Investigations of laminar fluid flow between two moving or stationary plates, and two rotating discs, over the years were geared toward how to increase Tesla-based turbine efficiency. Therefore, this research entails the construction, design and simulation of a Tesla turbine in order to investigate the potential of Tesla turbine for energy generation. Method of solution entails the design and construction of a physical model Tesla turbine from locally sourced materials. The physical model geometry and design parameters were then used to conduct numerical simulation. Performance evaluation was then carried on the physical model and the simulation model. The result showed that voltage, current and power all increase with increase in rev. per minute.  The result obtained indicates that for higher power generation, a Tesla turbine design with higher revolution per minute capability will be required.  Turbine model simulation showed that radial velocity vector to be concentrated at the discs periphery and outlet.
The research results are good references for design of larger Tesla turbine for community use.


Summary Acne vulgaris is among the commonest inflammatory skin diseases affecting pilosebaceous units. It occurs mainly in puberty and affects adolescents at the age of 14-19 years both females and males, in relation to sebum production of hair follicles under the action of sex hormones. Clinically the disease is presented with comedones, papules, pustules, nodules and scars in some cases. Seborrheic areas face, chest and back are affected. Recent epidemiologic studies have shown significant number of female patients aged over 25 years with acne and the term Adult onset acne (AOA)was established.The latter is manifested clinically in the lower third of the face. Primary etiological cause of AOAisahormonal imbalance, mainly hyperandrogenemia. Acase ofa25-year-old woman with adult acne and elevated levels of testosterone and prolactine is presented in this paper.


Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal and intractable human malignancies with poor prognosis. Chronic pancreatitis is the independent risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Smoking, obesity and family history are the risk factors for chronic inflammation-associated pancreatic carcinogenesis. Recent studies of signal pathways have made a significant progress in our understanding of chronic pancreatitis in pancreatic cancer. This review summarizes recent development in the important signal pathways involved in pancreatic carcinogenesis from chronic pancreatitis.


The mechanical properties of graphene sheets with various grain boundaries are studied by molecular dynamics method at finite temperatures. The finite temperature reduces the ultimate strengths of the graphenes with different types of grain boundaries. More interestingly, at high temperatures, the ultimate strengths of the graphene with the zigzag-orientation grain boundaries at low tilt angles exhibit different behaviors from those at lower temperatures, which is determined by inner initial stress in grain boundaries. The results indicate that the finite temperature, especially the high one, has a significant effect on the ultimate strength of graphene with grain boundaries, which gives a more in-depth understanding of their mechanical properties and could be useful for potential graphene applications.


Geological, geophysical and geochemical studies contributed to conceptual hydrologic model of the blind'' (no surface expression), moderate-temperature (greater than 130{degree}C) Newcastle geothermal system, located in the Basin and Range-Colorado Plateau transition zone of southwestern Utah. Temperature gradient measurements define a thermal anomaly centered near the surface trace of the range-bounding Antelope Range fault with and elongate dissipative plume extending north into the adjacent Escalante Valley. Spontaneous potential and resistivity surveys sharply define the geometry of the dominant upflow zone (not yet explored), indicating that most of the thermal fluid issues form a short segment along the Antelope Range fault and discharges into a gently-dipping aquifer. Production wells show that this aquifer lies at a depth between 85 and 95 meter. Electrical surveys also show that some leakage of thermal fluid occurs over a 1.5 km (minimum) interval along the trace of the Antelope Range fault. Major element, oxygen and hydrogen isotopic analyses of water samples indicate that the thermal fluid is a mixture of meteoric water derived from recharge areas in the Pine Valley Mountains and cold, shallow groundwater. A northwest-southeast trending system of faults, encompassing a zone of increased fracture permeability, collects meteoric water from the recharge area, allowsmore » circulation to a depth of 3 to 5 kilometers, and intersects the northeast-striking Antelope Range fault. We postulate that mineral precipitates form a seal along the Antelope Range fault, preventing the discharge of thermal fluids into basin-fill sediments at depth, and allowing heated fluid to approach the surface. Eventually, continued mineral deposition could result in the development of hot springs at the ground surface.« less


Purpose: The methylnitrosourea (MNU)-induced mammary cancer model in rats is similar to estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer in women. In prevention studies using this model, tumor incidence and multiplicity were typically primary end points. The ability of various agents administered for a short period to modulate cell proliferation [proliferation index (PI)] and apoptosis [apoptotic index (AI)] in mammary cancers was compared with their efficacy in long-term prevention and therapy studies. Experimental Design: Rats were injected with MNU to induce mammary cancers. For the prevention studies, agents were administered by gavage or in the diet beginning 5 days after MNU. For proliferation (PI) and apoptosis (AI) experiments, animals with a palpable mammary cancer were treated with the agents for only 4 to 7 days. PI was determined following 5-bromodeoxyuridine labeling whereas AI was determined using the terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase–mediated dUTP nick end labeling assay. Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated by measuring cancer size over a 6-week period. Results: Treatments with differing chemopreventive efficacy and mechanism(s) of action were examined: (a) hormonal treatments [tamoxifen, vorozole (an aromatase inhibitor), and ovariectomy]; (b) retinoid X receptor agonists (targretin, 9-cis retinoic acid, and UAB30); (c) inducers of drug-metabolizing enzymes (indole-3-carbinol, 5,6 benzoflavone, and diindoylmethane); (d) agents that alter signal transduction (R115777, a farnesyltransferase inhibitor); Iressa (an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor); sulindac and celecoxib (cyclooxygenase 1/2 and cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors); and (e) diverse agents including meclizine, vitamin C, and sodium phenylbutyrate. Correlations between inhibition of PI, increase of AI, and chemopreventive efficacy were observed. Although most agents with moderate or low preventive efficacy suppressed PI, they minimally affected AI. Conclusions: The data confirmed that the short-term effects of various agents on cell proliferation and apoptosis in small mammary cancers can predict their preventive/therapeutic efficacy. Thus, these biomarkers can be used to help determine the efficacy of compounds in phase II clinical prevention trials.


AIM OF THE STUDY
The pathogenesis of fifth day fits in newborns has not yet been explained. From 1989-1991 we observed an epidemic occurrence of 21 cases in 1917 hospitalized newborn children. After finding rotavirus in the faeces of several cases we suspected a coincidence.

METHODS
We tested the faeces of 19 fifth day fitters as well as 30 healthy newborns (4.-6. day of life) for rotavirus infection. The results of all clinically indicated rotavirus examinations in neonates of 4 to 6 days of age from 1989-1991 were analysed. In 6 rotavirus positive fifth day fitters we performed an immunologic and electron microscopic examination of cerebrospinal fluid.

RESULTS
18 of 19 examined children with fifth day fits (95%) had rotavirus in the faeces. Within the healthy control group we found 12 of 30 (40%, Chi-square 12.46, p < 0.001) and in the group of sick neonates without convulsions 98 of 202 (48.5%, Chi-square 12.44, p < 0.001). This shows a statistically significant coincidence of rotavirus positive faeces with fifth day fits. Rotavirus was not present in cerebrospinal fluid.

CONCLUSIONS
We suggest a causal relation between fifth day fits and rotavirus infections. Pathogenetic details remain unclear.


The interactions of two like-signed vortices in viscous fluid are investigated using two-dimensional numerical simulations performed across a range of vortex strength ratios, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6EC}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{1}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{2}\leqslant 1$ , corresponding to vortices of circulation, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{i}$ , with differing initial size and/or peak vorticity. In all cases, the vortices evolve by viscous diffusion before undergoing a primary convective interaction, which ultimately results in a single vortex. The post-interaction vortex is quantitatively evaluated in terms of an enhancement factor, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{end}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{2,start}$ , which compares its circulation, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{end}$ , to that of the stronger starting vortex, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{2,start}$ . Results are effectively characterized by a mutuality parameter, $MP\equiv (S/\unicode[STIX]{x1D714})_{1}/(S/\unicode[STIX]{x1D714})_{2}$ , where the ratio of induced strain rate, $S$ , to peak vorticity, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}$ , for each vortex, $(S/\unicode[STIX]{x1D714})_{i}$ , is found to have a critical value, $(S/\unicode[STIX]{x1D714})_{cr}\approx 0.135$ , above which core detrainment occurs. If $MP$ is sufficiently close to unity, both vortices detrain and a two-way mutual entrainment process leads to $\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}>1$ , i.e. merger. In asymmetric interactions and mergers, generally one vortex dominates; the weak/no/strong vortex winner regimes correspond to $MP<,=,>1$ , respectively. As $MP$ deviates from unity, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}$ decreases until a critical value, $MP_{cr}$ is reached, beyond which there is only a one-way interaction; one vortex detrains and is destroyed by the other, which dominates and survives. There is no entrainment and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}\sim 1$ , i.e. only a straining out occurs. Although $(S/\unicode[STIX]{x1D714})_{cr}$ appears to be independent of Reynolds number, $MP_{cr}$ shows a dependence. Comparisons are made with available experimental data from Meunier (2001, PhD thesis, Université de Provence-Aix-Marseille I).


Fifty patients with metastatic breast cancer were treated with 8-day courses of vincristine (1 mg iv, Day 1), adriamycin (50 mg/m2 iv, Day 1), cyclophosphamide (100 mg/m2 orally, Days 1-8), methotrexate (200 mg iv by 3-hour infusion, Day 8), and citrovorum factor rescue (15 mg in 12, 18, and 24 hours after methotrexate, Day 8) at 3-4-week intervals. Forty-two patients had previously received treatment with hormones and 17 patients had received chemotherapy. Fifteen patients achieved a complete remission (CR) and 24 patients a partial remission (PR). There was a significant correlation between the response and the number of metastatic organs (0.01 less than P less than 0.02). The response rate was roughly uniform irrespective of the organ predominantly involved (0.2 less than P less than 0.3). The remission duration was significantly longer for the patients with CR compared with that for the patients with PR (0.001 less than P less than 0.01). The patients who achieved CRs and PRs survived significantly longer than the patients with no change and progressive disease (P less than 0.001). The toxic effects of the treatment were acceptable and no drug-related deaths occurred.


CONTEXT
Definition of etiological subgroups of sarcopenia may help to develop targeted treatments. Insulin like growth factor (IGF-I), IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) and acid labile subunit (ALS) build a ternary complex that mediates growth hormone (GH) effects on peripheral organs, such as muscle. Low GH binding protein (GHBP) as a marker of GH receptor number would hint towards GH resistance.

OBJECTIVE
Analysis of the association of IGF-I, IGFBP3, and ALS with sarcopenia.

STUDY PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING
131 consecutively recruited patients of a geriatric ward for a mono-center cross-sectional analysis, non-sarcopenic patients served as controls.

METHODS
Sarcopenia status by hand grip strength measurement and Skeletal Muscle Index (SMI); IGF-I, IGFBP3, ALS, GH, GH binding protein (GHBP); body mass index (BMI), Activity of Daily Living (ADL), mini mental state test (MMST), routine laboratory parameters, statistical regression modelling.

RESULTS
Compared to controls, sarcopenic patients did not differ regarding age, sex, ADL, MMST, C reactive protein, glomerular filtration rate and albumin serum concentrations. However, sarcopenic patients had significantly lower IGF-I, IGFBP3 and ALS. IGF I and ALS associated significantly with sarcopenia and low hand grip strength, even after adjustment for age, sex, BMI and albumin, but not with low SMI. GHBP serum was low in sarcopenic patients, but normal in geriatric patients without sarcopenia. Over 60% of patients with IGF-I/ALS deficiency patients showed GH resistance.

CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that in geriatric patients low IGF-I/IGFBP3/ALS could be evaluated for causative connection of the sarcopenia spectrum. Low GHBP points towards potential GH resistance as one possible explanation of this deficiency.


Susceptibility of Syrian hamsters of the inbred LSH and MHA strains to injection of as few as 10 plaque-forming units of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) was shown to occur only after intraperitoneal and intrapleural injection and not after injection of VSV intravenously, intranasally, or in the footpads. Despite the fact that fewer LSH hamsters died when VSV was injected via the latter routes, the histopathology of the VSV-induced disease at early times after infection was identical irrespective of the route of virus administration. Histological examination of tissues at various times after administration of VSV by the various routes revealed that VSV exhibited tropism for lymphoreticular tissue, with the greatest amount of necrosis in the splenic periarteriolar lymphoid sheath. A similar pattern also was observed in VSV-infected tissues from genetically resistant UT1 hamsters. Infectivity titrations of various tissues at different times after intraperitoneal injection of VSV revealed that resistant UT1 hamsters began to clear virus from tissues between 40 and 48 h postinfection, whereas virus titers remained high in susceptible animals. Resistance of UT1 hamsters appeared to require an intact spleen since survival of splenectomized animals was less than that of sham-splenectomized UT1 controls. Sublethal whole-body irradiation was also able to reduce resistance of UT1 hamsters (survival was reduced from 100 to 50%). Bone marrow cells from resistant (UT1 X LSH) F1 females were transferred into lethally irradiated susceptible LSH hamsters, and hematopoietic chimeras were produced. After intraperitoneal injection of 100 plaque-forming units of VSV, all of the female chimeras survived, but only 33% of male chimeras survived. These data indicate that resistance to VSV in Syrian hamsters is mediated, at least partially, by cells of hematopoietic origin.


In the first part of the thesis, changes of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) in the mid-Holocene compared to the pre-industrial state are explored in different coupled climate models. Using time-slice integrations by a newly developed global finite-element model ECHAM6-FESOM with unstructured mesh and high resolution, our simulations show an enhanced mid-Holocene AMOC, accompanied by an increase in the ocean salinity over regions of deep water formation. We identify two different processes affecting the AMOC: 1) a more positive phase of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) increases water density over the Labrador Sea through anomalous net evaporation and surface heat loss; 2) a decreased import of sea ice from the Arctic causes a freshwater reduction in the northern North Atlantic Ocean. Using the coupled model ECHAM6-MPIOM in T63GR15 and T31GR30 grids, we find that the simulated AMOC is strongly affected by the model resolution. In detail, stronger-than-present mid-Holocene AMOC is revealed by simulations with the T63GR15 grid, which resembles the result of ECHAM6-FESOM, while a decline of the mid-Holocene AMOC is simulated by the low resolution model with the T31GR30 grid. Such discrepancy can be attributed to different changes in Labrador Sea density which is mainly affected by 1) NAO-induced net precipitation, 2) freshwater transport from the Arctic Ocean, and 3) the strength of AMOC itself. Finally, we analyzed available coupled climate models showing a diversity of responses of AMOC to mid-Holocene forcings, most of which reveal positive AMOC changes related to northern high latitudes salinification.

Sensitivity of the simulated climate to the early-Holocene (9k) insolation, greenhouse gases (GHGs) and topography is examined in the second part of the thesis, by performing timeslice experiments under pre-industrial and 9k regimes using ECHAM6-FESOM. Under the early-Holocene orbit and GHGs, the ECHAM6-FESOM simulation shows a warming in boreal summer and a cooling in boreal winter from over mid and high latitudes compared to pre-industrial, with amplification over the continents; as well as a reduction of sea ice in the Arctic and Southern Oceans. A reduced sea ice transport through the Fram Strait leads to a stronger-than-present Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the early-Holocene. Including the early-Holocene topography and continental ice sheet over North America leads to an additional regional cooling year-round. The resulted enhanced sea ice thermodynamic production over Baffin Bay and North Atlantic subpolar gyre is the cause for a more saline surface over the region of deep water formation. There are big discrepancies in the oceanic responses to different locations of freshwater discharge. Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) coastal melting only leads to a freshening over the Gulf Stream and Canary Current, with no meltwater advection to the deep water formation sites, therefore not affecting the strength of the thermohaline circulation. In contrast, adding freshwater into the Labrador Sea produces a significant decrease in ocean salinity over the North Atlantic region from sea surface to 200 m depth, contributing to a decline of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). All early-Holocene experiments reveal a change of the westerlies over the North Atlantic section, accompanied by a more positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) phase, which is led by the corresponding divergence anomalies of the Eliassen-Palm (E-P) flux. The enhanced westerly wind at 50 $^{\circ}$N provides a barrier which prevents the Arctic cold air from invading into the lower latitudes. This circulation change in the atmosphere leads to less frequent episodes of blocking patterns which further results in decreased cold surges over most parts of the Northern Hemisphere continents, in particular the Europe and Asia in the early-Holcene compared to pre-industrial. Finally, the reduced cold air outbreak events, together with a relatively dry atmospheric condition, are the causes for a reduced snowfall over Europe and Asia.

Another aim of the thesis (the third part) is to examine to what degree the area-thickness distribution of new ice formed in open water affects the ice and ocean properties. Two sensitivity experiments are performed which modify the horizontal-to-vertical aspect ratio of open-water ice growth. The resulting changes in the Arctic sea-ice concentration strongly affect the surface albedo, the ocean heat release to the atmosphere, and the sea-ice production. Furthermore, our simulations show a positive feedback mechanism among the Arctic sea ice, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and the surface air temperature in the Arctic, as the Fram Strait sea ice import influences the freshwater budget in the North Atlantic Ocean. Anomalies in sea-ice transport lead to changes in sea surface properties of the North Atlantic and the strength of AMOC. For the Southern Ocean, the most pronounced change is a warming along the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), especially for the Pacific sector. Another insight of this study lies on the improvement of FESOM-ECHAM6. FESOM-ECHAM6 is a newly developed global climate model with an unstructured mesh and multi-resolution. It has relatively high ability for producing many aspects of the observed climate, but also has shortcomings when simulating the subpolar sea-ice boundary in the Northern Hemisphere and the strength of AMOC. We find that such disadvantages can be improved by tuning the process of open-water ice growth, which strongly influences the sea ice concentration in the marginal ice zone and affects the North Atlantic circulation through regulating the import of Arctic sea ice volume. In reality, the distribution of new ice on open water relies on many uncertain parameters, for example, surface albedo, wind speed and ocean currents. Knowledge of the detailed processes is currently too crude for those processes to be implemented realistically into models. Our sensitivity experiments indicate a pronounced uncertainty related to open-water sea ice growth which could significantly affect the climate system sensitivity.


Photoresponsive micellar systems of 4-butylazobenzene-4'- (oxyethyl)trimethylammonium bromide (AZTMA) were examined with and without ethylbenzene using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). Analysis of SANS profiles showed that an aqueous solution containing 5, 10, and 50 mM AZTMA forms prolate spheroids with a long radius (Ra) of 38 Å and a short radius (Rb) of 21 Å. In the 5 mM AZTMA solution, the concentration of micelles decreased upon UV light irradiation, while their size and shape remained almost unchanged. Subsequent visible light irradiation reversed the decrease and increased the number of micelles. In contrast, 10 and 50 mM AZTMA solutions showed that the number and long radius of the micelles decreased with UV light irradiation, while subsequent exposure to visible light irradiation restored them. For AZTMA micellar solutions equilibrated with excess ethylbenzene, the solubilized amount of ethylbenzene increased upon UV light irradiation due to enhanced swelling of the micelles with cis-AZTMA. This photoinduced uptake of the solubilizate has potential applicability for the collection and removal of hazardous oily substances.


A brief summary is given of the desired effects of precipitation of microalloy nitrides and carbides in austenite and ferrite prior, during and after g−a transformation. Precipitation of microalloy compounds of Nb(C,N), TiC and V(C,N) is discussed in relation to several grain refinement and precipitation strengthening mechanisms. An improved understanding of the thermodynamics and kinetics of precipitation and phase transformations is presented using the approach based on the chemical driving force. Nucleation of intragranular polygonal ferrite on VN particles that grow in austenite and the formation of acicular ferrite inside the austenitic grains in Vsteels is described. The role of carbon in increasing the driving force for nucleation is elucidated and the benefits of using microalloy carbo-nitrides for precipitation strengthening of bainitic steels are reviewed. An expanded view on the role of microalloy carbo-nitrides in grain refinement and precipitation strengthening is presented.


Delirium, also known as acute confusional state, is a complication that usually occurs in elderly people in a hospital setting and can have devastating consequences, such as prolonged hospitalisation and death. Despite the existence of national guidelines on identifying and treating delirium in the hospital, it is unclear how well this disorder is recognised and the extent to which the guidelines are followed. A research was carried out in collaboration with Maastricht UMC+ on identifying and treating delirium in older hospital patients in daily practice. This study found that the disorder was not always identified and that the guidelines were not always followed.


Received: Revised: Accepted: June 14, 2014 August 07, 2014 March 06, 2015 Mannheimia haemolytica is the causative agent of several economically significant diseases of cattle and sheep, however, its role in causing infection in poultry is limited as secondary pathogen, co-infecting with viral pathogens like infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) etc. The present study reports first time in this country regarding the isolation of M. haemolytica from adult commercial poultry flocks, initially reported with severe respiratory distress. Necropsy findings were quite similar to those found in Fowl cholera infection. The samples were also processed for the detection of any avian respiratory viruses in addition to testing for bacterial presence. The lab investigations led to the detection of M. haemolytica from the clinical samples and subsequent use of norfloxacin, selected on the basis of sensitivity pattern of the organism, resulted in curing of the flock. To further confirm the pathogenic potential of this organism, 7-day old broilers were challenged with the new isolate. The bacterium M. haemolytica was subsequently recovered from the birds which died within 3 weeks post-infection, confirming the pathogenic potential of this organism in poultry. The drug susceptibility pattern of the recovered bacterium was similar to the original isolate. This study further identifies the role of different management factors leading to infection of birds with M. haemolytica and suggests appropriate control measures in poultry flocks. ©2015 PVJ. All rights reserved


An InGaAs-APD, with not only a larger gain-bandwidth product but also a wider bandwidth in the lower multiplication regime (M ≤ 10), is required for Gbs range optical transmission systems. Previously, we reported an improved gain-bandwidth product APD, achieved by increasing the carrier concentration in the InP multiplication region to reduce the avalanche buildup time.1 We report further improvement in the bandwidth by reducing the active area and heterostructure modifications.


The unique clinical features of COVID-19 disease present a formidable challenge in the understanding of its pathogenesis. Within a very short time, our knowledge regarding basic physiological pathways that participate in SARS-CoV-2 invasion and subsequent organ damage have been dramatically expanded. In particular, we now better understand the complexity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and the important role of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)-2 in viral binding. Furthermore, the critical role of its major product, angiotensin (Ang)-(1–7), in maintaining microcirculatory balance and in the control of activated proinflammatory and procoagulant pathways, generated in this disease, have been largely clarified. The kallikrein-bradykinin (BK) system and chymase are intensively interwoven with RAAS through many pathways with complex reciprocal interactions. Yet, so far, very little attention has been paid to a possible role of these physiological pathways in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 disease, even though BK and chymase exert many physiological changes characteristic to this disorder. Herein, we outline the current knowledge regarding the reciprocal interactions of RAAS, BK, and chymase that are probably turned-on in COVID-19 disease and participate in its clinical features. Interventions affecting these systems, such as the inhibition of chymase or blocking BKB1R/BKB2R, might be explored as potential novel therapeutic strategies in this devastating disorder.


This research aimed to develop a technique to suppress a liquid sloshing vibration in a tank by injecting air bubbles in a microcomputer controlled manner. Using a rectangular tank 800 mm long, 150 mm wide, and 500 mm high, installed on an oil-hydraulic controlled shaking table, sloshing was excited by sinusoidal motion of the table and air was injected at each corner of the test tank. The timing and duration of air injection were controlled by a microcomputer using pressure signal caused by sloshing. Experiments showed that the most effective timing of air injection was at the instance when the sloshing wave was ascending form the lowest position to the equibrium one, and a small amount of air, equivalent to 1 to 3 % of water contained in the tank, was sufficient to suppress the sloshing. A scale-up test showed similar effectiveness on reducing sloshing. An argorithm for controlling air injection timing and duration was developed using knowledge obtained from the experiments.


With rapid and accurate molecular influenza testing now widely available in clinical settings, influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) studies can prospectively select participants for enrollment based on real-time results rather than enrolling all eligible patients regardless of influenza status, as in the traditional test-negative design (TND). Thus, we explore advantages and disadvantages of modifying the TND for estimating VE by using real-time, clinically available viral testing results paired with acute respiratory infection eligibility criteria for identifying influenza cases and test-negative controls prior to enrollment. This modification, which we have called the real-time test-negative design (rtTND), has the potential to improve influenza VE studies by optimizing the case-to-test-negative control ratio, more accurately classifying influenza status, improving study efficiency, reducing study cost, and increasing study power to adequately estimate VE. Important considerations for limiting biases in the rtTND include the need for comprehensive clinical influenza testing at study sites and accurate influenza tests.


The diagnosis of cylindroma can be challenging due to the rarity of the tumour and its broad differential diagnosis. We present a case report of a solitary benign cylindroma on the right scalp of a 51-year-old patient which was initially thought to be a basaloid follicular hamartoma based on biopsy. We outline the differential diagnosis of cylindroma, as well as the histopathological features and the pathological differences between cylindroma and basaloid follicular hamartoma. The ethical dilemmas surrounding the management of benign solitary cylindromas, including the potential for malignant transformation, risks associated with operating, and cost for the patient, are also discussed.


The « local cultural forces » : a history of the misunderstanding between the Bolsheviks and the rural populations of
Soviet Russia, 1920-1932.
During the 1920s the Bolshevik leaders did not entrust the political education of
the rural populations to peasants. They placed it in the charge of members of local intellectual professions who had no voice in community structures : physicians, vets, agronomers, and moreover primary school teachers. But the latter mostly spread literacy, they
are not really able to politicise rural masses, and they are suspected of allegiance to the
former SR Party. They do not become however a major target of State violence in the
era of forced collectivisation during the early 1930s.


Summary There are multiple substrates for coronary thrombosis overlying an atherosclerotic plaque. The most common, plaque rupture, consists of an interruption of a thin fibrous cap overlying a lipid rich core. Plaque rupture is a result of macrophage infiltration and matrix degradation, is often seen in calcified plaques, and is highly associated with hypercholesterolemia. A less common substrate, plaque erosion, is not associated with elevated cholesterol and is the prime cause of coronary thrombosis in premenopausal women. The characteristic histologic features are abundant surface smooth muscle cells and proteoglycans, and a small or absent lipid rich core. The mechanisms of plaque erosion are unclear, and there are no consistent risk factors, although patients are often smokers.


BACKGROUND: Vitiligo-affected individuals, especially patients with darker skin tones, can suffer from negative psychosocial impacts due to unpredictable development of the condition and perceived cosmetic concerns. However, given that spontaneous repigmentation can be gained in vitiligo, many patients ask for treatment due to these cosmetic concerns. In the literature, only a few studies have been documented focusing on the outcome of various treatment modalities for vitiligo. OBJECTIVE: This article highlights the retrospective response of various treatment modalities in Indian patients with vitiligo. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed from July 2017 to August 2018 at our private dermatology clinic. A total of 3,000 patients were enrolled in this observational study. Patient characteristics and details of phototherapy (psoralen and ultraviolet A, narrow-band ultraviolet B, excimer laser) were noted as per a predefined format. The clinical response was evaluated as a marked response, defined as repigmentation in more than 75% of the initial lesional area. RESULTS: Of those included in this retrospective analysis, 1,996 patients received phototherapy and 1,004 patients were treated with topical monotherapy. Patients treated with phototherapy only and those treated with a combination of phototherapy and topical agents showed significantly higher clinical response rates relative to patients treated with topical monotherapy only (marked response rate: 47.8% vs. 8.7%; P<0.001 and 23.4% vs. 8.7%; P<0.001). Disease subtype predominately affected the treatment response. CONCLUSION: In Indian patients with vitiligo, phototherapy appears to be an effective treatment option for both focal and vitiligo vulgaris. Due to its reliability and minimal side effects, it can be considered a preferable treatment modality for vitiligo.


Dear Editor We read with great interest the recent paper by Akkad et al. describing a 58-year-old man with a primary renal angiosarcoma, incidentally diagnosed and without metastases. The patient was treated by nephrectomy and was alive and well after 30 months. Our group recently described a 60-year-old man with a primary angiosarcoma of the kidney without metastases and presenting only with a post-traumatic flank pain. A radical nephrectomy was performed and the patient was followed up monthly. The flank pain was not spontaneous but, by following a traumatism, it had permitted us to suppose an early and consequently more favorable diagnosis. However, the patient died 8 months after nephrectomy and the course of the disease was dramatic, with peritoneal lesions and ascites, confirming the highly malignant behavior of the primary kidney angiosarcoma and the presumable presence of micrometastases that had already occurred at the time of diagnosis. The patient described by Akkad et al. and our patient presented similar clinical features: gender, age, lack of metastases at the time of diagnosis and apparent early diagnosis, even if their patient was completely asymptomatic while our patient presented a post-traumatic (but not spontaneous) flank pain. On the other hand , the prognosis of the two patients was very different. In this connection the two cases are in line with the remaining English published work recently reviewed by our group and with another case recently described. In particular, the most important factor for determining prognosis in many studies seems to be the size of the initial lesion. In particolar, tumors < 5 cm in diameter have a significantly better prognosis than large lesions. In the paper by Mark et al. – correctly quoted by the authors – various cases of angiosarcoma were analyzed , reporting a 5-year survival of 32% for lesions < 5 cm compared to 13% for those > 5 cm. Primary renal angiosarcoma cases described in the English published work are in agreement with Mark et al. In fact, the only two cases with a lesion < 5 cm in diameter represent the cases with the longest postoperative survival, specifically the case by Akkad et al. (patient alive and well 30 months after nephrectomy) and the case – correctly quoted by the authors – by Hiratsuka et al. (patient alive and well 29 months after nephrectomy). On the other hand , our case represents a primary renal angiosarcoma with 12 cm in maximum diameter, being also in agreement with Mark et al. In conclusion, we agree with Akkad et al. on the relationship between the early diagnosis of their case and the related good prognosis. However, early diagnosis does not represent a prognostic factor per se but an earlier diagnosis increases the probability that a smaller neoplasm will be found. Therefore, the prognosis of this highly malignant neoplasm is strongly related to the size of the initial lesion; in particular the size of 5 cm probably represents a prognostic cut-off.


OBJECTIVE
To examine if a minimum efficient scale (MES) holds with respect to the population serviced by a local health department (LHD) given the congestability, externality, and scale/scope economy effects potentially associated with public health services.

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING
A nationally representative sample of LHDs in 2005.

STUDY DESIGN
Multiple regression analysis is used to isolate the relation between population and spending while controlling for other factors known to influence local public health costs.

DATA COLLECTION
Data were obtained from the 2005 National Profile of Local Public Health Agencies, a project supported through a cooperative agreement between the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
The MES of a local public health department is approximately 100,000 people. After that size, additional population has little impact on public health spending per capita.

CONCLUSIONS
Seventy-seven percent of LHDs in the sample fall below the 100,000 MES. Higher levels of government may want to provide financial inducements so that smaller LHDs consolidate or enter into agreements with larger public health organizations to provide services.


A virtual simulation test program to carry out the handling qualities of unmanned Rotorcraft has developed by using the MATLAB GUIDE(Graphic User Interface Development Environment). The handling quality evaluation program based on ADS-33E contributes to design the flight control system and to evaluate handling qualities. In addition, Linear Quadratic Tracker with Integrator(LQTI) attitude controller based on Linear Quadratic Regulator(LQR) for to rotorcraft BO-105C and the effects of the handling qualities is analyzed change to weight matrices of the Q and R.


Delays in ancillary test results for radiology, pharmacy, and laboratory can be significantly reduced with no capital investment. At Harris Methodist Fort Worth's ED, pharmacy prescription delays were cut 71% by implementing a bell alert system. When the six most common lab tests were prioritized, delays were cut by 39%. Instead of collecting data on average delays, look at the 10% that show the longest delays to focus on problem areas.


A new techniquefor recording His bundle and right bundle-branch electrograms via the arm veins is described. In 25 patients an ordinary bipolar pacing catheter was introduced into an arm vein and the tip positioned in the right atrium. The catheter tip was looped in a figure-of-six (6) shape in the right atrium. The loop was advanced across the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle. A slight withdrawal of the catheter results in partial opening of the loop and approximation of the catheter tip to the vicinity of the His bundle. Further withdrawal of the catheter tip results in additional opening of the loop into a Ushape with the tip directed towards the outflow tract of the right ventricle, enabling one to record right bundle-branch potentials. In If of the 25 patients simultaneous His bundle recordings were obtained by the above approach and via the conventional femoral route; the His bundle electrograms were similar in shape and duration. The conduction times, i.e. AH and HV, were also similar during normal sinus rhythm and atrial stimulation. The procedure time via the arm veins was comparable to or even shorter than the time required by the femoral approach. The new catheter technique, i) provides an alternative route for catheter introduction in patients in whom femoral veins cannot be used, and 2) may prove to be the method of choice in selected cases requiring long-term monitoring ofHis bundle potentials in view of the stability of the His bundle recordings.


This paper considers the problem of estimating a low-rank matrix from the observation of all or a subset of its entries in the presence of Poisson noise. When we observe all entries, this is a problem of matrix denoising; when we observe only a subset of the entries, this is a problem of matrix completion. In both cases, we exploit an assumption that the underlying matrix is low-rank. Specifically, we analyse several estimators, including a constrained nuclear-norm minimization program, nuclear-norm regularized least squares and a non-convex constrained low-rank optimization problem. We show that for all three estimators, with high probability, we have an upper error bound (in the Frobenius norm error metric) that depends on the matrix rank, the fraction of the elements observed and the maximal row and column sums of the true matrix. We furthermore show that the above results are minimax optimal (within a universal constant) in classes of matrices with low-rank and bounded row and column sums. We also extend these results to handle the case of matrix multinomial denoising and completion.


The development of deep sea research systems-manned and unmanned submersibles-made it possible to carry out visual surveys of the deep seafloor at any depth on the earth. These surveys have revealed a great number of phenomena that occur on the seafloor, such as hydrothermal vents and chemosynthetic biological communities at mid-oceanic ridges.Unmanned submersibles include ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle), UROV (Untethered Remotely Operated Vehicle), which have thrusters and are operated by mother ship through a tether cable or a thin optical fiber respectively, AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) which moves under pre-programmed commands and does not have a cable, and deep-tow system which is also operated by mother ship through. a cable but does not have a thruster.In order to see objects under very low illumination in deep seas, a Super-HARP (High-gain Avalanche Rushing Amorphous Photoconductor) video camera which is far more sensitive than CCD cameras, was developed. Recently, the Super HARP Hi-vision video camera, which provides high-resolution video images, has been developed.The location of the submersible in water is obtained by three acoustic positioning systems. These are called LBL (Long Base Line), SBL (Short Base Line), and SSBL (Super Short Base Line) positioning systems.In order to achieve effective dive surveys by manned submersibles or ROVs, it is necessary to select dive points by considering the results of pre-surveys carried out over a wide area, including bathymetric mapping using multi-narrow beam echo sounder, side-scan sonar survey, and deep-towed camera surveys.Submersibles enable not only visual observation, but also sampling and geophysical measurement at aimed points on the deep seafloor. In order to construct multi-disciplinary real-time and long-term deep seafloor observatories, such as off Hatsushima Island Observatory and VENUS off Okinawa Island Observatory, or to carry out borehole measurements, submersibles have been playing important roles in installing instruments, extending cables, and connecting connectors of instruments to underwater telemetry systems, or in recovering data. Submersibles are also necessary when searching for the causes of events observed by the observatory.The ROV and the Super HARP Hi-vision video camera made it possible for many scientists on board to see high-resolution video images of the seafloor simultaneously as if they were viewing it with the unaided eye. The AUV will enable surveys over wide areas in the near future. However, observations by submersibles are limited by survey time. On the other hand, long-term observatories enable observations only at fixed points. Complimentary observations using both long-term observatories and submersibles are expected in order to extend survey area in terms of both temporality and spatiality to provide an understanding of phenomena that occur on the seafloor.


Background Adalimumab (ADA) is approved for treatment of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC); therefore, it is postulated that new onset or flare of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a rare occurrence in ADA clinical trials for non-IBD indications. Objectives The purpose of this analysis was to determine the rates of IBD adverse events (AEs) in ADA clinical trials, particularly in spondyloarthritis (SpA) patients (pts) who are at higher risk of IBD as a feature of SpA. Methods The rates of IBD AEs in 73 phase 2–4 interventional ADA clinical trials in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA), pediatric enthesitis-related arthritis, uveitis (non-infectious intermediate, posterior, or pan-uveitis), hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), adult and pediatric psoriasis (Ps), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), non-PsA peripheral SpA (pSpA), non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were analyzed (trials in UC, CD, and intestinal Behcet's disease [BD] were excluded). The search criteria for IBD events included the following standardized MedDRA queries preferred terms: inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease (CD), IBD-not otherwise specified (NOS), and ulcerative proctitis. The incidence rates (IR) for events of IBD (combined new onset and flare) in interventional clinical trials of ADA are reported as events per 100 pt-years (PY). 95% confidence intervals (CI) were based on exact Poisson confidence limits. Results ADA was administered to 23735 pts, representing 36404.6 PY of exposure. Overall, the IR for IBD events in all interventional ADA trials included in this analysis was 0.1/100PY (Table). The rates of IBD events varied across therapeutic indications from <0.1 to 0.8/100PY. There were no reports of IBD events in pediatric pts. The IR for IBD events in RA, uveitis, HS, and Ps trials were <0.1, 0.2, 0.4, and <0.1/100 PY. In SpA, the overall rates of IBD were 0.5/100 PY, while the rates were 0, 0.8, 0.5, and 0.7/100 PY in PsA, non-PsA pSpA, nr-axSpA, and AS, respectively. 2216 pts with axSpA (AS: 2026, nr-axSpA: 190) were exposed to ADA; in AS, 14 IBD events (7 new onset and 7 flares) were reported in 12 pts (7 new onset and 5 flares), while in nr-axSpA, 2 IBD events were reported in 1 pt (2 flares). Conclusions The rates of IBD AEs in ADA clinical trials were generally low across all indications, with all events occurring in adult pts. In AS pts, who are at increased risk of manifesting IBD, the rates of IBD for pts treated with ADA (0.7/100 PY [95% CI, 0.4–1.1]) were similar to published placebo rates pooled across multiple clinical trials (1.3/100 PY [95% CI, 0.2–4.8]).1 In pts at risk for IBD requiring biologic therapy, ADA is a reasonable therapeutic option based on the observed low IBD event rates in ADA clinical trials and its demonstrated efficacy in treating UC and CD pts. References Braun, J. et al., Arthritis & Rheum, 2007; 57:639–47. Acknowledgements AbbVie funded the studies, contributed to their design, and participated in data collection, analysis and interpretation of the data, and in writing, review, and approval of the publication. Medical writing support was provided by Deepa Venkitaramani, PhD, of AbbVie. Disclosure of Interest J. R. Curtis Grant/research support from: Amgen, BMS, CORRONA, Crescendo, Janssen, Pfizer, and UCB., Consultant for: Amgen, BMS, CORRONA, Crescendo, Janssen, Pfizer, and UCB., D. Elewaut Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Consultant for: AbbVie, Speakers bureau: AbbVie, S. Chen Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie, M. Hojnik Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie, N. Naveh Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie, J. K. Anderson Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie


The intensity and duration of drug effects, including those of anaesthetic agents, may be predicted if the site of action, potency, and methods of uptake, distribution and elimination of these substances in the body are understood. Reliable information on the first two points may be generally available and provided from animal experimentation or clinical study. The methods by which the patient distributes and disposes of the administered agent have not always been as readily understood, mainly because such information is either unsought or its importance is not readily appreciated. Clinical anaesthetists have administered millions of anaesthetics during more than a century with little precise information of the uptake, distribution and elimination of inhalational and nonvolatile anaesthetic agents. Considering how serious is the handicap of not knowing those fundamental and essential facts about the drugs they have used so often, the record of success and safety in clinical anaesthesia is an extraordinary accomplishment indeed. It can in some measure be attributed to the accumulated experience and successful teaching of a highly developed sense of intuition from generation to generation of anaesthetists. It can also be attributed in part to the ability to learn by error after observing patients come uncomfortably close to injury and even to death. In the last few years, however, sufficient fundamental information has become available to explain more effectively these riinfml successes. The empirical process of giving an anaesthetic can be understood better because of the specific data provided by the studies reported in this symposium and by the work of others which has preceded them.


I.PROFESSIONAL CHOICES AND DEVELOPMENT. 1.The Kind Man at Ash Arbor and How It All Began (or Looking for a Job). 2.Getting Started (or Learning How to be Effective on the Job). 3.Sherlock Wells Gathers and Assesses Information (or Increasing One's Knowledge about the Job). 4.A No-Good Low-Down Phone Call (or Managing Personal Feelings in the Professional Setting). 5.Supervision (or Coping with Ineffective Supervisory Styles). II.PRACTICE SKILLS. 6.Another Welfare Mother (or Assessing Client Needs and Making Effective Referrals). 7.A Starting Plan for Orangetown: The Luxury of Children and Toys (or Developing One's Own Job Description). 8.Social Histories in Orangetown (or Persisting In Performing One's Job Under Difficult Circumstances). 9.Emmet County Guidance Clinic Offers You Everything (or Confronting the Reality of Scarce Resources). 10.Stretching Scarce Resources (or Practicing at the Macro-Level to Meet Large-Scale Needs). III.HUMAN DIVERSITY AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT. 11.A Little Person of Value (or Understanding the Interaction of Factors That Affect Human Behavior: Biological, Psychological, Social, Cultural, and Economic). 12.Serving Bar with Mrs. Casey (or Dealing with Clients Who Perceive a Different Reality: Issues in Power and Social Control). 13. Rudolph Gonzales (or Should a Little Boy Disturbed by Cultural Differences Be Diagnosed as Emotionally Disturbed?). 14.Clarette Emalina Jones and Jeffrey Redcloud (or Psychological, Ethnic, Socioeconomic, and Cultural Factors Influencing Behavior). 15.Mrs. Hosmer Isn't Home (or Working with Families Where Problem Denial is a Lifestyle). 16.Henry's Calling (or Meeting the Needs of Homosexual and Bisexual Youth). IV.POLICY ISSUES. 17.Homebound (or Policy Barriers in Providing Assistance to a Pregnant Teenager). 18.Special Education and the "Bad Apple" Classroom (or Trying to Differentiate Children with Emotional Disturbance from Children Who "Just Need Discipline"). 19.Paperwork (or Attending to Paperwork, Though Annoying, Can Avert a Malpractice Suit). 20.Talking to Mr. and Mrs. Responsible Taxpayer (or Arguing Various Pro's and Con's of Voluntary Private Charity Versus Tax-Supported Public Welfare Programs). 21.Juggling Decisions: Evaluating and Terminating (or Deciding Whether or Not to Keep One's Job). V.VALUES, SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES, AND POPULATIONS AT RISK. 22.Values and Social Justice Issues (or How Values Shape Social and Economic Policy Decisions). 23.Macro-Level Practice at a Central City Middle Schools, Janice M. Staral (or Working toward Empowerment of Inner City Youth and Families). 24.Great Grandparents' Dilemma (or the Struggles of Elderly People to Meet the Needs of Younger Family Members When Public Resources Have Been Slashed). 25.Karen and Kevin Riley (or the Struggle of a Teenage Mother, Ineligible for AFDC under Welfare "Reform", to Care for Her Baby and Still Finish High School). VI.EPILOGUE. 26.Epilogue (or Carrying on in Difficult Times Looking toward the Future). Index.


OBJECTIVES
To assess the sensitivity of high-resolution chest computed tomography (HRCT) in detecting idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis proved by biopsy specimen. To determine the degree of physiologic and pathologic abnormalities in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis who have a false-negative HRCT.

DESIGN
Prospective 2-year study.

SETTING
Tertiary care university hospital.

PATIENTS
All patients with dyspnea and suspected interstitial lung disease referred to the University of Michigan for enrollment in the Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) protocol were included; 25 underwent open lung biopsy and formed the final study group.

MEASUREMENTS
All patients underwent physiologic (pulmonary function, gas exchange, and exercise testing), radiologic (chest x-ray film and HRCT), and pathologic assessments (bronchoscopic and open lung biopsy). The results of HRCT were prospectively compared with results of standard pulmonary function tests, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, and open lung biopsy.

RESULTS
Of 25 patients who had both HRCT and open lung biopsy, 3 patients (12%) had HRCTs that demonstrated no evidence of interstitial lung disease. These three patients had less severe disease based on clinical, radiographic, and physiologic (CRP) scores, gas exchange abnormalities, and pathologic scoring of open lung biopsy specimens, compared with those with an abnormal HRCT.

CONCLUSION
We conclude that in the evaluation of patients with dyspnea and abnormal results of pulmonary function studies, a normal HRCT does not exclude early and clinically significant interstitial lung disease. In our patient population, physiologic testing was more sensitive than HRCT in detecting mild abnormalities in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis proved by biopsy specimen.


Social capital is increasingly conceptualised in academic and policy literature as a panacea for a range of health and development issues, particularly in the context of HIV. In this paper, we conceptualise social capital as an umbrella concept capturing processes including networks, norms, trust and relationships that open up opportunities for participation and collective action that allow communities to address issues of common concern. We specifically outline social capital as comprising three distinct forms: bonding, bridging and linking social capital. Rather than presenting original data, we draw on three well-documented and previously published case studies of health volunteers in South Africa. We explore how social contexts shape the possibility for the emergence and sustainability of social capital. We identify three cross-cutting contextual factors that are critical barriers to the emergence of social capital: poverty, stigma and the weakness of external organisations' abilities to support small groups. Our three case studies suggest that the assumption that social capital can be generated from the ground upwards is not reasonable. Rather, there needs to be a greater focus on how those charged with supporting small groups—non-governmental organisations, bureaucracies and development agencies—can work to enable social capital to emerge. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The ability of overparameterized deep networks to interpolate noisy data, while at the same time showing good generalization performance, has been recently characterized in terms of the double descent curve for the test error. Common intuition from polynomial regression suggests that overparameterized networks are able to sharply interpolate noisy data, without considerably deviating from the ground-truth signal, thus preserving generalization ability. At present, a precise characterization of the relationship between interpolation and generalization for deep networks is missing. In this work, we quantify sharpness of fit of the training data interpolated by neural network functions, by studying the loss landscape w.r.t. to the input variable locally to each training point, over volumes around cleanly- and noisily-labelled training samples, as we systematically increase the number of model parameters and training epochs. Our findings show that loss sharpness in the input space follows both model- and epoch-wise double descent, with worse peaks observed around noisy labels. While small interpolating models sharply fit both clean and noisy data, large interpolating models express a smooth loss landscape, where noisy targets are predicted over large volumes around training data points, in contrast to existing intuition.


Precision measurements by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station of the primary cosmic-ray electron flux in the range 0.5 to 700 GeV and the positron flux in the range 0.5 to 500 GeV are presented. The electron flux and the positron flux each require a description beyond a single power-law spectrum. Both the electron flux and the positron flux change their behavior at ∼30  GeV but the fluxes are significantly different in their magnitude and energy dependence. Between 20 and 200 GeV the positron spectral index is significantly harder than the electron spectral index. The determination of the differing behavior of the spectral indices versus energy is a new observation and provides important information on the origins of cosmic-ray electrons and positrons.


In this paper, the problem of stochastically reliable H/sub /spl infin// control for a class of uncertain stochastic systems with time-varying delays and actuator failures is considered. The time-varying delay is assumed to be bounded but unknown. A sufficient condition on stochastic reliable stabilizability is established based on the stability theory for stochastic differential equations. For all admissible uncertainties and actuator failures occurred within the prespecified subset, stochastically reliable H/sub /spl infin// controllers are designed t in terms of linear matrix equalities such that the closed-loop system with actuator failures is stochastically stable independent of delay and satisfies performance constraint of disturbance attenuation level represented by an H/sub /spl infin// norm bound constrain.


Abstract Shinjo Matsuri in Yamagata prefecture is a 250-year old summer festival recognized as one of the nationally designated Important Folk and Cultural Properties. Besides the procession of a mikoshi from Tenman shrine, 20 decorated floats circulate through the city for two days, by collaboration between the people in the town and farm areas. Characteristically, as the local lord Tozawa allowed people to design the float as they liked at the beginning of the festival, groups of young people in each area still design, finance and construct the float by themselves without any institution's nor profession's help. This paper aims to explain how the construction and the spatial assignment of the float work to sustain the community bond between generations and define its local identity in the whole city. Especially, I would like to discuss how people interpret the idea of furyu in enhancing their well-being in the community by creating the extraordinary socio-symbolical space, and by accommodating the festival to the social change.


The test simulated exogenous Cd contaminated soil indoors, and studied separate application of potassium dihydrogen phosphate, diammonium hydrogen phosphate and zeolite, and combined application of zeolite and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, zeolite and diammonium hydrogen phosphate, as well as the effect on the morphological changes of Cd contaminated soil. The results showed that soil exchangeable Cd contents were reduced in different degrees after the application of different modifiers, and the carbonate bound and Fe-Mn oxide bound, organic bound and residual Cd contents increased. By comparison, the separate application of potassium dihydrogen phosphate, diammonium hydrogen phosphate and zeolite, and the combined application of zeolite and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, zeolite and diammonium hydrogen phosphate respectively reduced the soil available Cd contents at 25.2% -51.7%, 21.6% - 46.8%, 6.4% - 23.2%, 38.6% - 61.4%, and 34.1% - 56.4%. All treatments could increase the soil available phosphorus contents, making the soil available phosphorus contents negatively correlated with the available Cd contents significantly, with the correlation coefficient r = - 0.902 6, and the soil pH values had a negative correlation with the available Cd content during the treatments. Therefore, it could be known that the changes of soil available phosphorus contents were the major factor in reducing the availability of soil cadmium under the conditions of the application of phosphate and natural zeolite.


Monge-Kantorovich distances, otherwise known as Wasserstein distances, have received a growing attention in statistics and machine learning as a powerful discrepancy measure for probability distributions. In this paper, we focus on forecasting a Gaussian process indexed by probability distributions. For this, we provide a family of positive definite kernels built using transportation based distances. We provide a probabilistic understanding of these kernels and characterize the corresponding stochastic processes. We prove that the Gaussian processes indexed by distributions corresponding to these kernels can be efficiently forecast, opening new perspectives in Gaussian process modeling.


In our research work, we use two Dynamic Data Driven Application System (DDDAS) methodologies to predict wildfire propagation. Our goal is to build a system that dynamically adapts to constant changes in environmental conditions when a hazard occurs and under strict real-time deadlines. For this purpose, we are on the way of building a parallel wildfire prediction method, which is able to assimilate real-time data to be injected in the prediction process at execution time. In this paper, we propose a strategy for data injection in distributed environments.


Phase change materials exhibit tunable electrical and optical response, providing rich potential to build active devices with tunable properties. Here, we propose and demonstrate a tunable infrared absorber based on vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films. Compared with conventional absorbers relying on either nanostructures or Fabry-Perot cavities, our proposed device shows near perfect absorption while having a subwavelength thick absorbing film. Moreover, the absorption intensity can be controlled dynamically around the phase transition temperature of VO2. We model the optical response of the VO2 intermediate states with an effective medium theory to help fitting and understanding the phase change behavior during the phase transition. The calculated electric field distribution as well as the absorption maps are presented to show how the light is absorbed in the thin film platform. The proposed device has the potential for many applications including thin photodetectors, modulators and tunable emitters.


STUDY OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) on muscle blood flow (MBF) when measured in the forearm by venous occlusion plethysmography.

DESIGN
This was a prospective study.

SETTING
Operating room area of a tertiary care university medical center.

PARTICIPANTS
Twenty-seven patients (25 men and 2 women), aged 62 +/- 1.5 years, undergoing elective coronary bypass grafting.

INTERVENTIONS
Measurements were made during the surgical procedure: before, during cold and warm, and after discontinuation of CPB.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS
Changes in forearm blood flow (FBF), derived forearm vascular resistance (FVR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and cardiac output (CO) were evaluated by repeated measures analysis of variance. The control FBF (measured before CPB) was found to be approximately 50 percent lower than that previously reported for awake volunteers and patients. The FVR was similarly higher. From these low values, the FBF increased significantly (p < 0.001) during normothermic bypass and after CPB. Forearm vascular resistance decreased significantly (p < 0.001) throughout the cold, warm, and postbypass periods. Only during the warm and the postbypass periods did FBF and FVR reach normal values. Mean arterial pressure decreased significantly (p < 0.01) throughout. There was no statistically significant association between any of the variables and FBF or FVR. After correcting for patient and surgical phase variability, only MAP had a statistically significant effect (p = 0.042) on FVR; blood temperature, skin temperature, hematocrit level, PaCO2, serum potassium, and systemic vascular resistance (SVR) had no effect on either FBF or FVR when tested singly or in combination. When correction for multiple comparisons was applied, the lowest probability value became greater than 0.25. There was no correlation between combinations of covariates and FBF or FVR after adjustments for the surgical phase of the study either.

CONCLUSION
These findings indicate that the increase in MBF seen during warm and the post-CPB periods is only a recovery toward normal blood flow. The role of this change in the low SVR that usually accompanies CPB is equivocal.


In this research we deeply analyze the impact of CPEC in East Asian countries & effects on Pakistan Economy. In the meanwhile CPEC playing a vital role in the economy of Pakistan & it have very outstanding result in global perspective & especially East Asian countries. Formation of regional and global strategic movements around the world in present century has led to geostrategic and geo-economical partnerships between countries. China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the best examples of such partnerships. Time period launching the CPEC project consist of from 2014 to 2030.There are three phases for implementation of the projects under CPEC. The short-term, midtermterm and long-term projects are estimated to be completed by 2017,2025 and 2030 respectively. Developing new transport infrastructure, Gwadar Port Projects and several energy generating projects, are one of the main projects of CPEC, "All Weather Strategic Friendship" is therefore proved for Pakistan and China. China's pilot project of "Belt and Road Initiative" is the key plan, which led to the development of CPEC. That will expected from CPEC minimizes the transportation cost of China by providing a shorter route for China's trade to Persian Gulf and it will provide a solution to the energy shortfalls in Pakistan. Moreover, CPEC's projected prospects of economic advancement, there are some economic, security and political threats in Pakistan. Hence, this paper provides a complete picture of previous researches on the planned subject and is not involving any data analysis as existing researches had used for analyzing a review of prospects and challenges. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3527953


OBJECTIVE
This study addresses the question whether temperament and character differ between antisocial incarcerated girls with and without psychopathy. Furthermore, it enquires whether this model discriminates between groups with varied psychopathy symptoms.

METHOD
170 incarcerated girls aged 14 to 17 years were examined using the German version of the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI 12-18) and the Psychopathy Checklist Youth Version (PCL:YV). On the basis of the PCL:YV scores the girls were divided into three high-scoring psychopathy groups and compared to a group without psychopathy.

RESULTS
Three-quarters of the juvenile criminals did not show psychopathy; the percentage of those scoring high on the psychopathy core dimensions was only 7%. With the aid of Cloninger's model of personality, differences in the psychopathy groups as compared to the nonpsychopathy group were identified regarding the dimensions novelty seeking, reward dependence, cooperativeness and self-transcendence. However, specific relationships between individual psychopathy dimensions and the JTCI-factors could not be identified.

CONCLUSIONS
The results confirm the existence of the psychopathy construct in female delinquents, though the percentage of girls with core psychopathy dimensions is very small. The differentiating temperament factors found among girls scoring high on psychopathy dimensions as opposed to girls without psychopathy indicate that psychopathy is a valid construct that can identify a specific subgroup of antisocial girls with core psychopathy symptoms.


The structural, the dielectric, and the piezoelectric properties of new ferroelectric Pb0.95La0.05[Zrx,Ti(0.95–x)(Mo1/3,In2/3)0.05]0.9875O3 (0.46  x  0.55) ceramics have been investigated. All the samples were being sintered at a temperature ranging from 1000 to 1180˚C after being compacted in circular discs. The detailed structural and ferroelectric properties were carried out for sintered specimens. The results of X-ray diffraction showed that all the ceramics specimens have a perovskite phase. The phase structure of Pb0.95La0.05[ZrxTi(0.95–x)(Mo1/3, In2/3)0.05]0.9875O3 ceramics was transformed from the tetragonal to the rhombohedral, with an increase in the ratio of Zr/Ti in system. In the present system the MPB that coexists with the tetragonal and rhombohedral phases is a narrow composition region of x = 0.50 – 0.51. The scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed an increase of the mean grain size when the sintering temperature was increased. The dielectric constant  and the coupling factor Kp reached the maximum values, while the mechanical quality factor Qm and the loss tangent reached the lowest values when x = 0.50. For the composition where x = 0.50, these properties include  = 5414 (at the Curie temperature), tang = 0.039, Kp = 0.67, Qm = 20 and a Curie temperature of 335˚C.


We discuss tensor metric perturbations in a magnetic field around the homogeneous Juttner equilibrium of massless particles in an expanding universe. We solve the Liouville equation and derive the energy-momentum tensor up to linear terms in the metric and in the magnetic field.The term linear in the magnetic field is different from zero if the total charge of the primordial plasma is non-zero. We obtain an analytic formula for temperature fluctuations treating the tensor metric perturbations and the magnetic field as independent random variables. Assuming a cutoff on large momenta of the magnetic spectral function we show that the presence of the magnetic field can discriminate only low multipoles in the multipole expansion of temperature fluctuations. In such a case the term linear in the magnetic field can be more important than the quadratic one (corresponding to the fluctuations of the pure magnetic field).


The residual doses and sensitivity change for potassium-rich feldspar (K-feldspar) have been studied using the post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) and multi-elevated-temperature post-IR IRSL (MET-pIRIR) protocols. Laboratory simulated poorly-bleached and well-bleached samples were those K-feldspar grains bleached using a solar simulator for 10 minutes and 8 hours, respectively. The residual doses rise with stimulation temperature and time. The poorly-bleached sample has larger residual doses than the well-bleached sample, especially at high stimulation temperatures. The high-temperature pIRIR signals contain a large amount of hard-to-bleach signals. A decrease of luminescence sensitivity was observed after conducting a high-temperature-treatment in the measurement cycles. The sensitivity decreases significantly between the first and the second cycle. The extent of decrease in sensitivity shows a clear temperature trend. The higher the stimulation temperature of pIRIR signals is, the larger the sensitivity decreases. This decrease is more severe for the poorly-bleached sample than for the well-bleached sample, and could possibly lead to problems in sensitivity correction.


Molecular excitons, which propagate spatially via electronic energy transfer, are central to numerous applications including light harvesting, organic optoelectronics, and nanoscale computing; they may also benefit applications such as photothermal therapy and photoacoustic imaging through the local generation of heat via rapid excited-state quenching. Here we show how to tune between energy transfer and quenching for heterodimers of the same pair of cyanine dyes by altering their spatial configuration on a DNA template. We assemble "transverse" and "adjacent" heterodimers of Cy5 and Cy5.5 using DNA Holliday junctions. We find that the transverse heterodimers exhibit optical properties consistent with excitonically interacting dyes and fluorescence quenching, while the adjacent heterodimers exhibit optical properties consistent with nonexcitonically interacting dyes and disproportionately large Cy5.5 emission, suggestive of energy transfer between dyes. We use transient absorption spectroscopy to show that quenching in the transverse heterodimer occurs via rapid nonradiative decay to the ground state (∼31 ps) and that in the adjacent heterodimer rapid energy transfer from Cy5 to Cy5.5 (∼420 fs) is followed by Cy5.5 excited-state relaxation (∼700 ps). Accessing such drastically different photophysics, which may be tuned on demand for different target applications, highlights the utility of DNA as a template for dye aggregation.


A 43-year-old male scuba diver presented with an acute history of painful unilateral visual loss after scuba diving. He had right-sided retrobulbar pain and headache. He was known to have sinusitis and had transient visual loss in two previous episodes after scuba diving. His visual acuity was hand motions and 20/20 in the right and left eye, respectively. There was no proptosis. He had a right relative afferent pupillary defect. Colour vision was normal in the left eye and absent in the right eye. Fundal examination revealed healthy discs and macula bilaterally. He was assessed as a right optic neuropathy, possibly secondary to compression. An MRI of the brain revealed a large sphenoidal mucocele extending into the right optic foramen. He was treated with oral steroids, antibiotics and nasal decongestants. He underwent endoscopic intranasal sphenoidectomy and marsupialisation with return of his visual acuity to 20/25 in that eye.


In order to analyze the alginate components of alginate dressings and the fractions which are released when the dressing is in contact with model biological fluids, the use of various analytical methods was considered. The first step was the conversion of a calcium alginate batch to pure sodium alginate. The recovery of the latter from either insoluble or soluble mixed sodium/calcium alginates was performed by complexation of calcium ions with sodium citrate followed by ultrafiltration. Comparisons were made between sugar analysis, 1H NMR and circular dichroism (CD) data to determinate the contents in guluronic and mannuronic acids of sodium alginate chains. It was shown that CD measurements afford a rapid and nondestructive method for determination of %G when one takes the ratio theta200/theta220 into account. Fractionation of crude alginate (generally ranging from 30 to 70% G) was achieved by the triangle dissolution/precipitation method in order to increase the range of alginate in sugar composition. The various validated procedures were applied to investigate the effects of irradiation sterilization on alginate dressings. It was shown that sugar composition is retained whereas molecular weight decreased dramatically due to chain scission.


This paper gives a historical review of the development of radiofrequency (RF) electron swarm from a theoretical point of view. Also the recent progress of the direct numerical procedure (DNP) for solving the Boltzmann equation will be discussed with some typical examples of the temporally modulated velocity distribution in Ar and HCl in an RF field. The significance of DNP will be demonstrated for an RF swarm in the frequency range from MHz to GHz at strong fields.


Abstract We examined the structural and spatial distribution of woody biomass in relationship to disturbance in an Indiana old-growth deciduous forest over a 66-yr period. Analysis was done on the core 7.92 ha of a 20.6-ha forest in which every tree 10 cm dbh and over has been tagged and mapped since 1926. Five years are compared—1926, 1976, 1981, 1986 and 1992. Dry weight of living biomass for the 7.92-ha area for these 5 yr was 154 Mg/ha, 207 Mg/ha, 220 Mg/ha, 216 Mg/ha and 211 Mg/ha, respectively. Biomass of dead trees was 1 Mg ha−1 yr−1 from 1977 through 1981; 4 Mg ha−1 yr−1 from 1982 through 1986; and 3 Mg ha−1 yr−1 from 1987 through 1992. Biomass of trees that died between 1976 and 1992 was greatest for midseral species. Living biomass of dominant early to midseral species is declining while that of late seral species is increasing. In 1926 biomass of trees 10 to 25 cm diam consisted of 14% Quercus spp. and 12% Acer saccharum. By 1992 biomass in this diameter range consisted of 1% Quercus spp. and 43% A. saccharum. Equilibrium patch size was estimated for biomass at each of the five inventory dates to determine if there was a change. Equilibrium patch size for biomass was estimated to be 0.64 ha during all five inventory dates based on the coefficient of variation (CV) of biomass for 16 different grid cell sizes. Grid cell size refers to the size of adjacent cells in a grid that covered the entire study area. The grid with the smallest cells had cells of 0.01 ha. This grid of 0.01-ha cells was aggregated to 15 additional grid cell sizes, where the largest grid cell size was 1.98 ha. CV for all grid cell sizes was highest in 1926 due to effects of prior grazing. These data indicate an increase in deadwood biomass, a shift in stand composition, recovery from grazing by an increase in small diameter trees and no change in equilibrium patch size over the five inventory dates.


Multiple Intelligences defines intelligence as the ability and skill of resolving problems, creating valuable products in one or more environments, cultures and communities. So that with multiple intelligences can affect the ability of students to learn specifically in learning Biology. This research aims (1) To know the relationship between students who have kinesthetic ability to learn Biology subjects (2) to know the difference in student grades based on kinesthetic indicators. The method used was the correlational method using 1 class as an experimental class as well using product moment formula. This research was held on May 29 until June 10, 2017 sample taken in class XI MIA I with purposive sampling technique. SMAN 2 Bandar Lampung mission is to develop the potential of learners Multiple Intelligences including intelligent motion. Refers to the bookSuharsimi Arikunto consists of 45 statements based on the indicator of kinesthetic ability, consisting of 5 indicators to look for differences in the value of each indicator using a one-way Anova Test. Collection of student value data on the pick up based on final exam results. The significant value between kinesthetic intelligence and the learning outcomes based on the analysis of the two interconnected interpretation is sufficient.


With each single X-ray pulse having its own characteristics, understanding the individual property of each X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) pulse is essential for its applications in probing and manipulating specimens as well as in diagnosing the lasing performance. Intensive research using XFEL radiation over the last several years has introduced techniques to characterize the femtosecond XFEL pulses, but a simple characterization scheme, while not requiring ad hoc assumptions, to address multiple aspects of XFEL radiation via a single data collection process is scant. Here, it is shown that single-particle diffraction patterns collected using single XFEL pulses can provide information about the incident photon flux and coherence property simultaneously, and the X-ray beam profile is inferred. The proposed scheme is highly adaptable to most experimental configurations, and will become an essential approach to understanding single X-ray pulses.


The performance gap between magnetic disks and data processing on HPC systems has become that huge that an efficient data processing can only be achieved by introducing non-volatile memory (NVRAM) as a new storage tier. Although the benefits of hierarchical storage have been adequately demonstrated to the point that the newest leadership class HPC systems will employ burst buffers, critical questions remain for supporting hierarchical storage systems, including: How should we present hierarchical storage systems to user applications, such that they are easy to use and that application code is portable across systems? How should we manage data movement through a storage hierarchy for best performance and resilience of data? How do the particular I/O use cases mandate the way we manage data? There have been many efforts to explore this space in the form of file systems, with increasingly more implemented at the user level. This is because it is relatively easy to swap in new, specialized user-level file systems for use by applications on a case-by-case basis, as opposed to the current mainstream approach of using general-purpose, system-level file systems which may not be optimized for HPC workloads and must be installed by administrators. In contrast, file systems at the user level can be tailored for specific HPC workloads for high performance and can be used by applications without administrator intervention.

Many user-level file system developers have found themselves "having to reinvent the wheel" to implement various optimizations in their file systems. Thus, a main goal of this meeting was to bring together experts in I/O performance, file systems, and storage, and collectively explore the space of current and future problems and solutions for I/O on hierarchical storage systems in order to begin a community effort in enabling user-level file system support for HPC systems. We had a lively week of learning about each other's approaches as well as unique I/O use cases that can influence the design of a community-driven file and storage system standards.

The agenda for this meeting contained talks from participants on the following high level topics: HPC storage and I/O support today; what do HPC users need for I/O; existing user-level file system efforts; object stores and other alternative storage systems; and components for building user-level file systems. The talks were short and intended to be conversation starters for more in-depth discussions with the whole group. The participants engaged in lengthy discussions on various questions that arose from the talks including: Are we ready to program to a memory hierarchy versus block devices? Are the needs of HPC users reflected in our existing file systems and storage systems? Should we drop or keep POSIX moving forward? What do we mean when we say "user-level file system"? Do we all mean the same thing? How should the IO 500 benchmark be defined so it is fair and useful? and How are stage-in and stage-out actually going to work?

The report for this seminar contains a record of the talks from the participants as well as the resulting discussions. Our hope is that the effort initiated during this seminar will result in long-term collaborations that will benefit the HPC community as a whole.


Metal additive manufacturing (AM) allows obtaining functional parts with the possibility of optimizing them topologically without affecting system performance. This is of great interest for sectors such as aerospace, automotive, and medical–surgical. However, from a metrological point of view, the high requirements applied in these sectors constitute a challenge for inspecting these types of parts. Non-contact inspection has gained great relevance due to the rapid verification of AM parts. Optical measurement systems (OMSs) are being increasingly adopted for geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) verification within the context of Industry 4.0. In this paper, the suitability (advantages and limitations) of five different OMSs (based on laser triangulation, conoscopic holography, and structured light techniques) for GD&T verification of parts manufactured by selective laser melting (SLM) is analyzed. For this purpose, a specific testing part was designed and SLM-manufactured in 17-4PH stainless steel. Once the part was measured by contact (obtaining the reference GD&T values), it was optically measured. The scanning results allow comparing the OMSs in terms of their inspection speed as well as dimensional and geometrical accuracy. As a result, two portable systems (handheld laser triangulation and structured blue-light scanners) were identified as the most accurate optical techniques for scanning SLM parts.


Confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are a source of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the aquatic environment and introduced there through agricultural runoff and insufficient waste storage systems. This study used the three compounds 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), 17β- trenbolone (TB), and atrazine (Atr) alone and in a mixture representing a simulated CAFO runoff. Laboratory exposures were performed in order to assess if early life exposure during the period of sexual differentiation to CAFO runoff altered gonadal development in western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis). Juveniles were exposed to low and high concentrations of EE2 (50 or 250 ng/L), TB (10 or 50 ng/L), Atr (150 or 1,500 ng/L), or simulated CAFO runoff (50 ng/L EE2, 10 ng/L TB, and 150 ng/L Atr or 250 ng/L EE2, 50 ng/L TB, and 1,500 Atr) for 30-days followed by a 46-day recovery period. Gonadal histology was measured in adult males and females to assess stages of sexual development (i.e., oogenesis or spermatogenesis) and gonadal histopathology. All of the ovaries analyzed were in the maturing or mature stages of oogenesis, and all of the testes examined were in the intermediate or advanced stages of spermatogenesis. Intersex was observed in one individual exposed to 1,500 ng/L Atr. Ovarian histopathology was normal in all females, however testicular histopathology showed a loss of cyst structure leading to unbound interstitial sperm cells and unsynchronized cyst development in all males except the control fish. This study provided some evidence that exposure to simulated CAFO runoff and its individual compounds impaired testicular development.


In this paper, we argue that lower prices for pharmaceuticals can be achieved by fostering a new type of competition in the pharmaceutical industry. Lower drug development costs, and hence prices, can be brought about by abolishing national drug administrations and replacing them with private certification boards that compete on the basis of safety, efficiency and cost of their drug approval process. A major benefit of this type of privatization is that it would not necessitate limits on data exclusivity in order to achieve lower prices. Drug approval privatization could achieve the same positive results as generic competition, in terms of lower costs and prices, without the negative effects of intellectual property rights violation and the consequent discouragement of innovative activities.


Employing a monoclonal antibody raised against the receptor protein, we have probed the mechanism of ligand interaction of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo marmorata. Antibody WF6 specifically binds to a-subunits of the receptor with a stoichiometry of one molecule per receptor monomer. At saturating concentrations, WF6 blocks half of the binding sites for acetylcholine, all of the binding sites for a-neurotoxins, and none of the binding sites for representative cholinergic antagonists (with the exception of a-toxins) at the receptor. In the presence of saturating concentrations of antibody WF6, acetylcholine (or its agonists) cannot induce T1' influx into Torpedo membrane vesicles. Rapid oversaturation of the receptor by agonist also cannot overcome this blockade of channel gating. The observed competition patterns of WF6 and representative cholinergic ligands with the receptor are evidence for separate binding sites for groups of ligands and for a network of allosterically linked effector regions at the receptor. The blockade by saturating concentrations of WF6 of the agonist-induced channel gating supports the conclusion that two molecules of agonist are required to activate the receptor-integral ion channel.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of naringin on the proliferation, differentiation and matrix mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cells in vitro.

METHOD
MC3T3-E1 cell lines were taken in vitro model. CCk-8 method was used to observe the proliferation of MC3T3 cells. Lactic acid dehydrogenase cytotoxicity (LDH) test was used to observe the cell toxicity. Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OC) were used to observe the cell differentiation. Von kossa calcification staining method was used to observe the cell calcification.

RESULTS
The high dosages of the naringin could promote the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells at both 12 h and 24 h. While, low dosages did not show the same capability. LDH test showed that the cytotoxicity percentages in all six naringin treated groups were quite low. BMP-2 cytoimmunochemistry test showed that the three naringin treated group (10, 1, 0.1 micromol x L(-1)) showed higher brown coloration in cytoplasm than the control group at both 24 h and 48 h. 1, 0.1 micromol x L(-1) naringin raised ALP activity of MC3T3-E1 cells at 48 h (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, 0.1 micromol x L(-1) naringin increased the ALP activity at 72 h (P < 0.05). 10 and 1 micromol x L(-1) naringin increased the capability of MC3T3-E1 cell to synthesize osteocalcin during 8th - 12th dsince adding the medicine (P < 0.05). Naringin did not show the positive effects on cell calcification.

CONCLUSIONS
Naringin could promote proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells.


It is interesting to explore whether corporate managers follow stock market signals when making corporate financial decisions. However, the literature concerning the relationship between stock market liquidity and corporate investment is still limited. This paper investigates the impact of stock liquidity on firm investment in the Vietnamese context, where stock market has grown at a significant pace in the recent years but the finance literature seems to ignore this small emerging economy. This relationship is tested in a panel of firms listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange over an extended time period. We aim to achieve more robust estimation results by employing the econometric technique of GMM estimator for panel data analysis. Moreover, we use a number of indicators to proxy for firm investment including both the aggregated indicators and disaggregated indicators. Consistent with previous findings, we find that corporate managers use market liquidity as an input for firm investment decision. However, our results are different from previous findings of papers employing advanced countries data in the outcome that stock market liquidity affects different investment growth indicators differently. More importantly, these findings are fully explainable by the context of emerging markets.


To attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows is the important institutional policies of the most of nations all over the world. Identifying the key determinants of FDI inflows is therefore seen as an important task for policy makers. This study, therefore, investigates the major determinants of FDI in Nigeria spanning from 1986 - 2017. The secondary source of data was used for the study which was first subjected to stationarity test using Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Phillips Perron test. Findings showed that all variables were found to be integrated order one. Cointegration analysis showed that there exists a long run relationship among the variables. Based on this findings, Error Correction Mechanism was used in testing the hypotheses. The result showed that exchange rate, GDP, first lag of GDP, military expenditure, first lag of military expenditure, political stability and financial development are the major determinants of FDI inflows to Nigeria. The empirical findings of this study show that government at all levels should tackle the menace of insecurity ravaging the economy and portraying the country as insecure thereby creating a secure environment for FDI inflows. Democratic regimes should be sustained and investment policies should be instituted or improved on, in order to create a friendly environment to attract more FDI inflows.


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Efficient neuronal function depends on the continued modulation of the local neuronal proteome. Local protein synthesis plays a central role in tuning the neuronal proteome at specific neuronal regions. Various aspects of translation such as the localization of translational machinery, spatial spread of the newly translated proteins, and their site of action are carried out in specialized neuronal subcompartments to result in a localized functional outcome. In this review, we focus on the various aspects of these local translation compartments such as size, biochemical and organelle composition, structural boundaries, and temporal dynamics. We also discuss the apparent absence of definitive components of translation in these local compartments and the emerging state‐of‐the‐art tools that could help dissecting these conundrums in greater detail in the future.


This paper describes the properties and performance status of vertical III–V nanowire transistors. The development of key process modules has advanced the vertical fabrication technology and competitive device performance is reported for InAs MOSFETs and TunnelFETs. Besides the benefits in electrostatic control and the ease in integration on Si substrates, the vertical transistors offers a path towards 3D device integration as demonstrated by the stacked track-and-hold circuit where a capacitor is integrated on top of the vertical transistor for area reduction.


This paper examines the dynamic effect of the economic determinants on bilateral trade intensity of the European Union (EU) region's bioenergy industry outputs. The authors adopt the panel co-integration model approach to estimate annual trade intensity data of the EU-28 countries' bioenergy industry outputs from 1990 to 2013. This study investigated the long-term influence of the rate of real exchange, gross domestic product (GDP), and export price on the trade intensity of bioenergy industry applying fully modified oriented least square (FMOLS), dummy oriented least square (DOLS), and pooled mean group (PMG) models. In the current study, the findings boost the empirical validity of the panel co-integration model through FMOLS, indicating that depreciation has improved the trade intensity. This study has further investigated, through the causality test, a distinct set of countries. FMOLS estimation does find proof of the long run improvement of trade intensity. Thus, the result shows that the gross domestic product (GDP) and the real exchange rate have a positive and noteworthy influence on the EU-28 region trade intensity of the bioenergy industry. Moreover, the export price affects negatively and significantly the trade intensity of the bioenergy industry in the EU-28 countries.


Discharge- and laser-produced plasma (DLPP) devices are being used as light sources for Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) generation. A key challenge for both, DPP and LPP, is achieving sufficient brightness to support the throughput requirements of nanometrology tools. To simulate the environment of a hybrid DLPP device and optimize EUV output, we have developed an integrated HEIGHTS-DLPP computer simulation package. The package integrates simulation of two evolving plasmas (DPP & LPP) and includes modeling of a set of integrated self-consistent processes: external power source and plasma energy balance, plasma resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), plasma heat conduction, detailed radiation transport (RT), and laser absorption and refraction. We simulated and optimized DLPP devices using Xe gas as a target material. We synchronized the external circuit parameters, chamber gas parameters and laser beam temporal and spatial profiles to achieve maximum EUV output. The full 3D Monte Carlo scheme was integrated for detailed RT and EUV output calculations in Xe using more than 3600 spectral groups. The modeling results are in good agreement with Julich Forschungszentrum experimental data. Theoretical models, developed and integrated in HEIGHTS package, showed wide capabilities and flexibility. The models and package can be used for optimization of the experimental parameters and settings, investigation of DLPP devices with complex design, analyzing the impact of integrated spatial effects and working timeline arrangement on the final EUV output, and EUV source size, shape and angular distribution.