Phosphorylation of the P proteins of nonsegmented negative-strand RNA viruses is critical for their function as transactivators of the viral RNA polymerases. Using unphosphorylated P protein of human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPIV3) expressed in Escherichia coli, we have shown that the cellular protein kinase that phosphorylates P in vitro is biochemically and immunologically indistinguishable from cellular protein kinase C isoform zeta (PKC-zeta). Further, PKC-zeta is specifically packaged within the progeny HPIV3 virions and remains tightly associated with the ribonucleoprotein complex. The P protein seems also to be phosphorylated intracellularly by PKC-zeta, as shown by the similar protease digestion pattern of the in vitro and in vivo phosphorylated P proteins. The growth of HPIV3 in CV-1 cells is completely abrogated when a PKC-zeta-specific inhibitor pseudosubstrate peptide was delivered into cells. These data indicate that PKC-zeta plays an important role in HPIV3 gene expression by phosphorylating P protein, thus providing an opportunity to develop antiviral agents against an important human pathogen.


Latent TGF-beta binding proteins (LTBPs) are components of the extracellular matrix (ECM). They belong to the fibrillin/LTBP-superfamily, and are high molecular weight glycoproteins characterized by EGF-like repeats and 8-Cys repeats. Most LTBPs associate with the small latent forms of TGF-beta. Their roles include to facilitate the secretion of latent TGF-beta and to target it to the ECM. In order to identify new matrix-binding domains of LTBP-1 and to characterize their association with the extracellular matrix, we have produced (in a mammalian expression system) partly overlapping recombinant fragments of its shorter form, LTBP-1S, and analyzed the binding of the purified fusion proteins to extracellular matrices of cultured human dermal and lung fibroblasts. Recombinant fragments from three different regions of the N- and C-termini showed affinity to the matrix. These interacting regions contain either the first (hybrid), second or fourth 8-Cys domains of the LTBP-1S molecule. They bound independently to the matrix. Each of them had an ability to inhibit the association of native exogenous LTBP-1 with fibroblast extracellular matrix. The interactions of the LTBP-1 fragments with the extracellular matrix resisted treatment with sodium deoxycholate, suggesting strong, possibly covalent binding. The binding occurred in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. The N-terminal fragments bound more readily to the matrices. With all fragments the binding took place both with intact fibroblast matrices and with matrices isolated by sodium deoxycholate. When using CHO cell layers, which form sparse matrices, only the N-terminal fragment of LTBP-1 was efficiently incorporated. The association of the binding fragments with isolated matrices was enhanced by soluble, cell-derived factors. The current data suggest that LTBP-1 contains three different domains with an ability to associate with the extracellular matrix.


Recently NVidia proposed their first cloud based GPU architecture called Kepler. One of the key features of Kepler GPU is that it allows multiple user processes to access the GPU concurrently. We use this feature to design a cloud computing system that allow multiple users to share the computing power of a Kepler board anytime, anywhere over the internet. Our system improves the utilization of the Kepler GPU and lowers the cost in providing GPU cloud services. We conduct experiments to evaluate the overhead of our system, and preliminary results indicates that our system provides convenient services with very little overhead.


Various 2-D and 3-D change detection techniques have been developed in the literature in order to monitor changes inside urban areas. Nevertheless, most of these techniques require the interaction of the user either to input data, set parameters or to train classifiers. Automatic unsupervised processes have been seldom tackled since they are very difficult to develop if high accuracies are necessary. This article provides a fully automatic change detection procedure for urban areas monitoring. It exploits at best the information provided by multi-spectral images and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) from two different epochs. A fusion, both at feature and decision levels, is thus proposed in order to automatically detect for each epoch the following land cover classes: buildings, shadowed areas, water bodies, ground, low and high vegetation. Applying such fusion on Ikonos stereo data acquired over an Asian urban area in spring 2006 and winter 2010 and their ensuing DEMs has proved both the efficiency and worth of the joint use of the multi-spectral and height information. A class-for-class comparison is carried out between the two obtained classification maps in order to detect the changes that have occurred between 2006 and 2010 over the studied area. A set of standard evaluation measures widely employed in the literature are finally computed to assess the quality of the proposed procedure.


Abstract We investigate the role of linear mechanisms in the emergence of nonlinear horizontal self-propelled states of a heaving foil in a quiescent fluid. Two states are analysed: a periodic state of unidirectional motion and a quasi-periodic state of slow back and forth motion around a mean horizontal position. The states emergence is explained through a fluid–solid Floquet stability analysis of the non-propulsive symmetric base solution. Unlike a purely hydrodynamic analysis, our analysis accurately determines the locomotion states onset. An unstable synchronous mode is found when the unidirectional propulsive solution is observed. The obtained mode has a propulsive character, featuring a mean horizontal velocity and an asymmetric flow that generates a horizontal force accelerating the foil. An unstable asynchronous mode, also featuring flow asymmetry and a non-zero velocity, is found when the back and forth state is observed. Its associated complex multiplier introduces a slow modulation of the flapping period, agreeing with the quasi-periodic nature of the back and forth regime. The temporal evolution of this perturbation shows how the horizontal force exerted by the flow is alternatively propulsive or resistive over a slow period. For both modes, an analysis of the velocity and force perturbation time-averaged over the flapping period is used to establish physical instability criteria. The behaviour for a large solid-to-fluid density ratio of the modes is thus analysed. The asynchronous fluid–solid mode converges towards the purely hydrodynamic one, whereas the synchronous mode becomes marginally unstable in our analysis not converging to the purely hydrodynamic analysis where it is never destabilised.


Correspondence Omer Unsal, Merrimack College, Girard School of Business, 315 Turnpike St. North Andover, MA 01845. Email: email@example.com Abstract In this study, we use a unique hand-collected data set of employee lawsuits to understand the effect of litigation on CEO turnover. We gather 28,258 employee disputes (after initial court hearing) dating between the years 2000 and 2014 to test the relationship between executive turnover following employee allegations. We find increased turnover of CEOs following labor lawsuits. Additional analysis suggests that, following the lawsuits, CEO compensation decreases and becomes more sensitive to cash holding. Our results show that employee lawsuits have an impact on CEO turnover, regardless of the case outcome or motivation. Overall, we document the importance of employee treatment in the workplace. We conclude employee treatment may impact both the tenure and future job prospects of a CEO.


Employee empowerment is the most promising concept related with human resources condition nowadays that demanded qualified and competent people. By having empowerment strategy, employees in middle level management are given extra responsibility and authority on their own job without pressure from top level management in order to increase their commitment towards organization. The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of employee empowerment on organizational commitment in Bank Indonesia Representatives in North Sulawesi. The method used in this research is descriptive with qualitative approach. The sample of this research is employees in middle level management who empower and be empowered as many as 8 informants using purposive sampling technique. The results based on data collection method processed using the In-Depth Interview. In the findings, there is significant impact of employee empowerment on organizational commitment, especially in normative dimension. It is because the implemented empowerment strategy such as training, education, motivation and reward system at Bank Indonesia require employee to increase their sense of self-determination and self-efficacy to be responsible toward assigned task. This research suggests to Bank Indonesia Representatives in North Sulawesi to maintain the empowerment strategy and to increase the affective commitment of employee on institution. Keywords : human resources, empowerment, commitment


Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a surgical procedure for alleviating motor symptoms of Parkinson's Disease (PD). The pattern of DBS (e.g., the electrode pairs used and the intensity of stimulation) is usually optimized by trial and error based on a subjective evaluation of motor function. We tested the hypotheses that DBS releases glutamate in selected basal ganglia nuclei and that the creation of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced nigrostriatal lesions alters glutamate release during DBS in those basal ganglia nuclei. We studied the relationship between a pseudo-random binary sequence of DBS and glutamate levels in the STN itself or in the globus pallidus (GP) in anesthetized, control, and 6-OHDA-treated rats. We characterized the stimulus–response relationships between DBS and glutamate levels using a transfer function estimated using System Identification. Stimulation of the STN elevated glutamate levels in the GP and in the STN. Although the 6-OHDA treatment did not affect glutamate dynamics in the STN during DBS in the STN, the transfer function between DBS in the STN and glutamate levels in the GP was significantly altered by the presence or absence of 6-OHDA-induced lesions. Thus, glutamate responses in the GP in the 6-OHDA-treated animals (but not in the STN) depended on dopaminergic inputs. For this reason, measuring glutamate levels in the GP may provide a useful feedback target in a closed-loop DBS device in patients with PD since the dynamics of glutamate release in the GP during DBS seem to reflect the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the SNc.


The first identification of autochthonous transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 in Italy was documented by the Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Virology and Bioemergencies of L. Sacco Hospital (Milano, Italy) on 20th February 2020 in a 38 years old male patient, who was found positive for pneumonia at the Codogno Hospital. Thereafter Lombardy has reported the highest prevalence of COVID‐19 cases in the country, especially in Milano, Brescia and Bergamo provinces. The aim of this study was to assess the potential presence of different viral clusters belonging to the six main provinces involved in Lombardy COVID‐19 cases in order to highlight peculiar province‐dependent viral characteristics. A phylogenetic analysis was conducted on 20 full length genomes obtained from patients addressing to several Lombard hospitals from February 20th to April 4th, 2020, aligned with 41 Italian viral genome assemblies available on GISAID database as of 30th March, 2020: two main monophyletic clades, containing 8 and 53 isolates, respectively, were identified. Noteworthy, Bergamo isolates mapped inside the small clade harbouring M gene D3G mutation. The molecular clock analysis estimated a cluster divergence approximately one month before the first patient identification, supporting the hypothesis that different SARS‐CoV‐2 strains had spread worldwide at different times, but their presence became evident only in late February along with Italian epidemic emergence. Therefore, this epidemiological reconstruction suggests that virus initial circulation in Lombardy was ascribable to multiple introduction. The phylogenetic reconstruction robustness, however, will be improved when more genomic sequences are available, in order to guarantee a complete epidemiological surveillance.


Vrat kathas (Hindu women's domestic literature) present the forest as a place for the reception of religious knowledge. These stories place themselves on par with divinely revealed texts by emulating certain themes found there. The vrat kathas, moreover, present women as ritualists whose actions are more effective than are men's. While the vrat kathas do seem to "emulate" the male models, they also posit superiority of both the woman as a ritualist and the vrat as a ritual. Thus, the vrat kathas posit the superiority of vrat rituals, vrat stories, and vrat performers as superior to the "elite" male forms they are ostensibly emulating.


Vibration effect of driver's seat of agricultural tractor which works in land condition has been researched. In this research, three different cushions on driver's seat have been used. These are wool, sponge and cotton. Pad acceleration receiver is put on seat. Moreover, HVM100 tool has been used to record data. Data has been converted to graphs in BLAZE software. Statistical methods have been used in examining the graphs. In vibration isolation, ordering has been achieved as wool, cotton and sponge and without a cushion, respectively. Wool cushion has the best isolation. It is seen that data obtained from test results is appropriate according to ISO 2631 standards and scientific researches.


Abstract Motivation During development, progenitor cells undergo multiple rounds of cellular divisions during which transcriptional programs must be faithfully propagated. Investigating the timing of transcriptional activation, which is a highly stochastic phenomenon, requires the analysis of large amounts of data. In order to perform automatic image analysis of transcriptional activation, we developed a software that segments and tracks both small and large objects, leading the user from raw data up to the results in their final form. Results MitoTrack is a user-friendly open-access integrated software that performs the specific dual task of reporting the precise timing of transcriptional activation while keeping lineage tree history for each nucleus of a living developing embryo. The software works automatically but provides the possibility to easily supervise, correct and validate each step. Availability and implementation MitoTrack is an open source Python software, embedded within a graphical user interface (download here). Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


Hydrolytic degradations of polyactic acid/rice hulls (PLA/RH) composites with various rice hulls contents due to water absorptions at 23, 51 and 69 degrees C were investigated by studying the thermal properties, chemical composition, molecular weight, and morphology of the degraded products. The results have attested that the stability of PLA/RH composites in water depends slightly on rice hulls contents but it is significantly influenced by water temperature. Water adsorption in 30 days at 23 degrees C was between 0.87 and 9.25% depending on rice hull contents. However, at thermophilic temperatures, the water adsorption and degradation of these products were increased significantly. Saturations were achieved in less than 25 and 9 days at 51 degrees C and 69 degrees C, respectively, while hydrolytic degradation was demonstrated by an increase in fragility and development of crystallinity. At 69 degrees C, there were significant reductions of the decomposition and glass transition temperatures of the polymer by 13 degrees C. These changes were associated with the reduction of the molecular weight of PLA from 153.1 kDa to similar to 10.7 kDa due to hydrolysis of its ester group.


The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a 9-week career intervention program on at-risk middle school students' career maturity levels, self-esteem, and academic achievement. This study was based on a pretest and posttest design using a control group. Data were collected from 27 at-risk middle school students representing the experimental group and 30 at-risk middle school students making up the control group. Modes of measurement consisted of the Crites Career Maturity Inventory (measuring attitude and competency levels), the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, and grades. Data for this study were coded numerically and analyzed using inferential t tests and analysis of covariance. Qualitative interviews were conducted with teachers of 5 randomly selected participants from the experimental group to compare self-esteem and academic achievement prior and subsequent to the treatment. Although results revealed that the sample's career maturity attitude and competency levels and academic achievement improved, such increases were not statistically significant. Recommendations for future research and implications for school counselors are discussed. ********** The readiness of at-risk students to develop the kinds of skills that will prepare them to pursue a host of career options and eventually make them marketable to future employers is a challenge presently confronting educators, parents, school counselors, and pupils in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Education (1995), Fouad and Keeley (1992), McLaughlin and Vacha (1992), and Rojewski, Wicklein, and Schell (1995), high school dropouts typically (a) show behavioral problems in the classroom, (b) have poor grades and test scores, (c) exhibit chronic absenteeism, (d) have parents who do not have high school diplomas, (e) have a sibling or siblings who dropped out of high school, (f) are in the lower sociocconomic bracket, and (g) have career maturity levels that are lower than those not considered at-risk for failure. Students considered to be at-risk are in jeopardy of dropping out of school. Unfortunately, these high school dropouts confront obstacles preventing them from succeeding in the world of work. Current data indicate that 11.2 percent of our country's 16-to-24-vear-olds are high school dropouts (U.S. Department of Education, 2000). Approximately 68 percent of men and 45 percent of women who have not obtained a high school diploma enter the labor force (U.S. Department of Labor, 2001). These individuals do not possess the necessary skills required to succeed in today's job market. As an example, the unemployment rate of high school dropouts is 28.2 percent, whereas the unemployment rate of high school graduates is 18.4 percent (U.S. Departmcnt of Labor, 1999). In a like manner, it is estimated that female high school dropouts can expect to earn $238,000 less during their lives than female high school graduatcs (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2001). It is estimated that male high school dropouts can expect to earn $462,000 lss during their lives than male high school graduates (U.S. Department of Commerce). Thus, as the United States begins the 21st century, an issue that is gaining prominence is the career developmental readiness of at-risk students to enter the world of work. At-risk pupils who are involved in career exploration and awareness activities at the middle school level are more likely to establish an effective program plan of study for high school, thus better preparing them for their future career selections (Medina & Drummond, 1993; Pittman & Chalker, 1994; Rojewski, 1994; Rojewski et al., 1995). This supports the notion that beginning career interventions at the high school level is ill-advised, suggesting instead that career interventions need to begin at the elementary or middlc school level to be effective. By the high school years, many at-risk students are well on their way to dropping out of the educational system (Cairns, Cairns, & Neckerman, 1989; U. …


A thorough understanding of the adsorption of molecules on metallic surfaces is a crucial prerequisite for the development and improvement of functionalized materials. A prominent representative within the class of π-conjugated molecules is 3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (PTCDA) which, adsorbed on the Ag(111), Au(111) or Cu(111) surfaces, shows characteristic trends for work-function modification, alignment of molecular levels with the substrate Fermi energy and binding distances. We carried out density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate to what extent these trends can be rationalized on a theoretical basis. We used different density functionals (DF) including a fully non-local van der Waals (vdW) DF capable of describing dispersion interactions. We show that, rather independent of the DF, the calculations yield level alignments and work-function modifications consistent with ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy when the monolayer is placed onto the surfaces at the experimental distances (as determined from x-ray standing wave experiments). The lowest unoccupied molecular orbital is occupied on the Ag and Cu surfaces, whereas it remains unoccupied on the Au surface. Simultaneously, the work function increases for Ag but decreases for Cu and Au. Adsorption distances and energies, on the other hand, depend very sensitively on the choice of the DF. While calculations in the local density approximation bind the monolayer consistently with the experimental trends, the generalized gradient approximation in several flavors fails to reproduce realistic distances and energies. Calculations employing the vdW-DF reveal that substantial bonding contributions arise from dispersive interactions. They yield reasonable binding energies but larger binding distances than the experiments.


PURPOSE
To prospectively determine the accuracy of portal venous phase helical multi-detector row computed tomography (CT) for bladder lesion evaluation in patients with hematuria by using cystoscopy as the reference standard.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study was approved by the institutional review board for human investigation, and informed consent was obtained from all patients. This study included 118 patients (91 male, 27 female; age range, 15-87 years; mean age +/- standard deviation, 62 years +/- 14) who underwent portal venous phase multi-detector row CT (scanning delay, 70 seconds; section thickness, 2 mm) and conventional cystoscopy because of painless gross hematuria or recurrent microscopic hematuria. Two reviewers with different experience levels independently evaluated the bladder for lesions at CT in a prospective fashion. The kappa statistic was used to determine the per lesion and per patient agreement between the two reviewers and between the CT and cystoscopic findings. The sensitivity and specificity of multi-detector row CT for bladder lesion detection were analyzed for numbers of lesions and for numbers of patients.

RESULTS
Multi-detector row CT showed excellent per lesion (kappa = 0.839) and per patient (kappa = 0.881) agreement between the two reviewers. Respective per lesion and per patient agreement between the CT and cystoscopic findings was also excellent in the first (kappa = 0.866 and kappa = 0.881) and second (kappa = 0.802 and kappa = 0.863) reviewers. The sensitivity and specificity of multi-detector row CT were 89%-92% and 88%-97%, respectively, in the per lesion analysis and 95% and 91%-93%, respectively, in the per patient analysis for both reviewers. All statistical parameters of diagnostic accuracy were similar between the two reviewers (P > .05).

CONCLUSION
Portal venous phase multi-detector row CT can provide high accuracy and reader agreement for bladder lesion detection in patients with painless gross hematuria and recurrent microscopic hematuria; these results indicate that multi-detector row CT can be used as the initial bladder examination in such patients.


Corruption in Nigeria has grown slowly from the time of pre-independence and it has surely taken over Nigerians' public and private spaces in the last five decades with compelling evidences to show first among the legislative, the executives and recently the judicial arms of government as well as the unexpected quarters in the private sectors such as the Stock Exchange. This paper highlights several factors and institutions in Nigerian society that have sustained and entrenched corrupt practices by government officials and high profile private sectors participants. The institutions identified here are regarded as eaters of corruption proceeds around which a cobweb of corruption has been weaved by the corrupt public/private individuals to create a network under the control of the grandfather- spider of corruption (The federal government); the father- spiders (the state government) and the children- spider ( the local governments spread across the Nigerian society). The paper concludes that corruption is a national thing in Nigeria and that the over centralization and the control of means of survival by the grandfather spider has weakened almost all major institutions in the Nigerian society; created a Master- Servant, Lordship and Serfs relationship, which if not re-structured will continue to sustain corruption and perpetuate further development of underdevelopment of the Nigeria Scale and Society. Therefore, Nigerians should shun corruption and see it as a major problem to development in Nigeria. Key Words : Corruption, underdevelopment, cobweb, leaders, masses, Nigeria


This paper demonstrates the special potential of Raman spectroscopy for the study of selected plant metabolites. Carotenoids, which are beneficial components in fruits and vegetables, have been shown to be a significant factor in lowering the risk of various types of cancer and ischemic heart diseases. On the other hand, alkaloids may have various effects on human health, e.g. caffeine is a mild stimulant of the central nervous system and as a result it can influence human behaviour. Polyacetylenes are highly cytotoxic against numerous cancer cell lines and demonstrate antifungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-platelet-aggregatory properties. In most cases, vibrational measurements can be performed directly on plant tissues as well as on fractions isolated from the plant material by hydro-distillation or solvent extraction. Raman spectroscopy techniques allow obtaining spectra which present some characteristic key bands of individual components. Based on such markers related to individual plant substances, spectroscopic analyses in principle allow the discrimination of different species, and even chemotypes among the same species. Moreover, Raman microspectroscopy provides 2- and 3-dimensional images of the investigated plant samples. These maps can be directly compared to the corresponding visual images obtained from a light microscope and offer additional detailed information regarding the local distribution of specific compounds in the surface layers of the analyzed plant tissue.


INTRODUCTION: Fractures of the distal humerus accounts for 2-6% of all fractures and 1/3 of all humeral fractures. Intraarticular distal humerus fractures are very rare accounting for 0.5% of all fractures. In this modern society with a growing elderly population and a extremely active young population, the incidence of distal humeral fractures is increasing and having a bimodal distribution .In young adults, most distal humerus fractures occur from high-energy trauma like sideswipe injuries, motor vehicle accidents(MVA). In elderly persons with more osteoporotic bone, these injuries occur from simple falls. As a result of ongoing search for a more secure technique, later evolved the concept of parallel plating (180°), which involves placing one plate along the medial column of the distal humerus and the other plate along the lateral column, with the screws in the distal fragment interdigitating with each other restoring the 'tie-beam arch' of the distal humerus. Several biomechanical studies have proven the superiority of parallel over traditional plating methods, yet there are only fewer clinical studies to analyse the functional outcome of parallel plating in distal humerus fracture fixation.
AIM: To analyse the functional outcome of patients treated with parallel plate technique in distal humeral fractures in Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Madras Medical College, Chennai from May 2010 to November 2012.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was done to evaluate the functional outcome of parallel plating technique in treatment of distal humeral fractures and to analyse the results.
The study group consists of 24 Patients with distal humeral fractures, who underwent osteosynthesis with parallel plating technique between May 2010 and Oct 2012 at the institute of orthopaedics and traumatology, Madras medical college and Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai. The study was done with clearance from Hospital ethical committee. Those who fulfilled the inclusion criteria given below were invited to participate in the study. Informed consent was obtained from all the patients willing to take part in the study. Inclusion Criteria: 1. Intra articular fractures of distal humerus, 2. Age >18 years, 3. AO Types A2,A3 and C (supracondylar and bicondylar), 4. Closed ,Grade I and grade II compound injuries, 5. Consenting to study. Exclusion Criteria: 1. With vascular injuries, 2. Grade III compound Open fractures, 3. severe unreconstructable intra-articular communited fractures in elderly, 4. uncooperative patients for the rehabilitation and follow up, 5. Patients who were not medically fit for surgery, 6. not willing to participate.
RESULTS: One patient who had a nonunion at the osteotomy site was done a revision osteosynthesis with tension band wiring. No patient died during treatment or follow up. Twenty four patients of distal humeral fractures were treated surgically with parallel plating and analyzed with average follow up of 13months (6 months – 2 ½ years). In our study, solid radiologic union was achieved primarily in all patients. The average time to union was about 14 weeks. Hardware failure or Nonunion did not occur in any patient. The mean flexion-extension arc was 107°. The mean MEPS score was 82 in our study. The results were excellent for 8 elbows, good for 11, fair for 3, and poor for 2 patients.
CONCLUSION: Incidence of complex distal humerus fractures among younger population is on
the rise due to increasing motor vehicle accidents. Absolute stability of the system allows early post-operative rehabilitation and thence a better functional outcome. Good to excellent functional outcome was achieved in about 80% of the study group in terms of arc of motion and stability Absence of implant failure and non-union may be attributed to the highly stable construct system achieved by parallel plating. Though it appears to be a variant of traditional plate placement, It is completely a different concept providing a greater stability in steoporotic and communited bones. Parallel plating can be a successful technique for internal fixation of these complicated fractures when its principles are strictly adhered to.


We consider a computation of one-loop AdS5 × S5 superstring correction to the energy radiated by the end-point of a string which moves along a wavy line at the boundary of AdS5 with a small transverse acceleration (the corresponding classical solution was described by Mikhailov (2003)). We also compute the one-loop effective action for an arbitrary small transverse string fluctuation background. It is related by an analytic continuation to the Euclidean effective action describing one-loop correction to the expectation value of a wavy Wilson line. We show that both the one-loop contribution to the energy and to the Wilson line are controlled by the subleading term in the strong-coupling expansion of the function B(λ) as suggested by Correa et al (2012 J. High Energy Phys. JHEP06(2012)048).


Chronic cluster headache (CCH) is a rare but challenging condition. About 20% of CCH patients get refractory to treatment. Gabapentin has recently been reported to be efficacious in the treatment of CCH. To test the potential of gabapentin as second‐line drug, we prospectively studied the efficacy of gabapentin as add‐on drug in eight patients suffering from CCH refractory to first‐line treatment. Six of eight CCH patients responded to treatment. After the end of the study phase, the patients' clinical course was further followed up until January 2006. The longest period of being continuously pain‐free under gabapentin treatment was 18 months. In some individuals, increasing doses were needed with time. We conclude that gabapentin may be offered as treatment trial in patients refractory to first‐line treatment. However, patients may fail to respond to treatment and drug tolerance may occur with time.


This paper investigates the effects of correlated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels on the performance of spatial modulation (SM) techniques. Bit error rate (BER) performance for SM, quadrature SM (QSM), and generalized QSM transmission schemes over correlated MIMO vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) channels are presented. The results are compared with the conventional spatial multiplexing (SMux) transmission schemes. For all cases, the optimal maximum like-lihood (ML) detection criterion is used to detect the symbols at the receiver. Performace degradation due to the effects of spatial correlation of the MIMO V2V channels are then evaluated. The simulation results show significant degradations when SM techniques operate over correlated MIMO channels. Therefore, it can be concluded that SM techniques are very sensitive to the adverse effects of the propagation channels of modern mobile communication systems such as vehicular communications.


In the development of new hemocompatible biomaterials, surface modification appears to be a suitable method in order to reduce the thrombogenetic potential of such materials. In this study, polycarbonate-urethane (PCU) tubes with different surface microstructures to be used for aortic heart valve models were investigated with regard to the thrombogenicity. The surface structures were produced by using a centrifugal casting process for manufacturing PCU tubes with defined casting mold surfaces which are conferred to the PCU surface during the process. Tubes with different structures defined by altering groove widths were cut into films and investigated under dynamic flow conditions in contact with porcine blood. The analysis was carried out by laser scanning microscopy which allowed for counting various morphological types of platelets with regard to the grade of activation. The comparison between plain and shaped PCU samples showed that the surface topography led to a decline of the activation of the coagulation cascade and thus to the reduction of the fibrin synthesis. Comparing different types of structures revealed that smooth structures with a small groove width (d ~ 3 μm) showed less platelet activation as well as less adhesion in contrast to a distinct wave structure (d ~ 90 μm). These results prove surface modification of polymer biomaterials to be a suitable method for reducing thrombogenicity and hence give reason for further alterations and improvements.


Objectives. To examine the impact of school shootings on indicators of adolescent school safety in the United States. Methods. We linked 2009-2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data on 211 236 adolescents aged 14 to 18 years from 24 school districts with data on high school shootings from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security. We conducted 2-way fixed-effects logistic regression models to assess the impact of shootings on self-report of 3 indicators of school safety: avoiding school because of feeling unsafe, carrying a weapon at school, and being threatened or injured with a weapon at school. Results. High school shootings were associated with adolescents having 20% greater odds of avoiding school because of feeling unsafe (adjusted odd ratio [AOR] = 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.11, 1.29) than those who had not. Findings were slightly attenuated in sensitivity analyses that tested exposure to shootings at any school in the district or state. High school shootings were associated with a statistically nonsignificant (P = .08) elevated risk of carrying a weapon at school (AOR = 1.11; 95% CI = 0.99, 1.25). Conclusions. The negative ramifications of school shootings extend far beyond the event itself to adolescents' concerns about school safety. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print February 9, 2023:e1-e4. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307206).


The issues of development and regulation of transport infrastructure of Moscow from the point of view of the experience of the world's megacities have been considered. The advantages and disadvantages of the city transport system of Moscow have been adduced, and the necessity of its improvement has been substantiated. The importance of state regulation in this sphere has been emphasized. Successful foreign experience of the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, China, Singapore, the USA and others megacities in the context of its application in large cities of Russia has been examined.


Energy intake, resting energy expenditure, and energy expended for physical activity (EEPA) are components of energy balance that may be disrupted by a number of disorders and clinical conditions commonly present in advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end‐stage renal disease (ESRD). Energy intake of patients with CKD has been consistently lower than the recommended intake in multiple reports. On the other hand, while reduced energy intake due to anorexia may be applicable for ESRD patients with overt protein‐energy wasting, it is potentially unrealistic for overweight or obese subjects who are able to maintain their body weight. Studies on resting energy expenditure have provided mixed results, most likely as a consequence of differences in the population characteristics, clinical conditions, and stage of the disease. Finally, although there is lack of specific studies on EEPA, there is evidence that ESRD patients, particularly those undergoing hemodialysis are in general less active than sedentary healthy individuals. These observations may raise questions regarding the accuracy of dietary reports and the uncertainties related to the energy requirements, optimal dietary energy intake, and recommendations for physical activity in these patients.


Should competition authorities reward compliance? How could competition authorities reward compliance? This article aims to examine these questions by analysing the approaches taken by the European Union and national competition authorities, and the positive and negative effects that may result if competition authorities reward competition compliance programmes. Finally, the paper argues that the current neutral position taken by the national competition authorities in relation to compliance programmes should no longer be maintained, and proposes a number of methods that the competition authorities could employ to reward competition compliance programmes.


Homunculus is a term used to refer to any representation of a miniature human being. In scientific fields, the word homunculus has been used to refer to any scale model of the human body that represents physiological, psychological, or other human functions. The hand is thought as a homunculus of the body in Hand Acupuncture Therapy, a type of alternative medicine in Korea. Hand acupuncture therapists believe stimulating the hand can improve bodily health. Although there is a need for scientific evidence regarding this concept, those that perform hand acupuncture seem to recognize the importance of hand in our body.


1. Injections of algesic chemicals were made into the arterial circulation of the triceps surae muscles in anaesthetized monkeys. 2. The responses of a sample of primary muscle afferents suggest that what is known about the activation of muscle afferents in the cat by algesic agents applies also to the monkey. One exception to this is the activation of many group I afferents by KCl in the monkey, but not in the cat. 3. Many spinothalamic tract cells were powerfully excited by the intra‐arterial injection of algesic chemicals (bradykinin, 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT), KCl) in preparations in which the hind limb was denervated except for the nerves to the triceps surae muscles. The excitatory action of bradykinin had a slower time course than did that of 5‐HT or KCl. 4. A number of the spinothalamic tract cells which failed to respond to chemical activation of muscle afferents were located in lamina I of the spinal cord. 5. Repeated injections of bradykinin produced similar responses, whereas the effects of 5‐HT injections showed marked tachyphylaxis. 6. No evidence was obtained that activation of muscle spindle afferents by succinylcholine injections resulted in the excitation of spinothalamic tract neurones in the population sampled. 7. Injections of hypertonic NaCl into muscle or tendon produced a prolonged excitation of many spinothalamic tract cells. 8. It is concluded that a substantial proportion of primate spinothalamic tract cells receive a convergent input from cutaneous and muscle receptors. The muscle receptors involved appear to include primary afferents of group III and IV calibre. The possibility is suggested that such cells could play a role in the production of poorly localized pain.


Increasing rates of childhood obesity worldwide has focused attention on the obesogenic food environment. This paper reports an analysis of children's interactions with food in convenience stores. Kids'Cam was a cross-sectional study conducted from July 2014 to June 2015 in New Zealand in which 168 randomly selected children aged 11–14 years old wore a wearable camera for a 4–day period. In this ancillary study, images from children who visited a convenience store were manually coded for food and drink availability. Twenty-two percent of children (n = 37) visited convenience stores on 62 occasions during the 4-day data collection period. Noncore items dominated the food and drinks available to children at a rate of 8.3 to 1 (means were 300 noncore and 36 core, respectively). The food and drinks marketed in-store were overwhelmingly noncore and promoted using accessible placement, price offers, product packaging, and signage. Most of the 70 items purchased by children were noncore foods or drinks (94.6%), and all of the purchased food or drink subsequently consumed was noncore. This research highlights convenience stores as a key source of unhealthy food and drink for children, and policies are needed to reduce the role of convenience stores in the obesogenic food environment.


A gene encoding superoxide dismutase (SOD) from Neospora caninum, a causative agent of neosporosis, has been cloned and its gene product functionally expressed and characterized. The gene had an open reading frame of 606 bp and deduced 201 amino acids. Sequence analysis showed that the gene had conserved metal-binding residues and conserved amino acid residues that were found in Fe-SODs. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of the enzyme with previously reported Fe-SOD amino acid sequences of the other parasitic protozoans revealed significant high homology. The coding region of the N. caninum Fe-SOD was cloned and functionally expressed in Escherichia coli. Enzyme activity of the expressed protein was inhibited by hydrogen peroxide but not by sodium azide and potassium cyanide, and the enzyme showed similar biochemical properties with typical Fe-SODs of other parasitic protozoans. Southern blot analysis showed that the SOD gene appears to be present as a single-copy gene in N. caninum genome. Semiquantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and immunoblot using antiserum raised against the purified recombinant protein showed that Fe-SOD is expressed in both developmental stages of N. caninum, i.e., in bradyzoites and tachyzoites. In an immunofluorescence assay, the enzyme was localized on the cell surface of N. caninum tachyzoites. These results suggest that Fe-SOD might be essential for the intracellular survival of N. caninum and may play an important role in the pathogenesis of the parasite by protecting the parasite from oxidative killing.


New organic compound (Lanolin) is added to the electrolyte of copper powder deposition unit. The influences of the copper concentration, current density, and specific surface on the apparent density of the produced powder had been studied. Also the mean grain size of powder, mass of deposited powder are been calculated. The best concentration of lanolin is 0.7% at which grain size deposits are smooth and fine (a bout 93% less than 53 micron) and had high purity of 99.9%.


An accurate determination of the potential energy is the crucial step in computer simulations of chemical processes, but using electronic structure methods on-the-fly in molecular dynamics (MD) is computationally too demanding for many systems. Constructing more efficient interatomic potentials becomes intricate with increasing dimensionality of the potential-energy surface (PES), and for numerous systems the accuracy that can be achieved is still not satisfying and far from the reliability of first-principles calculations. Feed-forward neural networks (NNs) have a very flexible functional form, and in recent years they have been shown to be an accurate tool to construct efficient PESs. High-dimensional NN potentials based on environment-dependent atomic energy contributions have been presented for a number of materials. Still, these potentials may be improved by a more detailed structural description, e.g., in form of atom pairs, which directly reflect the atomic interactions and take the chemical environment into account. We present an implementation of an NN method based on atom pairs, and its accuracy and performance are compared to the atom-based NN approach using two very different systems, the methanol molecule and metallic copper. We find that both types of NN potentials provide an excellent description of both PESs, with the pair-based method yielding a slightly higher accuracy making it a competitive alternative for addressing complex systems in MD simulations.


A defect in apoptosis is almost always linked to many pathologies, including cancer. Carcinogenesis has been linked to abnormalities in the apoptotic pathway, and many drugs that are targeted at different parts of this pathway are being developed. There have been many promising drugs that target the extrinsic death receptor pathway as well as the intrinsic mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. There have also been developments in targeting initiator and effector caspases, as well as the death domains that are involved in transducing the apoptotic signals. In this review, the authors will briefly explain how apoptosis deregulation can lead to cancer and discuss drugs that promise success in targeting this anomaly. This article shall also explain how co-treatments with chemotherapy can increase survival of cancer patients. There is a problem of acquired resistance in some of these therapies but there may be ways to overcome this.


Summary Fourteen on-farm sites used in barley fertilizer trials were retained for a second year and, without further fertilizer, sown with a mixed vetch/barley forage crop. Rainfall at the sites ranged from 149 to 451 mm, and linear regression on rainfall accounted for 76% of the variation in hay yield between the sites, with a greater rain-related increase in vetch than barley. Soil nitrogen and phosphorus content at planting time in the second year was significantly affected by the rate of fertilizer application in the previous year. Previous phosphate fertilization tended to increase hay yields, particularly at sites where levels of native available phosphate were poor. However, responses to residual fertilizer nitrogen were small and variable. Respuesta al N y P residual en el norte de Siria


This paper summarises results from an evaluation of the adequacy and utility of the Australian Competency Standards for Entry-Level Occupational Therapists (OT AUSTRALIA, 1994a). It comprised a two-part study, incorporating an online survey of key national stakeholders (n = 26), and 13 focus groups (n = 152) conducted throughout Australia with occupational therapy clinicians, academics, OT AUSTRALIA association and Occupational Therapy Registration Board representatives, as well as university program accreditors. The key recommendations were that: (i) urgent revision to reflect contemporary practice, paradigms, approaches and frameworks is required; (ii) the standards should exemplify basic competence at graduation (not within two years following); (iii) a revision cycle of five years is required; (iv) the Australian Qualifications Framework should be retained, preceded by an introduction describing the scope and nature of occupational therapy practice in the national context; (v) access to the standards should be free and unrestricted to occupational therapists, students and the public via the OT AUSTRALIA (national) website; (vi) the standards should incorporate a succinct executive summary and additional tools or templates formatted to enable occupational therapists to develop professional portfolios and create working documents specific to their workplace; and (vii) language must accommodate contextual variation while striking an appropriate balance between providing instruction and encouraging innovation in practice.


Background: A significant number of heart failure (HF) patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) experience ventricular function recovery during follow-up. We studied the variables associated with LVEF recovery in patients treated with sacubitril/valsartan (SV) in clinical practice. Methods: We analyzed data from a prospective and multicenter registry including 249 HF outpatients with reduced LVEF who started SV between October 2016 and March 2017. The patients were classified into 2 groups according to LVEF at the end of follow-up (>35%: group R, or ≤35%: group NR). Results: After a mean follow-up of 7 ± 0.1 months, 62 patients (24.8%) had LVEF >35%. They were older (71.3 ± 10.8 vs. 67.5 ± 12.1 years, p = 0.025), and suffered more often from hypertension (83.9 vs. 73.8%, p = 0.096) and higher blood pressure before and after SV (both, p < 0.01). They took more often high doses of beta-blockers (30.6 vs. 27.8%, p = 0.002), with a smaller proportion undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy (14.8 vs. 29.0%, p = 0.028) and fewer implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICD; 32.8 vs. 67.9%, p < 0.001), this being the only predictive variable of NR in the multivariate analysis (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.13–0.47, p < 0.0001). At the end of follow-up, the mean LVEF in group R was 41.9 ± 8.1% (vs. 26.3 ± 4.7% in group NR, p < 0.001), with an improvement compared with the initial LVEF of 14.6 ± 10.8% (vs. 0.8 ± 4.5% in group NR, p < 0.0001). Functional class improved in both groups, mainly in group R (p = 0.035), with fewer visits to the emergency department (11.5 vs. 21.6%, p = 0.07). Conclusions: In patients with LVEF ≤35% treated with SV, not carrying an ICD was independently associated with LVEF recovery, which was related to greater improvement in functional class.


A method is developed for nondestructive evaluation of multiple cracks by means of measurement of magnetic field produced by d.c. current flow. Two-dimensional multiple cracks are treated. The distance between cracks is assumed to be known in advance and the depth of cracks is to be found. First the distribution of the change in magnetic flux density is measured over each crack by input and output of d.c. current on both sides of each crack. Next the distribution of the change in magnetic flux density is calculated numerically by assuming the depth of every crack. Then by comparing the measured and calculated changes in magnetic flux density, a correction factor is obtained for the assumed depth of the respective cracks. Modifying the crack depth by the correction factor is repeated until the difference between the measured and calculated distributions of the change in magnetic flux density is minimized. It is shown that multiple cracks are sized accurately by the present method.


This article examines the livelihoods, portfolios and degree of deagrarianisation of the peasantry in three villages in northern Ghana. It argues that deagrarianisation should be seen as a process embedded in social change, bearing in mind the reversibility between farm and non-farm livelihood strategies used by households (reagrarianisation ?). A livelihoods research approach involving qualitative household interviews and quantitative surveys in three villages in the Kassena-Nankani district constitute primary data for this study. Contrary to the deagrarianisation thesis, this study found that livelihood adaptation, implying both a diversification to new or secondary livelihood activities and changing the form, nature and content of the farm sector, characterised rural livelihoods in the area. The adaptation process involves not just a move from the farm to the nonfarm sector, but also an intensification of efforts in the farm sector with seasonal diversification into other livelihood activities. The supposedly 'booming nonfarm sector' is not entirely real, for reasons of marginalisation and exclusion of the poor peasantry, resulting from spatial, capital, infrastructural and market limitations.


Association through hydrogen bonding of benzoic acid-terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) 1 in low-polarity solvents has been studied by FTIR spectroscopy and viscosimetry. At high concentrations, chain extension leads to high viscosity values, whereas at low concentrations, intramolecular hydrogen bonding is responsible for the formation of low-viscosity cyclic species. A quantitative model based on Jacobson−Stockmayer theory and describing the competition between chain extension and macrocyclization is presented. On the basis of this model, the molecular weight distributions of ring and chain fractions has been calculated as a function of concentration in three different solvents. The length of the siloxane backbone has been shown to have a large influence on the cyclic weight fraction and on the average molecular weight.


The effects of densification temperature, planing, circular sawing, and sanding on the surface roughness of densified Scots pine using the open-system thermodynamic method were studied. Densification was applied to Scots pine at 6 MPa pressure and at temperatures of 120 °C, 140 °C, and 160 °C. A total of 1040 specimens (160 × 50 × 10 mm) were prepared using the surfacing techniques of planing, circular sawing, and sanding. The surface roughness of the specimens were measured in conformance with the TS 2495, EN ISO 3274, and the TS 6212 EN ISO 4288 standards, and the results were subjected to statistical analysis. The surface roughness of the planed surfaces was 26% lower, of the surfaces cut circularly was 38% lower, and of the sanded surfaces was 32% lower in densified Scots pine compared to undensified Scots pine. According to the densification temperature, while the lowest roughness was obtained in the densified specimens at 140 °C, raising the temperature to 160 °C increased the roughness. An increase in the number of blades in planing, the tooth number in circular sawing, and the grit number in planing decreased the surface roughness. Furthermore, the roughness was less in tangential surfaces compared to radial surfaces.


This penultimate article will focus on knowledge, learning theories and the assessment of students. If we understand the important elements of adult-centred learning, we can then begin to understand how our students learn and also, therefore, how best to assess them. The article will identify some assessment methods and also outline and describe their application to paramedic practice.


Augmented reality is a technology that enables user to interact with 3D virtual object and real world in real time application. The use of Augmented Reality (AR) in education shows a potential to enhance traditional learning method. The purpose of this study is to observe the familiarity of AR application especially its implementation in learning environment, and to determine the usefulness of AR application in education. The study was conducted during Malaysia Technology Expo 2009 in small scale participants consists of students, teachers, and industrial people. The result showed that most of the participants never been experienced with AR application before, but the idea to implement AR for education are well accepted with a very positive feedback. Based on the findings, some issues and user expectation for further development of AR application in learning environment are being discussed.


Introduction: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. The human chorionic gonadotropin (B-hCG) is suggested to be released in large amounts into the maternal circulation due to placental dysfunction. Studies have shown that raised levels of B-hCG was associated with IUGR in the first and second trimesters. However, no study was done during the third trimester. Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the association of B-hCG level with IUGR during 3rd trimester.
Methods: A case-control one year-period study completed in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, BSMMU, Bangladesh. Pregnant mothers diagnosed with IUGR were taken as case (n=55) and mothers without IUGR as control (n=55). Serum B-hCG levels of these two groups were measured. The data was analysed with SPSS-16 software. Chi-square test was used for analysis.
Results: The mean estimated fetal weight (EFW) of case was significantly less as compared to control (p<0.001). Out of 55 pregnancies with IUGR, 14 (25.5%) had raised level of B-hCG as compared to only 4(7.3%) of control had raised B-hCG level. The odds ratio (OR) of developing IUGR in pregnant women with raised B-hCG level was found to be 4.4 fold (95% CI: 1.331- 14.237) higher than the pregnant women with normal level of B-hCG.
Conclusions: The study concluded a significant association between the raised levels of B-hCG with IUGR.


Weeds give adverse effects to crops because of the competition to get nutrients, light and moisture. Many farmers used broad-spectrum herbicide such as monocloroacetic acid (MCA) which is effective at killing a wide range of weeds. Unfortunately, broad-spectrum of herbicide can also kill valuable crops and cause significant losses in agricultural productivity. One of the solutions to this problem is by developing herbicide resistant plant using dehalogenase D (dehD) gene isolated from Rhizobium sp. RC1. A dehD gene encoding dehalogenase enzyme that has the capability to degrade monochloroacetic acid (MCA) was isolated and characterized from Rhizobium sp. RC1. dehD gene was used as herbicide resistance gene and selectable marker gene in Nicotiana benthamiana plant transformation. The 798 bp dehD gene was inserted into pCAMBIA 1305.2 under the control of the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S (CaMV35S) promoter and designated as pCAMdehD, with a total size of 10,592 bp. A few parameters of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation were optimized including hygromycin concentration (40 μg/mL of hygromycin), and the MCA toxicity level to N. benthamiana at tissue culture (60 μg/L of MCA) and whole plant stage (2.0 g/L of MCA). pCAMdehD was introduced into N. benthamiana via Agrobacterium mediated transformation method. Based on the screening of the transformants on MS media containing 60 μg/L MCA, the results showed that N. benthamiana was successfully transformed with dehalogenase D gene with 50 % of transformation efficiency. The integration and expression of dehD gene in N. benthamiana were confirmed by PCR, Southern Blotting and reverse transcription PCR. Analysis of leaf-painting assay revealed that transgenic N. benthamiana (T1) was resistant to 4.0 g/L MCA compared to 2.0 g/L for non-transformed plants control. The Chi Square analyses of five transgenic plants (T1), suggested that the dehD gene was segregated according to Mendelian 3:1 ratio. These findings showed that transgenic N. benthamiana plant resistant to MCA herbicide was successfully produced.


The term sustainable development is a commonly and widely used term in our contemporary world. The concept has gained popularity because it satisfies the urge of both its environmentalists and the developers. Sustainable tourism is considered as the meeting point of the developers and environmentalists even as both of them are quite skeptic about each other and criticize each other. Tourism which is an economic sector can eradicate poverty to a great extent. But the overuse of the natural resources for the tourism activities always leads to the negative impact on the environment. So there is an urgent need to maintain the balance between development and environment; otherwise the ever grasping power of tourism and development will demolish the basic structure of the world. The aim of this paper is to study the dialogues of sustainable tourism with reference to environment and economy. The present article is a conceptual discussion of evolution and the issues of sustainable tourism under economy and the environmental heads and concludes that both environment and development have equal importance in the betterment and survival of the human society.


We read with keen interest the recent editorial by Koh and Goh.1 We learned five insights proposed by authors that had been gained from the previous coronavirus outbreaks (ie severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS], Middle East respiratory syndrome [MERS]). These insights mainly focused on infection control among occupational groups with high risk of infection and on psychosocial problems especially among healthcare workers. In addition to their insights, we propose a couple of other issues from viewpoint of psychosocial factors among general workers, more specifically, a variety of workers whose risk is low to moderate likelihood of exposure to the pathogen. Although risk of infection is reported to change according to occupational groups and considerably change even in nonhealthcare workers,2 social and psychological problems among those with low to moderate risks of infection are poorly understood by scientific community. Many countries including Japan issued an emergency declaration. In this situation, business continuity is required in areas such as (a) maintenance of medical system; (b) protecting those who need help; (c) ensuring stable people's lives; and (d) maintaining social stability. Workers involved in these areas face moderate to high risks of becoming infected. They also face the increased demands with limited workforce, which can lead to overwork. Prolonged overwork reduces the opportunity for recovery from stress and can lead to an increased risk for overwork-related disorders/deaths. In addition, extended working hours reduce time for off-job activities such as relationship with family and friends, and general well-being. In contrast with overwork, serious deterioration of economy could have a negative impact on well-being of workers. Authorities around the world are asking—and sometimes demanding—that citizens avoid public spaces, cancel mass gathering events, and simultaneous closure of stores. These strategies can reduce the risks of becoming infected. However, according to the ILO, almost 25 million jobs could be lost worldwide as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.3 This economic and labor crisis might cause incomeand employment-related stress among workers, resulting in poorer workers' well-being. A survey in Taiwan showed that respondents with considerable economic impacts of SARS had a significantly higher depressive level.4 Work from home will help business keep operating while workers stay safe. While work from home can avoid public transport and crowded places, lower the risks of becoming infected, and increase perceived autonomy, there are some drawbacks including social and professional isolation. A metaanalysis showed that telecommuters' relationships with colleagues suffered if they worked remotely more than 2.5 days each week.5 Again, a survey in Taiwan revealed that respondents who had been kept isolated during SARS outbreak had a significantly higher depressive level.4 Along with social isolation, blurring of boundaries between work and personal life is a significant challenge for telecommuters and employers. A survey showed that telecommuters work an extra four hours per week compared with their counterparts in the office,6 suggesting that work interferes with personal life. On the other hand, family obligations such as caring for one's child(ren) can easily intrude into work hours especially for workers rearing school children. Given the increased number of infected people, the burden on workers who care for infected family members at home should be noted. We should also take into account those who do not have the freedom of being able to work from home because of business continuity. They face moderate to high risks of becoming infected and are worried about the continued risk of infection. Psychological care should be provided to them. There are several suggestions of immediate strategies to protect mental health from psychological (eg coping, relaxation), physiological (eg sleep, nutrition), behavioral (eg physical activities), and social (eg communication) aspects. In addition, longer term strategies should be considered to promote psychosocial well-being, including those based on positive mechanistically based components.7 For instance, problem-focused coping can be helpful to maintain personal control over the situation, and the creation of positive (even minor) events in daily life provides momentary respite from chronic stress. Altruism and prosocial behaviors can increase the opportunity to elicit social support from others.6 Appropriate interventions should be developed at individual, workplace, and society levels with shortand longer-term perspectives. We hope our proposal can help policy makers and occupational health professionals support health and wellbeing of more diverse workers of during/after a pandemic.


Diabetes mellitus is a growing problem in Nepal, but the awareness of diabetic retinopathy is very poor. In addition to that, some patients didn't visit the ophthalmologist for the routine eye examination. All of this indeed will increase the demand for better diabetes education to make DM patients more aware about their conditions and related complication. This study aims to assess the level of awareness for DR among diabetic patients in Parsa, Nepal. This cross-sectional community-based study was conducted on 280 diabetic patients in Parsa, Nepal. Data were collected through a formal interview method. This study used DR awareness questionnaire which was developed from previously published studies. From the results it was revealed that the awareness of DR among the diabetic patients was very poor. Around 60% of the diabetic patients believed that diabetes could not affect their eyes and blindness. The results of the present study was also revealed that large proportion of the diabetic patients was believed there was no need for the regular screen for DR if both eyes are good and. The present study was also reported that about 54% of the diabetic patients were check up their eyes only when vision was affected. Diabetes is a growing problem in Nepal, but awareness of DR is very poor. Our study found that the awareness of DR among the diabetic patients in Nepal was very poor. It was recommended that the Nepali population should be sensitised about diabetic eye diseases.


INTRODUCTION : Gout is an inflammatory arthritis mediated by crystallization of uric acid within the
joints. Gout has been called the king of kings and the disease of kings. The term gout
introduced in the thirteenth century is derived from the Latin word "Gutta" a drop and reflects
the early belief that a poison falling drop by drop into the joint was responsible for the disease.
Hippocrates described gout as podagra, chiegra, gonagra depending on the site of involvement,
the foot the wrist or the knee. Tophi were first described by Galen. Thomas Sydenham's
unsurpassed description marked the modern clinical history of gout. Wollartanin (1797) and
Pearson (1798) demonstrated urate in the tophi of patients with gout. Leeuwenhock the
inventor of the microscope first described these crystals in 1679. In 1848 Garrod demonstrated
an increased amount of uric acid in the blood of gouty patients.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES : 1. To study the epidemiological characteristics of various patients of gout.
2. To study the musculoskeletal features and biochemical characteristics in them.
3. To analyze the comorbidities in these patients.
MATERIALS AND METHODS :
Seventy consecutive patients of gout who attended the department of
rheumatology, Madras Medical College were included in the study.
This is a Prospective Study conducted between January 2006 and
March 2008.
Inclusion Criteria:
A definitive diagnosis of gout was established by demonstration of
intracellular uric acid crystals in the synovial fluid or tophi. When crystals
could not be demonstrated diagnosis was established if six of the twelve
American rheumatism association (ACR) criteria were fulfilled.
Exclusion Criteria:
Patients of psoriasis, Systemic lupus erythematosus and hematological
malignancies with elevated uric acid levels were excluded from the study.
Methods:
All patients were asked for a detailed history which includes the
duration of the disease, disease onset, the first joint affected, the duration of the
attack, the time interval between subsequent episodes, whether it was a
persistent arthritis, and time of onset of first MTP joint involvement .A history
of other illnesses such as coronary artery disease, hypertension,
hypothyroidism and consumption of alcohol was asked for. A detailed general
examination, height, weight and body mass index was calculated. A
musculoskeletal system examination and other systems were done.
RESULTS : Seventy patients of gout were analyzed of which 57 were males and 13
were females. Five patients belonged to the group of young onset gout (<
30 Yrs) and all of them were males. The mean age of patients of young onset
was 25.3 ± 5.08 yrs. with a 't' value of 4.966 which was of high
statistical significance. The mean age of males in late onset group was 45.32 ±
11.65 yrs. and females was 48 ± 7.93 yrs. There was no statistically significant
difference in age distribution among sexes (t value of 0.788). 38 patients
(55.5%) gave history of alcohol consumption, of which 37 are males.
CONCLUSION : Majority of the patients (79%) of gout in our study belonged to the age
group of 31-60 years.
* Predominant pattern of arthritis was polyarticular.
* Five patients in our study belong to the Young onset group.
* Dyslipidemia and Hypertension were the common co morbidities in the male population.
* Hypertension, Dyslipidemia and Hypothyroidism were the common co-morbidities in our female patients.
* A strong association between polyarticular gout and renal failure was noticed.
* Serum uric acid levels were higher in males than females.
* There was a significant correlation between uric acid levels and serum creatinine.
* The 24 hours uric acid excretion was higher in tophaceous gout than the non tophaceous gout.


Paper presents a method for analysis of UHF RFID tags. After a brief overview of RFID system and UHF tags an electromagnetic (EM) simulation of tags in WIPL-D software was conducted. Electrical matching was performed after which tags were excited by a uniform EM wave, induced powers were measured and tag characteristics were compared.


The Nigdu-Sarovar is located in Nilokheri block in Karnal district in Haryana (29°50′N 76°55′E). The duration of observations span over seven years (September, 2005-March, 2012). The recording of wetland winter visitor birds during 2005-08 in winter season included atleast 58 species of birds belonging to 10 orders and 18 families. It is important to mention that 29 species of wetland birds were winter migratory, 17 residents, 9 local migratory and three species of wetland birds like Lesser -whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica, Pheasant-tailed Jacana Hydrophasianus chirurgus, and Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus were summer migratory. The special features of 2005-06 winter was the huge populations of birds like Northern Shoveller Anas clypeata, Northern Pintail Anas acuta, Common Teal Anas crecca, Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhynchus, Common Pochard Aythya ferina, Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus, Greylag Goose Anser anser, Gadwall Anas strepera, Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo, Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, and Common Redshank Tringa totanus, etc. In successive years, the scenario was more or less a substantial one depicting stability with respect to diversity of birds, number of birds upto the year of 2008. The popular birds included Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala, Openbill Stork Anastomus oscitans, White-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus, Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus, Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia, Spotted Greenshank Tringa guttifer, and Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrines. The sharp decline in winter migratory birds at Nigdu-Sarovar started in the year of 2008 when the pond was leased out for Fish-Farming as per the policies of Govt. of Haryana. Fish Farming based deepening of the pond by excavation of bottom resulting in total decimation of rooted, floating, submerged and ejecting plants along with its subsidiary fauna, zooplanktons, phytoplankton etc. The age old structural regime of the pond was obliterated to turn it in a scientifically managed fish pond. The year of 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 (March, 2012) showed the total absence of migratory birds like Mallards, several Geese, Dabbling Ducks, Pochards and Teals etc. As of today (2012), the sarovar is a clean sheet of water with bird repelling devices installed in places.


Flaviviruses including Zika virus, Dengue virus, Japanese Encephalitis virus and Yellow Fever virus cause heavy burdens to public health around the world. No specific antiviral drug was available in clinic against these flavivirus infections. Heat-shock protein 70 (HSP70) has recently been proven to be a promising antiviral target against Zika virus and Dengue virus. Here, we report that, Apoptozole, a small molecule inhibitor of ATPase activity of HSP70 has broad-spectrum anti-flavivirus potential. The mode of action analysis revealed that Apoptozole acted at post-entry step. Transcriptome analysis revealed that genes related to cholesterol metabolism, fatty acid synthesis and innate immunity were differentially expressed after treatment of Apoptozole. In vivo data suggested Apoptozole exerted protection effects against ZIKV infection in mouse model by enhancing innate immune response, which suggested a novel anti-ZIKV mechanism of HSP70 inhibitors. Key words: Flavivirus, Antiviral, Apoptozole, Zika virus, Innate immunity.


Evaluation of structural secrecy of timer signal constructions was given. Calculation of structural secrecy noise-like pseudo-random sequence in combination with timer signals in the system with code division multiple access was made


A 45-year-old man of Middle Eastern origin, morbid obese, with a body mass index of 39 had an intra-gastric balloon, filled with 500 mL of saline/methylene blue and intended as definite therapy, inserted some 8 wk previously. He was admitted to the emergency department with abdominal cramps. An ultrasound of the abdomen was performed in ER which confirmed the balloon to be in place without any abnormality. He was discharged home on symptomatic medication. Patient remains symptomatic therefore he reported back to ER 2 d later. Computed tomography scan was performed this time for further evaluation which revealed a metallic ring present in the small bowel while the intra-gastric balloon was in its proper position. There was no clinical or radiological sign of intestinal obstruction. Patient was hospitalized for observation and conservative management. The following night, patient experienced sudden and severe abdominal pain, therefore an X-ray of the abdomen in erect position was done, which showed free air under the right dome of diaphragm. Patient was transferred to O.R for emergency laparotomy. There were two small perforations identified at the site of the metallic ring entrapment. The ring was removed and the perforations were repaired. Due to increasing prevalence of obesity and advances in modalities for its management, physicians should be aware of treatment options, their benefits, complications and clinical presentation of the known complications. Physicians need to be updated to approach these complications within time, to avoid life-threatening situations caused by these appliances.


The effect of different temperature and concentrations of HCI and H3PO4 on the regeneration of spent activated carbon for iodine and methylene blue solutions. The results revealed that the decolourizing efficiency of the product increased with increasing temperature and concentrations. Maximum adsorption power. 63 mg/g of methylene blue and 330.55 mg/g of iodine, of regenerated spent activated carbon was obtained when the sample was treated with 0.8 N HCI at 1000EC.


The Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of infections and mortality in immunocompromised patients. This organism can overcome iron deprivation during infection via the synthesis of two iron-chelating siderophores, pyoverdine and pyochelin, which scavenge iron from host proteins. P. aeruginosa can also uptake xenosiderophores produced by other bacteria or fungi using dedicated transporter systems. ABSTRACT The Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of infections and mortality in immunocompromised patients. This organism can overcome iron deprivation during infection via the synthesis of two iron-chelating siderophores, pyoverdine and pyochelin, which scavenge iron from host proteins. P. aeruginosa can also uptake xenosiderophores produced by other bacteria or fungi using dedicated transporter systems. The precise substrate specificity of these siderophore transporters remains to be determined. The thiopeptide antibiotic thiostrepton exploits the pyoverdine transporters FpvA and FpvB to cross the outer membrane and reach intracellular targets. Using a series of intricate biochemical experiments, a recent study by Chan and Burrows capitalized on the specificity of thiostrepton to uncover that FpvB transports the xenosiderophores ferrichrome and ferrioxamine B with higher affinity than pyoverdine. This surprising result highlights an alternative uptake pathway for these siderophores and has significant implications for our understanding of iron acquisition in this organism.


Using a comprehensive database of U.S. internal auditor job postings, we find that firms are about 10 percent more likely to post an internal auditor job after the revelation of accounting and operational failures. Also, the demand for internal auditors is stronger when a failure is more severe. Among firms posting internal auditor jobs, firms demand higher-quality internal auditors in response to a failure compared with when there has not been a recent failure. We find evidence of internal audit demand spillovers through connected directors, which helps mitigate concerns that the primary results are due to replacing internal auditors that recently left or due to endogenous links between hiring internal auditors and failure revelations. Overall, our evidence suggests that firms demand internal auditors to help ensure high-quality financial reporting and effective operations.
 JEL Classifications: G34, J23, M41, M42.


Basically the main medium of expressing information and communication is through language. Human beings are generally endowed with the most effective means of information and communication i.e. language. The popular assumption is that Language is simply communication with words especially the human use of spoken or written words as a communication system. It is against this background that this study examined the use of Hausa Language in Information and Communication technology specifically as a medium of dissemination of information and or communication. The Information Manager Vol. 8 (1) 2008: pp. 17-21


In this research, we have done the cartography, characterization and state of conservation of the mires on Mendizorrotz, Ulia and Jaizkibel mountains. The mires are designated as habitats with especial interest in the I attachment of the Habitats Directive and some species from this mires are in the catalogue of the threatened flora of the Basque Autonomic Community.


Previous research has highlighted the importance of examining the interpersonal context of stress and coping. How individuals in a relationship respond to one another and cope with stress together have important outcomes on both individual and dyadic levels. The current study sought to examine 2 deleterious coping responses, rumination and interpersonal withdrawal, as they relate to occupational stress and interact in the home setting. An intensive longitudinal design was employed in a sample of 87 couples in which 1 partner was working as a paramedic. Over a period of 4 consecutive work shifts, daily reports of marital tension, spouses' withdrawal, and paramedics' work stress, burnout, and rumination were collected. Multilevel models incorporating actor and partner effects examined daily associations. Supporting our first and second hypotheses, significant associations were observed between paramedics' work stress and subsequent rumination and withdrawal on the part of paramedics. Paramedics' work-related burnout also predicted increased withdrawal from their respective spouses. Regarding the role of these coping responses in daily marital functioning, paramedics' rumination and spouses' withdrawal were associated with increased marital tension over the 4-day period. On days when spouses withdrew more from the relationship, the associations between paramedics' rumination and both partners' reports of marital tension were greater, supporting our third hypothesis. These findings illustrate the importance of examining both partners' coping responses as they interact to predict marital tension. They further underscore the maladaptive nature of rumination and withdrawal specifically in an interpersonal context. Potential implications for collaborative coping are discussed. (


PKA (protein lysine acetylation) is a critical post-translational modification that regulates various developmental processes, including seed development. However, the acetylation events and dynamics on a proteomic scale in this process remain largely unknown, especially in rice early seed development. We report the first quantitative acetylproteomic study focused on rice early seed development by employing a mass spectral-based (MS-based), label-free approach. A total of 1817 acetylsites on 1688 acetylpeptides from 972 acetylproteins were identified in pistils and seeds at three and seven days after pollination, including 268 acetyproteins differentially acetylated among the three stages. Motif-X analysis revealed that six significantly enriched motifs, such as (DxkK), (kH) and (kY) around the acetylsites of the identified rice seed acetylproteins. Differentially acetylated proteins among the three stages, including adenosine diphosphate (ADP) -glucose pyrophosphorylases (AGPs), PDIL1-1 (protein disulfide isomerase like 1-1), hexokinases, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) and numerous other regulators that are extensively involved in the starch and sucrose metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and photosynthesis pathways during early seed development. This study greatly expanded the rice acetylome dataset, and shed novel insight into the regulatory roles of PKA in rice early seed development.


Background Early child health and development (ECD) is important for health in later life. Objectives were to (1) examine the extent of socioeconomic inequality in markers of ECD at ages 3 and 5 years; (2) examine whether the ECD–income gap widens between these ages; (3) assess the contribution of the home learning environment, family routines and psychosocial environment to observed inequalities in ECD. Methods Data on socioemotional difficulties, and tests of cognitive ability in 3-year-old (n=15 382) and 5-year-old (n=15 042) children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study were used. Results Children in the highest income group were less likely to have socioemotional difficulties compared with those in the lowest income group at 3 and 5 years (2.4% vs 16.4% and 2.0% vs 15.9%, respectively) and had higher mean scores: age 3 'school readiness' 114 versus 99; verbal ability 54 versus 48, and age 5: verbal ability 60 versus 51, non-verbal ability 58 versus 54 and spatial ability 54 versus 48 (all p<0.001). The income gap in verbal ability scores widened between ages 3 and 5 (Wald test, p=0.04). Statistical adjustment for markers of home learning, family routines and psychosocial environments did more to explain the income gap in socioemotional difficulties than in cognitive test scores. Conclusion Our results suggest that relationships between family income and markers of ECD are amenable to change. The role of home learning, family routines and psychosocial environmental factors are potentially important in closing income gaps in ECD.


Predictive coding has been identified as a major driver of computation and learning in cortical microcircuits. But it has remained unknown which synaptic plasticity processes install and maintain predictive coding capability. Predictions are inherently uncertain, and learning rules that aim at discriminating linearly separable classes of inputs – such as the perceptron learning rule – are not suitable for learning to predict. We show that experimental data on synaptic plasticity in distal dendrites of pyramidal cells support a functionally more powerful learning rule that produces a spike-based approximation to logistic regression, i.e., to probabilistic prediction. We also show that experimentally found interactions between different dendritic branches support learning of predictions for more complex probability distributions. The resulting learning theory for top-down inputs to pyramidal cells provides a normative framework for evaluating experimental data, and suggests further experiments for tracking the emergence of predictive coding through synaptic plasticity in distal dendrites.


Many previous papers have described well-developed simulation programmes for electromagnetic launchers, many of which use a coupled-circuit filamentary approach in describing the electrical circuits during the launch period. However, the accurate validation of these programmes presents several very significant problems, due to certain mainly mechanical effects that are extremely difficult to quantify in any relatively straightforward and accurate manner. The present paper explains these difficulties, and describes an experimental investigation in which their influence on the results is substantially absent, enabling close agreement with results predicted from a filamentary model to be achieved.


We use three-dimensional seismic reflection data and new map-based structural restoration methods to define the displacement history and characteristics of a series of tear faults in the deep-water Niger Delta. Deformation in the deep-water Niger Delta is focused mostly within two fold-and-thrust belts that accommodate downdip shortening produced by updip extension on the continental shelf. This shortening is accommodated by a series of thrust sheets that are locally cut by strike-slip faults. Through seismic mapping and interpretation, we resolve these strike-slip faults to be tear faults that share a common detachment level with the thrust faults. Acting in conjunction, these structures have accommodated a north –south gradient in westward-directed shortening. We apply a map-based restoration technique implemented in Gocad to restore an upper stratigraphic horizon of the late Oligocene and use this analysis to calculate slip profiles along the strike-slip faults. The slip magnitudes and directions change abruptly along the lengths of the tear faults as they interact with numerous thrust sheets. The discontinuous nature of these slip profiles reflects the manner in which they have accommodated differential movement between the footwall and hanging-wall blocks of the thrust sheets. In cases for which the relationship between a strike-slip fault and multiple thrust faults is unclear, the recognition of this type of slip profile may distinguish thin-skinned tear faults from more conventional deep-seated, throughgoing strike-slip faults.


Anderson and Rogers [1] have described a set of modifications which convert a standard model 33 tele-type into a device which produces embossed braille characters. Thus, blind computer users can communicate with a computer without the help of a sighted person to read the output. The disadvantage of this terminal alone is that either the applications program or the operating system of the host computer must have special software to map each output character into a sequence of three characters necessary to emboss its braille equivalent. Such software modification can be expensive and has to be done for each applications program or operating system the blind person wants to use.


We present a robust real-time hair simulation method using hair meshes. Leveraging existing simulation models for sheet-based cloth, we introduce a volumetric force model for incorporating hair interactions inside the hair mesh volume. We also introduce a position correction method that minimizes the local deformation of the hair mesh due to collision handling. We demonstrate the robustness of our hair simulation method using large time steps with fast motion, and we show that our method can recover the initial hair shape even when the hair mesh goes through substantial deformation.


Patient motivation can be an important factor in successful compliance with an oral hygiene program. However, it also can present the most difficulty with such compliance. For example, some conditions, such as gingivitis, may seem nonthreatening, making adherence to recommended regimens especially difficult to attain. A new power toothbrush technology with an integrated toothpaste system has been developed that increases a patient's ability and willingness to adopt recommended regimens. This article reviews this novel technology and reports on a study comparing it to a nonintegrated power toothbrush and regular toothpaste. The features of the novel toothbrush technology also are explained in the context of patient concordance vs patient compliance.


Actionable knowledge discovery is a closed optimization problem solving process from problem definition. It is used to extract the actionable data that are usable. Social media still contain many comments that cannot be directly acted upon. If we could automatically filter out such noise and only present actionable comments, decision making process will be easier. Automatically extracting actionable knowledge from on line social media has attracted a growing interest from both academia and the industry. This paper gives a study in the systems and methods available text from the social media like twitter or facebook.


Clinical applications of monoclonal antibody for selective delivery of anticancer drug, toxin and radioisotope were reviewed. The difficulties in preparation and clinical application of chemoimmunoconjugate were pointed out. Also the difficulties of immunotoxin in clinical trial due to its high toxicity had been discussed and it is assumed that development of blocked ricin may overcome many problems related to toxicities. Clinically most advanced immunoconjugate seems to be radioimmunoconjugate. Among three types of immunoconjugates preparation of radioimmunoconjugate is easiest and some promising clinical trials were introduced in this review.


A review of recent developments in the labeling of fusion proteins with synthetic mols. in the living cell or in complex mixts. The most commonly used tags are presented and then focuses on a new class of tags that are not limited to their genetically encoded function but rather serves as general acceptors for synthetic mols. The tetracysteine tag, which reversibly binds to biarsenical compds., and the human O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase tag, which is irreversibly alkylated by benzylguanine derivs., are prototypes of this approach. Both provide the resp. fusion protein with functionalities that can not be genetically encoded and thereby complement the properties of the traditional fusion proteins. [on SciFinder (R)]


Redox imbalance in intestinal epithelial cells is critical in the early phases of intestinal injury. Dysfunction of the intestinal barrier can result in immunological imbalance and inflammation, thus leading to intestinal syndromes and associated illnesses. Several antioxidants have been discovered to be beneficial in resolving intestinal barrier dysfunction. Of these antioxidants, the effects of alkaline reduced water (ARW) in oxidative stress of intestinal epithelial cells and its immunokine modulation in vitro is unknown. In this study, we utilized ARW-enriched media to investigate its cytoprotective effect against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in DLD1 cells. We found that ARW rescued DLD1 from oxidative stress by diluting the influence of H2O2 on oxidative stress-activated MAPK signaling and mitochondrial dysfunction. Further, intestinal oxidative stress significantly affects immunokine profiles of Raw 264.7 cells (IL-6, IL-10, MCP, TNF-a, RANTES), which can be reversed by ARW. Collectively, ARW shields intestinal epithelial cells from oxidative stress, reducing the immunological mayhem caused by barrier failure.


A study has been carried out to predict the prescribing and referral behaviour of general practitioners by measuring their attitudes to their roles. Part of this study involved determining whether women doctors accept greater responsibility and feel more competent than men when undertaking those tasks for which they are said to be suited. In May 1987 a postal questionnaire was sent to all 525 general practitioners in contract with Avon family practitioner committee. Replies from 82 women and 289 men showed that women accepted more responsibility for sex-related tasks. For other medical tasks, including those of a technical and traditional nature, men accepted both more responsibility and felt more competent than did women respondents. Contrary to expectations, women did not accept more responsibility or feel more competent than men for psychosocial tasks. The results are discussed in the context of the role of women within medicine.


Purpose: Based on the previously published reports, the incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) has been increasing in the past 25 years, and the reason for the increase is not yet clear. The present study aims to reveal the long-term trends and age–period–cohort effects for the incidence of TC in China and the U.S. from 1992 to 2017.Patients and methods: We examined the trends of TC incidence in the two countries, for the different genders (men/women) in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD 2017). We further used an age-period-cohort model to analyze age-period-cohort effects on TC incidence, and the average annual percentage change (AAPC) of rates was estimated by Join-point regression analysis.Results: TC increased with the age and period. Aging was one of the most influential factors of TC in China. The age effect increased markedly in the U.S. compared with China. The period effect showed an increase in China while that tended to grow steadily during 1992-2017 in the U.S. The cohort effect peaked in 1963-1967 birth cohorts for men and women in China and declined consistently in the birth cohort in the U.S.Conclusion: From 1992 to 2017, due to ionizing radiation and over-diagnosis, age-standardized TC incidence rates in both genders rose in China and the U.S. The standardized incidence rate of women is higher than that of men. It is necessary to provide women with reasonable prevention and protection measures for TC. We need to apply for health services and screening to reduce ionizing radiation.


The efficiency of active sonar that is used underwater observation equipment is important for obtain the information of topography and trace for the objects. Sound wave transmitted from sonar are distorted by acoustic window which is to protect sonar. Making various sonar dome is impossible for experiment, because consumed unnecessary time and expense. So, the purpose of this study is to simulate and analyze the acoustic window propagated sound wave from sonar for designing model reduced insertion loss. Simulation is performed by transient analysis and fluid-structure interaction analysis. As a result, this study will give a opportunity for efficient design of sonar dome without high cost and time consumption.


The Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs has proposed to replace the currently implemented structure of legal unbundling of the energy distribution industry by ownership unbundling. In this study we analyse the costs and benefits of this proposal. We compare the proposal to the current situation and to two alternative options that strengthen legal unbundling. We identify four mutually-related categories of benefits: better performance of networks, more efficient regulation, improved effectiveness of competition, and benefits of privatisation; and three categories of costs: one-off transaction costs, loss of economies of scope and the risk of less investment in generation. The analysis highlights that the benefits depend on the future development in small-scale generation and on allocation of the management of transmission networks. Mainly because of the uncertainty about the future role of small-scale generation and the uncertainty about the magnitude of the one-off transaction costs related to cross-border leases, the net welfare effect of ownership unbundling at the distribution level is ambiguous. We identify an alternative route for achieving some of the benefits considered.