Launaea pinnatifida is a procumbent herb native to the coastal area and found throughout India and many other countries. It is utilized as a dietary plant in the preparation of various dishes in the Maldives. Traditionally it is used for the treatment of skin injuries and is reported to contain flavonoids, steroids, glycosides, tannins, saponins etc. As no scientific work has been found to be published related to wound healing potential of the L. pinnatifida plant, the present study investigated the effects of dried leaf juice of L. pinnatifida on wound healing property in rats using various wound models. In result analysis, the wound contraction percentage was found to be increased and the scar area and epithelization time were found to be decreased when 3 % ointment L. pinnatifida leaf juice was applied topically. Similarly, with incision and dead space wound models, wound breaking strength and hydroxyproline levels were found to be increased. So, Launaea pinnatifida leaf juice showed significant wound healing activity in all wound models, which supports its claim for being used traditionally in skin diseases.


The giant mottled eel Anguilla marmorata is a species of great economic, ecological, and conservative values in the Southeast Asian region. The research aims to conservation and evaluation of the genetic diversity of A. marmorata populations living in Thua Thien Hue (TTH), Vietnam. The sequencing of the barcode region of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene was carried out for 48 individuals of A. marmorata elvers, which were collected from five different ecosystem regions. The sequences were analyzed using various genetic, phylogenetic, and population analyses to assess their variability. A total of 20 polymorphic sites and 17 haplotypes were identified. Extremely low fixation (Fst = -0.073 – 0.003; < 0.05) was found for A. marmorata populations in the region. The populations showed signs of recent populations' expansion, besides negative Tajima's D test, Fu's Fs, Fu and Li's D* and F* test values. The genetic evolution of eel occurs in a randomized pattern over a large population, with the likelihood of rare alleles appearing in the population. In TTH (Viet Nam) territories, we indicated the five areas for conservation units with moderate eels' populations' diversity.


Reversible logic based on Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) is the most requirement for achieving nano-scale architecture that promises significantly high device integration density, high-speed calculation, and low power consumption. The arithmetic logic unit (ALU) is the significant component of a processor for processing and computing. The primary objective of this work is to develop a multi-layer fault-tolerant arithmetic logic unit using reversible logic in QCA technology. Additionally, the reversible ALU has divided into arithmetic (RAU) and a logic unit (RLU). A reversible 2:1 MUX using the Fredkin gate has been implemented to select either the arithmetic or logical operations. Besides, to improve the efficiency of arithmetic operations, a novel QCA reversible full adder is implemented. To build the ALU, fault-tolerant reversible logic gates are used. The proposed reversible multilayer QCA ALU is designed to carry out eight arithmetic and sixteen logical operations with a minimum number of gates, constant inputs, and garbage outputs compared to the existing works. The functional verification and simulation of the presented circuits are assessed by the QCADesigner tool.


Both transgenic and conventional breeding methods have been used to increase levels and diversify the profile of antioxidants in ripe tomato fruit. The high-pigment (hp) tomato mutants exemplify this approach, representing useful genetic resources to be introgressed into elite cultivars (high-lycopene cultivars) to simultaneously enhance the levels of different classes of antioxidants. Although several studies have been recently published on high-lycopene cultivars, information on their horticultural performance, processing attributes and functional quality is still scarce. In spite of the high content of lycopene, flavonoids and ascorbic acid, high-lycopene tomato cultivars are claimed to have poor horticultural performance, which limits their commercial acceptance. Therefore, the aim of this study was to review their agronomic and horticultural performance briefly as well as to review the functional quality of some recently developed high-lycopene tomato cultivars. Experiments conducted in the Mediterranean region showed that all the assayed high-lycopene tomato cultivars ('HLY02', 'HLY13', 'HLY18', 'Kalvert' and 'Lyco 2', including the latest developed lines 'HLT-F61' and 'HLT-F62') were vigorous, with an excellent dark-green foliage cover and characterized by dark-green immature fruits without morphological aberrations. Tomato yield ranged from 110 to 152 t ha-1, exceeding in some trials the yield of the elite industrial tomato cultivars ('Perfectpeel', 'Rio Grande' and 'Donald'). The average fruit weight ranged from 70 to 93 g, and soluble solids content was higher than 6 °Brix in some cases, associated with desirable titratable acidity values (0.381 for 'HLY18'). Regarding the phytochemical profiles, experiments under different geographical and environmental conditions confirmed that all tested high-lycopene cultivars were characterized by enhanced synthesis and accumulation of carotenoids, mainly lycopene and β-carotene (more than 280 and 20 mg kg-1 fw, respectively), as well as of other valuable health-promoting molecules such as phenolics, flavonoids and vitamins. Thus, the central role of high-lycopene tomato cultivars in enhancing fruit pigmentation and functional quality, summarized in this report, justifies extended efforts and breeding programs to decrease some initial adverse pleiotropic effects on their horticultural performance.


Renal transplantation is now established as the therapy of choice for end-stage renal failure. The causes of renal allograft loss have changed with the introduction of new immunosuppressive agents. In the pioneer era of transplantation most renal allografts were lost during the first year after transplantation due to acute rejection episodes. Nowadays, chronic allograft nephropathy became the leading cause of graft loss. The causes of chronic allograft nephropathy can be divided into alloantigen-dependent and alloantigen-independent factors. Acute rejection episodes and histoincompatibility have a significant influence on late graft function. Although alloantigen-related injury is of major importance, alloantigen-independent factors also play a significant role in the progression of chronic allograft nephropathy. Prolonged ischemia time leads to induction of inflammation, resulting in fibrotic scarring or proliferation of mesenchymal cells. Donor related factors such as donor brain death, age, nephron number and gender have a definite impact on late allograft function. Posttransplant complications such as hypertension, metabolic factors and viral infections contribute to accelerated deterioration of the functional units of the kidney. Immunosuppressive agents such as cyclosporine and tacrolimus may cause vasoconstriction and decreased glomerular filtration rate. Moreover, non-compliance is one of the most important risk factor for chronic allograft loss. Regardless of the cause of the initial injury the pathophysiology of chronic allograft nephropathy seems to be the same. All these factors can induce endothelial injury, which leads to increased expression of cytokines and growth factors resulting in proliferative processes, remodelling and scarring of the graft. This paper reviews current knowledge about risk factors and their effect on long-term renal allograft function.


Background A new electronic whiteboard multi-professional handover (e-handover) was introduced to the in-patient unit. Handover is an excellent opportunity to share information, but is a potential source for errors, if not utilised correctly. There was no standard operating procedure (SOP) for the new e-handover, one was developed to ensure accuracy, a consistent approach and that addressed patients' specific palliative care needs. Methods The e-handover was audited by two independent doctors against standards developed by The Academy of Medical Colleges, local nursing guidelines and against palliative care outcome measures. A multi-professional group of palliative care specialists including doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals then developed a SOP. The handover was then re-audited following its institution with staff training. Results In March 2017, 16 patients' notes and e-handover summaries were audited. One hundred percent of patients had an accurate primary diagnosis on their handover, although documented in a variety of different places. Thirty three percent had a documented preferred place of death (PPD), 56% had documented escalation status (ES), 50% had phase of illness (PoI) and 0% had modified Australian Karnofsky performance status (AKPS) documented on the e-handover. Sixty-nine percent of handovers were easy to read and 55% used trust approved acronyms. Following the SOP introduction, the second audit was performed in September 2017. One hundred percent had the primary diagnosis documented and all in the correct place. PPD was documented in 100% of patients. One hundred percent of patients had a documented ES, AKPS and PoI; however this was not always documented in the patients' notes. Ninety-two percent were easy to read and 92% used trust approved acronyms. Conclusion Introduction of a SOP has improved documentation of diagnosis, escalation status, AKPS and PoI on the e-handover and enhanced ease of reading. Improvement is still required in documentation in patients' notes.


Identification of biodiversity in different rice striped stem borer (Chilo supprressalis) populations is very important to adopt suitable integrated pest management procedures. Larvae were collected from five different regions in north of Iran including Gourabzarmikh (Go), Sheikhmahaleh (Sh), Rasht (Ra), Amol (Am) and Babol (Ba). Activity levels of five enzymes including alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase and alpha-amylase were evaluated in 4 th instar larvae. In addition, five non-enzymatic compounds such as glucose, cholesterol, total protein, uric acid and urea were also measured. Amount of measured compounds showed significant differences in all groups except for alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase. Hierarchical agglomerative clustering under UPGMA model demonstrated that Ba population had the most genetic distance and was separated from other groups. In the second group, Go population had the most genetic distance from others and two groups of Ra and Sh had the least genetic distances.


Common wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) represents an important resource for rice improvement. Genetic populations provide the basis for a wide range of genetic and genomic studies. In particular, chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) are most powerful tools for the detection and precise mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTLs). In this study, 146 CSSLs were produced; they were derived from the crossing and back-crossing of two rice cultivars: Dongnanihui 810 (Oryza sativa L.), an indica rice cultivar as the recipient, and ZhangPu wild rice, a wild rice cultivar as the donor. First, a physical map of the 146 CSSLs was constructed using 149 molecular markers. Based on this map, the total size of the 147 substituted segments in the population was 1145.65 Mb, or 3.04 times that of the rice genome. To further facilitate gene mapping, heterozygous chromosome segment substitution lines (HCSSLs) were also produced, which were heterozygous in the target regions. Second, a physical map of the 244 HCSSLs was produced using 149 molecular markers. Based on this map, the total length of substituted segments in the HCSSLs was 1683.75 Mb, or 4.47 times the total length of the rice genome. Third, using the 146 CSSLs, two QTLs for plant height, and one major QTL for apiculus coloration were identified. Using the two populations of HCSSLs, the qPa-6-2 gene was precisely mapped to an 88 kb region. These CSSLs and HCSSLs may, therefore, provide powerful tools for future whole genome large-scale gene discovery in wild rice, providing a foundation enabling the development of new rice varieties. This research will also facilitate fine mapping and cloning of quantitative trait genes, providing for the development of superior rice varieties.


It is an inveterate principle of the common law, adopted by common law jurisdictions that any person cannot be
compelled to answer any questions that may incriminate himself. This privilege against answering self-incriminating
questions can only be abrogated by statute, expressly or by necessary implication. Though, this privilege has been much
criticised as being obsolete, particularly in civil cases because it can prevent much relevant and strongly probative
evidence from being disclosed in litigation, nevertheless, it still has a hallowed place in criminal cases. However, recent judicial decisions in Malaysia have blatantly held that this privilege against self-incrimination has gone, though the section concerned does not expressly abrogated the privilege. The purpose of this paper is to argue that in Malaysia, the privilege has not been abrogated, but is still intact.


A safe, clean, and productive environment is conducive to peace and human security while environmental stress is both a cause and an effect of political tension and military conflict. The protection and preservation of the natural environment, integrity of ecological systems, and the survival of species are positive conditions for peace. Yet, the connections between environmental issues and conflict are many and complex. Environmental factors themselves are rarely, if ever, the sole cause of violence. But Natural resources and other environmental factors are linked to violent conflict in a variety of ways often obscured by more visible issues, such as ethnic tension and power politics. Conflicts can arise from the marginalization of sectors of the population and from ensuing violence. This occurs when political processes are unable to handle the effects of environmental stress resulting, for example, from floods, erosion, and desertification. Nations have often fought to assert or resist control over raw materials, energy supplies, land, river basins, sea passages, and other key environmental resources. Such conflicts are likely to increase as these resources become scarcer, the human population becomes larger, and competition for resources increases. This chapter seeks to explore ways in which cooperation for sustainable Development can contribute to the maintenance of peace in the sense of diminishing potential for conflict. Environmental sustainability and healthy ecosystems should be considered a condition for building peace and environmental protection and cooperation a factor in peacemaking. As a peacemaking tool, the environment offers some useful — perhaps even unique — qualities that lend themselves to building peace and transforming conflict: environmental challenges ignore political boundaries, require a long-term perspective, encourage local and non-governmental participation, and extend community building beyond polarizing economic linkages. Where cooperation does take root, it may help to enhance trust, establish cooperative habits, create shared regional identities around shared resources, and establish mutually recognized rights and expectations. In this context, the present and potential role of public international law will be assessed. In particular, the international climate regime as an international agreement that purports sustainable resource use, conservation of ecosystems, sustainable management of commodities and cooperation in the management of a shared resource will be analysed for its potential to 'contribute to peace'.


PURPOSE
The prosthetic status and associated factors of the elders in Shanghai were evaluated to provide references for the government to issue related policies.

METHODS
The multi-stage stratified and isometric random sampling was used.The information of tooth loss and prosthodontic restoration was collected by oral examination in 788 elder residents aged between 65 to 74 years in Shanghai, and 325 subjects was randomly drawn from the given group to collect the information concerning socioeconomic factors and life health situation by means of interviewer administered questionnaire. A Logistic regression model(Stata.7.0) was used to analyze the related factors that have effects on whether or not those elders would choose to do the restoration.

RESULTS
The restoration rate of the patient was 61.73%. The restoration rate of the patients with the defect of dentition was significantly lower than that of the edentulous(P<0.01).The constituent ratio of the denture restoration with fixed denture, the removable denture, the fixed denture and removable denture, the full denture, the informal fixed bridge was 21.94%, 41.58%, 5.87%, 20.92%, 9.69%, respectively. The ratio of full denture, fixed denture and informal fixed bridge of the suburb elders was significantly higher than that of the urban ones(P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the position of teeth defect, the gender and the number of missing teeth were significant predictors of denture or non-denture wearers.

CONCLUSIONS
Ratio of denture wearers is low in the older individuals with missing teeth in Shanghai. It is suggested that the government should take effective efforts to strengthen the people's oral health consciousness so that the elder patients could restore their lost teeth in time and more effectively. Supported by Research Project of Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau (Grant No.2007009).


During a ground fault the maximum fault current and neutral to ground voltage will appear at the pole nearest to the fault. Distribution lines are consisted of three phase conductors, an overhead ground wire and a multi-grounded neutral line. In this paper phase to neutral faults were staged at the specified concrete pole along the distribution line and measured the ground fault current distribution in the ground fault current, three poles nearest to the fault point, overhead ground wire and neutral line. A effect by grounding resistance of poles of ground fault current in the 22.9[㎸] multi-ground distribution system. by field tests.


Immunoreactive glucagon and immunoreactive vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) have been demonstrated in neuronal elements in the retina of a number of species by immunohistochemistry. In the present study, the concentrations of glucagon-like and VIP-like material in retinae from different species were determined by radioimmunoassay. The retinal concentration of glucagon-like immunoreactivity was 10-35 pg/mg in goldfish, chicken, pigeon, and frog, whereas retinae from cow, pig, rabbit, and rat contained very little. Retinae from the latter four species were on the other hand rich in VIP-like material whereas retinae from cat, guinea pig, and goldfish contained very little. The glucagon-like immunoreactive material in chicken and frog retina was subjected to gel chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results indicate that the extracted protein is of similar molecular size as porcine pancreatic glucagon, distinct from porcine glicentin. VIP immunoreactive material extracted from bovine retina was similar in molecular size as authentic porcine VIP by gel chromatography.


The detoxification ability and toxin binding properties (ability and strength) of aflatoxin B1 by six strains of probiotic bacteria were studied. The detoxification ability of the organisms ranged between 20-50%. About 60-80% of the bound aflatoxin was removed when washed with water, and only 10-40% of the toxin was strongly bound to the bacterial cells. Among the organisms studied, Bifidobacterium infantis 1912 demonstrated a significantly higher aflatoxin binding ability than the other strains, while Bifidobacterium pseudolongum 20099 showed the least aflatoxin binding ability of about 10% of the added 50 ng of aflatoxin B1. Bifidobacterium bifidum 1 showed the least aflatoxin B1 binding strength during the 180 min treatment.


Methods of filtering unwanted traffic in ISPs are categorized into inbound filtering at receiver ISPs and outbound filtering at sender ISPs. Outbound filtering is effective because it can directly utilize sender information such as dynamic IP address information, but not widely used in the current Internet. This is because outbound filtering does not benefit the ISP that installs it and pays the cost, but benefits ISPs that receive unwanted traffic from the installing ISP. The objective of our study is to solve this incentive problem. We propose an incentive mechanism where ISPs pay penalties for sending unwanted traffic to peering ISPs. This payment is combined with payments of transit fees so that the mechanism will be deployed through the current ISP relationship. The key question here is whether the mechanism will be deployed or not, and we confirmed through simulations that the mechanism is spontaneously adopted by a sufficient number of ISPs who behave in a selfish manner. Accordingly, outbound filtering was also widely installed. In our simulation scenario, there are some ISPs who send little unwanted traffic and should not install the outbound filtering due to its cost. Our simulation showed that with an appropriate penalty charge parameter setting, our proposed mechanism can achieve the state that almost all ISPs who should install the outbound filtering install the filtering, and otherwise not.


OBJECTIVE
To develop a measure of social deprivation that is associated with health care access and health outcomes at a novel geographic level, primary care service area.

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING
Secondary analysis of data from the Dartmouth Atlas, AMA Masterfile, National Provider Identifier data, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, American Community Survey, Area Resource File, and Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System. Data were aggregated to primary care service areas (PCSAs).

STUDY DESIGN
Social deprivation variables were selected from literature review and international examples. Factor analysis was used. Correlation and multivariate analyses were conducted between index, health outcomes, and measures of health care access. The derived index was compared with poverty as a predictor of health outcomes.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS
Variables not available at the PCSA level were estimated at block level, then aggregated to PCSA level.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Our social deprivation index is positively associated with poor access and poor health outcomes. This pattern holds in multivariate analyses controlling for other measures of access. A multidimensional measure of deprivation is more strongly associated with health outcomes than a measure of poverty alone.

CONCLUSIONS
This geographic index has utility for identifying areas in need of assistance and is timely for revision of 35-year-old provider shortage and geographic underservice designation criteria used to allocate federal resources.


Graphene's ultra-high carrier mobility (200,000cm2/Vs on hBN) [1] makes it promising for high speed applications; however the absence of a band-gap makes it hard to design logic elements out of graphene. It is possible to open a bandgap in graphene by applying strain [2] or by confining it in one direction into nanoribbons [3], but in the process bandstructure gets distorted near Dirac point and the carrier mobility decreases [4]. A recent set of papers have exploited instead the angle dependent transmission across graphene pn junctions (GPNJ) [5-9]. Since the opening angle is gate tunable, a sequence of angled junctions can turn off the electrons [10,11] using gateable momentum filtering in the absence of a band-gap (instead, the ideas use a transmission gap). In the absence of edge scattering, momentum filtering is predicted to give large ON, low OFF current and a steep subthreshold swing (SS). In this paper, we calculate the transfer (ID-VG) and output (ID-VD) characteristics of a GPNJ switch [11] and show current saturation using gate geometry alone.


The present article deals with a philosophy and methodology of value-based management and its application in the modern enterprises. The benefits of value-based management, process of value-based management and its main components with their characteristics were examined in this study. The crucial role of agrarian enterprise in the Ukrainian economy was outlined. The features of agricultural enterprises their current state were analyzed. Special attention was paid to individual characteristics value-based management in agriculture enterprises. The application agriculture value-added method to agriculture enterprises was proposed. The value added in agriculture was described. Recommendations on the disciplines of application of the concept of value-based management in the modern agriculture enterprises in order to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of these enterprises have been given. A general conclusion was made concerning necessity, features and disciplines of application value-based approach to management of modern agriculture enterprises.


Database was constructed based on extensive and systematic data collection and collating,then distribution of babblers in China,distribution similarity and relationships among geographic units were analyzed by geographic information system ( GIS) . The results suggested that there were 130 species of Chinese babblers belong to 26 genera,and showing an uneven horizontal distribution. Most of the species were distributed in Southwest Mountain Subregion ( 114 species) ,followed by South Yunnan Mountain Subregion ( 94 species) . Hengduan Mountains and South Yunnan Mountains were the distribution centers of species diversity. The distribution similarities were different in Palaearctic realm compared to Oriental realm. In general,the zoogeographical subregions in China can be divided into two big branches: Palaearctic realm and Oriental realm.


The genetic algorithm is of advantages to solve an inversion of complex non-linear geophysical equations. Its multi-point searching is able to find the globally optimal solution and avoid falling into a local extremum. The searching efficiency of the genetic algorithm is a key to successfully resolve a geophysical inversion problem in a huge model space with multi-parameters. Encoding mechanism impacts mostly in the searching stage of the genetic algorithm. It sometimes is difficult for a standard genetic algorithm (SGA) to make searching successfully, because the crossover and mutation do not receive most effectively searching in mechanisms with only the binary or decimal encoding. For the binary encoding mechanism the operation of the crossover may produce more new individuals. The decimal encoding mechanism, on the other hand, makes the operation of the mutation searching in a larger range. This paper discusses searching potentials between operators in the binary and decimal encoding and presents a hybrid-encoding genetic algorithm (HEGA) mechanism. The method is based on a hybrid encoding in genetic procedure. The mutation operation is executed with the decimal code and other operations with the binary code. The HEGA guarantees the mutation processing with a high probability. HEGA is beneficial to solving the inversion of complex nonlinear geophysical equations. Synthetic and real-world examples demonstrated advantages of using HEGA in inversion of potential-field data.


Course-based research experiences (CUREs) are currently of high interest due to their potential for engaging undergraduate students in authentic research and maintaining their interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. As part of a campus-wide initiative called STEMCats, which is a living learning program offered to freshman STEM majors at the University of Kentucky funded by a grant from Howard Hughes Medical Institute, we have developed a CURE for freshmen interested in pursuing health care careers. Our course, entitled "Drug–Drug Interactions in Breast Cancer," utilized a semester-long, in-class authentic research project and instructor-led discussions to engage students in a full spectrum of research activities, ranging from developing hypotheses and experimental design to generating original data, collaboratively interpreting results and presenting a poster at a campus-wide symposium. Student's feedback indicated a positive impact on scientific understanding and skills, enhanced teamwork and communication skills, as well as high student engagement, motivation, and STEM belonging. STEM belonging is defined as the extent to which a student may view the STEM fields as places where they belong. The results obtained from this pilot study, while preliminary, will be useful for guiding design revisions and generating appropriate objective evaluations of future pharmacological-based CUREs.


The detection of brain strokes from Computed Tomography CT images needs convenient processing techniques starting from image enhancement to qualify the brain image by isolation process, region growing and logical operators (OR and AND). These methods with the help of the simplest segmentation process, which is the thresholding process, are used to extract a stroke region from the CT image of the brain. The median filter is applied to remove the noise from the image. The statistical features calculated using first-order histogram were utilized in the detection of the stroke region.


Disorders of sex development (DSD) are most controversial issue in gender verification of athletes. To make a more scientific, accurate and humanitarian decision for athletes is the target of gender verification. In this article, we evaluate the used methods of gender verification in athletes, recommend a useful simplified classification of DSD and propose a comprehensive etiological diagnostic system based on this classification for gender verification in athletes.


Studies have demonstrated that cancer cells tend to have reduced stiffness (Young's modulus) compared to their healthy counterparts. The mechanical properties of primary brain cancer cells, however, have remained largely unstudied. To investigate whether the stiffness of primary brain cancer cells decreases as malignancy increases, we used a microfluidic constriction channel device to deform healthy astrocytes and astrocytoma cells of grade II, III, and IV and measured the entry time, transit time, and elongation. Calculating cell stiffness directly from the experimental measurements is not possible. To overcome this challenge, finite element simulations of the cell entry into the constriction channel were used to train a neural network to calculate the stiffness of the analyzed cells based on their experimentally measured diameter, entry time, and elongation in the channel. Our study provides the first calculation of stiffness for grades II and III astrocytoma and is the first to apply a neural network analysis to determine cell mechanical properties from a constriction channel device. Our results suggest that the stiffness of astrocytoma cells is not well-correlated with the cell grade. Furthermore, while other non-central-nervous-system cell types typically show reduced stiffness of malignant cells, we found that most astrocytoma cell lines had increased stiffness compared to healthy astrocytes, with lower-grade astrocytoma having higher stiffness values than grade IV glioblastoma. Differences in nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio only partly explain differences in stiffness values. Although our study does have limitations, our results do not show a strong correlation of stiffness with cell grade, suggesting that other factors may play important roles in determining the invasive capability of astrocytoma. Future studies are warranted to further elucidate the mechanical properties of astrocytoma across various pathological grades.


The financial services sector enables capital to expand as it circulates. Accordingly, though it is highly profitable, the sector hardly contributes to the production of capital via the manufacture of commodities. Given that the circulation of capital can only be circuitous, activity undertaken by the financial services sector tends to perform likewise. The circles and spirals that characterize its activities are quite different, then, from the typical shape of the production process—the line. Furthermore, in places where financial services now dominate the local economy, this kind of circularity may also prevail over other areas of activity that are not primarily economic, for example, cultural activity.

London is such a location. As a global city (its status confirmed by hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012), London's dual role is to continue the 89 worldwide circulation of capital and to maintain the circulation of meaning—functions fulfilled by financial services and cultural activity, respectively.

But to maintain circulation is also to perform a mediating role. Financial circuits, for example, rely upon a variety of brokers whose 'financial products' serve as mediating links between the previous transaction and the next. Just as financial circuits are comprised of these mediating links, so, to the extent that London as a whole has taken on this character, the city itself has acquired a mediating role. Accordingly, the people of London have become mediators, first and foremost, positioned, and repeatedly positioning themselves, between successive moments in a continuous process of circulation. Even when not performing this mediating role in a profes- sional, paid-for capacity, many Londoners are constantly rehearsing for it via cell- phones, social media and a remix culture which repackages and re-sends existing cultural artefacts, in much the same way that financial 'products' are not originals so much as re-iterations of existing products and value, re-configured into self-expanding forms. Unlike earlier iterations of this capital city (mercantile London; industrial London; imperial London), twenty-first century London is a matrix of finance and culture in which financial activity lends its characteristic shape to contemporary cultural activity.


This Paper intends to examine the impact of FDI in India on Entrepreneurial Ventures, both existing and upcoming. As a part of the Research Methodology, Data was gathered by a survey conducted on two existing entrepreneurial firms and one upcoming one, using a Questionnaire method. The Questionnaire was composed of both factual and perceptional questions. Utilizing the collected data this study shows that the sampled Entrepreneurial firms are high on Innovation and thereby a hypothesis was made for the same.The firms selected were based on their performance, innovation, invention, risk taking factors. The conclusion establishes a relationship between the government policies and the performance of Entrepreneurial units. If the government policies are framed to promote entrepreneurial ventures then the impact would be positive, however if the government policies are more favorable towards FDI then this would lead to tarnishing the upcoming entrepreneurial ventures in the coming years, as the business giants would absorb these new and tiny ventures and constrain their development process. A recent article published in the Times of India also states that the government must put a check and see the constitutional validity of the centre's decision to allow foreign direct investment in multi brand retail. A Supreme Court bench also questioned the government whether they had received any proposals since the parliament approved the policy decision about six to seven weeks ago. This was justified by the government by stating that the foreign direct investment in retail would take some time as it is a part of series of reforms that would transform the country's investment scenario to make it lucrative enough for foreign investors and importantly for consumers and small traders and entrepreneurs. Finally the Supreme Court also asked the government to spell out safeguards put in place to protect small traders from a possible onslaught of multinationals in the future.


The effect of infestation with the nematode Syphacia oblevata on adjuvant arthritis was studied in the rat. Animals with an established infestation with Syphacia were found to have a reduced incidence of arthritis after injection of Freund's complete adjuvant. Infested animals developing adjuvant arthritis were found to suffer from a less severe form of the disease than animals in which infestation had been eliminated with piperazine before immunization.


Background and Purpose— White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are increased in patients with lacunar stroke. Whether this is because of shared pathogenesis remains unknown. Using genetic data, we evaluated whether WMH-associated genetic susceptibility factors confer risk of lacunar stroke, and therefore whether they share pathogenesis. Methods— We used a genetic risk score approach to test whether single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with WMH in community populations were associated with magnetic resonance imaging–confirmed lacunar stroke (n=1,373), as well as cardioembolic (n=1,331) and large vessel (n=1,472) Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment subtypes, against 9,053 controls. Second, we separated lacunar strokes into those with WMH (n=568) and those without (n=787) and tested for association with the risk score in these 2 groups. In addition, we evaluated whether WMH-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms are associated with lacunar stroke, or in the 2 groups. Results— The WMH genetic risk score was associated with lacunar stroke (odds ratio [OR; 95% confidence interval [CI]]=1.14 [1.06–1.22]; P=0.0003), in patients both with and without WMH (WMH: OR [95% CI]=1.15 [1.05–1.26]; P=0.003 and no WMH: OR [95% CI]=1.11 [1.02–1.21]; P=0.019). Conversely, the risk score was not associated with cardioembolic stroke (OR [95% CI]=1.03 [0.97–1.09]; P=0.63) or large vessel stroke (OR [95% CI]=0.99 [0.93,1.04]; P=0.39). However, none of the WMH-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms passed Bonferroni-corrected significance for association with lacunar stroke. Conclusions— Genetic variants that influence WMH are associated with an increased risk of lacunar stroke but not cardioembolic or large vessel stroke. Some genetic susceptibility factors seem to be shared across different radiological manifestations of small vessel disease.


This invited paper for the TIA Management Research papers provides an overview of customer relationship management (CRM) and relates this topic to the strategic marketing of and research about travel and tourism products. CRM is widely used in the tourism industry, with loyalty programs keeping customers returning and travel websites yielding a large volume of e-transactions. The question is raised whether researchers, particularly academic and government, are participating enough in industry CRM-based market research to transform consumer behavior research into more holistic consumer profiles and dynamic models of travel demand and supply. The paper ends with suggested research topics that highlight meaningful pathways and methods for further CRM implementation.


[1] To investigate the use of benthic foraminifera as a means to document ancient methane release, we determined the stable isotopic composition of tests of live (Rose Bengal stained) and dead specimens of epibenthic Fontbotia wuellerstorfi, preferentially used in paleoceanographic reconstructions, and of endobenthic high-latitude Cassidulina neoteretis and Cassidulina reniforme from a cold methane-venting seep off northern Norway. We collected foraminiferal tests from three push cores and nine multiple cores obtained with a remotely operated vehicle and a video-guided multiple corer, respectively. All sampled sites except one control site are situated at the Hakon Mosby mud volcano (HMMV) on the Barents Sea continental slope in 1250 m water depth. At the HMMV in areas densely populated by pogonophoran tube worms, δ13C values of cytoplasm-containing epibenthic F. wuellerstorfi are by up to 4.4‰ lower than at control site, thus representing the lowest values hitherto reported for this species. Live C. neoteretis and C. reniforme reach δ13C values of −7.5 and −5.5‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB), respectively, whereas δ13C values of their empty tests are higher by 4‰ and 3‰. However, δ13C values of empty tests are never lower than those of stained specimens, although they are still lower than empty tests from the control site. This indicates that authigenic calcite precipitates at or below the sediment surface are not significantly influencing the stable isotopic composition of foraminiferal shells. The comparatively high δ13C results rather from upward convection of pore water and fluid mud during active methane venting phases at these sites. These processes mingle tests just recently calcified with older ones secreted at intermittent times of less or no methane discharge. Since cytoplasm-containing specimens of suspension feeder F. wuellerstorfi are almost exclusively found attached to pogonophores, which protrude up to 3 cm above the sediment, and δ13C values of bottom-water-dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) are not significantly depleted, we conclude that low test δ13C values of F. wuellerstorfi are the result of incorporation of heavily 13C-depleted methanotrophic biomass that these specimens feed on rather than because of low bottom water δ13CDIC. Alternatively, the pogonophores, which are rooted at depth in the upper sediment column, may serve as a conduit for depleted δ13CDIC that ultimately influences the calcification process of F. wuellerstorfi attached to the pogonophoran tube well above the sediment/water interface. The lowest δ13C of live specimens of the endobenthic C. neoteretis and C. reniforme are within the range of pore water δ13CDIC values, which exceed those that could be due to organic matter decomposition, and thus, in fact, document active methane release in the sediment.


Nowadays it has become increasingly common for family members to be distributed in different time zones. These time differences pose specific challenges for communication within the family and result in different communication practices to cope with them. To gain an understanding of current challenges and practices, we interviewed people who regularly communicate with immediate family members living in other time zones. We report primary findings from the interviews, and identify design opportunities for improving the experience of cross time zone family communication.


This article reports the population-based case-control study of maternal mortality in Sichuan province, China, during 1989-91. The study investigated whether failure among women to adhere to China's family planning guidelines were at increased risk of maternal death compared with women having their first birth. One-child policy was implemented by China in 1980 with an aim of stabilizing China's population. The researchers hypothesized two pathways through which family planning status might be casually related to an increased maternal mortality risk. One pathway proposed that negative economic incentives deter women from seeking prenatal care or medical treatment for pregnancy-related complications. The another hypothesis was the failure to adhere to the one-child policy might result to anxiety, social isolation, depression and general psychosocial pressure. Study findings indicated a 4.3-fold increased risk in maternal death among women having children outside the official policy, particularly among those having unplanned pregnancies. The difficulty of assessing the factors that predisposes maternal mortality requires further understanding. Moreover, the need to fit social, political, economic and cultural factors in the hypothetical casual pathways and the ramifications required for the analyses and interpretation of results were also underscored.


The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) established the Carbon Sequestration Pilot Program (CSPP) in 2008 to assess whether a roadside carbon sequestration effort through modified maintenance and management practices is appropriate and feasible for state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) when balanced against ecological and economic uncertainties. CSPP findings are expected to inform DOTs that may be considering the implications of future climate change legislation or that independently want to evaluate the cost effectiveness of using National Highway System (NHS) right of way (ROW) to generate revenue from the sale of carbon credits, offset their own emissions, or meet statewide greenhouse gas emissions objectives. The project team used data from Minnesota and several other states to estimate the amount of unpaved NHS ROW available for carbon sequestration—marking the first time that a rigorous study has been conducted to quantify the amount of state DOT-managed soft estate acreage. In the first of two analytical approaches used, ROW widths at random locations in nine states were manually measured on property maps to provide a distribution of common ROW dimensions and observed vegetation types. A subsequent geographic information system (GIS) analysis of 1,000 random locations nationwide provided insight into the types of land cover in close proximity to the NHS. Results indicate that there are approximately 5.05 million acres in the NHS nationwide, with a likely range of 1.4 to 8.7 million acres. Roughly 68 percent, or 3.4 million acres, is unpaved. Evidence shows that the land cover has undergone little change since 1992. The project team estimates the NHS ROW has approximately 91 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon currently sequestered in vegetation and is currently sequestering approximately 3.6 MMT of carbon per year, or 1.06 metric tons of carbon per acre per year. This equals the annual carbon dioxide emissions of approximately 2.6 million passenger cars. At its carbon equilibrium, the entire NHS ROW is estimated to be able to sequester between 425 and 680 MMT of carbon. Using a hypothetical carbon price of $20 per metric ton, this equates to a total potential value of $8.5 to $14 billion nationwide.


Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and IL-3 are generally thought to be produced in a coordinated fashion by all activated T cells. We have examined this premise using quantitative kinetic analyses of the expression of GM-CSF and IL-3 in clonal cultures of mouse T cells for the first two weeks following in vitro stimulation with solid-phase TCR- and accessory molecule-specific mAbs. We demonstrate that 1) differential secretion of GM-CSF and IL-3 is a feature of high proportions of CD8+ and CD4+ T cell clones, for extended periods of time following activation; 2) multiple patterns of expression of these two cytokines can occur, including equivalent, GM-CSF-biased, and IL-3-biased production, and a pattern that switches over a period of days from GM-CSF-biased to IL-3-biased production; 3) the disparate relative levels of secretion are not due to differential consumption of either cytokine; 4) altered T cell activation by addition of CD28 costimulation accelerates both GM-CSF and IL-3 production but biased patterns of expression are retained, and 5) most T cells are not pre-committed to a particular pattern of relative GM-CSF and IL-3 expression; instead, the potential for multiple patterns may persist for several days following in vitro activation. The results indicate that T cells have the potential to display previously unrecognized diversity of expression of GM-CSF and IL-3.


A forced degradation study was successfully applied for the development of a stability-indicating assay method for determination of rosuvastatin Ca in the presence of its degradation products. The method was developed and optimized by analyzing the forcefully degraded samples. Degradation of the drug was done at various pH values. Moreover, the drug was degraded under oxidative, photolytic, and thermal stress conditions. Mass balance between assay values of degraded samples and generated impurities was found to be satisfactory. The proposed method was able to resolve all of the possible degradation products formed during the stress study. The developed method was successfully applied for an accelerated stability study of the tablet formulation. The major impurities generated during the accelerated stability study of the tablet formulation were matches with those of the forced degradation study. The developed method was validated for determination of rosuvastatin Ca, and the method was found to be equally applicable to study the impurities formed during routine and forced degradation of rosuvastatin Ca.


Introduction Decedents with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have comorbidities that also impact the quality of extra-renal, especially thoracic, organs. Livers, however, are less susceptible to ESRD-associated damage, yet many organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States have not pursued such donors because of financial and regulatory disincentives. Because of the high liver waitlist mortality, however, all usable livers should be transplanted. No data are published on the outcomes of livers transplanted from deceased donors with ESRD; if outcomes are acceptable, financial disincentives must be addressed. We describe the outcomes of livers retrieved from donors with ESRD in a single OPO. Methods Donors (n=47) with ESRD who donated livers from January 2010-May 2017 were identified in a prospective database; relevant variables were extracted into a separate database analyzed with Stata. Our primary aim was to determine graft and patient survival; these data were obtained from TEIDI and from the transplant centers. Results 47 livers were retrieved and transplanted from ESRD donors. Mean time on dialysis was 3.3 years (range 1 month to 13 years). Causes of death included CVA (n=24), anoxia (n=19), trauma (n=3), other (n=1). Two recipients died within 30 days (hemorrhage, day 19; multisystem organ failure, day 23); one patient was retransplanted on day 14 (unknown cause of graft loss). All other patients (95.8%) and grafts (93.6%) survived more than 30 days (Figure 1). Interestingly, livers exported out of our service area (n=14) had significantly better survival than those transplanted locally (Figure 2). No other variable analyzed impacted graft survival. Ischemic times ranged from 2.2 to 10. 6 (mean = 6.0) hours were similar between exported and locally transplanted livers – mean = 6.4 and 5.9 hours, respectively, p=0.813. Figure. No caption available. Figure. No caption available. Conclusions Livers from donors with ESRD can be transplanted with excellent outcomes, especially in circumstances where short ischemic times can be achieved. Given the high liver waitlist mortality worldwide, these donors should be aggressively pursued. Financial and regulatory disincentives must be eliminated in order to increase the number of livers retrieved and transplanted.


Background The COVID-19 pandemic is a substantial public health crisis that negatively affects human health and well-being. As a result of being infected with the coronavirus, patients can experience long-term health effects called long COVID syndrome. Multiple symptoms characterize this syndrome, and it is crucial to identify these symptoms as they may negatively impact patients' day-to-day lives. Breathlessness, fatigue, and brain fog are the 3 most common continuing and debilitating symptoms that patients with long COVID have reported, often months after the onset of COVID-19. Objective This study aimed to understand the patterns and behavior of long COVID symptoms reported by patients on the Twitter social media platform, which is vital to improving our understanding of long COVID. Methods Long COVID–related Twitter data were collected from May 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. We used association rule mining techniques to identify frequent symptoms and establish relationships between symptoms among patients with long COVID in Twitter social media discussions. The highest confidence level–based detection was used to determine the most significant rules with 10% minimum confidence and 0.01% minimum support with a positive lift. Results Among the 30,327 tweets included in our study, the most frequent symptoms were brain fog (n=7812, 25.8%), fatigue (n=5284, 17.4%), breathing/lung issues (n=4750, 15.7%), heart issues (n=2900, 9.6%), flu symptoms (n=2824, 9.3%), depression (n=2256, 7.4%) and general pains (n=1786, 5.9%). Loss of smell and taste, cold, cough, chest pain, fever, headache, and arm pain emerged in 1.6% (n=474) to 5.3% (n=1616) of patients with long COVID. Furthermore, the highest confidence level–based detection successfully demonstrates the potential of association analysis and the Apriori algorithm to establish patterns to explore 57 meaningful relationship rules among long COVID symptoms. The strongest relationship revealed that patients with lung/breathing problems and loss of taste are likely to have a loss of smell with 77% confidence. Conclusions There are very active social media discussions that could support the growing understanding of COVID-19 and its long-term impact. These discussions enable a potential field of research to analyze the behavior of long COVID syndrome. Exploratory data analysis using natural language processing methods revealed the symptoms and medical conditions related to long COVID discussions on the Twitter social media platform. Using Apriori algorithm–based association rules, we determined interesting and meaningful relationships between symptoms.


The classical Stefan problem proffers a suitable model for determining the temperature regimes as well as conjugate interfacial positions for multiphase problems. Obtaining the solutions to these problems exactly, especially in systems with cylindrical or spherical symmetry, is often an arduous task. This is largely due to inherent nonlinearities in the mathematical statements of Stefan problems.In this paper, a tractable and effective approach is proposed. Subsequent to a recast as a system of differential-difference equations, and a methodical reduction to constant coefficient difference equations, exact similarity solutions are derived for a class of heterogeneous two-phase Stefan problems with cylindrical or spherical symmetry in one spatial dimension, under either Gaussian or hypergeometric perturbations.© 2014 ASME


Mobile operators move quickly from 2G GSM networks in urban areas to remote rural areas, which are 2G networks by offering voice connectivity. As a result, more and more technology is optimizing cellular operators that reduce and perform bandwidth efficiency that will be implemented. The optimization solution for this cellular operator produces voice communication on GSM, in a cost-effective application for satellites. This paper discusses and applies to creating GSM links via satellite communication. The ABIS interface on GSM, which is defined between the Base Transceiver Station (BTS) of GSM remote cells and the Base Station Controller (BSC), is considered here to be transferred via GSM communication with the Modulation and Coding scheme 16 APSK 5/6. The MODCOD scheme determines the efficiency of what MHz is needed to send one Mbps. The efficiency value achieved by allocating, bandwidth (MHz) generated by 1.0 Mhz is an efficiency of 3.222 [bit / baud]. And Info Data Rate is generated from the value (Mbps) of 3,175. The highest traffic intensity with the value of Traffic Volume (Hours) = 3.5, Traffic Intensity (Erlang) 0.145833333. While the lowest traffic intensity with the value of Traffic Volume (Hour) = 2.6, traffic intensity = 0.108333333 (Erlang). The value obtained on Traffic Volume and Traffic Intensity is 0.1%. Service levels are very good at grade of service, because of the small possibility of access fail. Calculation of the availability of link network availability links, using ACM 16APSK LDPC 5/6 techniques that can increase up to 100%.


Background and objective: Levobupivacaine 0.5% and racemic bupivacaine 0.5% are equally effective in spinal anaesthesia. Fentanyl has been used as an adjunct to racemic bupivacaine in spinal anaesthesia. At the time this study was designed, there was no published study on the intrathecal use of 0.5% levobupivacaine with fentanyl. Methods: This prospective, randomized, double‐blind study compared the clinical efficacy, motor block and haemodynamic effects of using 2.6 mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine alone (25 patients) and 2.3 mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine with fentanyl 15 μg in 0.3 mL (25 patients) for spinal anaesthesia in urological surgery. The study solution was injected into the subarachnoid space at the L3‐L4 interspace. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in the haemodynamic changes, and quality of sensory and motor block. Anaesthesia was adequate and patient satisfaction was good in all cases. Side‐effects were minor and infrequent with both regimes. Conclusions: We conclude that 2.3 mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine with fentanyl 15 μg is as effective as 2.6 mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine alone in spinal anaesthesia for urological surgery. Further studies may be directed to find the optimal combination of levobupivacaine and opioid with maximal haemodynamic stability and least motor block.


The possible stable conformers of 1-pentylamine (1-pa) molecule were experimentally and theoretically studied by FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy in the region of 4000–400 cm-1. The optimized geometric structures concerning the minimum on the potential energy surface were investigated by Becke-3–Lee–Yang–Parr (B3LYP) density functional method together with 6-31G(d) basis set. Based on the energy calculations, 10 possible rotamers of 1-pa (TT, TG, GT, GT1, GG1, GG2, GG3, GG4, GG5 and GG6; T and G denote trans and gauge, respectively) were proposed. Optimized energies of the possible conformers were obtained in the gas phase and within the chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, methanol and water solvent environments all of which have different polarities. Comparison between the experimental and theoretical results based on the correlation graphics and mean absolute error calculations presented in this study indicates that density functional B3LYP method is able to provide satisfactory results for predicting vibrational wavenumbers and TT isomer is the most stable form of 1-pa molecule.


Jatropha curcas has received considerable attention from researchers as a potential source of non-edible vegetable oil which is eminently suitable for production of liquid bio fuel, meeting international standards. For any tree improvement and breeding programme, study of variation among the populations is prerequisite as it helps in the detection of relative performance of various traits of economic value. 28 candidate plus trees were selected from the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar in Eastern India. Nine seed parameters were measured and their genetic values and correlation was calculated to serve as base information for further improvement and breeding of J. curcas in Eastern India. Significant genetic differences exist in all the seed characteristics among the different candidate plus trees of J. curcas . Positive direct effect of seed width and protein content was observed on seed oil content. Indirect effect of seed traits via seed width was positive. Thus, seed width can be taken as a criterion for selecting trees with good oil yield. The variations in most studied parameters were under genotypic control among seed sources. Highest coefficient of variation was found for seed oil content emphasizing the need of wide scale screening and selection of superior genotypes to capture the existing variability.


Rhesus theta defensin-1 (RTD-1), a macrocyclic immunomodulatory host defense peptide from Old World monkeys, is therapeutic in pristane-induced arthritis (PIA) in rats, a model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RNA-sequence (RNA-seq) analysis was used to interrogate the changes in gene expression in PIA rats, which identified 617 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in PIA synovial tissue of diseased rats. Upstream regulator analysis showed up regulation of gene expression pathways regulated by TNF, IL1B, IL6, pro-inflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) involved in RA. In contrast, ligand dependent nuclear receptors like the Liver X-receptors NR1H2 and NR1H3 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG) were down regulated in arthritic synovia. Daily RTD-1 treatment of PIA rats for 1-5 days following disease presentation modulated 340 of the 617 disease genes, and synovial gene expression in PIA rats treated 5 d with RTD-1 closely resembled the gene signature of naive synovium. Systemic RTD-1 inhibited pro-inflammatory upstream regulators such as TNF, IL1, and IL6, and activated anti-arthritic ligand dependent nuclear receptor pathways, including PPARG, NR1H2 and NR1H3 that were suppressed in untreated PIA rats. RTD-1 also inhibited pro-inflammatory responses in IL-1β-stimulated human RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) in vitro and diminished expression of human orthologs of disease genes that are induced in rat PIA synovium. Thus, the anti-arthritic mechanisms of systemic RTD-1 include homeostatic regulation of arthritogenic gene networks in a manner that correlates temporally with clinical resolution of rat PIA.


We present the Recognize Anything Model (RAM): a strong foundation model for image tagging. RAM makes a substantial step for large models in computer vision, demonstrating the zero-shot ability to recognize any common category with high accuracy. RAM introduces a new paradigm for image tagging, leveraging large-scale image-text pairs for training instead of manual annotations. The development of RAM comprises four key steps. Firstly, annotation-free image tags are obtained at scale through automatic text semantic parsing. Subsequently, a preliminary model is trained for automatic annotation by unifying the caption and tagging tasks, supervised by the original texts and parsed tags, respectively. Thirdly, a data engine is employed to generate additional annotations and clean incorrect ones. Lastly, the model is retrained with the processed data and fine-tuned using a smaller but higher-quality dataset. We evaluate the tagging capabilities of RAM on numerous benchmarks and observe impressive zero-shot performance, significantly outperforming CLIP and BLIP. Remarkably, RAM even surpasses the fully supervised manners and exhibits competitive performance with the Google tagging API. We are releasing the RAM at \url{https://recognize-anything.github.io/} to foster the advancements of large models in computer vision.


The radical copolymerisation of electron-acceptor chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) with electron-donor vinyl ethers (VEs) produced poly(CTFE-alt-VE) alternating fluorinated copolymers with a high content of functional groups. This article describes methods to synthesise poly(CTFE-alt-VE) copolymers that bear ammonium-groups insensitive to Hofmann degradation. Direct preparation and post-polymerisation functionalisation methods are presented. First, the radical copolymerisation of CTFE with a tertiary amine-carrying vinyl ether led to low molecular weight-copolymers with an imperfect structure. That copolymerisation and the quaternisation of the amino groups using methyl iodide were however accompanied by side reactions, including transfer reactions and significant loss of functionality. In contrast, the second strategy dealt with the post functionalisation of an alternated poly(CTFE-alt-2-chloroethyl vinyl ether) copolymer. Halogen exchange of poly(CTFE-alt-CEVE) copolymers was carried out using the efficient Finkelstein reaction. Then, the nucleophilic substitution of the iodine atoms on the obtained poly(CTFE-alt-IEVE) copolymer led to a poor yield of functionalisation and was accompanied by a substantial amount of side reactions. Then, the iodine atoms in poly(CTFE-alt-IEVE) copolymers were chemically changed quantitatively into azides (especially from microwave activation) and the resulting azido-containing copolymer was reacted with 1-dimethylamino-2-propyne. An optimisation of this Huisgen's or thermal cycloaddition showed that (i) a copper catalyst led to cross-linked copolymers, (ii) whereas in the absence of the copper catalyst, the cycloaddition was slow and only converted ca. 60% of the azides; (iii) then, microwave activation led to high yield in a few minutes. Dimethylamino groups were inserted onto the copolymeric backbone and subsequently quaternised using iodomethane efficiently. Such copolymers, potentially resistant to alkaline media and able to promote hydroxide anion conduction, may exhibit interesting properties as a component of solid alkaline fuel cell membranes.


We report NMDA receptor‐dependent expression of synaptopodin mRNA in the dentate granule cells of the hippocampus following induction of long‐term potentiation (LTP) in vivo. Synaptopodin did not belong to immediate‐early genes, as de novo protein synthesis was required for the induction of synaptopodin gene transcription. An increased level of synaptopodin mRNA was observed at 75 min and 3.5 h after the onset of LTP. Importantly, there was correlation between the induction of mRNA expression and the persistence of LTP. Synaptopodin immunoreactivity was elevated specifically in synaptic layers, middle and outer molecular layers of dentate gyrus where LTP was induced. As synaptopodin is an actin‐associated protein present in spine neck and implicated in the modulation of cell morphology, our results suggest that synaptopodin, by regulating the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton, contributes to the morphological change in spine shape considered to be important for the maintenance of synaptic plasticity.


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and glucocorticoid use are the most common causes of secondary osteoporosis (OP). Early detection of individuals at high risk for osteoporotic fractures among RA patients allows timely prevention of OP and its complications.Objective: to evaluate the diagnostic possibilities of using a FRAX® calculator without introducing femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) into the algorithm, as well as different therapeutic intervention thresholds to identify RA patients who need anti-osteoporotic therapy.Subjects and methods. The investigation enrolled 97 RA patients aged over 50 years. A questionnaire survey and axial skeletal densitometry were made; the 10-year fracture risk was calculated using the FRAX® calculator with and without femoral neck BMD. The diagnostic characteristics (sensitivity, specificity, ROC-curves) of different therapeutic intervention thresholds (Russian and European age-dependent intervention thresholds; 20% and 10%) for FRAX) were studied.Results and discussion. The capabilities of the Russian FRAX® model with and without femoral neck BMD to identify patients requiring treatment for OP were very good (AUC=0.878±0.036 and AUC=0.872±0.040, respectively). Lumbar spine dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry also identified very well RA patients who should undergo prophylaxis against OP and related fractures (AUC=0.837±0.063), while femoral neck and whole hip BMD values showed lower accuracy in detecting these patients (AUC=0.587±0.102 and AUC=0.625±0.092, respectively). The Russian age-dependent threshold showed 79.7% sensitivity and 63.7% specificity in evaluating the FRAX® algorithm without BMD; these figures for FRAX® with BMD were 82.2 and 65.2%, respectively. The use of FRAX® without and with BMD revealed no significant differences in the identification of persons in need of treatment (χ2=0.22; p=0.64). The sensitivity and specificity of other therapeutic intervention thresholds in determining the fracture risk with and without BMD were as follows: 90.4-94.6 and 17.4-21.7% for the European threshold; 58.8 and 93.8% for 20%, and 96.5% and 0 for 10%, respectively.Conclusion. The FRAX® calculator can be used to assess a fracture risk without entering the femoral neck BMD data into the algorithm for RA patients aged 50 years and older. Fracture risk should be assessed using the Russian agedependent threshold that adequately identifies those who need OP treatment among RA patients.


Protein aggregation and amyloid formation are known to play a role both in diseases and in biological functions. Transcription factor p53 plays a major role in tumor suppression by maintaining genomic stability. Recent studies have suggested that amyloid formation of p53 could lead to its loss of physiological function as a tumor suppressor. Here, we investigated the intrinsic amyloidogenic nature of wild-type p53 using sequence analysis. We used bioinformatics and aggregation prediction algorithms to establish the evolutionarily conserved nature of aggregation-prone sequences in wild-type p53. Further, we analyzed the amyloid forming capacity of conserved and aggregation-prone p53-derived peptides PILTIITL and YFTLQI in vitro using various biophysical techniques, including all atom molecular dynamics simulation. Finally, we probed the seeding ability of the PILTIITL peptide on p53 aggregation in vitro and in cells. Our data demonstrate the intrinsic amyloid forming ability of a sequence stretch of the p53 DNA binding domain (DBD) and its aggregation templating behavior on full-length and p53 core domain. Therefore, p53 aggregation, instigated through an amyloidogenic segment in its DBD, could be a putative driving force for p53 aggregation in vivo.


The public sector is experiencing a growing need for innovation. Greater demands on quality combined
with fewer resources have increased the complexity of public sector services. Thus, it is no longer
sufficient to use the present and well-known methods and leadership strategies when performing
public sector tasks. This has led to a need for new and creative solutions through public innovation and
the responsibility is largely imposed on public leaders.
Despite good intentions and efforts there is still some way to go before the public sector can be
deemed innovative. There are a number of embedded barriers in the public sector that inhibit the
creation of cross-disciplinary collaboration, and even when such collaborations are successfully
established, there is no guarantee that they result in innovation. Leadership as well as institutional
design of collaboration and innovation processes may help to counteract the various barriers and
increase the likelihood of cooperation leading to public innovation. A main challenge is the leadership
culture in the public sector. The leadership actions, structures and values not only help to promote but
also to inhibit collaborative innovation, and so leadership culture can pose barriers on itself.
This thesis contains an analysis of the extent to which leadership culture tends to promote and inhibit
collaborative innovation in Roskilde Municipality, in order to provide a series of recommendations as
well as contribute to the research in collaborative innovation.


Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is a disease caused by the infection with Mycobacterium bovis that affects humans and several mammalian species. BTB is important, because it inflicts far-reaching economic losses to infected regions, and due to its impact on public health. Epidemiological surveys were conducted in the State of Bahia between 2008 and 2010 with the objective to estimate the prevalence and to assess the spatial distribution of the disease. The State of Bahia has been stratified into four regions, each of them representing a set of homogeneous epidemiological and demographic characteristics, referred to as Production Circuits. A total of 18,810 more than 2-year-old cattle in 1,305 herds, ranging from 320 to 370 ones per region, and 20 to 40 cattle per herd were randomly selected. A cervical comparative test was applied to each selected animal; reactive cattle and cattle with two consecutive inconclusive tests were considered BTB-positive, whereas non-reactive cattle were considered BTB-negative. Positive herds were classified as those with <20 sampled cattle and at least one BTB-positive, as well as those with 40 cattle sampled with <2 BTB-positive animals. Latitude and longitude were recorded for each sampled herd with a generic Global Positioning System (GPS). The Cuzick-and-Edwards' test and the spatial scan statistic were used to assess whether BTB was spatially clustered. Herd-level prevalence, as indicated by the proportion of case-herds, was 1.6% (range 0.3 to 2.9% per region). No significant evidence (P<0.05) of spatial clustering was detected, most likely due to the low disease prevalence in the region. Results here suggest that BTB is low prevalent in the State of Bahia and that under these conditions epidemiological outbreaks found cannot be explained by spatially-structured factors.


Published research supports a role for central glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) signaling in suppressing food intake in rodent species. However, it is unclear whether GLP-1 neurons track food intake and contribute to satiety, and/or whether GLP-1 signaling contributes to stress-induced hypophagia. To examine whether GLP-1 neurons track intake volume, rats were trained to consume liquid diet (LD) for 1 h daily until baseline intake stabilized. On test day, schedule-fed rats consumed unrestricted or limited volumes of LD or unrestricted volumes of diluted (calorically matched to LD) or undiluted Ensure. Rats were perfused after the test meal, and brains processed for immunolocalization of cFos and GLP-1. The large majority of GLP-1 neurons expressed cFos in rats that consumed satiating volumes, regardless of diet type, with GLP-1 activation proportional to intake volume. Since GLP-1 signaling may limit intake only when such large proportions of GLP-1 neurons are activated, a second experiment examined the effect of central GLP-1 receptor (R) antagonism on 2 h intake in schedule-fed rats. Compared with baseline, intracerebroventricular vehicle (saline) suppressed Ensure intake by ∼11%. Conversely, intracerebroventricular injection of vehicle containing GLP-1R antagonist increased intake by ∼14% compared with baseline, partly due to larger second meals. We conclude that GLP-1 neural activation effectively tracks liquid diet intake, that intracerebroventricular injection suppresses intake, and that central GLP-1 signaling contributes to this hypophagic effect. GLP-1 signaling also may contribute to satiety after large volumes have been consumed, but this potential role is difficult to separate from a role in the hypophagic response to intracerebroventricular injection.


Binary matrix factorisation is an essential tool for identifying discrete patterns in binary data. In this paper we consider the rank-k binary matrix factorisation problem (k-BMF) under Boolean arithmetic: we are given an n x m binary matrix X with possibly missing entries and need to find two binary matrices A and B of dimension n x k and k x m respectively, which minimise the distance between X and the Boolean product of A and B in the squared Frobenius distance. We present a compact and two exponential size integer programs (IPs) for k-BMF and show that the compact IP has a weak LP relaxation, while the exponential size LPs have a stronger equivalent LP relaxation. We introduce a new objective function, which differs from the traditional squared Frobenius objective in attributing a weight to zero entries of the input matrix that is proportional to the number of times the zero is erroneously covered in a rank-k factorisation. For one of the exponential size IPs we describe a computational approach based on column generation. Experimental results on synthetic and real word datasets suggest that our integer programming approach is competitive against available methods for k-BMF and provides accurate low-error factorisations.


Emerging epidemiological studies report increased cancer occurrence in patients with chronic viral infections, even when such infections are non-oncogenic and not in the same tissue as the cancer. In our recent studies, we observed decreased anti-tumor immune responses in the context of concomitant infection. Specifically, we discovered that anti-melanoma (gp100) CD8+ T cell responses in mice challenged with melanoma are shunted from the tumor site (skin) to the site of influenza infection (lung), leading to faster tumor growth and hastened host death. We observed similar findings with multiple tumor and virus combinations, including patient-derived melanomas in humanized mice infected with HIV. Based on this infection-mediated shunting of anti-tumor CD8+ T cells to the infection site, and towards developing related therapeutic interventions, we sought to determine whether an infection in a particular tissue would improve anti-tumor responses against a tumor also in that same tissue. We discovered that influenza infection within the lungs resulted in 51% fewer tumor foci within the lungs compared to no infection. Tumor foci were further reduced with systemic PD-1 blockade (more than 70% fewer tumor foci compared to no infection or PD-1 blockade alone). Future studies will further dissect the mechanisms underlying these findings in the setting of viral infection. We ultimately aim to translate these findings to combination cancer immunotherapies utilizing viral infections.


Users worldwide access massive amounts of curated data in the form of rankings on a daily basis. The societal impact of this ease of access has been studied and work has been done to propose and enforce various notions of fairness in rankings. Current computational methods for fair item ranking rely on disclosing user data to a centralized server, which gives rise to privacy concerns for the users. This work is the first to advance research at the conjunction of producer (item) fairness and consumer (user) privacy in rankings by exploring the incorporation of privacy-preserving techniques; specifically, differential privacy and secure multi-party computation. Our work extends the equity of amortized attention ranking mechanism to be privacy-preserving, and we evaluate its effects with respect to privacy, fairness, and ranking quality. Our results using real-world datasets show that we are able to effectively preserve the privacy of users and mitigate unfairness of items without making additional sacrifices to the quality of rankings in comparison to the ranking mechanism in the clear.


The paper presents a novel technique to control the current of an electromagnetic linear actuator
fed by a multilevel IGBT voltage inverter with dynamic energy storage. The technique uses a "cascade model predictive control (MPC)," which consists of two MPCs. A predictive control of the trajectory position predicts the optimal current, which is considered to be the desired current for the second MPC controller in which a hysteresis control technique is also integrated. Energy is stored in a capacitor using energy recovery. The current MPC can handle a capacitor voltage higher than the source voltage to guarantee high dynamic current and disturbance compensation. The main contribution of this paper is the design of an optimal control structure that guarantees a capacitor recharge. In this context, the approach is quite new and can represent a general emerging approach allowing to reduce the complexity of the new generation of inverters and, in the meantime, to guarantee precision and acceptable switching frequency. The proposed technique shows very promising results through simulations with real actuator data in an innovative transportation technology.


By using an asymptotic expansion technique based on the Lagrangian density formulation, it is demonstrated that the nonlinear interaction between two transverse waves propagating in a generalized elastic solid is described asymptotically by the complex modified Korteweg–deVries (CMKdV) equation. Also, the CMKdV equation is shown to be Hamiltonian and its solitary wave solutions are investigated by means of a modified Hirota method.


A new variant of the blaOXA-546 gene, namely blaOXA-894, was identified on the chromosome of Shewanella xiamenensis isolated from pig wastewater in rural China. OXA-894 differs from OXA-546 (A46V, I219del) and OXA-48 (T167I, I219del) with two amino acid substitutions, respectively. The isolate was resistant to ampicillin, aztreonam, imipenem, meropenem and fosfomycin. Carba NP test confirmed S. xiamenensis strain sx20 as a carbapenemase-producer. The blaOXA-894 gene was located between the gene encoding a LysR family transcriptional regulator and the C15 gene. Its gene environment was similar to other S. xiamenensis with chromosome-located blaOXA-48-like genes. The T24H and T94V amino acid substitutions of LuxS protein were predicted to be deleterious, which may affect the virulence phenotype. The occurrence and potential health risk of carbapenem-resistant S. xiamenensis in a water environment is of concern.


Similarly to heating, non-thermal technologies like High Hydrostatic Pressure (HHP) are able to affect the native conformation of proteins, causing denaturation, aggregation or gelation. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of product's chemical-physical characteristics, namely pH and protein concentration, and process parameters, namely pressure level and processing time, on the stability of the structure of a particular allergen, the Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) as well as to individuate the most appropriate processing conditions to induce protein denaturation and/or aggregation. Different amounts of BSA protein were dissolved in phosphate buffer (50 mM) at three different pH (6, 7 and 8), to obtain concentration levels of 12, 25, 50 and 100 mg/mL. The HHP process was carried out at pressure levels in the range between 700 and 900 MPa and treatment time of 15 - 25 min. The structural characteristics of HHP-treated BSA suspensions were assessed by means of a complete rheological screening (strain sweep, frequency sweep and temperature ramp tests) in dynamic regime. Experimental data demonstrate that the rheological parameters, namely the loss and the storage moduli, increase as pressure levels and processing time increase, especially at higher concentrations, whereas a constant critical strain of about 0.3% is detected. The pH and protein concentration mainly control the denaturation influencing the threshold value of the processing conditions at which the gelation occurs. At processing conditions below the threshold values, however, the structure of BSA can be reversibly damaged.


Hardbound. In the last two decades, the development of specific methodologies for the control of systems described by nonlinear mathematical models has attracted an ever increasing interest. New breakthroughs have occurred which have aided the design of nonlinear control systems. However there are still limitations which must be understood, some of which were addressed at the IFAC Symposium in Capri. The emphasis was on the methodological developments, although a number of the papers were concerned with the presentation of applications of nonlinear design philosophies to actual control problems in chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering.


Cyclodextrins are pharmaceutical excipients used to enhance the solubility, stability, safety and bioavailability of drugs. Recent findings have shown them to display adjuvant activity in vaccine therapy and prophylactic and therapeutic activity in the treatment of several host-pathogen infections. This article focuses on their activity and mechanism of action.


email@example.com Abstract Background and objectives: The association of oral micro-organisms with infectious diseases such as bacterial endocarditis is a concern in dentistry. Bacterial endocarditis is a serious disease with a mortality rate of 40%. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of using chlorhexidine mouthwash on concentrations of some groups of bacteria in gingival sulcus, which is the main contact point of oral flora with circulating blood during scaling. Methods: In this Randomized controlled clinical trial, participants were selected among referrals to the department of gingival diseases of Yazd dental school. Participants underwent determining plaque index and after scaling, sampling of the buccal and lingual gingival groove of mandibular central and lateral teeth was performed by paper with walking movement. Results: participants were 53 patients who divided into two groups. Group A consisted of 27 patients (15 women and 12 men) ranging in age from 21 to 54 years mean of 35) who used 50 mL chlorhexidine mouthwash and Group B consisted of 26 patients (13 females and 13 males) ranging in age from 19 to 51 years old with a mean of 35.76 who used 50 mL normal saline before scaling. Study groups were not significantly different in terms of age, sex and plaque index. (P-values= 0.755, 0.348 and 0.708). Mann WhitneyWilcoxon test compared the counted values of Streptococcus viridance and Staphylococcus aureus in control group was significantly higher than the study group. (P-value = 0.000). Conclusion: according to the results of our study chlorhexidine mouthwash prior to scaling teeth significantly reduced Streptococcus viridance and Staphylococcus aureus colony counts and could be recommended as a complementary agent for antibiotic prophylaxis in high risk patients prone to endocarditis, or as the only agent in moderate risk cardiac patients that antibiotic prophylaxis does not been used.


Canada has been very much at the centre of the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since the momentum shifted in late-1994 from the International Law Commission (ILC) to more broadly representative bodies established by the General Assembly. It was Canada that chaired the 'like-minded', a group of states active during the several sessions of the Preparatory Committee and during the Diplomatic Conference in Rome from 15 June to 17 July 1998. The 'like-minded' were committed to invigorating the ILC's draft statute by enhancing the independence of the Prosecutor and trimming the sails of the Security Council. At Rome, Canadian diplomat Philippe Kirsch was elected chair of the Committee of the Whole, and he directed the intense negotiations throughout the five-week session. Kirsch crafted the final package of compromises that was submitted to the Conference at its close, on the morning of 17 July, and that succeeded in rallying the vast majority of delegations when put to a vote later that day. Since then, Kirsch and his team have presided over the ongoing work of the Preparatory Commission.


Plasmopara viticola is an obligate biotrophic oomycete which infects all cultivars of the European grapevine (Vitis vinifera). In contrast to V. vinifera the native American species such as V. labrusca or V. riparia are resistant to the pathogen. In the 19 century P. viticola was unintendedly imported from Northern America to Europe, where it encountered with the highly susceptible European grapevines. The oomycete infiltrates the host tissue through the stomata of leaves, flowers and small berries. Though infection can happen throughout the whole vegetation phase, it bears the highest potential of severe yield losses at time of flowering. Once stomata penetration occurs, the susceptible European vines fail to stop the proceeding infection. However, American vine species have gained the necessary traits to stop or at least slow down host internal growth of P. viticola. Though resistance mechanisms are not yet fully understood, it is assumed that secondary metabolites are involved as active components or signaling compounds. Thus, we screened leaf metabolites of eleven grapevine genotypes with different P. viticola resistance traits. Leaf homogenates were analyzed by GC-MS and LCMS to cover the patterns of volatile as well as non-volatile metabolites. Nontargeted chemometrical data processing was used to obtain metabolite fingerprints of grapevine leaves at the plant developmental stage of flowering. Leaf metabolites of the eleven tested genotypes were analyzed in two subsequent years. Principal component analyses (PCA) of the metabolite fingerprints arrange all susceptible V. vinifera cultivars close to each other. Interspecific genotypes and the resistant V. labrusca samples are positioned in close proximity, and the V. riparia samples segregate from both groups. These observations apply to the fingerprints of volatiles as well as of non-volatiles. PCA generates groups which divide the grapevine genotypes into their biological filiation which is at the same time a separation into susceptible and resistant genotypes. Resistance traits of the genotypes were correlated with their metabolite profiles. Spearman rank correlation isolated all together four different metabolites with high correlation coefficient moduli in both of the two subsequent years. These were methyl salicylate, (E)beta-ocimene and two known-unknown compounds. Further identification with approved mass spectrometry tools are in progress. Whereas only methyl salicylate could be found in intense correlation with high resistance traits, the other three where strongly correlated with susceptibility.


Review of scientific evidences on contemporary concepts of the pathogenesis of mechanical dyssynchrony and its significance in patients with chronic heart failure is presented.


The role of laparoscopy following liver transplant in children is debated. Herein, we report the first two cases of SIPES post‐liver transplant. In both patients, SIPES access was carried out using Olympus TriPort. Patient 1 was an 11 yr old born with biliary atresia, who had four previous major laparotomies: Kasai portoenterostomy, followed by liver transplant and two laparotomies for lymph node biopsies for PTLD. The child was referred for suspected PTLD relapse due to enlarged nodes on CT scan. At SIPES, following adequate adhesiolysis, the lymph node biopsy was achieved successfully. Patient 2 was a five yr old with bilateral intra‐abdominal testes who had undergone liver transplant aged two yr. He underwent a left one‐stage orchidopexy and right first‐stage Fowler–Stephen procedure at five yr of life, followed by a second stage Fowler–Stephen surgery on the right side, nine months later. All procedures were successfully performed by SIPES, and both patients were discharged home on first post‐operative day. We conclude that SIPES could be safely carried out in patients who have had liver transplant. In case of diffuse intraperitoneal adhesions, SIPES is beneficial to create space by blunt and sharp dissection and decreases post‐operative stay.


The planktonic rofiters of Grasmere, a small lake in the English Lake District, were studied from August 1969 to December 1972. Twenty-four species were recorded but five were very rare. The remaining species were divided into three groups according to their seasonal occurrence: spring-autumn species (Keratella quadrata. K. cochlearis. Gastropus stvlifer. Asplanchna priodonta. Kellicottia longispina. Conochilus hippocrepis). spriqg-early summer species (Polvarthra dolichoptera, Synchaeta tranula. S. pectinata. S. stylata, S. oblonga. C. unicornis), summer- autumn species (Polvarthra vulgaris, P. major, Filinia terminalis. S. grandis. Ploesoma hudsoni, Trichocerca capucina. T. similis). The months in which each species were abundant are given.Keratella quadrata and Filinia terminalis were most abundant - in the deepest stratum, Kellicottia longispina and Conochilus spp. were most abundant in the upper and middle strata, Trichocerca spp. showed no pronounced vertical distribution, and all the remaining species were most abundant in the upper stratum. Keratella cochlearis, Kellicottia longispina and Synchaeta spp. (temperature only) attained their highest densities over a wide range of temperature and oxygen concentration, and Filinia terminalis, Conochilus spp., Asplanchna priodonta, K. quadrata, Polyarthra spp., Synchaeta spp. (oxygen only) attained their highest densities within a narrow range of temperature and oxygen concentration. Optimum ranges are given for each species. Major changes in abundance occurred between 1971 and 1972 when Asnianchna priodonta, Kellicottia longispina. Conochilus unicornis and Filinia terminalis increased in abundance, and Keratella quadrata. Gastropus stylifer, C. hippocrepis. Polyarthra spp., Synchaeta spp. and Ploesoma hudsoni decreased in abundance. These changes are discussed in relation to the temperature and oxygen requirements of each species and also to the probable enrichment of the lake after the opening of a new sewage works in June 1971.


The objective of this research is to find the relationship between audit firm size (AFS) and audit fees (AF) on light of mediating audit quality on this relation. Data were collected from the published annual reports of the publicly listed companies as of December 31, these reports used to collect data, such as the name of CPA firm, amount audit fees, the name of CPA who signed the audit report, other data investigated to estimate discretionary accruals (DA) variable. The sample covers a four-year period from 2013 through 2016. The results indicated that a positive correlation coefficient exist the relationships between audit fees and audit quality, the reason for that, audit quality entails more auditors' work. Consequently, audit cost increases during the process of audit work which requires more audit time, for this, the demand on audit increases along with the demand for audit quality improvement.


High-density microelectrode arrays (HD-MEAs) with large numbers of densely packed electrodes potentially allow for recording from every cell on the array and generate large, redundant datasets. Blind-source-separation algorithms (BSS), used to separate mixtures of independent sources into the original signals, are an ideal means to be applied to the spike sorting of HD-MEA recordings. We show that recorded neuronal signals represent convoluted mixtures, and we present a BSS algorithm. The algorithm uses the nonlinear energy operator as preprocessor and an extended method of independent-component analysis to separate convoluted mixtures. The algorithm is applied to recordings from retinal ganglion cells, and its performance is evaluated.


We introduce an inexpensive, low complexity power surface system capable of simultaneously providing wireless power and bidirectional communication from a surface to multiple mobile robots. This system enables continuous operation of a swarm-sized population of battery-less robots. Our first prototype consists of a 60 cm times 60 cm power surface that provides power and bidirectional communication to an initial evaluation group of five test robots, each one consuming 200 mW. Unlike typical non-resonant inductive (transformer) coupling, power transmission in this system is achieved through magnetic flux coupling between a high Q L-C resonator placed beneath the operating surface and a non-resonant pickup coil on each robot. We explore the design of the pickup coil and conditioning circuitry, and we characterize the position-dependent power density of a static load representative of a small autonomous robot operating on the surface. We demonstrate a continuous power density averaging 4.1 mW/cm2 for a static load, and develop much greater peak power for dynamic loads via capacitor storage and power conditioning circuitry. We also demonstrate simultaneous broadcast communication between the surface and all robots via amplitude modulation of the magnetic field, and communication between individual robots and the surface via load modulation.


The primary aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between game addiction and academic achievement. The secondary aim was to adapt a self-report instrument to measure game addiction. Three hundred and seventy high school students participated in this study. Data were collected via an online questionnaire that included a brief explanation of the aim of the study, demographical questions, game addiction scale (GAS) and the grade point average of the current year. The GAS had two forms: (i) 21-item and (ii) 7-item. Game addiction and academic achievement were negatively correlated but this correlation was not supported by regression and structural equation modelling analyses. The present study primarily suggests that there may be a negative correlation between game addiction and academic achievement; however, this correlation may be qualified as negligible. In addition, the two forms of the GAS were adapted for Turkish language with reliability and validity to measure computer and video game addiction in adolescents as promising instruments.


According to the theory of alternating magnetohydrodynamics and magnetic boundary renewal method, mathematical models were proposed for electromagnetic stirring in secondary cooling region (SEMS) of slab caster. The magnetic fields and flow fields of melt were simulated with SEMS. It′s shown that the electromagnetic forces with inward and sidelong components produced by travel magnetic field at the wide faces of slab make the melt whirling in horizontal section, and the convection of the melt is strengthened obviously there. In addition, magnetic flux density attenuates from the edge to the center of slab, and the profile of the melt velocity along slab thickness in the center of the horizontal section takes a two opposite peak configuration. Ultimately, the stirring intensity and features are determined by the electromagnetic parameters, coil arrangement and stirring types.


The problems of extracolic-infiltrative lesions of the sigmoid colon and recto-sigmoid junction are discussed, based on representative case studies. Because of the localisation of these bowel segments in the lower peritoneal cavity, they can be reached by direct infiltration of contiguous tumors--especially carcinoma of the ovary--or by seeding into the pouch of Douglas and the sigmoid mesocolon. In many cases characteristic roentgen-morphologic features indicate a secondary infiltration, but inflammatory and malignant lesions have to be differentiated. The differential-diagnosis must consider also diverticulitis, endometriosis and extracolic growth of colonic carcinoma. Additional ultrasonography and computed tomography may help to clear topographical relations and to detect direct and indirect signs of peritoneal carcinomatosis and abscess.