Any contraceptive method acts by producing temporary sterility. Var iations in the time of spontaneous ovulation and variations in the length of the cycle render the date of ovulation relatively unpredictabl e. The safe period, therefore, varies. Hormonal sterilization deals with methods that render the woman sterile for the duration of at least 1 menstrual cycle. This anovulatory cycle is 1 method. No corpus luteum forms although bleeding occurs cyclically. Most cycles during lactation are sterile. Other women sometimes have anovulatory cycles. Prolactin injections have been shown to temporarily suppress ovarian cyclic activity in mice and rats. Prolactin may produce anovulatory cycles in women and thus provide a method of hormonal sterilization. 4 mg progesterone daily inhibits estrus. Studies with estrone show that it has a depressant effect on ovarian response to follicle stimulating hormone. Large doses of estradiol benzoate used to treat dysmenorrhea have altered menstrual rhythm. Injection of gonadotrophic antisera for prevention of ovulation is a possibility. Daily injections of estrone, begun on day of mating, usually have resulted in retention of ova in the fallopian tubes of mice and rabbits. All of these ova showed signs of degeneration by Day 4. Fertilized human ova may be tube locked by an excess of estrone or degeneration of the fertilized ovum may inhibit further development. The potentialities of hormonal sterilization are great. Extensive investigation for humans is warranted.


This article examines Ireland's strategic and diplomatic importance for foreign continental European powers in the early years of the twentieth century, a subject much neglected by historians. It focuses on how Austria-Hungary, France and Germany analyzed the Irish crisis between 1899 and 1914. It shows how the pattern of alliances in Europe changed these powers' outlook on Ireland. After the signing of the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France in 1904, the French lost all interest in their relations with Irish separatists. The Germans took over their role as they saw a possibility to break the encirclement of the Triple Entente countries. The article argues that there was a definite 'Irish factor' in the events leading to the outbreak of the First World War, notably in Germany and Austria-Hungary's decision-making process.


In this paper, we investigate packet scheduling and radio resource allocation in orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) wireless networks. Each subchannel is a Rayleigh fading channel modeled by a finite state Markov channel (FSMC). The wireless fair service (WFS) packet scheduler is modified for a multi carrier and multi rate context. The proposed algorithm, named opportunist wireless fair service (OWFS), copes with both real time (RT) and non real time (NRT) traffic constraints. For both traffic classes, specific criteria of performance are compared with PLFS, a scheduler recently proposed for OFDMA.


Purified int protein from bacteriophage lambda binds to specific sites in DNA that are not part of the functional attachment sites (non-att DNA) as well as to specific sites in att DNA. Analysis of non-att sites protected from nucleases by int has permitted definition of two distinctly different consensus recognition sequences, one of which, the arm-type sequence, is characterized in this report. Both types of recognition sequence occur in attP; five copies of the arm-type consensus sequence are located distant from the crossover region in the P1, P2, and P' arm protected regions. The second type of recognition sequence occurs at the crossover region. Modification of int with N-ethylmaleimide selectively alters its interaction with arm-type sequences.


Background Immune-checkpoint (IC) inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment of multiple solid tumors and defined lymphomas, but they are largely ineffective in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The reason why especially PD1/PD-L1 blocking agents are not efficacious is not well-understood but it may be due to the contribution of different IC ligand/receptor interactions that determine the function of T cells in AML. Methods To analyze the interactions of IC ligands and receptors in AML, we performed a comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of FACS-purified leukemia stem/progenitor cells and paired bone marrow (BM)-infiltrating CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from 30 patients with AML. The gene expression profiles of activating and inhibiting IC ligands and receptors were correlated with the clinical data. Epigenetic mechanisms were studied by inhibiting the histone deacetylase with valproic acid or by gene silencing of PAC1. Results We observed that IC ligands and receptors were mainly upregulated in leukemia stem cells. The gene expression of activating IC ligands and receptors correlated with improved prognosis and vice versa. In contrast, the majority of IC receptor genes were downregulated in BM-infiltrating CD8+ T cells and partially in CD4+ T cells, due to pathological chromatin remodeling via histone deacetylation. Therefore, treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) or silencing of PAC1, as a T cell-specific epigenetic modulator, significantly increased the expression of IC receptors and defined effector molecules in CD8+ T cells. Conclusions Our results suggest that CD8+ T cells in AML are dysfunctional mainly due to pathological epigenetic silencing of activating IC receptors rather than due to signaling by immune inhibitory IC receptors, which may explain the limited efficacy of antibodies that block immune-inhibitory ICs in AML.


We investigate the electronic energy levels of a circular graphene quantum dot with a hydrogenic impurity placed at the center of the dot. We have adopted a variational scheme in such a way that the trial wave functions take into account the carrier confinement due to the dot geometry as well as the effect of the magnetic field. We found that the presence of impurity strongly modifies the electronic spectrum of the graphene quantum dot. We also calculated the critical value of the impurity strength as a function of dot radius.


Although equids have had to be tagged with a transponder since 2009, breeding associations in Germany disagree as to which method is best suited for identification (with or without hot iron branding). Therefore, the aim of this systematic literature review was to gain an overview of how effective identification is using transponders and hot iron branding and as to which factors influence the success of identification. Existing literature showed that equids can be identified by means of transponders with a probability of 85-100%, whereas symbol brandings could be identified correctly in 78-89%, whole number brandings in 0-87% and single figures in 37-92% of the readings, respectively. The successful reading of microchips can be further optimised by a correctly operated implantation process and thorough training of the applying persons. affect identification with a scanner. The removal of transponders for manipulation purposes is virtually impossible. Influences during the application of branding marks can hardly, if at all, be standardised, but influence the subsequent readability relevantly. Therefore, identification by means of hot branding cannot be considered sufficiently reliable. Impaired quality of identification can be reduced during reading but cannot be counteracted. Based on the existing studies it can be concluded that the transponder method is the best suited of the investigated methods for clearly identifying equids, being forgery-proof and permanent. It is not to be expected that applying hot branding in addition to microchips would optimise the probability of identification relevantly.


We propose a new joint receiver for the blind detection of synchronous co-channel multiuser signals modulated with orthogonal space-time block codes (OSTBC). We exploit the algebraic structure of the orthogonal space-time block codes and the constellation feature of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) signals to develop a blind zero-forcing (ZF) detector based on quadratic programming (QP) with desirable convergence properties. Focusing on high rate space-time block codes in synchronous co-channel multiuser systems, we propose a successive processing joint receiver based on the proposed blind detector with low computational complexity and fast convergence. For signal detection in single user MIMO systems, the proposed QP algorithm has performance similar to that of maximum-likelihood receiver with wireless channel information. Unlike many existing techniques, our new receiver is applicable to full-rate orthogonal space-time block codes such as the practically popular Alamouti code. Furthermore, our QP receiver for multiuser detection relaxes stringent conditions on the number of receive antennas of the multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) transceiver systems.


The intensive and systematic scholarly interest in the relation of Patočka's phenomenology to religion and Christianity is recent and has only intensified over the last ten years. Thus far, the topic has mainly been studied from philosophical and theological perspectives, and the extensive body of Patočka's cultural writings has largely failed to attract the attention of scholars. Moreover, a culturological approach is virtually absent. Therefore, this article suggests focusing on the analysis of cultural archetypes in Patočka's cultural writings related to the topic of religion and Christianity from this perspective. The cultural archetypes of the Faustian figures of Patočka's cultural writings, whether Goethe's Faust, Goethe's Marguerite, or Mann's Adrian Leverkühn, are all Socratic-Christic avatars that personify Patočka's philosophical concept of "care for the soul" in the modern age. The legacy of Plato's Greek philosophy and that of Western Christianity as presented by Patočka insist on the universally shared existential experience of finitude that should be grasped as a positive challenge in the strife for meaning. Patočka's "titanism" and the archetypal titanic figures of his cultural writings are Patočkian manifestations of this universal effort. A culturological approach to Patočka's thinking on religion and Christianity might thus prove most relevant.


Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a potent inducer of programmed cell death in liver as well as some hepatoma cell lines. To explore the mechanism by which TGF-beta induces apoptosis, we investigated the role of caspase family proteases in the apoptotic death of a human hepatoma cell line, Hep3B. We showed that TGF-beta-induced apoptosis was blocked by expression of the cowpox virus protein CrmA, a serpin-like pseudosubstrate for some of the caspase family proteases. CrmA expression, however, did not affect TGF-beta-induced regulation of promoter activities of the cyclin A and plasminogen activator inhibitor type I genes. These results indicate that CrmA inhibits a step specific for the apoptotic effect of TGF-beta. In addition to CrmA, a tripeptide caspase-protease inhibitor, z-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone could also suppress TGF-beta-induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. In TGF-beta-treated Hep3B cells, we observed a specific degradation of the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase, which was previously shown to be a substrate of caspase-3 but not several other members of the caspase family. This degradation was not seen in Hep3B cells transfected with CrmA nor in Hep3B cells pretreated with the tripeptide caspase inhibitor. Our study indicates a requirement of caspase family proteases in TGF-beta-induced apoptosis.


In this work a device which changes the problem of mean estimation into that of proportion estimation is proposed. The device consists of perturbing the observations. The goal of the work is the construction of conservative confidence intervals for means. Three applications are given: (1) proportion estimation in the context of cluster random sampling, (2) differences of proportions of a multinomial population and (3) variance estimation.


Objective – The aim of this study is to examine the impact of monetary policy on credit creation ability of banks in Nigeria. Specifically, it investigates the impact of monetary policy rate, money supply, liquidity ratio, and change in maximum lending rate on bank credit in Nigeria. Design/methodology – A monthly time series data from 2007-2019 were sourced from the Central Bank's of Nigeria statistical bulletin. The sourced data was subjected to multiple regression analysis using the fully modified ordinary least square regression to estimate the parameters of the model. Results – Findings reveal that money supply significantly and positively influence bank credit in Nigeria; while liquidity ratio significantly but negatively influence bank credit in Nigeria. On the contrary, monetary policy rate and maximum lending rate were found not to significantly affect bank credit in the case of Nigeria. Policy Recommendation - Study therefore, recommend that monetary authorities especially, the Central Bank of Nigeria should pay more attention to lowering the liquidity ratio while increasing money supply in order to engender banks credit creation ability and further stimulate the Nigerian economy for growth.


Real-time control techniques for measuring parameters in crude oil storage tanks are described. The techniques enable the height of the oil/water layer in the storage tanks to be measured. By using this measuring technique for the oil-water interface, with the height of the interface in the tanks, coupled with the measurements of the water/oil content ratio, the density and flow rate of crude oil and the net oil quantity can be calculated. Therefore, automatic online computation of crude oil reserves and gross output quantity of net oil can be accurately predicted. The proposed method solves a difficult oil field problem that enables control of oil and gas production volumes to be maintained, particularly in low temperature environments where conventional instrumentation has proved ineffective. The control techniques enable the oil production process to function safely and reliably.


Technological progress has long been posited to be crucial in a country's economic growth. This paper argues that coordination failure in a country's new technology investment can be one of the barriers in a country's capital Accumulation and economic growth. The global game established by Morris and Shin(2000) is extended to a two-sector Overlapping Generation model where capital goods can be produced by two different technologies. The first is a conventional technology with constant returns, which are perfectly revealed to economic agents. The second is a new technology exhibiting increasing return to scale due to technological externalities, whose returns economic agents only have incomplete information about. Economic agents have to choose which technology to invest. My model reveals that under certain circumstancescoordination failure in the capital good sector will occur and be manifested as the under-investment in the new technology. In this way, I explain how coordination failure in a country's technology updating process leads to slower capital accumulation and economic growth. More interestingly, the model generates a positive correlationbetween economic growth and volatility through a new channel associated with coordination failure. Policy implications are discussed as well.


Background: Pilonidal sinus disease has been treated with various techniques. There is still no consensus about treatment. However, a long list of surgical techniques available reflects the inability to find an ideal procedure for the treatment. The rhomboid flap of limberg is a transposition flap that has been advocated for treatment of this condition. The objective of this study was to evaluate the limberg flap reconstruction for pilonidal sinus in terms of complications, hospitalization time, days to return to work and recurrence in Indian rural setup. Methods: Patients with simple, complex and recurrent pilonidal sinus were included in the study. Patients presenting with acute abscess were excluded. Patients were followed for a period of three year to report the recurrence. Results: Total 26 patients, with pilonidal sinus disease were treated with rhomboid excision and limberg transposition flaps. All sinus tracts were resected en bloc, and the limberg flap was prepared from the gluteal region and transposed to fill the defect. There were 22 males (80%) and 4 females (20%) with a mean age in males 28.6 years and in females 21.6 years. The mean duration of symptoms was 10.4 months. Mean operative time was about 70.57 minutes. Full primary healing was obtained in 20 patients, 6 patients presented with post-operative complications. Minor infection occurred in 4 patients. 3 patients had minimal necrosis of flap edge and partial gaping of flap. 2 patients developed seroma. But all these complications required no additional treatment except secondary suturing in one patient. The average hospital stay was 4 days. Most patients returned to work within 3.23 weeks. Follow up period was 3 year and no recurrence reported. Conclusions: Limberg flap following rhomboid excision of the sinus area is worth to be considered as the surgical treatment of choice for sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus disease.


[1] Microstructure, acoustic Doppler current profiler, and conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiles were taken in a mesoscale eddy in the Antarctic Polar Front Zone at about 2°15′E, 49°15′S during the R/V Polarstern cruise ANT XXI/3 within the scope of the European Iron Fertilization Experiment in January–March 2004. The mixed layer depth (MLD), calculated from the composite of CTD- and microstructure sonde (MSS)-derived data, was 97.6 ± 20.6 m. No significant correlation between the wind work (E10) and the MLD (r = 0.02 to 0.22) was found. However, the analysis revealed a negative correlation between the surface buoyancy flux (B) and the MLD 1/2 d later. Two approaches were used to estimate the actively mixing layer depth (AMLD). First, the actively mixing layer was determined subjectively by analyzing the MSS-derived density, energy dissipation, and Thorpe scale profiles, and second, the mixed layer model embedded in a general circulation model was used. The overall mean of the determined depths of the actively mixing layer (AMLDMSS = 66.4 ± 28.8 m) agreed with the model-predicted boundary layer depths (BLD) (BLDKPP = 69.1 ± 29.5 m), but the individual values sometimes were differing considerably. We deduced estimates of the vertical diffusivity (Kz) from the MSS-derived energy dissipation rates and Thorpe scales. Both methods showed that Kz decreased with depth from order of magnitude 10−1 m2 s−1 in the actively mixed layer to order of 10−4 m2 s−1 in the pycnocline.


Results are presented from a search for the pair production of third-generation squarks in proton–proton collision events with two-body decays to bottom or charm quarks and a neutralino, which produces a significant imbalance in the transverse momentum. The search is performed using a sample of proton– proton collision data at √ s = 13 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9fb − 1 . No statistically significant excess of events is observed beyond the expected contribution from standard model processes. Exclusion limits are set in the context of simplified models of bottom or top squark pair production. Models with bottom squark masses up to 1220GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level for light neutralinos, and models with top squark masses of 510GeV are excluded assuming that the mass splitting between the top squark and the neutralino is small.


Ankyloblepharon-ectodermal defects-cleft lip and/or palate (AEC) syndrome, also known as Hay-Wells syndrome, is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by congenital ectodermal dysplasia. It is caused by mutations in p63 gene. Six isoforms are generated from the TP63 gene mutation and the main isoform expressed in postnatal skin is Np63a, which functions as a key regulator of epidermal integrity. We have experienced a 1-day-old female baby with skin erosions, ankyloblepharosis, and cleft palate that require treatment for skin care and feeding difficulties. Missense mutation in TP63 1657 T → A transition was found in the genetic test performed in the patient, and this genotype has not been reported in a previously variant. The patient was found dead at 91days of birth and the cause of death was estimated by aspiration.


BACKGROUND: To examine the associations of animal and plant protein intake with all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality risk in middle-aged Italian men and women with substantially lower animal protein intake than North Americans. METHODS AND RESULTS: Food consumption was assessed by validated Epic semiquantitative FFQs. Multivariable Cox models stratified by center, age, and sex, and adjusted for confounders, estimated associations of animal and plant protein consumption with mortality for all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. After a median follow-up of 15.2 years, 2,449 deaths were identified in 45,009 participants. No significant association between intake of total, animal or plant protein and mortality was found in the fully adjusted models. Substitution of plant protein for animal protein was inversely associated with cardiovascular mortality (HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.24–0.92) only in people with at least 1 unhealthy lifestyle risk factor and poor adherence to a Mediterranean diet. Participants in the highest quintile group of animal protein intake had higher glucose, total and LDL cholesterol levels than those in the lowest quintile. In contrast, higher plant protein intake was negatively associated with fasting insulin and cholesterol, despite higher BMI, physical inactivity and starch consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Replacing plant protein for animal protein was associated with lower cardiovascular mortality among individuals with unhealthy lifestyle risk factors. High animal but not plant protein intake is associated with impaired fasting glucose and hypercholesterolemia, despite lower calorie and carbohydrate intake, suggesting that protein source plays crucial roles in modulating cardiometabolic health independently of body weight.


This paper reports on the colorimetric properties of natural dyes from madder and weld plants. For both crops, a comparison is made among several individual dye compounds and the total plant extracts. Dyeing properties, colour properties and colour stability have been studied. Insight has been gained into the role of the major dye compounds present in the plant. For madder as well as for weld, the use of the total plant extract is considered to be advantageous over the use of individual dye compounds in terms of solubility, colour tone and stability towards light, and non-coloured components present in the plant extract are considered to be responsible for increasing the solubility and the stability of the dye compounds.


As a drug-mechanical combination technology, photodynamic (PDT) can achieve accurate and targeted therapy for malignant tumors and benign diseases through the production of reactive oxygen species, oxygen free radicals or singlet oxygen by photosensitizers at specific wavelengths. Compared with traditional surgery, it has the advantages of selective killing, repeatable treatment, preserving target organ function and so on. The purpose of this study was to explore the clinical value of photodynamic therapy in cervical precancerous lesions by taking the patients with low-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN1) with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) persistent infection diagnosed by "three-step diagnosis and treatment procedure" as an example. Using HiPorfin as a photosensitizer, photodynamic therapy was performed 48 hours after intravenous drip. Set laser wavelength 630nm, light dose density 137.58J/cm2, transmission efficiency 1.42, output power 2w. 3cm columnar optical fiber was placed around the 2cm in the cervical canal to cover all the lesions, and the irradiation time was 900s (600s in the cervical canal and 300s outside the cervical canal). The patients were given oxygen inhalation for 6 hours after operation, and the patients were observed for itching and other discomfort, and paid attention to avoid light. Photodynamic therapy was performed again in the same way on the second day. After two months of treatment, pathological biopsy showed chronic cervicitis, indicating that the disease had been effectively controlled. Theoretically, although the patient is not the absolute indication of photodynamic therapy (that is, meeting CIN ? or CIN ?, having fertility requirements and not undergoing surgery), this therapy can remove not only the superficial lesions inside and outside the cervix, but also the potential lesions not found under colposcopy. It can also block the persistent infection of HPV by inhibiting the expression of HPV18, E6 and E7mRNA in Hela cells. In combination with Baofukang suppository, it can block HPV infection. Increase the negative conversion rate of cervical HPV and reduce the probability of recurrence after CIN1 cure. For young female patients with persistent HR-HPV infection and fertility requirements, photodynamic therapy is an effective choice for clinical treatment of CIN1.


The power systems in Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Germany have some of the highest wind penetrations in the world, as shown in the paper. In this article, the situations of five countries with high wind penetration are briefly presented, with special emphasis given to their future needs with respect to accommodating targeted wind power amounts. The final section provides an overview of offshore grid developments and plans in Europe.


A simplified sound reproducing device for randomly selecting recordings to be reproduced, having a free gear formed with one or more intermittent tooth portions with tooth crest in the direction of rotation longer than that of other normal teeth. The gear system which includes this intermittent tooth portion is constructed such that this portion can contact any one gear tooth among other normal teeth of the mating gear in the gear system including the free gear and a center gear disposed at the center of the record disc. When the swing arm approaches the end point of sound reproduction at the urging of pickup, the free gear can engage the center gear. A cam member is interposed between the record disc and sound transmitting member. The cam member has two cam pieces axially stacked one on another such that the total length of the cam member can be lengthened when the two pieces are twisted. One upper piece 7 is capable of engagement with the free gear. When the free gear abuts the crest of tooth of a gear tooth in the mating gear of the gear system in the device and stops rotation against the driving force imparted by the center gear upper cam piece also stops resulting in elongation of the cam member. Because the location of the intermittent tooth portion is unpredictable with regard to the phase of rotation of the record disc the timing for initiating twisting action in the cam member which releases the stylus force is also made random.


Abstract The objective of this paper is to present a special application field of optimal control and differential game theories which is of interest to management scientists. After introducing the Vidale-Wolfe's and Nerlove-Arrow's dynamic models for advertising processes, I will focus on a few exemplary problems. At a first investigation level, we find some optimal control problems, then the more interesting and challenging problems in the framework of game theory. The view of all problems is unified by the common reference to the same two basic dynamic models.


Background: Screening and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions is important for prevention of cervical cancer. Currently, most available screening tests for cervical cancer are limited by low sensitivity, prohibitive costs, logistics and technical concerns. This study evaluates the role of multimodal hyperspectroscopy (MHS) as a cost-effective, sensitive and user-friendly point-of-care machine for early detection in women at risk of pre-cancer lesions. Materials and Methods: Multimodal hyperspectroscopy of the cervix using the LuViva® Advanced Cervical Scan was performed first in a 1-minute procedure among 100 previously screened for cervical cancer using either visual inspection after application of acetic acid (VIA) or cytology within the last 120 days. This was then followed by obtaining human papilloma virus (HPV) samples and biopsies from women for histology. Results: Of the 22 women with abnormal Pap tests of at least low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, 3 had CIN2+, 6 had CIN1, 4 were free of dysplasia at histopathology while 9 had cervicitis. All 3 of the CIN2+ recorded high likelihood of CIN2+ by MHS. However, HPV was negative for all 3 women. The machine classified 1 of 1 CIN1s and 7 of the 13 women without dysplasia or cervicitis as low or moderate risk for CIN2+ (40% specificity); of the 37 women who were VIA+, 81% were classified as high risk, and 66% of 37 women with normal Pap tests and biopsy were either at moderate or low risk. Conclusions: The findings from this pilot study show that MHS reduced the percentage of unnecessary colposcopy and biopsy by 37.5%. It was also able to differentiate between VIA+ and Pap negative women suggesting its potential of being a point-of-care primary and objective screening test.


The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) deployed a 10-m-diameter discus-type hull in the Pacific Ocean some 185 km southwest of Los Angeles, California, in April 1984. Aboard this hull was an electronic system capable of acquiring, processing, and transmitting to shore directional wave measurements. For this system to produce accurate data, a number of factors had to be taken into account. These factors included noise, amplitude and phase alterations due to mechanical and electrical components, and magnetic fields arising from the hull. Comprehensive calibration and verification techniques were developed and applied to ensure data quality. The system configuration is described with emphasis on the methods used in the data processing to correct for the various factors. Examples of the resulting corrected data are given.


A PROSPECTIVE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED to evaluate response rate and toxicity of the combination of cyclo-phosphamide, adriamycin, and cis-platinum in patients with disseminated hormonally resistant prostatic carcinoma. Twenty-two patients were entered in the study: 19 were evaluable for response. One patient achieved partial remission while 14 (73%) had stable disease. Four patients had progressive disease. Patients with stable disease and partial remission had subjective improvement and survived significantly (p < 0.03) longer than patients with progressive disease (58 weeks vs. 22 weeks). Toxicity was mainly hematological, and one patient died from sepsis secondary to leukopenia. Nausea and vomiting was moderate to severe, with one patient refusing cis-platinum for that reason. Renal toxicity was tolerable and reversible. Lack of good measurable disease makes generalization difficult, but pointers from animal models, along with the biological activity suggested by our results, make this a worthwhile combination to be considered for a trial in a larger population with measurable disease or in a randomized trial vs. the more effective single agent.


Free oligosaccharides (FOS) are generated both in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and in the cytosol during glycoprotein biosynthesis. ER lumenal FOS possessing the di-N-acetylchitobiose moiety at their reducing termini (FOSGN2) are exported into the cytosol where they, along with their cytosolically generated counterparts possessing a single N-acetylglucosamine residue at their reducing termini (FOSGN1), are trimmed in order to be imported into lysosomes for final degradation. Both the ER and lysosomal FOS transport processes are unable to translocate triglucosylated FOS across membranes. In the present study, we have examined FOS trafficking in HepG2 cells treated with the glucosidase inhibitor castanospermine. We have shown that triglucosylated FOSGN2 generated in the ER are transported to the Golgi apparatus where they are deglucosylated by endomannosidase and acquire complex, sialic acid-containing structures before being secreted into the extracellular space by a Brefeldin A-sensitive pathway. FOSGN2 are also secreted from glucosidase I-deficient Lec23 cells and from the castanospermine-treated parental Chinese-hamster ovary cell line. Despite the secretion of FOSGN2 from Lec23 cells, we noted a transient intracellular accumulation (60 nmol/g cells) of triglucosylated FOSGN1 in these cells. Finally, in glucosidase I-compromised cells, FOS trafficking was severely perturbed leading to both the secretion of FOSGN2 into the extracellular space and a growth-dependent pile up of triglucosylated FOSGN1 in the cytosol. The possibility that these abnormalities contributed to the severe and rapidly progressive pathology in a patient with congenital disorders of glycosylation type IIb (glucosidase I deficiency) is discussed.


Aiming to improve the frequency bandwidth of angular vibration table, this paper proposes a novel bandwidth extension scheme based on extremum seeking control (ESC). In this scheme, two perturbation extremum seeking controllers are employed to adjust the phase and amplitude of the sine input signal based on the extracted envelope of tracking error as the cost function of ESC to be minimized, for the purpose of compensating phase lag and amplitude decay of the system output. Furthermore, an adaptive amplitude adjusting method is designed with nonlinear transformation to accelerate the convergence as well as eliminate the unexpected steady-state oscillation existing in system output, which is caused by the perturbation signal of ESC. Consequently, the frequency bandwidth of the closed-loop system is extended greatly with the proposed scheme, which is verified sufficiently with simulations.


Abstract The signature of a coherent system has been studied extensively in the recent literature. Signatures are particularly useful in the comparison of coherent or mixed systems under a variety of stochastic orderings. Also, certain signature-based closure and preservation theorems have been established. For example, it is now well known that certain stochastic orderings are preserved from signatures to system lifetimes when components have independent and identical distributions. This applies to the likelihood ratio order, the hazard rate order, and the stochastic order. The point of departure of the present paper is the question of whether or not a similar preservation result will hold for the mean residual life order. A counterexample is provided which shows that the answer is negative. Classes of distributions for the component lifetimes for which the latter implication holds are then derived. Connections to the theory of order statistics are also considered.


Abstract Background: The bulk of research on motherhood has focused on perinatal depression, largely overlooking indicators of women's positive mental health which can likewise have pervasive consequences on family functioning. Objective: The aim of the present study was to address this issue by exploring the impact of parity and childbirth on both women's perinatal depression and psychological well-being. Methods: A convenience sample of 81 women was followed during pregnancy (Time 1) and postpartum (Time 2). At both times, participants completed the Edinburgh Depression Scale and the Psychological Well-being Scales, measuring perceived autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. Results: Significant negative correlations were observed between depression and psychological well-being dimensions. ANCOVA and mixed ANOVA analyses showed that depression levels did not differ between primiparous and multiparous women, or between pre- and postpartum assessments. By contrast, after childbirth, primiparous women reported higher values of environmental mastery and self-acceptance than multiparous women. In addition, levels of self-acceptance and personal growth increased from pregnancy to postpartum among primiparous women, while no differences were detected over time in the scores of all the psychological well-being dimensions among multiparous women. Conclusions: This study highlighted some dimensions of positive psychological functioning that specifically contribute to women's well-being in the transition to motherhood, and their different relevance for primiparous and multiparous mothers. Future trials are needed to integrate this information in tailored intervention for the promotion of mothers' complete mental health.


In the biological sciences there have been technological advances that catapult the discipline into golden ages of discovery. For example, the field of microbiology was transformed with the advent of Anton van Leeuwenhoek's microscope, which allowed scientists to visualize prokaryotes for the first time. The development of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is one of those innovations that changed the course of molecular science with its impact spanning countless subdisciplines in biology. The theoretical process was outlined by Keppe and coworkers in 1971; however, it was another 14 years until the complete PCR procedure was described and experimentally applied by Kary Mullis while at Cetus Corporation in 1985. Automation and refinement of this technique progressed with the introduction of a thermal stable DNA polymerase from the bacterium Thermus aquaticus, consequently the name Taq DNA polymerase. PCR is a powerful amplification technique that can generate an ample supply of a specific segment of DNA (i.e., an amplicon) from only a small amount of starting material (i.e., DNA template or target sequence). While straightforward and generally trouble-free, there are pitfalls that complicate the reaction producing spurious results. When PCR fails it can lead to many non-specific DNA products of varying sizes that appear as a ladder or smear of bands on agarose gels. Sometimes no products form at all. Another potential problem occurs when mutations are unintentionally introduced in the amplicons, resulting in a heterogeneous population of PCR products. PCR failures can become frustrating unless patience and careful troubleshooting are employed to sort out and solve the problem(s). This protocol outlines the basic principles of PCR, provides a methodology that will result in amplification of most target sequences, and presents strategies for optimizing a reaction. By following this PCR guide, students should be able to: ● Set up reactions and thermal cycling conditions for a conventional PCR experiment ● Understand the function of various reaction components and their overall effect on a PCR experiment ● Design and optimize a PCR experiment for any DNA template ● Troubleshoot failed PCR experiments


This article examines the promotion of American ideals of womanhood and beauty by the military forces that occupied Japan following World War II. It analyzes an array of U.S. Occupation records, including prominent postwar Japanese women's magazines and the American propaganda and censorship records that pertain to these periodicals. While foreign military occupations are not frequently associated with dispensing fashion advice or sponsoring beauty contests, this essay will explore why the United States deemed such measures essential. As this article shows, the victors conceived of their gendered interventions as a means for developing America's vision of democracy and containing the spread of communism abroad. In addition, their labors functioned as a way to showcase the positive effect they believed their presence was having on the women of Japan.


This paper shares a pedagogical experiment undertaken as part of the initiation to the sensitive projectual. The method is based on the concept of limit, considered as a filter regulating the atmospheric interaction of the places it mark. Supported on experimentation in situ, the work aims to make more expert the ordinary perception of the student. It consists of uncovering the geometric properties of the limits that structure and configure analysis support spaces, and filter the effects they generate. The work led to the development of an intelligibility hybrid model that promotes building a directory of ambiantal references and their transposition in the design project.


Much research supports location-based attentional selection, but J. Duncan (1984) presented data favoring object-based selection in a shape discrimination task. Does attention select objects or locations? We confirmed that Duncan's task elicits selection from spatially invariant object representations rather than from a grouped location-based representation. We next asked whether this finding was due to location-based filtering; the results again supported object-based selection. Finally, we demonstrated that when Duncan's objects were used in a cued detection task the results were consistent with location-based selection. These results suggest that there may not be a single attention mechanism, consistent with Duncan's original claim that object-based and location-based attentional selection are not mutually exclusive. Rather, attentional limitations may depend on the type of stimulus representation used in performing a given task.


Objective: Urbanization is increasing the number of street children in most regions of the world especially in many African cities which may be due to poverty and unemployment status of many parents. This study was aimed at determining the predictors and prevalence of dental caries and trauma among institutionalized (those in juvenile correctional home) and non-institutionalized street children in Ibadan.Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among institutionalized (juvenile correctional home) and non-institutionalized street children. Cluster sampling technique was used in the selection of children for this study. Children were selected from the juvenile correctional home and four major motor parks in Ibadan metropolis.Results: One hundred and thirty eight children participated in this study. Male constituted 65.9% while female was 34.1%. Thirty five (25.4%) are from the juvenile correctional home (institutionalized street children) while 103 (74.6%) are from the streets. The prevalence of dental caries among the children generally was 29.0%, while that of dental trauma was 18.8%.Conclusion: The significant predictors of dental caries were gender, tooth hypoplasia and the presence of visible plaque on the anterior teeth while those of dental trauma were lip competence, substance use, age and gender.Keywords: Street children, Juvenile home, Caries, Trauma


If a parametrization scheme for convective precipitation is to be used for assimilating observations of precipitation using a statistically based technique, then statistics of the errors produced by that scheme are required. These are the errors produced by the scheme's formulation itself, not counting any errors in the scheme's input. Such errors are extremely difficult to estimate, but examination of differences produced by various suitable schemes can yield qualitative descriptions of such errors. Here, hourly accumulated convective precipitation fields produced from six different versions of a short‐term forecast model are compared. The versions have identical initial and boundary conditions, but vary in the schemes used for either the convection or the planetary boundary layer, or both. The distribution of differences, or differences in logarithms of accumulations, between corresponding precipitating grid points for pairs of forecasts are examined using a simple binning technique. When the convection schemes differ, results reveal that if either a log‐normal or normal distribution is a better characterization of the distributions, it is the log‐normal one. The standard deviations of these logarithmic distributions correspond to different schemes at identical grid points producing values differing by factors of 2 or more. A large proportion of grid points that have non‐zero hourly accumulations using one model version may have no accumulation using another version. For most pairs of forecasts examined, however, grid points having larger values of accumulation for one scheme tend to have a smaller fraction of values having no accumulation in the other scheme. These results suggest that the finite probability that the model produces no precipitation when the corresponding, true atmospheric state does, should be considered in the statistical description of the model errors and that, because of the large standard deviation of model errors as well as large possible errors of hourly precipitation observations, the quantitative usefulness of assimilating such observations may be very limited.


Regiospecific chlorine-37 enriched dichloro-, trichloro-, tetrachloro-, and pentachlorodibenzofuran isomers were investigated under electron capture negative-ion mass spectrometry (ECNIMS) conditions. The relative chloride ion loss from the enriched positions was determined from the chloride-37 and chloride-35 ion abundances after correcting for the isotopic enrichment. Regioselective chloride anion losses were observed with the carbon 3-chlorine bond (beta-chlorine) generally found to be the most labile. The carbon-chlorine bond cleavages can be loosely associated with calculated carbon-chlorine bond residual charges.


Clustering techniques and related approaches to numerical classification have received a fair amount of attention by marketing researchers. Several articles have appeared in the various marketing journals utilizing such techniques in studies of market response functions (Sexton, 1974), world market classifications (Sethi, 1971), test market selection (Green & Frank, 1968), product positioning (Wind, forthcoming, 1982), general market segmentation (Frank, Massey & Wind, 1972), general market segmentation (Frank, Massey, & Wind, 1972), etc. Thus, even within marketing itself, the overall goals of the various users of clustering techniques have frequently been dissimilar.


This article revisits long-standing debates about objective interpretation in the common law system by focusing on a crime novel by Agatha Christie and judicial opinion by the Ontario High Court. Conventions of the crime fiction and judicial opinion genres inform readers' assumption that the two texts are objectively interpretable. This article challenges this assumption by demonstrating that unreliable narration is often, if not always, a feature of written communication. Judges, like crime fiction writers, are storytellers. While these authors might intend for their stories to be read in certain ways, the potential for interpretive disconnect between unreliable narrators and readers means there can be no essential quality that marks a literary or legal text's meaning as objective. Taken to heart, this demands that judges try to narrate their decisions more reliably so that readers are able to interpret the texts correctly when it matters most.


Involving young children in research is noteworthy since it ensures to understand their world and values their existence through making experiences and views of children evident. Ethical considerations in research including children have some core principles namely justice, beneficence and non-maleficence, and respect. Through putting those principles and guides into the center, current research made effort to determine views and experiences of researchers concerning the ethical issues/dilemmas in research involving preschool aged children. 15 researchers who conducted at least one study with preschool aged children were reached through criterion sampling. Findings revealed some considerations in harms and benefits, informed consent, privacy, confidentiality and payment related issues in the research including young children. Although the fact that all research should consider ethical  issues as a prerequisite for studying with human subjects, there should be some more considerations to conduct research with young children.


Research aim: to highlight the experience of using cloud services in the management of a general educational institution.Research task: substantiation of the prospect and availability of the use of modern information technologies in the work of the school principal.Object of research: cloud services as a modern tool in the management of an educational institution.Subject of research: cloud services as a modern tool in the management of the educational institution Specialized school-kindergarten «Lisova kazka».Research methods: source analysis, synthesis.Research results: schematically represent the interconnections of the main blocks of the system, which is effectively implemented in the activities of the director of the «Lisova kazka» in recent years.The experience of using cloud services in educational institution management is described in this stuff. The main target of this work is displaying of perspective using state-of-art IT solutions in head teachers work. The experience of using Basecamp system project management, which gives an opportunity of continual support management activity, provides permanent feedback link with teaching staff, process control of set missions and necessity of real-time correcting etc. The system of management allows head teacher, teaching staff and supporting services to use the resources of the named above system independently from their location using any gadget or personal computer and it doesn't matter what software is installed. The author presents schematically the interlinks of main system blocks that has been integrated effectively in head teacher's work recent years.


Bed occupancy ratio reflects the state of the hospital at a given time. It is important for management to keep track of this figure to proactively avoid overcrowding and maintain a high level of quality of care. The objective of this work consists in proposing a decision-aid tool for hospital managers allowing to decide on the bed requirements for a given hospital or network of hospitals on a short-medium term horizon. To that extent we propose a new data-driven discrete-event simulation model based on data from a French university hospital to predict bed and staff requirements. We propose a case study to illustrate the tool's ability to monitor bed occupancy in the recovery unit given the admission rate of ED patients during the pandemic of Sars-Cov-2. These results give an interesting insight on the situation, providing decision makers with a powerful tool to establish an enlightened response to this situation.


Backgrounds: Cardivascular co-morbidity is a main cause of mortality in COPD. However, little is known about clinical features related to cardiovauscular co-morbidies of COPD and PRISM (preserved ratio impaired spirometry) in non-smokers. Therefore, we attempted to investigate the clinical factors linked with cardiovascular co-morbidities in non-smokers. Methods: This study was undertaken in a retrospective cohort with 41,130 non-smokers (mean age = 43.9 10.8 years, male = 27.0 %, 416 patients with PRISM, 459 patients with COPD) who underwent standard health examinations including spirometry and laboratory tests at Ajou University Hospital from January 2010 to December 2015. We defined COPD as pre-bronchodilator ratio of FEV1 to FVC<70%. Linear regression analysis was performed to identify predictors independently associated with cardiovascular comorbidities including coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular stroke. Results: The prevalence of cardiovascular comorbidities was higher in COPD (6.8 % in mild COPD, 5,5% in moderate COPD, 9.3 % in severe COPD), compared to 1.2% in PRISM and1.4% in normal control. Multivariate analysis showed that COPD, serum leukocyte count, physical activity, educational level along with low-density lipoprotein level, hypertension, and diabetes were independently related to cardiovascular co-morbidities (P<0.05). Conclusions: The prevalence of cardiovascular comorbidities was higher in COPD compared to PRISM and normal control. COPD, serum leukocyte count, physical activity, educational level along with low-density lipoprotein level, hypertension, and diabetes were independently associated with cardiovascular co-morbidities in non-smokers.


We consider the computational difficulties in the checking of coherence and propagation of imprecise probability assessments. We examine the linear structure of the random gain in betting criterion and we propose a general methodology which exploits suitable subsets of the set of values of the random gain. In this way the checking of coherence and propagation amount to examining linear systems with a reduced number of unknowns. We also illustrate an example.


We propose a formal language to represent and reason about signal transduction networks. The existing approaches such as ones based on Petri nets, and /spl pi/-calculus fall short in many ways and our work suggests that an artificial intelligence (AI) based approach may be well suited for many aspects. We apply a form of action language to represent and reason about NF/spl kappa/B dependent signaling pathways. Our language supports several essential features of reasoning with signal transduction knowledge, such as: reasoning with partial (or incomplete) knowledge, and reasoning about triggered evolutions of the world and elaboration tolerance. Because of its growing important role in cellular functions, we select NF/spl kappa/B dependent signaling to be our test bed. NF/spl kappa/B is a central mediator of the immune response, and it can regulate stress responses, as well as cell death/survival in several cell types. While many extracellular signals may lead to the activation of NF/spl kappa/B, few related pathways are elucidated. We study the tasks of representation of pathways, reasoning with pathways, explaining observations, and planning to alter the outcomes; and show that all of them can be well formulated in our framework. Thus our work shows that our AI based approach is a good candidate for feasible and practical representation of and reasoning about signal networks.


Corticomuscular coupling analysis based on multiple data sets such as electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) signals provides a useful tool for understanding human motor control systems. Two probably most popular methods are the pair-wise magnitude-squared coherence (MSC) between EEG and simultaneously-recorded EMG signals, and partial least square (PLS). Unfortunately, MSC and PLS generally deal with only two types of data sets at the same time, while we may need to analyze more than two types of data sets. Moreover, it is not straightforward to extend MSC to the group level for combining results across subjects. Also, PLS can have the information mixing problem since only the variations in one data set are used to predict the other data set. To address these concerns, we propose a joint multimodal analysis framework for corticomuscular coupling analysis. The proposed framework models multiple data spaces simultaneously in a multidirectional fashion. Furthermore, to address the inter-subject variability concern in real-world medical applications, we extend the proposed framework from the individual subject level to the group level to obtain common corticomuscular coupling patterns across subjects. We apply the proposed framework to concurrent EEG, EMG and behavior data collected in a Parkinson's disease (PD) study. The results reveal several highly correlated temporal patterns among the three types of signals and their corresponding spatial activation patterns. In PD subjects, there are enhanced connections between occipital region and other regions, which is consistent with the previous medical finding. The proposed framework is a promising technique for performing multi-subject and multi-modal data analysis.


There are several results concerning double cosets of Young subgroups of symmetric groups which are often proved as corollaries of more general results about Coxeter groups. In this note we give a selection of these results and give them the short combinatorial proofs they deserve. Our replacement for the machinery of Coxeter groups consists of some simple combinatorial arguments involving tableaux. Inevitably we must repeat a few definitions from and standard lemmas from Coxeter theory, but I have tried to keep this to a minimum. The idea behind this approach is well known to experts (see for instance [1] and [3, Ch. 13]), but I have not yet seen a really explicit account of it. (The introduction of 'labelled' tableaux in Remark 3.2 may be new.)


The Sirtuins are a family of orthologues of yeast Sir2 found in a wide range of organisms from bacteria to man. They display a high degree of conservation between species, in both sequence and function, indicative of their key biochemical roles. Sirtuins are heavily implicated in cell cycle, cell division, transcription regulation, and metabolism, which places the various family members at critical junctures in cellular metabolism. Typically, Sirtuins have been implicated in the preservation of genomic stability and in the prolongation of lifespan though many of their target interactions remain unknown. Sirtuins play key roles in tumourigenesis, as some have tumour-suppressor functions and others influence tumours through their control of the metabolic state of the cell. Their links to ageing have also highlighted involvement in various age-related and degenerative diseases. Here, we discuss the current understanding of the role of Sirtuins in age-related diseases while taking a closer look at their roles and functions in maintaining genomic stability and their influence on telomerase and telomere function.


Genetic diversity is essential for genetic improvement of any crops. The common problems in Bangladesh are the low yield of lentil probably due to the lack of genetic variability. Therefore, an experiment was carried out to evaluate twenty lentil genotypes for eleven yield and yield contributing characters by studying genetic diversity. Genotypic variance (σ2g), phenotypic variance (σ2p), phenotypic co-variance (PCV), genotypic co-variance (GCV), heritability, genetic advance, genetic advance as a percentage of mean, correlation coefficient and path coefficient were estimated. A significant genetic variation was observed for all the traits viz., days to first flowering, days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of primary branches plantˉ1, pods peduncleˉ1, pods plantˉ1, seeds plantˉ1, seeds podˉ1, 100-seed weight and seed yield plantˉ1. Significant differences of PCV were higher than GCV for all the traits indicated that the traits are less influenced by the environment. The highest estimates of GCV and PCV were observed for seed yield plantˉ1 (23.80% and 24.03%, respectively) followed by number of pods peduncleˉ1 (16.91% and 19.80%, respectively) and number of seeds plantˉ1 (19.48% and 19.63% respectively). All the studied traits expressed high heritability ranging from 64.89% to 98.46% and the maximum was recorded for seed plant-1 (98.46%) followed by pod plant-1 (998.35%) and seed yield plant-1 (98.10%). High heritability along with high genetic advance was noticed for number of pods plantˉ1 (98.35% and 50.63, respectively) and number of seeds plantˉ1 (98.46% and 96.01, respectively) and high heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent of mean was observed for number of number of seeds plantˉ1 (no.) (98.46%, 39.80%) followed by number of pods plantˉ1 (no.) (98.35%, 33.03%) and seed yield plantˉ1 (g) (98.10%, 48.56%) reflected the accumulation of additive gene which could be used for the improvement of lentil through selection. The study of associations among the different traits revealed that seed yield plantˉ1 was significantly and positively correlated with number of primary branches plantˉ1, pods plantˉ1 and seeds plantˉ1 and 100-seed weight. Path analysis also reported that number of pods plantˉ1 and seeds podˉ1 and 100-seed weight was related to the seed yield mostly through the direct positive effect. Therefore, number of primary branches plantˉ1 and pod plantˉ1, and 100-seed weight should get the major importance for lentil yield improvement as those traits had positive and significant correlation as well as direct positive effect with seed yield plantˉ1. The information of wide genetic diversity among the genotypes for all the traits could be used in future systematic lentil breeding programs for the improvement of seed yield.


From shaving to curling, from the concealment of hair to its ostentatious display, hair lends itself to a wide assortment of arrangements. It is uniquely suited for expressing status difference, relations among kin, group membership, and both the submission to and refusal of predominant social, political, and religious norms. Its fashioning entails, among other things, a striking aesthetic affinity with gardening and home decoration. From the West to the Middle East through the Mediterranean, this article explores the symbolic significances that societies attribute to this hotly debated physical characteristic and, more broadly, the interplay between voluntary social practices and culturally imposed rules of conduct.


The EC Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) design is presented: the survey aim is to estimate asthma prevalence and risk factors distribution in the various European countries population. In Italy three centres are involved: Pavia, Turin and Verona. EC Health Respiratory Survey is an international two stages cross-sectional survey on probability samples of general population aimed to asses asthma prevalence in different countries. In the first stage a random sample was sent a Screening Questionnaire by post; in the second stage a subsample was invited to clinical centres in order to undergo lung function tests, allergy tests and a standardised clinical interview. The analysis of the response pattern in Italy shows that both in stage 1 and in stage 2 a selection bias overestimating real prevalence is present. Some methodological issues concerning the design of cross sectional surveys are addressed.


This study aims to determine the level of representativeness of female candidates and the efforts taken to obtain votes in the legislative elections in South Tapanuli Regency in 2014 and 2019. The research method used is qualitative research with a descriptive analysis approach. Data collection techniques through observation, interviews, and literature study. The data analysis technique was carried out by reducing the data, presenting the data and then drawing conclusions in the form of data findings to answer the research objectives. The results showed that Political actors who participate in the legislative elections in South Tapanuli Regency have carried out the mandate of the Law to nominate at least 30% women legislative members. However, from the results, only 11.4% of women's representation in holding parliamentary seats in South Tapanuli Regency. Where, in the 2014 legislative election, the seats in the South Tapanuli Regency DPRD were only won by 3 women legislative members and in the 2019 legislative elections only 4 were won. In obtaining the results, of course, the representation of women is still less than the quota that should be. For this reason, female candidates must continue to do their best to fulfill the quota in the next legislative election.including by conducting house-to-house campaigns, socialization and group discussions through the success team, direct mass campaigns by directly participating in community activities, and indirect mass campaigns carried out through social media, print media and electronic media containing an invitation to the public political choice.
Keywords: Viva video; learning media; development; public political


Asymmetric localizations of cellular proteins and mRNAs are important for cell functions such as division, differentiation and development. The localization of specific mRNA generates cell polarity by controlling the translation sites of specific proteins and thereby restricting their locations to appropriate cellular regions. We have previously reported a novel method based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) for examining gene expression in a single living cell without killing or destroying it. An AFM tip was inserted into a living cell to extract mRNAs, which were analyzed after multiplication by RT-PCR and quantitative PCR. By applying this method, in this study we performed quantitative measurement of mRNA at different loci within individual living cells.


In recent years the gap between archaeological theory and practice has been closing, but although there have been calls for 'reflexivity', there has been little critical examination of its meanings. Proposed reflexive methodologies still perpetuate many traditional hierarchies of power, and fail to consider the creative nature of excavation and post-excavation. Much archaeological work in Britain, Europe and North America also takes place within the commercial sphere, and post-processual ideas cannot advance archaeological practice unless they can be implemented in contract archaeology. This paper examines theoretical considerations of reflexivity, representation, subjectivity and sensual engagement to highlight their relevance to everyday archaeological practice, and their political potential to undermine existing hierarchies of power within commercial archaeology.


Reeh, K. W. and Cutler, G. C. 2013. Laboratory efficacy and fungicide compatibility of Clonostachys rosea against Botrytis blight on lowbush blueberry. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 639–642. Lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) is an economically important crop. Clonostachys rosea is an endophytic fungus that can provide protection of plants from several pathogens, including Botrytis cinerea. It is unknown if C. rosea is able to colonize and protect V. angustifolium, and whether it is tolerant of fungicides commonly used for B. cinerea management in blueberry production. In a greenhouse experiment, pre-treatment of blueberry blossoms with C. rosea significantly reduced establishment of B. cinerea, but treatments after establishment of the pathogen were not effective. Clonostachys rosea demonstrated in vitro tolerance to the fungicide Switch®, but little or no tolerance to Pristine® and Maestro®. Our results are encouraging for additional field research examining the use of C. rosea as part of an integrate...


The configuration of intake port and piston is a dominant factor of inlet air flow and mixture formation in an engine cylinder, resepectively. This study has analyzed intake port and piston characteristics for swirl flow of a heavy-duty LPG engine. As an available technology to optimize intake port, the steady flow rig test has been applied for measuring swirl ratio and mean flow coefficient. And we measured the mean velocity and turbulence intensity of swirl flow under motoring condition in transparent engine cylinder by backward scattering LDV system. From these results, the piston and cylinder head with a good evaluated swirl flow characteristics were developed and adapted fur a 11L heavy-duty engine using the liquid phase LPG injection (LPLI) system. The obtained results are expected to be a fundamental data for developing intake port and piston.


Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted medical education. Social distancing prevented students from gathering in any setting. Teaching became less effective due to lack of staff, cancellation of procedures, transition to telehealth and shortages of personal protective equipment. Medical schools' responses to previous lockdowns are not well documented. On March 13th 2020, all universities in Israel were closed and a transition to online learning was implemented. All clinical rotations were temporarily suspended. We describe changes to teaching and learning during the pandemic, and the evaluation of these changes.Methods: Several surveys were performed. Selected faculty members were asked to comment on the transition to online learning, and assess which practices could possibly be adopted for future use.Results: Overall satisfaction with online learning was high. High satisfaction was also reported regarding the delivery of online lectures, efficient transition to online teaching, and the maintenance of academic excellence despite the challenges of COVID-19. Twenty-three percent of medical students preferred to continue exclusive online learning in the future. Forty-five percent advocated for blended learning, mainly online. Selected challenges and opportunities are discussed.Conclusions: The rapid transition to online teaching and learning was successful. Lessons learned and recommendations for the future are presented.


Background. Jaundice in near-term and term newborns is a frequent diagnosis that may prompt hospital readmission in the first postnatal week. Hyperbilirubinemia, when excessive, can lead to potentially irreversible bilirubin-induced neurotoxicity. Predischarge risk assessment (at 24–72 hours of age) for subsequent excessive hyperbilirubinemia is feasible by a laboratory-based assay of total serum bilirubin (TSB). Hypothesis. Noninvasive, transcutaneous, point-of-care measurement of transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) predischarge by multiwavelength spectral analysis, using a portable BiliCheck device (SpectRx Inc, Norcross, GA), is clinically equivalent to measurement of TSB in a diverse, multiracial term and near-term newborn population and predictive of subsequent hyperbilirubinemia. Methodology. We evaluated a hand-held device that uses multiwavelength spectral reflectance analysis to measure TcB (BiliCheck). The study population (490 term and near-term newborns) was racially diverse (59.1% white, 29.5% black, 3.46% Hispanic, 4.48% Asian, and 3.46% other) and was evaluated at 2 separate institutions using multiple (11) devices. The postnatal age ranged from 12 to 98 hours and the ranges of birth weights and gestational ages were 2000 to 5665 g and 35 to 42 weeks, respectively. All transcutaneous evaluations were performed contemporaneously and paired with a heelstick TSB measurement. All TSB assays were performed by high performance liquid chromatography, as well as by diazo dichlorophenyldiazonium tetrafluoroborate techniques. Results. TSB values ranged from .2 to 18.2 mg/dL (mean ± standard deviation: 7.65 ± 3.35 mg/dL). The overall correlation of TSB (by high performance liquid chromatography technique) to TcB (by BiliCheck devices) was linear and statistically significant (r = .91;r 2 = .83; TcB = .84; TSB = +.75; standard error of regression line = 1.38; P< .001; n = 490 infants; 1788 samples). Similar regression statistics were evident in subset populations categorized by race (white: r = .91 [n = 289 infants]; black: r = .91 [n = 145 infants]) as well as by gestation (term: r = .91 [n = 1625 samples]; near-term:r = .89 [n = 163 samples]). Intradevice precision was determined to be .59 mg/dL (2–3 measurements per infant with 1 device; n = 210 infants; 510 samples in a separate subset). Interdevice evaluation of 11 devices determined the precision to be .68 mg/dL (2–4 devices used for measurements per patient). In 23 of 419 of the study population infants who were in the 24- to 72-hour age range, the predischarge TSB values designated them to be at high risk for subsequent excessive hyperbilirubinemia (above the 95th percentile track on the hour-specific bilirubin nomogram). For these infants, the paired BiliCheck TcB values were all above the 75th percentile track (negative predictive value = 100%; positive predictive value = 32.86%; sensitivity = 100%; specificity = 88.1%; likelihood ratio = 8.43). Conclusions. Our data demonstrate the accuracy and reproducibility of the predischarge BiliCheck measurements in term and near-term newborn infants of diverse races and ethnicities. Infants with predischarge BiliCheck values above the 75th percentile of hour-specific TSB values on the bilirubin nomogram may be considered to be at high risk for subsequent excessive hyperbilirubinemia. Further studies are needed to assess the efficacy of this technique in preterm infants, those undergoing phototherapy, and those with TSB values of ≥15 mg/dL (≥256 μmol/L).


Twenty-four broiler breeder cocks (Marshall Breed) with an average body weight of 3.5 kg were used to determine the response of seminal parameters to different levels of supplemental acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). Four treatment diets were formulated, labelled T1 (the control), T2, T3 and T4 with 0.00% (0 mg/kg), 0.05% (500 mg/kg), 0.10% (1,000 mg/kg) and 0.15% (1,500 mg/kg) ASA in the diets respectively. The cocks were randomly distributed into these diets with six replicates in each treatment and fed for sixteen weeks during which semen collection was done once weekly in the last five weeks of the trial. The ejaculates were analyzed for spermatocrit (S), sperm concentration (SC), seminal plasma (SP), live sperm, normal sperm, abnormal sperm, dead sperm and total sperm cells per ejaculate. Results showed that SP was highest (P<0.05) while S level was lowest (P<0.05) in birds fed 1,500 mg/kg ASA. Total sperm cell/ejaculate was best at 1,000 mg/kg ASA. The correlation coefficients between these seminal parameters revealed that S was 65.50% positively (P<0.05) correlated with SP while spermatocrit and SP were 100% negatively (P<0.01) correlated. Supplemental ASA at 1,000 mg/kg had the highest gonadal sperm reserves, daily sperm production and spermatogenic efficiency. In conclusion, ASA was most beneficial to the reproductive capacity of the cocks at 1,000 mg/kg of the diet.
Keywords: Acetylsalicylic acid, reproduction, semen, testicular homogenates, testicular morphometry


Arterial desaturation during exercise is common in endurance‐trained athletes, a phenomenon often more pronounced when the muscle mass engaged in the exercise is large. With this background, the present study monitored seven international‐level cross country skiers performing on a treadmill while running (RUN), double poling (DP; upper body exercise) and diagonal skiing (DIA; arm and leg exercise). Static and dynamic lung function tests were performed and oxygen uptake was measured during submaximal and maximal exercise. Lung function variables (including the diffusion capacity) were only 5–20% higher than reported in sedentary men. Vital capacity was considerably lower than expected from the skiers' maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), but the maximal ventilation followed a linear relationship with VO2max. None or only a mild desaturation was observed in DP, RUN and DIA. Blood lactate concentration was slightly higher in DIA than in DP but not different from RUN. In DIA, VO2max was 6.23 ± 0.47 L/min (mean ± SD), which was 3.8% and 13.9% higher than in RUN and DP, respectively, with similar peak heart rates for the three exercise modes. No relationships were present either between the degree of desaturation and pulmonary functions tests, or with peak oxygen uptakes. The low blood lactate accumulation during the exhaustive efforts contributed to the arterial oxygen saturation being mild in spite of the very high oxygen uptake observed in these skiers.


Information about a driver's driving skill can be used to adapt vehicle control parameters to facilitate the specific driver's needs in terms of vehicle performance and safety. This paper presents an approach to driving skill characterization from a pattern-recognition perspective. The basic idea is to extract patterns that reflect the driver's driving skill level from the measurements of the driver's behavior and the vehicle response. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of using a pattern-recognition approach to characterize a driver's handling skill. This paper concludes with the discussions of the challenges and future works to bring the proposed technique to practical use.


In spite of the growing awareness that a more sustainable way of living is necessary, consuming less is still a very difficult option. This dissertation studies the impact of spending less money on the way of living in a post-modern consumer society. Besides a theoretical analysis of 150 years of consumer studies, the dissertation describes the development of thinking about economy from ancient times until now. Qualitative and quantitative empirical research results among other in the consumption behaviour model": the Transformation Model Living with Less. Furthermore, a socio-economic profile of Dutch downshifters is presented. Based on the so-called Triple G of a sustainable lifestyle (Money, Green, Health) the results for sustainability are discussed. Finally, the dissertation presents recommendations for a marketing strategy to promote a sustainable lifestyle.


During these changing times in the healthcare environment, staff development and management must work together to provide competent staffing models. This article focuses on an innovative pilot internship program that was developed and implemented collaboratively by the management/staff development team. The article describes a cross-training program for new graduates in obstetrics at a major southeastern university hospital. The article focuses on a present and future opportunity for staff development—"cross-training."


BACKGROUND
Computer-assisted medical education has been developed to enhance learning and enable high-quality medical care. This study aimed to assess computer knowledge and attitude toward the inclusion of computers in medical education among second-year medical students in Benha Faculty of Medicine, Egypt, to identify limitations, and obtain suggestions for successful computer-based learning.

PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS
This was a one-group pre-post-test study, which was carried out on second-year students in Benha Faculty of Medicine. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to compare students' knowledge, attitude, limitations, and suggestions toward computer usage in medical education before and after the computer course to evaluate the change in students' responses.

RESULTS
The majority of students were familiar with use of the mouse and keyboard, basic word processing, internet and web searching, and e-mail both before and after the computer course. The proportion of students who were familiar with software programs other than the word processing and trouble-shoot software/hardware was significantly higher after the course (P<0.001). There was a significant increase in the proportion of students who agreed on owning a computer (P=0.008), the inclusion of computer skills course in medical education, downloading lecture handouts, and computer-based exams (P<0.001) after the course. After the course, there was a significant increase in the proportion of students who agreed that the lack of central computers limited the inclusion of computer in medical education (P<0.001). Although the lack of computer labs, lack of Information Technology staff mentoring, large number of students, unclear course outline, and lack of internet access were more frequently reported before the course (P<0.001), the majority of students suggested the provision of computer labs, inviting Information Technology staff to support computer teaching, and the availability of free Wi-Fi internet access covering several areas in the university campus; all would support computer-assisted medical education.

CONCLUSION
Medical students in Benha University are computer literate, which allows for computer-based medical education. Staff training, provision of computer labs, and internet access are essential requirements for enhancing computer usage in medical education in the university.


In this paper we propose a quasi-shrinkage approach for minimum-variance portfolios which does not use a quadratic loss function to derive the optimal shrinkage intensity. We develop two alternative objective functions for linear shrinkage. The first targets the reduction of portfolio variance. The second incorporates returns of assets to improve portfolio performance with respect to mean and variance. We compare the out-of-sample performance of our proposed portfolios to nine benchmark strategies across seven data sets. Our strategies often have lower portfolio variance and higher Sharpe ratios than the benchmark strategies. In particular, we beat the naive portfolio empirically on all seven and significantly on three data sets.


BackgroundThe quality antenatal care (ANC) services can reduce the risk of the pregnancy complications, and hence reduce the maternal and child morbidity and mortality. To ensure the quality ANC services to the pregnant women, it is essential that healthcare providers should be fully prepared with six tracer indicators recommended by World Health Organization. In this study, the prevalence of readiness by selected covariates has been examined. Potential factors responsible for the readiness have also been identified.MethodsUsing data from nationally representative Bangladesh Health Facility Survey (BHFS), 2017, the readiness indices of health facilities providing ANC services have been measured based on the six tracer indicators of the service. The chi-square test has been applied to check the association of selected covariates with the readiness index, and to obtain the adjusted associations of covariates, we have carried out a multinomial logistic regression model. ResultsOnly 4.26% of the facilities is found to provide quality ANC services to the pregnant women. Rural facilities have lower readiness to provide quality services compared to urban facilities [RRR: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.06-0.31; p<0.001]. Community clinics and private hospitals are less likely to have medium or high readiness compared to public hospitals or clinics. The health facilities having specialist or MBBS doctors are more likely to be considered as ready for quality ANC services compared to others facilities. Regional difference exists in readiness for providing the service.ConclusionA huge gap has been found in the facilities of Bangladesh to prove quality ANC services. This is a high time to reduce this gap in achieving sustainable development goals related with maternity and neonatal mortality. The present study recommends that the government of Bangladesh should take necessary initiatives to fully prepared healthcare providers so that quality ANC services can be equally provided to each pregnant woman.


Hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia have a primary role in determining the early functional and later anatomic changes at the level of the autonomic pathways controlling the circulation, and besides in directly influencing cardiac and vascular cellular targets and feed-back baroreceptor system sensitivity to neurohumoral modulation in patients with diabetes mellitus. The basic mechanisms of dysfunction and damage, and the clinical and prognostic value of diabetic cardiovascular dysautonomia are discussed together with the diagnostic apparatus and the possible therapeutic approaches.


People Analytics is a powerful tool with immense promise for enhancing organizational insights. However, this Note argues that employers' unfettered use of opaque predictive algorithms, which are trained on behavioral data to profile workers and guide employment outcomes, represents a significant threat to individual autonomy. Part II explores the emergence of People Analytics as a continuation and merger of historical approaches to scientific management in the American workplace. Part III contrasts the organizational benefits of predictive analytics against the uniquely intrusive, non-transparent, and sometimes arbitrary manner in which they are currently deployed against workers. Part IV discusses how People Analytics may hasten the erosion of employees' normative rights in the workplace. It then discusses the insufficiency of existing regulatory and common law mechanisms to protect workers from arbitrary or discriminatory decisionmaking based on algorithmic profiling. Finally, Part V reviews some proposed solutions, emphasizing the importance of employee voice and the need for proactive regulations to enforce algorithmic transparency and protect individuals' rights to privacy and autonomy.


ABSTRACT Various studies advocate training students prior to a peer-feedback activity to ensure high quality of feedback. Next to investing in students' peer-feedback skills, it is important to focus on the underlying perceptions since perceptions influence learning behavior. We implemented an online peer-feedback training session in a massive open online course and examined students' perceptions of peer-feedback and training focusing on their willingness, perceived usefulness, perceived preparedness, and general attitude; and students' peer-feedback experience and its relation to their perception. Analysis of a perception survey from 259 students revealed that the amount of prior experience results in significant differences in students' perception. Students without prior peer-feedback experience scored higher on willingness, usefulness, preparedness, and general attitude compared to students with some prior experience. Those with a lot of experience showed the strongest positive perception scores. No significant differences for the effect of training on perception could be measured with the available data.


It is the aim of the present paper to quantify and visualise the grain size induced transition of the deformation mechanism in metal polycrystals from the conventional dislocation–dislocation interaction at large grain sizes to (probably) dislocation–grain boundary interaction in the "nano" region. Since both types of interaction are thermally activated, thermal activation analysis can be used to discriminate between them. For this purpose dynamic tensile tests with stress relaxation tests were performed on pure pulsed electrodeposited nickel with 140 nm grain size at temperatures between 4 and 320 K. The results clearly indicate the transition temperature to be around 77 K. A rather unexpected result is the existence of a second transition of the deformation mechanism, which is only observable at very low temperatures namely from the homogeneous deformation mode governed by conventional dislocation–dislocation interaction towards localized deformation by "catastrophic shear".


THE purpose of this paper is to report on work undertaken in response to a request, made to the Institute, to determine the minimum dielectric strength of oil for high potential testing of oil circuit breakers. Many tests were made with 60-cycle and impulse voltages. The tests were made with a rod to plane gap, cone to disc gap, and on oil circuit breakers of commercial types and sizes. The results of these tests have been collected, analyzed, and are included in tabular form in the paper. The impulse strength of oil circuit breakers was found to be practically unaffected by the 60-cycle breakdown strength of the oil within the range of 16 to 30 kv, as measured in a standard test cup. The 60-cycle dielectric strength of oil circuit breakers is shown not to be changed in direct proportion to the differences in the dielectric strength of oil as measured in a test cup with 60-cycle voltage. The effect of low dielectric strength oil on voltage breakdown is discussed and conclusions are drawn which show that it is desirable to test all oil circuit breakers with oil having dielectric strength of 22 kv or higher.


Hypertension constitutes a major risk factor for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). HFpEF is a prevalent clinical syndrome with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Specific guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for HFpEF is not established due to lack of positive outcome data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and limitations of available studies. Although available evidence is limited, control of blood pressure (BP) is widely regarded as central to the prevention and clinical care in HFpEF. Thus, in current guidelines including the 2018 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Society of Hypertension (ESH) Guidelines, blockade of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) with either angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers provides the backbone of BP-lowering therapy in hypertensive patients. Although superiority of RAS blockers has not been clearly shown in dedicated RCTs designed for HFpEF, we propose that this core drug treatment strategy is also applicable for hypertensive patients with HFpEF with the addition of some modifications. The latter apply to the use of spironolactone apart from the treatment of resistant hypertension and the use of the angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor. In addition, novel agents such as sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors, currently already indicated for high-risk patients with diabetes to reduce heart failure hospitalizations, and finerenone represent promising therapies and results from ongoing RCTs are eagerly awaited. The development of an effective and practical classification of HFpEF phenotypes and GDMT through dedicated high-quality RCTs are major unmet needs in hypertension research and calls for action.


Problems related to depleted fossil fuel reserve and worsened air quality in the earth needs to be solved. One of the solutions is using ethanol, an alternative fuel produced from the plants. A research was conducted to identify the feasibility of ethanol 94-100% as fuel for one cylinder IC engine of 110cc Yamaha LM-5. In the research, the combustion condition was set to stoichiometric ethanol combustion. Engine rotational speed was 1500 – 4000 rpm. The change made into the engine is adding one more spark plug to become dual spark plugs configurations. The results showed that dual spark plugs gives more efficient combustion compared with single spark plug for combustion of ethanol 94-100%. The emission of exhaust gas, fuel consumption, torque and power were analyzed. Keywords : Ethanol, Four Stroke Engine, Dual Spark Plugs


Cognitive intelligence is rarely discussed in the context of digital inequality for practical and normative reasons: substantial difficulties around measurements and the fact that it cannot (easily) be changed. In the current contribution, cognitive intelligence is studied in relation to resources and appropriation theory which explains digital inequality as a process of four successive phases of Internet access: motivational, material, skills, and usage. For the measurement of cognitive intelligence, we build on considerable efforts devoted to developing alternatives to cumbersome intelligence quotient (IQ) tests of intelligence. We conducted a two-wave online survey in the Netherlands, resulting in a sample of 1733 respondents. The importance of IQ was confirmed with direct positive effects on education, economic, social, and cultural resources, and on Internet attitude and skills. The results reveal several details that can enhance our understanding of the specific mechanisms through which IQ and education operate in digital inequalities.


The new era of warfare is characterized by the increased visibility of war. The changing strategic, social and cultural environment has forced governments and armies to modify their strategies. Public diplomacy is one strategic policymaking response to this changing environment. This article reviews current research in this field, focusing on mediated public diplomacy, which is a central part of public diplomacy that has not been greatly researched. We discuss the central role played by cultural resonance in mediated public diplomacy, elaborating on immanent tensions between the centrality of cultural resonance and the needs of public, and mediated public diplomacy.


Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, despite successful strategies to manage the main risk factors for ischemic stroke (hypertension, atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus and others). Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is poorly studied, but potentially significant and modifiable risk factor for stroke, so it draws attention of investigators. In this review we have focused on some aspects and analyzed the relationship of different variants of SBD with the lesions localization and the type of acute ischemic stroke according to TOAST criteria. During the analysis, it was shown that in the early period after cerebrovascular accident, the frequency and severity of respiratory disturbances in sleep were higher, mainly due to the presence of central apnea, which develops when the vertebro-basilar pool is involved in the blood supply zone. However, impaired cerebral circulation of supratentorial localization can also be a factor contributing to the appearance or exacerbation of respiratory failure in a dream. With regard to the relationship of respiratory disorders in a dream with a type of cerebrovascular accident according to the TOAST classification, we can talk about the likely relationship of obstructive sleep apnea with a cerebrovascular accident of cardioembolic and atherothrombotic origin.


We have synthesized Deltalac-acetogenins that are new acetogenin mimics possessing two n-alkyl tails without an alpha,beta-unsaturated gamma-lactone ring and suggested that their inhibition mechanism may be different from that of common acetogenins [Hamada et al. (2004) Biochemistry 43, 3651-3658]. To elucidate the inhibition mechanism of Deltalac-acetogenins in more detail, we carried out wide structural modifications of original Deltalac-acetogenins and characterized the inhibitory action with bovine heart mitochondrial complex I. In contrast to common acetogenins, both the presence of adjacent bis-THF rings and the stereochemistry around the hydroxylated bis-THF rings are important structural factors required for potent inhibition. The inhibitory potency of a derivative possessing an n-butylphenyl ether structure (compound 7) appeared to be superior to that of the original Deltalac-acetogenins and equivalent to that of bullatacin, one of the most potent natural acetogenins. Double-inhibitor titration of steady-state complex I activity showed that the extent of inhibition of compound 7 and bullatacin is not additive, suggesting that the binding sites of the two inhibitors are not identical. Competition tests using a fluorescent ligand indicated that the binding site of compound 7 does not overlap with that of other complex I inhibitors. The effects of compound 7 on superoxide production from complex I are also different from those of other complex I inhibitors. Our results clearly demonstrate that Deltalac-acetogenins are a novel type of inhibitor acting at the terminal electron-transfer step of bovine complex I.


A packet-based deadband control approach is proposed for networked control systems (NCSs). Compared with previously reported packet-based control approaches to NCSs, the approach proposed in this paper takes full advantage of the packet-based data transmission in NCSs, and thus considerably reduces the use of the communication resources in NCSs whilst maintaining the system performance at a satisfactory level. A stabilized controller design method is obtained using time delay switched system theory, which has not been achieved in previously reported packet-based control approaches. The proposed deadband control strategy and the stabilized controller design method are verified using a numerical example as well as practical experiments based on an Internet-based test rig for NCSs.


We investigated the COVID-19 vaccination acceptance level in Azuay province, Ecuador through an online survey from 12th to 26th February (before the start of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Ecuador). Overall, 1219 respondents participated in the survey. The mean age was 32 ± 13 years; 693 participants (57%) were female. In total, 1109 (91%) of the participants indicated they were willing to be vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine, if the vaccine is at least 95% effective; 835 (68.5%) if it is 90% effective and 493 (40.5%) if it is 70% effective; 676 (55.5%) participants indicated they feared side effects and 237 (19.4%) thought the vaccine was not effective. Older age, having had a postgraduate education, a history of a negative COVID-19 test, a high level of worry of contracting COVID-19, believing that COVID-19 infection can be prevented with a vaccine and understanding there is currently an effective vaccine against COVID-19 were associated with higher vaccination acceptance. A vaccination education campaign will be needed to increase the knowledge of Ecuadorians about the COVID-19 vaccine and to increase their trust in the vaccine. People with a lower education level and living in rural areas may need to be targeted during such a campaign.