Breast cancer represents a heterogeneous disease in which several distinct genetic and histopathological types have been defined. Depending on the latter, treatment is established based on the presence of estrogen or progesterone receptors, the transmembrane tyrosine kinase HER2, or the absence of these markers. One of the most aggressive subtypes of breast cancer is offered by the HER2 positive tumors. Treatment of these tumors is based on agents, such as the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab, or the small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib, which target HER2. The incorporation of these therapies to HER2 positive tumors has improved patient outcome. However, in the metastatic setting HER2 positive tumors still represent an important oncological problem. Moreover, some patients are either primary resistant, or acquire resistance to anti-HER2 therapies along time. Therefore, novel therapies are required to fight the disease once disseminated and under instances of anti-HER2 resistance. In addition to HER2, several studies have involved other kinases in the pathophysiology of breast cancer. Because of these facts, we have investigated the antitumoral action of TG02 in HER2 positive breast cancers. TG02 represents a novel molecule with a unique kinase inhibitory sprectrum. TG02 targets several receptor tyrosine kinases, such as FLT3 and various cytosolic serine/threonine kinases, such as ERK5, p38, CDK1, CDK2, CDK5, CDK9. We used HER2 overexpressing cell lines SKBR3 and BT474 to explore the action of TG02 on these models of HER2 positive breast cancer. TG02 caused a dose-dependent decrease in MTT metabolization, an assay used to explore cellular proliferation and viability. IC50 values were in the low nanomolar range. The drug also potentiated the action of trastuzumab or lapatinib, with whom TG02 exerted a synergistic action, as indicated by the Chou and Talalay algorithm. In BT474 cells, which bear constitutively active ERK5, treatment with TG02 caused inhibition of ERK5 phosphorylation, at concentrations of 100 nM and above, without affecting HER2 tyrosine phosphorylation. Cell cycle analyzes indicated that TG02 caused a decrease in G0/G1, and an increase in the subG0 region of the histogram. This result suggested that TG02 could trigger apoptotic cell death in BT474 cells. In fact, treatment with TG02 caused a dose-dependent increase in the processing of PARP, which was accompanied by increased annexin V staining. Therefore TG02 may indice cell cycle effects together with an induction of apoptotic cell death. These data support further development of this compound for the treatment of HER2 positive tumors, especially in combination with other standard of care treatments used in these breast neoplasias. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2011 Nov 12-16; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2011;10(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A153.


Abstract Objective: To assess the effect of reduction or modification of dietary fat intake on total and cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular morbidity. Design: Systematic review. Data sources: Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase, CAB abstracts, SIGLE, CVRCT registry, and biographies were searched; trials known to experts were included. Included studies: Randomised controlled trials stating intention to reduce or modify fat or cholesterol intake in healthy adult participants over at least six months. Inclusion decisions, validity, and data extraction were duplicated. Meta-analysis (random effects methodology), meta-regression, and funnel plots were performed. Results: 27 studies (30 902 person years of observation) were included. Alteration of dietary fat intake had small effects on total mortality (rate ratio 0.98; 95% confidence interval 0.86 to 1.12). Cardiovascular mortality was reduced by 9% (0.91; 0.77 to 1.07) and cardiovascular events by 16% (0.84; 0.72 to 0.99), which was attenuated (0.86; 0.72 to 1.03) in a sensitivity analysis that excluded a trial using oily fish. Trials with at least two years' follow up provided stronger evidence of protection from cardiovascular events (0.76; 0.65 to 0.90). Conclusions: There is a small but potentially important reduction in cardiovascular risk with reduction or modification of dietary fat intake, seen particularly in trials of longer duration. What is already known on this topic The epidemiological relation between dietary fat intake and cardiovascular disease is central in strategies aimed at risk reduction in populations and individuals Systematic review of randomised controlled trials supports manipulation of dietary fat to control serum lipid concentrations, though evidence of effect on one risk factor does not rule out an opposite or reinforced effect on another unstudied risk factor Randomised controlled trials of dietary fat reduction or modification have shown varying results on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality What this study adds Systematic review of trials of modified fat intake shows that reduction or modification of dietary fat intake results in reductions in cardiovascular events, but only in trials of at least two years' duration There is little effect on total mortality Despite decades of effort and many thousands of people randomised, there is still only limited and inconclusive evidence of the effects of modification of total, saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated fats on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality


This case report documents the prosthetic rehabilitation of a patient showing the typical features of combination syndrome. This case documentation gives a general overview of the suspected development and the prevalence of this "syndrome". A treatment option should be shown by the example of a patient from the starting situation until the prosthetic therapy by means of a complete maxillary denture and an implant-supported mandibular overdenture rigidly retained with a milled bar.


The dependence of scientific and technological advancement on mathematics requires investigation into what affects students' motivation in mathematics. The present study investigated the influence of students' background (SB) as mediated by students' perception (SP), and students' motivation (SM) as predictor of students' interest in mathematics (SIM). The study further presented an empirical structural equation models (SEM) that predicts students' interest, students' motivation and students' perception in mathematics. Using cohort samples of randomly selected 1,263, participants completed researcher-designed and validated questionnaires with a-reliability of 0.74, 0.7, 0.68, 0.82 and 0.94 for SIM, SB, SM, SP and overall instrument reliability respectively. The results from the study at 5% alpha level indicated as statistically significant relationship between SP, SB, SM and SIM. SP, SB, SM explain 27.9% of variance in SIM. The study further revealed statistical significance between SB and SP such that SB explains 32.1%, of variance in SP. The study finally established statistically significant relationship between SB, SP and SM; the study confirms that SB and SP explain 31.6% of SM. The study concluded that students' interest in mathematics is related to student perception, students' background, and students' motivation. It was further concluded that student motivation is related to students' perceptions and students' background. Finally, although students' background predicts students' perception about mathematics. It is recommended to educators and educational stakeholders to focus attention on determinants of students' mathematics interest by introducing positive interventions from the very beginning of students' mathematics education.


A case of disseminated blastomycosis is described, which was treated with miconazole orally. A rapid cure was achieved without side effects. Miconazole seems to be effective and safe in the treatment of blastomycosis.


Although the fossil record of beaked whales (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Ziphiidae) is continuously improving, the geological age of new taxa is often poorly constrained. Based on a partial cranium from deep seafloor deposits off Galicia, Spain, we describe a new species of the stem beaked whale genus Beneziphius, B. cetariensis sp. nov. The latter differs from the type species B. brevirostris in the larger size, the rostrum being proportionally longer, the premaxillae being longer than the maxillae at the apex of the rostrum, the left premaxillary sac fossa being transversely concave, and the ascending process of the premaxilla reaching the vertical. Considering that the stratigraphic context of deep-sea deposits off the Iberian Peninsula is not precisely known, we provisionally propose an extended, middle Miocene to early Pliocene interval for the geological age of B. cetariensis. Nonetheless, the palynological analysis of sediment sampled from cavities in the cranium of the holotype of B. brevirostris, discovered during the second part of the nineteenth century in inland deposits of Antwerp (north of Belgium), yield an early to mid-Serravallian age (13.2-12.8 Ma, late middle Miocene). B. brevirostris is thus the oldest described species of the "Messapicetus clade", a large clade of stem ziphiids in which most species are dated from the late Miocene. The description of the Galician species B. cetariensis broadens the biogeographic distribution of Beneziphius and confirms the strong ziphiid faunal affinities between the eastern coast of the North Atlantic and the southern margin of the North Sea Basin.


Pareto optimality is a criteria of individual evaluation originally introduced in multi-objective evolutionary algorithms. In the last decade, a growing interest in the integration of Pareto optimality and other evolutionary techniques can be observed. In this work, we integrate EEC, a neuroevolutionary (NE) algorithm, with Pareto optimality. The proposed algorithm is called PEEC. We demonstrate the algorithm on a classic board game, Tic-Tac-Toe, and compare its performance with EEC using three other evaluation models. Our experimental results show that PEEC outperforms all of these and Pareto optimality indeed provides more accurate evaluation to guide NE toward optimal solutions.


Book synopsis: Historically, as well as more recently, women's emancipation has been seen in two ways: sometimes as the `right to be equal' and sometimes as the `right to be different'. These views have often overlapped and interacted: in a variety of guises they have played an important role in both the development of ideas about women and feminism, and the works of political thinkers by no means primarily concerned with women's liberation. The chapters of this book deal primarily with the meaning and use of these two concepts in the context of gender relations (past and present), but also draw attention to their place in the understanding and analysis of other human relationships.


Since 1996, multi-disciplinary space mission design teams at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been using a novel concurrent design approach. This approach creates integrated early phase designs that used to take nine months in about three weeks! To make this possible, the JPL group known as Team-X completes most of its engineering and collaboration work in just nine hours of intensive, technically mediated and socially facilitated group sessions. Since 2004, we have used the JPL methods successfully in teaching Virtual Design and Construction methods for Civil Engineering project design. We call the enabling technically mediated social collaboration process Integrated Concurrent Engineering (ICE). Previous research has observed that ICE uses atypical organization, process, and technology, but has not explained why JPL consistently achieves radical schedule compression while others consistently fail. Our analysis suggests the speed of most engineering processes is limited by their response latency, the lag time from a participant asking a question to receiving an answer that is good enough to enable further work. We find that typical response latencies ranging from days to weeks cause routine conceptual design projects to stretch out for months or years. In contrast, reliable, exceptionally short response latencies – in the range of a few minutes – can enable the extremely short durations for space mission designs at JPL and for facility design teams using our ICE method. Based on our analysis of the JPL process and our own teaching and user experiences, this paper offers thirteen factors that, when all functioning at a high level, enable extremely short response latency of ICE team participants, short design session duration, and high perceived design quality. We view ICE as a "Just in Time" approach to knowledge work, in that it manufactures interdependent design decisions with short latency ("lead time") and high reliability ("service level"). This paper proposes that project managers should establish the specific, measurable objective of very short response latency as both a unifying goal for project teams and a practical metric to describe, evaluate, and manage engineering design collaboration. We propose response latency as a fundamental theoretical factor that (along with task duration, coordination, and rework) determines project duration. The Role of Reduced Latency in Integrated, Concurrent Engineering Chachere, Kunz, and Levitt THIS IS A WORKING PAPER. Please contact the authors for permission to cite or circulate.


IZA DP No. 11153 NOVEMBER 2017 The Determinants of Virtue: Modelling Changes in the CSR Ratings of Chinese Firms* Most empirical studies on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) use cross-sectional data or case studies, making causality hard to establish. We overcome this limitation by using panel data on Chinese firms. We find no effect of last year's profits on CSR ratings, although their negative contemporaneous relation suggests a trade-off. Managerial shareholdings reduce CSR ratings while rising wages and employment are the main drivers of increasing CSR ratings. This suggests the CSR agenda aligns with the interests of labour, but not capital. However, the positive effect of Tobin's Q may indicate CSR is associated with intangibles of value to a firm. JEL Classification: M14


Severe energy limitations, and a paucity of computation pose a set of difficult design challenges for sensor networks. Recent progress in two seemingly disparate research areas namely, distributed robotics and low power embedded systems has led to the creation of mobile (or robotic) sensor networks. Autonomous node mobility brings with it its own challenges, but also alleviates some of the traditional problems associated with static sensor networks. We illustrate this by presenting the design of the robomote, a robot platform that functions as a single mobile node in a mobile sensor network. We briefly describe two case studies where the robomote has been used for table top experiments with a mobile sensor network.


Background. High serum sodium (sNa) concentrations may be associated with hypertension, which deteriorates kidney function. However, it is equivocal whether high sNa concentrations are associated with impaired kidney function independently of blood pressure (BP) or serum chloride (sCl). Therefore, we addressed this issue in an apparently healthy population. Methods. Clinical variables including estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were examined in 3603 men and women (aged 25–75 years) who underwent health-screening check-ups. sNa concentrations were classified into five categories. Results. Most parameters, including age and BP, increased with increasing sNa, whereas eGFR decreased. Logistic regression analysis showed that, compared with low–normal sNa (≤ 140 mEq/l), high sNa (≥ 144 mEq/l) was significantly associated with elevated BP (≥ 130/85 mmHg) even after adjustment for blood hematocrit, eGFR, serum potassium (sK) concentration and sCl. The highest sNa category was significantly associated with reduced eGFR (< 60 ml/min/1.73 m2) independently of elevated BP. Unlike adjustment for sK, adjustment for sCl strengthened the association between high sNa and elevated BP but attenuated the association between high sNa and reduced eGFR. Conclusions. These results suggest that high sNa concentrations, even within the normal range, are independently associated with elevated BP and impaired kidney function. These associations may be substantially modified by sCl.


Hyaluronan (HA) is a linear nonsulfated glycosaminoglycan of the extracellular matrix that plays a pivotal role in a variety of biological processes. High‐molecular weight HA exhibits different biological properties than oligomers and low‐molecular weight HA. Depending on their molecular size, HA fragments can influence cellular behavior in a different mode of action. This phenomenon is attributed to the different manner of interaction with the HA receptors, especially CD44 and RHAMM. Both receptors can trigger signaling cascades that regulate cell functional properties, such as proliferation migration, angiogenesis, and wound healing. HA fragments are able to enhance or attenuate the HA receptor‐mediated signaling pathways, as they compete with the endogenous HA for binding to the receptors. The modulation of these pathways could be crucial for the development of pathological conditions, such as inflammation and cancer. The primary goal of this review is to critically present the importance of HA molecular size on cellular signaling, functional cell properties, and morphology in normal and pathological conditions, including inflammation and cancer. A deeper understanding of these mechanisms could contribute to the development of novel therapeutic strategies.


The Automated People Mover (APM) is an important asset for many airports to transport passengers inside or between terminal and satellite buildings An APM system normally runs on fixed schedules throughout the day, which means that the capacity of the APM is pre-determined and not depending on the actual demand. This at times can cause either an overcapacity, which leads to a waste of resources, or an under capacity, which results in passengers waiting at the station. Especially the latter factor is problematic, as it reduced passenger experience and can negatively affect the transfer process between airport facilities. In order to better match the offered APM capacity with the demand, it is proposed in this paper to use sensor-based predictive control system, which adapts the APM system capacity to real-time demand. By means of sensor data, passenger numbers are determined before they walk onto the stations platforms, and subsequently the APM system capacity is adjusted to the measured demand. In principle there are two methods to change the APM system capacity, i.e.: 1) by changing the APM capacity (i.e. more cars per train) or 2) by changing the frequency. A simulation test case was designed to provide numerical insight in the potential of adaptively changing the capacity of an APM, based on sensor derived real-time demand. The test case was derived from a variety of typical systems used worldwide and represents a complex APM system. From the simulation results it is concluded that an intelligent design of the control system results in significant improvements in terms of passenger experience, operational cost, capital cost and emission footprint. The favourable method of adjusting capacity to demand is by increase train capacity, before reducing the headway between trains.


Finance rests on a process of abstraction, based on various material devices that have been studied by economic sociologists in recent years. The fact that many of those devices are legal in nature has not attracted much attention, even though financial instruments are typically embodied in legal documents. This paper argues that interactions involving legal documents shape both financial markets and their regulation, by specifying the contextual elements that will be deemed relevant in interpreting financial commitments. It takes as a case study the emergence of swaps since the 1980s. Through their work in standardizing, commenting, and litigating swaps contracts, bankers' lawyers were able to recast obligations between banks and their clients in more abstract terms, discarding all references to specific business projects. Such abstraction simultaneously allowed the spectacular development of swaps markets, their positioning on the fringes of regulations, and the strengthening of bankers' prerogatives against their clients.


Author(s): Safranski, Christopher | Advisor(s): Krivorotov, Ilya | Abstract: Manipulation of magnetic materials by the spin degree of freedom is leading way to a new generation of electronics known as spintronics. The nanodevices using these properties are becoming attractive candidates for electronics applications, since they may lead way to less power consumption than their semiconductor counterparts. One particular device of interest is the spin toque oscillator, which is a nanoscale source of microwave power. In this study, multiple types of these devices are fabricated but specifically two novel methods of driving these devices is discovered in the process. One method is based on magnon condensation through the spin Seebeck effect, where high thermal gradients across a magnetic insulator drive a spin current. The second method involved the discovery of a novel spin orbit torque linked to the planer Hall effect present in ferromagnetic materials. The source of the spin orbit torque not only originates from spin currents produced in the ferromagnet, but the action of this torque exhibits a novel angular symmetry in the plane defined by the charge current flow and substrate normal.


Noise effects in Kauffman model configuration space have been studied numerically. It is found that in the large-N limit, an arbitrarily small noise is enough to let the system go from one attractor to another. Nevertheless, there are privileged regions in phase space where the system stays longer. This suggests a hierarchical structure of barriers between attractors.


The article introduces discourse analysis as a fruitful approach to psychotherapy change-process research. Extracts are presented from a successfully resolved, client-specified, problematic theme that was selected from a successful 8-session psychodynamic-interpersonal therapy of a female client presenting with a major depressive episode. The study offers a heuristic demonstrating (a) how resolution of the client's problem evolved from implications raised by the client's own description of her predicament and involved the therapist's legitimation of a morally defensible account of the client's actions and (b) how cultural meanings can be brought into the consulting room as intimately personal problems. The implications of studying therapeutic change as a discursive activity comprising the use and negotiation of sociocultural meanings are discussed.


Artificial intelligence (AI) offers challenges and benefits to the public sector. We present an ethical framework to analyze the effects of AI in public organizations, guide empirical and theoretical research in public administration, and inform practitioner deliberation and decision making on AI adoption. We put forward six propositions on how the use of AI by public organizations may facilitate or prevent unnecessary harm. The framework builds on the theory of administrative evil and contributes to it in two ways. First, we interpret the theory of administrative evil through the lens of agency theory. We examine how the mechanisms stipulated by the former relate to the underlying mechanisms of the latter. Specifically, we highlight how mechanisms of administrative evil can be analyzed as information problems in the form of adverse selection and moral hazard. Second, we describe possible causal pathways of the theory of administrative evil and associate each with a level of analysis: individual (micro), organizational (meso), and cultural (macro). We then develop both descriptive and normative propositions on AI's potential to increase or decrease the risk of administrative evil. The article hence contributes an institutional and public administration lens to the growing literature on AI safety and value alignment.


The prevalence of diabetes is highest in older adults, a population that is increasing. Diabetes self-care is complex with important recommendations for nutrition, physical activity, checking glucose levels, and taking medication. Older adults with diabetes have unique issues that impact self-care. As people age, their health status, support systems, physical and mental abilities, and nutritional requirements change. Furthermore, comorbidities, complications, and polypharmacy complicate diabetes self-care. Depression is also more common among the elderly and may lead to deterioration in self-care behaviors. Because of concerns about cognitive deficits and multiple comorbidities, adults older than 65 years are often excluded from research trials. Thus, little clinical evidence is available and the most appropriate treatment approaches and how to best support older patients' self-care efforts are unclear. This review summarizes the current literature, research findings, and expert and consensus recommendations with their rationales.


An essential component of the effort to rebuild the Columbia Basin's anadromous fish resources is that available information and experience be organized and shared among numerous organizations and individuals. Past experience and knowledge must form the basis for actions into the future. Much of this knowledge exists only in unpublished form in agency and individual files. Even that information which is published in the form of technical and contract reports receives only limited distribution and is often out of print and unavailable after a few years. Only a small fixtion of the basin's collective knowledge is captured in permanent and readily available databases (such as the Northwest Environmental Database) or in recognized journals. State, tribal, and fedend fishery managers have recognized these information management problems and have committed to a program, the Coordinated Information System Project, to capture and share more easily the core data and other information upon which management decisions am based. That project has completed scoping and identification of key information needs and development of a project plan. Work performed under the CM project will be coordinated with and extend information contained in the Northwest Environmental Database. Construction of prototype systems will begin in Phase 3. Thismore » report is one in a series of seven describing the results of the Coordinated Information System scoping and needs identification phase. A brief description of each of these reports follows. This report (Roger 1992) summarizes and integrates the results of the next five reports and relates them to deliverables identified in the Phase II cooperative agreement. Broader issues of organization and operation which are not appropriate for the more focused reports are also discussed. This report should be viewed as an executive summary for the CM project to date. If one wants a quick overview of the CIS project, this report and the project plan will provide that perspective.« less


Abstract The task of the mixed pure CAD generating method developed by the authors consists in finding only the points situated on the gear tooth surface. The use of the mixed CAD gear generating method results in a very large and particular type of Points Cloud: This contains points situated both in the tooth space, and on the tooth surface. The existing filtering programs and methods, as it was presented in previous papers, cannot deal with these particular point sets. The development of the named particular generating method claims an algorithm and a computer software which can find the envelope of the Points Cloud. This papers presents an Alpha Shape algorithm based filtering algorithm, adapted and developed to be used together with the mixed CAD generating software.


The Ziv-Zakai (1975) lower bound (ZZLB) is examined and modified for uses for the estimation of deterministic parameters in array processing. The result is a new lower bound called the modified Ziv-Zakai lower bound (MZLB). The MZLB for the variance of DOA is derived. The comparison between the MZLB, Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB), and Barakin lower bound (BLB) shows that, for high SNR, MZLB approximately=CRLB, but the MZLB is much tighter than the CRLB and also tighter than the BLB when SNR is lower. The MZLB does not need optimization of a parameter, but BLB does.<<ETX>>


A planar-type write head (proposed by Storage Research Consortium, Japan) for high-density longitudinal magnetic recording, is investigated by using transient finite-element analysis. First, conventional write heads are analyzed and the issue is discussed. Then, a planar-type write head is examined and possibilities (large recording field strength) and issues (large crosstrack field) are noted. Finally, head structure optimization using the finite-element method is carried out. Improving the crosstrack field has been realized at a small cost of reducing the on-track field. The obtained planar head has a large recording field, large recording field gradient, and less crosstrack field, all of which are suitable for higher density magnetic recording.


The symbolic representation of 3D objects is the fundamental knowledge for computer systems to understand the environment. This knowledge is usually assumed to exist in a computer but can also be acquired by accumulating spatial features extracted from sensory inputs at different viewing directions. This paper first investigates surface visibility and, then, after introducing mass vector chains (MVC), discusses the relationship between MVC and the spatial closure of object models. An automatic modeling mechanism is established with the observation that the boundary of an object is closed only if the MVC of its model is closed or, alternatively, the tail-to-head vector of an unclosed MVC estimates the visible direction of the missing surfaces. Experimental results and an algorithm are also given at the end. >


In this study, mixed convective heat transfer and entropy generation of Al2O3-water in a lid-driven square cavity with roughness elements on the bottom surface have been studied. The vertical sidewalls of the cavity are adiabatic, and horizontal walls are maintained at a constant temperature, while the top wall is moving at a constant velocity. Various Reynolds numbers, Rayleigh numbers, and nanoparticles concentrations have been considered. The wavy bottom wall of the cavity is determined by the number and amplitude of the roughness elements. It has been observed that the larger amplitude reduces the heat transfer rate while increasing the total entropy generation and the average Bejan number (Beavg). Conversely, the roughness elements reduce the heat transfer rate and total entropy generation while increasing Beavg. It has been further observed that the amplitude has a greater effect on the entropy generation and Beavg than the number of roughness elements. In addition, increasing the Reynolds and Rayleigh numbers increases the average Nusselt number and total entropy generation, while reducing Beavg. Addition of nanoparticles in a base fluid increases the heat transfer while minimizing the total entropy generation. Beavg rises with nanoparticle concentrations. The lowest entropy generation for nanofluid could be achieved at the low Rayleigh number and Reynolds number with a fixed number and amplitude of the roughness elements. In the cases studied, total entropy generation is greatly affected by heat transfer irreversibility while fluid friction irreversibility plays a minor role in the total entropy generation enhancement.In this study, mixed convective heat transfer and entropy generation of Al2O3-water in a lid-driven square cavity with roughness elements on the bottom surface have been studied. The vertical sidewalls of the cavity are adiabatic, and horizontal walls are maintained at a constant temperature, while the top wall is moving at a constant velocity. Various Reynolds numbers, Rayleigh numbers, and nanoparticles concentrations have been considered. The wavy bottom wall of the cavity is determined by the number and amplitude of the roughness elements. It has been observed that the larger amplitude reduces the heat transfer rate while increasing the total entropy generation and the average Bejan number (Beavg). Conversely, the roughness elements reduce the heat transfer rate and total entropy generation while increasing Beavg. It has been further observed that the amplitude has a greater effect on the entropy generation and Beavg than the number of roughness elements. In addition, increasing the Reynolds and Rayle...


A new trellis decoding method of block codes based on generalized array codes (GAC) structure is adopted for error control in a Rayleigh fading channel. The trellis decoding method has lower complexity than the Viterbi decoding method does, and soft-decision can be easily added. We also make researches on the application of this decoding strategy to compressed image transmission system in a Rayleigh fading channel. Simulation results show that the soft-decision trellis decoding of block codes obtains significant coding gain in a Rayleigh fading channel. Furthermore, the decoding technique can make the image transmission quality greatly improved with a rather low decoding complexity.


Bortezomib has been used for patients with refractory and relapsed multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia in recent years. It has several complications. Here we report the complication of varicella herpes zoster after using bortezomib, which has higher incidence in Chinese patients. Ten patients were treated with bortezomib in our hematology centre. Among them, seven patients had refractory and relapsed multiple myeloma, two patients had refractory lymphoma (one of T cell lymphoma and one of mantle cell lymphoma) and one patient had refractory acute myeloblastic leukemia. All the patients received bortezomib (1.3 mg/m 2 ) on days 1, 4, 8, and 11 of a 3-week cycle. Patients of multiple myeloma received dexamethasone simultaneously. The combination with liposomal doxorubicin was used on the patients of lymphoma. The patient of acute myeloblastic leukemia received bortezomib in combination with Amsacrine. After one cycle, 6 patients with multiple myeloma responded to treatment (four near complete remission, two partly remission). Two patients with lymphoma reached PR. The patient with leukemia had no response. A remarkable observation in our treatment was the high incidence of varicella herpes zoster. Six out of ten patients developed varicella herpes zoster. Among the six patients, two patients had previous infection of the zoster virus before. Most of the patients had the varicella herpes zoster infection after the complete of one cycle of bortezomib and were disappeared within one month by the use of antiviral treatment. The incidence of varicella hepers zoster after bortezomib was around 13% as reported. But the higher incidence of varicella herpes zoster were observed in our patients. Six of ten patients (60%) developed varicella zoster virus infection during treatment. We considered that the Chinese patients may be more liable to varicella zoster virus infection. And further observations should be made in the future. Prophylactic antiviral medication might be used in predisposed patients who receive bortezomib.


Cloud computing plays an essential role as a source for outsourcing data to perform mining operations or other data processing, especially for data owners who do not have sufficient resources or experience to execute data mining techniques. However, the privacy of outsourced data is a serious concern. Most data owners are using anonymization-based techniques to prevent identity and attribute disclosures to avoid privacy leakage before outsourced data for mining over the cloud. In addition, data collection and dissemination in a resource-limited network such as sensor cloud require efficient methods to reduce privacy leakage. The main issue that caused identity disclosure is quasi-identifier (QID) linking. But most researchers of anonymization methods ignore the identification of proper QIDs. This reduces the validity of the used anonymization methods and may thus lead to a failure of the anonymity process. This paper introduces a new quasi-identifier recognition algorithm that reduces identity disclosure which resulted from QID linking. The proposed algorithm is comprised of two main stages: (1) attribute classification (or QID recognition) and (2) QID dimension identification. The algorithm works based on the reidentification of risk rate for all attributes and the dimension of QIDs where it determines the proper QIDs and their suitable dimensions. The proposed algorithm was tested on a real dataset. The results demonstrated that the proposed algorithm significantly reduces privacy leakage and maintains the data utility compared to recent related algorithms.


In this study optimization of the soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type I (sTNF-RI) refolding by the use of a micro-renaturation assay in 96-well microplates is described. Microplate wells were filled with buffers varying in pH and urea and substrate concentration. Denatured and reduced sTNF-RI was then rapidly diluted and allowed to refold for a variable time at different temperatures. The extent of renaturation was measured by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), based on the use of two monoclonal antibodies obtained against urinary sTNF-RI. Among about 100 different combinations tested, a maximum refolding yield of 21.5% has been obtained in 100 mM Tris, pH 8-8.5, 1 mM EDTA, 0.1% bovine serum albumin, 2 M urea, at a denatured protein concentration of 10 micrograms/ml and at 26 degrees C. Folded sTNF-RI was purified by batchwise immunoaffinity chromatography and its activity evaluated by immunological and biological assays. A good correlation was observed between the data obtained with different assays (biological assay, ligand-directed ELISA, and double-determinant sandwich ELISA) indicating that the refolded receptor has gained biological and immunological reactivity comparable to those of the soluble TNF-receptor type I expressed in eukaryotic cells.


It has long been known that insufficient intake of quality dietary protein or amino acids impairs immune function and increases susceptibility to infectious diseases Nutritional status in people infected with SARS-CoV-2 is a crucial factor for optimal prognosis and can determine the clinical severity of COVID-19. Insufficient energy and protein intake to reduce weight gain due to inactivity during the pandemic is a common mistake people make. Insufficient intakes of energy, protein and specific micronutrients; It is associated with suppressed immune function and increased susceptibility to infection. The morbidity and mortality of the disease is higher, especially in low immune function people. It is known that increasing protein intake is a priority in order to reduce catabolism due to inflammatory mediators Eating healthy before, during and after the illness is the main key to the immune system and health. Patients who can eat during illness should be advised to consume sufficient and high quality protein despite the loss of their sense of taste. In order to prevent muscle loss and strengthen respiratory muscles, 1.5 g / kg / day protein and branched chain amino acid would be a good decision for this pandemic periods.


Once we shift the intension of the concept of wage-labour from juridical attributes of negative ownership and contractual freedom to the actual performance of capital-positing labour, the extension of the concept – the cases that fall under it – changes as well. Once the concept of wage-labour is intensively re-defined as capital-positing labour, it becomes evident that the history and the geographical scope of wage-labour have not been well understood. This shift in the intension of the concept of wage-labour also disjoins the association between capitalism and freedom.


The ability of a packaging material to protect the food product and extend its shelf‐life depends on several material properties. In this work the effects of material crystallinity and polarity on the quality of fermented milk were studied. The fermented milk is a high‐quality Swedish product, similar to yoghurt. The quality of the food product was determined as a function of storage time by containing the liquid in pouches of different materials. The material crystallinity was varied by using very low‐density polyethylene, high‐density polyethylene and aluminium laminate as packaging materials. Aluminium was used on account of its '100%' gas‐tightness. The polarity was varied by comparing an aliphatic polyketone with polyethylene of similar crystallinity. The carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) contents in the headspace of the pouches were determined. The food quality was determined by measuring whey syneresis, viscosity and the content of desired Bifidobacteria, as well as of undesired yeast and mould. A trained taste panel determined the degree of acidity and of the sparkling taste. It was found that the content of CO2 increased and that of O2 decreased in the pouches with increasing degree of crystallinity and increasing polarity. The sparkling taste of fermented milk was a clear function of the headspace CO2 content. The data presented here could thus be used to 'design' a package for a desired sparkling taste of the fermented milk by selecting a certain material crystallinity. Whey syneresis, viscosity and content of Bifidobacteria were found to be independent of pouch material. While the degree of whey syneresis and the viscosity increased with increasing storage time, the content of Bifidobacteria slowly decreased. The content of yeast and mould in the liquid was below the existing limit values for foodstuffs. The degrees of acidity and sparkling taste were highest for the liquids contained in aluminium and polyketone pouches, although the differences in acidulous taste between the various pouch materials were small. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


An Investigation into Microlens Array Based Light Field Display for Vision Aberration Correction and Applications to Virtual Reality by Luxin Yang Master of Science in Computer Science University of California, Berkeley Professor Brian A. Barsky, Chair Recent studies have indicated that an increasing number of humans are experiencing refractive visual aberrations. Typically, humans correct optical aberrations by wearing eyeglasses, contact lenses, or undergoing refractive surgeries, but these methods have downsides. Eyeglasses and contact lenses are often inconvenient or uncomfortable for constant usage, and the latter can additionally cause irritation and infection due to surface contact. Refractive surgeries carry the risk of severe side effects such as blurred distance vision and dry eyes. These traditional correcting methods also have limited capability of correcting higher-order aberrations, including coma and spherical aberrations. Due to these drawbacks, we propose a computational solution that modifies the optics of electronic displays for correcting refractive visual aberrations. Our solution is safe with no direct contact with the eye. It improves the image pre-distortion architecture proposed by Huang et al. [17] that sends a sharp image without distortion to the focal range of the viewer by displaying a light field in front. The light field display and pre-distortion algorithm are constructed with a microlens array to eliminate the brightness loss and diffraction of the pinhole aperture array in prior work. The chromatic artifacts are erased by multi-sampling within the primary light emitting diodes in the pixels of the display panel. A preprocessing image quality enhancement method is proposed and significantly improves the perceptual experience according to the HDR-VDP2 image quality evaluation. Finally, we implement the application of the light field vision correcting method to a low-cost virtual reality headmounted display using Google Cardboard.


Purpose This study investigated the relationship between serum lipid levels and clinical outcomes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) by establishing a predictive risk classification model. Method A total of 214 AML patients who were pathologically diagnosed and treated with standard induction chemotherapy at Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center were included. The patients were randomly divided into the training (n = 107) and validation (n=107) cohorts. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were used to assess the value of triglyceride (TG), Apolipoprotein B (Apo B), Apo Apolipoprotein A-I (Apo A-I), cholesterol (CHO), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) as prognostic factors for AML. Results After a series of data analyses, a five-factor model was established to divide the patients into high- and low-risk groups. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the high-risk group had a poor prognosis (P<0.05). The area under the curve of the novel model for five-year OS was 0.737. A nomogram was constructed to integrate the model with age and the 2017 ELN cytogenetic classification, with the merged model showing improved accuracy with an area under the curve of 0.987 for five-year OS. Conclusion A novel model was constructed using a combination of the serum lipid profile and clinical characteristics of AML patients to enhance the predictive accuracy of clinical outcomes. The nomogram used the lipid profile which is routinely tested in clinical blood biochemistry and showed both specific prognostic and therapeutic potential.


We present an experimental measurement of the lifetime of the cold 87Rb atoms in an integrating sphere. The atoms are cooled by the diffuse light which is generated by the diffuse reflection of laser beams in the integrating sphere. Our result shows that the lifetime is primarily determined by the free fall of the cold 87Rb atoms, and its half-life can reach 40 ms, which is suitable for many experiments, especially for a cold atom clock.


Both practitioners and administrators agree that an eclectic approach 1 that combines the essential features of the superordiante peer and modular strategies will speed the pace and improve the quality of teacher training in population education. The superordinate training strategy is based on a superior-subordinate training framework; peer on a teacher-to-teacher structure; and modular on the use of self-instructional materials. In the area of superordinate training the following 6 problem areas are discussed and recommendations for practice and policy are presented: trainer competence; training overload; availability of training materials; quality of training; teacher attitude; and involvement of other groups. In the area of peer training the following 3 problem areas are discussed and recommendations for practice and policy are made: selection of trainers; administrative support; and management of training. Finally in the area of modular training the following 3 problem areas are discussed and recommendations are made for practice and policy: adequacy of materials; cost-effectiveness; and relevance.


Health service organizations expect Manager Nurses to develop activities that foster the best quality results both in terms of assistance and in terms of management. To do so, managers have to master management skills in order to understand the activity carried out by the Manager Nurses in an archipelago with several islands. This is a descriptive, analytical and exploratory study of quantitative nature. The data collection instrument was an autofill questionnaire, which included a Perception Scale of the Work of the Manager Nurses. The academic qualifications of the nursing managers are as follows: postgraduate studies in specific areas other than management (15,9%); postgraduate studies in the field of management (36,5%) and master's degree in different areas (17,5%). The results in the field of the skills of management of nursing care may be the ones that require a bigger investment in terms of training. Regarding the skills in the field of political intervention and advice, the results observed were below expectations. The need for specific training in the field of management is obvious; we were able to prove that most of the Manager Nurses do not have specific training in the field of management, which would allow them to perform the management tasks based on solid knowledge, thus improving the quality of their service.


A Bayesian estimation procedure is developed for estimating multiple-regime (multiple-threshold) error-correction models appropriate for deviations from financial arbitrage relationships. This approach has clear advantages over classical stepwise threshold autoregressive analysis. Unlike many other applications of threshold models, the knowledge of some costs involved in setting up arbitrage positions allows us to specify an informative prior. To illustrate the Bayesian procedure, we estimate a no-arbitrage band within which index futures arbitrage is not profitable despite (persistent) deviations from parity.


The relevance of musical expression marks —technical words, symbols, phrases, and their abbreviations— in music is to guide the performer through a thorough interpretation and appreciation of the dynamics and subtleties of a piece of music. These marks, though fundamental to piano pedagogy, sometimes appear confusing to the enthusiastic piano student owing to the fact that some of the performance marks demand subjective expressions from the performer such as, 'furiously', 'fiercely' 'with agitation' 'brightly', tenderly, etc. Piano-keyboard education is still a 'tender' art in Nigerian higher institutions where most learners start at a relatively very late age (17-30 yrs) and so, it becomes burdensome and sometimes unproductive to encumber the undergraduate piano-keyboard student with a plethora of performance marks when he is still grappling with scales and arpeggios. This paper therefore suggests teaching keyboard basics and technique and employing fundamental musical expression marks/dynamics first for undergraduate piano teaching and learning in our institutions. Only when students have shown competences in the basic dynamic/expression marks such as, crescendo, accelerando, andante, moderato, allegro, larghetto etc, can the more complex and subjective ones be introduced in their keyboard repertoire.


OBJECTIVE: This article describes a retrospective inventory of various categories of complications which occurred in a sample consecutively treated patients with Class II division 1 malocclusion. DESIGN: Retrospective, descriptive study. METHODS: Treatment was performed with a headgear-activator and a edgewise appliance. All patients originate from one orthodontic specialist office and were between 10 and 14 years of age during treatment. From the group of 600 patients 100 (n = 100) were randomly selected for the study. A standard form was used for the inventory of the complications. The complications were divided into 5 categories: dental, skeletal, functional, psychosocial and multiple (two or more complications). RESULTS: In the group of 100 patients no complications were found in 48 patients (48%); 52 patients showed complications (52%). From these 52 patients 29 showed one complication, 19 had 2 complications, 4 showed 3 complications. In total 79 complications occurred divided as follows: dental complications 23 (29.1%); skeletal complications 19 (24.1%); functional complications 15 (19.0%); psychosocial complications 22 (27.8%). CONCLUSION: Complications occur very frequently in the treatment of Angle Class II division 1 malocclusions. These complications may occur in various combinations and may compromise the treatment result in a variable way.


The most common geophysical method widely used in hydrogeological surveys concerning deep in-vestigations (150-300m of depth) is the resistivity method and particularly the Vertical Electric Sounding (VES) using the Schlumberger array. VES interpretations assume 1D geoelectrical structure yet it is obvious that such an interpretation assumption is not valid in many cases where 2D and 3D geological features exist. In such cases the application of geoelectrical techniques which can provide both vertical and lateral information concerning the resistivity variations is required. Techniques such as the electrical resistivity tomography, mostly used for the 2D and 3D geoelectrical mapping of near surface applications can be adapted to be used for larger investigation depths pro-vided that modified equipment (viz. cables) is used. In the present paper, the application of deep electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) techniques is applied. ERT array of 21 electrodes, at a distance of 50 meters between them (total length 1000 meters) has been used in several studied areas located in the prefecture of Kavala (North Greece). In several cases near surface structure has been compared with VLF data. The aim of the survey was to study in detail the geological-hydrogeological structure the area of interest in order to suggest the best location for the construction of hydrowells with the most promising results. The 2D images of the geological structure down to the depth of at least 200 meters allowed the better understanding of the behaviour of layered geological formations, since in several cases resistivity values have been calibrated with data from pre-existing boreholes. to preliminary tool for suggesting best for presents the results of


The fracture strength of mechanically ground GaAs LSI chips was investigated in comparison to that of chemically thinned ones to confirm their appropriateness for practical use in the GaAs LSI manufacturing process. In addition, the effect of wafer-thinning on thermal resistance was evaluated quantitatively. GaAs LSI-sized 6.35-mm-square chips with mirror-ground back-surfaces (R/sub max/=0.1 mu m) have been confirmed to be almost as highly reliable as chemically thinned ones through fracture stress experiments. The 1 mu m post-grinding chemical etching in the original wafer-thinning technology proved to be effective for eliminating the surface flaws due to grinding, which act as stress concentrators and reduce mechanical strength. The thermal resistance of background 5-mm-square GaAs chips was observed to be expectedly low utilizing the newly established surface temperature measurement technology based on the diode drop technique. Furthermore, the thermal resistance was judged to be independent of the back-surface treatment.<<ETX>>


African lion ( Panthera leo ), is an important species in the Ethiopian ecosystems. However, significant lion populations and their suitable habitats in many of their former ranges in Ethiopia have declined over time due to socioeconomic uncertainty and the resulting ecological imbalances. Despite this general trend, it is equally noted that there is a lack of verifiable data which depicts the past and current status of African lions. Thus, very little is known about the species in question in most of its ranges. Available published and unpublished reports and manuscripts on the target species were reviewed in order to examine and document the status of the African lion in Ethiopia. From our review, we concluded that the lion numbers are still low and declining whilst considerable ranges have been identified through the field assessments conducted in the last two decades. African lions in Ethiopia have been under serious threat from various anthropogenic activities and it is therefore recommended to effectively implement the national conservation action plan for lion and undertake further field assessment on its habitats. This study suggests the establishment of a national Red list category for the threatened species based on the final reports of our assessments.


Canine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (CIPF) is a progressive interstitial lung disease mainly affecting West Highland white terriers (WHWT). Pulmonary hypertension (PH) may develop secondary to hypoxic vasoconstriction and/or pulmonary parenchymal infiltration. In the absence of measurable tricuspid regurgitation (TR), this co-morbid condition may be difficult to diagnose non-invasively. The degree of cardio-pulmonary impairment in CIPF dogs can be evaluated through blood gas analysis (BGA) and 6 minute walking test (6MWT). A new echocardiographic index, the right pulmonary vein to pulmonary artery ratio (PV/PA) has been described for the detection of pulmonary venous hypertension. The aim of this study was to investigate PV/PA in CIPF in order to determine its utility in the detection of PH and in the assessment of cardio-pulmonary disease severity. This prospective clinical cohort study included 10 WHWT with CIPF (Group A), 9 healthy WHWT (Group B) and 25 healthy dogs from other breeds (Group C). Diameters of right PV and PA were measured, in bidimensional (BD) and M-modes (MM), in a parasternal right long axis view, at the end of the T wave. Other echocardiographic parameters for evaluation of PH were also measured: speed of TR, acceleration time to ejection time ratio of the pulmonary flow (AT:ET) and pulmonary artery to aorta ratio (PA/Ao). BGA was performed in 14 dogs (9, 1 and 4 in groups A, B and C) and 6MWT in 17 dogs (8, 6 and 3). Values are given as mean±SD. In BD and MM mode, the PV/PA ratio was lower in group A (MM: 0.62±0.25, BD: 0.51±0.20) compared to group B (MM: 0.98±0.17, BD: 0.93±0.12, P≤0.01) and group C (MM: 1.03±0.13, BD: 1.00±0.10, P≤0.0001). The changes in PV/PA were both due to an increase of PA (P≤0.01) and a decrease of PV (P≤0.05). TR was found in 60% of dogs with CIPF; mean pressure gradient was 34.03±16.90 mmHg. AT:ET was lower in group A (0.42±0.08) compared to group C (0.50±0.04, P=0.002) and tended to be lower compared to group B (0.48±0.07, P=0.09). PA/Ao was not statistically different between groups. PV/PA was correlated with arterial pO2 values (B mode: r = 0.870, P=0.0001) and results of the 6MWT (B mode: r = 0.791, P=0.0003). PV/PA was also correlated with AT:ET and the speed of TR, but not with PA/Ao. In conclusion, in WHWT affected by CIPF, PV/PA is a useful indicator of PH and could serve in the assessment of disease severity.


Traditional cricket pitch preparation in the West Indies has failed to provide the desired calibre of pitches expected from the heavy clay soils used. A novel investigation into the effects of one-day limited overs pitch preparation on performance indices was conducted to investigate the unrealized potential of heavy clay pitches. Surface hardness was measured across two pitches of different soil properties, in a systematic pattern allowing differentiation of ball delivery line and length. Clegg impact values (CIVs) were significantly lower for both soils after pitch preparation, with average readings being greater for Talparo (278.8 g) than Sevilla (253.6 g). Coefficients of variation for CIVs decreased after pitch preparation, but the absolute CIV remained in the slow to medium pitch range for pace and bounce. Pitch moisture monitoring during preparation is critical to achieving the desired pitch performance characteristics.


This paper addresses key issues regarding important factors affecting the sustainability and long-term performance of Portland cement concrete (PCC) pavement structures. Key distress types and their associated features are discussed in terms of their effect on performance and sustainability in terms of specific pavement components. Relevant material properties are also identified and discussed as to how they are represented in laboratory and field testing. A process to manage inspection resources is described and illustrated with the aid of a sustainability worksheet. This paper does not represent a guide or a standard for design or analysis.


The armed conflict in Colombia has been presented from the sixties and consequently have been thousands of victims among young people, children, adults and seniors who have endured lost loved ones, property, land, livelihood, and quality life, as a result, they have had to migrate to cities looking forward for opportunities, but unfortunately, in the cities do not have established protection programs, government and local authorities do not have programs and resources to enable them at less wane the problem.

 However, the most affected are minors who have to face the situation, when their parents are killed, they are recruited by the illegal armed groups and end into the conflict, and those groups put them as a protection shield, forcing them to do activities against the law that obviously does not correspond to their age.


The presence of certain glycosaminoglycans in peri-implant sulcus fluid may be an effective means of monitoring changes in bone metabolic activity following initial loading of implant abutments. This study has investigated levels of chondroitin 4 sulphate and hyaluronan in peri-implant sulcus fluid from titanium osseointegrated implants following initial abutment placement and exposure to masticatory stresses. Abutments were placed after a 3-month osseointegration period post-initial surgical placement of the interosseous stage. 10 edentulous patients, each with 5 mandibular implants were reviewed at 2, 4, 6 and 8 days after abutment placement. Clinical details were assessed and recorded and sulcus fluid collected in microcapillary tubes for a 5-min period for each abutment. Levels of glycosaminoglycans were assessed using cellulose acetate electrophoresis and densitometric scanning of alcian blue stained strips against known glycosaminoglycan standards. Maximum levels of sulcus fluid (0.3-1.25 microliters/5 min) were evident at 4 days with a decrease towards 8 days. Levels of sulphated glycosaminoglycans were also maximal at 2-4 days (range 0.03 - 0.126 micrograms/5 min) and decreased at 6-8 days. Hyaluronan was detected within a similar range of values reaching maximal levels at 4 days and decreasing by 8 days. The results indicate that glycosaminoglycan levels of peri-implant sulcus fluid is an effective means of measuring and maintaining changes in bone metabolism. The absence of proteodermatan sulphate precludes soft tissues being a source of these markers.


Bone erosions are the hallmark of structural damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Among imaging techniques, ultrasonography (US) has emerged as an accurate, reliable, repeatable, low-cost and non-invasive imaging modality to detect erosive changes in RA. However, small interruptions of the cortical bone detectable by last generation US equipment do not necessarily represent bone erosions. According to the available data, in addition to cortical bone interruption itself, only a few morphological US findings have been proposed to define RA bone erosions. However, other additional features may be considered to facilitate the interpretation of US cortical bone interruptions in RA. These could be summarised using the following four domains: size, site, shape and scenery. This hypothesis article provides a critical literature review of US features characteristic of RA bone erosions and pictorial evidence supporting the potential role of a morphological analysis in the US identification of bone erosions in RA patients. Plain language summary The ultrasonographic morphology of cortical interruptions is helpful for the identification of bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis: the "four Ss" approach Bone erosions are characteristic features of rheumatoid arthritis. They are associated with a more aggressive disease and with irreversible physical disability. In recent years, ultrasonography has emerged as an accurate and reliable technique for the detection of bone erosions, that appear as interruptions of the cortical bone with variable size. However, cortical bone interruptions do not necessarily represent bone erosions. Since bone erosions represent the earliest evidence of the destructive behaviour of RA, their identification is crucial. Besides the cortical interruption itself, only a few morphological ultrasonographic features were proposed to characterise bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis. We believe that a morphological approach, including size, site, shape and scenery, may be considered to facilitate the interpretation of ultrasonographic cortical bone interruptions in rheumatoid arthritis. In this hypothesis article we carried out a critical review of the scientific literature and provided extensive pictorial evidence of the ultrasonographic spectrum of cortical interruptions supporting the potential role of considering the "four Ss" for the ultrasonographic identification of bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis.


The discovery of homeobox genes in vertebrates may allow analysis of a basic problem in developmental neurobiology: how regional differences in CNS organization are specified during development. This view is based on the roles defined for homologous genes in Drosophila development, and is supported by studies of the patterns of homeobox gene expression in vertebrate embryos. Homeobox genes comprise a multigene family, members of which are expressed in different spatially restricted domains along the anterior-posterior axis of the CNS. These observations are consistent with homeobox genes having roles in the positional specification of CNS organization, and experimental tests of this should be forthcoming shortly.


Background: Natural radioactivity exposes radiation so that it goes whole body through different ways and causes diseases leading to death, if it is more than standard amount by ICRP. The aim of this study was to measure the amount of radioactivity in the soil, water and air of Chabahar city in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran. Material and Methods: A few locations of city were chosen as a sampling station. The study of drinking water radioactivity was performed in Bandargah and city square. Soil' radioactivity tested in Tiss village and Shillat. Radioactivity measurement of air was performed in the above-mention places. The radioactivity of drinking water and soil were measured by using a coaxial detector Germanium with high purity. Results: Average concentrations of Ra-228, Th-222 and K-40 in soil; and Ra-228 in piping drinking water and in consumed plant were 450±34.5 Bq/Kg, 28.5±2.5 Bq/Kg, 24.3±2.6 Bq/Kg and <2 Bq/L, respectively. The overall results demonstrated low levels of radioactivity (<2 mBq/L), and less levels of K-40, Ra-228 and Th-232 in soil. The Ra-228 concentrations measured in piping and underground water were generally below the detection limit. As there was lower radioactivity in comparison with international standards, there was not probably any disease. Absorbed dose in air was 485.5±20 nanoGy/h and effective dose was 596±24.5, 5 µSv. Conclusion: It is found that there is a significant difference in average of 228Ra, 40K and 232Th in the area relative to some points in the world that may be because of organic matter and microbial biomass. Different factors effect on radioactivity of samples. This region shows the least ionizing radiation .


The present study investigates the impact of a housing intervention for homeless families involved in the child welfare system on social support and their networks. Qualitative methods were employed in a randomized control trial of a housing intervention to examine the meaning of social support ±rom the perspective of caregivers while exploring the relation between instrumental support (e.g. advice, emotional support, and perceived support), family roles, decision making processes, and housing. Findings suggest little difference in families' perceptions of social support regardless of receiving a housing voucher; however, differences between doubled up housing arrangements and independently housed families may be harder to discern. Point of contact may also be crucial in understanding changes in social support for inadequately house families. Findings of this study are important in order to know how best to meet the needs of inadequately housed families who may understand social support differently due to being in the difficult position of living in unstable housing arrangements while still longing for housing of their own.


Background: Strongyloides stercoralis is a nematode that causes intestinal infection in vertebrate hosts, especially in humans and dogs. The species S. stercoralis is responsible for chronic and asymptomatic infections in adult dogs or serious infections in puppies and immunosuppressed animals. In Brazil, natural infection in dogs was demonstrated by coproparasitological and serological methods, however, there are no reports that address the clinicopathological characteristics of the infection in the canine species. Thus, this paper aims to describe the epidemiological, clinical and pathological aspects of S. stercoralis infection in a puppy in Northeastern Brazil.Case: A puppy female Chihuahua was referred to the Animal Pathology Laboratory of the Veterinary Hospital of the Federal University of Campina Grande for necropsy with a historic of severe respiratory symptoms and gastrointestinal changes that included sanguineous diarrhea and vomiting that evolved to death in 5 days. Grossly, there was a moderate amount of slightly reddish fluid in the thoracic cavity. The lungs remained expanded with a smooth, shiny, and diffusely reddish pleural surface interspersed with multifocal and blackened coalescent areas. Upon cutting, a moderate amount of slightly yellow foamy liquid flowed from the airways and trachea. In the duodenum, the mucosa was diffusely reddened. Histologically, there were multifocal to coalescent areas of moderate interalveolar accumulation of fibrin, edema and hemorrhage in the lung surrounded by an inflammatory infiltrate composed of foamy macrophages associated with numerous parasitic structures in longitudinal and transverse sections in the alveolar lumen and pleural surface. In the duodenum, we observed flattening with diffuse and moderate fusion of the villi and multifocal areas of mucosal erosion. The crypts were moderately dilated, covered by attenuated epithelium, with numerous longitudinal and transversal sections of adult nematode parasites, larvae and eggs associated with inflammatory lymphplasmocytic infiltrate in the lamina propria. The morphological characteristics were compatible with the nematode S. stercoralis.Discussion: The diagnosis of strongyloidiasis was performed by means of microscopic lesions associated with parasitic structures morphologically compatible with the nematode S. stercoralis. This species is responsible for parasitism especially in humans, dogs, and cats. Parasites are the only ones that have a life cycle that involve free living form and parasitic. In this case, it was not possible to determine the primary portal of entry for the infection, but most infections commonly occur through the penetration of the larvae into the skin or mucous membranes, where they migrate via the haematogenous to the lung, then they are swallowed up to the intestine. Occasionally, there is autoinfection by larvae that enter the intestinal mucosa or perianal region and the contamination of neonates and puppies through the ingestion of milk. The clinical signs evidenced in this case, revealed the committed respiratory and gastrointestinal, possibly may be related to the migration of the larvae in the lungs and the destruction of the intestinal epithelium caused by the high number of parasites, respectively. It is concluded that strongyloidiasis is an uncommon infectious disease in puppies in Brazil, capable of causing severe respiratory and gastrointestinal changes that result in the death of animals with a high parasitic load and should be included in the differential diagnosis of diseases that affect the respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract of dogs.Keywords: dog disease, parasitic infection, nematode, Strongyloides stercoralis.


INTRODUCTION
Sodium-iodine symporter (NIS) belongs to a large family of natrium dependent ion transporters found in normal thyroid cells located on the basilar membrane of tyreocytes. Under physiologic conditions, the NIS is also present in other tissues: salivary glands, gastric mucosa, mammary glands during lactation, and vascular plexus of the fourth ventricle. NIS expression has also been found in many tumors, including breast cancer.

AIM
The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of whole body scintigraphy after administration of relatively low activity of 131I (6 MBq)in the diagnostics of breast cancer.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The study included nine women with breast cancer, aged 38-73 years (mean 55.6 +/- 11.7 years) and a control group of 14 women aged 29-84 years (mean 48.8 +/- 16.7 years). The uptake of radioiodine in whole body scintigraphy 24 hours after administration of 131I radioiodine (6 MBq) was compared between the control group and breast cancer patients. No pharmaceuticals reducing thyroid iodine uptake or increasing NIS expression were used.

RESULTS
Whole body scans using 6 MBq 131I activity revealed no focal radioiodine uptake outside the thyroid tissue in patients with breast cancer as well as volunteers from the control group.

CONCLUSIONS
Whole body scintigraphy using 131I, dosed at 6 MBq, with no additional treatment increasing extrathyroidal uptake of radioiodine, appears to be ineffective in the imaging of breast cancer.


The crystallization process of amorphous Fe74B16Si9Ni1 was studied by means of X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and resistivity measurements. It was found experimentally, that superheating the melt above liquidus results in a lowering of activation energy for crystallization and in a modification of the crystallization mechanism. On the first crystallization stage some orthorhombic Fe3B formed additionally to Fe3B (tetr) and bcc solid solution of silicon in iron. Second stage realized mainly by the formation of metastable Fe3B (tetr) and α–Fe(Si) instead of Fe2B (tetr) and α–Fe(Si). The observed changes in the crystallization behavior have been proposed as being linked with the structural transformation in the initial liquid alloy at 1400°C and structural inheritance during its rapid quenching.


Interstitial pneumonitis in immunosuppressed patients demands prompt diagnosis and treatment. In an effort to achieve a simple yet highly accurate method of diagnosis, we have evaluated the usefulness of thoracoscopic examination. Twenty-seven procedures have been performed in 24 patients between the ages of 17 months and 18 years. All patients were immunosuppressed, most for treatment of malignant processes. All procedures have been performed under anesthesia with intravenously administered ketamine, without endotracheal intubation. A definitive diagnosis has been made in every case, with pneumonia due to Pneumocystis carinii being identified in 18 instances. Complications have been minimal and include four minor pneumothoraces, two instances of bleeding, and two instances of prolonged air leak. Mortality attributable to the procedure has been nil, although five patients have died due to their underlying diseases within 30 days of the thoracoscopic procedure. Thoracoscopy has proven to be a rapid and safe technique for providing accurate histologic and bacteriologic diagnoses in these critically ill children.


The limitation of executive compensation has been a matter of public and policy debate for at least 20 years. We examine a regulatory action in Austria in 2014 where the tax deductibility of the total value of executive compensation is unavoidably limited. We find no average effects on the growth or composition of executives' pay. However, the deductibility limit affects the managers of firms with low bargaining power and of firms with strong corporate governance, indicating that they are affected by the deductibility limit. Additionally, the contract durations for executives decrease after renegotiation. We further find that affected firms experience cuts in investment and research and development, suggesting that shareholders bear part of the economic burden. Our results indicate that the effectiveness of other reforms, such as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, in restricting executive pay is rather limited.


Using the method of detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and power spectral analysis (PSA), the paper deals with the characteristics of long-range correlations of colonic pressure activities and their surrogate data of healthy subjects. The DFA is a period representation of such correlations, whereas the PSA is a frequency representation. The analysis of the two methods consistently shows that there are long memories in colonic pressure activities and there exist long-range correlations, whereas there are no such long memories and long-range correlations in the surrogate data, whose sequential orders are randomly shuffled. The results to some extent indicate that human colonic pressure activities with normal motilities do have long memories, but these memories may be weaker or may even be destroyed with dysmotilities.


This study aims at examining translation techniques and its quality on online booking guide by AirAsia, which is published in January 7, 2014. This research applied qualitative method because the data of this research are sentences, which contains of audiences instruction. Sources of data are documents and informants. The result of this study indicates that there are 10 techniques applied by the translator. It is in the form of two single techniques and twenty one multiple techniques: Established Equivalent (3 times or 8.82%), Reduction (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent+Naturalized Borrowing (4 times or 23.54%), Established Equivalent +Amplification (2 times or 5.90%), Established Equivalent+Linguistic Amplification (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent+Reduction (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent+Literal Translation (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent+Transposition (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent+Pure Borrowing+Naturalized Borrowing (4 times or 23.54%), Established Equivalent+Pure Borrowing+Amplification (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent+Pure Borrowing+Linguistic Amplification (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent +Naturalized Borrowing+Reduction (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent +Naturalized Borrowing+Amplification (3 times or 8.82%), Established Equivalent+Naturalized Borrowing+Linguistic Amplification (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent+Naturalized Borrowing+Generalization (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent +Calque+Literal Translation (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent+Naturalized Borrowing+Transposition+Reduction (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent+Naturalized Borrowing+Pure Borrowing+Literal Translation (1 time or 2.94%) Established Equivalent+Naturalized Borrowing+Pure Borrowing+Generalization (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent+Pure Borrowing +Linguistic Amplification+Reduction (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent+Pure Borrowing+Amplification+Transposition (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent +Naturalized Borrowing+Amplification+Reduction (1 time or 2.94%), Established Equivalent+Pure Borrowing+Modulation (1 time or 2.94%). In relation to the translation quality of accuracy, out of 34 data, 23 or 67.65% are accurate, 10 data or 29.42% are less accurate and 1 data or 2.94% are inaccurate. Out of 34 data, 19 data or 55.89% are acceptable, 14 data or 41.17 % are less acceptable, and 1 data or 2.94% are unacceptable. Out of 34 data, 27 data or 79.36% are readable, 6 data or 17.70% are less readable, and 1 data or 2.94% are unreadable. It shows that most data are well transferred. The translator has resulted a good quality of translation. By applying the right technique, the translator could transfer the message of the text well.Keywords: translation technique, translation quality, instruction, online booking guide


Compare the microRNA (miRNA) trancriptomes of goat and sheep skin using Solexa sequencing to understand the development of skin and hair follicles (HFs). miRNA expression patterns vary in the two small RNA libraries from goat (G library) and sheep (S library) telogen skin samples. Analysis of the size distribution of 25.32 million clean reads revealed that most are 21-23 nucleotides. A total of 1910 known miRNAs and 2261 novel mature miRNAs were identified in this study. Among them, 107 novel miRNAs and 1246 known miRNAs were differentially expressed in the two libraries; 10 of the known miRNAs were identified using stem-loop quantitative real-time PCR. Furthermore, GO and KEGG pathway analysis of predicted miRNA targets illustrated the roles of these differentially expressed miRNAs in telogen HF development and growth. This study provides important information about the role of miRNAs in the regulation of HF development and their function in the telogen phase. This observation may help future investigations of the regulation of miRNAs during wool quality improvement.


This paper treats exergy analysis of rice husk at various loading rates of 1 kg, 1.5 kg and 2 kg of feedstock, using a batch type, fixed-bed gasifier, equipped with a gas filtering system and between the operating temperatures of 690 K and 1100 K, operated for the whole year. Exergy analysis is a thermodynamic technique which uses conservation of mass and energy principles to design thermal systems with maximum efficiency and it is based on First and Second law of thermodynamics. Formulas from literature and previous researches as well as Microsoft Excel 2007 were used to make calculations and graphically interpret the results. The exergoeconomic analysis is based on location specific and national data collected from official sources. A MATLAB based hybrid model developed from a combination of other studies is used to generate the exergoeconomic analysis results. Methane was found with the highest total exergies where values of exergies were varying between 1110126 kJ and 1066279 kJ for 2kg; 1037525 kJ and 1004639 kJ for 1.5 kg and finally, 965559.3kJ and 943635.6kJ for a feedstock mass of 1 kg between 690 K and 960 K respectively. From the overall results obtained, the gasification efficiency can be improved by increasing the temperature with an addition of heat in the process. The R2 values of 0.999 to 1 show the true behavior and similarities of the graphs and highlighting the enormous exergy destruction rate in the process. The CO2, CO and NOx capture/avoidance increases the plant efficiency by producing more electricity thereby increasing the financial potential of the plant. From the total exergies of CO2, CO and NOx, $0.156/kg, $0.20/kg and $12.335/kg could be made when sold respectively. The total exergies of gases considerably assist in the exergoeconomic analysis of the gasification plant, when the environmental aspect is considered.


Objectives
The Hoffman-reflex (H-reflex) is an electrophysiological technique used to evaluate the excitability of the monosynaptic spinal reflex arc. In individuals with upper motor neuron lesions who show elevated spinal excitability, a depression of spinal excitability may indicate adaptive spinal plasticity. Downslope walking (DSW), an exercise intervention comprising repetitive eccentric muscle activity, has been shown to induce depression of soleus H-reflex amplitudes while seated, however, the dose-response time-course of H-reflex modulation during DSW has not been characterized. The objectives of this study were twofold: (1) to evaluate DSW-induced soleus H-reflex depression in the standing posture and during walking, and (2) to investigate the effect of walking duration (20 minutes and 40 minutes) of DSW (-15% decline) on soleus H-reflexes, (with level walking (LW) as a control intervention).

Methods
Soleus H-reflexes were collected Pre, Post-20 minutes, and Post-40 minutes of walking in the standing position; and H-reflexes were also measured at 4 different time points during the terminal stance phase of walking.

Results
Our results showed that soleus H-reflexes evaluated in standing showed a greater % depression after DSW compared to LW, with a statistical trend for greater depression with longer durations (40-minutes). H-reflexes measured during walking showed greater depression after 40 minutes of walking compared to 20- or 30-minutes for both DSW and LW.

Conclusions
Longer duration treadmill walking (40-minutes) may induce a greater acute depressive effect on soleus H-reflex excitability compared to shorter durations (20-minutes) of treadmill walking. Future work will investigate the potential for DSW as a gait training intervention in people with upper motor neuron lesions such as multiple sclerosis and stroke.


BACKGROUND
Cigarette smoking and stress are considered risk factors that have been associated with periodontal disease progression. Conflicting results have been reported concerning the direct influence of smoking on the subgingival microbiota of periodontitis patients. Cytokine production may also be influenced by smoking and stress leading to an imbalance that disturbs the host-parasite relationship.

AIM
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of cigarette smoking on the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) levels of interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-8 in aggressive or early onset periodontitis (EOP) patients and in healthy controls (H), psychosocial stress being considered as modifying factor.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Sixty-five EOP and 35 periodontally healthy individuals participated in this cross-sectional study. All the participants were interviewed about their smoking habits and their stressful social events. Clinical examination included the assessment of plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), clinical attachment level (CAL) and probing pocket depth (PPD). GCF was collected using durapore strips, from four sites per patient, randomly selected in each quadrant. The total amounts of IL-1beta, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-8 were measured in a total of 400 samples using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

RESULTS
All clinical parameters were significantly higher in the EOP group compared to the H group. There were no significant differences between EOP smokers and EOP non-smokers with regard to plaque accumulation, CAL and PPD of the sampling sites, whereas mean CAL and PPD of the diseased sites were greater in EOP smokers than in EOP non-smokers. In addition, EOP smokers seemed to have significantly less BOP and greater bone loss compared to EOP non-smokers. Significant interactions between "EOP" and "smoking" were present for total amounts of IL-1beta and IL-4. IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-8 showed significant main effects with healthy smokers and healthy non-smokers, respectively. For IL-8, stress presented a statistically significant interaction with smoking status and EOP (F=4.742, p=0.030). More specifically EOP smokers were statistically affected by stress.

CONCLUSIONS
Smoking influences host-related factors including cytokine network. The relative importance of smoking and stress-related alterations and their precise mode of action in increasing the risk of aggressive periodontitis remains to be elucidated.


Veterinary care plays an influential role in sea turtle rehabilitation, especially in endangered species. Physiological characteristics, hematological and plasma biochemistry profiles, are useful references for clinical management in animals, especially when animals are during the convalescence period. In this study, these factors associated with sea turtle surviving were analyzed. The blood samples were collected when sea turtles remained alive, and then animals were followed up for surviving status. The results indicated that significantly negative correlation was found between buoyancy disorders (BD) and sea turtle surviving (p < 0.05). Furthermore, non-surviving sea turtles had significantly higher levels of aspartate aminotranspherase (AST), creatinine kinase (CK), creatinine and uric acid (UA) than surviving sea turtles (all p < 0.05). After further analysis by multiple logistic regression model, only factors of BD, creatinine and UA were included in the equation for calculating summarized health index (SHI) for each individual. Through evaluation by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the result indicated that the area under curve was 0.920 ± 0.037, and a cut-off SHI value of 2.5244 showed 80.0% sensitivity and 86.7% specificity in predicting survival. Therefore, the developed SHI could be a useful index to evaluate health status of sea turtles and to improve veterinary care at rehabilitation facilities.


ABSTRACT Nanoscale heat transfer between two parallel silicon slabs filled with deionized water was studied under varying electric field in heat transfer direction. Two oppositely charged electrodes were embedded into the silicon walls to create a uniform electric field perpendicular to the surface, similar to electrowetting-on-dielectric technologies. Through the electrostatic interactions, (i) surface charge altered the silicon/water interface energy and (ii) electric field created orientation polarization of water by aligning dipoles to the direction of the electric field. We found that the first mechanism can manipulate the interface thermal resistance and the later can change the thermal conductivity of water. By increasing electric field, Kapitza length substantially decreased to 1/5 of its original value due to enhanced water layering, but also the water thermal conductivity lessened slightly since water dynamics were restricted; in this range of electric field, heat transfer was doubled. With a further increase of the electric field, electro-freezing (EF) developed as the aligned water dipoles formed a crystalline structure. During EF (0.53 V/nm), water thermal conductivity increased to 1.5 times of its thermodynamic value while Kapitza did not change; but once the EF is formed, both Kapitza and conductivity remained constant with increasing electric field. Overall, the heat transfer rate increased 2.25 times at 0.53 V/nm after which it remains constant with further increase of the electric field.


The content of lead, cadmium and mercury was determined in various sorts of Polish vegetables grown on soil or in hothouses in the years 1986-1988 using for the determination of Pb and Cd the extraction flame ASA method after dry mineralization at about 400 degrees C and for Hg the flameless ASA method after wet mineralization. In 1988 soil investigations were conducted parallelly in the areas where these vegetables had been grown. Vegetable samples were taken directly from the producers in 18 provinces, from areas not contaminated with these metals by industrial plants and traffic. About 2.5 thousand vegetable samples and about 650 soil samples were investigated. A considerable part of the vegetables, especially those whose roots are consumed, contained excessive amounts of lead--over 0.3 mg/kg (e.g. over 20% of samples of parsley leaves) and cadmium--over 0.3 mg/kg (nearly 40% of carrots samples, and about 30% of beets, lettuce grown on soil or in hothouses, and parsley roots, about 20% of samples of parsley leaves grown on soil). The levels of mercury were usually of the order of thousandths mg/kg. The mean values of these metals in soil were frequently much higher than the values regarded as most frequent in the soils of not contaminated regions of Poland.


Over the past two decades there has been increasing scientific interest in Human Enhancement, that is, the possibilities of expanding and enhancing the capabilities of healthy individuals with direct technological interventions into the body. The (sub)field of neuroenhancement, which explores attempts to technologically increase attention, memory, perception, learning and other cognitive capabilities, as well as alter mood and emotions, has become especially prominent. Recently, transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation (tDCS) has emerged as a possible method for enhancing cognitive abilities in healthy individuals. The article provides a short overview of the concept of neuroenhancement and of the cognitive enhancement effects that tDCS has demonstrated in the scientific literature. It further focuses on the (neuro)ethical, legal and societal implications of such a practice, and points out issues and questions that especially require further research and investigation, both from a neuroscientific and from a social sciences and humanities perspective. tDCS could become another addition to the increasing set of Human Enhancement Technologies, but it requires further rigorous studies and trials in order to properly assess its potential risks and benefits.


The interactive e-book was developed to improve early reading and writing skills as log of pandemic Covid-19. The type of this research is R&D with the product of this research is the E-Book Interactive reading and writing starters. The questionnaire instrument was used as a research data collection technique. The results of the product validity test show the following results. First, the appearance of the interactive E- book product has an attractive appearance, second, the selection of an attractive typeface and the presentation of animated text in the form of a video embedded in the interactive E-book. Third, to get students involved in learning activities it is necessary to have interaction in learning, interesting content and presentations combbined with learning videos to explain the material interactively


This paper presents a train scheduling and a rescheduling models based on the generation of an alternative graph of the railway network. In the first model, the train scheduling problem has been solved to define the optimal timetable for a set of trains with the objective to minimize the travel times of passengers to reach their destination, outlining the related sequence of nodes and arcs of the graph to be covered by each group of passengers. Subsequently, a train rescheduling model is applied on an optimal timetable became infeasible due to unpredicted failures or disturbances introduced on the network. In this second approach, the objective is restore the railway service quality by reducing the delays for trains and passengers.The main contribution of this paper is to implement railway scheduling and rescheduling problem by linear programming formulations introducing in the second approach the innovative concept to prioritize the train that can access on the block section in case of conflicts on the network. The performances of the solution methods have been tested on real train timetable data related to a portion of railway in Liguria Region, in Italy.


Summary form only given. An experimental platform that allows application of internal faults on the armature windings of a specially modified synchronous generator in a controlled environment is described. It allows recording and studying current and voltage aveforms of internal fault conditions that may occur in a synchronous generator. Thus, traditional and new protection functions can be tested by using real data, and the transient response of the machine due to internal faults can be analyzed more closely. The hardware-software platform is described in detail, as well as all its control functions. The results can contribute significantly in new protection developments, as well as for educational purposes.


Evolution of a multigene family is studied from the standpoint of population genetics. It is assumed that the multigene family is undergoing continuous interchromosomal unequal crossing over, mutation and random frequency drift. The equilibrium properties of the probability of gene identity (clonality) are investigated, using two measures: identity probability within and between chromosomes. The measures represent homogeneity of genes within a family in one chromosome and similarity of gene families between two homologous chromosomes. The means, the variances and the covariance of these two measures of identity probability are obtained by using the diffusion equation method. It is shown that the means and the variances are generally smaller than those predicted in the previous model assuming intrachromosomal (sister chromatid) unequal crossing over (Ohta 1978a,b).


The purpose of this study was to examine Korean restaurant industry during , and to review Korean restaurant industry related by statistics. Finally, to predict the Korean restaurant industry, major restaurant industry was categorized into fast food restaurants, family restaurants, pizza restaurants and ice cream restaurants. A contents analysis used to review Korea food industry yearly statistics and monthly magazine 'restaurant'. Korean food service industry yearly statistics have been published since 1980, the magazine 'Restaurant' has been published since 1985, but the statistics was recorded from 1995.


Miao Zhang, Xiamen University: As of 25 November 2020, Malaysia has reported a total of 60,752 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The first wave (from 25 January to 16 February) and second wave (from 27 February to 30 June) saw a total of 10,219 infections. The highest number of confirmed cases (50,533) was recorded in the current and third wave, which had been occurring since 25 September. Despite its relatively good management of the pandemic in the early stages, this sudden rise in the number of infections recently has sharpened the urgency for the Malaysian government to enforce more effective measures to level the current wave of the pandemic. While the government faces great challenges in managing the public health crisis, it must also try to strike a balance between lost lives and lost livelihoods, which is especially pertinent for the relatively small and open economy of Malaysia.


This paper presents a simulation model of the operation of a liner shipping network that considers multiple service routes and schedules. The objective is to evaluate the operational costs and performance associated with liner shipping, as well as the impact of individual service schedules on the overall system. The approach proposes a discrete-event simulation model where shipping activities, container ship operations, and intermodal container movements are considered. The model allows for direct and transshipment operations of container cargo, and the evaluation of fuel consumption and other logistics metrics. The model is used to evaluate a liner shipping network consisting of four service routes, up to 64 container ships, and up to 20 ports with diverse physical characteristics and cost components. The results show the contribution of service routes, ports, container ships, and containers to the cost and performance of the system.