved thousands of lives in the military over the last decade. While uncontrolled haemorrhage is a leading cause of preventable injury death in the USA for individuals under 45, military prehospital haemorrhage control techniques have not fully translated to the civilian sector in the USA. The effective implementation of haemorrhage control for civilian prehospital trauma is dependent on a more complex array of system and personnel-level factors than the military. Objective This protocol describes the methodology of a scoping review on haemorrhage control strategies in the prehospital setting; specifically, education, logistics and implementation of these strategies. The aim of the review is to identify research gaps and create recommendations for future research surrounding prehospital layperson haemorrhage control. Methods The protocol uses the framework published by The Joanna Briggs Institute and Arksey and O'Malley, while following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Review Protocols guidelines. The search strategy was refined with the help of a medical librarian. Three peer-reviewed databases (EMBASE, PubMed and Web of Science), databases dedicated to grey literature sources, and reference mining will be used. Two investigators will independently screen and extract data. Discrepancies will be resolved by a third investigator. The extracted data will undergo descriptive analysis of the contextual data and a quantitative analysis using the appropriate statistical methods. In addition, this search strategy will be supplemented by a grey literature search. Ethics and dissemination Research ethics approval is not required for this scoping review. This scoping review will serve to highlight existing gaps within the literature to guide further research and develop future strategies to improve prehospital haemorrhage management. The results of this review will be presented at relevant national and international conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal.


ABSTRACT Contemporary social and cultural conditions in Brazil, together with technological developments and social media have enabled more young people of the favela to participate in different spheres of public life. These social and cultural changes have brought diversified new images of what it means to be an embodied subject. In this article, I explore the ways in which the body holds a seemingly paradoxical role as a locus of agency while being the primary site of attempts to be read, classified, and controlled for Brazilian favela youth. I explore the essential role of the body in enabling agency, as they deal with shame, fat, and exercise. Through an examination of the ways in which they were vulnerable, as a subjective experience, and its connections with their social context, this article aims for a nuanced understanding of their agency, as it intersects with gender, class, and race.


In this overview paper, presented at the meeting DANS14, Novi Sad, July3- 7, 2014, we give some applications of Laplace transforms to analytic number theory. These include the classical circle and divisor problem, moments ofj ( 1 +it)j, and a discussion of two functional equations connected to a work of Prof. Bogoljub Stankovi c.


Background: Nearly 80 million people in the U.S. are currently infected with at least one of two strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), which is associated with 70% of cervical, and more than 90% of oropharyngeal, cancers. Racial/ethnic disparities in cervical cancer are pervasive, with non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic women experiencing disproportionately higher incidence and mortality rates than other racial or ethnic groups. Further, although it has been almost 10 years since the approval of the first of three HPV vaccines for boys and girls, disparities in knowledge and awareness about HPV and the HPV vaccine persist, and vaccination rates are suboptimal. The goal of this study was to assess racial/ethnic and gender disparities in the knowledge and awareness of HPV and the HPV vaccine among US adults. Methods: Cross-sectional data were obtained from the Health Information National Trends Survey Cycles 3 and 4 (HINTS; N=6,862). Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression were used to assess racial/ethnic and gender disparities in HPV knowledge and HPV vaccination awareness. Results: Sixty-six percent of Americans had heard of HPV and the HPV vaccine; and seventy percent knew that HPV causes cervical cancer. However, we found racial/ethnic and gender disparities in knowledge and awareness of HPV and the HPV vaccine. In multivariate analyses, females were 3.28 times (95% CI: 2.62 – 4.09) more likely to have heard of HPV, and 3.86 times (95% CI: 3.11 – 4.79) more likely to have heard of the HPV vaccine compared to males. Non-Hispanic Blacks were 33% (95% CI: 0.47 – 0.96) and 44% (95% CI: 0.39 – 0.81) less likely than non -Hispanic Whites to have heard of HPV and the HPV vaccine, respectively. There was no significant difference between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites regarding HPV knowledge; however, Hispanics were 53% (95% CI: 0.34 – 0.64) less likely than non-Hispanic Whites to have heard of the HPV vaccine. Females were more likely than males to know that HPV causes cervical cancer (OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.13 – 1.96). Non-Hispanic Blacks were 48% (95% CI: 0.35 – 0.76) less likely to know that HPV causes cervical cancer compared to non-Hispanic Whites. However, there was no statistically significant difference between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites regarding awareness that HPV causes cervical cancer. Forty-six percent of Americans were aware that HPV often clears on its own without treatment. Conclusions: Non-Hispanic Blacks and males suffer the greatest disparities associated with knowledge and awareness of HPV and the HPV vaccine. Increasing awareness about the HPV vaccine may help improve vaccination uptake, especially among males and minority populations. Thus, future interventions targeting males and minority populations, for whom knowledge gaps currently exist, are needed. There is also a need to improve physician-patient communications to maximize physician discussion of the HPV vaccine with patients and parents of children eligible for the HPV vaccine. Citation Format: Eric Adjei Boakye, Betelihem B. Tobo, Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters. Racial and gender disparities in knowledge and awareness of HPV and HPV vaccine in a national sample of U.S. adults. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr A51.


Currently, energy and extraction activities generate large amounts of highly polluting waste, so there is a need for sustainable and environmentally friendly technologies. The aim of the study is to treat mining tailings and fly ash through the process of geopolymerization. The samples studied were obtained from the Toquepala mine, Tacna and from the ENGIE-Moquegua hydroelectric plant (Peru). The methodology was based on two stages, the first characterization of Fly Ash (FA) and mine tailings (MT) by EDX chemical characterization, SEM morphology, the second was prepared mixtures of MT and FA in 10 M alkaline solution, cured in 35 days at room temperature and the characterization of the geopolymer by organoleptic analysis, SEM and TCLP. The first stage shows high aluminosilicate content 20.44% Al2O3 and 53.39 % SiO2 for (MT); 22.11% Al2O3 and 51.76% SiO2 for (FA), presents metal and pyrite content. In the second stage, the samples show health and environmental harmlessness, with the formation of tetragonal structures typical of the geopolymer, the samples show a significant reduction of Sr, Ca, Fe, Pb, Ba, Be, and Cu, demonstrating the effectiveness of treatment by means of geopolymerization opening a new field for the environmental passive treatment.


French "Memory Laws". This article summarizes the historiographic debates over the so-called "memory laws" which were adopted in France between 1990 and 2005. These new laws punish the denial of the Shoah (Gayssot act, 1990), provide official recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide (2001) as well as slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity (Taubira act, 2001). Last but not least, new laws also deal with the French colonial past, demanding a positive assessment of French colonialism in school curricula (Mekachera act, 2005). The article covers controversies created by the laws, including the trial against French historian Olivier Petre-Grenouilleau and the Liberte pour l'histoire petition against the "memory laws." Keywords: France, law, history, historiography, memory


Abstract Conversion symptoms involve a regression, where the patient appears to have lost access to previously available modes of verbal expression. Instead movements, sensations, postures, gestures, and visceral processes express emotions and unconscious wishes directly. Patients who are analyzed in a language other than their mother tongue, without access to the language of their early years, may rely on the body to express powerful affect and fantasies. A patient who displayed pseudoseizures on the couch is presented, looking specifically at how this man's conversion reaction may relate to the fact that the language of the analysis is not his mother tongue.


A comprehensive model of the threading tool hardening on high-speed plasma heating has been presented as well as the mathematical description of the heating process. The reproduction of the model by means of computer simulation, based on the use of the finite elements method, including structural and physical parameters of the tool has been offered. The heat distribution in the heat-affected zone, and the relationship that makes it possible to determine the temperature at any point of the body, bringing the simulation results closer to the actual physical characteristics of the process have been shown. The analysis conducted in this article shows the prospects of using surface hardening methods to improve performance of thread-cutting tools. However, due to the complex profile of the working surface of the tools, application of any hardening method involves difficulties. On the strength of the above-said, with due regard to the established requirements for geometrical parameters of the thread-cutting tools and their loading conditions, as well as well-known recommendations for other types of tools, the technological processes for plasma processing of various types of thread-cutting tools have been developed. In developing the technology of plasma modification it is very important to select the optimum mode of heating, which ensures the formation of the modified zones of required size. This problem is solved by means of the analysis of thermal fields in the tool during plasma heating. The experience of using plasma hardening shows that the thermal cycle of heating and cooling materials can be controlled by varying such parameters as arc current and the speed of the plasma torch movement at a constant optimum level of the other parameters (plasma gas flow and the cooling water, the distance of the nozzle exit to the surface being machined)


Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of sacral neuromodulation in patients with prior stress urinary incontinence (SUI) or pelvic organ prolapse (POP) surgery. Methods Women in our prospective neuromodulation database were evaluated. Patients with a history of prior SUI/POP surgery were compared to those without. Medical records at baseline were reviewed, and primary outcome was defined as moderate/marked improvement on Global Response Assessment (GRA) at 3 months. Secondary outcomes were measured using bladder diaries and Overactive Bladder Symptom Severity (OABq-SS)/health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Data were analyzed with Pearson &khgr;2 test, Fisher exact test, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and repeated-measures analyses. Results Of 210 subjects, 108 (51%) had prior SUI/POP surgery. Patients with SUI/POP surgery had more prior hysterectomies. At 3 months, there was no difference between groups on GRA outcomes. On the bladder diary, both groups had improvement in median voids per 24 hours, urgency severity, and urge incontinence over 2 years. On the GRA, fewer patients in the SUI/POP group were treatment responders at 12 and 24 months. For urinary urgency, a few in this group were moderately/markedly improved at 6 months, and a higher proportion are reported still leaking urine at 6 and 12 months. Similar proportions in each group reported moderate/marked improvement in leaking. Satisfaction was similar between groups. The OABq-SS/HRQOL scores improved, and there was no difference between the groups. Conclusion Sacral neuromodulation improves bladder symptoms in women with prior SUI/POP surgery, but response may be slightly less in those with prior surgery due to underlying bladder or pelvic floor issues.


Medical consultation nowadays generally proceeds in accordance with the process of shared decision-making (SDM). In the literature on medical communication, the general characteristics of this process seem to be agreed upon. With respect to the specific division of labour between doctor and patient, however, different alternatives are suggested. In this paper we approach the process of SDM from the perspective of the pragma-dialectical theory of argumentation. We translate the contributions of doctor and patient to this process in terms of the ideal model of a critical discussion, taking into account both the general characteristics and the different alternatives for the division of labour proposed in the literature. The resulting analytical tool enables a more precise analysis of the process of SDM and creates a starting point for a well-founded evaluation of the contributions of doctor and patient to this process.


This paper presents a novel control system for the participation of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in the provisioning of ancillary services for frequency regulation, in a way that is transparent to the driver and harmonized with the smart charging service requirements. Given a power-frequency droop curve, which specifies how the set of PEVs collectively participate to the provisioning of the frequency regulation service (we call this curve a "global" droop curve), we propose an algorithm to compute "local" droop curves (one for each PEV), which are optimized according to the current status of the PEV and the current progress of the smart recharging session. Once aggregated, the local droop curves match the global one (so that the PEVs contribute as expected to the provisioning of the ancillary service). One innovative aspect of the proposed algorithm is that it is specifically designed to be interoperable with the algorithms that control the PEV recharging process; hence, it is transparent to the PEV drivers. Simulation results are presented to validate the proposed solution.


We observed that during the dyeing process of wild silk yarns with a reactive dye, dye uptake could occur in an alcohol-water solvent mixture bath that did not contain any salt. The K/S value of the wild silk yarn dyed by this process which is related to the dye uptake, increased with the increase of the alcohol content in the dye bath. At the some time, the K/S value was affected also by the kind of alcohol used. The effect on the K/S value decreased in the order of butyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol. However, if the solubility in water and the boiling point are taken into account, isopropyl alcohol was most suitable when a single alcohol was used. Even an alcohol with a low solubility in water could be used in the dye bath by combining it appropriately with isopropyl alcohol, and the K/S value could be improved. Based on the effect of the dye concentration, it appeared that dyeing in an alcohol-water solvent mixture was not suitable in terms of the dye buildup characteristics. Discipline: Sericulture/Agricultural environment Additional key words: alcohol-water solvent mixture bath, color depth, isopropyl alcohol, solvent-assisted dyeing JARQ 30, 197-202 (1996)


Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). ACS usually presents in a more severe form in adults older than 20 years. High clinical suspicion should be maintained in SCD patients who presents with painful crises. This case report presents an interesting severe form of ACS that, quite unusually, required repeated exchanged blood transfusion to achieve clinical improvement.


Abstract: Deforestation and forest fragmentation are contributing to declines in crop pollinator populations worldwide. Several studies have examined the impact of forest proximity on plant pollination ecology, but concentrated on single crop species. However, it can be more informative to investigate multiple crop and pollinator species in a community, because different pollinator groups may respond differently to forest distance. We evaluated flower visitor diversity, visitation frequency, and fruit set for three crop species (rambutan, durian and mango) in 10 pairs of mixed fruit orchards. Each pair consisted of one orchard near to (< 1 km) and one orchard far from (> 7 km) the forest edge. Rambutan fruit set was significantly influenced by distance to forest. The main visitors of rambutan flowers were stingless bees. In contrast, the dominant visitors to durian and mango flowers were nectarivorous bats and flies, respectively, and the fruit set of these crops were not significantly influenced by distance to forest. However, durian fruit set was negatively affected by distance to the nearest cave inhabited by nectarivorous bats. This study demonstrates that both caves and forests can be important pollinator sources for agricultural crops, and that the dispersal success of pollinators is related to isolation from source habitats. Maintaining forest patches and limestone karsts may provide stepping stones across fragmented landscapes, and attract greater numbers of pollinators to agricultural areas.


The author discusses the problem of identifying the canonical momentum with the derivative operator when the motion on a half-line is quantised. If he assumes that the Lagrangian of a particle moving in a plane is invariant under time-dependent rotations, he gets a gauge theory describing the motion of this particle on a half-line. Completely analogous to Maxwell or non-Abelian Yang-Mills theory but involving only a finite number of degrees of freedom, this model can be used to illustrate how a gauge theory should be quantised. The problem of the choice of a gauge is discussed with some emphasis.


KamLAND, a large size liquid scintillator detector for anti-neutrino detection, has observed the reactor neutrino oscillation and geo-neutrinos since its operation started in 2002. The outer de- tector (OD) is a water Cherenkov detector with 3,200 m3 of water and 225 Kamiokande-PMTs serving as the veto counter against the cosmic-ray muons. Muon tagging efficiency of the OD has been decreasing since 2010 because of a gradual increase of PMT failures, which results in the increase of muon-induced backgrounds. We have carried out a refurbishment of the OD from Jan- uary to April in 2016 by replacing the PMTs and improving light collection in the less-sensitive equator region. As a result, we achieved a recovery of the OD detection efficiency of muons equal to 99.8%.


(Under the Direction of Michael A. Horvat) ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of the Sensory Organization Test in healthy college students. Reliability of the SOT is imperative in order to accurately assess the effectiveness of balance rehabilitation programs. Thirty healthy young adults were recruited from undergraduate classes at the University of Georgia. The participants were tested on all six conditions of the SOT, which alter incoming sensory information. Participants returned to be retested on the SOT after no more than 7 days. Results indicated a significant increase in several scores generated by the SOT between testing sessions. The stability reliability of the SOT was relatively low compared to the internal consistency reliability which was modest to excellent. Clinicians should consider the amount of motor learning that takes place during the SOT when assessing the efficacy of a particular balance intervention using the SOT.


While the relationship between Kant and other major figures in early analytic philosophy, such as Russell, G. E. Moore, and Rudolf Carnap, has been the subject of full length studies, no such work yet exists on the relationship between Kant and Frege. The Origins of Analytic Philosophy: Kant and Frege addresses this gap in our understanding of the origins of early analytic philosophy. Its concern is to chart the nature and significance of Frege's break with Kant over the question of whether arithmetic is a synthetic a priori or an analytic a priori science. In rejecting Kant's claim that arithmetic is an a priori synthetic science, Frege returns to a conception of the scope and power of pure reason that shows important similarities to the philosophical outlook of Kant's great predecessor and philosophical opponent Gottfried Leibniz. Delbert Reed shows how, in his attempts to establish the foundations of arithmetic on analytic principles, Frege developed many of the tools, concerns and problems that would dominate the development of analytic philosophy in the 20th century.


The article aimed to investigate whether there was a correlation among the language skills and components. The researcher took two language skills and one language component to be part of the research: listening, reading comprehension skills, and grammar mastery. In the research, there were several questions regarding the three variables of listening, reading, and grammar which were focusing on the correlation among the variables. The independent variable was grammar mastery (X) while the independent variables were listening comprehension (Y1) and reading comprehension (Y2). The data collection was taken from the population of Grade X Budi Luhur Senior High School students, Tangerang, with 40 students served as a sample. The research was conducted using the quantitative method with the help of statistical calculation of Pearson Product Moment Correlation to prove whether there was a significant correlation among the three variables. As a result, it is proven that there is no significant correlation between grammar mastery and both listening and reading skills while there is a quite strong correlation between listening and reading skills of the students.


Background Cholera remains an important public health problem. Yet there are few reliable population-based estimates of laboratory-confirmed cholera incidence in endemic areas around the world. Methods We established treatment facility–based cholera surveillance in three sites in Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (India), and Beira (Mozambique). The annual incidence of cholera was estimated using the population census as the denominator and the age-specific number of cholera cases among the study cohort as the numerator. Findings The lowest overall rate was found in Jakarta, where the estimated incidence was 0.5/1000 population/year. The incidence was three times higher in Kolkata (1.6/1000/year) and eight times higher in Beira (4.0/1000/year). In all study sites, the greatest burden was in children under 5 years of age. Conclusion There are considerable differences in cholera incidence across these endemic areas but in all sites, children are the most affected. The study site in Africa had the highest cholera incidence consistent with a growing impression of the large cholera burden in Africa. Burden estimates are useful when considering where and among whom interventions such as vaccination would be most needed.


Photoionization spectra and Rydberg-state-resolved threshold-ionization spectra of the gerade triplet np Rydberg states of (4)He2 located in the vicinity of the X(+) (2)Σ(u)(+) (ν(+) = 0) ionization threshold were recorded from the 2sσ a (3)Σ(u)(+) metastable state. An accuracy of 0.01 cm(-1) was achieved for the experimental term values of the observed Rydberg states. The data were combined with spectroscopic data on low-lying triplet np and nf Rydberg states from the literature to derive energy- and internuclear-distance-dependent eigenquantum-defect parameters of multichannel quantum-defect theory (MQDT). The MQDT calculations reproduce the experimental data within their experimental uncertainties and enabled the derivation of potential-energy curves for the lowest triplet p Rydberg states (n = 2-5) of He2. The eigenquantum-defect parameters describing the p -f interaction were found to be larger than 0.002 at the energies corresponding to the high-n Rydberg states, so that the p -f interaction plays an important role in the autoionization dynamics of np Rydberg states with v(+) = 0. By extrapolating the experimental term values of triplet np Rydberg states of (4)He2 in the range of principal quantum number n between 87 and 110, the positions of the (v(+) = 0, N(+) = 3) and (v(+) = 0, N(+) = 5) levels of the ground state of (4)He(+)(2) were determined to lie 70.937(3) cm(-1) and 198.369(6) cm(-1), respectively, above the (v(+) = 0, N(+) = 1) ground rotational level.


Abstract. The multilevel DC-DC converters have advantages of low voltage stress of the switches and diodes and reduction of the filter size. Therefore, such converters are becoming more popular in wide range of application. While multilevel topology offers many new features, it also necessitates a balance control of the capacitors. In the paper a method of capacitor voltage balancing for multilevel isolated DC-DC converters is proposed. The voltage balancing analysis is carried out for a two level converter with input series output parallel structure. The paper describes the operating principles of the balancing circuit, analyzes the fundamental relationships and compares this method with the traditional ones.


We present an extensive discussion on the homogenization and scattering analysis of second-order nonlinear metasurfaces. We use the generalized sheet transition conditions (GSTCs) in the frequency-domain to model the electromagnetic responses of nonlinear meta-surfaces. We present the general second-harmonic scattering relations, in the undepleted pump regime approximation, and the resulting reflectionless, transmissionless and asymmetric reflection and transmission conditions. Finally, to clarify certain misconceptions, we also discuss the concept of nonreciprocal scattering in nonlinear optics.


Emerging and re-emerging RNA viruses occasionally cause epidemics and pandemics worldwide, such as the on-going outbreak of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Existing direct-acting antiviral (DAA) drugs cannot be applied immediately to new viruses because of virus-specificity, and the development of new DAA drugs from the beginning is not timely for outbreaks. Thus, host-targeting antiviral (HTA) drugs have many advantages to fight against a broad spectrum of viruses, by blocking the viral replication and overcoming the potential viral mutagenesis simultaneously. Herein, we identified two potent inhibitors of DHODH, S312 and S416, with favorable drug-like and pharmacokinetic profiles, which all showed broad-spectrum antiviral effects against various RNA viruses, including influenza A virus (H1N1, H3N2, H9N2), Zika virus, Ebola virus, and particularly against the recent novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Our results are the first to validate that DHODH is an attractive host target through high antiviral efficacy in vivo and low virus replication in DHODH knocking-out cells. We also proposed the drug combination of DAA and HTA was a promising strategy for anti-virus treatment and proved that S312 showed more advantageous than Oseltamivir to treat advanced influenza diseases in severely infected animals. Notably, S416 is reported to be the most potent inhibitor with an EC50 of 17nM and SI value >5882 in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells so far. This work demonstrates that both our self-designed candidates and old drugs (Leflunomide/Teriflunomide) with dual actions of antiviral and immuno-repression may have clinical potentials not only to influenza but also to COVID-19 circulating worldwide, no matter such viruses mutate or not.


We characterize the local concentration dependence of segregation velocity and segregation flux in both size and density bidisperse gravity-driven free-surface granular flows as a function of the particle size ratio and density ratio, respectively, using discrete element method (DEM) simulations. For a range of particle size ratios and inlet volume flow rates in size-bidisperse flows, the maximum segregation flux occurs at a small particle concentration less than 0.5, which decreases with increasing particle size ratio. The segregation flux increases up to a size ratio of 2.4 but plateaus from there to a size ratio of 3. In density bidisperse flows, the segregation flux is greatest at a heavy particle concentration less than 0.5 which decreases with increasing particle density ratio. The segregation flux increases with increasing density ratio for the extent of density ratios studied, up to 10. We further demonstrate that the simulation results for size driven segregation are in accord with the predictions of the kinetic sieving segregation model of Savage and Lun.


In this paper, we present a novel method for selective compression of medical images. In our scheme, regions of interest (ROIs) are differentiated from the background by detecting relevant features such as edges, texture and clusters. A detection map is created for ROIs so that the coding system can use it to assign proper bit rates in the process of quantization. The localized, multiresolution representation of the wavelet coefficients makes it easy to allocate different bit rates to complex, adjacent ROIs in the process of successive approximation quantization of wavelet coefficients. For maximum flexibility and efficiency in selective allocation of bit rates, we use an intraband coding scheme, compact quadtree, instead of the conventional interband approaches. By adjusting the amplitudes of the wavelet coefficients in ROIs, one can smoothly preserve multiple ROIs with virtual no coding overhead. Experimental results on digital mammographical images show that minute microcalcifications can be perfectly preserved while their background is compressed at very high ratios, i.e., over 100 to 1.


The fireball model of relativistic heavy-ion collision uses chemical equilibrium relations to predict cross sections for particle and composite productions. These relations are examined in a canonical ensemble model where chemical equilibrium is not explicitly invoked.


There are examples of common clinical conditions that clinical signals are related to alterations in muscle tone, including myofascial pain syndrome. OBJECTIVE: to discuss the application of surface EMG to detect effect of miofascial trigger point (MTP) on neuromuscular activity at rest and maximum voluntary contraction of the trapezoid muscle. METHODS: Fifty-six subjects participated in the study and were divided into two groups: Healthy group (n = 28), with subjects who necessarily did not present MTP, and PAIN group (n = 28), with subjects who necessarily had MTP. RESULTS: The EMG signal was significantly higher in the muscle portion containing MTP than in the healthy muscle portion in PAIN group and than Healthy group (26,56 ± 44,54, 5,39 ± 6,29 and 1,56 ± 0,76, respectively, p = 0,0001) during rest. In addition, a higher intensity of the EMG signal was observed in subjects with active MTP than in latent MTP (17,85 ± 30,25 versus 3,74 ± 1,52, p = 0,04. Besides, the subjects who presented autonomic phenomena had higher EMG signal than those who had no autonomic phenomena (16,78 ± 28,44 versus 3,51 ± 3,65. CONCLUSION: The surface EMG is reliable to measure the muscular activity of the MTP, mainly at rest condition.


Calciphylaxis is a condition of induced systemic hypersensitivity in which, during a "critical period" after sensitization by a systemic calcifying factor (e.g., vitamin-D compounds, parathyroid hormone), treatment with certain challengers (e.g., metallic salts, albumen) causes an acute local calcification followed by inflammation and sclerosis. The term was coined in analogy with such designations as "anaphylaxis" or "tachyphylaxis" that likewise refer to induced systemic alterations in the body's responsiveness to certain challenging agents. Apparently calciphylaxis is a fundamentally adaptive (phylactic) response that leads to defensive inflammation and sclerosis through the selective deposition of calcium in the challenged area. However, like many other basically defensive reactions (e.g., serologic immunity), it can also become the cause of morbid lesions.1 Topical calciphylaxis induced by the subcutaneous injection of challengers results in a cutaneous calcinosis reminiscent of calcareous scleroderma. Indeed, by the intravenous administration of challengers that have a particular affinity for one or


Hemagglutination tests with normal and tannic acid-treated RBC exposed to ultrasonicates of Coxiella burneti have been employed in a study of the phase variation of these organisms. The results are consistent with the hypothesis, initially derived from complement fixation studies, that Phase I C. burneti contain a component(s), with the RBC-adsorption characteristics of polysaccharides, which is markedly deficient, although probably present, in purified suspensions of Phase II organisms. Rickettsiae of both phases appear to contain protein antigens reacting with anti-Phase II sera.


In this collaborative keynote address, we will share Google's experience in building a scalable data infrastructure that leverages datacenters for managing Google's advertising data over the last decade. In order to support the massive online advertising platform at Google, the data infrastructure must simultaneously support both transactional and analytical workloads. The focus of this talk will be to highlight how the datacenter architecture and the cloud computing paradigm has enabled us to manage the exponential growth in data volumes and user queries, make our services highly available and fault tolerant to massive datacenter outages, and deliver results with very low latencies. We note that other Internet companies have also undergone similar growth in data volumes and user queries. In fact, this phenomenon has resulted in at least two new terms in the technology lexicon: big data and cloud computing. Cloud computing (and datacenters) have been largely responsible for scaling the data volumes from terabytes range just a few years ago to now reaching in the exabyte range over the next couple of years. Delivering solutions at this scale that are fault-tolerant, latency sensitive, and highly available requires a combination of research advances with engineering ingenuity at Google and elsewhere. Next, we will try to answer the following question: is a datacenter just another (very large) computer? Or, does it fundamentally change the design principles for data-centric applications and systems. We will conclude with some of the unique research challenges that need to be addressed in order to sustain continuous growth in data volumes while supporting high throughput and low latencies.


The present investigation was carried out with the objective of performance appraisal of Phule Triveni cattle with respect to reproduction and production traits. The performance records of 324 Phule Triveni cattle sired by 44 bulls were collected for reproduction and production traits spread over a period of 43 years (1975-2017) from Research Cum Development Project on Cattle, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Dist. Ahmednagar (Maharashtra State). The overall least squares means for age at first calving (AFC), first service period (FSP), first dry period (FDP), first calving interval (FCI) and first lactation 300 days milk yield (FL300DMY) were 956.00±11.37 days, 134.32±5.12 days, 84.91±3.89 days, 421.63±5.65 days and 2410.61±55.87 kg, respectively in Phule Triveni cattle. Further, the least square analysis revealed on non-significant effect of season of calving. The effect of period of calving was found to be highly significant on AFC, FSP, FL300DMY, FDP and FCI. However, the sire was found to be significant (P<0.05) effect on FSP, FCI, FL300DMY and FDP. The heritability of all traits was moderate in magnitude which indicated these traits are more influenced by selection. The highly significant genetic and phenotypic correlation was found between production and reproduction traits.


We present Chandra X-ray observations of the young supernova remnant (SNR) 0509-67.5 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), believed to be the product of a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia). The remnant is very round in shape, with a distinct clumpy, shell-like structure that extends to an average radius of 14.″8 (3.6 pc) in the X-ray band. Our Chandra data reveal the remnant to be rich in silicon, sulfur, and iron. The yields of our fits to the global spectrum confirm that 0509-67.5 is the remnant of an SN Ia and show a clear preference for delayed-detonation explosion models for SNe Ia. The Chandra spectra extracted from radial rings are in general quite similar; the most significant variation with radius is a drop in the equivalent widths of the strong emission lines right at the edge of the remnant. We study the spectrum of the single brightest isolated knot in the remnant and find that it is enhanced in iron by a factor of roughly 2 relative to the global remnant abundances. This feature, along with similar knots seen in Tycho's SNR, argues for the presence of modest small-scale composition inhomogeneities in SNe Ia. The presence of both Si and Fe, with abundance ratios that vary from knot to knot, indicates that these came from the transition region between the Si- and Fe-rich zones in the exploded star, possibly as a result of energy input to the ejecta at late times because of the radioactive decay of 56Ni and 56Co. Two cases for the continuum emission from the global spectrum were modeled: one in which the continuum is dominated by hydrogen thermal bremsstrahlung radiation, the other in which the continuum arises from nonthermal synchrotron radiation. The former case requires a relatively large value for the ambient density (~1 cm-3). Another estimate of the ambient density comes from using the shell structure of the remnant in the context of dynamical models. This requires a much lower value for the density (<0.05 cm-3) that is more consistent with other evidence known about 0509-67.5. We therefore conclude that the bulk of the continuum emission from 0509-67.5 has a nonthermal origin.