Introduction
Just as Somalia has begun "to lift itself from the ashes and debris of war", perceptions of Somali identity in Kenya have reached a new low. Even from before Kenya's independence, suspicion of the background, political opinions and citizenship of Kenyan-Somalis plagued Kenya's development, and this suspicion has now merged with an arrative of foreign terrorism that pits Kenyan-Somalis against their own nation-state. How has this come about, and what does it mean for Kenya's fight against terrorism? In this article, I argue that the inability of the Kenyan state to distinguish between Somali Islamists and Kenyan-Somalis represents a missed opportunity at national integration. Specifically, the move towards a federal Somalia of autonomous regions should assuage old Kenyan fears of Somali irredentism and desires for secession. Kenyan-Somalis are too readily being associated with coastal Muslim appeals for secession, even though citizens close to the Kenya-Somalia border no longer show interest in political victories at the expense of socio-economic well-being.


Companies are beginning to recognize that simply having highly skilled workers who use the latest machines and equipment isn't enough to assure productivity and market share. What makes a difference? Transforming a corporate culture may well be the key to an organization's future.


BACKGROUND
One key contextual feature in Verbal Autopsy (VA) is the time between death and survey administration, or recall period. This study quantified the effect of recall period on VA performance by using a paired dataset in which two VAs were administered for a single decedent.

METHODS
This study used information from the Population Health Metrics Research Consortium (PHMRC) Study, which collected VAs for "gold standard" cases where cause of death (COD) was supported by clinical criteria. This study repeated VA interviews within 3-52 months of death in PHMRC study sites in Andhra Pradesh, India, and Bohol and Manila, Philippines. The final dataset included 2113 deaths interviewed twice and with recall periods ranging from 0 to 52 months. COD was assigned by the Tariff method and its accuracy determined by comparison with the gold standard COD.

RESULTS
The probability of a correct diagnosis of COD decreased by 0.55 % per month in the period after death. Site of data collection and survey module also affected the probability of Tariff Method correctly assigning a COD. The probability of a correct diagnosis in VAs collected 3-11 months after death will, on average, be 95.9 % of that in VAs collected within 3 months of death.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that collecting VAs within 3 months of death may improve the quality of the information collected, taking the need for a period of mourning into account. This study substantiates the WHO recommendation that it is reasonable to collect VAs up to 1 year after death providing it is accepted that probability of a correct diagnosis is likely to decline month by month during this period.


The electronic structure and thermodynamical properties of uranium trihydrides ($\alpha$-UH$_{3}$ and $\beta$-UH$_{3}$) have been studied using first-principles density functional theory. We find that inclusion of strong electronic correlation is crucial in successfully depicting the electronic structure and thermodynamic phase stability of uranium hydrides. After turning on the Hubbard parameter, the uranium 5f states are divided into well-resolved multiplets and their metallicity is weakened by downward shift in energy, which prominently changes the hydrogen bond and its vibration frequencies in the system. Without Coulomb repulsion, the experimentally observed $\alpha\mathtt{\rightarrow}\beta$ phase transition cannot be reproduced, whereas, by inclusion of the on-site correlation, we successfully predict a transition temperature value of about 332 K, which is close to the experimental result.


B cells are central to immune responses to infections and vaccines by producing high-affinity and class-switched protective antibodies, often in a T cell-dependent manner. Prompted by our findings that dual TLR/BCR engagement induces efficient CSR in vitro, to a high level comparable to that induced by CD40 engagement, here we have analyzed induction of T cell-independent CSR/SHM and antibody responses by TLR-BCR co-engagement. Immunization of wildtype C57 mice with NP hapten conjugated to TLR4-engaging LPS (NP-LPS), but not NP-Ficoll admixed with LPS, elicits high-affinity and class-switched IgGs (IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgG3), at levels comparable to those elicited by a T cell-dependent antigen NP-CGG. NP-LPS also induces sustained and high levels of IgG2a, IgG2b and IgG3, but not IgG1, in Tcrβ−/−Tcrδ−/− mice, which are devoid of T cells and, as expected, fail to mount any response to NP-CGG. Immunization of both wildtype and Tcrβ−/−Tcrδ−/− mice with highly purified Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) flagellin, which has dual BCR and TLR5 engaging activities, elicits flagellin-specific antibodies that can opsonize S. typhimurium. T cell-independent immune responses, which are impaired in mice lacking Myd88 or Pik3r1 in B cells, are associated with high mutation loads in VH genes, generation of switched B cells, and B cell differentiation into long-lived plasma cells and memory B cells, which can be re-activated for anamnestic antibody responses. Thus, SHM/CSR and B cell differentiation into plasma cells and memory B cells can occur independently of T cells, leading to protective mature antibody responses.


A prospective study of ten patients with early pemphigus, who were treated with azathioprine, is described. The dosage of azathioprine was 50 to 250 mg/day. Nine of the ten patients had good to excellent results. Seven of the ten patients were either never given corticosteroids or had the corticosteroids completely withdrawn. There was good clinical and immunologic correlation in eight of the ten patients. There were no significant side-effects and no wound-healing problems. High-dose corticosteroid therapy is still the treatment of choice for severe, generalized, toxic pemphigus, but in early pemphigus azathioprine alone may control the disease.


The paper is devoted to the development of a drug list, so called "marker baskets", which can be recommended for the primary prevention of ischemic stroke in patients with high cardio-vascular risk. The authors reviewed various combinations of pharmacological drugs with similar treatment effects and different availability of prices.


Introduction: Pulmonary function testing (PFT) is the main tool to evaluate the function of the respiratory system. However used alone, it hardly leads to disease diagnosis. Based on artificial intelligence (AI) we aimed to develop a smart software which improves the clinical reading of a lung function and suggests a respiratory disease diagnosis if possible. Methods: Data of 1430 subjects with respiratory symptoms were taken from 33 Belgian hospitals to develop the algorithm. The final diagnosis (healthy, asthma, COPD, ILD, neuromuscular disease, chest wall or pleural disease, pulmonary vascular disease, other obstructive disease) was obtained from the clinical history, lung function and all additional tests, and confirmed by an expert panel. A cloud-based solution was incorporated into the clinical setting to validate the accuracy of the algorithm on a random sample of 86 new subjects. Finally, the software diagnoses were compared with the diagnostic opinions of 16 pulmonologists provided with PFT and clinical data of 50 new subjects. Results: Software presented a high accuracy of 74% after 10-fold cross-validation when detecting lung diseases (8 possible disease categories). The high accuracy was maintained in a real clinical setting (76%). The software-based automated diagnoses (76% accuracy) were superior over the suggested diagnoses of pulmonologists (53.5 ± 6 % mean accuracy), which were not affected by the experience of the reader. Conclusions: AI can be used to identify different lung diseases. Due to its superiority and work consistency, such software can provide a powerful decision support system in daily clinical routine.


This paper studies the problem of joint power allocation and user association in wireless heterogeneous networks (HetNets) with a deep reinforcement learning (DRL)-based approach. This is a challenging problem since the action space is hybrid, consisting of continuous actions (power allocation) and discrete actions (device association). Instead of quantizing the continuous space (i.e., possible values of powers) into a set of discrete alternatives and applying traditional deep reinforcement approaches such as deep Q learning, we propose working on the hybrid space directly by using the novel parameterized deep Q-network (P-DQN) to update the learning policy and maximize the average cumulative reward. Furthermore, we incorporate the constraints of limited wireless backhaul capacity and the quality-of-service (QoS) of each user equipment (UE) into the learning process. Simulation results show that the proposed P-DQN outperforms the traditional approaches, such as the DQN and distance-based association, in terms of energy efficiency while satisfying the QoS and backhaul capacity constraints. The improvement in the energy efficiency of the proposed P-DQN on average may reach 77.6% and 140.6% over the traditional DQN and distance-based association approaches, respectively, in a HetNet with three SBS and five UEs.


The last couple of years have been an eventful time for trade policy and in particular for major preferential trade agreements (PTAs), such as the so-called mega-regionals. Early 2016, twelve Pacific Rim countries, including Canada and the United States (USA), signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. Around the same time, Canada and the European Union (EU) agreed at the level of negotiators to conclude the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Finally, the USA and the EU continued their efforts to find common ground in the negotiations towards the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) treaty.


The degradation of nonfunctional mitochondrial proteins is of fundamental relevance for maintenance of cellular homeostasis. The heteromeric CLPXP protein complex in the mitochondrial matrix is part of this process. In the fungal aging model Podospora anserina, ablation of CLPXP leads to an increase in healthy lifespan. Here, we report that this counterintuitive increase depends on a functional autophagy machinery. In PaClpXP mutants, autophagy is involved in energy conservation and the compensation of impairments in respiration. Strikingly, despite the impact on mitochondrial function, it is not mitophagy but general autophagy that is constitutively induced and required for longevity. In contrast, in another long‐lived mutant ablated for the mitochondrial PaIAP protease, autophagy is neither induced nor required for lifespan extension. Our data provide novel mechanistic insights into the capacity of different forms of autophagy to compensate impairments of specific components of the complex mitochondrial quality control network and about the biological role of mitochondrial CLPXP in the control of cellular energy metabolism.


Point forecasts are a common method to classify uncertain future outcomes. In the option price literature the concept of implied volatility is well known. This concept is used to get a forward looking indicator about the future volatility. Nowadays market expectations can be extracted in numerous ways. One of the first articles regarding this topic in the area of exchange rates and interest rates was Solderlind and Svensson (1997). Extracting market expectations is not only focused on point forecasts. A more ambitious approach is to extract the whole possible range of market expectations out of option prices. This concept is called risk-neutral density (RND). Most agricultural markets undergo some remarkable price movements in the last 4 years. The reasons for sharp price swings in the oilseed markets are controversial discussed. This article link new econometric concepts and agricultural markets together. It broadens the understanding of market activity at a specific time period. The obtained futures price expectations map a clear picture of trading activity. The accuracy of the price expectation, an important issue for analysts and the policy, is satisfying. Areas of further work can certainly be found in the analysis of different time ranges, other product markets and exchanges.


The stabilization of the metastable 180 degrees twist state in a bistable chiral splay nematic liquid crystal device is studied. The stability of the metastable 180 degrees twist state is explained using the azimuthal anchoring strength, which is a function of the twist elastic constant and the cell gap. A stable 180 degrees twist state as well as the permanent retention time can be obtained by increasing the anchoring energy above a certain threshold.


Abstract A linear dependency of zero shear, constant shear-rate and constant shear-stress viscosities with temperature and hole fraction ("thermo-occupancy" function) was derived for polyacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS). The relation of viscosity parameters, such as transmission coefficient and a measure of activation energy coefficient, with shear-rate and shear-stress was also investigated and some conclusions on the differences for the studied polymers were discussed. In particular, it was found that, for all materials, the derivative of logarithm of viscosities at zero shear, constant shear-rate and constant shear-stress decreases with decreasing rate with the hole fraction.


A large proportion of patients suffer from a persistent reduction in cardiorespiratory fitness after recovery from COVID-19, of which the effects on the heart may potentially be reversed through the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). In the present study, we hypothesized that HIIT would increase left ventricular mass (LVM) and improve functional status and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in individuals previously hospitalized for COVID-19. In this investigator-blinded, randomized controlled trial, 12 weeks of supervised HIIT (4x4 minutes, three times a week) was compared to standard care (control) in individuals recently discharged from hospital due to COVID-19. LVM was assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI, primary outcome), while the pulmonary diffusing capacity (DLCOc, secondary outcome) was examined by the single-breath method. Functional status and HRQoL was assessed by Post-COVID-19 Functional Scale (PCFS) and King's brief interstitial lung disease (KBILD) questionnaire, respectively. A total of 28 participants were included (age 57±10, 9 females; HIIT: 58±11, 4 females; standard care: 57±9, 5 females), LVM increased in the HIIT vs. standard care group with a between-group difference of 6.8 [mean, 95%CI: 0.8; 12.8] g; p=0.029. There were no between-group differences in DLCOc or any other lung function metric, which gradually resolved in both groups. Desriptively, PCFS suggested fewer functional limitations in the HIIT group. KBILD improved similarly in the two groups. HIIT is an efficacious exercise intervention for increasing LVM in individuals previously hospitalized for COVID-19.


This thesis is about fabricating of Hybrid-air ATV front suspension system.It consists of spring shock absorber and linkage to support the vehicles. Suspension system plays an important role in vehicles.It is to ensure the safety and riding comfort of the passengers during their journey. It is also providing sufficient damping force to overcome the damping of vehicle due to the road condition.The process of fabricating the suspension system is one of the crucial part which will affect the quality and function of the suspension system. The suspension system used for the Air-hybrid ATV suspension system is double wishbone suspension system.The reverse engineering is done to design and fabricate the suspension system.The project is to fabricate the part based of the design given. Most of the part of the suspension system is design to fit the chassis of the Air-hybrid ATV. Thus, the part must follow exactly the dimension of the drawing else they could not fit each other. Part of the suspension system also need to be fitted to the part brought from market and the chassis of the Air-hybrid ATV chassis. Thus, the design refinements are needed to ensure that all the parts of the suspensions system can integrate to each part. It is impossible to fabricate the product as same as the engineering drawing. Therefore, by refining the design, the product can be done as close as the design given.Material preparation and methods chosen for fabricating the part of suspension system will also decide the quality and functionality of the suspension system.Fabricating suspension system of the Air-hybrid ATV suspension system is not easy, but by doing well progress planning and using the right method, the suspension system could be fabricated as close as the design to ensure the quality of the suspension system.


PURPOSE: To compare pain on injection of two modified anesthetic lidocaine solutions for use in upper blepharoplasty: 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine, and 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine buffered 9:1 with 8.4% sodium bicarbonate. METHODS: In this prospective, double-masked study, 25 consecutive patients undergoing upper blepharoplasty were submitted to the anesthesic procedure. Each eyelid received one of two modified lidocaine solutions. Heart rate, systemic arterial pressure and oxygen saturation level were obtained before, during and after injection of two different anesthetic solutions. Patients used a 4-point scale to rate the perceived pain on injection. RESULTS: All parameters were statistically analyzed and there was a significant difference in heart rate and oxygen saturation level. CONCLUSION: Pain on injection of eyelid anesthesia does not differ significantly with either buffered or unmodified lidocaine solutions.


Fast low-angle shot (FLASH) imaging is a new technique for rapid magnetic resonance (MR) imaging that reduces acquisition times to seconds while retaining spatial resolution. This article deals with a three-dimensional (3D) variant of the FLASH method that allows the recording of a 3D-data set of 128 X 128 X 128 pixels within an acquisition time of only 4 min. The method is demonstrated using a 2.35 T 40 cm bore MR system. Experiments are carried out on rabbit head and human extremities. Depending on the field of view, the isotropic resolution is 1 mm or even less leading to cross-sectional images with a 1 mm slice thickness. In principle, FLASH imaging techniques are applicable to any MR system without the need of major hardware modifications. However, high-speed computers, large storage capacity, and rapid image display routines greatly facilitate an advantageous use of the 3D-FLASH variant.


The Arbitration Commission of the Conference on Yugoslavia provided the basis of the post-Cold War territorial settlements in Europe. These included democratization criteria for the recognition of the new states in central Europe and a new territorial concept that allowed the internal borders of federated states to serve as international borders. In the process, the commission endorsed cultural nationalism within fixed borders and encouraged a significant degree of political self-determination. The commissioners also supported identity nationalism as a genuine aspiration, giving rise to �an interesting direction of thought� concerning the interpretation and meaning of the self-determination of peoples, and these provoked an enhanced understanding and protection of the rights of minorities. This was to provide a basis for the legitimacy claims not only of Bosnian Serbs and Kosovars, but also of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Crimea.


Centipedes are excellent predatory arthropods that inject venom to kill or immobilize their prey. Although centipedes have long been known to be venomous, their venoms remain largely unexplored. The chemical components responsible for centipede predation and the functional mechanisms are unknown. Twenty-six neurotoxin-like peptides belonging to ten groups were identified from the centipede venoms, Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans L. Koch by peptidomics combined with transcriptome analysis, revealing the diversity of neurotoxins. These neurotoxins each contain two to four intramolecular disulfide bridges, and in most cases the disulfide framework is different from that found in neurotoxins from the venoms of spiders, scorpions, marine cone snails, sea anemones, and snakes (5S animals). Several neurotoxins contain potential insecticidal abilities, and they are found to act on voltage-gated sodium, potassium, and calcium channels, respectively. Although these neurotoxins are functionally similar to the disulfide-rich neurotoxins found in the venoms of 5S animals in that they modulate the activity of voltage-gated ion channels, in almost all cases the primary structures of the centipede venom peptides are unique. This represents an interesting case of convergent evolution in which different venomous animals have evolved different molecular strategies for targeting the same ion channels in prey and predators. Moreover, the high level of biochemical diversity revealed in this study suggests that centipede venoms might be attractive subjects for prospecting and screening for peptide candidates with potential pharmaceutical or agrochemical applications.


The aim of this paper is to describe the first 2 years of operation of an electronic system for reporting medication events in psychiatry (Medi-Event system). We have carried out a descriptive analysis of all medication events (errors, near misses and adverse drug reactions) reported between 1 March 2008 and 28 February 2010 at a large, specialist UK psychiatric hospital. A total of 406 medication errors, 40 near misses and no adverse drug reactions were reported in the study period, representing a very large increase in reporting frequency with respect to the previous paper system. The majority (88.8%) of incidents were medication administration errors. The most common error types were failure to sign for a drug and omission of a drug without valid clinical reason. Although most errors were of minor severity, 6.3% were rated as moderate or serious. Distraction was cited as the most common contributory factor, also poor communication and being unfamiliar with the ward. In conclusion, use of the Medi-Event system increased the reporting of medication errors. Analysis of the pattern of errors, as well as of contributory factors and suggestions for error prevention, may help reduce the frequency of medication events and hence improve patient care.


The dynamic lag for the saccharification temperature process of brewage is very large, and the saccharification process technology needs its control track the set point curve fast without overshoot. The normal PID algorithm apparently can't satisfy these demands. Due to the frequent disturbances of heating steam pressure, saccharification temperature DMC-PID cascade control system is designed by combining the predictive control algorithm and cascade control structure. The simulation shows that the system has not only faster follow-up tracking capability, but also non-overshoot and stronger disturbance suppressing, compared with the normal PID control.


In the United States, many fish and wildlife species have been used nationwide to monitor environmental contaminant exposure and effects, including carcasses of the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), the only top avian predator regularly used in the past. Unfortunately, bald eagles are sensitive to investigator intrusion at the nest. Thus, the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is evaluated as a potential sentinel species for aquatic ecosystems. Several characteristics support the choice of the osprey as a sentinel species, including: (1) fish-eating diet atop the aquatic food web, (2) long-lived with strong nest fidelity, (3) adapts to human landscapes (potentially the most contaminated), (4) tolerates short-term nest disturbance, (5) nests spatially distributed at regular intervals, (6) highly visible nests easily located for study, (7) ability to accumulate most, if not all, lipophilic contaminants, (8) known sensitivity to many contaminants, and (9) nearly a worldwide distribution. These osprey traits have been instrumental in successfully using the species to understand population distribution, abundance, and changes over time; the effects of various contaminants on reproductive success; how contaminants in prey (fish on biomass basis) contribute to egg concentrations (i.e., biomagnification factors); and spatial residue patterns. Data summarized include nesting population surveys, detailed nesting studies, and chemical analyses of osprey egg, organ, blood, and feather samples for contaminants that bioaccumulate and/or biomagnify in aquatic food webs; and biochemical evaluations of blood and various organs. Studies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and elsewhere have shown the osprey to be a useful sentinel species for monitoring selected environmental contaminants, including some emerging contaminants in lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and estuaries.


6cells g soil -1 and incubated for 30 days in a plant growth chamber, the shoot length, root length, fresh weight and dry weight of the grown tomato plants treated with the suspended inoculants significantly increased by 36.2, 59, 51.1, and 37.5%, respectively compared to those of the uninoculated control. The treatment of the immobilized bacteria increased those by 42, 67.4, 62.5, and 60.4%, respectively compared to those of the uninoculated control. Therefore, the enhancement of tomato growth by the treatment of the immobilized bacteria was higher than those by the suspended inoculants. The effects of the inoculation on indigenous bacterial community and the fate of the inoculated bacteria were monitored by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis. The DNA band intensity of A. woluwensis ED in the tomato rhizosphere treated with the suspended inoculants continuously decreased after the inoculation, but the band intensity in the tomato rhizosphere soils treated with the immobilized inoculants showed the maximum at 1 week after inoculation and the decreasing rate was less than that of the suspended inoculants, which indicated the longer maintenance of the immobilized bacteria at rhizosphere soils. Therefore, encapsulation of PGPR in alginate beads may be more effective than liquid inoculant for the plant growth promotion and survival of PGPR at plant rhizosphere.


Let C ⊂ N p be a finitely generated integer cone and S ⊂ C be an affine semigroup such that the real cones generated by C and by S are equal. The semigroup S is called C -semigroup if C \ S is a finite set. In this paper, we characterize the C -semigroups from their minimal generating sets, and we give an algorithm to check if S is a C - semigroup and to compute its set of gaps. We also study the embedding dimension of C -semigroups obtaining a lower bound for it, and introduce some families of C - semigroups whose embedding dimension reaches our bound. In the last section, we present a method to obtain a decomposition of a C -semigroup into irreducible C - semigroups.


Teamwork has become increasingly important in diverse disciplines. Cognitive studies on teamwork have shown that team members in an effective team often have mutual expectations based on their shared mental models and proactively offer assistance to each other. We present a formal model called Role-Based Proactive Helping Behaviors (RoB-PHB) to enable proactive assistance among (sub)teams. Through RoB-PHB, agents can dynamically identify others' help needs and provide helps by a course of actions on the fly. We have designed algorithms to implement our RoB-PHB formalism in a teamwork architecture called Role-Based Collaborative Agents for Simulating Teamwork (RoB-CAST). Our experiments on RoB-CAST have shown that the team with proactive helping behavior achieved better team


During a day, moving in an unstructured environment, man is realizing different types of walk, requiring from him on-line trajectory planning and permanent changes of gait parameters (turning, stopping, speeding up and slowing down, switching from the walk on a flat ground to the walk on inclined surfaces or staircases, etc.). Besides, apart from realizing the motion, there appears frequently the need to perform some additional tasks, e.g. manipulation. In view of the expectation that the future robots will share with humans their living and working environment, it is expected from them to be endowed with similar capabilities of motion. We think that a necessary prerequisite for fulfilling all these tasks is a permanent maintenance of dynamic balance, which may be achieved by the realization of a regular gait. Therefore, one of the basic characteristics of regular bipedal walk of humanoid robots is the maintenance of their dynamic balance during the walk, whereby a decisive role is played by the unpowered degrees of freedom arising at the foot-ground contact. Hence, the role of Zero-Moment Point (ZMP) as an indicator of dynamic balance is indispensable. On the other hand, we are witnesses of the diverse realizations of locomotion systems, from those with human-like feet, aiming to mimic in full the human gait, passive walkers, which practically roll on specially profiled feet, to the footless locomotion systems. It is quite clear that any of these systems can realize a gait (very often such gait is not dynamically balanced), but our present study shows that the performances of such walking systems are essentially different and inapt to meet the requirements that are put before the humanoids in a human environment. The work points out the indispensability of the regular, fully dynamically balanced gait for the simultaneous realization of locomotion-manipulation activities, as well as for the walk in an unstructured environment.


Due to extensive pollution and the relatively weak flow replacement in urban rivers, determining how to fully utilize the self-purification abilities of water bodies for water quality protection has been a complex and popular topic of research and social concern. Organic pollution is an important type of urban river pollution, and COD (chemical oxygen demand) is one of the key pollution factors. Currently, there is a lack of research on the relationship between COD degradation and the flow characteristics of urban rivers. In this paper, COD degradation experiments were conducted in an annular flume with Jinjiang River water at controlled flow velocities and the COD degradation coefficients under different hydraulic conditions were analyzed. A good correlation was observed between the degradation coefficient and hydraulic conditions. According to dimensional analysis, the relationship between the COD degradation coefficient and hydraulic conditions such as the flow velocity, water depth, Reynolds number (Re), and Froude number (Fr) was established as KCOD=86400uhFr0.8415Re−1.2719+0.258. The COD degradation coefficients of the Chishui River in Guizhou Province ranged from 0.175–0.373 1/d based on this formula, and the field-measured values varied from 0.234–0.463 1/d. The error in the formula ranged from 5.4–25.3%. This study provides a scientific basis for the prediction of the COD degradation coefficients of urban rivers.


The method called Fuzzy Rule Interpolation-based Q-learning (FRIQ-learning for short) uses a fuzzy rule interpolation method to be the reasoning engine applied within Q-learning. This method was introduced previously by the authors along with a rule-base construction extension for FRIQlearning, which can construct the requested FRI fuzzy model from scratch in a reduced size, implementing an incremental creation strategy. The rule-base created this way will most probably contain only those rules which were significant during the construction process, but have no important role in the final rule-base. Also there can be rules which became redundant (can be calculated by using fuzzy rule interpolation) thanks to another rule in the finished rule base. The goal of the paper is to introduce possible methods, which aim to find and remove the redundant and unnecessary rules from the rule-base automatically by using variations of newly developed decremental rule base reduction strategies. The paper also includes an application example presenting the applicability of the methods via a well known reinforcement learning example: the cart-pole simulation.


When using artificial neural networks in methods for dynamic analysis of slender structures, the computational effort associated with time-domain response simulation may be reduced drastically compared to classic solution strategies. This article demonstrates that the network structure of an artificial neural network, which has been trained to simulate forces in a mooring line of a floating offshore platform, can be optimized and reduced by different optimization procedures. The procedures both detect and prune the least salient network weights successively, and besides trimming the network, they also can be used to rank the importance of the various network inputs. The dynamic response of slender marine structures often depends on several external load components, and by applying the optimization procedures to a trained artificial neural network, it is possible to classify the external force components with respect to importance and subsequently determine which of them may be ignored in the analysis. The performance of the optimization procedures is illustrated by a numerical example, which shows that, in particular, the most simple procedures are able to remove more than half of the network weights in an artificial neural network without significant loss of simulation accuracy.


Background Treatment and prevention of thrombotic complications is frequently required in patients with cirrhosis. However anticoagulant therapy is often withheld from these patients, because of the perceived bleeding diathesis. As a result of the limited clinical experience, the anticoagulant of choice for the various indications is still not known. Objectives We evaluated the in vitro effect of clinically approved anticoagulant drugs in plasma from patients with cirrhosis. Patients/Methods Thirty patients with cirrhosis and thirty healthy controls were studied. Thrombin generation assays were performed before and after addition of unfractionated heparin, low molecular weight heparin, fondaparinux, dabigatran, and rivaroxaban, to estimate anticoagulant potencies of these drugs. Results Addition of dabigatran led to a much more pronounced reduction in endogenous thrombin potential in patients compared to controls (72.6% reduction in patients vs. 12.8% reduction in controls, P<0.0001). The enhanced effect of dabigatran was proportional to the severity of disease. In contrast, only a slightly increased anticoagulant response to heparin and low molecular weight heparin and even a reduced response to fondaparinux and rivaroxaban was observed in plasma from cirrhotic patients as compared to control plasma. Conclusions The anticoagulant potency of clinically approved drugs differs substantially between patients with cirrhosis and healthy individuals. Whereas dabigatran and, to a lesser extent, heparin and low molecular weight heparin are more potent in plasma from patients with cirrhosis, fondaparinux and rivaroxaban showed a decreased anticoagulant effect. These results may imply that in addition to dose adjustments based on altered pharmacokinetics, drug-specific dose adjustments based on altered anticoagulant potency may be required in patients with cirrhosis.


This study aims to identify and analyze the responsibilities of the Tual City government in providing legal protection in the field of intellectual property rights, especially copyright for Batik Kei motifs. This research is socio-legal research, which is a combination research method between doctrinal law research methods and empirical legal research methods. This research was conducted in Tual City, namely the Kei Batik Craftsman with the name Camelia Batik Kei. The types of data in this study are primary data and secondary data obtained through library research and interviews. Based on the results of the research, the Tual City government has an important role in providing copyright legal protection for Camelia Batik Kei's business. But in reality, although the Tual City government often displays Kei Batik motifs which incidentally elevate Kei customs and culture, from the aspect of copyright protection, the government has not given it at all. The entrepreneurs of Camelia Batik Kei are also not very aware of the importance of registering and protecting copyright laws for Kei Batik's motives. Therefore, there is a need for socialization and cooperation with the local government of Tual City to provide copyright legal protection for Kei batik motifs.


The Mawat ophiolite Complex, with an exposed surface area of ~235 Km 2 , is one of the largest ophiolitic segments in the Zagros Imbricate Zone in Iraq of the main Zagros ophiolite belt. The ultramafic portion is studied in this paper to verify petrogenetic nature, occurrences and mineral constitutes of the dunites in the Mawat Ophiolite Complex. The dunites in Mawat ophiolite can be grouped into cumulate and tectonite based on the field observations, petrographic study and mineral chemical data of the constituents and stratigraphic succession. The lower tectonite member of the Mawat ophiolite is mainly composed of harzburgite-dunite association and the upper cumulate member is composed of dunite, cross cut by clinopyroxenite veins. The lower tectonite dunite shows typical characteristics of alpine-type II dunite which is characterized by metamorphic deformed rocks with a strong deformed fabric. These rocks have been subjected tosepentinization, spherical weathering, spinel alteration and chloritization of the dominant mineral phases. The upper cumulate dunite comprises the top summit of Mawat Ophiolite Complex. The rock is coarse crystalline massive highly fractured in the outcrop and shows granular mosaic texture in thin sections. The petrographic study shows that the cumulate dunite consists of primary mineral assemblages of olivine (black and green) + pyroxene (cpx and opx) + chromian spinel. No evidence of secondary alteration and metamorphism observed in hand samples and thin section, which may be attributed to crystallization in hydrous magmatic condition at crustmantle boundary. As it was crystallized in equilibrium conditions with H2O rich fluid, thus would be stable during emplacement and exposure on the earth surface and unsusceptible to water to convert it to serpentine. Chromian spinels in dunites from Mawat ophiolite retain the peculiar major element signature of boninite melt and upper mantle peridotite, which are involved in the formation of cumulate and tectonite dunites in Mawat ophiolite respectively. Olivine and spinel from cumulates dunites have compositions in the range Fo 90 – 92 and Cr#0.81 – 0.82, whereas the same minerals in tectonite dunintes have compositions Fo 91 and Cr# 0.62 – 0.63. The black colored olivine in cumulate dunite may attribute to occurrences of minute inclusions of spinel + diopside, in addition to low Fo 90 – 91, MnO and NiO as compared to green olivine generation. Cumulate and Tectonite Dunite from Mawat Ophiolite, Kurdistan Region, Northeastern Iraq: Field Evidence and Mineral Chemical Constraints Yousif O. Mohammad 16 دلا تاوام تيلاويفولا ينوتكتلاو يمكارتلا تينو ميلقا لا قرش لامش ،ناتسدرك :قارع تاددحملاو ةيلقحلا لئلادلا ايميكلا ةيئ ةيندعملا


Two new secodammarane triterpenoid saponins were isolated from the leaves of Cyclocarya paliurus. Based on chemical and spectral analysis they were assigned as (20S)-20-hydroxy-24-O-alpha-L-arabino-pyranosyl-3,4- secodammar-4(28),11,25-trien-3-oic acid, named cyclocarioside II and 25-hydroxy-(20S,24R)-epoxy-12R-O-beta-D- quinovopyranosyl-3,4-secodammar-4(28)-en,3-oic acid, named cyclocarioside III.


Industrial wastewater requires control and management of its current production, according to existing literature, it is necessary that these are subjected to a quality treatment that works for continuous use and utilization, where it is also made an effective use of the water hyacinth floating macrofita (Eichhornia crassipes), which provides a treatment of industrial wastewater, obtaining high productivity and high efficiency of nutrient removal. This article aims to analyze the literature researched on macrophyte water hyacinth, involving, environmental sustainabili-ty, general aspects, background, design models, advantages and disadvantages, remediation, phytoremediation mechanism and current industrial wastewater treatment in the application of this phytoremediator method.


The article examines the involvement of Yugoslav geographers in the multifaceted process of constructing the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes between the final stage of the First World War and the mid-1920s, when Yugoslavia's external boundaries and internal arrangement were temporarily settled. Researchers have recognized Jovan Cvijic as the leading scientist behind the political-geographical legitimation of the newly created Yugoslav state. This article, however, examines the role of two hitherto neglected Yugoslav geographers—the Slovene Anton Melik and the Croat Filip Lukas—in the process of constructing the Yugoslav national space. This process, in fact, only intensified after the 1918 publication of Cvijic's seminal work La Peninsule balkanique . Whereas Cvijic aimed at an international readership, the construction of Yugoslav national space by Croat and Slovene geographers was primarily a domestic enterprise; these were geographies of Yugoslavia by Yugoslav geographers, narrating Yugoslavia to Yugoslav readership. For a period, scholars from Ljubljana and Zagreb rather than Belgrade influenced the project of the geographical narration of Yugoslavia, and approached the pressing contemporary political issues in geographical works in a manner that revealed both connections and tensions between discourses of "center" and "periphery."


I. Introduction Ever since the publication of Teall's description of the Scourie dyke (1885, p. 133) and its passage from a dolerite into a foliated amphibolite by the ordinary processes of metamorphism, petrologists have from time to time directed their researches along modern lines to a study of the metamorphism of basic igneous rocks. No formal review of the literature is necessary owing to the numerous references contained in the following pages, but among the earlier writers Maculloch (1821, p. 298), De la Beche (1834, pp. 298 et seq.) and Sterry Hunt (1875) may be mentioned. Although frequently the work of these authors was a model of careful observation and accurate description, their inference that hornblendic rocks were chemical precipitates from a thermal ocean can to-day be regarded as of historical interest only. It was thus left for Jukes (1862, pp. 169–72) to suggest that many hornblendic rocks were altered lavas or tuffs. Dealing with amphibblites chiefly from the south-west of England, Allport (1876, p. 422), Phillips(1876, p. 155,and 1878, p.471), and Bonney (1883, p. 14) expressed the opinion that they were metamorphosed igneous rocks. Shortly afterwards, the Scottish Geological Survey (Geikie, 1884, p. 122) in the course of their investigations on the amphibolites of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire came to a similar conclusion. Lehmann (1884, p. 190) also arrived at this conclusion for the amphibolites from the Saxon Granulitgebirge, when describing the passage of a gabbro into a schistose amphibolite, whilst Lessen (1882–3) studied the contact metamorphism of a diabase


The 4.3m Discovery Channel Telescope delivers an f/6.1 unvignetted 0.5° field to its RC focal plane. In order to support guiding, wavefront sensing, and instrument installations, a Cassegrain instrument support assembly has been developed which includes a facility guider and wavefront sensor package (GWAVES) and multiple interfaces for instrumentation. A 2-element, all-spherical, fused-silica corrector compensates for field curvature and astigmatism over the 0.5° FOV, while reducing ghost pupil reflections to minimal levels. Dual roving GWAVES camera probes pick off stars in the outer annulus of the corrected field, providing simultaneous guiding and wavefront sensing for telescope operations. The instrument cube supports 5 co-mounted instruments with rapid feed selection via deployable fold mirrors. The corrected beam passes through a dual filter wheel before imaging with the 6K x 6K single CCD of the Large Monolithic Imager (LMI). We describe key development strategies for the DCT Cassegrain instrument assembly and GWAVES, including construction of a prime focus test assembly with wavefront sensor utilized in fall 2011 to begin characterization of the DCT primary mirror support. We also report on 2012 on-sky test results of wavefront sensing, guiding, and imaging with the integrated Cassegrain cube.


Human infections with the tissue nematode Onchocerca volvulus result in a variety of clinical conditions that possibly include protective immunity. In a West African area hyperendemic for human onchocerciasis, 120 residents were classified according to clinical and laboratory findings as presenting with generalized onchocerciasis, localized onchocerciasis, or as being putatively immune. The three groups differed in the distribution of HLA-D variants as determined by DNA typing. The most pronounced differences were found among alleles of the DQ loci. The haplotype DQA1*0501-DQB1*0301 was significantly more frequent among putatively immune individuals than among patients with generalized or localized disease. Conversely, DQA1*0101-DQB1*0501 and, independently, the allele DQB1*0201 were more frequent in generalized disease than in localized disease or putative immunity. In these correlations, the frequencies of allelic variants were in localized disease intermediate to those of the two other groups. The only distinct association found with localized disease was that of the DP allele DPB1*0402. The findings indicate that HLA-D variants influence the course of O. volvulus infection and help to define a state that may reflect protective immunity.


Effects of changes in body composition during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) on perioperative complications and prognosis are unknown in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). A total of 175 patients who underwent surgery for ESCC in our hospital between 2016 and 2019 were examined. The psoas muscle index (PMI) was calculated from the total psoas muscle area, and the visceral fat mass (VFM) at the umbilical level was measured. We defined body composition change (BCC) group as those with increased VFM of ≥ 3% and decreased PMI of ≥ 3% during NAC. Sarcopenia (S) was defined as PMI < 5.89 (male) and <4.06 (female). Nutritional assessment using the Subjective Global Assessment tool was performed upon admission. The percentages of BCC group, pre-NAC S, and post-NAC S was 32.5%, 79.4%, and 80.0%, respectively. BCC group had significantly more postoperative complications (p < 0.01) and longer hospital stays (p = 0.03) than groups pre-NAC S and post-NAC S. Overall survival (OS) analysis using the Cox hazard model showed that stage III (p < 0.01) and post-NAC S (p = 0.03) were poor prognostic factors. Changes in body composition during NAC affected perioperative complications and prognosis of patients with ESCC.


Abstract Objective. The Reflux Symptom Questionnaire 7-day recall (RESQ-7) was developed, in line with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines, to address the need for a patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument assessing symptoms specifically in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) who are only partially responsive to proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy. Materials and methods. The RESQ-7 was constructed using patient interviews and expert consensus. The instrument was psychometrically validated in a clinical trial setting in patients with persistent GERD symptoms despite PPI therapy. Results. Evaluation of content validity yielded a 13-item structure for the RESQ-7, incorporating symptoms overlooked by existing GERD questionnaires, such as hoarseness, cough, difficulty swallowing and burping. Principal component analysis suggested a four-domain structure. All domains had a high inter-item correlation (Cronbach's α lower 95% confidence limits: 0.77–0.87 for intensity; 0.72–0.82 for frequency). Test–retest reliability was fair-to-good or excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient lower 95% confidence limits: 0.70–0.78 for intensity; 0.65–0.75 for frequency). Convergent and discriminant validity were confirmed by correlation comparisons with the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale. Discussion. The RESQ-7 demonstrated good content validity and psychometric properties in patients with GERD and a partial response to PPIs. The weekly recall makes the RESQ-7 appropriate for use in routine clinical care. The authors believe that it is the first instrument to be developed specifically for patients with a partial response to PPI therapy in line with FDA guidelines on PROs (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00703534).


This article addresses a challenging industrial problem known as the unrelated parallel machine scheduling problem (UPMSP) with sequence-dependent setup times. In UPMSP, we have a set of machines and a group of jobs. The goal is to find the optimal way to schedule jobs for execution by one of the several available machines. UPMSP has been classified as an NP-hard optimisation problem and, thus, cannot be solved by exact methods. Meta-heuristic algorithms are commonly used to find sub-optimal solutions. However, large-scale UPMSP instances pose a significant challenge to meta-heuristic algorithms. To effectively solve a large-scale UPMSP, this article introduces a two-stage evolutionary variable neighbourhood search (EVNS) methodology. The proposed EVNS integrates a variable neighbourhood search algorithm and an evolutionary descent framework in an adaptive manner. The proposed evolutionary framework is employed in the first stage. It uses a mix of crossover and mutation operators to generate diverse solutions. In the second stage, we propose an adaptive variable neighbourhood search to exploit the area around the solutions generated in the first stage. A dynamic strategy is developed to determine the switching time between these two stages. To guide the search towards promising areas, a diversity-based fitness function is proposed to explore different locations in the search landscape. We demonstrate the competitiveness of the proposed EVNS by presenting the computational results and comparisons on the 1640 UPMSP benchmark instances, which have been commonly used in the literature. The experiment results show that our EVNS obtains better results than the compared algorithms on several UPMSP instances.


We present a systematic study of electron-impact direct total ionization cross sections and associated spin asymmetries of lithium-like targets, Li, ..., O5+, calculated using the convergent close-coupling (CCC) method. For these targets we believe that the CCC method yields very accurate total ionization cross sections below the autoionization threshold. Agreement with experiment is found to be quite varied; and is satisfactory only for the Li, N4+ and O5+ targets. The ionization spin asymmetries become more substantial at high energies as the ionic charge increases, and are still significant at 1 keV for the e-O5+ ionization system.


3D technology began as a life-savior for the movie industry but nowadays it is also available on mobile phones, television, internet, and in museums' exhibitions as well. With the help of this technology the museums' artifacts and scientific projects can now be displayed for the visitors in a highly spectacular way, which not only educates, but also entertains the visitors. In spring 2011 The Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest started a comprehensive program ( Budapest Mummy Project ) for the interdisciplinary research of four mummified remains from the Egyptian Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. Beside Egyptological studies, the program also covered researches based on natural science and medical diagnostic techniques, such as CT-scanning, and also anthropological, chemical, and radiocarbon analyses. One particular question has interested people for a long time: what kind of secrets do the Ancient Egyptian mummies hide? With the help of modern medical diagnostic techniques it is already possible for the researchers to look inside these mysterious human remains and study their inner details without damaging the extremely fragile relics. However, the experiencing of science should not be the privilege of researchers any more. The development of stereo 3D technology opened a new perspective for museum visitors to experience the adventure of scientific discoveries the same way as if they were personally participating, for example, in a modern mummy research project! Along with the scientific study on the mummified bodies a complex 3D visualization and 3D content developing program has been built up to digitize the ancient artifacts and the scientific researches, and interactively explore them in 3D. The first step in the 3D visualization of the mummy project was the 3D digitization of the mummies themselves and their original coffins by using a white light scanning system. The process leaves the original artifacts unharmed, while it creates high-definition and equivalently realistic (color-proof) models. Moreover, the skeletons of the mummies were rendered in 3D models by using CT-scans. These models, with an excellent raw data quality, could be easily reconstructed, enlarged, zoomed, put into context, and provided with further backgrounds or explanations. The 3D raw data set on the Budapest mummies was rendered in stereo 3D format and placed into a virtual laboratory context (similar to the context of the original researches) for displaying the course and methods of the mummy researches and their results. At the end of this complex edutainment program a 10 minute stereo 3D film (The virtual journey into the mysterious world of Egyptian mummies ) was made, which complemented the "traditional" temporary exhibition ( Mummies uncovered ) in a separated 100 m 2 hall with a 80-seat theater in the Museum of Fine Art, Budapest.


Three-pulse photon echo peak shift measurements were performed on semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes embedded in polymer matrix at room temperature. Simultaneous modeling of the peak shift data in the limit of zero-intensity and the linear absorption spectrum enable us to extract an intrinsic homogeneous line width of 178 cm(-1), an inhomogeneous width of 698 cm(-1), and a Huang-Rhys factor of 0.04 for the radial breathing mode vibration. The peak shift data when combined with two-pulse photon echo and pump-probe measurements allows us to determine a pure exciton dephasing time scale of 78 fs at room temperature.


The effect of cortisone (5 mg/animal i.p. on day 5 after birth) on the development of adult-type permeability characteristics in the lung was investigated in rats 6-18 days of age. In both treated and control rats, the lipid-soluble drug procainamide was absorbed at similar rates in all age groups. In contrast, in cortisone-treated animals, pulmonary absorption rates for the lipid-insoluble compounds mannitol and p-aminohippuric acid declined to adult levels at the age of 6 days, which was 12 days earlier than in controls. Cortisone treatment thus accelerates development of adult permeability characteristics in the pulmonary epithelium.


A ship engine operator should compensate the crankshaft assembly of ship engine after inspecting crankshaft deflection error in the crank throw regularly to avoid engine vibration and abrasions. In the previous method, the operator enters the bed plate and measures crankshaft deflection using dial gauge on rotating crankshaft manually. However, this method can cause dangerous situation to the operator as well as uncomfortable in an inferior environment. In order to solve the problems, this paper studies the method which makes the operator measure the error outside of the bed plate. In this paper, it is suggested that BlueTooth wireless communication transfers the error data to the outer standing operator with digitalized crankshaft deflection inspection device developed in this paper. So, the wireless measurement system is developed and applied to a medium-speed marine engine through size-miniaturization. After applying test, the developed inspection device showed that it provides much safe and ease inspection method. Furthermore, in the result, the measuring accuracy is more improved.


The first-generation precursors producing adult-born neurons in the crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) brain reside in a specialized niche located on the ventral surface of the brain. In the present work, we have explored the organization and ultrastructure of this neurogenic niche, using light-level, confocal and electron microscopic approaches. Our goals were to define characteristics of the niche microenvironment, examine the morphological relationships between the niche and the vasculature and observe specializations at the boundary between the vascular cavity located centrally in the niche. Our results show that the niche is almost fully encapsulated by blood vessels, and that cells in the vasculature come into contact with the niche. This analysis also characterizes the ultrastructure of the cell types in the niche. The Type I niche cells are by far the most numerous, and are the only cell type present superficially in the most ventral cell layers of the niche. More dorsally, Type I cells are intermingled with Types II, III and IV cells, which are observed far less frequently. Type I cells have microvilli on their apical cell surfaces facing the vascular cavity, as well as junctional complexes between adjacent cells, suggesting a role in regulating transport from the blood into the niche cells. These studies demonstrate a close relationship between the neurogenic niche and vascular system in P. clarkii. Furthermore, the specializations of niche cells contacting the vascular cavity are also typical of the interface between the blood/cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-brain barriers of vertebrates, including cells of the subventricular zone (SVZ) producing new olfactory interneurons in mammals. These data indicate that tissues involved in producing adult-born neurons in the crayfish brain use strategies that may reflect fundamental mechanisms preserved in an evolutionarily broad range of species, as proposed previously. The studies described here extend our understanding of neurovascular relationships in the brain of P. clarkii by characterizing the organization and ultrastructure of the neurogenic niche and associated vascular tissues.


Long-term ligand activation of PPARα in mice causes hepatocarcinogenesis through a mechanism that requires functional PPARα. However, hepatocarcinogenesis is diminished in both Ppara-null and PPARA-humanized mice, yet both lines develop age-related liver cancer independently of treatment with a PPARα agonist. Since PPARα is a master regulator of liver lipid metabolism in the liver, lipidomic analyses were carried out in wild-type, Ppara-null, and PPARA-humanized mice treated with and without the potent agonist GW7647. The levels of hepatic linoleic acid in Ppara-null and PPARA-humanized mice were markedly higher compared to wild-type controls, along with overall fatty liver. The number of liver CD4+ T cells was also lower in Ppara-null and PPARA-humanized mice and was negatively correlated with the elevated linoleic acid. Moreover, more senescent hepatocytes and lower serum TNFα and IFNγ levels were observed in Ppara-null and PPARA-humanized mice with age. These studies suggest a new role for PPARα in age-associated hepatocarcinogenesis due to altered lipid metabolism in Ppara-null and PPARA-humanized mice and the accumulation of linoleic acid as part of an overall fatty liver that is associated with loss of CD4+ T cells in the liver in both transgenic models. Since fatty liver is a known causal risk factor for liver cancer, Ppara-null and PPARA-humanized mice are valuable models for examining the mechanisms of PPARα and age-dependent hepatocarcinogenesis.


Abstract Background. Hepatitis C is a major cause of mortality among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, yet hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment uptake has historically been low. Although the removal of interferon removes a major barrier to HCV treatment uptake, oral therapies alone may not fully eliminate barriers in this population. Methods. Within the Johns Hopkins Hospital HIV cohort, a nested case-control study was conducted to identify cases, defined as patients initiating HCV treatment between January 1996 and 2013, and controls, which were selected using incidence density sampling (3:1 ratio). Controls were matched to cases on date of enrollment. Conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate factors associated with HCV treatment initiation. Results. Among 208 treated cases and 624 untreated controls, the presence of advanced fibrosis (odds ratio [OR], 2.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26–3.95), recent active drug use (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.19–0.69), and non-black race (OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.26–3.20) were independently associated with initiation of HCV therapy. An increasing proportion of missed visits was also independently associated with lower odds of HCV treatment (25%–49% missed visits [OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.27–0.91] and ≥50% missed visits [OR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.12–0.48]). Conclusions. Interferon-free treatments may not be sufficient to fully overcome barriers to HCV care in HIV-infected patients. Interventions to increase engagement in care for HIV and substance use are needed to expand HCV treatment uptake.


The administration of adrenal steroids to animals and human subjects on diets containing sodium but little or no potassium is followed by alterations in cellular composition characterized by a loss of potassium which is partially replaced by sodium and the supervention in the extracellular fluid of a metabolic alkalosis.' The experiments have been performed principally in rats where the sodium salt used has usually been sodium chloride and the adrenal steroid 11-desoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA). The present study of the influence of adrenal steroids on the electrolyte composition of plasma and skeletal muscle was undertaken for the following purposes: (i) to examine the effects of adrenal steroids during fairly complete sodium deprivation; (ii) to determine the influence of the administration of different sodium salts; and (iii) to compare the effect of different adrenal steroids on the pathogenesis of potassium deficiency and alkalosis in the rat.


Rhododendron pulchrum Sweet is a famous ornamental flower in China. In December 2020, a leaf spot disease was observed on cv. Maojuan in Zhanjiang (21.17 N, 110.18 E), Guangdong, China. The spots were irregular and distributed on both sides of the main vein. They were dark to black, and their borders were obvious. The coalescence of the spots eventually led to leaf wilt. The disease incidence was 100% (n = 100, about 50 ha ). Thirty infected leaves were collected from the field, and the margin of the diseased tissues was cut into 2 mm × 2 mm pieces. Samples were surface disinfected with 75% ethanol and 2% sodium hypochlorite for 30 and 60 s, respectively. They were rinsed thrice with sterile water before isolation. The tissues were plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium and incubated at 28 ℃. After 5 days, fungal colonies appeared on the PDA. Pure cultures were produced by transferring hyphal tips to new PDA plates. Three isolates (RSP-1, RSP-2, and RSP-3) were obtained and the colonies of isolates were preserved in glycerol (15%) at -80 °C deposited at the Museum of Guangdong Ocean University. The morphology of these three isolates was consistent, and their sequences showed 100% homology according to ITS, TEF1, and ACT analysis results. The colonies grew to approximately 5 cm in diameter after 10 days. They showed olive green with off-white aerial mycelia. Stromata and conidia were observed on leaf lesions. Stromata were olivaceous brown. Conidia were solitary, cylindrical to narrowly obclavate, mildly curved, obtuse to rounded at the apex, and 1- to 3-septate; they had dimensions of 20 to 60 × 2.0 to 3.0 μm (n = 30). These morphological characteristics were not different from the description of Pseudocercospora rhododendricola (J.M. Yen) Deighton (Liu et al. 1998). For molecular identification, the colony PCR method with MightyAmp DNA Polymerase (Takara-Bio, Dalian, China) (Lu et al. 2012) was used to amplify the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-α gene (TEF1), and actin (ACT) loci of the isolates using primer pairs ITS4/ITS5, EF1/EF2, and ACT-512F/ACT-783R, respectively (White et al., 1990; O'Donnell et al. 1997). The sequences of the isolate RSP-1 were deposited in the GenBank (ITS, MW629798; TEF1, MW654168; and ACT, MW654170). BLAST analysis showed that the sequences of P. rhododendricola were submitted to GenBank for the first time by the author of this paper. A phylogenetic tree was generated based on the concatenated data of ITS, TEF1, and ACT sequences from GenBank by the Maximum Likelihood method. The isolates were closest to Pseudocercospora sp. CPC 14711 (Crous et al., 2013). Phylogenetic and morphological analyses identified the isolates as P. rhododendricola. Pathogenicity tests were conducted in a greenhouse at 24 °C-30 ℃ with 80% relative humidity. Healthy cv. Maojuan were grown in pots. Unwounded leaflets were inoculated with 5 mm-diameter mycelial plugs of the isolates or agar plugs (as control) (5 leaflets per plant, 3 plants, 2-month-old plants). The test was performed thrice. Disease symptoms were found on the leaves after 2 weeks, whereas the control plants remained healthy. The fungus was re-isolated from the infected leaves and confirmed as the same isolates by morphological and ITS analyses. P. rhododendricola was the cause of leaf spot of Rhododendron sp. from Singapore (Liu et al., 1998). For the first time, this pathogen was identified by combining phylogenetic and morphological analyses. The sequences in this study would be used as the reference sequences for further studies.


We present a model for the description of the magnetostatic interaction between two glass-coated amorphous microwires with positive magnetostriction. We report the results of dipolar field calculations based on this model as well as results of measurements on microwires with their ends separated. We also calculated the switching field variation with fluctuations in microwire dimensions. Experimental results show an insignificant dipolar interaction between two microwires placed next to each other, provided that their ends are bent and separated at a certain distance. Calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental ones.


Over the last two decades sustainability strategies and programmes have assumed an increasingly high profile within the leading companies in the service industries. However, the Covid‐19 (Coronavirus) poses a major challenge to the majority of companies within these industries and may reduce their commitment to sustainable development. At the same time, a counter argument holds that a continuing commitment to sustainability will be vitally important in maintaining the relationships between the service industries and the natural and social capital on which many of them depend. This commentary paper explores sustainability within the retail and hospitality industries through the lens of the COVID‐19 crisis. The paper provides an outline of the COVID‐19 crisis and of its impact within the retail and hospitality industries and explores some of the relationships between COVID‐19 and sustainability.


Objectives: To provide a concise review of data and literature pertaining to the etiologies of conflict in the ICU, as well as current approaches to conflict management. Data Sources: Detailed search strategy using PubMed and OVID Medline for English language articles describing conflict in the ICU as well as prevention and management strategies. Study Selection: Descriptive and interventional studies addressing conflict, bioethics, clinical ethics consultation, palliative care medicine, conflict management, and conflict mediation in critical care. Data Extraction: Relevant descriptions or studies were reviewed, and the following aspects of each manuscript were identified, abstracted, and analyzed: setting, study population, aims, methods, results, and relevant implications for critical care practice and training. Data Synthesis: Conflict frequently erupts in the ICU between patients and families and care teams, as well as within and between care teams. Conflict engenders a host of untoward consequences for patients, families, clinicians, and facilities rendering abrogating conflict a key priority for all. Conflict etiologies are diverse but understood in terms of a framework of triggers. Identifying and de-escalating conflict before it become intractable is a preferred approach. Approaches to conflict management include utilizing clinical ethics consultation, and palliative care medicine clinicians. Conflict Management is a new technique that all ICU clinicians may use to identify and manage conflict. Entrenched conflict appears to benefit from Bioethics Mediation, an approach that uses a neutral, unaligned mediator to guide parties to a mutually acceptable resolution. Conclusions: Conflict commonly occurs in the ICU around difficult and complex decision-making. Patients, families, clinicians, and institutions suffer undesirable consequences resulting from conflict, establishing conflict prevention and resolution as key priorities. A variety of approaches may successfully identify, manage, and prevent conflict including techniques that are utilizable by all team members in support of clinical excellence.


This article reexamines the well-known debate over the origins of de jure segregation in the American South, which began in 1955 with the publication of C. Vann Woodward's The Strange Career of Jim Crow. Arguing that the debate over Woodward's thesis implicates familar but outmoded ways of looking at sociolegal change and Southern society, the article proposes a reorientation of this debate using theoretical perspectives taken from recent work by legal historians, critical race theorists, and historians of race, class, and gender. This article examines the advent of railroad segregation in Tennessee (the state that enacted the nation's first railroad segregation statute) in order to sketch out these themes, arguing that de jure segregation was brought about by a dialectic between legal, social, and identity-based phenomena. This dialectic did not die out with the coming of de jure segregation; rather it continued into the modern era.


The very low sliding friction at natural synovial joints, which have friction coefficients of μ < 0.002 at pressures up to 5 megapascals or more, has to date not been attained in any human-made joints or between model surfaces in aqueous environments. We found that surfaces in water bearing polyzwitterionic brushes that were polymerized directly from the surface can have μ values as low as 0.0004 at pressures as high as 7.5 megapascals. This extreme lubrication is attributed primarily to the strong hydration of the phosphorylcholine-like monomers that make up the robustly attached brushes, and may have relevance to a wide range of human-made aqueous lubrication situations.


The Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) is a conserved chromatin-remodelling complex that catalyses the trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3), a mark associated with gene silencing. PRC2 regulates chromatin structure and gene expression during organismal and tissue development and tissue homeostasis in the adult. PRC2 core subunits are associated with various accessory proteins that modulate its function and recruitment to target genes. The multimeric composition of accessory proteins results in two distinct variant complexes of PRC2, PRC2.1 and PRC2.2. Metal response element-binding transcription factor 2 (MTF2) is one of the Polycomb-like proteins (PCLs) that forms the PRC2.1 complex. MTF2 is highly conserved, and as an accessory subunit of PRC2, it has important roles in embryonic stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, development, and cancer progression. Here, we review the impact of MTF2 in PRC2 complex assembly, catalytic activity, and spatiotemporal function. The emerging paradoxical evidence suggesting that MTF2 has divergent roles as either a tumour suppressor or an oncogene in different tissues merits further investigations. Altogether, our review illuminates the context-dependent roles of MTF2 in Polycomb group (PcG) protein-mediated epigenetic regulation. Its impact on disease paves the way for a deeper understanding of epigenetic regulation and novel therapeutic strategies.


Current nominal systems for safely manipulating values with names, like Pure FreshML, only support simple binding structures for those names. As a result, few tools exist to safely manipulate code in those languages for which name problems are the most challenging. We address this by applying those nominal techniques to a richer specification system, inspired by attribute grammars. Our system has the expressive power of David Herman's λm, but is a full-fledged programming system for any kind of metaprogramming. We demonstrate our system first by implementing it in a core calculus we call Romeo, and which we prove takes α-equivalent inputs to α-equivalent outputs. Then we use the same mechanics in PLT Redex to provide similar safety guarantees in that context, and demonstrate the ease of retrofitting existing Redex models to take advantage of our binding specifications.


Isoprene is a volatile compound emitted from leaves of many plant species in large quantities, which has an impact on atmospheric chemistry due to its massive global emission rate (5 x 10(14) carbon g year(-1)) and its high reactivity with the OH radical, resulting in an increase in the half-life of methane. Isoprene emission is strongly induced by the increase in isoprene synthase activity in plastids at high temperature in the day time, which is regulated at its gene expression level in leaves, while the physiological meaning of isoprene emission for plants has not been clearly demonstrated. In this study, we have functionally overexpressed Populus alba isoprene synthase in Arabidopsis to observe isoprene emission from transgenic plants. A striking difference was observed when both transgenic and wild-type plants were treated with heat at 60 degrees C for 2.5 h, i.e. transformants revealed clear heat tolerance compared with the wild type. High isoprene emission and a decrease in the leaf surface temperature were observed in transgenic plants under heat stress treatment. In contrast, neither strong light nor drought treatments showed an apparent difference. These data suggest that isoprene emission plays a crucial role in a heat protection mechanism in plants.


Background Chromosomal microarray testing (CMA) is utilised in prenatal diagnosis to detect chromosomal abnormalities not visible by full, conventional karyotyping. We present our prospective cohort of women undergoing fetal microarray and karyotyping for an abnormal prenatal ultrasound scan (USS). This cohort is presented in the context of a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature (until December 2012) which defines overall detection rates by microarray over karyotyping. Systematic review methods: MEDLINE (1970–June 2012), EMBASE (1980–June 2012), Cinhal (1982–June 2012) were searched electronically. Selected studies had >5 cases and microarray testing was performed prenatally in addition to karyotyping. The search yielded 559 citations. Full manuscripts were retrieved for 85 and 24 primary studies were included in the systematic review. Cohort Methods A prospective cohort study of 243 women undergoing microarray testing alongside karyotyping when a structural abnormality was detected on prenatal USS. Results When clinical indication for testing was abnormal fetal USS our cohort study noted a 4.1% increase in detection rate; lower than the rate of 10.1% (95% CI 8.0–12.7%) by meta-analysis. When any clinical indication for prenatal microarray was meta-analysed the detection rate over karyotyping was 5.6% (95%CI 3.0–10.6%) and the variant of unknown significance (VOUS) rate was 1.4% (95%CI 0.5–3.7%). Conclusion Chromosomal microarray is useful prenatally particularly for an abnormal fetal USS. Prospective counselling should include the approximate VOUS rate (1.4% rising to 2.1% for abnormal USS). It is likely that microarray testing will replace karyotyping in high risk pregnancies (such as abnormal USS).


[reaction: see text] Coupling of a variety of substituted aryl bromides with oxazolidinones has been achieved using the Buchwald protocol for the amidation of aryl halides. This procedure is exemplified by the synthesis of two medicinally important molecules, linezolid and toloxatone.


The third edition of "Process Systems Analysis and Control" retains the excellent style for which this book is well known: short, clearly written chapters. The book is an ideal teaching and learning tool for a semester-long undergraduate chemical engineering course in process dynamics and control. It avoids the encyclopedic approach that many texts on this topic fall into. The third edition is updated to include new topics, including model predictive control and digital control, that are introduced at a level appropriate for the undergraduate chemical engineering curriculum. Computer examples using MATLAB and Simulink have been introduced throughout the book to supplement and enhance standard hand-solved examples. These packages allow the easy construction of block diagrams and quick analysis of control concepts to enable the student to explore "what-if" type problems that would be much more difficult and time consuming by hand. Many new homework problems have been added to each chapter. The new problems are a mixture of hand-solved and computer exercises. One-page capsule summaries have been added to the end of each chapter to help students review and study the most important concepts in each chapter.


The synthesis of intramolecularly crosslinked polystyrene molecules has bee nachieved by controlled chlormethylation of anionic polystyrene. The chlormethyl groups were reacted with n-butylamine and the secondary amine derivative thus produced was crosslinked by reaction with a diisocyanate in dilute solution. Samples were prepared containing a selected number of crosslinks in the range 5 to 150 per polymer molecule. The materials were completely soluble. The number of crosslinks in each sample was determined by quantitative infrared studies.


Chorea is brief, quasi-purposeful, irregular muscle contractions, not repetitive or rhythmic, but flows from one muscle to the next and athetosis is slow, writhing, continuous, worm-like movements of distal extremities (chiefly the fingers) which show bizarre positioning without posturing. Metabolic causes have been documented earlier, note worthy of that being Diabetes. Choreoathetosis has been reported earlier in diabetes mostly in an elderly female, diagnosed most often by Brain MRI. We report a case of hemichoreoathetosis in a male diabetic, whose involuntary movement completely resolved with glycemic control and diagnosis was easily confirmed with just a Brain CT.


Abstract:ABSTRACTAt the time of its creation, ca. 610 B.C., the roof of the Temple of Hera at Mon Repos was the most ambitious project of its kind yet attempted. On the basis of excavation records and a new analysis of the fragments, the author restores the monumental architectural terracottas to a single roof of this Archaic temple, rather than to separate subphases or buildings. The reconstruction drawings reveal a hybrid gabled system that incorporates features of hipped roofs, resulting in a proto-pedimental space at the front. Drawing broadly from other Mediterranean styles, the artisans also developed techniques for replicating large and brightly painted lions, gorgoneia, and Daedalic maidens.


Destructive results of natural disasters like the earthquake in Japan are not subject to control. Fukushima catastrophe has shown that for now, robots do not have human capabilities when it comes to search and rescue. At time of writing this paper a robotics competition takes place whose goal is promoting research on issues related to operation of robots in a human's environment. This so in future, disasters like Fukushima's catastrophe would be handled better by robots. In this paper we present the perspective of the dexterity group that worked as part of the Israeli team "ROBIL". The team participated in DARPA's Virtual Robotic Challenge (VRC), a competition where teams competing for the best score. The competition was performed on a cloud-based simulator that monitored the physical behaviors of a humanoid in an unknown simulated environment. A detailed description of dexterity modules like motion planning and grasping will be presented with regard to theory and implementation using ROS nodes framework. In addition we present the integration between modules of the dexterity and vision workgroups. The integration was conducted by creating a common language within the workgroups defining the motion of objects in space. Finally we discuss the results and conclusions we drew from the dexterity implementation and integration during the three main project phases: planning, qualification and competition.


A platform capable of integrating variable molecular recognition moieties, having tunable function and regenerable/reusable ability has been developed to build bio-functional surfaces. More specifically, mannose and biotin-modified β-CD were incorporated into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-1-adamantan-1-ylmethyl acrylate) [poly(NIPAAm-co-Ada)] surfaces by host–guest interactions to investigate their specific interaction with ConA and avidin, respectively. The surfaces have showed thermoresponsively tunable recognition for specific proteins, while showing resistance to nonspecific protein adsorption. By varying the Ada content, the regulation of specific protein adsorption in different temperature ranges could be achieved. The poly(NIPAAm-co-Ada) surfaces can be easily regenerated and reused for bio-functionalization.


We have designed and fabricated 2-D giant magnetoresistance spin-valve sensors on the basis of exchange-biased NiFe-CoFe/Cu/CoFe/IrMn nanolayers in monolithic integration for high-sensitivity compass applications. For a maximum signal-to-noise ratio, we have realized a focused double full-bridge layout with an antiparallel alignment of the pinned layer magnetization for neighboring meanders. This precise alignment is achieved with microscopic resolution by laser heating and subsequent in-field cooling. Striving for high-signal sensitivity and low hysteresis, we study in detail how the geometry of the constituent single meanders influences their magnetic structure and the resulting electronic transport properties. The investigated geometrical parameters include stripe width, stripe length, U-turn material, and total meander length. Moreover, the influence of the relative alignment between reference magnetization and shape anisotropy is studied. We compare our experimental results to the predictions of tailored micromagnetic simulations. Applying the best-suited meander geometry, we demonstrate how the developed 2-D sensor may be readily employed to determine the direction of small magnetic fields, such as that of the Earth, as a 2-D vector with high spatial (~1mm) and temporal (~1ms) resolution.


The European-based proportionality doctrine seems to be in vogue in American constitutional scholarship. Recently, the Harvard Law Review has devoted its Foreword by Jamal Greene, to this doctrine. In a provocative and bold article, titled "Rights as Trumps?," Greene argued that proportionality analysis should be openly adopted in the United States as a more sophisticated and up-to-date doctrine than the rights-as-trumps categorical approach. Current constitutional adjudication, he contended, requires a nuanced and factually based analysis of the sort afforded by proportionality. We argue, contrary to this argument, that proportionality may not be the best doctrinal candidate in the United States, taking into consideration the populist shift in the United States. We wish to make a more general point about the use of proportionality in the new global age of populism. The rise of populism, and the increasing signs of democratic backsliding across the globe, require the employment of a more categorical approach that better serves the purpose of red lining and enhances the democratic process.


ABSTRACT The Public–Private–People partnership (4P) is a significant element in disaster response. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic has been the worst disaster in the last decades in Iran in terms of exposure and magnitude. In order to respond effectively, the Iranian Government needs an extra capacity, which may be provided by the private sector and people. This study aims to collect evidences of 4P pertaining to the COVID-19 response in Iran from February to April 2020. Partnership case studies are classified into 3 categories: (1) Public–private partnerships; (2) public–people partnerships; and (3) private–people partnerships. It was found that the Iranian Government has removed or diminished some of the barriers to cooperation. There was also more cooperation between the people, the private sector, and the public sector than during normal times (vs disasters). People participated in the response procedure through some associations or groups, such as religious and ethnic communities, as well as through non-governmental organizations. It has been shown that 4P is vital in disaster response and, in particular, to epidemics. The government can be more active in partnerships with the private sector and people in emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Enhancing social capital, institutionalization, and developing required infrastructures by the government will improve public–private partnerships.


The lifetimes of rubidium atoms in a dark magneto-optical trap are measured at different populations of the 'bright' and 'dark' hyperfine states of captured atoms. It is found that the lifetime of atoms in the trap decreases if they spend more time in the bright state. A simple explanation of this effect is proposed which is based on the increase in the transport cross section for collisions of thermal rubidium atoms surrounding the trap with cold rubidium atoms upon their electronic excitation.


Hand-written address interpretation (HWAI) technology has been recently incorporated into the processing of letter mail by the US Postal Service. The Remote Bar Coding System, which is an image management system for assigning bar codes to mail that has not been fully processed by postal OCR equipment, has been retrofitted with a Remote Computer Reader (RCR), into which the HWAI technology is integrated. A description of the HWAI technology, including its algorithms for the control structure, recognizers and databases, is provided. Its performance on more than a million hand-written mail-pieces in a field deployment of the integrated RCR-HWAI system is indicated. Future enhancements for a nationwide deployment of the system are indicated.


The authors take issue with the practice of cross-testing defined contribution plans, and especially with new comparability plans. Cross-testing offers firms a method for making larger contributions for highly paid employees, so long as they are older than other employees participating in a plan. Variations on cross-testing permit permit some firms to provide lower contribution rates to older rank-and-file employees and to provide high contribution rates to all higher paid employees. Plans using such variations are often referred to as new comparability plans. The authors argue that cross-testing should be rejected, if not universally, prohibited. They contend that weighting benefits for higher paid employees in traditional defined benefit plans can often be justified by various types of risk shifting provided by the defined benefit format. These risks include mortality, investment, and sometimes what the authors refer to as compensation-escalation risk, which is the risk that the employee will not be able to replace an adequate share of pre-retirement income if the employee receives late career compensation increases. Defined contribution plans do not generally offer risk shifting of these types. The authors note that many small defined benefit plans also fail to shift risk of the types described but argue that this does not mean that cross-tested defined contribution plans should therefore be permitted. The authors also note that establishing a small defined benefit plan imposes costs on the employer and thus discourages some employers from adopting them. Moreover, there are other important distinctions between defined benefit and defined contribution plans. In addition, the authors argue that small defined benefit plans should be prohibited where they will not shift risk. The authors suggest that the qualification condition that a plan be permanent would screen out many non-risk shifting small defined benefit plans. The authors also note that permitting a firm to sponsor both a defined benefit plan and a cross-tested defined benefit plan can be viewed as inconsistent with the separate section 415 limits for defined contribution and defined benefit plans. The authors defend the Department of Treasury's regulations limiting new comparability plans but suggest that the regulations do not go far enough in limiting cross-testing. On a more general level, the authors express skepticism that the nondiscrimination rules can bear the weight of the social good they are supposed to promote: retirement savings for lower and middle income people who otherwise would save inadequately for retirement. They thus agree with Professor Zelinsky that some type of safe-harbor approach might result in higher benefits for rank-and-file employees than the current nondiscrimination rules. They suggest a reverse match type of approach, in which the firm would make an initial contribution to the plan, which the employees could then match in some statutorily determined multiple.


We report 2 cases of maculopapular eruption and fever in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on the 2nd day of first administration of ritonavir, a protease inhibitor. In the 1st patient, clinical improvement occurred despite continuation of therapy, and in the 2nd the treatment was stopped with remission and rechallenge resulting in recurrence. Ritonavir should be added to the list of drugs that can induce adverse cutaneous reactions in HIV patients.


Agarwood is the fragrant resin impregnated wood derived from the wounded Aquilaria trees. Agarwood is priceless due to its oleoresin content. Under natural conditions, oleoresin can only be produced by natural wounding such as injury by lightning or wounding by animals. However, the natural process of oleoresin accumulation is a time consuming process. The concept of plantations for Aquilaria trees in combination with artificial agarwood inducement methods serves as an alternative way to supply agarwood and conserve the wild Aquilaria stock. Our study evaluated a novel technique for producing oil grade agarwood in cultivated Aquilaria trees. Aquilaria malaccensis was used for the agarwood inducement study. For A. malaccensis trees treated with this inducement technique, resin was formed and spread throughout the xylem cell from the transfusion point in the trunk. Agarwood yield per tree reached approximately 3-4 kg. Furthermore, the agarwood derived from the induction was found to have a similar quality to the wild agarwood. This indicates that this inducement technology may have commercial potential. Inducement of cultivated agarwood by using this method could satisfy the significant demand for agarwood, while conserving and protecting the remaining wild Aquilaria trees.


Additive manufacturing (AM) technology is gaining enormous popularity in the manufacturing industries. The continuous improvements made in the AM processes features development of 3D metallic prototypes as well as fully functional end-use components. Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is a pre-placed powder bed based technique, in which a thin layer of powder is place over the build tray and the areas need to be sintered are exposed to the laser. In the current work the microstructural and mechanical behavior of Inconel 718 parts produced by DMLS are investigated. As the DMLS produces parts in a layer by layer fashion, the orientation of parts with respect to the build direction is an important criterion. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the produce differs depending upon the orientation. This paper emphasize on the variation of grain sizes and grain orientations developed in the components built with different orientations. Another common issue with the additive manufacturing is the development of the residual stresses in the components arising due to the differential thermal gradients experienced during processing. The variation of the residual stress generated in the produced parts has also been characterized and modeled.


Introduction: The psoas group of muscles belongs to the posterior abdominal wall. The psoas minor is an inconstant, vestigial, fusiform, slender muscle. Researchers have frequently paid attention to the anatomy, morphology, frequency, of this muscle and its clinical, racial, ethnic correlation. Aim: To investigate and study the psoas minor muscle, with regard to its frequency, agenesis, origin, insertion, morphological variations, its embryological basis and clinical significance. Materials and Methods: The present observational study was conducted at Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, between December 2018 to May 2019 in the Department of Anatomy. Nine cadavers were studied during routine dissection of the posterior abdominal wall (three females and six males). The prevalence, morphology, morphometry, laterality, sexual dimorphism for psoas minor muscle was assessed. The mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation of the morphometric parameters were also evaluated. Results: Psoas minor muscle was present in 55.55% (5/9) cadavers. The muscle was bilateral in 22.22% (2/9) cases and unilateral in 33.33% (3/9) cases. In all the cases, the muscle took origin from the T12-L1 vertebra and the intervertebral disc. However, the muscle showed a variation in its distal attachment in one of the cadavers. The muscle was unilateral in both the female cadavers and bilateral in two male cadavers. Conclusion: The prevalence was found to be 55.55%. Knowledge about the incidence of psoas minor muscle is of significant academic interest to anatomists as well as clinicians, for diagnostic purposes (particularly in abdominal pain) and during radiographic imaging.


The phenomenon postactivation potentiation can possibly be used to acutely improve sprint performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of body-loaded half-squats with added whole body vibration (WBV) on subsequent 20 m on-ice sprint performance. Fifteen male ice-hockey players performed four test sessions on separate days and in a randomized order. Two of this test sessions were with WBV and two were with no WBV and the best sprint time was used to determine effectiveness. Each test session included preconditioning 30 s half-squat exercise, two of which were supplemented with 50 Hz WBV at a amplitude of 3 mm. One minute after the cessation of the preconditioning exercise, the 20 m sprint test was performed. Intermediate time was sampled after 10 m. Preconditioning exercise performed with 50 Hz WBV resulted in superior 10 m and 20 m sprint performance compared to preconditioning exercise performed without WBV (1.84 ± 0.10 s vs. 1.89 ± 0.10 s and 3.14 ± 0.13 vs. 3.17 ± 0.13 s, respectively, p ≤ 0.01). There was no difference between the protocols in perceived well-being of the legs before the warm-up or after the warm up (p = 0.3). However, there was an improved well-being in the legs immediately after the preconditioning exercise with WBV (p < 0.05). In conclusion, preconditioning exercise performed with WBV at 50 Hz seems to enhance on-ice sprint performance in ice-hockey players. This suggests that coaches can incorporate such exercise into the preparation to specific sprint training to improve the quality of the training.


Heuristic, parallel, iterative matching algorithms for input-queued cell switches with virtual output queuing require O(log N) iterations to achieve good performance. If the hardware implementation of the number of iterations required is not feasible within the cell duration, the matching process can be pipelined to obtain a matching in every cell time slot. However, existing approaches incur a substantial latency penalty due to the way the pipelining is performed, which renders them unattractive in latency-sensitive applications such as parallel computer interconnects. We introduce a new class of pipelined matching algorithms that can be based on any existing iterative matching algorithm, makes the minimum latency independent of the pipeline depth, and is highly amenable to distributed implementation. Our simulation results confirm that specific instances of this class achieve significantly lower average latency throughout the load range than existing schemes do. We also propose an instantiation of the scheme that, in addition, significantly improves the performance with nonuniform traffic.