This study aims to determine the effect of entrepreneurship education, self-efficacy, and need for achievement toward college-students' entrepreneurship intention in Faculty of Islamic Economics and Business (FEBI), IAIN Surakarta, Indonesia. This research is a quantitative research. Data collection is by questionnaire given to 500 respondents. Data is processed through the test requirements and hypothesis test using SPSS 21 program. The result of the research shows that all questionnaire's items are valid and reliable. Based on multiple linear regression analysis can be concluded: 1. Entrepreneurship education has positive effect on entrepreneurship intention by 0,360. 2. Self-efficacy has positive effect on entrepreneurship intention by 0.153. 3. Need for achievement has positive effect on entrepreneurship intention by 0.183. 4. Entrepreneurship education and self-efficacy simultaneously affecting entrepreneurship intentions by 20%; 5. Entrepreneurship education and need for achievement simultaneously effect entrepreneurship intentions by 20.8%. 6. Self-efficacy and need for achievement simultaneously affect the of entrepreneurship intention by 17.4%. 7. Entrepreneurship education, self-efficacy and need for achievement simultaneously affect entrepreneurship intention by 62.8%. Theoretical contribution of this research is to cultivate entrepreneurship intention, therefore entrepreneurship education, self-efficacy, and need for achievement need to be embed to college-students in college programmatically. The higher the entrepreneurship intention then economic progress of a society will increase.


The single-step method of genomic evaluation for milk volume, fat yield and protein yield was applied to the national dairy herd of New Zealand.  Genomic information from a 50K SNP chip was available on 5402 Holstein Friesian (HF), Jersey (J) and  HFxJ sires.  The genomic relationship matrix (GRM) or the Euclidean distance matrix (EDM) in a Gaussian kernel was used to augment the pedigree-based relationship matrix in the mixed model equations.  Scale parameters of 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 were used for the GRM and 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 for the EDM.   Traditional breeding values (BVs) were compared to genomic breeding values (GBVs) in two youngest cohorts of the progeny-tested sires (N=525).  An increasing scale parameter was associated with an increased inflation of the GBVs.  The EDM resulted in  lower inflation of fat GBVs than the GRM.  The effect was smaller and more variable for the other traits.   Augmenting the relationship matrix with the GRM versus the EDM and changing the magnitude of the scale parameters had little impact on the accuracy of the evaluation.


The present paper is concerned with the existence of golbal smooth solutions for the homogeneous Dirichlet boundary value problem of the Darboux equation and the case degenerate on the boundary is contained. As some applications the smooth isometric embeddings of positively and nonnegatively curved disks into Rs are constructed.


Abstract The two main theses of "The Natural Right of Property" are: (i) that persons possess an original, non-acquired right not to be precluded from making extra-personal material their own (or from exercising discretionary control over what they have made their own); and (ii) that this right can and does take the form of a right that others abide by the rules of a (justifiable) practice of property which facilitates persons making extra-personal material their own (and exercising discretionary control over what they have made their own). I articulate some of the good reasons we have to affirm persons' possession of an original, non-acquired right of self-ownership and argue that the same good reasons support the ascription to persons of a natural right of property. I contrast an "inherent feature" conception of the actions through which (initial) rights over extra-personal objects arise with a "practice" conception of (initial) entitlement-generating actions. I argue that the fact that the natural right to property can and does take the form of persons' rights that others abide by the rules of a (justifiable) practice of property explains how there are many instances of (initial) entitlement generation which are not plausibly explained by those wed to the inherent feature conception of entitlement-generating actions and why there is a strong conventional dimension in the procedures through which persons acquire (initial) property rights.


We treated bronchial asthma patients with anti-allergic agents for more than three months, and examined their effects on the airway hyperreactivity in 15 cases; five were short cases (disease duration was less than one year from the onset) and 10 were long cases (disease duration was more than one year). A significant improvement in airway hyperreactivity to histamine inhalation was observed in all five short cases. In 4 out of 5 short cases, the threshold of histamine concentration reached to the normal level of 10,000 micrograms/ml. On the other hand, the significant improvement was observed only in 2 out of 10 cases. We suggested that in "short asthma cases" the airway hyperreactivity could improve with the use of anti-allergic agents in a relatively short period and at a high rate.


Elliptic Curves Cryptosystem (ECC) has been introduced as a secure and efficient public key algorithm. A number of elliptic curves representations have been presented, such as Standard (Weierstrass), Edwards, Binary Edwards, Montgomery curves, and others. ECC's computations suffer the long time inversion operation when applied using the usual affine coordinates, the use of serial design also
increases the time delay, which affects the performance of ECC. The efficient selection of appropriate coordinates system to be applied with particular curve is one of the main concerns when designing efficient and high-speed ECC architecture. Moreover, other factors that play a crucial role in designing efficient ECC for different applications have not been intensively addressed in the majority of present ECC designs. These factors include area, system utilization, resources consumption,area*time (AT), and area*time2 (AT2) cost factors. The variation in elliptic curves and security applications in recent years, calls for finding several design solutions (choices) of ECC that fit the different security applications according to the
requirements of particular application and the available resources. It is worth mentioning that relatively few research works were conducted on the prime field (GF(p)).
The approach adopted in this thesis uses several projective coordinates to apply ECC computations over GF (p), in order to eliminate inversion operation. In addition to the current projective coordinates, projection form (X/Z2, Y/Z2) was proposed to be used for Edwards ECC. To improve performance even further, this work proposed using parallel hardware designs by utilizing the inherent parallelism in ECC computations. Our proposed designs were supported by mathematical analytical study and solutions for different ECCs presented. The proposed designs were also implemented using VHDL, and then the Xilinx tool was used to synthesize the designs. A number of comparisons were conducted to highlight enhancements achieved using presented ECC designs.
The designs proposed improved the performance of the Binary Edwards ECC considerably. The best performance level was achieved using homogeneous coordinates. This projection also showed the highest performance for both Montgomery and Standard curves when applied using four and five parallel
multipliers (PM) respectively. Furthermore, the performance of Edwards ECC using projection (X/Z2, Y/Z2) overcame other known projective coordinates systems. This thesis proposed several design solutions for the aforementioned curves byvarying the degree of parallelism for ECC designs. The proposed designs provided an attractive trade-off between mentioned factors, which improved these factors. Furthermore, this research determined the most efficient coordinates to be applied with particular parallelization level for ECC. Such findings and others presented in this work lead to the building of efficient ECCs that satisfies different applications.


Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), with their superior physical and chemical properties, high durability and low weight, have become the focus of industry and medical applications in recent years. With the functionalization of CNTs, the biocompatibility can be increased, and different types of molecules can be attached to their large surface areas. The needle-like structure of CNTs makes it easy to enter the cell by crossing biological barriers, to transport drugs and molecules. Arc discharge, laser ablation and chemical vapor deposition are the synthesis methods of CNTs. According to the number of wrapped graphene sheets, there are two different CNTs: single wall and multi wall carbon nanotubes. Chemical and physical structure of pristine and functionalized CNTs are evaluated through many techniques but mostly by using Raman Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and by taking TEM and SEM images. Before treatment investigations of tumors and drug transportation in mice, toxicity researches have been carried out. Results of toxicity experiments vary according to the case studies, length, synthesis method; hazardous and harmless samples have been reported. Studies have been carried out on the adsorbing of proteins or molecules onto CNTs or wrapping them around, internalization mechanism of pristine or molecule bounded CNTs to the cell. Determination CNTs exceptional physical, chemical, optical and electrical properties; toxicity studies, loading and carrying biomolecules at their surface have been provided necessary knowledge to make them an ideal material for particular intracellular biosensing applications and development of biosensors. This review focuses on the properties, production and the most used characterization methods and toxicity studies of CNTs. Key Words : Carbon Nanotubes, Synthesis, Functionalization, Characterization, Toxicity


The reflective spectrums of the cholesteric liquid crystals under the condition of normal incident light are computed by using Jones matrix method. A theoretical model for discussing the influence of the transverse electric field on the twist angle and the pitch of the planar texture cholesteric liquid crystals under the in-plane switching mode is established. Based on the model, the relation between the electric field and the reflective peak for the cholesteric liquid crystals, and the relation between the electric field and the reflective spectral width for the cholesteric liquid crystals are calculated. The effects of the transverse electric field on the pitch and the reflective characteristics of the planar texture cholesteric liquid crystals are studied under different anchoring conditions. The results show that, under the in-plane switching mode, the color of the light reflected from the cholesteric liquid crystals can be changed by the applied transverse electric field, which supplies a theoretical support for the planar texture cholesteric LC color display based on the electrically-controlled pitch.


This book looks at the historic use of foreign language by the U.S. armed forces. Through research into military documents, many of which are generally inaccessible, the author has investigated the purpose and extent of language capability in the armed services. A necessary skill in the acquisition of intelligence, language skill emerges from this study as being of concern as well for command, control, communications, and for civil military operations. The services' efforts to produce language skills are presented historically, from World War I through Vietnam, from extensive cooperation with academic institutions to short-term services contracted from entrepreneurs.


This paper is based on a study conducted with disabled people seeking asylum in the UK, using art as a means to bring out and promote people's key messages in public spaces. The findings suggest that people with these intersecting id entities lack sufficient numbers, resources or allies to assert their needs and rights in statutory, non-statutory or even peer support organisations in the UK. This results in such deprivation and isolation, that their very existence is often obscured. The paper argues that not only does such marginalisation cause unnecessary suffering among those directly affected, but also negatively impacts on the whole population. A hierarchy of entitlement may impede recognition of the causes and commonalities of oppression and therefore also hinder solidarity. Where reduced standards become acceptable for certain people, the imposition of similar standards on others is facilitated, particularly in the context of neoliberal austerity. Many of the recent restrictions imposed on disabled citizens and other benefit recipients have been used on disabled asylum seekers for more than a decade. If, as Barbara Young Welke suggests (2010:156) the problem is systemic, then inclusion cannot be the solution. This paper concludes that systemic change is needed to end the differential ranking of people's worth and to build greater solidarity.


AIM
To determine the effectiveness of an intervention programme developed to help parents manage serious child illness.

METHOD
Information from previous research about parents' stress of managing their children's serious illnesses, plus their wishes for what to do about it, were used to develop a behavioural intervention to be used with groups of parents with seriously ill children. The 6-week programme, called 'Strong Parents-Strong Children', was tested using a wait-list control design, and evaluated by standardised and researcher-developed psychological measures.

RESULTS
Several significant post-test changes in healthier directions were found for the study group, compared with the control group. Additionally, the group process and session helpfulness received positive appraisals, personal goals were attained at high levels, and most participants said they would recommend the programme to others in similar situations.

CONCLUSIONS
The programme appears to have a significant and positive impact on the parents of seriously ill children.


The presented review and experimental work provides the data regarding the selective permeability of lipid and cell membranes for ions and organic compounds under the influence of channel-forming polyene compounds with a known molecule structure. It has been shown that the polyene antibiotic levorin А 2 with an aromatic structure affects a number of physicochemical parameters of lipid membranes. It was established that the permeability of lipid and cellular membranes for monovalent cations, as well as for monosugar and other neutral molecules increases under the influence of a levorin of А 2 . The biological activity of levorin А 2 and the rate of delivery of molecules to the membranes depend on the surface tension and substrate environment of the membranes. It has been shown that in combination with levorin, dimethyl sulfoxide, and citral, the surface tension of the aqueous solutions surrounding the membrane decreases by half. Comparative data on levorin А 2 effects on lipid membranes and muscle cell membranes are presented. It is assumed that levorin А 2 , being a channel-forming compound, can induce the formation of additional permeability channels in the membranes of muscle cells and, with intense muscle activity, enhance the transfer of cation and energy-dependent substrates through the membranes.


Let E/F be a quadratic extension of p-adic fields. The local Langlands correspondence establishes a bijection between n-dimensional Frobenius semisimple representations of the Weil-Deligne group of E and smooth, irreducible representations of GL(n,E). We reinterpret this bijection in the setting of the Weil restriction of scalars Res(GL(n),E/F), and show that the Asai L-function and epsilon factor on the analytic side match up with the expected Artin L-function and epsilon factor on the Galois side. This paper is based off of the author's forthcoming doctoral thesis.


A method which purified 30-fold perparations of muscular glucose dehydrogenase from the stomachs of geese and ducks was elaborated. Activity of this enzyme was found to be dependent on presence of free-SH groups, NAD or NADP as coenzymes, and had an optimum at about pH 7-8. The enzyme's activity against 17 different monosaccharides and their derivatives was tested. The best substrate was beta-D-glucose, followed by D-glucose, D-glucosamine and D-xylose. Other compounds such as D-glucose-6-phosphate, D-fructose, D-mannose and 2-deoxyglucose were not oxidized. The enzyme preparation showed presence of enzymes which conduct gluconic acid metabolism.


To the Editor: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in DNA repair genes are known to influence cancer risk. One common SNP in the 50UTR of the RAD51 gene, ''135G > C'' (rs1801320), increases promoter activity, and thus altering gene transcription and protein expression. Overexpression of RAD51 impairs initiation of Homologous Recombination [1,2]. Likewise, a C > T alteration in exon 8 of the XRCC3 gene (rs861539) changes the amino acid sequence (p.T241M, NP_005423). Cells with the XRCC3 T241M allele have nuclear abnormalities and low rates of spontaneous apoptosis, possibly promoting their malignant transformation, but the specific mechanism by which the SNP causes this behavior is unclear [3,4]. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are characterized by ineffective hematopoesis, recurrent clonal chromosomal abnormalities, and a predilection to progress to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) [5]. Disease progression along the MDS–AML continuum is believed to be a consequence of stepwise accumulation of DNA mutations which infers a defect in DNA repair [6]. Seedhouse et al. showed that patients possessing both the RAD51 135G > C or XRCC3 T241M variants are at a 3.77-fold increase in risk of developing AML compared with controls [7]. Because 20–30% of patients with MDS develop AML, similar underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms may be present. We hypothesized that the presence of RAD51 135G > C or XRCC3 T241M would impair DSB repair and lead to genetic instability, consequently increasing the risk of developing MDS and the likelihood of having a karyotypic abnormality. We analyzed genomic DNA extracted from blood mononuclear cells from 292 consenting patients diagnosed with MDS using French-American-British (FAB) criteria; 90 well-characterized DNA samples obtained from Coriell Institute panel NDPT024 (Camden, NJ) served as controls. Average age of the MDS patients was 70.9 versus 66.9 years in the control group. The MDS patients were 69.9% men versus 50%men in the controls. MDS subtypes are as noted in Table I. Allele frequencies for RAD51 135G > C and XRCC3 T241M in all disease and controls were compared using the w test or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. Univariate logistic regression models were constructed to assess the relationship between each polymorphism and specific disease subtypes or IPSS stratification [8]. The models were adjusted for age, gender, and race. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated, using a P value limit of 0.01 for statistical significance due to multiple comparisons. We identified the marrow karyotype for each sample and classified it either as normal or abnormal, simple (one or two anomalies) or complex. Spearman correlation coefficients between the karyotype score and RAD51 135G > C score (number of polymorphic alleles), XRCC3 T241M score, and the combined genotype frequency score were calculated. Statistical analysis was completed using JMP 6.0 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Genotype frequency of the RAD51 135G > C and XRCC3 T241M polymorphisms for each FAB subtype of MDS are noted in Table I. In the 90 healthy controls, the variant allele frequencies for RAD51 135G > C and XRCC3 T241M were 0.07 and 0.39, respectively, which is comparable to previously published results [7]. The RAD51 135G > C allele frequency in all MDS patients was 0.09, similar to control rates (0.07, P 1⁄4 0.40). In addition, subgroup analysis of de novo and secondary MDS did not detect a statistically significant difference in allele frequency, and there was also no significant difference in allele frequency between specific IPSS risk groups and controls (data not shown). Admittedly, the power to detect differences in allele frequency is less among subgroups than among the entire MDS population vs. controls. Multivariate modeling suggested that the presence ofRAD51 135G> C does not increase the risk of developing MDS. The polymorphic XRCC3 T241M allele frequency for MDS patients was also similar to controls (0.36 vs. 0.39, respectively; P 1⁄4 0.45); therefore, there appears to be no major increase in the risk for developing MDS in patients carrying this SNP. Again, subgroup analysis by IPSS status and by de novo vs. secondary MDS classification revealed no significant differences (data not shown). We also analyzed the combined effect of XRCC3 T241M and RAD51 135G > C polymorphisms. No statistically significant increased risk of MDS was seen when examining all MDS patients vs. controls (OR 1.67, T A B L E I. R A D 5 1 1 3 5 C a n d X R C C 3 T 2 4 1 M P o ly m o rp h is m G e n o ty p e F re q u e n c y in P a ti e n ts w it h M D S a n d a H e a lt h y C o n tr o l P o p u la ti o n , a n d th e A s s o c ia te d R is k o f D is e a s e (O d d s R a ti o , O R )


The prognosis of bullous pemphigoid (BP), a disorder which usually affects elderly patients, is not well established and conflicting data have been reported about the mortality rate of the disease. Our objective in this study was to assess the clinical and immunological factors determining survival in a prospective series of 94 patients with BP. A cohort of 94 consecutive patients with BP (mean age ±SD: 81 ±4 years) was studied over an 8‐year period (1987–94) in one department and patients followed up for at least 1 year. The diagnosis of BP was made on clinical criteria (using a standardized questionnaire), direct immunofluorescence (IF) findings (i.e. linear deposits of IgG and/or C3 along the basement membrane zone) and confirmed by direct immunoelectron microscopy and/or Western immunoblotting. Our analysis (median duration of follow‐up: 5 years) showed that 37% of BP patients were dead within a year of starting treatment. The clinical or immunological factors which may influence the prognosis of BP were studied according to the criterion of death or survival by the end of the first year of treatment. None of the following factors was found to be significantly linked to the prognosis in BP: age, sex, extent of skin lesions at presentation, presence of mucosal lesions, blood eosinophilia, or the presence of circulating basement membrane zone autoantibodies by indirect IF. An impaired general condition and a history of coronary artery disease indicated a bad prognosis. The presence of circulating autoantibodies against BP180 autoantigen but not autoantibodies against BP230, as detected by immunobiotting on epidermal extracts, was found to be significantly more frequent (60% vs. 25%) in BP patients who died within the first year of treatment (P < 0·01). We conclude that the presence of circulating autoantibodies against BP180 represents the first intrinsic prognostic factor that has been demonstrated in BP. This result supports the growing body of evidence for the pathophysiological importance of the anti‐BP180 autoantibodies.


We studied the relationship between cytogenetic abnormalities in buccal epithelial cells and metabolic shifts in children with scoliosis and kyphosis. The incidence of nucleus abnormalities and the corresponding metabolic shifts were found to depend on the presence of spinal deformities and ecological factors. The problem of formation of risk groups for spinal deformities in ecologically unfavorable regions is discussed.


We study the magnetic response of buckled honeycomb-lattice materials. The buckling breaks the sublattice symmetry, enhances the spin-orbit coupling, and allows the tuning of a topological quantum phase transition. As a result, there are two doubly degenerate spin-valley coupled massive Dirac bands, which exhibit an unconventional Hall plateau sequence under strong magnetic fields. We show how to externally control the splitting of anomalous zeroth Landau levels, the prominent Landau level crossing effects, and the polarizations of spin, valley, and sublattice degrees of freedom. In particular, we reveal that in a p-n junction, spin-resolved fractionally quantized conductance appears in a two-terminal measurement with a spin-polarized current propagating along the interface. In the low-field regime where the Landau quantization is not applicable, we provide a semiclassical description for the anomalous Hall transport. We comment briefly on the effects of electron-electron interactions and Zeeman couplings to electron spins and to atomic orbitals.


Abstract The results of the research studies concerning binding of heavy metals and arsenic (HM+As), occurring in soils affected by emissions from Głogów Copper Smelter and Refinery, by silane nanomaterial have been described. The content of heavy metals and arsenic was determined by AAS and the effectiveness of heavy metals and arsenic binding by 3-Aminopropyltrimethoxysilane was examined. The total leaching level of impurities in those fractions was 73.26% Cu, 74.7% – Pb, 79.5% Zn, 65.81% – Cd and 55.55% As. The studies demonstrated that the total binding of heavy metals and arsenic with nanomaterial in all fractions was about as follows: 20.5% Cu, 9.5% Pb, 7.1% Zn, 25.3% Cd and 10.89% As. The results presented how the safety of food can be cultivated around industrial area, as the currently used soil stabilization technique of HM by soil pH does not guarantee their stable blocking in a sorptive complex.


Teenage is the time of shaping health behavior and preventing postural defects and improving respiratory fitness. The teenagers possess insufficient knowledge of their respiratory system. Postural defects are commonly seen among teenagers due to lack of physical activity and poor postural habits which can lead to non-harmonious development of organs and affect respiratory system as well. For efficient respiratory function, moderate-intensity exercises with posture correction would be useful. There is a paucity of literature showing the effect of posture correction and moderate-intensity exercises on respiratory system in teenagers, hence, this study would be helpful to analyze the same. The objectives of the study were to find out the effect of posture correction exercise on respiratory system in teenagers and to find out the effect of moderate-intensity exercises on respiratory system in teenagers.

The study was carried out in Karad area. The subjects were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 35 subjects were participated in this study. Prior consent and assent form was taken. The aim and procedure were explained to the subjects in their preferred language before data collection. Pre- and post-assessment was done by 6 min walk test for respiratory function and flexicurve was measured using flexible ruler to recognize spinal postural defect. Peak flow meter was used to measure lung function.

In a conducted study, 6 min walk test, peak flow meter, and flexicurve showed statistically significant difference between pre- and post-treatment values.

On the basis of the result of the study, it can be concluded that posture correction and moderate- intensity exercises help in improving respiratory function in teenagers.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006

3092

HDAC inhibition is a potential target for treatment of patients with tumors of the central nervous system (CNS). PXD101 is a novel potent HDAC inhibitor with demonstrated antiproliferative activity in a number of cell lines, and is currently in a Phase II trial for multiple myeloma and Phase Ib clinical trials in adults with colorectal and ovarian malignanacies. We studied the CSF pharmacokinetics and penetration of PXD101 in a non-human primate model as a surrogate for blood-brain barrier penetration. Four adult Rhesus monkeys, (weight 11.7-13.7 kg) with indwelling Ommaya reservoirs, received increasing doses (10-60 mg/kg, human equivalent 200-1200 mg/m2) of PXD101 (50 mg/ml in 100 mg/ml L-arginine) as a 30-min intravenous infusion. Plasma and CSF concentrations were collected over 48 h. Plasma and CSF PXD101 concentrations were quantified using a Waters Quattro Premier LC/MS/MS system. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using WinNonlin v4.01. The mean time to maximum concentration was 0.27 and 0.58 hr for plasma and CSF, respectively. The CSF penetration of this agent is ∼1% in this animal model, which is similar to other HDAC inhibitors. PXD101 has previously been shown to be 93% protein bound in humans. The CSF drug exposure ([plasma AUC0-∞ /Dose x .07]/ CSF AUC0-∞ /Dose) ranges from 4.3- 27%, and CSF concentrations are in the range shown to be inhibitory in vitro.

![Figure][1] [1]: pending:yes


Clostridium difficile is a gram positive spore forming bacteria that is the primary cause of antibiotic associated diarrheas in the United States and Europe. The prevalence of C. difficile infections (CDI) in hospitals and long term care facilities has increased over the past decade and now represents a serious threat to patient health. Because C. difficile infections are caused by antibiotic therapy, alternative means of treatment are of interest. This study investigates the prevalence of C. difficile infection in three community hospitals and one research hospital and compares hospital prevalence data to state averages for Alabama and Mississippi and the national average. It was found that one community hospital exceeded the national average while two community hospitals and the research hospital were less than the national average of CDI. Both the standard infection ratio for C. difficile for Alabama and Mississippi were less than the national average. Data for January 1, 2013 – June 3, 2013 are included. To better control CDI, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends better antibiotic stewardship, training for clinical pharmacists, and limited prescription of antibiotics for hospital and long term care facility patients. Alternative treatments for recurrent or non-responsive C. difficile infections include transplantation of fecal microbiota and probiotics. Several vaccines for C. difficile are currently under development or in clinical trials.


Many of masonry arch bridges are ancient structures still in use within the transportation infrastructure, and they require a constant diagnosis of their structural integrity. In the last decades, non-destructive testing has been recommended for evaluation in order to preserve their historical character. In this work, a multidisciplinary approach to assess masonry arches is presented. A GPR survey of the Cernadela bridge was carried out using the 250, 500 and 800 MHz antennas. The main goal was to obtain relevant unknown parameters such as the inner ring stone thickness of arches for later structural analysis by analytical modelling. Photogrammetric methods were also employed in order to provide the precise external geometry of the bridge. Results show that it is possible to determine the ring stone thickness, which can be valuable information for engineers in order to perform an exhaustive assessment of the load carrying capacity of the bridge.


A heptacontapeptide corresponding to the entire amino acid sequence of eglin c was synthesized by the conventional solution method using a minimal protecting method. The synthetic eglin c exhibited a symmetrical single peak on HPLC at the same retention time as an authentic eglin c, and had the same inhibitory activity against human leukocyte elastase, cathepsin G and alpha-chymotrypsin (Ki = 6.0 x 10(-9) M, 5.5 x 10(-9) M and 2.5 x 10(-9) M, respectively) as N alpha-acetyl-eglin c synthesized genetically (Ki = 5.1 x 10(-9) M, 1.5 x 10(-8) M and 2.2 x 10(-9) M, respectively).


In this contribution, we investigated the chemical composition of Precambrian microfossils from the Gunflint chert (1.88 Ga) using a miniature laser ablation ionization mass spectrometer (LIMS) developed for in situ space applications. Spatially resolved mass spectrometric imaging (MSI) and depth profiling resulted in the acquisition of 68,500 mass spectra. Using single mass unit spectral decomposition and multivariate data analysis techniques, we identified the location of aggregations of microfossils and surrounding inorganic host mineral. Our results show that microfossils have unique chemical compositions that can be distinguished from the inorganic chert with high fidelity. Chemical depth profiling results also show that with LIMS microprobe data, it is possible to identify chemical differences between individual microfossils, thereby providing new insights about nature of early life. Analysis of LIMS spectra acquired from the individual microfossils reveals complex mineralization, which can reflect the metabolic diversity of the Gunflint microbiome. An intensity‐based machine learning model trained on LIMS Gunflint data might be applied for the future investigations of putative microfossils from silicified matrices, where morphological integrity of investigated structures is lost, and potentially in the investigation of rocks acquired from the Martian surface.


It has been acknowledged that evidence-driven practices may lead schools to improved instructional practices, student learning, or organizational improvement; still the evidence is underused by the teachers or school leaders. This study focuses on analyzing how to strengthen the evidence-driven school improvement in school-university partnership programs. Five schools learnt over a period of one school year in collaboration with the university coaches how to collect evidence in classroom and organizational level for improvement process. The results of our study illustrate profiles of the schools based on the usage of data-informed evidence, research-based evidence, or both to make decisions in the instructional and organizational level. Enablers and barriers of data use from the perspective of organizational, user, and data characteristics to implement evidence-driven practices are discussed.


Association rule hiding has been playing a very important rule in Privacy Preserving Data Mining and has been gaining the attention of many researchers. Many algorithms are developed with authors claiming the superiority of their algorithms. In this respect, we selectively choose some state of the art approaches in the context of association rule hiding heuristics and border-based approaches and examine their results on Mushroom and Retail datasets.


A Symposium of the epidemiology of alcoholism was held in London in January 1977 at a time when theories about the aetiology and prevalence of alcoholism had reached a crossroads. The epidemiological approach has continually been at odds with the mainstream of theories about alcoholism. The traditional disease theory perceived alcoholics to have certain psychological or physiological idiosyncrasies which rendered them unable to control their drinking. The most popular explanations were that either some personality defect predisposed them to become alcoholics, or else some biochemical abnormality made them physiologically allergic to alcohol. As Davies (1977) noted at the Symposium ' there is little or no evidence to support any of these constitutional views' and, for some years, the epidemiological study of alcoholism has been suggesting an alternative perspective to these aetiological theories of psychological or physiological predisposition. Epidemiology has linked the prevalence of alcoholism with per capita consumption, i.e. the total amount of alcohol consumed in a society divided by the adult population. Whenever per capita consumption rises, so do all the rates of alcohol-related problems such as alcoholic mortality, liver cirrhosis mortality, arrests for drunkenness and for drunken driving, and hospital admissions of persons diagnosed as alcoholics. The strength of this relationship between the level of consumption and the level of alcohol-related problems can be traced in the national statistics of England and Wales, for example, as far back as World War I (Wilson, 1940). The years in which alcohol consumption increased the most were invariably the same years in which the prevalence of alcohol-related problems also increased the most. The consistency of this relationship implied that the number of people diagnosed as suffering from alcoholism conceptualized by the disease theory as a permanent affliction actually rose and fell with the amount of alcohol consumed by the total population. This suggested that the size of the problem should not therefore be conceived in terms of the number of people who were in some way pathologically inclined to become alcoholics. Whereas the disease theory presumed the causes of alcoholism to lie in traits internal to the drinker, the epidemiology of alcoholism was suggesting the causes lay not in the drinker, but in the drink. Ledermann (1964) incorporated the evidence of this relationship into a theory which claimed that the level of per capita consumption actually determined the prevalence of alcoholism. He asserted that the frequency distribution of drinkers according to their individual consumption will always be highly skewed, with a majority of the population drinking relatively small amounts and successively smaller proportions drinking increasingly heavier amounts. In mathematical terms this distribution would always conform to the characteristics of a logarithmic normal curve. He further asserted that the end point of the upper distribution of individual consumption must be fixed at a point of one litre of absolute alcohol per day, on the grounds that drinking any more than this would be fatal. Usually a lognormal curve has 2 parameters the standard deviation and the mean. By fixing the upper limit, the 'Ledermann distribution' allows only 1 parameter the mean. Therefore, as this mean, i.e. per capita consumption, rises, the frequency of drinkers will always be smoothly and continuously redistributed so that predictable proportions of drinkers move into higher consumption categories. According to Ledermann, any increase in per capita consumption must represent a general move towards heavier drinking throughout the population. Since he also showed that societies with a higher per capita consumption also had the highest rates of alcohol-related problems such as cirrhosis of the liver, then a movement of a society to a higher overall consumption must inevitably lead to a higher rate of alcohol-related problems within that society. At the Symposium, De Lint (1977) concurred that the distribution curve is typically continuous, unimodular and positively skewed, and


AIMS
No data exist concerning the clinical performances of the subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) atrial fibrillation (AF) detection algorithm. We aimed to study the performances and implications of the latter in a 'real-world' setting.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Between July 2017 and August 2019, 155 consecutive S-ICD recipients were included. Endpoint of the study was the incidence of de novo or recurrent AF using a combined on-site and remote-monitoring follow-up approach. After a mean follow-up of 13 ± 8 months, 2531 AF alerts were generated for 55 patients. A blinded analysis of the 1950 subcutaneous electrocardiograms available was performed. Among them 47% were true AF, 23% were premature atrial contractions or non-sustained AF, 29% were premature ventricular contractions or non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, and 1% were misdetection. Fourteen percent (21/155) patients had at least one correct diagnosis of AF by the S-ICD algorithm. One patient presented symptomatic paroxysmal AF not diagnosed by the S-ICD algorithm (false negative patient). Patient-based sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values were respectively 95%, 74%, 38%, and 99%. Among patients with at least one correct diagnosis of AF, 38% (8/21) had subsequent clinical implications (anticoagulation initiation or rhythm control therapies).

CONCLUSION
The S-ICD AF detection algorithm yields a high sensitivity for AF diagnosis. Low specificity and positive predictive value contribute to a high remote monitoring-notification workload and underline the necessity of a manual analysis. Atrial fibrillation diagnosis by the S-ICD AF detection algorithm might lead to significant therapeutic adjustments.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the friction and wear behavior of different human enamels.

METHODS
24 enamel samples selected from aged, young permanent and faded deciduous teeth were classified into 3 groups and slid against artificial porcelain teeth in the presence of artificial saliva on an oscillating friction and wear test rig. The wear volume loss, microhardness and toughness of each group of the enamel specimens were measured, the wear scars were observed with a scanning electron microscope, and the elemental compositions of Ca, P, and Si of the wear scar and wear debris were determined with an energy dispersion spectrometer.

RESULTS
The wear volume losses of aged, young permanent and deciduous tooth enamels are (2.40 +/- 1.10) x 10(-12) m(3), (3.50 +/- 1.83) x 10(-12) m(3) and (4.86 +/- 2.49) x 10(-12) m(3). The data of aged tooth enamels are statistically greater than that of deciduous tooth enamels (P < 0.05). There is no significant difference between the wear volume loss of aged and young permanent tooth enamels or between the young permanent and deciduous tooth enamels (P > 0.05). However, the friction and wear behavior of each group of enamel specimens is different from each other.

CONCLUSIONS
In the present testing condition, the wear scars of each kind of enamel specimens is characterized by ploughing and cracking. The different wear resistance of the three kinds of enamels is attributed to the different microstructure of the enamel, while the hardness and toughness of the enamels are not correlated with the wear resistance.


Opinions on the value of glucocorticoids (GCs) have fluctuated between euphoric acceptance and outright rejection. This ambivalence of opinion arose because of their important clinical effects on one hand, and the potential risks of these substances on the other hand. It seems, however, that these important drugs have now found their correct place in rheumatology (and other special areas in medicine). The current view on these drugs is: They are indispensable; however when they are used, they should be administered as much as necessary, but as little as possible. Without any doubt, GCs at higher dosages are needed to terminate flares and/or to reduce the activity of rheumatic diseases. But this "emergency" usage represents only one option for successfully administering these drugs since many patients are more or less continuously treated with what is called "maintenance therapy". However, the crucial current question is: how long should we aim at using concomitant GC therapy in RA? There are virtually three scenarios: (1) GCs could/should be used as bridging therapy only, i.e. as an initial short term treatment followed by tapering off as rapidly as clinically feasible. This procedure represents the current recommendation; (2) GCs at low dosages could/should be used for at least two years (a "long-bridge" therapy) because of their beneficial effects; (3) The third scenario would be to administer GCs at very low dosages in many RA patients concomitantly as a maintenance therapy, assuming that this approach improves the overall benefit risk ratio. The answer to this question is open since for the time being we do not have enough scientifically sound data. Also with regard to glucocorticoid effects on bone, we need to understand better the full picture describing the benefit risk ratio. What we actually know is the existence of a "magical triangle" or the "Janus-head-like behaviour of glucocorticoids": Accelerated bone loss in RA includes radiological periarticular osteoporosis and joint erosions. GCs at low dosages have been shown to reduce the rate of radiographic progression of the disease and the extent of disease-related periarticular osteoporosis. However, prolonged GC therapy per se does result in rapid and profound reductions in bone mineral density (especially within the first months of treatment). In greater detail: GC excess decreases osteoclastogenesis, but does also lead to early, transient increases in osteoclast survival, cancellous osteoclasts and bone resorption. At the same time, GC decrease osteoblastogenesis, increase apoptosis of osteoblasts, and lead to both early and continual decreases in osteoblast numbers, synthetic ability of osteoblasts and, consequently, bone formation. Glucocorticoids also increase apoptosis of osteocytes which results in compromised canalicular circulation and, therefore, decreased bone quality. Together with unwanted effects on calcium and phosphate uptake (reduced), PTH secretion (increased) and calcitonin levels (reduced), this finally leads to osteoporosis. The other side of the coin, however, is that in rheumatoid arthritis (among other mechanisms) proinflammatory cytokines such as TNFalpha and IL-1 induce T cells and osteoblasts to secrete RANKL. RANKL ligand binds to RANK receptors sitting both on osteoclast precursor cells and on mature osteoclasts. This interaction leads to facilitated maturation of osteoclast precursor cells into mature osteoblasts, more aggressive osteoblasts, and, finally, to induced bone resorption. Clinical signs of these underlying mechanisms comprise joint erosions and periarticular osteoporosis. Glucocorticoids interfere with these mechanisms by reducing the synthesis of both proinflammatory cytokines and inflammation. As a consequence, it has been convincingly shown that glucocorticoids are capable of reducing the radiographic progression of the disease and that they can diminish inflammatory periarticular demineralisation. In conclusion, it is still a matter of debate how to disentangle unwanted consequences of the disease RA itself and/or its treatment with GC. This is true for bon, but also for glucose metabolism and the cardiovascular system. Nevertheless, the question how harmful long-term GCs are with regard to their capability to induce osteoporosis in RA patients needs further assessment in well-designed, longitudinal, randomised trials. Disclosure of Interest F. Buttgereit Grant/Research support from: Horizon, Consultant for: Horizon, Mundipharma, Pfizer, Conflict with: Horizon, Mundipharma DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.6273


Abstract The main purpose of this article is to provide an up-to-date systematic review and meta-analysis comparing functional outcomes of total knee arthroplasty using either computer navigation (NAV-TKA) or conventional methods (CON-TKA) from the latest assemblage of evidence. This study was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines. All Level I and II randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane that compared functional outcomes after NAV- and CON-TKA were included in the review. Selected end points for random effects, pairwise meta-analysis included Knee Society Knee Score (KSKS), KS Function Score (KSFS), KS Total Score (KSTS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and range of motion at three arbitrary follow-up times. A total of 24 prospective RCTs comprising 3,778 knees were included from the initial search. At long-term follow-up (>5 years), NAV-TKA exhibited significantly better raw KSKS (p = 0.001) (low-quality evidence), contrary to CON-TKA, which reflected significantly better raw KSTS (p = 0.004) (high-quality evidence). While change scores (KSKS, WOMAC) from preoperative values favor CON-TKA at short-term (<6 months) and medium-term follow-up (6–60 months), long-term follow-up change scores in KSKS suggest the superiority of NAV-TKA over CON-TKA (p = 0.02) (very low-quality evidence). Overall, sizeable dispersion of nonstatistically significant functional outcomes in the medium term was observed to eventually converge in the long term, with less differences in functional outcome scores between the two treatment methods in short- and long-term follow-up. While raw functional outcome scores reflect no differences between NAV and CON-TKA, long-term follow-up change scores in KSKS suggest superiority of NAV-TKA over its conventional counterpart. Prospective studies with larger power are required to support the pattern of diminishing differences in functional outcome scores from medium- to long-term follow-up between the two modalities.


Objectives. The purpose of this study was to investigate etiologic factors for sialolithiasis in a population of patients from the United States. Study Design. Retrospective, cohort study. Setting. Tertiary university. Materials and Methods. Charts for all patients diagnosed with sialolithiasis between January 2001 and February 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic factors, smoking history, comorbid medical conditions, and medication history were recorded. Statistical analyses were then performed on the collected data. Population prevalences of smoking, diuretic usage, cholelithiasis, and nephrolithiasis were obtained through literature review. Results. A total of 153 patients with sialolithiasis were identified. Of these patients, 125 (82%) had submandibular sialolithiasis, and 28 (18%) had parotid sialolithiasis. Positive smoking histories were present in 67 individuals (44%). Both the current rate of smoking and the rate of a history of smoking were higher in our cohort when compared with the general population, although the differences did not reach statistical significance. Smoking history did not correlate with the size of the primary sialolith. Diuretic usage in the cohort was observed at a rate of 20%, higher than reported population rates of diuretic use of 8.7%. The prevalences of cholelithiasis and nephrolithiasis were not different from observed population rates. Conclusions. Sialolithiasis is an uncommon condition of unclear etiology. This study represents an initial attempt to quantify the prevalence of smoking and diuretic therapy in a population of patients with sialolithiasis.


Over a decade after September 11, American citizens are still asking themselves: 'how much safer are we today?' This question is also pertinent for scholars seeking to understand the post‐September 11 homeland security reforms. This paper, drawing on the public administration literature and using Don Kettl's 'contingent coordination' framework, sets out to discuss how well these efforts have addressed the central coordination challenges posed by homeland security. In doing so, it makes two contributions: one methodological (e.g., operationalizing the contingent coordination framework) and one empirical (e.g., assessing the effectiveness of post‐9/11 homeland security reforms). The paper concludes with an overall assessment of how to find ways to further strengthen the capacity of the US homeland security system.


In many contexts, creating mappings for gestural interactions can form part of an artistic process. Creators seeking a mapping that is expressive, novel, and affords them a sense of authorship may not know how to program it up in a signal processing patch. Tools like Wekinator and MIMIC allow creators to use supervised machine learning to learn mappings from example input/output pairings. However, a creator may know a good mapping when they encounter it yet start with little sense of what the inputs or outputs should be. We call this an open-ended mapping process. Addressing this need, we introduce the latent mapping, which leverages the latent space of an unsupervised machine learning algorithm such as a Variational Autoencoder trained on a corpus of unlabelled gestural data from the creator. We illustrate it with Sonified Body, a system mapping full-body movement to sound which we explore in a residency with three dancers.


The author describes the design and construction of a diffusion cloud chamber which could be easily constructed by college students. Although the chamber operates with liquid air, oxygen or nitrogen coolant it could easily be adapted for operation with dry ice by simply mixing it with alcohol or acetone. Operating procedure, sensitivity as well as safety precautions are discussed.


This study evaluated the coagulation/flocculation process using chitosan as a natural coagulant to concentrate suspensions of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus subsalsus and enable biogas production from concentrated biomass. The chitosan performance was tested and compared with the inorganic ferric chloride (FeCl3) coagulant. Using the liquid fraction of the coagulation/flocculation process in subsequent biomass cultivations proved viable, with similar growths in culture media with up to 80% of the liquid fraction. At pH 6 and 400 mg/L FeCl3, the biomass concentrated almost seven times, increasing the total suspended solids (TSS) of the suspension from 0.4-0.6 g/L to 2.6-4.0 g/L. With 80 mg/L chitosan and pH 7, the TSS concentration attained values in the range of 7.0-9.7 g/L, an increase of more than 30 times, clearly showing that chitosan has a much higher capacity for biomass concentration at a lower concentration. A ratio of 0.3 g chitosan/g dry mass of the biomass was established to reach the maximum densification. The production of methane from chitosan-densified biomass proved to be feasible. Chitosan-densified biomass showed a two-phase cumulative methane production when digested, with slower methane production and 23% lower methane yield after 30 days of digestion (207 NmL CH4/g CODi) compared to the biomass from cultivation (non-densified, 270 NmL CH4/g CODi). However, optimizing the digestion conditions of the densified biomass should increase the methane yield and reduce process time.


We use data from the New England and Wales Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) programme to assess the validity of self-report measures of illicit drug use and to evaluate the use of alternative drug testing strategies within survey enquiries. Our analysis of the NEW-ADAM data reveals that bio-assay measurements of drug use tend not to be very sensitive to the cut-off levels selected for screening tests, a result that holds for cannabis, cocaine and opiates. We also show that a self-reported history of previous drug use can be used as a way of identifying individuals who are potential under-reporters of current drug use. This suggests a selective drug testing strategy which can reduce dramatically the cost of drug testing without comprising the accuracy of measurements of illicit drug use.


We present a neural network model for the unsupervised learning of high order visual invariances. The model is demonstrated on the problem of estimating sub-pixel stereo disparity from a temporal sequence of unprocessed image pairs. After learning on a given image sequence, the model's ability to detect sub-pixel disparity generalises, without additional learning, to image pairs from other sequences.


Nurses and other medical workers have wide ability to provide positive support to patients with low self-esteem. Need of this support is even more important because patients who have tried to attempt suicide are surprisingly less likely to express their needs than other patients. The aim of study was the evaluation of social support provided by nurses working in the Clinic of Acute Poisonings Medical University of Gdańsk to the patients after suicidal attempts. Questionnaire investigation was performed on 40 patients including 32 women and 8 men aged from 14 to 53 (mean 31.4 +/- 13.5) years. Needs and requests of patients after suicidal attempts were mainly limited to getting a proper medical consultation and adequate information. Social support (emotional, valuational, instrumental, informational) provided by nurses proved to be a very important factor in treating patients after suicidal attempts.


Bireuen Regency is an area that has historical buildings from the Dutch colonial era, one of which is the Bireuen Pendopo . It is a cultural heritage building that is more than 70 years old based on the photo archive of Ir. Sukarno with the Bireuen fighter in 1948 and was certified as "The President Sukarno Heritage List". The building has undergone changes, seen from the period of pre-independence (1934–1944), the period of independence (1945–1999), and the period after the area expansion (1999–2021). Pendopo is a cultural heritage building. A study of its physical changes is urgently needed so that the original shape does not change and the material is not entirely replaced. The purpose of this study is to identify the physical changes in the Bireun Pendopo building. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. The physical elements are categorized into minor transformation, major transformation, and full transformation. The study's results found that the Bireun Pendopo building in the pre-independence period (1934-1944) did not have any changes in its physical form. While during the independence period (1945-1998), it underwent a minor physical transformation. In the period after the expansion of Bireun Regency (1999-2020), it underwent a minor physical transformation, a major transformation, and a full transformation. The results of the study that identified the physical changes of the Bireun Pendopo based on three periods showed that most of the changes were carried out in the post-expansion period with major and full transformation categories.


Abstract Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Kurdjumov), was introduced into North America in Mexico during 1980 and by 1988 had spread north across the Western US into Southern Canada. South Africa has been suspected as the source of the introduction. Russian wheat aphid is the major insect pest of wheat and barley in the southern and central plains states. Resistant wheat with the Dn4 gene was the primary management tactic from 1996 to 2003. During 2003, a biotype able to injure Dn4 wheat (designated RWA2) appeared in Colorado. The source of the biotype is unclear, that is whether it represents a new introduction from another country or if it arose from the extant population in the US. We examined a 332 bp portion of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI) in the mtDNA of Russian wheat aphid collected in the US from 1986 through 2006. Also included were specimens from Mexico and South Africa. Except for two nucleotides in two individual aphids, no COI sequence variation was found in US populations over a 20 yr period. US populations had COI sequences which were identical to those found in Mexico, Turkey, France, and one aphid from South Africa. A second aphid from South Africa differed by only two bp. The lack of COI nucleotide variation suggested that biotype RWA2 did not represent a second introduction of a genetically distinct population from another country. The data are consistent with a single introduction from South Africa and no other introductions of virulent biotypes into the US occurred since 1986.


Through field survey and morphological research, this study has determined that the Camellia genus in Lam Dong province, Vietnam has a high diversity of morphological, distribution and taxa characteristics. The species of Camellia genus in Lam Dong province are mostly shrubs and small trees. The narrow oblong leaves are a very common and typical characteristic for Camellia in Lam Dong province. The flowers of the species of Camellia are diverse with four main colours is white, yellow, pink and purple. The fruits are globose, flattened globose, wrinkled or uneven edges. Especially, the obovoid fruit only occurs in Lam Dong province. Most of the species of Camellia genus in this province are endemic. The study has added ten species of the Camellia genus, brings the total of species of Camellia genus to Lam Dong province to between sixteen and twenty six. This is the first study to evaluate Camellia diversity in Lam Dong province. It is also the first complete statistics on the number of species of Camellia genus in Lam Dong province to confirm that this province is the second diversity centre of Camellia of Vietnam following the first centre in the North of Vietnam.


Prior work on the microbial communities of concrete focused on the surfaces of concrete structures such as sewage pipes or bridge pilings, where thick biofilms were easy to observe and sample. Because the biomass inside concrete is so low, more recent analyses of the microbial communities inside concrete used amplicon sequencing methods to describe those communities. ABSTRACT Concrete hosts a small but diverse microbiome that changes over time. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing would enable assessment of both the diversity and function of the microbial community in concrete, but a number of unique challenges make this difficult for concrete samples. The high concentration of divalent cations in concrete interferes with nucleic acid extraction, and the extremely low biomass in concrete means that DNA from laboratory contamination may be a large fraction of the sequence data. Here, we develop an improved method for DNA extraction from concrete, with higher yield and lower laboratory contamination. To show that this method provides DNA of sufficient quality and quantity to do shotgun metagenomic sequencing, DNA was extracted from a sample of concrete obtained from a road bridge and sequenced with an Illumina MiSeq system. This microbial community was dominated by halophilic Bacteria and Archaea, with enriched functional pathways related to osmotic stress responses. Although this was a pilot-scale effort, we demonstrate that metagenomic sequencing can be used to characterize microbial communities in concrete and that older concrete structures may host different microbes than recently poured concrete. IMPORTANCE Prior work on the microbial communities of concrete focused on the surfaces of concrete structures such as sewage pipes or bridge pilings, where thick biofilms were easy to observe and sample. Because the biomass inside concrete is so low, more recent analyses of the microbial communities inside concrete used amplicon sequencing methods to describe those communities. However, to understand the activity and physiology of microbes in concrete, or to develop living infrastructure, we must develop more direct methods of community analysis. The method developed here for DNA extraction and metagenomic sequencing can be used for analysis of microbial communities inside concrete and can likely be adapted for other cementitious materials.


Abstract The alteration of basaltic glass in the volcanic part of the oceanic crust is, to a substantial extent, biologically mediated. Evidence of microbial interaction with basaltic glass can be provided by a number of independent observations, such as: (1) Textures at the alteration front, generated by dissolution of the glass and subsequent precipitation. These bio-generated textures can be defined as a granular type (dominant) and a tubular type, and show size and form which are compatible with microbial etching. (2) Filament-like structures, representing organic remains, appear in connection with bio-generated textures. (3) Within areas of the bio-generated textures, particularly at the alteration front, DNA and ribosomal RNA have been demonstrated to be present in relatively young samples. (4) X-ray mapping shows that carbon and nitrogen invariably appear within the bio-generated textures, in young samples most strongly enriched at the alteration front. (5) Carbon isotopes (δ13C) in carbonates extracted from the glassy margin of pillows show highly variable values which can be explained in terms of bio-fractionation of the 12C and 13C isotopes. Estimates of the proportion of bio-genetic alteration products of basaltic glass, on the basis of textural relationships, suggest that bio-alteration is dominant compared to abiotic alteration in the upper 300 m of the oceanic crust, and declines to become insignificant at a depth of about 500 m.


Preface: The engineer has been, and is a maker of history J. K. Finch (1883 - 1967) Engineering can be defined as the creative application of scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge to design, building, and maintenance of structures, machines, devices, systems, materials, and manufacturing processes. The discipline of engineering is extremely broad, and encompasses a range of more specialized fields of engineering, each with a more specific emphasis on particular areas of technology and types of application. The course of Engineering of Selected Inorganic Materials was an optional course in the 3rd year of the Academic undergraduate study of Chemical technology. The scope of this course was to understand the chemical engineering aspect of raw materials, production, control and application of commercial ceramic materials. From the academic year 2014/2015 this course will be been renamed as Inorganic Materials, and it will be performed for students of the 3rd year of the Academic undergraduate study of Chemical technology, on both study orientations: Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection. This book was written for students taking an additional course in the fast-expanding materials area, and for practicing engineers without a formal background in ceramics who find themselves involved with ceramic products. In writing this book, the author has followed a format which has proved usable in the classroom. This pattern includes, first, attention to the internal structure of ceramic materials, because this knowledge is necessary for the origin of the variation in properties to be understood. Second, a consideration is given to various properties commonly encountered and required of ceramic materials. Over 220 diagrams and figures provide a visual aid to learning, and, finally, commonly used procedures for processing of groups of ceramic products and their present areas of applications are summarized. Because the history of human race and practical knowledge about materials are intertwined, an Introduction - Historical Remarks provides an outline of history and a simple picture about development of materials as well as the role they play in today's world. Since an understanding of a material type, generally, may most easily be gained if we have a knowledge of the relationship that exists between structures and properties, initially this book, Chapter 1 - Materials Science and Engineering, pays attention to the relationship between material properties and structural elements relative to the progress and perspective that has been made in the discipline of materials science and engineering, including the development of new materials with specific properties and the necessity for modifying the properties of existing ceramic materials for new uses. In Chapter 2 - From Pottery to the Space Shuttle, we take a journey back in time to see how ceramics have evolved from the earliest dried clay articles to our modern ceramics. Chapter 3 - Structure and Properties of Ceramics, discusses the type of crystal structure and atomic point defect that are found in ceramic materials. Knowledge of their structural and chemical nature will enable us to understand the origin and usefulness of their properties, and provide us with a basis for producing ceramic materials and controlling their properties. Applications and fabrication techniques for this class of materials are discussed in Chapter 4 - Applications and Processing of Ceramics. In Chapter 5 - Other Applications and Processing, attention is given to non-clay ceramic materials, including abrasives and advanced ceramics, as well as to a group of inorganic binders (cement, plaster of Paris, and lime) that the cementation bond develops at room temperature. In Chapter 6 - Silicate Cement or Portland Cement, a special attention is given to the chemistry of calcium silicates and aluminates both anhydrous and hydrated, the chapter dealing with more important chemical aspects of the production and use of cements. It covers not only the composition and properties of cements and the reactions that occur during their production and use, but also material problems of environmental protection. The hydration of the silicate or Portland cement and the hydrated compounds formed come under review, followed by a consideration of the structures of cement compounds and their relation to cementing properties. In Chapter 7 - Chemical Stability and Corrosion of Ceramics, attention will be directed toward the corrosion aspects of crystalline and glassy ceramics under environmental conditions, because the control of chemical stability (or reactivity) of ceramics with their environmental aspects is one of the most important problems facing the ceramics industry today. Finally, in Chapter 8 - Summary, these topics are reviewed briefly. This book is based upon a combination of lecture notes from the Processes in Inorganic Industry course that the author has taught at the Faculty of Chemical Technology in Split for the past 20 years and both her scientific research work in the field of the silicate cement and composite materials and her experiences in industry. In writing this book, beside relevant references published in international journals and already published scientific books, the results of the author's research were also used, as specified in the list of literature references. At the end of the book, the Glossary provides a list of terms from certain areas with explanations. The author would like to thank the reviewers, Maja Kliskic, PhD, full professor tenure at the Faculty of Chemistry and Technology of the University of Split (CRO), Zehrudin Osmanovic, PhD, full professor at the Faculty of Technology of the University of Tuzla (B&H), and Lidija Curkovic, PhD, full professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture of the University of Zagreb (CRO), for their professional and valuable suggestions that have helped improve this textbook, as well as Mrs. Ajsa Mlacic for her professional and dependable English language-editing. The author would also like to thank in advance those readers of this textbook who will provide critical comments and suggestions. The author thanks the Publisher John Wiley and Sons, Inc., for their permission to reproduce Figure 1.2, page 4, from book "Materials Science and Engineering" by W. D. Callister and D. G. Rethwisch, 8th edition, published in 2011. (Author: J. Zelic, Split, March 2016)


A theory of Auger electron (AES) and appearance potential spectroscopy (APS) for interacting valence band electrons is presented. The electron system is described by the Hubbard Hamiltonian. A self-consistent moment-method is used to derive the one-electron spectrum density for arbitrary temperature T, band occupation n, and coupling strength U/W (W: Bloch band width). APS and AES are both based on the one-electron spectrum density by use of a diagrammatic vertex correction (Matsubara formalism). In weakly coupled systems the electron correlations give rise to certain deformations of the quasiparticle density of states (Q-DOS) compared to the "free" Bloch density of states (B-DOS). Spontaneous magnetic order, however, is excluded, irrespective of the band filling n. The AE (AP) spectra consist of only one, rather broad structure which is strongly n- but only slightly T-dependent. For strongly correlated electrons the original Bloch band splits into two quasiparticle subbands causing thereby respective splittings of the AE (AP) line shapes. In addition satellites may appear. If particle density as well as hole density exceed certain critical values, spontaneous ferromagnetism becomes possible in the strongly correlated electron system. The magnetic phase transition causes a distinct T-dependance of the Q-DOS and hence also of the AE (AP) line shapes. From integrated AE (AP) intensities one can read off the full temperature dependance of important density-density and spin-spin correlation functions.


Unlike most of the orphans at St. Morwald's Home for Children, Earwig has no desire to be adopted—why would she give up bossing around all those younger kids to go be bossed around herself? Despite her best efforts to look unruly and not at all cute, Earwig does in fact end up getting adopted, but her new parents are a witch and a demon, so at least her new home will be interesting. Initially thrilled to find out that she'll be the witch's new apprentice, Earwig soon realizes that apprentice is just a fancy word for servant, and that she'll have to learn magic by teaching herself magic—and if the witch happens to grow a hand out of her head as a result of Earwig's experiments, well, then, so be it. In this new offering from the late author, Jones brings her characteristic witty humor and rich imagination to a whimsical chapter book that would undoubtedly delight as a readaloud. Stubborn and mischievous, Earwig is a likable, albeit irascible, heroine, and her triumph at the witch's expense will elicit plenty of cheerful howls. The prose has an easy accessibility, and while some of the vocabulary will certainly stretch the skills of novice readers, short sentences, plenty of dialogue, and a fairly compact storyline will keep youngsters turning the pages. Animal lovers will find Earwig's warm relationship with the witch's cat just to their liking, but the real humor here lies in Earwig and her misguided attempts at magic, the results of which will enchant readers and listeners alike. Final illustrations not seen. KQG


Automated detection of anomalies in network traffic is an important and challenging task. In this work we propose an automated system to detect volume-based anomalies in network traffic caused by Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. The system has a two-stage architecture that combines more traditional approaches (Adaptive Threshold and Cumulative Sum) with a novel one based on the Continuous Wavelet Transform. Thanks to the proposed architecture, we obtain good results in terms of tradeoff between correct detections and false alarms, estimation of anomaly duration, and ability to distinguish between subsequent anomalies. We test our system using a set of publicly available traffic traces to which we superimpose anomalies related to real DoS attacks tools. Extensive test results show how the proposed system accurately detects a wide range of anomalies and how the performance indicators are affected by anomalies characteristics (i.e. amplitude and duration).


Articular cartilage injuries ( Fig. 1 ) are common findings during arthroscopy 1 and diagnostic imaging of the joints 2,3. While there are many techniques for the treatment of cartilage injuries, not enough is known about which lesions need treatment or about the proper treatment modality for a particular lesion. More objective data regarding cartilage injuries and more accurate methods to evaluate the operative outcomes are required, especially since new procedures are becoming increasingly expensive. There are many published reports on the outcomes of total joint replacement based on clinical scores and radiographic evaluations. However, it has been quite difficult to interpret the reported results of the repair of focal cartilage defects as there is no universally accepted system to describe the lesions, the repair tissue, or the clinical symptoms for this category of patients. More studies on clinical articular cartilage resurfacing will appear in the future, making it important to develop common evaluation measurement tools and standards. The International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) was founded in 1997 and has been interested in developing a standardization system for the evaluation of cartilage injury and repair 4,5. A working group of the ICRS was established with the aim of developing a common, easy system for clinical and arthroscopic evaluation ( Table I ). Shortly thereafter, the Articular Cartilage Imaging Committee of the ICRS was created to assess the existing clinical imaging techniques, to recommend specific magnetic resonance imaging techniques for the assessment of articular cartilage 6, and to develop a standardized magnetic resonance imaging evaluation system for native and repaired cartilage ( Table I ). A state-of-the-art system for clinical cartilage evaluation and imaging assessment is presented below.

Fig. 1:
A cartilage lesion on a femoral condyle, extending deep down to bone. Note that some calcified …


Glycosphingolipids (GSLs), the main topic of this review, are a subclass of sphingolipids. With their glycans exposed to the extracellular space, glycosphingolipids are ubiquitous components of the plasma membrane of cells. GSLs are implicated in a variety of biological processes including specific infections. Several pathogens use GSLs at the surface of host cells as binding receptors. In addition, lipid-rafts in the plasma membrane of host cells may act as platform for signaling the presence of pathogens. Relatively common in man are inherited deficiencies in lysosomal glycosidases involved in the turnover of GSLs. The associated storage disorders (glycosphingolipidoses) show lysosomal accumulation of substrate(s) of the deficient enzyme. In recent years compounds have been identified that allow modulation of GSLs levels in cells. Some of these agents are well tolerated and already used to treat lysosomal glycosphingolipidoses. This review summarizes present knowledge on the role of GSLs in infection and subsequent immune response. It concludes with the thought to apply glycosphingolipid-lowering agents to prevent and/or combat infections.


Marine Isotope Stage 5 deposits have been reported on many tropical Pacific islands. This paper presents a database compiled through the review of MIS 5e (last interglacial – LIG) coral reef records from islands belonging to French Polynesia (Anaa, Niau, Makatea, Moruroa, Takapoto, Bora Bora), the Hawaiian Islands (Oahu, Lanai, Midway Atoll), Tuvalu, Kiribati (Christmas Island, Tarawa), the Cook Islands (Mangaia, Atiu, Mitiaro, Mauke, Pukapuka, Rakahanga, Rarotonga), Tonga, Samoa, the Federal States of Micronesia, the Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands (Enewetak, Bikini), New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and Niue. Studies reporting other sea-level indicators dated to other Pleistocene interglacials and Holocene sea-level indicators were not inserted in the database but are included in this data description paper for completeness. Overall, about 300 studies concerning Pleistocene and Holocene sea-level indicators have been reviewed, and finally 163 age data points and 94 relative sea-level (RSL) data points from 38 studies on the MIS 5e have been inserted in the database. An additional 155 age data points have been reviewed; i.e. the tropical Pacific islands database contains 318 age data points. The main sea-level indicators include emerged coral reef terraces, but also reef units recovered in drill cores from a few islands, thus reflecting the diversity of tectonic settings and sampling approaches. Future research should be directed towards better constrained RSL reconstructions, including more precise chronological data, more accurate elevation measurements and a better refinement of the palaeo-water-depth significance of coralgal assemblages. The database for tropical Pacific islands is available open access at this link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3991672 (Hallmann and Camoin, 2020).


Chaos synchronization in two separate erbium-doped fiber lasers through a 1.5-km-long fiber is experimentally demonstrated. Two identical erbium-doped fiber lasers are fabricated and modulated by an optical modulator near the relaxation oscillation frequency of the fiber laser. At this frequency, the two fiber lasers generate chaotic carriers. When the synchronization conditions such as cavity length, modulation frequency, and laser characteristics are satisfied, the two chaotic fiber lasers are synchronized.


To the Editor: In their study examining the association of hospital nodal evaluation rates and survival after colectomy for cancer, Dr Wong and colleagues concluded that examination of increasing numbers of lymph nodes is not associated with survival at the hospital level and that evaluation of 12 or more lymph nodes is not a useful quality measure. However, their data actually demonstrate a significant improvement in survival in a key population. Table 3 shows a survival advantage for stage II patients treated at hospitals with high lymph node examination rates (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.85; 95% confidence interval, 0.74-0.96). The patients who would benefit most from having 12 or more nodes examined are stage II patients who have had an inadequate number of lymph nodes examined to confidently deem them free of nodal metastases. These understaged patients would fail to receive the potentially lifesaving benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy. When examined in a single model combining all stage groups, the benefit of examining increasing numbers of nodes is diluted by the lesser effect in stage 0, I, and III patients. Lymph node evaluation is so poor nationally that in the hospitals with the highest nodal examination rates, the median is only 13 nodes (Table 1), leaving more than 25% of patients at these hospitals potentially understaged and further blunting the potential survival benefit expected in a group of patients who all have 12 or more nodes examined. The measure requiring examination of 12 or more nodes was endorsed by the National Quality Forum as a quality surveillance indicator. It is intended to be used by hospitals to spark internal quality improvement initiatives, not as a basis for reimbursement decisions or holding individual clinicians accountable. Moreover, it is unlikely that there is any quality measure for which there is perfect evidence. It is potentially of equal or greater danger to fail to advance reasonable indicators, especially those intended for quality surveillance. Quality measure development is an iterative process. Even measures based on high-level evidence will become outdated or be modified over time with scientific advances. Lymph nodes must be examined to accurately stage colon cancers and guide adjuvant treatment decisions. Not establishing a benchmark would legitimize examining only a few lymph nodes, which would clearly be deleterious. Some nodal evaluation threshold must be set, particularly when a survival advantage has been identified. Monitoring lymph node examination rates for colon cancer is probably a worthwhile measure of quality. Karl Y. Bilimoria, MD Andrew K. Stewart, MA American College of Surgeons Chicago, Illinois Stephen B. Edge, MD Department of Surgery Roswell Park Cancer Institute Buffalo, New York Clifford Y. Ko, MD, MS, MSHS email@example.com American College of Surgeons


This article explores the relationship between two cultural memories in the postcolonial Netherlands: of World War II and of the Dutch–Indonesian war of decolonization. Through two case studies we analyse what happens when both memories encounter each other in public space. The first case concentrates on the early postwar commemoration practices centred on 4 May, the Dutch Remembrance Day of World War II. We show that the focus on heroes and national unity in the cultural memory of World War II enabled Indies veterans to articulate their own interests. The Indies veterans, on their turn, managed to change the content and ceremony of 4 May. The second case focuses on Camp Vught, a former concentration camp that was reused after the war as a reception centre for Moluccan soldiers of the colonial army and their families. This case illustrates that the site provided a platform for the Moluccan inhabitants to strive for recognition and speak about their history while at the same time increasing the site's silent hierarchy of suffering. We argue that there is an important resonance in the Netherlands between both cultural memories. In viewing them as part of the same memorial landscape, we state—in line with Michael Rothberg's concept of 'multidirectional memory'—that these memories have a competitive relation as well as a strengthening impact on each other.


Product Design has historically been a very focused discipline, often taught as a professional program preparing students to fill a known role in industry. This has become, for many schools, a kind of 4-year technical job training.

In moving 'Towards a New Innovation Landscape', the premise of this paper is that our field needs to more regularly engage design students with other disciplines, and broaden the application of product design skills into more diverse arenas of creative problem solving.

Beyond the design of products, design can be a more integrative skillset, design thinking a creative-problem-solving tool for diverse groups, and design communication tools (sketches, models, storyboards, etc.) can act as prototyping tools to help express and explore ideas in diverse contexts.

This paper will introduce how this type of pedagogical approach has been applied in two different institutions: Howest University College in Belgium, and Appalachian State University in the US.

Both schools have a Product Design bachelor's program that has been central in creating multi-disciplinary team-based experiential-learning opportunities that engage students and faculty from multiple disciplines to work on real-world challenges. For the past three years, Appalachian State University has implemented a semester-long multi-disciplinary class titled AppLab that engages student teams with external clients. And Howest has implemented two different short-term programs: a two-week 'Multi-disciplinary Project' engaging students from other disciplines; and 'WOW-week' (Windows on the World), a one-week multi-disciplinary project more focused on co-creation of human-centered design projects.

This paper will detail the different approaches these two schools have used to construct these types of learning opportunities, along with a profile of the participants, resources, and methods utilized. This will provide a meaningful structure for a comparison/contrast of the different approaches used on different continents in order to draw conclusions regarding positive and negative outcomes.

From this, the hope is that other educators, in product design and other disciplines, can learn from these efforts and continue a discourse about how to broaden the engagement of product design education with other fields.


Multidrug efflux pumps are inner membrane transporters that export multiple antibiotics from the inside to the outside of bacterial cells, contributing to bacterial multidrug resistance (MDR). Postgenomic analysis has demonstrated that numerous multidrug efflux pumps exist in bacteria. Also, the co-crystal structural analysis of multidrug efflux pumps revealed the drug recognition and export mechanisms, and the inhibitory mechanisms of the pumps. A single multidrug efflux pump can export multiple antibiotics; hence, developing efflux pump inhibitors is crucial in overcoming infectious diseases caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria. This review article describes the role of multidrug efflux pumps in MDR, and their physiological functions and inhibitory mechanisms.


OBJECTIVE
The clinicopathologic features of a rare familial form of congenital blister are analyzed to assess what factors could lead to the cutaneous split.

METHODS
Three consanguinous newborn babies had a congenital ichthyosis with eosinophilia and elevated total immunoglobulin E. The type and level of the split were studied on skin biopsies performed on the first day of life.

RESULTS
The level of the split was located within the corneocytes. Isolated eosinophilic granules were found at this site. Desmosomes and the dermoepidermal junction were intact. Blisters and eosinophilia resolved in 3 weeks, and there was no recurrence during 4 and 6 years of follow-up in two of the patients.

CONCLUSION
Peeling skin syndrome is a rare blistering disorder of the newborn that should be recognized because it has a good prognosis. Eosinophils may play an important role in the cutaneous split of this congenital ichthyosis.


The article discusses number mysticism, which steams from the belief of the Pythagoreans that natural numbers hold the secret of the universe. The development of the number theory, the recognition of even, odd , prime and composite numbers can be traced back to number mysticism. Thabit ibn Qurra, an Arab polymath, is considered as the first serious contributor in the field of amicable numbers but it was the emergence of Euler in 1737 changed the scene of the field when he was able to discover a total of 62 amicable numbers.


INTRODUCTION
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive and life-threatening disease. Approved treatment options currently primarily target abnormal cell signaling pathways involved in vasoconstriction and proliferation, such as those mediated by prostacyclin, cyclic guanosine monophosphate, and endothelin.

AREAS COVERED
Recent advancements have led to new applications and modes of delivery of currently approved PAH medications. At the same time, novel drugs targeting specific molecular pathways involved in PAH pathogenesis have been developed and are being investigated in clinical trials. This review summarizes investigational drug trials for PAH gathered from a comprehensive search using PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov between 2003 and 2023. It includes both currently approved medications studied at different doses or new administration forms and experimental drugs that have not yet been approved.

EXPERT OPINION
Approved treatments for PAH target imbalances in pulmonary vasoactive pathways that work primarily on enhancing pulmonary vasodilation with less salient effects on pulmonary vascular remodeling. The advent of more locally acting inhaled medications offers additional therapeutic options that may improve the ease of drug delivery and reduce adverse systemic effects. The more recent emphasis on developing and applying therapeutics that directly impact the aberrant signaling pathways implicated in PAH appears more likely to advance the treatment of this devastating disease.


We propose a self-validating scheme to calculate the unbiased responses of quantum many-body systems to external fields of arbitrary strength at any temperature. By switching on a specified field to a thermal pure quantum state of an isolated system, and tracking its time evolution, one can observe an intrinsic thermalization process driven solely by many-body effects. The transient behavior before thermalization contains rich information on excited states, giving the linear and nonlinear response functions at all frequencies. We uncover the necessary conditions to clarify the applicability of this formalism, supported by a proper definition of the nonlinear response function. The accuracy of the protocol is guaranteed by a rigorous upper bound of error exponentially decreasing with system size, and is well implemented in the simple ferromagnetic Heisenberg chain, whose response at high fields exhibits a nonlinear band deformation. We further extract the characteristic features of excitation of the spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnet; the wave-number-insensitive linear responses from the possible spin liquid ground state, and the significantly broad nonlinear peaks which should be generated from numerous collisions of quasiparticles, that are beyond the perturbative description.


although psychology takes up the lion's share of the twenty chapters. The third unusual feature of the book is its structure. Part 1 includesa generalintroduction to the behav ioural sciences and an overview of psychology and sociology. Pritchard chooses to structure the next four parts according to what he regards as "¿ four basic and integrative psychosocial perspectives―. In Part 2 he presents the †̃¿ analytical/reductionist' perspective. Here he examines familiar psychological processes such as perception, learning, and motivation. There is also one sociological chapter, entitled "¿ Social structure and the individual―.Part 3 explores the †̃¿ developmental/ historical' perspective, covering both individual and societalchange.Part 4 addressesthe issueof differences in behaviour both between individuals and between societies. There is a brief examination of social anthro pology and separatechapterson personality and intelli gence.Part 5 isentitled "¿ Interactional perspective―, and focuses on social psychology and clinical aspects of social interaction. Part 6 is a single chapter on "¿ Psycho socialaspectsof disease―. Although this brief chapter by no means does justice to the considerable volume of research in this area, in fairness to Pritchard it should be pointed out that throughout the book he refers to clinical aspectsof eachsubject. I didn't find it easy to chart my way through Pritchard's unfamiliar framework, but perhaps the non-behavioural scientistwould not behandicapped by this kind of limiting structural expectation. There is certainly a lot of interesting material which could be valuable to the health professional. I have some reser vations, however, mainly about potential readership. There are undoubtedly many studentsand colleaguesin the health professions who are thirsty for knowledge about psychosocial aspectsof health, and I would hap pily recommend this book to them. For the majority who just want a basic introduction, however, I don't think this will be their cup of tea: it is likely to be too technical and in-depth for their tastes, and it lacks a central clinical focus. In fact, I regard the title as mis leading. The book is basically about the behavioural sciences,and has little to do with medicine. I strongly agreewith Pritchard's expressedaim to stretch readers beyond the obviously clinically relevant, but I suspect you have to first tempt them with what they are really interested in, namely illnessand ill people.


The dimensions of the alveolar surface of interalveolar septa were studied in albino rats. The mean thickness of certain septa range from 3,1 to 6,2 mu, the mean thickness of the septa in different individuals being factually the same. A part of the alveolar surface of the septa represents the air-haematic barrier which occupies 51-64% of the total alveolar surface in different rats. The mean values of all the parameters in the animals studied are very close. It shows that the interalveolar septa are standard structures in their organization and dimensions both in the same animal and in different animals of the same species.


Background: This retrospective study was conducted to identify prognostic predictors for patients undergoing neurosurgery under general anesthesia.Methods: From April 2015 to May 2017, a total of 757 patients undergoing neurosurgery in our hospital were analyzed. Baseline and clinical data including age, gender, etiology, surgery procedures, comorbid and underlying diseases, the Glasgow coma scale (GCS), the APACHE II score, ASA score, anesthesia class, operation time, intraoperative cardiac events, intraoperative blood transfusion, and postoperative fever were collected and analyzed. The Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) was used as outcome measure. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the independent prognostic factors. Results: Among the 14 factors analyzed, twelve were significantly correlated to the GOS scores (P < 0.05), including age, etiology, type of surgery, hypertension, anesthesia class, APACHE II score and ASA class, intraoperative cardiac events, intraoperative blood transfusion and postoperative fever. Further logistic regression analysis showed the three parameters had prognostic values with odds ratios of 3.933, 1.812 and 2.910, respectively. On other hand, gender and operation time were not correlated to GOS.Conclusions: Anesthesia class, APACHE II score and ASA class have significant prognostic values for patients undergoing neurosurgical surgery.


Background: Using Hospital Information Systems (HIS) is effective for reducing medical errors and provides timely access to high quality information. Therefore, all healthcare organizations are trying to implement them. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the success factors of hospital information system implementation. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 160 HIS users of educational hospitals in Urmia University of Medical Sciences in 2010 that were selected by multistage cluster random sampling. Data were collected by a self-developed questionnaire which its reliability and validity had been confirmed and results were presented by descriptive statistics. Findings: Among the four success factors of HIS implementation, the highest mean score was related to the project management (4.62±0.74) and the lowest mean score was related to the organizational factors (3.98±0.72). Conclusion: With regard to the results, success in HIS implementation needs attention to the project management factors. Thus, the HIS implementation roadmap should be specified more precisely and the working group should be formed involving users and appropriate leadership.


As a fundamental research on magnetic drug targeting, trial was made to catch the magnetic fluid droplet falling in the water. The motion of the droplet was experimentally observed and analyzed, and was numerically simulated. Motion of the magnetic droplet is mainly classified into three types according to the strength of the magnetic force. The condition of capture is examined.


Two studies examined the relationship between self-compassion, academic achievement goals, and coping with perceived academic failure among undergraduates. Self-compassion entails being kind to oneself in instances of failure, perceiving one's experiences as part of the larger human experience, and holding painful feelings in mindful awareness. Study 1 (N = 222) found that self-compassion was positively associated with mastery goals and negatively associated with performance goals, a relationship that was mediated by the lesser fear of failure and greater perceived competence of self-compassionate individuals. Study 2 confirmed these findings among students who perceived their recent midterm grade as a failure (N = 110), with results also indicating that self-compassion was positively associated with emotion-focused coping strategies and negatively associated with avoidance-oriented strategies.