An outcome analysis of surgical treatment of 203 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm was made. Patients were divided into two groups. The first group involved 121 (59.6%) patients with uncomplicated aortic aneurysm, the second group 82 (40.4%) — patients with complicated aneurysm and with aneurysm with the threat of rupture. Death occurred in 42 (20.7%) patients, where 39 patients belonged to the group II (47.7% lethality) and 3 patients to the group I (2.5% lethality). The cause of death in 31 cases (73.8%) was the acute cardiovascular insufficiency which in 16 (38.1%) cases was caused by massive blood loss, and in 15 cases (35.7%), by myocardial infarction. In 11 (26.2%) cases the cause of death was the acute renal failure. Among the patients who died the IHD was in 38 patients (90.1%), and among the survivors — in 95 (59%).


For pt.1 see ibid., p.784-6 (1997). In this paper, the use of an architectural tree growth model as a generator of input parameters for a forest backscatter model is investigated. This is shown to be a useful method to (1) provide input data which are otherwise tedious to obtain, (2) describe the canopy with an enhanced precision which may be useful to explain physical mechanisms involved in the interaction between the electromagnetic wave and the forest.


Innovation is a key success factor in every industry, including marketing communications. One of the most significant innovations in marketing is use of artificial intelligence (AI). Without a doubt, it has tremendous potential to become an essential content creation tool for marketing communications. In recent years, several AI-based tools have been created that simplify the content creation process in various ways. We are witnessing an enormous increase in these services and a significant increase in their quality. This qualifies them for use to a much greater extent than before. It is obvious that these tools will become key tools for marketers and related professions in the near future. Experience from the past months reveals that AI-based tools can significantly speed up content creation and increase its relevance by using optimal vocabulary, stylistics, or - in the case of image generators - visuals. The presented work analyzes the current state of using AI in marketing communication, through the possibilities and challenges related to it. The aim of this work is to provide a comprehensive overview of the possibilities of using AI in the creation of content. AI can automate some tasks, such as data analysis and information processing, freeing marketers to focus on other important tasks. The advantages of AI in the creation of marketing communication content can be speed and relevance, personalisation but also objectivity. AI in the creation of content may encounter a lack of creativity, lack of emotion and empathy. AI cannot fully understand the context in which the content is to be used, which can lead to the creation of inappropriate or ineffective content. Different types of AI tools usable in marketing communication. AI can assist in various stages of the content creation process, such as generating ideas, creating a story, personalising content. AI can use target group data such as interests, purchasing behavior, demographic information. This article discusses a contribution to research that uses qualitative and quantitative scientific methods to analyse the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing and marketing communications. It highlights the uses of AI in marketing and identifies a list of selected AI tools that are considered advantageous in different areas of marketing. The conclusions of this work should provide important guidance for further research and application of AI in marketing communication, which could significantly contribute to the development of the entire mentioned field.


Abstract:  Understanding the dynamics of host-pathogen interaction is key to the management of epidemics. A pestivirus belonging to the border disease virus group 4 emerged around 2001 in Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica) in Spain and France. The virus had significant demographic impact in some populations, but it was less harmful and more endemic in other places. The determinants of these local variations are still unclear. Here, we documented empirical evidence of self-clearance of the virus in a chamois population in France. This population has regularly been counted, and chamois were trapped and harvested each year, providing unique demographic and epidemiologic surveys of the population since 1984 and 1994, respectively. The virus was detected using direct (PCR) and indirect (antibody) testing. We showed that virus transmission declined in 2011–12 and likely ceased in 2013, leading to a decline in antibody prevalence since 2014. Self-clearance may be due to limited exchanges with other populations, decrease in population size after an epizootic, and herd immunity. The age structure of captured animals shifted to younger age classes after virus self-clearance, suggesting a return to a colonizing population structure. The possible consequences of virus re-entry are discussed. This observation suggests that pestivirus dynamics occurs at the scale of the metapopulation of Pyrenean chamois. Local self-clearance and re-emergence may help explain the variation of virus dynamics at the local scale.


regeneration effect in the cigarette smoke emphysema model. MLIs were 41.2 .98 (n = 6) for WJMSCs and 38.9 .61 μm (n = 6) for pioWJMSCs compared to the smoking control mice [51.6 .36 μm (n = 6)]. The mean improvement of MLI appeared numerically better in pioglitazone-augmented WJMSCs than in none-augmented WJMSCs treated mice but did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.0715). Conclusion: Pioglitazone-augmented WJMSCs may have an augmented effect of lung regeneration compared to the none-augmented WJMSCs in mouse emphysema model.


Background A critical period for persons with first-episode psychosis is the first two years after diagnosis, when they are at high risk of suicide attempts, violent behaviors and substance abuse. This period also has a great impact on the psychological distress of family members, particularly caregivers who either provide care or live with ill family members. In addition, the families also report feelings of being overwhelmed when accessing service facilities at this critical point. These consequences impact on the affective tone/atmosphere in the family, also referred to as so-called expressed emotion. In addition, expressed emotion research has indicated that the family atmosphere contributes to recurrent psychosis and lengthy hospital stays for patients in the initial phase.1,44-45 Therefore, family interventions aimed at reducing psychological distress and improving expressed emotion in families during this critical time are very important. Modern research has yielded international evidence addressing these outcomes, but little is known about which interventions are the most effective. Therefore, this review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions. Objectives The objective of this review was to examine the effectiveness of family interventions on psychological distress and expressed emotion in family members of persons with first-episode psychosis (FEP). Inclusion criteria Types of participants Family members of persons with FEP and who had received treatment after being diagnosed within two years. Types of intervention(s) Studies that examined interventions among family members of persons with FEP. Family interventions referred to any education, psychoeducation, communication, coping and problem-solving skills training and cognitive behavioral therapy that was provided to family members of persons with FEP. Outcomes Psychological distress and expressed emotions of those family members. Types of studies Randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies, cohort studies and case-control studies. Search strategy The preliminary search was conducted in MEDLINE and CINAHL with keywords containing the title, abstract and subject description analysis as the first identification of related studies. An extensive search was conducted in other databases including ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, ScienceDirect, Scopus, PsychINFO, ThaiLIS and Thai National research databases. In addition, searches of reference lists and other manual searches were undertaken. Methodological quality Studies were critically appraised by two independent reviewers for methodological validity prior to inclusion in the review using standardized critical appraisal instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute. Data extraction Data were extracted using the standardized data extraction tools from the Joanna Briggs Institute. The mean score and standard deviation (SD) were extracted for targets outcomes relating to psychological distress and expressed emotion. Data synthesis Quantitative data could not be pooled due to the heterogeneity of the included studies. Data were synthesized based on the individual results from the three included studies and have been presented in a narrative format accompanied with tabulated data. Results Data synthesis of the three individual studies indicated that there were no statistically significant interventions that address psychological distress and expressed emotion in family members who live with and care for persons with FEP. There is insufficient evidence available to evaluate the effect sizes for pooled outcomes. Conclusion Based on the results of this review, there is insufficient evidence to validate the effectiveness of family interventions on psychological distress and expressed emotion in family members who live with and care for persons with FEP. In addition, based on the individual primary studies, the implications for practice should be carefully considered.


Acyl-CoA:lysophosphatidylethanolamine acyltransferases (LPEATs) are known as enzymes utilizing acyl-CoAs and lysophospholipids to produce phosphatidylethanolamine. Recently, it has been discovered that they are also involved in the growth regulation of Arabidopsis thaliana. In our study we investigated expression of each Camelina sativa LPEAT isoform and their behavior in response to temperature changes. In order to conduct a more extensive biochemical evaluation we focused both on LPEAT enzymes present in microsomal fractions from C. sativa plant tissues, and on cloned CsLPEAT isoforms expressed in yeast system. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that CsLPEAT1c and CsLPEAT2c originated from Camelina hispida, whereas other isoforms originated from Camelina neglecta. The expression ratio of all CsLPEAT1 isoforms to all CsLPEAT2 isoforms was higher in seeds than in other tissues. The isoforms also displayed divergent substrate specificities in utilization of LPE; CsLPEAT1 preferred 18:1-LPE, whereas CsLPEAT2 preferred 18:2-LPE. Unlike CsLPEAT1, CsLPEAT2 isoforms were specific towards very-long-chain fatty acids. Above all, we discovered that temperature strongly regulates LPEATs activity and substrate specificity towards different acyl donors, making LPEATs sort of a sensor of external thermal changes. We observed the presented findings not only for LPEAT activity in plant-derived microsomal fractions, but also for yeast-expressed individual CsLPEAT isoforms.


Thrombocytopenia is a relatively common laboratory finding in the intensive care unit (ICU) that may be caused by a variety of triggers. Vancomycin may lead to the production of antibodies that could precipitate a severe drop in platelet count. The objective of the current report was to describe the development of severe thrombocytopenia during the infectious work-up of a critical care patient, where an association between vancomycin and thrombocytopenia was unexpectedly identified. The current report describes the case of a 64-year-old female who presented with dyspnea on exertion and resting hypoxia to an outside facility and was initially treated for a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation. She was then transferred to Mayo Clinic for further care. After 72 h, she acutely decompensated requiring increasing oxygen support with a questionable infiltrate on chest imaging and was transferred to the ICU. She was placed on non-invasive ventilation with poor gas exchange and ultimately required intubation. Antibiotics were expanded to include vancomycin. Within 72 h of antibiotic initiation, her platelet count decreased from 379 x 10 9 /L to 7 x 10 9 /L. After a negative heparin-induced thrombocytopenia panel and serotonin assay, the antibiotics were discontinued and her platelet count subsequently increased. Despite the fact that heparin is a common culprit of drug-induced thrombocytopenia, the patient had no evidence of this association. She received three doses of vancomycin prior to the recognition of the association between this medication and thrombocytopenia. Her platelet count only started to recover once vancomycin was discontinued. In conclusion, vancomycin is commonly administered in the critical care setting and may lead to the development of thrombocytopenia. Vancomycin-induced thrombocytopenia is caused by antibodies that may remain for years after last exposure. Appreciation of the association between vancomycin and thrombocytopenia may ultimately lead to improved patient outcomes. J Med Cases • 2013;4(12):792-795 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4021/jmc1555w


The article analyzes the modern psychological and pedagogical studies of the problem of pre-school inclusive education in Ukraine. The key issue is to ensure unlimited access to inclusive education for children with developmental disorders. Consideringing the problems of a pre-school inclusive education in Ukraine, it is noted that inclusive education is a pedagogical innovation, which is under implementation, and consequently has many difficulties in practice. First of all, this is the professional unpreparedness of preschool teachers of kindergarten to work with children with special educational needs, architectural unadaptability of premises, lack of additional financing of inclusive educational institutions, negative attitudes of parents of other children, etc. All these factors significantly complicate the process of implementation of inclusive education for preschoolers.Stresses of the steady tendency of the birth rate of children with special educational needs in Ukraine and the introduction of inclusion into the educational process, objectively determines the need for psychological and pedagogical studies of the problem of reforming the traditional system of special education. Inclusive education in the scientific works of Ukrainian specialists in the field of special pedagogy is regarded as a system of educational services based on the principle of ensuring the right of children with disabilities to education in a general educational institution in his local residential area at the place of residence. This form of education excludes any discrimination, ensuring equality of all members of society, regardless of their nationality, gender, race, culture, social status, religion, individual abilities and skills.Contemporary scholars consider inclusive learning to be such an educational environment that meets the needs and capabilities of each child, regardless of the characteristics of their psychophysical development. Inclusive education is a flexible, individualized system of education for children with special educational needs at the place of residence. The training takes place according to the individual curriculum and is provided by medical-social and psychological-pedagogical support.


The absolute cross section for the double ionization of from threshold to 500 eV has been measured for the first time. A combination of electron beam modulation and fast energy-scanning techniques was used. At energies around 340 eV the cross section displays several steps and resonant peaks, which can be identified as arising from autoionization processes involving the excitation of a 2p electron. There is little evidence of structure elsewhere in the cross section, although some points of inflexion are apparent in the region below 90 eV.


Purpose: The aim of this study was to report outcomes of type I Boston keratoprosthesis (KPro) as primary corneal surgery in nonautoimmune corneal disorders. Methods: In this retrospective, observational, large single-center case series of 43 eyes (37 patients) that were followed for an average of 39 months (1–6 years), primary implantation of the type I Boston KPro was performed in all patients. Visual acuity at year 1, visual acuity at last follow-up, and postoperative complication rates were examined for all eyes. Results: Preoperative best-corrected visual acuity ranged from 20/60 to light perception, with vision of 20/200 or worse in 88%. Vision was ≥20/200 at 1 year in 77% of eyes (P < 0.0001). Complications included retroprosthetic membrane formation (51%), glaucoma progression (47%), corneal melt (19%), and sterile vitritis (14%). Conclusions: In a large series with long follow-up, primary Boston KPro effectively restored vision. Close follow-up is needed to manage the known complications after Boston KPro.


Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 15–20% of breast carcinomas and represents one of the most aggressive forms of this disease. Basal and claudin-low are the two main molecular subtypes among TNBCs. We previously reported that deletion of Lfng in mouse mammary gland caused deregulated Notch activation and induced basal-like and claudin-low tumors with co-selection for Met amplification. In human breast cancers, the vast majority of basal tumors and a subset of claudin-low tumors show reduced Lfng expression. Elevated Met expression and activation is associated with basal as well as claudin-low subtypes. To examine roles of Met and Notch in TNBC cells, we established two cell lines that harbor Met amplification as well as Lfng deletion, and possess features of basal and claudin-low breast cancer subtypes. Pharmacological inhibition of Met not only suppressed cell growth, tumorsphere and colony formation, but also reversed epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and inhibited cell migration in both cell lines. In contrast, inhibition of Notch signaling using a γ-secretase inhibitor (GSI) only suppressed colony formation. Interestingly, GSI had no effect as single agent, but exerted a synergistic effect with Met inhibitor, on cell growth in 2D culture. We found that inhibition of Met resulted in downregulation of Dll ligands and upregulation of Jagged ligands, leading to differential modulation of Notch signaling. Our results suggest that combination targeting of Met and Notch may prove beneficial for TNBC patients with Met overexpression and Notch hyperactivation.


The optical and luminescent properties of nanostructures of CdS / ZnS QDs and CdS QDs doped with lithium, obtained by the sol-gel technology in an aqueous solution of gelatin, have been studied. It was determined from the optical absorption spectra of the CdS / ZnS QD nanostructures that the thickness of the shell layer corresponds to the thickness of one ZnS monolayer. The luminescence spectra revealed a significant increase in the intensity of luminescence nanostructure. The absorption spectra of undoped and doped CdS NCs coincide, which indicates that there is no change in the NC size and the absence of the formation of a lithium-sulfur compound. The luminescence spectra of lithium-doped QDs demonstrate an increase in the luminescence intensity, which is associated with the passivation of surface states.


Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronically relapsing skin disease that is associated with a disturbance of the epidermal barrier function. Changes in the human skin microbiome have been suggested as a risk factor for AD. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the species distribution of microflora on the skin and in the oral cavity of healthy volunteers and patients with AD. Methods: Samples for culture were obtained from both lesional skin and the oral cavity in 211 patients with AD and from both the normal skin and oral cavity of 24 healthy controls. Species identification was performed with the VITEK 2 system (bioMerieux Inc., Hazelwood, MO, USA). Results: The isolation of Staphylococcus aureus from the skin was statistically more frequent among patients with AD than among healthy controls, while the isolation of Staphylococcus hominis and Micrococcus luteus were statistically more frequent among healthy controls than among patients with AD (p<0.05). In the oral cavity, S. aureus and Candida albicans were found more frequently in patients with AD, but the difference did was not statistically significant. Conclusion: This study provides an important insight into the species distribution of microorganisms on human skin and in the oral cavity. Further investigation is required to determine the role of specific microorganisms in the etiology and pathogenicity of AD. (Korean J Dermatol 2016;54(1):1∼7)


The effects of potential serum inhibitors upon the growth of calcium hydroxyapatite (HAP) crystals were studied in vivo using a pH-stat system. Whole serum caused a marked decrease in crystal growth in a dose-dependent manner. At a protein concentration of 13 micrograms/ml, whole serum reduced the initial rate of crystal growth from 84 mumol of KOH/h to 48 mumol of KOH/h. Serum components were separated by ultrafiltration (10,000 Da cut-off). The high-molecular-mass fraction containing serum proteins gave an initial rate of crystal growth of 48 mumol of KOH/h compared with 64 mumol of KOH/h given by the low-molecular-mass components. Thus, two-thirds of the inhibitory activity was associated with proteins and other serum macromolecules, whilst the remainder of the activity was associated with the low-molecular-mass components. Albumin-depleted serum showed an initial rate of crystal growth of 59 mumol of KOH/h, whilst albumin purified by affinity chromatography gave an initial rate of crystal growth of 56 mumol of KOH/h at the same protein concentration. Albumin, therefore, not only accounts for half of the protein concentration in serum, but also contributes half of the inhibitory activity of the high-molecular-mass fraction. Heat denaturation of albumin dramatically enhanced the inhibition of HAP seeded growth with the initial rate of crystal growth falling to 27 mumol of KOH/h after treatment compared with 62 mumol of KOH/h before denaturation. Isoelectric focusing indicated that the tertiary and secondary structure, and hence the distribution of surface charge of albumin, are altered by heat denaturation. Gels showed a mixture of species with isoelectric points ranging from 6.0 to 5.0 compared with the native protein value of 4.7. These data suggest that adsorption of serum proteins to the growing HAP crystals is one mechanism of growth inhibition. It is also clear that the most abundant serum protein, albumin, is an important mediator of this process.


In confounding, the effect of the exposure of interest is mixed with the effect of another variable. It is important to identify relevant confounders and remove the confounding effect as much as possible. There are three criteria that need to be fulfilled to determine whether a variable could be considered a potential confounder. The first criterion is that the variable needs to be associated with the exposure. The second criterion is that the variable needs to be associated with the outcome or disease. The third criterion is that the variable should not be an intermediate variable in the causal pathway between exposure and outcome. Only if all the criteria are fulfilled is the variable under question a confounder. If one incorrectly adjusts for a variable that is not a confounder, one risks overadjustment or adjustment for spurious associations. Confounders can be prevented from entering the study, during the design of a study, or if this is not possible, one can try to remove it during the analysis phase.


Bis(tetramethylpiperidino)aluminun halides tmp2AlX (X = Cl, Br, I) are sufficiently Lewis-acidic to form 1: 1 adducts tmp2AlX.sum.Do (Do = thf, py, lutidine, isoquinoline). While cation formation [tmp2AlDo]+ could not be achieved by replacing X- in tmp2AlX.sum.Do with BPh4-, B(C6F5)4- or tosylate, the formation of [tmp2AlDo]+ is possible by using tmp2Al(I)py and AlI3. AM1 calcns. show that [tmp2Al.sum.py] AlI4 is a ionic compd. while tmp2 AlCl.sum.py reacts with AlCl3 to the qbridgedq complex tmp2 Al(py)Cl.sum.AlCl3. Reactions with the anion B11CH11Cl-.sum.aimed at the formation of tmp2Al+ will also be reported. [on SciFinder (R)]


Analysis of the kinematics of bosons (photons, atoms) in two-dimensional potential channels with the transverse eigenvalues slowly varying along the longitudinal axis of the channel reveals the existence of Bose condensation without temperature lowering, the stratification of an atomic flux over phase states, and also processes which phenomenologically reproduce phenomena in nonlinear media (shock-like waves). These phenomena can form the basis for new experimental methods.


A tri-mode micro-square laser under optical feedback is proposed and demonstrated to generate chaos with the broadband flat microwave spectrum. By adjusting lasing mode intensities, frequency intervals, and optical feedback strength, we can enhance the chaotic bandwidth significantly. The existence of two mode-beating peaks makes the flat bandwidth much larger than the relaxation oscillation frequency. Effective bandwidth of 35.3 GHz is experimentally achieved with the flatness of 8.3 dB from the chaotic output spectrum of the tri-mode mode laser under optical feedback.


A mutant of the ridgetail white prawn, which exhibited rare orange-red body color with a higher level of free astaxanthin (ASTX) concentration than that in the wild-type prawn, was obtained in our lab. In order to understand the underlying mechanism for the existence of a high level of free astaxanthin, transcriptome analysis was performed to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the mutant and wild-type prawns. A total of 78,224 unigenes were obtained, and 1863 were identified as DEGs, in which 902 unigenes showed higher expression levels, while 961 unigenes presented lower expression levels in the mutant in comparison with the wild-type prawns. Based on Gene Ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis, as well as further investigation of annotated DEGs, we found that the biological processes related to astaxanthin binding, transport, and metabolism presented significant differences between the mutant and the wild-type prawns. Some genes related to these processes, including crustacyanin, apolipoprotein D (ApoD), cathepsin, and cuticle proteins, were identified as DEGs between the two types of prawns. These data may provide important information for us to understand the molecular mechanism of the existence of a high level of free astaxanthin in the prawn.


BACKGROUND
Many cancer cell lines have been found to overexpress the recombinase Rad51. The overexpression is associated with increased invasive potential and resistance to DNA-damaging therapeutic agents. This has been attributed to an increased capacity of cells overexpressing Rad51 to repair DNA lesions or to a genetic stabilization of the genome.

AIM
As the explanations are somewhat controversial, we attempted to reproduce overexpression in the unicellular eukaryote Schizosaccharomyces pombe to have a simpler tool to study the problem of Rad51 overexpression and its induced resistance to DNA-damaging agents.

METHODS
We used the nmt1 promoter inserted upstream of rad51 gene to induce its overexpression and studied the phenotype of the transformed strain, especially its sensitivity to camptothecin and hydroxyurea.

RESULTS
We found that overexpression induced sensitivity to the two drugs even when it was associated with the deletion of a recombination mediator rad22/rad52 gene. However, when overexpression was associated with the deletion of the helicase-encoding fbh1 gene, the sensitivity to camptothecin was diminished.


Endometrial cancers exhibit a different mechanism of tumorigenesis and progression depending on histopathological and clinical types. The most frequently altered gene in estrogen-dependent endometrioid endometrial carcinoma tumors is PTEN. Microsatellite instability is another important genetic event in this type of tumor. In contrast, p53 mutations or Her2/neu overexpression are more frequent in non-endometrioid tumors. On the other hand, it is possible that the clear cell type may arise from a unique pathway which appears similar to the ovarian clear cell carcinoma. K-ras mutations are detected in approximately 15%–30% of endometrioid carcinomas, are unrelated to the existence of endometrial hyperplasia. A β-catenin mutation was detected in about 20% of endometrioid carcinomas, but is rare in serous carcinoma. Telomere shortening is another important type of genomic instability observed in endometrial cancer. Only non-endometrioid endometrial carcinoma tumors were significantly associated with critical telomere shortening in the adjacent morphologically normal epithelium. Lynch syndrome, which is an autosomal dominantly inherited disorder of cancer susceptibility and is characterized by a MSH2/MSH6 protein complex deficiency, is associated with the development of non-endometrioid carcinomas.


An alternative definition of the atomic valence state is proposed. It is based upon a valence-bond wavefunction for molecules AXn, in which equivalence of the bonds is secured by allowing resonance among pairing schemes for ligand orbitals at X paired to natural s, p and d orbitals at A. The valence state of A is then either the lowest term of the valence configuration, for example, 7F of sulphur in SF6, or is a linear combination of terms of highest multiplicity. The valence state energy is directly available from spectral term values in many important examples. The resonance valence state has a number of advantages, including easier availability of energies, over the usual perfect-pairing valence state, which is a linear combination of terms belonging to each of a number of different electron configurations. The two valence states are compared, and the resonance valence state analysed in several examples including AX4 in Td, D2d and S4 symmetries.


The transcription factor E2F-1 drives cell cycle progression at the G1- to S-phase boundary; however, overexpression of E2F-1 can induce apoptosis. We show here that E2F-1 protein levels increase in human medulloblastoma, glioma, lung, colon, and bladder cancer cell lines (n=7) following treatment with the DNA damaging agents adriamycin or etoposide. This induction of E2F-1 occurs independently of Rb or p53 status and involves new protein synthesis. Although E2F-1 protein levels increase following DNA damage, several genes transcriptionally targeted by E2F-1 are not similarly induced. Rather, induction of E2F-1 in the tumor cells correlates with their sensitivity to adriamycin or to etoposide. Correspondingly, fibroblasts from E2F-1 knockout mice are more resistant to DNA damage than cells from normal mice. Overexpression of E2F-1 protein in tumor cell lines infected with an adenovirus encoding wild-type E2F-1 leads to enhanced cytotoxicity following exposure to DNA damaging agents, which results from enhanced apoptosis. The results of this study implicate a role for E2F-1 in p53-independent cytotoxicity of chemotherapy and provide a pharmacological tool for increasing levels of the apoptosis-inducing E2F-1 protein.


Purpose

This paper aims to explore the intermediary role of marketing dynamic capability (MDC) in the relationship between customer knowledge management (CKM) and product innovation performance (PIP).

Design/methodology

A conceptual model is proposed and a survey instrument is developed. The model is tested empirically in an organizational buyer/seller setting using a survey among middle and top management of firms engaged in business-to-business relationships within high-tech industries in China.

Findings

Results show that MDC fully mediates the relationship between CKM and PIP. Empirical findings thus demonstrate that CKM is related to improved firm PIP through the deployment of firm-specific MDCs.

Research implications/limitations

The study provides clarification for a unique distinction between organizational learning and dynamic capabilities. Findings suggest that knowledge creation occurs within the scope of CKM, while the analytical and perceptual processes that lead to insights and redeployment of firm resources fall under the umbrella of MDCs.

Practical implications

Dynamic capabilities play an essential role in transforming the firm's knowledge resources to create new configurations in response to market needs. Hence, this study reinforces the role of marketing decision-makers with appropriate decision-making power who, in an ongoing cooperation with other functional areas, are able to adapt and redeploy resources to reflect environmental changes and implement marketing strategy decisions.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by addressing simultaneously the relationship between CKM, MDC and PIP. Specifically, the study demonstrates the mediating influence of MDCs on the relationship between CKM and firm PIP. The study also clarifies a key distinction between organizational learning and dynamic capabilities, demonstrating that knowledge serves an antecedent role to the deployment of dynamic capabilities.


Objective: To evaluate the relationship between the score of job satisfaction and depression. Methods: A total of 2737 workers (2198 men and 539 women) participated. A 100-point scale for evaluating job satisfaction and the Occupational Depression Scale were used. A logistic regression analysis was applied with adjustment for age. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 42.2 years for men and 36.0 years for women. When the group with the highest job satisfaction score was set as the control, the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for depression in the groups with the lowest and second lowest scores were 16.3 (7.51 to 35.2) and 5.90 (2.70 to 12.9) in men and 8.02 (1.78 to 36.1) and 5.68 (1.26 to 25.7) in women, respectively. Conclusions: Job satisfaction was significantly associated with the depressive state, and causality should be clarified by a follow-up study.


Background Smoking increases the severity and cardiopulmonary complications of many rheumatologic conditions. Yet despite tobacco assessment in many rheumatology clinics, we reported that <10% of eligible notes documented cessation counselling. New models show increased efficacy with Ask-Advise-Connect approaches using non-physician staff protocols. Under protocols, front-line clinic staff assessing pre-visit vital signs and tobacco use are cued to recommend and refer patients electronically to telephone tobacco quit line support. Such approaches increased uptake of cessation support 13-fold in primary care studies but have not been adapted for rheumatology clinics. Objectives Our objective was to engage clinic staff in participatory work system redesign to develop and plan implementing an Ask-Advise-Connect tobacco protocol in rheumatology clinics. We report the results of this redesign study under the Systems Engineering In Patient Safety (SEIPS) model's five work system domains: people, organization, technology, environment, and tasks. Methods Our multidisciplinary team facilitated participatory work system redesign with medical assistants (MA) and nurses (RN) from three US academic rheumatology clinics. Staff participated in one of two hour-long focus groups. Trained facilitators used semi-structured interview questions informed by the SEIPS domains to appraise pre-visit assessment workflows, educational needs, proposed protocols, brochures, electronic health record (EHR) tools, and implementation plans. Results Over 80% (9 MAs, 5 RNs) of clinic nursing staff participated in focus groups. SEIPS domain questions facilitated discussions on intervention design, implementation, and sustainability planning (Table 1). The work system redesign included training (people); a protocol and workflows adapted to specialty care (organization, tasks); customized EHR alerts for assessing tobacco status and an EHR order set for e-referral to quit line services (technology); and physical cues like a desktop patient brochure linking rheumatologic conditions, tobacco use, and cardiovascular risk (environment). Focus group participants reported routinely assessing tobacco use, but most had not asked about readiness to quit. A few had asked such questions, but noted low outcome expectancy and not knowing what to do next. One nurse said, "I'd ask, `Are you ready to quit?' and they'd say `No' and then I'd stop." Staff groups identified that education about links between tobacco use and rheumatologic diseases and stepwise support from our Ask-Advise-Connect protocol would help them overcome barriers to tobacco cessation counselling. They requested specific best-practice language in the EHR tools and appreciated rheumatology-specific brochures with printed conversational prompts. Conclusions We engaged rheumatology clinic staff in participatory work system redesign to plan implementing a tobacco cessation protocol. The participatory redesign process resulted in a tailored implementation plan for a quasi-experimental trial of a tobacco cessation e-referral protocol in rheumatology clinics. Disclosure of Interest C. Bartels Grant/research support from: Independent Grants for Learning and Change (Pfizer), A. Gilmore: None declared, D. Panyard: None declared, C. Maxcy: None declared, R. Adsit: None declared, A. Skora: None declared, E. Ramly: None declared


Finite Ground Coplanar (FGC) waveguide transmission lines on CMOS grade silicon wafer (/spl rho/<0.01 ohm-cm) with a thick embedded silicon oxide layer have been developed using micromachining techniques. Lines with different lengths were designed, fabricated and measured. Measured attenuation and s-parameters are presented in the paper. Results show that the attenuation loss of the fabricated FGC lines is as low as 3.2 dB/cm at 40 GHz.


This essay reviews two books in the French Que Sais-je? series by Charles-Olivier Carbonell in 1981 and by Nicolas Offenstadt in 2011 on the topic of historiography. Offenstadt's volume is intended to bring Carbonell's up to date, but goes in very different directions. There is general agreement among historians that a fundamental reorientation has taken place in historical thought and writing in the past half century, about which quite a bit has been written in recent years in the West, including in Latin America, East Asia, and India. But this is not the theme of either of these volumes. Carbonell tells the history of history from the ancient Greeks to the twentieth-century Annales; Offenstadt is not interested in examining major trends in historiography as much of the historiographical literature has done, but in analyzing the changes that the key concepts that guide contemporary historical studies have undergone. For Carbonell's chronological narrative of the history of historical writing, theory has no place; for Offenstadt, who proceeds analytically, history and theory are inseparable. He deals specifically with changes in conceptions of historical time, of the role of documents, of the place of history within the social sciences, of the centrality of narrative, and finally of historical memory.


Afforestation and Reforestation (A/R), also widely termed LULUCF have been an important field of conflict in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. The first methodology for A/R projects has been submitted only by October 2004 and the first project was registered only in November 2006, two years after the first project in the energy sector. Like energy efficiency and transportation methodologies, A/R methodologies also suffer high rejection rate. 20 A/R CDM methodologies evaluated by the CDM Executive Board have been analyzed in this paper with respect to their approval history. On an average it took 4-5 months for approval of A/R methodologies in contrast to the long approval time taken in case of other methodologies (9-10 months). Most methodologies has been rejected because of not properly defining land eligibility, incomplete baseline scenario selection, lack of methods to prove additionality and insufficient treatment of uncertainties.


2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine is a potent mutagenic agent produced during thermal processing of meats. Since 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine has a similar structure to tetrahydroisoquinoline, a mitochondria toxic compound, we determined whether or not this compound shows detrimental effects on mitochondrial electron transport activities in various rat tissues. Administration of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine, 100 mg/kg twice a week for 4 weeks, decreased significantly the activity of complex I in mitochondrial electron transport chain of heart, diaphragm, and psoas major, while it did not affect the activities of complex I in the liver mitochondria. Concerning the activities of complexes II, III, and IV, no significant effects were observed irrespective of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine administration. Age-related deterioration of mitochondrial function seems to be a major contributor to age-related decline in cellular function. From our results, 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine might act as an accelerator of age-related decline in mitochondrial function.


An extensive study of Higher Alcohols Synthesis (HAS) from syngas using alkalized MoS 2 catalysts supported on Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) is reported. Up to 30wt.% of Mo and 8wt.% K are added to the CNTs by impregnation method. The catalysts were characterized by different methods and the performance of the catalysts was assessed in a micro-reactor. TEM images showed that most of the metal particles were homogeneously distributed inside the tubes and the rest on the outer surface of the CNTs, with particle sizes in the range of 3 to 16 nm. Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR) tests showed that increasing the amount of Mo decreased the first TPR peak from 518 to 503 o C and increased the second TPR peak temperature from 782 to 825 o C. The diffraction peaks representing the characteristic K-Mo-O phase (these species can enhance formation of higher alcohols) were observed in the XRD of catalysts. The catalyst with 20 wt.% Mo and 8 wt.% K showed the highest conversion. The total alcohol selectivity reached a maximum of 45.3 wt.% on the catalyst with 15 wt.% Mo. The catalyst with 15 wt.% Mo exhibited selectivity of 35.3 wt.% towards higher alcohols.


This is an in-depth study in English of the art of the Fatimids who ruled over part of North Africa, Egypt and Syria from 969 to 1171 AD. Based on the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection, the material is arranged in four sections: ceramic, rock crystals and glass, woodwork, and textiles. Following an introductory essay, which puts the Fatimids in histrical perspective and outlines current issues in the study of Fatimid art, the book focuses on some 60 key objects. Each section contains general discussion of the subject followed by detailed study of key objects. The book should be a useful supplement for academics working in Islamic and Medieval disciplines, and should also be of interest to collectors and dealers.


An immunohistochemical procedure, using glucose oxidase (GO) linked to anti-immunoglobulin serum, has been adapted to detect anti-tissue antibody to smooth muscle, parietal cells, and mitochondria. With this procedure antibody to smooth muscle was detected in a high percentage of normal sera. Anti-tissue antibodies were frequently detected in sera of patients clinically suspected of having an autoimmune disease when an immunofluorescence (IF) test to detect the antibodies was negative. The glucose oxidase immunohistochemical procedure to detect anti-tissue antibodies is feasible and highly sensitive, and produces permanent results. The clinical usefulness of this procedure will have to be carefully evaluated. The detection of anti-tissue antibody in normal sera may indicate that such antibody is normally present in low concentration and that it may possibly have physiologic functions.


Self-care agency plays an important role in an individual's health. Considering the particularities of their education, it can be a protective factor for the mental health of medical students. This study aims to validate the Portuguese version of the Appraisal of Self-care Agency Scale-Revised (ASAS-R) in Portuguese medical students. A cross-sectional, quantitative, and analytical online study was conducted between 23 April 2021, and 15 July 2021. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to test the internal structure of the ASAS-R. Correlations with the SHS (Subjective Happiness Scale), SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale), and MHI (Mental Health Inventory) were calculated using Pearson's coefficient so as to test convergent validity. Internal consistency was evaluated using inter-item correlation, corrected item-total correlation, and Cronbach's alpha. The total sample included 781 individuals. EFA yielded a 3-factor solution accounting for 53.9% of the explained variance. Pearson's coefficients obtained between the 3 factors of ASAS-R and the total scores of the 3 construct-related scales demonstrated adequate convergent validity. Total Cronbach's alpha value was 0.85, while the Cronbach's alpha of the three factors was 0.81, 0.55, and 0.83, respectively. This study demonstrated that ASAS-R is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring self-care agency among Portuguese medical students.


OBJECTIVES
Helicopter air ambulance (HAA) of pediatric trauma patients is a life-saving intervention. Triage remains a challenge for both scene transport and interhospital transfer of injured children. We aimed to understand whether overtriage or undertriage was a feature of scene or interhospital transfer and how in or out of state transfers affected these rates.

METHODS
Children (<18 years) who underwent trauma activation at a level I trauma center between 2011 and 2013 were identified and reviewed. Patients transported by HAA were compared with those transported by ground ambulance (GA).

RESULTS
Of 399 pediatric patients (median age, 10.4 years; range, 0.1-17 years; 264 male [66%]), 71 (18%) were transported by HAA. Seventy-two percent of HAA patients went to the intensive care unit or the operating room from the trauma bay or suffered in-hospital mortality (vs 42% GA, P < 0.001). More patients were overtriaged (HAA with injury severity score [ISS] of <15) from interhospital transfers than from the scene (25% vs 3%, P = 0.002). Undertriage (GA with ISS >15) was acceptable at 5% from the scene and 14% from interhospital transfers (P = 0.08). Overtriage of patients with ISS less than 15 to HAA was significantly lower from in-state hospitals (22%) than out-of-state hospitals (45%) (P = 0.02). Undertriage of patients with ISS greater than 15 to GA was also lower from in-state hospitals (20%) versus out-of-state hospitals (38%) (P = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS
Triage of pediatric trauma patients to HAA remains difficult. There remains potential for improvement, particularly as regards interhospital HAA overtriage, but well developed transfer protocols (such in-state protocols) may help.


Machine learning in medical imaging during clinical routine is impaired by changes in scanner protocols, hardware, or policies resulting in a heterogeneous set of acquisition settings. When training a deep learning model on an initial static training set, model performance and reliability suffer from changes of acquisition characteristics as data and targets may become inconsistent. Continual learning can help to adapt models to the changing environment by training on a continuous data stream. However, continual manual expert labelling of medical imaging requires substantial effort. Thus, ways to use labelling resources efficiently on a well chosen sub-set of new examples is necessary to render this strategy feasible. Here, we propose a method for continual active learning operating on a stream of medical images in a multi-scanner setting. The approach automatically recognizes shifts in image acquisition characteristics – new domains –, selects optimal examples for labelling and adapts training accordingly. Labelling is subject to a limited budget, resembling typical real world scenarios. In order to avoid catastrophic forgetting while learning on new domains the proposed method utilizes a rehearsal memory. To demonstrate generalizability, we evaluate the effectiveness of our method on three tasks: cardiac segmentation, lung nodule detection and brain age estimation. Results show that the proposed approach outperforms other active learning methods on a continuous data stream with domain shifts.


Abstract Space-time spectral formulas are modified to estimate wavenumber-frequency spectra correctly from space-time series data sampled at the same local time but at different hours of a day by a polar-orbiting satellite. It is shown that a significant error occurs in the wavenumber-frequency spectra of the space-time series for wave periods less than 10 days. This error can be eliminated without time interpolation by taking a space-Fourier transform with respect to the frequency-shifted wavenumbers measured at the same local time.


Rationale Augmented smooth muscle contractility of the airways is one of the causes of airway hyperresponsiveness in asthmatics. However, the mechanism of the altered properties of airway smooth muscle cells is not well understood. Objectives To identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to the bronchial smooth muscle (BSM) hyper-contractility in a murine asthma model. Methods The ovalbumin (OA)-sensitized mice were repeatedly challenged with aerosolized OA to induce asthmatic reaction. Transcriptomic profiles were generated by microarray analysis of BSM tissues from the OA-challenged and control animals, and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) Pathway Analysis was applied. Measurements and main results Tension study showed a BSM hyperresponsiveness to acetylcholine (ACh) in the OA-challenged mice. A total of 770 genes were differentially expressed between the OA-challenged and control animals. Pathway analysis showed a significant change in arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism pathway in BSM tissues of the OA-challenged mice. Validation of DEGs by quantitative RT-PCR showed a significant increase in PLA2 group 4c (Pla2g4c)/COX-2 (Ptgs2)/PGD2 synthase 2 (Hpgds) axis. PGD2 level in bronchoalveolar fluids of the OA-challenged mice was significantly increased. A 24-h incubation of BSM tissues with PGD2 caused a hyperresponsiveness to ACh in naive control mice. Conclusions AA metabolism is shifted towards PGD2 production in BSM tissues of asthma. Increased PGD2 level in the airways might be a cause of the BSM hyperresponsiveness in asthma.


Syphilis is one of the most exciting diseases explored in paleopathology and, therefore, tracing back its origin and development has provided a prolific debate. The combination of paleopathological data with historical sources, iconography, and archaeological contexts were the primary sources used to reconstruct its historical path. However, there are some limitations to paleopathological diagnosis due to the nature of bone reaction to stimuli. In addition, historical sources are subjected to a bias of social and cultural nature and the knowledge of those who wrote them. Hence, ancient DNA analysis offers the possibility of acquiring proof of cause by identifying pathogens in an organism. We undertook a metagenomic study of a skeleton exhumed from the Royal Hospital of All Saints (Portugal), renowned for treating syphilis from the 16th century onwards. The skeleton had previously been diagnosed with syphilis according to paleopathological analysis. However, the metagenomics analysis showed no presence of the pathogen associated with syphilis (i.e., Treponema pallidum) but revealed pathogenic microorganisms related to respiratory diseases (pneumonia), nonspecific bone infections (osteomyelitis), and oral bacterial pathologies as well as Hansen's disease (also known as leprosy). The results are exciting and demand a reappraisal of the observed bone changes, recontextualizing their characterization as syphilis related. They prove that past reconstruction of health and disease diagnoses based on assessing human osteological remains of known context (such as a syphilitic hospital) may bias interpretations and, therefore, caution is recommended, not forgetting that the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence (in this case of syphilis) in life.


Therapies targeting PD-1 are used in multiple cancer types. While a fraction of patients show durable therapeutic responses, most remain unresponsive, highlighting an urgent need to better understand and improve these therapies. Using an in vivo screening approach with a customized shRNA pooled library, we identified DDR2 as a leading target for the enhancement of response to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Using isogenic in vivo murine models across five different tumor histologies, bladder, breast, colon, sarcoma and melanoma, we show that DDR2 depletion increases sensitivity to anti-PD-1 treatment compared to monotherapy. Combination treatment of tumor-bearing mice with anti-PD-1 and dasatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of DDR2, also led to tumor load reduction and in some cases, complete clearance. RNAseq and CyTOF analysis revealed higher CD8+ T cell populations in tumors with DDR2 depletion and those treated with dasatinib when either was combined with anti-PD-1 treatment. Our work provides strong scientific rationale for targeting DDR2 in combination with PD-1 inhibitors. Citation Format: Megan M. Tu, Francis Y. Lee, Robert T. Jones, Abigail K. Kimball, Elizabeth Saravia, Robert F. Graziano, Brianne Coleman, Krista Menard, Jun Yan, Erin Michaud, Han Chang, Hany A. Abdel-Hafiz, Andrii I. Rozhok, Jason E. Duex, Neeraj Agarwal, Ana Chauca-Diaz, Linda K. Johnson, Terry L. Ng, John C. Cambier, Eric T. Clambey, James C. Costello, Alan J. Korman, Dan Theodorescu. DDR2 inhibition enhances response to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4085.


The current of increasingly strong modernization has caused the local wisdom of a culture to be eliminated and replaced with a new form of habit instantly. This condition causes humans escape beyond the scope of their original tradition, and cause them become a crisis of identity and cultural breakdown. This paper aims to show the importance of revitalizing the tradition of Pasambahan manjapuik marapulai as part of efforts to preserve the Minangkabau culture. This type of research is descriptive qualitative. Sources of data obtained from field observations and interviews with informants and study documentation. The results showed that in order to revitalize the tradition of Pasambahan manjapuik marapulai, this can be done through three (3) stages, namely: activating, managing and inheritance. Activating can be done by socializing Minangkabau culture through education, re-functioning the traditional process, and forming a youth organization. Managing can be done by managing training time, promoting and involving youth in a series of events. Inheritance can be done through radio broadcasting, airing custom shows on local television, posting cultural advertisement and inventory.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the prognostic value of axial length and epiretinal membrane (ERM) separation during vitrectomy for retinal detachment due to macular hole in high myopia.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Thirty-two consecutive highly myopic eyes (31 patients) with retinal detachment due to a macular hole were retrospectivly studied. All eyes underwent pars plana vitrectomy with gas tamponade (C3F8). An epiretinal membrane was removed in 9 cases. The 32 cases were divided into 3 groups: anatomical success after the initial surgery (group 1, 15 cases); anatomical success after two surgical procedures without silicone oil (group 2, 5 cases), and silicone oil tamponade (group 3, 12 cases).

RESULTS
Retinal reattachment occurred in 15 cases (46.8%) after the initial surgery. The difference of axial length between the 3 groups was not significant. The rate of anatomical success without silicone oil was 88.8% (8/9 cases) when an ERM was peeled and the number of peelings was significantly higher (p=0,04) in group 1 than in group 3.

CONCLUSION
The axial length was not a pronostic factor of silicone oil tamponade in this study. The success rate was higher when an ERM was peeled. However, considering the technical difficulty in removing the ERM completely, gas tamponade seems to be the better initial treatment.


This report analyses the main developments in housing finance in the euro area in the decade, covering the period from 1999 to 2007. It looks at mortgage indebtedness, various characteristics of loans for house purchase, the funding of such loans and the spreads between the interest rates on loans granted by banks and the interest rates banks had to pay on their funding, or the return they made on alternative investments. In addition, the report contains a comparison of key aspects of housing finance in the euro area with those in the United Kingdom and the United States. At the end, the report briefly discusses aspects of the transmission of monetary policy to the economy.


In 1986, the US Navy announced the goal of becoming smoke-free by 2000. However, efforts to restrict tobacco sales and use aboard the USS Roosevelt prompted tobacco industry lobbyists to persuade their allies in Congress to legislate that all naval ships must sell tobacco. Congress also removed control of ships' stores from the Navy. By 1993, the Navy abandoned its smoke-free goal entirely and promised smokers a place to smoke on all ships. Congressional complicity in promoting the agenda of the tobacco industry thwarted the Navy's efforts to achieve a healthy military workforce. Because of military lobbying constraints, civilian pressure on Congress may be necessary to establish effective tobacco control policies in the armed forces.


Capturing images of documents is one of the easiest and most used methods of recording them. These images however, being captured with the help of handheld devices, often lead to undesirable distortions that are hard to remove. We propose a supervised Gated and Bifurcated Stacked U-Net module to predict a dewarping grid and create a distortion free image from the input. While the network is trained on synthetically warped document images, results are calculated on the basis of real world images. The novelty in our methods exists not only in a bifurcation of the U-Net to help eliminate the intermingling of the grid coordinates, but also in the use of a gated network which adds boundary and other minute line level details to the model. The end-to-end pipeline proposed by us achieves state-of-the-art performance on the DocUnet dataset after being trained on just 8 percent of the data used in previous methods.


Capacitive devices are customarily used as probes to measure the level of noble liquids in detectors operated for neutrino studies and dark matter searches. In this work we describe the use of a high-temperature superconducting material as an alternative to control the level of a cryogenic noble liquid. Lab measurements indicate that the superconductor shows a linear behaviour, a high degree of stability and offers a very accurate determination of the liquid volume. This device is therefore a competitive instrument and shows several advantages over conventional level meters.


The infectious activity of 15 Steinernema and Heterorhabditis strains of Entomopathogenic Nematodes (EPNs), belonging to 5 species ( Steinernema feltiae , S. affine , S. apuliae, S. ichnusae and H. bacteriophora ) collected from natural habitats (meadows, coasts and woods) in Southern Italy was compared in laboratory bioassays against Galleria mellonella larvae. Infectivity was determined by 2 larval mortality rate assays in relation to different temperature values. In the first experiment the percentage of larval mortality was recorded after a 72-hr exposure period to the EPNs Infective Juveniles (IJs) at 6 temperatures between 10 and 35°C, at intervals of 5°C, using IJs in aqueous suspension. The second bioassay was performed to compare the infectivity at 3 relatively low temperature values (6-10-14°C), using IJs in 2 different suspensions (aqueous and gel); the percentage of larval mortality was recorded every 72 hrs for 12 days after exposure to IJs. In the first experiment S. feltiae, S. ichnusae and S. affine strains showed the best performances at temperature values 10, 15, 20 and 25°C, while H. bacteriophora and S. apuliae showed the best results at 30 and 35°C. In the second test S. feltiae, S. ichnusae and S. affine strains demonstrated a better cold-infectivity (at 6-10-14°C) than H. bacteriophora and S. apuliae strains. IJs in the water suspension killed the Galleria larvae quicker than those in the gel. The gel suspension keeps nematodes more safe and active than the water one.


The present research was conducted with the aim of determining the relationship between transformational leadership style and organizational citizenship behavior in Ghavamin Bank of Markazi province. The research method was practical in terms of objectives and correlational descriptive in terms of data collection method. Moreover, it was quantitative in terms of the collected data. Statistical population of the research consisted of all employees in Ghavamin Bank branches in Markazi province (280 individuals) among whom 162 individuals were selected as a sample size using Morgan table and simple random sampling method. Bass and Avolio standard questionnaire (1996) with 16 questions was used to evaluate transformational leadership and Organ questionnaire (1998) with 20 questions was employed in order to evaluate organizational citizenship behavior. The reliability of the questionnaire was investigated using Cronbach's alpha method which the value was reported to be 0.77 and 0.88 for "transformational leadership" and "organizational citizenship behavior", respectively. In addition, content validity was used to investigate the validity. Hence the questionnaires were approved by the relevant experts. The data obtained from questionnaire was analyzed using SPSS software in two sections of descriptive and inferential (Spearman Correlation and Stepwise Regression). The results indicated that there was a significant relationship between components of transformational leadership style and organizational citizenship behavior. In addition, individual considerations had the highest relationship with organizational citizenship behavior. Therefore, organizations and managers should move step by step in order to make organizational citizenship behavior. This is because the process of organizational citizenship behavior is not a one-day process which could be entered to an organization like new technologies do, but it is a time consuming and permanent procedure.


This paper introduces a prototype energy harvester device with integrated MEMS capacitive plate and two impact oscillators for transferring energy from low frequency structural vibration with varying mechanical spectra to a vibration of a high resonance frequency cantilever. The use of the two impact oscillators not only harvested energy at low frequencies but also had demonstrated exceptionally sufficient and optimum dynamic responses to a broad frequency bandwidth between 13 Hz and 39 Hz, the bandwidth covering wide range of residual vibrations in structures and systems, without reduction in output power. The device was designed with a MEMS capacitor fixed at the free end of an aluminium cantilever clamped at one side, with a high resonance frequency of 605 Hz matched with the single-cavity capacitor, and two cantilevers made of Al sheet with low resonance frequencies of 18 Hz and 25 Hz. The results clearly demonstrates the device's ability for frequency up- conversion and harvesting power on a wide range from 13 Hz to 39 Hz at 1g excitation.


RATIONALE
The decades-long progression of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) renders identifying different trajectories of disease progression challenging.

OBJECTIVES
To identify subtypes of COPD patients with distinct longitudinal progression patterns using a novel machine-learning tool called "Subtype and Stage Inference (SuStaIn)", and to evaluate the utility of SuStaIn for patient stratification in COPD.

METHODS
We applied SuStaIn to cross-sectional CT imaging markers in 3698 GOLD1-4 patients and 3479 controls from the COPDGene study to identify COPD patient subtypes. We confirmed the identified subtypes and progression patterns using ECLIPSE data. We assessed the utility of SuStaIn for patient stratification by comparing SuStaIn subtypes and stages at baseline with longitudinal follow-up data.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
We identified two trajectories of disease progression in COPD: a "Tissue→Airway" subtype (n=2354, 70.4%) in which small airway dysfunction and emphysema precede large-airway wall abnormalities, and an "Airway→Tissue" subtype (n=988, 29.6%) in which large-airway wall abnormalities precede emphysema and small airway dysfunction. Subtypes were reproducible in ECLIPSE. Baseline stage in both subtypes correlated with future FEV1/FVC decline (r=-0.16 (p<0.001) in the Tissue→Airway group; r=-0.14 (p=0.011) in the Airway→Tissue group). SuStaIn placed 30% of smokers with normal lung function at non-baseline stages suggesting imaging changes consistent with early COPD. Individuals with early changes were 2.5 times more likely to meet COPD diagnostic criteria at follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS
We demonstrate two distinct patterns of disease progression in COPD using SuStaIn, likely representing different endotypes. One-third of healthy smokers have detectable imaging changes, suggesting a new biomarker of 'early COPD'.


Abstract Financialization is a key attribute of globalized neoliberal capitalism. Among other things, it is associated with rising household indebtedness, which has certainly been true in Canada. Another widely recognized trait of neoliberal capitalism is growing social inequality and polarization. However, despite growing awareness and understanding of the relationships between debt and inequality at the household, national, and international scales, it remains unclear what role household debt may have in fashioning patterns of income segregation within the metropolis and how it may be related to processes of urban economic restructuring. This article seeks to fill this gap through an empirical analysis of the spatial distribution of household debt and its relationship to prevailing patterns of neighborhood income inequality within Canadian metropolitan areas. The effects of household debt in either ameliorating or exacerbating prevailing levels of income segregation are analyzed, after which the metropolitan-level factors that are associated with regressive neighborhood distributions of debt are examined. The implications of the results for understanding the relationship between financialization and predominant patterns of urban economic restructuring are then discussed.


A reconfigurable coupled-resonator optical waveguide made of a few directly coupled ring resonators is employed to control the delay of data streams modulated at tens of gigabits per second. A delay of 8 bit lengths (1 optical byte) with a small pulse broadening and 1 dB/bit fractional loss is achieved by using only eight rings. The limiting role of waveguide loss and spurious backreflections is experimentally investigated. The high storage efficiency (1 bit/ring) of the device enables an easy, reliable, hitless, and relatively low-power-consuming management of the delay. A higher storage efficiency is demonstrated to be associated to an unavoidable higher pulse distortion.


Reliable treatment effect estimation from observational data depends on the availability of all confounding information. While much work has targeted treatment effect estimation from observational data, there is relatively little work in the setting of confounding variable missingness, where collecting more information on confounders is often costly or time-consuming. In this work, we frame this challenge as a problem of feature acquisition of confounding features for causal inference. Our goal is to prioritize acquiring values for a fixed and known subset of missing confounders in samples that lead to efficient average treatment effect estimation. We propose two acquisition strategies based on i) covariate balancing (CB), and ii) reducing statistical estimation error on observed factual outcome error (OE). We compare CB and OE on five common causal effect estimation methods, and demonstrate improved sample efficiency of OE over baseline methods under various settings. We also provide visualizations for further analysis on the difference between our proposed methods.


A thermal liquid-phase reaction of fullerene C(60) with 3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-diphenyl-1,2,4-triazine afforded aza-open-cage fullerene derivative 5 having an eight-membered-ring orifice on the fullerene cage. Compound 5 was found to undergo oxidative ring-enlargement reactions with singlet oxygen under photo-irradiation to give azadioxo-open-cage fullerene derivatives 9 and 10, which have a 12-membered-ring orifice, in addition to a small amount of azadioxa-open-cage fullerene derivative 11, which has a 10-membered-ring orifice. A thermal reaction of 9 with elemental sulfur in the presence of tetrakis(dimethylamino)ethylene resulted in further ring-enlargement to give azadioxothia-open-cage fullerene derivative 15, which has a 13-membered-ring orifice. The structures of 5 and 15 were determined by X-ray crystallography, while those of 9, 10, and 11 were confirmed by the agreement of observed (13)C NMR spectra with those obtained by DFT-GIAO calculations. These reactions were rationalized based on the results of molecular orbital calculations. Following electrochemical measurements, compounds 9 and 10, which have two carbonyl groups on the rim of the orifice, were found to be more readily reduced than C(60) itself (the first reduction potential was found to be 0.2 V lower than that of C(60)), while the first reduction potentials of other open-cage fullerene derivatives, 5, 11, and 15, were nearly the same as that of C(60).


The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is considered as the lingua franca in software engineering. Despite various web modeling languages having emerged in the past decade, in the field of web engineering a pendant to UML cannot be found yet. In the light of this "method war" the question arises if a unification of the existing web modeling languages can be successfully applied in the style of UML's development. In such a unification effort we defer the task of designing a "Unified Web Modeling Language". Instead, we first aim at integrating three prominent representatives of the web modeling field, namely WebML, UWE, and OO-H, in order to gain a detailed understanding of their commonalities and differences as well as to identify the common concepts used in web modeling. This integration is based on specifying transformation rules allowing the transformation of WebML, UWE, and OO-H models into any other of the three languages, respectively. To this end, a major contribution of this work is the languages' definitions made explicit in terms of metamodels, a prerequisite for model-driven web engineering for each approach. Furthermore, the transformation rules defined between these metamodels besides representing a step towards unification also enable interoperability through model exchange.


The general public9s exposure to radiation due to the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan was limited because of prompt evacuations and swift control of the food supply. Nevertheless, Fukushima Prefecture launched a health monitoring program to assure residents and quickly identify any health problems that might result from the accident. As part of this program the prefecture is offering ultrasound thyroid examinations for all those aged 18 or younger at the time of the accident. Surprisingly, this program turned up thyroid growths in roughly 50% of those screened and more than 100 cases of cancer. Most scientists attribute the findings to the screening, which catches growths that would not normally be clinically identified and likely pose no health threat. The screening program might lead to a better understanding of thyroid growths and what they mean for patients.


Objectives:The purpose of this study was to investigate the deficits in executive function in children with ADHD and anxiety disorder, and further, to characterize executive function deficits among the two groups. Methods:Subjects consisted of 60 children between the ages of 5 and 14 (16 Normal, 24 ADHD, 20 Anxiety Dis-order). Neuropsychological tests (KEDI-WISC, CCTT, STROOP, WCST, ROCF) for assessing cognitive and executive function were individually administered to all subjects. Results:There were no significant differences in FSIQ or PIQ among the three groups. However, the ADHD group tended to score lower on the VIQ and subtest of similarity, vocabulary, and digit span tests. The three groups did not significantly differ with respect to CCTT test results. On the STROOP test, the ADHD group showed poor performance on the word, color, and color-word subtests. The three groups did not exhibit significant differences in WCST test results; however, the anxiety group performed poorly belonging to below 25 percentile rank on perseverative response. On the ROCF test, the ADHD group performed poorly with respect to their organization score and in particular, regarding copy and immediate recall. The anxiety group also performed poorly with regard to organization;however, this was limited only to immediate recall. Conclusion:Children with ADHD displayed poor inhibition and organizational abilities compared to children with anxiety and normal controls. Further, children with anxiety disorder exhibited low cognitive flexibility and voluntary problem-solving abilities compared to ADHD children and normal controls. Based on these results, we suggest that the characteristics of executive dysfunction in ADHD and anxiety disorder in children are different. KEY WORDS:Executive Function·ADHD·Anxiety Disorder.


Chemokines and their receptors have key roles in cancer progression. The present study investigated chemokine activity in the prostate cancer bone metastasis microenvironment. Growth and migration of human prostate cancer cells were assayed in cocultures with bone stromal cells. The migration of LNCaP cells significantly increased when co-cultured with bone stromal cells isolated from prostate cancer bone metastases. Cytokine array analysis of conditioned medium from bone stromal cell cultures identified CCL5 as a concentration-dependent promoter of LNCaP cell migration. The migration of LNCaP cells was suppressed when C-C motif ligand 5 (CCL5) neutralizing antibody was added to cocultures with bone stromal cells. Knockdown of androgen receptor with small interfering RNA increased the migration of LNCaP cells compared with control cells, and CCL5 did not promote the migration of androgen receptor knockdown LNCaP. Elevated CCL5 secretion in bone stromal cells from metastatic lesions induced prostate cancer cell migration by a mechanism consistent with CCL5 activity upstream of androgen receptor signaling. translocation. of of a and suppression of


INTRODUCTION Neuromyotonia is a very rare condition of spontaneous, continuous muscle activity of peripheral nerve origin. It is characterized clinically by muscle twitching at rest (visible myokymia), cramps that can be triggered by voluntary or induced muscle contraction, and impaired muscle relaxation (pseudomyotonia). Often, patients also have symptoms of excessive sweating and more rarely mild muscular weakness, and paraesthesia Following the electrophysiological account in Denny-Brown & Foley 1948 of 'undulating myokymia', the first full description of the syndrome of 'continuous musclefibre activity' was made by Isaacs (1961). He established the peripheral nerve origin of the spontaneously-occurring discharges by noting the persistence of abnormal EMG activity after proximal nerve block, no change in spontaneous muscle activity during general anaesthesia with thiopentone, and that the depolarizing muscle relaxant succinylcholine and neuromuscular blocking agent curare both produce electrical silence after a few minutes. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY Neuromyotonia can sometimes be seen in isolation, or as


Ticks represent the primary vectors of several serious diseases, including the Lyme disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl). In this study two dominant ectoparasitic groups of arthropods (Mesostigmata, Siphonaptera) were investigated for the presence of borrelian DNA in order to determine their potential role of vectors (or carriers) of this bacterium. All individuals (235) were collected from wild-living rodents obtained in three localities in the Czech Republic (Bažantula, Baba and Křižovice). The majority of parasites were members of the families Parasitidae and Dermanyssidae (Mesostigmata) and families Hystrichopsyllidae and Ceratophyllidae (Siphonaptera). The rodent host species was almost exclusively the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis). Bbsl was detected by the PCR method in the following ectoparasite species: Euryparasitus emarginatus (1), Eulaelaps stabularis (1), Haemogamassus nidi (1), Laelaps agilis (5), Myonyssus gigas (1) (Mesostigmata) and Ctenophthalmus agyrtes (1), C. solutus (3) (Siphonaptera).


A case of fatal cardiomyopathy presenting in the puerperium is described. Despite extensive investigation and post-mortem examination no aetiological factor was found. The diagnosis of specific peri-partum cardiomyopathy is discussed.


Prolonged exposure to a low ambient temperature increases the 30-day mortality rate of irradiated rats. To determine if the increased mortality is due to a failure of the irradiated rat to adapt to the higher metabolic demands of a cold environment, the food consumption of irradiated (500r, 600r, 250 kv x-rays) animals was measured during 30 days of exposure at normal (23°C) or lowered (6°C) environmental temperature. The food consumption of irradiated animals was increased by exposure to cold; however, this increase was not sufficient to maintain body weight at a level comparable to nonirradiated animals. When the food consumption of nonirradiated animals was limited to that of irradiated animals during exposure to a 6°C environment, the mortality observed among nonirradiated animals was comparable to the increase in mortality induced by cold exposure of irradiated animals. These results suggest that the increased mortality rate of irradiated animals in a cold environment is related to an inadequate food intake.


Almost every square inch of a casino is covered by video surveillance. The gaming floor is covered, but areas like stairwells and parking lots are also covered. These video recordings can capture slips and falls, assaults, car accidents, as well as cheating. These recordings can be important pieces of evidence in many kinds of lawsuits and criminal cases. Casino operators must take steps to ensure that their tapes are effective and available. Plaintiff attorneys and criminal defense attorneys must be aware of the existence of surveillance tapes and of their right to see them, discover them, and have them admitted into evidence at trial.


Abstract
It is believed that emergency treatment in ayurveda is not present and in emergency one need to take only allopathic medicines and ayurveda has limited role to play in chronic ailments only. This belief in society and Ayurvedic physicians has arrested development of ayurveda, and limiting its role as adjuvant therapy. Ayurveda to become main line of medicine needs to have emergency management. The emergency management was described in ayurveda, which needs only enlightenment.
In this article an attempt has been made to understand ayurvedic basics of emergency management. It includes understanding emergency condition according to ayurveda and management accordingly. It is important to note that mild to moderate emergency can very well be managed according to ayurveda.
The concept of emergency,principles of management,various Ayurvedic drug formulations etc. are discussed in full article


Introduction: With the emergence of Covid-19 as a challenge to global health, millions of people around the world began to face changes in lifestyle, daily routine, ways of living. However, not everyone can experience social distance, for health professionals, especially nurses, the new moment calls for a reorganization of the routine and the way of experiencing care. Objective: To report the experience lived by Nurses in the front line of confrontation with Covid-19 in a private Field Hospital. Methods:  is is an exploratory-descriptive study, an experience report, developed from the experiences of nurses working on the front line of coping with COVID-19 in a private campaign hospital in the city of Fortaleza, CE. Results: In view of the lived experience, it can be observed that the pandemic brought nurses, in addition to the various challenges, many uncertainties, risks and fears, due to the unknown and full of doubts scenario, as well as it generated psychological suff ering in order to deal more constant with the death of patients. However, it became evident that the nurse has made all the diff erence in strengthening the link between the team, as well as in the guidelines and actions of clinical care with patients and family members. Conclusions: In the face of everything, the nurse has been a prominent professional in facing the pandemic of the new coronavirus, as they have shown themselves to be equipped with skills and abilities, from promotion, prevention, recovery and rehabilitation. However, the authorities need to think about investments to improve the working conditions of this professional class, which has already been so devalued.


With development of content-based image retrieval (CBIR), mobile visual search (MVS) is a promising application. In typical MVS, similar images are retrieved from the database maintained by the server, given a query image taken by mobile devices. Different from general CBIR, the problem of transmission latency should be considered in MVS. In existing work, the progressive transmission is proposed to minimize the data size in transmission by low-dimensional feature descriptors and compression coding in order to reduce the transmission latency in MVS. Although the retrieval speed is improved by existing progressive transmission methods, the result accuracy is decreased because of the information loss in these methods. To address this problem, this paper proposes a novel framework for MVS which consists of a new progressive transmission model based on image saliency (MVSS) and a new distance metric corresponding to the proposed progressive transmission model. In our framework, we use SIFT descriptors to represent images, which can preserve more information than other low-dimensional feature descriptors and compression coding. Although SIFT is high-dimensional descriptor, we only transmit the SIFT descriptors in salient regions of image to reduce the transmission latency. We evaluate our framework on Stanford image set, and the results demonstrate that our framework not only reduces the transmission latency but also achieves a better retrieval accuracy.


Paediatric melanoma, although relatively rare, is the most common cutaneous malignant tumour of childhood. It is often not suspected at initial presentation. It may be misdiagnosed due to poor correlation of conventional ABCDE criteria and ambiguous histopathological features. This younger patient group is more likely to have thicker tumours and positive sentinel lymph node biopsy compared with adult melanoma patients at diagnosis. Despite this, melanoma-specific death rates are lower than those in adults. This suggests different biological behaviour of paediatric compared to adult melanomas. Significant psychosocial issues may exist in the patient and their family. These may delay diagnosis and affect the compliance with management and so should be closely monitored, and intervention arranged if warranted.


In this paper we give a formalisation of configuration as the task to construct for a given specification, which is understood as a finite set of logical formulas, a model that satisfies the specification. In this approach, a specification consists of two parts. One part describes the domain, the possible components, and their interdependencies. The other part specifies the particular object that is to be configured. The language that is used to represent knowledge about configuration problems integrates three sublanguages that allow one to express constraints, to build up taxonomies, and to define rules. We give a sound calculus by which one can compute solutions to configuration problems if they exist and that allows one to recognize that a specification is inconsistent. In particular, the calculus can be used in order to check whether a given configuration satisfies the specification.


The work discussed in the present paper was undertaken in response to difficulties experienced with numerical integration approaches. The technique involves the modeling of the medium as a set of horizontal strata in which the ambient gas parameters are 'nearly' constant, i.e., slowly varying. A perturbation theory allows us to take into account the slow vertical variation in a purely analytical way that is based on a knowledge of the system-equation solutions for a homogeneous medium. The computer is used to find eigenvalues of the system matrix and to provide the numerical coefficients for the solution matrix, which is expressed analytically as a function of z, the vertical distance coordinate. Illustrative numerical results are presented that show eigenvalues (corresponding to modes of propagation) and certain elements of the solution matrix for a typical ionospheric parameter regime.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the formative mechanisms of the fibrous capsule around hepatic and splenic hydatid cyst.

METHODS
HE stain was used to observe the histopathologic changes of the fibrous capsules around hepatic and splenic hydatid cysts and the adjacent parenchyma. The expression of collagen IV, fibronectin (FN), laminin (LN), transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were detected by using immunohistochemistry or in situ hybridization in fibrous capsules around 40 hepatic hydatid cysts and 15 splenic hydatid cysts including adjacent parenchyma.

RESULTS
A special delaminated phenomenon was observed in the fibrous capsules around hepatic hydatid cysts. Granuloma-like pathologic changes were found in the fibrous capsules near worm and there were many depressed Glisson capsules and hepatic vein system in the fibrous capsules near hepatic parenchyma while these phenomena could not be observed in splenic hydatid cysts. All parameters were highly expressed in the fibrous capsules near hepatic parenchyma and the difference between the two fibrous capsules was significant (P<0.01).

CONCLUSION
The mechanisms of forming fibrous capsule around hepatic and splenic hydatid cysts are different. The fibrous capsule around hepatic hydatid cyst is a granuloma-like structure, covered by the pressed Glisson system and hepatic vein system with a small gap between them; while the fibrous capsule around splenic hydatid cyst is formed by granuloma-like tissue covering the worm and there is no gap between the capsule and the splenicparenchyma.


BACKGROUND
Diverse pain killers used for the management of varied categories of pain are being misused in order to have extreme pleasant effect by a large number of populations. To overcome the misuse of prescription drugs, regulatory bodies have given stress on development of abuse resistance.

METHODS
We studied numerous literatures: (1) Research and review papers including the guidelines for pain management, abuse, and abuse deterrence; (2) Description and categorization of pain along with the management approaches; (3) advantages and disadvantages of the abuse deterrent formulations were described.

RESULTS
Abuse deterrent formulations are the contemporary remedial treatment for pain with reduced prospects of being abused. But these comprise the huge expense in contrast to the generic drugs as well as the non-deterrent branded equivalents.

CONCLUSION
Many challenges are faced throughout the development of abuse deterrent formulations. These formulations displayed substantial drop in abuse incidences but it may lead to other modes of abuse which may prove more harmful for the users.


The empirical study was undertaken to explore the determinants of non-performing loans (NPLs) of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector held by the commercial banks. Stratified sampling technique was used to collect primary data through well-structured survey questionnaire from credit analysts / bankers of 42 branches of 9 commercial banks, operating in the district of Lahore (Pakistan), for 2014-2015. Selective descriptive analysis and Pearson chi-square technique were used to illustrate and evaluate the significance of different variables affecting NPLs. Branch age, duration of the loan, and credit policy were found to be significant determinants of NPLs. The study proposes that bank-specific and SME-specific microeconomic variables directly influence NPLs, while macroeconomic factors act as intermediary variables. The results elaborate various origins of NPLs and suggest that they are primarily instigated by the loan sanctioning procedure of the financial institution. The paper also underlines the risk management practices adopted by the bank at branch level to averse the risk of loan default. Empirical investigation of bank-specific microeconomic factors of NPLs with respect to Pakistan's economy is the novelty of the study. Broader strategic policy implications are provided for credit analysts and entrepreneurs.


Conservation theorems for a moving charge are discussed; in particular we focus attention on an application of Poynting's theorem concerning the interaction of an electric field with a finite size moving charge. Forces and power are expressed solely in terms of fields. In addition an analogous gravitational case is analysed.


Abstract Enlist E3™ soybean, resistant to 2,4-D, glufosinate, and glyphosate, provides options to control glyphosate-resistant Sumatran fleabane before planting and in crop. Twenty field trials were conducted in Argentina to determine Enlist E3 soybean sensitivity to POST applications of 2,4-D choline + glyphosate or glufosinate. Maximum injury from a single 2,4-D choline + glyphosate application at 1X (1140 + 1140 g ae ha-1) and 2X rate was 4% and 13%, respectively, at 3 days after treatment in the temperate Humid Pampa region. Slightly higher injury of 11 and 23% was observed in sub-tropical region of northern Argentina. Injury was transient with recovery occurring within 14 days. Injury caused by sequential applications was equivalent to that caused by single applications. Soybean yield was not affected by single nor sequential applications. In four trials, control programs containing 2,4-D choline + glyphosate applied PRE and POST provided greater GR Sumatran fleabane control and a 12 to 26% increase in yield compared to 2,4-D choline + glyphosate applied at PRE only. This research demonstrates the glyphosate-resistant control programs that include 2,4-D choline, glyphosate, and glufosinate provide excellent GR Sumatran fleabane control. Nomenclature: 2,4-D choline; glufosinate; glyphosate; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr; Sumatran fleabane, Conyza sumatrensis (Retz.) E. H. Walker


We propose a supervised learning approach for predicting an underlying graph from a set of graph signals. Our approach is based on linear regression. In the linear regression model, we predict edge-weights of a graph as the output, given a set of signal values on nodes of the graph as the input. We solve for the optimal regression coefficients using a relevant optimization problem that is convex and uses a graph-Laplacian based regularization. The regularization helps to promote a specific graph spectral profile of the graph signals. Simulation experiments demonstrate that our approach predicts well even in presence of outliers in input data.


River water derives in part from groundwater—water that has spent some time in the subsurface (e.g. soil,
unsaturated zone, saturated zone). However, because groundwater residence times vary from months to millennia,
determining the proportion of shallow and deep groundwater contribution can be challenging. Groundwater dating
with anthropogenic gases and natural geochemical tracers can decipher the origin of groundwater contribution to
rivers, particularly when repeat samplings are carried out in different hydrological conditions. Here, we present
two different applications of this approach from three hydrological observatories (H+ hydrogeological network;
Aghrys and Armorique observatories) in western France, all these observatories belonging to the OZCAR national
network.
We carried out a regional investigation of mean groundwater ages in hard rock aquifers in Brittany, using long-term
chronicles from hydrological observatories and regional monitoring sites. We determined the mean residence-time
(RT) and annual renewal rate (RR) of four compartments of these aquifers: the direct contribution of a very
young water component (i.e. RT less than 1-2 yr), the upper variably saturated zone (RR 27-33%), the weathered
layer (RR 1.8-2.1%) and the fractured zone (RR 0.1%). From these values and a nitrate chronicle, we were
able to determine the respective contributions of each compartment to the largest river in Brittany, the Vilaine,
which drains 30% of the region. We found that the deep fractured compartment with very slow renewal times
contributed to 25-45% of river water in winter and 30-60% in summer. The very young water which includes
direct precipitation and soil fluxes constituted 40-65% of the winter river water (Aquilina et al., 2012).
To complement these estimates, we investigated the relationship between dissolved silica and groundwater age
in the Armorique hydrological observatory in northern Brittany. We computed the silica concentration expected
along the river from the groundwater age deduced from a deterministic model of the aquifer (Kolbe et al.,
2016). The relationship between silica concentration determined with anthropogenic gases and observed silica
concentration was strong (R2= 0.54-0.92), indicating that silica was a reliable geochemical chronometer, though
it systematically underestimated anthropogenic gas age estimates. The difference could be accounted for by the
very young water contribution : approximately 20 - 40% of overall discharge.
Both approaches indicated that very young water is particularly important during winter and that deep groundwater
contributes at least a third of the river discharge throughout the year. This last result has implications for river
nitrate dynamics and understanding the potential limits of catchment management interventions which only reduce
nitrate dynamics in shallow groundwater on decadal timescales.
Aquilina L. et al., 2012 - Nitrate dynamics in agricultural catchments deduced from groundwater dating
and long-term nitrate monitoring in surface- and groundwaters. Sci of the total Environment 435, 167-178.
Kolbe et al., 2016 - Coupling 3D groundwater modeling with CFC-based age dating to classify local groundwater
circulation in an unconfined crystalline aquifer. J. of Hydrology DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.020


As one form of organization, the company must have goals and objectives to be achieved. Sales accounting information system is one of the accounting information sub systems that explains how the procedures in carrying out sales activities. To realize the management of company activities effectively, efficiently, and internal controls are needed that can provide accurate and trustworthy information. To fulfill this, there are several elements which are the main characteristics of an internal control system, including; organizational structure that separates functional responsibilities appropriately, the existence of a system of authority and good bookkeeping procedures, sound practices must be carried out in carrying out the duties and functions of each section in the organization as well as the existence of an employee skill level in accordance with their responsibilities.
The results of internal control research on the sales system owned by PT. Enseval Putera Megatrading Tbk. it is quite good and adequate, which includes elements of: control environment, risk assessment, healthy practices, employees whose quality is in accordance with their responsibilities, information and communication, and monitoring.  The Role of Internal Control of the sales information system in increasing sales effectiveness and efficiency is very important. The internal sales control system implemented is effective, because it reached the 2018 sales target of Rp. 21.7 trillion, and the realization of the 2018 budget of Rp. 20.6 trillion (± 94.93%) and sales volume increased. Can be seen from the increase in sales volume in 2017 amounting to Rp. 19,669,096,571,146 while in 2018 the amount of Rp. 20,604,487,293,751.
Keywords: Internal Control, Sales Information System, Sales Effectiveness and Efficiency