Multiple members from every major family of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) have been implicated in the development, maintenance, or repair of renal tissues and include several isoforms of integrins, cell-bound glycoproteins, cadherins, immunoglobulin cell adhesion molecules, and selectins. In combination, they mediate a variety of cell-basement membrane and cell-cell interactions believed to direct morphogenesis and cell migration and regulate cell growth and apoptosis, in addition to generating a functional barrier for blood filtration and helping manage inflammatory responses in the kidney. The expression of some CAMs is transient during and critical to normal nephrogenesis, varying with specific stages of development, but often ultimately resulting in the constitutive production of other members in mature tissues. While gene-targeting studies have successfully implicated individual CAMs in renal cell functions, e.g., α3β1 and α8β1 integrins, the loss of others bears no renal phenotype due to redundancy of homologous family members or to the severity of the defect early in embryogenesis. This review summarizes the studies of various CAMs found in normal embryonic or adult kidney, describes their spatiotemporal expression patterns, and discusses their involvement in renal processes.


As the foremost component of wearable devices, flexible pressure sensors require high sensitivity, wide operating ranges, and great stability. In this paper, a pressure sensor comprising a regular batten microstructure active layer is presented. First, the influences of the dimensional parameters of the microstructures on the performances of the sensors were investigated by the mechanical finite element method (FEM). Then, parameters were optimized and determined based on the results of this investigation. Next, active layers were prepared by molding multiwalled carbon nanotube/polyurethane (MWCNT/PU) conductive composite using a printed circuit board template. Finally, a resistive flexible pressure sensor was fabricated by combining an active layer and an interdigital electrode. With advantages in terms of the structure and materials, the sensor exhibited a sensitivity of up to 46.66 kPa−1 in the range of 0–1.5 kPa and up to 6.67 kPa−1 in the range of 1.5–7.5 kPa. The results of the experiments show that the designed flexible pressure sensor can accurately measure small pressures and realize real-time human physiological monitoring. Furthermore, the preparation method has the advantages of a low cost, simple design, and high consistency. Thus, it has potential to promote the development of flexible sensors, wearable devices, and other related devices.


Abstract A unified approach for the synthesis of the four major groups of C-aryl glycosides has been developed. The strategy incorporates two integrated approaches, the first of which features the [4+2] cycloaddition of a glycosyl furan with a substituted benzyne followed by the acid-catalyzed opening of the resultant adduct. The second route involves the sequential palladium-catalyzed opening of a benzyne-furan cycloadduct with an iodo glycal followed by oxidation of the resultant dihydronaphthol ring and reduction of the glycal moiety. The utility of this strategy has been established by a concise formal synthesis of the C-aryl glycoside antibiotic galtamycinone.


This talk was presented as part of Breakout Session 2 | Panel 1: "Theming First Year Composition." This is the full PDF of the talk's powerpoint presentation slides.


In this paper, we evaluate the possibility of monitoring-based network-adaptive forward error correction (FEC) for wireless multi-hop video streaming. By collectively monitoring the video streaming path with the help of intermediate nodes, the proposed hop-to-end (H2E) FEC scheme balances end-to-end and hop-by-hop FEC protection. It attempts to minimize the end-to-end packet loss and reduce overhead for video streaming over multi-hop WMNs. To verify the feasibility of proposed scheme, we perform extensive experiments over the IEEE 802.11a-based multi-hop WMN testbed.


Chirality is found at all length scales in nature, and chiral metasurfaces have recently attracted attention due to their exceptional optical properties and their potential applications. Most of these metasurfaces are fabricated by top-down methods or bottom-up approaches that cannot be tuned in terms of structure and composition. By combining grazing incidence spraying of plasmonic nanowires and nanorods and Layer-by-Layer assembly, we show that nonchiral 1D nano-objects can be assembled into scalable chiral Bouligand nanostructures whose mesoscale anisotropy is controlled with simple macroscopic tools. Such multilayer helical assemblies of linearly oriented nanowires and nanorods display very high circular dichroism up to 13 000 mdeg and giant dissymmetry factors up to g ≈ 0.30 over the entire visible and near-infrared range. The chiroptical properties of the chiral multilayer stack are successfully modeled using a transfer matrix formalism based on the experimentally determined properties of each individual layer. The proposed approach can be extended to much more elaborate architectures and gives access to template-free and enantiomerically pure nanocomposites whose structure can be finely tuned through simple design principles.


Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to review clinical evidence supporting the use of fixed-dose combination of tiotropium and olodaterol, a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) and a long-acting β2-agonist (LABA), respectively, as the initial and follow-up treatment choice in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as per Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 2020 recommendations—the impact of this treatment strategy on the reduction in the risk of exacerbations—and the importance of early therapeutic interventions. Methods For this narrative review, the available literature was searched to identify studies including patients with COPD receiving tiotropium and olodaterol as either monotherapy or combination therapy and studies including patients with COPD receiving inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in addition to long-acting bronchodilators. Relevant studies were included in the review. Results Patients with COPD are often prescribed ICS therapy, which, when used over a long term, can be associated with local and systemic adverse effects. The GOLD 2020 report recommends dual bronchodilator therapy as both an initial and follow-up treatment option. A LABA + LAMA combination is mechanistically synergistic, and cumulative evidence surrounding the efficacy and safety of fixed-dose combination of tiotropium and olodaterol supports therapeutic advantages over monotherapy in most patients with COPD. Conclusions The early stages of COPD may represent a "window of therapeutic opportunity" during which initiation of tiotropium and olodaterol dual bronchodilator therapy may improve lung function and quality of life and reduce exacerbations in patients with COPD.


Background Modern patient electronic health records form a core part of primary care; they contain both clinical codes and free text entered by the clinician. Natural language processing (NLP) could be employed to generate these records through 'listening' to a consultation conversation. Objectives This study develops and assesses several text classifiers for identifying clinical codes for primary care consultations based on the doctor–patient conversation. We evaluate the possibility of training classifiers using medical code descriptions, and the benefits of processing transcribed speech from patients as well as doctors. The study also highlights steps for improving future classifiers. Methods Using verbatim transcripts of 239 primary care consultation conversations (the 'One in a Million' dataset) and novel additional datasets for distant supervision, we trained NLP classifiers (naïve Bayes, support vector machine, nearest centroid, a conventional BERT classifier and few-shot BERT approaches) to identify the International Classification of Primary Care-2 clinical codes associated with each consultation. Results Of all models tested, a fine-tuned BERT classifier was the best performer. Distant supervision improved the model's performance (F1 score over 16 classes) from 0.45 with conventional supervision with 191 labelled transcripts to 0.51. Incorporating patients' speech in addition to clinician's speech increased the BERT classifier's performance from 0.45 to 0.55 F1 (p=0.01, paired bootstrap test). Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that NLP classifiers can be trained to identify clinical area(s) being discussed in a primary care consultation from audio transcriptions; this could represent an important step towards a smart digital assistant in the consultation room.


This paper presents the design consideration of a low-profile LLC resonant converter using two flat trans- formers. The trend toward high power density, high efficiency, and low profile in power supplies has exposed a number of limitations in the use of magnetic component structures. The LLC resonant converter can be operated at a high switching frequency with high efficiency because the switching loss is reduced by soft-switching. However, flat transformer loss causes problems at a high switching frequency. As a result, temperature of flat transformers becomes high. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the transformer temperature by analyzing the loss. In this proposed con- verter, flat transformer is integrated into advanced power conversion application systems. Low-profile power module of profile of about 14mm is achieved. Temperature inside of transformer repressed to 66.5 ℃ and an overall efficiency of about 96.5% was obtained.


Background : Studies on nosocomial pneumonia define severity only related to mortality or mortality scores. The current 2005 guidelines, with limited accuracy to predict multi-drug resistant (MDR) microorganisms, do not take into account severity in choosing empiric antibiotics. We evaluated the association between severity and microbial aetiology of ICU-acquired pneumonia (ICUAP), to define if severity should be used to guide empiric antibiotics. Methods : We prospectively assessed characteristics, microbiology, systemic inflammatory response and outcomes of 343 consecutive patients with ICUAP clustered according to the presence or not of MDR pathogens. Results : 208 (61%) patients had ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). We determined etiology in 217 (63%) patients. The most frequent pathogens were P. aeruginosa, Enterobacteriaceae , methicillin-sensitive (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant (MRSA) S. aureus. 58 (17%) patients had a MDR patthogen. Except for a longer ICU stay in the MDR group, no differences were found in clinical and inflammatory characteristics, severity criteria and outcomes between patients with or without MDR pathogens, even after adjusting for potential confounders. Patients with higher severity scores and septic shock had significantly lower survival and higher systemic inflammatory response. The results were similar when only patients with microbial diagnosis were considered. Conclusions : In patients with ICUAP severity of illness seems not to affect aetiology. Risk factors for MDR, but not severity, should be taken into account in selecting empiric antimicrobial treatment. Supported : IDIBAPS, CibeRes (CB06/06/0028)-ISCiii, 2009 SGR 911, ERS Fellowship.


In recent years educators have begun to explore how to purposively design computer/video games to support student learning. This interest in video games has arisen in part because educational video games appear to have the potential to improve student motivation and interest in technology, and engage students in learning through the use of a familiar medium (Squire, 2005; Shaffer, 2006; Gee, 2005). The purpose of this dissertation research is to specifically address the issue of student learning through the use of educational computer/video games. Using the Quest Atlantis computer game, this study involved a mixed model research strategy that allowed for both broad understandings of classroom practices and specific analysis of outcomes through the themes that emerged from the case studies of the gendered groups using the game.
Specifically, this study examined how fifth-grade students learning about science concepts, such as water quality and ecosystems, unfolds over time as they participate in the Quest Atlantis computer game. Data sources included classroom observations and video, pre- and post-written assessments, pre- and post- student content interviews, student field notebooks, field reports and the field notes of the researcher. To make sense of how students learning unfolded, video was analyzed using a framework of interaction analysis and small group interactions (Jordan & Henderson, 1995; Webb, 1995). These coded units were then examined with respect to student artifacts and assessments and patterns of learning trajectories analyzed.
The analysis revealed that overall, student learning outcomes improved from pre- to post-assessments for all students. While there were no observable gendered differences with respect to the test scores and content interviews, there were gendered differences with respect to game play. Implications for game design, use of external scaffolds, games as tools for learning and gendered findings are discussed.


Submitted for the MAR08 Meeting of The American Physical Society Excited-state absorption and quantum confined Stark effect in embedded silicon and germanium nanocrystals1 CEYHUN BULUTAY, Bilkent University — Realistic-sized Si and Ge nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in wide band-gap matrices are studied theoretically using an atomistic pseudopotential Hamiltonian. Based on this electronic structure, first the interband absorption is studied which shows the importance of surface polarization effects that significantly reduce the absorption when included. This reduction is found to increase with decreasing NC size or with increasing permittivity mismatch between the NC core and the host matrix. The intraconduction and intravalence band absorption coefficients are also obtained in the wavelength range from far-infrared to visible region. Next, excited-state absorption at three different optical pump wavelengths, 532 nm, 355 nm and 266 nm are studied for 3and 4 nm-diameter NCs. This reveals strong absorption windows in the case of holes and a broad spectrum in the case of electrons which can especially be relevant for the discussions on achieving gain in these structures. Finally, the interband absorption of NCs is studied under high DC electric field causing the quantum-confined Stark effect. 1Supported by TUBITAK with the Project No. 106T048 Ceyhun Bulutay Bilkent University Date submitted: 23 Nov 2007 Electronic form version 1.4


The present work investigates the dynamic effect of wheel rotation on the aerodynamic characteristics of slick type (ST) wheel of Formula One racing cars using a computational approach. The ST wheel model was compared to experimental results as a validation case. The pressure coefficient over the ST wheel circumference at its middle plane (xy) has been considered as an experimental case from literature and the computed results showed a reasonable agreement. Furthermore, a quantitative evaluation of the numerically-determined wheel drag, local separation and stagnation angles has been also compared to those extracted experimentally from literature. The validation work served by assessing the suitability of using Moving Reference Frame (MRF) method to simulate the effect of wheel rotation, as well as defining the most reliable conditions of testing such as the optimal meshing criteria, the computational domain size, and the adopted turbulence model. According to wheel studies, all computational work was performed at a Reynolds number of 6.8×105 based on the wheel diameter. The wheels aerodynamic drag, lift, and moment coefficients were computed for each wheel model. Further parametric study on the tread design of the tread type (TT) wheel was performed by varying the tread depth, h. Besides, general schematic pictures of the flow behavior around the TT wheel are presented.


Objectives Radical trachelectomy is the main surgical procedure in the treatment of invasive cervical cancer for patients who want to preserve fertility. Radical trachelectomy is not possible for some patients due to a large size of tumor which spreads onto the vagina or parametric, regional lymph nodes metastasis. These patients require radiation therapy, which excludes the possibility of independent pregnancy. Methods We report 5 patients having stage Ib2-IIb cervical cancer. The average age is 29 years. At the first step of treatment, 2–3 courses of chemotherapy were carried out. The second step included a radical trachelectomy (Piver type III) with uterus transposition. The uterus blood supply was ensured by IP-ligaments, which are protruded approximately 15cm on each side. Due to this method, the uterus and ovary mobility was achieved. It made possible to paraumbilically transposition the uterus so that the conditions for performing radiotherapy were created. The third step marked a combined radiotherapy which was carried out according to the prescribed standards. In three months a uterine reposition with utero-vaginal anastomosis was conducted. Results The patients have been under the median observation for 16,2 months so far. No one has any signs of recurrence. All our patients' menses circles saved. Conclusions The uterine transposition in treatment patients with stage Ib2-IIb cervical cancer ensures preservation of the uterus and ovarian function. This operation makes it feasible to provide a combined radiotherapy according to the prescribed standards and, thus, ensures, fertility preservation. Undoubtedly, that is very seminal to continue carrying out research in this field.


PRURITUS is an extremely frequent presenting sign in dogs and cats and is most commonly caused by ectoparasites, infectious agents, such as bacteria and fungi, and allergies. The normal approach when investigating animals with pruritus is to rule out parasitic and infectious causes first. After this has been done, veterinary surgeons often make a tentative diagnosis of allergy. However, to establish a definitive diagnosis that allows successful long-term management, it is often necessary to determine whether the animal is suffering from a food allergy, atopic dermatitis or a combination of the two. These conditions are clinically indistinguishable and atopic dermatitis can only be definitively diagnosed after food allergy has been ruled out. It is therefore important that a rigorous and logical diagnostic approach is applied when attempting to diagnose food allergy. This article discusses the many problems and pitfalls which need to be considered before a successful outcome can be expected.


Visual Abstract Background and objectives Individuals with type 2 diabetes are at a higher risk of developing kidney failure. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a decision support tool for estimating 10-year and lifetime risks of kidney failure in individuals with type 2 diabetes as well as estimating individual treatment effects of preventive medication. Design, setting, participants, & measurements The prediction algorithm was developed in 707,077 individuals with prevalent and incident type 2 diabetes from the Swedish National Diabetes Register for 2002–2019. Two Cox proportional regression functions for kidney failure (first occurrence of kidney transplantation, long-term dialysis, or persistent eGFR <15 ml/min per 1.73 m2) and all-cause mortality as respective end points were developed using routinely available predictors. These functions were combined into life tables to calculate the predicted survival without kidney failure while using all-cause mortality as the competing outcome. The model was externally validated in 256,265 individuals with incident type 2 diabetes from the Scottish Care Information Diabetes database between 2004 and 2019. Results During a median follow-up of 6.8 years (interquartile range, 3.2–10.6), 8004 (1%) individuals with type 2 diabetes in the Swedish National Diabetes Register cohort developed kidney failure, and 202,078 (29%) died. The model performed well, with c statistics for kidney failure of 0.89 (95% confidence interval, 0.88 to 0.90) for internal validation and 0.74 (95% confidence interval, 0.73 to 0.76) for external validation. Calibration plots showed good agreement in observed versus predicted 10-year risk of kidney failure for both internal and external validation. Conclusions This study derived and externally validated a prediction tool for estimating 10-year and lifetime risks of kidney failure as well as life years free of kidney failure gained with preventive treatment in individuals with type 2 diabetes using easily available clinical predictors. Podcast This article contains a podcast at https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.asn-online.org/media/podcast/CJASN/2022_11_04_CJN05020422.mp3.


This single-institute, retrospective cohort study enrolled patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive metastatic breast cancer treated with trastuzumab deruxtecan between August 2017 and January 2021 from four previous studies. Of 31 patients, 4 (12.9%) had interstitial lung disease (ILD). The dominant pattern observed on computed tomography was organizing pneumonia (100%), comprising subpleural consolidations in the lung periphery. However, no dominant distribution was observed in radiological lesions of the lungs. Of all the tested patients, lower lobe predominance was noted in 2 (50.0%) patients, upper lobe predominance in 1 (25.0%) patient, and diffused lobe distribution in 1 (25.0%) patient. All events were confined to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade 1 or 2 (100%). None of the patients died. Despite the small number of cases investigated, the incidence of trastuzumab deruxtecan-induced ILD in the Korean population was comparable to that previously reported.


In the last decade, circulating nucleic acids such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) have become increasingly important in serving as potential novel biomarkers for a variety of human diseases. If cell-free nucleic acids are to become routinely used in diagnostics, the difference in plasma miRNA and cfDNA levels between healthy and diseased subjects must exceed pre-analytical and analytical variability. Until now, few studies have addressed the time limitations of pre-processing or explored the potential use of long-term blood storage tubes, which might need to be implemented in real-life diagnostics. In this study, we analyzed the stability of four breast cancer-associated miRNAs and two cancer-associated genes under various storage conditions, to test their limitations for potential application in clinical diagnostics. In two consecutive experiments, we tested the limits of conventional EDTA tubes, as well as long-term storage blood collection tubes (BCTs) from four different manufacturers. We found that circulating miRNAs are relatively stable when stored in EDTA monovettes for up to 12 h before processing. When stored in BCTs, circulating miRNAs and cfDNA are stable for up to 7 days, depending on the manufacturer. Norgen tubes were superior for cfDNA yield, while Streck tubes performed the worst in our study with hemolysis induction. In conclusion, plasma prepared from whole blood is suitable for the quantification of both cf-miRNAs and cfDNA simultaneously.


This study investigates the deformation behavior, related to debonding failure, of adhesion and repairing-strengthening materials of RC construction. A strain-stress curve shows that when the stress of specimens reached the highest and then fails, the strain value of cement mortar is , while concrete was indicated at around , epoxy resins are , polymer mortar is , steel plate is , and carbon bar was , respectively. For a thermal expansion coefficient with temperature variation, those basis materials, cement mortar and concrete, exhibited around , but adhesive materials, such as epoxy resins and polymer mortar, were and , respectively. In the case of steel plate is similar to basic materials but carbon fiber is indicates at , which is the lowest value. Especially, between basic and adhesive materials, the thermal expansion coefficient was highly different. Although the coefficient depends on the type of epoxy resins, it is clear that the epoxy resins are susceptible to be debonded in nature, when the difference of environmental temperature varies more than .


We present low-temperature transport measurements on the two-dimensional electron gas in delta -doped GaAs which undergoes an insulator-quantum Hall-insulator transition as the magnetic field is increased. Both low- and high-held transitions are marked by peaks in sigma xx and the temperature-independent critical value of sigma xy of 0.5e2/h per spin. We map out the phase diagram versus disorder and magnetic field and study the temperature dependence of sigma xx throughout. In the quantum Hall region we observe Mott variable range hopping and, around the high-field transitions, scaling via a single parameter: z=(B-B*)T-0.45. The functional dependence on z above this transition is fitted by recent network percolation calculations.


The study of stone circles in Scotland has mainly been focused on the large monuments of Orkney and the Western Isles. Several decades of fieldwork raised a series of problems that demanded further investigation. For example, when were the last stone circles built, how did they differ from earlier constructions and how were they related to henge monuments? How frequently were these places reused, and did this secondary activity change the character of those sites? These were some of the questions investigated by recent excavations in Aberdeenshire, and this output includes the results of new fieldwork undertaken at the Scottish recumbent stone circle of Hillhead; the stone circle of Waulkmill and the stone circle and henge at Hill of Tuach at Kintore.


How does temporal change of typographic forms impact people's perception, and the attention which they pay to emergent typographic information. It is known that emotive responses affect the reader's experience of information acquisition, and potentially the way in which text contents are remembered. But what exactly constitutes motion in relation to time-based typography? How do rhythmic changes motivate the perception process, and how does the transition process affect the semantic connotations attached to typographic information? This article provides an easy-to-read overview over the characteristics of time-based typography, and motivates reflections on how these can be deployed to enhance multi-media communication.


the result of literature study on poliosis is like these. 1. The poliosis, was to known as one of aging, was to conclude as a symptom of pathologic state. 2. The aetiology of poliosis is on deficiency of kidney, three yangmeak, psychologic fact, heat and other disease. 3. The primary treatment of po...


Programming plays a paramount role in many educational policies and initiatives. However, the current focus on coding skills poses the risk of giving students an overly simplistic and impoverished idea of what programming means and involves. Their experiences would be much more significant if learning encompassed understanding the richness of the nature of programs. Programs permeate our lives more inextricably than might often be recognised, and all citizens of the digital era could benefit from understanding their multifaceted nature. A fundamental component of such an understanding is getting a sense of how programs are created and work (i.e., the programming process). But programs are strange creatures that escape simple definitions. To the best of our knowledge, there is no Nature of Programs framework that teachers and policy makers can use to shape their practice and targets. In this working group we developed such a framework, by collecting and organising contributions from the literature and the computer science education community. The paper presents the framework and the rationale behind its development. It is anticipated that the framework can be used to inform the design of sound curricula, and support teachers and learners to understand the bigger picture around programming.


BACKGROUND
Obesity is a global pandemic that threatens the health of the population and the sustainability of publicly funded health care. This randomised controlled trial addresses the gap in the literature surrounding unconscious persuasion and its use in weight loss and weight management. The Slimpod® tool is unlike any of those currently available on the market. Using breakthrough research in 'nudge' thinking, it is designed to retrain an adult's habitual and emotional response to foodstuffs. This therapeutic model allows unconscious thought to be shaped into a manner more consistent with a healthy lifestyle. Candidates can then take control of their eating behaviours to induce a holistic state of wellbeing.

AIM
To assess the effectiveness of an audio unconscious-persuasion weight loss/weight management intervention (Slimpod®) compared with audio relaxation (control).

METHOD
Eighty-two overweight adults were randomised to intervention (n = 41) and control groups (n = 41). Weight was assessed at trial commencement, mid-trial (12 weeks), and trial end (24 weeks). Secondary outcomes were assessed using the Eating Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES), Exercise Confidence Scale (ECS), and Quality of Life Index Generic Version III (QLI-G3) at the start and end of the trial.

RESULTS
Reports found a statistically significant difference in mean weight loss between intervention group (1.7 kg at 12 weeks and 4.3 kg at 24 weeks) versus control (0.6 kg and 1.2 kg respectively) at P<0.001. ESES scores showed greater self-efficacy (P = 0.008) in intervention at 24 weeks. No significant differences in ESES negative affect sub-scale score or ECS were observed.

CONCLUSION
Slimpod® was effective at reducing weight and increasing eating self-efficacy in overweight adults.


IMPORTANCE
Guidance is limited for training protocols that support stakeholders who are new to participating in telerehabilitation interventions using videoconferencing software.

OBJECTIVE
To explore stakeholders' experiences participating in a group-based intervention during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic using a videoconferencing software (Zoom).

DESIGN
Ad hoc exploratory thematic analysis.

SETTING
Community-based telerehabilitation.

PARTICIPANTS
Stakeholders included group members (n = 8) who were low-income adults with chronic stroke (≥3 mo) and mild to moderate disability (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale ≤ 16), group leaders (n = 4), and study staff (n = 4).

INTERVENTION
Group-based intervention, ENGAGE, delivered using videoconferencing technology. ENGAGE blends social learning and guided discovery to facilitate community and social participation.

OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Semistructured interviews.

RESULTS
Stakeholders included group members (ages 26-81 yr), group leaders (ages 32-71 yr), and study staff (ages 23-55 yr). Group members characterized ENGAGE as learning, doing, and connecting with others who shared their experience. Stakeholders identified social advantages and disadvantages to the videoconferencing environment. Attitudes toward technology, past technology experiences, the amount of time allotted for training, group size, physical environments, navigation of technology disruptions, and design of the intervention workbook were facilitators for some and barriers for others. Social support facilitated technology access and intervention engagement. Stakeholders recommended training structure and content.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Tailored training protocols may support stakeholders who are participating in telerehabilitation interventions using new software or devices. Future studies that identify specific tailoring variables will advance the development of telerehabilitation training protocols. What This Article Adds: These findings provide stakeholder-identified barriers and facilitators, in addition to stakeholder-informed recommendations, for technology training protocols that may support uptake of telerehabilitation in occupational therapy.


Research suggests that repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is characterized by abstract thinking (AT) which predominantly involves verbal thoughts in order to avoid more emotional imagery. As opposed to AT, concrete thinking (CT) appears to be more constructive in terms of long-term beneficial effects. Whereas RNT is considered a risk factor for various disorders, resilience appears to be a protective factor. In the current study, the effects of AT vs. CT on verbal thoughts, imagery, state RNT and resilience were examined by means of a training in either AT or CT and a subsequent stress induction. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that the participants in the AT-condition would report more verbal thoughts, less imagery, more state RNT, and less resilience compared to the participants in the CT-condition. Although randomization succeeded, it is questionable whether manipulation was successful. Therefore, the results should be interpreted with great caution. Results of ANCOVAs showed only a significant effect of condition on verbal thoughts after the stress induction subsequent to the training, with a higher score in the AT-condition than in the CT-condition, as expected. No effects of condition were found on imagery, state RNT, and resilience. These unexpected results are mainly due to the shortened format of the training, which showed not to be effective in inducing AT and CT. Further research is necessary in order to clarify the effects of thinking styles on verbal thoughts, imagery, state RNT, and resilience (using the full training format) in nonclinical samples from a prevention perspective.


A background is given to the development of the Dead Sea spas. The treatment and results of the therapy for psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and vitiligo are outlined, especially for psoriasis. The different factors involved in this spa treatment are discussed, and the advantages and disadvantages presented.


Abstract : Hurricanes are one of the most destructive natural disasters known to man. While current satellite technology has made it possible to effectively detect and track hurricanes, expensive hurricane-hunting' aircraft are required to accurately classify their destructive power. Here we show that passive undersea acoustic techniques may provide a promising tool for accurately quantifying the destructive power of a hurricane. It is well known that the crashing of wind-driven waves generates underwater noise in the 10 Hz to 10kHz range. Theoretical and empirical evidence are combined to show that underwater acoustic sensing techniques may be valuable for measuring the wind speed in a hurricane. Acoustic measurements of the underwater noise generated by hurricane Gert are correlated with meteorological data from reconnaissance aircraft and satellites to show that underwater noise intensity between 10 and 50 Hz is approximately proportional to the cube of the local wind speed. It has also long been known that hurricanes generate microseisms in the 0.1 to 0.6 Hz frequency range through the non-linear interaction of ocean surface waves. Here we model the microseisms generated by the spatially inhomogeneous waves of a hurricane, using the non-linear wave equation, and compare these estimates with seismic measurements.


In the Muslim communities of Cape Town, South Africa, religious authority is based on processes of designation in local communities. Increased access to higher religious education, and increased exposure to the diversity of local and global Islamic discourses as a result of general societal democratisation and processes of globalisation, leads to increased contestation over religious authority in Cape Muslim communities. As the rights to Muslim discourse are democratised, religious authority becomes more unstable. This article, based on fieldwork in a coloured township south of Cape Town, argues that there has been a shift in the symbolic capital required of Muslim religious leaders from mastery of form to mastery of content, and suggests that the democratisation of Muslim discourse has opened avenues to religious authority for Muslim females.


The paper examines the case for dollarization in emerging market economies. It is claimed that dollarization becomes an attractive monetary regime when account is taken of recent financial turmoil in such economies. The case is further strengthened by the fact that these economies have a penchant for acquiring dollar debts (i.e., liability dollarization). However, exchange rate misalignment and deflation are potentially serious problems, unless appropriate fiscal and public sector prices policies are implemented, in addition to establishing a financial sector whose assets and liabilities face parallel relative price risks.


I would like to draw your attention to a very interesting case of a nasal turbinate lipoma that I encountered recently. This entity has never before been described in the literature.

A 40-year-old woman with a known psychiatric disorder came for a routine MRI of the brain. Although there were no abnormal findings in the brain, I noticed a lobulated right nasal turbinate mass of uniform fat intensity (Figure 1a). CT showed a uniform fat-density lesion within the right inferior nasal turbinate, with no calcification or osseous components (Figure 1b). The features were suggestive of a nasal turbinate lipoma. Although histopathological correlation was desired, because of the asymptomatic nature of the lesion and the associated comorbid illness of the patient, no intervention was performed. However, the imaging features were themselves characteristic of a lipoma.

Figure 1

(A) Sagittal T1 weighted image showing a lobulated hyperintense mass (white arrow) arising from the nasal turbinate (B) Axial CT showing a uniform fat-density lesion within the right inferior nasal turbinate (white arrow).

Lipomas are one of the most common tumours in the head and neck region, however, they are very rarely encountered in the sinonasal tract, and most lipomas are large with osseous metaplasia (termed osteolipoma).1 If the fat density is not conspicuous on imaging, they can resemble an inverted papilloma or a fibrous tumour.1

As lipomas are benign and do not recur, they may undergo ischaemia and develop calcification, in which case they have to be distinguished from an osteolipoma, which is caused by osseous metaplasia rather than dystrophic changes.1 Our case revealed a uniform fat-density lesion arising from the right nasal turbinate, with no osseous components or calcification. This has not been reported in the literature to date.


"The totality of what exists, including what has existed and will exist, is infinitely small in comparison with the totality of the objects of knowledge. This fact easily goes unnoticed, probably because the lively interest in reality which is part of our nature tends to favor that exaggeration which finds the non-real a mere nothing (...) or, more precisely, which finds the non-real to be something for which science has no application or at least no application of any worth." (p. 79)


Hypotheses concerning community-level vulnerability to invasion often emphasize biotic interactions but fail to consider fine-scale variation in the physical environment. In this study, the interplay between interspecific competition and abiotic factors is examined with respect to whether scrub habitats in southern California become invaded by the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile). Argentine ants penetrate further into and attain higher abundances in mesic scrub fragments than they do in xeric scrub fragments. Probably as a result, native ant richness is lower in small (<30 ha), mesic fragments than in either small, xeric fragments or in small plots in unfragmented areas. Compared to six species of native ants, Argentine ants ranked lowest in their ability to tolerate high temperatures in the laboratory with 100% of field-collected workers dying after 60 min of exposure to temperatures ≥46°C. Field data corroborate these results; mean temperatures at which colonies of Argentine ants attained maximum abundance at baits (34.0°C) and abandoned baits (41.6°C) were both lower than for the native ant Dorymyrmex insanus. Laboratory studies further revealed that low levels of soil moisture depress mean worker survival in experimental colonies of Argentine ants. In a factorial laboratory experiment that varied both physical conditions and interspecific competition, Argentine ants exhibited greater worker activity and survival under warm, moist conditions than under hot, dry conditions, whereas the presence of a competitor, Forelius mccooki, had no significant effect. Experimental colonies of F. mccooki, in contrast, were more active under hot, dry conditions than under warm, moist conditions and exhibited reduced activity in the presence of L. humile irrespective of physical conditions. Taken together, these experimental data demonstrate how the abiotic environment impinges on both colony-level activity and colony growth in the Argentine ant and provide a general explanation for the patterns observed at the community level. A key consequence of the condition-specific nature of the competitive asymmetry between Argentine ants and native ants is that community-level vulnerability to invasion appears to depend primarily on the suitability of the physical environment from the perspective of L. humile.


Serum ceruloplasmin levels have been estimated in 80 patients with various intracranial space occupying lesions and in 30 controls. The ceruloplasmin levels were significantly increased in all brain tumours except in meningiomas. After therapy, the ceruloplasmin levels were still significantly increased when compared to controls and their respective preoperative values. However, the rise in levels of ceruloplasmin in malignant tumours compared to benign was statistically not significant. It is concluded that ceruloplasmin may have a role to play as an acute phase reactant protein in brain tumours.


The Agroforestry System in Mara Satu village largely follows traditional patterns. The reason the farmers apply the agroforestry pattern has become a local culture that was passed down from their ancestors. The community of farmers is still very dependent on the commodity yields from the agroforestry system, but the community is not aware that agroforestry also affects the local culture, including the attitude of farmers to their environment. Regarding cultural aspects, agroforestry can play a role in tenure aspects, preserving various cultural identities, maintaining local institutions, and preserving traditional knowledge, while looking at farmers attitudes towards the environment, they can assess their attitudes towards grazing forested animals, harvesting forest products and attitudes of agroforestry farmers in maintaining staple plants. so this study aims to determine how the role of agroforestry in local culture and how the attitude of agroforestry farmers to their environment in the village of Mara Satu, Bulungan District. This research was conducted in the village of Mara Satu, Tanjung Palas Barat District, Bulungan Regency, North Kalimantan Province. The methodology used is a purposive sampling method that is deliberate sampling while the determination of the number of samples is determined based on the Slovin technique. Data analysis using quantitative descriptive and loaded in tabular form. Based on the results of the study it can be seen that agroforestry practices developed by farmers in the village of Mara Satu play an important role in protecting farmer's tenure rights, preserving cultural identity, enhancing the role of local institutions, and preserving traditional knowledge. Agroforestry farmers in Mara Satu village can also be said to be quite concerned about their environment. This is evidenced by the majority of agroforestry farmers not tending livestock in the forest and they no longer cut wood in the forest for sale but benefit from non-timber forest products such as swallow nests (Collocalia maxima), aloeswood (Aquilaria malaccensis), lapiu fruit (Archidendron panviflorum) and honey bee (Apis koschevnikovi) from the forest. Besides that, Mara Satu village farmers always take care of their agroforestry staple plants, in this case, durian (Durio zibethinus), as well as they, take care of other forest plants, although the intensity of each respondent varies, because they realize that it is very important to maintain the forest.


We plan to start the Belle II experiment in 2015 and to continue data taking for more than ten years. Because some of the front-end electronics cards of Belle II are located inside the detector, radiation effects onto their components will be a severe problem. Using experimental exposure facilities of neutrons and γ rays, we study the radiation effects from these particles to the Virtex-5 FPGA, optical transceivers, and voltage regulators. The Virtex-5 FPGA is found to keep its operation after irradiation of more than 20-year-equivalent neutron flux of Belle II and 88-year-equivalent γ-ray dose. We observe single event upsets (SEUs) and multiple bit upsets (MBUs) in the Virtex-5 FPGA in the neutron irradiation. We also find almost doubled SEU counts in the Virtex-5 FPGA bombarded from its tail side than its head side. We extrapolate the observed SEU and MBU counts in the Virtex-5 FPGA to the entire readout system of the Belle II central drift chamber, and expect the SEU and MBU rates as one SEU per four minutes and one MBU per 11.5 hours, respectively. The optical transceivers are found to keep its operation after integration of 12-year-equivalent neutron flux, while they are killed by about 3-year-equivalent γ-ray dose, which should be solved in the future research. The voltage regulators are found to keep its operation for more than 10-year-equivalent γ-ray dose.


We report on experiences at the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) in customizing and using the Trac system to provide a single platform for recording, managing and tracking a wide range of community interactions. We note the essential requirement of a lightweight, easy-to-use system for recording 'community metadata' and discuss the pros and cons of using Trac in this way for day-to-day operations within SSI, and more generally as a means to record and track interactions with a wide and potentially very large community.


Context Obesity in men is associated with low serum testosterone and both are associated with several diseases and increased mortality. Objectives Examine the direction and causality of the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and serum testosterone. Design Bi-directional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis on prospective cohorts. Setting Five cohorts from Denmark, Germany and Sweden (Inter99, SHIP, SHIP Trend, GOOD and MrOS Sweden). Participants 7446 Caucasian men, genotyped for 97 BMI-associated SNPs and three testosterone-associated SNPs. Main outcome measures BMI and serum testosterone adjusted for age, smoking, time of blood sampling and site. Results 1 SD genetically instrumented increase in BMI was associated with a 0.25 SD decrease in serum testosterone (IV ratio: -0.25, 95% CI: -0.42–-0.09, p = 2.8*10−3). For a body weight reduction altering the BMI from 30 to 25 kg/m2, the effect would equal a 13% increase in serum testosterone. No association was seen for genetically instrumented testosterone with BMI, a finding that was confirmed using large-scale data from the GIANT consortium (n = 104349). Conclusions Our results suggest that there is a causal effect of BMI on serum testosterone in men. Population level interventions to reduce BMI are expected to increase serum testosterone in men.


Adolescence is seen in many cultures as different to any other stage of development with influences on young people at this stage having consequences on both their fulfilment and their progression into adulthood. It is a stage where the boundaries are blurred; definitions of the age range differ across contexts spanning 10-19 years, 15-24 years and 10-24 years (UNICEF, 2011). The latter extended age range is credited to an extended transition into adulthood with young people often not independent until their mid-20s, particularly in terms of housing and financial support. It is accepted that during this time young people experience pronounced physical, psychological and behavioural changes which have health care implications unique to this age group. The interaction of these developmental changes and the social determinants of health may have long lasting effect on adolescents' eventual outcomes. This has been recognised for over forty years, spanning the Black Report (DHSS 1980) through to the recent World Health Organisation (WHO 2014) review of 'Social determinants and the health divide in the WHO European Region'. Although this review emphasizes the importance of early childhood, it reiterates that action is needed at every stage of life to reduce inequality and create more equality of access to services. Social factors identified as affecting health include family assets, housing, social exclusion, lack of education during adolescence and unemployment (Wilkinson and Marmot, 2003).


SUMMARY. Objective. Intra-carpal segmental arthrodesis in those patients who have either nechrosis of the lunate bone or carpal navicular non-union, in whom arthrosis of the wrist can be expected, has the objective to avoid the extreme limitation usua lly produced by complete arthrodesis of the wrist joint. Materials and methods. From January 1997 to December 1999, a series of 15 patients who had navicular pseudoarthrosis in 8 (all male) and Kienbock's disease in 7 (5 male and 2 female), were treated by partial mid-carpal arthrodesis between the bones navicular-capitate-lunate. All cases had a grade III to IV of arthrosis. Dorsal approa ch was performed in 14 cases and a double approach in the remaining one. Arthrodesis was reinforced by autologous bone grafting and te mporarily fixed by 1.6 mm Kirschner wires and a palmar splint. Results. Bone union of the arthrodesis was achieved in an average of 8.5 weeks, after that, wires were removed. In the cases of the scaphoid, pain disappeared in 4, was mild in 3 and moderate in 1 . In the cases of Kienbock's, 3 were pain free, it was mild in 2 and moderate in 2. No case had severe pain after surgery. Arthrosis imp roved in all but in one case of Kienbock's (p=0.05). Range of motion was functional in all (p=0.01); 11 patients (70%) were free of p ain as final result. Conclusion. Segmental mid-carpal arthrodesis which is one of the 27 surgical methods that we have found out for treatment of carpal arthrosis, has demonstrated to be an excellent procedure for the functional treatment of chronic damage of the m ost commonly injured carpal bones such as navicular and lunate.


In the vehicle type classification area, the necessity to improve classification performance across traffic surveillance cameras has garnered attention in research especially on high level feature extraction and classification. The backpropagation (BP) training approach of traditional deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) approach is time-consuming without using a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). In this paper, we propose a semisupervised strategy for the end-to-end Principal Component Analysis Convolutional Network (PCN) in the area of vehicle type classification. Even without using a GPU, the proposed model eliminates the time-consuming training procedure of convolutional filter bank. In particular, the convolutional filters of the network are generated using unsupervised learning by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) which has tremendously reduced training cost and also reinforced the robustness of extracted features against various distortions. In order to further improve the training procedure while still preserving the discriminative characteristic of the system, only the fully-connected layer is fine-tuned in the supervised classification stage. The PCN is tested using a public BIT-Vehicle dataset which comprises 9850 surveillance-nature vehicle frontal-view images. The PCN can be easily implemented and readily compatible with many effective classifiers. Two classifiers, namely softmax classifier and Support Vector Machine (SVM) are employed in this network and their classification performances are then compared. Both classifiers take less than 100 seconds in the training process and are able to produce an average accuracy of above 88.35%, even under various inferior imaging conditions.


Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPIs) have led to dramatic improvement in outcome of several cancers. Program death ligand1 (PD-L1) staining and tumor mutational burden (TMB) have emerged as independent predictive biomarkers of ICPIs in lung cancer. Here we examine the landscape of TMB and PD-L1 expression in breast cancer and present a case of patient with high TMB and PD-L1 negative breast cancer with exceptional response to ICPIs. Methods: Hybrid-capture based comprehensive genomic profiling of 395 cancer related genes using the FoundationOne assay was performed on 14,867 breast carcinomas sequenced in the course of routine clinical care. Ventana (SP-263) PD-L1 status (n=1425) and hormone receptor status was available for a subset of patients. Subgroup analyses were performed based on histological type [invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC, n=740)], molecular subtypes [ER-positive (ER+; n= 1371), HER2-amplified (HER2+; n=1522), and TNBC (n=917)], patient age (≤45, 46-60, ≥61), and local vs. metastatic disease (n=5241 and 6710). Results: Consistent with previous reports, the rates of positive PD-L1 staining are highest in TNBC (14%) and lowest in HER2+, ILC, and ER+ disease (6.0%, 5.1%, 2.3%). Interestingly, the rate of PD-L1 positivity, defined as ≥1% tumor staining, was significantly lower in metastatic disease vs. local disease (6.3% vs. 11.1%; p = 0.005). The frequency of high TMB, defined as >10 mutations/mb, was greatest in ILC and HER2+ disease (13.6% and 9.9%) and lowest in TNBC and ER+ disease (7.0% and 6.9%). Rates of high TMB were associated with increased patient age (3.7%, 9.3%, and 12.8% frequency in patients ≤45, 46-60, and ≥61) and were significantly higher in metastatic vs. local disease (11.1% vs 5.3%; p 20 mut/mb), there was a significant association between TMB and PD-L1 positivity (OR = 2.6, p = 0.023). Nevertheless, even with high cutoff, 79% of the TMB high samples were PD-L1 negative. We also report on a stage IIIb (T4, N2, M0) ER+ HER2- breast cancer patient with high TMB (40muts/mb) and negative PD-L1 IHC who previously progressed on aromatase inhibitor with CDK4/6 inhibitor and chemotherapy but achieved durable complete response of > 1 year with nivolumab in combination with capecitabine. Conclusions: Predictive biomarkers for ICPIs are critical to identify a subset of breast cancer patients who may respond to immunotherapy. TMB high and PD-L1 positivity do not significantly co-occur and the majority of TMB high cases were PD-L1 negative. Nevertheless, this group of patients may still benefit with ICPIs. Further studies are needed to evaluate this subset of patients. Citation Format: Ethan Sokol, Lee Albacker, Aixa Soyano, Ricardo Parrondo, Brenda Ernst, Emmanuel Gabriel, Garrett Frampton, Jeffrey Ross, Siraj Ali, Jon Chung, Saranya Chumsri. Incidence of high tumor mutation burden (TMB) and PD-L1 positivity in breast cancers and potential response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPIs) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4894.


Objectives
                  The objective of the study is to explore parents' perceptions of COVID-19–like symptoms in their child and attitudes towards isolating from others in the household when unwell.

                  Study design
                  The study used qualitative, semistructured interviews.

                  Methods
                  The study involved thirty semistructured telephone interviews with parents of children between 4 and 18 years. Thirty semistructured telephone interviews with parents of children between 4 and 18 years.

                  Results
                  We found four themes relating to symptom attribution ('normalising symptoms', 'err on the side of caution', 'experience of temperature', 'symptoms not normal for us'). In general, parents were more likely to attribute symptoms to COVID-19 if a temperature was present or the symptoms were perceived as 'unusual' for their family. Four themes relating to self-isolation ('difficult to prevent contact with children', 'isolation would be no different to lockdown life', 'ability to get food and supplies', 'limited space'). Parents believed they would find isolation within the household difficult or impossible if they had dependent children, had limited space or could not shop for groceries.

                  Conclusions
                  The findings highlight complexities in symptom perception, attribution and household isolation. We suggest that they can be overcome by (a) providing better guidance on what symptoms require action, (b) providing guidance as to how to prevent infection within the household and (c) by supporting families with grocery shopping through a potential second or third wave.


The oral non-ergot D2-dopamine agonist quinagolide (CV 205-502, CAS 87056-78-8) has proven to be highly effective in suppressing elevated prolactin (PRL) levels. It was the aim of this study to search for possible interference of the drug with other endocrine systems which are partly under dopaminergic control, and to compare such effects to those of previously investigated prolactin inhibitors. Twelve patients suffering from macroprolactinoma were treated for at least 6 months with daily doses ranging from 50 up to 300 micrograms. During the first two months, individual doses were gradually increased either until serum PRL levels reached the normal range (n = 7) or until side effects made a further dose increase intolerable (n = 5). Mean basal PRL level fell from 255 +/- 65 (SEM) ng/ml before treatment to 19 +/- 8 ng/ml, after the definite dose was reached (p < 0.01). Luteinizing hormone (LH) rose from 0.6 +/- 0.8 (SD) to 1.7 +/- 1.6 mU/ml (p < 0.05). While basal levels of aldosterone, renin, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), triiodothyronine (T3), testosterone, and estradiol in females were not affected by the treatment, we found a significant rise in thyroxine (T4) and a decrease of estradiol in males. Blood pressure and renal clearances of creatinine, sodium, potassium, and chloride failed to show any significant change. Following stimulation with metoclopramide, aldosterone and renin rose sharply before treatment was initiated. When the test was repeated during treatment, the increase of plasma renin was slightly dampened, whereas the rise of aldosterone remained unaffected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


We assessed spatial and temporal patterns of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) lability and composition throughout the alluvial aquifer of the 16 km Nyack Floodplain in northwest Montana, USA. Water influx to the aquifer derives almost exclusively from the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, and water residence times within the aquifer range from days to months. Across seasons and channel discharge conditions, we measured DOC concentration, lability, and optical properties of aquifer water sampled from 12 wells, both near and ~3m below the water table. Concentrations of DOC were typically low (542±22.7μgL ; mean± se), and the percentage of labile DOC averaged 18±12% during 3day laboratory assays. Parallel factor analysis of fluorescence excitation-emission matrices revealed two humic-like and two amino acid-like fluorescence groups. Total DOC, humic-like components, and specific UV absorbance decreased with water residence time, consistent with sorption to aquifer sediments. However, labile DOC (both concentration and fraction) increased with water residence time, suggesting a concurrent influx or production of labile DOC. Thus, although the carbon-poor, oxygen-rich aquifer is a net sink for DOC, recalcitrant DOC appears to be replacedwithmore labile DOC along aquifer flow paths. Our observation of DOC production in long flow paths contrasts with studies of hyporheic DOC consumption along short (centimeters to meters) flow paths and highlights the importance of understanding the role of labile organic matter production and/or influx in alluvial aquifer carbon cycling.


To explore further the competition between vasoconstrictor and vasodilator reflexes in the regulation of skin blood flow, responses in forearm blood flow (FBF) to the initiation of supine leg exercise were measured by plethysmography against a background of rising internal temperature. In 17 studies involving six men, skin temperature (Tsk) was controlled with water-perfused suits first at normothermic levels, followed by a 40- to 50-min period during which Tsk was held at 38-38.5 degrees C. Supine leg exercise at a moderate intensity (100-150 W) was performed for 5-6 min of each 15 min throughout, yielding one period of exercise performed during normothermic conditions and three periods of exercise performed during the period of elevated Tsk. On the average, FBF fell significantly with the beginning of each period of exercise (P less than 0.05). Furthermore, the amount by which FBF fell tended to increase with increasing levels of preexercise FBF. Thus the average fall in FBF associated with the onset of the last period of exercise, 2.45 ml X 100 ml-1 X min-1, significantly exceeded the 1.12 ml X 100 ml-1 X min-1 fall in FBF seen with onset of work in normothermic conditions. These responses were not due to changes in internal temperature as reflected by esophageal temperatures. However, individual studies occasionally revealed a reduction or abolition of the vasoconstrictor response with the last period of exercise. These findings are in agreement with earlier studies showing a cutaneous participation in the vasoconstrictor responses to exercise but also indicate that sufficient hyperthermia can attenuate or even abolish this response.


Burn is a global problem with a magnitude of chains of psychological effects on surviving victims and socio economic implications for the individual, the immediate family and the society at large. This paper seeks to highlight the major consequences of burn injuries in the Nigerian society. There is a growing evidence of households in low and middle  income countries being pushed into poverty when faced with substantial medical expenses, particularly when this is combined with a loss of income due to illhealth. Impact of burn incidences if analyzed will show that affected individuals suffer a lot of pain, will not be able to function in the usual role e.g. as father, mother, teacher, manager, daughter, etc. This leads to loss of income which will affect compliance with treatment which will increase potential for complications such as septicemia, contractures and disfigurement. The need for repeated surgery to reconstruct and refashion has accompanying clinical risk as well as large financial implications. The paper recommends that government should promulgate laws that will enforce use of appropriate materials in building industries, equip power supply authorities and those responsible for maintaining manufacturing standards to ensure primary prevention. It should continue investing in training and retraining of personnel involved in burn care and establishes more burn units with attached rehabilitative and counseling units to achieve effective management. A national burn management guideline would also enhance management and outcome of burn injury.


Use of ultraviolet detection to quantitate analytes is a basic concept of analytical chemistry. The basis of this application is well defined by Beer-Lambert's law. To this end, the authors applied Beer-Lambert's law as a simple and rapid tool to measure the accuracy of extemporaneously compounded pharmaceuticals. Using two commonly extemporaneously compounded formulations, the authors demonstrated the application of this tool. Advantages and limitations of the ultraviolet-visible technique are discussed. The authors speculate that more advanced spectral techniques for quality control will be adopted in the future. These techniques will be more accurate and will be associated with fewer limitations. However, costs associated with use will be greater.


Abstract. To fight against the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) in 2020, lockdown measures were implemented in most European
countries. These lockdowns had well-documented effects on human mobility. We
assessed the impact of the lockdown implementation and relaxation on air
pollution by comparing daily particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide
(NO2) and ozone (O3) concentrations, as well as particle number
size distributions (PNSDs) and particle light absorption coefficient in situ
measurement data, with values that would have been expected if no COVID-19 epidemic had occurred
at 28 sites across Europe for the period 17 February–31 May 2020.
Expected PM, NO2 and O3 concentrations were calculated from the
2020 Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) ensemble forecasts,
combined with 2019 CAMS ensemble forecasts and measurement data. On average,
lockdown implementations did not lead to a decrease in PM2.5 mass
concentrations at urban sites, while relaxations resulted in a +26 ± 21 % rebound. The impacts of lockdown implementation and relaxation on
NO2 concentrations were more consistent (−29 ± 17 and +31 ± 30 %, respectively). The implementation of the lockdown measures
also induced statistically significant increases in O3 concentrations
at half of all sites (+13 % on average). An enhanced oxidising capacity
of the atmosphere could have boosted the production of secondary aerosol at
those places. By comparison with 2017–2019 measurement data, a
significant change in the relative contributions of wood and fossil fuel
burning to the concentration of black carbon during the lockdown was
detected at 7 out of 14 sites. The contribution of particles smaller than 70 nm to the total number of particles significantly also changed at most of
the urban sites, with a mean decrease of −7 ± 5 % coinciding with
the lockdown implementation. Our study shows that the response of PM2.5
and PM10 mass concentrations to lockdown measures was not systematic at
various sites across Europe for multiple reasons, the relationship between
road traffic intensity and particulate air pollution being more complex than
expected.


Clinical practice is an important part of nursing education, and robust instruments are required to evaluate the effectiveness of the hospital setting as a learning environment. The study aim is the psychometric test of the Clinical Learning Environment+Teacher (CLES+T) scale-Greek version.: 463 students practicing in acute care hospitals participated in the study. The reliability of the instrument was estimated with Cronbach's alpha coefficients. The construct validity was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with Varimax rotation. Convergent validity was examined by measuring the bivariate correlations between the scale/subscales. Content, validity and semantic equivalence were examined through reviews by a panel of experts. The total scale showed high internal consistency (α=0.95). EFA was identical to the original scale, had eigen values larger than one and explained a total of 67.4% of the variance. The factor with the highest eigen value and the largest percentage of variance explained was "supervisory relationship", with an original eigenvalue of 13.1 (6.8 after Varimax rotation) and an explanation of around 38% of the variance (or 20% after rotation). Convergent validity was examined by measuring the bivariate correlations between the scale and a question that measured the general satisfaction. The Greek version of the CLES+T is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to examine students' perceptions of the clinical learning environment.


This paper discusses the context of the written text of alJawahir al-khamsah by Syaikh al-MuhammadAl-Gaus al-Hindi and its relation to a number of other texts which become the source of reference teaching institutes Syattariyah. It also discussed the important position of al-Jawahir al-khamsah text for the followers of the Syattariyah congregation, as well as a general overview of the distribution of copies either in India, Haramayn, and the archipelago. Kitab Al-Jawahir Al-khamsah is a practical book for the followers of Syattariyah congregation the most popular, because it was written based on the author's experience of spiritual exercises tauGt by the teacher, Syaikh Zuhur al-Haji Huduri, for more than 13 years at the top of Mount Janar (Cunar), North India. Kitab al-Jawahir al-Khamsah is a complement of the book of reference Lata'if al-Gaibiyyah and Risalah Syatariyah. So called, because the book of al-Jawahir al-Khamsah contains concepts the idea of founders Syattariyah (Syaikh 'Abdullah al-Syattar} and his followers (Syaikh Baha'uddin), but in a more practical form. Syaikh al-Mufammad Al-Gaus called it asa ''jewel" (الجوهر ) consisting of 'compassion' ('ibadah) and the procedures, zuhd and the procedures, and the procedures creations of prayer, remembrance and the procedures, as well as about the legacy of truth and 'a 'mal al-muhaqqiqin (deeds experts nature) and how to take it. Until now discovered at least five copies of the manuscript al-Jawahir al-Khamsah scattered in various regions, such as India, the Archipelago, Leiden (Netherlands), Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia as one of the countries in the area of North Africa. The manuscript consecutively numbered and each code: 189 خ- ج ; A 37; A 42; Cod.Or. 7201; and A-MSS-07150. This limited findings certainly do not rule out the existence of a copy of the manuscript al-Jawahir al-Khamsah other in other countries, particularly in India and Pakistan as well as Asean countries other than Indonesia.


. The urgency of developing unified approaches to the reform of procedural legislation is justified by its aggravated lack of system and chaotic nature of the changes introduced. Purpose: to analyze the current legislative work on the reform of criminal procedure and other legislation and its impact on the quality of criminal proceedings and the prospects for its convergence with other types of judicial process. Methods: the method of comparative law is the determining method of the research. In addition, general and special methods are applied (analysis and synthesis, logical, special-legal). Results: the study reveals the lack of consistency between the changes made and those planned in the sec-toral procedural legislation. The development of digital technologies contributed to the spread of the use of web conferences in court and capabilities of Portal of Government Services in arbitration, civil and administrative proceedings, but not in criminal ones. The bills under consideration in the State Duma of the Russian Federation to modify the procedure for appealing challenges in criminal proceedings and to exclude decisions on administrative offences from the list of acts of prejudicial significance in criminal proceedings, do not take into account the state of the relevant universal institutions in other forms of justice.


ABSTRACT The mammalian intestinal epithelium is a rapidly self-renewing tissue in the body, and its homeostasis depends on a dynamic balance among proliferation, migration, apoptosis, and differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). The protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A)-associated protein α4 controls the activity and specificity of serine/threonine phosphatases and is thus implicated in many cellular processes. Here, using a genetic approach, we investigated the mechanisms whereby α4 controls the homeostasis of the intestinal epithelium. In mice with ablated α4, the small intestinal mucosa exhibited crypt hyperplasia, villus shrinkage, defective differentiation of Paneth cells, and reduced IEC migration along the crypt-villus axis. The α4-deficient intestinal epithelium also displayed decreased expression of different intercellular junction proteins and abnormal epithelial permeability. In addition, α4 deficiency decreased the levels of the RNA-binding protein HuR in the mucosal tissue. In cultured IECs, ectopic overexpression of HuR in α4-deficient cells rescued the production of these intercellular junction proteins and restored the epithelial barrier function to a nearly normal level. Mechanistically, α4 silencing destabilized HuR through a process involving HuR phosphorylation by IκB kinase α, leading to ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis of HuR. These findings indicate that the critical impact of α4 upon the barrier function and homeostasis of the intestinal epithelium depends largely on its ability to regulate the stability of HuR.


A few families of transposable elements (TEs) have been shown to evolve into cis-regulatory elements (CREs). Here, to extend these studies to all classes of TEs in the human genome, we identified widespread enhancer-like repeats (ELRs) and find that ELRs reliably mark cell identities, are enriched for lineage-specific master transcription factor binding sites, and are mostly primate-specific. In particular, elements of MIR and L2 TE families whose abundance co-evolved across chordate genomes, are found as ELRs in most human cell types examined. MIR and L2 elements frequently share long-range intra-chromosomal interactions and binding of physically interacting transcription factors. We validated that eight L2 and nine MIR elements function as enhancers in reporter assays, and among 20 MIR-L2 pairings, one MIR repressed and one boosted the enhancer activity of L2 elements. Our results reveal a previously unappreciated co-evolution and interaction between two TE families in shaping regulatory networks.


The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview, analysis, and synthesis of theory and research on the mediatization of politics. The mediatization of politics is defined as a long-term process through which the importance of the media and their spill-over effects on political processes, institutions, organizations, and actors has increased. Four dimensions can be distinguished in this process, related to the importance of media as source of information about politics and society, the autonomy of media institutions from other social and political institutions, and the extent to which media content and political institutions, organizations, and actors respectively are guided by media logic or political logic. Both media logic and political logic are conceptualized as three-dimensional concepts. While media logic is conceptualized as shaped by professionalism, commercialism, and media technology, political logic is conceptualized as shaped by polity, policy, and politics. The chapter also analyzes the concepts of media influence and media effects within the context of the mediatization of politics. The chapter concludes by identifying five challenges for further theory and research on the mediatization of politics.


Model-based testing (MBT) aims at automated, scalable, and systematic testing solutions for complex industrial software systems. To increase chances of adoption in industrial contexts, software systems can be modeled using well-established standards such as the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and the Object Constraint Language (OCL). Given that test data generation is one of the major challenges to automate MBT, we focus on test data generation from OCL constraints in this paper. This endeavor is all the more challenging given the numerous OCL constructs and operations that are designed to facilitate the definition of constraints. Though search-based software testing has been applied to test data generation for white-box testing (e.g., branch coverage), its application to the MBT of industrial software systems has been limited. In this paper, we propose a set of search heuristics targeted to OCL constraints to guide test data generation and automate MBT in industrial applications. We evaluate these heuristics for three search algorithms: Genetic Algorithm, (1+1) Evolutionary Algorithm, and Alternating Variable Method. We empirically evaluate our heuristics using complex artificial problems, followed by empirical analyses of the feasibility of our approach on one industrial system in the context of robustness testing. Our approach is also compared with the most widely referenced OCL solver (UMLtoCSP) in the literature and shows to be significantly more efficient.


Multiferroic BiFeO 3 (BFO) nanotube arrays (100 nm in diameter and 50 nm in length) were synthesized by the sol-gel method utilizing the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane technique. The microstructure and chemical components of the BFO nanotubes were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). The BFO nanotubes exhibited polycrystalline microstructures. The novel Y-junction BFO nano- tubes were simultaneously fabricated. that nanotubes the of 3+ 2+ ,


Since the City Planning Act in 1968, residential land use has been one of the most important policy issues in many city governments. Under these circumstances, especially in local cities, agricultural cooperatives have been expected to play a role in orderly land use. This paper aims to clarify the roles of the agricultural cooperative in the development policy of a local city by analyzing the policy process that occurred during residential development in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture. The policy process is outlined as follows. 1) Agenda setting In the early 1980s, the administration of the city was under fiscal restraints because of public investments, with disorderly developments in urbanization control areas. On the other hand, the administration was concerned about the population drain to nearby cities owing to the controlled development. As a result, the administration decided to expand urbanization promotion areas and to fix the residential population there. 2) Policy decision A consensus among the farmers of the affected vicinities had to be established before expanding urbanization promotion areas. As a policy response for this agenda, in 1984 the administration established the Workshop of Regional Development to collaborate with the agricultural cooperative (JA Matsumoto Highland and JA Matsumoto City) as a farmers' interest group. The Regional Development Workshop promoted land readjustment projects in new urbanization promotion areas. 3) Policy implementation In land readjustment projects, the agricultural cooperative was proactive in playing the role of coordinator between farmers and the administration and was successful in establishing a consensus among farmers. Consequently, the roles of the agricultural cooperative were indispensable for the administration to carry out its policy. Meanwhile, the agricultural cooperative was not only the coordinator but also an actor in the private sector which pursued development benefits from real estate deals and fund operations. These land readjustment projects were agreed upon between the administration and the agricultural cooperative. As a result of the policy process, residential development in Matsumoto City advanced steadily after the mid-1980s. The Workshop of Regional Development institutionally maintained the roles of the agricultural cooperative and worked to achieve this growth.


A self tuning adaptive control algorithm called adaptive queue control (AQC) has been proposed for active queue management (AQM) in TCP networks. This scheme exploits online estimates of the network parameters in the control parameters adjustment rule. AQC, as a queue-based control mechanism, responds quickly to traffic changes, thus allowing for high utilization and small loss. It can effectively stabilize the queue length around target level. We illustrate our results using ns-2 simulations and demonstrate the practical impact of self tuning control on managing queue utilization and delay


These paper discusses a general method based on MapInfo that used Excel data to found CATV-Element-Net-GIS, and presents the key processes.


The degradation behavior was investigated for eco-composite nursery containers (NCs) prepared with rice husk and cornstarch adhesive modified with urea formaldehyde (UF) as a wet strength agent. The wet shear strength, water absorption capacities, and biological degradation of NCs within soil were also investigated. Quantitative analysis of the thermal degradation behavior of different NC versions was performed by thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The results demonstrated that the introduction of the UF agent accelerated the soil degradation of the NCs matrix to a certain extent. The maximum cumulative mass loss was 51.1% when the UF content of NCs was 8 wt.%. Moreover, the dry strength of the mixed urea formaldehyde-cornstarch adhesive (UCA) was increased by 108.9% compared with cornstarch adhesive (CA). The results of this work indicate the improved biodegradability of the NC eco-composites, which could make them potential sustainable alternatives for conventional plastic pots.


The efficacy of epinephrine in prolonging spinal analgesia has recently been confirmed in the lumbosacral but not in the thoracic, segments.Most previous studies used doses of epinephrine smaller than 0.3 mg. We studied the effects of 0.2, 0.4, or 0.6 mg of epinephrine added to hyperbaric lidocaine 60 mg in 7.5% dextrose solution for spinal anesthesia. Eighty patients were randomly divided into four groups: Group A received lidocaine without epinephrine, Group B received lidocaine plus 0.2 mL (0.2 mg) of epinephrine 1:1000 solution, Group C received lidocaine plus 0.4 mL (0.4 mg) of epinephrine, and Group D received lidocaine plus 0.6 mL (0.6 mg) of epinephrine. The maximal cephalad sensory level was between T2 and T3 for all groups. The median times for analgesia to regress two and four segments were significantly prolonged in Group D, but not in either Group B or C, compared with those in Group A. Times for regression to T12 and L3 were significantly prolonged in Groups B, C, and D compared with Group A. We conclude that the dose-dependent relationship of spinal analgesia can be applied to epinephrine, and that larger doses prolong lidocaine spinal anesthesia in the thoracic as well as the lumbosacral dermatomes. Implications: Prolongation of lidocaine spinal analgesia by intrathecal epinephrine is established in the lumbosacral, but not in the thoracic, dermatomes. Three doses of epinephrine-0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 mg-were compared. A dose-dependent response and significant prolongation with the 0.6-mg dose in the thoracic dermatomes were confirmed. (Anesth Analg 1998;86:1018-22)


Objective: Glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) have an important role in mediating the effects of glucocorticoids (GCs) on brain plasticity and mood. GC drugs and elevated cortisol level can cause psychiatric disorders including depression. The B-vitamins have numerous benefits on general health as well as mood, and cognition. The aim was evaluating the effect of vitamin B6 following dexamethasone (DEX)-induced depression in mice, to see if it can be proposed as a remedy for psychiatric problems following GC therapy. Methods: Male mice were housed by six. The immobility time was measured, in the forced swimming test as an animal model of despair and sucrose preference was measured in order to test anhedonia (<65% was taken as a criterion for anhedonia). DEX was administered either single dose (15, 60, 250 mcg/kg) or 15 mcg/kg for 7 consecutive days, vitamin B6 (100 mg/kg) was administered for 7 days. Results: DEX dose dependently increased immobility time that denoted animal depression; as it was 177.5 seconds ± 3 following 60 mcg/kg and 188.3 seconds ± 5 following 250 mcg/kg administration (vs. control animals 164 seconds ± 6, P < 0.01). Premedication with vitamin B6 prevented DEX-induced depression and demonstrated antidepressant effect. It also reduced the immobility time following 7days DEX injection (192.5 seconds ± 6) to 100 seconds ± 5.5; sucrose preference escalated from 50%±3 to 87%±4. Conclusion: Vitamin B6 prevented DEX-induced depression possibly by altering the GR function. Thus Vitamin B6 could be promising in patients suffering from GC-induced psychiatric adverse effects and probably controlling stress and preventing its affective disorder out comes.


Thirty supraclavicular traction injuries of the brachial plexus are reported. Young motor cyclists are frequently involved. Recovery is slow and often incomplete. Myelography remains the most useful investigation for prognostic purposes. The management of intractable pain is discussed. An early assessment of prognosis is an important fact in planning and supervising the long-term management of these patients.


We point out a connection between Gabor analysis and noncommutative analysis. Especially, the strong Morita equivalence of noncommutative tori appears as underlying setting for Gabor analysis, since the construction of equivalence bimodules for noncommutative tori has a natural formulation in the notions of Gabor analysis. As an application we show that Feichtinger's algebra is such an equivalence bimodule. Furthermore, we present Connes's construction of projective modules for noncommutative tori and the relevance of a generalization of Wiener's lemma for twisted convolution by Gröchenig and Leinert. Finally we indicate an approach to the biorthogonality relation of Wexler-Raz on the existence of dual atoms of a Gabor frame operator based on results about Morita equivalence.


Recent research suggests that self-oriented perfectionism may be a positive dimension of perfectionism. However, Flett and Hewitt (2005, 2006) have argued that while this dimension may appear to have some desirable consequences, it renders those high in the disposition vulnerable to psychological and motivational difficulties when personal standards are not met. The present investigation sought to examine this assertion by comparing the cognitive, affective and behavioural responses of those reporting higher and lower self-oriented perfectionism after experiencing two successive failures on a muscular endurance task. Sixty-eight student-athletes (M age = 19.75 years, SD = 1.25 years) performed a series of cycling trials in which they failed to meet personal performance targets. Providing some support for Flett and Hewitt's assertions, findings indicated that following failure in the first trial, those higher in self-oriented perfectionism experienced a more pronounced increase in threat and reported withdrawing effort from the subsequent trial.


Rumors regarding COVID-19 have been prevalent on the Internet and affect the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using 1,296 COVID-19 rumors collected from an online platform (piyao.org.cn) in China, we found measurable differences in the content characteristics between true and false rumors. We revealed that the length of a rumor's headline is negatively related to the probability of a rumor being true [odds ratio (OR) = 0.37, 95% CI (0.30, 0.44)]. In contrast, the length of a rumor's statement is positively related to this probability [OR = 1.11, 95% CI (1.09, 1.13)]. In addition, we found that a rumor is more likely to be true if it contains concrete places [OR = 20.83, 95% CI (9.60, 48.98)] and it specifies the date or time of events [OR = 22.31, 95% CI (9.63, 57.92)]. The rumor is also likely to be true when it does not evoke positive or negative emotions [OR = 0.15, 95% CI (0.08, 0.29)] and does not include a call for action [OR = 0.06, 95% CI (0.02, 0.12)]. By contrast, the presence of source cues [OR = 0.64, 95% CI (0.31, 1.28)] and visuals [OR = 1.41, 95% CI (0.53, 3.73)] is related to this probability with limited significance. Our findings provide some clues for identifying COVID-19 rumors using their content characteristics.


The Caribbean Sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus produces two pore-forming proteins, sticholysins I and II (StI and StII). To clarify the contribution of the fi rst thirty (StII) or thirty-one (StI) N-terminal amino acid residues to the activity of the toxins, four peptides spanning residues 1-31 of StI (StI1-31, StI12-31) and 1-30 of StII (StII1-30, StII11-30) were synthesized. StII1-30 was the most active peptide, followed by StI1-31 and the shortest ones. The difference between the hemolytic activities of the largest peptides qualitatively reproduces that found between the respective toxins StI and StII. The results suggest the importance of continuity of the 1-10 hydrophobic amino acid sequence in StII1-30 for displaying higher membrane binding and activity. Thus, the different peptide membranotropic action is explained in terms of the differences in their hydrophobic and electrostatic properties. Furthermore, we also demonstrated that StII1-30 forms pores of similar radius to that of the protein (around 1 nm), with its N-terminus oriented towards the hydrophobic core of the bilayer while the rest of the peptide is more exposed to the aqueous environment, as hypothesized for sticholysins. Altogether these results demonstrate that synthetic peptides that reproduce sticholysins' N-terminus are not only a good model of these toxins structure and function but, and due to its reduced molecular size, could also be useful biotechnological tools instead of their larger parental proteins. This research won the 2012 Award of the Cuban National Academy of Sciences.


Japan and Indonesia have long held bilateral relations in various sectors. The Japanese Government through JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) provides assistance to developing countries, one of them is Indonesia. As an intergovernmental international organization, there is an active role of public relations that works to improve the company's positive image. In the process of improving corporate image one of the elements that have a role is communication. JICA Indonesia public relations and social media have a very important role because it is a liaison of communication and information between corporate Public Relations to stakeholders both internal and external companies. By carrying the concept of Cyber Public Relations in improving corporate image, this research was conducted using qualitative methods to produce an original description with communication point of view. The data collected from JICA Indonesia public relations has utilized social media to boost the company's positive image with the Cyber PR concept. It can be proven by JICA Indonesia has already applied Cyber PR forms including Social Media Release and Video News Release


The advent of cloud computing and storage provides numerous opportunities for better management of resources, with the potential of drastically reducing costs. However, when data is outsourced to the cloud, new security vulnerabilities emerge, as the cloud provider (and its employees) are normally not completely trusted by the party that is outsourcing the data. Therefore additional security mechanisms are needed in order to prevent against internal attacks in the cloud provider. Nonetheless, the performance and functionality should be impacted as less as possible. This work presents a database adapter for the secure outsourcing of data that aims at achieving a good performancesecurity trade-off.


Democracy is a political system that provides space for the opposition because the basis of democracy is the existence of popular sovereignty and freedom. Furthermore, people have the right to participate in political decision-making and win the course of the government. Related to the democratic system, it can be transparent, human, and constitutional. On the other hand, Islamic politics is built with Islamic values that emphasize the people's welfare in the democratic system in Indonesia. Likewise, the actions of the opposition are included in the study of Islamic politics. This research intends to see Indonesia's political opposition from the perspective of Islamic politics. Qualitative and systematic literature review methods are considered appropriate in examining political conflict from an Islamic political perspective. The results of the study stated that in Islamic politics, the people/people were agreed to obey the leaders or the government. However, Muslims are obliged to give advice or ask for permission from the leaders or the government  to apply a mistake or wrongdoer. Thus, the political exclusion is a noble political policy, including even the superior people, because they believe in the leaders or the government for wrong behavior. The agreed opposition was for the others: first, Amar Makruf and prevent sleaze. Second, oppose upholding justice. Third, the opposition is for the benefit of the people. Four, Opposition and constitutional;opposition is done politely andgently.


Prior research shows that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can utilize domestic networks with internationally experienced partners to accelerate their internationalization process. Yet, there is a lack of clarity and limited empirical evidence regarding the role of relational mechanisms within these networks in driving post-entry internationalization speed (PIS) of SMEs. To address this gap, this study examines the relational mechanisms-PIS relationship by drawing insights from the relational view to argue that foreign market knowledge mediates the relationship between relational mechanisms and PIS. The hypothesized study model is tested using a structural equation modelling (SEM) technique on a sample of 394 UK based manufacturing SMEs. Our results show that foreign market knowledge acquisition from domestic networks fully mediates the relationship between relational mechanisms and PIS. Additionally, the linkage between foreign market knowledge acquisition and PIS is moderated by domestic environmental hostility, such that the relationship is strengthened when domestic environmental hostility increases. We discuss the contributions and implications of our results and suggest opportunities for future research.


We report the detection of optical and X-ray variability in the least luminous known Seyfert galaxy, NGC 4395. Between 1996 July and 1997 January the featureless continuum changed by a factor of 2, which is typical of more luminous AGN. The largest variation was seen at shorter wavelengths, so that the spectrum became `harder' during higher activity states. During the same period, the broad emission-line flux changed by ∼ 20-30 per cent. In a one-week optical broad-band monitoring programme, a 20 per cent change was seen between successive nights. The difference in flux observed between the spectroscopy of 1996 July and the broad-band observations implies variation by a factor of 3 at 4400 A in just one month. In the same period, the spectral shape changed from a power law with spectral index α∼ 0 (characteristic of quasars) to a spectral index α∼ 2 (as observed in other dwarf AGN). ROSAT HRI and PSPC archive data show a variable X-ray source coincident with the Galactic nucleus. A change in X-ray flux by a factor ∼ 2 in 15 d has been observed. When compared with more luminous AGN, NGC 4395 appears to be very X-ray quiet. The hardness ratio obtained from the PSPC data suggests that the spectrum could be absorbed. We also report the discovery of weak Ca II K absorption, suggesting the presence of a young stellar cluster providing of the order of 10 per cent of the blue light. The stellar cluster may be directly observed as a diffuse component in Hubble Space Telescope (HST ) optical imaging. Using HST UV archive data, together with the optical and X-ray observations, we examine the spectral energy distribution for NGC 4395 and discuss the physical conditions implied by the nuclear activity under the standard AGN model. When in the low state, the extrapolated UV continuum is insufficient to explain the observed broad emission lines. This could be explained by intrinsic variability or absorption or may imply an extra heating source for the broad-line region. The observations can be explained either by an accreting massive black hole emitting at about 10-3LEdd or by a single old compact supernova remnant with an age of 50 to 500 yr generated by a small nuclear starburst.


Abstract Objective: Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitor unplanned school closure (USC) reports through online systematic searches (OSS) to assist public health emergency responses. We counted the additional reports identified through social media along with OSS to improve USC monitoring. Methods: Facebook and Twitter data of public-school districts and private schools in counties affected by California wildfires in October and December of 2017 and January of 2018 were retrieved. We computed descriptive statistics and performed multivariable logistic regression for both OSS and social media data. Results: Among the 362 public-school districts in wildfire-affected counties, USCs were identified for 115 (32%) districts, of which OSS identified 104 (90%), Facebook, 59 (52%), and Twitter, 37 (32%). These data correspond to 4622 public schools, among which USCs were identified for 888 (19.2%) schools, of which OSS identified 722 (81.3%), Facebook, 496 (55.9%), and Twitter, 312 (35.1%). Among 1289 private schools, USCs were identified for 104 schools, of which OSS identified 47 (45.2%), Facebook, 67 (64.4%), and Twitter, 29 (27.9%). USC announcements identified via social media, in addition to those via OSS, were 11 public school districts, 166 public schools, and 57 private schools. Conclusion: Social media complements OSS as additional resources for USC monitoring during disasters.