Today, large amounts of data are collected in various domains, presenting unprecedented economic and societal opportunities. Yet, at present, the exploitation of these data sets through data science methods is primarily dominated by AI-savvy users. From an inclusive perspective, there is a need for solutions that can democratise data science that can guide non-specialists intuitively to explore data collections and extract knowledge out of them. This paper introduces the vision of a new data science engine, called DS4ALL (Data Science for ALL), that empowers users who are neither computer nor AI experts to perform sophisticated data exploration and analysis tasks. Therefore, DS4ALL is based on a conversational and intuitive approach that insulates users from the complexity of AI algorithms. DS4ALL allows a dialogue-based approach that gives the user greater freedom of expression. It will enable them to communicate using natural language without requiring a high level of expertise on data-driven algorithms. User requests are interpreted and handled internally by the system in an automated manner, providing the user with the required output by masking the complexity of the data science workflow. The system can also collect feedback on the displayed results, leveraging these comments to address personalized data analysis sessions. The benefits of the envisioned system are discussed, and a use case is also presented to describe the innovative aspects.


Remote sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) has played a major role in the study of different types of drought i.e. agricultural or hydrological drought. The present study on agricultural Drought assessment was carried out in the Patan District of North Gujarat, India. This study focuses on the assessment of climate change and its impact on Agriculture using Remote Sensing (RS) and GIS technology. The Landsat-7 TM and Landsat-8 OLI data of February-2002 and February-2018 covering Patan District was analysed for Land use/Land Cover mapping and monitoring changes in agricultural area over the period of 16-years. The Spectral vegetation index namely Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was computed using Landsat-7 TM and Landsat-8 OLI digital data for assessment of changes in agricultural vegetation during the drought and normal monsoon periods. Meteorological data like Minimum & maximum Temperatures and rainfall was collected from State Data Centre. Various Drought indices like Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Potential Evapo-Transpiration (PET) and Aridity Index (AI) were computed using meteorological data of past 16-years. The results indicate that total agricultural vegetation during drought season was only 21.9 per cent (2002) which has increased to 58.7 per cent during the normal monsoon season of 2018. The rainfall deviations were computed for various years and it was observed that high negative rainfall deviations (-40 to -70%) having low rainfall occurrence were associated with negative SPI values ranging from -0.5 to -1.1 in Patan district. These positive rainfall deviations were associated with positive SPI values of 1.08, 0.57 and 0.62 of respective years indicating moderately wet and mildly wet conditions. During drought year of 2002 total precipitation was very less resulting in Aridity Index of 0.09 which is classified as hyper arid for the Patan District.


In present investigation efficacy of AV/FRC/18 (Keetguard Liquid) a polyherbal ectoparasiticidal were assessed against mite infestation in buffalo calves. All the animals were infested with Sarcoptis spp. of mites. Percent efficacy of AV/FRC/18 against mite infestation was recorded and it was found that thrice a week application of 1:20 dilution results in 98% on day 7th post-treatment and maximum period of effectiveness was found 90% up to 30 days post treatment. Lesion scores were also recorded and it was found that on application of AV/FRC/18 thrice a week all the lesions were subsided on day 7th post treatment.


DC resistivity of Yi_jrCapBa2Cui0 7 .̂ and Yi_^axBa2CU't0 7 -^/Ag composite bulk sinter samples has been studied as a function of applied magnetic field and temperature. A pcrcolative current conduction model was utilized to quantily granularity in the bulk in terms of such parameters like the weak link resistivity across grain boundaries, current path lengthening factor arising due to grain misalignment, and due to voids and cracks. Evolution of these parameters with Ag content in the sample indicates improved grain alignment and reduced structural defects (voids and cracks). The resistive broadening by magnetic field has been described by thermally activated flux creep or fluxflow behaviour which is much reduced in Ag composite sample. Hence the grain boundary which has much technical application is improved by Ag addition.


The expression and localization of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in the four parts (tip, upper, mid and base) of the red deer antler has been extensively investigated. We used reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (real time RT-PCR), in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry and Western blot techniques to localize IGF-I messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and IGF-I peptide in the four parts of the antler. The specific sequence encoding IGF-I was detected by RT-PCR in all of the four specimens, and the 395 bp IGF-I sequence from the red deer antler was shown to have very high homology with human, goat and mouse IGF-I. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry results demonstrated that the expression of IGF-I occurred in chondrocytes and osteoblasts in the tip and upper parts of the antler. However, IGF-I was only detectable in osteoblasts around the bone in the mid and base parts. There were significant differences in the intensity of the signal obtained with the IGF-I probe in the tip, upper, mid and base tissues. The Western blot analysis also provided evidence that IGF-I expression was localized differentially in the four parts of the deer antler. This study indicates that antler tissue is an essential part of the IGF system, which is involved in the regulation of the growth of red deer antlers. The specific expression of IGF-I in the four parts of the deer antler suggests that the IGF-I molecule is present at significantly different levels throughout the deer antler development and regeneration processes. Localization of IGF-I in chondrocytes and osteoblasts suggests that IGF-I may play an important role in cartilage and bone formation. In addition, it may have a variety of biophysical effects that influence the rapid growth of deer antlers.


This study investigates the application of Gardner's (1983) theory of multiple intelligences to the counselling of children, particularly young children, who have not developed the language required for more verbally orientated counselling sessions. Specifically this thesis asks: Does Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences have an application to counselling theory, and if so how would this theory impact on counselling practice?
 The implication of applying Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences to counselling is examined through ten case studies. Data was collected over a five month period of reflection on the author's counselling practice. Results are reported in two ways. The first is through a typical case study report. The second is through a narrative that offers a higher level synthesis of the research outcomes.
 The finding of this study heavily supports the use of the theory of multiple intelligences in the counselling of children. The use of each of the seven intelligences proposed by Gardner opens opportunities for clients to raise and explore personal counselling issues. Expression of feelings associated with these issues and the integration of knowledge of self using the seven intelligences, is examined throughout the study.


This paper employs an interdisciplinary ethical analysis to evaluate how global inequality has been addressed by recent so-called "global goal-setting" initiatives. It seeks to contextualize these initiatives within theoretical paradigms of human rights and human development, and to utilize these paradigms in evaluating the successes and shortcomings of the goal-setting initiatives. It concludes that while these initiatives have achieved some success in addressing global inequality, much still remains to be done.


Immunotoxins are conjugates between antibodies especially directed against cancer cells and a subunit of a powerful toxin. We used the A-chain of ricin. These conjugates are specifically cytotoxic when used at very low concentrations in vitro and can destroy more than 99.99% of clonogenic cells. The efficacy of immunotoxins was also demonstrated in vivo but is inferior to its in vitro potency. For this reason the first use of immunotoxins in man can be the cleaning up of bone marrow from leukemic cells in the near future.


Background: First-line treatment of HER2−negative LR/MBC with paclitaxel (T) and bevacizumab (A) has demonstrated improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall response rate (ORR) when compared with T alone (E2100). We determined whether addition of capecitabine (X) to AT is safe and would be better effective than AT in women with HER2−negative LR/MBC. Methods: Eligibility criteria were age ≥18 & ≤75 years, measurable or non-measurable HER2−negative LR/MBC, ECOG PS 0–1 and no prior chemotherapy for LR/MBC. Patients were randomized in 1:1 ratio to receive AT (4-week cycle of T 90 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, 15 and A 10 mg/kg on days 1, 15 for 6 cycles, followed by A 15 mg/kg on day 1 given 3-weekly for subsequent cycles) or ATX (3-week cycle of T 90 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, A 15 mg/kg on day 1 and X 825 mg/m2 bid on days 1–14 for 8 cycles, followed by A 15 mg/kg on day 1 and X 825 mg/m2 bid on days 1–14 given 3-weekly for subsequent cycles). Treatment was discontinued at disease progression, unmanageable toxicity or withdrawal of consent. The primary endpoint was PFS. Secondary endpoints were overall survival, ORR, duration of response and toxicity. Efficacy was evaluated according to RECIST 1.0 and toxicity was assessed according to NCI CTCAE 3.0. Results: From June 2007 till December 2010, 312 patients were recruited at 36 sites. The median age was 56 years (range 32–76). Among all patients, 52% had ECOG 0, 85% were hormone-receptor positive, 86% had measurable disease and 8% had bone-only metastases. These factors were well balanced between both arms. A total of 48% and 33% of patients, respectively, received prior hormonal therapy or radiotherapy for LR/MBC. At the data cut-off of 1st June 2011, the median follow-up duration was 23 months. 311 patients received at least one cycle of treatment and were evaluable for safety. The median number of treatment cycles in AT was 9 and in ATX was 11 (both 33 weeks). An ORR of ≥40% was reached in patients with measurable disease in both groups. The incidence of serious adverse events (SAEs) was 47% and 40% for AT and ATX, respectively, while that of treatment-related SAEs was 12% and 19%, respectively. Treatment-related deaths were 2% for AT and 2% for ATX. The overall rate of AEs grade 3 or 4 was similar in both arms as shown in Table 1, except for hand-foot syndrome grade 3 and neutropenia grade 3 in ATX. In addition, 6 patients with pulmonary embolism were reported in ATX. Conclusions: ATX was well tolerable, although more patients experienced hand-foot syndrome grade 3 and thromboembolic events than patients treated with AT. The efficacy data will be presented at the meeting. Support: This study was supported by Roche. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr PD07-07.


Despite vaccination and antiviral therapies, immunocompromised individuals are at risk for prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the immune defects that predispose to persistent COVID-19 remain incompletely understood. In this study, we performed detailed viro-immunologic analyses of a prospective cohort of participants with COVID-19. The median time to nasal viral RNA and culture clearance in the severe hematologic malignancy/transplant group (S-HT) were 72 and 21 days, respectively, which were significantly longer than clearance rates in the severe autoimmune/B-cell deficient (S-A), non-severe, and non-immunocompromised groups (P<0.001). Participants who were severely immunocompromised had greater SARS-CoV-2 evolution and higher risk of developing antiviral treatment resistance. Both S-HT and S-A participants had diminished SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral, while only the S-HT group had reduced T cell-mediated responses. This highlights the varied risk of persistent COVID-19 across immunosuppressive conditions and suggests that suppression of both B and T cell responses results in the highest contributing risk of persistent infection.


Background

Brucellosis is one of the most well-known and important zoonoses in the world, especially in Iran. Horse milk is a rare and expensive product with high nutrient ingredients in comparison to cow milk. In current study, a total of 164 blood and milk samples were randomly selected from 82 mares in Yazd city, Iran. Rose Bengal test (RBT) and milk ring test (MRT) methods were used as serological methods. A genus-specific PCR test targeting IS711 was performed using the primers ISP1 and ISP2 to identify Brucella. Specific primers were also used to identify Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis at species level and then samples were sequenced. Positive PCR samples were cultured for bacterial isolation.
Results

Based on serological tests in milk and blood samples, no positive case was found. None of the blood samples were positive to identify Brucella genus, but 3 milk samples (3.66%) were positive in PCR assay. All 3 samples were identified as Brucella abortus. However, the microbiological culture of these samples did not lead into isolation of bacteria and no growth was observed. PCR can be applied as a sensitive method for diagnosis of Brucella infection in horses.
Conclusion

As the potential of Brucella infection confirmed by PCR in current study, special considerations should be taken to prevent close contact between horses and natural. Brucella hosts particularly in regions where horse milk is consumed by people. Health authorities should be aware of possible transmission of brucellosis by horse milk consumption which should be considered in control measures.


Synthesis and first structural characterization of hexa coordinated rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complex of 5,20-bis(p-tolyl)-10,15-bis(p-methoxyphenyl)-21-selenaporphyrin 3 are described. The Re(I) complex of 21-selenaporphyrin 3 was synthesized by treating free base 21-selenaporphyrin in 1,2-dichlorobenzene with Re(CO)5Cl at reflux for 7 h and analyzed using mass, NMR, FT-IR, UV-vis and electrochemical techniques. The first structure of metal complex of 21-selenaporphyrin was determined by X-ray single crystal analysis. The crystal structure revealed that the Re(CO)3 coordinates to two of the three inner nitrogens and one selenium to produce compound 3. The selenophene ring bent towards the Re(I) ion and the selenium is displaced by 0.41 Å from the mean plane of 24-atoms to coordinate with Re(I) ion in η(1)-fashion. The 21-selenaporphyrin is distorted in compound 3 compared to free base 21-selenaporphyrin. (1)H and (13)C NMR studies indicated that compound 3 exhibits fluxional behaviour in coordination mode of binding in solution. The compound 3 is highly stable and does not undergo decomplexation under acidic conditions. The absorption spectra showed three broad Q-bands and splitted Soret band and electrochemical studies indicated that compound 3 is stable under redox conditions.


Background and Aims: Endoscopic full-thickness resection (EFTR) is an emerging technique for the treatment of various conditions for which classic endoscopic resection techniques have failed or were considered to be at high risk for perforation. The full-thickness resection device (FTRD) is an over-the-scope system which allows a single-step EFTR. The aim of our study is to describe our experience in EFTR of colorectal lesions using the FTRD. Methods: Nine patients (10 colorectal lesions) were proposed for EFTR. Safety, R0 resection and endoscopic treatment success were evaluated. Results: Reasons for referral included nonlifting adenomas (n = 4), nonlifting adenoma recurrence (n = 5), and submucosal lesion (n = 1). EFTR was technically successful in all patients. The mean duration of the procedure was 55 min. R0 resection was obtained in all patients. No major complications were detected. All lesions were successfully treated by the endoscopic technique and no patient was referred for surgery. In patients with available follow-up (n = 6), no recurrence was detected. Conclusions: EFTR is a feasible, reasonable time-consuming, safe, and promising endoscopic resection technique. Key Messages: FTRD is an additional tool for difficult-to-treat colorectal lesions.


Application of an electric field to the conductive heterogeneous media causes the non-uniform current distribution. The magnetic energy associated to the current distribution can be calculated using a numerical method [1]. Different microstructural configurations of the heterogeneous media cause different current distributions, and hence associate to the different magnetic energies of the electrically discontinuous media. The magnetic energy is a type of free energy.


Sputtering using cluster primary ion beams is very important for the future development of static SIMS and the SIMS depth profiling of organic layers. However, different results from different laboratories may be confusing. Analytical models have an important function for enabling the prediction of behaviour for practical analysis. Sigmund's model for sputtering, often used in surface analysis, is helpful and accurate in the linear cascade regime. However, for cluster sputtering this is no longer the case and spike effects need evaluation. Evidence will be presented of the spike model validity for clusters of up to more than 10 atoms over 3 orders of magnitude in sputtering yield. Using data from one primary ion, extremely good descrip- tions of measurements reported with other primary ions can then be achieved. This theory is then used to evaluate the molecular ion yield behaviour of interest in the static SIMS of organics. This leads to universal dependencies for the de-protonated molecular ion yields, relating all pri- mary ions, both single atom and cluster, which are illustrated by experimental data over 5 decades of emis- sion intensity. This formulation permits the prediction of the (M-H) - secondary ion yield for different, or new, primary ion sources. It is shown how further gains are predicted. For analysing materials, raising the molecular secondary ion yield is extremely helpful but it is the ratio of this yield to the disappearance cross-section (the efficiency) that is critical. The relation of the damage and disappearance cross sections is formulated. Data are evaluated and a description is given to show how these cross sections are related and to provide a further universal relation for the efficiency/yield dependence of all cluster ions.


MIA (melanoma inhibitory activity) has been identified as a small protein secreted from malignant melanoma cells, which interacts with extracellular matrix proteins including fibronectin. Here, we show that MIA negatively regulates the activity of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in malignant melanoma. Using far Western blotting and co-immunoprecipitation we searched for MIA-binding cell surface proteins. We found that MIA interacts with integrin α4β1 and α5β1, leading to down-regulation of integrin activity and reduction of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling. These findings also suggest that MIA may play a role in tumor progression and the spread of malignant melanomas via mediating detachment of cells from extracellular matrix molecules by modulating integrin activity. Inhibiting MIA functions in vivo may therefore provide a novel therapeutic strategy for metastatic melanoma disease.


Many oomycetes are economically important pathogens, causing enormous yield losses in crop plants. Others threaten natural vegetation, while some species can cause harmful diseases in animals. Oomycetes, also known as water molds, are morphologically similar to fungi and also occupy similar environmental niches, but during evolution the two groups evolved independently (Chapter l). They show many differences, in particular at the subcellular level, and this often has consequences for the efficacy of chemical control agents and hence, the efficient control of oomycete disesases. The research described in this thesis is aimed at enhancing our basic knowledge of plant pathogenic oomycetes in the genus Phytophthora and to gain more insight in their remarkable biology. It focusses on two processes, cellular signaling and cytoskeleton dynamics. Uncovering mechanisms that govern these processes may help in designing novel, oomycete-specific control strategies. Cellular signaling is crucial for every living organism. It controls important processes, allows for communication, and enables organisms to respond to environmental cues. Two important eukaryotic signal transduction pathways that are usually interconnected through intermediate signaling components, are G-protein signaling and phospholipid signaling. Oomycetes, however, possess a unique class of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) that have a phosphatidylinositol kinase (PIPK) as an accessory domain pointing to a more direct connection between the two major signaling pathways. When first discov- ered, these so-called GPCR-PIPKs were thought to be restricted to oomycetes. In Chapter 2, we show the sporadic occurrence of these so-called GPCR-PIPKs in a diverse but limited group of unicellular microorganisms, divided over nearly all eukaryotic supergroups. Our analyses revealed that nearly all GPCR-PIPKs contain a unique, conserved motif located in between the GPCR domain and the PIPK domain. GPCR-PIPKs are likely ancestral to eukaryotes and significantly expanded in the last common ancestor of oomycetes. We further identified five hitherto unknown classes of GPCRs with accessory domains, GPCR- bigrams. All classes of GPCR-bigrams are shared by oomycetes, and except for three, some classes are sparsely present in organisms from other taxa. Most accessory domains of GPCR-bigrams are universal players in signal transduction. Our findings point to an an- cestral signaling system in eukaryotic microorganisms where GPCR-mediated sensing is directly linked to downstream responses. In classical G-protein signaling, a GPCR senses extracellular signals and changes confor- mation upon ligand binding, thereby activating the associated heterotrimeric G-protein complex, consisting of a G-protein α (Gα), β (Gβ), and γ (Gγ) subunit. In turn, the acti- vated G-protein complex dissociates from the receptor and its subunits stimulate down- stream effector proteins. In Chapter 3, we investigated the function of the Gγ subunit of Phytophthora infestans. The overall similarity of this Gγ subunit with non-oomycete Gγ subunits is low, but the similarity with its homologs in other oomycetes is high. The Gγ- encoding gene, Pigpg1, is expressed in all life stages and peaks in spores. To elucidate the function of the P. infestans Gγ subunit, we generated Pigpg1-silenced and overexpression transformants and analyzed their phenotypes. However, many transformed lines had severe growth defects and were not viable. The few that could be maintained produced less sporangia, that were malformed. These findings demonstrate that the Gγ subunit has an important role in P. infestans. It is crucial for proper sporangia development, and likely forms a dimer with the P. infestans Gβ subunit, thereby mediating signaling. The microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton is a system of intracellular filaments, that is able to quickly adapt different configurations. This process is regulated by microtubular dynam- ics and MT-associated proteins (MAPs). The MT cytoskeleton has a myriad of roles, for example in processes that provide structural rigidity to cells or allow for polarized cell growth and cell movement. Chapter 4 focuses on the MT cytoskeleton in Phytophthora. Live cell imaging of transgenic Phytophthora palmivora lines carrying an ectopically inte- grated GFP-α-tubulin fusion gene provided insight in the spatio-temporal organization of the MT cytoskeleton in Phytophthora. In addition, we provide an inventory of putative MT-associated proteins in P. infestans. Unique types of the motor proteins dynein and kinesin were found, including some members with accessory domains not found else- where in combination with a motor protein domain. This study provides a basis for future research on MTs and MAPs in Phytophthora and a first glimpse of the dynamics of the MT cytoskeleton in an oomycete. The low rate of homologous recombination in oomycetes makes that transgenes are integrated randomly and until recently genome editing was unattainable. The implemen- tation of a CRISPR/Cas9 system in Phytophthora sojae is a significant asset for the molecular toolbox of oomycetes. So far, genome editing using CRISPR/Cas9 has been successfully applied in only a few Pyhytophthora species. In Chapter 5 we explore the effectuation of CRISPR/Cas9 for targeted genome editing in P. infestans. With the original constructs that were developed for P. sojae, we did not obtain any transformants in which the target gene was mutagenized. In an effort to pinpoint the reason for failure, we tailored the constructs for P. infestans and implemented several modifications in the CRISPR/Cas9 system but without success. We also explored the delivery of pre-assembled ribonucleoprotein com- plexes. We describe an extensive effort in optimization of the system and outline possible causes for failure. In Chapter 6, the main results of this thesis are integrated and discussed. Remarkable features of oomycetes and their cellular signaling systems are outlined. Possible modes of action of GPCR-bigrams are proposed as well as future directions for research on cellular signaling in Phytophthora. More knowledge on the elementary processes addressed in this thesis will expose new strategies for the design of novel, oomycete-specific control agents to mitigate damage caused by these devastating pathogens.


For data services over satellite networks, the efficient management of satellite downlink communication resources is crucial for economic competitiveness of the medium. To support a broad spectrum of users with small terminals at high rates, narrow transmit spotbeams on the satellite will be used. Since satellite transmitter resources are expensive and there can be many spotbeam-coverage cells within the satellite service area, it is attractive to use some form of agile scanning beam system and to time-share these precious resources. An optimized design of the multibeam antenna pattern and scheduling can further improve the efficiency of transmission and power management. In this paper, the advantage of parallel multibeams in terms of spectral efficiency and power gain is shown, and the issue of multibeam power allocation based on traffic demands and channel conditions over satellite downlinks with power and delay constraints is addressed. The study indicates that the use of a parallel multibeam scheme with optimum power allocation can achieve a substantial power gain and reasonable proportional fairness. By coupling power allocation with multibeam scheduling when the number of active beams is smaller than the number of cells, the authors show that a modest number of active parallel beams are sufficient to cover many cells efficiently.


Comparative studies on the intermetallic compound (IMC) formations of nano- and micro-size Sn with Ni and Cu in cold gas dynamic sprayed (CGDS, or Cold Spray) coatings were carried out. High purity pure nano (average 150 nm) and micro (under 45 μm) Sn were selected and prepared as raw materials mixture in order to be sprayed onto Ni and Cu plate-shape substrates. Nano particles of Sn were successfully coated under conventional coating parameters when they are mixed with microsize materials. And thermodynamic predictions regards to compound formation similarly worked out for both nano and micro Sn mixture. However, the kinetics of formation reaction were turned out to be different. In all case, nano particle showed more sluggish behavior. After post-annealing, microsize Sn formed larger amount of IMC with Ni than nanosize Sn although, owing to larger interfacial area, more intensive reactivities were expected. Also, there were significant differences in the size and distribution of eutectic pores as well.


Goals We have for several years been training health personnel to recognize celiac disease, and have advocated serologic screening in risk groups. The aim was to establish whether this approach would offer an alternative to population screening, which has yielded a prevalence of 1% in Finland. Background The number of detected celiac disease cases is much lower than that obtained in serologic screening studies. Study Nationwide recommendations for the detection of celiac disease were published in 1998, and training of health personnel took place in 2001 to 2002. The prevalence of celiac disease was calculated from the national registry of patients receiving reimbursement for dietary costs, attested by physician's statement. In 1 of the 10 statements the diagnostic criteria and clinical manifestations were scrutinized. Results The nationwide prevalence of celiac disease was 0.45%; 0.7% in the highest to 0.3% in the lowest area. The annual number of new patients increased from 5/100,000 in the early 1980s to 20/100,000 today. The percentage of patients found in risk groups (relatives of celiac disease patients, patients with extraintestinal symptoms or concomitant autoimmune disorders) was currently 16.3% in the high and 6.6% in the low prevalence area. Seventeen percent of patients had dermatitis herpetiformis, and its incidence was declining. Conclusions A maximal prevalence of 0.7% of celiac disease was ascertained; educating primary health care staff regarding the protean manifestations of the disease seemed to be the key issue. The increase in incidence implies that a prevalence of 1.0% is possible, rendering population screening unnecessary.


OBJECTIVES
Anti-cancer drugs are harmful to healthy persons. In recent years, occupational exposure to anti-cancer drugs has become a major concern to health care workers. To address this issue, a smear method was developed to measure widely using anti-cancer drugs depositing on the floors, safety cabinet surfaces, and tables in hospital.

METHODS
Ten kinds of widely used anti-cancer drugs, paclitaxel, vincristine, docetaxel, vinorelbine, irinotecan, methotrexate, oxaliplatin, cyclophosphamide, gemcitabine and fluorouracil were collected by smearing material surfaces with methanol impregnated cellulose filter paper and/or polypropylene nonwoven. The collected anti-cancer drugs are extracted in 5 ml of 0.01% (v/v) hydrazine/methanol solution by sonication. The extracted solution was filtered and concentrated to prepare 1ml of sample solution. Then, the anti-cancer drugs in the sample solution were simultaneously measured by LC/MS.

RESULTS
The anti-cancer drugs excepting fluorouracil spread on P-tile surface were measured with recoveries of 37-101% and standard deviations (SD) of 1.8-19%. All 10 of the anti-cancer drugs on a stainless steel plate surface were measured with the recoveries of 35-111% and SD of 1.3-11%.

CONCLUSIONS
Using this smear method, 9 or 10 kinds of widely used anti-cancer drug residues in hospital, possibly exposed to health care workers, were grasped.


[Purpose] This study aimed to determine the relationship between thoracic lateral deviation, the bilateral ratio of the thoracic shape, and the bilateral ratio of the thoracic and lumbar iliocostalis muscles during resting sitting and thoracic lateral translation. [Participants and Methods] We included 23 healthy adult males in the study. The measurement tasks were resting sitting and thoracic lateral translation relative to the pelvis. The thoracic lateral deviation and bilateral ratio of the upper and lower thoracic shapes were measured using three-dimensional motion capture. The bilateral ratio of the thoracic and lumbar iliocostalis muscles were measured using the surface electromyographic recording. [Results] The bilateral ratio of the lower thoracic shape was significantly positively correlated with the thoracic translation distance and the bilateral ratio of the thoracic and iliocostalis muscles. In addition, the bilateral ratio of the thoracic iliocostalis muscles was significantly negatively correlated with the bilateral ratios of the lower thoracic shape and lumbar iliocostalis muscles. [Conclusion] Our findings showed that the asymmetry of the lower thoracic shape is associated with left lateral deviation of the thorax at rest and thoracic translation distance. In addition, the thoracic and lumbar iliocostalis muscle activity differed between the left and right translations.


PurposeThe authors compared the levels of job burden and stress in psychiatry residents with those of other healthcare professionals at inpatient and outpatient psychiatric hospitals in a medium-sized Brazilian city.MethodIn this study, the levels of job burden and stress of 136 healthcare workers and 36 psychiatry residents from six various psychiatric facilities (two day-hospitals, two inpatient units of psychiatric hospitals, and two general hospitals) were evaluated. All participants completed two rating scales for job burden and stress.ResultsPsychiatry residents showed higher job burden and stress than other healthcare workers. There was a negative correlation between the burden scores and age in the sample of employees, but no correlation of burden and age in residents.ConclusionPsychiatric residents in this study suffered higher levels of job burden and stress than other healthcare professionals, suggesting the need for changes in residency programs to deal with this issue.


Purpose of reviewSpondyloarthritis (SpA) is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disease of unknown origin. Here we aim to review whether SpA is driven by T-cell and/or B-cell autoreactivity or by abnormal innate immune responses. Recent findingsSpA does not share genetic risk factors, female predominance, presence of disease-specific autoantibodies and response to T-cell or B-cell-targeted therapies with prototypical autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Growing evidence indicates that increased responsiveness of innate immune cells such as macrophages, mast cells and neutrophils drives inflammation in SpA. The altered innate immune response may be related to nonantigen-presenting functions of HLA-B27, including the induction of an unfolded protein response, and can be triggered by bacterial and mechanical stress. Innate immune cells appear to be the main producers of both pro-inflammatory (tumor necrosis factor, IL-1, IL-23, IL-17) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines in SpA. SummaryThe predominance of myeloid above lymphoid alterations suggests an autoinflammatory rather than autoimmune origin of inflammation in SpA. Therefore, targeting innate cells or their inflammatory mediators may be more effective than T-cell or B-cell-directed therapies.


As a form of provisional arrangement pending delimitation, the delineation of a joint development zone is significantly influenced by the maritime delimitation claims of the states concerned. In this sense, joint development is by no means an easier challenge to be tackled than delimitation. Because China has opted out of the compulsory procedures entailing binding decisions contained in the Law of the Sea Convention for delimitation issues, the only effective recourse available is to resort to negotiations. This means that unless China and Japan are ready to make concessions in their negotiations, no agreement can be reached, either for delimitation or for joint development.


Science communication can be defined as aim-oriented exchange of information about science between related parties and aims to spread science and scientific culture. When science communication is considered at the macro-social level, media plays a significant role in ensuring the communication between scientists, science institutions and society. The functions of media in social communication and the fact that it is the main source of information in accessing science require the examination of science communication activities which carried out through media. This study has focused on science communication activities carried out the media. News that are about the domestic vaccine developed for Covid 19 on Turkey's the most visited internet news sites have been examined by conducting content analysis technique. In the research, it has been aimed to reveal the science communication practices of internet news sites by determining the purposes of science communication and the themes and contents of news. According the findings obtained from research, explanation and information themes are used extensively in science communication news. The aims of informing, legitimizing, forming public opinion and directing to be vaccined have been the most focused science communication purposes. It has also been observed that the aims of science communication and the themes of news differ according to time variable.


The use of alternative/synthetic fuels in jet engines requires improved understanding and prediction of the performance envelopes and emissions characteristics relative to the behavior of conventional fuels. In this study, experiments in a toroidal well-stirred reactor (TWSR) are used to study lean premixed combustion temperature and extinction behavior for several fuels including simple alkanes, synthetic jet fuels, and conventional JP8. A perfectly stirred reactor (PSR) model is used to interpret the observed behavior.The first portion of the study deals with jet fuels and synthetic jet fuels with varying concentrations of added aromatic compounds. Synthetic fuels contain little or no natural aromatic species, so aromatic compounds are added to the fuel because fuel system seals require these species to function properly. The liquid fuels are prevaporized and premixed before being burned in the TWSR. Air flow is held constant to keep the reactor loading roughly constant. Temperature is monitored inside the reactor as the fuel flow rate is slowly lowered until extinction occurs. The extinction point is defined by both its equivalence ratio and temperature. The measured blowout point is very similar for all four synthetic fuels and the baseline JP8 at aromatic concentrations of up to 20% by volume. Since blowout is essentially the same for all the base fuels at low aromatic concentrations, a single fuel was used to test the effect of aromatic concentrations from 0 to 100%. PSR models of these complex fuels show the expected result that behavior diverges from an ideal, perfectly premixed model as the combustion approaches extinction.The second portion of this study deals with lean premixed combustion of simple gaseous alkanes (methane, ethane, and propane) in the same TWSR. These simpler fuels were tested for extinction in a similar manner to the complex fuels, and behavior was characterized similarly. Once again, PSR models show that the TWSR behaves similar to a PSR during stable combustion far from blowout, but as it approaches blowout and becomes less stable a single PSR no longer accurately describes the TWSR.This work is a step towards developing chemical reactor networks (CRNs) based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of the simple gaseous fuels in the TWSR. Ultimately, CRNs are the only realistic way to accurately perform detailed chemical modeling of the combustion of complex liquid fuels.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


The awareness campaign about humanity's drive for the Rohingya community using advertising is the main issue of this topic. This research describes the people awareness in Malaysia against the violence faced by Rohingya. Some donation has been received to help the Rohingya community in Arakan, Myanmar. In this research, the advertising was considered to be used in order to get people's attention. The important of this advertising is to gain sympathy and concern from the public so that the next generation will be following the same footsteps.


Motivation Small-compound databases contain large amount of information for metabolites and metabolic pathways. However, the plethora of such databases and the redundancy of their information lead to major issues with analysis and standardization. Lack of preventive establishment of means of data access at the infant stages of a project might lead to mislabelled compounds, reduced statistical power and large delays in delivery of results. Results We developed MetaFetcheR, an open-source R package that links metabolite data from several small-compound databases, resolves inconsistencies and covers a variety of use-cases of data fetching. We showed that the performance of MetaFetcheR was superior to existing approaches and databases by benchmarking the performance of the algorithm in two independent case studies based on two published datasets. Availability MetaFetcheR is available at https://github.com/komorowskilab/MetaFetcheR/.


In this paper we study topological properties of an integrable case for Euler's equations on the Lie algebra , which can be regarded as an analogue of the classical Kovalevskaya case in rigid body dynamics. In particular, for all values of the parameters of the system under consideration, the bifurcation diagrams of the momentum mapping are constructed, the types of critical points of rank are determined, the bifurcations of Liouville tori are described, and the loop molecules are computed for all singular points of the bifurcation diagrams. It follows from the obtained results that some topological properties of the classical Kovalevskaya case can be obtained from the corresponding properties of the considered integrable case on the Lie algebra by taking a natural limit. Bibliography: 21 titles.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Aberrant DNA methylation of promoter CpG islands (CGIs) is induced in normal cells by aging, chronic inflammation, and exposure to specific carcinogenic factors, and the accumulation level of aberrant DNA methylation can be correlated with risk of cancer development. Also for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), the predominant histologic type in Asian countries, aberrant methylation is present in non-cancerous esophageal mucosae of ESCC patients, and methylation of specific genes is associated with smoking history [Oka et al. Cancer. 2009] and cancer risk [Lee et al. Cancer Prev Res. 2011]. However, for clinical application, markers informative even among drinkers, users of betel quid, and smokers, are required. Here, we aimed to isolate such markers by genome-wide methylation analysis. A total of 311 specimens [51 normal mucosae from healthy subjects (Group 1), 88 normal mucosae of healthy subjects exposed to carcinogen (alcohol, betel quid and tobacco) (Group 2), 94 non-cancerous background mucosae from ESCC patients (Group 3), and 78 cancer tissues from ESCC patients (Group 4)] were collected by endoscopic biopsy. A genome-wide methylation analysis was performed using an Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip array that covered 485,577 CpG sites. Four pooled samples of Group 2 and four pooled samples of Group 3, each pool consisting of four specimens, was prepared. A methylation level of a CpG site for a group of samples was defined as the median of the beta-values of the samples, and that of a locus was defined as a mean of the methylation levels of the probes within the locus. First, we searched for CGI loci differentially methylated between the four pooled samples from Group 2 and those from Group 3 (difference in beta-value > 0.1), and 37 loci were isolated. We were able to design primers for real-time MSP for 12 regions, and measured their methylation levels in the screening set (Group 2, n=38; Group 3, n=40). Seven regions demonstrated higher methylation levels in Group 3 than in Group 2 (P<0.05), and cut-off methylation levels for these regions were determined based upon their ROC. The validation set (Group 2, n=34; Group 3, n=38) was analyzed with the prefixed cut-offs, and the methylation levels of three CGI loci predicted esophageal cancer risk at odds ratios of 5.3 to 6.2 (P<0.05). The results of the present study indicated that the methylation status of the three loci is a candidate marker to predict the risk of ESCC in healthy subjects exposed to carcinogen.

Citation Format: Takayoshi Kishino, Takamasa Takahashi, Yi-Chia Lee, Satoshi Yamashita, Toshikazu Ushijima. Identification of DNA methylation markers to predict esophageal cancer risk for people with carcinogen exposure. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-176. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-LB-176


The confluence of recent advances in availability of geospatial information, computing power, and artificial intelligence offers new opportunities to understand how and where our cities differ or are alike. Departing from a traditional `top-down' analysis of urban design features, this project analyses millions of images of urban form (consisting of street view, satellite imagery, and street maps) to find shared characteristics. A (novel) neural network-based framework is trained with imagery from the largest 1692 cities in the world and the resulting models are used to compare within-city locations from Melbourne and Sydney to determine the closest connections between these areas and their international comparators. This work demonstrates a new, consistent, and objective method to begin to understand the relationship between cities and their health, transport, and environmental consequences of their design. The results show specific advantages and disadvantages using each type of imagery. Neural networks trained with map imagery will be highly influenced by the mix of roads, public transport, and green and blue space as well as the structure of these elements. The colours of natural and built features stand out as dominant characteristics in satellite imagery. The use of street view imagery will emphasise the features of a human scaled visual geography of streetscapes. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this research also answers the age-old question, ``Is there really a `Paris-end' to your city?''.


In order to reduce subgrade permanent deformation, it is significantly important to keep the subgrade behaving elastically. However, the subgrade workaround depth in the national design specifications of China is 0.8m for different pavement structures under various loading conditions. In fact, the minimum value of the workaround depth is dependent on pavement structures and loading conditions. Under this background, this research herein presents a FLAC3D-based model for quantitative analysis on subgrade workaround depths. In terms of the geometrical model, both the subgrade and pavement are simulated with layered structures: the subgrade model consists of two layers which are the roadbed soils and original ground soils, while the pavement consists of 3~6 layers according to the pavement types. In terms of mechanical models, subgrade is simulated with Mohr-coulomb model where Young's Modulus, Poisson ratio, angle of internal friction, cohesion coefficient are various based on the layer material properties and pavement layers are simulated with the linear elastic model where Young's Modulus and Poisson ratio are various based on the layer material properties. In terms of loading conditions, the various static vehicular and gravity loads are applied with the axle types considered. The FLAC3D simulation outputs are the stresses underlying pavement structures during the loading history. The calculated stresses are compared at different locations to determine the subgrade workaround depth. Through this research, recommendations are provided for determining the subgrade workaround depths for different pavement types.


In microreactors, reactant fluids are split into many fluid segments and then fed into the reactors to shorten mixing time. Two dimensionless numbers are introduced to represent effects of geometric design factors of fluid segments, such as shapes and arrangements, on reactor performance, namely mixing rate and product yield and selectivity: the ratio of reaction rate to diffusion rate and the aspect ratio of the mean diffusion length in the two-dimensional (2-D) directions in the reactor cross section. Methods to determine these numbers are also proposed. To examine the validity of these numbers on estimating the reactor performance, we compare product yields between each pair of reactors having the different geometric design factors but the same dimensionless numbers using computational fluid dynamics simulations. The results show that these numbers serve as the indices for estimating the reactor performance. Using these numbers, design guidelines for geometry of fluid segments are also discussed. © 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2006


In recent years, interest of using shunt active power filters is increased. This paper presents a novel Synchronous Reference Frame (SRF) controlled five-level and seven-level cascaded multilevel inverter based shunt active filter for Power Line Conditioners (PLCs) to improve the power quality in the distribution system. Synchronous Reference Frame is used to control reactive power and harmonics compensation due to non-linear loads. The cascaded multilevel inverter is controlled by the triangular wave produced by the SRF. PI controller is used to maintain almost constant under transient and steady state condition. The proposed new model is simulated using MATLAB/SIMULINK and simulation results are demonstrated.


High-resolution location ("heartbeat") data of transit fleet vehicles is a relatively new data source for many transit agencies. On its surface, the heartbeat data can provide a wealth of information about all operational details of a recorded transit vehicle trip, from its location trajectory to its speed and acceleration profiles. Previous studies have mainly focused on decomposing the total trip travel time into different components by vehicle state and then extracting measures of delays to draw conclusions on the performance of a transit route. This study delves into the task of reconstructing a complete, continuous and smooth transit vehicle trajectory from the heartbeat data that allows for the extraction of operational information of a bus at any point in time into its trip. Using only the latitude, longitude, and timestamp fields of the heartbeat data, the authors demonstrate that a continuous, smooth, and monotonic vehicle trajectory can be reconstructed using local regression in combination with monotonic cubic spline interpolation. The resultant trajectory can be used to evaluate transit performance and identify locations of bus delay near infrastructure such as traffic signals, pedestrian crossings, and bus stops.


Purpose: There is a need for more intuitive perimetric screening methods, which can also be performed by elderly people and children currently unable to perform standard automated perimetry (SAP). Ideally, these methods should also be easier to administer, such that they may be used outside of a regular clinical environment. We evaluated the suitability of various methodological and analytical approaches for detecting and localizing VFD in glaucoma patients, based on eye movement recordings. Methods: The present study consisted of two experiments. In experiment 1, we collected data from 20 glaucoma patients and 20 age-matched controls, who monocularly viewed 28 1-min video clips while their eyes were being tracked. In experiment 2, we re-analyzed a published dataset, that contained data of 44 glaucoma patients and 32 age-matched controls who had binocularly viewed three longer-duration (3, 5, and 7 min) video clips. For both experiments, we first examined if the two groups differed in the basic properties of their fixations and saccades. In addition, we computed the viewing priority (VP) of each participant. Following a previously reported approach, for each participant, we mapped their fixation locations and used kernel Principal Component Analysis (kPCA) to distinguish patients from controls. Finally, we attempted to reconstruct the location of a patient's VFD by mapping the relative fixation frequency and the VP across their visual field. Results: We found direction dependent saccade amplitudes in glaucoma patients that often differed from those of the controls. Moreover, the kPCA indicated that the fixation maps of the two groups separated into two clusters based on the first two principal components. On average, glaucoma patients had a significantly lower VP than the controls, with this decrease depending on the specific video viewed. Conclusions: It is possible to detect the presence of VFD in glaucoma patients based on their gaze behavior made during video viewing. While this corroborates earlier conclusions, we show that it requires participants to view the videos monocularly. Nevertheless, we could not reconstruct the VFD with any of the evaluated methods, possibly due to compensatory eye movements made by the glaucoma patients.


Contents: E. Hollnagel, P.C. Cacciabue, J-M. Hoc, Work With Technology: Some Fundamental Issues. Part I:Cognition and Work With Technology. J-M. Hoc, R. Amalberti, N. Boreham, Human Operator Expertise in Diagnosis, Decision-Making, and Time Management. J. Kjaer-Hansen, Unitary Theories of Cognitive Architectures. P.C. Cacciabue, E. Hollnagel, Simulation of Cognition: Applications. D.D. Woods, E. Roth, Symbolic AI Computer Simulations as Tools for Investigating the Dynamics of Joint Cognitive Systems. Part II:Development of Competence and Expertise. N. Boreham, Error Analysis and Expert-Novice Differences in Medical Diagnosis. R. Samurcay, Conceptual Models for Training. J. Rogalski, From Real Situations to Training Situations: Conservation of Functionalities. L. Norros, An Orientation-Based Approach to Expertise. Part III:Cooperation Between Humans and Computers. H. Benchekroun, B. Pavard, P. Salembier, Design of Cooperative Systems in Complex Dynamic Environments. N.P. Moray, D. Hiskes, J. Lee, B.M. Muir, Trust and Human Intervention in Automated Systems. A. Rizzo, D. Ferrante, S. Bagnara, Handling Human Error. P. Millot, R. Mandiau, Man-Machine Cooperative Organizations: Formal and Pragmatic Implementation Methods. E. Hollnagel, The Art of Efficient Man-Machine Interaction: Improving the Coupling Between Man and Machine. G. Boy, "Human-Like" System Certification and Evaluation. M. Lind, M.N. Larsen, Planning Support and the Intentionality of Dynamic Environments. E. Hollnagel, J-M. Hoc, P.C. Cacciabue, Expertise and Technology: "I Have a Feeling We Are Not in Kansas Anymore."


: Long Range Wireless Area Network (LoRaWAN) provides desirable solutions for Internet of Things (IoT) applications that require hundreds or thousands of actively connected devices (nodes) to monitor the environment or processes. In most cases, the location information of the devices arguably plays a critical role and is desirable. In this regard, the physical characteristics of the communication channel can be leveraged to provide a feasible and affordable node localisation solution. This paper presents an evaluation of the performance of LoRaWAN Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)-based node localisation in a sandstorm environment. We employ machine learning algorithms - Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), which turns the high variance of RSSI due to frequency hopping feature of LoRaWAN to advantage; creating unique signatures representing different locations. In this work, the RSSI features are used as input location fingerprints into the machine learning models. The proposed method reduces node localisation complexity when compared to GPS-based approaches whilst provisioning more extensive connection paths. Furthermore, the impact of LoRa spreading factor and kernel function on the performance of the developed models have been studied. Experimental results show that the SVR-enhanced fingerprint yields the most significant improvement in node localisation performance.


In this paper an ANC system is implemented on the Stratix family FPGA from Altera Company. The controller uses the LMS algorithm for updating the adaptive coefficients array with M=64. A comparison of this implementation with implementation results on DSP processors shows that the speed up of FPGA with respect to the DSP is 750.


PURPOSE
In-air profile measurements are required for co mmissioning the Electron Monte Carlo Algorithm in Eclipse (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto CA). The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the ion chamber support device on in-air profile scans of high-energy electron beams.

METHODS
An IBA Blue Phantom2 with CC13 (IBA Dosimetry, Germany) ion chamber was used to reco rd in-air one-dimensional profiles of electron beams from a Varian Clinac 21EX with no applicator and co llimator jaws set to maximum opening (40cm). The chamber was set at 95cm from the source using the ODI and lateral movement verified to be level. Due to the large field size, only half profile scans were obtained.A chamber support device was manufactured using rigid foam and attached to the chamber holder included with the tank. This relocated the chamber to approximately 25cm away from the metallic crossbar and plastic chamber holder. Profile scans were co llected for all available beam energies (6MeV, 9MeV, 12MeV, 15MeV, 18MeV) both with and without the use of the additional foam support.

RESULTS
Measurements with and without the use of the foam support device resulted in minimal change to the reco rded plots. For profiles normalized to CAX, the mean absolute difference between co rresponding points along the profile was found to be less than 1% for all energies measured. The maximum deviation at any point was less than 1% for all but two energies (9MeV=3.5%, 15MeV=4.5%). The difference at 80% of the field size was less than 1.5% for all energies. Co nclusion: The ion chamber support device included with the IBA Blue Phantom2 appears to have minimal impact on in-air profile measurements for high energy electron beams. Additional air-like support material should therefore not be necessary for measuring such profiles.


Ninety-nine femoral shaft fractures were treated with locked intramedullary nails made from titanium alloy. One of the distal interlocking screws failed in six fractures (6%) and both screws failed in two fractures (2%). Delayed union was associated with all of the eight fractures that had locking screw failure. Young, heavier patients who had nails of small diameter had an increased risk of screw failure. Additional surgery was needed when both screws failed. The authors still use this nail, but currently prefer to ream the medullary canal more so that larger nails can be inserted. Decisions concerning weightbearing are made on an individual basis for each patient, and currently full weightbearing is delayed for young, active, and heavy patients. Two distal interlocking screws should be inserted for treatment of femoral shaft fracture when a Ti locked intramedullary nail is used.


Objective: To investigate whether variations within normal ranges of thyroid functioning are related to cognitive and neuropsychiatric functioning in Alzheimer disease (AD). Background: Mild alterations of thyroid hormone levels, even in the normal range, are associated with changes in mood and cognitive functioning in older, nondemented adults, and lower concentrations of thyroid hormones have been shown to be associated with an increased risk for cognitive decline. Less is known about the relationship between thyroid hormone levels and cognitive and neuropsychiatric dysfunction in AD. Method: Twenty-eight euthyroid patients with AD on donepezil underwent evaluation of thyroid status, including measures of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4), and cognitive and neuropsychiatric assessment with the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale, Neuropsychiatric Inventory, and Visual Analog Mood Scales. Results: Correlational analyses indicated statistically significant associations between FT4 concentrations and self-reported feelings of fear and fatigue. Fear and fatigue were negatively correlated with FT4. There were no significant relationships between thyroid hormones and cognition and other depressive and anxiety symptoms. Conclusions: Results of this preliminary study support a relationship between thyroid status and neuropsychiatric symptoms in euthyroid individuals with AD, with lower concentrations of FT4 associated with fear and fatigue.


Abstract The oxidation of synthetic ferruginous biotite in hydrothermal systems was studied for two ideal compositions, annite, KFe3AlSi3O10(OH)2 and siderophyllite, KFe2.5Al2Si2.5O10(OH)2. These biotite samples were annealed in Shaw-type vessels under controlled fH2 at a total pressure of 1 kbar. The ratio of Fe2+ to total Fe, determined by wet-chemical analysis, is directly proportional to the fH2 regardless of temperature variations. For fH2 values of < I bar to 102 bars, this ratio varies from 0.72 to 0.90 for annite and from 0.76 to 0.96 for siderophyllite. The H contents of the biotite do not vary with FeH content for either composition and result in 94 and 100% of the OH sites being occupied in annite and siderophyllite, respectively. A consistent decrease in total octahedral cation content with increasing FeH content for both annite and siderophyllite suggests that the Fe-vacancy substitution 3Fe2+ ⇌ 2FeH3++ [6]Vac plays a dominant role in the oxidation of these synthetic biotite samples.


Transformer-like models for vision tasks have recently proven effective for a wide range of downstream applications such as segmentation and detection. Previous works have shown that segmentation properties emerge in vision transformers (ViTs) trained using self-supervised methods such as DINO, but not in those trained on supervised classification tasks. In this study, we probe whether segmentation emerges in transformer-based models solely as a result of intricate self-supervised learning mechanisms, or if the same emergence can be achieved under much broader conditions through proper design of the model architecture. Through extensive experimental results, we demonstrate that when employing a white-box transformer-like architecture known as CRATE, whose design explicitly models and pursues low-dimensional structures in the data distribution, segmentation properties, at both the whole and parts levels, already emerge with a minimalistic supervised training recipe. Layer-wise finer-grained analysis reveals that the emergent properties strongly corroborate the designed mathematical functions of the white-box network. Our results suggest a path to design white-box foundation models that are simultaneously highly performant and mathematically fully interpretable. Code is at \url{https://github.com/Ma-Lab-Berkeley/CRATE}.


Pasifika education, the education of students with connections to the Pacific in Aotearoa New Zealand, is intercultural; Pasifika students are generally taught by Palangi (European-origin) teachers in a system originally designed to meet the perceived needs of European settlers. The field has a history of inequity, consigning many Pasifika students to mediocrity in formal education. A cultural reading of the situation connects a need for emancipatory self-description with the achievement of social justice within the kind of participatory democracy imagined by Dewey. Recent government initiatives such as the Pasifika Education Plan have sought 'Pasifika success' through targets and initiatives, the most visible focusing on success as achievement understood by comparison to other ethnic groups. This has been critiqued as not seeking success as, but of Pasifika, in effect another assimilative practice. This thesis interrogates how success in formal education is understood, described, and explained by male Pasifika students as they enter the secondary sector. This is complemented by: paying attention to experiences of success in primary education; extending discussion to families; and the catalytic use of Pasifika community-sourced data to create opportunities for teachers to re-vision their practice. The inquiry is a bounded case study in the atypical context of a high-decile single-sex state school. A framework which combines a critical theory, critical race theory, and a Pacific Indigenous research paradigm provides a nuanced strengths-based approach. A dialogical-relational methodology argues for a mediated dialogue to teu le va (care for the relational spaces) between participants. The thesis demonstrates how catalytic attention to relationality can help teachers positively re-vision their practice. Attention to relationality also supports a complex positionality where a Palangi researcher seeks to edgewalk between Pasifika and Palangi concepts and communities, teachers and students, and Pacific-orientated research and the academy. Findings suggest that male Pasifika students hold a wide basket of forms of success which both contrast with and complement success as achievement: ideas about a 'good education', acceptance, participation, comfort, resilience, and the contextual extension of competence. These can be understood through Pacific origin concepts such as va (relationality), malaga (journey) and poto (wisdom), disturbing existing thinking about Pasifika education. As a result, the thesis has potential to assist a re-framing of theory and practice in the field as well as providing a model of relational inquiry for further social justice research into intercultural fields such as Pasifika education.


Surmmary
Strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae which produced large amounts of toxin (e.g. pw8) were found to be non-lysogenie, but they contained a cytoplasmic toxinogenic factor designated as T+. After infection with phage they produced less toxin. It is possible to remove the phage from the lysogenic strains without affecting the T+ factor by treatment with small amounts of acriflavine. When treated with larger amounts of acriflavine the T+ factor was also removed, rendering the strain non-toxinogenic. The toxin-inducing phages can be converted in vitro into non-toxinogenic phages by treatment with small amounts of acriflavine. After passage through the pw8T+ strains these phages revert to toxin-inducing ability. Similarly, the naturally occurring, non-toxinogenic γ phage can be made to induce toxin production. This indicates that the role of phage in diphtheria toxin production is to transduce the T+ factor.


The mechanisms underlying the development of gastrointestinal (GI) damage by the NSAIDs differ considerably from drug to drug. Aside from environmental or intersubject influence (e.g., concurrent disease, physical or sociopsychologic stress, dietary and genetic status), the intrinsic pharmacokinetic and physico-chemical differences in these drugs account for variations in their rate of absorption or uptake from the circulation into the GI mucosa. Differences in the preference for absorption in the different regions of the GI tract account for the propensity of these drugs to cause injury in those regions wherein they accumulate. Bacterial flora and food antigens may be particularly important in promoting injury in the lower intestinal tract, whereas in the sterile environment of the normal stomach these may have less significance (except in achlorhydric states). The multiple cellular actions of NSAIDs are reviewed and the consequences of inhibiting prostaglandin cyclo-oxygenase considered. Under some conditions, the excess production of vasoconstrictor leukotrienes/HETES relative to effects of cyclo-oxygenase inhibition is postulated to have particularly important consequences in the pathogenesis of mucosal injury by NSAIDs. These consequences are separate from the concept of prostaglandin deficiency previously suggested by others.


Artificial and synthetic data are widely used for benchmarking and evaluating database, storage and query engines. This is usually performed in static contexts with no evolution in the data. In the context of evolution management, the community lacks systems and tools for benchmarking versioning and change detection approaches. In this paper, we address the generation of synthetic, evolving data represented in the RDF model, and we discuss requirements and parameters that drive this process. Furthermore, we discuss query workloads in the context of evolution. To this end, we present EvoGen, a generator for evolving RDF data, that offers functionality for instance and schema-based evolution, fine-grained change representation between versions as well as custom workload generation.


Three sialoglycoproteins (S1, S2, and S3) have been isolated from normal human urine by ultrafiltration, zone electrophoresis, gel chromatography, and ion-exchange chromatography. The average yields per litre of urine were 0.39 mg (S1), 0.40 mg (S2), and 1.9 mg (S3). The isolated substances were homogeneous on ultracentrifugation both at neutral and acid pH with sedimentation coefficients of 3.6 S (S1), 2.4S (S2), and 0.93S (S3). Equilibrium ultracentrifugation gave molecular weights of 77900 (S1), 37000 (S2), and 5300 (S3). All three components were rich in carbohydrate (64 to 76%) and contained 28 to 35% of sialic acid. Alkaline borohydride degradation of component S3 yielded two sialylated oligosaccharides which were partially characterized. The origin of the isolated substances is unknown. The molecular size of S3 (Stokes' radius of 2.0 nm) is compatible with passage from the blood by glomerular filtration whereas the size of S1 (Stokes' radius of 6.5 nm) would suggest a renal origin.


form only given. We study exact learning of term rewriting systems from entailment and refute a recent result by Arimura, Sakamoto and Arikawa about polynomial time learnability of k-variable linear tree translations (LTT (k)). It was incorrectly claimed that the length of derivations of LTT (k) is bounded by a polynomial in the size of the initial term. This claim led to their result on polynomial time learnability of LTT (k). We present a simple system in the class of 1-variable linear tree translations that has a derivation of exponential length. We also discuss why it is difficult to syntactically separate the rewriting systems defining polynomial functions and the rewriting systems defining exponential functions. We then identify a few requirements for polynomial time learnability of rewriting systems and discuss how these requirements may be achieved.


Background: In some European countries and the US it is mandatory to assess and treat pain.  In Pubmed there are more than 240 papers when searching for "skin conductance" and "pain".
Aims: The aim is to review the utility of the skin conductance responses (SCR)/sec to assess pain in infants and children.
Study design: Two searches in Pubmed, where one includes the key words "skin conductance", "pain", and "children". Search two included "skin conductance", "pain", and "infants".  The finds in these searches are discussed and compared with other physiological pain assessment tools.
Outcome measures: Search one; regarding children, included twelve papers, and search two, regarding infants, included 20 papers.
Results: All the found papers show that the SCR/sec increases during defined painful procedures. Postoperatively, at intensive care units, and at neonatal units, the SCR/sec shows high sensitivity to monitor pain, but a lower specificity. The the SCR/sec is the most accurate means to assess pain when compared to the HR and peripheral oxygen saturation.
HR is influenced from respiratory rhythm, changes in blood volume status, drugs acting on the blood circulation, environmental temperature, and emotional stress, and is therefore less specific to pain than the SCR/sec which only is influenced from emotional stress. For infants and children, variation for SCR/sec is low compared to HR and peripheral oxygen saturation when the patients are at the same pain/discomfort level.
Conclusions: The SCR/sec could be adjunctive warning tool for when to validate possible pain.


The distribution characteristic of RTT (round-trip time) is an important part of Internet end-to-end behavior characteristics. People have made lots of studies of it, but many conclusions only adapt to the cases of small packet loss rate. We study the RTT characteristics on nearly 40 end-to-end paths in CSTNET and CERNET in China, and draw the following conclusions: (1) the distribution characteristics of RTT and loss rate are dependable; (2) when loss rate is small, RTT distribution is usually unimodal, but with the increase of loss rate, RTT distribution is no longer unimodal and it becomes more and more decentralized; (3) with the increase of loss rate, the occurring times of inherent RTT tend to decrease.


Shareholders have become increasingly active in endeavouring to influence companies' environmental and social practices. In comparison with the mature field of financially motivated shareholder activism, limited enquiries have been carried out on its non‐financial counterparts. This paper synthesizes the knowledge base through a review of the academic literature, exploring shareholder activism intended to affect corporate environmental and social performance. Theoretical perspectives appropriate to this phenomenon are critically appraised: in particular, insights from social movement theory, Hirschman's theory of exit, voice and loyalty and stakeholder salience theory, as well as the roles of signalling and symbolic management actions. Data from the literature are organized into a process model of non‐financial shareholder influence. Underpinned by the influencing context, this conceptualization centres on three primary shareholder interventions: divestment, dialogue and shareholder proposals. These interventions are enabled through a range of actors and tools: coalitions, non‐governmental organizations, codes and indices, the media and regulators. The interaction between interventions and the enabling actors and tools helps to determine managers' perceptions of shareholder salience. These perceptions subsequently shape the organizational behaviours that affect companies' symbolic and substantive environmental and social performance. An agenda to direct future research in this burgeoning field is articulated.


Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is increasingly used to prevent acute and chronic rejection following kidney transplantation and in autoimmune diseases. Here, we report on a patient after kidney transplantation, who developed an acute inflammatory syndrome characterized by fever and oligoarthritis within 1 week after increasing the MMF dosage. MMF was discontinued resulting in a complete resolution of the syndrome within 48 h. We demonstrated in vitro that the patient's phorbol myristate acetate (PMA‐) and formyl Met‐Leu‐Phe (fMLP‐) stimulated polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) developed increased oxidative burst when incubated with MMF. This report demonstrates that MMF can also induce acute inflammatory syndrome in patients following kidney transplantation and that this syndrome might be due to a paradox, pro‐inflammatory reaction of PMNs.


We theoretically study the electronic and transport properties of two graphene layers vertically coupled by an insulating layer under the influence of a time-periodic external light field. The non-adiabatic driving induces excitations of electrons and a redistribution of the occupied states which is manifested in the opening of gaps in the quasienergy spectrum of graphene. When a voltage is applied between the top and bottom graphene layers, the photo-induced nonequilibrium occupation modifies the transport properties of the contact. We investigate the electronic and transport properties of the contact by using the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism. To illustrate the behavior of the differential conductance of the vertical contact under the light illumination, we consider two cases. First, we assume that both the bottom and top layers consist of graphene and second we consider a finite mass term in the bottom layer. We obtain that the differential conductance is strongly suppressed due to the opening of gaps in the quasienergy spectrum in graphene. Additionally, the conductance shows features corresponding to the tunneling of photoexcited electrons at energies of the van Hove singularity for both the top and bottom layers. In the case of a finite mass term in the bottom layer, the differential conductance can be directly related to the tunneling of photoexcited electrons.


The present investigation reports the polymorphism of eight red cell enzymes, studied in 308 unrelated voluntary blood donors from the Rumanian ethnic group of Yugoslavia. Only common phenotypes were detected, which are distributed as in European populations. The estimated gene frequencies were: GLO1*1 = 0.401, GPT*1 = 0.533, PGM1*1 = 0.707, ESD*1 = 0.878, AK1*1 = 0.982, PGD*A = 0.974, ADA*1 = 0.939, ACP1*A = 0.384, ACP1*B = 0.550 and ACP1*C = 0.065. The observed gene frequencies are discussed in the context of other European populations and other populations from Yugoslavia.


The thesis discusses a myth of Kumari in relation to historical events and political
tendencies in the Kathmandu valley. While historically myths have been used for various
purposes, most of which are harmless, sometimes the motives do not justify the actions.
In a nutshell, in the thesis the author is trying to show how a myth can be manipulated by
political actors in order to legitimise or secure their stands. In this thesis, the myth is
approached through the prism of three concepts: shaktism, virgin worship and divine right
of the king. While the paper gives a full historical background, the main focus is on the
Malla period which occurred between 1200's and 1769.

The analysis will show how the myth was effected by the three concepts and explain the
main reasons behind different versions of the myth. Worshiping of the virgin, borrowed
from earlier traditions from India and Nepal, became a dangerous tool in the hands of the
kings, as Kumari earned a special position in order to harm competing rulers. The practice
of shaktism and the myth in itself show that the myth was used, among other things, as a
power legitimizing tool by the Malla kings. In this light, the theory of divine right is used
to amplify that the kings during Malla period exploited the goddess for the motives of
power and control in the Kathmandu Valley.

Among researchers in the field, the topic of virgin as a power legitimizing tool has often
been omitted. The paper provides a fresh look on a topic that is hundreds of years old.
Instead of focusing on the traditions of the Kumari, as has been done numerous times, the
writer rather emphasises the myth of Kumari itself. Such an approach allows to see how
easy a myths narrative can be manipulated for political purposes.

The main aim of the thesis is to shine a light on the nature of the relationship between the
Malla kings and Kumari. The conclusions of the research can be valuable as a general
introduction to the topic of Kumari, as well as for a more profound analysis of a myth
within political and religious realms during Malla period.


While the robustness of the communication network infastructure against attacks on the integrity of backbone protocols such as the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and MultiProtocol Label Switching (MPLS) protocols has been the subject of significant earlier work, more limited attention has been paid to the problem of availability and timeliness that is crucial for service levels needed in areas such as some financial services and particularly for the interconnection of smart grid components requiring hard real-time communication which are not necessarily over completely isolated networks. In such networks, an adversary will be successful if a targeted flow or set of flows no longer meets CoS and QoS boundaries, particularly delay and jitter, even where no outright compromise of either the flow itself or the control flow is achieved. The attacker's objective can be accomplished by interfering with the operation of the control signalling protocol, but also by influencing the policy of MPLS nodes and the mitigation mechanisms itself. In this paper we therefore describe an adversary model and analysis of attacks based on manipulation of Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) messages for the purpose of affecting the required (QoS) and Class of Service (CoS) for a targeted traffic where the adversary may intentionally modify the policy state of LSRs that the targeted traffic passes though.


This cases series is intended for use in a technology management curriculum, and the companion Web site, http://www.darden.virginia.edu/it/explore/, provides a multimedia overview of the technology with the aid of 3-D animation to enhance the learning experience. The series brings to life the challenges faced when pursuing cutting-edge technology development. To bridge the chasm of a major technological discontinuity in the semiconductor industry, the leading firms have to confront challenges associated with intercompany cooperation and coordination in a setting replete with technological uncertainties. Only by doing so will the semiconductor industry be able to continue its adherence to Moores Law. The A case UVA-BP-0423) leads students to formulate strategies for cooperative development targeting much-needed next-generation lithography systems. The B case places students in a position of evaluating what the lead firms (IBM, Intel, and Lucent) actually did.


Stability of estimated breeding values for average daily gain (ADG) between 5 and 10 weeks of age was analysed for 47 242 Pannon White rabbits, reared in 7470 litters and born between 2000 and 2008. The dataset was divided into 5 successive 5-year periods: (1) 2000-2004, (2) 2001-2005, (3) 2002-2006, (4) 2003-2007, and (5) 2004-2008. Then, after selecting the appropriate part of the pedigree for these sub-data - sets, genetic parameters and breeding values were estimated for ADG using REML and BLUP methods. In the applied models sex, year-month, animal and random litter effects were considered. Estimated heritabilities for all 5 periods from 1 to 5 were moderate and stable (0.28 ± 0.01, 0.28 ± 0.02, 0.29 ± 0.02, 0.27 ± 0.02, and 0.28 ± 0.02). Magnitudes of random litter effects were low and stable (0.14 ± 0.01, 0.15 ± 0.01, 0.15 ± 0.01, 0.16 ± 0.01, and 0.16 ± 0.01). After breeding value estimation the dataset of period 5 was merged pair-wise with the other periods 4, 3, 2 and 1 using an inner join. Thus only the common records of the datasets representing the periods 5-4, 5-3, 5-2, and 5-1 were included in the merged datasets. In these merged datasets each rabbit had two breeding values for ADG based on two different periods. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated between the breeding values based on the dataset of period 5 and the other periods. With the successive years the rank correlation coefficients decreased (0.989, 0.979, 0.965 and 0.924). The correlation coefficients between ranks remained moderately high, even when the proportion of the common rabbits in the merged datasets was low. However, a reasonable re-ranking occurred among the top animals. Rank cor - relations for the top 100 and 1000 animals varied from 0.41 to 0.55 and from 0.37 to 0.54, respectively, which could influence selection efficiency if the rolling base were used for genetic evaluation.


Tuberculosis, or TB, is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB can occur in pulmonary or extra pulmonary. Extra pulmonary TB occurs in locations other than the lung, such as larynx, lymph node, pleura, brain, kidneys and bones. CT Scan can detect intracranial tuberculoma, and MRI is the best method to detect the abnormality in spinal tuberculosis.


This Colloquy brings into conversation two terms critical for an anthropological inquiry into our present condition: mobility and bioeconomy. It moves beyond established accounts of the bioeconomy based on biotechnology and biomedicine to draw attention to the tempo, intensity, and reach of the economization of mobile life across diverse scales and domains. Case studies include emerging forms of surveillance and bordering regimes that generate profit from the vitality and vulnerability of mobile life. They also entail the escalation of certain mobilities and the halting of others, not only demonstrating how value travels and is remade as it crosses boundaries of different kinds but also revealing how life's disposability can make for a precondition for trading in life itself. Rethinking and extending conventional political economic analyses, the Colloquy offers new directions for anthropological understandings of economy and mobility.


Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) manifests as a complex disease resulting from gene–environment interactions or as a monogenic disease resulting from deleterious mutations. While monogenic IBD is predominantly pediatric, only one-quarter of complex IBD is pediatric. In this study, we were the first to systematically compare genetic architecture between monogenic and complex pediatric and adult IBD on genetic and molecular pathway levels. Genes reported as causal for monogenic pediatric IBD and related syndromes and as risk factors for pediatric and adult complex IBD were analyzed using CytoScape and ClueGO software tools to elucidate significantly enriched Gene Ontology (GO) terms. Despite the small overlap (seven genes) between monogenic IBD genes (85) and complex IBD loci (240), GO analysis revealed several enriched GO terms shared between subgroups (13.9%). Terms Th17 cell differentiation and Jak/STAT signaling were enriched in both monogenic and complex IBD subgroups. However, primary immunodeficiency and B-cell receptor signaling pathway were specifically enriched only for pediatric subgroups, confirming existing clinical observations and experimental evidence of primary immunodeficiency in pediatric IBD patients. In addition, comparative analysis identified patients below 6 years of age to significantly differ from complex pediatric and adult IBD and could be considered a separate entity.


The objective of the study is to examine the perception of the residents in the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ) and the competent local government officials for nature conservation and local development. A survey was conducted on 265 residents as well as 285 government officials from Paju and Yeoncheon Municipals. Both residents and officials perceived the value of biodiversity, natural ecosystem and landscape in the CCZ and seemed to have a sense of pride regarding it. However, they conceived that nature has not been conserved properly and residents in Yeoncheon showed more concern on this matter than residents in Paju. Overall, residents were more devoted to nature conservation or perceived the importance of accordance with nature conservation in local development, which implicates the sound foundation of perception and good prospect for sustainable development in CCZ. Owing to the difference in situation, there was a significant difference in perception between residents and officials. There is a possibility of conflict in Paju because residents desired more local development, whereas officials showed more purpose for nature conservation. In order to achieve simultaneously local development and nature conservation in CCZ, we should pay special attention to studies on living standards of local residents and scientific surveys on natural resources.


Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress have been implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of diseases and conditions. Oxidative stress occurs once the antioxidant defenses of the body become overwhelmed and are no longer able to detoxify reactive oxygen species (ROS). The ROS can then go unchallenged and are able to cause oxidative damage to cellular lipids, DNA and proteins, which will eventually result in cellular and organ dysfunction. Although not always the primary cause of disease, mitochondrial dysfunction as a secondary consequence disease of pathophysiology can result in increased ROS generation together with an impairment in cellular energy status. Mitochondrial dysfunction may result from either free radical-induced oxidative damage or direct impairment by the toxic metabolites which accumulate in certain metabolic diseases. In view of the importance of cellular antioxidant status, a number of therapeutic strategies have been employed in disorders associated with oxidative stress with a view to neutralising the ROS and reactive nitrogen species implicated in disease pathophysiology. Although successful in some cases, these adjunct therapies have yet to be incorporated into the clinical management of patients. The purpose of this review is to highlight the emerging evidence of oxidative stress, secondary mitochondrial dysfunction and antioxidant treatment efficacy in metabolic and non-metabolic diseases in which there is a current interest in these parameters.


SIR: It is gratifying that our colleagues at the Joint Hospital (Roberts et a!, Journal, December 1986, 149, 789—793) have discoveredneuroleptic-resistant schizophrenia.However, had they visited any of the large psychiatric hospitals, which they seemto prefer to call asylums,theywould belikely to find a number of patients with this disorder. Notwithstanding the failure of electroconvulsive therapy in this patient, I would suggest that lith ium should be tried. Sometimes†̃¿ continuously flor idly psychotic behaviour' has a masked affective component, as Crammer suggestsin the paper. Wehavereportedthecaseof a27-year-oldmarried lady who required high dosesof depot neuroleptics to control episodesof schizophrenia(asdiagnosedat that time) associated with very disturbed behaviour and to maintain prophylaxis (Barnes & Bridges, 1980). Her severe symptoms were improved, but certainly not controlled, by the use of Ed. How ever,therewasa good responseto lithium, although, ultimately, shewasfound to bemost settledon halo peridol (20mg t.d.s.) and carbamazepine(400mg t.d.s.) with procyclidine. Her compliance on this medication is good, and it has kept her out of hospi tal so far for the past four years. I should add that she was transferred originally to my care at Bexley Hospital from the Bethlem Royal Hospital, where it was considered that shewas doing too much damage to both the staff and the fabric and hence"¿ asylum― wasneeded.


The results of the study of hydro geochemical features and assessment of the quality of groundwater in the watercarrying complex of the Upper Jurassic sediments of the southwestern regions of the Crimean Peninsula for drinking and agricultural water supply are presented. Pressure stratalfissured and fissure-karst waters are confined to the Middle-Oxford-Kimeridzhsky aquifer. It was established that in the studied region fresh groundwater is developed with a total mineralization of up to 1 g/dm 3 and lower than HCO 3 -Ca, HCO 3 -Ca-Mg, more rarely HCO 3 -Ca-Na and Na-Ca composition with the first being dominant. The highest quality groundwaters are characterized by HCO 3 -Ca composition with a total salt content of up to 0.6 g/dm 3 . They have been studied within the Rodnikovsky section of the West-Crimean groundwater deposit. Waters of satisfactory quality are characterized by HCO 3 -Ca and HCO 3 -Ca-Mg composition and were found in wells located near the villages of Rossoshanka, Orlinoye, Plotynnoye and Golubinka. Low-quality water was determined in the wells of the villages of Sokolinoye and Chernorechye, north-west and north-east of the Rodnikovsky water abstraction.


Competition today is so savage that it creates uncertainties a real threat to an organization's survival. Creating and managing supply chains is a method for controlling these uncertainties. This paper examines empirical research from postgraduate students and scholarly papers published in the journal of an international university in Thailand, on supply chain techniques.
Major uncertainties are found in: matching supply to demand, production and information problems, and lack of co-ordination with chain partners. Several methods which firms use to improve their supply chains are examined: these include inventory control, systematic forecasting, selection of quality suppliers, distribution, and partnership collaboration.
Valuable through these efforts are, they cannot be perfect and have to be frequently reviewed and updated. Some methods of evaluating supply chains are explored. But some uncertainties will always be present, mainly in the human software because supply chain partnerships are vulnerable to a lack of trust and commitment. In addition to disaster planning, eternal vigilance is also greatly needed.
The methodology in this paper is a literature review of research papers from a Thai international university, and the extraction of meta-themes. Limitations include generalizability, as the research was restricted to firms in Thailand, and there are inevitable limitations within each of the research projects mentioned in this paper.


A growing body of literature points to the role of exposure to shocks in reducing economic resilience. While all households are negatively affected by various shocks, poor households are more likely to be exposed to different risks. This paper uses the 2018 round of the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey (ELMPS) to examine the nature of shocks experienced by different socioeconomic groups of households and the ex-post coping mechanisms that were adopted. The results show that almost a quarter of the Egyptian households experienced food insecurity either solely or in combination with shocks. Economic shocks were the most common distress followed by health shocks during the year preceding the ELMPS interview. Household used consumption rationing or depended on their social capital as a coping mechanism in response to a shock or food insecurity. Households whose heads had less than intermediate education, or worked in the informal private sector or agriculture, or were self-employed were more likely to have experienced a shock. Also, households residing in rural areas, particularly in Upper Egypt, or with large family size were more vulnerable to shocks during the study period.


This study examines the factors determining the dividend policy of financial firms in Turkey. Analysing a panel dataset of 80 financial firms listed on the Borsa Istanbul over the period 2009‒2016, the results reveal that profitability, debt, growth, firm size, liquidity and asset tangibility are the financial characteristics that have significant effects on dividend decisions. The findings also show that foreign shareholders are the only owners influencing financial firms in setting dividend payments, whereas board size, family members on the board and independent directors have significant impacts on dividend policies of financial corporations. Overall, the study results suggest that the major factors determining dividend policy decisions of financial firms in Turkey are similar to those of the industrial (non-financial) firms documented in the literature


The experimental and analytical evaluation of externally reinforced square and circular cold-formed steel tubular columns with GFRP strips is presented in this study. Under axial compression, fourteen tubular columns with pinned support, seven square tubular sections, and seven circular hollow section columns with externally bonded GFRP strips at various points were tested to failure. The GFRP strips improved the load-carrying capacity of the columns according to the trial results. The GFRP strip at the ends and intermediate regions, with a clear spacing of 100 to 150 mm between the strips, has been proven to be the most effective in achieving ultimate strength, especially for column specimens with full wrapping. Wrapping the GFRP strips increases the strength of square and circular columns by 24 % and 5%, respectively, when compared to unwrapped specimens. The percentage gain in strength is 16% when the cross-section is changed from circular to square. Local and overall flexural buckling, respectively, are the failure modes seen in the square and circular sections. The experimental strength and axial deformation were compared to the analytical results, which showed a satisfactory correlation.


Rhoptries were isolated from merozoites of P. yoelii (17 XL), P. chabaudi adami and P. berghei (K-173), using sucrose gradient density centrifugation. Mouse antisera was prepared against the organelles and characterized. Antibodies specific for a known P. yoelii rhoptry protein were used to identify gradient fractions containing rhoptries and electron microscopy was used to confirm rhoptry enrichment and organelle morphology. Western blotting analysis of the gradients with organelle-specific antisera from each species, revealed several major cross-reactive interspecies protein bands of approximately 235, 210, 180, 160/170, 140, and 96-110 kDa, predominantly in densities of 1.12 and 1.15 g/ml. The parasite origin of the proteins was verified by immunoprecipitation, and reactive epitopes localized to the rhoptries by IEM. By Western blotting antisera specific for P. falciparum rhoptries reacted with protein bands of approximately 96-110 kDa in schizont extracts, and gradient fractions of density 1.12 and 1.15 g/ml from all three rodent malaria species, as well as with the rhoptries in P. yoelii, P. chabaudi, and P. berghei merozoites by IEM. We conclude that the three rodent malaria species and P. falciparum share conserved interspecies epitopes.