Aims. This paper investigates the rotation rate of solar activity from a global point of view, considering daily index or flux, instead of individual structures. It determines the rotation rate variations inside the cycle by two-year sequences and the comprehensive study of the cycle. Methods. The method consists of harmonic analysis of series of daily monitoring of solar activity. One is the sunspot number covering cycles 9 to 23 (over 157 years) and the second the flux of the corona at 2800 MHz from cycle 19 to 25 (over 53 years). These long series were analysed by the maximum entropy method for the measurement of rotation frequency. Results. The findings displayed in this paper are: i) sunspots and coronal flux show the same global rotation rates; ii) the solar rotation unfolding during the cycle is complex, without any systematic pattern; iii) the analysis of cyclic solar activity rotation leads to variation of the rotation rate with a period of 52.4 years; iv) the present result supports the existence of high-level cycles made of five eleven-year cycles; the global rotation rate also has this periodicity; v) no asymmetry was found in the northern and southern hemisphere rotation rates.


Fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) and blood urea nitrogen-to-albumin ratio (BAR) are inflammatory biomarkers that have been associated with clinical outcomes of multiple diseases. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association of these biomarkers with the severity and mortality of COVID-19 patients. A systematic search was performed in five databases. Observational studies that reported the association between FAR and BAR values with the severity and mortality of COVID-19 patients were included. Random-effects models were used for meta-analyses, and effects were expressed as Odds Ratio (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Publication bias was assessed using the Begg test, while the quality assessment was assessed using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. A total of 21 studies (n = 7949) were included. High FAR values were associated with a higher risk of severity (OR: 2.41; 95% CI 1.41–4.12; p < 0.001) and mortality (OR: 2.05; 95% CI 1.66–2.54; p < 0.001). High BAR values were associated with higher risk of mortality (OR: 4.63; 95% CI 2.11–10.15; p < 0.001). However, no statistically significant association was found between BAR values and the risk of severity (OR: 1.16; 95% CI 0.83–1.63; p = 0.38). High FAR and BAR values were associated with poor clinical outcomes.


This paper addresses a novel issue of intuitionistic fuzzy c means color clustering using intuitionistic fuzzy set theory. The intuitionistic fuzzy set theory takes into the membership degree and non membership degree. Non membership degree is calculated from Sugeno type intuitionistic fuzzy complement. The introduction of another uncertainty term i.e. the non membership degree helps to converge the cluster center to a desirable location than the cluster centers obtained by fuzzy C means algorithm. The color space used is the CIELab color model which is a human perceptual model and the experimental results on different types of pathological color cell images show the effectiveness of the proposed method in contrast to existing fuzzy C means algorithm.


Theoretical difficulties in describing the structure and thermodynamics of an ionic liquid double layer are often associated with the nonspherical shapes of ionic particles and extremely strong electrostatic interactions. The recent density functional theory predictions for the electrochemical properties of the double layer formed by a model ionic liquid wherein each cation is represented by two touching hard spheres, one positively charged and the other neutral, and each anion by a negatively charged hard spherical particle, remain untested in this strong coupling regime. We report results from a Monte Carlo simulation of this system. Because for an ionic liquid the Bjerrum length is exceedingly large, it is difficult to perform simulations under conditions of strong electrostatic coupling used in the previous density functional theory study. Results are obtained for a somewhat smaller (but still large) Bjerrum length so that reliable simulation data can be generated for a useful test of the corresponding theoretical predictions. On the whole, the density profiles predicted by the theory are quite good in comparison with the simulation data. The strong oscillations of ionic density profiles and the local electrostatic potential predicted by this theory are confirmed by simulation, although for a small electrode charge and strong electrostatic coupling, the theory predicts the contact ionic densities to be noticeably different from the Monte Carlo results. The theoretical results for the more important electrostatic potential profile at contact are given with good accuracy.


Atrial fibrillation is the most prevalent arrhythmia, and tends to progress. Any structural changes in the heart may lead to its progressive remodelling with increased deposition of connective tissue and fibrosis. Predominance of collagen types I and III synthesis over its degradation leads to accumulation of fibers and to fibrosis. Increase of atrial fibrosis is usually found on autopsy and biopsy. There is relation revealed, of atrial fibrosis grade and postsurgery atrial fibrillation. The mechanisms participating in the structural remodelling and progression of atrial fibrosis are not studied well enough, but there is known role of renin-angiotensinaldosterone system, transforming growth factor, inflammation and matrix metalloproteases. As an alternative, one should consider non-invasive diagnostic methods: magnetic resonance imaging of the heart and biomarkers level measurement. Hyperactivation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system facilitates structural remodelling of the heart and progression of atrial fibrosis. Hyperexpression of the transforming growth factor leads to selective atrial fibrosis, heterogeneity of excitation conduction and fibrillation onset. Matrix metalloproteases are the marker of extracellular degradation. Study of fibrosis biomarkers makes it to increase significantly the efficacy of atrial fibrillation course prediction.


Background: Direct anterior approach (DAA)for total hip arthroplasty (THA)could be performed either in the lateral decubitus position or supine position. However, there is an obvious absence of literature regarding the differences, which position may be more conducive to recovery, technically more demanding, associated with component malposition or more complications. Methods: From Jan.1st, 2020 to oct.1st, 2020, 45 patients were recruited for primary unilateral THA using the DAA. In total, 27 patients (60%) underwent THAs using the DAA in the supine position, and 18 patients (40%) in the lateral decubitus position. All surgeries were performed by a high-volume surgeon. Technical information, clinical and radiographic outcomes, SF-12 and patient-reported outcomes such as WOMAC were evaluated. All the date were tested with Generalized Linear Mixed Models Analysis, GLM Repeated Measurement Analysis, Independent samples t-test or Pearson's chi-square test.Results: There were no differences in Population characteristics before surgery. The operation time, length of stay and blood loss in the LP group and the SP group were no differences. The prosthesis of the two groups were in a good position. pre-operative and the first and third day after the surgery of CK-MB and Hb,pre-operative and the last follow-up of HSS,WOMAC,UCLA,VAS,SF-12,and pre-operation and post-operation of Offset,FA and LLD, all the above indicators show no significant difference. And the incidence of complications in the lateral position was lower than that in the supine position.Conclusion: Both THA via DAA in the lateral decubitus position and in the supine position produced excellent clinical outcomes. From the perspective of the occurrence of complications, we are more inclined to use the lateral position.


Five guinea pigs with palpable abdominal masses were examined by radiography and ultrasonography, and laparotomy was performed. Splenic haematoma, splenic and uterine haemangioma, uterine fibroma and ovarian teratoma were found on histological examination after excision of the relevant organs. Both of the imaging methods allowed localisation of the affected organs, but the inner structure of the masses could only be imaged by ultrasonography. Ultrasonography served as an aid in decision-making with respect to the laparotomy. Surgery was successful in four out of the five cases. Both imaging methods were found to be useful in diagnosis and in determining the choice of treatment in cases of abdominal masses in guinea pigs.


Probabilistic proposals of Language of Thoughts (LoTs) can explain learning across different domains as statistical inference over a compositionally structured hypothesis space. While frameworks may differ on how a LoT may be implemented computationally, they all share the property that they are built from a set of atomic symbols and rules by which these symbols can be combined. In this work we show how the set of productions of a LoT grammar can be effectively selected from a broad repertoire of possible productions by an inferential process starting from experimental data. We then test this method in the language of geometry, a specific LoT model (Amalric et al., 2017). Finally, despite the fact of the geometrical LoT not being a universal (i.e. Turing-complete) language, we show an empirical relation between a sequence's probability and its complexity consistent with the theoretical relationship for universal languages described by Levin's Coding Theorem.


Schneider makes a much-needed case for rethinking the role of culture in conservation. Importantly, she advocates a more expansive understanding of culture than conservationists have previously deployed: one that addresses the full complement of cultural values that shape people's lives. To accommodate such values, she suggests, conservationists should engage more widely with the social sciences and humanities, 'with religious and cultural institutions, and perhaps even with shamans, sorcerers, witches and wizards' (Schneider, , p. ). As a discipline that has long engaged with such magical— and often politically and scientifically marginalized—figures, socio-cultural anthropology can bring a lot to this conversation. But more than just filling gaps in conservationists' knowledge, anthropological insights can push conservation to reframe some basic assumptions about culture, conservation and the relationship between them. Firstly, culture is not only or predominantly the sum of its values. Values represent ideal models but they cannot fully capture the material, economic, political and social realities, and inconsistencies, of people's lives. Secondly, cultures are not homogenous, discrete and unchanging, but heterogeneous, porous and always evolving—often through interaction with other parties and cultural forms, from the state to Christianity to Western science. Moreover, cultural values and practices are not uniformly accepted or followed: they can also be contested, reworked or rejected. But conservation isn't static, bounded or homogeneous either. As anthropologists have shown, conservation ideals and policies are inevitably transformed, taken apart and appropriated in specific contexts. Global conservation discourses and policies are often co-opted and reformulated by national or regional governments (Hathaway, ), reimagined by local elites (Shah, ) or scientists (Lowe, ), and domesticated by local systems of exchange and reciprocity (West, ). It is thus vital to acknowledge that both culture and conservation are dynamic, shifting entities that produce new, sometimes unexpected, values, relations and outcomes through their interaction. Conservation interventions can, for example, feed into socio-political tensions and inequalities (Anderson & Berglund, ) and forge new regimes of governance, evaluation, and rights to life and death (Duffy, ; Bocci, ). They can also generate new conceptual imaginaries (Brightman, ), values (Kockelmanm, ) and alliances (Conklin & Graham, ). It is at this third, conceptual level that conservation interventions have the greatest potential to enact profound, longterm change by creating new, culturally relevant possibilities for thought and action. For this to work, however, it is not enough simply to incorporate cultural values into conservation. Rather, we must also consider how conservation values, strategies and priorities can be incorporated into and remoulded to fit particular socio-cultural contexts. The people with whom conservationists work are not blank slates that simply need education or incentivization. Their lives and decisions are shaped by multiple social, cultural, political and economic factors, of which conservation is only one. The question we thus need to ask is not only what role culture (qua values) can play in conservation, but what role conservation can play in the cultures it encounters.


The preceding article described the notions of disclosure and transparency and their purpose and importance in practice. An understanding of the requirements and elements of the practice of disclosure leads to a discussion of its benefits and advantages, as well as the consequences of a lack of transparency during financial scandals. The Saudi approach to disclosure and transparency is also examined based on the evidence given in board annual reports. This paper highlights the way the Saudi legal system evaluates corporate governance and its legal basis.


Recent advances with Convolutional Networks (ConvNets) have shifted the bottleneck for many computer vision tasks to annotated data collection. In this paper, we present a geometry-driven approach to automatically collect annotations for human pose prediction tasks. Starting from a generic ConvNet for 2D human pose, and assuming a multi-view setup, we describe an automatic way to collect accurate 3D human pose annotations. We capitalize on constraints offered by the 3D geometry of the camera setup and the 3D structure of the human body to probabilistically combine per view 2D ConvNet predictions into a globally optimal 3D pose. This 3D pose is used as the basis for harvesting annotations. The benefit of the annotations produced automatically with our approach is demonstrated in two challenging settings: (i) fine-tuning a generic ConvNet-based 2D pose predictor to capture the discriminative aspects of a subjects appearance (i.e.,personalization), and (ii) training a ConvNet from scratch for single view 3D human pose prediction without leveraging 3D pose groundtruth. The proposed multi-view pose estimator achieves state-of-the-art results on standard benchmarks, demonstrating the effectiveness of our method in exploiting the available multi-view information.


This study aims to determine the effect of competitive approaches to students' mathematical connection skills in one of the junior high schools in the city of Cimahi. The method of this research is qualitative descriptive. The subjects in this study were class VIII students in one junior high school in the city of Cimahi as many as 26 students, this study used a class action approach (PTK) with data collection techniques carried out namely tests and non-tests. Tests are questions that are in accordance with mathematical connection skills with 4 ability indicators and non-tests are interviews with students with high, medium and low abilities. The results of learning research using a scientific approach by performing pretest and posttest can affect the mathematical connection ability of junior high school students with an average percentage of 83%.


We argue that bulk spiral flows are ubiquitous in the cool cores (CCs) of clusters and groups of galaxies. Such flows are gauged by spiral features in the thermal and chemical properties of the intracluster medium, by the multiphase properties of CCs, and by X-ray edges known as cold fronts. We analytically show that observations of piecewise-spiral fronts impose strong constraints on the CC, implying the presence of a cold, fast flow, which propagates below a hot, slow inflow, separated by a slowly rotating, trailing, quasi-spiral, tangential discontinuity surface. This leads to the nearly logarithmic spiral pattern, two-phase plasma, ρ ∼ r−1 density (or T ∼ r0.4 temperature) radial profile, and ∼100 kpc size, characteristic of CCs. By advecting heat and mixing the gas, such flows can eliminate the cooling problem, provided that a feedback mechanism regulates the flow. In particular, we present a quasi-steady-state model for an accretion-quenched, composite flow, in which the fast phase is an outflow, regulated by active galactic nucleus bubbles, reproducing the observed low star formation rates and explaining some features of bubbles such as their Rb∝r size. The simplest two-component model reproduces several key properties of CCs, so we propose that all such cores harbor a spiral flow. Our results can be tested directly in the next few years, for example by ASTRO-H.


The thermoelectric module is a device that works by using the Peltier effect when electrical power supplied on it. In this study, the thermoelectric module is applied as thermoelectric cooler (TEC) using air cooling heat sink where cooling box capacity is 22 L. This paper experimentally investigates the thermal performance of thermoelectric cooler with a variation on input power and cooling load. The investigation has been conducted by three variations on input power (50.5W, 72.72W and 113.64W) and by two variations of the cooling load using mineral water (1440 mL and 2880 mL) with input power 113.64W. The box temperature achieved at input power 50.5W, 72.72W and 113.64W are 19.98oC, 19.77oC and 18.52oC, respectively. While at the cooling load of 1440 mL and 2880 mL, the temperature achieved in the box are 22.45oC and 23.32oC, respectively. The test results showed that in variation on the input power from low to high, the temperature in box becomes lower on high input power and causes the lower of COP, this is because more energy could be absorbed on high input power. In the cooling load variation, the greater the cooling load given in cooling box, then the longer the box  temperature  stability can be achieved because of more energy needed for decreasing the temperature of cooling box.


AbstractThis study was carried out to compare the egg quality, fatty acid (FA) profiles, and oxidative stability of yolks from hens maintained in cages and fed a conventional diet (CON), those fed a conventional diet with free access to outdoor grassy area (5 m2/hens) under free-range conditions (FR), and those fed an organic diet and free access to outdoor grassy area (10 m2/hens) under in organic system (ORG). Heavier eggs were produced by CON, while percentages of yolk and eggshell were greater in eggs of FR and ORG hens. The FR and ORG hens produced eggs that contained significantly more monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) but less polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) than CON hens. Eggs from FR and ORG hens had a lower concentration of PUFA n-6 because of less C18:2 n-6 (linoleic acid) and a higher percentage of PUFA n-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid). Consequently, the ratio of PUFA n-6 to n-3 for eggs from FR and ORG hens was healthier for consumers compared with CON. However, eggs from the ORG hens had a similar FA profile to those from the FR hens. No significant differences were noted in hypocholesterolaemic (HI), atherogenic (AI) and thrombogenic indexes. Antioxidant concentration was greatest in eggs from ORG hens (retinol-14.32 μg/g and α-tocopherol-98.7 μg/g/yolk). Thus, the oxidative stability of eggs measured after storage at 4°Cfor 15 or 30 days was improved. The best eggs in terms of nutritional value were from the ORG system in which hens lived in their natural environment.
Keywords: antioxidants, conventional production, egg quality, free range production, malonaldehyde, organic production


Pathological folding and oligomer formation of the amyloid β-protein (Aβ) are widely perceived as central to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Experimental approaches to study Aβ selfassembly provide limited information because most relevant aggregates are quasi-stable and inhomogeneous. We apply a discrete molecular dynamics (DMD) approach combined with a four-bead protein model to study oligomer formation of Aβ. We address the differences between the two most common Aβ alloforms, Aβ40 and Aβ42, which oligomerize differently in vitro. Our previous study showed that, despite simplifications, our DMD approach accounts for the experimentally observed differences between Aβ40 and Aβ42 and yields structural predictions amenable to in vitro testing. Here we study how the presence of electrostatic interactions (EIs) between pairs of charged amino acids affects Aβ40 and Aβ42 oligomer formation. Our results indicate that EIs promote formation of larger oligomers in both Aβ40 and Aβ42. Both Aβ40 and Aβ42 display a peak at trimers/tetramers, but Aβ42 displays additional peaks at nonamers and tetradecamers. EIs thus shift the oligomer size distributions to larger oligomers. Nonetheless, the Aβ40 size distribution remains unimodal, whereas the Aβ42 distribution is trimodal, as observed experimentally. We show that structural differences between Aβ40 and Aβ42 that already appear in the monomer folding, are not affected by EIs. Aβ42 folded structure is characterized by a turn in the C-terminus that is not present in Aβ40. We show that the same C-terminal region is also responsible for the strongest intermolecular contacts in Aβ42 pentamers and larger oligomers. Our results suggest that this C-terminal region plays a key role in the formation of Aβ42 oligomers and the relative importance of this region increases in the presence of EIs. These results suggest that inhibitors targeting the C-terminal region of Aβ42 oligomers may be able to prevent oligomer formation or structurally modify the assemblies to reduce their toxicity.


In Alaska, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have garnered much attention, largely due to ongoing research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). This research has focused on a multitude of civilian applications suitable for support by the technology. UAF has long held an advantage in this competitive research by virtue of its status as a non-profit research institution, a requirement for approval by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate UAS. In addition, UAF has a long history in this field, managing airspace since the 1960's as part of its duties as the only university-operated rocket range in the world. These factors have led many commercial entities to partner with UAF to conduct UAS research over the years.


This study presents the performance analysis of multi- segment continuum robots. Since continuum robots are designed to provide excellent dexterity, two local indices, axiality and angularity dexterity, are introduced to study the dexterity that is inspired by separating Jacobian matrix. A Monte Carlo Method is adopted to simulate the distribution of local dexterity over the workspace. On this basis, the corresponding global indices in axiality and angularity are defined to compare global dexterity performance. To investigate the optimal kinematic performance, an objective function related to the segment lengths is designed under the consideration of reachable workspace as well as dexterity performance. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is adopted to solve the optimization problem successfully. The optimal length distributions for two-segment and three-segment continuum robots are discovered. It is found that this method can also apply to general multi-segment continuum robots.


The Dignity in Care Project (DCP) aims to deepen understanding and develop practical interventions to promote dignified care in hospitals. A key feature is that "everybody matters" (a project slogan) and that promoting and sustaining dignity in acute care requires recognition and support for staff as well as for patients and their families. DCP is a nurse led research collaboration with Royal Free Hampstead Trust, Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals Trust and City University. Practical interventions devised by the project are presented around three keythemes. Part 1 of this series explored the first theme, "maintaining identity: see who I am", and this second part examines the second theme, "creating community: connect with me". This recognises that in the act of caring, nurses receive as well as give. Dignified care has a reciprocity where both carer and patient/family give and receive, rather than simply involving a list of practical tasks done t o someone. The third and final part looks at "shared decision making involve me" (Bridges et al, 2009).


How does one capture value from delivering digital music files which users expect to download for free? This is the fundamental challenge the music industry currently faces. Therefore, new service-based business models are required that incorporate the increased consumption of music on mobile devices, pervasive social networks, peer-to-peer technology, and the internet as the main distribution channel. Compared to the music industry, the video game industry was more successful in adapting its business models and therefore is a vital source from which to draw analogies for the music industry. In this article we propose a cross-industry innovation on the basis of a business model taken from the video game industry adapted to the needs of the market for digital music. This is illustrated with a case-study of the UK music-technology startup RjDj.


The present study was undertaken to investigate the microbiological quality of poultry meat used in different hall of Bangladesh Agricultural University campus. Sanitary condition of dining hall was assessed by using a standard questionnaire. Thirty samples were collected from Isha Khan hall, Fazlul Haque hall and Taposhi Rabeya hall. Microbial load was determined by total viable count (TVC), total coliform count (TCC) and total salmonella count (TSC). Samples were inoculated into various selective media such as plate count (PCA) agar, xylose lysine deoxycholate Agar (XLDA) and MacConkey agar (MCA). It is found that the age of maximum workers (53%) is between 25-35 years. Educational level of dining workers are in same frequency of illiterate and below class eight. Only 6.7% are SSC passed. Most of dining workers have no knowledge on hygienic practices. 43.3% partially know about hygienic practices and 3.3% have no knowledge. Sanitary condition of dining hall is not satisfactory. Only 3.3% disinfectants are used in dining hall. There is no proper washing facilities. About 63.3% washing facilities are in medium level. Only E. coli and Salmonella spp. were isolated and identified from the samples. The mean value of TVC, TCC and TSC in broiler thigh meats of Isha Khan hall, Fazlul Haque hall and Taposhi Rabeya hall are log 5.65, log 5.77, log 6.06 CFU/g, log 3.26, 3.41, 3.42 CFU/g and log 2.95, log 2.92 log 2.97 CFU/g respectively. The variation of TVC in meats of different dining hall was significant (p<0.05) at 5% level of probability whereas TCC and TSC obtained from meat samples of different hall were not significant (p<0.05). Presence of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. in meat must need particular attention as these organisms are responsible for causing harm to public health. Suggestions have been given to improve the present sanitary condition of dining hall to minimize bacterial load. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. June 2015, 1(1): 9-16


Existing cluster policies, which are being implemented in some developing countries, tend to be directive and inflexible; moreover, artificial clusterization may lead to suppression of SME in a region and to decrease in social welfare. Therefore, cluster strategy modernization is of a great significance.


We analyzed an Escherichia coli strain which harbours a chromosomal mutation that blocks the hemolysin excretion. Compartmentation studies showed that hemolysin accumulates in the cytoplasm and not in the periplasm. The mutation did not affect the SDS-PAGE protein pattern of the outer membrane, although some alterations were apparent in the periplasmic protein pattern. The mutant strain, E. coli Hsb-1 also failed to export a cloned fimbrial adhesin. The mutation maps in the min. 3.5 of the E. coli genetic map.


The KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment aims to make a model-independent determination of the active electron antineutrino mass with an upper limit of 0.2 eV/c2 from the analysis of Tritium beta-spectrum shape near the endpoint. Experimental set-up is fully assembled and undergoes multiple tests. Small amount of Tritium molecules were injected at June 2018 and first spectra were measured. Experimental program for the nearest future includes determination of active electron antineutrino mass with an upper limit of 1.0 eV/c2 and preliminary search for sterile neutrinos with several keV mass.


Graphene as a transducer material has produced some of the best-performing sensing approaches to date opening the door toward integrated miniaturized all-carbon point-of-care devices. Addressing this opportunity, laser-scribed graphene (LSG) electrodes are demonstrated here as highly sensitive and reliable biosensor transducers in blood serum analysis. These flexible electrodes with large electrochemical surface areas were fabricated using a direct-write laser process on polyimide foils. A universal immobilization approach is established by anchoring 1-pyrenebutyric acid to the graphene and subsequently covalently attaching an aptamer against the coagulation factor thrombin as an exemplary bioreceptor to the carboxyl groups. The resulting biosensor displays extremely low detection limits of 1 pM in buffer and 5 pM in the complex matrix of serum.


TechNotes is a new occasional column in the Journal of Social Work Education designed to bring to readers' attention new developments in technology of relevance to social work education. In this first column, Robert F. Vernon, associate professor, School of Social Work, Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis, Shirley Bigna, assistant director, Krannert Memorial Library, University of Indianapolis, and Marshall L. Smith, professor, Social Work Department, Rochester Institute of Technology, describe technology that can help educators to deal with plagiarism.


Objectives: To find out the correlation between inter commissural width and maxillary inter canine width. Study Design: Cross-sectional Research. Setting: Department of Prosthodontics Dental OPD LUHMS Jamshoro. Period: June to December 2021. Material & Methods: A total of 100 patients with maxillary impressions of patient were taken in metal perforated stock trays with irreversible Hydrocolloid impored immediately with dental stone type IV for making the study cast. Questionnaire mode of research instrument was used for the data acquisition during patient treatment.  In parallel with maxillary anterior teeth selection and inter-commissural width determination by using Vernier calliper, the inter-canine distance was also assessed. Results: About 100 patients were assessed maxillary anterior teeth selection, and inter-commissural width. The mean age of the study participants was recorded as 21.52±2.83 years. Whereas 63% patients were male. The overall statistical calculations showed a significant positive correlation (r=0.73; p=0.0005) between and the inter-commissural width and maxillary inter-canine teeth. Conclusion: Based on the findings, the study concludes that there is a significant correlation between inter-commissural width and maxillary inter-canine teeth among the south-west population in Sindh.


Background Chordoma is a rare malignant bone tumor with high recurrence and metastasis rates. Little is known about the mutational process of this incurable disease. The aim of our research was to explore the potential driver genes and signal pathways in the pathogenesis of chordoma and provide a new idea for the study of molecular biological therapy of chordoma. Methods We performed whole-exome-sequencing (WES) on 8 sacrum chordoma tissue samples (matched to peripheral blood samples that had been drawn from patients before surgery) to identify genetic alterations in Chinese patients. We analyzed the sequencing data from known driver genes, pathway enrichment analysis and significantly mutated genes (SMGs) after quality control of sequencing, comparison of reference genomes, analysis of mutations and identification of somatic mutations. Immunohistochemistry staining, Sanger sequencing and GeneChip were used to verify the related genes obtained from the analysis of sequencing data. Results The driver genes Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-Bisphosphate 3-Kinase Catalytic Subunit Alpha (PIK3CA), Phosphoinositide-3-Kinase Regulatory Subunit 1 (PIK3R1), and Phosphatase And Tensin Homolog (PTEN) were enriched in the Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway and could be potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of sacrum chordoma. The significantly mutated gene Claudin 9 (CLDN9) may play a critical role in the development and progression of sacrum chordoma. Conclusions Collectively, our results identified the genetic signature of sacrum chordoma and could be used to develop a potential promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of sacrum chordoma in Chinese patients.


In the present study, we successfully synthesized N-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) using a top-down approach, i.e., hydroxyl radical opening of fullerene with hydrogen peroxide, in basic ambient using ammonia for two different reaction times. The ensuing characterization via dynamic light scattering, SEM, and IR spectroscopy revealed a size control that was dependent on the reaction time, as well as a more pronounced -NH2 functionalization. The N-CQDs were probed for metal ion detection in aqueous solutions and during bioimaging and displayed a Cr3+ and Cu2+ selectivity shift at a higher degree of -NH2 functionalization, as well as HEK-293 cell nuclei marking.


Anti-ras oligodeoxyribonucleoside methylphosphonates (ONMP's) complementary to the initiation codon region have been synthesized to explore their efficacy and specificity on ras-p21 translation. ONMP (IC-0) precisely complementing the first initial 11 nucleotides of the Balb-ras initiation codon region acts in a dose-dependent manner to inhibit p21 translation by a rabbit reticulocyte lysate. At 100 microM, IC-0 inhibits the cell-free translation of p21 close to completion. The two control oligomers containing one or two nucleotide mismatches were significantly less effective than IC-0 at the equivalent concentration. In living cells, a perfectly matched ONMP directed against the initiation codon region inhibited Ha-ras p21 expression by 90% at a concentration of 50 microM.


Summary form only given. Air-silica microstructured fibers (ASMF) incorporate air holes within the cladding region that run along the length of the fiber (Kaiser and Astle, 1974). Recently there has been renewed interest in such fibers because the microstructured region provides extra degrees of freedom in manipulating mode propagation, which can be exploited in a range of different applications (Birks et al, 1997; Ranka et al, 2000; Eggleton et al, 2000; Chandalia et al, 2001). To date, research has primarily focused on understanding the guidance properties of fundamental modes localized in the core region, for example, bend loss, cutoff wavelength, mode field diameter, and dispersion. A broader class of applications for ASMF, which we consider in this paper, is in the design of optical components, such as grating-based filters (Eggleton et al, 2000), and novel tapered fiber devices (Chandalia et al, 2001). In these applications, core mode guidance can be associated with total internal reflection in a high-index doped region (e.g. germanium doped core). The microstructure cladding region is then exploited to manipulate the propagation of higher order cladding modes, and, in the context of tapered fiber devices, ensures a mechanically robust device that can be spliced to standard fiber with low insertion loss, enabling a dramatically efficient nonlinear process including widely tunable Raman soliton generation.


In this note, we model various types of graphs, relational systems and multisets as coalgebras over Set ×Set and use the theory of coalgebras over arbitrary categories to conclude properties of the category of graphs. This point of view forces the formulation of a Co-Birkho like theorem for graphs.


Synchronized control is implemented for a five-story building under earthquake loads and its capabilities are investigated for protection of building under earthquake. In this regard, we applied control algorithm in form of synchronized control for structural vibration reduction. Simulation results of modeling indicated that not only the provided control is able to reduce the responses of vibrations for the structure, but also it is even capable of supplying the objectives of synchronized control at the same time. Numerical results for uncontrolled, traditional control and synchronized control coupled with algorithm are presented. It is shown that for El Centro and Bam earthquakes the synchronized control is more efficient to reduce damage to the given structures.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of our study was to compare contrast enhancement on CT angiography (CTA) images of the lower extremity in patients with suspected peripheral artery disease who did not undergo hemodialysis (HD) and patients who were scanned before or after HD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We divided 287 consecutive patients who underwent CTA of the lower extremity on a 64-MDCT scanner into three groups: group 1 patients (n = 151) were not dependent on HD, group 2 patients (n = 70) were dependent on HD and underwent HD less than 24 hours after CTA, and group 3 (n = 66) were dependent on HD and underwent HD less than 24 hours before CTA. We then compared the CT number in the popliteal artery at the level of the patella on all CTA images. A cardiologist and a radiology technologist visually evaluated the depiction of the descending genicular artery (DGA) on the CTA images and assigned a visualization score.

RESULTS
The median CT number was lowest in group 2 patients (373 HU vs 429 [group 1] and 418 [group 3] HU). The score for visualization of the DGA was significantly lower in group 2 than in group 1 (p = 0.02) and group 3 (p = 0.04).

CONCLUSION
At CTA, arterial enhancement decreases with the passage of time after HD likely because of the increase in intravascular volume. CTA that is performed within 24 hours after HD generates higher-quality images of the lower extremities than CTA that is performed within 24 hours before HD.


Chromic acid [Cr(VI)] is an important and useful tool in the hands of chemists both for preparative and analytical purposes .It has been used to oxidize almost all organic and some inorganic compounds. Aromatic anils and substituted aromatic anils were prepared, characterized and the cooxidation of aromatic anils and oxalic acid by chromic acid in aqueous acetic acid medium proceeds much faster than that of either of the two substrates alone.The rate of the reaction increases when electron-releasing groups introduced on one ring or both rings of the anils whereas,electron-withdrawing groups decreasing the rate of oxidation at the same manner. The oxidation kinetics of aromatic anils by Cr(VI) in presence of oxalic acid in aqueous acetic acid follows first order in [oxidant] and fractional order in [substrate] and [oxalic acid] with the corresponding yields benzaldehyde and azobenzene. The rate of oxidation is enhanced with increasing concentration of hydrogen ions.Aluminium ions suppress the reaction. The intermediate is believed to be formed from aromatic anils and chromic acid-oxalic acid complex.Thus, this is a suitable mechanism proposed for the cooxidation reaction.


The crystal structure and the magnetic properties of the PrCo3Ga2 and PrCo2FeGa2 compounds have been studied from 4.2 to 300 K under magnetic fields in the region up to 3 Tesla. Both compounds crystallize with the same structure which is closely related to the hexagonal CaCu5-type structure. PrCo3Ga2 show ferromagnetic behaviour with pronounced maxima in the ZFC magnetization. The iron partial substitution for cobalt increases the ordering temperature and decreases the overall magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the compound.


Mineralization distributions are very heterogeneous in nature. As large or superlarge mineral deposits are quite rare whether in time or in space, it is difficult to detect all the largest mineral deposits in a region in a limited period of time owing to the restriction of technology and exploration degrees—this is called "not all discovered". However, all discovered large, especially superlarge, mineral deposits generally have a complete census in the geological literatures. On the other hand, not all discovered small mineral deposits are recorded in the geological literatures because for economic reasons people have not much interest in them—this is called "not all recorded". This practice often results in the observation truncations, that is, the data points near the two ends in an observable population, which is obtained by fitting a power law size‐frequency distribution to discovered mineral deposits in a given region, show concave‐down departure from the correlation line fitted. The authors suggest that the size and number of undiscovered deposits may be forecast by fitting a fractal size distribution to discovered mineral deposit sizes between the upper and lower truncation observations and then extrapolating the scale‐independent area to deposit sizes larger than the upper truncation limit. Based on the statistical results obtained by the fractal size‐frequency distributions of 394 discovered gold deposits with sizes greater than 2 t Au in China and 83 known gold deposits with sizes over 0.3 t Au in the Jiaodong area of China, the authors forecast according to the present commercial standards for gold ores that the total resources of undiscovered gold deposits ranging in tonnage from 50 to 2000 t Au are more than 4500 t in China, and that in the Jiaodong area of China the total resources of potential gold deposits with sizes in the range of 30 to 650 t Au are about 700 t.


Pseudomonas cepacia, a Gram negative bacillus first described as a cause of soft rot in onions, is now recognised as an important opportunistic pathogen in altered hosts.' A distant relation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, it is ubiquitous in the environment and frequently found in association with soil, water, and plants. It is a hardy organism, able to multiply in distilled water and survive in many medical disinfectants. Although virtually non-pathogenic in healthy individuals, those with altered defences have experienced infections of endocardium, blood, peritoneum, bone, joint, meninges, and lung.' The organism is inherently resistant to many antimicrobial drugs, making effective treatment difficult. The first report of Ps cepacia infection in patients with cystic fibrosis came from Philadelphia, USA in 1977;2 at this early stage an association with an adverse outcome for some of those infected was noted. A report of the isolation of Ps cepacia from patients with cystic fibrosis on the west coast of the USA was published in 1979.3 By 1982 carriage rates of45% were reported from one Canadian clinic,4 and in 1983 the same centre recognised a rapidly fatal outcome in a proportion of those who harboured the organism.5 Further work in this centre in 1985 confirmed the increased risk of death following acquisition of Ps cepacia in a case-control format.6 In the same year workers in Cleveland, Ohio described a range of responses to this infection no change in clinical status, an increased rate of decline of lung function, or rapid progression to death the latter being seen in 40% of their patients.7 The first report of the death of a patient with cystic fibrosis thought to be attributable to Ps cepacia infection in the UK appeared from Scotland in 1986.8 Four years later the first sizeable series was published from Leeds.9 Workers at this centre noted an increase in the prevalence of Ps cepacia infection from 1% to 8% over a six year period (1984-9) with a peak prevalence of 10% amongst 139 patients in 1988; they also commented on an adverse outcome for a proportion of those infected. In 1988 a lower prevalence of 4-1-5 9% was found in an adult cystic fibrosis clinic in London,'0 and in 1991 a 7% prevalence of Ps cepacia infection was reported from a paediatric centre in Manchester." In the USA attempts to investigate the epidemiology of this new pathogen in the cystic fibrosis field had focused on the possibility of patient-to-patient transmission, spurred on by the observation of a relatively high concordance for Ps cepacia infection amongst siblings.67 Attention was initially concentrated on the hospital environ-


Background: Hypertension is a major chronic lifestyle disease and an important public health problem worldwide. Mind-body therapies i.e., the transcendental meditation and Yoga have raised interest as they represent an alternative to medication; also contribute to an increased feeling of empowerment for patients in preventing and treating hypertension. Yoga, as a therapeutic regimen, has been shown to be useful to individuals with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. The objective of our study is to study the effect of Pranayama and certain Yogic Asana's on BP, BMI & lipid profile. Methods: 50 male subjects in the age group of 35-55 years were randomly selected based on exclusion criteria. BP, BMI and lipid profile was estimated before any intervention. They were subjected to pranayama and other Asana's for a period of 3 months. After 3 months of Yoga intervention, BP, BMI and lipid profile was estimated. Results: We observed a statistically significant decrease in Systolic BP, Diastolic BP and BMI after 3 months of Yoga training. Also, we observed a decrease in total cholesterol, VLDL, triglycerides and an increase in HDL cholesterol which is not statistically significant. Conclusion: A significant decrease in systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure in subjects who have practiced Yoga, Asanas along with pranayama technique for 3 months duration.


This study aims to examine appearance orientation according to the menopausal status in middle-aged women in their forties and fifties and offer effective methods for skin health care to help them improve the quality of life. The subjects were women from 35 years old to 59 years old residing in Jeonnam and Mokpo. A questionnaire survey were conducted with them. The period of survey was about five months from November 11, 2014 to April 8, 2015 and 310 questionnaires were used for the final data. The SPSSWIN 18.0 program was used for statistics processing. Frequency analysis was conducted to analyze the menopausal status of the subjects and chi-square(x) test was used to examine differences in general characteristics and health and skin conditions according to the menopausal status. Also, t-test was applied to analyze differences in appearance orientation, skin health care knowledge, skin health care attitudes, and skin health care behaviors according to the menopausal status. The results of the study were as follows. First, health concerns were high in both groups irrespective of the menopausal status. While postmenopausal women had high stress in health, diseases, and economic problems, premenopausal women showed high stress in economic problems and future problems. The findings indicated that women's concerns about health and diseases became higher after menopause. Second, for differences in appearance orientation according to the menopausal status, while there was no difference in appearance concerns between both groups, concerns about a body shape were high in premenopausal women. Third, there was a significant difference in skin health care attitudes, the importance of skin care, and the importance of skin health according to the menopausal status. Skin health care attitudes, the importance of skin care, and the importance of skin health all were high in premenopausal women. Therefore, while postmenopausal women had higher concerns about health and diseases, premenopausal women showed higher concerns about a body shape and the importance of skin health care. There was no difference in appearance concerns between two groups. It suggested that appearance concerns were high in both groups irrespective of the menopausal status. Although this study analyzed differences according to the menopausal status in middle-aged women in their forties and fifties, further research should be conducted with narrower age groups considering an age difference between premenopausal women and postmenopausal women.


Malaria and Chagas disease, caused by Plasmodium spp. and Trypanosoma cruzi parasites, remain important global health problems. Available treatments for those diseases present several limitations, such as lack of efficacy, toxic side effects, and drug resistance. Thus, new drugs are urgently needed. The discovery of new drugs may be benefited by considering the significant biological differences between hosts and parasites. One of the most striking differences is found in the purine metabolism, because most of the parasites are incapable of de novo purine biosynthesis. Herein, we have analyzed the in vitro anti-P. falciparum and anti-T. cruzi activity of a collection of 81 purine derivatives and pyrimidine analogs. We firstly used a primary screening at three fixed concentrations (100, 10, and 1 µM) and progressed those compounds that kept the growth of the parasites < 30% at 100 µM to dose–response assays. Then, we performed two different cytotoxicity assays on Vero cells and human HepG2 cells. Finally, compounds specifically active against T. cruzi were tested against intracellular amastigote forms. Purines 33 (IC50 = 19.19 µM) and 76 (IC50 = 18.27 µM) were the most potent against P. falciparum. On the other hand, 6D (IC50 = 3.78 µM) and 34 (IC50 = 4.24 µM) were identified as hit purines against T. cruzi amastigotes. Moreover, an in silico docking study revealed that P. falciparum and T. cruzi hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase enzymes could be the potential targets of those compounds. Our study identified two novel, purine-based chemotypes that could be further optimized to generate potent and diversified anti-parasitic drugs against both parasites.


Declines in populations of pollinators in agricultural based landscapes have raised a concern, which could be associated with various factors such as intensive farming systems like monocropping and the use of non-selective synthetic pesticides. Such practices are likely to remove beneficial non-crop plants around or nearby the cropped fields. This may in turn result into losses of pollinators due to loss of the natural habitats for insects therefore, interfering the interaction between beneficial insects and flowering crop plants. Initiatives to restore friendly habitats for pollinators require multidisciplinary approaches. One of these could be the use of pesticidal flowering plants as part of field margin plants with the aim of encouraging the population of pollinators whilst reducing the number of pests. Farmers should be fully engaged in the efforts of creating conducive environments to pollinators and be well equipped with the knowledge of proper habitats management strategies in agricultural fields. Developing appropriate conservation strategies to combat decline of pollinators is of high importance and thus there is a need to evaluate management practices, which potentially favour the populations of pollinators. Therefore, this review aims at unravelling available evidences on habitats manipulation options through provision of flowering plants along the field margins that have shown to increase plant biodiversity surrounding the cropped fields. It also summarizes the options for increasing plant biodiversity, which have improved habitats for the pollinating insects and beneficially boosting pollination services in agro-ecosystems.


Imbalance in the concentrations of nucleotides and deoxynucleotides essential for the replication, recombination and repair of DNA has been shown extensively in vitro to induce mutations through misinsertion of incorrect dNTP, insertion-deletion errors and DNA strand misalignment, therefore reducing the fidelity of DNA synthesis. However the consequences of nucleosides-nucleotides imbalances have not been fully explored in vivo in a mammalian system. We have recently generated murine models with altered expression of uridine phosphorylase 1 (UPP1) leading to disruption of uridine homeostasis and causing severe nucleotide pools imbalances. We generated a UPP1 knockout model where we nullified the nucleoside phosphorolytic activity in all tissues except liver that showed a residual activity below 10% due to the expression of hepatic uridine phosphorylase 2. We also developed a UPP1 transgenic model with ubiquitous overexpression of UPP1. Both models have shown altered plasma and tissue levels of uridine and changes in nucleotide deoxy-nucleotide pools, however, we did not detect abnormalities in their growth, development, sexual maturation and reproductive ability and we did not observe any neoplastic growth, possibly associated to induced mutations, even after 22 months of age. We were able to observe changes in sensitivity to fluoropyrimidines: the UPP1 knockout mice resulted to be more resistant to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) toxicity, therefore able to tolerate a dosage 75% higher than the control C57/Bl6 mice; on the contrary the UPP1 transgenic mice were only able to stand a dose of 5-FU that was 40% less than the control mice. These effects are likely to be attributed to changes in the activation of 5-FU to 5-fluorouridine, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract. Surprisingly, our UPP1 murine models unveiled a linkage between uridine homeostasis and liver lipid metabolism. We discovered that uridine is an effective suppressor of fatty liver induced by multiple drugs with unrelated acting mechanisms. Among others, tamoxifen, an antagonist of the estrogen receptor in breast tissue, the therapy of choice for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer in pre-menopausal women; and methotrexate, an antifolate antimetabolite used alone or in combination for the treatment of a number of cancers including: breast, head and neck, leukemia, lymphoma and osteosarcoma. We have so far identified a number of target proteins whose expression or post-translational modifications are affected by uridine. These proteins participate in liver energy metabolism including mitochondrial respiration, peroxisomal and mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation, and transport of fatty acids, triacylglycerides, and lipoproteins. We are currently in the process of establishing if these changes are the result of a direct uridine effect or a defect in the rate of translation initiation and/or other steps in the translation process due to alterations in the size of nucleotide pools. Citation Format: Thuc Tim Le, Yasuyo Urasaki, Robert Kirsh, Giuseppe Pizzorno. In vivo alteration of nucleoside pools does not lead to carcinogenesis but rather protects from fatty liver caused by anti-neoplastic agents.. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: The Translational Impact of Model Organisms in Cancer; Nov 5-8, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2014;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B29.


SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHINGWhile U.S. organizers were putting the finishing touches on a new Web site known as PubMed Central, a group of scientists and publishers met in Heidelberg last week to plan a European counterpart called "E-Biosci." The U.S. project, due to go online within a week, is billed as a free archive of biomedical papers. It catalyzed the European initiative but will not be exactly the same. E-Biosci, according to organizers, is likely to require tougher peer reviewing for nonpublished articles and may allow publishers to charge some fees for access to their papers.


Abstract The Milky Way's (MW) satellite population is a powerful probe of warm dark matter (WDM) models as the abundance of small substructures is very sensitive to the properties of the WDM particle. However, only a partial census of the MW's complement of satellite galaxies exists because surveys of the MW's close environs are incomplete both in depth and in sky coverage. We present a new Bayesian analysis that combines the sample of satellites recently discovered by the Dark Energy Survey (DES) with those found in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to estimate the total satellite galaxy luminosity function down to Mv = 0. We find that there should be at least $124_{ - 27}^{ + 40}$ (68% CL, statistical error) satellites as bright or brighter than Mv = 0 within 300 kpc of the Sun, with only a weak dependence on MW halo mass. When it comes online the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope should detect approximately half of this population. We also show that WDM models infer the same number of satellites as in ΛCDM, which will allow us to rule out those models that produce insufficient substructure to be viable.


Many stretchable electronic devices require stretchable hermetic seals. However, stretchability and permeability are inextricably linked at the molecular level: stretchable, low-permeability materials do not exist. We collect data for the permeation of water and oxygen in many materials and describe the scaling relations for both flat and wrinkled seals. Whereas flat seals struggle to fulfill the simultaneous requirements of stretchability, low stiffness, and low transmissibility, wrinkled seals can fulfill them readily. We further explore the behavior of wrinkled seals under cyclic stretch using aluminum, polyethylene, and silica films on elastomer substrates. The wrinkled aluminum develops fatigue cracks after a small number of cycles, but the wrinkled polyethylene and silica maintain low transmissibility after 10 000 cycles of tensile strain.


The toll booth seems to become the bottleneck to pass through the gates due to their manual operations. This
process may take time to pass the tollgate. In order to decrease this passing time, we decide to automate the process
of a toll system by applying smart technology. This work would reduce the manual work and hence would make the
passing of the vehicles much faster as compared to the traditional toll system. Every vehicle is tagged with the RFID
tag, which has a vehicle's registration number in it and it can be sensed by NFC reader present at the toll booth. The
NFC reader will send this information to the smart controller. Sensed registration number can be looked into the
database for getting wallet balance and if sufficient balance is there then the toll charges can be deducted automatically
and if the balance is not available, the message will be send to the user by detecting before few meters and user is
directed to the payment toll and hot cash is collected.


From 2006 to 2012 Qatar University transitioned from doing no program level outcomes-based assessment of student learning to implementation of a robust, effective, and institutionally pervasive Student Learning Outcomes Assessment System (SLOAS) that is characterized by a high level of compliance and meaningful improvements to both learning and assessment processes. Keys to the success of the implementation have been support from campus leadership, creation of a structure and processes that support assessment at all levels, and an intensive program of faculty development and faculty incentives. A unique feature of the system is the auditing of annual program assessment reports by external experts. Comparison of results from the fourth and fifth years of the implementation suggest the following trends: a relatively high and increasing tendency to identify learning improvements involving revisions of curriculum and courses, a low and decreasing tendency to identify learning improvements that cost money, and a high and increasing tendency to make changes to assessment processes that make them more meaningful and more manageable.


The success of dental implant therapy in the esthetic zone requires not only functional osseointegration but also favorable esthetic results. The greatest challenge in the esthetic zone is to establish harmony, balance, and continuity of gingival form between implant restorations and the adjacent natural teeth. In the esthetic zone, a localized ridge defect or loss of a peri-implant papilla is common and can be corrected via soft tissue augmentation. This case report describes a novel surgical technique using connective tissue grafts via an apical pouch to increase soft tissue volume over an alveolar ridge defect or around natural teeth or implants in the maxillary anterior area. The described surgical technique successfully achieved the desirable esthetic outcomes in the reported cases.


The restriction of cell intermingling across boundaries is essential for the establishment of discrete tissues. Eph receptor signaling prevents intermingling at many boundaries. In this issue, Luu et al. (2015. J. Cell Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201409026) report a parallel pathway, mediated by Wnt signaling, Snail1, and paraxial protocadherin (PAPC). This pathway establishes a distinctive organization of cell adhesion and intercellular gaps at the interface between tissues.


Hormonal and locally produced steroids act in the nervous system as neuroendocrine regulators, as trophic factors and as neuromodulators and have a major impact on neural development and function. Glial cells play a prominent role in the local production of steroids and in the mediation of steroid effects on neurons and other glial cells. In this review, we examine the role of glia in the synthesis and metabolism of steroids and the functional implications of glial steroidogenesis. We analyze the mechanisms of steroid signaling on glia, including the role of nuclear receptors and the mechanisms of membrane and cytoplasmic signaling mediated by changes in intracellular calcium levels and activation of signaling kinases. Effects of steroids on functional parameters of glia, such as proliferation, myelin formation, metabolism, cytoskeletal reorganization, and gliosis are also reviewed, as well as the implications of steroid actions on glia for the regulation of synaptic function and connectivity, the regulation of neuroendocrine events, and the response of neural tissue to injury. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Catalogs of stellar-mass compact binary systems detected by ground-based gravitational-wave instruments (such as LIGO and Virgo) will offer insights into the demographics of progenitor systems and the physics guiding stellar evolution. Existing techniques approach this through phenomenological modeling, discrete model selection, or model mixtures. Instead, we explore a novel technique that mines gravitational-wave catalogs to directly infer posterior probability distributions of the hyper-parameters describing formation and evolutionary scenarios (e.g. progenitor metallicity, kick parameters, and common-envelope efficiency). We use a bank of compact-binary population synthesis simulations to train a Gaussian-process emulator that acts as a prior on observed parameter distributions (e.g. chirp mass, redshift, rate). This emulator slots into a hierarchical population inference framework to extract the underlying astrophysical origins of systems detected by LIGO and Virgo. Our method is fast, easily expanded with additional simulations, and can be adapted for training on arbitrary population synthesis codes, as well as different detectors like LISA.


Activity Based Costing, a new costing method to compute costing for a product in a
more appropriate way compared to Traditional Cost Accounting in this new
manufacturing environment which is capital intensive. The significant different
between Activity Based Costing and Traditional Cost Accounting is overhead
absorption basis. Activity Based Costing charge out manufacturing overhead based on
activity that related to the production whereas Traditional Cost Accounting charge out
manufacturing overhead based on the production volume of the product. In this
competitive market where consumer demand for high quality product with low price,
Hotline Furniture Manufacturers Sdn Bhd has no other choice to implement more
appropriate costing system to ensure that the factory price its product which can be
compete in the market. However, at this initial stage, Activity Based Costing were
only applied to one of the sales contract that going to be taken by the Company. As
the Company has to decide whether to take up the sales contract, costing for the
product under the sales contract was undergone a costing review. By implementing·
Activity based Costing method, the Company might decide to take up the sales
contract worth USD2.0 million as the product price has been over-priced for the past


Dendrobium species are adapted to disperse and germinate in various habitats. Whilst seed dispersal in orchids is known to be highly dependent on seed size and air space, little is known, generally, about seed micromorphology in Dendrobium and how this trait varies between species. In other plant families, small embryos may be used as an indicator of the presence of morphophysiological dormancy. However, the presence of seed dormancy in orchids is difficult to assess as germination is usually stimulated in vitro. We investigated the mature seed characters of nine Dendrobium species and assessed relations with seed germination. Seeds were found to be c. 0.2-0.6 mm long and 0.05-0.09 mm wide, containing embryos c. 120-240 µm long and 50-80 µm wide. The estimated seed air space around the embryo was 13 to 36% of the seed volume. Seed germination ex vitro on plain agar medium, in the absence of dormancy-breaking chemicals, progressed to the spherical protocorm stage at a broadly similar level to that observed in vitro on ½ Murashige and Skoog medium. We conclude that Dendrobium seeds with small air spaces and relatively large embryos can be non-dormant and this adaptation may allow seed germination in nature in moist, epiphytic microenvironments.


The second volume of a three-book updated edition covering the whole range of Internet, CD-ROM and dial-up online services, this text focuses on business, law and patents. Across the three volumes, experts from the UK and US describe in detail how to identify and exploit specialist bibliographic and non-bibliographic databases, the best search methods and delivery modes, and the relative mertits of different services and online hosts in their different disciplines.


: A "chair time model" for contact lens pricing is a valuable administrative tool. Relative sagittal depth is an easy comparison to use when evaluating the theoretical fit of one soft lens versus another. Biological oxygen apparent transmissibility (BOAT) and a calculated value of oxygen transmissibility (Dk/L) are two totally different assessments and the significance of BOAT will need to be clinically tested over time.


The decision of the EU Commission concerning alleged subsidies granted to Ryanair Ltd. at the Brussels South Charleroi Airport was revoked by the Court of First Instance. The case must be regarded a landmark case since Ryanair has been known as one of the pioneer low-cost carriers in Europe. The EU Commission had used the case to consider in principle and in general terms the legal issues of aid granted to low-cost carriers with a focus on the issue of correct application of the private investor principle in a case of State aid granted directly and indirectly by a public body. While the EU Commission was – although confronted with difficulties – trying to find a clear distinction, the Court took a different approach and concentrated its judicial review on the approach to the test rather than on its substantive outcome.


Background:  It has been shown that standard endoscopic features often labeled as gastritis has a poor correlation with histopathology. Recently, high resolution magnifying endoscopy has been reported to be an effective method to diagnose gastritis. The aim of the present study was to compare standard endoscopy with magnifying endoscopy for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori gastritis, and to determine whether gastritis can be diagnosed based on findings at magnification endoscopy.


Anthropometric indices with an easy applicability and low cost have been proposed as an alternative to imaging methods for visceral fat detection. The Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) has significant correlation with insulin sensitivity and its increase is strongly associated with cardiometabolic risk [6-8]. The Lipid Accumulation Product Index (LAP Index) is also correlated with VAT and has been associated with insulin resistance [9] and type2 diabetes mellitus in general population [10,11]. Mathematical models to estimate Deep-Abdominal-Adipose-Tissue (DAAT) area were validated among Indian men and women [12], but not tested in Brazilian subjects.


In July, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that it violates the First Amendment to prevent political candidates from coordinating with outside spending groups like super PACs if the groups' ads do not expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate. The decision is erroneous under federal precedent and fundamentally misunderstands the Supreme Court's holdings distinguishing between independent spending and spending coordinated with a candidate. Wisconsin's regulatory scheme will be largely inoperable for the time being: Contribution limits will be fairly meaningless, at least for sophisticated actors who seek to circumvent them. And the logic of the decision leads to the conclusion that candidates have the constitutional right to set up campaign accounts that may accept unlimited contributions, so long as that money is not used for express advocacy. Because the Court's reasoning lacked a coherent basis or a foundation in federal case law, it may not be overly optimistic to think that other state or federal courts will reject its reasoning. Yet there are indications that at least some regulators and courts may share the Wisconsin Court's view, and there is little doubt that the issue will arise in other states. This article will review the law of coordination, as well as recent Supreme Court case law relied upon by the Wisconsin Court, to demonstrate the Court's error. It will also address some of the effects the decision will have in Wisconsin and elsewhere if other courts similarly depart from longstanding precedent.


The continued influx of immigrants from Mexico, Central America, and Southeast Asia to the United States has resulted in an increased incidence of several diseases not generally seen in industrialized nations in the twentieth century. One of these is amebic abscess of the liver. This review of the diagnostic features of 57 patients with amebic abscess of the liver treated in one Los Angeles County hospital emphasizes the diagnosis and the versatility of the various roentgenologic approaches and serologic tests.


Objective: To determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among blood donors and risky population in Diyala province. Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, the records of HCV screening and confirmatory tests were reviewed for the period 1996-2001.Third generation Enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) and Enzyme immunoblot assay were used as screening and confirmatory tests respectively. Results: The prevalence of HCV infection among blood donors was 0.15%, with the highest in 1997. The highest prevalence rates were found among multiple blood recipient; hemophilia, thalassemia and hemodialysis patients (27.3%, 16.9% & 14.3%) respectively. Whereas, the patients with chronic hepatitis B infection and those with acute icteric hepatitis showed slightly elevated prevalence (2.9% & 2.1%) respectively. The overall prevalence in the province was 9.9/105 population. The mean age of infected patients was 29.7 years and the male: female ratio was 3:1. Conclusion: The prevalence of HCV infection in Diyala population is relatively low. However, the HCV infection is concentrated in certain risky groups, particularly multiple blood recipients.


Indium doped Tin oxide (SnO2: In) thin films of various thicknesses (200-600 nm) with fixed 2% indium (In) concentration were prepared by thermal evaporation method onto glass substrates under high vacuum (10-6 Torr). As deposited films were vacuum annealed at 200o C for 60 minutes. The structure, optical, electrical and morphology properties of SnO2: In thin films were investigated as a function of film thickness. The XRD analysis revealed that films were polycrystalline in nature with a tetragonal structure having (110) plane as the preferred orientation. The average crystalline size increased from 34.8 to 51.25 nm with increase of film thicknesses. The surface morphology of the doped films was obtained by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). Optical transmittance was obtained from a double beam UV-Vis- NIR spectrophotometer. Maximum transmittance varied from 65-76% in the visible range of the spectrum. Optical band gap (Eg) varied between 2.89 and 3.20 eV. The resistivity of SnO2: In thin films was as high as 105 Ω-cm. Activation energy of the films were found to be 0.18 to 0.47 eV for 300-600 nm film thicknesses. Due to high optical band gap and high electrical resistivity, these nanostructured films can be used in optoelectronic devices especially as opto-insulator.


Wherever you are on your recovery journey, and however you define your Higher Power, you will find spiritual support in this special collection of prayers and inspirational readings. This second edition of The Twelve Step Prayer Book features 183 passages gleaned from Twelve Step meetings and adapted from common payers and devotions, including * 44 New Prayers and Readings * A Guide for Daily Reading * Traditional and Best-Loved Recovery Prayers * Step and Meeting Prayers An excellent accompaniment to Easy Does It: A Book of Daily Twelve Step Meditations.


In this paper, we present a balanced truncation based strategy for the numerical solution of optimal control problems governed by nonlinear evolution partial differential equations. The idea consists in utilizing a balanced truncation model reduction method for the efficient solution of the semi-discretized adjoint system, while the nonlinear state equations are fully solved. Our strategy is analysed as a descent method in function spaces and global convergence results are presented. In combination with a Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno update also superlinear convergence is verified. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the behaviour of the proposed method for different problems.


Chalk is a highly porous rock formed by cemented calcite grains. It covers areas of the UK and is widespread under the North Sea where offshore wind turbines (OWT) are currently being installed and where future offshore expansion will be sited (Figure 1(a)) [1]. Large piles are often driven in chalk to support OWT. The installation process causes the intact rock below the pile tip to crush into a putty characterised by a mechanical behaviour very different from the intact chalk. The difficulty to predict the final state of the putty and the stress around the pile after installation is the underlying reason for inadequate current design guidance for piles in chalk. Considering that for OWT, foundations account for 20-25% of the total development cost , pile design improvements in chalk, would be extremely beneficial from an economical and environmental perspective.
Current guidelines for the design of piles in chalk (CIRIA C574) originate from the analysis of a limited number of pile tests [2]. These guidelines suggest crude average ultimate unit shaft friction (tsf) design values of between 20 and 120 kPa for low-medium density and high/very-high density chalk, respectively. tsf estimates are thought to be conservative hence introducing significant increases in cost and carbon footprint (Figure 1(b)). Reducing the level of conservatism (e.g. enabling more confident use of higher tsf) would reflect in significant savings of steel and consequent reduction of the cost and embodied carbon. Such design considerations are possible but require a better understanding of the long-term mechanical behaviour of the damage processes intact chalk experiences during dynamic installation in hydro-mechanical (HM) coupled conditions.
In this work the coupled HM effects developing during pile installation in chalk are investigated numerically using a robust and mesh-independent implementation of an elasto-plastic constitutive model at large strains. The model, implemented into an open-source Geotechnical Particle Finite Element (G-PFEM) code [3], is shown to be able to capture the damage of the rock until the formation of a chalk putty layer around the shaft of a model piles jacked in chalk. In particular the complex flow processes occurring in the soil around both open and closed ended piles of variable shape jacked into saturated chalk are investigated. A fully coupled hydro-mechanical formulation, based on regularized, mixed low-order linear strain triangles is used [5]. To capture the relevant features of the mechanical response of chalk, a finite deformation, non-associative structured modified cam clay is used [6]. The model formulation is based on a multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient and on the adoption of an elastic response based on the existence of a suitable free energy function. Bonding-related internal variables, quantifying the effects of structure on the yield locus, are used to provide a macroscopic description of mechanical destructuration effects. To deal with strain localization phenomena, the model is equipped with a non-local version of the hardening laws [7]. The G-PFEM model is shown to be capable of capturing the destructuration associated with plastic deformations below and around the pile shoulder; the space and time evolution of pore water pressure as the pile advances; the effect of soil permeability on predicted excess pore water pressures, and the effect of chalk putty formation on predicted values of the load displacement curve. Installation effects are highlighted by comparing the axial performance between wished in place piles and piles which considered the full installation process.


Venous lower limb ulcers are very common and affect ~1% of the general population. The human acellular amniotic membrane (HAAM), which is isolated from the amniotic membrane (AM) via excluding the majority of cellular components, has lower antigenicity than the AM. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the HAAM, adopted to treat venous ulcers (VUs) of the lower extremities. The HAMM was isolated from the AM by the Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering laboratory at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University (Chengdu, China). HAMMs were grafted onto VUs in 4 patients, with follow-up evaluations performed on the 3rd day and at the end of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd week, and 2nd, 3rd and 6th month after the HAAMs were applied. The size and depth of the VU (determined based on whether the depth of VU reaches the tibial plane), the proportion of granulation tissue (whether >50%) and the degree of secretion (measured by asessing the degree of satuation in the outer gauze) and infection (assessed qualitatively via the appearance of purulence or peripheral swelling) were assessed. Pain score was monitored at the same intervals using a visual analog scale. Complete epithelialization (healed tissue) occurred in 2 cases: The first at the end of the 3rd week and the second, at the 2nd month following HAAM induction. In one of the remaining cases, ulcer size was reduced by >60%; however the ulcer size of the remaining case only reduced by <20%. Overall, the size of ulcer in cases 1, 2, 3 and 4 decreased to 1.2×1.1 and 1.4×0.4 cm, 1.3×1.8 and 2.3×1.4, respectively, with evident decreases in ulcer depth. The proportion of granulation tissue in each case was >50%. Furthermore, purulence and secretion completely disappeared in all 4 cases. Additionally, the medical cost of HAAM treatment is substantially lower than that of AM treatment, skin autografts and biomaterial transplantation, thus alleviating the patients' financial burden. These findings suggest that HAMM was highly effective in treating VUs in patients.


The production of H2O2 has been taken for a crucial reason for antimicrobial activity of ZnO without light irradiation. However, how the H2O2 generates in ZnO suspension is not clear. In the present work, the comparatively detections on three kinds of ZnO, tetrapod-like ZnO whiskers (t-ZnO), nanosized ZnO particles (n-ZnO), and microsized ZnO particles (m-ZnO), showed that the antimicrobial activity of ZnO was correlated with its production of H2O2. Oxygen vacancy (V(O)) in the surface layer of ZnO crystals determined by XPS indicated that it was quite probably involved in the production of H2O2. To validate the role of V(O), the concentration of VO in t-ZnO was adjusted by heat-treatment under the atmospheres of H2, vacuum, and O2, respectively, and the H2O2 production and antimicrobial effect were detected. Consistently, the t-ZnO treated in H2, which possessed the most V(O) in its crystal, produced the most H2O2 and displayed the best antimicrobial activity. These results provide the basis for developing a more detailed mechanism for H2O2 generation catalyzed by ZnO and for taking greater advantage of this type of antimicrobial agent.


Atule mate exhibits two types of feeding patterns, the juveniles feeding mainly on crustaceans and the adults exclusively on fishes. Low intensity of feeding was observed in juveniles, males and females. Juveniles had high diet breadth (2.86) when compared to the males (1.86) and females (2.10). The overlap studies showed clustering of high overlaps in the younger and older length groups. The dendrogram of the diet at various length groups showed two principal clusters, one at 91-150 mm (TL) length group and another at 151-280 mm (TL) length group.As per the cluster analysis two types of food patterns are evident in this species.


Abstract Structure, Tris(trimethylsilyl)aluminium, Sodium-tetrakis(trimethylsilyl)aluminate The crystal and molecular structures of three trimethylsilylaluminium compounds -tris(trimethylsilyl)aluminium coordinated to a diethylether molecule (1), sodium-tetrakis-(trimethylsilyl)aluminate coordinated to two toluene molecules (2b) and unsolvated sodium-tetrakis(trimethylsilyl)aluminate (2a) -have been determined by X-ray structure analysis. In all three compounds the aluminium is tetrahedrally coordinated, the Al-Si-distances lying between 2.44 and 2.49 Å. (1) is monomeric and (2a) and (2b) form linear chains resulting from contact-ion pair interactions.


On October 11, 2006, the Department of Justice indicted Adam Gadahn on charges of treason and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Because Gadahn's alleged crimes consist solely of participating in propaganda videos, his case strongly resembles the last wave of treason prosecutions of American civilians, many of which involved citizens who served as propagandists for Germany and Japan during World War II. In those prosecutions, the government employed an "aid and comfort" theory of treason; today, that theory raises First Amendment problems. Instead, the government should prosecute Gadahn under the "levying war" prong of the Treason Clause on the basis of his participation in a campaign of psychological warfare against the United States.


Abstract This research has been conducted on the antiangiogenesis activity test of the tin leaf (Ficus carica L.) on the number of blood vessels and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression of chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of embryonated chicken eggs. The general objective of this study is the use of natural products from the F. carica L. as chemopreventive in cancer through the mechanism of inhibition of angiogenesis. Inhibition of angiogenesis, supply of nutrients and oxygen to cancer cells will also be inhibited, so that indirectly cancer cells will be stunted. This study used 25 embryonated chicken eggs that divided into 5 treatments and each treatment has 5 repetitions. This treatment includes placebo negative controls, celecoxib-positive controls, and 3 treatment groups were given a water extract of F. carica L. which was divided into several doses of 75, 90, and 110 &mgr;g. The result found a significant difference (P < .05) in the macroscopic observation of the number of blood vessels in the CAM loaded with the paper dish. Observation of VEGF expression in vascular endothelial cells in the CAM also had a significant difference (P < .05). The optimal dose of water extract of F. carica L. of 90 &mgr;g has been able to inhibit the formation of new blood vessels by 65.51% and reduce VEGF expression by 45% in the chorioallantoic membrane. Thus, it can be concluded that the administration of water extract of F. carica L. can inhibit the formation of new blood vessels and inhibit VEGF expression.


In the CAPRISA 004 trial, adherence was estimated as the proportion of reported sex acts covered by two gel doses, which was assessed by counting returned empty gel applicators. The returned empty applicators were inspected visually in a standardized manner for residue on the outside of the applicator, as an indicator of vaginal insertion. Over 15 months, spanning 11,839 study visits by 838 women, a total of 59,800 returned empty applicators were inspected. By visual assessment, 77.5 % of these applicators appeared to have been inserted. To test the accuracy of the assessment we fitted a Cox model and found that the risk for HIV infection was doubled when less than half of the returned empty applicators had been assessed as not inserted in the vagina. Visual inspection enhanced both the accuracy of the adherence measurement and aided identification of mechanical problems with applicator use experienced by women in the trial.


This pneumatic system tofu press machine is a press machine that is used to compress tofu starch with a capacity of 50 kg to make tofu that is ready to be marketed. The pneumatic system tofu press machine is made to make it easier to press tofu. Previously, tofu was pressed manually, namely by using a stone as a tofu press which resulted in the length of the tofu compaction process. Pressing with stones can also cause work accidents. This tofu press machine uses pneumatics as a punch driver which will press the tofu. The way this tofu machine works is by pressing the on button on the machine then the punch will move down towards the tofu essence and press the tofu. Punch paused for a moment to make sure the tofu blended in perfectly. Then press the off button on the machine to return the punch to its original position. This pneumatic system tofu press machine can reduce work accidents, lighten work, shorten processing time and is also more hygienic because it uses air as a punch driver.


In 1999, reports of spring rapeseed plants (Brassica napus L.) exhibiting wilt symptoms were received by agricultural extension personnel from farmers near Fort Vermillion and Andrew, Alberta, Canada. Fungal colonies recovered from affected plants after surface disinfection were identified as Fusarium oxysporum by comparison of morphology on carnation leaf and potato dextrose agars with literature descriptions and reference cultures. Root-dip inoculation of young rapeseed plants with spore suspensions prepared from recovered F. oxysporum colonies resulted in rapid development of symptoms seen in the field. An initial estimate of yield loss in an affected field near Andrew was performed by removing all rapeseed plants from three 1 m2 quadrats. Each plant was evaluated according to a simple three point severity scale, and then the seed from each plant was individually threshed and weighed. Fully- and partially-wilted plants yielded 0.2 and 19.3% of asymptomatic plants, respectively. In 2000, wilt symptoms were observed at a plot research site near Ranfurly, Alberta. Disease symptoms were restricted to one B. napus cultivar, Nexera 705. A similar procedure to that used at Andrew in 1999 was applied at Ranfurly, except quadrat size was 2.5 m2, and replicated comparisons were made between Nexera 705 and an unaffected cultivar, Quantum. The average number of unaffected Quantum plants was 99.4%, while only 66.9% of Nexera 705 plants were asymptomatic. No Quantum plants were severely wilted, while 11.7% of Nexera 705 plants were wilted. Yield of Nexera 705 was 38.6% of Quantum. In 2004, the impact of fusarium wilt on yield of 6 susceptible and 9 resistant B. napus cultivars was determined at nine locations in western Canada. Cultivars were selected on the basis of survey results and agronomist's reports. Across all sites, yield of the most severely affected cultivar, 45A55, was 15.9% lower than the least severely affected cultivar 3455. At the most severely affected site, yield of the most severely affected cultivar, Bianca II, was 75.2% lower than the least severely affected cultivar, Option 501. Yield of wilt-susceptible (Canterra 1604) and resistant (Cougar CL) rapeseed was compared at a replicated large-plot (576 m2 per plot) experiment at Lavoy, Alberta in 2005. The susceptible variety was severely affected and yielded 44% of Cougar CL.


We present the discovery and characterization of six short-period, transiting giant planets from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) — TOI-1811 (TIC 376524552), TOI-2025 (TIC 394050135), TOI-2145 (TIC 88992642), TOI-2152 (TIC 395393265), TOI-2154 (TIC 428787891), & TOI-2497 (TIC 97568467). All six planets orbit bright host stars (8.9 <G < 11.8, 7.7 <K < 10.1). Using a combination of time-series photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations from the TESS Follow-up Observing Program (TFOP) Working Group, we have determined that the planets are Jovian-sized (RP = 0.99-1.45 RJ), have masses ranging from 0.92 to 5.26 MJ, and orbit F, G, and K stars (4766 ≤ Teff ≤ 7360 K). We detect a significant orbital eccentricity for the three longest-period systems in our sample: TOI-2025 b (P = 8.872 days, 0.394$^{+0.035}_{-0.038}$), TOI-2145 b (P = 10.261 days, e = $0.208^{+0.034}_{-0.047}$), and TOI-2497 b (P = 10.656 days, e = $0.195^{+0.043}_{-0.040}$). TOI-2145 b and TOI-2497 b both orbit subgiant host stars (3.8 < log  g <4.0), but these planets show no sign of inflation despite very high levels of irradiation. The lack of inflation may be explained by the high mass of the planets; $5.26^{+0.38}_{-0.37}$ MJ (TOI-2145 b) and 4.82 ± 0.41 MJ (TOI-2497 b). These six new discoveries contribute to the larger community effort to use TESS to create a magnitude-complete, self-consistent sample of giant planets with well-determined parameters for future detailed studies.


New Zealand is undergoing a constitutional crisis. The crisis, however, is not a direct result of the absence of a written constitution, of an entrenched and supreme Bill of Rights, of the place of the Treaty of Waitangi in the country's legal order, or of retaining (or abolishing) the institutions of the monarchy. Pressing as some of those issues might be, New Zealand's constitutional pragmatism has been able to address them in a piecemeal fashion, avoiding at the same time any serious risks of political or constitutional instability. The crisis is far from being unique to New Zealand: it is in fact shared by the constitutional systems of the world's most advanced democracies. In a nutshell, New Zealand's constitution suffers a profound crisis of democratic legitimacy: how to understand New Zealanders as authors of their constitution, if the constitution rests on rules and conventions that were not adopted by the people and, more importantly, cannot be altered through democratic procedures? How can we make New Zealand's constitutional regime legitimate from a democratic perspective? In answering these questions, this article will advance a conception of democratic legitimacy which rests on two criteria. First, a democratically legitimate constitutional regime must provide an opening for constituent power to manifest from time to time. Second, the constitution must operate under a conception of constitutional reform according to which fundamental changes must take place through the most participatory procedures possible. This conception of democratic legitimacy, although informed in important ways by concepts developed in the tradition of written and entrenched constitutions, can be applied in a meaningful way to a constitutional system such as that present in New Zealand. As the paper will argue, New Zealand's constitutional thought, in contrast to its English counterpart, has embraced in important ways a distinction between Parliament and people, attributing the latter with a superior power of constitutional reform. Once that distinction is accepted, a democratically legitimate constitution, a constitution susceptible of being changed through the exercise of constituent power, becomes a real possibility.


SUMMARY. Duck hepatitis A virus (DHAV) causes acute hepatitis and mortality, resulting in high economic losses in the duck farm industry. The current study describes the outbreak of DHAV in vaccinated duck farms in North Egypt during 2019 and molecular characterization of the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) and viral protein VP1 genes. The 30 samples were collected from 7- to 28-day-old commercial Pekin ducks that showed a history of nervous signs and sudden deaths and were on farms in 6 governorates. DHAV was typed by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for 3′ UTR and VP1 genes and revealed 20 positive farms, with the first detection of DHAV genotype 3 (DHAV-3) in 18 samples and the classic DHAV-1 in 2 samples. The phylogenetic analysis of VP1 and 3′ UTR genes of the nine selected strains representative of six governorates revealed that seven strains were clustered with DHAV-3 Chinese and Korean-Vietnamese strains within different subgroups with 92.4%–93.7% amino acid identity; such strains were distinguishable from the vaccine strain of DHAV-1 used in Egypt with 74.4% amino acid identity. The other strains were closely related to the DHAV-1 Asian strain and the vaccine strain used in Egypt with 98.7%–99.6% amino acid identity for the VP1 gene with different clustering than that of recently isolated DHAV-1 Egyptian strains. The VP1 gene of DHAV-3 had 1 hypervariable region (HVR) with 10 amino acid mutations compared with DHAV3/DN2/Vietnam/2011, but DHAV-1 had 3 HVRs with 1 amino acid mutation in HVRII compared with the DHAV-1 vaccine strain. In conclusion, a new introduction of DHAV-3 with the classical DHAV-1 was recorded in Pekin duck farms in North Egypt that is genetically distant from the vaccinal strain.


In this paper, we propose a new hierarchical method for the flexible job-shop scheduling problem (FJSP). This approach is mainly adapted to a job-shop problem (JSP) with high flexibility and is based on the decomposition of the problem in an assignment subproblem and a sequencing subproblem. For the first subproblem, we propose two methods: the first one is based successively on a heuristic approach and a local search; the second one, however, is based on a branch-and-bound algorithm. The quality of the assignment is evaluated by a lower bound. For the second subproblem we apply a hybrid genetic algorithm to deal with the sequencing problem. Computational tests are finally presented.


A validation methodology for image segmentation methods is explored that is based on quality constrained cost analysis. In this methodology a segmentation method is evaluated by the cost reduction it provides relative to the cost of a full-interactive (manual) segmentation. This cost is constrained by a quality threshold, so that less-than-perfect segmentations are allowed. In this way, segmentation methods which are entirely different in nature can be compared objectively. The validation methodology is presented in its most general form, along with an example of its application to the comparison of segmentation methods.<<ETX>>


Abstract Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and chronic pain syndromes represent major health problems in society. These conditions are disabling and strongly associated with low quality of life. Even though CFS and chronic pain are separate conditions, they have strikingly much in common. Both pain and fatigue are important sensations with protective value in an acute situation. It can be life-threatening not to be aware of them. However, as these symptoms become chronic, their protective roles decrease and instead they become health problems. Our understanding of the perception of pain and fatigue has shifted through the years, from a dualistic biomedical point of view to a holistic biopsychosocial understanding. This combined with the increasing evidence of how our brain works in a predictive/anticipatory manner, gives a deeper understanding of why treatments like cognitive behavior therapies and stress relief therapies can help these patients recover to better health.


The psychoacoustical literature contains multiple reports about small differences in performance depending upon the sex and phase of the menstrual cycle of the subjects. In an attempt to verify these past reports, a large-scale study was implemented. After extensive training, the performance of about 75 listeners was measured on seven common psychoacoustical tasks. For most tasks, the signal was a 3.0-kHz tone. The initial data analyses failed to confirm some past outcomes. Additional analyses, incorporating the limited information available about the racial background of the listeners, did confirm some of the past reports, with the direction and magnitude of the differences often diverging for the White and Non-White listeners. Sex differences and race differences interacted for six of the seven tasks studied. These interactions suggest that racial background needs to be considered when making generalizations about human auditory performance, and when considering failures of reproducibility across studies. Menstrual differences were small, but generally larger for Whites than Non-Whites. Hormonal effects may be responsible for the sex and cycle differences that do exist, and differences in intra-cochlear melanocytes may account for the race differences.