Relay misoperations play an important role in cascading blackouts. Power swing and out-of-step conditions caused by large disturbances in the system may result in relay misoperations. This effect is analyzed and simulated in this paper. Synchronized sampling based fault location (SSFL) algorithm was proposed as part of an advanced fault analysis tool to give precise fault information and verify relay judgments. This paper further analyzes the algorithm under power swing and out-of-step conditions and tests it by both static and dynamic scenarios generated in ATP. The test results indicate that SSFL algorithm performs better than distance relay under power swing and out-of-step conditions and can be used as a robust fault analysis tool for practical use.


Eighty clinically diagnosed cases of allergic contact dermatitis of hands and feet when subjected to patch testing, Seventy four (92.5%) cases showed positive patch test reactions to different suspected antigens. Maximum number of cases belonged to housewives and tea garden workers which showed positive patch test reaction to vegetables and soaps and detergents and pesticides, respectively.


Crisis response engenders a high-stress environment in which teams gather, transform, and mutually share information. Prior educational approaches have not successfully addressed these critical skills. The assumption has been that the highest fidelity simulations result in the best learning. Deploying high-fidelity simulations is expensive and dangerous; they do not address team coordination. Low-fidelity approaches are ineffective because they are not stressful.
 Zero-fidelity simulation develops and invokes the principle of abstraction, focusing on human-information and human-human transfers of meaning, to derive design from work practice. Our principal hypothesis is that crisis responders will experience zero-fidelity simulation as effective simulation of team coordination. We synthesize the sustained iterative design and evaluation of the Team Coordination Game. We develop and apply new experimental methods to show that participants learn to cooperate and communicate, applying what they learn in practice. Design implications address how to employ the abstraction principle to develop zero-fidelity simulations.


Sertoli cells are required for normal spermatogenesis and they can be reprogrammed to other types of functional cells. However, the number of primary Sertoli cells is rare and human Sertoli cell line is unavailable. In this study, we have for the first time reported a stable human Sertoli cell line, namely hS1 cells, by overexpression of human telomerase. The hS1 cells expressed a number of hallmarks for human Sertoli cells, including SOX9, WT1, GDNF, SCF, BMP4, BMP6, GATA4, and VIM, and they were negative for 3β-HSD, SMA, and VASA. Higher levels of AR and FSHR were observed in hS1 cells compared to primary human Sertoli cells. Microarray analysis showed that 70.4% of global gene profiles of hS1 cells were similar to primary human Sertoli cells. Proliferation assay demonstrated that hS1 cells proliferated rapidly and they could be passaged for more than 30 times in 6 months. Neither Y chromosome microdeletion nor tumorgenesis was detected in this cell line and 90% normal karyotypes existed in hS1 cells. Collectively, we have established the first human Sertoli cell line with phenotype of primary human Sertoli cells, an unlimited proliferation potential and high safety, which could offer sufficient human Sertoli cells for basic research as well as reproductive and regenerative medicine.


Scientific objectivity was not a problem in the early days of molecular biology. However, relativism seems to have invaded some areas of the field, damaging the objectivity of its analyses. This review reports on the status of this issue by investigating a number of cases.


The strong link between music and medicine has been documented in Spain since the 17th century, showing that the therapeutic effects of music have been known for centuries. The development of music therapy as a scientific, independent discipline on the Iberian Peninsula begins in the 1960s due to the pioneering work of Serafina Poch. Since then, the interest in music and medicine both by specialists and public has constantly increased. Nowadays, music therapy is taught in public universities and private institutions, and a growing number of health care and educational centers is implementing music therapy projects each year, producing also an increase in the research on the subject. A sore point, which we hope can be resolved soon, is that music therapy in Spain has not yet been recognized with an official title and as an independent profession, leading to fragmentation of the field and leaving the door open to professional intrusion. Keywords: music therapy, music medicine, Spain.


The African presence in India, especially in the Deccan and Gujarat, has been well documented. Scattered references to discrete groups of Africans in other parts of India are less well known. The author recently identified a group of African slave descendants living in Lucknow, the capital of a former kingdom in northern India, following the discovery of pertinent East India Company records in the National Archives, New Delhi. Why the Africans were brought to this particular kingdom will be examined, together with their treatment by the British Government in India after the Mutiny of 1857/58. At the same time, the Government was setting up an 'African Asylum' in Bombay, to house and educate African children liberated from an Arab slave ship at Karachi. The question of inconsistent government policy towards African slaves in British India will be examined and it will be argued that it was tempered by differing regional and political considerations.


BACKGROUND
High awareness that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death (LCOD) among women is critical to prevention. This study evaluated longitudinal trends in this awareness among women.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Online surveys of US women (≥25 years of age) were conducted in January 2009 and January 2019. Data were weighted to the US population distribution of sociodemographic characteristics. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate knowledge of the LCOD. In 2009, awareness of heart disease as the LCOD was 65%, decreasing to 44% in 2019. In 2019, awareness was greater with older age and increasing education and lower among non-White women and women with hypertension. The 10-year awareness decline was observed in all races/ethnicities and ages except women ≥65 years of age. The greatest declines were among Hispanic women (odds ratio of awareness comparing 2019 to 2009, 0.14 [95% CI, 0.07-0.28]), non-Hispanic Black women (odds ratio, 0.31 [95% CI, 0.19-0.49]), and 25- to 34-year-olds (odds ratio, 0.19 [95% CI, 0.10-0.34]). In 2019, women were more likely than in 2009 to incorrectly identify breast cancer as the LCOD (odds ratio, 2.59 [95% CI, 1.86-3.67]), an association that was greater in younger women. Awareness of heart attack symptoms also declined.

CONCLUSIONS
Awareness that heart disease is the LCOD among women declined from 2009 to 2019, particularly among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black women and in younger women (in whom primordial/primary prevention may be most effective). An urgent redoubling of efforts by organizations interested in women's health is required to reverse these trends.


Aortic atherosclerotic lesions were induced in swine by feeding them an atherogenic diet for 17 months. The effect of a moderate diet (up to 8 gm of cholesterol per day), with or without added clofibrate therapy, for the subsequent 12 months was assessed by biochemical analysis of carefully dissected lesions and adjacent nonlesion areas. The moderate diet alone prevented "progression," except for accumulation of free cholesterol and enhancement of total protein and collagen synthesis, and caused regression of DNA concentration to nonlesion levels. The addition of clofibrate therapy enhanced regression, with significant decreases in DNA and esterified cholesterol concentrations and in the rate of DNA synthesis. Extrapolation of these results to man suggests that a "sensible" level of dietary lipid may be prophylactic against further progression, while addition of an effective hypolipemic drug may be therapeutically useful.


In a well-known and widely-cited paper, Akerlof, Yellen, and Katz (1996) proposed a novel and counter-intuitive explanation for the rise of non-marital births in the U.S. that emphasized the way in which improved birth control and legalized abortion altered social norms about the responsibility of men to their unmarried partner?s pregnancy. Despite the authors? own policy recommendations, the paper is regularly cited by social conservatives to show that measures to restrict sex education and access to contraception and abortion are based on respected social science research. I argue that this use of the paper?s findings stems from what were, in retrospect, unfortunate modeling assumptions about ?types? of women and their motivations concerning pregnancy. I then show that a modest reformulation of their model, based on far more reasonable ?types,? generates precisely the same results, but with radically different policy implications.


The proliferative characteristics of the colonic mucosae of various mouse strains were examined to determine their value in forecasting the differential susceptibility of each to 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced tumor formation. The control labeling index (LI) was highest (9.9 +/- 2.6) and the proliferative compartment (PC) widest in the DMH-sensitive CF1 strain, whereas the LI was lowest (7.3 +/- 1.3) (P greater than 0.01) and the PC shortest in the AKR resistant strain. The size of the PC and the LI for moderately resistant C57BL/6J mice lay between these values (8.5 +/- 1.1). Pooled data from 1 week after the fifth and sixth injections and 12 weeks after the first injection of six showed elevated LI in the distal colons of all DMH-treated mice. Distribution analyses of [3H]thymidine-labeled cells indicated extension of the PC (Stage II abnormality) in all strains with a shift of DNA-synthesizing cells from the major zone or lower third to the middle and upper thirds of the crypt (Stage II abnormality) occurring primarily in the CF1 strain. Cytotoxicity measurements at 6 hours and compensatory DNA synthesis at 3 and 4 days after DMH injection (20 mg/kg body wt) revealed similar relative response levels in CF1 and AKR mice, which suggested induction initially of like numbers of mutations. Indigenous conditions shown to influence the expression of colonic neoplasia are the level of DNA synthesis and the dimensions of the PC within the mucosa.


Abstract. Due to its remoteness, the deep-sea floor remains an understudied ecosystem of our planet. The patchiness of existing data sets makes it difficult to draw conclusions about processes that apply to a wider area. In our study we show how different settings and processes determine sediment heterogeneity on small spatial scales. We sampled solid phase and pore water from the upper 10 m of an approximately 7.4 × 13 km2 large area in the Peru Basin, south-east equatorial Pacific Ocean, at 4100 m water depth. Samples were analyzed for trace metals including rare earth elements and yttrium (REY) as well as for particulate organic carbon (POC), CaCO3, and nitrate. The analyses revealed a surprisingly high small-scale heterogeneity of the deep-sea sediment composition. While some cores have the typical green layer from Fe(II) in the clay minerals, this layer is missing in other cores, i.e. showing a tan color associated with Fe(III) in the clay minerals. This is due to varying organic carbon contents: nitrate is depleted at 2–3 m depth in cores with higher total organic carbon contents, but is present throughout cores with lower POC contents, thus inhibiting the Fe(III)-to-Fe(II) reduction pathway in organic matter degradation. REY show shale-normalized (SN) patterns similar to seawater with a relative enrichment of heavy REY over light REY, positive LaSN anomaly, negative CeSN anomaly, as well as positive YSN anomaly and correlate with the Fe-rich clay layer and in some cores also with P. We, therefore, propose that Fe-rich clay minerals, such as nontronite, as well as phosphates are the REY-controlling phases in these sediments. Variability is also seen in dissolved Mn and Co concentrations, which might be due to dissolving nodules in the suboxic sediment, as well as in concentration peaks of U, Mo, As, V, and Cu in two cores, which might be related to deposition of different material at lower lying areas.


Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the current prevalence of intestinal parasites in patients admitted to Ankara Training and Research Hospital during the period of 2017 to 2020.
Materials and Methods: Intestinal parasitic examination results of patients between 2017 and 2020 were evaluated retrospectively. Data on demographic and clinical parameters were obtained from the laboratory information management system.
Results: E. vermicularis eggs were found in 7.2% of 2348 samples examined by cellophane tape method. One or more intestinal parasites were detected in 18.2% of 4211 samples examined stool concentration method. Intestinal parasite positivity was the highest in children aged 6-18 years among age groups. The most frequently detected intestinal parasites were Blastocystis sp., E. vermicularis, Dientamoeba fragilis and Giardia intestinalis.
Conclusion: Although our hospital is in the center of Ankara Training and Research Hospital, it mostly serves patients with low socioeconomic status and immigrant individuals; therefore total intestinal parasite detection rate was found relatively high. Intestinal parasitic infections are still an important public health issue in our country. It is important to determine the prevalence of parasitic infections to develop optimal prevention and treatment strategies.


Through the collection and association of discrete time-series resource metrics and workloads, we can both provide benchmark and intra-job resource collations, along with system-wide job profiling. Traditional RDBMSes are not designed to store and process long-term discrete time-series metrics and the commonly used resolution-reducing round robin databases (RRDB), make poor long-term sources of data for workload analytics. We implemented a system that employs "Big-data" (Hadoop/HBase) and other analytics (R) techniques and tools to store, process, and characterize HPC workloads. Using this system we have collected and processed over a 30 billion time-series metrics from existing short-term high-resolution (15-sec RRDB) sources, profiling over 200 thousand jobs across a wide spectrum of workloads. The system is currently in use at the University of Kentucky for better understanding of individual jobs and system-wide profiling as well as a strategic source of data for resource allocation and future acquisitions.


A Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts (Theatre Arts) in the School of Performing and Creative Arts, Film and Media Studies of Kenyatta University. May 2019


Conventional wisdom assumes that Americans did not know about the Holocaust while it was happening. However, over the last two decades, scholars have demonstrated not only that credible reports reached the Allied governments throughout the war about the persecution and ultimately the extermination of the Jews, but also that much of that information appeared in the Jewish press and in daily newspapers. My own research reveals that during the war a story on what was happening to the Jews appeared on average every other day in the New York Times. The question then becomes, if all this information was available, why do we think we did not know? This article argues that the placement of news about the Holocaust almost uniformly on inside pages, as well as the failure to highlight it in editorials or in summaries of important events, made it difficult for most Americans to find the facts and to understand their importance. The article concludes that despite the detailed, credible information that was available, the American public actually did not know about the Holocaust while it was happening because mainstream American newspapers never presented the story of the extermination of the Jews in a way that highlighted its importance.


Slow neurobiological rhythms, such as the circadian expression of glucocorticoid (GC) hormones, modulate a wide variety of brain and body functions. Whether and how such endocrine fluctuations also exert an influence on perceptual abilities is largely uncharted. Here, we show that phasic, moderate increases in GC availability prove beneficial to auditory discrimination. In an age-varying sample of N = 68 healthy human participants, we characterise the covariation of saliva cortisol with perceptual sensitivity in an auditory pitch-discrimination task at five time points across the sleep--wake cycle. First, momentary saliva cortisol levels were captured well by the time relative to the wake-up cycle and overall sleep duration. Second, within individuals, higher cortisol levels just prior to behavioural testing improved participant's pitch discrimination abilities, expressed as a steepened psychometric curve. This effect of glucocorticoids on perceptual sensitivity held under a set of statistical control models. Our results pave the way for more in-depth studies on neuroendocrinological determinants of sensory encoding and perception.


Excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and oxidative stress in vascular tissue is associated with many diseases. Glutathione (GSH), one of the most abundant low molecular weight non-protein thiols, modulates physiological levels of ROS and is involved in the cell's oxidative stress response. The GSH/GSSG redox couple is commonly used in measuring oxidative stress status. The imbalance of GSH is reported in many disease states including atherosclerosis, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and aging. The importance of GSH in modulation of intracellular ROS involves both its protective defense against the damaging effects of oxidative stress and its role in facilitating ROS cell signaling. In this paper, we review significant results obtained from mass balance and kinetic reactions based computational and mathematical models of GSH participation in oxidative stress. The focus is on the mediation of ROS and oxidative stress with respect to the antioxidant capacity of the cell. We discuss the role of GSH in the redox state of the cell, maintaining homeostasis through GSH synthesis, scavenging of free radicals, modulating hydrogen peroxide level and interacting with nitric oxide pathways.


Osteoporosis (OP) treatment has always been challenging for elderly menopausal females. An animal model with a closer genetic association to human OP is essential for treatment research. Given its close genetic association to primates, the tree shrew is a suitable candidate for meeting the requirements for such an animal model. In the present study, a tree shrew OP model induced by ovariectomy (OVX), was established. Evaluation by multiple analysis methods, including blood biochemical indicators, uterus coefficients, micro-computed tomography analysis, histochemical analysis and scanning electron microscopic observation indicated that OVX was an appropriate method to establish the OP model in tree shrews. In addition, the biomolecular characteristics of OVX-induced osteoporosis were also assessed by transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. The present study provides the methods used to confirm the successful establishment of the OP model in tree shrew, and suggests that the OP model is appropriate for human OP research.


Given the fact that diverting fracturing technique can improve the effective stimulation reservoir volume, and the currently-used temporary plugging materials of chemical particles and fibers are difficult to pass through sand-control completion tools and enter into fractures due to their solid nature, this work thus developed a novel temporary plugging agent (TPA) with multiphase transition properties at different temperatures. Laboratory and field experiments were both conducted to study its feasibility on industrial field applications.
 Laboratory experiments were first carried out to investigate the properties of this TPA, including multiphase transition temperature and time, plugging strength, compatibility with other fluids, and core permeability damage, in order to guide the design of plugging agent dosage, fracturing construction parameters, and wellbore-fracture temperature. Then, field experiments were conducted to demonstrate its feasibility on actual field applications. Well A and Well R with almost the same geological and engineering conditions were chosen in this experiment where Well A adopted the developed novel technique and Well R, as a comparison well, adopted a conventional fracturing technique.
 The results from the laboratory experiments indicated that the performance of this TPA met the requirements of industrial standards. With an increase in temperature, this TPA underwent a solution (liquid state) - gel (semi-solid state) - solution (liquid state) transition to meet the needs of different stages in a fracturing treatment, and its multiphase transition speed was controllable. Its plugging strength was positively correlated with its plugging length, with a gradient of 8.9MPa/m. This TPA had good compatibility with other fluids and little damage to rock permeability, only 2%, much less than 25% specified in the standard.
 The results from the field experiments demonstrated that this innovative technique was feasible and effective. The construction curve of Well A indicated that the construction pressure increased by 3.1MPa and the formation broke again after injecting this TPA. The micro-seismic monitoring also supported this finding and showed that new fractures propagated to the north-by-east direction instead of the due west direction. Under the same production system, the initial daily gas production of Well A was 1.3 times that of Well R. After 100 days of production, the daily gas production of Well A was 1.5 times that of Well R.


Small scale laboratory pulverizing experiments were performed on humidified coal material sieved to size 6.35 mm (0.250 in) and below to eliminate effects due to inherent planes of weakness (cleats or joints). Experimental factors studied include the coal seam proximate analysis constituents, the breakage-in duced electrostatic field of airborne dust, and the specific airborne dust generated. Results of these pulverizing experiments show that only coals below 1-2% air dry loss (ADL) moisture content are in a highly charged state after pulverization and that the amount of charging decreases rapidly with increasing ADL up to 1-2%. This appears to have a direct effect on the specific dust generation characteristics of coals. However, each coal may have its own characteristic dust charge and generation signature. Underground dust samples obtained in coal seams with inherent moisture contents ranging from 0.5 to 4.5% suggest that significant particle agglomeration exists for the 0.5% inherent moisture coal but not the coals with moisture > 1.3% inherent moisture, in agreement with the laboratory tests.


The disadvantages of Normally White Twisted Nematic Liquid Crystal Display (NW-TN-LCD) were discussed. The reason that the negative birefringent polyimide thin filmswere used to compensate NW-TN-LCD to decrease off-axis leakage, improve contrast ratiosand enlarge viewing angles was explained in this paper. A certain polyimide thin film wastaken as an example to show compensation effect on NW-TN-LCD.


This study aims to determine the effect of transformational leadership and work climate on teacher productivity State Junior High School in Palmerah Sub-district, West Jakarta. The method used ini this research is survey method with path analysis techniques. This study used a population of teachers State Junior High School in Palmerah Sub-district, West Jakarta much as 200 teachers. Sampling techniques in thisn study is proportional random sampling methode. Based on the results of the study can be summarized as follows: Firstly, there is the effect of transformational leadership on teacher productivity; Secondly, there is the effect of work climate on teacher productivity; Third, there is the effect of transformational leadership on work climate.


According to the United States High Commission for Refugees (UNHCr), there are 65.3 million forcibly displaced people in the world today, 21.5 million of them being refugees. This has led to an unprecedented refugee crisis which has led countries to accept refugee families and to resettle them. Diverse agencies are helping refugees coming to US to resettle and start their new life in the country. One of the first and most challenging steps of this process is to find affordable housing that also meets a suite of additional constraints and priorities. These include being within a mile of public transportation and near schools, faith centers and international grocery stores. We detail an interactive data-driven web-based tool, which incorporates in one consolidated platform most of the needed information. The tool searches, filters and demonstrates a list of possible housing locations, and allows for the dynamic prioritization based on user-specified importance weights on the diverse criteria. The platform was created in a partnership with New American Pathways, a nonprofit that supports refugee resettlement in the metro Atlanta, but exemplifies a methodology that can help many other organizations with similar goals.


The article substantiated that by its legal nature the Concept of updating the Civil Code of Ukraine reflects exclusively the personal views of a small group of scientists, the authenticity of which is not confirmed by the results of scientific research; the document does not have the status of a scientific publication and has not passed the procedure for discussion in the professional environment. The private nature of the Concept preparation excludes its use as a basis for legislative work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. It has been proved that the Concept has methodological problems, and the proposals formulated in it contradict the Constitution of Ukraine, violate social guarantees and do not agree with the norms of the current legislation, in particular: the Law of Ukraine "On Local Self-Government in Ukraine", the Tax Code of Ukraine, the Land Code of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine "On Education", the Law of Ukraine "On Protection of Economic Competition" etc. It was emphasized that the implementation of certain provisions of the Concept for updating civil legislation of Ukraine will lead to the impossibility of practical implementation by local self-government bodies of functions in the field of housing and communal services, consumer services; in the field of culture, health, education, physical education and sports and the commercialization of these services. This will lead to a rapid increase in the level of prices for housing and communal services, the complete destruction of the system of free medical care, as well as free preschool, complete general secondary and professional (vocational) education. Since more than 60% of the population of Ukraine is currently below the poverty line, a significant increase in prices for utilities, the transfer of healthcare institutions, as well as preschool, general secondary and vocational (vocational) education exclusively on the commercial basis of management will deprive the vast majority of the population of the financial opportunity to pay their market value, which will lead to a further decrease in living standards and deterioration of the demographic situation in Ukraine, which is already unsatisfactory. In addition, the population of Ukraine will be limited in access to the services of cultural, physical education and sports institutions. It was concluded that the refusal of the real right of economic management and the right of operational management will create preconditions for depriving territorial communities of communal property and the impossibility of fulfilling their constitutional powers, as well as to enrich a small group of persons of private law and the final impoverishment of the rest of the population of Ukraine.


The quality of service which could be delivered by the U.S. healthcare system is in contrast with the customer's perceived expectations and reported levels of satisfaction. Due to the uncertainty about stakeholder views and the anomaly of the third-party payment system, healthcare service providers are accused of not relating to their patients. This article examines how—by using an analytical framework—a healthcare provider can develop competitive advantage through implementing electronic customer relationship management (e-CRM) systems that create per-ceived customer value for its patients. This framework allows the firm to systematically look at points where the customer interacts with specific organizational assets. By examining individual interactions and understanding how the customer perceives an interaction, the firm may then develop specific e-CRM systems to maximize the value a customer may realize through that in-teraction. Due to the in-depth and lengthy nature of most patient relationships with a healthcare provider, the healthcare industry is used as an example of how this framework can be used by all service providers.


The diffusion of imaging has determined an increased discovery of small renal masses (SRMs). Recent publications have been reviewed to present the state of the art in the management of SRMs and to try to foresee the next steps in this challenging condition. The role of percutaneous biopsies is expanding, since management algorithms include also active surveillance and ablative therapies. However up to 30% of biopsies fail to provide histological diagnosis and there is the risk of under-evaluating high-grade tumors. Active surveillance has been proposed in patients with reduced life expectancy and numerous comorbidities. The average growth of SRMs is slow, and metastatic progression has been observed in about 1%. Ablative therapies (cryotherapy and radiofrequency ablation) are used in patients with relevant comorbidities or advanced age and unfit for surgery, but who desire active treatment. Compared to conservative surgical treatment both techniques have increased local progression rates, while metastatic progression is relatively low. Partial nephrectomy (PN) is the recommended curative treatment for SRMs and can be performed open, laparoscopically or robotically. Open PN represents the benchmark, with similar cancer specific survival and better preservation of renal function compared to nephrectomy. Laparoscopy is comparable to open surgery in terms of oncologic results, but a long learning curve is necessary. Perioperative outcomes of robot-assisted PN appear superior to laparoscopy and the learning curve is shorter, but data for oncological results are still immature. With the increasing diffusion of robotic technology it is likely more SRMs will be managed with this approach.


Background: Neuron survival after ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is the primary determinant of motor function prognosis. MicroRNA (miR)-based gene therapy has gained attention. Our previous work explored the mechanisms by which miR-137-3p modulates neuronal apoptosis in both in vivo and in vitro IR models.Methods: IR-induced motor dysfunction and spinal calpain (CAPN) subtype expression and subcellular distribution were detected within 12 h post IR. Dysregulated miRs, including miR-137-3p, were identified by miR microarray analysis and confirmed by PCR. Luciferase assay confirmed that CAPN-2 is a corresponding target of miR-137-3p, and their modulation of motor function was evaluated by intrathecal infection with synthetic miRs. CAPN-2 activity was measured by the intracellular Ca2+ concentration and mean fluorescence intensity in vitro. Neuronal apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. The activities of p35, p25, Cdk5 and caspase-8 were evaluated by ELISA and Western blotting after transfection with specific inhibitors and miRs.Results: The IR-induced motor dysfunction time course was closely associated with CAPN-2 protein upregulation, which was mainly distributed in neurons. The miR-137-3p/CAPN-2 gene pair was confirmed by luciferase assay. miR-137-3p mimic significantly improved IR-induced motor dysfunction and decreased CAPN-2 expression, even in combination with recombinant rat calpain-2 (rr-CALP2) injection, whereas miR-137-3p inhibitor reversed these effects. Similar changes were observed in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration and CAPN-2 expression and activity when cells were exposed to OGD/R and transfected with synthetic miRs in vitro. Moreover, double fluorescence revealed that CAPN-2, p35, p25 and caspase-8 were all identically distributed in neurons. The decrease in CAPN-2 expression and activity was accompanied by the opposite changes in p35 activity and protein expression in cells transfected with miR-137-3p mimic, roscovitine (a Cdk5 inhibitor) or Z-IETD-FMK (a caspase-8 inhibitor). Correspondingly, more surviving neurons were observed with the abovementioned treatments, indicated by a decrease in apoptotic cell percentage, LDH release and p25, Cdk5, caspase-8 and caspase-3 protein expression.Conclusions: The miR-137-3p/CAPN-2 gene pair functions to modulate neuronal apoptosis during IR injury, possibly through CAPN-2 inhibition leading to p35 cleavage and inhibition of subsequent p25/Cdk5 and caspase-8 overactivation.


Three new species of the leafhopper genus Thagria from China, T. trifurcata sp. nov., T. denticosta sp. nov. and T. fimbriata sp. nov., are described, illustrated and photographed. In addition, T. lateralis Fan Li, 2017 is placed as a new synonym of T. menglana Wang Zhang, 2017.


In the realm of healthcare, nanomedicine has emerged as a powerful and promising field that combines the principles of nanotechnology and medicine. By harnessing the unique properties of materials at the nanoscale, scientists and researchers are revolutionizing diagnostics, treatment strategies and drug delivery systems. This article delves into the power of nanomedicine, showcasing its transformative potential and the ongoing nano revolution in medicine. Nanotechnology involves the manipulation and control of matter at the nanoscale, typically ranging from 1 to 100 nanometers. At this scale, materials exhibit novel properties and behaviors that can be harnessed for medical purposes. Nanomedicine utilizes nanoscale tools, devices and structures to interact with biological systems at the cellular and molecular levels, enabling unprecedented precision and control. Nanomedicine has unlocked new horizons in diagnostics, offering highly sensitive and specific detection methods for various diseases. Nanoparticles, such as quantum dots and gold nanoparticles can be engineered to target specific biomarkers or tissues of interest. These nanoparticles act as probes, emitting distinct signals when interacting with the target, enabling early disease detection and accurate diagnosis. Nanosensors and nanoscale imaging techniques provide enhanced resolution and sensitivity, paving the way for personalized and targeted diagnostics.


OBJECTIVE
To establish an anaphylactic shock model induced by human mixed serum in guinea pigs.

METHODS
Eighteen guinea pigs were divided into two groups: sensitized and control, The sensitized group were immunized intracutaneously with human mixed serum and then induced by endocardiac injection after 3 weeks.

RESULTS
Symptoms of anaphylactic shock appeared in the sensitized group. The level of serum IgE were increased in the sensitized group significantly.

CONCLUSIONS
An animal model of anaphylactic shock wer established successfully. It provide a tool for both forensic study and anaphylactic shock therapy.


In this article, the inhibition efficiency of imidazoline derivatives with different alkyl chain was investigated from aspect of diffusion using molecular dynamics method. The diffusion coefficient of three corrosive ions in the inhibitor membrane was proposed to evaluate the inhibition efficiency, and three related parameters, fractional free volume of membrane, interaction energy between membrane and particle, mobility of inhibitor membrane, were also discussed to illuminate the diffusion performance of corrosive particles in inhibitor membrane at length. These researches provide one more reasonable theoretical method to evaluate the inhibition efficiency, and may have important significance for the filtration of inhibitor.


A technique for detecting the distance to a highly reflective target in the presence of an interfering reflection using a frequency-stepped double-sideband suppressed carrier (DSBSC) microwave-millimeter-wave radar system is analytically derived. The main result of the analysis shows that the measured group delays produced by the DSBSC system possess a periodicity inversely proportional to the difference between the time delays to the target and interferer, independent of the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR). Simulation results are presented in the context of electron plasma density range estimation using a block diagram communications CAD tool. A unique and accurate plasma model is introduced. A high-resolution spectral estimation technique, based on an autoregressive time series analysis is applied to the measured group delays, and it is shown that accurate target distance estimates may be obtained, independent of SIR. >


The rates of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide release of primitive hunters and weaver spiders, the Chilean Recluse spider Loxosceles laeta Nicolet (Araneae: Sicariidae) and the Chilean Tiger spider Scytodes globula Nicolet (Araneae: Scytodidae), are analyzed, and their relationship with body mass is studied. The results are compared with the metabolic data available for other spiders. A low metabolic rate is found both for these two species and other primitive hunters and weavers, such as spiders of the families Dysderidae and Plectreuridae. The metabolic rate of this group is lower than in nonprimitive spiders, such as the orb weavers (Araneae: Araneidae). The results reject the proposition of a general relationship for metabolic rate for all land arthropods (related to body mass) and agree with the hypothesis that metabolic rates are affected not only by sex, reproductive and developmental status, but also by ecology and life style, recognizing here, at least in the araneomorph spiders, a group having low metabolism, comprising the primitive hunters and weaver spiders, and another group comprising the higher metabolic rate web building spiders (e.g. orb weavers).


OBJECTIVE
To explore the stress distribution characteristics of the graft after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, so as to provide theoretical reference for the surgical plan of ACL reconstruction.

METHODS
Based on 3D MRI and CT images, finite element models of the uninjured knee joint and knee joint after ACL reconstruction were established in this study. The uninjured knee model included femur, tibia, fibula, medial collateral ligament, lateral collateral ligament, ACL and posterior cruciate ligament. The ACL reconstruction knee model included femur, tibia, fibula, medial collateral ligament, lateral collateral ligament, ACL graft and posterior cruciate ligament. Linear elastic material properties were used for both the uninjured and ACL reconstruction models. The elastic modulus of bone tissue was set as 17 GPa and Poisson' s ratio was 0.36. The material properties of ligament tissue and graft were set as elastic modulus 390 MPa and Poisson's ratio 0.4. The femur was fixed as the boundary condition, and the tibia anterior tension of 134 N was applied as the loading condition. The stress states of the ACL of the intact joint and the ACL graft after reconstruction were solved and analyzed, including tension, pressure, shear force and von Mises stress.

RESULTS
The maximum compressive stress (6.34 MPa), von Mises stress (5.9 MPa) and shear stress (1.83 MPa) of the reconstructed ACL graft were all at the anterior femoral end. It was consistent with the position of maximum compressive stress (8.77 MPa), von Mises stress (8.88 MPa) and shear stress (3.44 MPa) in the ACL of the intact knee joint. The maximum tensile stress of the graft also appeared at the femoral end, but at the posterior side, which was consistent with the position of the maximum tensile stress of ACL of the uninjured knee joint. More-over, the maximum tensile stress of the graft was only 0.88 MPa, which was less than 2.56 MPa of ACL of the uninjured knee joint.

CONCLUSION
The maximum compressive stress, von Mises stress and shear stress of the ACL graft are located in the anterior femoral end, and the maximum tensile stress is located in the posterior femoral end, which is consistent with the position of the maximum tensile stress of the ACL of the uninjured knee joint. The anterior part of ACL and the graft bore higher stresses than the posterior part, which is consistent with the biomechanical characteristics of ACL.


Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of immediate and delayed physiotherapy protocol on the maximum interincisal opening (MIO), pain magnitude during physiotherapy, and rate of re-ankylosis, following the release of temporomandibular joint ankylosis (TMJa) by conservative gap arthroplasty. Subjects and methods: Twenty four patients with TMJa were treated with conservative gap arthroplasty. They were divided into two equal groups: In group 1, physiotherapy was started 24 hours after surgery. In group 2, physiotherapy was initiated after one week postoperative. MIO, pain magnitude by visual analogue scale (VAS), and rate of re-ankylosis were recorded. The values of MIO and VAS of both groups were compared by paired sample t-test. Results: Both groups showed significant improvement in MIO. At one week and one month postoperative, MIO showed significant difference between the two groups (P-value ≤ 0.05). At the remaining follow-up period, no significant difference was observed. By comparing the VAS of both groups, it was significant only at the first day of physiotherapy and at two weeks (P-value ≤ 0.05). The rate of re-ankylosis was non-significant between the two groups. Conclusion: Maintenance of MIO is less dependent on the starting time of physiotherapy and more indebted to the patient cooperation with a regular physiotherapy protocol. The reduction in the VAS encourages the patients to perform more comfortable TMJ exercises.


Arithmetic Transform (AT) [1, 16, 17] is an efficient spectral technique, to analyze range and precision of fixed-point polynomial datapaths, among other methods including AA [4, 15] and SMT [5]. However, the major inefficiency of AT is that it cannot handle the datapaths with comparator units, which imply the non-arithmetic if-statements. This paper presents the approach, Constrained Arithmetic Transform (CAT), to perform range and precision analysis of fixed-point datapaths with comparator units. A custom branch-and-bound search is also introduced to provide more cutting branches and perform faster analyses of range and precision, by making use of safe and negligible overestimations. Experimental results prove the efficiency of our approach.


A 3-yr study was conducted on nine farms across southern Ontario to evaluate the risks and benefits of different approaches to weed management in corn and soybean. Weed control decisions were based on field scouting and recommendations from the Ontario version of HADSS™, the herbicide application decision support system. Treatments were selected to maximize profit (economic threshold approach) or to maximize yield (highest treatment efficacy). Reduced rates of the high efficacy treatment for each field also were included. Weed density before and after treatment, crop yields, weed seed return, and the effect of weed control decisions on weed density 1 yr after treatment were assessed. Crop yield varied among years and farms but was not affected by weed control treatment. Weed control at 28 d after treatment (DAT) was often lower and weed density, biomass, and seed production 70 DAT were often higher with the profit maximization approach compared with the yield maximization approach. However, weed density 1 yr later, after each cooperator had applied a general weed control program, did not vary significantly among the previous year's weed control treatments. Reduced rates of the high efficacy treatments did not lead to increased weed problems the next year, despite lower weed control and increased weed seed production in some years. During the 3 yr of the study, weed control costs with the profit maximization approach were approximately Can$45/ha less than with the yield maximization approach. Nomenclature: Corn, Zea mays L.; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. Additional index words: Economic threshold, net benefit, reduced rate, weed seed rain. Abbreviations: DAT, days after treatment; HADSS, herbicide application decision support system; POST, postemergence.


The dependence of the microhardness HV of ternary solid solutions of Ni–Cr–Mo based on the composition of the nickel is investigated. The formula relating the microhardness HV with the amount of its constituent components, expressed in at. %, is suggested. The linear dependence between microhardness of samples and concentration of impurities is set in the 0–22 at. % Chromium and 0–16 atm. % Molybdenum. It is shown that the using the energy of indenter's implementation into the sample allows us to estimate not only the strength of the crystal lattice of the substance, but also to link it with the energy of the crystal lattice. Along with microhardness introduced the quantity, called the work we do destruction, allowing to estimate the energy gap of the interatomic bonds in the implementation of the indenter into the alloy. Along with microhardness we introduced the quantity, that was called the work of destruction, allowing to estimate the energy of the gap of the interatomic bonds when implementing of the indenter into the alloy. It is shown that introduction of chromium and molybdenum has a greater effect on the value of microhardness, than the interaction between these components.


The positional variants of /i, u/ in the Spanish diphthong were studied by spectographic techniques. Four male speakers recorded a list of 24 words that contained the dipthongs /ie/, /ei/, /ue/ and the sounds /i/, /u/ in the same consonant environment. The measurement of the central frequency of the first three formants shows that their displacement is different for each positional variant. Furthermore the intensity relation between the positional variants and the vowel-sound /e/ and the rate of change of F2 transition seem to be significant cues for the identification of the three variants observed. These acoustic results suggest some articulatory differences in the way these variants are produced.


Editors note: Two recent events promoted me to ask Robert Platt, a biostatistician, to contribute occasional pieces to the journal under the heading, statistical commentary. The first is the appearance of papers using statistical procedures that may only be familiar to some readers. My hope is that this column will help explain these procedures in simple terms so that the scientific papers are more generally understood. The second is a recent report in the New England Journal ofMedicine describing an apparent increase in crashes involving cellphones. This received wide coverage in the media; equally interesting were the bizarre responses of the cellphone industry to this report. Although not a problem that directly affects children or adolescents, if the results are valid the indirect effects could involve young people. (Besides, I have a prejudice against the use of cellphones in public and especially while driving!)


Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the topic "impact of digital marketing" over the span of past eight years, published in various prominent research journals in the past eight years The purpose of this paper is to act as a starting point for several further researches in this area of study, and also to get the overview of the research that has happened and understand the relevant research gaps that exist in the area of digital marketing Design/methodology/approach: Scopus database is used to search the research publications on the selected topic The papers selected for this paper have been published in the past eight years (2012–2020) Findings: It has been concluded by many of the research papers reviewed that "Digital Marketing Efforts" influence the purchase intention of the customer It can be also inferred that the distinction between the "marketing" and "digital marketing" is soon fading as every type of marketing effort will have an element of "digital marketing" in it Research limitations/implications: The approach to the review is theoretical and no primary data have been collected This bibliometric review is expected to provide overview of the research that has happened over the span of past eight years in the area of digital marketing Practical implications: Many of the papers have expressed the limitations and opportunities for the future research Few of the prominent and relevant research gaps are listed in this paper This paper is expected to lay a foundation for several further studies in this area of study Originality/value: The paper is original in terms of reviewing the literature published on the topic, "impact of digital marketing", between years 2012 to 2020 As the world has been forced to go digital due to COVID-19 outbreak, it has become all the more significant to take an account of developments in the field of "digital marketing" © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited


This thesis explores how the development of the Post Office in Ireland was, from its inception, intertwined with and profoundly impacted by the evolution of the early modern British 'composite state'2 in its various iterations, highlighting how Ireland's status as a kingdom within that composite polity down to the Act of Union (1800), and thereafter as part of the United Kingdom, shaped the form and pace of development of the island's postal service down to 1840. It traces how the post in Ireland progressed from being a small scale, ad hoc and expensive service instigated during the Tudor military campaigns of the mid-sixteenth century and dedicated to
serving the needs of the ruling elite within the top echelons of the Tudor state (the monarch, Privy Council, parliament, the judiciary and senior ranking army personnel) through conveyance of official correspondence and interception of intelligence to become, by 1840, three years after Queen Victoria's accession to the throne, an indispensable, benign yet silent pillar and servant of the state in the modern sense of the organised totality of British citizens. By tracing major developments (setbacks as well as advances) in the post in Ireland in tandem with changing ideologies concerning the state, this study explores how its accelerated growth and popularity both reflected and responded to broader modernising dynamics and trends within the increasingly broadly defined British state, and specifically in Ireland whose status within that state evolved significantly during this c.285-year period.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the neuroprotective effect of mulberry extracts (ME) against Abeta25-35-induced injury in cultured PC12 cells and explore the possible mechanisms involved.

METHODS
PC12 cells at logarithmic growth phase were divided into the normal control group, Abeta25-35 group (20 micromol/L for 24h) and ME pretreating groups at the concentrations of 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 microg/ml. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. On that basis, PC12 cells were divided into the normal control group, ME group (200 microg/ml ME incubation alone for 24h), Abeta25-35 group (20 micromol/L for 24h) and ME plus Abeta25-35 group (after pretreatment with 200 microg/ml ME for 24h, cells were exposed to 201 micromol/L Abeta25-35 for another 24h). Intracellular reactive oxidative species (ROS) was measured by using the fluorescent DCFH-DA and the apoptotic cells were observed by Hoechst33342 staining method.

RESULTS
(1) The results showed that exposure of PC12 cells to Abeta22-35 (20 micromol/L) for 24h induced notably neuronal injury (P < 0.05) as compared with the control group, while pretreatment with 100 or 200 microg/ml ME almost completely reversed Abeta25-35 induced neuronal injury (P < 0.05). (2) There were no remarkable changes in ROS levels and apoptosis rate of ME group as compared with the control group (P > 0.05). Compared with the control group, exposure to 20 micromol/L Abeta25-35 for 24h resulted in a significant decrease in cell viability (P < 0.05) while increase in ROS levels and cell apoptosis rate (P < 0.05). But pretreatment of PC12 cells with 200 microg/ml ME could counteract ROS formation and inhibit apoptosis (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
These results suggest that mulberry extracts rich in phenolics and anthocyanins could alleviate Abeta25-35-induced injury in PC12 cells, which might be associated with the antioxidative and antiapoptosis effects.


Background Trigger finger (TF) is a common hand pathology frequently encountered in hand clinics. Occupational therapists predominantly assess TF symptoms as opposed to using standardized hand functioning assessments. The purpose of this study was to assess the construct validity of dexterity and grip strength assessments for clients with TF. Method Sixty-three participants with TF and 66 healthy controls were administered the Functional Dexterity Test (FDT), Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT), and Jamar® Hydraulic Hand Dynamometer (JD) and completed the Disabilities of Arm Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (DASH). TF symptoms were graded using the Quinnell classification. Results Statistically significant differences were found between the groups in dexterity and grip strength. A statistically significant difference between the three TF grades was found on the PPT. All three test scores were moderately correlated with the DASH scores. Conclusion This study provides innovative evidence for the validity of common hand function assessments for individuals with TF and recommends incorporating these tools in clinical practice. Further research is needed with larger samples and better representation of each TF clinical grade.


The addition of prostaglandin (PG) H2 produced a transient contraction followed by a relaxation in helical strips of dog cerebral arteries partially contracted with PGF2 alpha or K+. The contraction was abolished by removal of endothelium, and the relaxation was potentiated. Relaxation induced by PGI2 was not influenced by endothelium denudation. The PGH2-induced contraction in strips with intact endothelium was not influenced by OKY-046, a thromboxane A2 synthesis inhibitor, but was abolished by treatment with ONO3708, an antagonist of vasoconstrictor PGs, whereas the relaxation was inhibited by tranylcypromine or diphloretin phosphate, a nonselective PG antagonist. Contraction induced by arachidonic acid (AA) was reversed to relaxation by removal of endothelium or treatment with ONO3708. Treatment with indomethacin attenuated the AA-induced contraction in the intact strips and also the relaxation in the strips treated with ONO3708 or denuded of endothelium. It may be concluded that vasoconstrictor PGs are synthesized from PGH2 or AA mainly in endothelium, and the production of PGI2 from PGH2 is not dependent on endothelium. Thromboxane A2 in concentrations sufficient to elicit significant contractions does not appear to be liberated from the cerebroarterial wall stimulated by PGH2.


This paper investigates a disintegrated channel estimation technique required to accomplish the spatial diversity supported by cooperative relays. The relaying strategy considered herein is a filter-and-forward (FF) relaying method with superimposed training sequences for separately estimating the backhaul and access channels. To reduce inter-relay interference, a generalized filtering technique is proposed and investigated thoroughly. Unlike the interference suppression method commonly used in the conventional FF relay networks, the generalized filtering matrix essentially multiplexes the superimposed training sequences from different relays to the destination by time-division multiplexing, frequency-division multiplexing, and code-division multiplexing methods. The Bayesian Cramér-Rao lower bounds (BCRBs) for this channel estimation problem are derived as the estimation performance benchmarks. The mean square errors (MSEs) of the disintegrated channel estimates are also derived. Finally, the improvements offered by the proposed technique are verified by comprehensive computer simulations in conjunction with the calculations of the BCRBs and the MSEs derived in this paper.


Cotton fiber is an environmentally friendly and natural material with a certain extraction capacity, while its enrichment ability is poor. In order to improve the extraction efficiency of cotton fibers, it was carbonized to form a layer of amorphous carbon as the sorbent by a simple carbonization method. Carbonized cotton fibers were filled into a polyetheretherketone tube for in-tube solid-phase microextraction. The carbonization time was investigated to obtain high extraction efficiency. Coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography, the extraction tube was evaluated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, estrogens and phthalates, and it exhibited best extraction efficiency for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Under the optimum conditions, an online analysis method for several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was established with large linear ranges (0.016-0.20 μg/L), low limits of detection (0.005-0.020 μg/L), and high enrichment factors (948-2874). Analysis method was successfully applied to the detection of targets in the real samples and shown satisfactory durability and chemical stability. Moreover, the relative recoveries ranged from 82 to 119.2%, which demonstrated the applicability of carbonized cotton fibers in sample preparation. Compared with other reported methods, the proposed method provided shorter extraction time, higher enrichment factors, comparable limits of detection, and recoveries.


A liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitation of nicorandil and its denitrated metabolite, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-nicotinamide, in rat plasma. After a liquid-liquid extraction step, chromatographic separation was performed on a ShinPack C(18) column with an isocratic mobile phase composed of methanol and 2 mM aqueous ammonium acetate containing 0.03% (v/v) formic acid (33:67 v/v). Procainamide was used as an internal standard (IS). Selected reaction monitoring was performed using the transitions m/z 212 → m/z 135, m/z 166 → m/z 106 and m/z 236 → m/z 163 to quantify nicorandil, its denitrated metabolite and IS, respectively. Calibration curves were constructed over the range of 5-15,000 ng.ml(-1) for both nicorandil and its metabolite. The mean relative standard deviation (RSD%) values for the intra-run precision were 5.4% and 7.3% and for the inter-run precision were 8.5% and 7.3% for nicorandil and its metabolite, respectively. The mean accuracy values were 100% and 95% for nicorandil and its metabolite, respectively. No matrix effect was detected in the samples. The validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study after per os administration of nicorandil in rats.


Complexity of in-vehicle computer systems and the availability of computerized mechatronics yield a situation where automotive electronic systems are designed by integration. Since the qualities of a modern vehicle are much dependent on the in-vehicle computer system, integration is a major issue which has proved difficult with respect to assessing quality and cost. OEMs of automotive products want leverage over targeted qualities and the cost of scale when purchasing supplier components.In this paper, we present three cases of integration of mechatronic components into vehicle platforms of Volvo Construction Equipment and focus on the integration of embedded computer systems. The study shows problems areas of communicating architecture constraints, evaluation of components in early phases of development, and lacking definitions of responsibilities.Based on the study, we list four recommended practices to avoid the problems found in the cases. The analysis shows that integration of embedded computers should be considered early in development and in order to reduce project risks, the early assessment of computers need be fairly detailed. From the study we also present driving requirements in design of in-vehicle computer systems.


This chapter takes as a point of departure the website of the "Voices" project, a large media enterprise on languages in the UK conducted by the BBC in 2003–2005. With the help of the notions of language ideology and the analytical tools of multimodal critical discourse analysis, the paper shows how representations of languages on the website are a discursive terrain on which negotiations of national identities are played out. Essentially, the argument is that there is a constant tension between centripetal (unifying) and centrifugal (particularising) forces which strive for the production of different, concomitant and often conflicting national identities. Whereas the BBC seeks to represent the UK as a happy and unified multilingual nation, the many postings on the website show how multilingualism is not always perceived by speakers as a happy and unproblematic phenomenon, but is a politically-fraught issue that creates strong disagreements about the values of different languages in British society as well as their functions as markers of different national identities.


Crystal growth is an interdisciplinary subject. The main research work involved in this is the production of pure materials and improved equipment associated with the preparation of the materials. The main research work involved in this is the development of microcontroller based rotary evaporator for the solution growth. The PIC microcontroller PWM module is used to control the DC motor in turn it controls the operation of rotary evaporator equipment. This evaporator helps to mix up the reagents reaction and speed up the overall process. The rate of evaporation of the solvent is increased and there by seeding of the solution becomes better with the help of the DC motor. The PWM of the DC motor drive was adjusted at the different choice. The polarity of rotation is automatically selected by the toggle switch.


With a view to assessing the growth pattern, a cross-sectional study was made on 656 Indian Bengalee girls (aged 9-17 yr) of the lower and middle class families of rural West Bengal. The mean height and weight of the Bengalee girls were found to gradually increase up to the age of 17. The average age at menarche was 13 yr and the girls aged 13 yr (currently) reached 98 per cent of height and 83 per cent of weight, as compared to 17 yr old girls. The subjects were found to have heights and weights comparable with the American population while they were shorter and lighter than their British counterparts. On comparison with reported figures for girls of other Indian states, all the physical parameters were found to be almost identical at the age of 17 except for girls of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Bengalee girls studied by us were taller than their peers (in an earlier longitudinal study) up to 14 yr of age, but were similar at later ages. Bengalee girls in the present study were shorter and lighter as compared to the Indian norms for girls from higher socio-economic group, but were taller and heavier than those from the low socio-economic groups.


A multiplicity of autonomous terminals simultaneously transmits data streams to a compact array of antennas. The array uses imperfect channel-state information derived from transmitted pilots to extract the individual data streams. The power radiated by the terminals can be made inversely proportional to the square-root of the number of base station antennas with no reduction in performance. In contrast if perfect channel-state information were available the power could be made inversely proportional to the number of antennas. Lower capacity bounds for maximum-ratio combining (MRC), zero-forcing (ZF) and minimum mean-square error (MMSE) detection are derived. An MRC receiver normally performs worse than ZF and MMSE. However as power levels are reduced, the cross-talk introduced by the inferior maximum-ratio receiver eventually falls below the noise level and this simple receiver becomes a viable option. The tradeoff between the energy efficiency (as measured in bits/J) and spectral efficiency (as measured in bits/channel use/terminal) is quantified for a channel model that includes small-scale fading but not large-scale fading. It is shown that the use of moderately large antenna arrays can improve the spectral and energy efficiency with orders of magnitude compared to a single-antenna system.


Egg- and Lambornella clarki-deposition behaviors by the treehole mosquito Aedes sierrensis were monitored inside laboratory deposition containers using a video camera. Gravid and infected mosquitoes were seen probing the substrate and in the water with their abdominal tips. Both eggs and parasites were recovered from the containers. Gravid and infected mosquitoes performed the same or similar types of behaviors, but gravid mosquitoes spent significantly higher percentages of time engaged in exploratory probing movements than did infected mosquitoes. Gravid mosquitoes also spent significantly less percentage time resting and more percentage time grooming than did infected mosquitoes. It appears that, compared to gravid mosquitoes, infected mosquitoes spent less relative time in certain behaviors that may not benefit the parasite.


CONTEXT
Hamstring-strain injuries have a high recurrence rate.

OBJECTIVE
To determine if a protocol emphasizing eccentric strength training with the hamstrings in a lengthened position resulted in a low recurrence rate.

DESIGN
Longitudinal cohort study.

SETTING
Sports-medicine physical therapy clinic.

PARTICIPANTS
Fifty athletes with hamstring-strain injury (age 36 ± 16 y; 30 men, 20 women; 3 G1, 43 G2, 4 G3; 25 recurrent injuries) followed a 3-phase rehabilitation protocol emphasizing eccentric strengthening with the hamstrings in a lengthened position.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Injury recurrence; isometric hamstring strength at 80°, 60°, 40°, and 20° knee flexion in sitting with the thigh flexed to 40° above the horizontal and the seat back at 90° to the horizontal (strength tested before return to sport).

RESULTS
Four of the 50 athletes sustained reinjuries between 3 and 12 mo after return to sport (8% recurrence rate). The other 42 athletes had not sustained a reinjury at an average of 24 ± 12 mo after return to sport. Eight noncompliant athletes did not complete the rehabilitation and returned to sport before initiating eccentric strengthening in the lengthened state. All 4 reinjuries occurred in these noncompliant athletes. At time of return to sport, compliant athletes had full restoration of strength while noncompliant athletes had significant hamstring weakness, which was progressively worse at longer muscle lengths (compliance × side × angle P = .006; involved vs noninvolved at 20°, compliant 7% stronger, noncompliant 43% weaker).

CONCLUSION
Compliance with rehabilitation emphasizing eccentric strengthening with the hamstrings in a lengthened position resulted in no reinjuries.


Introduction/Background The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens (NACT): Mitomycin and Cisplatin (MP) vs Paclitaxel and Cisplatin/Carboplatin (TCb/TP) in advanced BRCA1-mutated ovarian cancer (BMOC). Methodology In a prospective cohort of 13 patients (38–66 years (mean age 52 years) we analyzed the efficacy of Mitomycin (10 mg/m2) and Cisplatin (100 mg/m2) NACT administered intravenously every 3–4 weeks. The control group included 22 patients of retrospective cohort (38–67 years (mean age 51,9 years), who received standard 1-st line NACT (TCb/TP). Clinical efficacy was evaluated according to RECIST 1.1, histopathologic response - according to the Bohm scale (2015). Results The objective response was observed in 13/13 (100%) patientsin MP group vs 9/22 (41%) patientsin TCb/TP group (p=0,0006). Complete surgical cytoreduction was achieved in all patients (13/13; 100%) after MP vs 13/22 (59%) cases in TCb/TP group (p=0,01). Complete pathological response was confirmed only in MP group - in 3 out of 13 patients (23%) vs 0/22 patients (0%) in TCb/TP group (p=0,04). Conclusion The short-term results of the present study showed that the neoadjuvant chemotherapy with Cisplatin and Mitomycin is an effective option for BRCA1-associated advanced ovarian cancer treatment. Disclosure Nothing to disclose.


In the last decade, the field of multivariate analysis has shown remarkable development. However, some of the method could not satisfy users' needs for getting a tough and better handling tool. The purpose of this article is to make clear the contents of users' needs and communicate them to makers and developers for their information. 82 subjects(mostly social psychologists)were asked by questionnaire method what kinds of dissatisfaction they experienced in using multivariate analyses. The questionnaire considered the10methods: factor analysis, principal component analysis, canonical correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, analysis of covariance, discriminant analysis, cluster analysis, theory of quantification, LISREL, and MDS. Users reported wanting methods which are:(1)less mathematically sophisticated than tough and stable, (2)able to analyze a formation and change of interacting processes, (3)not restricted by excessive mathematical assumptions, (4)supported by systems which easily select the best method out of a complex program package. The users also wanted to know(5)the limitations of each application rather than the usefulness of the method, and(6)criteria for selecting the most suitable method for the data.


A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of nimodipine used to treat traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (tSAH) was conducted in 21 German neurosurgical centers between January 1994 and April 1995. One hundred twenty-three patients with tSAH appearing on initial computerized tomography (CT) scanning were entered into the study. Requirements for inclusion included age between 16 and 70 and admission into the study within 12 hours after head injury, regardless of the patient's level of consciousness. Eligible patients received either a sequential course of intravenous and oral nimodipine or placebo treatment for 3 weeks. Patients were closely monitored using clinical neurology, computerized tomography, laboratory, and transcranial Doppler ultrasound parameters. Patients treated with nimodipine had a significantly less unfavorable outcome (death, vegetative survival, or severe disability) at 6 months than placebo-treated patients (25% vs. 46%, p = 0.02). The relative reduction in unfavorable outcome in the nimodipine-treated group was even higher (55%, p = 0.002) when only patients who complied with the protocol were considered.


Commentary on the paper by Leroy et al (see page241)

Many children are investigated for vesicoureteric reflux (VUR) following a urinary tract infection (UTI), but the imaging technique of a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) is unpleasant for the child and not without risk. A clinical scoring system capable of confidently predicting VUR would therefore be an attractive alternative approach.

The original study by Oostenbrink and colleagues1 seemed to suggest that a score derived from the combination of clinical factors (age, sex, and positive family history), ultrasound findings and C reactive protein (CRP) result could predict the presence of VUR with high sensitivity, albeit with rather low specificity. A diagnostic test with 100% sensitivity can be useful in ruling out a condition when it is negative, even when it has low specificity (that is, cannot be relied upon when positive). This has been referred to as a "SnNout" (when a test has a high S e n sitivity, a N egative result rules out the diagnosis).2 However, the lower the specificity, the smaller would be the expected proportion of children without reflux who have a negative result, and thereby avoid an unnecessary imaging investigation. A negative result, excluding VUR, was seen in 17% of children without VUR in Oosterbrink's series.

Leroy and colleagues3 are to be commended on repeating the work of Oostenbrink. When a group of patients is used to develop a diagnostic test, the performance of that test tends to be overestimated. This is particularly …


Motivation: in recent decades, a vast gulf has opened between the mass of accumulating research data and the massively expanding literature describing and analysing those data. The problem is not so much data generation per se, but rather, the way in which we've buried the knowledge embodied in those data: there is now so much information available that we simply no longer know what we know, and finding what we want is hard, because he knowledge we seek is often spread across thousands of databases and millions of articles in thousands of journals. The intellectual energy required to search this array of archives, and the time and money this wastes, has prompted the development of new software tools to help link these resources, and ultimately liberate the knowledge that's been systematically trapped within them. Results: to address some of these issues, we have developed Utopia Documents. Building on Utopia, a suite of semantically integrated protein sequence/structure visualisation and analysis tools (1,2), Utopia Documents is a PDF reader that integrates Utopia's functionality with research articles. The system was piloted in a project with Portland Press to create the Semantic Biochemical Journal (BJ) (3) – in this project, Utopia Documents was used to transform static document features into objects that can be linked, annotated, visualised and analysed interactively, thereby transforming the reading experience and making further analysis from within a PDF file possible for the first time. The Semantic BJ was launched in December 2009 (see www.biochemj. org/bj/424/3/), and Utopia Documents is now being used by BJ editors within their routine publication pipelines. With support from other publishers, and groups like SeqAhead, this new software could also make significant advances towards tighter coupling of NGS literature and data in future.


Using Gleele-1500D thermal simulation instrument, the effect of value of the current on synthesis of W-C-Co composites was investigated. It was shown that the nature of combustion products depended on the magnitude of the current intensity and the electric field was not only providing the Joule heat for a compact, but also accelerating the diffusion among atoms in the synthesis process. X-ray and microscopic analysis of combustion products suggest that the solid state reaction takes place at a relatively lower temperature by passing through the samples with current intensities between 20000 A and 30000 A. Moreover, as the current increases, the TTE becomes lower. At the same time, the relative strength of WC diffraction peaks in XRD diagram increases while that of W2C decreases.


Change detection is a quite challenging task due to the imbalance between unchanged and changed class. In addition, the traditional difference map generated by log-ratio is subject to the speckle, which will reduce the accuracy. In this letter, an imbalanced learning-based change detection is proposed based on PCA network (PCA-Net), where a supervised PCA-Net is designed to obtain the robust features directly from given multitemporal synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images instead of a difference map. Furthermore, to tackle with the imbalance between changed and unchanged classes, we propose a morphologically supervised learning method, where the knowledge in the pixels near the boundary between two classes is exploited to guide network training. Finally, our proposed PCA-Net can be trained by the data sets with available reference maps and applied to a new data set, which is quite practical in change detection projects. Our proposed method is verified on five sets of multiple temporal SAR images. It is demonstrated from the experiment results that with the knowledge in training samples from the boundary, the learned features benefit change detection and make the proposed method outperform than supervised methods trained by randomly drawing samples.


The purpose of study is provide the basic data for set up proper illuminance of examination room that put purpose of an empirical study basic data about examination environment setting of the ultrasonic examination on design the examination environment of a new ultrasonic examination. As a method, to investigate the ultrasonic environment related to illumination to take a survey on the ultrasonic examination about test object to 48 parts of six units of general hospital in Busan. As a result, All Door + Curtain showed high scores in analyzing the gender, age, examination part in the case of ultrasonic examination room shielding and LED and light source control is required in the case of kind of light source. In the ultrasonic examination environment survey, the illuminance brightness is average 10 Lux which is included illuminance brightness range recommended the WHO and CEC and illuminance brightness of ultrasonic examination waiting room(ultrasonic examination waiting room, corridor) indicate average 300~800 Lux and it satisfied hospital illumination environment more than 300 Lux recommended by KSA 3011. In conclusion, Basic data suggested that improved future ultrasonic examination environment or designed new examination room on the basis of analysis result of general background and ultrasonic examination related to environment factor.


Recommender engines have become an integral component in today's e-commerce systems. From recommending books in Amazon to finding friends in social networks such as Facebook, they have become omnipresent.
Generally, recommender systems can be classified into two main categories: content based and collaborative filtering based models. Both these models build relationships between users and items to provide recommendations. Content based systems achieve this task by utilizing features extracted from the context available, whereas collaborative systems use shared interests between user-item subsets.
There is another relatively unexplored approach for providing recommendations that utilizes a stochastic process named random walks. This study is a survey exploring use cases of random walks in recommender systems and an attempt at classifying them.


BACKGROUND
There is mounting pathologic and immunologic evidence that Chlamydia pneumoniae plays a role in the atherogenic pathway. However, very few clinical studies have supported these findings.

METHODS
Using the administrative data of all patients > or =65 years of age who had an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Quebec between 1991 and 1995 (n = 26,195), we studied the relationship between the intake of antichlamydial antibiotics and post-AMI prognosis. Three groups were compared: patients exposed to (1) antichlamydial antibiotics, (2) sulfa-derivative antibiotics, to which C pneumoniae is not sensitive, and (3) neither of the above classes of antibiotics. Two periods of antibiotic exposure were explored: (1) during the first 3 months after AMI and (2) during the 6 months before AMI.

RESULTS
Patients in the 3 exposure groups were similar except for a slightly lower proportion of men in the sulfa-derivative antibiotics group. Among all patients who were exposed during the 3 months after AMI and who survived at least 3 months, the 1-year mortality rate was similar across the 3 groups (10.1%, 11.1%, and 10.4% for the antichlamydial, sulfa-derivative, and nonexposed group, respectively) but favored the antichlamydial group at 2 years (15.9%, 23.0%, and 20.0%). In adjusted survival analysis, patients in the sulfa-derivative and nonexposed groups were slightly more likely to die than patients in the antichlamydial group (relative risk [RR], 1.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04 to 1.82 and 1.29; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.59, respectively). Among individuals treated during the 6 months before AMI, the adjusted risk of dying was similar in the sulfa-derivative and nonexposed groups compared with the antichlamydial group (RR 1.03, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.18 and 1.08, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.19, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
Exposure to antichlamydial antibiotics during the 3 months after AMI is associated with a small survival benefit, whereas exposure during the 6 months before AMI does not affect survival.


In this paper, various four variable refined plate theories are presented to analyze vibration of temperature-dependent functionally graded (FG) plates. By dividing the transverse displacement into bending and shear parts, the number of unknowns and governing equations for the present model is reduced, significantly facilitating engineering analysis. These theories account for parabolic, sinusoidal, hyperbolic, and exponential distributions of the transverse shear strains and satisfy the zero traction boundary conditions on the surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factors. Power law material properties and linear steady-state thermal loads are assumed to be graded along the thickness. Uniform, linear, nonlinear and sinusoidal thermal conditions are imposed at the upper and lower surface for simply supported FG plates. Equations of motion are derived from Hamilton's principle. Analytical solutions for the free vibration analysis are obtained based on Fourier series that satisfy the boundary conditions (Navier's method). Non-dimensional results are compared for temperature-dependent and temperature-independent FG plates and validated with known results in the literature. Numerical investigation is conducted to show the effect of material composition, plate geometry, and temperature fields on the vibration characteristics. It can be concluded that the present theories are not only accurate but also simple in predicting the free vibration responses of temperature-dependent FG plates.


The genus Hieroglyphus Krauss (1877) reviewed by Mason (1973) comprises a number of species. Of these three species H.perpolita (Uvarov), H.oryzivorus Carl and H.nigrorepletus I.Bolivar occur in Pakistan. Certain species of Hieroglyphus present interesting complex as they appear in swarm (Ghouri and Ahmed 1960), while H.nigrorepletus, H.oryzivorus and H.daganensis are dimorphic, occurring in both brachypterous as well as in macropterous forms. According to Uvarov (1922) macropterous form occurs incidentally. H. nigroreletus I.Bolivar is reported as a major pest of rice, sugarcane, wheat, maize in India and Pakistan (Roonwal, 1978). It was in 1949 that this pest was reported by Bhatia to be causing extensive damage to millets in the Ajmer Marwara state and in the adjoining areas of Rajastan. About 75% of the village covering an area of 112.707 acres of maize and jowar in Ajmer-Marwara state was reported to be infested with this grasshopper and the loss caused by this pest was reported to be six million rupees. Inspite of these reports, this pest did not attract much attention of economic entomologists.


In the paper both conventional and new approach to magnetotherapy are discussed. The stimulation by electromagnetic field (magnetic component) is realized by the coils which generate electromagnetic field of dfferent geometry. New approach allows therapists to realize more precised therapy. New applicators have been designed and mastered and their performance is presented in computer simulation and experiments.


Introduction: Urticaria is a frequent and heterogeneous skin disease characterised by the development of wheals (hives), angioedema, or both. Chronic urticaria is characterised by the occurrence of wheals lasting less than 24 hours, with or without angioedema occurring daily or almost daily lasting more than six weeks. The two subtypes of chronic urticaria are Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria (CSU) and Chronic Inducible Urticaria (CIU). Autologous Serum Skin Test (ASST) is the simplest and the best in-vivo clinical test for the detection of basophil histamine- releasing activity. ASST has a sensitivity of approximately 70% and a specificity of 80%. Aim: To study the association between clinico-epidemiological features of CSU with positive and negative ASST. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted on 80 clinically diagnosed cases of CSU attending the Department of Dermatology Venereology Leprology Outpatient Department at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital (Kakatiya Medical College), Warangal, Telangana, India; during the period of January 2016 to September 2017. The detailed history was taken; complete physical and cutaneous examination and laboratory investigations like Complete Blood Picture (CBP), Absolute Eosinophil Count (AEC), Erythrocytic Sedimentation Rate (ESR), Thyroid Function Test (TFT) were carried out. ASST was done and read after 30 minutes. Chi- square test was applied and the results analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 10.0. Results: Out of total 80 patients included in the study, ASST was positive in 36 (45%) and negative in 44 (55%). ASST positive patients showed longer duration of the disease with increased frequency of attacks and longer duration of wheals. However, both ASST positive and negative groups did not show statistically significant difference in the age of occurrence, gender, angioedema, dermographism. Conclusion: Autoimmune urticaria has no distinctive clinical features. ASST positive, autoimmune urticaria patients have more severe disease with greater impact on quality of life. Thus, they may need more aggressive treatment.


This investigation evaluates the effects of hydrological uncertainty in the results of flood extent estimates during the incidence of a tropical storm. For this, the methodology is comprised of field measurements, elevation data, a distributed hydrological model and a standard two‐dimensional numerical model. Uncertainty is considered in the distributed hydrological model through the estimation of possible hydrographs from precipitation data registered during the incidence of an extreme event. The characterisation of the run‐off by multiple possibilities opens the door to a probabilistic estimation of flood maps, enabling the consideration of hydrological uncertainties and their propagation to an estimated flood extension. It is shown that during the incidence of the tropical storm Arlene, the estimated flooded area is similar to what was registered by satellite imagery. Although the methodology does not consider all the uncertainties that may be involved in the determination of a flooded area, it is reflected that it favours the preventive action in the generation of flood management strategies. The selected approach is a first iteration in the production of a fully quantified approach to the analysis of flood risk, especially where there are doubts about how the catchment responds to a given extreme precipitation event.


Several strains of unicellular cyanobacteria from the culture collection of St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia (CALU), which were preliminary identified as Synechocystis sp., are reclassified in the new genus Altericista. Three new species are proposed, A. lacusladogae, A. violacea, and A. variichlora. The last species produces accessory chlorophylls d and f in cultures illuminated by far‐red light, an attribute rarely observed in cyanobacteria, especially in unicellular strains. This genus is morphologically similar to Synechocysis having coccoid cells that divide in two successive planes at right angles, containing no sheath or capsule, and having the lamellar system represented by peripheral concentric thylakoids. Altericista shows ecological, biochemical, and physiological characters unlike those in Synechocystis and has the distinguishing phenotypic characters as follows: freshwater, non‐halotolerant ecotype; palmitate and α‐linoleate as major fatty acids; and the ability to photoacclimate, including several types of complementary chromatic adaptation. Genetic differences from Synechocystis sp. include 16S rRNA, rpoC1, and rbcL gene sequences, as well as sequence and folding of 16S‐23S ITS.


The thermal performance of parabolic trough concentrating solar collectors depends on both the structural and optical characteristics of the design. In order to reduce the cost of energy, advanced concentrating structures must significantly reduce the cost of collectors while maintaining good optical performance. This paper discusses a Finite Element Ray Tracer (FERT) that has been developed specifically to support the commercial design process. This is achieved by tying the whole of the support structure directly to its optical effects. Consequently, the optical performance metrics go beyond the typical reflector slope error RMS or average intercept factor to present the designer with spatially resolved analysis of localized performance. By incorporating this analytical method into the structural design process, collector cost and performance can be balanced efficiently and rapidly, allowing for an accelerated design period. At times, this insight has driven better, albeit unexpected, design decisions.The paper presents an overview of the development process that Abengoa R&D uses to take advantage of its analytical optical analysis capability throughout all phases of a project, as well as a review of its implementation. A selection of case studies is also presented to illustrate how FERT enables the designer to identify local areas of concern, diagnose the cause, and quickly develop possible redesign strategies. Finally, the significance of various parameters within the ray tracer are discussed.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


A group of 58 children with severe Cooley's anemia, half of them splenectomized, were reviewed from several of the more important clinical and hematologic aspects. Splenectomy eliminates the extracorpuscular mechanism responsible for the accelerated destruction of normal donor red cells in the patient's circulation. This represents a lasting improvement and accounts for an increased longevity of normal blood supplements and a striking reduction of transfusion requirements. Less blood was required to maintain at least as good, and at times improved, hemoglobin levels. Estimates of duration of survival of the patient's own erythrocytes suggest that the basic hemolytic defect is not altered significantly by this operative procedure. While transfusions and splenectomy promote the patient's well being, growth in height and sexual development are retarded. Secondary sexual characteristics develop, if at all, later than in normal individuals and normal menses are rare. Cardiac failure occurred in 10 patients; all but one had been subjected to splenectomy. This group was characterized by cardiac enlargement, multiple arrhythmias and death with refractory heart failure, usually in the second decade of life. Cardiac complications are likely to be related to the heavy deposition of iron in the myocardium, and are comparable in this respect to a similar incidence in idiopathic hemochromatosis. One of the most serious problems in the management of Cooley's anemia is the prevention and control of congestive heart failure. This will depend on the discovery of an effective method by which the heart can be made to unload its iron deposits. The increased susceptibility to infection following splenectomy in patients with severe Cooley's anemia indicates that the normal immunologic responses inherent in the spleen remain intact despite the stress of a continuous hemolytic process.


In The History of Sexuality Foucault argues that although sexuality, in contemporary western societies, neither reised within nor is inherently expressive of the truth of the self, we nevertheless *perceive* it to be so: 'A double petition,' Foucault writes, 'in that we are compelled to know how things are with it, while it is suspected of knowking how things are with us.' What of the truth of bisexuality? Some researchers imply that it is a 'riddle' (which presumably requires solving). This position suggests an ignorance of bisexuality, or even igonrances. But as Eve Sedgwick contends: 'far from being pieces of the originary dark, [ignorances] are produced by and correspond to particular knowledges and circulate as part of particular regimes of truth.' To suggest that bisexuality is a riddle then, is not to place it beyond knowledges of sexuality, nor is solving the riddle of bisexuality beyond the fecund propagation of truths. Indeed, the notion of bisexuality as *the* riddle might be no more than another exploitation of *the* secret which must be spoken of ad infinitum.


Evaluation of software clustering algorithms is typically done by comparing the clustering results to an authoritative decomposition prepared manually by a system expert. A well-known drawback of this approach is the fact that there are many, equally valid ways to decompose a software system, since different clustering objectives create different decompositions. Evaluating all clustering algorithms against a single authoritative decomposition can lead to biased results. In this paper, we introduce LimSim, a novel approach for software clustering evaluation that utilizes multiple simulated authoritative decompositions. We also present experimental results of applying the new approach to evaluate various software clustering algorithms. The results demonstrate the usefulness of LimSim.


Daylight-linked control systems (DLCSs) are automated control systems aiming at optimizing the integration between daylight and electric light. They are based on the use of photosensors detecting available light. Photosensor signals are received by controllers, that in turn regulate the luminous flux emitted by luminaires. Despite the benefits in terms of both energy savings (the use of daylight allows to reduce both the luminaires emitted flux and the number of lighting systems operating hours) and comfort improvement (the use of daylight affects both visual and non-visual comfort), such systems are not so spread as expected for different reasons: their functioning is affected by a big amounts of factors (daylight availability, lighting systems components -above all photosensors-, commissioning), but it is not completely clear what is the specific incidence of each one of them on DLCSs global functioning; calculation models implemented in the available software useful to model and simulate DLCSs functioning are not reliable, so it is difficult for designers to estimate the actual benefits connected to DLCSs installation and estimate both achievable energy savings and economic advantage; finally, currently shared parameters useful to evaluate DLCSs do not exist and these systems are evaluated exclusively considering energy savings they allow to achieve. Given these premises the goal of the thesis is to propose a research methodology useful to analyse DLCSs and evaluate their performances both during preliminary design stages and during commissioning. At this purpose the research is organized in the following phases: state-of-the-art analysis aiming at understanding what are the parameters mostly influencing DLCSs performances; proposal of new performance parameters able to evaluate the capability of DLCSs in integrating daylight (Daylight Integration Adequacy -DIA-, Percentage Intrinsic Light Excess -ILE%-, Percentage Light Waste -LW%-, Percentage Light Deficit LD%); development of a simulation tool (called DET- Daylight-linked control systems Evaluation Tool) useful to simulate DLCSs functioning, overcoming the limits of the available software, and to calculate the above-mentioned parameters; setting up of an experimental test-room, where daylight measurements were performed; use of the measured data to simulate the functioning of different control systems by using DET and to evaluate how they would operate, once installed in the test-room and what would be the parameters influencing their performances.


ABSTRACT NS4B is one of the nonstructural proteins of classical swine fever virus (CSFV), the etiological agent of a severe, highly lethal disease of swine. Protein domain analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence of the NS4B protein of highly pathogenic CSFV strain Brescia (BICv) identified a putative Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR)-like domain. This TIR-like motif harbors two conserved domains, box 1 and box 2, also observed in other members of the TIR superfamily, including Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Mutations within the BICv NS4B box 2 domain (V2566A, G2567A, I2568A) produced recombinant virus NS4B.VGIv, with an altered phenotype displaying enhanced transcriptional activation of TLR-7-induced genes in swine macrophages, including a significant sustained accumulation of interleukin-6 (IL-6) mRNA. Transfection of swine macrophages with the wild-type NS4B gene partially blocked the TLR-7-activating effect of imiquimod (R837), while transfection with the NS4B gene harboring mutations in either of the putative boxes displayed decreased blocking activity. NS4B.VGIv showed an attenuated phenotype in swine, displaying reduced replication in the oronasal cavity and limited spread from the inoculation site to secondary target organs. Furthermore, the level and duration of IL-6 production in the tonsils of pigs intranasally inoculated with NS4B.VGIv were significantly higher than those for animals infected with BICv. The peak of IL-6 production in infected animals paralleled the ability of animals infected with NS4B.VGIv to resist challenge with virulent BICv. Interestingly, treatment of peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures with recombinant porcine IL-6 results in a significant decrease in BICv replication.