INTRODUCTION :
The unique vulnerability of the kidneys in pregnancy was first noted in 1843 when John Lever recognized that proteinuria occurring in association with maternal convulsions was an entity separate from chronic kidney disease. Lever's observation came 16 years after Richard Bright's recognition of proteinuria as a marker for kidney disease. The distinction between primary kidney disease and preeclampsia remains one of the most common issues addressed by nephrologists seeing pregnant women.
Pregnancy in a woman with kidney disease or the development of primary kidney disease in a pregnant woman has long been recognized as dangerous. In 1936, Dieckman recommended termination of pregnancy if nephrosis occurred before 30 weeks gestation. At that time, not only was there no effective treatment for kidney failure, but antibiotics, steroids, and effective antihypertensive treatment were not available. Women with known kidney disease were discouraged from becoming pregnant, and most of our knowledge about pregnancy in kidney disease has been acquired only because women wanted children ignored the advice of their physicians.
In 1970 Lindheimer and Katz observed that successful pregnancy was the rule in women with kidney disease whose kidney function was well preserved. Some investigators associated poor outcomes with specific glomerular lesions, and only later did it become clear that preconception
serum creatinine was more important than the specific kidney disease (except in case of lupus nephritis). Until the 1980, most series of pregnancy in women with kidney disease included only a few women with serum creatinine greater than 1.4 mg/dl. Over the following 10 years, more than 7
reports were published detailing 226 pregnancies in 196 women with moderate to severe preexisting kidney disease. Collective experience indicated that these women risked more rapid progression to kidney failure if they became pregnant. At the same time, advances in the care of premature newborns resulted in the survival of more than 90% of infants
from pregnancies in this group of women.
MATERIALS AND METHODS :
All patients who were referred to Department of Nephrology with renal failure complicating pregnancy between Jan 2006 and Jan 2008 were included in this study. Total patients were 52 in number. All of these patients were referred from different parts of Tamilnadu. Most of these patients were referred from Department of Obstetrics attached to our college and from various District headquarters hospital. Their age ranged between 20 and 35 years, the mean being 25.5 years.
CONCLUSION :
Pregnancy-related ARF has virtually disappeared from the
economically advanced countries. This progress is chiefly attributed to legalized abortion, consequently, to a decline in septic abortion, and improvement in antenatal care. The incidence of severe ARF in pregnancy is high in the Indian and septic abortion remains the major cause of ARF.
Despite legalization of abortion, good number pregnant women seek abortion from untrained and unlicensed abortionist under unhygienic conditions, probably due to social stigma attached to abortion. In contrast to the low rates of cortical necrosis (1.5%). In early pregnancy in western countries its incidence remains high (25%) in India. The frequency distribution of ARF in pregnancy is still bimodal in Indian subcontinent, where as early peak of ARF in pregnancy has disappeared in the developed countries. Thus, ARF in pregnancy is larger in largely preventable because it is usually the result of obstetric complication and not
intrinsic renal disease. With this in mind, pregnancy related acute renal failure could be viewed as a public health problem rather than a nephrological problem.


THE INFLUENCE OF THE USE OF BANANA HUMP SHOES (Musa paradisiaca L) IN RATION ON THE PERCENTAGE OF CARCASS AND ABDOMINAL FAT IN BROILER CHICKEN. This study aims to determine the extent of the effect of using banana hump shoes (Musa Paradisiaca) in rations on carcass and abdominal fat in broiler chickens. This study was conducted using 100 unsexed Cobb broiler chickens (PT. Charoen Pokhpand), with an average body weight of 837 grams. The design used was a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) consisting of 4 treatments and 5 replications. Arrangement of the experimental treatment as follows: R₀= 55% corn + 0% banana hump shoes, R₁= 50% corn + 5% banana hump shoes, R₂= 45% corn + 10% banana hump shoes, R₃= 40% corn + 15% banana hump shoes. The results showed that there was no significant difference (P>0,05) on the percentage of carcass and abdominal fat in broiler chickens. Based on the results of this study it can be concluded that the use of banana shoe hump in rations up to 15% produces a good percentage of carcass and abdominal fat. Keywords: broiler chicken, banana hump shoes, percentage of carcass and abdominal fat.


Objectives The transplantation of human tissues is a greatly expanding field of medicine with unquestionable benefits that raise questions about safety, quality and ethics. Since 1 October 2019, the Fondazione Banca dei Tessuti del Veneto (FBTV) stopped sending thawed and ready to be transplanted cadaveric human tissues to hospitals. A retrospective analysis of the period 2016–2019 found a significant number of unused tissues. For this reason, the hospital pharmacy has developed a new centralised service characterised by thawing and washing human tissues for orthopaedic allografts. This study aims to analyse the hospital cost and benefit derived from this new service. Methods Aggregate data relating to tissue flows were obtained retrospectively for the period 2016–2022 through the hospital data warehouse. All tissues arriving from FBTV for each year were analysed, dividing them according to the outcome (if used or wasted). The percentage of wasted tissues as well as the economic loss due to wasted allografts were analysed per year and trimester. Results We identified 2484 allografts requested for the period 2016–2022. In the last 3 years of the analysis, characterised by the new tissue management of the pharmacy department, we found a statistically significant reduction in wasted tissues (p<0.0001) from 16.33% (216/1323) with a cost to the hospital of 176 866€ during the period 2016–2019 to 6.72% (78/1161) with a cost to the hospital of 79 423€ during the period 2020–2022. Conclusion This study shows how the centralised processing of human tissues in the hospital pharmacy makes the procedure safer and more efficient, demonstrating how the synergy between different hospital departments, high professional skills and ethics can lead to a clinical advantage for patients and a better economic impact for the hospital.


The difficulty in building a justifiable business case is preventing Fruitways from adopting a unified communication solution. Subsequently the research set out to determine the business value that Fruitways can expect to derive from implementing a unified communication solution before committing to a full-scale implementation. The results of this research have put Fruitways in a position to make an informed decision on whether or not to adopt unified communication. In order to answer the research question a unified communications pilot project was initiated within the Fruitways group using the introduction of Microsoft Lync (a unified communications application) as the event under study. The research described and analysed a unified communications pilot project in a bounded system, Fruitways (the case). The case study made use of abductive reasoning in order to synthesise a case for the business value that Fruitways can expect to derive from implementing unified communication technology. The literature study showed that unified communications provide value to an organisation on four levels; namely, the personal, workgroup, enterprise and infrastructure level. However, participants in the pilot project indicated that they experienced value from unified communication only on three of the four levels as identified in the literature; these levels were: • Personal level. Participants indicated that they felt more productive with unified communications at their disposal. The rich choice of communication methods empowered participants to choose the most appropriate mode of communication given the communication need and context. • Workgroup level. The main drivers of value for participants on this level was found in the increased speed of group tasks, working more effectively across distance and evidence of more effective work practises forming. • Enterprise level. The study showed improved coordination between departments in Fruitways with the deployment of unified communication technology. Surprisingly there was no indication that Fruitways could expect to save significant infrastructure related costs by consolidating communication onto a single data network. The infrastructure related cost saving value proposition that is most often cited by vendors of unified communication systems was not clear for Fruitways. Although the study showed that unified communication presents value to Fruitways, the literature also pointed toward the importance that this value needs to be aligned with the strategic objectives of the business in order to constitute true business value. The business value that unified communication presents to Fruitways does indeed support its strategic objectives.


Does membership in intergovernmental organizations help developing countries enhance their environmental performance? This article argues that IGO membership can improve the environmental performance of developing countries, by linking different issues, promoting the general idea of environmental sustainability and providing a channel through which these countries receive technologies and resources necessary to reduce pollution. This argument has been tested on panel data for 114 developing countries in 1970–2000. The results confirm that, controlling for a country's income and its political system, IGO membership is indeed associated with a reduction in both air pollution and greenhouse gases. To understand the mechanisms behind this result better, IGO membership is disaggregated according to both function and the degree of institutionalization of the respective organization.


This study shows how the entrepreneurs in the Suceviţa tourism area managed to build their business and how they try to fit it within the whole area, taking into account existing natural and manmade touristic potential. The study focused on four objectives which aimed at: knowing the motivation for the establishment and development of tourist activities, quantifying the influence of formal education and practical experience on managing a business in tourism, finding out how the tourism entrepreneur is aware of the potential area Suceviţa and how it can be sold, knowing the role and place of infrastructure, and relational capital. The four objectives were reflected in a questionnaire that was used as a tool in the investigation on a sample of tourist facilities in the mentioned area.


Based on qualitative interviews with adult children of alcoholics, this article analyzes three different ways of conceptualizing drinking problems: alcoholism as disease, alcoholism as volitional behavior, and alcoholism as a socially conditioned phenomenon. The interviewees (13 women, 12 men, average age 39 years) were recruited among employees at a large workplace who in a preceding survey had classified their parents as having "alcohol problems." The analysis reveals a pattern in which adult children's understandings of their parents' drinking problems, in essence the ways they think alcoholism should be explained, are associated with the ways they describe their relationship to their parents and the hardships of their childhood. The article suggests that differences in childhood experiences may lead to different ways of understanding the phenomenon of alcoholism, just like differences in understandings of alcoholism may affect recollections of childhood experiences.


Modern electrical engineering students need to learn about any new emerging field that directly impacts and is important to the profession. The development of the low-loss fibers, the miniature laser/detector systems, the photonic switches, the nonlinear optical devices, the optical signal processing, etc., have created the need to incorporate this special new knowledge into electrical engineering curriculum. however, the curriculum is restricted to a specific number of credit hours and, in most cases, it is impossible to add new courses unless other courses, which may be important, are deleted. To alleviate this problem, some 15 years ago Professor Seely and the author proposed the embedded method as a solution to the problem. This method is flexible, can be adopted at any level of instruction, can be incorporated in any field within the electrical engineering discipline, is easily implemented, and can also be adopted by any other field outside engineering which needs such a modification.


Policy makers and scholars often regard the life science industry in general, and bio-technology in particular, as an engine of future economic growth. The expectation is that growth in the industry will ultimately provide a major boost to national employment numbers. However, in this paper, I find that the Swedish life science industry (encompassing pharmaceutical, bio-technology, and medical technology firms) accounts for only a small proportion of total employment in Sweden. Given the recent discussion on jobless growth (i.e., economic growth without employment growth), it is here argued that focusing on employment is not necessarily the best policy approach to assessing the impacts of the life science industry on the overall economy. This paper maps and analyses the scope, structure, and geography of the life science industry and its workforce in Sweden using a unique set of data covering approximately 1,200 firms and 53,000 employees. The industry's workforce has education and income levels significantly higher than national averages, and is heavily concentrated in larger metropolitan areas and major university cities. Despite employing relatively few people and being more or less dependent on the existence and success of a few major pharmaceutical firms, the industry may still have a significant impact on the national economy by engendering high levels of education, income, and export revenues, particularly in specific regions.


Continuous burning of fossil fuel has a great impact on the environment. Thus, moving toward renewable energy system or hybridization of alternative energy systems can reduce the emission of hazardous gases produced by the fossil fuels. This paper presents a techno-economic analysis of hybrid PV/diesel and battery system configuration of five (5) Houses at Barhim Quarters, Katsina, Nigeria. HOMER optimization software was used for the techno-economic analysis. This paper shows how a meaningful amount of CO2 can be reduce and the impact of PV penetration by the optimized hybrid PV/diesel system configuration. Having compared the configurations such as the PV-diesel-battery, PV-diesel without battery, Standalone diesel and standalone PV system based with $0.434/kW, $0.645/kW, $0.721/kW and $0.908/kW respectively as their cost of energy. Considering the Net present costs, cost of energy, CO2 emission, excess of electricity generated and renewable penetration, a PV-diesel-battery Hybrid Power System (HPS) was proposed for the area under focus.


Several UN policy processes are embracing a calcified approach to conservation and equity in science Access and benefit sharing (ABS), a policy approach that links access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge to the sharing of monetary and nonmonetary benefits, first found expression in the 1992 United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Predicated on the sovereign rights of countries over their biodiversity and associated genetic resources and intended to harness the economic power of those resources to create incentives for and fund biodiversity conservation, the ABS transaction was conceived to foster equitable relations between those parties providing genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge and those wishing to make use of them for research and development. Yet although challenges faced within the CBD suggest that it is time to rethink ABS, several other international policy processes under the auspices of the UN have instead been embracing the ABS approach, and are doing so largely outside of mainstream scientific discourse and attention. The resulting policies could have a major impact on how genetic resources and associated information are collected, stored, shared, and used, and on how research partnerships are configured. We highlight implications for science of the recent expansion of ABS in global policy, in particular the potential incorporation of genetic sequence data.


We theoretically investigate non-refracted extraordinary rays where the ray does not change its direction when transmitted from a vacuum into a uniaxial crystal, even at oblique incidence. This is possible only when the optic axis is in the plane of incidence. We find that within the usual birefringence range of no≤ne≤no2, for a given angle of cut, there exits only one angle of incidence that produces a non-refracted extraordinary ray. Beyond this range, the number of solutions may be up to three. Numerical examples are given. All cases can be solved algebraically from a quartic equation.


Services using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) induce complicated situations concerning customer management. Especially, billing management is very critical. The requirement is firstly stated that managing relationship between services, payment, and settlement so as to assure payment method, service provision routes, and payment routes. The connection path concept is used in order to construct relationship between services, payment, and settlement. This paper proposes the efficient service and billing management method for interactive communication services.


SUMMARY Sex pheromones are chemical signals used for mate attraction and discrimination in many invertebrate species. These compounds are often complex mixtures with different components having different effects. We tested live Drosophila melanogaster mutant female flies genetically depleted for unsaturated cuticular hydrocarbons, which were then perfumed with these substances to measure their influence on various aspects of reproduction. Female pheromones of the control Cs strain enhanced female attractivity, copulation duration and tended to decrease the number of female progeny of mutant females mated with Cs males, but no dose-dependent effect was found. Cs and variant males showed different response to Cs female pheromone, suggesting a strain-specific coadaptation of female and male characters. The fact that female pheromones induced reciprocal effects on the frequency of the genes contributed by females and males suggests that these substances regulate coevolutionary processes between the sexes.


Silicon carbide (SiC) has been used for many engineering applications because of their high strength at high temperatures and high resistances to chemical degradation. SiC is very useful especially for a glass lens mold whose components demanded to the machining with good surface finish and low surface damage. The performance and reliability of optical components are strongly influenced by the surface damage of SiC during grinding process. Therefore, the severe process condition optimization shall be necessary for the highly qualified SiC glass lens mold. Usually the major form of damage in grinding of SiC is a crack occurs at surface and subsurface. The energy introduced in the layers close to the surface leads to the formation of these cracks. The experimental studies have been carried out to get optimum conditions for grinding of silicon carbide. To get the required qualified surface finish in grinding of SiC, the selection of type of the wheel is also important. Grinding processes of sintered SiC work-pieces is carried out with varying wheel type, depth of cut and feed using diamond wheel. The machining result of the surface roughness and the number of flaws, have been analyzed by use of surface profilers and SEM.


The kinase RIP1 acts in multiple signaling pathways to regulate inflammatory responses and it can trigger both apoptosis and necroptosis. Its kinase activity has been implicated in a range of inflammatory, neurodegenerative, and oncogenic diseases. Here, we explore the effect of inhibiting RIP1 genetically, using knock-in mice that express catalytically inactive RIP1 D138N, or pharmacologically, using the murine-potent inhibitor GNE684. Inhibition of RIP1 reduced collagen antibody-induced arthritis, and prevented skin inflammation caused by mutation of Sharpin, or colitis caused by deletion of Nemo from intestinal epithelial cells. Conversely, inhibition of RIP1 had no effect on tumor growth or survival in pancreatic tumor models driven by mutant Kras, nor did it reduce lung metastases in a B16 melanoma model. Collectively, our data emphasize a role for the kinase activity of RIP1 in certain inflammatory disease models, but question its relevance to tumor progression and metastases.


The faceted search paradigm is widely used in web applications, and there are various tools available for implementing it on the server side. In contrast, this paper presents an HTML based component tool on the client side that can be plugged on virtually any public SPARQL endpoint on the web, using only SPARQL API for data retrieval. To test and demonstrate the idea and the tool, application of the tool in a large in-use semantic portal is presented.


While the interest in AI ethics has overwhelmingly intensified over
 the last decade, and while various initiatives seek its institutionalization, the literature
 on algorithmic ethics tends to examine the subject through philosophical, legal, or
 technocratic perspectives, largely neglecting the empirical, socio-cultural ones. Moreover,
 this literature tends to focus on the United States, and to overlook other tech centers
 around the world. This paper aims to fill these gaps by focusing on how Israeli data
 scientists understand, interpret, and depict algorithmic ethics. Based on a pragmatist
 social analysis, and on 60 semi-structured interviews with Israeli data scientists, we ask:
 which ideologies, discourses and world views construct algorithmic ethics? And what cultural
 processes affect their creation and implementation? Our findings highlight three
 interrelated moral logics: A) ethics as a personal endeavor; B) ethics as hindering
 progress; and C) ethics as a commodity. We show that while data science is a nascent
 profession, these moral logics originate from the techno-libertarian culture of its
 parent-profession – engineering – and that they accordingly prevent the institutionalization
 of a wider, agreed-upon moral regime. We further show that these data scientists' avoidance
 from institutionalized algorithmic ethics also stems from specific cultural and national
 determinants. Thus, this paper offers to see algorithmic ethics in a contextualized,
 culture-specific perspective, one that focuses on how data scientists practically see and
 construct their ethics, while considering their professional, organizational, and national
 contexts.


The literature pioneered by Krugman (1991a) now known as "New economic geography" has developed very insightful models to understand phenomena as the agglomeration of economic activity and the specialization of regions. Nevertheless I think that the emphasis on the process of specialization, has been somewhat misleading both at a theoretical and empirical level. The attention of the literature has been focused on decreasing transport costs as the unique engine of the process. I develop a modified version of such models in which technological knowledge and its growth and spillovers are important forces at work, once agglomeration has taken place. I obtain the interesting result that after the dramatic tendency to specialization, driven by decreasing transport costs, local technological growth generates a tendency towards de-specialization, in the most advanced regions. This pattern fits the stylized facts relative to the last 40 years in the U.S. There, after a strong tendency towards industrial concentration, there has been a tendency, towards de-concentration. A first look at the data for European countries, for the last 30 years also shows a tendency to constant or slightly decreasing concentration of industries and de-concentration of innovative activity.


Abstract Drug-induced uveitis is an uncommon but important cause of ocular inflammation. Uveitis can be seen in association with various systemic, topical, and intraocular medications. In this article, we review common medications associated with uveitis. Most cases of drug-induced uveitis resolve with termination of the suspected medication with or without administration of topical or systemic steroids. It is important for clinicians to readily identify medications that may cause uveitis in order to provide rapid treatment, avoid consequences of longstanding inflammation, and prevent costly and excessive laboratory testing.


This paper studies stylized empirical facts regarding the effects of unexpected changes in aggregate macroeconomic fiscal policies on consumers that are allowed to differ depending on their individual characteristics. We use data from the Consumption Expenditure Survey (CEX) to estimate individual-level impulse responses as well as multipliers for government spending and tax policy shocks. The main empirical finding of this paper is that unexpected fiscal shocks have substantially different effects on consumers depending on their age, income levels, and education. In particular, the wealthiest individuals tend to behave according to the predictions of standard RBC models, whereas the poorest individuals tend to behave according to standard IS-LM (non-Ricardian) models, due to credit constraints. Furthermore, government spending policy shocks tend to decrease consumption inequality, whereas tax policy shocks most negatively affect the lives of the poor, more so than the rich, thus increasing consumption inequality.


In no other element of family planning programming is staff professionalism so low in relation to the responsibilities assigned as in IEC work. IEC directors generally are selected either for their ability to manage staff and resources or their ability to plan and manage behavior change activities but seldom both. The literature contains few references to management issues as they relate to IEC despite their complexities. The implementation of a national IEC program requires a wide variety of services ranging from creative design of printed materials to training village volunteers in effective motivation techniques. Equally important is the availability of channels of communication to audiences as varied as government officials and illiterate unmarried women. Coordination is a crucial issue in mobilizing a total staff in support of communication goals. Effective management of an IEC program is facilitated by the following conditions: a separate and distinct unit responsible for IEC and with equal status to other divisions in the organization; full involvement of the IEC manager in policy-level discussions affecting the IEC component; state province and county-level IEC units that link the central and local levels and provide 2-way communication; selection of IEC staff on the basis of their communication and educational qualifications; opportunity for advancement within the IEC structure; specialized IEC training provided on a regular basis; systematic formative evaluation; and sufficient decentralization to foster community participation in decision making. A set of communication goals realistically based on the goals of the larger organization should be maintained and regularly revised.


We report an 8 month-old infant with primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAME) due to Naegleria fowleri. The child was treated with amphotericin B, chloramphenicol and rifampicin for 3 weeks. PAME is an almost universally fatal condition with very few survivors till date. Our patient was one of the rare survivors who recovered after treatment and was discharged without any residual neurological deficit.


Increased incidence in Germany, In spite of my negative contribution there is one fact from which I take consolation (albeit also a negative one) and that is that we are not alone in having trouble with arsenical jaundice, for Stumpke (1942) stated last year that, just as in the war of 1914-18, there has been an increase in toxic reactions after arsphenamine injections in Germany: he suggests (a) an increase in virulence of the disease and (b) malnutrition as causes.


A noninvasive repeatable method to harvest oocytes for in vitro fertilization (IVF) could potentially be used to assist reproduction in endangered equid species. The objectives of this study were to evaluate a specific transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte recovery procedure for use in zebra mares and the general applicability of IVF procedures in zebra. Ovaries were collected from Burchell's zebra (Equus burchelli) and Hartmann's zebra (Equus zebra hartmannae) mares at routine culling for Expt. I. Of the 144 oocytes recovered from these ovaries, 70% were of excellent quality. No significant difference in oocyte quality was found between the two zebra species. Zona drilling was performed on in vitro-matured oocytes prior to IVF. Epididymal sperm from culled Burchell's zebra stallions were used for IVF. The sperm either were exposed to calcium ionophore or were not treated and served as a control. In vitro fertilized oocytes were then co-cultured with zebra granulosa cells (ZGC) or with bovine oviduct cells (BOC) for up to 8 days. Overall, a 38% cleavage rate was obtained with 16% of sperm-exposed oocytes developing to the morula or blastocyst stage. All of the embryos that developed to at least the morula stage were cultured on BOC; whereas, none of those cultured on ZGC reached the morula stage during the same interval. Cleavage rates of oocytes inseminated with ionophore-treated or with control sperm were not significantly different, suggesting that ionophore treatment of epididymal sperm for IVF in these zebra species may be redundant. In Expt. II, 10 transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte aspiration procedures on five captive Burchell's zebra mares recovered a total of 33 oocytes (6.6 oocytes/female) of which 94% were considered viable. This approach may be an attractive means of producing gametes for assisted reproduction in endangered species. Furthermore, results from this study indicate that IVF may become a means of producing offspring from zebra and other equid species in the future.


Current medical treatments of myocardial infarction (MI) face a serious shortcoming in that they cannot reverse the detrimental effects of ischemia induced necrosis. In searching for novel solutions to this medical problem, great focus has been placed on cardiac tissue engineering. Recently much progress has been made using cellular approaches, with multiple studies undergoing clinical trials. Non-cellular approaches for the construction of engineered cardiac tissue have also achieved some major breakthroughs, although drawbacks remain. In this review article, an update on the progress of a non-cellular approach is discussed with major focus on the two main scaffold types: implantable cardiac patches and injectable cardiac hydrogels. The design properties, cell sources, and material properties are briefly described.


ABSTRACT The basic science knowledge and attitudes toward science have been compared for (1) adult free-choice learners in an astronomy online course or MOOC, (2) undergraduate non-science majors, and (3) professional scientists from graduate student to professor level. The adult MOOC learners have a higher level of science knowledge than the college students, as measured using an NSF instrument, and they display fewer science misconceptions and a deeper view of how science works. They also have more positive attitudes toward science and technology and lower levels of belief in pseudoscience and superstition. Compared to professional scientists at any level, both student groups showed a more limited and shallow view of how science works. These results inform efforts to help free choice learners engage in science so that they can meaningfully participate in the many societal and policy debates that hinge on science.


A glass house experiment was conducted to develop phospho-vermicompost using different combination of organic residues amended with rock phosphate and earthworms at the Soil Science Division, BINA, Mymensingh. The experiment was conducted in a Completely Randomized Design with eight treatments and three replications. The treatments were as T1:50% Cowdung (CD) + 50% Mustard straw (MST), T2:50% CD + 50% Water hyacinth (WH), T3:50% CD + 50% Rice straw (RST), T4:50% CD + 25% WH + 25% RST, T5:50% CD + 50% MST + 4% Rock phosphate (RP), T6:50% CD + 50% WH + 4% RP, T7:50% CD + 50% RST + 4% RP, T8:50% CD + 25% WH + 25% RST + 4% RP. About 150 earth worms (Eisenia foetida or Red wiggler earthworms) were released on partial decomposed residues into the pots. At the end of the incubation, population of earthworms, total bacteria and phosphate solubilizing bacteria were determined from prepared vermicompost. pH, organic carbon, total N, P, K, S, available P and alkaline phosphatase activity were also determined from prepared vermicomposts. pH was found almost similar in all the treatment combinations but with rock phosphate amended treatments showed greater pH than without rock phosphate amended treatments. The treatment T8 (50% cowdung +25% water hyacinth +25% rice straw with 4% rock phosphate powder + red wiggler earthworms) showed significantly highest population of earthworms, total bacteria, phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) and alkaline phosphatase activity (ALPA) and gave lower C:N and C:P ratio which might be resulted the higher amount of nutrients including available P in mature vermicompost. However, among the treatments, the treatments T8 gave the highest total N (1.42%), P (1.45%), K (1.52%) and S (0.35%) and available P contents than that of other treatments which indicated the better quality of phospho-vermicompost. Therefore, 50% cowdung +25% water hyacinth +25% rice straw with 4% rock phosphate powder and red wiggler earthworms could be used for the production of phospho-vermicompost. The developed phospho-vermicompost could be used for supplement of phosphatic fertilizer and other chemical fertilizers in the cultivation of different crops and also could be saved of chemical fertilizers.
Progressive Agriculture 31 (3): 195-204, 2020


The wide use of machine learning is fundamentally changing the software development paradigm (a.k.a. Software 2.0) where data becomes a first-class citizen, on par with code. As machine learning is used in sensitive applications, it becomes imperative that the trained model is accurate, fair, and robust to attacks. While many techniques have been proposed to improve the model training process (in-processing approach) or the trained model itself (post-processing), we argue that the most effective method is to clean the root cause of error: the data the model is trained on (pre-processing). Historically, there are at least three research communities that have been separately studying this problem: data management, machine learning (model fairness), and security. Although a significant amount of research has been done by each community, ultimately the same datasets must be preprocessed, and there is little understanding how the techniques relate to each other and can possibly be integrated. We contend that it is time to extend the notion of data cleaning for modern machine learning needs. We identify dependencies among the data preprocessing techniques and propose MLClean, a unified data cleaning framework that integrates the techniques and helps train accurate and fair models. This work is part of a broader trend of Big data -- Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration.


We propose a novel intraday instantaneous volatility measure which utilises sequences of drawdowns and drawups non-equidistantly spaced in physical time as indicators of high-frequency activity of financial markets. The sequences are re-expressed in terms of directional-change intrinsic time which ticks only when the price curve changes the direction of its trend by a given relative value. We employ the proposed measure to uncover weekly volatility seasonality patterns of three Forex and one Bitcoin exchange rates, as well as a stock market index. We demonstrate the long memory of instantaneous volatility computed in directional-change intrinsic time. The provided volatility estimation method can be adapted as a universal multiscale risk-management tool independent of the discreteness and the type of analysed high-frequency data.


HIV/AIDS HIV, the wily virus that causes AIDS, is able to outwit any number of host immune defenses that it encounters during infection. However, as
 Nolan, James and Mallal
 discuss in their Perspective, there is increasing evidence that small pockets of individuals are relatively protected against HIV infection, and also experience less aggressive HIV disease progression, due to a fortuitous genetic barrier. The Perspective authors discuss the finding that a low copy number of the gene encoding CCL3L1, a ligand for CCR5 (the coreceptor that HIV must bind to for invasion of human T cells to proceed), can markedly alter HIV disease outcomes. The authors discuss the need to take into account genetic barriers like the CCR5-CCL3L1 network when developing vaccines against HIV.


This chapter explores the lessons that can be drawn from how adaptive drug licensing processes cope with legitimacy issues of regulatory connections. The exploration assumes that a responsive approach to technology regulation offers opportunities to meet legitimacy requirements. Looking at existing and proposed adaptive drug licensing pathways through the lens of this theoretical frame we see a realistic responsive approach to regulation. By indicating that adaptive licensing can bring beneficial medicinal drugs earlier to patients this approach seems to be equipped to transcend the myth of law's stifling technological innovation. The evaluation of the current stage of adaptive drug licensing leads to three tentative lessons. First, a shared interest, accompanied by strong drivers and enablers, is crucial; second, ongoing prudent coordination of a leading regulatory agency is essential; third, to ensure that new responsibilities and the norms of participation, transparency, integrity, and accountability are taken seriously a new social contract can be supportive.


The purpose of the present study was to validate the Malay language version of the Recreational Exercise Motivation Measure (REMM-M) using a confirmatory approach. A total of 506 (females=373, males=133) university students with a mean age of 20 (SD=1.7) years old, participate in this study. Participants completed the REMM-M to measure their motives for doing recreational exercise. The REMM-M consisted of eight subscales, with 73 items measuring motives of respondents related to recreational exercise. The confirmatory factor analysis was tested on the REMM-M using the Mplus 7.3 software. We developed eight hypothesised measurement models of REMM-M based on each subscale. Therefore, there were eight measurement models with eight latent variables and the number of observed variables for each measurement model ranged from seven to 11. All the eight hypothesised measurement models were found not in good fit based on several fit indices. Therefore, several modifications were made iteratively, with theoretical support, to improve the measurement models. These modifications included deleting 22 low-loading items (< 0.50). The final measurement models were combined as one complete measurement model of REMM-M and the CFA results indicated fit based on several fit indices (SRMR=0.064 and RMSEA=0.049 (90% CI: 0.046 to 0.051), Clfit=0.832). The motive constructs' reliability of the final measurement model were acceptable, ranging from 0.683 to 0.867. The final measurement model comprised 51 items and eight subscales. Overall, 70% of the items were retained from the original English version of REMM. Kueh, Y. C., Kuan, G., Morris, T., and Naing, N. N. 590 Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 25 (2): 1 600 (2017)


Introduction: The most frequent internal instability of the knee is a meniscal tear. Most cost-effective and the primary diagnostic method is a physical examination of the knee joint. MRI is a non-invasive and extremely sensitive method of study and it frequently detects subtle and early alterations in the soft tissues. Arthroscopy is a highly specific and sensitive method which is useful for both diagnosis and treatment but it is an invasive treatment. Objective 1. To assess the accuracy for clinical examination and arthroscopy to diagnose the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscal injuries in knee joint. 2. To examine how accurate MRI is, as compared to arthroscopy in diagnosing anterior cruciate ligament and meniscal injuries in knee. 3. Anassociation of diagnostic accuracy of MRI and clinical examination in diagnosis of anterior cruciate ligament and meniscal injuries in knee joint. Material and Methods: A Cross-sectional study conducted at Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS). This study completed in one year and two months after the acceptance of synopsis. A sample of 120 patients was calculated for this study. A clinical diagnosis of meniscal, posterior cruciate ligament, anterior cruciate ligament, lateral collateral ligament, and medial collateral ligament injury of the knee has made after these patients gave their up-to-date consent. These patients were evaluated on the basis of MRI and Arthroscopy. We used SPSS to evaluate all data, with arthroscopy serving as the gold standard. Results: The study contained 120 patients. The mean age of these patients is between 30.8 ± 6.93 years. Most of the patients are male. The most common ligament involved in this study found to be ACL followed by medial Meniscal injury. Findings from clinical examination are correlated with Arthroscopic findings and it found more sensitive for ACL injuries (97.5%) while it is most specific for ACL as well as Medial Meniscal injuries (100%). Findings from MRI are also correlate with Arthroscopy, MRI found most sensitive to detect ACL injuries (95.8%) and it is most specific for ACL injuries also (100%). We also compare the MRI findings with clinical examination finding and found that, clinical examination is almost equally accurate as MRI to detect the injuries of ACL injuries with sensitivity of clinical examination 97.5% and MRI 95.8% and found 100% for ACL injuries. Conclusion: We concluded that the clinical examination is batter for diagnosing cruciate ligamentous injury while MRI is batter for diagnosis of meniscal injury, in case of knee injuries. So we may skip MRI for patients with cruciate injury &directly proceed towards arthroscopy. In difficult cases and the cases which are involving meniscal injury both MRI and arthroscopy may be considered. Keywords: Meniscal tear; MRI; Arthroscopy; knee joint; clinical examination.


This article reports the results of an educational project, which included a needs assessment survey and the development of a malignant cutaneous wound educational programme. As there is little information on the differences between the management of malignant cutaneous wounds in the hospice and oncology settings, a survey was undertaken to identify differences encountered by hospice and oncology nurses. This needs assessment survey also included enterostomal/wound-ostomy-continence (ET/WOC) nurses who serve as wound care consultants in oncology and hospice settings. The 12-question survey addressed the frequency of wounds, symptoms, and psychosocial issues encountered. The education programmes was individualized to the setting by determining the differences between the nurses' roles based partially on the survey information. One interesting survey finding was that many of the nurses were using the internet to obtain answers for wound management questions; therefore, a future implication of this project is the need to develop an online malignant cutaneous wound educational programme for nurses.


The authors report their experience with the use of loco-regional anaesthesia for the surgical treatment of inguinal and femoral hernias. Their series includes 1730 operations, 235 of which for hernia relapses, performed exclusively in the outpatient department. In the authors opinion, with loco-regional anaesthesia it is possible to treat any type of inguinal-femoral hernia, reducing the risks related to total anaesthesia and the complications arising from bedrid. Excellent results were achieved especially in the elderly and high risk patients like cardiopathic or those affected by respiratory and hepatorenal insufficiency with a complete absence of mortality and morbidity.


Since India gained Independence, the Krishna basin has seen an increasing mobilization of its water resources. Warnings of basin closure (minimal flow to the ocean) emerge during dry periods. Basin water development and local rural dynamics have led to a degradation of downstream ecosystems manifesting itself by salinizing soil and groundwater, increasing pollution, making mangroves disappear, and desiccating wetlands. Reversing this evolution requires the formal recognition of the environment as a water user in its own right and the implementation of an environmental water provision. This provision should be based on a two-tier allocation system with assured discharges in the irrigation canals of the delta and to the ocean. This will lead to further commitment of water resources, but this is needed to reconcile the social, economic, and environmental objectives of sustainable development. Other measures facilitating integrated natural resources management from the local to the basin level are needed too.


Nowadays, RFID-based localization systems have been widely deployed in many factories and warehouses for sorting or locating products. These systems are mainly generalized schemes which might suffer severe accuracy degradation in multipath-rich scenarios. In order to suppress environmental interferences, we present a fine-grained RFID-based indoor localization system AdaRF, which leverages deep learning enhanced holography to create adaptive localization models for individual environments. The key idea is to optimize the localization model using signals from a small number of known location tags to achieve high positioning accuracy in its deployed environment. Based on this point, we propose Adjacent Differential Hologram (ADH) which yields a robust location-independent probability map for each tag. AdaRF subsequently leverages the neural network to create an effective hologram-based position estimation method, which estimates the target tag position by analyzing the whole hologram. And we introduce transfer learning technique to significantly lower training cost for the position estimation model while ensuring high accuracy simultaneously. Comparative experiments demonstrate AdaRF achieves cm-level positioning accuracy both in the lateral and radial direction with only one moving antenna even in complex scenarios.


Time-resolved THz spectroscopy (TRTS) is employed to study the photogenerated charge-carrier dynamics in transparent films of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Two films were investigated: a film with 94% semiconducting-type tubes (s-SWNTs) and a film with only 7% s-SWNT and 93% metal-type tubes (m-SWNTs). We conclude that charge-carriers are generated with >60% yields at low light intensities in both films. Free-carriers are generated by a linear exciton dissociation process that occurs within -1 ps and is independent of excitation wavelength or tube type.


Indian subcontinent receives precipitation from the southwest monsoon, northeast monsoon, and western disturbances. Unlike southwest and northeast monsoon, precipitation by western disturbances is less studied in terms of understanding its forcing factors and future behavior. Synoptic weather phenomena that originate in temperate north-Atlantic and the Mediterranean sea are primarily responsible for the moisture convergence towards the Indian landmass through an eastward movement and cause Western Disturbance Precipitation (WDP) in Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and northwestern India during winter (December-March). Long term (116 years) WDP shows an increasing trend over most of the regions. To understand the forcing factors in WDP, a long term pressure gradient between the Indian landmass and northern Atlantic has been calculated. This pressure gradient also shows an increasing trend, thereby suggesting its direct influence on WDP. This influence is observed not only in the long term WDP but for each winter month as well. Previous studies showed the impact of Pacific ocean sea surface temperature (SST)  on the modulation of northern Atlantic ocean SST and surface pressure. However, no quantitative estimation on the relation of Pacific SST with WDP is known. Here, an attempt has been made to understand the role of Pacific SST in the long term trend of WDP.

Changes in SST and convection in the tropical Pacific region determines the interannual variability as well as seasonal climate forecasting all over the world by modulating the air-sea coupling and sea level pressure. Therefore, the potential impact of Pacific SST on WDP has been tested, and a significant correlation between them has been observed. To understand the causal factors behind such relation, statistical analysis like Pearson's correlation analysis was performed by taking the SST of the Nino 3.4 region with the surface pressure of the northern Atlantic and Indian subcontinent. This analysis gave a significant positive correlation (R=0.24) among NINO 3.4 SST and surface pressure over the northern Atlantic and negative correlation (R=-0.28) between NINO 3.4 SST and surface pressure of the Indian region. From this analysis, it is inferred that the Pacific warm pool primarily drives the lower and higher surface pressure over Indian landmass and northern Atlantic, respectively, by modulating the local meridional and zonal circulation, which further dictates WDP.

References

Dimri, A. P., et al. "Western disturbances: a review."Reviews of Geophysics 53.2 (2015): 225-246.

Enfield, DAVID B., and ALBERTO M. Mestas-Nuñez. "Global modes of ENSO and non-ENSO sea surface temperature variability and their associations with climate."El-Niño and the Southern Oscillation: multiscale variability and global and regional impacts (2000): 89-112.


Summary The sera of normal chickens and of chickens bursectomized on the day of hatching contain both IgM and IgG antibodies after two injections of sheep erythrocytes. Chickens bursectomized before hatching either are nonresponders, synthesize IgM antibodies only, or synthesize low levels of both IgM and IgG antibodies. It is concluded that precursors of cells competent to synthesize IgM antibodies are activated through bursal influence prior to the activation of ability to synthesize IgG antibody. Similar specific immunoglobulin deficiency syndromes in human patients could result from developmental failures occurring at different times.


until the end of August 2008. The SINE program is affiliated with the Sensory Motor Performance Program (SMPP) at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) and the Biomedical Engineering program at Northwestern University. I worked in the Neuralplasticity Laboratory, which is a part of the SMPP located at the RIC. I worked under Dr. Stinear and Dr. Madhavan to test protocols developed by my advisors as candidate techniques for demonstrating ipsilateral connectivity between the lower limb motor cortex and spinal motor neurons. The goal of the research was to develop a candidate stimulation protocol to demonstrate ipsilateral connectivity in stroke patients between the lower limb motor cortex and spinal motor neurons.


ABSTRACT:This article evaluates women's representation in the 2019–20 peace negotiations and the extent to which their interests are reflected in the Juba Peace Agreement. With East Sudan as a case study, this article explores women peacebuilders' experiences at and around the peace table in Juba. Building on interviews conducted in 2021, this article argues that women's inroads to the peace negotiations were tokenistic. Women's substantive representation was hampered by the structure of the peace talks, which were divided into different geographical tracks. In a patriarchal context such as the East, this track model did not provide a de facto political space for women to exercise meaningful influence. As cultural norms in this region domesticate women, the women from the East did not enter the talks with a political track record and they were isolated from important support networks. Added to that, the article suggests further that tokenistic inclusion may even lead to backlash effects as female negotiators have to bear the responsibility for a peace agreement that resulted in tribally charged conflict.


A simple, rigorous and effective methodology is used to study as an integrated whole sports public policy in Venezuela during the Government of President Hugo Chavez (1999-2011), at the same time that analyzes each one of its components (game, physical education, sport and recreation) separately. The analysis is completed with a body of propositions in the theoretical-conceptual and in particular, to contribute to the design and implementation of a sports public policy at the service of the entire population.


Selective harmonic cancellation has become of primary importance in a wide range of power electronics applications, for example, uninterrupted power systems, regenerative converters, and active power filters (APFs). In such applications, the primary objectives are an accurate cancellation of selected harmonics and a quick speed of response under transients. This paper provides a novel signal-processing algorithm for selective harmonic identification based on heterodyning, moving average finite-impulse response filters, and phase-locked loop (PLL). The algorithm is applied over the current of a nonlinear load in the feedforward-based control of an APF. The PLL tracks the phase and frequency of the fundamental component. Then, the fundamental phase is multiplied by the order of the selected harmonic, and two random unitary orthogonal "axis waves" are generated. These unitary waves, rotating at the harmonic frequency, are multiplied by the input load current, thereby "moving" the Fourier series coefficients of the selected harmonic to DC (heterodyning). Moving average FIR filters are used to filter the harmonics generated in the heterodyning process from the DC signal; moving average FIR filters are very suitable for most of the power quality applications, thanks to their "comb-type" frequency response and their quick transient response. Experimental results confirm good performance for steady-state harmonic cancellation and an optimal system response to load transients. The theory of the algorithm has been developed for single- and three-phase systems.


Abstract. This paper presents a frequency domain analysis of spurious tones in
frequency dividers. The results of the analysis are used to develop an
event-driven model for system simulations which work entirely in the
frequency domain. The proposed approach is able to provide a fast and
accurate model in a SystemVerilog/C++ environment which takes the frequency
conversion effects of the spurious tones into account. A virtual prototype
which includes the model was simulated and due to the fast simulation speed
it was possible to determine the influence of spurious tones on the bit error
rate in a complex receive scenario.


Mixtures of kaolinite clay and quartz sand were packed in columns and leached with NaCl-CaCl2 solutions of different concentrations (ranging from 0.5 M to distilled water) having sodium adsorption ratios (SAR) of 5, 10 and 20. Sodium hexametaphosphate (NaHMP) (10 g/m3) was added to each solution. Changes in the hydraulic conductivity (HC) and clay concentration in the effluent were measured, and the dispersion of the clay was evaluated. In the absence of NaHMP, using distilled water instead of 0.01 M solutions caused some reduction in the HC; the reduction became more severe as the SAR increased. At SAR 20 the HC dropped to 73% of that obtained when the 0.5 M salt solution was used. This reduction in HC was related to increases in the pH of the effluent and partial dispersion of the clay. On adding the NaHMP to the leaching solutions, a marked decrease in the HC and severe clay dispersion were observed at all SAR levels, if the kaolinite-sand mixtures were leached with dilute solutions and distilled water. The HC dropped to 40% of that obtained when leaching with 0.5 M salt solution, and dispersed clay in the effluent peaked at about 1% in the SAR 20 treatment following leaching with distilled water. The observed reduction in the HC of the kaolinite-sand mixture when NaHMP was added to the leaching solutions was due to the dispersive effect of NaHMP and sodium on the kaolinite. The polyanion NaHMP reduced the edge-to-face particle interactions, thereby enabling the dimise double-layer repulsion forces to predominate. Following addition of the polyphosphate, the response of kaolinite to sodium and electrolyte concentration was similar to that reported in the literature for smectite.


In this work, direct exciton-plasmon interactions (EPI) between CdS quantum dots (QDs) and Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were invoked ingeniously by catalytic Ag deposition on Au NPs for the stimulation of high efficient damping effect toward the excitonic responses in CdS QDs, on the basis of which a novel photoelectrochemical (PEC) bioanalytical format was achieved for sensitive microRNA detection. Specifically, upon the configurational change from the hairpin probe DNA to the "Y"-shaped ternary conjugate consisting of the original probe DNA, assistant DNA, and the target microRNA, the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) catalytic chemistry would then trigger the transition of the interparticle interplay from the CdS QDs-Au NPs to the CdS QDs-Ag NPs systems for the microRNA detection due to the dependence of the photocurrent quenching on the target concentration. This work not only provided a unique method for EPI generation among the PEC nanosystems but also offered a versatile and general protocol for future PEC bioanalysis development.


Arterial pressure, fear and anxiety affects, urinary excretion of catecholamines and plasma renin activity, central hemodynamics were studied in 134 subjects with alcoholic abstinence syndrome and delirium. The above syndrome and delirium were associated with arterial hypertension termed "reactive". Reactive hypertension declined 1-2 days after the patients' getting out of the acute stage of the affects. It can be considered as a manifestation of stress-response in pathogenesis of which an essential role may be played by plasma catecholamines and renin elevation. Hemodynamically, such hypertension is hyperkinetic with a tendency to high total peripheral resistance. Correlations were not found between the degree of the reactive hypertension and severity of the fear and anxiety affects. There was a weak correlation between the affects and heart beat. Apart from reactive hypertension, alcoholism is a promotor of essential hypertension.


In this paper, we describe about the statistical distribution of eigenvalues of correlation matrices in independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) MIMO Rayleigh fading channels. First, the statistical eigenanalysis of MIMO channel correlation matrices is carried out, and the exact expression of the marginal distribution of eigenvalues is presented. Then, a monomial approximation of above distribution with a simple form convenient for the calculation of MIMO performance is proposed based on the theory of space diversity in SIMO systems adopting maximal ratio combining. Through computer simulations, the effectiveness of the proposed approximation method is demonstrated


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
To evaluate an intracuring method by changing the corneal curvature.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
An intrastromal tunnel was created by femtosecond laser in five cadaveric sheep eyes. Dental flowable restorative composite was used to fill the tunnel. A light-emitting diode light was applied for polymerization for 20 seconds. Flat plastic material was used for pressure on the cornea during polymerization. Keratometric measurements were obtained in all eyes using a rotating Scheimpflug camera.

RESULTS
Remarkable changes on the corneal curvature were observed after the intracuring method. Inferior or inferonasal flattening and opposite steepening was observed in all sheep eyes. The average flattening effect of this method was 10.6 diopters.

CONCLUSION
This new application may be a promising technique for the treatment of keratoconus. The application of this technique in humans could offer improved treatment options in the future.


A reduction procedure is developed for an arbitrarily shaped layered dielectric body using for each interface a single unknown function to which the classical surface electric and magnetic currents are related by some surface operators. These operators and single functions are determined recursively from one interface to the next. This allows us to derive the field everywhere from the solution of a surface integral equation in only one vector function relative to only the interface between the layered body and the source region. Since the reduction operators are independent of the structure of the outside region and of the given field source, and also invariant under translation and rotation, the analysis of the three‐dimensional electromagnetic wave scattering and propagation for systems of multilayered or/and multiply nested dielectric bodies based on reduced single integral equations is substantially more efficient than that based on existing coupled integral equation formulations using electric and magnetic currents on all the interfaces, especially for configurations with identical such bodies arbitrarily located and oriented with respect to each other.


The concentration and affinity to concanavalin A (ConA) of plasma alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) and AGP levels in extracts of liver tissues were investigated in specific-pathogen-free chickens infected with the highly virulent HPS-2 strain or virulent reference GBF-1 strain of infectious bursal disease virus. The plasma AGP value in uninfected control 3- to 7-wk-old chickens was 161.8 +/- 25.8 micrograms/ml (mean +/- SD), and ConA-unreactive and ConA-reactive AGP comprised 47% and 63% of total AGP. Increases in AGP levels in plasma and liver extracts were observed in both the HPS-2 and the GBF-1 groups, although albumin levels decreased. The plasma AGP values were higher in the HPS-2 group than in the GBF-1 group through the experimental period. In the HPS-2 group, ConA-reactive AGP reached levels 6.8-fold greater than control values and comprised 80% of total AGP at 4 days post-inoculation. In the lipopolysaccharide group, a great increase in ConA-reactive AGP was observed.


The gains in economic welfare achieved over the last several generations depend on social as much as they do on technological innovations. Although much of the technological and commercial progress in question was driven mainly by self-interest and competition, effective functioning of governmental and legal systems and provision of public goods were crucial to social and economic progress, and these depended partly on social norms and motivations. Research suggests that the strengthening in recent centuries of cooperative dispositions embedded in human social psychology by long run evolutionary forces has played an important part in the escape of an increasing share of humanity from poverty. Behavioral economics and research on economic history, institutions and culture are shedding light on these connections and may provide guidance helpful to preserving late 20th century gains in the now rapidly shifting landscape.


Background

Considering the importance of gastrointestinal cancers and their high prevalence in Iran, the analysis of national and local programs and policies are of high importance. The current document review was conducted to assess policies and programs related to the prevention of colon, stomach, liver, esophageal and pancreas cancers in Iran.

Methods

This paper used 'policy triangle' as a framework to analyze documents related to gastrointestinal cancer prevention in Iran. We searched PubMed and SCOPUS, as well as web pages of Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME), all Medical Sciences Universities, and some related research centers. Documents were analyzed using MAXQDA 10 software.

Results

Three documents, one guideline, 16 national meeting reports, and 11 articles were found containing or describing interventions directed at the prevention of gastrointestinal cancers in Iran. Also, a large amount of news was obtained from the searched web pages. Findings of this paper are organized based on the four aspects of health policy triangle including content, context, process, and actors. Health affairs of MOHME developed a plan, called 'Iran Package of Essential Non-communicable Disease' (IraPEN), for preventing three common cancers namely colorectal, breast, and cervix in 2015. The contextual factors affecting prevalence and incidence of gastrointestinal cancers in this country included economic, social, and cultural. Regarding high prevalence and incidence of gastrointestinal cancers in Iran, prevention programs have been developed in this country since 2012 and have been implemented in some areas. However, these programs don't have any evaluation phase within them. The most effective actor in preventing these cancers in Iran is MOHME.

Conclusions

Considering the interventions conducted to prevent gastrointestinal cancers in the country, the prevalence and incidence of these cancers have not been diminished. This issue needs care of policy makers in health and other sectors to design and implement policies and strategies in order to prevent these cancers at the primary level. Also, non-governmental organizations might be attracted to provide financial support.


The aim of the study was to assess the possibilities of noninvasive diagnosis of liver fibrosis (FIB-4 and APRI indices) in patients with CHC and abdominal obesity. Materials and methods. 52 men with CHC were examined. Genotype 1 was determined in 24 patients, genotype 3 in 19 patients and genotype 2 in 9 patients. According to the severity of fibrosis, patients with CHC were divided: without fibrosis (F0) - 12 patients, with weak fibrosis (F1) - 17 patients, with moderate fibrosis (F2) - 10 patients, with severe fibrosis (F3) - 8 patients, cirrhosis of the liver (F4) was detected in 5 patients. According to a liver biopsy, steatosis was found in 18 patients with CHC. Abdominal obesity was found in 34 patients with CHC. Non-invasive diagnosis of liver fibrosis was assessed using routine FIB-4 and APRI indices. The interval of values of FIB-4 and APRI, not related to the criteria for assessing the stage of fibrosis F3 and F4, we have conventionally designated as the «gray zone». The presence of insulin resistance was evaluated at HOMA-IR> 2. Results . Key values of the FIB-4 index in patients with CHC and abdominal obesity were found significantly more often than when calculating the APRI index. Insulin resistance in patients with CHC and abdominal obesity was statistically significantly more frequent than in patients with CHC and without abdominal obesity. At stages F3-F4 in patients with CHC, abdominal obesity and insulin resistance, APRI values were recorded more often in the «gray zone»than FIB-4 values. Conclusion. The FIB-4, APRI, HOMA-IR indices can be used in patients with CHC and abdominal obesity during the follow-up and dynamic monitoring of patients with CHC to highlight risk groups. FIB-4 was significantly more informative for determining the stage of fibrosis than APRI in patients with CHC and abdominal obesity with insulin resistance (HOMA-IR> 2).


This contribution considers the case of the exchange of tax information as a demonstration of the lack of adequate taxpayer protection within the BEPS Project and, more generally, under the current legal framework of international taxation. After having determined the primary causes of the weakness of taxpayer protection under the current legal framework and providing examples, this article adopts a comparative perspective and performs an analysis of what is known in the English legal system as the Wednesbury doctrine: specifically, the basis of the judicial reviewability of decisions taken by public authorities. That doctrine is then proposed as the basic conceptualization of a generally applicable concept of judicial review, to be endorsed at an international level with the purpose of providing the taxpayer with effective protection of its rights in situations in which more than one legal system is involved.


This prospective cohort study compared two rapid antigen tests for group A streptococcus in an enrolled pediatric population of a busy Air Force clinic during the autumn of 2005. The study was performed to determine whether the Genzyme test was a more sensitive rapid test than the currently used Quidel test. A highly sensitive rapid test would eliminate the need to perform backup cultures, thus saving time and facilitating faster diagnosis and treatment. The study revealed that the Genzyme test was more sensitive (85.5%) than the Quidel test (79.5%). However, the difference was not statistically significant using the McNemar chi(2) tool and was attributable to random variability. Therefore, future comparative studies need to be performed to find a rapid antigen test with sensitivity comparable to that of throat culture, for use at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base pediatric clinic.


Recanalization is the mainstay of ischemic stroke treatment. However, even with timely clot removal, many stroke patients recover poorly. Leptomeningeal collaterals (LMCs) are pial anastomotic vessels with yet unknown functions. Utilizing a thrombin-based mouse model of stroke and the gold standard fibrinolytic treatment rt-PA, we here show that LMCs play a critical role in preserving vascular function in ischemic territories. We applied laser speckle contrast imaging, ultrafast ultrasound, and two-photon microscopy, to show that after thrombolysis, LMCs allow for gradual reperfusion resulting in small infarcts. On the contrary, in mice with poor LMCs, distal segments of recanalized arteries collapse and deleterious hyperemia causes hemorrhage and mortality. Accordingly, in stroke patients with poor collaterals undergoing thrombectomy, rapid reperfusion resulted in hemorrhagic transformation and unfavorable recovery. Thus, we identify LMCs as key components regulating reperfusion after stroke. Future therapeutic interventions should aim to enhance collateral function, allowing for gradual reperfusion of ischemic tissues after stroke.


Multilayer neural networks are used in a non-linear adaptive control problem. The plant is an unknown feedback linearizable continuous-time system with relative degree 1. The single-input:/single-output system is studied first and then the methodology is extended to control square multi-input/multi-output systems. The control objective is for the plant to track a reference trajectory, and the control law is defined in terms of the outputs of the neural networks. The parameters of the networks are updated on-line according to an augmented tracking error and the network derivatives. A local convergence theorem is given on the convergence of the tracking error. This control algorithm is applied to control a two-input/two-output relative-degree-two system.


Oxidative stress and increased apoptosis are implicated in the pathogenesis of many disorders of pregnancy, including preeclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR). Since the transcription factor FOXO1 (forkhead box protein O1) is implicated in the regulation of a variety of cellular processes, including resistance to oxidative stress, apoptosis and morphogenesis of the placenta, we examined whether FOXO1 expression is abnormal in placentas from patients with PE or FGR. Paracentral sections from grossly unremarkable areas of 9 or 10 placentas each from early third trimester patients (31.7±5.0 weeks) with mild PE, severe PE, FGR and a gestational age-matched comparison group (GA controls) were double immunostained for FOXO1 and E-cadherin, the latter distinguishing villous cytotrophoblast cells (CTB) from syncytiotrophoblast (STB). The numbers of FOXO1-positive and FOXO1 negative STB and CTB nuclei were determined on ten 20x objective fields of each placenta section by three observers who were blinded to the clinical outcome. The results were evaluated by a generalized linear mixed model. In mild PE, FOXO1-positive STB nuclei were significantly decreased in number and FOXO1-negative STB nuclei were increased as compared to GA controls. However, the number of FOXO1-positive and FOXO1-negative CTB nuclei were not significantly changes as compared to GA controls. In severe PE and FGR, the numbers of FOXO-positive and FOXO1-negative STB and CTB were not statistically different from GA controls. Since FOXO1 is critical for placental cellular morphogenesis, abnormal FOXO1 expression may contribute in part to the abnormal trophoblast differentiation in mild PE. The differences in FOXO1 expression in mild and severe PE are consistent with other studies suggesting that the two forms of PE are different disease processes.


A metal-free synthesis of aryltriphenylphosphonium bromides by the reaction of triphenylphosphine with aryl bromides in refluxing phenol is developed. This reaction tolerates hydroxymethyl, hydroxyphenyl, and carboxyl groups in aryl bromides, allowing to synthesize multifunctional aryltriphenylphosphonium bromides, from which facile access to multifunctional aryldiphenylphosphines and their oxides by hydrolysis and subsequent reduction is exemplified. A two-step addition–elimination mechanism, with the elimination step being a fast step, is also proposed.


Maintenance and improvement of the graph connectivity is very important for decentralized multi-agent systems. Although the CBBA (Consensus-Based Bundle Algorithm) guarantees suboptimal performance and bounded convergence time, it is only valid for connected graphs. In this study, we apply a decentralized estimation procedure that allows each agent to track the algebraic connectivity of a time-varying graph. Based on this estimation, we design a decentralized gradient controller to maintain the graph connectivity while agents are traveling to perform assigned tasks. Simulation result for fully-actuated first-order agents that move in a 2-D plane are presented.


Background/Aims: Our study aims to better characterize the clinical and histopathologic features of eyes with extrascleral uveal melanoma associated with scleral melt following brachytherapy. Methods: A retrospective review was performed on patients who had undergone 125I (iodine-125) brachytherapy for uveal melanoma at our institution between 1992 and 2015. Patients with postradiation scleral necrosis who required enucleation were identified, and an analysis including a review of histopathology results was performed on those cases. Results: A total of 301 patients underwent plaque brachytherapy for uveal melanoma, of whom 31 required eventual enucleation. The histologic analysis showed extraocular extension through full-thickness scleral discontinuities in 6 cases. All but 1 (5 of 6) of these eyes exhibited either mitotic figures or Ki-67 positivity. Mitotic figures were noted in 4 specimens, including 3 eyes exhibiting mitoses within or adjacent to the extrascleral portion of the tumor. Two eyes exhibiting mitoses, as well as the case with Ki-67 positivity, also had clinical evidence of tumor regrowth. Conclusion: We found evidence of mitotic activity at the area of scleral discontinuity in some eyes with and in some without clinical evidence of tumor regrowth. Protruding pigmented material in areas of scleral necrosis after plaque brachytherapy may represent actively proliferating tumors even without internal evidence of tumor regrowth.


Mass transport through an interfacial area at nanometer scale is a key process to be addressed in research and applications employing nanostructured electrodes, nanofluidic devices, and high surface area materials. Ionic transport through single glass nanopores is investigated by multifrequency impedance techniques. The conical glass nanopores display current rectification under controlled experimental conditions in voltammetric studies. Being inaccessible by conductivity and DC voltammetry, phase sensitive capacitive and "inductive" components in the two-dimensional impedance spectrum reveal dynamic ionic transport information. The nanopore impedance responses are strongly influenced by the concentration of electrolytes and are correlated with current rectification. Multitime-constant impedance loops are detected in different frequency ranges. The multitime-constant features are attributed to the negative charges at the glass-solution interface. The impedance data are interpreted by designed equivalent circuit models. With the correlation of experimental and modeling results established, current signals can be differentiated into two categories: those originated from ionic transport affected by the immobilized charges at the solid-solution interface and those resulted from the applied waveform with ionic transport governed by geometric factors such as the radius of the nanopore.


Synopsis Melt formation and its flow are essential phenomena to proceed agglomeration in the sintering process of iron ores. A new experimental technique have been proposed which enables us to detect the macroscopic flow of melt initially formed by the reaction between iron are and limestone. Using this technique, influence of iron are property on the melt formation and assimilation process were examined in terms of meltdown temperature, chemical composition of dropped melt and shape change of a tablet sample. As a result, a difference was obtained in the melt-down behaviors between hematite and pisolitic ores. However, the hematite and pisolitic ores both having a similar gangue mineral composition show similar melt-down temperatures. A pisolitic are having relatively high Al2O3 content has little dependency of particle size and shows higher melt-down temperature. The effect of increase in Al2O3 content is considerably large, and it leads to decrease in fluidity of formed melt and increase in melt-down temperature.


BACKGROUND
The inter-ministerial decree (D.I.) 388/03 (the Italian law on first aid in the workplace) attaches particular importance to the organization of first aid and to the content of the teaching and training of designated workers, specifying teaching objectives, programme and duration of courses. However it provides less details on the requirements and qualifications of the teachers and trainers.

OBJECTIVES
To discuss this topic in the light of the guidelines contained in the literature and the existing legislation.

METHODS
We used the specific references of literature and legislation concerning first aid training of designated workers.

RESULTS
The objectives and the content of the training courses call for a high level of professional competence and approach. Therefore, training of designated workers should be planned and carried out in accordance with the training standards used for the teaching and training of the so-called "lay rescuers".

CONCLUSIONS
The need to achieve high training standards for workers responsible for first aid at the workplace is to a large extent justified by the difficulty of the role of employees. This need follows the current tendency in regulations to guarantee adequate and up-dated training also for other agents operating within the system of workplace prevention. In this context the occupational physician plays a significant role in the training programmes for designated workers.


Vector sensors that combine a hydrophone and a triaxial arrangement of accelerometers in a neutrally buoyant package are currently being used for underwater radiated noise measurements and other applications. Precise amplitude and phase calibration is required to obtain high quality measurements. A basic procedure that has been used successfully to calibrate measured radiated noise spectra in one-third-octave and narrowband formats will be described. Results of validation experiments that compared vector sensor measurements with other reference data will be presented. An iterative calibration scheme for improving the performance of a vector sensor employed as part of an active sonar system will also be presented.


"Oceania is vast, Oceania is expanding, Oceania is hospitable and generous, Oceania is humanity rising from the depths of brine and regions of fire deeper still, Oceania is us."¹  ‐ Epeli Hau'ofa  This research investigates how indigenous visual spatial strategies can be used to assist in the definition of a framework that helps characterise Oceanic perspectives and methods of creative practice. Cultural diversity in the New Zealand context holds important potential for explaining expressions of use and continuing the development of Oceanic creative practice. I will assert that the indigenous spatial strategy known as vā (space) holds important potential to help understand the significance of collective relationships within the Oceanic creative community. Vā is an indigenous spatial strategy that captures the process of engaging with and nurturing connections that, I argue, should be at the forefront of the definition for Oceanic creative practice. By comparing established Eurocentric understandings of creative disciplines and processes to indigenous understandings and methodologies, this research will posit indigenous spatial strategies as not only relevant but pivotal to 21st-century creative exploration and practice. This research will contribute to the outlining of a framework that helps to define the authentic values held within Oceanic creative practice.  ¹ Epeli Hau'ofa, "Our Sea of Islands," The Contemporary Pacific 6, no. 1 (1994): 160.


We consider a linear Gaussian noise channel used with delayed feedback. The channel noise is assumed to be an ARMA (autoregressive and/or moving average) process. We reformulate the Gaussian noise channel into an intersymbol interference channel with white noise, and show that the delayed-feedback of the original channel is equivalent to the instantaneous-feedback of the derived channel. By generalizing previous results developed for Gaussian channels with instantaneous feedback and applying them to the derived intersymbol interference channel, we show that conditioned on the delayed feedback, a conditional Gauss-Markov source achieves the feedback capacity and its Markov memory length is determined by the noise spectral order and the feedback delay. A Kalman-Bucy filter is shown to be optimal for processing the feedback. The maximal information rate for stationary sources is derived in terms of average channel input power constraint and the steady state solution of the Riccati equation of the Kalman-Bucy filter used in the feedback loop.


In this study, the effectiveness of the supervision, inspection and control stages of the cargo survey services, which are included in the maritime supervision services, are investigated by taking into account the international rules. In the study, in-depth interview technique was used as the data collection method. Open-ended questions were asked to experts working in the maritime supervision companies operating in the sector and the answers were analyzed. As a result of the analysis, important indicators that need to be emphasized in order to increase the efficiency of cargo survey operations were reached. The relationship structure among these indicators was revealed using the DEMATEL method. When the findings are examined, it is seen that education and communication have an important place among the factors affecting the efficiency of cargo survey services. As a result, it has been observed that the efficiency of cargo survey services given to ships varies depending on many factors and these factors are connected with each other by a causal link.


Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been widely used in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but their efficacy and safety remain controversial. We sought to comprehensively aggregate and evaluate the available evidence on the efficacy and safety of the combination treatment with CHM and epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) in NSCLC patients. Our exhausted and systematical searching strategy yielded 64 related randomized controlled trials involving 4384 patients. Compared with EGFR-TKIs therapy alone, meta-analysis showed significant differences favoring the combination treatment in progression-free survival ([Formula: see text]), median survival time ([Formula: see text]), one-year survival rate ([Formula: see text]), two-year survival rate ([Formula: see text]), probability of severe toxicities ([Formula: see text]), objective response rate ([Formula: see text]), Karnofsky performance status ([Formula: see text]), and improvement in percentage of CD3[Formula: see text] T lymphocyte ([Formula: see text]) and CD4[Formula: see text] T lymphocyte ([Formula: see text]). Though these results require further confirmation, they are prone to show a potential therapeutic value of CHM in improving the clinical effect, overcoming the drug resistance and toxicities as an adjunctive therapy to EGFR-TKIs.


Let $M$ be a hyperbolic fibered 3-manifold. We study properties of sequences $(S_{\alpha_n}, \psi_{\alpha_n})$ of fibers and monodromies for primitive integral classes in the fibered cone of $M$. The main tool is the asymptotic translation length $\ell_{\mathcal{C}} (\psi_{\alpha_n})$ of the pseudo-Anosov monodromy $ \psi_{\alpha_n}$ on the curve complex. We first show that there exists a constant $C>0$ depending only on the fibered cone such that for any primitive integral class $(S, \psi)$ in the fibered cone, $\ell_{\mathcal{C}} (\psi)$ is bounded from above by $C/|\chi(S)|$. We also obtain a moral connection between $\ell_{\mathcal{C}} (\psi)$ and the normal generating property of $\psi$ in the mapping class group on $S$. We show that for all but finitely many primitive integral classes $(S, \psi)$ in an arbitrary 2-dimensional slice of the fibered cone, $\psi$ normally generates the mapping class group on $S$. In the second half of the paper, we study if it is possible to obtain a continuous extension of normalized asymptotic translation lengths on the curve complex as a function on the fibered face. An analogous question for normalized entropy has been answered affirmatively by Fried and the question for normalized asymptotic translation length on the arc complex in the fully punctured case has been answered negatively by Strenner. We show that such an extension in the case of the curve complex does not exist in general by explicit computation for sequences in the fibered cone of the magic manifold.


The aim of this chapter is to investigate the multiple attribute decision making problems to a selected project with generalized intuitionistic fuzzy information in which the information about weights is completely known and the attributes values are taken from the generalized intuitionistic fuzzy environment. Here, we extend the technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) for the generalized intuitionistic fuzzy data. In addition, obtained the concept of possibility degree of generalized intuitionistic fuzzy numbers and used to solve ranking alternative in multi-attribute decision making problems.


Malignant eccrine poroma is a rare malignancy of the eccrine sweat glands, occurring most frequently on the lower extremities. It affects both sexes equally usually in the 6th to 7th decade of life. Metastasis to regional lymph nodes may occur in 20% that may be fatal in 60% cases. Its aggressive nature, rarity of occurrence, and unusual presentations make it very important to be evaluated properly by the clinician. We hereby report a case of a 75-year-old female presenting with two exophytic tumors over her vulva with local extension. On histopathological examination, it was diagnosed as malignant eccrine poroma. On magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvic region, metastatic extension in regional lymph nodes was found. She was treated by radical vulvectomy with bilateral inguinal and femoral lymph node dissection followed by radiotherapy.


BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to test the ex-vivo biomechanical properties of acutely expanded scalp flaps, in order to quantitatively assess the efficacy of acute scalp expansion.

METHODS
A total of 14 fresh male cadavers were used for the study. In each cadaver, a rectangular (4 x 10 cm), laterally-based flap was designed on each side of the scalp, starting from the superior margin of the external auditory canal. One randomly-selected flap per each scalp underwent acute-intermittent expansion (3-minute expansion-3-minute rest cycle per three times with the maximal expansion achievable), while the contralateral flap served as control. After the expansion process, the acutely-expanded flaps were measured to assess if the applied biomechanical stress have determined any changes in their dimensions. The biomechanical properties (stress/strain ratio, mean stiffness) of both expanded and control flaps were then assessed by means of a dynamometer and a force-transducer.

RESULTS
The obtained data showed that the biomechanical benefits provided by acute scalp expansion were not statistically different (p < 0.05) from those obtained by simple subgaleal undermining. Neither any change of length nor any gain in the compliance have been observed in the acutely-expanded flaps as compared to control scalp flaps.

CONCLUSIONS
In our opinion, a possible explanation (to be further validated) for the lack of effect of acute scalp expansion might be that inelastic galea aponeurotica did not allow the mechanical creep to exploit the inherent elastic properties of the overlying scalp skin.


Central and Eastern European countries were subjugated to the Soviet Union in the second half of the 20th century. In this new political environment, defined as the period of dependency, the concept of space gained a new denotation as a space of dependence, in both social and physical terms. The political changes that took place after 1989 enabled these spaces to be emancipated. In this work, we aim to delineate the complex relationship between architecture and politics from the perspective of spaces of dependence and their emancipation. Through a case study of two squares, plac Żołnierza Polskiego (the Square of the Polish Soldier) and plac Solidarności (Solidarity Square) in Szczecin, we gained insights into the processes and strategies that promoted their evolution into spaces of emancipation within architectural and urban narratives. Szczecin's space of dependence was created by an authoritarian state that had a monopoly on defining architecture and urban planning in the country and the state as a whole. In a process orchestrated by economic factors, as well as the scale of architectural and urban degradation, the squares under discussion have transitioned from spaces of dependency to spaces of emancipation. As a result, an architectural-urban structure characterized by new cultural and identity values has been created.


ABSTRACT No studies have examined to date the mental health and substance use characteristics of social work students. Therefore, this study was undertaken to describe and identify these characteristics among a sample of social work students located in a Florida school of social work. Results indicated that approximately 34% of the participants reported high levels of depressive symptoms, 12% had a history of suicidal ideation, and 4% reported having thought about suicide recently. Six percent reported high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology, and 3% were highly likely to have a dissociative disorder. High proportions of the students reported having multiple traumatic experiences. Students in this sample were less likely to report lifetime or current alcohol or marijuana use than national college student samples, but more likely to report lifetime or current use of illicit substances other than marijuana.


The ability to apply a previously-learned skill (e.g., pushing) to a new task (context or object) is an important requirement for new-age robots. An attempt is made to solve this problem in this paper by proposing a deep meta-imitation learning framework comprising of an attentive-embedding net-work and a control network, capable of learning a new task in an end-to-end manner while requiring only one or a few visual demonstrations. The feature embeddings learnt by incorporating spatial attention is shown to provide higher embedding and control accuracy compared to other state-of-the-art methods such as TecNet [7] and MIL [4]. The interaction between the embedding and the control networks is improved by using multiplicative skip-connections and is shown to overcome the overfitting of the trained model. The superiority of the proposed model is established through rigorous experimentation using a publicly available dataset and a new dataset created using PyBullet [36]. Several ablation studies have been carried out to justify the design choices.


Ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) has been considered as one of the three new application scenarios in the \emph{5th Generation} (5G) \emph {New Radio} (NR), where the physical layer design aspects have been specified. With the 5G NR, we can guarantee the reliability and latency in radio access networks. However, for communication scenarios where the transmission involves both radio access and wide area core networks, the delay in radio access networks only contributes to part of the \emph{end-to-end} (E2E) delay. In this paper, we outline the delay components and packet loss probabilities in typical communication scenarios of URLLC, and formulate the constraints on E2E delay and overall packet loss probability. Then, we summarize possible solutions in the physical layer, the link layer, the network layer, and the cross-layer design, respectively. Finally, we discuss the open issues in prediction and communication co-design for URLLC in wide area large scale networks.


A narrow slot cut in the wall of a hollow cylinder is excited by a transmission line and produces radiation. A theoretical solution to the radiation patterns and conductance is obtained by solving Maxwell's equations for the fields in the far zone, and requiring them to satisfy the known boundary conditions at the surface of the cylinder. Advantage is taken of published data on potential distribution across the slot.


The research was conducted in the years 1999–2001. The aim of the research was to determine the health condition of overground parts and seeds of white niuslard ( Sinapis alba L.) cv. Metex and chinese mustard ( Brassica juncea L.) cv. Malopolska. In all the years of the research alternaria blight was found on the leaves of white mustard which injury index ranged from 5.6% in 2001 to 17.6% in 2000. The most dangerous disease of chinese mustard also was alternaria blight and its symptoms were found on leaves and siliques. The strongest infection of leaves was in 2000 (50%) and the weakest in 2001 (6.7%). In all the years of the research siliques were rather weak infected (5.0–8.89%). Besides powdery mildew was found on chinese mustard which injury index ranged from 0.3% in 1999 to 32.3% in 2000. Intensity of diseases was affected generally by the weather conditions. From the seeds of white mustard and chinese mustard were isolated respectively 263 and 137 colonies. Alternaria alternata was the most numerous species which makes respectively 60.9% and 42.3% isolates. Among the fungi pathogenic for white and chinese mustard were also isolated: A. brassicae, Botrytis cinerea and Rhizoctonia solami .


Many transformation techniques developed for constraint logic programs, also known as constrained Horn clauses (CHCs), have found new useful applications in the field of program verification. In this paper, we work out a nontrivial case study through the transformation-based verification approach. We consider the familiar Quicksort program for sorting lists, written in a functional programming language, and we verify the pre/-postconditions that specify the intended correctness properties of the functions defined in the program. We verify these properties by: (1) translating them into CHCs, (2) transforming the CHCs by removing all list occurrences, and (3) checking the satisfiability of the transformed CHCs by using the Eldarica solver over booleans and integers. The transformation mentioned at Point (2) requires an extension of the algorithms for the elimination of inductively defined data structures presented in previous work, because during one stage of the transformation we use as lemmas some properties that have been proved at previous stages.