This research aims at identifying the impact of jobs localization applied in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the productivity of employees in the banking sector. The banking sector, according to a statement to the Executive Director of Bank Al- Ahli, is a perfect example on the subject of localization of jobs, where the proportion of Saudization in this sector is currently between 85-89%. Thus, the discussion of the research problem "the productivity of workers in Saudi Banks does not affected negatively by the use of Saudi employees, rather than expatriate staff.


This master's thesis describes the evaluation test plan of an interactive installation designed for a public space, and the discussion of the issues arose during its implementation. Evaluation is a critical aspect of the iterative development process of any application or system. It allows creating better products, with less errors, and better achievement of the user's requirements. It is even more important when the system is intended for a public space due to the problems associated with this kind of settings. The user and design requirements are more difficult to capture and to define, and at the same time the complexity of the evaluation is considerably increased. The evaluation experience described and the suggested recommendations might be of interest for any future attempt to develop and evaluate technology for a public space, as it is the case of the Milk Market project (the Recipe Station)


Appropriate modulation of escape behaviors in response to potentially damaging stimuli is essential for survival. Although nociceptive circuitry has been studied, it is poorly understood how genetic contexts affect the relevant escape responses. Using an unbiased genome-wide association analysis, we identified a Ly6/α-neurotoxin family protein, Belly roll (Bero), which negatively regulates Drosophila nociceptive escape behavior. We show that Bero is expressed in abdominal leucokinin-producing neurons (ABLK neurons) and bero knockdown in ABLK neurons resulted in enhanced escape behavior. Furthermore, we demonstrated that ABLK neurons responded to the activation of nociceptors and initiated the behavior. Notably, bero knockdown reduced the persistent neuronal activity and increased the evoked nociceptive responses in ABLK neurons. Our findings reveal that Bero modulates an escape response by regulating distinct neuronal activities in ABLK neurons.


A solar evolution code is written to solve the stellar structure equations and evolve the Sun from the zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) model to the present age of the Sun. Accuracy is the most important factor in constructing a stellar evolution code. Therefore, we use double precision in constructing our code using FORTRAN. We build a hybrid solar model based on two numerical methods, which are the shooting method (or fitting method) and the collocation method, using the most updated physics, for example the updated OPAL opacity (1996) and the updated compositions mixture of Grevesse & Sauval (1998). The shooting method is used to solve the stellar structure equations while collocation method is used to further increase the accuracy of the integrations. The atmospheric outer boundary condition is simplified to limit the free parameters so that the numerical accuracy of our approach can be inferred accurately. With the use of collocation method, we can achieve accuracy up to 10-10 in the central region of the Sun. Considering the upper bound error, our hybrid model is estimated to have accuracy between 10-6 and 10-4.


Integrins are glycoprotein heterodimers located in the cell membranes that stimulate intercellular adhesion and act as extracellular matrix (ECM) protein receptors. Although integrins have been detected in the implantation sites of various species, little is known about their participation in ruminant non-invasive placentation. The objective of this study was the detection of alphav, alpha4, alpha5, beta1 and beta3 integrin subunits and of two of their ligands, fibronectin and vitronectin, to determine their participation in the caprine peri-implantation process. On Day 21 post-coitum (pc), endometrial epithelium and trophoblastic cells showed an intense alphav and beta3 integrin subunits expression and moderate staining for alpha4 and alpha5. On Day 23 pc, integrin expression decreased noticeably and only a weak staining of alpha4 and beta3 integrin subunits were observed. No beta1 integrin subunit expression was detected on either of the days studied. Fibronectin (FN) expression in trophectodermic and endometrial epithelium was weak or moderate on the days studied while vitronectin (VN) expression in the same tissues was moderate or strong on Day 21 pc but decreased on Day 23 pc. These results suggest that alphavbeta3 integrin, alpha4 and alpha5 subunits, VN and FN are expressed in caprine endometrium and blastocyst and may play a role in the cascade of the implantation process.


BACKGROUND
Physician-assisted death (PAD) was legalized in 1997 by Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (ODDA). Through 2009, 460 Oregonians have died by lethal prescription under the ODDA.

OBJECTIVE
To determine whether there was a difference in the quality of the dying experience, from the perspective of family members, between 52 Oregonians who received lethal prescriptions, 34 who requested but did not receive lethal prescriptions, and 63 who did not pursue PAD.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional survey.

MEASUREMENTS
Family members retrospectively rated the dying experience of their loved one with the 33 item Quality of Death and Dying Questionnaire (QODD).

RESULTS
There were differences reported in 9 of the 33 quality item indicators. Few significant differences were noted in items that measured domains of connectedness, transcendence, and overall quality of death. Those receiving PAD prescriptions had higher quality ratings on items measuring symptom control (e.g., control over surroundings and control of bowels/bladder) and higher ratings on items related to preparedness for death (saying goodbye to loved ones, and possession of a means to end life if desired) than those who did not pursue PAD or, in some cases, those who requested but did not receive a lethal prescription.

CONCLUSIONS
The quality of death experienced by those who received lethal prescriptions is no worse than those not pursuing PAD, and in some areas it is rated by family members as better.


Abstract Question: What are the physical and chemical effects of plant litter on annual grassland community composition, above-ground net primary production (ANPP), and density? Location: California annual grassland. Methods: We manipulated litter and light levels independently and in concert. Litter removal and litter addition treatments tested both the physical and chemical impacts of litter's presence. We additionally simulated the effect of litter physical shading by using shade cloth, and added powdered litter to test for the chemical impacts of decomposing litter. Results: Increased whole litter and shading decreased grass germination and establishment, but not that of forbs or legumes. Species shifts occurred within all groups across treatments, including a transition from small-seeded to large-seeded grass and legume species with increased shading. ANPP was highest in control plots (473 ± 59 g/m2), and species richness was highest in litter removal plots. While the physical effects of litter via shading were significant, the chemical effects of adding powdered litter were negligible. Conclusions: This work suggests that over one growing season, the physical impacts of litter are more important than chemical impacts in shaping community structure and ANPP in annual grasslands. Changes in light availability with altered litter inputs drive shifts in species and functional group composition. Litter feedbacks to ANPP and species composition of local patches may help maintain diversity and stabilize ANPP in this grassland. Nomenclature: Hickman (1993).


How is the agency of women best conceptualised in highly coercive settings? We explore this in the context of international efforts to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in heterosexual relationships. Articles critique the tendency to think of women's agency and programme endpoints in terms of individual actions, such as reporting violent men or leaving violent relationships, whilst neglecting the interlocking social, economic and cultural contexts that make such actions unlikely or impossible. Three themes cut across the articles. (1) Unhelpful understandings of gender and power implicit in commonly used 'men-women' and 'victim-agent' binaries obscure multi-faceted and hidden forms of women's agency, and the complexity of agency-violence intersections. (2) This neglect of complexity results in a poor fit between policy and interventions to reduce IPV, and women's lives. (3) Such neglect also obscures the multiplicities of women's agency, including the competing challenges they juggle alongside IPV, differing levels of response, and the temporality of agency. We outline a notion of 'distributed agency' as a multi-level, incremental and non-linear process distributed across time, space and social networks, and across a continuum of action ranging from survival to resistance. This understanding of agency implies a different approach to those currently underpinning policies and interventions.


Abstract : This volume is a record of the "Porous and Cellular Materials for Structural Applications" symposium, held from April 13-15, at the 1998 MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco. A diverse and international group of experts was brought together to present and discuss recent developments in the area of porous and cellular materials, including polymer-, ceramic- and metal-based materials. The general focus of the symposium was on porous materials that are being developed, at least in part, for structural applications. Theoretical aspects of the mechanical behavior of porous and cellular materials were discussed, as well as the specific mechanical properties of a wide variety of solid foam materials. Design principles for the use of solid foams in structures were presented, and a number of promising applications for porous and cellular materials were shown. Papers on the manufacture of solid foams and the production of parts containing solid foams were presented. A significant portion of the symposium was devoted to new porous materials that cannot be classified as foams, such as hollow spheres, hot isostatically compacted and expanded (HICE) materials and GASAR materials. Papers delivered on these novel materials covered their manufacture, properties and prospective uses. The symposium demonstrated that the development and understanding of porous and cellular materials has advanced significantly in the past decade, particularly in the area of porous metallic materials.


This investigation compared attainment in 196,405 students with and without disabilities who were taking courses by distance learning with the U.K. Open University in 2009. When the effects of demographic variables were statistically controlled, students with mental health difficulties showed poorer course completion than nondisabled students; students with restricted mobility showed poorer course completion and lower pass rates than nondisabled students; students with unseen or other disabilities showed lower pass rates than nondisabled students; and students with dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties showed lower pass rates and poorer grades than nondisabled students. In addition, the presence of additional disabilities led to poorer attainment in different respects in students who were blind or partially sighted, students who were deaf or hard of hearing, students with impaired speech, and students with unseen disabilities. Accommodations to support disabled students in distance education need to be focused on different groups of students with particular disabilities.


The work roll surface temperature rises and falls repetitively during hot slab rolling because the work roll surface is cooled continuously by water. This study focused on Std. No. 7 to determine a cooling method which significantly reduces the tangential tensile stresses on the work roll surface of the hot slab mill at Hyundai Steel Co. in Korea. A series of finite element analyses were performed to compute the temperature distribution and the tensile stresses in the circumferential direction of the work roll. The virtual slab model was used to reduce the run time considerably by assigning a high temperature to the virtual slab. Except for the heat generated by plastic deformation, this is equivalent to the hot rolling condition that a high temperature slab (material) would experience when in contact with the work rolls. Results showed that when the virtual slab model was coupled with FE analysis, the run time was found to be reduced from 2000 hours to 70 hours. When the work roll surface cooled with a certain on-off patter of water spray, the magnitude of the tangential stresses on the work rolls were decreased by 54.1%, in comparison with those cooled by continuous water spraying. Savings of up to 83.3% in water usage are possible if the proposed water cooling method is adopted.


This is Ben Ruddell writing; I waive anonymity for this review. When I saw this paper come across my desk it caught my attention, because I have been working on similar topics and also following the authors' work for several years. In general, I like this paper and after reading it I would like to see it published in this journal, with some changes. This general area of work needs a lot more attention because of the promise of the general approach and the urgency of getting our inference and modeling right for this kind of complex and coupled system. Thank you for this effort! After working on this kind of paper for more than a decade (and contemplating many reviews of my


Euphorbia neriifolia Linn. (Euphorbiaceae) is traditionally used to treat diabetes mellitus. The extract of Euphorbia neriifolia Linn. are having potential in the development of drug for diabetes due to their antidiabetic activity. Purpose of the study was to evaluate the antidiabetic activity of ethanolic extracts of leaves of Euphorbia neriifolia Linn. (Euphorbiaceae). The present study was undertaken to evaluate the antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic effect in high fat diet-streptozotocin (HFD-STZ )induced type-2 diabetic rats. Sprague Dawley rats weighing 200-250 gm were consumed high fat diet (HFD). Two weeks later the animals were given with intraperitonial injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (35mg/kg body weight). The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of repeated oral administration of the ethanolic extract of Euphorbia neriifolia Linn at a dose of (200 and 400 mg/kg) on fasting blood glucose levels and lipid metabolism in streptozotocin induced type-2 diabetic rats. After 21 days of repeated oral administration of 400mg of Euphorbia neriifolia ethanolic extract (ENEE) produced a significant decrease on fasting blood glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL levels in HFD-STZ induced type2 diabetic rats, on the other hand there was significant increase in HDL levels. Glibenclamide 2.5mg/kg,p.o was used as standard drug. In oral glucose tolerance test, reduction of fasting blood glucose levels took place from 60 min of extract administration. We conclude that the ethanolic extract of Euphorbia neriifolia (400mg/kg) exhibits anti diabetic potential along with potent lipid lowering effect after repeated oral administration.


Background As a result of the socio-economic changes, the traffics and the transportations have been increasing. According to the projection by Khonkaen Province Public Health Office, there is higher tendency for the inappropriate road traffic behaviour and the death rate during 2015–2019 and it is three times lower than the actual recorded figures. This can result in the higher costs for medical treatments for over 147 million baht a year. The accidents and the large portion of the costs are mainly due to the use of motorcycles on the roads in communities and villages. Description of the problem The government; therefore, has officially announced its policy of "Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020" as the national agenda responsible by five major government units who have run their actions in solving the problems of traffic accidents consecutively. Several projects successfully served the units' roles and responsibilities. However, despite the success and the same objective, there has been no integration of the work procedures among the networks of those units. Khonkaen provincial governor; therefore, has issued a policy to have a safety traffic measure by establishing the "community checkpoints to reduce road traffic accidents" with the objective to promote the development of a measure to prevent the road traffic injuries in the communities of all districts. Results The results showed that, for all the 26 districts, the network leaders of each district had been promoted for higher potential. Based on the local context, district committees were formed with road safety action plan for community checkpoint operation to reduce traffic accidents. The real-time information for supporting the work operation as required by each unit in each area was processed systematically, accurately, and completely. The survey for the fundamental information, at-risk points, vehicles, environments, roads, and warning signs was conducted with welfare and financial support from the local governments and the organisations from private sector who participating in the project. All the parties concerned felt encouraged, valuable, and proud of the results. As evaluated through the one-page summary and the lesson learned from the community checkpoint operation, the project created a social tendency for realisation alert of safety road traffic behaviours which was obviously enhanced widely among the networks of all levels with the understanding of the integration of the work procedures in solving the road traffic accidents. The success of each district was found depending on the leaders' potential, the work cooperation, the team work communication, details of work procedures, and the experience of each team. Conclusions The development of establishing the "Community Checkpoints to Reduce Road Traffic Accidents" in Khonkaen Province was found successful with support from the network leaders from each district, strong communities, and the participations of all organisations which helped reducing the road traffic accidents. The community checkpoints should be conducted with understanding, clear description of the working roles and details such as instruction for appointments and the legal protection for all the parties concerned should also be provided. The successful lesson should be enhanced and used as the model of the province and applied with other districts for creating strong and sustainable checkpoints in each community.


Abstract Context: Marek's disease (MD) seriously threatens the world poultry industry and has resulted in great economic losses. Chinese medicinal herbs are a rich source for lead compounds and drug candidates for antiviral treatments. Objective: To investigate the anti-MDV activity and mechanism of 20 compounds extracted from Chinese medicinal herbs. Materials and methods: Antiviral assay, time of addition experiments, and virucidal assay were performed on chicken embryo fibroblast cells. The 50% cytotoxic concentration and 50% effective concentration were determined and, accordingly, selectivity index and inhibition ratio were calculated. Results: Antiviral assay showed dipotassium glycyrrhizinate (DG) and sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS) exhibited significantly inhibitory activity against MDV in a dose-dependent manner. EC50 of DG and STS were 893.5 ± 36.99 µg/mL and 54.82 ± 2.99 µg/mL, and selective index (SI) were >3.36 and >9.12, respectively. Time of addition experiment and virucidal assay demonstrated DG inhibited viral replication in the full replication cycle and inactivated MDV particles in non-time-dependent manner, but STS interfered with the early stage of MDV replication and inactivated MDV particles in a time-dependent manner. Moreover, both DG and STS promoted apoptosis of cells infected by MDV. Discussion and conclusion: DG and STS have great potential for developing new anti-MDV drugs for clinic application.


We investigated an all-optical logic AND operation at 10 Gb/s using nonlinear transmission of electroabsorption modulator pumped with two counterpropagating data streams. The transmitted pump itself was used as the output of the optical gate to obtain high extinction ratio, and high-output peak powers. The gate has been tested using 2/sup 31/-1 long pseudorandom bit sequence. The logical output of the gate has an extinction ratio of more than 10 dB with good eye opening. Our measurements of the gate transmission window show that all-optical logic operation up to 100 Gb/s is feasible.


Aims To define the patterns of Internet use among physicians who treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and physicians' perceptions of their patients' Internet use. Methods An online survey about physician and patient use of the Internet was created and e-mailed to gastroenterologists nationwide. Surveys were distributed and collected via an online database and a subsequent statistical analysis was performed. Results Of the 1000 e-mail invitations sent to practicing gastroenterologists in the United States, 223 participants (22.3%) completed the survey. A total of 183 (82.1%) physicians reported using an Internet-based reference to assist them in deriving management strategies for their patients with IBD, with the most commonly utilized resource being UpToDate followed by PubMed and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America Web site. Although nearly 80% of gastroenterologists believed that using the Internet helped them facilitate clinical discussions, 183 participants (82.1%) believed that inaccurate information found online could sometimes result in increased clinic time because physicians must spend more time dispelling misleading information. Conclusions Despite a study design biased toward selecting gastroenterologists who commonly used the Internet, we demonstrated that only 60% of the providers routinely refer their patients to the Internet. This underscores the fact that it is important to have a centralized "physician-certified" online resource to which physicians could readily refer their patients to navigate through various disease-specific resources without concern that their patients are receiving unreliable or misleading information.


A striking debate has arisen shortly on the discrimination of teaching language skills discretely or teaching them co-operatively. Integration of the skills are The concern of this study is to identify and exhibit the differences between teaching reading in a discrete skill program, in which reading is taught separately and traditionally, and in an integrated skills program, in which reading is taught in an integrated manner. Differing from the previous studies on the same topic in the field, integration has been assessed from different perspectives, which has given rise to a new categorization of skills: grammatical integration, functional integration, and thematic integration. A few course books have been surveyed to pinpoint to what extent integration takes place in them. And this new model of evaluation is underpinned throughout the study.


Sportfishing for large ocean pelagic billfish species, such as marlin and sailfish, is the most glamorous, and expensive, of the many types of recreational fishing in the U.S. Tournaments are events which simultaneously organize and reify the subculture of billfishing. A survey of participants of eight such tournaments revealed a progression of recreational activities leading into the sport of billfishing. Three conceptual models are examined to assist in the understanding of the social processes by which anglers are recruited, enculturated and maintained in the subculture. Such an analysis has important implications for the management of fisheries under recently enacted federal and state legislation.


SACCOs in Kenya are required to adhere to regulations set in Sacco's regulation authority (SASRA). The management has to present the capital adequacy return reports, liquidity statement report, Statement of financial position and Statement of deposit return as well as Return on investments report which compares land, building, and financial assets to the SACCO's total assets and its core capital. This study sought to fill the existing knowledge gap to determine the effect of SASRA regulation on Sacco's financial performance and to answer the questions what is the impact of SASRA regulations on SACCO's financial performance in Kenya. The objective of the study was to establish the impact of SASRA Regulations on SACCO financial performance in Kenya. Causal research design was chosen to establish the effects of SASRA regulations on the financial performance of SACCOs in Kenya. The study targeted the 98 SACCOs registered by SASRA. The sampling method chosen for this study was purposive sampling which is a form o f non-probability sampling to select 30 SACCO based in Nairobi. The study used secondary data. The secondary data was collected from the financial statements of the SACCOs to obtain information on annual earnings of the SACCOs registered under SASRA. A linear regression model of SACCOs return on assets versus SASRA regulations was applied to examine the relationship between the variables. From the findings, the study found that higher capital requirements, and increase in management efficiency impacted positively to SACCO's profitability in the postcapital regulation period. The study revealed that capital regulation affects financial performance in SACCOs. The study concluded that financial stability could be at risk as a result of shocks impinging on the economic system and absence of proper policy adjustments to mitigate the effects of these shocks. For policy implications, the findings indicate the importance of reviving demand for credit using macroeconomic policies.


In this paper we investigate the use of RF signals to measure dielectric loss and the change of permittivity of an energized cable's insulation. One common degradation mechanism is growth of water trees in the presence of water. We present theoretical analysis of a novel on-line water tree detection technique based on using RF TEM wave propagation via test points on an elbow. Our method is based on injecting a high frequency RF signal into an energized cable at different points of the line voltage values and measure the nonlinearity of permittivity and dielectric loss.


Although epidural opioid analgesia after cesarean section can provide excellent postoperative pain relief, serious complications may occur after epidural morphine. Therefore, we performed this study to compare the efficacy and side effects of three different doses of epidural morphine for analgesia following cesarean section. Ninety healthy pregnant women who underwent cesarean delivery were randomly assigned to receive either 2.5, 3 or 4 mg of epidural morphine for postoperative analgesia. Pain intensity at rest and on movement using a visual analogue scale (0-10) was regularly assessed for 48 hours, the time to first analgesic requirement, the total analgesic dose, patient satisfaction and side effects were recorded. Chi square and ANOVA tests were used for statistical analyses. We were unable to demonstrate any difference in pain relief, patient satisfaction, and side effects among the three groups. Epidural morphine provided sufficient pain relief for approximately 24 hours. About 27 per cent of the patients from each group were pain-free for up to 48 hours without further analgesics. Mild pruritus and nausea occurred in all three groups and there was no significant difference between them. No serious complications were observed. In conclusion low dose epidural morphine is effective in providing adequate analgesia following cesarean delivery.


Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is emerging as a new method for the detection of clinically significant copy number variants (CNVs). In this study, we developed and validated rapid CNV-sequencing (rCNV-seq) for clinical application in prenatal diagnosis. Low-pass whole-genome sequencing was performed on PCR libraries prepared from amniocyte genomic DNA. From 10–40 ng of input DNA, PCR-free libraries consistently produced sequencing data with high unique read mapping ratios, low read redundancy, low coefficient of variation for all chromosomes and high genomic coverage. In validation studies, reliable and accurate CNV detection using PCR-free-based rCNV-seq was demonstrated for a range of common trisomies and sex chromosome aneuploidies as well as microdeletion and duplication syndromes. In reproducibility studies, CNV copy number and genomic intervals closely matched those defined by chromosome microarray analysis. Clinical testing of genomic DNA samples from 217 women referred for prenatal diagnosis identified eight samples (3.7%) with known chromosome disorders. We conclude that PCR-free-based rCNV-seq is a sensitive, specific, reproducible and efficient method that can be used in any NGS-based diagnostic laboratory for detection of clinically significant CNVs.


This study reports the synthesis and characterization of two urethane dimethacrylates containing poly(ethylene oxide) or poly(propylene oxide) segment and cinnamate pendant moieties to be formulated in dental resin composites. 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies, gel permeation chromatography, electrospray ionization-mass spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric measurements confirmed their structure, whereas the photopolymerization evolution of oligodimethacrylates relating to a low–molecular-weight dicinnamate methacrylate under ultraviolet irradiation was investigated by photo-differential scanning calorimeter, monitoring the degree of conversion (DC) and polymerization rate. The photopolymerization results reveal that the investigated derivatives display a good photoreactivity (DC: ∼ 70%) during the formation of crosslinked polymers, the DC depending especially on the sample viscosity. The polymerization shrinkage for several mixtures including the urethane oligocinnamates (20 wt %) and diglycidyl methacrylate of bisphenol A/triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate system in the absence of filler was determined, the obtained values being in the range of 6.1–8.2 vol %. For few cured specimens incorporating quartz filler (75 wt %), water sorption/solubility, contact angle, and mechanical parameters were measured to establish if such monomers could be of interest in dentistry. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013


The all-DC delivered offshore wind farm has great potential in power engineering application due to its advantages in large capacity and long distance delivery. Considering the cost and reliability, the all-DC wind farm can be connected to the onshore grid via the Line-Commuted Converter High Voltage Direct Current (LCC-HVDC) but more interaction may also occur in the form of sub-/super-synchronous oscillations. In order to analyze the stability issue of such offshore wind farm system, the DC-port impedance are firstly established for the aggregated wind farm based on permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) and LCC-inverter by using the harmonic linearization method, where the power outer loop cascaded by the current inner loop of PMSG wind farm and the phase-lock loop (PLL) of the LCC inverter are taken into consideration. Furthermore, the interaction between these two subsystems is analyzed based on the stability criteria through their impedance characteristics. Finally, simulation results are conducted by reproducing the time-domain oscillation in order to evaluate the effectiveness of impedance model for the all-DC delivered offshore wind farm system.


This study investigates a novel approach to flight control for a compound rotorcraft in a variety of maneuvers ranging from fundamental to aerobatic in nature. Fundamental maneuvers are a class of maneuvers with design significance that are useful for testing and tuning flight control systems along with uncovering control law deficiencies. Aerobatic maneuvers are a class of aggressive and complex maneuvers with more operational significance. The process culminating in a unified approach to flight control includes various control allocation studies for redundant controls in trim and maneuvering flight, an efficient methodology to simulate nonpiloted maneuvers with varying degrees of complexity, and the setup of an unconventional control inceptor configuration along with the use of a flight simulator to gather pilot feedback in order to improve the unified control architecture. A flight path generation algorithm was developed to calculate control inceptor commands required for a rotorcraft in aerobatic maneuvers. This generalized algorithm was tailored to generate flight paths through optimization methods in order to satisfy target terminal position coordinates or to minimize the total time of a particular maneuver. Six aerobatic maneuvers were developed drawing inspiration from air combat maneuvers of fighter jet aircraft: Pitch-Back Turn (PBT), Combat Ascent Turn (CAT), Combat Descent Turn (CDT), Weaving Pull-up (WPU), Combat Break Turn (CBT), and Zoom and Boom (ZAB). These aerobatic maneuvers were simulated at moderate to high advance ratios while fundamental maneuvers of the compound including level accelerations/decelerations, climbs, descents, and turns were investigated across the entire flight envelope to evaluate controller performance. The unified control system was developed to allow controls to seamlessly transition between manual and automatic allocations while ensuring that the axis of control for a particular inceptor remained constant with flight regime. An energy management system was developed in iv order to manage performance limits (namely power required) to promote carefree maneuvering and alleviate pilot workload. This system features limits on pilot commands and has additional logic for preserving control margins and limiting maximum speed in a dive. Nonlinear dynamic inversion (NLDI) is the framework of the unified controller, which incorporates primary and redundant controls. The inner loop of the NLDI controller regulates bank angle, pitch attitude, and yaw rate, while the outer loop command structure is varied (three modes). One version uses an outer loop that commands velocities in the longitudinal and vertical axes (velocity mode), another commands longitudinal acceleration and vertical speed (acceleration mode), and the third commands longitudinal acceleration and transitions from velocity to acceleration command in the vertical axis (aerobatic mode). The flight envelope is discretized into low, cruise, and high speed flight regimes. The unified outer loop primary control effectors for the longitudinal and vertical axes (collective pitch, pitch attitude, and propeller pitch) vary depending on flight regime. A weighted pseudoinverse is used to phase either the collective or propeller pitch in/out of a redundant control role. The controllers were evaluated in Penn State's Rotorcraft Flight Simulator retaining the cyclic stick for vertical and lateral axis control along with pedal inceptors for yaw axis control. A throttle inceptor was used in place of the pilot's traditional left hand inceptor for longitudinal axis control. Ultimately, a simple rigid body model of the aircraft was sufficient enough to design a controller with favorable performance and stability characteristics. This unified flight control system promoted a low enough pilot workload so that an untrained pilot (the author) was able to pilot maneuvers of varying complexity with ease. The framework of this unified system is generalized enough to be able to be applied to any rotorcraft with redundant controls. Minimum power propeller thrust shares ranged from 50% 90% in high speed flight, while lift shares at high speeds tended towards 60% wing and 40% main rotor.


Background: Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging and quickly disseminating disease that causes deleterious complications. Vaccines have the potential to improve population immunity and avoid serious disease and deaths.Methodology: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 331 hospitalized patients with Covid 19 infections between April 2021 and July 2021 at King Fahad University Hospital. Data was collected from the medical records stored in the electronic health system of the hospital.Results: 27.7% of the participants required ICU admission, and 10.5% required mechanical ventilation. The mortality rate was around 7.23% of the infected cases. Two thirds of the study participants (64.05%) did not receive any vaccine, and it can be noted that only 16.8% had received 2 doses. The results suggest that the status of receiving a vaccine has significantly influenced the length of hospital stay, decreasing it by 19.7%. In addition, the date of receiving the vaccine was statistically significant in decreasing the incidence of ICU admission, as those who have received a vaccine for longer than 14 days needed ICU admission 82% less compared with their counterparts. The type of vaccine did not impact on any of the reported outcomes in the form of hospitalization rate, ICU admission and death.Conclusion: The majority of the study participants didn't receive any vaccines before their admission with COVID 19, which in turn prolonged their hospital stay. This necessitates that the public require more awareness regarding the importance of receiving the vaccine.


In this article, energy recovery from municipal solid wastes is examined. The fuel characteristics of solid waste components as well as the landfill gas (LFG) yield are reviewed. The energy potential of solid wastes of Izmir (third biggest city of Turkey) is then estimated. The heating value is calculated at about 3,500–5,500 kJ/kg, particularly in urban places, whereas it is 6,000–7,000 kJ/kg for industrial and commercial establishments. LFG generation is predicted from the data taken from the Harmandali landfill area. As a result, energy generation from LFG is shown to be environmentally beneficial and an economic alternative.


It is known that knot Floer homology detects the genus and Alexander polynomial of a knot. We investigate whether knot Floer homology of $K$ detects more structure of minimal genus Seifert surfaces for $K$. We define an invariant of algebraically slice, genus one knots and provide examples to show that knot Floer homology does not detect this invariant. Finally, we remark that certain metabelian $L^2$-signatures bound this invariant from below.


Nitric oxide (NO) is produced by endothelial cells and serves as a potent vasodilator. Several lines of evidence have shown that NO plays an important role in the regulation of blood pressure and regional blood flow. Endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) gene polymorphisms exhibit a positive association in myocardial infarction and smoking-dependent risk of coronary artery disease. However, the relationship between eNOS gene polymorphisms and hypertension is controversial. To examine the possible involvement of the eNOS gene in the genetic basis for hypertension, we identified genotypes for 2 eNOS gene polymorphisms in 166 hypertensive and 174 normotensive populations in Aomori prefecture, in northern Japan. The specific genotypes for Glu298Asp missense variant and variable numbers of tandem repeats in intron 4 (eNOS 4b/4a) were isolated using allele specific gene amplification and restriction fragment length polymorphism. The 298Asp variant was significantly correlated to hypertension in these groups (odds ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-3.2). The allelic frequencies of 298Asp for Glu298 in hypertensive patients were significantly higher than those in normotensive subjects (0.136 vs 0.083, p < 0.05). However, disequilibrium of eNOS4b/4a was absent between these 2 groups. These results suggest that Glu298Asp is a genetic susceptibility factor for hypertension.


The analysis of transport systems involved in the uptake of trace metals in plants is complicated by technical difficulties associated with measurement of uptake and by the likely presence of multiple transporters with broad specificity. In this study, influx of Co was used to illustrate the problems involved and potential solutions. Issues surrounding kinetic descriptions of transport, multiple uptake systems, specificity of transporters, pH effects and the role of membrane surface charge in determining fluxes are addressed. A list of criteria for validation of flux measurements is provided.


Abstract The article sets out to demonstrate the continuing relevance of the concept of embeddedness in economic sociology, juxtaposing it with the question of disembeddedness through an analysis of three time periods. In the first period, the interpretation of the concept introduced by Karl Polanyi was marked by the notion of "social construction of the economy." In the second period, the debate focused on criticizing the liberalizing agenda of the Washington Consensus, suggesting that its negative effects on economic development and social solidarity would force the state to retake control of the economy, re-embedding it. The third period acknowledges the specificity of the market economy through an analysis of neoliberalism as a political-institutional arrangement and a moral-normative system that produces "embeddedness on disembeddedness." The article also discusses the re-establishment of social solidarity in an increasingly disembedded economy.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between acoustic analysis and auditory assessment of hoarseness.

METHOD
24 normal and 154 cases of pathological voice were included in this research. They were divided into 4 groups with different hoarseness and were accepted acoustic analysis. The parameters were analyzed by SPSS statistical software.

RESULT
There were significant difference on acoustical parameters among each group excluding no difference of the jitter between normal and light hoarseness. NNE and SNR were the major parameters in descriptive of hoarseness. There were good correlation between 5 parameters and hoarseness assessment.

CONCLUSION
Acoustic analysis is a useful method in clinical application to assess hoarseness with objective and simple advantage.


Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILD) are a student centered teaching method, in which students are asked to predict the outcome of an experiment, observe the outcome, and discuss it with respect to their former expectations. The demonstrations are designed to contradict students' known misconceptions, generate cognitive conflict and dissatisfaction with the existing conception, and promote a process of conceptual change. An ILD based course was used to explore the effect of cognitive conflict on the conceptual change process, and the role of student interactivity in this process. Three major levels of conceptual change were identified: high – students who remember the outcome of the demonstration, and explain it using the consensus model; medium – students who can recall the outcome, are dissatisfied with their alternative model, but do not switch to the consensus model; and low – no meaningful recollection of the outcome, and no change in the alternative model. A multiple-choice test based on the lecture demonstration was given to two groups, one of which only observed the demonstrations, without predicting and discussing. We found a significant difference between the groups, with an obvious drop in students' ability to recall the outcome of the demonstrations in the non-interactive group. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2007, 8 (2), 197-211]


To extend the economic life of the Ogallala Aquifer, policy makers and stakeholders have considered and implemented several water conservation policies. Starting with an empirical study by Segarra and Feng (1994), the inter-temporal dynamic approach has been adopted in literature to evaluate impacts of these policies in the region. To integrate the findings and make comparable evaluations, we conducted a meta-analysis of the literature. After a systematic identification and screening of relevant publications including journal articles, meeting papers and reports, the meta-analysis included 19 studies focusing on nine major water conservation polices, including irrigation technology adoption, water use restriction, biotechnology, permanent and temporary conversion to dryland production. The average number of policies analyzed by the literature was 3.33, and more than 60% of the studies included one or more counties in the Southern High Plains region of Texas. The average planning horizon was 52 years. The estimated average decrease of saturated thickness was 59 feet. The economic impacts of these policies were significantly different in each study.


Human coronary artery tree is a physiological transport system for oxygen and vital materials through a hierarchical vascular network to match the energy demands of myocardium, which has the highest oxygen extraction ratio among body organs and heavily depends on the blood flow for its energy supply. Therefore, it would be reasonable to expect that the key design principle of this arterial network is to minimize energy expenditure, which can be described by allometric scaling law. We enrolled patients who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography without obstructive lesion. The cumulative arterial length (L), volume (V), and diameter (D) in relation to the artery‐specific myocardial mass (M) were assessed. Flow rate (Q) was computed using quantitative flow ratio (QFR) measurement in patients who underwent invasive angiography. A total of 638 arteries from 43 patients (mean age 61 years, male gender 65%) were analyzed. A significant power‐law relationship was found among L–M, V–M, D–M, V–L, D–L, and V–D, and also among Q–M, Q–L, Q–V, and Q–D in 106 arteries interrogated with QFR (p < .001, all). Our results suggest that the fundamental design principle of the human coronary arterial network may follow allometric scaling law.


In order to get an apparent resistivity map of quite a large area which required a considerable amount of time (months) and because of the occasional availability of equipment and bad weather conditions causing postponing of certain campaigns, the area was divided into adjacent sub-areas which were mapped in a considerably separated measuring days. Because of the rainfall changes from one campaign to another, the final apparent resistivity map obtained by superposing all the different measuring day's maps is obviously misleading. In the first stage, this disturbing effect was highlighted by carrying out profiles in the beginning of each measuring day on a specific line of the grid (the first line) just before mapping the corresponding sub-area. This was achieved first for the shallowest part of the grid, and then for the deeper parts. In the second stage, a removal of this effect was performed by applying a method of correction which consisted of bringing a specific measuring day apparent resistivity values close to reference day values. Once a given measuring day apparent resistivity was corrected, the remaining random errors were estimated.

 Keywords:  Moisture, temporal resistivity, rainfall, day reference, line reference.


This paper presents Tangible Geometric Games (TaG-Games) as a novel play-based assessment tool for measuring cognitive problem-solving skills and fine motor proficiency. TaG-Games are based on sensor-integrated geometric blocks (SIG-Blocks) and an interactive graphical user interface providing a means for real-time and remote monitoring of a player through wireless communication between the blocks and a host computer. The data made available by employing TaG-Games includes: 1) accelerations, 2) time at each stage of assembly completion, 3) total completion time for each quiz, and 4) correctness of each assembly step. In addition, the user interface displays the real-time assembly configuration of the blocks. As a computational method for analyzing complexity associated with geometric play, a quantitative measure of play complexity is defined based on an information-theoretic approach. The validity of the sensors integrated in each SIG-Block (an accelerometer and optical sensors) is evaluated for measuring tilt angles and detecting assemblies between the blocks.


The course of coccidiosis in lambs and the species of Eimeria involved were investigated in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. A field study was conducted on three farms (conventional lamb-fattening farms) with 59 lambs. A total of 1092 faecal samples were taken during a period from about two to seven weeks after birth; the Eimeria species involved were determined in 415 of these samples and morphometrical characteristics of oocysts of 12 Eimeria spp. were recorded. Subclinical to moderate clinical coccidiosis was observed on all the farms and infections with Eimeria spp. were detected in all study lambs. 12 Eimeria species were identified on two of the farms (A and C): E. ahsata, E. bakuensis, E. crandallis, E. faurei, E. granulosa, E. intricata, E. marsica, E. ovinoidalis, E. pallida, E. parva, E. punctata and E. weybridgensis. The majority of these species were also detected on farm B, with the exception of E. granulosa, E. intricata and E. punctata. To our knowledge this is the first reported occurrence of E. punctata in Germany. Specimens with 3, 4 and 5 Eimeria spp. were the most common. E. ovinoidalis predominated in the faecal samples which underwent oocyst differentiation (> 90% positive samples on each farm). This species also accounted for the generally high oocyst counts observed. Since even subclinical coccidiosis may entail economic losses in lamb-rearing and considering the high prevalence of the pathogenic species E. ovinoidalis, appropriate monitoring of the disease in these farms is advisable.


Carbon monoxide (CO) toxicity associated with exposure to an environmental, exogenous source, is routinely investigated in the field of forensics. Paramedics responded to the home of a 60‐year‐old woman who complained of persistent nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. Her initial carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) saturation was 25% as measured by paramedics in the field via pulse CO‐oximetry (SpCO) and was, 2 hours later, confirmed by hospital laboratory spectrophotometric analysis to be 16% after initial treatment in the emergency department. The clinical presentation of environmental CO exposure and subsequent death notification to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner prompted an extensive investigation into the suspected residential source of CO, which ultimately ruled out all exogenous sources. The medicolegal death investigator later discovered an updated hematology consultation note, which determined the actual source of the CO to be endogenously produced from disease. Herein, we report an unusual fatality involving enhanced endogenous CO production caused by warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia. This unique case report and brief literature review of disease‐related elevation of endogenous CO will shed light on this lesser‐known phenomenon alerting the forensic community to its potential occurrence and need for consideration when sources of environmental exposure have been exhausted.


After Judge Richard Posner announced that he was retiring from the Seventh Circuit effective September 2, 2017, effusive praise poured in. The reception to Posner's 66th book, published shortly thereafter, has been less enthusiastic. The discussion surrounding Posner's self-published book has centered on its descriptions of disputes with former colleagues, Posner's decision to publish internal court documents, and his frustration that the Seventh Circuit rejected his offer to "re-write all his circuit's staff attorneys' memos and draft opinions before they went to his fellow judges." Unfortunately, the book's tone and ethical red flags are drowning out its potential for true reform. Posner draws attention to the pro se aspects of his newest project. He gave several interviews after his retirement in which he previewed the subject of Reforming the Federal Judiciary, declaring himself newly committed to the "plight of litigants who represent[] themselves in civil cases," those with real grievances whom the legal system nevertheless treats "impatiently, dismissing their cases over technical matters." Reforming the Federal Judiciary calls for transforming the Seventh Circuit's staff attorney program as a result of its author's concern for the downtrodden litigants whose fate the staff attorneys decide. Staff attorneys and the courts are not doing enough for the pro se, Posner concludes, because decisions in pro se cases are incomprehensible to pro se litigants. Before resigning, he volunteered to review and edit staff attorney opinion drafts to make them more accessible to an uneducated pro se reader. His proposals regarding the Seventh Circuit's staff attorney program were rejected. This led to his resignation. This book review is focused on what Posner deemed the book's "most important theme"—"the need for better treatment by the federal courts of pro se litigants." His staff attorney proposals offer the most reform potential. This review examines the assumptions underlying Posner's desire to assist pro se litigants, including the conclusions that pro se litigants are: "very often poorly educated and/or of limited intelligence"; "ignorant of the subtleties of the law"; and "basically fairly normal people who because of bad luck, psychological problems, poor judgment, lack of family support, or other internal or environmental misfortunes, simply have great difficulty living a law-abiding life." In examining Posner's newfound empathy for the pro se, this review will argue that if pro se litigants deserve equal treatment, then eliminate all staff attorney programs. Assign pro se cases directly to judges' chambers, make staff attorneys law clerks, and allow the new law clerks to work directly with jurists like Richard Posner.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: In light of the disease-free survival (DFS) benefit with sunitinib, NCCN guideline recommended adjuvant sunitinib and surveillance as options for high-risk clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patients after surgery. However, DFS could not reflect individual prognosis accurately after initial disease management. Conditional DFS (CDFS) could provide more relevant prognostic information at each follow-up time. Although previous studies reported survival estimates at diagnosis, data on CDFS for these patients are still lacking. METHODS: To evaluate CDFS in patients with high-risk ccRCC treated with or without adjuvant sunitinib based on two large RCTs (S-TRAC and ASSURE).The primary end point was CDFS and the second end point was smooth hazard ratios (HR) for the prediction of relapses. The differences of conditional survival were compared with the calculation of d value. P-value was used to assess the differences of smooth HRs between groups. RESULTS: A total of 1329 patients (sunitinib group n = 667; placebo group n = 662) with median follow-up 6.54 years were enrolled for CDFS analysis. CDFS improved continuously with disease-free survivorship increasing in both sunitinib and placebo group with minimal difference between two groups. In placebo arm, the CDFS of surviving to five year after living 1, 2, 3, and 4 years were 65%, 78%, 87%, and 95% (observed 5-year DFS: 51%). In very high-risk subset according to UISS classification, the CDFS of surviving to five year after living 1, 2, 3, and 4 years were 62%, 72%, 87% and 93% (observed 5-year DFS: 47%). The increase of CDFS was more prominent in very high-risk subset after living disease free for 3 years. Dynamic changes of HR showed adjuvant sunitinib significantly decrease risks during the first 1.5 years after surgery (P < 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Our study provided contemporary data of CDFS and change of relapse HR in high-risk ccRCC patients after adjuvant sunitinib or placebo. The remarkable improvement in CDFS during follow-up highlighted the importance of disease-free interval as a strong indicator in patient counseling and surveillance planning. Figure. No caption available. Source of Funding: none


Case: We report a case of prominent venous dilation in the supraclavicular area with an underlying arteriovenous fistula following nonoperative management of a fracture in the medial third of the clavicle in an adult. The venous dilation indicated elevated venous pressures, likely caused by hypertrophic callus formation and/or fistula development. Conclusion: Arteriovenous fistula and prominent venous dilation are possible sequelae of nonoperative treatment of clavicular fractures. Surgeons should be aware of their possibility when planning either operative or nonoperative treatment. More information is needed to guide management of these issues when they occur.


Abstract MitoQ is a ubiquinone derivative targeted to mitochondria which is known to have both antioxidant and anti-apoptotic properties within mammalian cells. Previous research has suggested that the age-related increase in oxidative DNA damage in T lymphocytes might contribute to their functional decline with age. This paper describes the impact of mitoQ on unchallenged or oxidatively challenged ex vivo human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy 25–30 or 55–60 year old volunteers. When cells were challenged with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), following mitoQ treatment (0.1–1.0 μM), the ratio of reduced to oxidized forms of glutathione increased, the levels of oxidative DNA damage decreased and there was an increase in the mitochondrial membrane potential. Low levels of mitoQ (0.1 or 0.25 μM) had no impact on endogenous DNA damage, whilst higher levels (0.5 and 1.0 μM) of mitoQ significantly reduced endogenous levels of DNA damage. The results of this investigation suggest that mitoQ may have anti-immunosenescent potential.


Room temperature ionic liquids, or RTILs, based on tetraalkylphosphonium (PR(4)(+)) cations were used as the basis of a platform that enables separation of dyes from textiles, extraction of dyes from aqueous solution, and identification of the dyes by MALDI-MS in a single experimental step for forensic purposes. Ionic liquids were formed with PR(4)(+) cations and ferulate (FA), α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate (CHCA), and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoate (DHB) anions. The use of tetraalkylphosphonium-based ionic liquids in MALDI-MS allowed detection of small molecule dyes without addition of a traditional solid MALDI matrix.


The aim of this research is to reveal the attitudes of primary school teachers about the participation of primary school students in the game, how the classroom teachers perceive the game, how they interpret the relationship between the game and the child, and how they evaluate the game in line with the curriculum. In the 2020-2021 academic year, 343 primary school teachers selected randomly among 1230 primary school teachers working in primary schools affiliated to the Isparta Provincial Directorate of National Education participated in the study. Google Forms platform was used for data collection. This method has been preferred to maintain social distance during the pandemic process. As a result, it has been understood that teachers have an important role in the students' ability to benefit from the game sufficiently, and it is thought that the differences seen in the sub-dimensions are due to the differences in the nature of the information, its origin and accuracy, understanding and evaluation, change, and the perceptions of the teachers in the processes of producing and acquiring information.


ABSTRACT. A survey of 274 late detected cases of CDH born in the years 1970–74 is presented. The incidence of late cases in southeast Norway was calculated to 2.2 per 1000 live births. The hips of all patients were examined at birth, the majority by trained pediatricians, without disclosing any hip affections. 86% were females. Only 6.9% were delivered in the breech position. One–half of the patients had luxation (20%) or subluxation (30%), the rest had dysplasia without dislocation. In 19% both hips were involved. The low incidence of breech presentations in late CDH‐cases compared with the incidence among neonatal cases (15.7%) point to some etiological differences. It seems that we in Norway have two types of CDH, one caused by joint laxity and detectable at birth and another, not present at birth, with progressive dysplasia of the hip and dislocation developing during the first year of life.


Julia is a programming language for the scientific community that combines features of productivity languages, such as Python or MATLAB, with characteristics of performance-oriented languages, such as C++ or Fortran. Julia's productivity features include: dynamic typing, automatic memory management, rich type annotations, and multiple dispatch. At the same time, Julia allows programmers to control memory layout and leverages a specializing just-in-time compiler to eliminate much of the overhead of those features. This paper details the design choices made by the creators of Julia and reflects on the implications of those choices for performance and usability.


Two articles in this month's Journal concern the vexatious issue of litigation in obstetrics and gynaecology. On pages 1 180-1 183 Michael Brudenell describes three cases of ureteric damage during abdominal hysterectomy which were unsuccessfully defended and which must send shivers through every practising gynaecologist. In every case the actions taken by the gynaecologists were reasonable, but the judge was swayed by the opinions of the 'expert' for the plaintiff. The views of these experts were not apparently based on scientific observational studies defrning the risk of ureteric damage in particular situations, such as uterine fibroids; the views of the plaintiffs experts were personal opinions. In one case even the judge became an expert when he recommended the surgical steps which should be performed to control haemorrhage after removal of the uterus. It is inconsistent that strict evidence-based criteria are required for everyday clinical practice in obstetrics and gynaecology, but these criteria disappear in the High Court. Brudenell calls for a consensus view on the definition of negligence in cases of ureteric damage. On pages 1236-1242 Christopher B-Lynch and his colleagues take a broader view of litigation in obstetrics and gynaecology by describing the outcome of 500 medico-legal claims over ten years. Nearly half were 'misguided allegations', one-fifth were due to deficiencies in management, one-tenth due to lack of expertise, and a lesser proportion due to failure of communication, poor supervision and inadequate staffing. The authors deplore the length, cost. and adversarial nature of medico-legal disputes, especially concerning misguided allegations, where there is little hope of a successful outcome for the plaintiff. B-Lynch and colleagues emphasise the advantages of an alternative method of resolution of disputes, the importance of risk management, and make useful recommendations for every obstetrician and gynaecologist when dealing with disputes.


This study was carried out to determine the effects of neutral black liquor and moisture heating treatments of soybean meal (SBM) on in situ rumen degradability characteristics in cow and its proteins sub-units fractions by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) discontinuous system. SBM were treated with xylose, neutral black liquor and moisture heating. Neutral black liquor, xylose and moisture heated treatment significantly (P<0.05) reduced degradability values of crude protein (CP) for SBM. Treating could effectively decrease a fraction and increase b fraction in experimental treatments. Electrophoretic patterns of untreated and treated SBM protein shows that βconglycinin α, ά and β subunit were degraded completely within 4 h of incubation in the rumen, whereas the acidic and basic subunits of glycinin were degraded after 48 h incubation in treated SBM with xylose and black liquor treated same as the xylose group. It is concluded that SBM proteins can be effectively and economically protected from degradation in the rumen.


Many C- and D-type retroviruses are known to cause a broad spectrum of malignant diseases in animals. Certain genome regions of these animal retroviruses are highly conserved between different animal species. It should be possible to detect new members of the retrovirus family with consensus PCR primers derived from these conserved sequence motifs. The consensus PCR primers developed in this study are generic enough to detect nearly all known oncogenic mammalian and avian exogenous C- and D-type retroviruses but do not amplify human endogenous retroviral sequences. In contrast to previous investigations, the present study involved highly stringent PCR conditions and truly generic PCR primers. Forty-four samples from patients with various immunophenotyped malignant diseases (acute and chronic T-/B-cell lymphocytic leukaemias, acute myeloid leukaemias, T-/B-cell lymphomas, chronic myeloproliferative disorders) and three cell lines (Hodgkin's lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma) have thus far been investigated using these PCR primers. The fact that no retroviruses have been found argues against an involvement of known animal oncoretroviruses or related hitherto undetected human retroviruses in the aetiopathogenesis of these diseases. The retrovirus detection system developed here may be used to confirm suspected retroviral involvement in other (malignant or nonmalignant) human diseases as well as to identify new animal retroviruses.


AIM
Small dense (sd)-low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is a potent atherogenic lipoprotein. The overall atherogenicity of this lipoprotein can be precisely assessed by quantifying sd-LDL rather than by measuring the LDL size. We studied the effects of representative lipid-lowering agents (statin and fibrate) on sd-LDL-cholesterol (C) in patients with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS
Sd-LDL-C was measured by the precipitation method established by Hirano and Ito. Large buoyant (lb)-LDL-C was calculated by subtracting sd-LDL-C from LDL-C. Type 2 diabetes patients (n=72) were administered lipid-lowering agents for three months: patients with hypercholesterolemia received 1 mg of pitavastatin and those with hypertriglyceridemia received 100 mg of micronized fenofibrate.

RESULTS
Pitavastatin reduced LDL-C by 25% and reduced TG by 8%. The statin decreased sd-LDL-C by 26%, and lb-LDL-C by 22%. Fenofibrate reduced TG by 38% and increased HDL-C by 14%. The fibrate decreased sd-LDL-C by 23% without changing LDL-C. The pitavastatin-induced reduction of sd-LDL-C was significantly correlated with the reduction of LDL-C and apo B, whereas the fenofibrate-induced reduction of sd-LDL-C was correlated with the reduction of TG.

CONCLUSION
Both statin and fibrate reduce the potency of atherogenic sd-LDL particles, but via different mechanisms: the former decreases total-LDL including sd-LDL, while the latter decreases sd-LDL specifically.


The focus of this project is on determinants of income from small scale cassava processing activities in Ogo Oluwa local government area Ogbomoso Oyo, State. Multistage random sampling was used to select respondents for the study. Primary data were obtained from 100 cassava processors. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The mean age of the respondents was 53.7 years, 98% were married while 2% were single. The regression results reveal that the coefficient of the multiple determinations (R2) is 73%. In all this study reveals that initial capital, labour cost literacy levels are the major factors determining income from the small scale cassava processor. On the contrary the older a processor are the less productive they become.


This paper presents the research results of detecting gastric polyps with deep learning object detection method in gastroscopic images. Gastric polyps have various sizes. The difficulty of polyp detection is that small polyps are difficult to detect from the background. We propose a feature extraction and fusion module and combine it with the YOLOv3 network to form our network. This method performs better than other methods in the detection of small polyps because it can fuse the semantic information of high-level feature maps with low-level feature maps to help small polyps detection. In this work, we use a dataset of gastric polyps created by ourselves, containing 1433 training images and 508 validation images. We train and validate our network on our dataset. In comparison with other methods of polyps detection, our method has a significant improvement in precision, recall rate, F1, and F2 score. The precision, recall rate, F1 score, and F2 score of our method can achieve 91.6%, 86.2%, 88.8%, and 87.2%.


Gamelan is a melodic instrument typically made from bronze and placed on a resonator. Initial observation proved that there are no two gamelan tuned exactly alike as mentioned earlier by Rossing (2000). The tuning methods during the crafting process were made in the fieldwork. In our initial observation, it is concluded that there is no specific reference to any specific tune devices as had been practiced on crafting western musical instruments. Gamelan are known and recognized to have a specific scaled that is either in the five tones Slendro or seven tones Pelog scales. Interestingly, in Malaysian practice the ensemble are typically tune diatonically to pentatonic scale, which provoked interesting discussion by Dufford (2014).Preliminary findings on the Gamelan instruments have highlighted some issues, particularly on its physical composition, tunings, as well as the sound it produces. This paper will discuss some of the preliminary findings and issues related to the investigation on acoustic properties of selected Gamelan instruments.


Representation learning becomes especially important for complex systems with multimodal data sources such as cameras or sensors. Recent advances in reinforcement learning and optimal control make it possible to design control algorithms on these latent representations, but the field still lacks a large-scale standard dataset for unified comparison. In this work, we present a large-scale dataset and evaluation framework for representation learning for the complex task of landing an airplane. We implement and compare several approaches to representation learning on this dataset in terms of the quality of simple supervised learning tasks and disentanglement scores. The resulting representations can be used for further tasks such as anomaly detection, optimal control, model-based reinforcement learning, and other applications.


A carotenoid-rich extract containing 2.5 mg/mL of lutein and 3.3 mg/mL of β-carotene from the microalga Scenedesmus almeriensis was added to ten extra virgin olive oils from four Spanish cultivars with differing degrees of ripeness, obtaining carotenoid enriched oils with lutein and β-carotene concentrations of 0.082 and 0.11 mg/mL, respectively. Extra virgin olive oils enriched with carotenoids from microalgae were studied by analyzing the effect on color of three different treatments: ultraviolet exposure, microwave heating and immersion bath heating. The methodology was designed to simulate, in controlled laboratory conditions, the effects of household treatments. Spectrophotometric color measurements were then performed to monitor color changes in the enriched and non-enriched extra virgin olive oil samples. Enriched oils are much more chromatic, darker and redder than natural oils. After 55 days UV irradiation, 40 min microwave heating, and 72 hours thermostatic heating, the average color differences for natural/enriched extra virgin olive oils were 98/117, 15/9 and 57/28 CIELAB units, respectively. In general, increasing temperature and ultraviolet exposure produced higher CIELAB color differences in the non-enriched samples. The addition of microalga extracts to extra virgin olive oils was found to induce some color stability and may constitute a future way of increasing the daily intake of beneficial bioactive compounds such as carotenoids.


A search for dark matter (DM) particles is performed using events with a Higgs boson candidate and a large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. The search is performed in five Higgs boson decay channels: a b quarkantiquark pair, a pair of τ leptons, a pair of photons, or a pair of W or Z bosons. No significant excesses over the expected standard model background are observed in any of the five channels. The results from the individual channels are combined to maximize the sensitivity of the search, which allows to set most stringent limits on DM production in the context of two benchmark simplified models. The results are further reinterpreted in terms of spin-independent DM-nucleon scattering cross section and compared to those from direct-detection DM experiments. This is the first search for DM particles produced in association with a Higgs boson decaying to a pair of W or Z bosons, and the first combination based on five Higgs boson decay channels.


Two new monolacunar polyoxometalates Zn complex: K7[Zn(SiM10VO39)(H2O)] . nH2O; (M=Mo,W) were obtained by hydrothermal synthesis. The combination rate between ZnCl2 and heteropolyoxometalate ligand [SiM10VO39] 9and the optimal conditions for synthesis were determined by spectrophotometric and conduct metric methods. Elemental analyses, TG/DTA, IR, UV-VIS spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction methods were carried out. The IR and UV spectrophotometric methods reveal the conservation of the Keggin framework in the new monolacunar heteropolyoxometalate complexes. The thermo gravimetric and thermo differential curves confirmed that those two compounds are Keggin type. X-ray diffraction method shows that the monolacunar Keggin structure is isomorphic with other monolacunar Keggin heteropolyanions containing P as central atom and reveals an orthorhombic structure.


Abstrakt This contribution paper focuses on individuals suffering from dementia (especially in this case, light type of Alzheimer's disease). The research includes testing of 20 probands which were divided by an intentional selection into two groups: experimental (active participation on further special-pedagogical and ergotherapeutic, also known as work therapy intervention) and control group (passive participation during intervention). The testing was initiated by entrance examinations with the use of standardized Montreal cognitive test. The same test was then used after the intervention within a framework of output testing and the collected data were then compared with each other. The following results than pointed to the fact, that regular intervention for seniors suffering from Alzheimer's with the use of modern technologies (in this particular case game consoles connected with the Kinect system sensors) and classic "paper and pencil" tests had certain amount of influence on the results of the experimental group, which achieved slightly better results than passive control group which stagnated, or got worse compared with the results at the beginning.


For a graph G we define a graph T(G) whose vertices are the triangles in G and two vertices of T(G) are adjacent if their corresponding triangles in G share an edge. Kawarabayashi showed that if G is a k‐connected graph and T(G) contains no edge, then G admits a k‐contractible clique of size at most 3, generalizing an earlier result of Thomassen. In this paper, we further generalize Kawarabayashi's result by showing that if G is k‐connected and the maximum degree of T(G) is at most 1, then G admits a k‐contractible clique of size at most 3 or there exist independent edges e and f of G such that e and f are contained in triangles sharing an edge and G/e/f is k‐connected. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 55: 121–136, 2007


Introduction:The project activity in professional training of future teachers of vocational training ensures its ability to effectively solve pedagogical tasks, participate in teamwork, develop educational systems. The requirements of the future specialist's readiness for the project activity are reflected in the GEF and in the professional standard. This determines the relevance of involving future teachers of vocational training in project activities when mastering disciplines.Materials and methods:Experimental work on involving students in the project activities was carried out in three stages. At first, they had experience of participating in different types of project activities, the second involved work on engaging in project activities, and on the third, the effectiveness of involvement in project activities was assessed. At all stages of the study, methods of observation and generalization of pedagogical experience and questioning were used.Results:The first stage revealed the experience of participation in the project activity (the students took part in the development of the content and the project), the sources of difficulties for the students in the project activity (related to the search for ideas, practical implementation of the project and evaluation of its results) obtaining meaningful results and developing teamwork skills). At the second stage, methodical support of the project activity was developed within the framework of the discipline; experimental work in this direction was carried out. At the third stage, the trainees called the skills they perceived as new (to conduct assessment and self-evaluation of the results of the project work, to apply in ICT projects and on-line resources, etc.), indicated the existence of a strong relationship between the gained experience of the project activity and future professional activity, showed a decrease in the share of difficulties in the project work.Discussion and Conclusions:conclusions were drawn about the significant pedagogical potential for involving learners in the project activity in the discipline, provided that the quality of the methodical study of its content and the provision of project assignments at each stage with future professional activity are provided.


Stress plays a significant role in the maintenance of, and relapse to, smoking. The current study aims to develop a human laboratory model examining stress-precipitated tobacco lapse following brief nicotine deprivation. Daily smokers (N = 48; 50% female) who were nicotine deprived for 3 hr received a personalized imagery induction (stress or neutral, within-subject, counterbalanced) on 2 separate days. Following imagery induction, participants were instructed that they could smoke or receive monetary reinforcement ($0.25, $0.50, $1.00; between-subjects) for every 5 min they chose to delay tobacco self-administration during a 50-min delay period. After the delay period, participants engaged in a 1-hr ad libitum smoking period. Tobacco craving and mood were assessed throughout. The primary aim was to determine whether stress imagery would reduce the ability to resist following a brief nicotine deprivation in a laboratory setting. A secondary goal identified which level of monetary reinforcement highlighted the effect of stress on reduced ability to resist smoking (i.e., resisting ∼25 min of the 50-min window). Overall, stress versus neutral imagery decreased the ability to resist smoking, increased craving and negative mood states, decreased positive mood, but did not change ad libitum smoking. Increased monetary reinforcement increased the ability to resist smoking. Planned comparisons examining lapse behavior within each monetary condition demonstrated that $0.50 produced the only significant difference between stress and neutral imagery, demonstrating target model behavior. Findings highlight that stress negatively impacts smoking lapse behavior and can be effectively modeled in the human laboratory with a brief, 3-hr deprivation window.


The prevalence of musculoskeletal trauma, including motor vehicle-related injuries, is increasing worldwide. It is estimated that global trauma will increase by 80% from 2010 to 20201, with a large number of these injuries occurring in regions with limited resources. In addition to neglected musculoskeletal trauma, other clinical entities such as untreated clubfoot, persistent bone and joint infections, and neuromuscular disorders add to the unmet burden in the daily lives of patients and caretakers who reside in such areas around the world. Various organizations have responded to this increasing health-care demand by providing volunteer opportunities for orthopaedic surgeons to teach and train overseas in regions with limited resources2-4. International volunteerism comes in many forms, including short-term surgical aid, disaster relief, and teaching and training local health-care providers2.

It is well known that physicians who volunteer internationally during training are more likely to volunteer locally and internationally later in their careers5. Some orthopaedic residency programs in North America offer an international elective, and such an elective has been found to be beneficial2-4,6,7 (Table I). Aside from a few publications primarily resulting from experiences in a single orthopaedic residency program3,4,6, there is scant literature providing a detailed description of the barriers to setting up an international elective for orthopaedic residents. Given the variability in the size and characteristics of orthopaedic residency programs across North America, the challenges and opportunities for establishing such electives may vary among institutions. Furthermore, there is limited information on establishing such an international elective in residency programs that currently do not offer one.

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TABLE I
Perceived Benefits of an Overseas Orthopaedic Resident Elective in a Resource-Challenged Environment

We surveyed U.S. and Canadian orthopaedic residency programs to ascertain the …


This article examines the urban governance system of Baku City with a focus on recent urban reconstruction projects. First, I outline the mechanism of oil surplus recycling that underlies Baku's recent construction boom. Second, I explore the regulatory regime and the roles of different government agencies engaged in "implementation games". City politics has thus turned into an arena for the neopatrimonial scramble for public resources. Baku's urban policy decisions reflect the confluence of interests of bureaucratic patronage networks and oligarchic-business groups. What is good (profitable) policy for these rent-seeking groups can harm social welfare, the quality of undersupplied social services (such as education and health care), and other public goods needed by ordinary residents, fueling the growing tendency toward urban segregation by class and income. Urban Redevelopment: A Two-Level Game Baku's recent urban redevelopment is an outcome of the interaction of actors and interests operating at two levels: planning and implementation. First, there is the political leadership level, where elites are pursuing the strategy of "diversification light" by prioritizing the types of projects that will not threaten the political status quo in the future. In practical terms, this means that economic diversification should meet two criteria: a) maximize the economic payoffs, and b) avoid political costs (i.e., do not "rock the boat"). The petroleum-based rentier state model of the 2004–2014 period secured the elite's hold on power, but it may no longer be viable. Resource dependence and associated vulnerabilities, certain structural shifts in global energy markets, and the Caspian region's loss of "geopolitical significance" for the West, especially the U.S., all call for measures to promote growth in the non-oil sector. Diversifying into real estate and tourism, a strategy that seems to be favored by Azerbaijan, meets both criteria: if implemented prudently, this strategy has the potential to spur non-oil growth; it does not require major technical know-how (which is in short supply locally); and the tourism, services and "entertainment" sectors do not threaten—but rather serve—the position and wealth of the vested interests. Urban projects fit these calculations rather well. In view of the elite's interests, the prioritization of urban redevelopment is articulated in the government's policy meta-frame, which is a series of strategic roadmaps, longterm plans and a new city master plan (currently under review) in which urban beautification is expected to transform Baku into a megacity and a regional transportation and logistics hub along a new Silk Road, indeed "the hub of hubs".1 This vision is based on two assump1 "Baku Will Become a Dubai-like Hub  in Eurasia", Eur activ, November 10, 2016, <https://www.euractiv.com/section/azer baijan/interview/ziyadov-baku-will-become-a-dubai-like-hubin-eurasia/> tions. Azerbaijani policymakers and planners believe that Baku has the business-friendly regulatory environment and all the necessary ingredients to jumpstart its non-oil sectors, and if Dubai "did it", Baku can do it too. This would justify large public investments in hardware infrastructure (roads, ports, railways and buildings). A second assumption is that foreign capital follows a city's grandiosity; in other words, once a city builds high-rise buildings, sports arenas, shopping malls and convention centers, foreign businesses will be willing to invest money, and tourists will flock in. Skeptics question these assumptions as being unrealistic and costly. At another level, there is policy implementation. As in other post-Soviet countries, where political power is maintained through the exchange of material resources for personal loyalty within and among patron-client networks, publicly funded projects feed into the rivalry among multiple patronage groups inside and outside the state bureaucracy. In the case of construction planning in Azerbaijan, licenses and permits are administered by as many as six different government agencies. Each government agency is legally entitled to approve or reject a license; this is a formal right that gives government office-holders public jurisdiction that they can use to dole out informal benefits, if they want to. In other words, holding public office provides officials with access to spoils and unofficial perks. Subsequently, even though the elite's plans might be arguably seen as benign, implementation of this vision in practice at the bureaucratic level acquires a  logic of neopatrimonial scramble for a share of the lucrative oil pie, with consequences that hurt ordinary residents. There is an opportunity cost to heavy investments in large urban infrastructure projects. The money invested in bricks and concrete blocks could have been invested in improving the provision of services, such as better schools and hospitals. Another downside has been a series of massive evictions of less well-todo households from centrally located habitats and their CAUCASUS ANALYTICAL DIGEST No. 101, 26 January 2018 3 relocation to the city's outskirts.2 This exacerbated the already widening levels of social inequality and segregation in urban Baku, where wealthier residents have come to benefit from the city's amenities and services, replacing a more egalitarian Soviet-era urban structure. Why a Construction Boom? The construction sector is a good outlet for reinvesting oil surplus revenue. Keeping money in cash or in bank accounts is unreasonable. Over time, assets may lose their initial value due to inflation or changes in the exchange rate. At other times, assets may be consumed too fast, providing no profit in return. In extreme cases, assets may be lost to competitors or simply expropriated. In countries with weak property rights, re-investing or recycling the oil surplus for profit (El Gamal and Jaffe 2008) seems more reasonable than consuming, saving or expatriating to Swiss bank accounts. A group of savvy new oligarchs allied with powerful bureaucratic interests formed a strong coalition to advocate investment in construction, or the so-called "secondary circuit of the built environment" (Buckley and Hanieh 2014). These construction plans matched the discourse of the top leadership of the oil-boom era, i.e., diversifying the economy with little political cost. Agriculture and manufacturing-oriented economic diversification (like that pursued by Malaysia or Singapore) seems like a structural impossibility in Azerbaijan due to the weakness of domestic commercial elites (and their dependence on government procurement and subsidies), the country's landlocked geographical position, "bad neighborhood," and high barriers of entry to international markets for late-late developing countries. Moreover, Malaysia-like diversification has high political costs, as it might turn the incumbent elites into political losers and empower would-be beneficiaries who might turn their economic wealth into the source of independent political power. Considering these constraints and the large fortunes to be made in the construction sector, the oil boom incentivized the new class of oligarchs to invest the surplus in infrastructure and marketing campaigns in the quest to secure non-oil revenues, jobs, prestige and government legitimacy. After all, skyscrapers were first built in New York, and they represent the symbols of modernity just like the Mercedes and SUV cars that filled the streets of an aspiring new mega-city. Urban Planning Azerbaijan's urban reconstruction over the past decade represents a series of decisions and deals intended 2 Amanda Erickson, "Middle-Class Families Face Evictions in Azerbaijan", New York Times, August 10, 2011, <http://www. nytimes.com/2011/08/11/world/asia/11baku.html> to rebrand the city's image, akin to what Peter Eisinger described as "the politics of bread and circuses." Reconstruction has emphasized entertainment projects such as shopping malls, convention centers, sports arenas, Formula One circuits, and aggressive marketing efforts to advertise the country's new image and to win bids to host important music events (Eurovision) and sporting competitions such as the European Olympic Games (see Appendix). By focusing on the tourism and hospitality sectors, planners expect that these investments will generate jobs and profits. While it is early to evaluate the profitability of these projects in Azerbaijan, there is plenty of evidence with which to question the economic rationality of such spending decisions. Although highly profitable to developers, private investors and construction companies, such entertainment investments often fail to generate expected returns or positive spillovers (e.g., jobs or taxes) that benefit the public interest. Thus, while the investors reap the benefits, the welfare of ordinary citizens might suffer. Public resources that were spent on over-blown infrastructure projects could have been invested in improving local public services such as health care, schooling, vocational training programs and assistance for disadvantaged groups. Moreover, construction projects in Baku placed enormous strain on local residents. Green parks were destroyed, and trees were chopped down to make way for new highrise buildings, causing an increase in the level of air pollution. Urban public space shrank and has been commercialized. Construction works, noise from vehicles, traffic problems, and limited parking lots have all added to the limited absorptive capacity of the city to accommodate the needs of rural-urban (internal) migrants, the inflow of foreign tourists and the ambitious policies of urban policymakers. Implementation Game Although planning may be sound, projects may fall prey to bureaucratic politics during implementation, a phenomenon referred to as the "implementation game" (Bardach 1977). For example, public managers may exaggerate the financial costs of a pr


Today, energy problem has become an important issue, and a development of renewable energy is urgent. In architectural fields, a research of the energy efficient lighting system using renewable energy is in progress. The energy efficient lighting system could be realized by integrating a daylight responsive LED lighting control system and a blind PV system. This system is able to save and generate electric energy. Efficiency of this system depends on control methods of blind PV. As a preliminary research, this research analyzed power generation and inflow of available daylight according to control method of blind PV.


Instruction mixes such as the Gibson mix have been used for a long time as workload models for CPU's. However, since an instruction mix does not indicate the order of instruction execution, it is not suitable for the performance evaluation of advanced computers which employ pipelining. Instruction sequences are proposed as a generalization of instruction mixes. The instruction representation does not consist of a fixed number of instructions, but rather it is defined to be a string of consecutively executed instructions terminated by the instructions which potentially interrupt sequential instruction streams. Statistics on sequences have been collected from traces of problem state programs. It was found that there are not many distinct sequences and that they are short. The average sequence length may be less than seven instructions. A small subset of the distinct sequences, say less than 20 percent, accounts for more than 95 percent of all executed instructions.


[1] Satellite remote sensing offers one of the best spatial and temporal observational approaches. However, well-validated satellite imagery has remained elusive for Lake Superior. Lake Superior's optical properties are highly influenced by colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), which has hindered the retrieval of chlorophyll concentration through band-ratio algorithms. This study evaluated seven existing inversion algorithms. The top-performing inversion algorithm was tuned to a Lake Superior optical data set and applied to satellite imagery. The retrieval of chlorophyll concentration via inversion algorithms was not possible due to errors in derived CDOM absorption being greater than phytoplankton absorption values and the very small contribution of phytoplankton absorption to the overall absorption budget. However, the retrieval of absorption due to CDOM from satellite imagery was encouraging. To ensure that the best satellite remotely sensed reflectance estimates were used in the retrieval of absorption due to CDOM, several atmospheric correction schemes were evaluated. The absorption due to CDOM was greatest in the western arm of Lake Superior and near river mouths and decreased with distance offshore. The absorption due to CDOM had a bimodal distribution over the annual cycle with the greatest peak in fall and a smaller peak in spring.


Objectives The objective of this work is to study the prevalence and etiology of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) in a central governmental Hospital of El-Sharkia governorate, Egypt. Background ESRD has become a public health concern worldwide as the total number of ESRD patients requiring renal replacement therapy has been growing dramatically. The main problem in developing countries is the lack and inaccuracy of data registry. Patients and methods This descriptive study had been done in the El-Sharkia governorate central governmental hospitals on adult patients' resident in the El-Sharkia governorate with ESRD on maintenance HD for more than or equal to 3 months. The study was done during the period from February 2017 to November 2017. Results The prevalence of ESRD patients on maintenance HD in the Sharkia governorate is 442 per million populations (pmp). The etiology of the studied ESRD patients: hypertension (30.1%), undetermined etiology (19.5%), diabetes mellitus (17.6%), recurrent urinary stone (10.3%), recurrent urinary tract infection (8.5%), analgesic nephropathy (4.3%), chronic glomerulonephritis (4.1%), autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (2.9%), systemic lupus erythematosus (1.5%), and gout (1.1%). Of the studied ESRD patients, 44.7% had positive antibodies for hepatitis C virus (+ve) and patients with hepatitis B virus surface antigen (+ve) were 2.2%. Conclusion The total prevalence of ESRD patients on maintenance HD in 2017 in Sharkia governorate, Egypt is 442 per million populations (0.0442%). The highest proportion of patients with ESRD was between 50 and 59 years (30.8%). Most of the ESRD patients were from the rural area (60.4%).


Runoff outputs from 11 atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) participating in the fifth phase of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project were used to evaluate the changes in streamflow and agreement among AOGCMs at the end of 21st century. Under the highest emission scenario (Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 8.5), high flow is projected to increase in northern high latitudes of Eurasia and North America, Asia, and eastern Africa, while mean and low flows are both projected to decrease in Europe, Middle East, southwestern United States, and Central America. Projected changes under RCP4.5 show similar spatial distribution but with lower magnitude. The model spread of projected changes, however, is found to be large under both scenarios. Bootstrapped Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon U test revealed that projected changes of streamflow regimes are statistically not significant in 8–32% (19–59%) of the world under RCP8.5 (RCP4.5). The model agreement on projected increase or decrease in mean and high flows is stronger under RCP8.5 than that under RCP4.5. On the other hand, the projected changes in low flow are robust in both scenarios with strong model agreement. In ∼7% (4%) of the world, high flow is projected to increase and low flow is projected to decrease, whereas in ∼29% (13%) all mean, high, and low flows are projected to increase under RCP8.5 (RCP4.5).