The work aims to present an overview of social movements in actuality, in the Latin America, and presents a mapping of their main forms in Brazil. The search ponders the educational character of their actions, both for its participants, as for society in general and public agencies. The basic premise of assertion that social movements are sources of innovation and knowledge-generating arrays. However, because it is not an isolated process but social-political character, the paper search joints in the network of relationships that establish movements in political, economic and socio-cultural country, to understand the factors that generate learning built and values of political culture that are being built. . The text highlights movements that occurs in the areas of education - formal and non-formal education.


A method for separating coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the quiescent corona in white-light coronagraph images is presented. Such a separation allows the study of CME structure, as well as enabling a study of the quiescent coronal structure, without contamination by the CME. The fact that the large-scale quiescent corona is very close to radial, whilst CMEs are highly non-radial, enables the separation of the two components. The method is applied to Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph/Solar and Heliospheric Observatory C2 and C3 observations, and is successful in revealing CME signal, faint CMEs and blobs, and dark rarefactions within a CME. The success of the separation is tested at solar minimum, a time when streamers are in general most non-radial. The technique is also compared to other commonly used methods. The separation method enables (1) the study of extremely faint CME structure, down to almost the noise level of the coronagraphs, (2) paves the way for automated categorization of CME internal structure, and (3) provides a cleaner basis for tomography of the quiescent corona, without contamination from CMEs.


The incidence of preterm births have increased worldwide and in our country in recent years. Related to advances in neonatal intensive care, the mortality of the preterm births decreases but the morbidity increases. Developmental problems comprise the main portion of the morbidity. Strategies and new approaches are needed to decrease the morbidity. This review is about the approaches of developmental care used in neonatal intensive care units to support the development of preterm babies.


This qualitative research study explores how teacher prompting and questioning impacts students' comprehension of texts. The researcher observed a third grade teacher, Mrs. G., at a local elementary school in order to discern patterns in how this teacher used verbal prompts and questions to assist her students in understanding what they read. An initial interview was conducted with Mrs. G. to determine how she typically teaches and assesses reading comprehension, as well as the types of verbal prompts and questions she utilizes to assist students in comprehension. The researcher observed two literacy lessons in which Mrs. G. instructed the whole class as well as small groups of students. An analysis of these observations revealed Mrs. G's use of academic language as well as explicit modeling or thinking aloud as a means to aid students in their reading comprehension. These patterns were confirmed through analysis of the data by multiple sources, including Mrs. G's comments, and are evident in the literature. Recommendations for educators linked to this study include using academic language to label and discuss various reading comprehension strategies, as well as modeling reading comprehension strategies by thinking aloud in an effort to support students' understanding of when and how to implement particular strategies to aid in their understanding of texts.


In this work we present a characterization of spam on Twitter. We find that 8% of 25 million URLs posted to the site point to phishing, malware, and scams listed on popular blacklists. We analyze the accounts that send spam and find evidence that it originates from previously legitimate accounts that have been compromised and are now being puppeteered by spammers. We use clickthrough data to analyze spammers' use of features unique to Twitter and the degree that they affect the success of spam. Twitter is a highly successful platform for coercing users to visit spam pages, with a clickthrough rate of 0.13%, compared to much lower rates previously reported for email spam. We group spam URLs into campaigns and identify trends that uniquely distinguish phishing, malware, and spam, providing insight into the underlying techniques used to attract users. Given the absence of spam filtering on Twitter, we examine whether the use of URL blacklists would help to significantly stem the spread of Twitter spam. Our results indicate that blacklists are too slow at identifying new threats, allowing more than 90% of visitors to view a page before it becomes blacklisted. We also find that even if blacklist delays were reduced, the use by spammers of URL shortening services for obfuscation negates the potential gains unless tools that use blacklists develop more sophisticated spam filtering.


Chicken egg shell membrane, a naturally abundant protein membrane, was used to synthesize gold (Au), silver (Ag) and their bimetallic (AuAg) alloy nanoclusters at room temperature without the use of any reducing agent or catalyst. The as-formed gold and alloy clusters were highly fluorescent and exhibited intense blue emission around 435 ± 5 and 440 ± 5 nm, respectively. This is the first report confirming the formation of fluorescent alloy clusters exhibiting nanosecond lifetimes by a biomembrane-induced reduction process. We have also explored the capability of these metal cluster immobilized inexpensive ESMs in removing organic dyes from water. The results confirmed that it is the strong adsorption of the dye molecules in the presence of the metal particles that has helped to convert ESM into an effective platform for water purification. This process has the dual advantages of utilizing an inexpensive, abundant and eco-friendly food waste (egg shell membrane) for in situ reduction and formation of metal nanoparticles and the utilization of the same as an effective platform for the removal of anionic dyes from waste water. An Au-immobilized ESM showed a better efficiency in dye molecules removal than those of the Ag-ESM and AuAg-ESM membranes.


Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare lung disease characterised by progressive loss of lung function, dyspnoea and cough. IPF has a variable clinical course but a poor prognosis. Nintedanib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is one of two drugs approved for the treatment of IPF. In clinical trials, nintedanib slowed disease progression by reducing the rate of decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) in patients with IPF and mild or moderate lung function impairment. The effect of nintedanib was consistent across patient subgroups defined by baseline characteristics including FVC % predicted, diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide % predicted and the presence of emphysema. Recently, it has been shown that the rate of decline in FVC and the treatment effect of nintedanib are the same in patients with preserved lung volume (FVC >90% predicted) as in patients with greater impairment in FVC, supporting the value of early treatment of IPF. The adverse events most commonly associated with nintedanib, both in clinical trials and real-world clinical practice, are mild gastrointestinal events, particularly diarrhoea. Side effects are manageable in a majority of patients through symptomatic treatment, dose reductions and treatment interruptions, enabling most patients to stay on treatment in the long term.


BACKGROUND
In Western countries, colonic polyps are usually adenomatous in nature, are evenly distributed along the entire colon in asymptomatic per-sons and show a left-sided predominance in symptomatic patients. There is dearth of such literature from India.

METHODS
We retrospectively analyzed reports of colonoscopies done in our institution during the period 2001 to 2005. Clinical features, colonoscopic description and histologic findings of all patients with polyps were noted. Association of the degree of dysplasia with the size, site and type of polyps and the person's age was assessed.

RESULTS
Polyps were seen in 124 (5.1%) of 2412 complete colonoscopies. Mean age of patients with polyps was 58.1 (SD 19.9) years; ninety were men. A majority of polyps (92%) were located in the left colon. They were adenomatous in 99 (79.8%), juvenile in 12 (9.8%), hyperplastic in 11 (8.8 %), inflammatory in 1 (0.8%) and Peutz-Jegher's polyp in 1 (0.8%). Dysplasia was severe in large (>2 cm) polyps compared to small (< 1 cm) ones (p< 0.001). Age of patient and location of polyp had no association with degree of dysplasia.

CONCLUSIONS
In southern Indian adults, most colonic polyps are adenomatous and are in the left colon. Large polyps are associated with severe dysplasia.


The photosphere is essentially a relatively thin boundary layer between two fundamentally different plasma regimes. The solar interior is characterized by high density, high opacity, high fi and convective instability, whereas the outer solar atmosphere has the opposite properties. The convection in the interior provides the ultimate driving force for all of the dynamic and magnetic structure of the solar atmosphere, yet when we view the photosphere, we can observe only the upper boundary of the convection zone. Instead, we observe primarily its various after-effects: overshoot, wave propagation, and confinement of the magnetic field. These observable phenomena are described with a view toward diagnosing the essential physics above and below the photosphere. The convective modes, granulation and supergranulation, are reviewed briefly; the oscillatory modes are discussed in somewhat more detail. Finally, the magnetic structure of the photosphere is described.


In 1897 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sisters of Charity Justina Segale and Blandina Segale founded the Santa Maria Institute, which resembled social settlements non-Catholic women established. Blending ethnic and religious traditions with skills obtained as members of a Catholic religious order, the sisters innovated cooperation with secular philanthropies. Although nuns have received little attention as leaders in the development of social welfare, Justina and Blandina invented a role for themselves in social work, shaping aid to the poor, especially women. But their integration into the new social welfare bureaucracy, like that of non-Catholic laywomen, came at the cost of female autonomy.


Ionizing Radiation Quantities for Describing the Interaction of Ionizing Radiation with Matter Exponential Attenuation Charged-Particle and Radiation Equilibria Absorbed Dose in Radioactive Media Radioactive Decay Gamma- and X-Ray Interactions in Matter Charged-Particle Interactions in Matter X-Ray Production and Quality Cavity Theory Dosimetry Fundamentals Ionization Chambers Dosimetry and Calibration of Photon and Electron Beams with Cavity Ion Chambers Integrating Dosimeters Dosimetry by Pulse-Mode Detectors Neutron Interactions and Dosimetry References Appendixes Index.


Cancer is the most common genetic disease in humans. It has been estimated that more than 10 million new cancer patients are detected worldwide each year. In the last decades, many efforts have been made by the research community to contribute to the fight against cancer. These works greatly expanded our understanding of the disease. However, the exact mechanisms of cancer initiation and progression remain elusive. The research on cancer genomes has focused on the identification of DNA sequence mutations and chromosomal rearrangements. Some of these somatic alterations can confer a growth advantage to cancer cells and promote cancer development. Mutated genes in cancer genomes can be potential new drug targets or serve as biomarkers for the improvement of diagnostics and therapy.
Today, high-throughput genome-wide profiling technologies allow us to characterize the molecular profiles of cancer samples on various levels, including copy number alterations, gene expression, point mutations and epigenetic marks. Cancer research has gradually shifted from single experiments to large-scale "omics" data analysis approaches. It is an exciting, but challenging work. Our group aims to develop reliable and robust methods to characterize cancer genomes by analyzing large-scale oncogenomic datasets.
During the last 4 years, I have focused my efforts on using systems biology and statistical methods to model and annotate genomic array data in human cancer. My research is based on a data collection and re-analysis project that generates very large amounts of microarray data. Computational biology approaches were applied on this dataset for data mining. We collected more than 40000 arrays, including comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) arrays, from several public databases. A pipeline was developed to process raw data and determine copy number aberrations (CNAs). All data was converted to a unified and structured format, and stored in our arrayMap database, together with available clinical information. We also set up an online website for providing this resource to the research community.
Based on the large-scale CNA data in our database, the second project aimed to explore the correlation between CNAs and local gene density across cancer genomes. Through a genome binning method, I found that focal CNAs are significantly enriched in gene-rich regions. In addition, this positive correlation is not only driven by cancer genes. Since this result is derived from more than 16000 cancer samples, it provides a global insight into the relationship between cancer genome instability and structure from a new perspective. The enrichment reveals that there may be a non-neutral selection pressure for CNA regions across the genome. The observed significant positive correlation in this project may enable a better elucidation of mechanisms by which CNAs contribute to tumor development, and promote a more systematic understanding of cancer.
The third project presented here is related to a new phenomenon, termed "chromothripsis", found in cancer development. In this type of events, contiguous chromosomal regions are fragmented into many pieces, and the cell's DNA repair machinery randomly fuses these segments together to rescue the genome. This is quite different from the classical step-by- step model of cancer development. We developed an algorithm based on scan statistics to automatically detect chromothripsis-like patterns, and identify both size and location of the involved regions. From our input of 22,347 high quality arrays, we identified 918 chromothripsis cases, representing 132 cancer types. The results from this dataset provide several new insights regarding the distribution of chromothripsis-like patterns and a comprehensive estimation of chromothripsis incidence in a large range of cancer entities. Importantly, our work partly overcomes the limitation of individual research projects resulting from the relatively low incidence of chromothripsis in cancer samples available. An investigation into the affected chromosomal regions supports breakage-fusion-bridge cycles as one of the potential underlying mechanisms. Finally, we evaluated the clinical associations of chromothripsis and found that this event may be associated with a poor outcome. The observed chromothripsis events in our project may reflect on heterogenous biological phenomena, and probably vary in their specific impact on oncogenesis. Taken together, the results presented in this thesis characterize the cancer genome by large-scale oncogenomic array data, and further elucidate the potential mechanisms underlying cancer development.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
International long-distance travel increasingly takes elderly and sometimes already ill persons to foreign countries. In case of illness it is usually best, for both medical and social reasons, that the person return home. This study was undertaken to assess possibilities and limits of bringing such patients home by scheduled airline.

PATIENT AND METHODS
The transportation reports and case notes of 95 patients who had been repatriated to Germany in 1995 and 1996 for medical reasons were analysed retrospectively. The mean age was 56 (16-94) years. 50% of the patients had medical, 23% surgical, 19% neurological and 8% psychiatric illnesses.

RESULTS
None of the patients died during transport. The NACA score (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, USA) for determining the degree of severity of an illness (point scale 1-7) in this group of patients was between 1 and 4, median of 3. Five patients with a score of 5 or higher were judged not to be fit for transport. Two were repatriated by ambulance plane, in three transport was postponed by a few days. No invasive procedures, other than providing intravenous access, were necessary.

CONCLUSIONS
Patients who fall ill abroad can be safely and carefully brought home by scheduled airliner over great distances without additional risk caused by the transport. Ambulance planes are needed only in illnesses with an NACA score of 4 or higher.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Our aim was to assess dynamic half-Fourier acquired single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE) MR imaging of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) using parallel imaging, in comparison with static proton density (Pd) imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-four TMJs from 17 subjects (7 volunteers, 10 patients) were imaged in a multichannel head coil on a 1.5T magnet by using a 35-second dynamic sagittal HASTE acquisition (TR/TE, 1180/65 msec; matrix, 128 × 128; section thickness, 7 mm; 30 images) and sagittal oblique Pd in closed- and open-mouthed positions (TR/TE, 1800/12 msec; matrix, 256 × 256; section thickness, 2 mm; 15 sections). Images were reviewed by 3 readers and rated for confidence of disk position, presence of motion artifact, range of motion, and presence of disk displacement on a 5-point scale. Consensus review of cases was also performed to assess disk dislocation and limited range of motion. RESULTS: More static examinations were rated as having motion artifact (19.6% versus 6.9%, P = .016), limited range of motion (30.4% versus 17.7%, P = .016), and disk dislocations (31.4% versus 22.6%, P = .071). Confidence ratings were higher on dynamic examinations (4.11 versus 3.74, P = .018). Chi-squared tests demonstrated no significant difference in consensus reviews of the 2 examination types. CONCLUSION: Dynamic HASTE TMJ MR imaging is a time-efficient adjunct to standard MR imaging protocols, producing fewer motion artifacts, additional range of motion information, and a dynamic assessment of disk position, when compared with static imaging. Further study is needed to evaluate the role of this sequence in diagnosing disk displacement.


Hi! In order to write an outstanding paper, the first thing is you have to have outstanding data. But even the best researchers don9t only have great data, a lot of their stuff is going to be "just good". But you still want to make the paper as good as it possibly can be, given what the data are. So I am going to talk about how to write the best possible paper, given the data are what they are. First lesson: Lesson #1: Be realistic about how good the data really are. You yourself are probably standing too close to it to make a good judgement, so ask you supervisor or a more senior colleague what they think. Presentations at congresses are great opportunities to get feedback. If people aren9t giving you much feedback, then you did not ask for it clearly enough, you did not explain your study well, or they didn9t like it and don9t want to be unkind. You must find out which it is. Because it takes years of experience and many published papers to get the hang of it, the second lesson is: Lesson #2: Present the data first at a meeting (as a poster or orally) before you write the paper. This will also force you to write an outstanding abstract, which is the first step to writing an outstanding paper. Obviously you can start writing the full paper while you are preparing for the meeting, but don9t finalize it until you have received some feedback. Lesson #3: Remember, the most important thing with a science paper are the data. Start by deciding on which data to show and in what format. Select tables and figures, perhaps three of each, as the "skeleton" of your paper. Next you have to decide where you would like to submit. If you have truly outstanding data you will probably aim for a general medical or science journal – this will not happen very often. But in that case you will have to write for a wide audience and that means explaining the disease this refers to and why you did what you did and what it means in the wider context. By contrast, if your data are good but not quite good enough for the top general journals then you could consider the top rheumatology journals (ARD being #1) and then you should not start the paper with a long discourse of what RA is or how SLE is treated or whatever. Then you can go straight to the matter at hand. Lesson #4: decide where you are going to submit before you start writing. Submitting to a high-ranked journal is a good strategy but you have to prepare yourself for disappointment: the acceptance rate will be 15% at best. Lessen #5: Don9t get discouraged! Nowadays there are all kinds of guidelines on how to format the paper correctly. All journals indicate these on their home pages. Yes you should follow these but remember that in the end the paper will be read by a human being so you also have to make it a good story. Lesson #6: Write in good, normal English sentences, not too casually but also not too bureaucratically. If English is not your language you do need to ask someone for help with this. Compare your draft to articles published in the journal you are aiming for. Lesson #7: Pay special attention to the abstract, and the tables and the figures. Reviewers are shown the abstract when asked whether they are willing to do the review or not, so if the abstract sounds interesting and good you are more likely to get better reviewers looking at it (and a faster turnaround). And even once the reviewer has agreed and has received the full paper they will probably still begin by reading the abstract, then look at the tables and figures, and then read the full text of the paper. Finally, if you work in a small field it is quite likely that the reviewers will have publications in that same field. Please make sure to be as generous as you can be in citing other scientists with work that is relevant, in the Introduction or Discussion sections of your paper. Lesson #8: "Flattery will get you everywhere." – Professor Hal Holman, Stanford University Disclosure of Interest R. van Vollenhoven Grant/research support from: AbbVie, BMS, GSK, Pfizer, Roche, UCB, Consultant for: AbbVie, Biotest, BMS, Crescendo, GSK, Janssen, Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, Roche, UCB, Vertex


historically, the budget is rooted in the development of representative government; but recently in different nations, dictatorial powers have been assumed by the executive branch. For example, in Italy the old parliamentary power has been almost entirely subordinated to the Dictator and the Fascist Grand Council. The Hitler government in Germany has been vested with sole responsibility for the authorization of the budget for a period of four years. In the chapter, &dquo;The~Budget As a Financia 1 Plan,&dquo; the author asserts that one of the cardinal principles to be observed in formulating a budget is that of equilibrium,


The purpose of this article is to understand the nature of large-scale organizational change within amateur sport through the analysis of a merger between two hockey organizations. This study expands upon the research on Canadian national sport organizations established by Kikulis, Slack, and Hinings (1992) by identifying a new archetype—the Amateur Sport Enterprise. In particular, the study presents a case analysis of the 1994 merger between the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and Hockey Canada to form the Canadian Hockey Association . The results of the qualitative case study revealed that, contrary to previous notions of archetype coherence, aspects of competing archetypes might coexist within an organizational form or, more specifically, within particular elements of an organizational form. The characteristics of the Amateur Sport Enterprise archetype are discussed and implications for future sport management research are addressed.


This article reports on a qualitative monographic study that looked at the role of the spouse of a small business owner in occupational health and safety risk management. In this specific context, characterised by weakly polarised social relations, the owner often finds it difficult to create a profile for themselves in order to deploy a risk prevention plan. This study was carried out in a French company with fewer than 50 employees and aimed to follow the progress of a process that began with the company owner becoming aware of his statutory obligations and ended with the operationalization of risk prevention in the field. Although programmes designed to raise the awareness of business owners of their regulatory obligations have been well documented, little is known about their sustainability. The study was carried out in the construction sector, which is known to be particularly accident-prone and highlights the means deployed by the spouse of the owner to carry out her mission, and the organisational and symbolic difficulties that she came up against. Through an intervention approach, where the researcher implements management tools and co-produces knowledge with the company's actors during the intervention, this study throws new light on the change resistance mechanisms at work and the spouse's limited ability to take action in dealing with these issues.


Introduction : Multidrug-resistant bacteria (MRB) are a seriously growing public health threat.

Objectives: Characterize patients with MRB isolations, namely their risk factors. Evaluate frequency of MRB species. Assess influence of antibiotic (AB) therapy towards length of hospital stay (LOS) and mortality.

Methods: Retrospective identification of patients with MRB isolations admitted to Respiratory Insufficiency Unit (RIU) from Feb/10 to Jun/11, followed by medical records' analysis.

Results: MRB were isolated from 32 patients: male sex — 56.3%; mean age — 74.5 years; chronic respiratory disease — 81.3%; comorbidities — 93.8%, of which 65.6% were immunodepressions. Some (37.5%) were transferred to RIU with an average previous LOS of 42.3 days. At RIU admission 96.9% were/had been on AB and 40.6% had been discharged, in the previous month. 71.9% underwent invasive techniques.There were 44 MRB isolations: MRSA — 45.5%; Acinetobacter baumannii — 29.5%; Escherichia coli , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecium — ≤ 9.1% each. Pathogen directed-AB was introduced in 29 isolates (65.9%), but only 11 (37.9%) underwent post-AB control and only 3 of these (27.3%) became negative.There were 14 (43.8%) deaths, 78.6% due to infectious causes, of which 54.5% were attributed to MRB. We found no statistically significant differences between death and survival groups, however LOS was significantly longer in patients who had >1 isolation and whose post-AB control remained positive.

Conclusions: Every patient had at least 1 risk factor for infection. MRSA predominated. MRB were difficult to eradicate and responsible for a high mortality rate.


Long-term treatment with interferon (IFN) alfa plus ribavirin decreases the proviral human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) DNA level. However, the short-term impact of IFN alfa on persistent HIV and its effects on immune activation after antiretroviral therapy remain unknown. Our study showed that the cell-associated HIV RNA level and CD4(+) T-cell activation decreased in the IFN group (n = 10). No changes were detected in levels of residual plasma viremia, replication-competent reservoirs, proviral DNA, or 2-long-terminal repeat circles, although APOBEC3G, TRIM5α, BST2, and TRIM22 were upregulated in the IFN group. These data suggest that short-term treatment with IFN alfa combined with RBV decreases HIV expression, in part through inhibition of HIV transcription by TRIM22 and decrease in T-cell activation.


Background: Salinization is an important global environmental problem influencing sustainable development of terrestrial ecosystems. Salt-tolerant halophytes are often used as a promising approach to remedy the saline soils. Yet, how halophytes affect rhizosphere microbial diversity, and microbes' association and functions in saline ecosystems remains unclear, restricting our ability to assess plant fitness to salt stress and to remediate saline ecosystems. Herein, we examined bacterial and fungal diversities, compositions, and co-occurrence networks in the rhizospheres of six halophytes and bulk soils in a semiarid inland saline ecosystem. We also established the relationship of microbial structure and network complexity to microbial functions.Results: The microbial communities in rhizospheres were more diverse and complex than those the bulk soils. The connections of taxa in the rhizosphere microbial communities increased with fungi-fungi and bacteria-fungi connections and fungal diversity, but decreased with bacteria-bacteria connections and bacterial diversity. The proportion of the fungi-related central connections were larger in the rhizospheres (13-73%) than the bulk soils (3%). Additionally, fungi accounted for 27-63% of the keystone taxa identified in the microbial co-occurrence networks present in the rhizospheres, whereas the keystone taxa identified in the bulk soils were all bacteria/archaea. Moreover, microbial activity and residues were significantly higher in the halophyte rhizospheres than the bulk soils, and were significantly correlated with microbial composition and co-occurrence network complexity.Conclusions: These results indicated that halophytes shaped rhizosphere microbiomes and increased microbial diversity and network complexity in inland saline ecosystem, while fungi enhanced rhizosphere microbiota associations. The increased microbial network complexity contributed to the higher microbial functions in rhizosphere soils.


A thermodynamic theory is developed for equilibrium 180° stripe domains in ferroelectric thin films on insulating substrates. Such stripe domains form to minimize the energy of the depolarizing field, and lead to a suppression of TC in thin films. Expressions including depolarizing field and domain wall energy are developed and applied to coherently strained PbTiO3 films on SrTiO3 substrates, with an upper boundary condition of either a dielectric (SrTiO3), a conductor, or vacuum. An elastic solution appropriate for epitaxially strained stripe domains and 180° domain walls is presented. We minimize the full nonlinear free energy using a numerical technique to obtain equilibrium polarization and field distributions, and determine the equilibrium stripe period as a function of temperature and film thickness for each upper boundary condition. While the stripe periods found agree reasonably well with the existing analytical solution using a linearized free energy, the suppression of TC as film thickness decre...


Varicocele is classified as grade I-III regarding its severity. This study was aimed to determine the correlation between height and weight with varicocele grade in 18-30 years age group. We enrolled 400 persons aged 18-30 years referred to the specialist's clinics of Tabriz Medical Sciences University or Medical Commission Since Sep. 2004 to Mar. 2005. First we divided the volunteers in two groups including Varicocele Group and Non-varicocele Group, then varicocele patients were classified to three grades considering the severity of the disease: severe (Grade III), moderate (Grade II) and mild (Grade I). Finally, the correlation between height, weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) was evaluated. There was a significant relation between height and grades of left-side varicocele; in other words the severity of disease was increased with height (p = 0.004). Also, height increased the prevalence ofvaricocele (p = 0.011). On the other hand, low weight and BMI increased the prevalence of varicocele (p = 0.000, p = 0.004) but did not affect the severity of disease (p = 0.364, p = 0.172). In conclusion, the height of patients directly affected the prevalence and severity of left-side varicocele which probably is related to length of left internal spermatic veins in these patients and increased hydrostatic pressure in taller patients. Also, the weight and BMI is effective on the prevalence of varicocele. It seems that slim and tall persons will benefit from evaluation while puberty.


Enhancing longevity by reducing involuntary culling and consequently increasing productive life
and lifetime production of dairy cows is not only a strategy to improve a farm's profit, but is also
related to improved animal welfare. High rates of involuntary culling in dairy cows are currently
attributed to fertility problems, mastitis and locomotive disorders. Disease incidence is high in
particular in the early-lactation period. The high disease incidence in early lactation has been
attributed to metabolic stress related to the high metabolic priority for lactation and the inability
of the cow to adapt effectively to the new lactation. Several biological mechanisms interact in the
peripartum period of dairy cows and can result in this inability to adapt effectively to lactation.
Biological mechanisms reviewed are metabolic adaptation, oxidative stress, immune function and
inflammation, and feed intake capacity. Although relationships between these mechanisms become
increasingly clear, these relationships are complex and not yet completely understood. Appro-
priate management of dairy cows in the peripartum period can facilitate cows to adapt to a new
lactation. Nutritional and management strategies to ease adaptation are divided into strategies to
restrict energy intake in the dry period, to improve energy intake in early lactation, alter repar-
titioning of energy between milk and body tissue, and strategies to support fat or carbohydrate
metabolism. The success of various strategies, however, is often hampered by the complexity of
interactions and high between-cow variation. We advocate for a multidisciplinary approach to
understand and manage adaptation to a new lactation aiming at an improvement of cow welfare
and longevity


It is well recognized that the complementary use of X-ray and neutron small-angle scattering methods serve us fruitful information on nano-scale structures of materials at different phases, especially for systems composed of different components in solutions. This report briefly reviews some recent applications of X-ray and neutron scattering methods of the solutions of lipid mixtures composed of glycosphingolipid, cholesterol and phospholipid. The applications presented here would be very useful and feasible for studies of membrane interfaces in many cases. One of the most promising methods, called "spin contrast variation", is also introduced in comparison with other conventional methods.


The work presents the standing stabilization of a compliant humanoid robot against external force disturbances and variations of the terrain inclination. The novel contribution is the proposed control scheme which consists of three strategies named compliance control in the transversal plane, body attitude control, and potential energy control, all combined with the intrinsic passive compliance in the robot. The physical compliant elements of the robot are exploited to react at the first instance of the impact while the active compliance control is applied to further absorb the impact and dissipate the elastic energy stored in springs preventing the high rate of spring recoil. The body attitude controller meanwhile regulates the spin angular momentum to provide more agile reactions by changing body inclination. The potential energy control module constrains the robot center of mass (COM) in a virtual slope to convert the excessive kinetic energy into potential energy to prevent falling. Experiments were carried out with the proposed balance stabilization control demonstrating superior balance performance. The compliant humanoid was capable of recovering from external force disturbances and moderate or even abrupt variations of the terrain inclination. Experimental data such as the impulse forces, real COM, center of pressure (COP) and the spring elastic energy are presented and analyzed.


We report on a large number of laboratory market experiments demonstrating that a market bubble can be reduced under the following conditions: 1) a low initial liquidity level, i.e., less total cash than value of total shares, 2) deferred dividends, and 3) a bid-ask book that is open to traders. Conversely, a large bubble arises when the opposite conditions exist. The first part of the article is comprised of twenty-five experiments with varying levels of total cash endowment per share (liquidity level), payment or deferral of dividends and an open or closed bid-ask book. We find that the liquidity level has a very strong influence on the mean and maximum prices during an experiment (P < 1/10,000). These results suggest that within the framework of the classical bubble experiments (dividends distributed after each period and closed book), each dollar per share of additional cash results in a maximum price that is $1 per share higher. There is also limited statistical support for the theory that deferred dividends (which also lower the cash per share during much of the experiment) and an open book lead to a reduced bubble. The three factors taken together show a striking difference in the median magnitude of the bubble ($7.30 versus $0.22 for the maximum deviation from fundamental value). Another set of twelve experiments features a single dividend at the end of fifteen trading periods and establishes a 0.8 correlation between price and liquidity during the early periods of the experiments. As a result, calibration of prices and evolution toward equilibrium price as a function of liquidity are possible.


Scholars have advanced many different interpretations of Aristotle's discussion of "the naturally just" in the Nicomachean Ethics. Most of these interpretations, however, pay insufficient attention to the context into which Aristotle introduces the concept, and in particular to Aristotle's discussion of political justice, of which "the naturally just" is only a part. This paper seeks to recover that context and to offer a new interpretation of "the naturally just" as the part of political justice that is derived from the nature of republican politics, rather than from the agreement of fellow citizens.


Vortex combined sewer overtlow (CSO) structures with a peripheral spill weir are sometimes used within UK sewerage systems for the prevention of tlooding and the retention of pollutants within the sewer system. The velocity distribution within such a CSO chamber has been simulated using the 3D mathematical model FLUENT. Similarly the particle tracking routine of FLUENT has been utilised to predict the trajectory and final destination (treatment or spill) of individual particles with known size and terminal velocity which were introduced within the intlow to the chamber. From this data it has been possible to predict the solids separation retention efficiency for these particles and the results have been compared with previously published experimental data. Some agreement was observed between the two sets of results. The paper is concluded by a discussion concerning the capability and limitations of the FLUENT model to predict the hydraulic and pollutant retention performance of a Vortex CSO chamber.


Background: The infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is highly contagious and causes the death of millions of people globally. Preventive measures related to Covid-19 are the firm foundation in fighting the infection. Nurses in the frontline of healthcare systems are at the greatest risk of exposure to Covid-19 therefore, they need high preparedness for success in struggles against it.
Aims of the study: This study aims to evaluate the level of nurses' knowledge and attitudes about infection prevention and control concerning Covid-19 in emergency units of government hospitals in Baghdad city / Iraq.
Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study based on survey design is conducted through the period of November 2th 2020 to March 10th 2021 to evaluate nurses' knowledge and attitudes about the prevention of the Covid-19 at emergency units in government hospitals in the city of Baghdad / Iraq. The study sample was purposive (non-probability) sample (Eight hundred and seventeen) nurses, By the Self-administered questionnaire (SAQs) method; data of the study were collected. The survey was included all three major governmental health institutions hospitals (AlRusafa, Alkarkh, and Medical city) in Baghdad city / Iraq.
Results: The results demonstrated the significant relationship between nurses' knowledge level and variables of age group, experience in work, sites of Hospitals and female gender. Also, the study indicated that insufficient knowledge of the participants and a high positive level of their attitudes regarding the prevention of Covid-19 in emergency units in the city of Baghdad. However, the overall assessment of the knowledge and attitudes of the nurses was high when it was computed together.
Conclusion: The nurses at emergency units (front lines) haven't sufficient knowledge about Covid-19 and its prevention, which affects their preparations in the fight against the epidemic.
Recommendations: The study recommends that nurses develop their knowledge and continue to improve positive attitudes about infection prevention and control towards Covid-19.


Objective Duloxetine hydrochloride is a selective serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. It is approved for effective treatment for major depressive disorder. The pharmacokinetics (PK) of duloxetine has been studied, but few pharmacokinetics properties in Chinese subjects are available. This study explored the dose proportionality and determined duloxetine levels in human plasma by comparing the PK properties after administration of single or multiple doses in healthy volunteers. Methods Thirty-six subjects were divided randomly into three groups and received a single dose of 15, 30, or 60 mg duloxetine. Those who received 30 mg continued on to the multiple-dose phase and received 30 mg daily for 7 days. Liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy was applied to determine concentrations. The PK properties were calculated and included maximum plasma concentration (Cmax), time when maximum plasma concentration was reached (Tmax), time when half-maximum plasma concentration was reached (t1/2), area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time zero to the last measurable concentration (AUC0-t), mean concentration levels (AUC0-∞), and apparent total clearance of the drug from plasma after oral administration (CL/F). Results The standard calibration curve was linear in the concentration range 0.11-112 ng/ml (r>0.992). Linear PK properties were found at doses of 15-60 mg. The Cmax and AUC were proportional to dose, but the Tmax and t1/2 did not increase with increasing dose. Conclusion No significant differences in the PK parameters were found among the three groups during the single-dose phase. The AUC and Cmax were greater in the multiple-dose phase, indicating duloxetine accumulation following multiple-dose administration.


Bridge local scour involves extremely complex interactions among the flow, the sediments, and the pier. Our understanding of the underlying mechanism, especially at the microscale, is far from complete. The newly emerged multiphase numerical simulation overcomes the technical limitations imposed on physical experiments. To advance knowledge of the sediment dynamics under turbulent junction flows, this paper employed a CFD-DEM two-way coupled numerical model to simulate the local scour behavior of uniform spherical mass particles around an oblong pier. In this coupled system, the flow phase was described as a continuum by a detached eddy simulation (DES) model, and motion of the discrete particles was governed by Newton's laws of motion (DEM). The flow–sediment interactions were directly considered through the momentum exchange between the two phases. The two-way coupled model was shown to successfully capture microscopic sediment dynamics similar to those observed in the literature. Sediment grains in the bed-load layer were shown to be eroded in the form of sliding and saltation. The erosional forces acting on two representative target particles, together with their correspondent motions/trajectories, provide valuable insights into the mechanism that dictates the scour initiation.


One of the destructive factors in denotation scene details from the Synthetic Aperture radar images is the presence of speckle noise in it. Different method of image denoising have been proposed using the Sparse Representation (SR) Technique, which, eliminates the noise of the image properly by preserving details. Because of the Computational Complexity of these methods and the large dimensions of SAR images, their use in SAR images is challenging. This paper presents a new method in SAR image denoising by SR that reduce run time with preservation of image quality. In this method, the denoising performs in two step. Firstly, the image is filtered using a simple denoising method, and the removed details is then retrieved using the SR technique and added to the filtered image. By retrieving details from the heterogeneous regions of the image and using random sampling matrix in reconstruction image, the processing volume and the required memory in using SR technique are reduced. Simulation results show that this method, with preservation of image quality, has an operating time of about 0.2 of other methods.


We studied whether the serum levels of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor(sTNFR) type I or II correlate with clinical progression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1(HIV-1) infection. Serum levels of sTNFR type I and II were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in sixty five patients with HIV-1 infected hemophiliacs and 10 healthy controls. In a longitudinal study, we assessed whether the decline of CD4+ lymphocyte counts were associated with increased serum concentrations of sTNFRs. Elevated serum concentrations of sTNFRs were found among the HIV-1 infected patients and higher in patients with advanced clinical stage. We noticed there were two distinct patient groups in change of CD4+ lymphocyte count when twenty-eight patients were followed retrospectively for a median period of 65 months. 14 patients represented stable CD4+ lymphocyte counts, but another 14 patients had more than 40% decrease of CD4+ lymphocyte counts over the course of this study. Serum sTNFR type II levels were 3.49 +/- 0.71 to 3.11 +/- 0.31 ng/ml in the former group, and 4.88 +/- 0.91 to 4.26 +/- 0.71 ng/ml in the latter group during the study. Significantly higher levels of sTNFR type II were already revealed at early time in the latter group. There was, however, no significant difference in the level of sTNFR type I between the two. These results suggest that serum levels of sTNFR type II provided useful information as a predictor of disease progression related to the decline of CD4+ lymphocyte counts.


ABSTRACT Huang, X.; Chen, Y., and Fang, G., 2018. Optimal allocation model of water resources in tidal flat development of coastal areas. In: Wang, D. and Guido-Aldana, P.A. (eds.), Select Proceedings from the 3rd International Conference on Water Resource and Environment (WRE2017). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 84, pp. 89–93. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. As a result of economic and population development in coastal areas, the conflict of water utilization is becoming increasingly serious. To ensure rational utilization, the optimal allocation model of water resources was constructed for the development of coastal tidal flats based on the analysis of the coastal area development model. The goal of optimal allocation was to achieve optimal economic, social, and ecological benefits under the conditions of coordinated use of water and soil resources. Due to the complexity of the water resources system, the model used various land areas, in addition to economic, social, and ecological data, to establish target measures, and a multi-objective genetic algorithm was used to solve the problem. Following each iteration, individuals' fitness was ranked and constantly updated according to population evolution, since individuals learn from the fittest and genes are improved accordingly. The coastal area of Dongtai in Jiangsu province, China, was considered a case study, in which the scheme of the city's water resources was optimized. The optimal allocation results show that by 2020, the agricultural and construction land will have increased, and the unused land will decrease, with the construction land area being 36185 hm2; thus, conforming to the future trend of Dongtai land utilization. The results verify the rationality and feasibility of the model and the algorithm, which provides ideas and experience for the optimal allocation of water resources during beach development in coastal areas.


Background: Performing root canal treatment is complex and requires the development of psychomotor skills adapted to working without the advantage of vision. Students have allocated special importance to preclinical training in helping them acquire these skills. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the influence of exposure to additional preclinical training on undergraduate students' confidence level and clinical performance defined by technical quality and quantity of root canal treatment. Methods: Clinical root canal treatment performed by a cohort of fifth-year undergraduate dental students was followed after half of them attended an additional (elective) endodontic preclinical course the year before. Root canal treatment was radiographically evaluated according to root canal filling length, density and presence of procedural errors. Technical quality and quantity of root canal treatment performed by students who had attended the elective course (attendees) and non-attendees, were compared. All students were also invited to participate in a survey to rate their undergraduate endodontic training and confidence levels performing root canal treatment. Statistical analysis of data was performed using Person chi-square test, Fisher Freeman Halton exact test, and T-test. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: No significant difference between the two groups in overall root canal treatment quality (p=0.619) was found. Although elective attendees performed significantly less procedural errors (p=0.004), non-attendees completed more root canal treatments (p=0.012). Despite, no significant difference in the reported level of confidence between the attendees and the non-attendees, significantly more elective attendees rated their undergraduate endodontic training as adequate (p=0.002).Conclusion: While there was no significant difference in overall technical quality of root canal treatment, nor confidence levels, between both groups, undergraduate students who attended additional preclinical training performed significantly fewer procedural errors. Furthermore, students who attended additional preclinical training were more satisfied with their undergraduate endodontic education.


In our days, when environmental protection and low petroleum consumption are the top priorities of a marine engineer and a naval architect, the design and construction of fully optimized engines, smart installations and exploitation of the highest percentage of energy produced is required. As a result innovations, optimization, new concept design and simulation play a significant role in marine industry. Although 93% of the world's trade is done by ships and by the year 2011 the emissions of CO2 will contribute to 4% of world's CO2 emissions as well as 37% and 28% of NOx¬ and SOx emissions respectively, the marine sector is targeted. The problem of high emissions exists, when the engine operates in the non optimum condition, a percentage relevant to engine's MCR, tuned by the engine manufacturer. This means that in transient load (project SMOKERMEN, 2002; project HERCULES, 2007) large amounts of smoke, particle matter, NOx and SOx hazardous gasses are produced. Two stroke engines on board ships are directly coupled to the propeller using a rotating shaft. While ships operate in constantly changing environment and chartering commands change during voyage, propulsion unit have to adapt its speed and produced torque. Therefore engine loading changes to less efficient points and the SFOC is increased. Meanwhile, temperature of combustion and pressure differ from the most efficient and connected to them formulation of NOx increases along with increase in SOx, CO2¬ and smoke. Our work is based on real operational data provided by a Greek maritime corporation with a fleet of 65 cargo ships. The obtained data contains information from 3 Post Panamax new built sister vessels, regarding fuel consumption, engine loading, weather and sea conditions along with bunker characteristics (e.g. Sulphur percentage). Phase one of the project is separated into 3 parts. The first part includes worldwide adopted methods for emission calculation. Project utilizes the "activity based method" (NTUA - Laboratory of Marine Transportations, 2008) which uses proper emission factors taken from relevant literature (VDMA Engines and Systems, 2008; MARPOL, 2005; EMEP/ CORINAIR, 2000). The second part, utilizes the voyage data of the vessels, correlates the consumption and engine loading with the weather characteristics. Furthermore, applies the assumption of constant loading of diesel engines and the existence of storage medium in order to estimate the fuel savings of the hybrid vessel. At the third part, industrial and market research was performed to find the proper storage medium. As first step, batteries were examined and different types were compared, judging by their energy density, weight, operational factors and restrictions. Also a proposal for sizing the alternative propulsion system was done and economical assessment was performed. Finally conclusions were discussed and they are summarized below: Hybrid Technology has significant fuel savings that can be increased due to further optimization of Turbochargers and by the operation of engine in smaller margin. Furthermore emission reduction in NOx is successful due to lower combustion temperatures. Moreover, ship design and cargo capacity will be affected making the overall task difficult. Finally, Hybrid Technology is economically feasible and the Internal Rate of Return of investment varies between 4.7% until 20.7% depending on the storage medium type and the availability of kWh.


Penile support has been one of the options that patients with erectile dysfunction expect. However, current products on the market are inconvenient for patients because most existing supports take the form of full support, i.e., from the base of the penis to the coronal (1). Therefore, it is necessary to customize support for each individual patient to match their penis length.


Background: Biliary atresia (BA) is likely caused by a common phenotypic response to various triggers; one proposed trigger, cytomegalovirus (CMV), may lead to worse outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the severity of disease and pretransplant outcomes of infants with BA, who have evidence of CMV (CMV+) at diagnosis compared with CMV-negative (CMV−) infants. Methods: The study used data and biospecimens from the Childhood Liver Disease Research Network PROBE study of cholestatic infants. Plasma obtained at the time of hepatic portoenterostomy (HPE) of 249 infants with BA was tested for CMV by DNA-PCR and CMV-IgM. Comparisons between CMV+ and CMV− infants were made using Wilcoxon rank sum, Student t test, chi-square, or Fisher exact test. Native liver survival (NLS) outcomes were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression adjusting for age at HPE; pretransplant patient survival outcomes were analyzed using a competing risk model and adjusting for age at HPE. Results: CMV+ infants (n = 29, 12%) underwent HPE later (67.8±13.6 d vs. 55.1±18.5 d, p = 0.0005) and had higher baseline alkaline phosphatase and aminotransferases. There was no difference between groups in jaundice clearance or NLS. The subdistribution HR of pretransplant death for CMV+ infants adjusted for age at HPE was 3.8 (p = 0.034). Conclusions: CMV infection at the time of HPE in infants with BA is not associated with worse NLS despite the association with worse liver injury, older age at HPE, and increased risk of pretransplant death adjusted for age at HPE. Continued evaluation of the consequences of CMV infection and the effects of antiviral treatment should be explored.


As power industry evolves into Smart Grid scheme, previously closed power systems are being integrated into public communication networks. It increases the controllability and efficiency of the system, but also accompanies many cyber threats having existed in the Internet to the SCADA system. Therefore it is required to apply security countermeasures to the Smart Grid, which brings about investment costs. There have been few approaches to assess risks from cyber attack especially in electric power industry. So this paper proposes a methodology to assess quantitative impacts of various types of cyber attacks to a power system, and also shows the feasibility of the method through a case study.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SPN) of Tbx20 gene and congenital atrial septal defects (ASD) in the Xinjiang Han population.

METHODS
A total of 214 ASD patients and 382 controls were included in the present study. Two SNPs (rs17675131, rs4720169) in Tbx20 gene were genotyped by TaqMan SNP genotyping method.

RESULTS
The distribution of the rs17675131 of Tbx20 were significantly different between normal controls and ASD patients (P = 0.014), in which both the A/G allele distribution (P = 0.004) and the dominant model (GG vs AG + AA) were significantly different between the 2 groups (P = 0.007, OR = 0.626). Same is true for the rs4720169 SNP. Its genotype showed significantly different distributions between the 2 groups (P = 0.016) specifically for the A/G allele distribution frequencies (P = 0.016) and the recessive model (AA vs AG + GG) (P = 0.008, OR = 1.96). The A-A haplotype was found to be associated with ASD.

CONCLUSION
Both rs17675131 and rs4720169 of Tbx20 gene are associated with congenital ASD in the Xinjiang Han population in China.


Background: Diabetes is associated with loss of skeletal muscle mass and function. Specifically, diabetes may affect the function of oxidative muscle fibers with lower fatigability and higher oxidative capacity in skeletal muscle. The effects of SGLT2 inhibition on skeletal muscle metabolism and function in patients with type 2 diabetes remain unclear.
 Methods: Male db/db (diabetic) and db/+ (non-diabetic) mice at 8 weeks of age were fed a normal chow diet or a diet containing canagliflozin (CANA) for 4 weeks. Grip strength and running distance were assessed during CANA treatment. At the end of CANA treatment, we measured muscle weight and analyzed metabolites in skeletal muscle.
 Results: The weights of the oxidative soleus and glycolytic extensor digitorum longus muscles were reduced by approximately 50% in the diabetic group compared to the non-diabetic group, but neither was altered by CANA treatment. Grip strength did not differ between the CANA-treated diabetic, diabetic, and non-diabetic groups. However, the running distance decreased in the diabetic group compared to the non-diabetic group (89 ± 60 m vs. 1980 ± 276 m). This was partially restored by CANA treatment (89 ± 60 m vs. 415 ± 140 m). Metabolomic analysis revealed that long-chain acyl-CoA increased and medium-chain and short-chain acyl-CoA decreased in diabetic soleus muscle. In contrast, CANA treatment increased medium-chain and short-chain acyl-CoA. Furthermore, CANA increased 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-D-ribofuranosyl 5'-monophosphate (AICARP), an endogenous AMPK activator, by approximately 3-fold in diabetic soleus muscle with increased levels of AMPK phosphorylation (Thr172).
 Conclusion: These results suggest that SGLT2 inhibitors may activate the AICARP/AMPK pathway and improve impaired oxidative muscle function in patients with type 2 diabetes.

 S. Nakamura: None. Y. Miyachi: None. H. Yokomizo: None. H. Otsuka: None. R. Sakamoto: None. M. Takahashi: None. Y. Izumi: None. T. Miyazawa: None. T. Bamba: None. Y. Ogawa: None.


This paper examines the introduction of self managing teams into a high technology workplace. The paper looks at the managerial and organizational implications of developing teams in what was considered a high technology environment where the physical restrictions of manufacture were assumed to dictate working practices. The case study evidence suggests that even in an atmosphere of clean rooms and clear communication difficulties, SMTs can prosper and suggests that it is only the physical boundaries which impede the development of more flexible forms of work organization.


Two new (2 and 3) and a known (1) antimicrobial compounds were isolated from EtOAc extracts of two marine bacterial strains cultured in modified Bennett's broth medium. The structures of these compounds were determined based on the analysis of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), high resolution mass spectroscopy (HRMS), literature data review and considering biogenesis. All the compounds (1–3) demonstrated in vitro antimicrobial activities against selected pathogenic strains.


Cubic Fe3+ centres in NaCl single crystals have been studied with electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) at T=17 K. The superhyperfine (SHF) and quadrupole interactions of the paramagnetic ion with the nearest set of four Cl- anions and the second-nearest set of twelve Na+. Cations have been determined. The results confirm the structural model of an Fe3+ ion at a tetrahedrally symmetric interstitial position with the nearest four Na+ cations missing, as suggested previously from the analysis of the SHF structure of their EPR spectra.


Though it is of prime importance in terms of seismic and tsunami risk, the mechanical behavior of the shallow
(z<5km) domains of accretionary prisms is not well understood. The concomitant progress of mechanical
compaction and diagenetic reactions results in the transformation of a soft sediment into a hard sedimentary rock,
which modifies the rock potential to localize deformation and be involved in slip instabilities.
While it is the major control on diagenetic reactions, the effect of temperature on the mechanical behavior
is not well constrained experimentally. To address this question, we have designed triaxial deformation experiments
in the Paterson rig either at ambient temperature or at 300 C. The tested material includes siltstones
from the Boso Peninsula in Japan (corresponding to the shallow domain of a paleo-accretionary prism), either as
cylindrical cores or as ground powders as well as powders composed principally of smectite. For this material, the
main consequence of the high temperature conditions is to trigger the smectite-to-illite reaction or the smectite
interlayer space collapse.
The first result is that at 300 C, all tested samples show slip instabilities. These instabilities are apparent
as a sudden ( 4s) and large (10 to 45 MPa depending on the starting material and the confining pressure) stress
drop in the macroscopic stress-strain curve, in some cases followed by a rapid restrengthening of the material. In
contrast, no instability was observed for the experiments at ambient temperature. As slip instabilities are activated
by the temperature and occur as well in smectite powders, we attribute these instabilities to the diagenetic reactions
of smectite.
An additional experiment on a powder of smectite where the smectite-to-illite reaction has been inhibited
by cationic exchanges does not show instabilities upon deformation at 300 C. We propose therefore that catastrophic
dehydration of smectite associated with the smectite-to-illite reaction may be responsible for triggering the
instabilities. This catastrophic dehydration is potentially a major control on the genesis of instabilities in natural
conditions, as (1) smectite is a major component of subducted sediments and (2) its transformation into illite may
occur over a large depth range.


In order to study the impacts of channel model parameters on the channel capacity of a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system, a novel method is proposed to explore the channel capacity under Rayleigh flat fading with correlated transmit and correlated receive antennas. The optimal transmitting direction which can achieve maximum channel capacity is derived in detail using random matrices theory. At high SNR, the closed-form expression for the channel capacity of MIMO system is given by using the properties of Wishart distribution. Computer simulation results show that the channel capacity is maximized when the antenna spacing increases to a certain point. At high SNR, the estimation of channel capacity is close to its true value. And when the same array configuration is adopted both at the transmitter and the receiver, the UCA yields higher channel capacity than ULA.


The purpose of this research is to examine the determinants of banking employees' readiness to support the transformation to the full-fledged Islamic banking system in Libya. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and employing survey questionnaires of 323 employees of 10 conventional Libyan banks analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). This research revealed that the readiness of Libyan banks' employees is influenced significantly and positively by attitudinal, religious and subjective norms. Moreover, attitude toward transformation is the most critical factor that determines readiness among bank employees. This indicates that bank employees are willing to support the transformation process toward Islamic banking. Due to the unstable security situation in Libya, this research is confined to two states (Tripoli and Benghazi). Further researches may extend applying the proposed model to other states in the country, which may enhance the generalisability of this research's findings. Overall, this research provides support for the transformation process to Islamic banking as a way to evaluate the readiness of Libyan banking employees for such change. Also, this research emphasizes the importance of undertaking a pre-implementation evaluation of readiness for change in Libyan commercial banks.


Context. This is the first of a series of investigations into far-IR characteristics of 11 planetary nebulae (PNe) under the Herschel Space Observatory open time 1 program, Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS). Aims. Using the HerPlaNS data set, we look into the PN energetics and variations of the physical conditions within the target nebulae. In the present work, we provide an overview of the survey, data acquisition and processing, and resulting data products. Methods. We performed (1) PACS/SPIRE broadband imaging to determine the spatial distribution of the cold dust component in the target PNe and (2) PACS/SPIRE spectral-energy-distribution and line spectroscopy to determine the spatial distribution of the gas component in the target PNe. Results. For the case of NGC 6781, the broadband maps confirm the nearly pole-on barrel structure of the amorphous carbon-rich dust shell and the surrounding halo having temperatures of 26-40 K. The PACS/SPIRE multiposition spectra show spatial variations of far-.IR lines that reflect the physical stratification of the nebula. We demonstrate that spatially resolved far-IR line diagnostics yield the (T-e, n(e)) profiles, from which distributions of ionized, atomic, and molecular gases can be determined. Direct comparison of the dust and gas column mass maps constrained by the HerPlaNS data allows to construct an empirical gas-to-dust mass ratio map, which shows a range of ratios with the median of 195 +/- 110. The present analysis yields estimates of the total mass of the shell to be 0.86 M-circle dot, consisting of 0.54 M-circle dot of ionized gas, 0.12 M-circle dot of atomic gas, 0.2 M-circle dot of molecular gas, and 4 x 10(-3) M-circle dot of dust grains. These estimates' also suggest that the central star of about 1.5 M-circle dot initial mass is terminating its PN evolution onto the white dwarf cooling track. Conclusions. The HerPlaNS data provide various diagnostics for both the dust and gas components in a spatially resolved manner. In the forthcoming papers of the HerPlaNS series we will explore the HerPlaNS data set fully for the entire sample of 11 PNe.


On 5 November 1688, William of Orange landed his force of 40,000 men at Torbay in Devonshire. Over the following month, he marched his troops to London, assuming control of the government as James II fled to France. This "Dutch invasion," in Jonathan Israel's phrase, would in time be reconceived as the "Glorious Revolution." It would become, in other words, a powerful lieu de mémoire, a term coined by French historian Pierre Nora to designate "any significant entity, whether material or non-material in nature, which by dint of human will or the work of time has become a symbolic element of the memorial heritage of any community." According to Nora, lieux de mémoire "emerge in two stages." First, "moments of history" are "plucked out of the flow of history," then are "returned to it," but in an altered state so that they are "no longer quite alive but not yet entirely dead, like shells left on the shore when the sea of living memory has receded." The 1688 Revolution was plucked out of then returned to history in such a way that it became a "symbolic element" not only of "the memorial heritage" of the English nation but of the British empire as well, as it was credited with saving the English nation from tyranny, establishing the rights of individual subjects, and bolstering British power overseas. As G.M. Trevelyan famously pronounced, the "Glorious Revolution" was a "turning-point in the history of our country and of the world." While the Revolution has been the subject of a long and complex historiography, recent work has provided new perspectives on the imperial


New architecture GPUs like A100 are now equipped with multi-instance GPU (MIG) technology, which allows the GPU to be partitioned into multiple small, isolated instances. This technology provides more flexibility for users to support both deep learning training and inference workloads, but efficiently utilizing it can still be challenging. The vision of this paper is to provide a more comprehensive and practical benchmark study for MIG in order to eliminate the need for tedious manual benchmarking and tuning efforts. To achieve this vision, the paper presents MIGPerf, an open-source tool that streamlines the benchmark study for MIG. Using MIGPerf, the authors conduct a series of experiments, including deep learning training and inference characterization on MIG, GPU sharing characterization, and framework compatibility with MIG. The results of these experiments provide new insights and guidance for users to effectively employ MIG, and lay the foundation for further research on the orchestration of hybrid training and inference workloads on MIGs. The code and results are released on https://github.com/MLSysOps/MIGProfiler. This work is still in progress and more results will be published soon.


Macrophage plays a critical part in host defense, tissue repair, and anti-inflammation; Macrophage reprogramming is responsible for disease development or regression. We aimed to clarify the effect of sinomenine-4-hydroxy-palmitate (C16), on macrophage reprogramming and anti-inflammatory in endotoxemia model. According to a structure modification of SIN (Sinomenine), C16 was found. Then, based on the endotoxin model, the mice liver and kidney toxicity was evaluated and serum cytokines level of IL-6 (Interleukin-6), TNF-α (Tumor necrosis factor-α), and IL-1β (Interleukin-1β) were measured by ELISA (Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay). Then, we confirmed the effect of C16 on macrophages reprogramming, we used the flow cytometry to test the effect of C16 on macrophages apoptosis in vitro. Then, iNOS (Inducible nitric oxide synthase), M1-type related cytokines, such as IL-1β, TNF-α, and M2-type related cytokines, such as Arg-1 (Arginase-1), CD206, Fizz1, and Ym1 was detected, which expressed in ANA-1 and primary peritoneal macrophages. To further explore the molecular mechanism of C16 in reprogramming of macrophages from M1 toward M2 phenotype, the expression of STAT1 (signal transducer and activator of Transcription 1), STAT3, ERK1/2 (extracellular signal regulated kinase1/2), AKT, p38, and its corresponding phosphorylation were determined by western blot. Our results demonstrated that C16 improved the survival rate of LPS- (lipopolysaccharide) challenged mice and decreased the inflammatory cytokines expression; After C16 treatment, the expression of M1 phenotype correlation factors decreased significantly, while the expression of M2 phenotype correlation factors increased significantly at different levels compared with normal group. It indicated that C16 reprogram macrophages phenotype from M1 toward M2 following LPS stimulus. Furthermore, the results also showed that C16 showed anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting LPS-induced p38, AKT and STAT1 phosphorylation and contributing ERK1/2 activation. C16 promoted macrophage reprogramming toward M2-like phenotype via p-p38/p-AKT or STAT1 signals pathway and C16 might be a valid candidate for inflammatory disease.


This paper raises the issues faced in edge node design for an agile all-photonic network (AAPN) and proposes solutions. The architecture discussed addresses several issues such as packet processing, traffic aggregation and encapsulation, buffers implementation, local scheduling, QoS provision, traffic monitoring and internal control mechanisms. The main goal of this work is to provide a detailed description of the functional modules considering technologies readily available now or immediately on the horizon


In this paper we study the problem of coverage in heterogeneous planar sensor networks. Coverage as a performance metric, quantifies the quality of monitoring provided by the sensor network. We formulate the problem of coverage as a set intersection problem arising in Integral Geometry, and derive analytical expressions for stochastic coverage. Our formulation allows us to consider a heterogeneous sensing model, where sensors need not have an identical sensing capability. In addition, our approach is applicable to scenarios where the sensing area of each sensor has arbitrary shape and sensors are deployed according to any distribution. We present analytical expressions only for convex sensing areas, however, our results can be generalized to non-convex areas. The validity of our expressions is verified by extensive simulations.


A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma jet of neon (Ne) at atmospheric pressure and room temperatures was arranged under a high frequency ac power supply. We achieved to obtain an atmospheric pressure glow-like discharge in this study. Not only have the effects on various microorganism been reported, but also atmospheric pressure plasma using Ne has been introduced. The microorganism inactivation by means of the non-thermal plasma were studied with eight kinds of typical microorganism, i.e., Esherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Bacillus subtilis, Listeria monocytogenes, Candida albicans and Candida glabrata. Treatment time was selected as 60 s. According to the Ne emission spectra of the plasma jet and the inactivation results of microorganism after the plasma treatment, it can be discussed that the reactive species in the Ne plasma had an important role in the inactivation of microorganism.


Canine monocytic ehrlichiosis is a vector-borne disease that can induce renal failure in dogs. In this study we aimed to describe the potential diagnostic efficiency of CRP and suPAR in dogs infected with E. canis and the association between suPAR and CRP with renal failure. For this purpose, the study consisted of a total of 17 dogs, 8 of infected with E. canis and 9 of healty. For evaluating renal failure, plasma urea-creatinine and UPC were determined and also measurements of plasma CRP and suPAR were analysed with ELISA test kits. Mean CRP, suPAR, urea, creatinine and UPC levels of the infected dogs were significantly higher compared with healthy ones (P<0.01) but the correlation of all parameters with each group was not significant (P>0.05). As to be a result of ROC curve analysis and Youden's index, the cut-off values for diagnosis of ehrlichiosis were identified to be 9.68 mg/L for CRP and 168.2 ng/L for suPAR. Furthermore, the specificity and sensitivity of both markers according as a potential biomarkers cut-off values were determined higher. In conclusion, traditionally CRP and currently suPAR can be considered as potential biomarkers and have a diagnostic significance following inflammation in canine ehrlichiosis.


Background: At our institution, we noted that children with hematologic malignancies and solid tumors often suffered from ingrown toenails (IGTNs) during hospitalization for chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. However, only few reports have dealt with IGTNs in the above setting. Procedure: Between August 2007 and July 2017, 180 children who received treatment for hematologic malignancies and solid tumors at our institute were enrolled in this study. Twelve patients with insufficient data and 7 patients with past histories of IGTNs were excluded. A total of 161 patients were analyzed. Median age at admission was 7.9 years (range, 1.0 to 25.4 y), with 92 males and 69 females. Diagnoses were hematologic diseases in 128 patients, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in 75 patients, and solid tumors in 33 patients. Results: A total of 22 patients (13.7%) suffered from IGTNs (or toe paronychia) during hospitalization. Multivariable analysis disclosed a strong correlation between the occurrence of IGTNs and older age (over 9.0 y) and ALL. Conclusions: Patient-related factors, such as age over 9 years and ALL were associated with IGTNs. This is the first report of a survey on IGTNs in patients with hematologic malignancies and solid tumors hospitalized for chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation.


The fracture resistance and tensile properties of Y2O3 oxide dispersion strengthened steel containing 9 wt% Cr (9Cr-ODS) were measured at various temperatures up to 700C. The fracture characteristics were compared with those of commercial E911 ferritic/martensitic steel. The strength of 9Cr-ODS was at least 30% higher than that of E911 steel at the test temperatures below 500C. The strength difference between the two materials was almost diminished at 700C. 9Cr-ODS showed cleavage fracture behavior at room temperature and unstable crack growth behaviors at 300C and 500C. The J-R fracture resistance of 9Cr-ODS was much lower than that of E911 steel at all temperatures. It was deduced that the coarse Cr2O3 particles that were formed during the alloying process provided the crack initiation sites of cleavage fracture in 9Cr-ODS. (Received October 5, 2011)


A classical lattice model for closed-loop temperature-composition phase diagrams has been developed. It considers the effect of specific interactions, such as hydrogen bonding, between dissimilar components. This van Laar-type model includes a Flory-Huggins term for the excess entropy of mixing. It is applied to several liquid-liquid equilibria of nonelectrolytes, where the molecules of the two components differ in size. The model is able to represent the observed data semi-quantitatively, but in most cases it is not flexible enough to predict all parts of the closed loop quantitatively. The ability of the model to represent different binary systems is discussed. Finally, attention is given to a correction term, concerning the effect of concentration fluctuations near the upper critical solution temperature.


This work encompassed the development for a frequency-domain impedance and dielectric spectrometer using ubiquitous test and measurement equipment, i.e., signal generators and digital oscilloscopes. Various methods of amplification, noise rejection, and computations were employed to achieve the desired goals. The frequency range of 100 mHz-1 MHz was tested using air capacitors of 3.7 and 14.5 pF and an applied voltage range of 10-300 mV. The multichannel instrument produced a stable and reproducible dual-phase (real and imaginary or magnitude and phase) current sensitivity of 250 fA with an average phase stability of less than 0.5 degrees (tan delta<10(-2)) and a single-phase (magnitude only) current sensitivity of 60 fA.


A preparative technique to obtain water soluble C60-liposome by means of molecular package of C60 with lecithin has been established. The concentration of C60 presented in liposome is 1.09 × 10-4 mol/dm3. The molecular system of C60-liposome with human cervix cancer cells is irradiated with laser (570 nm, 800 mW), there is obvious biological effect of C60 to huma cervix cancer cells.


The mammalian circadian system comprises a network of endogenous oscillators, spanning from the central clock in the brain to peripheral clocks in other organs. These clocks are tightly coordinated to orchestrate rhythmic physiological and behavioral functions. Dysregulation of these rhythms is a hallmark of aging, yet it remains unclear how age-related changes lead to more easily disrupted circadian rhythms. Using a two-population model of coupled oscillators that integrates the central clock and the peripheral clocks, we derive simple mean-field equations that can capture many aspects of the rich behavior found in the mammalian circadian system. We focus on three age-associated effects that have been posited to contribute to circadian misalignment: attenuated input from the sympathetic pathway, reduced responsiveness to light, and a decline in the expression of neurotransmitters. We find that the first two factors can significantly impede re-entrainment of the clocks following perturbation, while a weaker coupling within the central clock does not affect the recovery rate. Moreover, using our minimal model, we demonstrate the potential of using the feed-fast cycle as an effective intervention to accelerate circadian re-entrainment. These results highlight the importance of peripheral clocks in regulating the circadian rhythm and provide fresh insights into the complex interplay between aging and the resilience of the circadian system.


Data Center Network architectures (DCN) are evolving for increased scalability, performance, and low network complexity. In this paper, we propose HyScale, a switch-centric DCN architecture using hybrid optical networks. HyScale employs Optical Burst Switching and Optical Circuit Switching technologies for transmitting low and high volumes of data respectively in a data center. The proposed architecture is highly scalable, recursively defined, fault-tolerant, and has low network complexity. It also has a multitude of desirable graph-theoretic properties like high bisection width, and low diameter. By exploiting the structural properties of HyScale, we propose a highly efficient and simple routing scheme. In our experiments, the proposed routing scheme gives a lower packet loss ratio by an average of 23% as compared to the Shortest Path Routing with almost negligible increase in the length of the routes.


Advances in information technology are hindered by energy dissipation from Joule losses associated with charge transport. In contrast, the process of information based on spin waves propagation (magnons) in magnetic materials is dissipationless. Low damping of spin wave excitations is essential to control the propagation length of magnons. Ferrimagnetic Y3Fe5O12 garnets (YIG) exhibit the lowest magnetic damping constants. However, to attain the lowest damping constant, epitaxial growth of YIG on single crystal substrates of Gd3Ga5O12 at elevated temperatures is required, which hinders their CMOS integration in electronic devices. Furthermore, their low saturation magnetization and magnetocrystalline anisotropy are challenging for nanoscale device applications. In the search for alternative material systems, polycrystalline ferromagnetic Co25Fe75 alloy films and ferrimagnetic spinel ferrites, such as MgAl0.5Fe1.5O4 (MAFO), have emerged as potential candidates. Their damping constants are comparable, although they are at least one order of magnitude higher than YIG's. However, Co25Fe75 alloy thin film growth is CMOS compatible, and its magnon diffusion length is 20× longer than in MAFO. In addition, MAFO requires epitaxial growth on lattice-matched MgAl2O4 substrates. We discuss the material properties that control the Gilbert damping constant in CoxFe1−x alloys and MAFO and conclude that CoxFe1−x alloy thin films bring us closer to the realization of the exploitation of spin waves for magnonics.


Abstract : This report describes the design rationale and development of special, high-temperature braze systems for joining titanium and titanium alloys, suitable for long term aerospace application to 800 F. Candidate braze alloy designs were substrate-compatible, low-melting (1650-1750 F) compositions within the metallurgically similar Ti, Zr-, Ti-Zr, Ti-V, and Zr-V-Ti (base) systems. Best results were obtained with the Ti-Zr system. Desired hypoeutectic structure and melt-solidification behavior were achieved wherever possible through controlled reduction of major melting-point depressants and/or Zr/Ti ratios, backing-off from eutectic alloying levels. Principal alloying objectives were (a) braze strength, toughness and ductilT:y properties (RT-800 F) comparable to the high-melting TI-15Cu-15Ni baseline braze alloy, (b) conventional brazing characteristics superior to the baseline braze, particularly brazing capability or = 1750 F to avoid 'beta embrittlement' of the substrate (Ti-6Al-4V) and (c) intrinsic long-term resistance to structural damage from aqueous salt spray, 800 F air oxidation, and 800 F hot-salt corrosion. Over 350 different braze alloy designs were evaluated through various screening tests. The two braze alloy designs which best met program objectives are designated AC5-16 (Ti-27.2Zr-15.ONi-7.OCu) and AC1-20 (Ti-28.8Zr-28.OCu). The principal substrate alloy employed was Ti-6Al-4V; some comparison tests were conducted wITh Beta-C substrate alloy.


Pulsed radiation from a loop antenna located in a cylindrical duct with enhanced plasma density is studied. An expression for the radiated energy is derived and its distribution over the spatial and frequency spectra of the excited waves as a function of the source and duct parameters is analyzed. Numerical results referring to the case where the frequency spectrum of the current is concentrated in the whistler range are reported. It is shown that under ionospheric conditions, the presence of an artificial duct with enhanced density can lead to a significant increase in the energy radiated from a pulsed loop antenna compared with the case where the same source is immersed in the surrounding uniform magnetoplasma.


Electrocatalytic splitting of water is becoming increasingly crucial for renewable energy and device technologies. As one of the most important half-reactions for water splitting reactions, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a kinetically sluggish process that will greatly affect the energy conversion efficiency. Therefore, exploring a highly efficient and durable catalyst to boost the OER is of great urgency. In this work, we develop a facile strategy for the synthesis of well-defined phosphorus and fluorine co-doped Ni1.5 Co1.5 N hybrid nanorods (HNs) by using ionic liquids (ILs; 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate). In comparison to the IrO2 catalyst, the as-obtained PF/Ni1.5 Co1.5 N HNs manifests a low overpotential of 280 mV at 10 mA cm-2 , Tafel slope of 66.1 mV dec-1 , and excellent durability in 1.0 m KOH solution. Furthermore, the iR-corrected electrochemical results indicate it could achieve a current density of 100 mA cm-2 at an overpotential of 350 mV. The combination of cobalt and nickel elements, 1D mesoporous nanostructure, heteroatom incorporation, and ionic liquid-assisted nitridation, which result in faster charge transfer capability and more active surface sites, can facilitate the release of oxygen bubbles from the catalyst surface. Our findings confirm that surface heteroatom doping in bimetallic nitrides could serve as a new class of OER catalyst with excellent catalytic activity.


The continuing emergence of variant forms of the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus is the probable consequence of using the current Covid‐19 vaccines. These vaccines do not induce the same immunity as do naturally occurring infections. First, the vaccines are given by intramuscular injections. This is far less effective than natural infection in stimulating the development of virus specific immunoglobulin A (IgA) producing cells and cytotoxic T cells (CTL) within the respiratory mucosa. Virus exposure in a previously vaccinated individual with limited mucosal immunity increases the risk of a persistent, subclinical infection, which will initially be restricted to the superficial mucosa. NIH and CDC officials have alluded to this possibility in advising those who have been vaccinated to continue wearing masks lest they may infect others. The second major distinction between the Covid‐19 vaccines and natural infection is the FDA allowance of using only one component as the antigen, namely the spike protein. Deletion or other modifications of a single targeted component can occur more readily as an immune evasion mechanism than concurrent genetic modifications of multiple antigenic components. Covid‐19 vaccine evoked immunity will, therefore, exert a strong immunoselective pressure for major modifications or deletion of the spike protein. With successive additional changes in the few remaining viral components that are normally targeted by cellular immunity, as well as the incorporation of sufficient genetic sequences from cells and other microbes; non‐immunogenic, pathogenic viruses will then emerge. These viruses will no longer be immunologically restricted to the respiratory mucosa and will become more widespread within the body. The immune evasion/escape mechanism utilized in this manner is termed stealth adaptation. It was initially identified in the cytomegaloviruses of monkeys used to produce polio vaccines. Not only were these viruses probably involved in causing AIDS, but they can account for the rise in many chronic illnesses, such as autism and the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Until proven otherwise, the neuropsychiatric symptoms of the Long Covid syndrome in previously healthy individuals, are consistent with brain infection with stealth adapted coronaviruses. This illness is, therefore, likely to be infectious, including the possibility of transplacental transmission. Testing for stealth adapted viruses in these patients is best performed using virus cultures followed by genetic sequencing. Even though cellular immunity fails to effectively suppress stealth adapted viruses, these viruses as well as the conventional viruses from which they are derived, are still susceptible to a non‐immunological anti‐virus defense mechanism mediated by the alternative cellular energy (ACE) pathway. This pathway is reflected in an added kinetic activity of the body's fluids. The environmental life‐force energy for the ACE pathway is called KELEA (Kinetic Energy Limiting Electrostatic Attraction). Water with high levels of KELEA is available for clinical studies. Enhancing the ACE pathway in those who are susceptible to severe Covid‐19 illness and in Long Covid syndrome patients is arguably preferable to risking the development of new forms of stealth adapted viruses by using the current Covid‐19 vaccines.


Leaf N and chlorophyll (Chl) concentrations of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) are important indicators of plant N status. Laboratory determinations of plant tissue N are time consuming and costly. Measurements of leaf reflectance may provide a rapid and accurate means of estimating leaf N and Chl. Studies were conducted to determine the relationships between leaf hyperspectral reflectance (400-2500 nm) and Chl or N concentration in field-grown cotton. One study consisted of four N rates of 0, 56, 112, and 168 kg N ha -1 , and another study consisted of four mepiquat chloride (MC) rates of 0, 0.59, 1.17, and 2.34 L MC ha -1 . Chlorophyll and N concentrations and reflectance of uppermost, fully expanded mainstem leaves were measured throughout the growing seasons. Reflectance at 556 and 710 nm increased significantly as N fertilizer rate decreased. Averaged across years and sampling dates, the percentage increase in reflectance at these two wavelengths was 8, 10, and 19% greater in the 112, 56, and 0 kg N ha -1 treatments, respectively, compared with the 168 kg N ha -1 treatment. The effect of MC on leaf reflectance was more complex than the N effect. In both the N and MC studies, a linear relationship was found between leaf N and a simple ratio of leaf reflectance at 517 and 413 nm (R 517 /R 413 ) (r 2 = 0.65-0.78***). Leaf Chl concentration was associated closely with reflectance ratios of either R 708 /R 915 or R 551 /R 915 (r 2 = 0.67-0.76***). Our results suggest leaf reflectance can be used for real-time monitoring of cotton plant N status and N fertilizer management in the field.


Due to its poor strain capacity and a low tensile strength, concrete is brittle and highly sensitive to cracking detrimental to application sustainability. Despite this well-established knowledge, the irony today is that investigations on concrete are usually limited to the compression behavior. The creep behavior that is a major concern for concrete structures is no exception to this observation. Only one reason can explain this aberration: the difficulty to perform a tensile test on cement-based materials, particularly their fixture to the loading device. This paper describes the experimental setup developed to achieve direct tensile and bending creeps. The precautions taken to obtain relevant data are described. For comparison, tensile, flexural and compressive basic creep test were conducted in parallel. Although the approach is still controversial, the basic creep strain was determined by subtracting the shrinkage strain and instantaneous strain from the total strain. Results available for specimens subjected to 50% of the strength in tension or in compression are presented. The final discussion compares the basic creep under the different types of loading.


Peptide determinants with the structure D-Alan-Gly (n = 1 or 3) conjugated to ribonuclease were used to elicit in rabbits specific anti-peptide antibodies which precipitated with rabbit serum albumin (RSA) conjugates, containing the same peptides. These antibodies injected into the skin of guinea pigs produced typical passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) reactions when the guinea pigs were challenged with the RSA conjugates. Cross-reactivity between the alanyl determinants was evaluated by challenging guinea pigs with RSA conjugates containing alanyl moieties which were either identical (homologous) or different (heterologous) from the alanine peptide in the immunogen. Elicitation of PCA with a dose of 2 mg of either the homologous or the heterologous antigens resulted in PCA reactions of equal size in the majority of cases. However, when 20 µg of the same RSA conjugates were employed, threshold amounts of antibodies were definitely lower when homologous antigen than when heterologous antigens were used. When series of free alanine peptides were injected intravenously to sensitized guinea pigs, it was found that in each system the homologous peptide was the most efficient inhibitor. In general, the degree of cross-reactions and susceptibility to inhibition by peptides were similar in precipitin tests and in PCA reactions. The results indicate that in addition to the immunodominant region other portions of the antigenic determinant contribute in a measurable degree to the activation of the antibody molecule for inducing histamine release.


Supply chain innovation comes with several benefits. Notably, it promotes agile response to customer demands, competitiveness and business continuity. However, what fundamental capabilities or competencies do businesses require to successfully achieve supply chain innovation? An in-depth desk research was conducted to investigate these capabilities in addition to the eventual business performance outcomes. A theoretical research model was developed, extending current literature relating to supply chain innovation. The model comprises of eight hypotheses that are split into two sets-capabilities (or competencies) required for successful supply chain innovation and positive outcomes driven by such innovation. Findings show that constant SC process improvements, collaboration and communication, new business models, demand management, and SC performance measurement contribute to consequently supply chain innovation. The resultant SC innovation capability results in greater SC agility and resiliency, value creation, and overall business sustainability.