Author(s): Hammond, Charles Florian | Advisor(s): Gifford, Bernard R. | Abstract: This study examines the conceptual learning and cognitive processes of schoolchildren engaged in problem solving activities in a non-school, workplace setting known as the exploratory bicycle shop. The exploratory bike shop is a commercial bicycle shop: a) that has been adapted for combined retail and educational purposes and b) where middle-school and high-school age students participate as bicycle mechanics explorers or, more formally, as apprentices. It provides a multi-generational, economically productive and learning environment where young participants engage in culturally meaningful activities at deep levels of cognitive and affective involvement. In such a setting, students encounter, frame, and solve mechanical, mathematical, and interpersonal problem situations as an authentic part of the normal, daily operation of the shop. To help reveal how apprentices access that intelligence through thinking and discursive practices, I employ a visual anthropology (VA) methodology. VA was designed to collect and analyze ethnographic data in ways that more effectively capture and reveal informants' true motives and practices by subordinating the verbal data stream and focusing instead on the visually available aspects of what informants do. Specifically, I videotape apprentices' actions during bike repair activity in order to create a visual record of their actions over the course of interaction with the bicycle and other bike shop participants. Through in situ dialogue and clinical interviews I then try to determine how changes in apprentices' actions relate to changes in both their conceptual development and technical competencies.In a VA analysis, findings emerge in a manner different from that of more traditional studies since the very idea of studying a culture is subjected to a critical self-examination about the motives for the research and the degree to which the study faithfully represents that culture's voices rather than imposing its own voice, intentionally or not. One methodological finding of this study was that the entire process of inquiry--from literature search to theoretical analysis to data collection and data analysis--constitutes a finding in itself. That process showed, for example, that the quality of problems students encounter in learning experiences can determine the extent of learning. The authentic, naturally occurring problems encountered in the shop appears to provide students with a quality of problem solving competence higher than that gained from solving prefabricated problems. A closely related finding was that competence in bicycle repair tended to correlate positively with the ability to judge which type of knowing--abstract or concrete--is appropriate for any given problem solving situation. The study also found that problem solving competence relies on a student's problem framing competence, an observation that corroborates findings by Hutchins and Lave. Another methodological finding is that VA can open up new ways of conceiving competence that were previously unavailable using more traditional analytic methods. The VA ethic aims to understand the informants' attitudes and beliefs at an emic level, the level of the informant, rather than trying to understand verbal data collected from the informant through a series of direct or indirect interventions.


An experiment was carried out in a dystrophic Dusky Red latosol at Lavras, MG, to study the capacity of ten soybean Glycine max (L.) Merrill cultivars to produce hay, and grain yield from regrowth. The experimental design was a randomized block with 20 treatments and four replications. The treatments were: 'UFV-1', IAC-2', 'UFV-2', IAC-5', 'UFV-3', 'santa Rosa', IAC-3', 'TK-5', 'Majos' and 'Bossier' cut at 20 cm height at 60 days after planting, and same cultivars without cutting (check). The soybean hay is quite similar to alfalfa hay as far as chemical composition is concerned. 'IAC-5' and 'IAC-3' showed the best productions of fresh matter, hay, and dry matter. In general, the checks showed good grain yield, and 'Majos', 'Santa 'Rosa' and 'IAC-5' were the best with 2,104 kg/ha, 2,094 kg/ha and 2,072 kg/ha, respectively. The grain yields from regrowth were affected by a dry weather period during, and after the cutting operation. The grain yields of 'Bossier' and 'UFV-2' were 41.06% and 36.06% respectively, of the check. The others were lower than 36.06% of it. The cut plants showed lower plant height, first pod height and lodging than the check.


A procedure is proposed to obtain the linearization of a class of non-linear physical systems using bond graphs. Also, a junction structure of a non-linear bond graph considering linearly dependent and independent state variables is described. From the junction structure of the non-linear bond graph a procedure to build a linearized bond graph is presented. Finally, an example of a Programmable Universal Manipulation Arm (PUMA) manipulator is given.


The results in Table 3 (highlighted) have been corrected to be consistent with the results reported in the text. Reference: YingHao Cao, Ping Chi, Chen Zhou, WenFei Lv, ZheFen Quan, Fu Shan Xue: Remimazolam Tosilate Sedation with Adjuvant Sufentanil in Chinese Patients with Liver Cirrhosis Undergoing Gastroscopy: A Randomized Controlled Study. Med Sci Monit, 2022; 28: e936580. DOI: 10.12659/MSM.936580.


With advances in information technologies, a wide variety of sources and channels have been made available to provide access to information. As different sources offer information with varying qualities, evaluating and selecting quality information sources is crucial and has become a key element in bibliographic instruction and information literacy training. Despite efforts in helping them to select optimal sources, individuals choose to use sources that are not necessarily accurate or reliable. Users often turn to information sources that are not suitable to their tasks. This study aims at understanding the relationship between the perception and selection of information sources.

Surveying undergraduate students, this study examines three aspects related to their source selection behavior: (1) perceived characteristics of different sources; (2) source characteristics considered to be important for the source selection; and (3) frequently selected/used sources. The study will help understand how users view sources differently and how such perception is related to the source selection behavior. Based on the study findings, suggestions will be made to improve information literacy programs that can support the selection of the best sources.


In 1997, Mexico launched a new incentive-based poverty reduction program to enhance the human capital of those living in extreme poverty. This book presents a case study of Progresa-Oportunidades, focusing on the main factors that have contributed to the program's sustainability, policies that have allowed it to operate at the national level, and future challenges.


he integration of prescribed standards and guidelines in community pharmacy practices in South East Queensland. Hattingh, H.L.1, King M.A.1, Smith N.A.1 1School of Pharmacy, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia Introduction Community pharmacy practice in Australia is changing towards a bigger focus on patient care services. Before taking on any new services it is crucial to review current core services and explore the implementation of practice standards. Method Qualitative study involving 17 South-East Queensland community pharmacists recruited through self-selection or to represent specific demographics. Semi-structured interviews were conducted during August and September 2006. Inductive analysis and continual comparison of categories and concepts enabled common and distinct themes to be clarified. Results The quality of services with regard to the supply of over-the-counter medicines varied with specific reference to the involvement of pharmacists. The delegation of dispensing procedures to dispensary assistants differed and most participants did not have a clear differentiation between pharmacists' activities and dispensary assistants' activities. Variations existed with regard to dispensing processes and the involvement of pharmacists in the provision of patient advice. Pharmacist intervention record keeping was uncommon and records of 'near misses' were not kept by any of the participants. Conclusion Workflow models and the delegation of tasks need to be re-evaluated in the light of new roles and responsibilities and contemporary healthcare standards. It is important to keep improving work practices to ensure the delivery of quality pharmaceutical services


Mechanical and Electrical (M and E) services costs contribute to major percentage of total construction costs of a building as they comprise of significant operation and maintenance costs. Consequently, they have prominent impact towards building under Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) scheme as Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is required to operate and maintain the building throughout long concession period. If M and E services fail to operate, it would render adverse impact to the entire quality of the building. It is therefore compulsory for Life Cycle Costing (LCC) of M and E services that consider not only initial costs but also other associated costs including operation costs, maintenance costs, replacement costs and disposal costs to be determined so as to ensure that operation and maintainance of the services are appropriately planned as well as equipped with sufficient fund. However, in Malaysia, there is need for a more vigorous mechanism to determine LCC. In fact, Malaysia is lacking of a standard of LCC particularly for M and E services for PFI projects to provide guideline for standardized method of LCC determination. Therefore, the paper presents the significance to establish a standard of LCC of M and E services for PFI projects in Malaysia based on semi-structured interview with Principal Assistant Director and Senior Assistant Director from Technical Section of Public Private Partnerships Unit (UKAS), Department of Prime Minister Malaysia (JPM). Also, the paper identifies seven parameters that are appropriate to be adopted towards the development of a framework of LCC of M and E services for PFI projects in Malaysia based on qualitative analysis towards four established standards of LCC, ASTM E917-13, NIST Handbook 135, AS/NZS 4536:1999 and BS ISO 15686-5:2008 that can act as a basis for the development of real standard.


The antimicrobial activity of aqueous ethanol extracts of stems, leaves, flowers and roots from 336 native and naturalized species (597 extracts) collected in Minnesota and Wisconsin was tested against Staphylococcus aureus,Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. Twenty-four percent, or 142 extracts, exhibited antimicrobial activity. Extracts from Betula papyrifera Marshall (Betulaceae), Centaurea maculosa Lam. (Asteraceae),Epilobium angustifolium L. (Onagraceae), Hypericum perforatum L. (Clusiaceae),Lythrum salicaria L. (Lythraceae), and Rhus glabra L. (Anacardiaceae) inhibited all four microorganisms. Extracts from two species inhibited three microorganisms, 11 extracts (10 species) inhibited two, and 119 extracts (98 species) inhibited one microorganism with four species having inhibition zones greater than 15 mm. This is the first report describing the antimicrobial activity ofClintonia sp. (Liliaceae), Comptonia peregrina (L.) J.M. Coult. (Myricaceae),Desmodium illinoense A. Gray (Fabaceae), Geum virginianum L. (Rosaceae), leaves of Scirpus americanus Pers. (Cyperaceae), flower clusters of Eupatorium maculatum L. (Asteraceae), berries of Smilacina racemosa (L.) Desf (false Solomon's seal) and frozen Hypericum perforatum L. (Clusiaceae).

 Key words:  Antimicrobial, medicinal, native plants, antibacterial.


Thrombosis is a prominent feature of acute vascular rejection (AVR), the current barrier to survival of pig-to-primate xenografts. Fibrinogen-like protein 2 (fgl2/fibroleukin) is an inducible prothrombinase that plays an important role in the pathogenesis of fibrin deposition during viral hepatitis and cytokine-induced fetal loss. We hypothesized that induction of fgl2 on the vascular endothelium of xenografts contributes to thrombosis associated with AVR. We first examined fgl2 as a source of procoagulant activity in the pig-to-primate combination. The porcine fgl2 (pfgl2) was cloned and its chromosomal locus was identified. Recombinant pfgl2 protein expressed in vitro was detected on the cell surface and generated thrombin from human prothrombin. Studies of pig-to-baboon kidney xenografts undergoing AVR in vivo revealed induction of pfgl2 expression on graft vascular endothelial cells (ECs). Cultured porcine ECs activated by human TNF-α in vitro demonstrated induction of pfgl2 expression and enhanced activation of human prothrombin. The availability of gene-targeted fgl2-deficient mice allowed the contribution of fgl2 to the pathogenesis of AVR to be directly examined in vivo. Hearts heterotopically transplanted from fgl2+/+ and fgl2+/− mice into Lewis rats developed AVR with intravascular thrombosis associated with induction of fgl2 in graft vascular ECs. In contrast, xenografts from fgl2−/− mice were devoid of thrombosis. These observations collectively suggest that induction of fgl2 on the vascular endothelium plays a role in the pathogenesis of AVR-associated thrombosis. Manipulation of fgl2, in combination with other interventions, may yield novel strategies by which to overcome AVR and extend xenograft survival.


Background: The use of rotating hinge (RH) prostheses for severe primary as well as revision arthroplasty is widely established. Due to the steadily increasing number of RH prostheses, we aimed to assess the complication frequencies, complication types and clinical outcomes of a modern RH hinge prosthesis using a new bearing material with a minimum follow-up of 7 years. Methods: Fifty-six consecutive patients who received the EnduRo® RH prosthesis using carbon-fiber reinforced poly-ether-ether-ketone (CFR-PEEK) as bearing material were included in this prospective study: 21 patients (37.5%) received the prosthesis as a primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and 35 patients (62.5%) underwent revision total knee arthroplasties (rTKA). Clinical and radiographic examinations were performed preoperatively, postoperatively after three and 12 months and annually thereafter. Clinical scores were documented for each patient. Competing risk analysis was assessed with respect to indication and failure mode. Results: Knee Society Score (KSS), Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Oxford Knee Score (OKS) and range of motion (ROM) improved significantly compared to preoperative values (p < 0.0001). The overall cumulative incidence for revision surgery was 23.6% at 7 years and the cumulative incidence for complications associated with failure of the prothesis was 5.6% at 7 years, respectively. Complications occurred more frequently in the revision group (p = 0.002). Conclusion: The evaluated RH prosthesis provided reliable and durable results for a minimum follow-up of 7 years. Prosthesis survival was successful considering the complexity of the cases. The use of this RH system in primary patients showed high survival rates and long-term functional outcomes and clinical outcomes proved to be satisfying in both revision and primary cases. No adverse events were associated with the new bearing material CFR-PEEK.


SUMMARY We report a method to calculate surface waves in layered anisotropic media using a reflectivity algorithm. The method posits a finite stack of constant anisotropic layers over an isotropic half-space. The parametrization within each layer allows for anisotropy with an arbitrarily oriented axis of symmetry +, with magnitude scaled by three constants related to wave-speed variations of P and S waves with respect to the azimuth relative to +. Within each layer, eigensolutions to the equations of motion can be expressed as upgoing and downgoing oscillatory and/or evanescent plane waves, except possibly within narrow intervals of horizontal slowness p where the governing matrix becomes near-defective and an alternative set of eigensolutions is used to avoid numerical instability. Synthetic seismograms for simple anisotropic crustal models demonstrate that significant Love-Rayleigh coupling occurs between adjacent overtone branches, leading to significant 'scattering' in the absence of 3-D velocity structure. The dependence of this scattering on azimuth relative to + can cause the LoveRayleigh scattering to appear to be related to a spurious component of the source mechanism.


Through an optimal interdisciplinary management, it is possible to reduce the mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 from more than 40% to less than 2%. The following are essential for this success: A risk-adapted antiviral therapy during the pregnancy and birth, a transmission prophylaxis for the new born child, delivery by Caesarean section, the early treatment of concomitant gynecological infections and abstention from breastfeeding. Unidentified HIV-positive pregnant women and inadequate support for HIV-positive pregnant women account for the majority of new HIV-1 infections in children in Germany. Hence, the HIV test should be an obligatory component of prenatal care and HIV-positive pregnant women should receive assistance at an appropriate center.


We show that an effective Abelian gauge theory can be obtained as a renormalizable theory from QCD in the maximal Abelian gauge. The derivation improves in a systematic manner the previous version that was obtained by one of the authors and was referred to as the Abelian-projected effective gauge theory. This result supports the view that we can construct an effective Abelian gauge theory from QCD without losing characteristic features of the original non-Abelian gauge theory. In fact, it is shown that the effective coupling constant in the resulting renormalizable theory has a renormalization-scale dependence governed by the β-function that is exactly the same as that of the original Yang-Mills theory, irrespective of the choice of gauge fixing parameters of the maximal Abelian gauge and the parameters used for identifying the dual variables. Moreover, we evaluate the anomalous dimensions of the fields and parameters in the resultant theory. By choosing the renormalized parameters appropriately, we can switch the theory into an electric or a magnetic theory.


Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are tailor-made materials with special binding sites. They have been extensively used in various areas because of its maturity. MIP is usually prepared by using a variety of "traditional" organic substances. In recent years, green reagents, such as room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs), have been increasingly used in the preparation of MIPs. These new green reagents are applied for various purposes, i.e. to reduce pollution, to lower the cost and to improve the performance of materials. The RTILsand DESs-based MIPs have attracted more and more attention because of their superior performance and interesting properties. We hereby propose to review recent advances in the application of RTILs and DESs to MIPs. The current status and perspectives of RTILsand DESs-based MIPs are discussed in this brief review.


This paper proposes an approach to simultaneously detect and segment objects of a known category. Edgelet features are used to capture the local shape of the objects. For each feature a pair of base classifiers for detection and segmentation is built. The base segmentor is designed to predict the per-pixel figure-ground assignment around a neighborhood of the edgelet based on the feature response. The neighborhood is represented as an effective field which is determined by the shape of the edgelet. A boosting algorithm is used to learn the ensemble classifier with cascade decision strategy from the base classifier pool. The simultaneousness is achieved for both training and testing. The system is evaluated on a number of public image sets and compared with several previous methods.


Background: Prostate cancer has become the most common cancer among African – American men and the second leading cause of cancer death in men worldwide. Many anti-malignant agents have been isolated from different plant species with minimal or no side effects thus it holds future promise as a resort as cancer biotherapeutics when compared with other treatment methods including synthetic drugs. Aim: This current investigation was aimed at evaluating the anti-proliferative efficacy of the ethanolic extract of Annonamuricata leaf on annexin 7 gene of malignant prostatic hyperplasia induced male wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Sub-chronic daily oral gavage exposure of the test substances to experimental animals lasted for a period of 28 days. Monosodium glutamate and L-arginine (90:22.5 mg/kg/b.wt) with purity 98% were administered concomitantly to the male wistar rats in various treatment groups. A total of 25 male wistar rats of about 6 weeks old weighing between 250–282 grams were used for this investigation. Quantitative and qualitative phytochemicals screening of ethanolic extract of Annona muricata leaf were also carried out. Hematoxylin and eosin staining were used in the histological assay of the prostate tissues. The prostate specific antigen (PSA) values were determined using standard protocol and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify annexin-7 gene. 1.5% agarose gel was used to separate the amplicons into bands of varying patterns. Result: Qualitative analysis demonstrated the presence of alkaloids, Saponins, flavonoids, tannins, cardiac glycoside, reducing sugar, phenol and triterpenes. Quantitative screening of the extract unveiled that alkaloid was present in the highest amount while Cardiac glycosides had the least concentration. The prostate histological assessment revealed a dose-dependent disruption in normal prostate tissue architecture. There was statistically significant difference P ≤ 0.05 in the body weight and prostate specific antigen (PSA) values of the male wistar rats in the experimental groups during the period of this investigation. The varying amplicon band patterns obtained from the treatment groups indicates possible MSG and L-ARG induced mutation in annexin 7 gene. The DNA amplicon bands observed in the positive control without treatments had some degree of similarity with bands obtained from the amplicons in the various treatment groups that were administered with both carcinogens and ethanolic leaf extract while thin bands were observed for the negative control group that was administered with carcinogens alone. Conclusion: This investigation has demonstrated that ethanolic extract of A. muricata leaf could be used as a potent ethno-chemopreventive agent against L-arginine and monosodium glutamate induced malignant prostatic hyperplasia in male wistar rats.


Previous studies have shown that the secreted phosphorylcholine-containing glycoprotein of filarial nematodes, ES-62, is only present in the post-infective life-cycle stages, but that the mRNA is transcribed throughout the worm's life-cycle. The aim of this current study was to investigate whether the presence or absence of protein expression simply reflects differences in mRNA abundance. To this end, we investigated the relative abundance of ES-62 using TaqMan real time RT-PCR, in different life-cycle stages of 2 model filarial nematode parasites, Acanthocheilonema viteae and Brugia pahangi. For B. pahangi, microfilariae, infective larvae and adult worms were each found to have approximately similar levels of ES-62 mRNA. However, the corresponding stages of A. viteae differed greatly from each other with a pattern of increased mRNA production with maturation. As a rule A. viteae had higher levels of ES-62 mRNA than B. pahangi, and this was particularly noticeable in the adult stage where the difference was approximately 3500-fold higher. However, this significant difference in mRNA abundance was not reflected in the quantity of ES-62 protein secreted by the adult worms of each species, as A. viteae only secreted ~3 times as much ES-62 as B. pahangi. Thus, overall, the results obtained from this study indicate that ES-62 protein production does not solely reflect mRNA levels, and also suggest that the 2 nematodes may employ different mechanisms for regulating protein production.


In this paper, we propose a modified scheme of MSODB and PMS, called Predictive User Mobility Behavior (PUMB) to improve performance of resource reservation and call admission control for cellular networks. This algorithm is proposed in which bandwidth is allocated more efficiently to neighboring cells by key mobility parameters in order to provide QoS guarantees for transferring traffic. The probability is used to form a cluster of cells and the shadow cluster, where a mobile unit is likely to visit. When a mobile unit may change the direction and migrate to the cell that does not belong to its shadow cluster, we can support it by making efficient use of predicted nonconforming call. Concomitantly, to ensure continuity of on-going calls with better utilization of resources, bandwidth is borrowed from predicted nonconforming calls and existing adaptive calls without affecting the minimum QoS guarantees. The performance of the PUMB is demonstrated by simulation results in terms of new call blocking probability, handoff call dropping probability, bandwidth utilization, call successful probability, and overhead message transmission when arrival rate and speed of mobile units are varied. Our results show that PUMB provides the better performances comparing with those of MSODB and PMS under different traffic conditions.


The crystallographic characteristics of deformation twinning are derived by considering the atomic movements which occur at the moving interface as a twin propagates. This is facilitated by making use of the notation of the tensor calculus, and general expressions, valid for all crystal structures, are obtained giving the magnitude of the twinning shear and relating the twinning elements for both type I and type II twinning. The atomic shuffles, which in general must accompany the twinning shear in both single and multiple lattice structures, are examined in detail and expressions are derived for their magnitudes and directions for the cases of the four classical orientation relationships associated with deformation twinning. The use of these expressions in predicting operative twinning modes is described and the relations between this theory and other recent theories of the crystallography of deformation twinning are discussed.


Enterprise systems are complex and expensive and create dramatic organizational change. Implementing an enterprise system can be the "corporate equivalent of a root canal," a meaningful analogy given that an ES with its single database replaces myriad special-purpose legacy systems that once operated in isolation. An ES, or enterprise resource planning system, has the Herculean task of seamlessly supporting and integrating a full range of business processes, uniting functional islands and making their data visible across the organization in real time. The authors offer guidelines based on five years of observing ES implementations that can help managers circumvent obstacles and control the tensions during and after the project.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this article is to highlight best practices for writing and reviewing articles on artificial intelligence for medical image analysis.

CONCLUSION
Artificial intelligence is in the early phases of application to medical imaging, and patient safety demands a commitment to sound methods and avoidance of rhetorical and overly optimistic claims. Adherence to best practices should elevate the quality of articles submitted to and published by clinical journals.


This paper presents a fast and accurate quasi-analytic model for studying optical field propagation in weakly guiding dielectric structures. The proposed efficient and versatile computational scheme is obtained by merging the Hermite-Gauss (HG) total field expansion with the numerical collocation method and is particularly suited for longitudinally nonuniform structures. By means of a quasilinearization scheme, the same procedure has also been successfully applied to the analysis of field propagation in Kerr-nonlinear media. The latter achievement gives an indication of the great potentialities offered by this straight forward method. Several examples are discussed in the paper and in all cases the results computed by the proposed method favorably compare with those from alternative methods.


X-ray irradiation of the accretion disc leads to strong reflection features, which are then broadened and distorted by relativistic effects. We present a detailed, general relativistic approach to model this irradiation for different geometries of the primary X-ray source. These geometries include the standard point source on the rotational axis as well as more jet-like sources, which are radially elongated and accelerating. Incorporating this code in the RELLINE model for relativistic line emission, the line shape for any configuration can be predicted. We study how different irradiation geometries affect the determination of the spin of the black hole. Broad emission lines are produced only for compact irradiating sources situated close to the black hole. This is the only case where the black hole spin can be unambiguously determined. In all other cases the line shape is narrower, which could either be explained by a low spin or an elongated source. We conclude that for those cases and independent of the quality of the data, no unique solution for the spin exists and therefore only a lower limit of the spin value can be given


Two bacteria and two streptomycetes strains, capable to degrade cell walls of Candida guilliermondii, were isolated from soils. Growth and enzyme production of these strains were investigated on synthetic and complex media in shaking culture and under fermentation conditions. The isolated microorganisms possessed lytic enzyme activities against living and autoclaved yeast cells. The lytic enzyme complex of the culture medium of microorganisms was partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation. After this purification step the lytic enzyme activity of the bacteria was higher that of the streptomycetes towards the control. The lytic enzyme activity of the bacteria was thermostable (30 min, 80 degrees C), that of streptomycetes thermolable (inactive - greater than 40 degrees C). The pH-optimum of the bacteria enzymes was in the range of 5.0-7.5, that of the streptomycetes 5.0-8.5.


The fruit bodies of three Ganoderma species namely G. lucidium, G. applanatum and G. australe were collected from the decaying logs within the University of Ibadan Botanical Gardens .Invitro antagonistic effect of the ethanol, methanol and distilled water extracts of these macro fungi were tested against some disease causing microorganisms. Both crude and pure extracts of these Ganoderma species exhibited various degree of inhibition against the test organisms. The widest inhibitory zone (20.3mm) were obtained with the crude methanolic extract of G. lucidium against Proteus mirabilis while the highest in-vitro antifungal activity (24.3mm) was observed in the crude ethanolic extracts of G. lucidium against Aspergillus niger. The lowest zone of inhibition (2.3mm) was demonstrated with the aqueous extract of G. australe against Escherichia coli and 2.7mm with purified extract of G. australe against Penicillum oxalium . The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for the ethanol extract ranged between 1.7 and 5.0mg/ml for bacteria and between 2.0 and 6.0mg/ml for fungi. The implications of these findings were discussed. Key Word: Ganodermaspecies,Antimicrobial potentials,microorganisms, extraction, Botanical Gardens


Current state-of-the-art approaches to skeleton-based action recognition are mostly based on recurrent neural networks (RNN). In this paper, we propose a novel convolutional neural networks (CNN) based framework for both action classification and detection. Raw skeleton coordinates as well as skeleton motion are fed directly into CNN for label prediction. A novel skeleton transformer module is designed to rearrange and select important skeleton joints automatically. With a simple 7-layer network, we obtain 89.3% accuracy on validation set of the NTU RGB+D dataset. For action detection in untrimmed videos, we develop a window proposal network to extract temporal segment proposals, which are further classified within the same network. On the recent PKU-MMD dataset, we achieve 93.7% mAP, surpassing the baseline by a large margin.


This study examines the relationship between pottery and food procurement strategies in northern Japan, focusing on the Epi-Jomon and Okhotsk cultures. Using these two cultures as loose representatives of different subsistence strategies, the study attempts to explore possible relationships between pottery type/decoration (namely cord marking) and agriculture. This over arching hypothesis is supported by three smaller hypotheses for statistical analysis: 1) testing the independence between decoration and cultural phase using the chi-squared test; 2) thickness (mm) of pottery through different time periods using the Kruskal-Wallis test; and 3) thickness of pottery depending on pottery types using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The first test showed that pottery type and cultural phase are not independent of each other (χ2 (36, N=295) = 608.35, p < .001). The second test showed significant difference in thickness measurements between time periods (H χ2 (5, N=343) = 27.13, p<.001). The third test also revealed similar significant difference in thickness measurements between pottery types (H χ2 (16, N=476) = 63.44, p<.00). In combination, results suggest a statistical correlation between pottery and subsistence strategies, specifically cord-marked pottery and intensified food production. Further research, ideally between Jomon and a more agricultural society such as Satsumon, is needed to clarify this relationship.


Molecular biocomputation workflows traditionally involve days of compute time to align DNA/protein sequences. Custom computing machines (CCMs) provide a means to dramatically reduce alignment time, and FPGAs provide a practical means to implement such CCMs. Software implementation of some sequence alignment algorithms suffer quadratic time performance, however CCM implementations may be highly parallelized and consequently provide linear time performance. Similarly, CCMs may be used to accelerate workflows or operations in a wide range of domains, often dramatically outperforming large scale clusters. Programming and integration problems limit CCM usage, though progress has been made to overcome these problems. With continued development of tools, devices, and integration solutions, CCMs on FPGAs coupled to conventional systems present an effective architecture for high performance computing.


High performance magnetically confined fusion plasma is realized by having a "structure". A typical example in fusion plasma is the so-called "Internal Transport Barrier (ITB)", where a prominent thermal inhibition is revealed in a local thin layer inside the tokamak plasma column. Those phenomena are dominated by fluctuation dynamics having different time and spatial scales and are categorized as the characteristics of "Multiple-Hierarchical Complex Plasma". Here, we review turbulence and zonal flow systems and the resultant multiple-hierarchical interactions, which may be important to explain structure formation in magnetic fusion plasmas. Specifically, we emphasize the importance of large-scale advanced numerical computations in cooperation with experiments for achieving fusion program.


A precision tracer procedure was developed for the rapid analysis of nonuniformly distributed plutonium in large biological samples. Liver, lung, kidney, lymph node, trachea, gastrointestinal tract, nasal mucosa, pharyngeal mucosa, bone, urine and feces samples from burros, sheep, and dogs (exposed to plutonium aerosols) were assayed for plutonium. The chemical procedure consisted of: equilibration of sample plutonium with 236Pu tracer, wet ashing by refluxing with H,S04 and a catalyst, extraction of plutonium from bulk salts with cupferron-chloroform, purification with ion-exchange resins, and electro-deposition on platinum. These procedures minimized the requisite volume of acids and avoided the violent exothermic reactions of some wet ashing procedures. Problems associated with dry ashing, such as loss of the radioisotope by entrainment in solid carbon particles and formation of insoluble oxides of plutonium, were avoided. Also, the need for the large ashing furnaces was obviated. The plutonium content was measured by tracer yielding and alpha pulse-height analysis. This method ensured a high degree of accuracy, high sensitivity, and freedom from interference from other alpha emitters. A typical chemical yield was 55 per cent and the counting precision was within 3 per cent. Limits of detection were approximately 0.05 dis/min for a thousand minute count.


Objective: Although platelets from patients with moderate hypertension are abnormally sensitive to agonist-induced aggregation, their sensitivity to antagonists is not known. Nitric oxide (NO) is an endogenous antagonist of platelet function. The objective of this study was to determine whether platelet sensitivity to the inhibitory activity of sodium nitroprusside, a donor of NO, is abnormal in hypertension Design and methods: Untreated patients with uncomplicated essential hypertension (mean arterial pressure >120mmHg) were studied. The rise in cytosolic calcium in response to 9,11-deoxy-11α,9α-epoxymethanoprostaglandin F2α (U46619, a thromboxane mimetic) was measured in fura-2-loaded platelets from 20 patients and 15 normotensive healthy subjects. Inhibition by sodium nitroprusside was measured in a further group of 14 patients and 20 normotensive subjects Results: Basal cytosolic calcium concentration and the rise in this parameter induced by U46619 were significantly greater in platelets from hypertensive patients than in those from normotensive controls. The mean half-maximal inhibitory concentration of nitroprusside to calcium mobilization induced by 3 µmol/l U46619 was 3.1 -fold greater in platelets from hypertensive patients than in those from controls (95% confidence interval 1.6-6.0) Conclusion: The sensitivity of platelets to nitroprusside is reduced in essential hypertension. This reduced sensitivity to NO might influence the risk of arterial thrombosis in hypertensives


Background: It is reported that the plant Hyssopus cuspidatus Boriss from Xinjiang has great value. This article deals with the detailed pharmacognostic evaluation of the crude drug H. cuspidatus Boriss. Materials and Methods: The essential oil of H. cuspidatus Boriss from Xinjiang, China, was extracted by the method of hydrodistillation and the chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Results: The yield of essential oil based on the dry weight of the plant was 0.6%(w/w). Fifty compounds accounting for 99.42% of the total oil were identified. The major components were oxygenated terpenes (66.33%), monoterpenes (26.14%), oxygenated sesquiterpenes (1.25%), and octane (1.85%). Conclusion: Oxygenated terpenes were the main group of the compounds. The physicochemical parameters presented in this article may be proposed as parameters to establish the authenticity of H. cuspidatus Boriss and can possibly aid pharmacognostic and taxonomic species identification.


Bricks are the vital component of most masonry structures. Their maintenance is critical to the protection of masonry buildings. Terrestrial Light Detection and Ranging (TLidar) systems provide massive point cloud data in an accurate and fast way. TLidar enables us to sample and store the state of a brick surface in a practical way. This article aims to extract individual bricks from an unorganized pile of bricks sampled by a dense point cloud. The method automatically segments and models the individual bricks. The methodology is divided into five main steps: Filter needless points, brick boundary points removal, coarse segmentation using 3D component analysis, planar segmentation and grouping, and brick reconstruction. A novel voting scheme is used to segment the planar patches in an effective way. Brick reconstruction is based on the geometry of single brick and its corresponding nominal size (length, width and height). The number of bricks reconstructed is around 75%. An accuracy assessment is performed by comparing 3D coordinates of the reconstructed vertices to the manually picked vertices. The standard deviations of differences along x, y and z axes are 4.55 mm, 4.53 mm and 4.60 mm, respectively. The comparison results indicate that the accuracy of reconstruction based on the introduced methodology is high and reliable. The work presented in this paper provides a theoretical basis and reference for large scene applications in brick-like structures. Meanwhile, the high-accuracy brick reconstruction lays the foundation for further brick displacement estimation.


This fascinating collection explores early Mexico's emotional landscape, looking at how emotions weremanifested, channeled, andmanipulated within the ideational framework of colonialism. The editors divide the anthology into two parts: the first treats emotions at a personal level, the second the role of institutions and officials in shaping emotional culture. The sections share certain themes, notably the important roles of Church and state in establishing standards and assumptions that, though modified over time, created a framework within which colonial Mexicans "experienced, evaluated, and expressed their emotions" in a number of distinct and often overlapping "emotional communities" (7).


In this paper, classifying and indexing hierarchical video genres using Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are based on only audio features. In fact, segmentation parameters are extracted at block levels, which have a major benefit by capturing local temporal information. The main contribution of our study is to present a powerful combination between the two employed audio descriptors; Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) and signal energy in order to classify a big YouTube dataset that includes multi-Arabic dialects video genres and even sub-genres: several sports analysis and various matches categories (foot-ball, basket-ball, hand-ball and volley-ball), both studio and fields news scenes over and above various multi-singer and multi-instruments music clips. Validation of this approach was carried out on over 18 hours of video span yielding a classification accuracy of 98,5% for genres, 97% for sports sub-genres and 76% for music sub-genres. Finally we discuss SVM kernels performance on our proposed dataset.


BACKGROUND
Despite growing evidence on the extent of child mental health problems in low-middle-income countries, the gap between need and provision remains high. Previous research in high income countries has demonstrated that evidence-based interventions can be scaled-up through community consultation, particularly by engaging key stakeholders.

AIMS
This study aimed to explore community stakeholders' views on children's mental health needs and culturally acceptable interventions in Kenya, to ascertain how to integrate global service standards with culturally-specific expectations.

METHODS
Focus groups were conducted with community stakeholders (seven young people 14-17 years, seven parents, nine teachers and 11 other professionals). These participants were recruited from an urban community of internally displaced and disadvantaged families in Nakuru.

RESULTS
Results indicated that Kenya faced similar challenges in meeting mental health needs as in other countries, including economic constraints, limited knowledge, stigma and systemic issues, but that these were manifested in culturally specific ways that were linked to societal and professional's attitudes and local context.

CONCLUSIONS
Stakeholders' views are important in informing the planning, delivery and evaluation of interventions. However, for such interventions to be sustained, a clear therapeutic framework, evidence-base and sociocultural adaptation are likely to be important factors.


Color features are among the most important features used in image database retrieval. Due to its compact representation and low complexity, direct histogram comparison is the most commonly used technique in measuring color similarity of images. However, it has many serious drawbacks, including a high degree of dependency on color codebook design, sensitivity to quantization boundaries, and inefficiency in representing images with few dominant colors. We present a new algorithm for color matching. We describe a new method for color codebook design in the Lab space. We introduce a statistical technique to extract perceptually relevant colors. We propose a new color distance measure that guarantees optimality in matching different color components of two images. Experiments comparing the new algorithm to some existing techniques show that these novel elements lead to better match to human perception in judging image color similarity.


Advances in additive manufacturing technology have made 3D printing a viable solution for many industries, allowing for the manufacture of designs that could not be made through traditional subtractive methods. Applicability of additive manufacturing in cryogenic applications is hindered, however, by a lack of accurate material properties information. Nylon is available for printing using fused deposition modeling (FDM) and selective laser sintering (SLS). We selected 5 SLS (DuraForm® EX, DuraForm® HST, DuraForm® PA, PA 640-GSL, and PA 840-GSL) and 2 FDM (Nylon 12, ULTEM) nylon variants based on the bulk material properties and printed properties at room temperature. Tensile tests were performed on five samples of each material while immersed in liquid nitrogen at approximately 77 Kelvin. Samples were tested in XY and, where available, Z printing directions to determine influence on material properties. Results show typical SLS and FDM nylon ultimate strength retention at 77 K, when compared to (extruded or molded) nylon ultimate strength.


An early stage of developing user-facing applications is creating a wireframe to layout the interface. Once a wireframe has been created it is given to a developer to implement in code. Developing boiler plate user interface code is time consuming work but still requires an experienced developer. In this dissertation we present two approaches which automates this process, one using classical computer vision techniques, and another using a novel application of deep semantic segmentation networks. We release a dataset of websites which can be used to train and evaluate these approaches. Further, we have designed a novel evaluation framework which allows empirical evaluation by creating synthetic sketches. Our evaluation illustrates that our deep learning approach outperforms our classical computer vision approach and we conclude that deep learning is the most promising direction for future research.


Background This study summarizes the characteristics of children screened for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and reports the case of 1 child who was diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection in Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center and the cases of his family members. Material/Methods The medical records of 159 children who were admitted to our hospital from January 23 to March 20, 2020, were retrospectively analyzed. Samples from pharyngeal or/and anal swabs were subjected to reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for SARS-CoV-2 within 12 h of patient admission; a second RT-PCR test was done 24 h after the first test. Results Of the 159 patients, 151 patients had epidemiological histories, 14 patients had cluster onset, and 8 patients had no epidemiological history but had symptoms similar to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The most common symptom was fever (n=125), followed by respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms. A 7-year-old boy in a cluster family from Wuhan was confirmed with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection with ground-glass opacity shadows on his lung computed tomography scan, and his swab RT-PCR test had not turned negative until day 19 of his hospitalization. In patients who did not test positive for SARS-CoV-2, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and adenovirus were observed. A total of 158 patients recovered, were discharged, and experienced no abnormalities during follow-up. Conclusions For SARS-CoV-2 nosocomial infections, taking a "standard prevention & contact isolation & droplet isolation & air isolation" strategy can prevent infection effectively. Children with clustered disease need close monitoring.


As Malaysia is a fast-developing country, its prospects of sustainable energy generation are at the center of debate. Malaysian municipal solid waste (MSW) is projected to have a 3.3% increase in annual generation rate at the same time an increase of 3.3% for electricity demand. In Malaysia, most of the landfills are open dumpsite and 89% of the collected MSW end up in landfills. Furthermore, huge attention is being focused on converting MSW into energy due to the enormous amount of daily MSW being generated. Sanitary landfill to capture methane from waste landfill gas (LFG) and incineration in a combined heat and power plant (CHP) are common MSW-to-energy technologies in Malaysia. MSW in Malaysia contains 45% organic fraction thus landfill contributes as a potential LFG source. Waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies in treating MSW potentially provide an attractive economic investment since its feedstock (MSW) is collected almost for free. At present, there are considerable issues in WTE technologies although the technology employing MSW as feedstock are well established, for instance the fluctuation of MSW composition and the complexity in treatment facilities with its pollutant emissions. Thus, this study discusses various WTE technologies in Malaysia by considering the energy potentials from all existing incineration plants and landfill sites as an effective MSW management in Malaysia. Furthermore, to promote local innovation and technology development and to ensure successful long-term sustainable economic viability, social inclusiveness, and environmental sustainability in Malaysia, the four faculties of sustainable development namely technical, economic, environmental, and social issues affiliated with MSW-to-Energy technologies were compared and evaluated.


Abstract The cougar Puma concolor was part of the pre-European fauna of the north-eastern USA. It was extirpated in the late 1800s and since the late 1900s there have been discussions concerning its reintroduction to the region. One site considered is Adirondack State Park in northern New York. In 1981 an assessment of the feasibility of returning cougars concluded that the Park had adequate prey and forest cover to support a small population of cougars but that conflicts with humans would cause the demise of this population within 10 years. Thus reintroduction at that time was not advised. Since then knowledge of cougar ecology and how cougars interact with humans has increased substantially. Based on information compiled since the 1980s I conducted a landscape-scale analysis to assess whether cougars could live in the Park. The results indicate that cougars could occupy 15,300–17,000 km2 (61–69%) of the Park, with minimal contact with human habitation. Based on reported cougar densities the Park could support a population of 150–350 cougars. These cougars would consume < 10% of the adult deer population annually and fawn production would be sufficient to replace these losses. Human and road densities in the Park are similar to those of the Black Hills, South Dakota and southern Florida, both of which have viable populations of cougars. I concluded that Adirondack State Park could support a population of cougars. What is now required is the will to bring them back.


OBJECTIVE
to evaluate the contributions of an educational program for capillary blood glucose self-monitoring.

METHOD
a quasi-experimental study performed in an outpatient unit of a tertiary health care service in a sample of 25 people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, from July 2016 to December 2017, developed through interactive tools for care with capillary blood glucose self-monitoring.

RESULTS
among the items of capillary blood glucose self-monitoring that showed improvement after participation in the educational program, the most noteworthy are the "postprandial blood glucose values" (p=0.0039), "Interpretation of capillary blood glucose results with meals and medications" (p=0.0156), "recognition of the 'weakness' symptom for hyperglycemia" (p=0.0386) and "administration of medications correctly" for hyperglycemia prevention (p=0.0063).

CONCLUSION
the study made it possible to recognize the main characteristics of blood glucose self-monitoring that may contribute to the care for the person with diabetes.


A Thesis Submitted to the Department Of Economics of the Faculty of Art and Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Award of Master of Philosophy Degree in Economics, 2014


PURPOSE
Mandibular arteriovenous malformations are rare congenital malformations which require multidisciplinary care. Implant-supported rehabilitation of significant bone defect after embolization and resection is poorly described in the literature.

CLINICAL REPORT
We present the case of a 24 year-old patient with a right sided mandibular arteriovenous malformations diagnosed after massive hemorrhage and treated by embolization and resection surgery. Implant rehabilitation was carried out 9 years later with a prior bone graft through iliac extraction and 3 short implants. The implant survival rate and patient satisfaction was evaluated at 3 years post-placement.

DISCUSSION
Arteriovenous malformations treatments frequently result in bone defects that are difficult to reconstruct because of probable unstable vascularization due to embolization. The presence of osteosynthesis material and artefacts at the radiological level complicates the implant planning due to the lack of visualization of the inferior alveolar nerve or artery and necessitates the placement of low height implants. Osteointegration in contact with embolization products should be monitored. The creation of a case series could be of interest in order to better understand implant treatment for patients with a history of arteriovenous malformations.


The FDA has approved the subcutaneously injected PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9) inhibitor alirocumab (Praluent – Sanofi/Regeneron) as an adjunct to diet and maximally tolerated statin therapy for adults with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) or clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease who require additional lowering of LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) (Box). It was not approved for general use in statinintolerant patients. Alirocumab is the first PCSK9 inhibitor to be approved in the US. Evolocumab (Repatha – Amgen), another PCSK9 inhibitor, was recently approved in Europe and has been recommended for approval for the same indications in the US by an FDA Advisory Committee.


Previous studies have elucidated the mechanisms, ecological implications and constraints on transportation or sharing of defence signals among interconnected ramets of clonal plants suffering from localised herbivore damage. To our knowledge, few studies have been conducted to provide insights into the ecological implications on transportation or sharing of stress signals for clonal plants subjected to water stress. As a chemical elicitor, ABA can induce resistance response in plants suffering from water stress. A pot experiment was conducted to explore transportation or sharing of stress signals among interconnected ramets by using clonal fragments of Centella asiaticas (L.) Urban with four successive ramets (oldest, old, mature and young) subjected to low water availability (20% soil moisture contents). Compared with control, foliar oxidative stress of the old, mature and young ramets significantly decreased, and antioxidant capacity was increased when exogenous ABA was applied to the oldest ramets. Meanwhile, foliar PSII activity and chlorophyll content of the old, mature and young ramets significantly increased. Compared with control, biomass accumulation and ratio of below-ground/aboveground biomass of whole clonal fragments were significantly increased by ABA application to the oldest ramets. However, similar patterns were not observed when exogenous ABA was applied to the young ramets. Our results show that transportation or sharing of stress signals among interconnected ramets improves systemic resistance of clonal networks to water stress, which is dependent on directionality of vascular flows. Compared with the old or mature ramets, the young ramets displayed stronger resistance response (such as higher antioxidant enzymes activities and proline content, lower O2•- production rate and malondialdehyde content) to water stress as well as higher PSII activity and chlorophyll content when exogenous ABA was applied to the oldest ramets. Thus, transportation or sharing of stress signals may favour young ramets that are most valuable for growth and fitness of clonal plant subjected to environmental stress. It is suggested that transportation or sharing of stress signals among interconnected ramets may confer clonal plants with considerable benefits in adapting to spatio-temporal heterogeneous habitats.


This paper seeks to demonstrate the need to bridge the gap between the economic and culture-based approaches to two issues which are fundamental to the debate over the relationship between legal reform and economic development: (a) the relative importance which economic actors around the world place on the legal system and (b) the core components of an effective legal system, as defined by those economic actors. It first outlines the major tenets of current economic legal reform policy, focusing on its underlying assumption that the perceptions and expectations of economic actors around the world do not vary significantly. Data from Geert Hofstede's study of variance in cultural values are then analysed in order to demonstrate how cultural values might affect private sector perceptions and expectations of legal systems as supporters of material progress. It concludes that there is a clear need for a more interdisciplinary approach to the debate over the relationship between legal reform and economic development, and the potential variance in private sector perceptions and expectations of legal systems in particular. Such an approach might be initiated through a systematic integration of existing data and theory from each discipline, reinforced by a new multi-country survey.


Improved organizational efficiency can only be accomplished if the employees within an organization have developed the skills, competencies, knowledge, and attitudes to perform at the highest possible levels. To a limited degree this can be accomplished via training, but employees develop the fundamental skills, competencies, knowledge, and attitudes related only to their current job. As a result, the organization is only indirectly impacted. This refers to the micro perspective of improved organizational efficiency.

Organizational efficiency can also be accomplished through organizational development, but the individual employee is often overlooked during this process. Without employee commitment to improve efficiency, it will be short-lived. This approach refers to the macro perspective of improved organizational efficiency.

Both the micro and macro perspectives of improved organizational efficiency have their weaknesses. Thus, a combination of the two processes is necessary. Career development is that combination. Career development is a process which enables employees to develop beyond the fundamental skills, competencies, knowledge, and attitudes required for their present job assignments. It is a process which is focused on improving organizational efficiency while relying on the development of the individual employee. Performance improvement practitioners can provide learning activities which improve employees' skills, competencies, knowledge, and attitudes by viewing improved organizational efficiency from, an individual (micro) perspective while remaining dedicated to the overall enhancement of the organization (macro).

However, many performance improvement practitioners fail to see the connection between training and overall organizational development. These terms are often used interchangeably which leads to the increased confusion and misapplication of each process. It is necessary, therefore, to arrive at an acceptable definition in order to communicate effectively the intent as well as the similarities and differences of the processes. This will enable performance improvement practitioners to better understand the commonalities of each process. It is this understanding that serves as the basis of this article and the forthcoming recommendations.


Background the scientific training to become a bioinformatician includes multidisciplinary abilities, which increase the challenges to professional development. Competition framework in order to improve and promote the ongoing training of the Brazilian bioinformatics community, we organize a national competition, with the main goal to develop human resources and abilities in Computational Biology at the national level. The competition framework was designed in three phases: 1) a one-day challenge composed of 60 multiple-choice questions covering Biology, Computer Science, and Bioinformatics knowledge; 2) five Computational Biology challenges to be solved in three days; and 3) development of an original project evaluated during the 15th X-meeting. Results the first edition of the League of Brazilian Bioinformatics (LBB) counted 168 competitors and 59 groups, distributed into undergraduate students (14.4%), graduate students (12.6% master and 16.8%, Ph.D.), and other professional fields. The first phase selected 46 teams to proceed in the competition, while the second phase selected the three top-performing teams. Conclusion during the competition, we were able to stimulate teamwork in the main areas of Bioinformatics, with the engagement of all research-level competitors. Furthermore, we identified opportunities to deliver and offer better training to the community and we intend to apply the acquired experience in the second edition of the LBB, which will occur in 2021. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics


Back ground : Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) is a treatment for people living with HIV to help them to attain a maximal and durable suppression of the viral replication and prevention of the resistance. ARV regimens require adherence rate of at least 95.0% to achieve undetectable viral load, reduce the risk of drug-resistant HIV development and minimize recurrence of symptoms of AIDS. This study is aimed improve the information gap regarding adherence level and factors predicting the adherence of people to ART attending clinics of hospitals in west shoa zone of Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. Objectives : This is designed to identify predictors of ART adherence among people living with HIV and following ART treatment at hospitals in West Shewa Zone of Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Methodology : data for the study is conducted from January to March 2015. at public hospitals found in West Shewa Zone of Oromia Region. A cross sectional study design that includes quantitative and qualitative study type was employed. Participants were selected by computer generated simple random sampling method. The collected data was cleansed, edited, coded, entered to SPSS version 16.0 window and analyzed. Multiple logistic regressions model is used to identify the predicting factors of ART adherence. Result: A total of 326 people living with HIV/AIDS were participated in the study. From the participated clients, 66.2% of them achieved the recommended high level adherence. Being a jobless (has no job) ( AOR= 0.005, 95% CI= 0.035-0.559 ), being on ART for 12-24 months ( AOR= 8.9, 95% CI=2.816-28.0556 ), good knowledge of the importance of ART drug ( AOR= 0.039, 95% CI=0.019-0.079 ) and being bored with drug consumption sometimes only ( AOR=2.718, 95% CI=1.077-6.860 ) are factors significantly independently predicting ART adherence among people living with human immune virus. Traveling distance, felt depressed at dosing time, being busy with other work and long distance to facility were among the participants reason for not taking doses but these are not significantly associated with the adherence rate. Conclusion and Recommendation : From this study it was seen that ART adherence is not satisfactory to achieve the intended treatment outcome. Occupational status, duration of ART usage, knowledge of ART benefit and being bored with drug consumption are the statically significant predictors of ART adherence. So that ART treatment adherence enhancing program should target the client's knowledge of the importance of the drugs, personal behaviors and work condition of the community.


Acidic and enzymatic coagulation of milk are complex processes which proceed in several phases and are dependent upon many different parameters. The formation of coagulum during lactic-acid fermentation is in fact acidic coagulation of milk. It occurs because of an increase in concentration of lactic acid, which causes a decrease in pH. Enzymatic coagulation of milk has been analytically described by means of mathematical models by many authors. Although enzymatic and acidic coagulation of milk do not proceed according to identical physical and chemical rules, it is possible to compare them kinetically. The aim of this paper was to combine the kinetics of enzymatic and acidic coagulation of milk and to mathematically present the changes that develop during lactic-acid fermentation of milk. The models presented in this paper enable a more complex mathematical analysis of the coagulation of the protein content of milk during lactic-acid fermentation. Application of the models enables the analysis and comparison of the kinetics of coagulation in different types of milk and various types of fermented dairy products manufactured with lactic acid bacteria. Mathematical combination of coagulation kinetics of the protein complex in milk with reological characteristics of the obtained fermented dairy products enables easier defining of parameters for lactic acid fermentation.


Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a non-enveloped single stranded RNA virus member of the Hepeviridae family and genus Orthohepevirus, which is a common cause of acute hepatitis worldwide and, in high-risk groups, can develop into a chronic infection. An epidemiological study of the from Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron (HUVH) HEV Data Base was carried out to study which is the most probable source of infections, risk factors, and diagnosis confidence test based on clinical data. Our results suggest that there HEV infection is associated with old age and/or immunocompromised status. A deeper analysis should be performed. Interestingly, our results show that HEV subtyping diagnosis classification should be improved, especially to classify HEV genotypes 3 infected patients. Sliding windows analysis was used to identify a short region of 400 nucleotides able to confidently classify genotype 3 genomes into subtypes. From the clinical analysis, we identified an HEV food-borne infected patient who got infected in 2012 and developed a long-lasting chronic infection having still HEV-RNA positive detection in 2017 samples. Surprisingly, this patient had HEV-RNA serum negativization periods (between 2014-2015). To study whether this patient had got multiple infections or whether it was the result of reactivation of the original infection, a sample from 2012 before starting Ribavirin treatment (pre-treatment) and a sample obtained in 2016 (post-treatment) were compared using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Reactivation of the original infection was demonstrated by phylogenetic and genetic distance studies. This result has important clinical implications, since any patient that develop a chronic infection, despite negativization of circulating HEV-RNA in serum sample, should be followed up for several months or years with highly sensitive test before assuring that HEV infection has been completely resolved. Also, one described resistance-variant was observed and a list of variants were identificated in pre-ttm and post-ttm samples. This study is a translational study which has a clinical relevance and which opens new lines of research for new future projects.


Results of 20 anterior callosotomies with regard to quality of life and social outcome were analysed according to seizure control. Data arise from a retrospective study with the medico-social teams. Drop attacks with tonic or atonic seizures decreased in 11 cases. Nevertheless only 8 cases (40%) have experienced a reduction of more than 70% in seizure frequency. Neurocognitive status slightly worsened in 3 cases. Age at intervention and type of epileptic syndrome were not predictors of seizure outcome. A subjective improvement in quality of life was reported in 10 cases. A significant improvement in social adjustment was obtained in 7 cases (35%). There was a close correlation between life comfort improvement and reduction in drop attack frequency. Not only seizure control has to be better but also surgery must be performed sooner to obtain a gain in social independence. Finally, successful outcome should be considered as limited. Nevertheless results may be considered taking into account the high severity of the condition and the low morbidity of anterior callosotomy.


Allergan says it will consolidate four New Jersey operations, comprising about 1,000 jobs, at a new headquarters in Madison. The company, which also expects to add 300 jobs at the site, will receive tax credits of up to $58.2 million over the next 10 years from New Jersey. Allergan had been eyeing a move to Lansdale, Pa. It now plans to complete renovations and move into the 40,000-m2 facility, formerly owned by Pfizer, by the end of 2017. The state expects the move to net $384 million over the next 20 years.


Norfloxacin is a quinolone (pyridonecarboxylic acid derivative) effective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. We studied the effects of this drug on DNA metabolism in P. aeruginosa. Norfloxacin inhibits DNA replication immediately on its addition to a logarithmically growing culture of P. aeruginosa. It inhibits the ability of P. aeruginosa DNA gyrase to supercoil relaxed, closed circular DNA in vitro. At intermediate concentrations of the drug, inhibition of DNA replication in vivo is followed by secondary (recovery) synthesis. Both recovery synthesis and the bactericidal effects of norfloxacin are dependent on continued protein synthesis, suggesting that these are inducible functions. Neither norfloxacin nor nalidixic acid induces Weigle-reactivation (inducible DNA repair) or mutagenesis in P. aeruginosa.


Entry control of Arabidopsis thaliana against non-adapted powdery mildews largely depends on the PEN1 secretion pathway and the PEN2–PEN3 antifungal metabolite pathway, and is critical for non-host resistance. In a recent study, we reported that ENHANCED DISEASE RESISTANCE 1 (EDR1) plays a role in entry control against a non-adapted anthracnose fungus, which exhibits an infection style distinct from that of powdery mildews. Results obtained using edr1 pen2 double mutants indicate that the contribution of EDR1 to non-host resistance is independent of that of the PEN2-mediated defence pathway. Comparative transcript profiling revealed that EDR1 is critical for expression of four plant defensin genes. The MYC2-encoded transcription factor represses defensin expression. Inactivation of MYC fully restored defensin expression in edr1 mutants, implying that EDR1 cancels MYC2 function to regulate defensin expression. These findings indicate that EDR1 exerts a critical role in non-host resistance, in part by inducing antifungal peptide expression via interference in MYC2-mediated repressor function.


Migration studies were conducted to determine the quantity of styrene that migrates from polymers into fatty foods, specifically margarine. Azeotropic distillation was used to isolate styrene from the margarine. Headspace gas chromatography with a Chromosorb 104 column and a flame ionization detector was used for quantitation. The quantitation limit for the method was about 25 ppb (wt/wt) styrene in margarine. On the average, greater than 90% of the styrene was recovered. Several commercial margarines were examined. The method and results of the migration studies are presented. There was no detectable migration of styrene into margarine.


Introduction: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is one of the major public health threats especially in developing countries. In Iran, the emergence and spread of MDR-TB are likely to pose a significant problem for the National Tubeculosis Control Program (NTP). In this study, to determine the trend of MDR-TB in Tehran, the results of published studies were analyzed. Methods: Several databases were searched, including Medline, Embase, Web of Science and Iranian databases. Studies which report the prevalence of MDR-TB by World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed drug susceptibility testing (DST) methods were included in the study. Data were analyzed with SPSS 20 (SPSS, Chicago, Illinois, USA). Results: Analysis of the MDR-TB trend did not show any increase among new TB cases, but the trend of MDR-TB was significantly increased among previously treated cases. The prevalence of MDR-TB from 48.0% in 1996 reached 58.0% in 2004 (P<0.05). Conclusions: Our analysis shows an increasing trend in MDR-TB, particularly in retreatment cases. This study strongly highlights the need to develop further strategies for surveillance, monitoring, and management of MDR-TB cases.


This soil survey contains information that can be applied in managing farms and ranches: in selecting
sites for roads, ponds, buildings, and other structures; and in judging the suitability of tracts of land for farming, industry, and recreation.


Abstract The transition from puddled-transplanted rice (Oryza sativa L.) (PTR) to direct-seeded rice (DSR) is gaining popularity in central China. In contrast, the PTR system is the most common practice in southwest China. Weeds are a major problem in the paddy fields of the DSR systems, and herbicides are widely used for weed control. However, the increased frequency and rate of herbicide use leads to the rapid evolution of resistance. Smallflower umbrella sedge (Cyperus difformis L.) is a troublesome weed species in rice fields of China and is usually controlled by the acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicide bensulfuron-methyl. Here, we collected 32 C. difformis populations from DSR systems (Hunan Province) and PTR systems (Guangxi Province) and investigated their resistance to bensulfuron-methyl. Results revealed 80% (8 out of 10) populations from Hunan Province and 14% (3 out of 22) populations from Guangxi Province had evolved resistance to bensulfuron-methyl. Five populations from Hunan Province (HN-2, HN-3, HN-5, HN-9, HN-10) possessing the Trp-574-Leu mutation had high-level resistance (ranging from 169- to >1,309-fold) based on GR50 ratios. The resistant populations from Guangxi Province had a lower level of resistance to bensulfuron-methyl due to a Pro-197-Ser mutation. The Asp-376-Glu mutation was only identified in the HN-4 population. In addition, the GX-3 population from the PTR systems was resistant to bensulfuron-methyl without ALS gene mutations, indicating non–target site resistance (NTSR). Although some resistant populations of both regions exhibited cross-resistance to multiple ALS-inhibiting herbicides, including pyrazosulfuron-ethyl, bispyribac-sodium, penoxsulam, and imazapic, sensitivity was also detected to the auxin herbicide MCPA and the photosystem II–inhibiting herbicides bentazone and propanil. These results indicate that cultivation practices affect resistance evolution in C. difformis. DSR systems exert high selection pressure by selecting the Trp-574-Leu mutation, resulting in high-level resistance. In contrast, a mutation at Pro-197 plus NTSR likely plays a significant role in ALS resistance in the PTR systems.


Abstract:Concepts of the everyday typically correlate with the normal and regular, while narratives of climate change are structured by predictions that exceed the normal. Since extreme events of climate change are not assimilable into the everyday, their destabilizing effects heighten destructive feedback loops mediated through fear. Developing psychic and social resilience necessary for re-routing climate change predictions from their direst outcomes thus requires transformed relations to the everyday. After analyzing how a default conception of the everyday hinders existential adaptation, I draw on Jean-Luc Nancy, Alfred North Whitehead, and William James to develop a concept of the everyday that emphasizes precarity, multiplicity, and creativity as better fostering social and psychic resilience amidst destabilization. This different concept of the everyday is necessary for learning how to live meaningful daily lives not predicated on an illusion that all is well or the fantasy that climate change can be resolved through a perpetuation of current norms of the everyday.


The hypothesis that during intense muscle contraction induced by electrical stimulation, long chain fatty acids (LCFA) might reduce mitochondrial ATP/ADP ratio, raising the contribution of glycolysis for ATP production was examined. The effect of a lipid infusion (Lipovenus emulsion) on UCP-3 mRNA level, lactate, glucose-6-phosphate (G-6P) and glycogen content was investigated in rat. Blood samples for determination of free fatty acids and lactate were collected at 0, 30 and 60 min during rest and at 0, 10 and 20 min during muscle contraction. The content of lactate, glycogen and G-6P was also determined in soleus (SO), red gastrocnemius (RG) and white gastrocnemius (WG) muscles collected immediately after muscle contraction period. In addition, the force level was determined during muscle contractions. The effect of Lipovenus emulsion on respiration of mitochondria isolated from rat skeletal muscle, and content of UCP-3 and lactate in cultured skeletal muscle cells was also determined. The in vivo experiments showed that Lipovenus induced a significant increase of UCP-3 mRNA levels. After Lipovenus infusion, lactate level was increased in RG muscle only, whereas the contents of glycogen and G-6P were decreased in both RG and WG muscles (P < 0.05). Lipovenus infusion failed to exert any effect on muscle force performance (P > 0.05). The in vitro experiments showed that Lipovenus infusion induced a significant increase in mitochondrial respiration, but had no effect on UCP-3 content. Lactate concentration was significantly increased in the culture medium of stimulated cells in the control and Lipovenus groups compared with the respective not-stimulated cells (P< 0.05). We concluded that as mitochondrial function becomes limited by the FFA-uncoupling effect, the ATP demand is mainly supplied by anaerobic glucose metabolism preventing an expected decrease in muscle contraction performance.


Background: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is an important public health problem worldwide. Flubendazole, administered in tablets, has shown poor in vivo efficacy against CE in humans. However, flubendazole prepared as a solution caused a marked reduction in hydatid cysts developed in mice. The goal of the current work was to compare the chemoprophylactic effect of flubendazole formulated either as a hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin solution or as a carboxymethylcellulose suspension in secondary CE in mice. Methods: Balb/C mice were infected with Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces. One day after infection, the animals were allocated into 3 different experimental groups: unmedicated control and treated at the time point of infection with flubendazole either prepared as a solution or suspension given twice a day during 15 days. Six months after infection, the animals were sacrificed to collect and weight parasitic cysts. Cyst samples recovered from infected mice of each experimental group were prepared for both scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Results: Both flubendazole formulations induced a significant reduction in cyst weight compared to the cysts recovered from the unmedicated control animals. Both formulations showed similar flubendazole-induced ultrastructural morphological changes. Conclusion: Flubendazole offers a great potential to become a drug of choice in the preventive treatment of cystic echinococcosis.


The importance of trade costs in segmenting product markets cannot be captured by considering aggregate prices or in the absence of information on the direction of trade. We address this problem by utilizing product-specific prices along with cross-sectional productivity measures and bilateral trade flows that allow us to identify the probable source of any one product. Our empirical approach is in line with the theoretical framework of Eaton and Kortum (2002) and the variation of this proposed in Anderson and van Wincoop (2004). The data are shown to be consistent with this framework. In particular, trade costs in the form of transportation and distribution costs are important in determining international price differences and segmenting international markets.


Abstract 2- or 3-Halonaphthoquinones are known to react with ketene dialkyl acetals and to yield 1,3-dialkoxyanthraquinones2,3. Various p-benzoquinones on the other hand have given only 2-alkoxy-benzofurans2. 3-Chloro-5,7-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (4) and 1,3,6,8-tetramethoxyanthraquinone (10), important intermediates for the synthesis of naturally occurring quinones, have now been obtained under analogous conditions using p-benzoquinone dihalides (trans-5,6-dihalo 2-cyclohexene 1,4-diones). Compound 4 does not appear to have been described but is readily converted to 3,5,7-trimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (7) and regiospecifically3 to 1,3,6,8-tetramethoxyanthraquinone. Although the yields obtained in the reactions of ketene acetals with quinone dihalides are low, compounds 7 and 10 have only been prepared until now by tedious means involving a large number of steps4–8, or by the degradation of natural products9,10.


A drilling fluid, or mud, is any fluid that is used in a rotary drilling operation in which that fluid is circulated or pumped from the surface, down the drill string, through the bit, and back to the surface via the annulus.
Drilling fluid is crucial for a successful drilling program. From functioning to transport the rock cuttings to surface, its applications have become more diverse nowadays as the drilling operations are becoming more and more complex. One physical property of a drilling fluid critical to carry out many of the desired functions is its density.
The density of drilling fluid is adjusted to balance or somewhat to overbalance pore pressures encountered in the course of drilling. Imparting positive pressure into the formation is of paramount importance in order to prevent inflow of formation fluid. Moreover, the pressure of mud column is important to stabilize the uncased section, particularly in the unconsolidated formation.
Among the additives that are designed to give certain properties to drilling fluid, a weighting agent is used to increase the density of drilling fluids while minimizing the increase in the resistance to flow of the drilling fluid. Several minerals have been identified to be potentially used as weighting agents including barite, hematite, dolomite and illmenite. However, a combination of factors has made barite to be the most preferred choice compared to others. A drilling grade barite normally includes at least 85% by weight particles less than 75 microns and greater than 6 microns in equivalent spherical diameter [6]. (Nattier & Shumate, 2003)
Naturally occurring barite contains 50-70 percent BaSO4. The remaining impurities are quartz and various silicates that may include dispersible clays. In order to be used as drilling-grade barite, the barite ore must meet the physical and chemical requirements as dictated in API 13-A: Barite physical and chemical requirements. [3]


The clinical presentation of a dog with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) which resembled lymphosarcoma (LSA) is described. The differences between acute leukemias and LSA are explained and the most common clinical features of ALL reported in the veterinary literature are listed.


To probe the role of the protective antigen (PA) component of anthrax toxin in toxin entry into animals cells, we examined the membrane channel‐forming properties and hydrophobicity of intact and trypsin‐cleaved forms of the protein at various pH values. At neutral pH neither form caused release of entrapped K+ from unilamellar lipid vesicles. At pH values below 6.0, however, K+ was rapidly released upon addition of either the nicked PA (PAN) or the 63kDa tryptic fragment of PA (PA63), which has been implicated in the toxin entry process. Under the same conditions intact PA exhibited only weak channel‐forming activity, and PA20, the complementary tryptic fragment, showed no such activity. Both PA and PA63 exhibited enhanced hydrophobicity at acidic pH values, but the enhancement was greater and the pH threshold higher with PA63. Our findings indicate that proteolytic removal of PA20 from intact PA enables the residual protein, Pasb63, to adopt a conformation at mildly acidic pH values that permits it to insert readily and form channels in membranes. Thus acidic conditions within endocytic vesicles may trigger membrane insertion of PA63, which in turn promotes translocation of ligated effector moieties, edema factor or lethal factor, across the vesicle membrane into the cytosol.


It has been presumed that the severe gastrointestinal side effects accompanying radiotherapy in cancer patients result from the radiation-induced death of epithelial stem cells in the intestinal crypts. As
 Folkman and Camphausen
 explain in their Perspective, this view may change with the findings of
 Paris
 et al., who show that the principal gut cells dying in response to radiation are the endothelial cells of the gut microvasculature. Gut epithelial stem cells die because they depend on microvascular endothelial cells for survival, a situation reminiscent of the dependence of tumor cells on endothelial cell proliferation and the growth of new blood vessels.


Social psychological research on helping has, in part, been concerned with the intervention of bystanders into emergencies. Pertinent empirical literature does not seem to be available on what factors bystanders use to define an emergency nor the effect of such a decision on the rate of helping. A series of four studies was conducted to answer these questions. We found that (a) Emergencies are a subclass of problem situation that usually result from accidents; (b) there is a high degree of agreement concerning what problem situations are definitely an emergency; (c) emergency situations are differentiated from other problem situations by threat of harm or actual harm worsening with time, unavailability of an easy solution to the problem, and necessity of obtaining outside help to solve the problem; (d) disagreement on whether a problem situation is an emergency or not results from differing perceptions of the degree to which threat of harm or actual harm worsens with time; (e) bystanders are more likely to help in emergency than in nonemergency problem situations. The results were interpreted as indicating that the need of the victim is a salient feature used by bystanders in determining whether or not to help.


We examine how several environmental factors influence cognition and the emergence of social networks in artificial societies. Using a large-scale socio-cognitive simulation (VIPER), we generated social networks consisting of 20, 40, and 60 agents. We tested the impact that environmental factors such as population size, map configuration, and run time, particularly on the formation of social ties in memory. We analyzed 1,080 ego-nets across 27 conditions, measuring the number of links and average degree of each network. While all these factors influenced these network measures, our results suggest that population size has the largest influence. In addition, we examined what impact activation values and retention parameters have on the construction of social networks in memory, finding that a shift in activation values resulted in a loss of links, thus indicating a cognitive foundation for Dunbar's Number (Dunbar, 1998) for the maximum number of social ties stored in memory.


This study proposes a visual sensing system to investigate the self-propelled motions of droplets. In the visual sensing of self-propelled droplets, large field-of-view and high-resolution images are both required to investigate the behaviors of multiple droplets as well as chemical reactions in the droplets. Therefore, we developed a view-expansive microscope system using a color camera head to investigate these chemical reactions; in the system, we implemented an image processing algorithm to detect the behaviors of droplets over a large field of view. We conducted motion tracking and color identification experiments on the self-propelled droplets to verify the effectiveness of the proposed system. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system is able to detect the location and color of each self-propelled droplet in a large-area image.


Cervical cancer is a preventable public health problem. The two new human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are available but not accessible to everyone in South Africa, as they are very expensive. This study aimed to investigate educated peoples acceptability regarding HPV vaccination. This was a cross-sectional survey conducted among 146 master of business administration students by self-administered, anonymous questionnaire. The majority (74%) of the participants ever heard of cervical cancer, but only 26.2% heard about HPV. After reading the fact information regarding cervical cancer and HPV, the intention to vaccinate their daughters increased from 88% to 97.2% (P = 0.003). The majority (75.4%) indicated that HPV vaccination should be given before their daughters are mature enough to understand about sex, and 80.3% reported that they will discuss matters related to sex with their daughters if their daughters want to know about the vaccine. Those who did not want to vaccinate their daughters highlighted that they want more information regarding safety of the vaccine which might change their decision towards HPV vaccination. A health education information method can increase the vaccination acceptance rate in South Africa.


BCI (Brain-Computer Interface) is a way to control computer by using the human brain waves. As the hardware using brain wave technologies has developed, former expensive and big sized brain wave measuring devices have recently become much smaller and cheaper in their prices, making it possible for the individuals to buy them. This predicts them to be applied in various fields of multimedia industry. This thesis is to give an insight into whether the BCI device can be used as a new gaming device approaching it in a game designing point of view. At first, we propose game play elements that can effectively utilizing the BCI devices and produce a game prototype adopting the BCI device based on such game play elements. Next, we verify it with statistical data analysis to show that the prototype adopting the BCI device gives more clear and efficient controls in its game play than a game of only adopting keyboard & mouse devices. The results will give a guideline for effective game design methodology for making BCI based games.


Human health is inextricably linked to animal health and production, particularly in developing regions of the world where animals play an important role in communities by providing transportation and food. Many deaths occur each year from a number of well-known and preventable animal diseases that are transmitted to humans, especially in developing countries, due to a lack of early detection and preventative measures. Despite the link between human health and animal health, veterinary telehealth has not attracted much attention from researchers in the medical health community. This paper describes a case study exploring the use of mobile phones for rapid reporting of zoonotic diseases in South Africa. It outlines an SMS-based mobile service to enable community members to report suspected cases of diseases. This service aims to increase the number and density of traditional reporting sources to facilitate near real-time reporting and consequently more rapid response to zoonoses outbreaks. The initial phases of this system design are described in addition to future directions.


Background: Study to describe the degree of menopausal palpitation distress and its demographic, clinical, symptom, and quality-of-life (QOL) correlates. Analysis of existing, baseline, data from peri- and postmenopausal women, 42 to 62 years of age, who participated in the Menopause Strategies-Finding Lasting Answers for Symptoms and Health (MsFLASH) clinical trials testing interventions for vasomotor symptoms (n = 759). Up to 46.8% of menopausal women report having palpitations, yet the symptom is relatively understudied. Little is known about palpitation distress or its correlates. Materials and Methods: Degree of distress from "heart racing or pounding" was self-reported over the past two weeks as "not at all," "a little bit," "moderately," "quite a bit," or "extremely." Other measures included self-report forms, clinic-verified body mass index (BMI), vasomotor symptom diaries, and validated symptom and QOL tools. Results: The percentage who reported palpitation distress was 19.6%, 25.2%, and 33.5% in the three trials or 25.0% overall. In multivariate analysis, the odds of reporting palpitation distress was lower in past smokers (odds ratio [OR] = 0.59 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.38-0.90]) and current smokers (OR = 0.48 [0.27-0.87]) relative to never-smokers and lower with every 5 kg/m2 higher BMI (OR = 0.82 [0.69-0.98]).The odds of reporting palpitation distress was higher with every five point more severe insomnia (OR = 1.28 [1.05-1.54]), five point worse depressive symptoms (OR = 1.47 [1.11-1.95]), five point worse perceived stress (OR = 1.19 [1.01-1.39]), and one point worse menopausal QOL (OR = 1.29 [1.06-1.57]). Conclusions: Menopausal palpitation distress is common and associated with demographic, clinical, symptom, and QOL factors. Findings can be used for screening in clinical practice and to justify additional research on this understudied symptom.


The article presents the stage results of treatment of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, who was admitted to ED of the University Clinic. The main obstacle for ECMO-CPR remains a long time of CPR by pre-hospital services. The possibility of using ECMO for conditioning of potential donors by emergency physicians is considered.


Negotiators' emotions strongly affect counterparts' behavioral reactions. In particular, some research show that, compared to happy negotiators, angry negotiators get higher concessions, whereas other research indicate that happiness pays more than anger. This incongruence has been spelled out either in terms of diagnosticity of the emotions or in terms of intensity of the emotional contagion. We propose that the direction of the effects depends on the social context where the emotion is expressed, namely either in a public or a private context of the negotiation. In a negotiation by e-mail, sixty participants received either angry or happy messages from a simulated opponent, while either no one else or a group of colleagues followed the communications in carbon copy. Private expressions of anger elicited larger concessions than private happiness, whereas public anger yielded smaller concessions than public happiness. This effect could be explained suggesting that in public contexts negotiator's gut reactions overrule strategic considerations which would recommend to concede more to an angry opponent than to an happy one. Indeed, in public negotiations participants' emotions were more affected by opponent's emotions than in private arenas. These findings suggested that the interpersonal effects of anger and happiness could be the result of either strategic considerations or visceral reactions and that the dominance of one of these two factors is strongly determined by the characteristics of the negotiation social context.