This paper examines why and how some firms embedded in weak National Systems of Innovation out-perform others in their innovation performance. It investigates how strategic practices associated with participation in international collaboration, specifically strategic search, contribute to different types and degrees of innovation.The researchis an exploratory study. It is based upon an innovation survey of 17 local pharmaceutical firms in Jordan, and detailed case studies of the four leading firms. It identifies how the firms perform strategic search for international collaboration, and how this influences the innovation performance. A key factor influencing the degree of participation in international collaboration is management pro-activeness in the search and sense-making process. Informal and direct sense-making appear to be more important than formal sense-making in explaining differences in terms of the firms' participation in international collaboration. Informal and direct sense-making facilitate firms to participate in highly integrated deals such as joint ventures and RandD acquisition, which are associated with higher innovation performance. In addition, the research identifies specific organizational practices that support greater senior employee involvement and integration during strategy decision- making contribute to improved international collaboration and innovation performance.


The article discusses the processes of digitalization of the economy at the regional level. The subject of the research is the work of the region to find opportunities for implementing digital technologies in various fields of activity. Research methods-analysis and synthesis, tabular, historical past. The significance of the introduction of digital technologies as a factor of self-development of the region is proved. The article substantiates the need to create conditions for improving the quality of education through the development of online courses in the framework of the project "Modern digital educational environment". The practical significance is to identify the problems and prospects of testing digital technologies in the development of the region's economy.


This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of noscapine, a benzylisoquinoline alkaloid from opium poppy, on oligodendrocyte during ischemia/reperfusion-induced excitotoxic injury. Changes in intracellular calcium levels due to chemical ischemia and nitric oxide (NO) production during ischemia/reperfusion were evaluated as the hallmarks of ischemia-derived excitotoxic event. OLN-93 cell line (a permanent immature rat oligodendrocyte) was used as a model of oligodendrocyte. 30- or 60-minute-oxygen-glucose deprivation/24 hours reperfusion were used to induce excitotoxicity. MTT (3-[4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide) assay was used to evaluate cell viability. Ratiometric fluorescence microscopy using Ca(2+)-sensitive indicator Fura-2/AM was utilized to assess intracellular calcium levels. NO production was evaluated by Griess method. Noscapine (4 μM) significantly attenuated intracellular Ca(2+) elevation (P < 0.001). Also, noscapine significantly decreased NO production during a 30-minute oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (P < 0.01). The inhibitory effect of noscapine (4 μM) on intracellular Ca(2+) was greater than ionotropic glutamate receptors antagonists. Noscapine is protective against ischemia/reperfusion-induced excitotoxic injury in OLN-93 oligodendrocyte. This protective effect seems to be related to attenuation of intracellular Ca(2+) overload and NO production.


A comparison of the tight-junctions of various cell types in the nasal epithelia of frog, ox, rat and dog shows that Bowman's gland cells have lowest number of strands (4-8), whereas olfactory receptor and supporting, and ciliated respiratory cells show no conspicuous differences and have 6-11 strands. Tight-junctional strand numbers show slight species-dependent variations. In regions where three cells join (observed for receptor and respiratory cells), fracture faces show two parallel strands which fuse at certain points. These strands run perpendicularly to the rest of the tight-junctional belt, which also shows an increased number of strands (13-16) in this region. Tight-junctions of mammalian olfactory dendritic endings usually show strands composed of particles, whereas those of the other three epithelial cell types consist of continuous or discontinuous bars. Tight-junctions of dendritic endings of the frog also conform to the latter type. Differences in strand density are only slight and range from 16-27 strands/microns. Small angular gap-junctions were observed only within the tight-juctions of supporting cells in the rat.


Orbit maneuvering operation is a classical problem in aerospace field. Through analyzing the requirements of the reusable and interoperable demonstration platform for the development of space warfare, the computing simulation method is used. Based on the 3D Earth reference model-a spatial locating and orientation system which is consisted of the Earth's ellipsoid model and the geocentric 3D rectangular coordinate system, an interactive intelligent computer-aided software of space interception is designed and implemented in MATLAB environment.This system establishes a visual 3D Earth scene for modeling and simulation of flying vehicle's movement. And an application example of offensive-defensive interception orbit in space warfare shows that this software not only can work reliably, but also has characteristics of easy operation, friendly human-computer interaction interface, high display speed and precision.


Abstract Advanced medical and surgical treatment of heart failure and management of patients following heart transplantation is an emerging area. Treatment options at various levels are becoming available in an increasing number of countries. This rapidly evolving field involves a complex multi-disciplinary approach with a number of complementary medical and surgical strategies, including pharmacotherapy, structural cardiac interventions, electrophysiological optimisation, mechanical circulatory support, and heart transplantation. Furthermore, the importance of psycho-social support and care of patients and their families cannot be overstated. The aforementioned challenges and dynamics of new developments require guidance for core and advanced medical training in heart failure and transplantation. The Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology working group "pulmonary hypertension, heart failure and transplantation" has produced this document as an expert consensus statement; however, all recommendations must be considered and applied in the context of the local and national infrastructure and legal regulations.


This study involves the production of short-chain organic acids from kitchen wastes as intermediates for the production of biodegradable plastics. Flasks, without mixing were used for the anaerobic conversion of the organic fraction of kitchen wastes into short-chain organic acids. The influence of pH, temperature and addition of sludge cake on the rate of organic acids production and yield were evaluated. Fermentations were carried out in an incubator at different temperatures controlled at 30 degrees C. 40 degrees C, 50 degrees C, 60 degrees C and uncontrolled at room temperature. The pH was also varied at pH 5, 6, 7, and uncontrolled pH. 1.0 M phosphate buffer was used for pH control, and 1.0 M HCl and 1.0 M NaOH were added when necessary. Sludge cake addition enhanced the rate of maximum acids production from 4 days to 1 day. The organic acids produced were maximum at pH 7 and 50 degrees C i.e., 39.84 g/l on the fourth day of fermentation with a yield of 0.87 g/g soluble COD consumed, and 0.84 g/g TVS. The main organic acid produced was lactic acid (65-85%), with small amounts of acetic (10-30%), propionic (5-10%), and butyric (5-20%) acids. The results of this study showed that kitchen wastes could be fermented to high concentration of organic acids, which could be used as substrates for the production of biodegradable plastics.


It is hypothesized that channel-interaction in cochlear implant listeners as measured in a modulation-masking experiment would be influenced by both the tonotopic overlap between masker and signal as well as an interaction between their envelopes. Two experiments were conducted to measure the effects of maskers with noisy and steady-state envelopes on modulation detection by four adult Nucleus-22 cochlear implant listeners, as a function of tonotopic distance between the masker and the signal. In the first experiment, we measured detection thresholds for a 50-Hz modulation in the envelope of a 500-Hz carrier pulse train, in the presence of a masker stimulating regions basal and apical to, as well as overlapping with, the signal. The maskers had two kinds of envelopes: (i) amplitude-modulated by flat-spectrum noise (NAM) and (ii) steady-state (SS(peak)) at a level corresponding to the maximum of the noise fluctuation range. In general, modulation thresholds obtained in the presence of the NAM maskers significantly exceeded thresholds obtained with the corresponding SS(peak) maskers. The ratio p of the threshold modulation depth m obtained with the NAM masker to that obtained with the SS(peak) masker was defined as a conservative index of "envelope masking." In the second experiment, p was determined for two different tasks: the detection of modulation at 20 Hz and steady-state intensity increment detection. Compared to the 50-Hz modulation detection results, the ratio p was reduced for the 20-Hz modulation detection task and even more so for the steady-state increment detection task. It is concluded that channel-interaction can be significantly increased in cochlear implant listeners when dynamic stimuli are used in place of steady-state stimuli.


It is now well recognized that receptor flexibility plays an important role in protein-ligand binding. This flexibility can concern not only the mobility and reorganization of side chains in the binding site but also conformational changes of the whole molecule, which makes modeling of ligand docking more challenging. We give here an overview of existing approaches to treating receptor flexibility in protein-ligand docking and virtual screening that range from approximate to more accurate methods, including the use of normal modes in accounting for global conformational changes of the receptor or the use of more precise force fields. In addition, we describe recent successful applications of such approaches that have led to the design or discovery of new lead compounds with therapeutic relevance. These new developments in protein-ligand docking and screening are increasingly applied for better prediction of binding affinities. In view of the ever-increasing power of machine computation, a better accounting of the flexibility of the receptor is justified in order to improve the prediction of ligand binding in the search for new drug candidates by virtual screening.


Channel state information (CSI) in the interference channel can be used to reduce the dimension of received interference and helps achieve the channel's maximum multiplexing gain through what is known as interference alignment (IA). Most interference alignment algorithms require knowledge of all the interfering channels to compute the alignment precoders. CSI, considered available at the receivers, can be shared with the transmitters via limited feedback. When IA is done by coding over frequency extensions in a single antenna system, the required CSI lies on the Grassmannian manifold and its structure can be exploited in feedback. Unfortunately, the number of channels to be shared grows with the square of the number of users, creating too much overhead with conventional feedback methods. This paper proposes Grassmannian differential feedback to reduce feedback overhead by exploiting both the channel's temporal correlation and Grassmannian structure. The performance of the proposed algorithm is characterized both analytically and numerically as a function of channel length, mobility, and the number of feedback bits. The main conclusions are that the proposed feedback strategy allows IA to perform well over a wide range of Doppler spreads, and to approach perfect CSI performance in slowly varying channels. Numerical results highlight the trade-off between the frequency of feedback and the accuracy of individual feedback updates.


Nanosized particles of pure palladium were produced by pulsed laser ablation in aqueous solution, with and without the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate as the surfactant agent. The work was motivated by the strong catalytic effect of Pd particles in many chemical reactions. The influence of experimental parameters, such as laser energy and beam focusing as well as surfactant concentration, on the laser ablation process, nanoparticle mass yield, and nanoparticle properties was investigated via plasma imaging, UV−visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy (TEM-EDS) analysis, and measurement of ζ potential. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering activity of nanoparticles was used for the monitoring of their adsorption capability on the metal surface during catalysis processes.


The molal conductivity of liquid electrolytes with low static dielectric constants (ε(s) < 10) decreases to a minimum at low concentrations (region I) and increases to a maximum at higher concentrations (region II) when plotted against the square root of the concentration. This behavior is investigated by applying the compensated Arrhenius formalism (CAF) to the molal conductivity, Λ, of a family of 1-alcohol electrolytes over a broad concentration range. A scaling procedure is applied that results in an energy of activation (E(a)) and an exponential prefactor (Λ0) that are both concentration dependent. It is shown that the increasing molal conductivity in region II results from the combined effect of (1) a decrease in the energy of activation calculated from the CAF, and (2) an inherent concentration dependence in the exponential prefactor that is partly due to the dielectric constant.


Background The Guideline Elements Model (GEM) has been widely used to translate natural language clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) into clinical decision support (CDS) using a highly replicable, guideline-centric approach. A CPG recommendation-to-CDS translation process, which uses GEM-processed content to support an oncology rapid learning system (RLS) prototype, is examined here. Objectives To develop rules for a breast cancer-specific CDS prototype using GEM-processed guideline content. Methods We created five breast cancer patient scenarios with expert input from oncologists based on nine published CPGs. Using the Yale Center for Medical Informatics-developed GEM Cutter III editor, we parsed the narrative CPG recommendations into an XML-based, machine-readable format. GEM-processed content was then encoded into a Drools business rule management system to develop an integrated platform prototype for rules, workflow, and event processing. We used meta-tags to create value sets for key components of each recommendation by selecting terms from UMLS vocabularies, including SNOMED CT and LOINC. Results Forty-five recommendations spanning nine CPGs were processed and converted into Drools rules. We identified 138 decision variables and 91 actions within the selected recommendations. From these, we encoded 148 concepts associated with value set meta-tags and 238 decision rules. Discussion The level of difficulty required to encode the recommendations was directly related to the specificity, complexity, and decidability of each recommendation; there was significant variability among the recommendations. Implications for Guideline Developers/Users CPG developers may need new processes in order to optimise recommendations for incorporation into CDS systems.


Three new device structures to effectively reduce the layout area of CMOS output buffers with higher driving capability and better ESD reliability are proposed. With theoretical calculation and experimental verification, both the higher output driving/sinking capability and the stronger ESD robustness of CMOS output buffers can be practically achieved by the new proposed layout designs within smaller layout area. The output devices assembled by a plurality of the proposed basic layout cells have a lower poly-gate resistance and a smaller drain capacitance than that by the traditional finger-type layout.


We consider the problem of securing inter-flow network coding with multiple sources. We present a practical homomorphic signature scheme that makes possible to verify network coded packets composed of data originating from different sources. The multi-source signature scheme allows to circumvent the need of a secret key shared by all sources. Our solution is an extension of the pairing based homomorphic signature scheme by Boneh et al. We prove the security of the extended scheme by showing a reduction to the single-source case. We evaluated the performance of required computations and our results imply that the solution is applicable in practice.


Object-oriented frameworks play an important role in many IT projects these days as they allow to reuse not only code, but also concepts and designs. Ideally, a framework evolves from experiences made while building several similar applications (Brugali Menga Aarsten 1997, Johnson Roberts 1998). A team that can rely on year-long experiences in an application domain stands the best chance for finding the right abstractions for a framework. Sometimes, however, the need for a framework arises on a much shorter timescale. Think of a large development project in which several applications are going to be built. In its initial stage, the project might identify a certain functionality that several applications will require. The idea of building a framework springs to mind, so that this functionality can be reused wherever it is needed. It might therefore be an option to decide to build a framework dynamically during the project. Such a context, however, is tricky. Building a framework requires generalisation from concrete problems. But as the framework and the applications will be built more or less simultaneously, such generalisation will be particularly difficult. In addition, the time frame for developing the framework is rather short, since the framework must become available during application development. Is this even possible? Is there a chance that in such a context a framework can live up to its promise — the reuse of concepts and designs? This paper presents a collection of patterns that address these questions, focusing on principles and strategies that offer a clear benefit when you are to develop a framework on the fly.


Au-Ag nanoparticles (Au-Ag NPs) with a core-shell structure are prepared and used for ultrasensitive electrochemical impedance (EI) discrimination of the isomers of tryptophan (Trp). As revealed by circular dichroism, rotary polarization caused by the Au-Ag NPs is consistent with D-Trp but opposite to L-Trp, and thus, the Au-Ag NPs can selectively combine with D-Trp through preferential interactions. Compared with Au-Ag NPs, the composites of D-Trp and Au-Ag NPs (Au-Ag NPs/D-Trp) display significantly increased charge transfer resistance (Rct); differently, the Rct of Au-Ag NPs/L-Trp remains almost unchanged because the Au-Ag NPs exhibit poor affinity toward L-Trp. Therefore, ultrasensitive EI enantiodiscrimination of the isomers of Trp is realized even at an extremely low concentration of the Trp isomers (0.1 nM). In addition, it is successfully applied in the ultrasensitive determination of D-Trp at a low concentration level (0.1 nM∼10 μM).


Abstract The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the influence of different surface treatments and aging on the microtensile bond strength (μTBS) of bulk-fill composite resins. Bulk-fill composites (Filtek One; 3M ESPE) randomly received five different surface treatments: (1) no treatment, control, (2) 37% phosphoric acid etching (PA), (3) 9% hydrofluoric acid etching (HF), (4) air-borne particle abrasion with 50-μm alumina particles (Al2O3), (5) tribochemical silica coating (CoJet). Following, the specimens were divided into three subgroups according to universal adhesive applied: Clearfil Universal Bond (CU; Kuraray), Prime&Bond Universal (PBU; Dentsply Sirona), or Single Bond Universal (SBU; 3M ESPE). A nanofill composite (Filtek Ultimate; 3M ESPE) was employed as a repair. Bonded specimens were stored in water for 24 h at 37 °C or thermal aged, then subjected to the μTBS test. Additionally, specimens were analyzed with a contact profilometer and were evaluated with scanning electron microscopy. Control and PA treatments were showed the lowest µTBS (p < 0.05), and there was no significant difference between these two groups (p > 0.05). Al2O3 and CoJet treatments generally exhibited a similar influence on µTBS values. In addition, a correlation was found between surface roughness and bond strength (r = 0.831). CoJet resulted in significantly higher repair µTBS values when compared to the other surface treatments. In addition, the use of silane-containing universal adhesive was increased the cohesive failure rate and maintained the repair µTBS values after thermocycling.


In practical applications of computed tomography (CT) imaging, due to the risk of high radiation dose imposed on the patients, it is desired that high quality CT images can be accurately reconstructed from limited projection data. While with limited projections, the images reconstructed often suffer severe artifacts and the edges of the objects are blurred. In recent years, the compressed sensing based reconstruction algorithm has attracted major attention for CT reconstruction from a limited number of projections. In this paper, to eliminate the streak artifacts and preserve the edge structure information of the object, we present a novel iterative reconstruction algorithm based on weighted total difference (WTD) minimization, and demonstrate the superior performance of this algorithm. The WTD measure enforces both the sparsity and the directional continuity in the gradient domain, while the conventional total difference (TD) measure simply enforces the gradient sparsity horizontally and vertically. To solve our WTD-based few-view CT reconstruction model, we use the soft-threshold filtering approach. Numerical experiments are performed to validate the efficiency and the feasibility of our algorithm. For a typical slice of FORBILD head phantom, using 40 projections in the experiments, our algorithm outperforms the TD-based algorithm with more than 60% gains in terms of the root-mean-square error (RMSE), normalized root mean square distance (NRMSD) and normalized mean absolute distance (NMAD) measures and with more than 10% gains in terms of the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) measure. While for the experiments of noisy projections, our algorithm outperforms the TD-based algorithm with more than 15% gains in terms of the RMSE, NRMSD and NMAD measures and with more than 4% gains in terms of the PSNR measure. The experimental results indicate that our algorithm achieves better performance in terms of suppressing streak artifacts and preserving the edge structure information of the object.


Laboratory classes are an integral part of engineering education, but they are resource intensive impose significant logistical constraints upon the curriculum. One option to reduce these burdens is the use of remote laboratory classes - where students interact with the hardware at a distance, rather than in the traditional laboratory environment. Remote laboratories are an increasingly popular innovation in engineering education, but their development has for the large part been an ad hoc process - they are developed in isolation to address the needs of a particular laboratory class; and they are often regarded as a "second-best" substitute for the real thing. This workshop is aimed at fostering a more strategic approach to the future development of remote laboratory classes, from both pedagogical and logistical viewpoints. Throughout this workshop it our intent to access existing remote laboratories across multiple engineering disciplines to illustrate important characteristics.


The potential of bio-dielectrics for thin film transistor applications was explored via the incorporation of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles, rutile form, a high dielectric constant (e) ceramic, in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) bio-polymer. The DNA-ceramic hybrid films were fabricated from stable suspensions of the TiO 2 nanoparticles in viscous, aqueous DNA solutions. Dielectric characterization revealed that the incorporation of TiO 2 in DNA resulted in enhanced dielectric constant (14.3 at 1 kHz for 40 wt % TiO 2 ) relative to that of DNA in the entire frequency range of 1 kHz-1 MHz. Variable temperature dielectric measurements, in the 20-80°C range, of the DNA-TiO 2 films revealed that the ceramic additive stabilizes DNA against large temperature dependent variations in both e and the dielectric loss factor tan δ. The bulk resistivity of the DNA-TiO 2 hybrid films was measured to be two to three orders of magnitude higher than that of the control DNA films, indicating their potential for utilization as insulating dielectrics in transistor and capacitor applications.


Toxoplasma gondii is a major food and waterborne transmitted parasite world-wide. The tissues and meat samples of many warm blooded animals can contain tissues cysts from chronic toxoplasmosis. Water and vegetable can be contaminated by the parasitic oocysts shed through the feces of infected cats, representing the definitive host of the parasite.
A sensitive PCR for Toxoplasma gondii detection is described. The first step amplified the region between the 28S and 18S rDNA in the closely related T. gondii and Neospora caninum; RFLP analysis distinguished the DNA from the two morphologically identical parasites. Although N. caninum is not involved in human transmission, so far, it is important for animal health since is a major responsible for abortion in cattle.
The nested PCR was used in a dilution assay in pork sausage samples spiked with T. gondii parasitic DNA. The analysis showed that up to 200fg equivalent to two single parasites only, could be detected. Similar detection limit for T. gondii can be obtained with real-time PCRs, but real time methods need special consumables and expensive equipment.


Frequency-dependent selection (FDS) drives an evolutionary regime that maintains or disrupts polymorphisms. Despite the increasing feasibility of genetic association studies on fitness components, there are a few methods to uncover the loci underlying FDS. Based on a simplified model of pairwise genotype–genotype interactions, we propose a linear regression that can infer FDS from observed fitness. The key idea behind our method is the inclusion of genotype similarity as a pseudo-trait in selection gradient analysis. Single-locus analysis of Arabidopsis and damselfly data could detect known negative FDS on visible polymorphism that followed Mendelian inheritance with complete dominance. By extending the singlelocus analysis to genome-wide association study (GWAS), our simulations showed that the regression coefficient of genotype similarity can distinguish negative or positive FDS without confounding other forms of balancing selection. Field GWAS of the branch number further revealed that negative FDS, rather than positive FDS, was enriched among the top-scoring single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Arabidopsis thaliana. These results showed the wide applicability of our method for FDS on both visible polymorphism and genome-wide SNPs. Our study provides an effective method for selection gradient analysis to understand the maintenance or loss of polymorphism.


ABSTRACT The spread of COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe with incendiary events that transformed not only economies and health, but also education at all levels, in all nations, and to all people. The effects on primary, secondary, and higher education were swift, leaving higher education institutions to fend for themselves. In the United States, the delivery of knowledge in a traditional classroom setting changed to exclusively online teaching overnight. This article presents how one California liberal arts college and its graduate teacher education programme prepared its faculty for this significant transition for a different educational setting and teaching methodologies in response to COVID-19. Faculty were resilient to the changes in teaching delivery models of remote/online education that were imminent. The data yielded five themes: Technology-Based Instructional Strategies; Technology-Based Support Office Consultation; Alternative Technology-Based Course Assessments; Feedback for Learning and Teaching Improvement; and Social-Emotional Engagement in Courses, and Support of Clinical Placement that were found to be essential to transitioning to remote/online teaching.


Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) occur year round in the waters of southern British Columbia, but little is known about their seasonal abundance, habitat use and food habits. A systematic vessel-based line transect survey was undertaken to quantitatively assess seasonal trends in harbour porpoise abundance and distribution within the Canadian waters of Juan de Fuca and Haro Straits (08 September 2001 to 31 August 2002). These data were supplemented with opportunistic counts (1995-1996, 1998-2001) and stomach contents from post-mortem stranded porpoise (1998-2001). The study area encompassed 805.3 km 2 ; with a total transect length of 1838.4 km. Data collection was restricted to Beaufort 0 and 1 sea conditions, and abundance was estimated using DISTANCE 3.5 software. Encounter rates observed from April to October were significantly higher than from the rest of the year. Seasonal abundance estimates (corrected for visual radial distance estimation) ranged from a high of 673 porpoise from April-October (CV=20.5%, 95% CI 450 1006) and declined to 208 porpoise from November-March (CV=37.5%, 95% CI 101 429). Harbour porpoise were not uniformly distributed within the study area. Localized areas of high counts may represent critical porpoise habitats. A bimodal distribution of stranding frequency corresponded to the period of increased abundance. Ten adult and five immature harbour porpoise stomachs were examined (8 males and 7 females). Fish bones and otoliths were identified to species. Each stomach contained only a single species of piscine prey (n=5). No cephalopod beaks or eye lenses were present. Specimens from south Vancouver Island contained sand lance (Ammodyies hexapterus), with the one from the southeast coast containing Pacific hake (Merluccius productus), and the one from the southwest coast containing Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi).


ABSTRACTFish bone and egg shell are considered as waste products. Thus, reprocessing and eventual utilization of waste products have beneficial uses rather than their discharge to the environment which cause detrimental environmental effects. Fish bone and egg shell could be utilized as dietary calcium source and added to the produce calcium-rich bakery product (Baton sale'). Baton sale' was prepared from wheat flour supplemented by fish Tilapia bone and chicken egg shell in two concentrations 5% and 7%. Chemical composition of (wheat flour, egg shell and fish bone) and the fortified baton sale' products were measured. The nutritional value and sensorial properties were evaluated. The results indicated that addition of fish bone or egg shell powder gave a pronounced increase in gross chemical composition of baton Sale' as compared to control. Also most of the mineral increased than control especially Ca. All sensory evaluations were acceptable for all fortified baton Sale' as bakery products. The percentage calculated of the examine minerals were on percentage of RDA. Egg shell powder and fish bone are an appropriate and cheap source of calcium for human nutrition and easily prepared at home.


Every finite simple group can be generated by two elements, and Guralnick and Kantor proved that, moreover, every nontrivial element is contained in a generating pair. Groups with this property are said to be $\frac{3}{2}$-generated. Thompson's group $V$ was the first finitely presented infinite simple group to be discovered. The Higman--Thompson groups $V_n$ and the Brin--Thompson groups $mV$ are two families of finitely presented groups that generalise $V$. In this paper, we prove that all of the groups $V_n$, $V_n'$ and $mV$ are $\frac{3}{2}$-generated. As far as the authors are aware, the only previously known examples of infinite noncyclic $\frac{3}{2}$-generated groups are the pathological Tarski monsters. We conclude with several open questions motivated by our results.


For 88 operations in 69 patients with different adrenal diseases the author has employed transpleural (in 53 cases) thoracophrenotomy and subpleural (in 35 cases) thoracophrenotomy along the tenth intercostal space. These approaches are recommended evenin one-moment bilateral operation (3 observations). The incidence of complications directly relative to the selected approach is less than in lumbotomy.


This article examines the relationship between international law and World War I from a basic perspective. The first question is whether, and to what degree, international law can or should be regarded as a contributing cause for the outbreak of World War I . Three aspects of international law prior to World War I are discussed: the silent 'alliance' between the ius ad bellum and social Darwinism, the lack of individual accountability of the members of the political and military elites under international law, and the role of the law of reprisal as a 'fire accelerant' of conflicts. The second focal point lies on central questions of international law during the war. Again, three aspects are addressed: the relationship between international law and new weapons as well as new methods of warfare, legal issues related to long-term occupations and the role of international law with respect to prisoners of war.


"RICKSHAW BUDDY" is a low-cost automated assistance system for three-wheeler auto rickshaws to reduce the high rate of accidents in the streets of developing countries like Bangladesh. It is a given fact that the lack of over speed alert, back camera, detection of rear obstacle and delay of maintenance are causes behind fatal accidents. These systems are absent not only in auto rickshaws but also most public transports. For this system, surveys have been done in different phases among the passengers, drivers and even the conductors for a useful and successful result. Since the system is very cheap, the low-income drivers and owners of vehicles will be able to afford it easily making road safety the first and foremost priority.


Preaching formed one of the primary, regular avenues of communication between ecclesiastical elites and a wide range of society. Clergy used homilies to spread knowledge of complex theological debates prevalent in late antique Christian discourse. Some sermons offer glimpses into the locations in which communities gathered to hear orators preach. Although homilies survive in greater number than most other types of literature, most do not specify the setting of their initial delivery, dating, and authorship. This book addresses how we can contextualize sermons devoid of such information. The first chapter develops a methodology for approaching homilies that draws on a broader understanding of audience as both the physical audience and the readership of sermons. The remainder of the monograph offers a case study on the Syriac preacher Jacob of Serugh (c.451–521), whose metrical homilies form one of the largest sermon collections in any language from late antiquity. His letters connect him to a previously little-known Christological debate over the language of the miracles and sufferings of Christ through his correspondence with a monastery, a Roman military officer, and a Christian community in South Arabia. He uses this language in homilies on the Council of Chalcedon, on Christian doctrine, and on biblical exegesis. An analysis of these sermons demonstrates that he communicated miaphysite Christology to both elite reading communities as well as ordinary audiences. This monograph thus demonstrates a new methodology for working with late antique sermons and discloses the range of society that received complex theological teachings through preaching.


Abstract. Satellite observations (ISCCP, 1983–2009) of linear trends in cloud cover are compared to those in global precipitation (GPCP pentad V2.2, 1983–2009), to investigate possible cause(s) of the linear trends in both cloud cover and precipitation. The spatial distributions of the linear trends of total cloud cover and precipitation are both characterized primarily by the widening of Hadley circulation and poleward shifts of the jet streams associated with global warming. Our studies suggest that global warming, AMO and PDO can explain 67 %, 49 % and 38 %, respectively, of the spatial variabilities of the linear trends in cloud cover. A linear combination of global warming and AMO can explain as much as 74 % and 79 %, respectively, of the spatial variabilities of linear trends in cloud cover and precipitation. Analysis of the cloud cover and precipitation data (1957–2005) from Chinese surface meteorological stations reveals a quantitative matching relationship between the reduction in light precipitation and the reduction of total cloud cover. Furthermore, our study suggests that the reduction of cloud cover in China is primarily driven by the moisture–convection–latent heat feedback cycle under increasing global temperature conditions, PDO plays a secondary role, and the contribution from AMO and Niño3.4 is insignificant, consistent with the global analysis.


We will show that shellability, Cohen-Macaulayness and vertexde composability of a graded, planar poset P are all equivalent with the fact that P has the maximal possible number of edges. Also, for a such poset we will find an R−labelling with {1, 2} as the set of labels. Using this, we will obtain all essential linear inequalities for the flag h−vectors of shellable planar posets from [1]. AMS Mathematics Subject Classification (2000):


Multimedia summarization with multimodal output (MSMO) is a recently explored application in language grounding. It plays an essential role in real-world applications, i.e., automatically generating cover images and titles for news articles or providing introductions to online videos. However, existing methods extract features from the whole video and article and use fusion methods to select the representative one, thus usually ignoring the critical structure and varying semantics. In this work, we propose a Semantics-Consistent Cross-domain Summarization (SCCS) model based on optimal transport alignment with visual and textual segmentation. In specific, our method first decomposes both video and article into segments in order to capture the structural semantics, respectively. Then SCCS follows a cross-domain alignment objective with optimal transport distance, which leverages multimodal interaction to match and select the visual and textual summary. We evaluated our method on three recent multimodal datasets and demonstrated the effectiveness of our method in producing high-quality multimodal summaries.


Background: One strategy that parents use to achieve peace and recovery following the death of a child is to continue bonding with their dead children. Older adults with the death of a child are a vulnerable group, but no study has been conducted on them in Iran. Objectives: The current study aimed to explore the relationship between older adults and their dead children. Methods: This qualitative study utilized the grounded theory method. The data were gathered through purposive sampling during 2020–2021. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 older adults who had experienced a child death. The method of Corbin and Strauss (2015) was used to analyze the data. The Guba and Lincoln criteria were used to ensure the data trustworthiness. The data were managed using MAXQDA12. Results: The participants' mean age was 68.30 ± 7.39 years, and 76.9% of them were female. The findings were categorized into three major categories and nine subcategories. The three major categories of "staying connected with the dead child," "attempting to seek peace for the dead child," and "keeping the child's memories alive" emerged from the participants' experiences, along with the theme of "unbreakable bond with the child." Conclusion: As a protective strategy, the continuing bond between the older parents and their dead children aided in their adjustment. It is suggested that health-care providers facilitate the acceptance of child death in these older adults through providing group counseling and reminiscence sessions.


Recently, Zhang et al. proposed a sufficient descent Polak-Ribiere-Polyak (SDPRP) conjugate gradient method for large-scale unconstrained optimization problems and proved its global convergence in the sense that when an Armijo-type line search is used. In this paper, motivated by the line searches proposed by Shi et al. and Zhang et al., we propose two new Armijo-type line searches and show that the SDPRP method has strong convergence in the sense that under the two new line searches. Numerical results are reported to show the efficiency of the SDPRP with the new Armijo-type line searches in practical computation.


Gender has become a central concept in the social sciences as a marker of the social and cultural elaboration of sexual difference and of power relations. In some disciplines however, its relevance has been more difficult to establish; this is notably the case for historical demography, as research has only recently made use of the connection between gender and demographic processes.1 This is rather astonishing, since the discipline deals with a range of questions where gender is basic, such as life courses of men and women, family and extended family relations, sexuality, childrearing and contraception. The main purpose of this article is to show that the concept of gender is fundamental for historical demography and that it allows us to improve the explanatory power of the models used in this discipline. To begin with, I will identify some theoretical and methodological reasons that explain the late integration of gender in historical demography, and then focus on some current developments in the discipline that would help to overcome these blockages. This will be followed by two examples of the integration of a gender perspective in a central topic of historical demography, the so-called first demographic transition in Europe. Historians and demographers established that the secular decline of fertility in Europe occurred in two phases. A first decline in marital fertility took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (1870–1930), and was realised through rudimentary birth control practices such as abstinence or withdrawal. There was a historically unprecedented shift from high numbers of children per family to fewer, but better nurtured and educated children. The elucidation of such a great social transformation has generated abundant research.2 The second fertility transition was initiated in the mid-1960s, thanks to the emergence and generalisation of modern contraceptive methods that could be controlled by women.


Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) comprises about 15% of all lung cancers. It is an aggressive disease, with early metastasis and a poor prognosis. Until recently, SCLC treatment remained relatively unchanged, with chemotherapy remaining the cornerstone of treatment. In this overview we will highlight the recent advances in the field of staging, surgery, radiotherapy and systemic treatment. Nevertheless, the prognosis remains dismal and there is a pressing need for new treatment options. We describe the progress that has been made in systemic treatment by repurposing existing drugs and the addition of targeted treatment. In recent years, immunotherapy entered the clinic with high expectations of its role in the treatment of SCLC. Unravelling of the genomic sequence revealed new possible targets that may act as biomarkers in future treatment of patients with SCLC. Hopefully, in the near future, we will be able to identify patients who may benefit from targeted therapy or immunotherapy to improve prognoses. Advances in radiotherapy, targeted treatment and immunotherapy are limited. Progress in treatment options are needed for the treatment of SCLC. Exome sequencing to identify targetable biomarkers could select patients who would benefit from certain therapies. https://bit.ly/3e7ATJ4


We conducted an experiment to examine the effect of substrate on the nut‐cracking behavior of a group of semicaptive capuchin monkeys. We wanted to determine whether tufted capuchin monkeys were selective in choosing the substrate on which they pound nuts, and whether the choice of substrate affected the outcome. Eight adult females and eight juveniles were provided with nuts in the outdoor facility. We found that 1) all adult females and three young capuchins succeeded in cracking nuts; 2) they preferred the hardest substrates (concrete and stone); 3) there is a link between the substrate and the amount of time needed to crack a nut; 4) most young capuchins used various substrates, some of which were inadequate, in a haphazard manner; and 5) there are different forms of nut cracking. We conclude that adult capuchins choose the hardest substrates, and that these substrates support efficient cracking. Am. J. Primatol. 68:1–8, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Abstract Adoption is chief among the measures of alternative protection that can be taken to protect a child in Romania. According to Law no. 273/2004 on adoption procedure, current forms under which adoption can be found are domestic adoption and international adoption. In what follows we will highlight certain novelty elements and changes to the domestic adoption procedure brought by Law no. 57/2016.


Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) is expressed by nociceptive neurons of the dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) and trigeminal ganglia, but its roles in cold and mechanotransduction are controversial. To determine the contribution of TRPA1 to cold and mechanotransduction in cutaneous primary afferent terminals, we used the ex vivo skin–nerve preparation from Trpa1+/+, Trpa1+/−, and Trpa1−/− adult mouse littermates. Cutaneous fibers from TRPA1-deficient mice showed no deficits in acute cold sensitivity, but they displayed striking deficits in mechanical response properties. C-fiber nociceptors from Trpa1−/− mice exhibited action potential firing rates 50% lower than those in wild-type C-fibers across a wide range of force intensities. Aδ-fiber mechanonociceptors also had reduced firing, but only at high intensity forces (>100 mN). Surprisingly, the firing rates of low-threshold Aβ and D-hair mechanoreceptive fibers were also altered. TRPA1 protein and mRNA expression was assessed in DRG neurons and cutaneous innervation by using Trpa1 in situ hybridization, an antibody for TRPA1, and an antibody for placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) in mice in which PLAP was substituted for Trpa1. DRG neurons of all sizes expressed Trpa1 mRNA or PLAP immunoreactivity. TRPA1 or PLAP immunolabeling was detected not only on many thin-caliber axons and intraepidermal endings but also on many large-caliber axons as well as lanceolate and Meissner endings. Epidermal and hair follicle keratinocytes also express TRPA1 message and protein. We propose that TRPA1 modulates mechanotransduction via a cell-autonomous mechanism in nociceptor terminals and possibly through a modulatory role in keratinocytes, which may interact with sensory terminals to modify their mechanical firing properties.


The article summarizes the literature data of domestic and foreign researchers on the geological and geochemical conditions of the formation and transformation of the original organic matter of ancient Upper Proterozoic strata, as well as key points in understanding the processes of their accumulation at the R-V boundary.


Agroforestry systems may play a critical role in reducing the vulnerability of farmers' livelihood to droughts as tree‐based systems provide several mechanisms that can mitigate the impacts from extreme weather events. Here, we use a replicated throughfall reduction experiment to study the drought response of a cacao/Gliricidia stand over a 13‐month period. Soil water content was successfully reduced down to a soil depth of at least 2.5 m. Contrary to our expectations we measured only relatively small nonsignificant changes in cacao (−11%) and Gliricidia (−12%) sap flux densities, cacao leaf litterfall (+8%), Gliricidia leaf litterfall (−2%), soil carbon dioxide efflux (−14%), and cacao yield (−10%) during roof closure. However, cacao bean yield in roof plots was substantially lower (−45%) compared with control plots during the main harvest following the period when soil water content was lowest. This indicates that cacao bean yield was more sensitive to drought than other ecosystem functions. We found evidence in this agroforest that there is complementary use of soil water resources through vertical partitioning of water uptake between cacao and Gliricidia. This, in combination with acclimation may have helped cacao trees to cope with the induced drought. Cacao agroforests may thus play an important role as a drought‐tolerant land use in those (sub‐) tropical regions where the frequency and severity of droughts is projected to increase.


Background: Dentists are constantly exposed to numerous occupational health risks. These can cause the appearance of numerous infirmities, which further develop and intensify with time.

Objective: To assess the level of awareness of occupational hazards and preventive practices among the dental students in dental college and hospital.

Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at a dental institution in South India using self-administered questionnaires. All the students attending the second-year bachelor of dental surgery (BDS) and Internship of the college were included in the study. Total number of participants included was 160 comprising 82 second year BDS and 78 internship students of the institution. The self-administered questionnaire also included questions on baseline characteristic information such as gender, age, and years of study. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 15.0.

Results: The most prevalent preventive measure reported by the participants was the use of facemask (99.4%), wearing gloves on a routine basis (98.1%), and changing gloves between the patients (96.2%). Majority (84.4%) of the study participants were vaccinated against Hepatitis B. Only 57.5% study participants had regular exposure to dental amalgam, and 43.8% feel stress while working in clinic or laboratory. Overall, internship students score for better awareness and preventive practices; this was found to be statistically significant (Table 1). Clinical practices were better among the internship group of participants as compared to second-year BDS students.

Conclusion: Majority of the study participants were aware of the biological, chemical, and physical health hazards associated with dentistry but incapable to follow preventive measures in daily routine. The number of years of study and clinical hours spent improves the knowledge and practices of occupational hazard awareness and preventive practices among dental professionals.


tion (FOXO1). Samples were sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq plat-form. Gene expression was normalized to ten housekeeping genes. The decidualization score was calculated using previously determined ranges for specific biomarkers. Patients were followed through treat-ment with prednisone and/or intravenous immunoglobulin. Patients were grouped by pregnancy outcome, and differential expression of genes was compared between them. Results : GZMB, HIF1A, SGK1, and VEGFC significantly differentiated the RPL group from the UI group. GZMB and HIF1A were lower, and SGK1 and VEGFC were higher in the RPL group than in the UI group. The lowest levels of GZMB, GPER1, and KLRC2 were associated with the lowest expression ofIL-15. The highestlevels of GZMBand KLRC2 were associated with the highest expression of IL-15. SCNN1A and VEGFC were significantly increased in the UI group who became pregnant or gave live birth compared to those who continued to have implantation failure. All those with increased SCNN1A were treated with corticosteroids prior to biopsy. No significant difference was seen between the recurrent pregnancy loss group who later became preg-nant/gave live birth compared to those who miscarried. Conclusions : In this study, we identified distinct RPL and IU tran-scriptional signatures involving several tissue and cellular homeostatic markers and immunoregulatory and tissue modeling factors. In both groups, the expression of NK cell-associated markers and receptors was strongly associated with IL-15 expression. Comparing pregnancy outcomes, UIpatientswithhigherSCNN1Aand VEGFCexpression led tomoresuccessfulimplantationrates.UsingtargetedRNAsequencing, weidentifiedgenesassociatedwithendometrialdysregulation.Under-standingtheendometrialimmuneprofilepriortoinvitrofertilizationis important to decrease implantation failure. This approach could aid in selectingimmunomodulatoryagents,leadingtoanincreaseinlivebirth


The broiler farm will be established in Bereen which is located in Zarqa Governorate and it is far away about 17 km from the capital Amman. Nearness of the farm to the city make easy access to market for the purchase of day old chicks, farm inputs (feed, etc.) and selling of broilers. The farm is distant from the community, has good infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water. With a vision to be a unique model for poultry production. The Mission of this study is to satisfy customers with consistent quality poultry products and services. Profitability and growth will be achieved through efficient production, human animal treatment and employee development in a safe and supportive work environment. Through making a substantial contribution to the economic and social development of the region through employment, supply quality and safety broiler meat in the region, making profitable enterprise to earn a good income. The controlled poultry farm is a project of livestock sector, the purpose of the controlled poultry farm is to provide all the facilities ranging from automatic operations of temperature control, feeding and nipple drinking system for the broiler birds, monitored by the concerned & technical staff. Short Research Article Alhammd; AJARR, 10(2): 36-42, 2020; Article no.AJARR.53098 37 Broiler farming in a controlled environment is a profitable venture due to continuously increasing demand of the white meat in the market. Poultry is an important sub-sector of agriculture that has contributed enormously to food production by playing a vital role in the domestic economy. The initial cost of the project is including of initial working capital of 417,797 JD, revenue and NR with a mortality rate not more than 5% is 29038 JD, the innovation in this project is a biogas unit to reach sustainability goals.


Due to their transparent rear side, bifacial modules can take advantage of rear side irradiance as opposed to monofacial modules. Glass or transparent backsheets are conventionally used as rear side encapsulation material. To increase coupling gains achieved through internal reflection at the module rear side, a white or reflecting mesh structure can be applied in the areas between the cells on the rear side material. In this study, an existing optical model based on a simplified ray tracing approach is extended to describe the effects achieved though this mesh structure. The model is further integrated into a complete cell-to-module loss and gain analysis. The performance of the mesh backsheet concept is assessed under varying parameters. The impact of mesh reflectance, bifaciality of the cell and width of the mesh compared to the cell spacing are investigated. Losses due to increased module temperature and gains due to internal reflection gains are compared. We confirm that the optimal power gain can be achieved when the width of the mesh is the same as the spacing between the cells. We find that the power gain due to the improved internal reflection outweighs the power loss due to increased module temperature.


Other than through the creation of fracture surfaces, cementitious materials do not generally contribute significantly to strain energy dissipation or damping during dynamic loading of civil infrastructure. In this paper, the potential to increase damping of cementitious materials through utilization of poromechanical effects is evaluated. Pervious cement paste and mortar specimens were fabricated and their uniaxial damping measured at loading frequencies ranging from 0.01–25 Hz. To evaluate the poromechanical effect, the damping of specimens with water, glycerol, and glycerol/water blends constituting the pore fluid was measured, and the results were compared with the measured damping of dried specimens. It was found that significant poromechanical damping can be generated in cementitious materials, and the frequency at which the damping is maximized can be controlled by changing material properties that dictate the hydrodynamic relaxation time. It was also discovered that poromechanical modeling under p...


Recovery from emotional challenge and increased tolerance of negative affect are both hallmarks of mental health. Mindfulness training (MT) has been shown to facilitate these outcomes, yet little is known about its mechanisms of action. The present study employed functional MRI (fMRI) to compare neural reactivity to sadness provocation in participants completing 8 weeks of MT and waitlisted controls. Sadness resulted in widespread recruitment of regions associated with self-referential processes along the cortical midline. Despite equivalent self-reported sadness, MT participants demonstrated a distinct neural response, with greater right-lateralized recruitment, including visceral and somatosensory areas associated with body sensation. The greater somatic recruitment observed in the MT group during evoked sadness was associated with decreased depression scores. Restoring balance between affective and sensory neural networks-supporting conceptual and body based representations of emotion-could be one path through which mindfulness reduces vulnerability to dysphoric reactivity.


For young Australians in the early 1960s America was the icon of pop music and fashion. This was the result of the projection of America through the mass media and the numerous American rock'n'roll acts that were brought to Australia by Lee Gordon, an American entrepreneur who lived in Sydney (Zion 1984). This overall tendency led the American, A. L. McLeod, to observe when writing about Australian culture in 1963 that in general, Australian popular music is slavishly imitative of United States models; it follows jazz, swing, calypso or whatever the current fashion is in New York or San Francisco at a few months distance. (McLeod 1963, p. 410) Yet by late 1963 the potency of America was in decline. For while the Californian surf music craze made a somewhat delayed impact, especially in Sydney, the popularity of the Beatles was gathering momentum. This can be traced crudely through the Top Forty lists of the day: in Sydney the song 'From Me To You' entered the charts on 12 July 1963 and eventually reached number six (Barnes et al. 1979, p. 50).


Software models evolve over time undergoing various changes and resulting in several versions during their lifetime. Models are differentiated during the evolution process and the differences between subsequent model versions are represented in differences documents for further analysis and manipulations as history information. Software models have rich data structures which differ from the code of software systems. That is why, a representation approach for the model differences has to provide effective handling and management of difference information. Furthermore, the model differences represented in the differences documents have to be easy to access and reuse. This paper introduces the Delta Operations Language (DOL), a meta-model independent and operation-based approach to model difference representations. The approach represents the model differences in terms of DOL and provides several DOL Services to access and reuse the DOL-based differences for further analysis and manipulations. To explain ideas behind the approach, it is applied to UML activity diagrams as a running example.


Based on materials collected during a study of risk factors associated with cervix cancer among prostitutes in Domjur, Howrah, West Bengal, this report explores various biosocial factors which may lead women to prostitution. When family and marital ties fail or disintegrate for various reasons, the life situations which a woman encounters may themselves generate a "process" of anchorlessness. The failure of family support along with the lack of ability to provide for themselves due to poverty and illiteracy were key factors why the women in this study had adopted prostitution.


Neem ( Azadirachta indica A. Juss) is one of the most useful traditional medicinal plants in India. Neem flowers are traditionally used as tonic and stomachic. Neem leaf, stem and seed oil has proved immunomodulatory activity along with the adverse effect on sperm count. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate immunomodulatory activity of aqueous extract of Azadirachta indica flowers on humoral and cell mediated immune response to ovalbumin, phagocytic activity by carbon clearance test and cyclophosphamide induced myelosuppression. The extract was also examined for the ability to induce secretory and cellular responses in murine peritoneal macrophages in vitro . The extract increased the production of super oxide (O 2 -) and nitric oxide (NO) in murine peritoneal macrophages. These results indicate that reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI), reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI) are likely major mediators of cytotoxic activity of extract treated macrophages. The extract showed significant increase in phagocytic index which indicates activation of reticuloendothelial system through release of the mediators. The extract also showed increase in antibody titer against the ovalbumin and protection towards the cyclophosphamide induced myelosuppression in dose dependent manner. Increase in cell mediated immunity by increasing paw edema against ovalbumin showed significant effect of the extract on stimulation of T cell at the dose 400 mg/kg. Present study, therefore, reveals that the extract holds promise as immunomodulatory agent, which acts by stimulating both specific (humoral and cell mediated immunity) and non specific immune response (cytotoxic and phagocytic activity of macrophages).


The use of technology to automate clinical workflows at The Chester County Hospital in West Chester, Pa., has resulted in the following benefits: An 82 percent reduction in hospital-acquired MRSA infections. A significant reduction in catheter-associated urinary tract infections. Enhanced documentation of pre-existing pressure ulcers (The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services classifies pressure ulcers that develop during a hospital stay as "never events").


We report the effective organocatalysis of the aminolytic depolymerization of waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) using 1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD) producing a broad range of crystalline terephthalamides. This diverse set of monomers possesses great potential as building blocks for high performance materials with desirable thermal and mechanical properties deriving from the terephthalic moiety and amide hydrogen bonding. Further, a computational study established mechanistic insight into self-catalyzed and organocatalyzed aminolysis of terephthalic esters, suggesting that the bifunctionality of TBD particularly concerning activation of the carbonyl group differentiates TBD from other organic bases.


Abstract The results of the conventional mixing-length theory disagree with those of the statistical theory of turbulence, and must be rejected also on common-sense grounds since they imply the existence of infinite velocities. This does not result from any lack of realism on the part of the basic assumptions of the mixing-length theory, but from an inconsistency in their application, namely the implicit assumption that fluid parcels can travel the entire distance between "collisions" during an infinitesimal dispersion time, although they are explicitly assumed to travel with a finite velocity. Removal of this inconsistency leads to a corrected theory whose results are in agreement with those of the statistical theory. The corrected theory, which yields a diffusion equation with the coefficient K varying with dispersion time, also provides a description of the diffusion for all dispersion times in terms of the energy spectrum of eddy lifetimes. The criticism of the conventional mixing-length theory is sho...


This article concerns the structure of defeasible arguments like: 'If Bob has red spots, Bob has the measles; Bob has red spots; therefore Bob has the measles.' The issue is whether such arguments have the form of modus ponens or not. Either way there is a problem. If they don't have the form of modus ponens, the common opinion to the contrary taught in leading logic textbooks is wrong. But if they do have the form of modus ponens, doubts are raised about the conventional dogma that all arguments having the form of modus ponens are deductively valid. By carefully examining arguments on both sides of the issue, reasonable doubts are raised about the view that all arguments having a modus ponens form are valid.


An buried heterostructure (BH) tunable twin guide (TTG) laser diode with low threshold current, high output efficiency (over 0.25 W ) and a tuning range around 2.5 nm has been developed. Since BH laser diodes are highly sensitive to the waveguide quality we have improved the dry etching technique for the definition of the ridge in order to enhance the laser performance. Within the developed reactive ion etching (RIE) procedure a plasma with optimized composition has been used alternating with short plasma steps to remove remaining hydrocarbon polymer contamination deposited during the cycles. The first TTG laser diodes fabricated with this process exhibit up to 30% improved output efficiencies as compared to former devices, and show almost no degradation effects during high temperature lifetime stress.


The regulation of proteins through the addition and removal of O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) plays a role in many signaling events, specifically in stem cell pluripotency and the regulation of differentiation. However, these post-translational modifications have not been explored in extraembryonic endoderm (XEN) differentiation. Of the plethora of proteins regulated through O-GlcNAc, we explored galectin-3 as a candidate protein known to have various intracellular and extracellular functions. Based on other studies, we predicted a reduction in global O-GlcNAcylation levels and a distinct galectin expression profile in XEN cells relative to embryonic stem (ES) cells. By conducting dot blot analysis, XEN cells had decreased levels of global O-GlcNAc than ES cells, which reflected a disbalance in the expression of genes encoding O-GlcNAc cycle enzymes. Immunoassays (Western blot and ELISA) revealed that although XEN cells (low O-GlcNAc) had lower concentrations of both intracellular and extracellular galectin-3 than ES cells (high O-GlcNAc), the relative secretion of galectin-3 was significantly increased by XEN cells. Inducing ES cells toward XEN in the presence of an O-GlcNAcase inhibitor was not sufficient to inhibit XEN differentiation. However, global O-GlcNAcylation was found to decrease in differentiated cells and the extracellular localization of galectin-3 accompanies these changes. Inhibiting global O-GlcNAcylation status does not, however, impact pluripotency and the ability of ES cells to differentiate to the XEN lineage.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers and is the second-highest in cancer-related deaths worldwide. The changes in gut homeostasis and microbial dysbiosis lead to the initiation of the tumorigenesis process. Several pathogenic gram-negative bacteria including Fusobacterium nucleatum are the principal contributors to the induction and pathogenesis of CRC. Thus, inhibiting the growth and survival of these pathogens can be a useful intervention strategy. Fibroblast activation protein-2 (Fap2) is an essential membrane protein of F. nucleatum that promotes the adherence of the bacterium to the colon cells, recruitment of immune cells, and induction of tumorigenesis. The present study depicts the design of an in silico vaccine candidate comprising the B-cell and T-cell epitopes of Fap2 for improving cell-mediated and humoral immune responses against CRC. Notably, this vaccine participates in significant protein–protein interactions with human Toll-like receptors, especially with TLR6 reveals, which is most likely to be correlated with its efficacy in eliciting potential immune responses. The immunogenic trait of the designed vaccine was verified by immune simulation approach. The cDNA of the vaccine construct was cloned in silico within the expression vector pET30ax for protein expression. Collectively, the proposed vaccine construct may serve as a promising therapeutic in intervening F. nucleatum-induced human CRC.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the general situation of the native pig breeds and the relative present study conditions for better development of xenotransplantation in China.

METHODS
By comparing the profits between the pigs and the non-human primates as the potential donors for xenotransplantation and emphasizing the source of the pigs as the organ donors from the transplantation studies, we analyzed the possible values of the native pig breeds as the donors.

RESULTS
As one of the richest resources in the world, the species variation and relative genetic stability of Chinese native pig breeds could be the very valuable resources for xenotransplantation study and utilization. As a reverse, the xenotransplantation could provide opportunity for more economically and environmentally utilization of the pigs besides as the meat supply.

CONCLUSION
As a very valuable and potential resource of organ donor, the native pig breeds of China might be noticed by the xenotransplantation colleagues in the world. It is necessary, to keep the balance among the risk vs. benefit and the protection vs. utilization of this valuable resource.


Simple Summary Neonicotinoids constitute more than one-quarter of the insecticides on the market. Acetamiprid, a widely used neonicotinoid, has been found to be linked with neurological symptoms and there is an urge to understand its molecular mechanisms. It decreased cellular viability in millimole concentrations after 24 h in SH-SY5Y neural cells. Additionally, it increased reactive oxygen species, intracellular calcium and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Since overwhelmed cellular stress can destroy cellular structures and cause cell death, we also evaluated cellular death mechanisms. Acetamiprid induced apoptosis rather than necrosis indicating that cells undergo suicide initiated by self-generated death signals. Even though acetamiprid is considered to be a safe option in the struggle against harmful agricultural insects, these results suggest that the widespread use should be taken under strict control in order not to cause damage to the mammals. Abstract Acetamiprid (ACE), a commonly used neonicotinoid insecticide, is correlated with neurological symptoms, immunotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. Cellular stress and damage could play an important role in ACE-induced neurotoxicity; however, its mechanism has not been fully understood. We evaluated the effects of ACE on oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, cellular death, mRNA expression levels of related genes and protein expressions of related molecular mechanisms in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. The half maximal inhibition of enzyme activity (IC50) value of ACE was determined as 4.26 mM after 24 h of treatment by MTT assay. We revealed an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and calcium release. Significant increases were measured in inositol-requiring enzyme 1-alpha (IRE1-α) and binding immunoglobulin protein 90 (GRP90) levels as well as mRNA expression levels of caspase 3, 4 and 9 genes indicating enhanced ER stress. Apoptosis and ER stress-related genes were significantly upregulated at ≥2 mM. Indeed, ACE caused apoptosis and necroptosis while necrosis was not observed. There was a significant increase in the protein level of mitogen-activated protein kinase-8 (MAPK8) at 4 mM of ACE while no change was seen for nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). In conclusion, increased cellular stress markers could be proposed as an underlying mechanism of ACE-induced cell death in neural cells.


Translation termination is the final step that completes the synthesis of a polypeptide. Premature translation termination by introduction of a nonsense mutation leads to the synthesis of a truncated protein. We report the identification and characterization of the product of the MTT1 gene, a helicase belonging to the Upfl-like family of helicases that is involved in modulating translation termination. MTT1 is homologous to UPF1, a factor previously shown to function in both mRNA turnover and translation termination. Overexpression of MTT1 induced a nonsense suppression phenotype in a wild-type yeast strain. Nonsense suppression is apparently not due to induction of [PSI+], even though cooverexpression of HSP104 alleviated the nonsense suppression phenotype observed in cells overexpressing MTT1, suggesting a more direct role of Hsp104p in the translation termination process. The MTT1 gene product was shown to interact with translation termination factors and is localized to polysomes. Taken together, these results indicate that at least two members of a family of RNA helicases modulate translation termination efficiency in cells.


The results of the examination and 7 days treatment of the patients with duodenal ulcer associated with Helicobacter pylori (HP) by rebeprasol (20 mg 2 times per day), clarithromycin (500 mg 2 times per day) and Amoxicillin (1000 mg also 2 times per day) are presented. After treatment the patients did not receive any therapy. Before and after treatment of the patients the HP sowing of stomach mucosa was determined by Clo-test and histological method. The adhesion of bulb and duodenal ulcers is marked in all 10 patients on the data of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGDS) just after treatment. The second control EGDS (4 weeks after treatment) spending in 8 patients showed the adhesion of ulcers and HP eradication (in all cases). The research is continued. The obtained results on the adhesion of bulb and duodenal ulcers and HP eradication testify the efficiency of suggested scheme of the 7-days antihelocobacter therapy of the non-complicated duodenal ulcer associated with HP.


Amyloid-beta (Aβ) oligomers are thought to be causative for the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Starting from the Aβ oligomer eliminating d-enantiomeric peptide D3, we developed and applied a two-step procedure based on peptide microarrays to identify D3 derivatives with increased binding affinity and specificity for monomeric Aβ(1-42) to further enhance the Aβ oligomer elimination efficacy. Out of more than 1000 D3 derivatives, we selected seven novel d-peptides, named ANK1 to ANK7, and characterized them in more detail in vitro. All ANK peptides bound to monomeric Aβ(1-42), eliminated Aβ(1-42) oligomers, inhibited Aβ(1-42) fibril formation, and reduced Aβ(1-42)-induced cytotoxicity more efficiently than D3. Additionally, ANK6 completely inhibited the prion-like propagation of preformed Aβ(1-42) seeds and showed a nonsignificant tendency for improving memory performance of tg-APPSwDI mice after i.p. application for 4 weeks. This supports the hypothesis that stabilization of Aβ monomers and thereby induced elimination of Aβ oligomers is a suitable therapeutic strategy.


Research exploring the occurrence of trauma among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) has grown over the past decade. Yet there is a dearth of literature investigating the impact of organizational factors on the trauma expe- rience despite this population's need for organizational supports. Trauma-informed care (TIC), a systems-focused model for service delivery, is a fast-developing interest among the broader field of trauma in the general population. It recognizes the prevalence and impact of trauma, and creates a culture of safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment. The author synthesized relevant literature from both the intellectual and developmental disabilities areas and integrated this with TIC and trauma literature drawn from the general population. Explored are the implications of organizations for service delivery and the potential assimila- tion of TIC within I/DD organizations. The effectiveness of TIC applications and their potential barriers are discussed and related to the philosophy of quality of life and organizational culture. The author notes that some individuals with I/DD comprise a vulner- able subgroup of the population that in large part relies upon the support of organizational services to foster quality of life. Given the implications of the focus on quality of life, he posits that TIC presents as a viable response for organizations, complimenting and augmenting current efforts.


The analytical description of the change of the temperature distribution in the container for planting during time has been created. The analytical formula is derived by the way of mathematical processing of the experimental data of the temperature distribution on the surface of the container and inside the substrate


Smart cities (SCs) are a recent but emerging phenomenon, aiming at using high technology and especially information and communications technology (ICT) to implement better living conditions in large metropolises, to involve citizens in city government, and to support sustainable economic development and city attractiveness. The final goal is to improve the quality of city life for all stakeholders. Until now, SCs have been developing as bottom-up projects, bringing together smart initiatives driven by public bodies, enterprises, citizens, and not-for-profit organizations. However, to build a long-term smart strategy capable of producing better returns from investments and deciding priorities regarding each city, a comprehensive SC governance framework is needed. The aim of this paper is to collect empirical evidences regarding government structures implemented in SCs and to outline a framework for the roles of local governments, nongovernmental agencies, and administrative officials. The survey shows that no consolidated standards or best practices for governing SCs are implemented in the examined cities; however, each city applies its own governance framework. Moreover, the study reveals some interesting experiences that may be useful for involving citizens and civil society in SC governance.


Background

Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is characterized by impaired cognitive function and memory loss, which are often the result of synaptic pathology. Insulin resistance has been reported to be closely correlated with the pathogenesis of MHE.
Methods

The effect of thrombopoietin receptor agonist eltrombopag (ELT) on neurodegeneration and insulin resistance was examined in the primary rat neurons and an MHE rat model.
Results

We found that the level of thrombopoietin receptor c-MPL (MPL) expression was decreased in MHE brains, and ELT administration improved insulin resistance, alleviated the destruction of synaptic formation and enhanced learning and memory in the MHE rats, indicating the relationship between dowregulated ELT and insulin resistance. Then in vitro, ELT treatment ameliorated the impairment of glucose uptake, indicating the reduction of insulin resistance. High dose of glucose inhibited insulin-stimulated downregulation of Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α) expression, the phosphorylation of GSK3β (pGSK3 β), upregulation of sirtuin-1 (Sirt1), destruction of synaptic formation and activity, which were all reversed by ELT treatment in insulin resistant neurons.
Conclusions

These results indicate that ELT is a promising potential therapeutic agent for insulin resistance and defect in learning and memory.


Abstract This paper proposes a new TOPSIS with interval type-2 fuzzy numbers. The extension applies graded mean integration to compare normal fuzzy trapezoidal sets. It is demonstrated by a numerical example for ranking business intelligence software that the TOPSIS modification can operate with qualitative and quantitative criteria, reduces evaluation uncertainty and provides a feasible solution.


Purpose of the paper : This paper aims to identify the main features of sustainability in supply chain management studies. Methodology: A systematic literature review was conducted, taking 41 papers published from 2007 to 2014 into account. Findings : 41 articles coherent with the research question were identified, with the key issues being highlighted for each one. A fundamental aspect investigated in the literature on sustainability in supply chain management was the performance that concerned all members along the supply chain in a collaborative approach. Research limits : This study could be further explored through a deeper empirical analysis of sustainability in supply chain management. Practical implications : Both academics and practitioners may find this literature review useful, as it highlights the main features of sustainability in supply chain management studies. Of particular importance is the performance measurement of sustainability, which has positive feedback on business performance, and its ability to create competitive advantage. Originality of the paper : A great number of interesting topics related to sustainability in supply chain management have arisen and are worth deepening. These can be profitably extended by academics and developed in various application areas of managerial interest.


Abstract A 50-year-old, right-hand dominant woman presented with a seven-month history of stiffness, pain and swelling on the ulnar side of her right wrist. She had undergone right wrist arthroplasty with a Pyrocarbon Amandys implant seven months previously for post-traumatic degenerative arthritis. She had an uneventful initial recovery until developing carpal tunnel syndrome, for which she underwent carpal tunnel release 5 months after her arthroplasty. Examination revealed a painful and limited range of movement in the affected wrist, with weakness of the first dorsal interosseous muscle and altered sensation in the ring finger. A hard swelling was visible and palpable on the palmar-ulnar aspect of the wrist. X-rays showed that the swelling was due to the dislocated Amandys implant (which was thought to be causing compression neuropathy of the ulnar nerve). The patient underwent removal of the pyrocarbon implant (through a palmar approach) and total wrist fusion one month later, following which the wrist successfully united and all symptoms of ulnar nerve compression resolved. Although some studies have reported migration of pyrocarbon implant following total wrist arthroplasty, to our knowledge, this is the first reported case of ulnar compression neuropathy from a migrated pyrocarbon wrist implant.


A cultural entrepreneur in the twenty-first century will redefine entrepreneurship. A business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, whereas a cultural entrepreneur assesses success in terms of the impact it has on society as well as in profit and return. Cultural enterprises are for 'more-than-profit,' using blended value business models that combine a revenue-generating business with a social-value-generating structure or component. Therefore it is important to measure management of cultural entrepreneurship in order to improve efficiency and stability of cultural entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to define the tools of the measurement of cultural entrepreneurship management, and to investigate the understanding of the stakeholder engagement in cultural enterprises in Latvia. During the research the qualitative research methodology has been used, being oriented towards the research problems which are comprehensible by intervention based in experience and ability to reach broad perspective and evaluate the impact of culture. The research was started by creating a focus group with managers working in the field of Latvian cultural entrepreneurship with experience of at least 5 years. The evaluation of the cultural enterprises' stakeholders by the method of interview was performed in 42 cultural enterprises: art galleries, non-governmental theatres and concert organizations, thus covering all the legal entities working in the above-mentioned field in Latvia during the research period (2010 – 2013). This is the first study that measures the stakeholder engagement in cultural entrepreneurship and gives a model for assessment of cultural entrepreneurship management.


Students' scores and subsequent grades for clinical courses should reflect their performance. The scores are dependent in part on the reliability of faculty evaluations. Large variance in instructor scoring could unduly affect students' final grades. This study investigated the effect on students' scores of instructor variance in clinical evaluation. The results indicated that instructor variance was responsible for 11 percent of the variance in students' final scores. The remainder of the differences resulted from differences in student performance. More than one half of the students' grades would have been either higher or lower if the scores assigned by one or more individual instructors had been excluded. For all but one student the net change in total scores was less than one standard deviation. The authors conclude that the students' grades were reliable and that individual differences among instructors did not unduly affect the students' final scores.


A clinical study of alcohol hallucinosis was made in 25 patients admitted in the hospital Psiquiatrico de Madrid since 1984 until 1990, taking into account the ICD-9. The 88% of the patients under control improved partially o completely in an average period of 18 days.


The continuous miniaturization process of computing devices featuring wireless technologies influences our everyday life. With the popularity of laptops, cell phones, PDAs, GPS devices, RFID, and intelligent electronics in the post-PC era, computing devices have become cheaper, more mobile, more distributed, and more pervasive in daily life. The emergence of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is essentially the latest trend of Moore's Law toward the miniaturization and ubiquity of computing devices. Wireless Sensor Networks are composed of devices of reduced size, self-powered and with wireless transmission capabilities. Because of these features this technology has been recognized as promising for a large variety of monitoring and surveillance applications. In this thesis, we presented the details of an application that makes use of WSNs to monitor railway infrastructures. The WSN collects information about the structural health and behavior of the infrastructure when a train travels along it and relays the readings to a base station. The base station uses the next train as a data carrier to upload the information. The use of a train as a data carrier is especially suitable to collect information from remote or inaccessible places which do not have a direct connection to the internet. We have implemented a railway infrastructure monitoring application and its application specific routing protocol on top of TinyOS operating system using nesC programming. We have also implemented data management method to make sure the sampled data is being stored for later purpose We have evaluated the performance of our application through simulation using COOJA simulator on TelosB sensor nodes. COOJA is the default simulator for Contiki operating system which can be used for TinyOS applications. Finally, we demonstrated the feasibility of our application and routing protocol. The experiment showed encouraging results.


The dynamics of health indices of the Khust District (Transcarpathian Province [correction of Zacarpathye region]) population was studied from 1970 through 1990. It is concluded that statistical data on the increase of morbidity are related to improvement of diagnostics of nosological entities related to increase of the availability of doctors, nursing personnel, number of beds in the district. Reserves of further medical services to the population are discussed.


We report the discovery of a gravitationally lensed hyperluminous infrared galaxy (intrinsic L-IR approximate to 10(13) L-circle dot) with strong radio emission (intrinsic L-1.4 GHz approximate to 10(25) WHz(-1)) at z = 2.553. The source was identified in the citizen science project SPACE WARPS through the visual inspection of tens of thousands of iJK(s) colour composite images of luminous red galaxies (LRGs), groups and clusters of galaxies and quasars. Appearing as a partial Einstein ring (r(e) approximate to 3 arcsec) around an LRG at z = 0.2, the galaxy is extremely bright in the sub-millimetre for a cosmological source, with the thermal dust emission approaching 1 Jy at peak. The redshift of the lensed galaxy is determined through the detection of the CO(3 -> 2) molecular emission line with the Large Millimetre Telescope's Redshift Search Receiver and through [O III] and Ha line detections in the near-infrared from Subaru/Infrared Camera and Spectrograph. We have resolved the radio emission with high-resolution (300-400 mas) eMERLIN L-band and Very Large Array C-band imaging. These observations are used in combination with the near-infrared imaging to construct a lens model, which indicates a lensing magnification of mu approximate to 10. The source reconstruction appears to support a radio morphology comprised of a compact (<250 pc) core and more extended component, perhaps indicative of an active nucleus and jet or lobe.


DNA helicases catalyze separation of double-helical DNA into its complementary single strands, a process essential for DNA replication, recombination, and repair. The Escherichia coli Rep protein, a superfamily 1 DNA helicase, functions in DNA replication restart and is required for replication of several bacteriophages. Monomers of Rep do not display helicase activity in vitro; in fact, DNA unwinding requires Rep dimerization. Here we show that removal of the 2B subdomain of Rep to form RepDelta2B activates monomer helicase activity, albeit with limited processivity. Although both full length Rep and RepDelta2B monomers can translocate with 3' to 5' directionality along single-stranded DNA, the 2B subdomain inhibits the helicase activity of full length Rep. This suggests an autoregulatory mechanism for Rep helicase, which may apply to other nonhexameric helicases, whereby helicase activity is regulated by the rotational conformational state of the 2B subdomain; formation of a Rep dimer may relieve autoinhibition by altering the 2B subdomain orientation.


Background: The GILLS (gastroesophageal reflux, preoperative intubation, late intervention (>14 days), low birth weight (<2500 g), and syndromic diagnosis) score is a validated predictor of success for tongue-lip adhesion (TLA) in patients with Robin sequence (RS). Objective: To evaluate the application of the GILLS score to mandibular distraction osteogenesis (MDO) for airway management in patients with RS and the associated syndromes. Methods: A retrospective chart review of 21 patients diagnosed with RS and treated with MDO surgery between the years 2006 and 2016 was performed. Success was defined by tracheostomy status outcome measures. Statistical analysis of the success was completed. Results: A GILLS score limit of ≤3 had a positive predictive value of 100%, a negative predictive value of 50%, 83% sensitivity, and 100% specificity. Conclusions: These data imply that the GILLS scoring algorithm is applicable to aiding in the selection of patients with RS for MDO, including patients with known syndromes.


The liquid crystal and luminescent properties of two related series of rod-like, ortho-platinated complexes bearing a β-diketonate co-ligand are reported. The parent ligands exhibit a rich, smectic polymorphism, but when modified with a fused cyclopentene ring, nematic phases dominate. Reaction of the ligands with tetrachloroplatinate(II) leads to poorly soluble, dimeric complexes that can be cleaved using dimethylsulfoxide; the resulting monomeric complexes are then readily converted to the β-diketonate complexes. All of the complexes are mesomorphic, and the β-diketonate complexes have excited state lifetimes of 27 μs with emission quantum efficiencies exceeding 0.5, the highest yet reported for materials of this type.


Abstract : The USAF proposes the expansion of sortie-operations within existing airspace components and ranges and a corresponding weapons expenditure rate increase on existing ranges to ensure the accomplishment of readiness training requirements for Moody AFB aircraft and airmen. Realistic training is required to ensure aircrews are mission-trained, qualified, and prepared for deployment to support real-world events, which include the tactical delivery of air-to-ground munitions, laser designation of targets from ground and airborne platforms, and threat evasion. These training events would occur in existing airspace components and ranges associated with training for Moody AFB. There would be no personnel changes or construction activities as part of the Proposed Action. This EA analyzes and documents potential environmental consequences associated with the Proposed Action and reasonable alternatives to the Proposed Action at Moody AFB and the associated airspace and ranges. If the analyses presented in this EA indicate that implementation of the management alternatives would not result in significant environmental or socioeconomic impacts, a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) would be prepared. If significant environmental issues are identified that cannot be minimized to insignificant levels, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) would be prepared or the Proposed Action would be abandoned and no action would be taken. The EA is to be made available to government agencies and the public upon completion. The EA will evaluate the potential environmental consequences on the following 11 resource categories: geological resources, water resources infrastructure, airspace management and flight safety, noise, land use, socioeconomic resources and environmental justice, cultural resources, air quality, biological resources, and hazardous materials and wastes.


We present equations for new limitless analytic line elements. These elements possess a virtually unlimited number of degrees of freedom. We apply these new limitless analytic elements to head‐specified boundaries and to problems with inhomogeneities in hydraulic conductivity. Applications of these new analytic elements to practical problems involving head‐specified boundaries require the solution of a very large number of equations. To make the new elements useful in practice, an efficient iterative scheme is required. We present an improved version of the scheme presented by Bandilla et al. (2007), based on the application of Cauchy integrals. The limitless analytic elements are useful when modeling strings of elements, rivers for example, where local conditions are difficult to model, e.g., when a well is close to a river. The solution of such problems is facilitated by increasing the order of the elements to obtain a good solution. This makes it unnecessary to resort to dividing the element in question into many smaller elements to obtain a satisfactory solution.


The authors studied the morphofunctional (anatomical and histological) features of the thyroid gland of dapple deer, maral, moose and roe deer. During the macroscopic examination of the organ, the number of lobes, the presence of an isthmus, the length, width and thickness of the lobes, and the weight of the gland were determined. During histological examination, morphometric parameters were evaluated, such as: diameter of the follicles, height of the thyrocytes, volume of the thyrocyte nuclei, and the Brown index was calculated. In all animals, the thyroid gland consisted of two lobes without an isthmus. It differs between species in the shape, size, and thickness of the lobes. The gland weight correlates with the size of the animals. Morphological differences between species consist in the heterogeneity of the location of follicles of different diameters in relation to each other. In the dapple deer, large-diameter follicles are located in the center of the organ, and smaller-diameter follicles are located both in the center and on the periphery. In roe deer, the gland follicles are almost identical in shape and size, that is, they are of the same type. The gland has a similar morphological structure in maral and moose. The colloid of the follicles has a homogeneous consistency, it is compacted and intensively stained with hematoxyl-eosin, resorption vesicles are in small quantities.