Category: Hindfoot; Ankle; Midfoot/Forefoot Introduction/Purpose: The tibiocalcaneonavicular ligament (TCNL) is formed from the confluence of the superficial deltoid ligament and the superomedial spring ligament. In advanced flexible adult acquired flatfoot deformity (AAFD), progressive strain on the TCNL can lead to spring ligament tears, deltoid insufficiency, and eventual medial peritalar instability. Historically, medial peritalar instability was corrected using calcaneal osteotomy in conjunction with isolated spring or deltoid reconstruction. A recent study (Brodell et al.) demonstrated the efficacy of TCNL reconstruction in patients with medial peritalar instability. The purpose of this study is to add to this literature using patient-reported and radiographic outcomes in patients undergoing TCNL reconstruction. Patient-reported outcomes were collected using Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function (PF) and Pain Interference (PI) surveys. Methods: Sixteen patients (mean age 50.25 years; 11 female, 5 male) who underwent TCNL reconstruction were prospectively identified. TCNL reconstruction was indicated for stage IIB patients (n=13) with large spring ligament tears (>1.5cm on MRI or intraoperatively) or if osseous correction did not provide adequate talonavicular joint correction. TCNL reconstruction was indicated in stage IV patients (n=3) if deltoid reconstruction required additional medial stabilization. No patients underwent lateral column lengthening osteotomies. PROMIS scores were obtained at baseline and at minimum 12-months follow-up (average 16 months). Surgical success was determined using minimum clinically important differences (MCID), defined as improvement greater than one-half the standard deviation of each pre-operative PROMIS domain (PF: +2.9 and PI: -2.5). Pre- and post-operative radiographic parameters were measured: talonavicular uncoverage angle, talonavicular uncoverage percentage, AP talo-first metatarsal angle, Meary's angle, and medial cuneiform height (MCH). Correlation coefficients determined the relationship between radiographic parameters and PROMIS scores. Results: PROMIS PF scores improved significantly from 38.1+-5.8 to 44.1+-7.1 (p=0.0087). PROMIS PI scores improved significantly from 62.9+-5.1 to 52.3+-8.9 (p=0.0025). Seventy-nine and 77 percent of patients had successful surgeries, as defined by MCIDs in the PROMIS PF and PI domains, respectively. Talonavicular uncoverage percentage and Meary's angle improved significantly from 34.4+-13.4 to 26.3+-9.9 percent (p=0.0360) and 19.2+-8.8 to 15.3+-6.2 degrees (p=0.0089), respectively. Talonavicular uncoverage angle improved from 29.3+-9.6 to 23.3+-8.0 degrees (p=0.0562), AP talo-first metatarsal angle improved from 15.2+-10.2 to 10.4+-9.0 degrees (p=0.0555), and MCH improved from 13.5+-6.2 to 15.9+-4.8 millimeters (p=0.1374). Post- operative MCH correlated significantly with post-operative PROMIS PF scores (r=0.5941; p=0.0152). Change in AP talo-first metatarsal angle correlated significantly with change in PROMIS PI scores (r=0.5682; p=0.0427). No other correlations were significant. Conclusion: Patients with stage IIB and stage IV AAFD who undergo TCNL reconstructions have excellent patient-reported and radiographic outcomes. Reconstruction of the medial longitudinal arch, as measured by post-operative MCH, is associated with higher post-operative functionality. Surgical correction of midfoot abduction, as measured by change in the AP talo-first metatarsal angle after surgery, is associated with improvements in pain. In patients with medial peritalar instability, TCNL reconstruction can be a valuable technique to correct the sagittal arch, prevent excessive midfoot abduction, and improve pain and functionality.


Algebraic geometry has a complicated, difficult language. This book contains a definition, several references and the statements of the main theorems (without proofs) for every of the most common words in this subject. Some terms of related subjects are included. It helps beginners that know some, but not all, basic facts of algebraic geometry to follow seminars and to read papers. The dictionary form makes it easy and quick to consult.


Stephen Presser begins his interesting paper with the observation that the invalidation of state tort reform legislation represents a severe crisis of the legitimacy of law and legal institutions.! In fact, he states it was the most severe crisis oflegitimacy of law and legal institutions in our nation's history.2 Professor Presser claims that this crisis began in 1937 with the legal movement known as Realism. I take an opposite view. The invalidation of state tort reform legislation is not the result of Realism, but of the absence of Realism. The approach that several state supreme courts have taken in recent years toward the evaluation of modem tort reform is exactly the form of Lochner Era analysis that was repudiated in 1937 on the basis of Realist critique.s I believe that this is the reason that the form of economic analysis that I and many others have conducted showing the benefits to consumers of modem tort reform has had no effect on the constitutional debate. The repudiation of the Lochner analysis in 1937 was not the consequence of studies that showed that state economic regulation actually benefited the citizenry. It was not the result of economic analysis demonstrating that the minimum wage actually improved welfare (which we know it does not), or that limits on the number of hours that people worked actually improved


OBJECTIVE: Maternal obesity is likely a risk factor for neural tube defects (NTDs). By late 1997, it became mandatory in Canada that all refined wheat flour be fortified with folic acid. Because overweight women may consume greater quantities of refined wheat flour, we questioned whether their risk of NTD changed after flour fortification. METHODS: A retrospective population-based study was conducted between 1994 and late 2000. We included all Ontarian women who underwent antenatal maternal screening at 15 to 20 weeks of gestation. Self-declared maternal date of birth, ethnicity, current weight, and the presence of pregestational diabetes mellitus were recorded in a standardized fashion on the maternal screening requisition sheet. The presence of NTDs was systematically detected both antenatally and postnatally. The risk of open NTD was evaluated across maternal weight quartiles and deciles, and an interaction between greater maternal weight and the presence of flour fortification was tested using multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 292 open NTDs were detected among 420,362 women. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for NTD was 1.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–1.3) per 10-kg incremental rise in maternal weight. Comparing the highest with the lowest quartile of maternal weight, the adjusted OR for NTD was 2.6 (95% CI 1.8–4.0). A similar finding was observed for the highest compared with lowest weight deciles (adjusted OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.7–6.2). The interaction between elevated maternal weight and the presence of folic acid flour fortification was of borderline significance (P = .09). Before fortification, greater maternal weight was associated with a modestly increased risk of NTD (adjusted OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0–1.8); after flour fortification, this effect was more pronounced (adjusted OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.2–6.6). CONCLUSION: These data emphasize the higher risk of NTD associated with increased maternal weight, even after universal folic acid flour fortification. Beyond periconceptional folic acid use, consideration should be given to testing whether prepregnancy weight reduction is an independent means of preventing NTD. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II-2


Cynolebias parnaibensis from the Caninde River drainage, Parnaiba River basin, northeastern Brazil, is described. It is considered to be a member of a clade endemic to the Caatinga. The clade is diagnosed, e. g., by a series of structural modifications of the pharyngeal jaw apparatus, which is related to the sound production exhibited by males during courtship behavior. The courtship sound of C. parnaibensis consists of a single pulse named as thump (duration 0.031-0.133s; interthump intervals 0.020-8.319s; dominant frequency 70.3-93.8 Hz). The new species is distinguished from all other congeners by a combination of 27-31 neuromasts around eye, 29-33 supraorbital neuromasts, 16-18 dorsal-fin rays and 19 anal-fin rays in males, 28-31 caudal-fin rays, 33-36 scales in the longitudinal series, 3+10 gill-rakers in the first branchial arch, absence of second pharyngobranchial teeth, absence of contact organs on the flank scales, 34-35 vertebrae, absence of teeth on vomer, and presence of transverse series of scales on the anal-fin base.


Depression is a regular accompaniment of all chronic painful conditions. A study was conducted to assess the effect of treatment of the depressive factor in patients with chronic prostatodynia. Effects were compared of psychosomatic therapy (psychotherapy, relaxation, etc.) alone in 9 patients (group I) and the same psychosomatic care plus treatment with amineptine and clobazam in 9 patients (group II). Results showed that 2 patients recovered and 3 were improved (62%) with 1 drop-out in group II, versus recovery and 2 improvements (42%) with 2 drop outs in group I. These findings are analyzed and discussed.


— There have been numerous studies on formal methods but yet there is diminutive utilization of formal methods in the commercial world. This can be attributed to many factors such as that few specialists know how to use Formal Methods (FMs) and also the use of mathematical notation gives a perception that formal methods are hard. FMs have been used in the software development world since 1940 during the earliest stage of computer development. To date there is a slow adoption of FMs and they are used mostly in mission critical projects such as in the military and aviation. In this paper we focus on how to increase the pace of FMs adoption in the commercial world. As part of this work a framework is established to facilitate the use of FMs in the commercial world or commercial systems. A mini ERP system specification is presented in both an informal technique and a formal notation to demonstrate how a formal specification can be derived from informal specification guided by the Enhanced Established Strategy for formal specification.


The biological datasets of two genes of Mus musculus which are Cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 officially known as prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase (PTGS), were selected for Phylogenetics studies using algorithm. This analysis has focused on Cyclooxygenase gene families for which initial characterizations have been achieved for individual members. Phylogenetic trees of each family define the evolutionary relationships of the members to each other. These families contain numerous members, indicating diverse functions in vivo. Closely related isoforms and separate subfamilies exist within many of these gene families, indicating possible redundancies and specialized functions. To facilitate their further study, we have developed phylogenetic tree of the analyzed genes.


The Supreme Court recently handed down judgment in the appeal in Patel v Mirza [2016]. In this landmark decision, the Supreme Court put to rest a long-running debate that had raged between justices of the Supreme Court regarding the proper approach to the law of illegality. Several Justices, spearheaded by Lord Sumption, had preferred a rule-based analysis, with the reliance test constituting the relevant rule. According to the reliance test, the claimant will fail in his or her action if he or she needs to rely on his or her own wrongdoing in order to establish the claim. The rival approach, championed by Lord Toulson, was a discretionary analysis. The discretion-based test involves examining all of the factors that weigh in favour and against permitting recovery and then reaching a conclusion as to the proper outcome in the light of those considerations. Salient factors might include the need to prevent wrongful profiting, the concern to deter offending, the imperative of maintaining both the dignity of the courts and the coherence of the legal system, any relevant statutory policy, and the importance of guarding against disproportionate reactions to what might be relatively insignificant illegality. In Patel, the Supreme Court rejected, by a majority, the rule-based approach in favour of the policy analysis. An important question that arises, however, and one that was not answered by the Supreme Court, is whether Patel applies beyond the field of unjust enrichment, which was the area of law in issue in the case, and extends to claims in tort law. If Patel applies to tort law, it arguably overrules sub silentio decisions in the law of torts that lay down an alternative approach. More particularly, it would conceivably follow that Patel overturns the momentous decision of the House of Lords in Gray v Thames Trains [2009], in which a causal test was embraced. Pursuant to the causal test, the claimant will fail if, by his or her own illegal act, he or she had caused the damage that was the subject of the claim. It is obvious that this test differs from the policy-based approach. The burden of this article is to consider Patel's jurisprudential reach.


The co-occurrence of multiple mycotoxins, including aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), zearalenone (ZEN) and deoxynivalenol (DON), widely exists in cereal-based animal feed and food. At present, most reported mycotoxins degrading enzymes target only a certain type of mycotoxins. Therefore, it is of great significance for mining enzymes involved in the simultaneous degradation of different types of mycotoxins. In this study, a dye-decolorizing peroxidase-encoding gene BsDyP from Bacillus subtilis SCK6 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21/pG-Tf2. The purified recombinant BsDyP was capable of oxidizing various substrates, including lignin phenolic model compounds 2,6-dimethylphenol and guaiacol, the substrate 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), anthraquinone dye reactive blue 19 and azo dye reactive black 5, as well as Mn2+. In addition, BsDyP could efficiently degrade different types of mycotoxins, including AFB1, ZEN and DON, in presence of Mn2+. More important, the toxicities of their corresponding enzymatic degradation products AFB1-diol, 15-OH-ZEN and C15H18O8 were significantly lower than AFB1, ZEN and DON. In summary, these results proved that BsDyP was a promising candidate for the simultaneous degradation of multiple mycotoxins in animal feed and food.


This paper investigates the relation between Chief Executive Officers (CEO) career concerns and voluntary disclosures using listed firm (KOSPI) data in Korea. Prior research suggests that explicit incentives in the form of CEO stock-based compensation or CEO's equity ownership mitigate the agency problems of reluctance to make voluntary disclosure. In addition, implicit incentives arising from CEO career concerns are as important as explicit incentives for mitigating agency problems. The labor market assesses CEOs ability and CEO reputation in the market is a valuable asset that is associated with many long-term benefits, such as better future compensation, reappointment in the position, and greater managerial autonomy. CEOs are concerned about such an assessment and these concerns are referred to as career concerns. However, the market has incomplete information about CEOs' ability especially when the CEOs have short tenures as a CEO position. Hence, CEOs with short tenures have more strong incentives to signal their ability to the labor market so that they can build proper reputation. Implicit incentives arising from CEO career concerns are measured by CEO tenure. I assume that short-tenured CEOs are more career-concerned than long-tenured CEOs. I find that CEOs with short tenures tend to more likely disclose management forecasts. I interpret this result that more career-concerned CEOs have strong incentives to signal their ability to the labor market in order to build their reputations which affect their future payoffs such as compensations and reappointment. In addition, management forecasts, means of voluntary disclosure, are used as effective mechanism. I also find that CEOs with short tenures tend to disclose more accurate management forecasts. This result implies that CEOs with more career concerns have more pressure to provide accurate forecasts because of their reliability in the labor market. Based on these empirical results, I infer that CEOs' implicit incentives affect their voluntary disclosure decision. This study will contribute to academics and disclosure-related practitioners by documenting about CEOs' career concerns and their voluntary disclosure decisions.


The purpose of this stud y is to examine strategic alliances between large, established and small, evolving firms, in the software industry in Ireland. The core objectives are to develop an understanding for why cooperative agreements between large and small firms are initiated; and how such relationships are initiated, implemented an d developed over time.

Until recently, strategic alliances were exceptions to normal operations since they were formed on an adhoc basis to deal with specific situations generally linked to product access and market control. Due to the significant changes occurring in the business environment, the focus on strategic alliances has moved to appoint where they are becoming the rule rather than the exception. A strategic alliance has been defined as a linkage between companies to jointly pursue a common goal - a collaborative agreement which may be viewed as an intermediate position along a spectrum of inter-firm dealings, encompassing arms-length transactions at one end and full mergers at the other.

This study rejects the notion of theory verification, whereby one would develop objectives, deduce hypotheses which are thus subjected to some form of empirical testing. Instead, it has concentrated its efforts on the discovery of concepts which lead to theory on the development and implementation of strategic alliances between small and large companies in the computer industry. Since there exists a relatively thin theoretical base concerning cooperative agreements between large and small companies in the literature, a core objective of this study was to integrate a number of phenomen a which has been observed in practice by managers. The result of this is a descriptive model of a complex system of inter-related issues which determine the development of cooperative relationships between large, established and small, evolving firms.

Chapter One explores the concepts and theories developed by previous authors concerning aspects of strategic alliances. The chapter commences with an examination of factors which have forced change into the environments of most organisations. This is followed with the search for a definition of an alliance and a review of the different aspects of the strategic alliance. The chapter is completed with particular emphasis on alliances between large and small firms.

In the Second Chapter, a strategic review of the software industry in Ireland is developed. It examines the industry b y dividing company types into two subsections - indigenous and foreign-owned. Forces of change which influence the ind u stry are examined and key trends are identified. A discussion on strategic alliances in the industry completes this chapter.

The Third Chapter examines the changing perspectives of marketing research methodology over the years. It debates the scientific nature of marketing and thus, marketing research. It explores areas of ethnography and phenomenology and proffers the notion of the case study as a legitimate research tool.

Chapter Four presents the research design where core objectives are discussed and propositions are developed. The choice of the case study is justified and advantages and limitations of the chosen methodology are discussed. The process of data collection and analysis are described.

In Chapter Five the case history is presented which is based on information gathered over a one year time period. It commences with some background on Dascom - the Irish software company under investigation - which is followed by some background market information. Relationship agreements are then outlined an d the different decisions and behaviours associated with strategic alliances are documented. The chapter concludes with the situation, as it stands, at the present time.

The Sixth Chapter presents an analysis of the case using cause mapping to analyse the streams of decisions an d behaviour occurring through the phases of initiation, implementation and development of strategic alliances.

In Chapter Seven the author develops a theoretical model, based on the causal map presented in the previous chapter. An explanation is offered an d the key research objectives and propositions addressed. Based on the model developed and the conclusions derived, a number of m an ag erial implications are deducted. Finally, further research recommendations are proposed


As network speeds continue to increase, the delays at the application layers can become more important than the delays on the network. These delays can be significant for control system applications, but are not often specified. Network protocol standards are often more focused on transmission reliability and correctness than on transmission delays. For many control system applications, timeliness is more important than accuracy. Recognizing the importance of the application-layer delays, this paper presents the results of a series of experiments on the quality of service in Ethernet networks. For UDP, OPC, and VPN communications, the end-to-end time delays are measured and characterized. The different factors that contribute to the delays are discussed. The paper concludes with some comments on future research directions


SUMMARY Research on suction-feeding performance has mostly focused on measuring individual underlying components such as suction pressure, flow velocity, ram or the effects of suction-induced forces on prey movement during feeding. Although this body of work has advanced our understanding of aquatic feeding, no consensus has yet emerged on how to combine all of these variables to predict prey-capture performance. Here, we treated the aquatic predator–prey encounter as a hydrodynamic interaction between a solid particle (representing the prey) and the unsteady suction flows around it, to integrate the effects of morphology, physiology, skull kinematics, ram and fluid mechanics on suction-feeding performance. We developed the suction-induced force-field (SIFF) model to study suction-feeding performance in 18 species of centrarchid fishes, and asked what morphological and functional traits underlie the evolution of feeding performance on three types of prey. Performance gradients obtained using SIFF revealed that different trait combinations contribute to the ability to feed on attached, evasive and (strain-sensitive) zooplanktonic prey because these prey types impose different challenges on the predator. The low overlap in the importance of different traits in determining performance also indicated that the evolution of suction-feeding ability along different ecological axes is largely unconstrained. SIFF also yielded estimates of feeding ability that performed better than kinematic traits in explaining natural patterns of prey use. When compared with principal components describing variation in the kinematics of suction-feeding events, SIFF output explained significantly more variation in centrarchid diets, suggesting that the inclusion of more mechanistic hydrodynamic models holds promise for gaining insight into the evolution of aquatic feeding performance.


Electroplating and metalworking industries discharge large amounts of heavy metals, including copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) ions, in their effluents have been recognized as a major problem to human health and aquatic life. Copper is highly toxic because it is non biodegradable and carcinogenic, Copper has been reported to cause neurotoxicity commonly known as "Wilson's disease" due to deposition of copper in the lenticular nucleus of the brain and kidney failure, Nickel exposure vary from skin irritation to damage of the lungs, nervous system, and mucous membranes and Zinc toxicity from excessive ingestion is uncommon but causes gastrointestinal distress and diarrhea. The current regulation of waste water and drinking water standards are require contamination of heavy metal reduced up to few parts per million. Several processing techniques are available to reduce the concentrations of heavy metals in wastewater, including precipitation, flotation, ion exchange, solvent extraction, adsorption, cementation onto iron, membrane processing, and electrolytic methods. Adsorption onto activated carbon is a well-known method for removing toxic metal ions, but the high cost of activated carbon restricts its use in developing countries, so cheap and effective alternatives for the removal of heavy metals should reduce operating costs, reduce the prices of products, improve competitiveness, and benefit the environment. The adsorption abilities of a number of low-cost adsorbents (e.g., cheap zeolites, clay, coal fly ash, sewage sludge, agriculture waste, tea waste, rice husk, coconut husk, neem leaves and biomass) have been determined for the removal of heavy metals from water.


The extent of environmental contamination created by the nuclear weapons legacy combined with expensive, ineffective waste cleanup strategies at many U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites prompted Congress to pass the FY96 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, which directed the DOE to: ''provide sufficient attention and resources to longer-term basic science research, which needs to be done to ultimately reduce cleanup costs'', ''develop a program that takes advantage of laboratory and university expertise, and'' ''seek new and innovative cleanup methods to replace current conventional approaches which are often costly and ineffective.'' In response, the DOE initiated the Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP)-a targeted, long-term research program intended to produce solutions to DOE's most pressing environmental problems. EMSP funds basic research to lower cleanup cost and reduce risk to workers, the public, and the environment; direct the nation's scientific infrastructure towards cleanup of contaminated waste sites; and bridge the gap between fundamental research and technology development activities. EMSP research projects are competitively awarded based on the project's scientific, merit coupled with relevance to addressing DOE site needs. This paper describes selected EMSP research projects with long, mid, and short-term deployment potential and discusses the impacts, focus, and results of themore » research. Results of EMSP research are intended to accelerate cleanup schedules, reduce cost or risk for current baselines, provide alternatives for contingency planning, or provide solutions to problems where no solutions exist.« less


The surface meshwork of tissue, commonly referred to as the "net," of fruit of Cucumis melo L. cv. PMR-45 is an elaborate system of lenticels. Lenticellar tissue is derived from a subepidermal periderm. Cork cells, which comprise the complementary tissue of lenticels, protrude through the surface fissures which develop as the fruit enlarges. It is suggested that cork cells of the net and of the periderm contribute to resistance to mechanical injury of the fruit; that gaseous exchange is facilitated by lenticellar net development; and that resistance to disease is enhanced by the presence of a surface cuticle and by the development of cork cells with suberized walls.


In the context of copper-catalyzed nitrene transfer to olefins, many systems operate upon mixing a CuX salt (X = halide, OTf) and a polydentate N-based ligand, assuming that the X ligand is displaced from the coordination sphere toward a counterion position. Herein, we demonstrated that such general assumption should be in doubt since studies carried out with the well-defined copper(I) complexes (TTM)CuCl and [(TTM)Cu(NCMe)]PF6 (TTM = tris(triazolyl)methane ligand) demonstrate a dual behavior from a catalytic and mechanistic point of view that exclusively depends on the presence or absence of the chloride ligand bonded to the metal center. When coordinated, the turnover-limiting step corresponds to the formation of the carbon–nitrene bond, whereas in its absence, the highest barrier corresponds to the formation of the copper–nitrene intermediate.


Heterocyclic systems containing benzothiazoles, carbazole (and azacarbazole) moieties have attracted the attention of chemists owing to these nuclei having been identified in the literature as most promising pharmacophores in drug design and synthesis. Based on these observations, it could be anticipated that incorporation of the bioactive azepine moiety and quinoline moiety into the molecular framework of benzothiazoles fused to carbazole (and azacarbazoles) could produce interesting series of compounds 9-12 with enhanced biological activities, whose structure was unequivocally established from its micro analyses and spectral data.


Objective. The demand for emergency services has risen dramatically around the world. Many Emergency Departments (EDs) have signs of low capacity efficiency (which we define as the rate at which a production facility with limited resources can convert input into output); insufficient resources (staffing, equipment, facilities), inefficient ways to use them, or both. Our purpose was to investigate how to improve ED capacity efficiency through layout planning and present some novel ideas of ED bottlenecks.Methods. We adopted an industrial engi-neering perspective to one Finnish ED as a case example. In contrary to a simple case report we used more generalizable meth-ods and demand-supply chain analysis to improve capacity efficiency.Results. This study resulted in concrete and generalizable improvements of capacity ef-ficiency concerning both ED premises and staffing. The former includes designing pa-tient locations, organizing beds, improving space usage and optimizing an ED layout. The latter identified the demand for differ-ent specialties and optimal allocation of nursing staff.Conclusion. We present a rather unique combination of ways to enhance ED func-tionality by using methods of industrial engineering.


The aim of the research described in this thesis is to study the structure-property relations of PTMO based segmented polyether(ester-amide)s (PEEA) with tetra-amide rigid segments. The influence of the rigid segment structure on the polymer properties is intensively studied. The rigid segment structure can be varied by the number of methylene groups, aliphatic or aromatic character and the number of hydrogen bonding groups.


Materials and Methods: The 50 specimens of the 25 donated embalmed cadavers were dissected and observed for variations in the origin and insertion of biceps brachii muscle bilaterally in the department of Anatomy at K.J.Somaiya Medical College, Sion, Mumbai, INDIA. The dissection of arm and forearm was done meticulously in all the 50 specimens. The photographs of the supernumerary head of biceps brachii muscle were taken for proper documentation and for ready reference. Results / Observations: Out of 50 specimens, the supernumerary head was found in six specimens. In all six specimens, the supernumerary head joined with the other two heads and form a common tendon which got inserted into the radial tuberosity of the radius and bicipital aponeurosis. In the present study the incidence of supernumerary head of biceps brachii was 12%. In all the six specimens, the supernumerary head was found unilaterally (5 males & 1female specimen). In three specimens (50%) the supernumerary head was supplied by median nerve, the musculocutaneous nerve was absent in that specimen while in all other specimens the muscles of front of arm were supplied as usual by musculocutaneous nerve. The blood supply of the supernumerary head was from the brachial artery and vein. There was no variation in the vascular pattern of arm and forearm in all the specimens. Conclusion: Topographical anatomy and variations in the heads of the biceps brachii muscle is clinically important for


We have obtained ground-based I, J and K band images of the spiral galaxy, Messier 74 (NGC 628). This galaxy has been shown to possess a circumnuclear ring of star formation from both near-infrared spectroscopy of CO absorption and sub-millimetre imaging of CO emission. Circumnuclear rings of star formation are believed to exist only as a result of a bar potential. In this paper we show evidence for a weak oval distortion in the centre of M74. We use the results of Combes & Gerin (1985) to suggest that this weak oval potential is responsible for the circumnuclear ring of star formation observed in M74.


The ability to create high-quality 3D faces from a single image has become increasingly important with wide applications in video conferencing, AR/VR, and advanced video editing in movie industries. In this paper, we propose Face Diffusion NeRF (FDNeRF), a new generative method to reconstruct high-quality Face NeRFs from single images, complete with semantic editing and relighting capabilities. FDNeRF utilizes high-resolution 3D GAN inversion and expertly trained 2D latent-diffusion model, allowing users to manipulate and construct Face NeRFs in zero-shot learning without the need for explicit 3D data. With carefully designed illumination and identity preserving loss, as well as multi-modal pre-training, FD-NeRF offers users unparalleled control over the editing process enabling them to create and edit face NeRFs using just single-view images, text prompts, and explicit target lighting. The advanced features of FDNeRF have been designed to produce more impressive results than existing 2D editing approaches that rely on 2D segmentation maps for editable attributes. Experiments show that our FDNeRF achieves exceptionally realistic results and unprecedented flexibility in editing compared with state-of-the-art 3D face reconstruction and editing methods. Our code will be available at https://github.com/BillyXYB/FDNeRF.


The article analyzes the contributions of the notions of Good Living attributable to epistemologies, traditions, and subjective well-being at work, given the current changes in the working context, to enrich the concept of human development. The article is developed with an analytical-descriptive and synthetic approach, reconstructing the concept of Good Living through a theoretical-economic, ontological, and epistemological comparison and its dimensional axes. Methodologically, a systematic review of human development literature is used in Latin America through the Web of Science (WOS), comparing the UNDP Technical Notes (HDI) with the various approaches to Good Living published between 2010 and 2020. These documents were subjected to semantic contrast, with reference to the various dimensions and positions of human development as a generator of subjective well-being for the configuration of public labor policies. The main findings refer to the disagreement points evidenced in the two-axes dimensions of the Good Living measurement systems (mobility and safety, and cultural satisfaction within territories), an important factor being the sumak kawsay, the concept of Good Living. Sumak is fullness, the sublime, excellent, magnificent, beautiful, superior. Kawsay is life, being. However, it is dynamic, changing, and is not a passive question, and is thus not considered by the different evolutionary changes of the HDI.


PURPOSE Leptomeningeal disease (LMD) is an aggressive complication of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) with brain metastases (BM), with a short survival of weeks to months. Studies suggest that surgical resection of BM may increases the risk of LMD, especially in infratentorial metastases. In this retrospective study, we examine this and other factors which may be associated with increased risk of LMD. METHODS A database search at a single institution identified 178 patients with MBC and treated BM between 2007-2020. We collected demographic, clinical, radiographic and other treatment data. LMD was diagnosed by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology, neuroimaging, or both. Cox proportional hazards model was used. RESULTS After a median follow up of 8.5 months, 41 out of 178 patients (23%) with BM developed LMD. Median time to develop LMD was 130 days. Mean age was 51.3 years. The number and size of the BM, hemorrhagic/cystic lesions, progressive/stable systemic disease, and extracranial metastases sites other than liver did not pose a higher risk of LMD. Infratentorial lesions (HR=5.41) and liver metastases (HR=2.28) had a higher risk of LMD. Patients who had any surgery did not have a higher risk for LMD (HR 1.13). The LMD group had a worse overall survival as compared to the non-LMD group. CONCLUSIONS Among MBC patients with BM, infratentorial BM and visceral liver lesions increase the risk of LMD whereas local treatment modalities such as surgery and radiation do not. This data implies that local treatment strategy should not differ based on potential risk for LMD.


This paper examines the welfare implications of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) from the perspective of small countries in the context of a multi-country, general equilibrium model. We calibrate our model to represent one relatively small country and two symmetric big countries. We consider two cases. In one case, the small country is an "innocent bystander," that is, it is left out of a PTA between the two large countries. In the second case, the small country signs a PTA with one of the large countries. We simulate the model and calculate consumption allocations, prices, trade volume, and tariffs in these two cases considering three different equilibria: Free Trade (FT), Free Trade Area (FTA), and Customs Union (CU). We find that free trade is the best outcome for the small country. If the large country PTA takes the form of a CU then the cost of being an "innocent bystander" is very large. If it is a FTA then the cost of being an "innocent bystander" is relatively modest. In fact, the small country prefers to be an "innocent bystander" to being a member of a FTA with one of the large countries. JEL Classification: F02, F13, F15


Operational management is an important step in production process of a chemical reaction for getting good quality of yield with economical way as taken in recycling of chromium from tannery waste. It is most widely used the Chromium (III) salts as a chemicalin the process of tanning. Only 60%-70% of chromium salt is used to reacts with theskins and hides but 30%-40% of remaining chromium chemicals are wasted in form of the solid and liquid (as a tanning solutions). Consequently, the recoveryand recycling of the chromium metal content of existed wastewaters is essential for economic reasons and environmental protection. Recycling and recovery of chromium metal is supported by using chemical precipitation methods. For achieving this special aim, calcium hydroxide plus alum and magnesium oxide are used as two precipitating agents. This is a confirmatory Study on the effects of stirring time, pH, sludge and settling rate volume in batch experiments. These Results are showed that the optimum pH for efficient recovery was done at 8.5, good sludge with high settling rate and lower volume during recovery process was achieved. Based on these findings an economical recovery plant was designed. The recovery achieved about 99(%) at pH 8 with stirring at 90 rmp.


Bleeding esophageal varices is associated with a high mortality rate. Despite advances in management, the mortality rate remains at 30-80 per cent. Endoscopic variceal band ligation (EVL) is a new technique designed to manage esophageal varices with the aim of reducing the complication rate. Variceal rebleeding which occurs in 6-36 per cent of patients is common during the treatment period before variceal obliteration is achieved but related factors remain unknown. Thirty-one patients with a history of esophageal variceal bleeding and endoscopically confirmed between February 1999 and February 2001 received regular EVL until variceal disappearance and were reviewed retrospectively. There was no major complication. Rebleeding was documented in 8 patients (25.8%). Portal hypertension-related conditions, such as gastric varices and portal hypertensive gastropathy, were the most common sources of rebleeding. Platelet count and prothrombin time were not found to be closely related to rebleeding (p-value=0.79, 0.08) but Child-Pugh's C patients had a significantly higher rebleeding rate compared with Child-Pugh's B and A respectively (p-value=0.047). Mortality was high in the rebleeding group significantly (p-value=0.006) and exsanguinations were the major cause of death. In conclusion, the authors suggest that long-term follow-up is required.


Abstract. Hunting is one of the leading causes of declines in tropical wildlife. Yet, for many traditional and Indigenous Peoples, hunting and associated rituals are integral to establishing and maintaining social identities and reciprocal relations with nature. Taboos that restrict hunting and forest use are widely prevalent in traditional societies and have been likened to informal culture-based conservation mechanisms. However, where taboos have been formally co-opted by conservation programs, the results have been largely ineffective. A recent study showed that taboos in the Idu Mishmi community of Northeast India significantly reduced wild meat consumption and contributed to biodiversity protection, including an endangered tiger population. In this study, we explore what motivates Idu taboos, their role in everyday Idu life, how they impact hunting, and whether they will endure with changing circumstances. We find that by conditioning social and personal prosperity on ancestrally mandated, morally correct behavior in the forest, Idu taboos ensure that people understand that human well-being is inextricably linked to restrictive hunting. Violation of taboo does not just bring misfortune to the violator but to all kin, forging interdependence and cohesion in the society. Taboos form the moral and practical basis of interaction between and among humans, spirits, and animals. Taboos are not an isolated component of the Idu culture; they make the Idu the Idu, the reason why they have endured through rapidly changing times. Conservation should pay careful attention not just to the outcomes of cultural institutions, but to their meanings and processes to co-create sustainable and ethical programs.


Laminated composites have important applications in modern aeronautical structures due to their extraordinary mechanical and environmental behaviour. Nevertheless, aircraft composite structures are highly vulnerable to impact damage, either by low-velocity sources during maintenance or high-velocity sources during in-flight events. Even barely visible impact damage induced by low-velocity loading, substantially reduces the residual mechanical performance and the safe-service life of the composites structures. Despite the extensive research already carried out, impact damage of laminated composite structures is still not well understood and it is an area of on-going research. Numerical modelling is considered as the most efficient tool as compared to the expensive and time-consuming experimental testing. In this paper, a finite element model based on explicit dynamics formulations is adopted. Hashin criterion is applied to predict the intra-laminar damage initiation and evolution. The numerical analysis is performed using the ABAQUS® programme. The employed modelling approach is validated using numerical results found in the literature and the presented results show an acceptable correlation to the available literature data. It is demonstrated that the presented model is able to capture forcetime response as well as damage evolution map for a range of impact energies.


This question has often been discussed amongst Danes: Did the occupation lead to a state of war between Denmark and Germany? - not because anyone possibly could be in doubt that an intense and well-organised struggle was going on throughout the country, but because it is not clear how this struggle should be characterised. The question is not only of juridical importance. It also contains political and psychological elements, which account for the fact that special emotional interests attach to it. We are now going to discuss this problem briefly, but to begin with, it is necessary to give a sketch of the background, of what actually happened in Denmark since April 1940.


Few health-care providers have experience of delivering telecare and access to formal training is limited. We therefore developed an online training programme in telecare. A participatory design approach was used and telecare providers were invited to participate in each stage of the course design cycle. The course content, learning activities and learning materials such as video were based on the results of interviews with providers from various health disciplines and observations in the telecare workplace. The approach led to the development of a six-week, multimedia, online course for members of the health-care team. Participants were asked to review the prototype course for completeness and accuracy of content, quality of course design and the utility of learning activities. Overall feedback was favourable. Learners found the course content and learning activities helpful, and it met their needs. The learning material was then reviewed by a panel of experts and further revisions were made. Including providers in the development process led to the creation of a course that appears likely to improve the implementation and practice of telecare.


Leeway incompatibilism is the view that (a) no one is morally responsible for what they do unless they could have done (or had the ability to do) something other than what they did and (b) the ability to do otherwise is incompatible with the obtaining of causal determinism. In this dissertation I attempt to defend the plausibility of leeway incompatibilism by investigating a variety of philosophical issues. I respond to arguments against leeway incompatibilism and develop accounts of certain phenomena (such as the nature of ability and the content of the blaming emotions or attitudes) that fit nicely with the leeway incompatibilist picture.I have 5 chapters in the dissertation. The first chapter is introductory. The second and third chapters deal with the attack on the Principle of Alternative Possibilities (PAP) derived from the Frankfurt-style cases. Chapter two deals with `indirect' attempts to use Frankfurt-style cases (FSCs) to undermine PAP. Proponents of Indirect Frankfurt-Style Arguments can (but need not) grant that there is no FSC in which an agent is both morally responsible and lacking alternative possibilities. They maintain that even if this is so, the FSCs provide us with an anti PAP insight. I respond to several of these arguments. Chapter three develops an original critique of the Frankfurt-style case based attack on PAP. This critique involves a substantial discussion of responsibility for omissions. In Chapter four I respond to an argument that aims to show that agents do not need to be in control of their behavior in order to be appropriately blamed for what they do. This involves developing an original account of the content of blaming attitudes (such as guilt and resentment). In chapter five I develop an account of ability which yields the result that the ability to do otherwise is incompatible with causal determinism. This account of ability makes substantial use of the notion of `explanatory dependence' which has been developed in recent philosophical literature. An interesting upshot of my account of ability is that foreknowledge of what action a person will perform is compatible with the person having the ability to do otherwise.


Provides an account of how The Cradle, a nonprofit adoption agency, went from the brink of dissolution to become a thriving organization carrying out its mission. Under the leadership of Julie Tye, the organization and its board underwent an extensive strategic planning process and made significant changes to the organization's strategy, structure, and culture. Describes the condition of The Cradle before Tye's arrival.


Introduction: Gallstone ileus is an uncommon cause of intestinal obstruction. It is caused when a gallstone migrates through an enterobiliary fistula (most often between the duodenum and the gallbladder) and is impacted in the digestive system, most often in the terminal ileum toward the ileocaecal valve. Case Presentation: Here the authors report the case of a 74-year-old woman who was admitted to Compiegne Hospital in France for a gallstone ileus with the sigmoid colon as the impaction site, which is an even more rare cause of intestinal obstruction. The enterobiliary fistula was between the colon and the gallbladder. The gallstone was removed surgically with a colotomy, without treating the fistula, and after a failed endoscopic attempt to extract the stone. The follow-up was without complications, and a colposcopy showed spontaneous closure of the fistula after 6 weeks. Discussion and Conclusion: The surgical closure of an enterobiliary fistula is an option that should be considered, but it can lead to higher morbidity. That is why the authors opted out of it, especially considering that spontaneous closure of the fistulae can happen, as it did in our case.


Renewable generation technologies are expected to reach unprecedented penetration levels in a number of electric power systems. The increased deployment of these renewable technologies is changing the unit commitment of the rest of generation facilities, increasing the need for cycling. As a result, operation-related issues and their costs become more relevant for an adequate analysis of generation expansion problems. In this study, the authors propose a generation expansion model including an oligopolistic market representation based on an equilibrium approach. It introduces key operation-related constraints, such as minimum stable output, start-ups and shut-downs; and short-term operating costs, such as commitment, start-up and shut-down costs. The proposed model furthermore considers the discrete nature of capacity investment decisions. The authors also propose a heuristic method for solving the arising equilibrium problem, by providing an efficient starting point to the diagonalisation process. This heuristic can lead to reductions of up to 90% in computational time. Finally, case studies are presented in order to illustrate the importance of considering both operational details and a market framework when making generation expansion planning decisions.


Temperature and nutrient availability, which are major drivers of consumer performance, are dramatically affected by global change. To date, there is no consensus on whether warming increases or decreases consumer needs for dietary carbon (C) relatively to phosphorus (P), thus hindering predictions of secondary production responses to global change. Here, we investigate how the dietary C:P ratio optimising consumer growth (TERC:P : Threshold Elemental Ratio) changes along temperature gradients by combining a temperature-dependent TERC:P model with growth experiments on Daphnia magna. Both lines of evidence show that the TERC:P response to temperature is U-shaped. This shape indicates that consumer nutrient requirements can both increase or decrease with increasing temperature, thus reconciling previous contradictive observations into a common framework. This unified framework improves our capacity to forecast the combined effects of nutrient cycle and climatic alterations on invertebrate production.


The sensitivity of Streptococcus faecalis growth to hydrostatic pressures ranging up to 550 atm was found to depend on the source of adenosine triphosphate for growth. Barotolerance of cultures growing in a complex medium with ribose as major catabolite appeared to be determined primarily by the pressure sensitivity of ribose-degrading enzymes. Apparent activation volumes for growth were nearly identical to those for lactate production from ribose, and yield coefficients per mole of ribose degraded were relatively independent of pressure. In contrast, cultures with glucose as main catabolite were less sensitive to pressure; glycolysis was less severely restricted under high pressure than was growth, and yield coefficients declined with pressure, especially above 400 atm. Thus, two distinct types of barotolerance could be defined—one dominated by catabolic reactions and one dominated by noncatabolic reactions. The results of experiments with a series of other catabolites further supported the view that catabolic reactions can determine streptococcal barotolerance. We also found that growing, glucose-degrading cultures increased in volume under pressure in the same manner that they do at 1 atm. Thus, it appeared that the bacterium has no alternative means of carrying out glycolysis under pressure without dilatation. Also, the observation that cultures grown under pressure did not contain abnormally large or morphologically deformed cells suggested that pressure did not inhibit cell division more than cell growth.


BACKGROUND
National quality indicators show little change in the overuse of antibiotics for uncomplicated acute bronchitis. We compared the effect of 2 decision support strategies on antibiotic treatment of uncomplicated acute bronchitis.

METHODS
We conducted a 3-arm cluster randomized trial among 33 primary care practices belonging to an integrated health care system in central Pennsylvania. The printed decision support intervention sites (11 practices) received decision support for acute cough illness through a print-based strategy, the computer-assisted decision support intervention sites (11 practices) received decision support through an electronic medical record-based strategy, and the control sites (11 practices) served as a control arm. Both intervention sites also received clinician education and feedback on prescribing practices, as well as patient education brochures at check-in. Antibiotic prescription rates for uncomplicated acute bronchitis in the winter period (October 1, 2009, through March 31, 2010) following introduction of the intervention were compared with the previous 3 winter periods in an intent-to-treat analysis.

RESULTS
Compared with the baseline period, the percentage of adolescents and adults prescribed antibiotics during the intervention period decreased at the printed decision support intervention sites (from 80.0% to 68.3%) and at the computer-assisted decision support intervention sites (from 74.0% to 60.7%) but increased slightly at the control sites (from 72.5% to 74.3%). After controlling for patient and clinician characteristics, as well as clustering of observations by clinician and practice site, the differences for the intervention sites were statistically significant from the control sites (P = .003 for control sites vs printed decision support intervention sites and P = .01 for control sites vs computer-assisted decision support intervention sites) but not between themselves (P = .67 for printed decision support intervention sites vs computer-assisted decision support intervention sites). Changes in total visits, 30-day return visit rates, and proportion diagnosed as having uncomplicated acute bronchitis were similar among the study sites.

CONCLUSIONS
Implementation of a decision support strategy for acute bronchitis can help reduce the overuse of antibiotics in primary care settings. The effect of printed vs computer-assisted decision support strategies for providing decision support was equivalent.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00981994.


Morinda citrifolia, has been reported to posses different biological activities and almost all parts of this have been studied phytochemically. However there are few studies on the seeds of fruit. The objective of present study was investigated the effect to Noni Seed Oil (NSO) on serum lipid levels in normolipidemic and hyperlipidemic induced mice. We find that administration of noni oil causes a reduction in total cholesterol and triglycerides levels in both models. However hypolipidemic effect is higher when hyperlipidemia is presented.


Summary The thrombotic microangiopathies (TMA) are a heterogeneous group of disorders, characterized by microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia with red cell fragmentation, thrombocytopenia and signs of organ dysfunction due to disturbed microcirculation. Current laboratory methods can be used to better distinguish some of these entities. Organ dysfunction can be severe and life-threatening, and immediate start of sufficient therapy is necessary to avoid permanent damage or death. The therapeutic options, however, are often limited to symptomatic measures, and are not standardized or based on high scientific evidence. During the preceding years, not only considerable progress has been made in better diagnosis of TMA, but also new therapeutic strategies have been established. Initial treatment still is based on plasma exchange and symptomatic measures to protect organ function. New concepts (immunosuppression, targeted anti-von Willebrand factor or anti-complement therapy, replacement with recombinant enzymes) are discussed in this article.


A method of placing an article onto a surface in close proximity to an adjacent previously-placed article, comprises gripping the article between a pair of jaws, tilting it away from the previously-placed article about an axis parallel to the surface and thereafter releasing it by opening the jaws, the tilt being sufficient to bring the lowered side of the gripped article close to the surface, with the elevated jaw remaining sufficiently high to clear the previously-placed article as it opens. A manip ulator suitable for carrying out this method comprises, a gripper having a pair of jaws, a supporting structure for positioning the gripper and an orientation zone inter connecting the gripper and supporting structure for orientating the gripper, the orientation zone comprising means for tilting the gripper about a first axis and means for rotating the gripper about a second axis wherein the tilting means lie between the gripper and the rotation means and the axis of tilt is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, the orientation zone being connected to the supporting structure by a joint which enables the first axis to be held parallel to the surface when the gripper is tilted.


We propose the use of a new biopolymer, acetalated dextran (Ac-DEX), to synthesize porous microparticles for pulmonary drug delivery. Ac-DEX is derived from the polysaccharide dextran and, unlike polyesters, has tunable degradation from days to months and pH neutral degradation products. Ac-DEX microparticles fabricated through emulsion techniques were optimized using a variety of postprocessing techniques to enhance the respirable fraction for pulmonary delivery. Tangential flow filtration resulted in a maximum 37% respirable fraction for Ac-DEX porous microparticles, compared to a 10% respirable fraction for poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) porous microparticles. Ac-DEX microparticles were of an optimum diameter to minimize macrophage clearance but had a low enough theoretical density for deep lung penetration. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurements showed that the particles did not impinge on a monolayer of lung epithelial cells in either air or liquid conditions. Also, the release of the chemotherapeutic camptothecin was shown to be tunable depending on Ac-DEX degradation time and molecular weight, and drug release was shown to be bioactive over a range of concentrations. Our results indicate that both release kinetics and fraction of burst release of drug from Ac-DEX porous microparticles can be tuned by simply changing the Ac-DEX polymer properties, affording a large range of formulation options for drug delivery to the pulmonary cavity. Overall, Ac-DEX porous microparticles show promise as an emerging carrier for pulmonary delivery of drugs to the alveolar region of the lung, particularly for the treatment of lung diseases.


Learning to drive faithfully in highly stochastic urban settings remains an open problem. To that end, we propose a Multi-task Learning from Demonstration (MT-LfD) framework which uses supervised auxiliary task prediction to guide the main task of predicting the driving commands. Our framework involves an end-to-end trainable network for imitating the expert demonstrator's driving commands. The network intermediately predicts visual affordances and action primitives through direct supervision which provide the aforementioned auxiliary supervised guidance. We demonstrate that such joint learning and supervised guidance facilitates hierarchical task decomposition, assisting the agent to learn faster, achieve better driving performance and increases transparency of the otherwise black-box end-to-end network. We run our experiments to validate the MT-LfD framework in CARLA, an open-source urban driving simulator. We introduce multiple non-player agents in CARLA and induce temporal noise in them for realistic stochasticity.


Methotrexate (MTX), a folate antagonist with multiple enzymatic targets, is used in the treatment of malignancies as well as in autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases, and ZD1694 (tomudex), a water-soluble quinazoline specific inhibitor of thymidylate synthase (TS), is used in the treatment of adenocarcinomas. In this study, we investigated the effects of these folate analogues on superantigen (SAg)-reactive peripheral T cells in vivo. In BALB/c mice, staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB)-induced cytokine secretion, IL-2R (CD25) expression and early deletion of a fraction of SEB-reactive V(beta)8(+) T cells were not impaired by either MTX (7 mg/kg/day) or tomudex (5 mg/kg/day). However, both MTX and tomudex prevented V(beta)8-selective T cell expansion and accelerated their peripheral elimination. Administration of thymidine (500 mg/kg/12 h) completely abrogated this effect, indicating that inhibition of TS but not that of other folate-dependent enzymes was the main mechanism involved. Furthermore, a marked increase of apoptotic cells restricted to the V(beta)8(+) T cell subset indicated that proliferation inhibition was associated with apoptosis. In contrast with peripheral V(beta)8(+) T cell deletion, MTX and tomudex did not prevent the increase of V(beta)8(+) thymocytes triggered by SEB. Experiments in C57BL/6-lpr/lpr mice further demonstrated that deletion of V(beta)8(+) T cells induced by folate analogues was independent of Fas-Fas ligand interaction. Our results provide evidence that folate analogues may selectively delete dividing peripheral T cells through TS inhibition, but do not interfere with other events triggered by SAg.


The round-spotted pufferfish Tetraodon fluviatilis has a genome size of 380 Mb which is slightly smaller than that of another pufferfish, Fugu rubripes rubripes (Fugu). Due to their compact genome and small introns, both pufferfishes have been proposed as model organisms for genome studies. In this study, we have used genomic DNA as template to perform PCR to screen for protein kinase (pk) genes. Forty-one T. fluviatilis pk genes encoding 7 receptor tyrosine kinases, 14 nonreceptor tyrosine kinases, 16 serine/threonine kinases, 1 dual kinase and 3 novel kinases have been identified. The success of this approach depends on the size and location of the introns. Most of the identified pk gene fragments contain introns, ranging from 71 to 300 bp, with an average of 120 bp. It is noteworthy that the intron/exon boundaries of certain genes which belong to the same family are identical. We also analyzed by specific RT-PCR primers the expression profile of those 3 novel genes as well as some selected pk genes in a variety of tissues. We found that erbB3, pku α, mrk, CaMK I, CaMK IIγ, and two novel kinase genes (133 and 3–26) are expressed in all tissues examined. However, the novel clone 146 is strongly expressed in the brain and weakly in the intestine, kidney and heart.


Using friction stir welding, the electronic container box and lid made from aluminium matrix composites with reinforcement of SiC particle (15 vol% SiCp/Al-MMCs) was welded successfully with T-joint. The temperature distribution of box during the process, mechanical property and microstructure of the joint as well as gas tightness of welded box was investigated. The experimental results indicated that the satisfactory T-joint can be obtained under appropriate friction stir welding parameters. During the welding process, the bottom center, which was used to place the electronic component, reached a quite lower temperature of 100°C. That can ensure safety of components in the box. After the welding process, the microstructure in stir zone was better than in base material due to the refining and homogeneous distribution of the SiC particles. The experimental results showed that the electronic container box after friction stir welding had gas tightness. The He-leakage rate was under 10-8 Pa•m3 /s.


Mr. Deacon's paper seems to me to be an example of the type of computational research which will become more common and more in demand as the reflection seismograph is called upon to solve more and more complicated structural and stratigraphic problems. Probably most of us in reflection seismograph work have noticed and have plotted by routine methods, abnormal wave fronts appearing on our records such as those illustrated in Mr. Deacon's paper. Unfortunately it is seldom that individual study is given to such "reflection" and still more seldom that such individual study is published. Mr. Deacon has collected a rather convincing set of data from which to draw conclusions, although a California operator would wish for more information regarding velocity.


THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY of the first publication of the St. Bartholomew's Hospital Reports (Bart's Reports) occurs this year. During the 74 years of its existence (1865-1939), this publication has recorded many original contributions to medicine, some of which have become minor classics. During the latter half of the 19th century, medicine was in its descriptive heyday, and the Bart's Reports of that time are replete with masterful accounts of the natural history of disease. These early issues also constitute a superb source for descriptions of the types of illness encountered in London during the late 19th and early 20th century. Furthermore, to read them today gives a striking insight into not only how much medicine has changed, but how the whole fabric of society has altered. In the preface to the first volume, the editors indicate that the Bart's Reports aim to give brief but accurate accounts of the


The penetration of magnetic flux fronts in the optimally doped iron based superconductor Ba(Fe$_{0.925}$Co$_{0.075}$)$_{2}$As$_2$ is studied by means of high resolution magneto-optic imaging. The analysis of roughening and growth of the magnetic flux front reveals anomalous scaling properties. While higher-order spatial correlation functions reveal multifractal behavior for the roughening, the usual Kardar-Parisi-Zhang growth exponent is found. Both exponents are found to independent of temperature. We propose a scenario for vortex penetration based on 2D percolation and cluster aggregation in an inhomogeneously disordered superconductor.


The field of force-induced release of small cargoes within polymeric materials has experienced rapid growth over the past decade, not only including achieving diversified functional materials that report force, trigger degradation, activate drugs and release catalysts, but also involving investigations on the interesting force-coupled reactivity of mechanophores, such as ferrocenes. In this highlight article, we review the recent progress on polymer mechanochemistry that releases small cargoes, including small molecules and metal ions. Since mechanophores play a key role in force-responsive materials, we introduce the progress by discussing different types of mechanophores and their mechanochemical reactions for the release of acids, gases, fluorophores, drugs, iron ions, and so on. At the end, we provide our perspectives on the remaining challenges and future targets in this growing field.


Background & Objective: In recent years, more attention has been devoted to herbal medicines. Up to now, many compounds with therapeutic effects has been extracted from the herbs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant and the antimicrobial effect of Rumex Alveollatus L. and to partially identify the effective compounds in this plant. Materials & Methods: Extraction was performed by using maceration method for dried flower sample. Then, the antimicrobial effect of aqueous and ethanolic extracts on eight bacterial sp. and two fungi were tested using disc diffusion method. The antioxidant effect was also determined through ferric reducing potency and phosphomolybdenum followed by total phenol determination. Finally, partial detection of bioactive compounds was conducted using chemical and calorimetric methods. Results: The results showed that ethanolic extract had the most antimicrobial effect; while aqueous extract weakly affected bacterial and fungal strains. Antioxidant experiments also revealed that ethanol extract had more antioxidant effects than aqueous extract. The most content of total phenolic compounds was found in ethanol extract. The results of the plant chemical determination showed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, anthraquinones, tannins, glycosides, and reducing sugars. Conclusion: Considering that few reports about the therapeutic effect of Rumex alveollatus L. has been published, this study could be considered as a valuable report about the important role of this plant on preventing infections and neutralizing oxidant agents.


Skill-biased technical change occupied empirical economists for much of the 1990s. The empirical literature firmly established a positive correlation between technology indicators and demand shifts. In the minds of many, that has established a causal relationship. This leap of faith, however, is at odds with Hicks's conventional wisdom that endogenous technological change will be biased toward using cheap and abundant resources. In addition, if the rate of technical change is considered to be endogenous, the assumption of an exogenous bias toward skilled labor should at least be questioned. Two hypotheses explaining endogenous skill bias in technical change have been suggested in the theoretical literature: the acceleration effect and the market size effect. In this paper these are studied in a single endogenous-growth model to derive the sufficient and necessary conditions for both hypotheses. After confronting these conditions with the evidence, the paper concludes that it strongly favors the acceleration hypothesis.


Intensive review of literature proposed that research on Self-regulated Learning (SRL) should be integrated into subjects in the classroom and thus, provides comprehensive picture and rich information for teachers and policy makers to design appropriate learning contexts for the Form Four students to learn History. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the motivation, learning strategies and achievement of Form Four students in learning History before and after the intervention program.


Apelin plays important roles in cardiovascular homeostasis. However, its effects on the mechanoenergetics of heart failure (HF) are unavailable. We attempted to investigate the effects of apelin on the left ventricular-arterial coupling (VAC) and mechanical efficiency in rats with HF. HF was induced in rats by the ligation of the left coronary artery. The ischemic HF rats were treated with apelin or saline for 12 weeks. The sham-operated animals served as the control. The left ventricular (LV) afterload and the systolic and diastolic functions, as well as the mechanoenergetic indices were estimated from the pressure-volume loops. Myocardial fibrosis by Masson's trichrome staining, myocardial apoptosis by TUNEL, and collagen content in the aorta as well as media area in the aorta and the mesenteric arteries were determined. Our data indicated that HF rats manifested an increased arterial load (Ea), a declined systolic function (reduced ejection fraction, +dP/dtmax, end-systolic elastance, and stroke work), an abnormal diastolic function (elevated end-diastolic pressure, τ, and declined −dP/dtmax), and decreased mechanical efficiency. Apelin treatment improved those indices. Concomitantly, increased fibrosis in the LV myocardium and the aorta and enhanced apoptosis in the LV were partially restored by apelin treatment. A declined wall-to-lumen ratio in the mesenteric arteries of the untreated HF rats was further reduced in the apelin-treated group. We concluded that the rats with ischemic HF were characterized by deteriorated LV mechanoenergetics. Apelin improved mechanical efficiency, at least in part, due to the inhibiting cardiac fibrosis and apoptosis in the LV myocardium, reducing collagen deposition in the aorta and dilating the resistant artery.


Planetary scientists have begun to plan the first stage of a Mars sample return mission: a rover to be launched in 2020. Scientists want the rover to drill at least 31 rock samples weighing about 15 grams apiece during its 2-year mission and pack them in a cache that a later mission will retrieve. But the rover will have to work faster than the current rover, Curiosity, which has drilled just three samples in its 20 months on Mars.


The effectiveness of GnRH (Luliberin) and goat anti-PMSG serum prepared at the Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, was studied during the superovulation of heifers treated with PMSG and Estrumate. The use of GnRH did not exert any positive influence on superovulation, as compared with the control groups,. when anti-PMSG serum was administered five hours from the determined beginning of oestrus (46-53 hours from the first administration of Estrumate), the length of oestrus was reduced in comparison with the control group (25.8 and 51.3 h), the number of 22.3). The tested heifers produced 17.8 ova, on an average, out of which (4.1 and 22.3). The tested heifers produced 17.8 ova, on an average, out of which 12.5 were good-quality embryos. The control heifers produced 6.9 ova including 2.9 embryos. The obtained results provide convincing evidence of the promising results of the use of goat anti-PMSG serum during the superovulation cattle.


In this paper, we investigate a fully discrete H-Galerkin mixed finite element approximation of a class of heat transport equations. The Crank-Nicloson scheme is used for time discretization. Optimal error estimates in L-norm for the unknown function and its gradient function are obtained. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the theoretical findings.


The prevalence of stress and anxiety has increased dramatically in recent decades, especially with the global COVID-19 pandemic. In parallel, effective ways of objectively assessing and quantifying these conditions have continued to be explored. Affective computing is one such technique that has gained popularity recently, using physiological signals to interpret, and infer human emotion. Additionally, virtual reality (VR) is a rapidly developing tool with promising advancements in the health sciences. Given the emergence of new unobtrusive wearables and biosensors-instrumented VR headsets, the combined use of VR and affective computing has enabled the development of new immersive applications to objectively evaluate stress and anxiety. In this paper, we examine various affective computing methods that have been combined with VR with the goal of quantitatively measuring stress and anxiety levels. Additionally, we explore how affective computing has been used in the assessment of cybersickness. In particular, we surveyed current VR studies and summarized the most common physiological measurements used to characterize stress, anxiety, and cybersickness. Methods monitoring heart rate, skin conductance, muscle movement, and brain activity are described. We highlight the current challenges and propose opportunities for future research directions.Keywords: Stress, Anxiety, Affective Computing, Physiological Measurements, Virtual Reality (VR), Cybersickness


In this paper it is proven that, in general, the shape-demagnetizing-field transformation breaks, or modifies, the stability of the Preisach diagram PD. The proof is based on the Mayergoyz's theorem. A new theorem which gives the necessary and sufficient conditions for the invariance of such a stability is also proven. Moreover, a rigorous mathematical base for feedback generalizations of the Preisach model PM is given. These results are relevant not only for a proper interpretation of magnetic hysteresis measurements, but also, more generally, for the mathematical modelling of any kind of hysteretic system regardless of the physical origin of hysteresis nonlinearities.


Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a soft tissue tumor which may recur locally and rarely causes metastases to vital organs. DFSPs have specific chromosomal abnormalities involving the platelet-derived growth factor &bgr;-chain locus (PDGFB) which may render these tumors responsive to targeted therapy with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate. A patient with locally recurrent and metastatic DFSP resistant to first-line chemotherapy was treated with imatinib mesylate 400 mg/day. The tumor was examined by a novel fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method for specific rearrangements of the PDGFB locus. The patient was followed for response and toxicity by physical examination and imaging studies. FISH revealed PDGFB rearrangement indicative of multiplication of the PDGFB fusion locus within a ring chromosome. Physical examination showed response within the first month of treatment, and subsequent computed tomography and fluorodeoxyglycose positron emission tomography documented complete response to imatinib therapy. Our patient is now in sustained complete remission for 20 months with minimal toxicity. We conclude that sustained complete remission of metastatic DFSP with specific FISH abnormalities involving the PDGFB locus can be obtained with imatinib mesylate with minimal toxicity for the patient.


This study aims to provide an explanation of the defense against criticism and blasphemy for the differences in the male and female divisions and their arguments. This research is a normative study with a conceptual approach. The primary and secondary data collected were then analyzed using a content analysis approach to provide an overview of the defense and arguments for the application of male and female share differences in Islamic inheritance law. The results of the study show that criticism and blasphemy from those who reject the difference in inheritance distribution between men and women cannot be justified because not in all cases do women get a smaller share than men. There are many cases where women get the same and even bigger share than men. Moreover, justice also cannot be interpreted as equal distribution, considering that in scientific terms, the term distributive justice is also known. The interpreters argue that the provisions of section 2:1 between men and women are a decree from Allah that must be carried out by arguing that the statements in the verses of the Qur'an are clear and qath'i. The demand for new ijtihad cannot be justified considering that in ushul fiqh there are rules which state that there should be no ijtihad in the provisions of qath'i texts.


Particle swarms come into consideration when a group of independent particles move without collision in a force field such that a fluid Hamiltonian can be written to represent the motion. Typical problems from several fields are collected and united under a single theoretical framework. The fields include such problems as fragment distributions from an exploding warhead, micrometeoroid distributions in the vicinity of the earth, charged particle distributions in a magnetic bottle, focussing of photons by heavy stars and the design of a sprinkler system for uniform wetting.


The effect of ferromagnetic impurities in electromagnetic absorbers is studied. It has established that a small amount of magnetic powder in composite structure influence on attenuation and reflection characteristics of shielding material. These magnetic inclusions can increase the attenuation at 15 dB and reflection coefficient at 2,5 dB in comparison with dielectric samples. The compound with powders of silica and nickel-zinc ferrite as a base of shielding composite has investigated. The dependence of the shielding characteristics of the composite is shown. The use of these composite materials for creation of electromagnetic shielding constructions are considered.


A visual servo tracking controller is developed in this paper for a monocular camera system mounted on an underactuated wheeled mobile robot (WMR) subject to nonholonomic motion constraints (i.e., the camera-in-hand problem). A prerecorded image sequence (e.g., a video) of three target points is used to define a desired trajectory for the WMR. By comparing the target points from a stationary reference image with the corresponding target points in the live image and the prerecorded sequence of images, projective geometric relationships are exploited to construct Euclidean homographies. The information obtained by decomposing the Euclidean homography is used to develop a kinematic controller. A Lyapunov-based analysis is used to develop an adaptive update law to actively compensate for the lack of depth information required for the translation error system. Experimental results are provided to demonstrate the control design.


Bilateral herpetic keratitis was induced in rabbits and allowed to heal without treatment. A period varying from 150 to 450 days was permitted to elapse, and previously infected, clinically quiescent eyes were treated with locally administered corticosteroids. Steroid therapy, administered topically in both solution and ointment form, and injected by the subconjunctival route, failed to induce a higher incidence of virus reactivation, as determined by culture, than occurred in eyes receiving placebo treatment. In eyes in which virus did reactivate coincident with steroid therapy, no biomicroscopic evidence of corneal disease was observed. That virus had indeed persisted in these eyes and was capable of reactivation was demonstrated by positive cultures following topical administration of epinephrine ointment. These data indicate that in the rabbit, at least, locally administered steroids neither reactivate occult virus nor induce herpetic corneal disease.


It has been shown by Evans (1937) that the effects of the alkali metal chlorides at a hexane-water interface are markedly similar to the effects of the same salts on the surface tension of water as determined by Heydweiller (1910) and Schwenker (1931), i.e. the tension apparently increases steadily with concentration. Hence, from the Gibbs adsorption principle, the salt is negatively adsorbed throughout. The recent work of Jones and Ray (1937) has, however, demonstrated that the surface tension of the salt solutions examined by them first decreases with increase of concentration, passes through a minimum and subsequently increases beyond the value possessed by pure water. On general grounds it would be expected that phenomena similar to those observed by Jones and Ray at the free surface should likewise be exhibited at an interface. In an attempt to investigate this point interfacial tension data have been obtained for the interface dekalin ( trans -decahydro- naphthalene)/water, using salts of various valence type.


Fourteen different maize genotypes were screened for their relative resistance to maize stem borer Chilopartellus (Swinhoe) under glass house condition at National Maize Research Program, Rampur, Chitwan during two consecutive years 2018 and 2019 . The design of the experiment was completely randomized design having 2 replications. The unit plot size was one row of one meter length with 50 cm row to row and 20 cm plant to plant spacing. Two second instar larva of C. partellus (Swinhoe) per plant were released two times, first at 8 th leaves (vegetative) and second at 12 th leaves (Before tasseling) stages. Insect damage parameters (IDPs) viz. dead heart percentage, damage % at vegetative and foliar stage, foliar injury rating (1-9) at vegetative and before tasseling stage, tunnel length (cm), exit hole number and yield per plot were recorded to study the germplasm susceptibility level. The result revealed that IDPs and yield varied significantly among the tested genotypes. Over the years, IDPs like dead heart percentage (5.17%), percent damage atpre-tasseling stage (10.6%), foliar injury level (2.25), tunnel length (10.15 cm) and exit holes (2.32) were found lower with high yield (2235 g/plot) in RML-95/ RML-96 followed by RML-86/RML-96. Two pipeline maize hybrids RML-95/RML-96 and RML-86/RML-96 with least damaged by maize stem borer in both years will be useful for maize stem borer resistance source.


Contractile responses of the small intestine to serotonine and histamine are mediated by cholinergic neurones, while the inhibitory responses of the substances--by nonadrenergic inhibitory neurones of the enterometasympathetic nervous system. An inhibitory response of the small intestine to met-enkephalin results from its depressing action on the effector cholinergic neurones. Catecholamines activate enteric cholinergic neurones via presynaptic beta-adrenoceptors and inhibit them via pre- and postsynaptic alpha-adrenoceptors. The cholinergic neurones of the enterometasympathetic nervous system seem to be under a double adrenergic control, and a mechanisms seems to exist in the small intestine for adrenergic activation of its contractile apparatus.


We report an investigation of the water-hydrophobic interface in well-defined nanochannels (R approximately 2-4 nm). Wetting in these systems cannot be described by classical (macroscopic) capillary theory: (1) water occupies only a fraction ( approximately 60%) of the pore volume, and (2) the capillary pressures are approximately 60-90% greater than predicted by the Laplace equation. The results suggest the presence of approximately 0.6 nm layer of low-density fluid (vapor) separating water from the hydrophobic solid.


Purpose of review Approximately 35% of adolescents experience back pain. In athletic adolescents, spondylolysis is the most common offending cause. With growing numbers of adolescents participating in sports with higher levels of intensity, spondylolysis is becoming an increasingly common clinical problem. Recent findings A recent report demonstrated the benign natural history of asymptomatic spondylolysis. However, long-term follow-up studies of patients who experience painful spondylolysis as adolescents remain unavailable. Modern imaging modalities have led to earlier diagnosis with greater accuracy. Conservative management with bracing continues to be a mainstay of treatment. In patients who are not helped by conservative therapy, recent studies have demonstrated the satisfactory long-term results of surgical repair. Summary The long-term sequelae of symptomatic spondylolysis and unhealed pars defects require investigation. MRI promises to be a valuable tool for diagnosis and clinical stratification, but further studies are necessary to demonstrate its clinical utility.


Abstract Vinpocetine (VNP), a semisynthetic active pharmaceutical ingredient, is used for oral management of cerebrovascular diseases because of its ability to enhance the blood flow to the brain. However, despite that, the therapeutic application of VNP is restricted due to its reduced bioavailability and diminished brain levels that could be attributed to its low aqueous solubility, short half-life, and presystemic metabolism exposure. Accordingly, the goal of this work was to explore the ability of surface-tailored intranasal emulsomes to boost brain delivery of the drug. A 3221 factorial design was implemented to explore the impact of phospholipid (PL) to solid lipid weight ratio, PL to cholesterol molar ratio, and type of solid lipid on vesicle size, zeta potential, drug entrapment, and release efficiency of the new developed VNP emulsomes. Tailoring of the optimized emulsomal surface formulation was performed using either cationization or PEGylation approaches to boost blood–brain barrier penetration. The pharmacokinetic assessment in rats showed significantly improved bioavailability of VNP emulsomal formulations compared to the oral market product. Additionally, surface-tailored emulsomes exhibited significantly higher brain levels compared to the optimized emulsomes. Based on these findings, the proposed surface-tailored emulsomes could be considered as a promising platform for achieving high brain levels of VNP following intranasal administration.


Resonance-cone propagation in truncated transmission-line hyperbolic grids over ground, is studied using circuit analysis and verified experimentally in microstrip grids. These structures support the propagation of resonance-cones that propagate within the grids in specific frequency-dependent spatial directions (cone-angles), a property that can be exploited to make spatial filtering and de-multiplexing devices. Analytical and experimental results show that there is no phase variation along a resonance cone. Moreover, a 180/spl deg/ phase variation is observed perpendicular to the cones in lossless grids, which increases in practical grids.


The aim of  this article was to discuss the existence of pesantren, kiai and kitab kuningis the main element of Islamic education in Indonesia. In pesantren carried out process to understand, live and practice the teachings of Islam, which emphasizes the importance of Islamic moral morality as a guide of daily life. Pesantren is led by a kiai. Kiai domiciled as a central figure in the lifestyle of pesantren, as well as owner and teacher. In addition, kiai is also a role model and a holder of absolute wisdom in the value of pesantren. Kiai teaches the science of Islam by using Yellow book. The Kitab kuning is an Arabic-speaking religious book, Malay, Javanese or any other language in Indonesia. Originally a kitab kuning written by Middle Eastern scholars such as Minhaj al-Thalibin by Abu Zakaria al-Nawawi (d667 H/1277 AD), the book of Kanz al-Raghibin by Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli (864 H/1460 M), the book Minhaj al-Thullab and Fath al-Wahhab by Zakariyya al-Ansari (w 926 H/1520 AD) and others. But there are also only titles using Arabic, but in Malay, like the Book of Jurisprudence or Fiqh Sirat al-Mustaqim by al-Raniri (d.1068 AH/1658 AD), the book of tasawuf akhlaqi Siyar alSalikin by Abd Shamad al-Falimbani (d.1832AD), the book of fiqh of Sabil alMuhtadin by Muhammad Arsyad al-Banjari (1812 AD). The three main components of Islamic education (pesantren, kiai and kitab kuning) to this day still exist and very meritorious in the development of Islamic education in all corners of Indonesia.


Pressure measurements obtained with distributed pressure sensing (DPS) could be used to estimate circumferentially averaged reservoir parameters with pressure transient analysis (PTA). System identification (SI) for PTA allows us to estimate parameters such as permeability with dynamic bottom hole pressure and flow rates measurements, with the benefit of not having to rely on constant flow rates as input signals as required in traditional well testing. The focus of this research is: (1) flow rate estimation based on DPS data for vertical and deviated wells, (2) introducing a workflow for parameter estimation with SI for PTA with DPS measurements and (3) applying the workflow to numerical simulations of a well test to investigate the scope for using SI as a PTA method. With the friction component of the pressure drop between two sensors, the flow rates over the reservoir section can be estimated. Subsequently, the estimated flow rates and the pressure measurements during well operation are used to estimate a transfer function based on the data and are compared to analytical transfer functions in the frequency domain. Numerical experiments with a simulated vertical well showed that the flow rate can be estimated, and the permeability profile along the well bore can be constructed for homogeneous, layered and heterogeneous reservoirs. Numerical experiments with a simulated deviated well showed that measurements errors have most effect at the bottom of the well.


We propose a probabilistic scheme to prepare a maximally entangled state between a pair of two-level atoms inside a leaking cavity, without requiring precise time-controlling of the system evolution and initial atomic state. We show that the steady state of this dissipative system is a mixture of two parts: either the atoms being in their ground state or in a maximally entangled one. Then, by applying a weak probe field on the cavity mode we are able to distinguish those states without disturbing the atomic system, i.e., performing a quantum non-demolition measurement via the cavity transmission. In this scheme, one has nonzero cavity transmission only when the atomic system is in an entangled state so that a single click in the detector is enough to ensure that the atoms are in an maximally entangled state. Our scheme relies on an interference effect as it happens in electromagnetically induced transparency phenomenon so that it works out even in the limit of decay rate of the cavity mode much stronger than the atom-field coupling.


Ultrasmall polyaminocarboxylate-coated gold nanoparticles (NPs), Au@DTDTPA and Au@TADOTAGA, that have been recently developed exhibit a promising potential for image-guided radiotherapy. In order to render the radiosensitizing effect of these gold nanoparticles even more efficient, the study of their localization in cells is required to better understand the relation between the radiosensitizing properties of the agents and their localization in cells and in tumors. To achieve this goal, post-functionalization of Au@DTDTPA nanoparticles by near-infrared (NIF) organic dyes (aminated derivative of cyanine 5, Cy5-NH2) was performed. The immobilization of organic Cy5-NH2 dyes onto the gold nanoparticles confers to these radiosensitizers fluorescence properties which can be exploited for monitoring their internalization in cancerous cells, for determining their localization in cells by fluorescence microscopy (a common and powerful imaging tool in biology), and for following up on their accumulation in tumors after intravenous injection.


Safety and reliability remain critical issues for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. Out of many possible degradation modes, thermal faults constitute a significant part of critical causes that lead to battery degradation and failure. Therefore, it is extremely important to diagnose these thermal faults in real time to ensure battery safety. Motivated by this fact, we propose a partial differential equation (PDE) model-based real-time scheme in this paper for diagnosing thermal faults in Li-ion batteries. The objective of the diagnostic scheme is to detect and estimate the size of the thermal fault. We utilize a distributed parameter 1-D thermal model for cylindrical battery cells in conjunction with PDE observer-based techniques to design the scheme. Furthermore, we apply threshold-based technique to ensure robustness against modeling and measurement uncertainties. The effectiveness of the scheme is illustrated by: 1) analytical convergence verification of the PDE observers under heathy and faulty conditions utilizing Lyapunov stability theory; 2) extensive simulation case studies; 3) robustness analysis against model parametric uncertainties; and 4) experimental studies on a commercial Li-ion battery cell.


Warm-season rainfall associated with mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) in the central United States is characterized by higher intensity and nocturnal timing compared to rainfall from non-MCS systems, suggesting their potentially different footprints on the land surface. To differentiate the impacts of MCS and non-MCS rainfall on the surface water balance, a water tracer tool embedded in the Noah land surface model with multiparameterization options (WT-Noah-MP) is used to numerically "tag" water from MCS and non-MCS rainfall separately during April–August (1997–2018) and track their transit in the terrestrial system. From the water-tagging results, over 50% of warm-season rainfall leaves the surface–subsurface system through evapotranspiration by the end of August, but non-MCS rainfall contributes a larger fraction. However, MCS rainfall plays a more important role in generating surface runoff. These differences are mostly attributed to the rainfall intensity differences. The higher-intensity MCS rainfall tends to produce more surface runoff through infiltration excess flow and drives a deeper penetration of the rainwater into the soil. Over 70% of the top 10th percentile runoff is contributed by MCS rainfall, demonstrating its important contribution to local flooding. In contrast, lower-intensity non-MCS rainfall resides mostly in the top layer and contributes more to evapotranspiration through soil evaporation. Diurnal timing of rainfall has negligible effects on the flux partitioning for both MCS and non-MCS rainfall. Differences in soil moisture profiles for MCS and non-MCS rainfall and the resultant evapotranspiration suggest differences in their roles in soil moisture–precipitation feedbacks and ecohydrology.


A gyrokinetic particle simulation is a powerful tool in studying tokamak microturbulence. A δf method, which is a standard method in recent gyrokinetic particle simulations, dramatically improves an efficiency of a particle simulation by reducing a particle noise, and full torus turbulence simulations are enabled. In this paper, the δf method is reviewed, and issues in full torus gyrokinetic particle simulations are discussed.